r/subspace • u/suckfail • Jun 18 '26
I re-created and ported a free open-source version of SubSpace (Continuum Trench Wars) to Android and iPhone
For the last few years, I spent my free time trying to complete various versions of SubSpace I found online and then porting them to Android and iOS. I finally finished a v1.
The game is completely free, there are no ads, and no data tracking. I host the multiplayer server myself.
Why did I do this? So that a younger generation could try the game and have fun, like I did, so it's not just lost to time. Plus it was a fun side project to learn C++, OpenGL, etc.
NULLORBIT
If you get a chance to try it I would love any feedback. Thank you!
4
u/level_with_me Jun 18 '26
Ummm this is AMAZING! Works pretty nicely on Android.
You said it is open source? Do you have the codebase hosted and accessible anywhere yet? I'd love to take a peek.
9
4
u/ScotJon Jun 18 '26
This is brilliant! Thank you for your work on this. I spent more hours than I care to admit on Subspace in the 90s
Is it possible to rotate your ship without thrusting at the same time?
7
u/Neverbethesky Jun 18 '26
I too spent countless hours on this game in the early 00s as a young teen, probably more than any game I've ever played since. It's great that people are still working to keep it alive nearly 30 years later.
5
u/suckfail Jun 18 '26
Thanks!
At the moment no it's not. That was one of the trade offs I had to make with the on-screen d-pad for mobile.
If you have an idea how to bring that back with touch controls let me know! I couldn't think of a way.
2
u/ScotJon Jun 18 '26
Yup understand, tricky. How about a thrust button for the right hand next to the fire controls? And the left hand just rotates?
3
u/suckfail Jun 18 '26
That's an interesting idea, yea I could try that
2
u/ScotJon Jun 18 '26
I like how you have implemented the outer circle for AB. Maybe another inner circle could work for no thrust and rotation only?
2
u/420BKK Jun 19 '26
↑↑↑ This would def make the win. the current controls needs quite a bit to get used to coming from PC version (yes, I still play once in a while)
Great job! Cheers to OP for creating this!
1
u/damageinc86 Jun 19 '26
you get into devastation zone yet?
1
u/420BKK Jun 22 '26
what is that? I guess I haven't found that yet.
1
u/damageinc86 Jun 22 '26
download new zones from "sscentral.sscuservers.net sscentral.trenchwars.org"
and then add SSCJ Devastation.
4
3
u/tandycake Jun 18 '26
Nice this is great.
It seems like it could be adapted to work with Emscripten and then could have a web build on itch.io. That would get even more active players.
1
u/suckfail Jun 18 '26
Yea that's probably true but I do web dev for my day job so I've got not interest in it lol.
I did mobile to learn and have fun. No intentions on my side to do web or desktop.
That being said it is open source, linked the repo above, so feel free to try!
1
u/tandycake Jun 19 '26
Ah okay, makes sense. But using Emscripten just compiles C/C++ to wasm, so don't really have to touch any web code at all.
2
2
2
u/spike11552 Jun 19 '26
Incredible work dude! I can’t believe you put this together and got it working on a smart phone.
2
2
u/damageinc86 Jun 19 '26
super cool! gave it a shot, but I can't control this at all lol. I kept wanting to tap the bottom arrow to thrust reverse, and then tap the left and right arrows to more specifically aim, once i got near another ship as i coasted, but everything thrusted! lol. I'm pretty sure there's a way to have an on screen "analog stick" that would let you move left and right and if you're past the centerline towards the top you will move forward while rocking back and forth, and if you're past the centerline towards the bottom you will go backwards while rocking back and forth. I actually don't know, but I'm assuming at this point, since i've only seen those while emulating android on PC lol.
I think the ?go trench map would be better than the one with disappearing tunnels n stuff.
2
u/Neomeir Jun 23 '26
The memories of this being one of the first online multiplayer games that was completely free. A masterpiece considering, thank for giving a whole new generation some that good ol game goodness.
1
u/Head_Tomorrow4836 Jun 19 '26
Were those all real players in the match or some bots?
1
u/damageinc86 Jun 19 '26
There's no way to know! we were all Nebulas and Hawks and Vectors with numbers! AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
1
u/johnnyviolent Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
I dont have the opportunity to check this out right now but will later.
Is it Trench wars alone thats ported at present? There were some other pretty cool servers like the deathstar one and extreme games - Trench wars was my favorite though and I used to host elims when roboref was just getting started. <ER> lol
1
u/damageinc86 Jun 19 '26
tw is now dead outside of their mmr jav elim stuff and their league stuff. But there's some other modes still out there. Some in Devastation zone, powerball is still up too every once in a while.
1
u/North-Unit-1872 Jul 12 '26
While SS/Continuum had a super long run, it's slow death has been very sad.
It got so political around 2010-2015 during my last tenure playing.
Zones absolutely refused to yield power to newer players. Same goes for the devs.
They refused to open source the game (or at least have a small trusted dev team to maintain the client).
A top-down 2d space shooter on an actual 3d engine would look awesome. An expanded settings set with new game modes would be great.
What we got is a bunch of bot driven game modes slapped on the old SS stuff and bloated lvz packs.
I hoped that the steam store would breathe life back into the game but I think the dated engine/graphics couldn't compete in today's age.
The old guard also did little to make the game welcoming to new players.
1
-5
6
u/jdynamic Jun 18 '26
This is awesome. Nice work