Starflight: The Remaking of a Legend (Unity 6 Port)

A modern port of the 1986 classic space exploration game Starflight, built with Unity 6. This project faithfully recreates the features of the CGA and EGA versions while utilizing current technology.

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🚀 2026 Modernization

The project has been refactored to a clean, root-directory architecture to eliminate legacy "zombie" assets and streamline development.

Key Engineering Changes

• Engine Upgrade: Fully migrated to Unity 6 (6000.3.2f1).
• Dependency Management: Removed deprecated third-party libraries (JsonDotNet, legacy FbxExporters) in favor of official Unity Registry packages.
• UI System: Migrated to official Unity UI & TextMeshPro packages.
• Input Handling: Restored and configured the EventSystem to support modern input modules.

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🎮 Features

• Deterministic Exploration: Navigate a fixed map of 270 star systems and approximately 800 predetermined planets, preserving the exact coordinates and data of the 1986 original.
• Data-Driven Architecture: Uses JSON-based definitions for game assets and player progress via the ISaveSystem.
• Combat System: Full implementation of laser cannons, missile launchers, shield absorption, armor damage, and AI combat behaviors with victory/defeat detection.
• Ship Destruction: Complete death sequences with explosion effects, debris spawning, and salvage opportunities.
• Game Over System: Player ship destruction triggers game over screen with restart to title functionality.
• Terrain Scanning: Enhanced exploration with 3D world-space labels, mineral detection, and Star Trek-style transporter effects.
• Cargo Management: Real-time volume tracking for minerals and elements with automatic transfer to the ship.
• Debris Scanning: Scan destroyed vessel wreckage for salvage analysis.

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🛠 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Unity 6 (6000.3.2f1 or later): This project utilizes Unity 6 features like Awaitable.
• VS Code: Recommended Editor with the "C# Dev Kit" installed.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone [https://github.com/cptjamestiberiouskirk-pixel/starflight-unity-port.git](https://github.com/cptjamestiberiouskirk-pixel/starflight-unity-port.git)

2. Open Unity Hub and click Add Project from Disk.
3. Select the root folder of the repository (where this README is located).
4. Open the Intro scene (found in Assets/Scenes/) to start.

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📂 Project Structure

Assets/
├── _MyCombatAssets/       # Custom combat audio, materials, and weapon VFX
├── 3rd Party/             # External plugins and legacy effect packages
├── Exported/              # Debug textures and terrain/heightmap exports
├── Fonts/                 # Project fonts
├── Game Objects/          # Prefab categories and 3D models
│   └── Aliens/            # High-fidelity alien assets (Thrynn, Spemin, etc.)
├── Music/                 # Game music and atmospheric tracks
├── Planet Generator/      # Deterministic generation data and editor-only tools
├── Resources/             # Runtime loadable assets (Required for deterministic system)
│   ├── Planets/           # Legacy binary data for ~800 fixed planets (0.bytes - 810.bytes)
│   ├── Prefabs/           # Critical managers (PlanetManager, Atmosphere)
│   └── Starflight Game Data.json # Primary project configuration
├── Scenes/                # Game scenes (Intro, Spaceflight, Starport, Persistent)
├── Scripts/               # Core game logic and system architecture
│   ├── Game Data/         # C# Data Classes/Models (GD_Planet, GD_Star, GD_Vessel)
│   ├── Persistent/        # Global managers (DataController, SoundController)
│   └── Spaceflight/       # Combat, Navigation, and UI interaction logic
├── Shaders/               # Custom Unity 6 shaders (Atmosphere, Clouds, Skybox)
├── Shared/                # Common materials, global colors, and noise textures
├── Sounds/                # UI feedback and environmental sound effects
├── TextMesh Pro/          # TMP Font assets and style definitions
├── Tools/                 # Editor utilities and mass-generation tools
├── UI/                    # Bridge graphics and UI specific sprite assets
├── UI Toolkit/            # Unity 6 UI Toolkit themes and UXML documents
└── Unity Player/          # Build-specific assets (Icons and Splash screens)

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🪐 Planet Rendering Architecture

The project features a deterministic visualization system that renders planet meshes and textures at runtime based on legacy data.

• Preservation First: It does NOT use random world generation. Procedural techniques (Jobs & Burst) translate original 8-bit heightmaps and biomes into modern 3D meshes.
• Unity Jobs & Burst: High-performance terrain generation ensures smooth planetary landings.
• Vertex Coloring: A custom TerrainJob assigns biome colors based on original fixed height and temperature data.

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👽 Alien Asset Status

• Thrynn.fbx: Currently ~74MB. Requires manual extraction of materials and potential polygon reduction to optimize performance.

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🎯 Current Development Status (v0.9.0)

✅ Completed Features

• Full starport operations (Personnel, Ship Config, Trading, Banking)
• Hyperspace navigation and star system exploration
• Planetary landing and terrain vehicle exploration
• 10 alien races with unique encounter behaviors
• Complete combat system with lasers, missiles, shields, armor
• Ship destruction with debris spawning
• Game over and restart functionality
• Save/load system with JSON persistence

🔧 In Progress

• Salvage collection from debris fields
• Additional alien ship 3D models (Veloxi ships)

📊 Completion: ~95%

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed version history.

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Original concept by the BraveArmy team. Unity 6 Port and Modernization by @cptjamestiberiouskirk-pixel.