Star Destroyer 2026 🚀

A retro space shooter arcade game inspired by the classic Starship arcade game. Playable in both the Windows command prompt (Python) and in your browser (HTML/CSS/JS)!

Features

• 🎮 5 Levels of increasing difficulty with aliens and comets
• 👾 Green Aliens - Enemy ships that move side-to-side and shoot back
• ☄️ Red Comets - Incoming projectiles with diagonal trajectories
• 🚀 Blue Spaceship - Player ship with smooth controls
• ⚡ Rapid Fire Boost (Yellow) - Doubles fire rate for 8 seconds
• 💥 Big Bomb Boost (Orange) - Screen-clearing explosion
• ❤️ 3 Lives per game with invincibility frames
• 📊 Score System - 10pts per alien, 15pts per comet, level bonuses
• 🎵 Procedural Sound Effects via Web Audio API (browser version)
• 🖥️ Retro Terminal Aesthetic with CRT scanline overlay (browser version)

Project Structure

star-destroyer-2026/
├── python/
│   └── star_destroyer.py      # Python CLI game (main executable)
├── cpp_helper/
│   ├── console_gfx.cpp         # C++ DLL for enhanced console graphics
│   └── console_gfx.h           # Header file
├── web/
│   ├── index.html              # Browser version entry point
│   ├── style.css               # Retro terminal styling
│   └── script.js               # Full game logic in JavaScript
└── README.md

How to Play

Python CLI Version (Command Prompt)

cd python
python star_destroyer.py

Controls:

• ← → Arrow keys - Move ship
• SPACE - Shoot
• B - Use Bomb (screen clear)
• Q - Quit
• Y / N - Yes / No (for Play Again prompts)

Note: The console_gfx.dll is optional. The game falls back to ANSI escape codes if the DLL is not available.

Browser Version (HTML/JS)

Simply open web/index.html in your browser, or serve with any HTTP server:

# Using Python
cd web
python -m http.server 8000
# Then open http://localhost:8000

# Using Node.js
npx serve web

Controls:

• ← → ↑ ↓ Arrow keys - Move ship
• SPACE - Shoot
• B - Use Bomb
• Y / N - Yes / No (for Play Again prompts)

C++ DLL Compilation (Optional)

To build the console helper DLL for enhanced graphics:

cd cpp_helper
g++ -shared -o console_gfx.dll console_gfx.cpp -Wl,--out-implib,libconsole_gfx.a

Then copy console_gfx.dll to the python/ directory.

Color Scheme

Element	Color
Player Ship	🔵 Blue
Alien Enemies	🟢 Green
Comets	🔴 Red
Rapid Fire Boost	🟡 Yellow
Big Bomb Boost	🟠 Orange
Bullets	⚪ White

Game Mechanics

• Rapid Fire (F): Catch the yellow 'F' falling from the top for 8 seconds of rapid shooting
• Big Bomb (B): Catch the orange 'B' to gain a screen-clearing bomb (max 3)
• Aliens: Destroy all aliens to advance. From Level 3+, aliens shoot back!
• Comets: Appearing from Level 2+, comets fly diagonally and must be destroyed
• Levels: Complete all 5 levels to become the Star Destroyer!

Requirements

• Python: Python 3.6+ (msvcrt module - Windows only)
• C++: MinGW/g++ for compiling the DLL (optional)
• Browser: Any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)

License

Free to play and modify! Star Destroyer 2026.