Thousand Parsec
Encyclopedia
Thousand Parsec is a free
and open source
project with the goal of creating a framework
for turn-based space empire building games.
Thousand Parsec is a framework for creating a specific group of games, which are often called 4X games, from the main phases of gameplay that arise: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. Some examples of games from which Thousand Parsec draws ideas are Reach for the Stars, Stars!
, VGA Planets
, Master of Orion
and Galactic Civilizations
.
Unlike commercial alternatives, it is designed for long games supporting universes as large as the player's computer can handle. It allows a high degree of player customization, and features a flexible technology system, where new technologies may be introduced mid-game.
. Later, Tim decided to try starting a full open source project to become the "Worldforge
" of space empire games. He hoped that this would encourage other people who didn't want to just clone Stars! to help out with the project and give it a broader appeal. After the announcement of the project Lee Begg was the only person who joined it. Lee remained the only other major contributor until early 2007.
By the year 2006 Thousand Parsec had not reached the envisioned goals. Partly the problem had been in the underestimation of the amount of work needed and partly because the project did not initially attract any new developers. Despite these setbacks, Thousand Parsec has a huge code base of framework; according to the Ohloh
project stats, the project has produced 95,000 lines of code , while Thousand Parsecs own code count puts it at 90,000. The number of features left before full games of the complexity of Stars! can be produced is extremely small. According to the software analysis website Ohloh
the project has had 47 individual contributors.
Progress since late 2006 and early 2007 has been increasing rapidly with a number of new developers joining the project. The project also went on a recruitment drive by running an AI programming competition and active promotion during linux.conf.au
.
In 2007 Thousand Parsec was allocated 3 slots in the 2007 Google Summer of Code
.
In 2008 Thousand Parsec was fortunate enough to be allocated 8 slots for Google Summer of Code
. Projects include three new rulesets, a 3D client, three AI-related projects, and a project to extend the server and create a single-player mode.
In 2009 Thousand Parsec again participated in the Google Summer of Code
, being given 7 slots.
Thousand Parsec has had significant success in developing students into full-fledged contributors;
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
and open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
project with the goal of creating a framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
for turn-based space empire building games.
Thousand Parsec is a framework for creating a specific group of games, which are often called 4X games, from the main phases of gameplay that arise: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. Some examples of games from which Thousand Parsec draws ideas are Reach for the Stars, Stars!
Stars!
Stars! is a complex turn-based computer game based around the management of planets and fleets of spaceships following the 4X game model...
, VGA Planets
VGA Planets
VGA Planets is a graphical, multi-player, space strategy war game. The game simulates combat in space between galactic scale empires. The game emphasizes colonization of space and the development of the planets that you find, colonize or conquer. Development of these resources determines what kind...
, Master of Orion
Master of Orion
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing...
and Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy computer game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of a vintage OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in July 2004...
.
Unlike commercial alternatives, it is designed for long games supporting universes as large as the player's computer can handle. It allows a high degree of player customization, and features a flexible technology system, where new technologies may be introduced mid-game.
History
Development of the project (under a different name) was started in January 2002 by Tim Ansell. Originally it was going to be a simple clone of Stars!Stars!
Stars! is a complex turn-based computer game based around the management of planets and fleets of spaceships following the 4X game model...
. Later, Tim decided to try starting a full open source project to become the "Worldforge
WorldForge
The WorldForge project is producing an open source framework for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The intent lies in creating a widely used development framework and set of libraries by motivating interested developers to improve on the original code.-History:The WorldForge Project...
" of space empire games. He hoped that this would encourage other people who didn't want to just clone Stars! to help out with the project and give it a broader appeal. After the announcement of the project Lee Begg was the only person who joined it. Lee remained the only other major contributor until early 2007.
By the year 2006 Thousand Parsec had not reached the envisioned goals. Partly the problem had been in the underestimation of the amount of work needed and partly because the project did not initially attract any new developers. Despite these setbacks, Thousand Parsec has a huge code base of framework; according to the Ohloh
Ohloh
Ohloh is a website which provides a web services suite and online community platform that aims to map the landscape of open source software development. It was founded by former Microsoft managers Jason Allen and Scott Collison in 2004 and joined by the developer Robin Luckey...
project stats, the project has produced 95,000 lines of code , while Thousand Parsecs own code count puts it at 90,000. The number of features left before full games of the complexity of Stars! can be produced is extremely small. According to the software analysis website Ohloh
Ohloh
Ohloh is a website which provides a web services suite and online community platform that aims to map the landscape of open source software development. It was founded by former Microsoft managers Jason Allen and Scott Collison in 2004 and joined by the developer Robin Luckey...
the project has had 47 individual contributors.
Progress since late 2006 and early 2007 has been increasing rapidly with a number of new developers joining the project. The project also went on a recruitment drive by running an AI programming competition and active promotion during linux.conf.au
Linux.conf.au
linux.conf.au is Australasia's regional Linux and Open Source conference. It is a roaming conference, held in a different city every year, coordinated by Linux Australia and organised by local volunteers....
.
In 2007 Thousand Parsec was allocated 3 slots in the 2007 Google Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code
The Google Summer of Code is an annual program, first held from May to August 2005, in which Google awards stipends to hundreds of students who successfully complete a requested free or open-source software coding project during the summer...
.
In 2008 Thousand Parsec was fortunate enough to be allocated 8 slots for Google Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code
The Google Summer of Code is an annual program, first held from May to August 2005, in which Google awards stipends to hundreds of students who successfully complete a requested free or open-source software coding project during the summer...
. Projects include three new rulesets, a 3D client, three AI-related projects, and a project to extend the server and create a single-player mode.
In 2009 Thousand Parsec again participated in the Google Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code
The Google Summer of Code is an annual program, first held from May to August 2005, in which Google awards stipends to hundreds of students who successfully complete a requested free or open-source software coding project during the summer...
, being given 7 slots.
Thousand Parsec has had significant success in developing students into full-fledged contributors;
Local developer Eugene Tan, who last year contributed code to the Thousand Parsec project--an open source framework computer game--was invited by the project's lead developer to mentor this year's participants for the project. Tan told ZDNet Asia: "Returning as a mentor is important to me because this is in keeping with the spirit of the open source community, where I am sharing my knowledge and contributing my expertise to collaborate with other programmers to develop better, more innovative applications."