Signal Surge

Game Programmer

April 2025

Strategy

Itch

Signal Surge is a prototype strategy game built to train USAF 338th Airmen in network security and infrastructure management under deployed conditions. Players must build, defend and troubleshoot a rapidly evolving communications network, balancing physical fortifications with cyber-defenses, while under constant threat of enemy raids, signal jamming, spoofing attacks, and more.

Technical features:

Hex-Grid System:
– Assign each tile one of several terrains (Forest, Mountains, Desert, Enemy Base) and adjust its elevation to model real-world line-of-sight and latency effects on network links.
– Capture Performance Points by extending your network to remote nodes on the grid view.

Network Layer:
– Plot end-to-end connections, monitor throughput, and rapidly diagnose faults under field-conditions constraints (power, hostile interference, physical damage).

Dynamic Enemy Threats:
– Physical Attacks (base raids, sabotage) and Cyber Attacks (signal jamming, network spoofing) can be scheduled or triggered randomly via a fully modular event system:

Scheduled Events:
– Define exact timestamps and ScriptableObject events.

Probabilistic Events:
– Specify an active time window, probability rate, maximum occurrences, and minimum interval to let events fire at unpredictable moments.

Air-Strike Support:
– Earn the right to call in precision air-strikes once you’ve amassed enough Performance Points.

Immersive Presentation:
– High-fidelity base-raid cinematics, real-time frequency-jamming overlays, and dynamic VFX for bomb drops and recon flights reinforce the “in-theatre” feel.

Click on the Itch link and hit Play

Select tiles with Left Click to perform an action
Right Click and drag to move the camera

In the network, your goal is to connect your base (yellow sphere) to as many remote nodes as you can, and collect performance points

Once you collect enough performance points, you can eliminate an enemy base. This is the only way to stop an enemy attack!

Win by surviving the whole day!