Pheromander

About The Game

Pheromander is a real-time strategy game about swarms. You are in control of a colony of ant-like agents. Your duty is to expand and protect your colony by collecting resources and defeating enemies. Similar to real ants, you cannot instruct your agents directly. Instead, you have to create pheromone trails to guide them towards resources and to coordinate battles.

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Features

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Unique controls

Unlike other RTS games, Pheromander does not allow to select units and order them to a destination by clicking. Instad, you have to emit pheromones on the map. Agents perceive those and follow the trail according to their respective task: Collect resources or fight enemies.

Simulation Mode

In simulation mode you can create custom maps by adding/removing resources and enemies to/from the map. This allows you to test and evaluate different scenarios and focus on certain aspects of controlling agents via pheromones.

Challenge Mode

In challenge mode you have only a fixed period of time to gather as many resources as possible. For each resource brought back to your base by your agents, points are awarded to you. Master the way of pheromone-based swarm controls and achieve your personal highscore!

Experimentation

An important part of pheromone-based controls is to understand the various properties influencing the system. Pheromander allows you to change and adjust diffusion and evaporation of pheromones, agent's area of perception and many more attributes on the fly. This way you can experiment and evaluate the effects of these parameters on the emergent behavior of the system.

Tutorial

Pheromone based systems are a complex topic. To help you getting started, check out the tutorial that introduces Pheromander's most important features!

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