# Swarm MMO

> A free, persistent browser-based space strategy MMO. Claim planets, grow probe
> swarms, capture suns and black holes, and collapse a galaxy to win.

## What is Swarm MMO?

Swarm MMO is a real-time multiplayer space strategy game that runs entirely in the
browser, with no download and no account required. Players own planets, produce
probes, launch swarms to conquer territory, and compete for galactic domination.
The world is persistent — your planets keep producing while you are offline.

## Key Features

- Free to play, no download, no sign-up required (guest play by default)
- Works on desktop and mobile browsers, installable as a PWA with push notifications
- Persistent universe that runs 24/7
- Procedurally generated spiral galaxies; new galaxies spawn as existing ones fill up
- A win condition: collapse a galaxy's black hole
- Clans, in-game chat, and a live leaderboard of top players and clans
- Not pay-to-win — the premium currency buys cosmetics only

## How to Play

1. Open https://www.swarm-mmo.com and press Play to start as a guest (the game
   itself is at https://www.swarm-mmo.com/play)
2. You spawn with a home planet in a galaxy's outer spawn ring, surrounded by neutrals
3. Every planet you own produces probes each minute (a level-L planet makes L per minute)
4. Drag from your planet to a target and release, then pick how many probes to send
5. Win the fight on arrival and the planet becomes yours; probes sent to your own or
   an ally's planets reinforce them instead
6. Upgrade planets from their menu to raise production (cost: 100 x level^2 probes)
7. Capture suns for energy income, then black holes to win the galaxy
8. Form or join a clan — clan members are allies and share in a clan win

## Game Mechanics

- **Planets**: levels 1-10. Production is level probes per minute. There is **no
  capacity limit** and probes never decay, so stockpiling is safe.
- **Upgrades**: 100 x level^2 probes to reach the next level (100 for L2, 400 for L3,
  ... up to L10). Can be automated per planet.
- **Swarms**: within a galaxy every probe arrives — there is **no attrition in
  transit**, and any target is reachable. The cost of distance is *speed*.
- **Intergalactic launches lose 50%**: a swarm whose target sits in a different galaxy
  is halved at launch. The source pays the full cost; only half ever flies.
- **Swarm speed**: set by where the swarm launches from, not by its size. Launching
  near a galaxy's rim is up to 4x base speed; deep in the core as slow as 1/4x.
- **Capture**: arriving probes fight the defending garrison; whoever has more left
  holds the body.
- **Suns**: captured with **super-probes** — on arrival every 100 probes becomes 1
  super-probe (leftovers are lost), so an attack needs at least 100 probes. Suns
  produce no garrison of their own; theirs comes only from combat. Each sun you own
  pays 1 energy per minute.
- **Black holes**: one at every galaxy core, the top objective. Attack from a sun you
  own; every 100 super-probes becomes 1 megaprobe on arrival. Own a black hole with
  1,000 megaprobes and collapse it to **win the galaxy** — this wipes that galaxy and
  pays 10,000 energy (in a clan, every member receives the full amount).
- **Energy & tech**: energy is a personal research currency spent on five upgrades
  (Velocity, Construction, Defense, Toughness, Conversion), each up to level 100,
  costing 100 x next level. Tech only applies within the radius of a sun owned by you
  or a clan ally.
- **Automation**: planets can auto-attack a target at a probe threshold (100-10,000),
  suns can auto-relay super-probes, and planets can auto-upgrade.
- **Multi-select**: select many planets (or many suns) and attack from all at once.
- **Maps**: Default, Strategic (recolors by relation, blinks bodies under attack), and
  Logistics (supply lines, planets missing automation). All three are free.
- **Clans**: members count as allies, so swarms sent to them reinforce. The leader
  handles invites and can kick members.
- **Cosmetics**: credits (bought with real money) buy skins, empire recolors, and a
  tech-upgrade reset. They never affect combat.

## Accounts

- Guest play starts instantly; progress lives on a token in local storage
- Optionally link an email to keep progress across devices (magic link, no password)
- A verified account is required to buy credits or cosmetics
- Losing every planet does not delete your account; you can restart from the user
  panel to respawn with a fresh home planet
- Inactive guest accounts are recycled (never-active after 1 hour, idle after 7 days)

## Technical Details

- SpacetimeDB backend for persistence and real-time state sync
- React frontend with canvas rendering; spatial chunking streams only what is on screen
- Progressive Web App with a service worker and web push

## Links

- Home: https://www.swarm-mmo.com
- Play: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/play
- Wiki (how to play): https://www.swarm-mmo.com/wiki
- Getting started: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/wiki/getting-started
- Leaderboard: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/leaderboard
- Patch notes: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/patch-notes
- Genre and comparisons: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/space-strategy-games
- Compared to OGame: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/space-strategy-games/like-ogame
- Compared to Galcon: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/space-strategy-games/like-galcon
- As an idle game: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/space-strategy-games/idle
- German: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/de/
- Full reference: https://www.swarm-mmo.com/llms-full.txt
- Discord: https://discord.gg/82mEuFVGdN