I made a 3D networked open world automation game with no game engine
Over the last 4 years I've been developing Skyformer, including making all the art. Technical features include: - OpenGL for graphics, OpenAL for sound, GLFW for input - Terrain rendered using techniques inspired by REDengine 3 with a custom terrain/world editor. - Networking framework for co-op with TCP + custom binary protocol - Immediate mode UI framework, SDF text rendering - Cascaded shadow mapping with soft shadows. - Weather simulation (with my own fake physics) - Dynamic skydome - Water based on Gerstner waves - Swept-sphere collision detection and response - Soft-particles…
I made a 3D networked open world automation game with no game engine launched on June 9, 2025 with 19 votes, #820 of 7,999 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 1 year on.
In plain words
Skyformer is a 3D open-world automation game built without a commercial game engine, featuring custom-built graphics, networking, and physics systems. Players can explore procedurally rendered terrain, build automated systems, and play cooperatively online. The creator built all art assets and engineered core systems including terrain rendering, real-time weather simulation, water effects, and collision detection, targeting players interested in automation gameplay and technical depth.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Create an automated system that terraforms a planet with an army of drones. Craft and build bases, set up a weather monitoring system, prepare to survive different types of storms, and take control of the climate and biomes! Play alone or up to 4 player co-op.
Upgrade your abilities and terraform to expand the area you can explore. You have both a health and charge meter that can get heavily upgraded over time. Set up systems to monitor storms and deploy resources to protect buildings in their path. Build out a skybase that houses a data center and launches rockets. Discover and grow various plants and stabilize the climate to make the planet habitable. Watch as the visibility increases to reveal your creation and the planet transforms dramatically from a barren to lush environment. Create systems to mine and process materials in automated pipelines. Configure drones to easily handle the logistics. Skyformer’s automation is different from that of…from store.steampowered.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
Over the last 4 years I've been developing Skyformer, including making all the art. Technical features include: - OpenGL for graphics, OpenAL for sound, GLFW for input - Terrain rendered using techniques inspired by REDengine 3 with a custom terrain/world editor. - Networking framework for co-op with TCP +…
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