Zappy GUI

A 3D graphical client for the Zappy network game, built as a Godot 4 GDExtension in C++. It connects to a Zappy server over TCP as a passive graphical observer and renders the match in real time.

This download is the GUI only. To run an actual match you also need the server and the AI, both available in the source repository: github.com/alrikn/Zappy

What it shows

• A toroidal map seeded with food and six minerals, rendered in 3D.
• Autonomous AI players (Trantorians) wandering, foraging and forking.
• Group incantation rituals with VFX as teams elevate from level 1 to 8.
• Broadcasts visualized as expanding sound ripples.
• Eggs, resource piles, and a live HUD: teams, inventories, time unit.
• RTS-style camera and a day/night cycle.

How to use it

Zappy needs three programs: a server, the AI, and this GUI. Get the server and AI from the repository, then open three terminals:

1. Server:
   ./zappy_server -p 4242 -x 20 -y 20 -n team1 -c 6 -f 100
2. GUI (this download):
   ./zappy_gui (Windows: zappy_gui.exe)
3. AI (launch one — it forks itself into a full team):
   ./Ai/zappy_ai -p 4242 -n team1 -h localhost

Point the GUI at the server's host and port (default localhost:4242). Add more teams by passing extra names to the server (-n team1 team2 ...) and launching one AI per team. Full setup, flags and AI instructions are in the repository.

Platform note: the GUI runs on both Windows and Linux. The server is Linux only (it is not buildable/runnable on Windows), so to play on Windows you need a Linux machine (or WSL/VM) on the network to host the server. The AI is written in Python: the ./Ai/zappy_ai launcher is a shell script for Linux, but on Windows you can run it directly with Python — for example python Ai/heuristic_ai/main.py -p 4242 -n team1 -h localhost.

Requirements

• A GPU capable of running a Godot 4 (Vulkan/OpenGL) application.
• A reachable Zappy server (Linux, run locally or anywhere on your LAN).
• Python 3 to run the AI.

Credits

Assets

• Sky shader — Godot Skies by Binbun (CC0 1.0)
• Incantation VFX — Loot VFX - Godot 3D by Binbun (CC0 1.0)
• Skeleton player model — Animated Low Poly Skeleton Pack by Overaction Game Studio (CC0 1.0)
• Mineral models (linemate, deraumere, sibur, mendiane, phiras, thystame) — Lowpoly Minerals & Gems by SimplePolygon (attribution required) — Sketchfab · Website · itch.io
• Food model (meat) — 3D Foods for Games by To.ony
• Terrain wall texture (dirt) — Tiny Texture Pack 2 by Screaming Brain Studios (CC0 1.0)

Source, server and AI: github.com/alrikn/Zappy