What kind of beast Voidcall 13 KB RTS is: rules, tricks and a few tips

The igrasu.ru catalog holds hundreds of games, and this is one people keep coming back to. Here is how it works and how to get the most out of it.

What this game is

Voidcall (VOIDCALL) — an isometric 3D real-time strategy made for the 2019 js13k competition. The whole engine fits in 13 kilobytes: a custom WebGL renderer (no three.js), a procedural Perlin-noise map, A* pathfinding and Sonant-X synthesized sound — not a single external asset, everything is computed and drawn by code. A squad of six marines is stranded on a hostile planet. After a short intro cutscene, control kicks in: marquee-select units with the mouse, issue orders by clicking the ground, pan the camera with the arrow keys or WASD, cycle the squad with Tab, right-click to cancel. The engineer builds harvesters on the energy wells, which pump up the charge needed to launch the ship; the medic patches people up while the grunts and the marksman hold off the creatures crawling in from the edges of the map. The goal is to fill the energy bar and escort every survivor to the lander — however many make it back, that's your score. On touch devices: an on-screen camera D-pad, ALL / CYCLE / BUILD / CANCEL buttons and dragging a finger across the map to select and command. WebGL required.

How to play, in short

1. Voidcall (VOIDCALL) — an isometric 3D real-time strategy made for the 2019 js13k competition.

2. The whole engine fits in 13 kilobytes: a custom WebGL renderer (no three.js), a procedural Perlin-noise map, A* pathfinding and Sonant-X synthesized sound — not a single external asset, everything is computed and drawn by code.

3. A squad of six marines is stranded on a hostile planet.

4. After a short intro cutscene, control kicks in: marquee-select units with the mouse, issue orders by clicking the ground, pan the camera with the arrow keys or WASD, cycle the squad with Tab, right-click to cancel.

5. The engineer builds harvesters on the energy wells, which pump up the charge needed to launch the ship; the medic patches people up while the grunts and the marksman hold off the creatures crawling in from the edges of the map.

6. The goal is to fill the energy bar and escort every survivor to the lander — however many make it back, that's your score.

7. On touch devices: an on-screen camera D-pad, ALL / CYCLE / BUILD / CANCEL buttons and dragging a finger across the map to select and command.

8. WebGL required.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

Take note: it works great solo and in a "my high score is bigger" company. Ready to try? "Voidcall 13 KB RTS"