Battle Drones - a vibe coded RTS with audio-based multiplayer

20th October 2026 My latest vibe coded game experiment is a Command & Conquer style RTS (Real Time Strategy) game called Battle Drones (play it here). Unlike my previous experiments, this one is actually fun to play. I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I got there by telling Claude to “Make it a LOT more fun”. It also supports multiplayer between nearby devices using audio to synchronize game state! Here’s what I’ve built so far, and some of the things I learned along the way. Battle Drones How I built this v1: the initial prototype v2: full sprites v3: varied terrain v4: the fun update v5: Battle Drones goes 3D v8: Archipelago v10: Goliath, and agent battles Agent battles v11: Random Maps v12: Multiplayer via sound Some thoughts Update: Online multiplayer support Battle Drones My initial goal was to build an RTS game I could play on my phone, in the style of Command & Conquer. I have fond memories of the 1995 original (I liked Red Alert too) and wanted to recapture a little bit of the magic. After 12 major iterations (and 321 commits by coding agents, mainly Claude Code) I now have a browser-based game that works on mobile and desktop, has multiple play modes, several maps (including a random map generator) and even supports multiplayer for two devices within microphone range of each other. (Update: also online multiplayer; the audio multiplayer induced headaches!) Here’s a video demo of Battle Drones running in a desktop browser: Features so far include: 9 buildings, 7 ground vehicles, 6 aerial vehicles, 3 infantry units—all 3D models, which you can browse here Fog of war Different weapons are needed to target aerial or ground vehicles Six maps, across five biomes—temperate, desert, arctic, volcanic, tropical A random map generator Skirmish mode—red vs. blue on a rotationally symmetrical map Last Stand mode—one player holds out against as many waves of enemies as possible Area effect weapons: Barrage, EMP, Drop Pod, Sky Hammer Crate drops with bonus resources In-game music that responds to events—it gets more intense as fighting breaks out Different in-game AI personalities (Balanced, Rush, Air Swarm, Boom, Skyforce, Ironclad) AI vs. AI mode, to watch those personalities play each other The Goliath—a giant stomping mech with laser eyes and arm cannons and the ability to establish a new base Mutators that add extra rules or twists A “Daily Op” challenge Ranks and achievements (Medals) Agent vs. Agent mode where two LLMs can play Battle …