Galaxy Trucker Multiplayer Digital Adaptation

This project is a complete digital transposition of the complex board game Galaxy Trucker. Developed as a comprehensive Software Engineering project, it features a highly decoupled Client-Server architecture utilizing the classic Model-View-Controller (MVC) paradigm.

Note: The repository (IS25-AM06) is currently private to comply with academic integrity policies.

Architecture & Technology Stack

The game was engineered to support multiple concurrent players in a robust, fault-tolerant environment.

  • Core Language: Pure Java (JDK 21+).
  • Build System: Project structure, dependency management, and build lifecycles were entirely orchestrated using Maven.
  • Quality Assurance: Rigorous unit and integration testing implemented with JUnit 5 to ensure the complex game rules and network protocols functioned flawlessly.
  • MVC & “Fat Client” Paradigm: The Server holds the definitive Model (game state and validation logic). The clients are designed as “Fat Clients,” meaning they maintain a synchronized copy of the view state to render the game locally, significantly reducing network payload and server computational load.

Dual Networking Protocols

A major architectural requirement was abstracting the network layer so the game logic remains agnostic to the connection type. The system supports two distinct communication protocols seamlessly:

  1. Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation): Utilizing Java’s native high-level API for seamless remote object manipulation.
  2. Custom TCP Sockets: Implemented a custom serialization and message-passing protocol over raw sockets for clients requiring lightweight or firewall-friendly connections.

Dual User Interfaces

To provide accessibility across different environments, the client application supports two completely distinct rendering engines, both hooking into the same underlying client-side controller logic:

  • Graphical User Interface (GUI): A rich, interactive, and fully responsive visual interface built with JavaFX.
  • Text-Based User Interface (TUI): A terminal-based interface utilizing ANSI escape codes for rendering the game board, tiles, and menus directly in the command line.

Key Technical Challenges Addressed

  • Advanced Concurrency & Multi-threading: Handled the rigorous complexities of multiple clients modifying the game state simultaneously. Implemented thread-safe collections and synchronization locks to prevent race conditions during real-time tile grabbing phases.
  • Network Resilience: Engineered robust ping/pong heartbeat mechanisms to detect client disconnections, gracefully handle player reconnections, and pause/resume game states without crashing the server.
  • State Synchronization: Designed an efficient broadcast system using the Observer pattern to push localized state updates to all connected Fat Clients whenever the central Model changes.

Repository: View on GitHub (Currently Private)weight: 999