[February 2003] For a few months Andy focussed entirely on the landscape generator, and these are the first screenshots of it actually working. The landscape you see in these screenshots is entirely procedurally generated and coloured, and the code that drives that generator is still in the final game today, albeit with many extra bells and whistles. During this time Chris hit upon the idea of just getting those sprite type creatures (which were called Laser Troopers at the time) to fight each other. The screenshot on the right shows this in action. It wasn't actually playable but it was very entertaining to watch.

[April 2003] Finally, after 10 months of development, we have some gameplay. The Laser Troops were extended and armed with grenades, and basic unit AI was written so they knew how to fight each other. The coloured cube buildings just spawned Laser Troops in batches, so they became the battle hotspots. This version was "playable" in multiplayer, although your control over the outcome was limited. Still, it was highly entertaining to watch the battles unfold.

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