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BSc in Informatics and Computing Engineering
L.EIC014 - Software Design and Testing Laboratory
2024/2025

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Collaborators 🤝

Name	Number
João Marques	up202307612
Tomás Morais	up202304692
Tomás Silva	up202307796

Grade : 16,2

Space Ranger Project Report

The Space can be a dangerous place. In this 2D space shooter, traverse through the cosmos in a heart pumping adventure where you will dodge asteroids, fight the hardest battles and reclaim space from your enemies

• Controls
  • Menu Controls
  • Level Controls
• Game Screenshots
• Implemented Features
• Structure and Design Patterns
  • Singleton
  • Model - View - Controller (MVC)
  • State
  • Game Loop Pattern
• Sound Management
• Known Code Smells
• UML Class Diagram
• Testing
  • Test Coverage

Controls

Menu Controls

• Up/Down Arrow Key -> Navigate through options;
• ENTER -> Select option;
• Key y/Y -> Confirm exit of the game; *
• Key n/N -> Go back to the menu. *

• When the Exit option is selected

Level Controls

• Up Arrow Key -> Move the ship up;
• Down Arrow Key -> Move the ship down;
• Key a/A -> Fire projectile;
• Key s/S -> Fire bomb;
• Key q/Q -> Exit the game.

Game Screenshots

Gif 1 - Menu

Gif 2 - Level 1

Gif 3 - Level 2

Gif 4 - Level 3

Fig. 1 - Game Over Screen

Fig. 2 - Victory Screen

Implemented Features

Menu - When the game starts, a menu is displayed. On top the name of the game, Space Ranger, is shown, followed by four available options: Start Game (Level1), Start Level 2, Start Level 3 and Exit. The player can navigate through the menu using the Up and Down arrow keys and select an option by pressing ENTER.

Menu Music - While the player stays in the menu, background music will play.

Start Level Options - If the player selects one of the Start Level options, the game begins at the referenced level. For example, selecting Start Level 2 starts at level 2.

Starting Level Screen - After one of the Start Level options is selected, the screen turns black and displays Starting Level X, for a few seconds before the level begins.

Exit Option - If the player selects Exit, the screen turns black with the message Are you sure you want to exit?. At this point, pressing Y ends the game; pressing N returns to the menu.

Levels - The game has 3 levels, each progressively more difficult. Difficulty increases due to faster asteroids, more enemies, tougher enemy types, and more projectiles.

Ship - The player controls a ship with 3 health points. Each hit reduces health by 1. At 0, it’s GAME OVER.

Moving The Ship - The ship moves up or down with arrow keys.

Firing Projectiles - Pressing A fires a projectile. It’s destroyed if it hits an asteroid, enemy, or enemy projectile.

Firing Bombs - Pressing S fires a bomb. Bombs cannot be destroyed and clear a 2x2 radius. The ship has 5 bombs.

Asteroids - Infinite asteroids appear from the right. Colliding with one = GAME OVER.

Enemies - Enemies come in three types: blue (1 health), yellow (3), red (5). All are destroyed by a single bomb.

Moving Enemies - Enemies move left but stop at a certain x coordinate.

Projectiles Fired by Enemies - Enemies occasionally fire projectiles, destroyed upon collision.

Explosions - Triggered when an enemy dies, the ship is hit, or projectiles collide.

Level Design - Space-themed scenery, bordered by grey frame. Level number at top, controls at bottom.

Health Bar - Top left, shown as green hearts.

Remaining Bombs Displayer - Below health bar, shows bombs left.

Remaining Enemies Displayer - Top right, shows enemies remaining.

Stars - Constantly flash in the background.

Level Music - Unique track per level.

Sound Effects - For projectiles, bombs, and explosions.

Game Progression - Defeating all enemies progresses to the next level.

Victory Screen - After level 3, displays YOU WON!! THANKS FOR PLAYING, with victory audio.

Quitting the Game - Pressing Q exits the game.

Game Over Screen - If the ship is destroyed or game is exited, displays GAME OVER, with audio.

Structure and Design Patterns

The Application class contains main, which initializes Game and calls start().

We implemented: Singleton, Model-View-Controller (MVC), State, and Game Loop.

Singleton

Reasons

Certain classes should only have one instance during runtime. For that, Singleton was used.

Implementation

Game, Level1, Level2, Level3 - Use getInstance() to check/create a single instance.

Consequences

• Only one instance exists at runtime;
• Better runtime control.

Model - View - Controller (MVC)

Reasons

Originally, one class mixed Model, View, and Controller logic → violating the Single Responsibility Principle. Splitting into Model, View, and Controller solved this.

Implementation

Model

Contains the data and logic of game elements.

• Element - General base for all elements (with coordinates).
• Position - Defines x/y coordinates.
• LiveElement - Elements with health (e.g., Ship, Enemy).
• Ship - Subclass of LiveElement.
• Enemy - Abstract subclass of LiveElement. Generalizes:
  • EasierEnemy, AverageEnemy, HarderEnemy.
• ShipProjectile, EnemyProjectile, Bomb, Explosion, Boundary, Asteroid, Star - Constructors & drawing logic.
• Level - Generalizes levels; has abstract methods for specifics.
• Level1, Level2, Level3 - Implement details of each level.

View

Responsible for visuals.

• LevelViewer - drawScreen(), drawLevel(), drawBeforeGameOver().
• ElementGroupViewer - Interface for drawing grouped elements.
• AsteroidViewer, ProjectileViewer, BombViewer, ExplosionViewer, EnemyViewer, BoundaryViewer, ShipProjectileViewer, EnemyProjectileViewer, StarViewer - Implement element drawing.
• ShipViewer - Draws the ship.
• StatusBar - Interface for status bars.
• BombBar, ControlsBar, EnemiesBar, HealthBar, LevelBar - Implement status bars.
• BlackScreenWithText - Interface for black screen + white text.
• GameCompletionViewer, GameOverViewer - Implement BlackScreenWithText.
• MenuViewer - Draws menu + black screens (Loading Level, Exit?).

Controller

Handles input and element behavior.

• LevelController - processKey(), updateGame(), runLevel().
• ShipController - Handles ship movement.
• EnemyController - Handles enemy movement.
• ProjectileController - General base for projectile logic.
• AgainstEnemiesProjectileController - For ShipProjectileController, BombController. Moves right.
• AgainstShipProjectileController - For EnemyProjectileController, AsteroidController. Moves left.
• ShipProjectileController, EnemyProjectileController, BombController, AsteroidController - Collision + movement logic.
• MenuController - startLevel(), handleExit(), handleInputInExit().

Consequences

• More organized code;
• Easier to modify;
• Closer to Single Responsibility Principle.

State

Reasons

Menu, Game Over, Victory, and Level classes can all be treated as states of Game.

Implementation

• GameStates - Enum of 6 states + NULL.
• GameState - Interface for state logic + transitions.
• MenuState - Menu logic.
• Level1State, Level2State - Handle transitions between levels or to Game Over.
• Level3State - Transitions to Game Completion or Game Over.
• GameOverState, GameCompletionState - End screens.
• Game - Maintains running state via start(), updates with setState().

Consequences

• State transitions separated from rest of code;
• Clearer and explicit game flow.

Game Loop Pattern

Reasons

We wanted frame rate control (60 FPS) for smoothness.

Implementation

• LevelController - runLevel() loop calls updateGame(), drawLevel(), processKey().
• Game - start() initializes resources, runs while state ≠ NULL.

Consequences

• Smooth frame rate;
• Continuous updates;
• More immersive experience.

Sound Management

SoundPlayer - playSound(path), stopSound().

Audio files (.wav) stored in resources/.

Known Code Smells

All Error Prone issues fixed, no major smells remain.

UML Class Diagram

Testing

Test Coverage

Note: despite some failed tests, we kept them to increase coverage.