What is Stellar Throne?
Stellar Throne is a turn-based 4X strategy game — Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate — where you command fleets, colonize worlds, negotiate peace (or war), and compete for control of the galaxy.

What inspired you to create it?
I've always loved science fiction, but the biggest influence on this project is Master of Orion (1993). It was my first real taste of interstellar conquest — and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.

What makes Stellar Throne different?
A few standout features set it apart:

• Tactical Combat

• Fuel Logistics Mechanics

• Giant Star Maps (800+ stars)

• Deep, Functional Diplomacy

It blends large-scale empire management with focused, tactical engagements — and logistical depth that rewards planning.

What’s your design philosophy?
Gameplay first. Instead of chasing ultra-realistic visuals, I'm designing a clean and readable aesthetic that helps players make smart decisions. Everything on screen should communicate something useful.

What tools are you using?
I’m building Stellar Throne in Zig using SDL2 for rendering. I’m also using LLMs (Claude Code, ChatGPT, Grok) to accelerate development — from code to art generation. This project started as a way to learn Agentic Coding, and it’s been transformative.

What does it look like?
The UI is futuristic but minimal — no clutter, no noise, just clean visuals that support intuitive play. I’m going for a lighter, slightly playful tone. Conquering the galaxy should be fun, not grim.

Who’s it for?
Hardcore strategy gamers of all ages. If you love deep systems, thinking a few moves ahead, and carving your legacy into the stars, you’re in the right place.

What’s been the hardest part so far?
Communicating with LLMs. It’s powerful, but requires precision — especially when describing bugs or edge cases. But once you get the hang of it, it’s like working with a hyper-productive assistant.

What are you most proud of?
The speed and scope of progress thanks to AI-assisted development. I’m tackling complex math, AI systems, and mechanics I’ve never built before — and doing it fast. It really feels like I’m not working alone.

What’s next?
An alpha release is coming soon to my itch.io page. You’ll be able to try the core loop and give feedback directly.

Where can people follow the project?
I'm actively blogging development updates at https://blog.mrphilgames.com — from tech deep-dives to design decisions.

Thanks for reading! If you’re a fan of 4X games or AI-assisted development, I’d love to connect. The stars await.

Over the past couple months, I’ve been diving into two emerging paradigms in the world of AI-assisted development: Agentic Coding and Vibe Coding. Both offer fascinating, albeit very different, approaches to working with intelligent systems. I wanted to document my early experiences to help clarify what each of these methods offers — and how they’ve influenced the way I build.

🧠 What Is Agentic Coding?

Agentic coding is all about giving AI systems goals rather than tasks. You describe what you want, and the agent figures out how to do it — often breaking it down into subtasks, iterating, and self-correcting as it goes. It’s not just autocomplete on steroids — it’s like having a junior, maybe even senior, engineer who can think, plan, and code on your behalf.

💻 My Experience So Far (Agentic)

At first, using agentic systems felt like magic — and mind-blowing. I'd give it a goal like “Add a notification system,” and the system would reason through the steps, generate the code, and even unit test the flow.

I found myself stepping into more of a product owner role, guiding the agent, reviewing its work, and steering its decisions.

Upsides:

• Huge productivity gains

• Great for building systems I haven’t implemented before

• Fast prototyping for game features

Downsides:

• Debugging can be strange — the system makes decisions I didn’t explicitly direct

• Describing visual/UI problems can be tough (though screenshots

  
  

   helps a lot)

That said, when paired with tight version control and a “trust but verify” mindset, it’s incredibly powerful — especially in fast-paced development cycles.

🎨 What Is Vibe Coding?

If agentic coding is about outsourcing the “how,” vibe coding is about expressing the feel of what you want and letting the AI fill in the details. It’s less like writing blueprints and more like painting in broad strokes.

You might say, “I want the galaxy to be a spiral like the Milky Way,” and the system codes a procedural generation system with spiral arms, a galactic center, and a visually accurate structure — and does it fast.

🚀 My Experience So Far (Vibe)

Vibe coding has felt incredibly intuitive — and liberating — especially for creative work.

When I’m building assets or UI for my game Stellar Throne, I don’t always know what the final design should look like. Vibe coding lets me describe the tone, mood, and visual direction, and get results that are often better than I imagined.

Highlights:

• Great for prototyping game visuals, UI layouts, procedural content

• Fast iteration and creative discovery

• Feels more like collaboration than delegation

Challenges:

• Sometimes results are too literal

• Editing images or visuals requires learning some unique language

• But once you get the hang of it, the model usually “gets” you

Vibe coding also pairs beautifully with agentic systems. I can vibe-code a UI mockup, then let an agent implement the layout and wire up the logic. That hybrid workflow? It’s starting to feel like the future.

🧩 Wrapping Up

As someone building a complex project like Stellar Hegemony, I’ve found both Agentic and Vibe coding to be more than just tools — they’re new creative mindsets. They’ve expanded not just how I work, but how I think about the work. Less time buried in syntax, more time focused on vision and design.

These paradigms aren’t magic bullets. They require learning, judgment, and a willingness to trust (but verify). But when they click, the results are transformative.

If you’re curious, try integrating one of them into your workflow. Start small — maybe prompt an agent to build out a feature, or vibe-code a mockup of a screen. See what happens. You might find, like I did, that you’re no longer just coding — you’re collaborating with something new.

And that’s a pretty exciting place to be.

Thanks for reading — and if you’re experimenting with these approaches too, I’d love to hear what’s working (or not) for you.

— MrPhil