Source time Edition date
IndustrySimon Willison
battledrones v14: Compass Rose, a four player map
battledrones v14：Compass Rose，一张四人地图
Simon Willison's four-player map build for battledrones v14 shows how a solo experiment becomes a shared game, so the design tradeoff is replayability versus the author's time.
Judgment
Simon Willison's next decision is whether to make four-player support the default for Battledrones or keep it confined to Compass Rose, trading broader shared play against the upkeep cost of four-player networking and spare-slot AI for a solo author.
Basis
Willison says he added four-player online mode to Battledrones; previous maps were limited to two. His prompt asked Claude Opus 5.5 for a new four-player map with four-way rotational symmetry, up to four AI players, and WebSocket non-audio multiplayer so up to four humans can join, with any spare slots using AI. Claude Opus 5.5 added Compass Rose and modified the WebSockets multiplayer network code to support up to four players for that map, joining via share links or QR codes. The new teams use purple and green robots alongside existing blue and red designs.
Unclear The source does not say whether four-player mode will be extended to older maps, how matchmaking or latency scales, or what maintenance burden Willison accepts.
Next Check whether a later Battledrones release enables four-player mode on existing maps or documents default matchmaking behavior.