DX Hunter began as a small browser experiment in turning amateur-radio propagation and DX chasing into a game. It evolved rapidly through a series of prototypes before becoming the V6.3 browser release, and later a standalone application for Linux, Windows and Android.
The first builds were rough experiments and largely unrecognisable compared with DX Hunter today. They established the basic idea: turn HF signals, band choice and propagation into something clickable and scoreable.
V3 is where the project became recognisably related to the present game. The early “Lite” version used selectable HF bands, drifting callsigns, signal strengths, scoring and simple propagation moods. The map-based V3 then added QTH/geolocation, band-driven station spawning, realistic world regions and distance-based scoring.
The map and panadapter were brought together into one game. Pile-ups and split operation appeared, along with regional callers, wrong-band penalties, a local logbook, SNR-based scoring, radio-flavoured audio and the M7SQI special event.
Live solar and space-weather information began feeding the propagation model. Band weighting, greyline behaviour and signal conditions could now react to the real propagation environment instead of relying only on a fixed game state.
The larger game structure arrived, including Contest, Free Play, DX Hunter, Greyline Challenge, Survival and Multi-Band Strategy. Pile-up behaviour, split operation, special stations, scoring and persistence were progressively refined through the V6 builds.
V6.3 brought together the features that define DX Hunter: propagation-aware gameplay, greyline paths, DXpeditions, maritime-mobile stations, weak-signal working, ghost traces, wrong-band traps, pile-ups and split operation.
It also included persistent scores, logbook and awards, plus the M7SQI cameo/QSL/audio event. The complete game remained playable directly in a web browser with no installation required.
The V6.3 game was packaged as standalone editions for Linux and Windows, with a signed Android APK and Android App Bundle for possible Google Play distribution.
Release 1.0 added platform-specific wrappers, persistent local application data, desktop build/install material, local Leaflet assets, Android native networking for live conditions, adjustable master audio and release checksums. The corresponding source for all three platforms was published under the GNU GPLv3.