Action
Learning paths through this topic
Reserve mana for a spell that takes time to cast
If mana is only taken when the spell finishes, a player can start two long spells with the mana for one, and the second just fails at the end. If it is taken at the start, a cancelled spell eats it for nothing. Here is the middle path, including interruptions.
Bring fallen players back in waves, without a wait that is nearly zero or nearly double
Respawning everyone in batches keeps the team together, but a player who dies a second before a wave comes straight back and one who dies just after waits very long. This entry shows a rule for fair waits and what the screen should count down to.
Make reviving a teammate take time, speed up with help, and break when the helper is hit
Reviving should be a risk, not a button press. This entry shows how several helpers share the work without making it silly fast, what a hit on a helper costs, and why the progress must slowly fade when everyone walks away.
Let only the strongest buff of a kind work, and the next one take over when it ends
A blessing, a potion and a banner may all raise attack, but should a hero get all three? If weaker ones are simply thrown away, a long blessing vanishes the moment a short potion is drunk and ends. This entry shows how to keep them and which one counts.
Work out the server's clock from a few test messages, trusting the fastest one
Cooldown bars, warning rings and rewound hits all need the player's screen to agree with the server about what time it is. A simple average gets it wrong exactly when the connection is uneven. This entry shows which test reply to believe and how many to remember.
Give all abilities a short shared wait, with some that ignore it
Without a shared pause between abilities, players chain every strong move at once. With one, quick reactions like a block or a potion feel stuck behind it. This entry shows how to split abilities into two kinds, and how speed bonuses shorten the pause without ruining it.
Give the team a shared pool of lives and decide who gets the last one
A team with a few shared lives makes every fall matter to everybody. The hard case is when two players fall in the same moment and only one life is left. This entry shows what costs a life, what does not, and a ruling that always gives the same answer.
Let two fighters who strike on the same moment both go down
When hero and enemy land a killing blow in the same instant, whoever the game happens to process first wins, and the other never gets to swing. Players notice, and call it unfair. This entry makes the result independent of the order.
Let two players who hit each other in the same moment both die, and decide who gets credit
Two players land a killing blow within the same fraction of a second. If the server handles one first, the other dies silently with no trade and one side feels cheated. This entry shows how to process a whole moment at once and how to break ties.
Hide small position corrections from the server by blending, and snap on large ones
When the server moves a player a little, the screen shows a jerk. Blending the jerk away looks good, but doing it for a large error makes the player glide through a wall for a second. This entry shows the blend, its speed, and the point where it must give up.
Reward a sneak attack from behind, and limit it on bosses
Stabbing an unaware guard in the back should be a huge hit, but how do you decide what counts as behind? Angles go wrong when the attacker stands on the same spot, and a bonus that works on a boss ends the fight in one blow. This entry gives a sturdy test and the limits.
Protect a freshly respawned player, but not for shooting from safety
A player who respawns in the middle of a fight is killed again before they can look. A shield helps, until players use it to shoot from safety. This entry shows a protection that ends at the right moment and a late message that must still be judged correctly.