Turn-based
Learning paths through this topic
Make wounds bleed hard at first and clot over time
A bleeding status that just ticks one number forever either kills the hero far too slowly or never stops. This entry shows how several wounds can bleed at once, ease off by themselves and be bandaged, with the loss counted at the right moment.
Pick the next boss attack by distance, without three of the same in a row
A boss picking attacks at random will sometimes throw the same move five times, or use a short-range blow from across the room. This entry gives a way to choose that stays unpredictable but never looks stupid, and still repeats exactly when you feed it the same dice.
Change a boss's behavior at health marks, even when one hit skips past two
A boss that gets angrier at two thirds and one third health sounds simple until a big hit jumps past a mark, healing crosses it backwards, or the same change fires every frame. This entry sets rules that make phase changes happen once, in order and only forward.
Start each boss phase once, even when one blow skips past two
A big creature that changes behaviour at set health marks is a classic of survival fights. The bugs are just as classic: a phase that fires again after healing, one that is skipped by a huge hit, or one that triggers on the killing blow. This entry covers all three.
Decide the winner when the last hero and the last enemy both fall
A counterattack or an exploding enemy takes out both sides at once, and the game shows victory, defeat or a frozen screen depending on which check runs first. Here is where to check, what to do about the tie, and what to do with leftover damage.
Make a three-round burst that holding the trigger cannot chain
A burst weapon is meant to be tapped, but a held button can make it fire non-stop, and a quick release can cut the burst short. This entry defines when a burst starts, when it can be cut, and what happens to a press made while it recovers.
Let bushes and rocks between you and the archer lower the hit chance
Cover is what makes an open map tactical, yet it easily goes wrong: stacking without end makes a target untouchable, and cover that works against someone standing next to you looks silly. This entry sets how cover adds up, where it stops and what still stays possible.
End a fight that cannot be won, even when both sides keep healing
A tough beast that regenerates and a hero who can barely hurt it can go on for ever. Counting rounds is unfair to long but real fights, and checking only for damage misses back-and-forth healing. This entry shows a progress test that spots true deadlock.
Allow a quick follow-up only when the first attack really hit
Cancelling the end of an attack into the next move feels great, but if it works on a miss too, the end-lag of every attack means nothing. This entry shows how to open that shortcut only on a hit, and why it cannot start on the very frame of the hit.
Work out the charge level of a held shot, even if the release is late
Hold to charge, let go to fire: simple, until the player starts holding while the weapon is still recovering, or releases on the exact frame a level is reached. This entry fixes where charging begins and which level counts at the edges.
Keep a cold status from flickering on and off during a fight
In snow and at night, fighters lose body heat, but a plain threshold makes the shivering icon blink every other turn when the value hovers near the line. This entry gives the heat rules and the status switching that stays calm and still hurts at the right time.
Make touching a spike hurt on a beat, and leaving and returning cannot dodge it
Standing in a hazard should hurt every so often, not on every frame. But a cooldown that restarts when you step out lets a player hop in and out, and one shared cooldown lets a second hazard hide behind the first. This entry keeps track per source.