Turn-based
Learning paths through this topic
Stop a player from being stunned again and again without a chance to act
A boss or a trap that stuns on every hit can lock a player in place from the first blow to the last, which is the worst feeling in a fight. This entry shows how to make each stun weaker than the one before and when the player counts as recovered.
Check who is inside a sword swing, even when facing left
A swing that covers a wedge in front of the hero works when facing right and strangely misses enemies when facing left. The cause is a wrap-around in angles. This entry shows the right way to compare directions and what to do with an enemy standing right on the hero.
Make enemies pick who to attack without switching every turn
An enemy that always hits whoever did the most damage this very moment jumps between heroes and feels random. An enemy that never changes ignores a brave newcomer. This entry builds a memory of who annoyed it most, which fades and only flips for a clear reason.
Show a turn bar where fast fighters act more often
Players want to see the next five turns and plan around them. Fast fighters should really act more often, and heavy moves should push you back. The obvious way to count time drifts off after a few rounds. Here is what to keep instead.
Make a trap catch the enemy who walks onto it, and only once
Traps in a turn-based map need a few firm rules: who sets them off, where the walker ends up, and what happens to the rest of the move. Without them a trap is either harmless, hits friends, or fires again and again. Here are the rules in a short routine.
Decide who acts first when two fighters have the same speed
Two fighters with equal speed make the turn order flip between runs, and the player swears the game cheats. This entry gives a tie rule that is stable, fair to both sides and easy to explain on screen.
Let defenders patch a wall during a siege, but not bring back a broken one
When raiders hit your fence, repairing mid-fight should help, yet a wall that is already broken should not be pulled back to life by a few hammer taps. This entry fixes the order of hits and repairs and the price of starting again after a breach.
Send the next enemy wave when the field is nearly clear, not on a clock
Waves on a fixed timer pile up when the player is slow and leave dead time when the player is fast. This entry spawns the next wave on how much danger is left, with a shortest and a longest wait, and fills each wave up to a budget of enemy costs.
Let a weapon break on its last hit, not before the swing
Tools that wear out are the heart of survival, yet players hate it when the club snaps and the blow they just paid for is lost, or when missed swings eat up the weapon. Here is how to count wear so it feels earned and honest.
Count poison on a blade only when it truly wounds
A coated weapon with a few uses is a staple of survival crafting. The questions come when you swing and miss, hit thick armour, or strike several times: when is a use spent, and does a new coating add to the old one? This entry answers each of these cases.
Stop players from swapping weapons to fire again right away
Fire, switch to another weapon, switch back, and fire again with no wait: a trick every shooter player finds in a day. This entry shows where the wait must live so that switching costs time and never saves any.
Let a wounded animal run away, unless it is cornered or guarding young
Wild animals that fight to the last point of health feel like monsters. Animals that always run feel too easy. This entry gives each animal its own courage and a few clear exceptions, so hunting feels like a real animal with real reasons.