State machines
A shared goal loses progress when a teammate leaves
The team collects things together, someone has to leave, and the counter drops or their effort is forgotten at the reward screen. Meanwhile a latecomer gets nothing, or everything. Here is how to keep the count and the rewards fair.
The team is declared defeated one moment before the rescue lands
The last standing player falls in the same instant a revive finishes, or a teammate has just lost their connection. Declare defeat too early and a game that was still winnable ends. This entry fixes the order and the cases.
The boss keeps turning on whoever just did the most damage
Two players trade the lead in damage and the boss runs back and forth between them, dragging the whole fight with it. This entry shows how to make a switch of target need a clear lead, why the lead differs for close and far attackers, and how a taunt fits in.
A trade caravan arrives and its destination is gone: where do the goods go?
In a living world, the market a caravan was heading for can burn down while it is on the road. If the goods simply vanish, players lose trust in the whole economy. This entry shows how to keep every crate accounted for, whatever happens.
A player swaps the offer at the last moment of a trade
Both players press accept, but one of them changed what was on the table a heartbeat before, and the other agrees to a deal they never saw. Here is how a trade window stays honest even when the connection is slow.
A unit in the queue cannot be trained because the supply limit is reached
The player queues soldiers, builds a house later and expects the army to appear. Queues that drop the order, spend the money twice or freeze without a word all leave players confused. This entry shows what a blocked queue should keep, show and release.
Turn order breaks when someone is stunned, dies or gets a bonus turn
A turn-based fight that just walks down a list works until the first stun, the first death in the middle of a round or the first extra turn. This entry shows how to keep the order fair and the round counter right in those cases.
Online turn-based games need a timer that is neither rushed nor endless
Without a limit one slow player stalls the table, and with a hard limit every hard decision becomes a panic. This entry shows a timer that gives everyone a little reserve for the big moves, and what happens when the reserve is empty.
A door needs two players on two plates, but lag keeps closing it
Both players stand on their plates, yet on the network one step arrives a moment after the other has already moved, so the door never opens or flickers shut. This entry shows how to make teamwork puzzles forgiving without making them trivial.
Let the player undo a move in a turn-based battle, but not after learning something
Undo makes tactics games kinder, but unlimited undo turns hidden information into a free scouting tool: step forward, look, step back. This entry shows exactly when the button should stop working, and what a taken-back move must give back.
Soldiers that keep changing targets every time someone steps closer
If a unit always shoots the nearest enemy, a nimble enemy can run in circles and take no damage while the whole squad turns and turns. This entry shows how to make units stick to a choice, and when they must finally give it up.
A building being upgraded should not be level two before it is finished
When an upgrade starts, the building has to be something in between. Set the level too early and the player gets the benefits for free; set it too late and cancelling or double-clicking breaks it. Here is a clean way to hold the in-between time.