49 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
49 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
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# Tune the difficulty curve
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Request: `$ARGUMENTS`
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The whole slope of the game lives in one place: `projects/<project>/project.txt`. The shape
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of the curve is code (`engine/progression.cpp`), its coefficients are data. Read
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`docs/16-descent.md` for what each number means and why it is shaped that way.
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## Measure before changing
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```bash
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tile2d_editor --tool curve 1 20 # what depth means today, floor by floor
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tile2d_editor --tool floor <depth> 1 # one floor: budget spent, population, loot
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tile2d_editor --tool floor <depth> 42 # same depth, another seed — variance matters
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```
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Change one line of `project.txt`, run the same commands, and compare. A tuning change with
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no before/after numbers is an opinion.
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## What the numbers are for
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| key | meaning | the trap |
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|---|---|---|
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| `danger` | base, linear growth, quadratic tail | pure linear reads as "same, but more"; pure exponential ends the run where the player just started understanding the rules |
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| `density` | how often spawn points fire, and the cap | above the cap every point always fires, so floors stop differing |
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| `loot` | drops and how fast tier climbs | tier must lag danger, or the squad is dressed for the rest of the game by floor ten |
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| `sight` | how fast vision shrinks, and the floor | below the floor it stops being frightening and becomes "can't see where to go" |
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| `xp` | experience multiplier per floor | must grow slower than danger, or skipping floors becomes the only sane play |
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| `themes` | where each finish band starts | must ascend; the last band is open-ended on purpose |
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Do **not** add creature HP or damage multipliers to make depth harder. "The same shambler
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with triple HP" is not scarier, it is longer. Depth changes *who* comes out and how many.
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## Verify
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```bash
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tile2d_editor --tool validate # set still covers the depths you moved
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squad_proto --project <name> --descend 8 # the curve survives an actual run
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```
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Watch for `ЗАМЕЧАНИЕ` in validate: the floor assembled correctly but the room set no longer
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keeps up with the curve. That means "draw more rooms", not "lower the curve" — unless the
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curve is what you were asked to change.
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## Report
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The exact lines you changed, and the `curve` table before and after for the depths that
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matter. Name the floors where behaviour changed most.
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