ChaosFight: Ursulo's Uppercut - Scaling Knock-Up With Weight

Introduction

In the thrilling world of ChaosFight, character interactions and combat mechanics are key to an engaging player experience. One area for potential enhancement lies within the character Ursulo and his signature uppercut move. The core concept revolves around implementing a dynamic knock-up effect that scales with the target's weight. This means that when Ursulo lands an uppercut, opponents will be launched into the air, with the height of their launch determined by their weight. This article will delve into the proposed mechanics, requirements, and acceptance criteria for this exciting addition to ChaosFight.

Ursulo's uppercut should not just deal damage; it should also toss opponents upward, creating a visual and tactical advantage. Currently, this crucial mechanic is missing, leaving a gap in Ursulo's combat capabilities. By implementing this feature, we can add depth to Ursulo's gameplay, making him a more strategic and engaging character to play. The proposed system aims to make combat more dynamic, where lighter characters are launched higher, and heavier characters feel the impact of their weight, creating a more realistic and balanced fighting experience.

This scaling knock-up effect adds a layer of strategic complexity to fights. Players will need to consider their opponent's weight when using Ursulo's uppercut, influencing their approach to combat. This feature will make Ursulo a more versatile and formidable fighter, enriching the overall gameplay experience in ChaosFight. The addition aligns with the broader goal of creating a fighting game where character interactions are nuanced and impactful, fostering a more competitive and enjoyable environment for players.

Requirements

To successfully integrate this feature, several technical and design requirements need to be met. These requirements ensure that the new mechanic functions as intended and integrates seamlessly with the existing game framework.

Detecting Ursulo's Attacks

The first crucial step is to accurately detect when Ursulo lands a punch or heavy attack. This involves monitoring Ursulo's animations and hitboxes to identify when a successful hit connects with an opponent. The game needs to distinguish between different types of attacks, ensuring that the knock-up effect is applied specifically to the uppercut move. This detection system must be robust and responsive to provide immediate feedback, enhancing the gameplay experience. Accurate detection is the foundation for triggering the subsequent knock-back and scaling mechanics.

Applying Vertical Knockback

Once a successful uppercut is detected, the next step is to apply vertical knockback, sending the victim airborne. This requires adding a vertical force vector to the opponent's character model, propelling them upwards. The magnitude of this force will be dynamically adjusted based on the target's weight, as detailed in the next requirement. The knockback effect should feel impactful and responsive, providing clear visual feedback to both players. This mechanic will add a new dimension to Ursulo's moveset, opening opportunities for aerial combos and strategic plays.

Scaling Knockback with Weight

The core of this feature is scaling the initial vertical velocity based on the target's weight stat. This means that lighter characters should be launched higher into the air compared to heavier characters. The game needs to access the weight stat of the target and use this value to calculate the appropriate vertical force. This calculation might involve a mathematical formula or a lookup table to ensure smooth and balanced scaling. The scaling should be noticeable and intuitive, providing a clear distinction in the impact on different character types. This nuanced interaction between character weights and knockback will add strategic depth to the game.

Maintaining Game Logic

While implementing the new knockback mechanic, it is crucial to maintain damage application, hitstun, and combo logic. The uppercut should still deal the intended damage, and the hitstun duration should remain consistent to avoid disrupting existing combos. The new knockback effect should integrate smoothly with the existing combat system, enhancing rather than breaking the gameplay flow. Thorough testing is essential to ensure that all aspects of the combat system work harmoniously with the new mechanic.

Ensuring Airborne Dynamics

Once the opponent is launched into the air, the game needs to ensure that airborne victims respect gravity, ceilings, and follow-up attacks. Gravity should gradually pull the character back down, and ceilings should prevent characters from flying out of the stage. Additionally, Ursulo (and potentially other characters) should be able to perform follow-up attacks on airborne opponents, opening opportunities for aerial combos. This requires careful tuning of the physics engine and animation system to create a realistic and engaging airborne combat experience.

Tunable Constants

To achieve the desired balance and feel, tunable constants for min/max launch force and weight curve are essential. These constants will allow developers to adjust the range of launch heights and the sensitivity of the weight scaling. For example, a lower minimum launch force might be used for extremely heavy characters, while a higher maximum launch force could apply to the lightest characters. The weight curve defines how the launch force changes with weight, allowing for fine-tuning of the mechanic to achieve the desired balance. These constants provide the flexibility to adapt the mechanic to different characters and gameplay scenarios.

Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criteria outline the specific conditions that must be met for the new feature to be considered successfully implemented. These criteria ensure that the feature functions as intended, provides the desired gameplay experience, and does not introduce unintended issues.

Noticeable Launch Height Variation

A primary acceptance criterion is that lightweight characters travel noticeably higher than heavyweights. This means that the scaling of the knockback effect based on weight should be clearly visible and impactful. Players should be able to visually distinguish the difference in launch height between character types, creating a clear understanding of the mechanic's effect. This variation in launch height adds strategic depth, as lighter characters may be more susceptible to aerial combos, while heavier characters may require different follow-up strategies.

Matching Design Tuning

The launch height should match design tuning across the roster, ensuring consistency and balance in the game. This requires careful calibration of the scaling constants and the weight curve to achieve the desired launch heights for all characters. The goal is to create a balanced system where each character feels distinct and viable, without any one character being excessively advantaged or disadvantaged by the new mechanic. Regular testing and feedback are crucial for ensuring that the launch heights align with the overall game design.

Clean Transitions

Animation and state machine transitions should handle airborne knockback cleanly, preventing visual glitches and ensuring smooth gameplay. When a character is launched into the air, the animation should transition seamlessly into an airborne state, and the character's movement should feel natural and responsive. The state machine, which manages the character's various states (e.g., standing, attacking, airborne), should correctly handle the transition to and from the airborne state. Clean transitions are essential for maintaining the visual polish and fluidity of the game.

No Regressions

An essential acceptance criterion is that there should be no regressions to existing Ursulo attacks or other characters. The new knockback mechanic should not negatively impact the functionality or balance of other aspects of the game. This requires thorough testing to ensure that Ursulo's other attacks still function as intended and that the new mechanic does not introduce unintended side effects for other characters. Regression testing is a critical part of the development process, helping to identify and address any issues before they impact the player experience.

Automated Testing

Automated/scripted tests should cover mapping from weight to launch velocity, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the scaling mechanic. These tests should programmatically verify that characters of different weights are launched with the correct velocities, according to the defined weight curve. Automated tests can be run frequently and consistently, providing early detection of any issues in the implementation. This rigorous testing helps to ensure that the weight scaling mechanic functions as intended and remains stable over time.

Notes

This feature is marked for a later milestone and will remain open until prioritized. This allows for flexibility in the development roadmap, ensuring that resources are allocated to the most pressing priorities. The feature will be revisited and prioritized at a later date, based on its impact on the overall game experience and the availability of development resources.

Conclusion

Implementing Ursulo's uppercut knock-up scaling with target weight is a promising enhancement for ChaosFight. This feature has the potential to add depth to combat mechanics, making character interactions more nuanced and strategic. By adhering to the outlined requirements and acceptance criteria, the development team can ensure that this addition is both impactful and seamlessly integrated into the game. The result will be a more dynamic and engaging fighting experience for players.

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