e4ac24f989
Replace continuous free-form movement with discrete 20x50 grid-based gameplay featuring asymmetric movement mechanics: - Blue/Red teams with 3 units each - Zone-based movement: orthogonal (4 dir) in offense, diagonal (8 dir) in defense - Alternating turns with click-to-select, click-to-move input - Fog of war: 3-cell Chebyshev vision radius per unit - Defense speed nerf: skip every 4th move in own zone - AI opponent that chases flag carriers and advances toward enemy flag - Collision resolution: defender wins in their zone, lower ID wins in neutral Implements all 3 phases from the plan: - Phase 1: Playable grid with hot-seat two-player - Phase 2: Fog of war + defense speed nerf - Phase 3: AI opponent Deleted obsolete files: Flag.cs, Unit.cs, RouteDrawer.cs, SimpleAI.cs, Visibility.cs Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
4.7 KiB
Asymmetric Grid CTF Board
Date: 2026-02-04 Status: Ready for planning
What We're Building
A turn-based capture-the-flag game on a 20x50 grid with asymmetric movement mechanics. Each team has 3 pieces that move differently depending on which zone they're in:
- Offensive zone (enemy territory): Orthogonal movement only (Manhattan distance)
- Defensive zone (home territory): Diagonal movement only (Chebyshev distance)
- Neutral zone (center): Both teams move orthogonally (on offense)
The board is mirrored: Team A's defensive zone is Team B's offensive zone, and vice versa.
Core Mechanics
- Simultaneous turns: Both teams plan moves secretly, then execute at the same time
- Fog of war: Each piece sees 3 cells in any direction; the rest is hidden
- Collision resolution: Defender wins ties (piece in their defensive zone captures invader)
- Defense speed nerf: Defensive movement is 75% speed (skip every 4th move in defense zone)
- Victory condition: Capture enemy flag from their base and return it to your base
Why This Approach
Pure Grid Replacement over Hybrid
The PDF's game theory analysis is fundamentally about discrete move counts (Manhattan vs Chebyshev distance). Free-form movement with grid constraints would:
- Complicate collision detection
- Make fog of war harder to compute
- Obscure the strategic depth the grid creates
A clean grid system directly implements the analyzed mechanics.
Simultaneous Turns over Turn-Based
Simultaneous planning creates the "mixed-strategy game" described in the PDF. If turns were sequential, the reactive player always has perfect information. Simultaneous moves mean:
- Offense can commit to a direction without the defense knowing
- Both teams must predict opponent behavior
- Creates bluffing and misdirection opportunities
Visible Grid
Players need to understand their movement options. The orthogonal green squares and diagonal red squares from the PDF communicate which directions are legal at a glance.
Key Decisions
| Decision | Choice | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Board size | 20x50 | Wide enough for 3 pieces per side with meaningful positioning |
| Zone proportions | 20x20 defense, 10x10 neutral, 20x20 defense | Small neutral = more defensive play per user request |
| Movement per turn | 1 cell | Matches PDF analysis; multi-cell would change game theory |
| Vision radius | 3 cells | Creates meaningful information asymmetry without total blindness |
| Defense speed | 75% (3 moves per 4 turns) | PDF analysis shows this creates balanced mixed-strategy game |
| Collision rule | Defender wins | Rewards positioning in your territory |
| Flag location | Back of defensive zone | Classic CTF setup |
Open Questions
- How to visualize fog of war? Options: darken hidden cells, hide them entirely, show "last known" positions
- What happens to flag carrier if tagged? Drop flag? Flag returns to base?
- Respawn mechanics? Where do tagged pieces respawn? How long until they can act?
- Turn timer? Unlimited planning time or forced time limit?
- AI opponent? Should we build AI for single-player, or multiplayer-only initially?
Grid Visual Reference
The PDF shows a pattern where:
- Green squares form an orthogonal grid (offense paths)
- Red diagonal lines overlay, creating larger diamond-shaped cells (defense paths)
- The two grids intersect, meaning some cells are reachable by both movement types
For implementation, we need to define:
- Cell size in world units
- How to render the dual-grid overlay
- Visual distinction between zones (Team A defense, neutral, Team B defense)
Technical Considerations
Current Architecture Impact
The existing Game.cs, Unit.cs, and RouteDrawer.cs will need significant changes:
- Replace
RouteDrawerpath drawing with click-to-select, click-to-move - Replace continuous movement in
Unit.cswith discrete grid steps - Add turn manager for simultaneous move resolution
- Add fog of war system (current
Visibility.csis radius-based, needs grid conversion)
New Components Needed
- GridBoard - Manages 20x50 cell array, zone definitions, visual rendering
- TurnManager - Handles move planning phase, simultaneous execution, turn counting
- GridMovement - Validates moves based on zone type, handles defense speed nerf
- FogOfWar - Computes visible cells per team, hides/reveals pieces
- CollisionResolver - Determines outcomes when pieces occupy same cell
Next Steps
Run /workflows:plan to create implementation plan addressing:
- Grid data structure and rendering
- Turn system and move planning UI
- Zone-based movement validation
- Fog of war implementation
- Collision and capture mechanics