DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

Combat Systems

Combat Models

There are 3 basic ways to go about having conflict between pods and representing the action that takes place.

• Spacial:
  This is where the combat has it's own field or mini map. Pieces would move through the map gaining or losing tactical positions. This is obviously the most complex form of combat AXIS could have
• Positional / Representational:
  A kind of "iconified" version of the Spacial Combat. Each shape in a pod would take an abstract position such "front", "rear", "flank", or "center". These positions can be played off of to achieve more variety in combat without as complex a system as Spatial Combat would require. It also eliminates the need to "move" anywhere on a map, since the positioning of shapes is absolute, not relative.
• "Card Game":
  The simplest combat model. Each shape would be lined up such as in a card game. Any piece can attack any other piece. There is no concept of "position" in the Card Game style of combat.

At this point, it would seem the the Representational system has the most pros and the least cons, so it will be the primary system in focus here. Also keep in mind that the rep. system also includes all the features of the "card game" system, with the added bonus of having strategic positions fall into play.

Representational Combat Model

Combat Positioning
Each dot represents a slot a shape can fill. You cannot put more shapes into a position than there are slots to hold them.

In this system, each side of the battle is arranged into positions: Front, Rear, Side, and Center. Each position has a tactical bonus and drawback. You can use this to your advantage to add to bonuses your shapes may already have. Of course, it may also compound handicaps your shapes have as well.

Each position has both a relative and an absolute set of modifiers. For absolutes, each position is simply assigned a modifier such as +5 such-and-such. For relatives, it depends how far away the position is from your position, attacker vs. defender, multiplied by a percentage. The Front multiplier is zero. Center and Side are 1, and the Rear is 2. Then multiply by a certain percentage.

Representational Combat System Mockup

In reality, each side can have it's own seperate set of multipliers and percentages for each action (attack, defense, opacity, acuity, etc.) which can be modified by shape specials, map tabs to be collected, and global strategies and preferences that can be set before the game starts.

The reason the Front position has zero for a distance instead of 1 is simply because it makes no difference in combat and is simpler to start at zero.

Here are the general guidelines for absolute and relative position modifiers. Keep in mind that if having two seperate classes makes little difference in the game, the absolute mods can be dropped entirely.

Relative

Attribute +/- ( (Base Attribute Percentage) * (Relative Distance) )

Here is an over simplified example:

Percentage is 2.5%. Sphere in Center (1) of the attacking side attacks Tetra in Rear (2) of the defending side. The difference between sides is 2+1=3. 3 * 2.5% = 7.5%. The Sphere has an attack rating of 68 reduced by 7.5%. 68 * 0.925 = 63. The Block has a defense rating of 42 increased by 7.5 percent. 42 * 1.075 = 45. The resulting damage is 63 - 45 = 18, when it would have been 68 - 42 = 26.

Then add that to whatever you get with...

Absolute

• Center: slight increase in defense and constancy, slight decrease in acuity.
• Front: large increase in attack, acuity, and speed. large decrease in defense and opacity. slight decrease in constancy
• Rear: large decrease in attack and acuity. large increase in defense and opacity.
• Side: largest increase in acuity. slight decrease in defense.