Combat system

Overview

At the heart of the game lies the combat system, which is a crucial aspect of the player's overall experience. We aim to create a unique, fluid, and responsive attack and damage system that is both fun and engaging. Our goal was to avoid a complex system that requires extensive research and math, or one that forces players to juggle numerous statistics just to gain a slight edge over their opponents. This approach is simply not in line with the spirit of Galaxiators.

The core mechanics

Combat basics

We have chosen to move away from the accumulated damage system commonly used in other games and have opted for a more authentic method for determining the impact of a hit and when it's time for a unit to be defeated:

• Combat calculations are turn-based, with each unit performing specific actions during their turn. These actions are then rendered in a fast-paced, live battle.

• In each turn, units can move, brace, attack, use an active skill, dodge, parry, or block an attack.

• Every successful attack affects the target.

• The impact of a hit combined from its location and lethality.

• Every hit has the potential to become a fatal blow.

• Combat ends when one side is eliminated.

To achieve this, the combat system uses probability calculations to determine both the location and whether an injured units gets to live another turn. The odds for both elements constantly change as the battle unfolds.

Stats

In the Galaxiators combat system, it is essential to understand the nine key attributes that influence the success and outcomes of your character's actions. These attributes are designed with counterparts, promoting balance and enabling a diverse range of strategic and tactic-driven builds.

1. Lethality (LTH)

Lethality enhances a character's attack strength, making each successful hit more potent and devastating.

2. Defense (DEF)

Defense improves a character's resilience, reducing the damage taken from enemy attacks and mitigating their deadliness.

3. Cruelty (CRU)

Cruelty increases the likelihood and severity of inflicting injuries on opponents, making each confrontation more punishing.

4. Grit (GRT)

Grit diminishes the frequency and intensity of injuries sustained by the character, boosting their endurance in battle.

5. Focus (FCS)

Focus amplifies the effectiveness of non-combat actions, such as casting hexes, triggering explosions, and performing healing actions.

6. Resistance (RES)

Resistance minimizes the damage received from non-combat sources, enhancing the character's resilience against explosions, hexes, and other indirect attacks. Additionally, it improves the healing effects received by the character.

7. Savagery (SAV)

Savagery heightens the probability and impact of critical actions, enabling the character to deal massive damage when the opportunity arises.

8. Dexterity (DEX)

Dexterity refines a character's evasive and counterattack abilities, allowing them to dodge enemy blows and retaliate with precision.

9. Movement (MOV)

Movement governs the character's agility and speed, enabling swift traversal of the arena and more efficient positioning in combat.

Deciding an action: The slot system

Units determine their actions by performing each turn an action roll. Each Galaxiator has two sets of actions: logistics, used when not in active battle, and combat when engaged in battle. In each turn, the Galaxiator rolls an action from the relevant pool out of the two mentioned, deciding the action it will take during that turn. All Units roll their actions in a random order that changes every turn.

Actions table:

Actions	Effect
Attack	hit a nearby enemy. Damage based on your LTH and their DEF.
Bash	unit attacks the enemy with a shield (DEF)
Block	unit blocks an incoming attack, if no attack was made changes to "Bash" (DEF)
Brace	units stays put, small DEF boost
Counter	unblockable low force counter attack (DEX)
Cure	remove all negative effects from a random teammate (FCS/RES)
Damnification	casting unit increases fatality, but also does same to random enemy. Instant fatality roll. (FCS/RES)
Dodge	unit dodges an incoming attack, if no attack was made changes to "Tackle" (DEX)
Double Attack	units strikes at nearby enemy unit two times (LTH)
Explode	detonate a bomb, damaging nearby units, teammates or enemies... And 'killing' yourself. (FOC/RES)
Freeze	A random enemy is frozen in place (if you pass a FCS/RES roll).
Haste	give a double roll to a random teammate this turn
Heal	reduce a random teammate’s fatality by X% (FCS/RES)
Hex	increase a random enemy’s fatality by X% (FCS/RES)
Hide	become untargetable
Mischief	change one of a random enemy’s slot to “Miss” for the rest of the fight. (RES roll)
Reanimate	casting unit dies, but revives a random dead teammate. (counts as a miss if no teammates are dead, immediate fatality roll) (FCS/RES)
Run	MOV x 2
Snipe	Attack while hiding
Sprint	MOV x 3
Taunt	units lures any nearby enemies towards her
Wait	Do nothing (L)
Walk	units advances to the nearest enemy unit
Miss	Do nothing (C)

An action may appear more than once on the wheel, in both logistics and combat actions pools and not all possible actions are available to certain units. The exact composition of actions is determined by the player before the battle, based on the unit's profession type pool.

Turn Structure

Each turn has a tier that controls the order it is processed:

• Tier 0 (immediate): Haste, Brace

• Tier 1 (before attacks): Cure (so you get your stats boosted ready for the attack)

• Tier 2 (attacks): Attack, Double Attack, Snipe

• Tier 3 (taken into account during attack, but action happens after attacks and before injury/fatality rolls): Block, Counter, Damnification, Dodge, Explode, Heal, Hex, Mischief, Taunt

• FATALITY/INJURY ROLL

• Tier 4 (after fatality rolls): Freeze, Hide, Reanimate, Run, Sprint, Walk

Fatality roll

This aspect of the game design provides an alternative to the standard Health Points system. Instead of having a fixed health value, each unit begins combat with a 0% chance of receiving a fatal blow. As the unit takes hits, its vulnerability to a fatal blow increases based on the lethality score of each hit received.

The fatality roll helps to determine if an attack is fatal, and it occurs at the end of each turn, after factoring in the lethality of the hits received during that turn. With each successive hit, the percentage chance of receiving a fatal blow grows, making the unit increasingly susceptible to defeat. This approach adds a layer of unpredictability and excitement to the combat system, as the fate of a unit is influenced by the cumulative effect of the hits it takes and can lead to realistically unexpected outcomes.

Injuries

Another possible effect of being hit is sustaining injuries. These long-term effects result from more precise and cruel hits and, while having a lesser magnitude on the Fatality, they debuff and affect the Galaxiators' stats or action slots, making them less competent in a fight. Injuries can heal over time or by visiting the Domina clinic.

The injury roll happens before the end of the turn, together with the fatality roll, for any unit that has been directly attacked.

Death

Death is a non-reversible status which will result in the removal of the Galaxiator from the match. As shown in the damage section, death is the result of a fatal blow to the body or head.

Unless revived by the Domina sooner, a dead Galaxiator will respawn in the management area after a considerable cooldown period.

Winning

Winning happens when all opposing Galaxiators in a team are dead.

Draw

This rare event happens only when the last standing Galaxiators of each team kill each other simultaneously. This results in a draw outcome and a unique reward for both players for putting up a show!