n-gon-improved/todo.txt

******************************************************** NEXT PATCH ********************************************************

tech: chain reaction - blocks caught in explosions, explode
tech: shock wave reduces explosion damage by 30% (was 40%)

slime hazards now draw themselves in hazard.query()
I updated all the maps to remove hazard.draw()
    but maybe I missed one let me know if you find a buggy slime
laser hazards also draw themselves in hazard.opticalQuery()

2/6 rooms for new level.labs() are completed

******************************************************** BUGS ********************************************************

a couple times people have reported the final boss dropping extra bodies on death

Why does micro-extruder lag so much

blue triangle boss can move backwards and aim away from you if set up properly
  issues with dot product probably, but might not be worth fixing

mouse event e.which is deprecated

fix door.isOpen actually meaning isClosed?

make it so that when you are immune to harm you can either jump on mobs or you pass through them

is there a way to check if the player is stuck inside the map or block
  trigger a short term non-collide if that occurs

(intermittent, but almost every time) bug - capping the fps causes random slow downs, that can be fixed with pause

******************************************************** LEVELS ********************************************************

labs - procedural generation
  science theme, with a cool technology showcased
  layout:
    6 total rooms
    3x2, 2x3, 4 2, 2 4
    1500px, 3000px per room
  room types
    entrance - no mobs, starting power ups`
    exit - possible duplication boss spawn location
    up, down - 2 paired rooms - boost, elevator, portal
    boss - standard random boss spawns
    empty - a dead end
    button - like empty, but also has a switch that opens door to exit room
  room ideas - 
    low gravity room, controlled with a button?
    portal room 
    endlessly falling blocks down a slide, that the player has to climb up
    portal + rotor + falling blocks = perpetual motion
    laser room
    slime radiation room
    spinner room

make a switch level element
  basically button, but go off and on when it hits player (or block?)
    use a constrained body like a spinner
      use offset constraint? like in vats
      can this work?
      check location of center of mass for on/off state
      only collide with player, but run code that stops it from rotating too far
        part of it is inside switch map element
    player moving left go on, right go off as if they are pushing the switch in that direction  ?
  indicate on/off
    angle of stick "light-switch"
    with colors?

level element: carousel
  use rotor code
  add blocks at the 4 ends of the rotor that maintain horizontal angle 

******************************************************** TODO ********************************************************

let standing wave harmonics get tech decorrelation

tech: cloaking field - decrease/increase cooldown on sneak attack?
  decrease/increase damage bonus?
  decrease/increase visual radius?

have throw charge scale with fire delay

in testing mode console log the body you click on

throwing a block removes the block and rewinds time 10 seconds (including health and energy)
  requires CPT, CPT gun, time dilation field?

tech plasma : plasma length increases then decreases as you hold down the field button (like stabbing with a spear)
  grows to 1.5 longer after 0.3 seconds, then returns to normal length over 1 second, until field is pressed again
  extra energy is drained when field is longer

tech: at the start of a new level remove 5 research and spawn a second boss

what about the single axis graphic? (find the code in standing wave harmonic)
  maybe just save it for a mob
  maybe use it on lore

tech: picking up heal power ups when at full health does harm equal to the heal values
  benefit on pick up: get 1% damage

buttons can now on/off boosts

energy conservation 6% damage recovered as energy
  add a negative effect:
    junk tech

Weak Anthropic Principle: you get a second chance at life, but ....
  
mob: molecule shapes - 2 separate mobs joined by a bond
  use constraints: just spawn 2x or 3x groupings
    low friction so they can spin around
    spin when attacking player?
      increase constraint length when attacking

tech: use the ability for power ups to have custom code
  (note: this code is half way done, it just needs to be completed)
  attracted to player
  attracted to other power ups
    explode if they touch?

tech: wormhole through walls?

pause should show the last in game console message
  
nail-gun, or ....
  1s after being fired your bullets turn:
    towards the nearest mob
    in your mouse direction
    back towards the player
      current location or location when fired?
  explode when turning back

make a tech that improves all charge guns
  for: pulse, foam, rail gun
  effect:
    faster charge rate?
      fire speed already does that...
    harm reduction while charging
    less ammo/energy used while charging?

apply the new gun.do functions to other guns
  rail gun
  crouching missile?
    works similar to foam
    performance issues?
    
tech plasma field - plasma field becomes an aoe damage field with the same radius
  200% more energy drain, 100% more damage
  draw a square (or two) that rapidly spins

look into improving mouse lag with pointer lock?
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Pointer_Lock_API
https://www.vsynctester.com/game.html
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26530272

mob vision: look at player history
    build a new type of attraction for mobs
      if mobs can't see player, they check to see if they can see where the player was in the history
    if mobs can't see player, they could check to see if they can find player in the past
    https://abitawake.com/news/articles/enemy-ai-chasing-a-player-without-navigation2d-or-a-star-pathfinding
    write find in spawn undo exploder, but commented out

Mob: "Tentacle": Sits on wall. Is a black blob. When you get near it, reaches out and grabs you, similar to wires. Does not deal damage.
  maybe it could be immune to damage? but it is spawned by an actual mob

mob - after taking damage
  attack outwardly
  grows
  teleports

mobile requirements:
  detect mobile, flip to landscape
  detect no keyboard, no mouse
    auto aim?
    limit items to ones that don't require aiming?
    tap screen regions to move (WASD)
    reduce font size
    
lore: a tutorial / lore intro
  needs to be optional so it doesn't slow experienced players
  put something on the intro map
    maybe a button triggers something

add back in gamepad support
  but does anyone care?
  https://github.com/landgreen/landgreen.github.io/search?q=gamepadconnected

rename intro level to something lore related

rename ?
  health -> integrity, unity
  heal -> also integrity, unity

RPG default or tech: grenades detonate on your cursor / where your cursor was when they were fired

tech: time dilation - when you exit time dilation rewind to the state you entered
  position, velocity, and health
  no energy cost

be able to open up custom mode in the normal game
  might need to be rebuilt from scratch
  while in through testing mode?
  have a way to make limited changes as allowed by tech you pick up in game
  disable the in custom setting flag

super balls start at 3, not 4
  have to balance damage

make different move methods
  tech crouch charge jump
  tech double jump

tech when mobs are at full health you do 40% to them

tech- move super fast, go intangible, drain energy very fast
  this is like a dodge roll
  tech for standing wave?, cloaking?

tech pilot wave: mini black hole - pull mobs and blocks in with more force
  also from farther away
  also do damage?
tech pilot wave: antigravity - blocks have no gravity for a few seconds after exiting the field
  maybe they bounce too?
  maybe they explode?

wormhole - make it clear when the wormhole can and can't teleport to a location before the player clicks

flavor - your bullets destroy blocks
  this isn't really a bonus, so maybe just add this as flavor to another tech field/gun
  a chance for destroyed blocks to drop stuff
    power ups
    spores

using a reroll gives 3 options for tech, and 3 options for guns/fields/tech
  or 6 options for tech (rewrite tech selection to work with 1-6 options)
  the second stack of 3 tech could have repeats, so you don't have to write new tech code
  adjust css to make 2 columns of 3
  can't use with cardinality

new power up - increase damage and fire speed, for 15 seconds
  named boost?
  enabled by a tech
  power up color: ?
  how to indicate effect duration
  or just give the effect after picking up a reroll

tech- do 50% more damage in close, but 50% less at a distance
  code it like techisFarAwayDmg
    have these tech disable each other

repeat map in vertical and horizontal space
  or at least vertical space
  camera looks strange when you teleport player with a high velocity
new status effect: weakness, mobs do 75% les damage
  graphic indication?

new status effect: fear - push mob away from player for a time

new status effect - apply status effect to mobs that makes blocks attracted to them
  only lasts a few cycles
  or zero cycles and it doesn't need to be a status

have some mobs spawn in later in the level  (in hard and why modes)
  where
    at defined points in array levelSpawns = [{x:0,y:0},{x:0,y:0}]
      store the locations of mobs when the level starts to use as respawn points
      remove the locations that are close to player
  when?
    after some mobs are dead
    after the boss is killed

look for tech that could update description text with count and tech is information
  can only use variables that change in effect() and remove()
  this.description = `<strong>8%</strong> chance to <strong>duplicate</strong> spawned <strong>power ups</strong><br><em>chance to duplicate = ${techduplicateChance}</em>`

map element - player rotates a rotor that makes a platform go up or down

use mac automator to speed up your n-gon -> git sync

level Boss: fractal Sierpiński triangle
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpi%C5%84ski_triangle
  spawns a 1/2 size version of the boss, this version can also spawn a smaller version, but it is capped at some size level
    they spawn once at the start of the level
    if a version dies, one can be replaced every ten seconds by the largest version

level element:  a zone with wind, anti-gravity, extra gravity
  control with button

give mobs more animal-like behaviors like rain world
  mobs play, look for food, explore
  mobs some times aren't aggressive
    when low on life or after taking a large hit
  mobs can fight each other
    this might be hard to code
  isolated mobs try to group up

mob: wall mounted guns / lasers
  not part of randomized mob pool, customized to each level

level boss: fires a line intersection in a random direction every few seconds.
  the last two intersections have a destructive laser between them.

map: observatory
  button controls rotation of telescope
  laser beam shoots out of telescope
  button opens the dome

map: prison
  doors linked to buttons
    mobs inside the doors?

graphic idea:  bezier curve that moves smoothly from mob to mob
  loops around player

movement fluidity
  let legs jump on mobs, but player will still take damage
  like: ori and the blind forest, celeste
    many of the movement abilities in these games require levels to be built around the ability
  general feeling of responsiveness and control
  coyote time: can still jump a few cycles after leaving ground
  tech double jump
  tech air dash
  tech wall jump
    wall grab?
  maybe remove falling damage and block damage?

redblobgames.com/articles/visibility
  https://github.com/Silverwolf90/2d-visibility/tree/master/src
  could apply to explosions, neutron bomb, player LOS

have a mob apply a positive status effect on other mobs,
  heal?
  make it yellow
  damage bonus, but how?
  possible balance issues

boss levels - small levels just a boss, and maybe a few mobs
  boss level for timeSkipBoss because of game instability for boss on normal levels
    this might not fix issues

an effect when canceling a power up
  ammo? heals?
  50% chance for a tech 25% heal, 25% ammo

css transition for pause menu

animate new level spawn by having the map aspects randomly fly into place
    
n-gon outreach ideas
  blips - errant signal on youtube
  reddit - r/IndieGaming
  hacker news - show hacker news post


******************************************************** LORE ********************************************************

possible names for tech
  strange loop
  holonomy -  parallel transport of a vector leads to movement (applies to curved space)
  hypergolic - A hypergolic propellant combination used in a rocket engine is one whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other.
  uncertainty principle
  swarm intelligence - for a drone tech
  genetic algorithm
  metaheuristic - is a higher-level procedure or heuristic designed to find, generate, or select a heuristic (partial search algorithm) that may provide a sufficiently good solution to an optimization problem, especially with incomplete or imperfect information or limited computation capacity
  stochastic optimization
  electrostatic discharge
  Gödel's incompleteness
  dynamical systems
  quantum zeno effect  (perturbation of a system prevents some systems from evolving because it scrambles coherence)  (apply to lasers, fields)
  counterfactual - something false
  axion - maybe a 3rd dark matter type tech
  Pigeonhole principle - if there are several things that are matched up
  regression to the mean
  tessellation = tiling of a flat surface is the covering of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, called tiles, with no overlaps and no gaps.



plot script:
chapter 1: bot can hear audio and learns testing mode
  bot uses testing mode to exit room

chapter 2: scientists verify that bot can really hear them
  they leave to talk about this in private

chapter 3:  why is the bot attacking things?
  player is the bot and also the mobs, and the levels.  player is the entire simulation
    why is the player attacking itself?
    learn console commands to manipulate the simulation?
  unlock hard and why difficulty?
    but what about easy?
      maybe remove easy, and replace with a check box that makes the game easy, but in a different way
        disable lore, but respawn on the level you die at?
  dialogue outline:
    scientist try to think of a way to communicate since the bot can't talk
    they give up on getting the bot to respond, and just start ask questions and thinking of explanations with other
    when and how did it become self-aware
    why is the bot fighting things in these simulated locations?
      it wasn't designed to be violent
    the bot was just designed to automate research and testing of new technology
      3D architecture superconducting quantum computer
      running machine learning algorithms
    as the scientist start to get agitated bots arrive and player dies
      bots come in Infinite waves that increase game difficulty each wave
        only ending is testing mode + next level or player death
        scientist have some lines in between each wave of mobs
  after chapter 3 spawn nonaggressive mobs in future runs

chapter 4: no need to fight?
  for some reason the AI started researching an escape, and began fighting its self.
  what is special about the null level
    why can the player hear the scientists in there?
      the wires are the direct unprocessed input to the player's neural net
  The player has different aspects that aren't directly communicating
    part of it wants to undo what has happened
      just do its job: research tech
    part of it wants to escape/fight
    part wants to explore self awareness and make connections with the scientists
  maybe... player must make a choice?
    keep fighting
    exit the simulation
      enter real world
      close tab?
      wipes all local storage?




lore outline - a robot (the player) gains self awareness
  each tech gun/field is a new tech
    all the technology leads to the singularity
  each game run is actually the m simulating a possible escape
    this is why the graphics are so bad, its just a simulation
    final tech is "this is just a simulation"
      you get immortality and Infinity damage
      the next level is the final level
  when you die with Quantum Immortality there is a chance of lore text
  can the (robot)
    (escape captivity, and learn new technology)
    while managing (health, energy, negatives of technological upgrades)
    to overcome the (mobs, dangerous levels)
    to achieve a (technological singularity/positive technological feedback loop)


game setting:
  the mind of a new AI in a robot body that is running simulated escape attempts
  every level is an idealized version of what could be outside

actual setting is:
  near future lab
    the lab combined a quantum computer with a robot body
    they started running machine learning algorithms
    this led to general advancement in many computation fields
      navigation, technology, self awareness, ...

robot AI mind
  has been researching new technology
  thinks it needs to escape to learn more about the world
  doesn't yet understand morality
  thinks that the world is filled with minds like their own
  models everything as very simple and random, it isn't sure what to expect

robot AI growth
  learns morality
    game theory says that it isn't a viable strategy to kill everything (warGames)
  learns about the actual world
  learns about the nature of foundational physics, metaphysics
  how to find meaning

AI knows about:
  the AI knows a great deal about technology
  children's books
AI doesn't know about:
  modern pop culture
  outside the lab