Week 3

I checked over the progress up to now and I must say I am not 100% satisfied with the Gameplay chapter so I decided to repair this problem.

In the Design Document the Gameplay was only described for Simulation mode, without any reference to the Arcade mode. So I had to fix this and close this chapter so the work can proceed.

So what`s all the fuss about Arcade Gameplay? Well, it`s the most fun part of the game, the goal is the same to win the National Rally Championship, but you can use whatever you can to take yourself to the first place for each race.

Comparing to Simulation, in Arcade the controls will be more tolerant to the user, so braking, handling and controlling the vehicle overall will be easier than simulation. Other than this, all the properties present in Simulation are also available in Arcade. Next there is something else that`s different from Simulation races. Here in Arcade the player can use various items to make it harder for other players or make it easier for himself.

Here`s what I`m talking about: POWERUPS

There are two types of powerups: SAFE and AGGRESSIVE

Here are the safe type:

IMMUNITY SHIELD - covers the car with a cloak and makes it immune to obstacles or aggressive powerups for a limited period of time
REPAIR KIT - partially repairs the car
HAPPY WHEELY - considerably improves handling and braking
TURBO BOOST - increases the acceleration of the car for a limited amount of time
JUMP - Helps you jump over obstacles

And now presenting the aggressive type:

FOG - casts a cloud on the car`s windshield dramatically reducing visibility ahead no matter what camera the player is using

INSTANT STOP - stops the car immediately

OIL DROP - spills an oil pool on the road, reducing the handling and creating spin on any vehicle that drives through

SPIKESTRIP - sets up a spike strip wide about half of the road`s width from the centre of the road to the left or right margin of the road, depending on the position of the car when using this item

REVERSE CONTROLS - blows the fuse of the affected vehicle reversing commands: acceleration with brake and steer left with steer right for an amount of time

TORNADO SPIN - casts a tornado 1 mile behind, damaging everything that gets in touch with it. Travels only in the centre of the road and can be avoided only if driving at the edge of the road or if using immunity. 

RANDOM - random powerup

The difference between the safe and aggressive items is that the safe ones only affects the driver, while the aggressive ones can affect either an enemy car or the driver. The aggressive items come in a bubble that is three seconds green and one second red. Depending on the colour the bubble has when collecting the item, if it is green, then the player stores the item in the inventory, if it is red, it immediately applies the item to the player.

So if the bubble is red and you get the item when is red, a random action from the aggressive powerups will happen to you.

If the bubble is green, then a random aggressive powerup will be available in your inventory for later use.

When the player uses an aggressive item from inventory, the vehicle blasts a white bubble ahead for FOG, INSTANT STOP and REVERSE CONTROLS. The bubble travels in the centre of the road with great speed and can only be avoided with immunity or by driving at the edge of the road. If the bubble contacts another car, then the action of the aggressive item occurs.

For OIL DROP, SPIKESTRIP or TORNADO, the action occurs immediately behind the player`s vehicle once the item is used.

I hope I was not too hard to follow, but it is not rocket science once you get to play the game.

Having completed this on Gameplay, the chapter is closed, I can further focus on finishing the Levels. 

I`ll update the plan soon.