Course Generation

Course Creation

Courses are generated combinations of obstacles placed across a systematic play area.

The following rules aim to create a system that generates fair and fun gameplay that can be played repeatedly

General Design

A Course is broken into even sections
Each Obstacle takes up 1 section
Each section can only contain 1 Obstacle
Medium and Hard Levels create and repeat patterns of Obstacles

Generation Order

Generate Actions and/or Functions
Generate Obstacles, using generated Actions as guidelines

Action & Function Generation

Obstacle generation is responsive to the Actions, Functions, and Flexible Functions generated, so these must be created first.

Easy Difficulty

- ALL Individual Actions are available
- Functions are NOT available
- Flexible Functions are NOT available

Medium Difficulty

- Up to 3 Individual Actions are generated
  - Design Note: Cannot generate all 4 actions or else players could ignore Functions and play like Easy mode
- Up to 2 Functions are available
  - Functions can hold a maximum of 3 Function Actions
- Flexible Functions are NOT available

Hard

- Individual Actions are not available
- Up to 3 Functions or Flexible Functions are generated
  - One Function or Flexible Function can have 4 Function Actions
    - Others must have 3 or fewer Functions Actions

Obstacle Generation

Once the Action Bar has been populated, relevant Obstacles are generated during the Run.

Easy Difficulty

1. All Obstacle types are generated
2. Obstacle type is randomized upon generation
3. There is an average of 3 empty section in between Obstacles.

Medium Difficulty

1. Obstacles are generated in Obstacle Groups which match any generated Functions
  - There are always as many Obstacle Groups as there are Functions available
  - The type and order of Obstacles in an Obstacle Group must match the associated Function Actions
  - The order in which the Obstacle Groups are generated is random
    - eg. Group A, Group B, Group B, Group C, Group B...
2. Individual Obstacles are generated between Function Groups
  - There can be any number of Individual Obstacles between Function Groups
  - Individual Obstacle types must match available Individual Actions
3. There is an average of 2 empty sections in between each Obstacle Group or Individual Obstacle.
  - Obstacle Groups always have only 1 empty section between grouped Obstacles.

Hard

1. Obstacles are generated in Obstacle Groups which match any generated Functions
  - See Medium, Step 1
2. Obstacles are generated in Dynamic Obstacle Groups
  - Dynamic Obstacle Groups always have the same number of Obstacles as a generated Flexible Function has Function Action Slots
  - The Dynamic Obstacle Group is filled with Obstacles of a random type and order.
  - Once generated, a Dynamic Obstacle Group must appear on the Course at least 3 times
    - Design Note: Reinforces reusability of Functions
  - After appearing at least 3 times, the Dynamic Obstacle Group is emptied and refilled with new Obstacles
    - Design Note: Requires players to edit their Flexible Functions
3. There is an average of 2 empty sections in between each Obstacle Group.
  - Obstacle Groups always have only 1 empty section between grouped Obstacles.

On the subject of Ladders...

Ladders are a unique Obstacle type. Not only do they allow the Robot to move Up or Down, they also change the Y-Axis Coordinates of generated Obstacles.

Ladders act as a Boolean switch - if Obstacles are being the placed on the ground-level (0), the placement of a Ladder Obstacle signals that Obstacles should now be placed on the upper level (1) until another Ladder is placed.

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