Notes: Area Status Effects

Area Status Effects

Other games' status effects

In other metroidvania's, area effects are just meant to keep you out of an area entirely. Gravity and varia negate these effects, rendering the areas boring. Speed runners will use their max health to work their way into forbidden areas (hell run) but it's a sequence break and the game isn't designed with this in mind.

• Heated Area - Health drains slowly. Typically no canonical hell runs and varia suit nullifies effect.
• Cold Area (Dread) - Heated area with blue paint.
• Water - Player moves more slowly. Height becomes a lock because you jump high or wall jump. This is actually a good mechanic, but it is completely negated by the gravity suit.
• Lava/Acid - Basically just "heated water".

Glossary

• "Cursed" damage - some damage is done to the players max_hp rather, effectively giving the players a second health bar. Cursed damage can only be repaired at save points (and should cost xp).
• "Cursed" health - this is health that can be recovered automatically by meeting some criteria. If the player is damaged when they have cursed health, they lose max_hp (cursed damage). Right now only blue_hp (cold) and red_hp (hot) is cursed.
• Temperature - When the players temperature falls/rises past a critical limit, they either die (no env suit) or start taking damage to max_hp (with env_suit). As the players temperature changes, the health bar turns red/blue starting from the right side. Critical temperature is determined by max_hp.

LabC area effects

• Overheating - The player's health starts turning red from the right side of the health bar. This happens at a rate of ~1/4 tank every tick (2 seconds?). This red_hp is cursed health, meaning that if a player gets hit, they lose max_hp. If the player leaves a heated area the red health recovers as quickly as is appeared.
• Freezing - Same as overheating but the player slows at 50% blue_hp, similar to being under water. Player is not slowed while morphed. Not sure if env suit helps or not.
• Irradiated - Irradiated damage is much slower (1/4 tank per 4 ticks) than heating/cooling damage, but radiation damage is cursed (max_hp).
• Underwater - Same as in SM, but now with interesting mixed status effects (see below). Less drag while morphed. Bomb jumps 1/2 height while morphed.
• Under pressure - When deep underwater, player takes cursed_damage at 1/4 tank every 4 ticks (16 ticks if in a morph ball).

Mixed area effects

• Overheating + freezing - If you enter an area of the opposite temperature as you are, the player recovers temperature at twice the normal rate. Area status effects don't start until the temperature gets back to base line. This allows player to buffer against.
• Overheating + underwater the "Leidenfrost effect" - If a player is overheating and enters the water a thin layer of air negates underwater effects. Since speedbooster/shinespark cause overheating, this means a player can freely move underwater if they maintain temperature.
• Freezing + underwater - If you jump into water while freezing, the player becomes completely frozen and thaws more slowly.
• No hot/cold pools - Because of the two prior effects, I don't think I want to add any heated/cooled water.
• Acid - Same as SM.
• Irradiated + overheating - No different than a linear combination of the two would imply. Very difficult to get through.

Area effects + items

• Overheating + env suit - Same as overheating, but instead of dying when the health is gone the player starts taking cursed damage. This effectively doubles the time a player can spend in a heated area.
• Freezing + hot tank - Each hot tank completely negates freezing effects for twice as long a normal energy tank (but does not actually contribute to max health). Hot tanks refill in the same ways that blue_hp dissipates (standing in warm areas)
• Irradiated/pressure + shielding - Shielding acts as extra max_hp which is only affected by radiation and pressure. I don't know if this should be two separate items or if I want it to also shield against heat. This must be recovered at save points (same as max_hp).
• I don't think there will be a "gravity suit". If an area is meant to be revisited without water, player should be given a chance to drain area.