14 KiB
Station 0 — Content Spec (Vertical Slice)
Last updated: 2026-03-05 Scope: Vertical slice only. All content here is confirmed for VS unless marked [OPTIONAL].
Enemies
All enemies are corrupted Adaptive Maintenance Units — same chassis class as the player, visually degraded. Their corruption manifests in their function, not their form.
DRIFTER
Corruption type: Locomotion Movement: Pathfinding broken. Moves in slow arcs and wide curves. Never charges in a straight line. Attack: Contact damage only. No projectiles. Threat level: Low-Medium Design role: Individually harmless. Disruptive in groups — fills the room with unpredictable bodies, cuts off escape routes. Forces players to unlearn "dodge in a straight line" habits.
REPEATER
Corruption type: Task-loop Movement: Slow. Drifts toward last known player position, stops, then executes its loop. Attack: Fires a burst of 3 projectiles in a fixed direction, rotates ~20° clockwise, fires again, repeats indefinitely. Does not track the player — it is completing a stuck subroutine. Threat level: Medium Design role: Pattern recognition. First enemy that teaches players to observe before moving. Dangerous in confined rooms or when combined with other threats.
ANCHOR
Corruption type: Structural integrity Movement: Pathfinds to the nearest wall or corner and locks in. Does not move once anchored. Knockback: Immune to knockback while anchored. Attack: Fires slow homing projectiles at the player until destroyed. Projectiles are individually easy to outrun but accumulate. Threat level: High Design role: Changes room geometry. Turns safe corners into bad positions. Forces aggressive play. Punishes passivity.
Boss: THE WARDEN (Floor 1)
A containment unit whose crowd-control protocol has turned inward — it is now attempting to contain the entire room, including the player. Slow and methodical. The room itself becomes the threat.
Room: Large. No environmental hazards on entry. Preceded by a charging station (full HP restore before entry).
Movement
Patrols the room perimeter in a slow, continuous circuit. Never crosses the center. Fully predictable path — the danger comes from what it leaves behind, not from the boss itself.
Attack 1 — Barrier Sweep
Fires a wall of slow projectiles horizontally across the room. One or two gaps the player must find and move through. Telegraphed by a brief charge-up flash before firing.
Attack 2 — Mine Drop
Drops a stationary proximity mine at its current patrol position each cycle. Mines persist until cleared or end of fight. Over time the room fills with no-go zones — the safe path shrinks. Player must manage the accumulating hazard while dealing damage.
Post-boss
- Body part drop (guaranteed).
- Floor 2 portal opens.
Boss: THE RELAY (Floor 2)
A communications hub unit whose broadcast function corrupted into something aggressive. Erratic, unpredictable positioning. Forces the player to stay mobile and read the room constantly.
Room: Large. No environmental hazards on entry. Preceded by a charging station (full HP restore before entry).
Movement
Anchors near room center but teleports to a random position every 8–10 seconds. No warning before teleport — position resets without notice. Punishes clustering near the boss.
Attack 1 — Burst Transmission
On each teleport arrival, fires an 8-directional projectile burst. Player caught nearby takes damage before they can react. Creates a strong incentive to stay at mid-range and keep moving.
Attack 2 — Signal Drifters
Periodically broadcasts a signal that summons 2–3 Drifters. Not full waves — just enough to split attention. Relay continues teleporting and bursting while adds are alive.
Post-boss
- Body part drop (guaranteed).
- Floor 3 portal opens.
Boss: THE HIVEMIND (Floor 3 — Final Boss)
What the corruption becomes when it fully realizes itself. Individual units lose their original purpose and merge into a single machine that was never meant to exist.
Room: Large. Largest boss room in the run. Preceded by a charging station (full HP restore before entry).
Phase 1 — Assembly
No central target yet. Corrupted units flood the room in waves — Drifters, Repeaters, Anchors. As each one dies, it is pulled toward the center and physically joins the assembling structure (visual indicator builds up). Player must clear everything they've learned across floors 1 and 2 simultaneously, under pressure. The Hivemind core cannot be damaged during this phase.
Phase 2 — Active
The assembled machine comes online. Attacks are recognizable — a spread shot pattern like the Repeater, a slow sweeping area attack like the Warden, drifting projectiles like the Drifter. Familiar in shape, dangerous in scale. Player knows what each attack is but they are now coming from a single powerful source at elevated intensity.
Phase 3 — Unique
The Hivemind stops mimicking its components and expresses something none of them could do individually. Attacks to design:
- Rotating beam that forces constant movement around the room
- Room-wide pulse that pushes the player toward walls
- Tracking projectiles that home slowly but persistently
Phase 3 begins below 30% HP. Visual state change — structure begins to crack and glow.
Post-boss
- Body part drop (guaranteed).
- Victory screen triggers. Run complete.
- All remaining run credits returned to wallet on hub return.
Emotional intent: The Hivemind is not a villain. It's what happens when nothing is left to maintain and the only function remaining is persistence. Killing it ends the run — but the station is still empty.
Shelved: THE SUPERVISOR
Built and functional. Shelved from VS because its movement and attack profile (patrol + beam + adds) overlaps too closely with the Warden at the same tier.
Candidate uses post-VS:
- Named mini-boss variant in a sealed room
- Reintroduced as a late-floor elite enemy on higher difficulty
- Escort mission antagonist
The Supervisor's WALL-E freeze/distress moment should be preserved whenever it returns — that beat is worth keeping.
Run Items
8 items for VS. Populate item rooms and shops. BOI-style: diverse effects, some synergies, not just stat buffs.
| Item | Effect |
|---|---|
| Coolant Leak | Leaves a slick trail for 1s when you take damage. Enemies that touch it are slowed for 2s. |
| Overclock Module | Fire rate +40%. Every 3rd shot deals 0 damage. |
| Scrap Magnet | Scrap tokens auto-collect within 3 tiles. |
| Memory Spike | First projectile fired in each room deals 3× damage. |
| Rust Coat | Reduce all incoming damage by 1 (min 1). |
| Static Discharge | On taking damage, emit a short-range AoE burst (1 tile radius). |
| Fragmented Map | Each time you clear a combat room, one unexplored room on the floor map is revealed. |
| Patch Kit | Consumed on pickup: restore 2 HP immediately. |
Synergies worth noting
- Coolant Leak + Static Discharge: Taking damage becomes room control.
- Memory Spike + Overclock Module: Active tension — sacrificing your free first shot on dead 3rd shots.
- Rust Coat + Lightweight Frame (body part): Glass cannon with a floor on incoming damage.
Body Parts
8 non-default upgrades across 4 active slots for VS. All slots have a default (baseline, no stat change) that is never listed as a pickup.
Trade-offs are required — no pure upgrades.
HEAD
| Part | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wide-Angle Lens | Vision radius +30%. Projectile speed -20%. |
| Targeting Spike | Projectile speed +40%, range +25%. Field of view -20%. |
TORSO
| Part | Effect |
|---|---|
| Reinforced Chassis | Max HP +2. Move speed -10%. |
| Lightweight Frame | Move speed +20%. Max HP -1. |
LEFT ARM (utility/shield slot)
| Part | Effect |
|---|---|
| Scatter Emitter | Fires 3-way spread instead of single shot. Each projectile deals 60% damage. |
| Shield Projector | Active block on cooldown (3s): absorbs one hit. No offensive change. |
RIGHT ARM (damage slot)
| Part | Effect |
|---|---|
| Heavy Emitter | Damage +60%. Fire rate -40%. |
| Rapid Emitter | Fire rate +50%. Damage -30%. |
LEGS [OPTIONAL — include if bandwidth allows]
| Part | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hydraulic Boosters | Move speed +15%. Deceleration takes longer. Brief i-frames on dash through enemies. |
Room Content Spec
Room types
Combat rooms Doors lock on entry. Unlock when all enemies are defeated.
| Floor depth | Enemy count | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| Floor 1, rooms 1–3 | 1–2 | Drifters only |
| Floor 1, rooms 4+ | 2–3 | Drifters + 1 Repeater |
| Floor 2 | 2–4 | Mix of all three types |
| Floor 3 (pre-boss) | 2–3 | Include Anchor; rooms tighter |
Enemy count capped by room size — small rooms get -1 enemy.
Item rooms One item on a pedestal. No enemies. Safe. 20% chance to also contain a lore terminal (not wired to any lore content for VS — terminal present, content placeholder).
Shop rooms Unmanned. No NPC keeper. Sells 2 items + 1 consumable at fixed scrap prices. No haggling. Purely transactional — all NPC personality lives in the hub.
Boss room One boss per floor. Each preceded by a charging station room (no enemies, full HP restore). Boss rooms are the largest rooms in the run.
| Floor | Boss |
|---|---|
| Floor 1 | The Warden |
| Floor 2 | The Relay |
| Floor 3 | The Hivemind (final) |
Environmental Hazards
Both hazard types included in VS.
Oil slick
- Slippery surface. Reduces player movement control (momentum-based sliding).
- Enemies unaffected.
- Appears as puddles in combat rooms.
Exposed wiring
- Deals 1 HP on contact.
- Blocks movement paths — functions as impassable terrain with a damage border.
- Appears as sparking floor sections along walls.
Run arc (VS target)
| Floor | Room count | Beat |
|---|---|---|
| Floor 1 | 4–5 rooms + boss | Learn the rhythm. One item. Maybe find the shop. First Repeater feels like a puzzle. Warden fight — room fills with mines, learn to manage space. |
| Floor 2 | 5–6 rooms + boss | Mixed threats. Find a body part. Build takes shape. One tense near-death moment. Relay fight — erratic, keeps moving, adds split focus. |
| Floor 3 | 2–3 rooms + boss | Room composition tightens. Anchors in tighter spaces. Charging station. Hivemind — three phases, everything converges. Victory. |
Target run time: 20–30 minutes.
Post-VS Enemies
SUICIDE BOMBER
Corruption type: Self-destruct loop Movement: Faster than all standard enemies. Pathfinds directly to the player. Attack: On close approach, stops and begins blinking — blink frequency ramps up. Explodes on trigger. AoE damages both the player AND other enemies in range. Threat level: High Design role: Forces constant movement. Punishes clustering with other enemies. Rewards luring — a bomber detonating in a group of Anchors or Repeaters creates player-controlled room clearing. The ramping blink gives a readable window to escape or detonate intentionally.
CHOMPER
Corruption type: Aggression loop Movement: Frog-like dash cadence — dash toward player, brief recovery pause, dash again. Chains dashes together rather than returning to idle between them. Attack: Melee bite on contact during the dash. No projectiles. Recovery window: Brief stall after each dash, especially on a miss. Readable and punishable — the skill floor is dodging the dash; the skill ceiling is baiting a miss and punishing the recovery. Threat level: Medium-High Design role: Teaches dash-reading and dodge timing. Relentless once it starts chaining. High pressure in small rooms. Pairs well with Anchor — the Anchor pins a corner while the Chomper forces the player into it.
Post-VS Body Parts
HAMMER ARM (Right Arm — damage slot)
Effect: Replaces the ranged attack entirely with a charged melee swing. Hold the shoot key to charge — arm winds up while held. Release to swing in the direction of the last movement input. High damage, small AoE on impact. Charge behavior: Movement speed is reduced while charging — not stopped, but noticeably slower. The player can still reposition but not freely. This makes the commit real: you close distance, start charging, and become a slower target while you do it. Trade-off: High damage output and AoE but requires closing distance, committing to a charge through reduced movement, and reading your position before releasing. Full playstyle conversion — this is a melee build piece, not a modifier. Synergies:
- Arc Pulse (left arm): Gives the melee build a ranged utility option on cooldown — the two together define a coherent melee archetype.
- Static Discharge: Taking damage in melee range triggers the AoE burst — high risk, high chaos.
- Rust Coat: The damage floor makes surviving close-range hits more viable.
- Coolant Leak: Getting hit while swinging lays a slick — passive room control from a melee build.
ARC PULSE (Left Arm — utility slot)
Effect: Separate active ability (not tied to primary fire input). Fires a curved, boomerang-trajectory arc shot — slow-moving, pierces through multiple enemies, covers a wide area. Long cooldown. Does not replace or interact with the primary attack unless Hammer Arm is also equipped. Trade-off: No offensive change to primary fire. The arc shot is powerful and area-covering but available infrequently. Design role: Standalone utility — adds ranged pressure on cooldown. Becomes the primary ranged option when paired with Hammer Arm, defining the melee archetype's attack kit.
Open questions (not resolved, revisit post-VS)
- Zone-specific enemy variants — do hazard types change per zone, or stay consistent?
- Mini-boss rooms — add for post-VS (e.g., named Anchor variant + Drifters in a sealed room)?
- Lore terminal content — terminals exist in VS as placeholders; content pass comes later.
- Hydraulic Boosters — confirm in or out based on animation budget before VS build locks.