Tracking Issue for v0.6.0: The Battle System Update

[Bli-AIk]

🎯 Purpose

The primary objective of v0.6.0 is to implement a fully functional, data-driven combat system powered by our Linear Sequencer Architecture. Instead of a hardcoded state machine, the entire battle flow (from the encounter start to the victory screen) should be driven by scriptable RON sequences (e.g., demo.battle.ron).

📝 Goal Summary

We need to expand the current Sequencer capabilities to support the complete Undertale-style battle loop. The engine must act as a runtime for battle scripts, effectively treating the "Player Turn," "Enemy Attack," and "Dialogue" as discrete, sequenced commands that modders can orchestrate.
Success Metric: The engine acts as a runtime capable of executing a full "Mad Dummy" recreation mod. If the Mad Dummy fight works (Dialogue -> Attack -> Finish Battle), the version is ready.

✅ Core Tasks

Here is the core objective of this update.
All objectives should be linked to specific Issues/PRs in the future.
If an objective is not linked, it means it is still a draft.

🎬 Sequencer & Architecture

Expand the Linear Sequencer to support interactive battle flow control.
Command Expansion: Implement missing commands required for a full battle loop:

• WaitForInput: Pause the sequence until player interaction completes. feat: add ModifyViewElement command & refactor ui to view #41
• ShowMenu: Command to trigger the FIGHT/ACT/ITEM/MERCY View. refactor: WASM mod framework — generalize architecture and abolish config.toml #95
• DialogBubble: Command to spawn enemy speech bubbles.
• CheckCondition: (Optional) Basic branching logic for "Win/Mercy" states.
• ModifyView: Command to dynamically update View elements (e.g., hide HUD, change battle box scale) during the sequence. feat: add ModifyViewElement command & refactor ui to view #41
• Deprecate bevy_smud: Use the SDF algorithm from bevy_alight_motion instead. refactor: Replace bevy_smud with custom SDF rendering #42
• Internal Refactor: Simplify backend logic to make adding new commands easier. (Includes minor RON schema updates). refactor: Refactor RON backends to separate schema from logic #40 feat!: Unified Interactive View & Data-Driven Input System #44 refactor!: Remove hardcoded paths and introduce unified Visual system #47
• Tween Control: Add Tween View Element Animation System feat(battle): Add Tween View Element Animation System #43

⚔️ View (UI) & Interaction Logic

Implement the backend logic for the 4 main battle buttons triggered by the Sequencer.

• FIGHT: Timing bar minigame logic ( refactor: WASM mod framework — generalize architecture and abolish config.toml #95 ) and damage calculation formulas.
• ACT: Sub-menu navigation and checking enemy descriptions/actions.
• ITEM: Inventory system integration and consumable usage effects.
• MERCY: Spare meter calculations and fleeing probability logic.

👾 Enemy Content System

• Data Configuration: Define Enemy structure in toml/ron (stats, sprites, ACT commands).
• Visuals: Enemy sprite rendering and simple animations (idle/hurt).
• Speech Bubbles: Implement the visual system for enemy dialogue during the battle phase.

📦 Content & Documentation

• Playable Example Mod: Create a full "Mad Dummy" encounter using demo.battle.ron and demo_attack.performance.ron to validate the system.
• Documentation: Write the "Battle Sequencing Guide" in the SoupRune docs (explaining commands). doc: Release the documentation and write the basic documentation content (battle section). #31

✨ Bonus / Stretch Goals (Deltarune Style)

• DR UI Adaptation: Adapt the ui_layout.ron parser to support multi-character (Party) layouts.
• TP System: Basic implementation of Tension Points logic.
• Grazing: Implement "Graze" hitboxes in the DanmakuPerformance system.

📅 Roadmap

Development Phases (Order of Execution):

1. Phase 1: The Loop - Expand the Sequencer to support a full "Player Turn -> Enemy Turn" cycle without UI polish.
2. Phase 2: Interaction - Wire up the FIGHT/ACT/ITEM/MERCY logic to the sequence commands.
3. Phase 3: Visuals & Content - Implement Speech Bubbles, Enemy Sprites, and the Example Mod data.
4. Phase 4: Docs & Polish - Finalize the API documentation and clean up the RON syntax.

[Bli-AIk]

Update: Scope Adjusted

I've updated the task list to include a new Sequencer command: ModifyUI. While designing the Mad Dummy encounter, I realized we need a way to dynamically control UI elements (e.g., zoom the battle box, hiding the HUD) directly from the RON script.

Furthermore, we deprecated bevy_smud in bevy_alight_motion and adopted our own SDF graphics algorithm.

Therefore, I am considering using this algorithm directly in the future and abandoning bevy_smud in souprune crate.

Added to Sequencer & Architecture.