I set out to make a combat system. I returned with roads, models, and a blink ability…

Tangents, Roads, and Blinking Archers

okay okay okay, so I know last time I was all:

“I am going to work on the combat system.”

and I meant it. I really did.

I started the week’s development figuring out how to get a second creature working — this time one that could shoot! and it shot! with animation! and a lovely red number floating overhead when it hit.

Then I spent some time trying to convince the AI to make an archer… which came out as a cylinder and a torus mashed together like some long-lost relic from Lord of the Rings.

archer

Somewhere between the floating numbers and cursed geometry, I ran into a movement bug where the creature could only move upwards but never downwards — so, you know, just another normal day working on a game with a super-powered AI as a pair.

And that’s the problem with having a super-powered AI as a pair: it is beyond exceedingly simple to wander off on completely unrelated tangents. Which is, of course, what I did.

The Tangent: Shiny Hexes ✨

When I was working through a game dev course on Jumpstart to 2D Game Development: Godot 4.4+ for Beginners last year, I came across a really cool site: kenney.nl.

They’ve got models, textures, and all sorts of game assets. And wouldn’t you know it, I found a bunch of hex models that perfectly matched the vibe in my head.

And just like that, all thoughts of combat systems and specs and rational planning evaporated.

No, now was obviously the perfect time to get models and textures in. So I immediately downloaded the GLB files and started plugging them into my wave function collapse algorithms.

current

Instant vibe shift. The world suddenly looked like something. I’m not using all the models yet… but give me time 😄.

The Roads to Madness 🛣️

With proper models in hand, I finally turned to something that’s been quietly tormenting me for weeks: roads.

Now that I had actual path models to work with, I thought this was going to be a cinch.

Nope. No. Oh hell no.

This is the kind of task that is inherently infuriating to get an AI to handle. Its sense of direction doesn’t match the way the world is rendered, and trying to explain rotations in a way that makes sense to both of us is like trying to teach a goldfish to drive.

roads roads roads

And if the AI ever accidentally gets something right, it will immediately overwrite it in the next change. Because of course it will.

My eventual workflow:

  • Get the AI to build the big stuff — toggles, switches, base structure.
  • Then manually go through and tweak everything myself.

Thank god for Git and my obsession with save scumming my way back to a sensible state.

Meanwhile… Combat System? 🫣

Hang on though. Wasn’t I working on a combat system? Damn it.

Okay, where was I?

Ah yes — my ever-growing planning folder to the rescue.

I’ve developed a habit of getting the AI to output the result of any long feature discussion into a spec or planning file that gets committed into the repo.

Which is how I ended up with… about a dozen specs.

Some were implemented, some were “I realized this was a tangent and saved myself,” and some were very much still alive. After some reorganizing, I was down to a high level planning doc and a solid todo list that was a solid active plan.

➜  horizons-edge git:(main) ✗ ls planning/6-
6-implementation-todo.md
6-test-deck-archetypes-energy-abilities.md

Then came the fun part: getting the AI to validate how accurate my current TODO list was against the plan — and then, obviously, not trusting it at all and just starting to build anyway 😄.

Back on Track: Blink ✨

At last, finally, I was back on combat system track. And the first order of business: give my test creature a blink ability.

blink ability!

Let’s see how far I get next week.

Until then, I hope you’re enjoying whatever tangent is currently distracting you from your side project. I salute you, fellow tangent adventurers. 🫡

📝 Progress Summary Since last time.

  • 🚧 Road System: Added straight roads, corners, intersections, and 3–5-way connections. Complex rotation logic, road-to-hex connectivity.
  • 🧱 3D Asset Library: Integrated Kenney Hexagon Kit (180+ models, textures, documentation).
  • 🏹 Combat & Abilities: Projectile system, Archer & Scout cards, ability system improvements, radial menu, energy planning.
  • 🖱 Input & UI: New input controller with hex highlighting, better radial menu, multiplayer safeguards, grid visualization.
  • 🧭 3D Model Integration: hex_tile_model_config.gd, updated rendering, road path visualization.
  • 🗂 Documentation: New spec for energy payment (spec 7), reorganized planning docs.