Tekton Dash Armageddon

🛠️ Developer Workflows

1. Creating a Skin Material

To create dynamic, color-maskable 3D materials for new character skins:

1. Open the Skin Shader Generator tool in the editor: res://scenes/tools/skin_shader_generator.tscn
2. Run the scene.
3. Import your base albedo and mask textures.
4. Use the UI to visualize UV overlays and adjust color channels (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha masks).
5. Export the configured material as a .tres file into the assets/materials/skins/ directory.

2. Adding a Skin to the Shop

Once your material is ready, you need to add it to the game's economy so players can buy and equip it. This is done by updating the Nakama backend module.

1. Copy the latest script: Open server/nakama/tekton_admin.js locally and copy its updated contents (including your new skin).
2. Connect to your VPS via SSH.
3. Create/Edit the file on the remote server:

   nano ~/tekton_admin.js
   # Or use micro (recommended): micro ~/tekton_admin.js
   

   Paste the copied contents and save the file.
4. Find your Nakama Container ID: It is highly recommended to use lazydocker to manage containers. (To install on Ubuntu: curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jesseduffield/lazydocker/master/scripts/install_update_linux.sh | bash) Open lazydocker or run docker ps to find the Container ID for your Nakama server.
5. Copy the file into the Nakama container:

   # Replace ed21ac5d442a with your actual Container ID
   docker cp ~/tekton_admin.js ed21ac5d442a:/nakama/data/modules/tekton_admin.js
   

6. Restart the container (via lazydocker or docker restart <Container ID>) for Nakama to load the new modules. Live game clients will fetch this new catalog automatically upon booting.

3. Pushing a New Version (Automated Patching)

When you're ready to deploy new features or assets to players:

1. Document your changes in CHANGELOG_DRAFT.md using player-friendly language.
2. Run the version generation script from the terminal:

   python generate_version_json.py --bump patch
   

   (Use --bump minor or --bump major for larger updates.)
3. Commit and push your changes to the main branch on GitHub:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Release version X.Y.Z"
   git push origin main
   

4. The GitHub Actions Workflow (deploy_patch.yml) will automatically detect the push, build the patch manifest (version.json), and deploy it to the public gh-pages branch.
5. Live game clients will detect the new version on boot, download the updated files, and apply the patch seamlessly.

4. Local Testing & Understanding the Patch System

When a player (or you) downloads an in-game patch, Godot downloads a patch.pck file to the system's user:// directory.

• Virtual File System: Godot mounts this .pck file over the res:// directory purely in memory. It does not physically overwrite your local source files (like assets/data/version.json).
• Editor Bypass: When testing locally in the Godot Editor, the BootScreen is configured to skip the remote network download and instead automatically parse your local assets/data/version.json.
• Previewing Changelogs: To preview how your changelog will look before pushing to GitHub:
  1. Add your notes under the ## [NEXT] section in CHANGELOG_DRAFT.md.
  2. Run py tools/generate_version_json.py from the terminal.
  3. Run the BootScreen scene in the Godot Editor. It will instantly display the updated local UI!
• Syncing: After the GitHub Actions CI builds a release online, remember to run git pull origin main to sync your local project files with the CI-generated files.

🗺️ Architecture Flowchart

flowchart TD
    %% Local Dev Flow
    subgraph Local Dev Environment
        A[📝 CHANGELOG_DRAFT.md] -->|py tools/generate_version_json.py| B[(📄 version.json)]
        B -.->|Test in Editor| C{BootScreen}
        C -- Editor Bypass --> D[Reads Local version.json directly]
    end

    %% CI Pipeline
    subgraph CI/CD Pipeline
        B -->|git push| E[⚡ GitHub Actions]
        E -->|Compiles & Builds| F[📦 patch.pck]
        F -->|Deploys| G((🌍 Public Repository))
    end

    %% Live Client Flow
    subgraph Player Client
        G -.->|HTTP Download on Boot| H[📂 user://patch.pck]
        H -->|ProjectSettings.load_resource_pack| I[🧠 Godot Virtual File System]
        I -.->|Overrides res:// in Memory| J[Game Starts Updated!]
    end

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🚀 Ongoing Features (Incoming)

🎰 Gacha System Backend Editor

Currently in development: A dedicated backend editor tool (similar to skin_catalog_editor.tscn) specifically for managing the Gacha System.

• Nakama Syncing: Will allow developers to push updated gacha pools, rates, and fragment costs directly to Nakama Storage.
• Dynamic Banners: Will support updating specific slots on the gacha banner dynamically.
• Seasonal Rotations: Will introduce automated scheduling so banners rotate based on active seasons and automatically remove themselves when the season ends.