tekton/TODO.md

Candy Survival Implementation (Completed)

This file contains the complete list of tasks, features, and refactors successfully implemented for the Candy Survival game mode, replacing the legacy Gauntlet mode.

1. Project-Wide Renaming & Asset Scrubbing

• Codebase: Replaced all GAUNTLET, Gauntlet, and gauntlet_ references with CANDY_SURVIVAL across 21+ scripts, scenes, and UI nodes.
• Assets & Models: Renamed directories and files from assets/models/arena/gauntlet/ to candy_survival/, including .gltf, .bin, and all texture .png files.
• Meta Scrubbing: Purged cached Godot importer metadata inside .import and .gltf files referencing the old paths.
• Changelog: Updated historical version.json references to use the new naming convention.

2. Arena & Environment

• 18x18 Grid: Set boundaries to 18x18 with solid outer walls.
• Collision System: Sticky cells now act as pure collision boundaries (no slow-mo or growth algorithms).
• Spawn Points: Updated to (2,2), (16,2), (2,16), (16,16) to successfully avoid row 1 stairs geometry.

3. Mekton NPC (Center Boss)

• Spawning: Replaced the primitive "Candy Pump" tank with a fully instanced static_tekton_mesh at Vector2i(8,8).
• Face Color Cycling: The ted_body material cycles its emission and albedo color (Heart/Diamond/Star/Coin) every 5 seconds.
• Integration: Spawning and color state fully self-contained inside candy_survival_manager.gd without relying on main.gd.

4. Core Gameplay: Blueprints & Stacks

• Auto-Pickup Tiles: Modified player_movement_manager.gd so walking over a tile automatically picks it up if the playerboard has an open slot.
• 3x3 Auto-Detection: Rewrote _check_goal_completion in playerboard_manager.gd to detect fully filled 3x3 grids of a single dominant color.
• Off-Color Blueprints: If the board's majority color is depleted from the arena grid, mixed-color blueprints are accepted for 50% points.
• Stacking & Multipliers: Successful blueprints award a candy on the player's head. Generates continuous points: 1.0 + (Stack * 0.1).

5. Core Gameplay: Delivery & Sugar Rush

• Auto-Delivery: Proximity trigger (distance <= 2) to the center Mekton automatically attempts delivery.
• Face Matching: Delivery succeeds only if the player's candy stack matches the current glowing color of the Mekton's face.
• Sugar Rush Activation: Successful delivery clears the stack and triggers Engine.time_scale = 2.0 (2x global speed) for 2s + (candies * 0.4s).

6. Sabotage: Knock & Ghost

• Knock Mechanic: Starts with 5 charges. Bound to action_knock_tekton. Targets adjacent players to steal their full candy stack and color.
• Knock Backfire: Hitting an empty-handed player consumes a charge and backfires (both players get knocked).
• Ghost Mechanic: Starts with 5 charges. Bound to action_grab_tekton.
• Ghost Phase-Through: Hijacks the core game's is_invisible state for 4s (40% opacity). Grants knock immunity and explicitly allows walking through sticky collision walls.

7. Visuals & UI (HUD Rewrite)

• HUD Scene Rebuild: Removed script-based GUI generation. Rebuilt candy_survival_hud.tscn natively using Godot Control nodes for easy artist iteration.
• UI Elements Added: SugarRushBar, CandyStackBadge, KnockChargesLabel, GhostChargesLabel, and PointsLabel.
• Delivery Indicator: Added a visual READY TO DELIVER! indicator that dynamically listens to the Mekton's 5s color cycle and validates against the player's held stack.
• 3D Visual Candy Stacks: Hooked sync_candy_stack to physically spawn MeshInstance3D tiles (Heart/Diamond/Star/Coin) stacked vertically (y += 0.4) on the player character's head.

8. AI / Bot Integration

• Mekton Delivery AI: Bots prioritize (Priority 0.7) checking if their candy color matches the Mekton's face, pathfinding directly to the center to deliver and score.
• Ghost AI: Bots evaluate proximity to sticky walls and actively trigger the native Candy Survival ghost charges to phase through traps.
• Test Updates: Re-wrote test_bot_gauntlet.gd to test the new mechanics (overlay checks, unsafe neighbor counts) and deleted 8+ obsolete Gauntlet mechanic test files.

9. Code Health & Documentation

• Compilation: Fixed a dangling _on_doors_update call in lobby_room.gd. Verified 100% clean compilation (godot --headless --build-solutions).
• Gitea Issues: Bulk-closed and commented on issues #54-57 and #65-70 with detailed technical implementation logs.
• Wiki: Fully rewrote the Game-Modes.-.md wiki page to document the new rules, RPC lists, Sabotage input mappings, and arena coordinates.
• Git Branching: Deleted gauntlet, verified all features on the clean candy_survival tracking branch.