Mecha Skirmish Packet snapshot 2026-09-05

Decisions

What the team still has to decide, in priority order, and what has already been settled with its reasoning. Each card is a live item in the project tracker; notes are the discussion so far.

Open (7)

FEAT-009 · high · rules, sim

Melee attack system: improvised strikes for every mech, knockdown/grapple, charge bonus, Guard/Brace interaction (rulebook F11)

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Context: only the Blade arm fights at adjacency today, via a weapon tag. Options: (a) every mech gets an improvised strike (punch, kick, ram) scaled by chassis class, plus knockdown and grapple as Full actions; (b) melee stays weapon-only but gains a charge bonus for closing 3+ hexes in the same activation; (c) both. Recommendation: (c), designed in the rulebook (F11) and simulated before the catalog expands so melee parts have a system to live in. Needs a read on how central brawling should feel.
TASK-010 · high · gdd

Choose production engine (Godot / Unity / Unreal); platform decided: PC full-engined game, desktop + Steam Deck explicit, iPad potential

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Platform decided 2026-09-05: PC as a full engined game targeting desktop and Steam Deck explicitly; iPad potential. Engine not decided. TS engine stays the reference implementation and a server candidate.
  • 2026-09-05: Options: Godot (open, light, GDScript or C#, strong 2D, easy Steam Deck story, weaker high-end 3D); Unity (mature 2.5D and 3D tooling, C#, Steam Deck fine, licensing history); Unreal (heaviest, best 3D, C++ and Blueprint, overkill unless the art direction is modular 3D). Either way the TypeScript engine stays the reference and a server candidate; the client ports it with golden-replay tests or embeds it. Recommendation: decide after the hotseat prototype (FEAT-008) shows what presentation needs. If forced now: Godot for a 2D-modular look, Unity for modular 3D.
IDEA-002 · medium · rules

Additional objective types beyond hold zones: capture and carry, escort, timed relays (H7)

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Context: v0 scores hold zones only. Options: capture-and-carry (pick up, deliver), escort (a moving objective), timed relays (zones that activate on a schedule), king-of-the-hill variants. Recommendation: keep hold zones through the believable-sim milestone; design one or two more types alongside the first hand-crafted maps. Decision needed: which single extra type ships in v1.
TASK-004 · medium · rules

Roster complexity review after part catalog is drafted (B8)

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Context: 7 slots x 3 mechs is 21 choices plus a sideboard mech; kits keep the floor at four picks. Options if it reads as homework: merge Head into Chassis (6 slots), fold Back into Legs (5), or keep 7 and lean on kits and roster codes. Blocked on the part catalog (TASK-008): judge with real options in each slot, not empty ones.
TASK-013 · medium · gdd

Decide art production approach (2D modular sprites vs modular 3D); camera decided

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Camera decided 2026-09-05: 2.5D isometric with continual 90-degree pivots for full rotation. Flag: hex grids have 60-degree symmetry, so 90-degree stops alternate pointy-top and flat-top looks; consider 60-degree stops.
  • 2026-09-05: Options: 2D modular sprites (matches the poster look, faster to produce, needs four or six pre-rendered angles per part to survive camera rotation) vs modular 3D (kitbashing and a free camera come for free, heavier pipeline). Coupled to the engine choice and to the 90-degree vs 60-degree camera-stop question.
TASK-014 · medium · gdd

Decide v1 content targets: pilots per faction, maps in ranked pool

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Maps and pilots will be hand-crafted; scope not settled yet.
  • 2026-09-05: Options: GDD proposal is 3 pilots per faction (15) and 5 ranked maps at launch; a smaller alpha could ship 2 per faction (10) and 3 maps. All hand-crafted. Decide alpha scope vs launch scope, and whether every faction must cover every specialty.
IDEA-003 · low · gdd

Choose a working title (Mecha Skirmish is a placeholder)

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Context: Mecha Skirmish is the repository name. A title is needed before anything is shared outside the team, not before. Direction from the pillars: model kit, sprue, dice, hex.

Decided (3)

TASK-003 · decided · rules

Decide proposed rules: lite facing E8, pen thresholds F5, crit/stress tables F8 G2, scoring I4-I6, Fire-once E4

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Decided 2026-09-05: no facing (E8); pen thresholds kept, crit margin Armor+4 (F5); crit/stress tables accepted as v0; scoring/clock accepted for now, other objective types later; 32x20 + 7 rounds preliminary; Fire once per activation. Engine + rulebook updated.
TASK-011 · decided · gdd

Decide online scope: ranked, async turns, activation clock

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Decided: ranked yes, quick play yes, async and real-time both.
TASK-012 · decided · gdd

Decide monetization model (recommendation: cosmetics only, full catalog for all)

Notes

  • 2026-09-05: Decided: broad always-available base set; DLC considered later, cosmetic preferred.

Rule-level decisions are also logged in the rulebook's decision log, and product-level ones in the GDD's open decisions.