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#125: slow the prologue down, and give the breach a real black hole

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Five things, all of them "this happens too fast or looks too thin".

PACING. Every beat had a completion test that could be satisfied while the
guide was still mid-sentence, which is why everything landed seconds after
the thing before it. Beats now have a FLOOR as well as a deadline - a
minimum length - and a beat whose point is the guide talking will not end
while a line is still on screen. One rule in one place rather than tuning
each condition. The run is 3400px instead of 1500, which at cruise was about
four seconds, and a held line is 6.5s instead of 4.5.

THE CONVOY. Escorts at the four corners of a box, holds packed in the middle
of it, roughly three times the spread of the fleet's own wedge - this is
freight under guard, not a fighting formation. CONVOY and CONVOY_FORMATION
pair index-for-index, which is all it takes for spawn_ships to seat the guns
on the outside, and the test pins that every hold sits further in than the
furthest-out escort.

THE DIALOG. Cut corners, brackets holding the short edges open, a tick strip
along the bottom and a caret in the corner - geometry rather than art, so it
scales with the banner and costs nothing.

THE BREACH. It was a few lines turning around a point. It is now two halves
driven by one number: DimensionalBreach, a growing black hole out in the
world built on BlackHoleVisual's idiom - empty core, counter-rotating arc
segments hotter toward the centre - with infalling streamers it does not
have, because a planet's disc is steady and this one has to say "now"; and
breach.gdshader over the top, bending the ACTUAL SCENE around it. Ships,
rocks and the starfield all get dragged in, which is most of what makes a
hole in space read as a hole rather than as a decal drawn on one.

Inside the horizon the shader samples nothing at all - the same decision
BlackHoleVisual makes, for the same reason: a black hole with something
visible in the middle stops being one.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Loïc Wisniewski 2026-08-24 13:25:10 +02:00
commit d455361328
8 changed files with 527 additions and 57 deletions
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194
world/IntroDirector.gd
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@ -28,18 +28,41 @@ const WORLD_SHIP_AT: Vector2 = Vector2(0.0, -16000.0)
# Carriers are the game's cargo hull; transporters belong to hubs and are
# not fleet-eligible at all, so a convoy of them would be silently filtered
# down to its escorts.
const CONVOY: PackedStringArray = ["interceptor", "carrier", "carrier",
"carrier", "interceptor", "carrier", "carrier", "interceptor",
"carrier", "interceptor"]
#
# #125: the order here pairs index-for-index with CONVOY_FORMATION below.
# The holds are the middle six entries and the escorts are the four outer
# ones, so the layout below can put the guns on the outside without either
# array having to know which slot is which - they simply agree.
const CONVOY: PackedStringArray = ["interceptor", "interceptor",
"interceptor", "interceptor",
"carrier", "carrier", "carrier", "carrier", "carrier", "carrier"]
# #125: "space them a bit more and surround transporters by the default
# vessels". Escorts first, at the four corners of the box; then the holds
# packed in the middle of it. Roughly three times the spread of the fleet's
# own wedge - this is a freight convoy under guard, not a fighting
# formation, and it should not look like one.
const CONVOY_FORMATION: Array[Vector2] = [
Vector2(-300.0, -260.0), Vector2(300.0, -260.0),
Vector2(-300.0, 260.0), Vector2(300.0, 260.0),
Vector2(-105.0, -120.0), Vector2(105.0, -120.0),
Vector2(-105.0, 0.0), Vector2(105.0, 0.0),
Vector2(-105.0, 120.0), Vector2(105.0, 120.0),
]
const AMBUSH_COUNT: int = 3
const AMBUSH_AHEAD: float = 1100.0
const RUN_DISTANCE: float = 1500.0
# #125: the run was over in about four seconds at cruise. Far enough now
# that the convoy is genuinely under way before anything interrupts it.
const RUN_DISTANCE: float = 3400.0
const BELT_AHEAD: float = 2200.0
const BELT_ROCKS: int = 90
const BELT_HALF_WIDTH: float = 2600.0
const BELT_DEPTH: float = 1400.0
const BREACH_PULL: float = 620.0
const SHAKE_MAX: float = 34.0
# How far past the horizon the lens reaches. Generous: the bend is what
# sells the hole, and it falls off to nothing on its own well before this.
const BREACH_LENS_SCALE: float = 7.0
const VORTEX_COLORS: Array = [
Color(0.55, 0.35, 1.0), Color(0.25, 0.9, 1.0), Color(1.0, 0.35, 0.8),
Color(1.0, 0.8, 0.3), Color(0.4, 1.0, 0.6),
@ -62,8 +85,11 @@ var rocks: Array = []
var shake: float = 0.0
var vortex_time: float = 0.0
var survivor: Node2D = null
var breach: Node2D = null
var _done: bool = false
@onready var overlay: ColorRect = get_node_or_null("../UI/BreachOverlay")
func _ready() -> void:
# A NEW-game thing. A player returning from a planet surface, or
@ -91,11 +117,28 @@ func _process(delta: float) -> void:
beat_time += delta
_tick(delta)
_apply_shake(delta)
if beat_time >= _deadline() or _beat_complete():
if beat >= Beat.AFTERMATH:
finish()
return
_begin(beat + 1)
if beat_time < _deadline() and not _ready_to_advance():
return
if beat >= Beat.AFTERMATH:
finish()
return
_begin(beat + 1)
func _ready_to_advance() -> bool:
if beat_time < _floor_time():
return false
if _waits_for_narration() and narration.is_speaking():
return false
return _beat_complete() or beat_time >= _floor_time() and _floor_only()
# Beats with no condition of their own end when their floor is up. Kept
# explicit so a beat that DOES have a condition cannot be advanced early by
# the floor alone.
func _floor_only() -> bool:
return beat == Beat.BRIEF or beat == Beat.CLEAR or beat == Beat.BREACH \
or beat == Beat.VORTEX or beat == Beat.AFTERMATH
# Ends the prologue and hands over. The same call ends it whether it was
@ -125,7 +168,42 @@ func skip() -> void:
finish()
func _apply_convoy_formation() -> void:
for i in range(mini(CONVOY_FORMATION.size(), GameState.formation.size())):
GameState.formation[i] = CONVOY_FORMATION[i]
# The world-space half of the breach, plus the screen-space lens over it.
func _open_breach() -> void:
if is_instance_valid(breach):
return
breach = load("res://vfx/DimensionalBreach.tscn").instantiate()
breach.position = breach_at
get_parent().add_child(breach)
# Drives both halves from one number. The overlay works in SCREEN pixels, so
# the world point is projected through the canvas transform here - only the
# director knows where the camera is.
func _drive_breach(open_amount: float) -> void:
if is_instance_valid(breach):
breach.grow(open_amount)
if overlay == null:
return
var canvas: Transform2D = get_viewport().get_canvas_transform()
var on_screen: Vector2 = canvas * breach_at
var horizon: float = (breach.horizon_radius() if is_instance_valid(breach) else 0.0) \
* canvas.get_scale().x
overlay.set_breach(on_screen, horizon,
maxf(horizon * BREACH_LENS_SCALE, 1.0), open_amount)
func _clear_props() -> void:
if is_instance_valid(breach):
breach.queue_free()
breach = null
if overlay != null:
overlay.clear_breach()
for prop in ambush + rocks:
if is_instance_valid(prop):
prop.queue_free()
@ -143,6 +221,11 @@ func _begin(next: int) -> void:
Beat.BRIEF:
start_at = fleet.get_centroid()
GameState.intro_fleet_size = CONVOY.size()
# #125: the convoy flies in its own spread-out box, escorts on
# the corners. spawn_ships seats vessel i in formation slot i,
# so writing the layout here - before the spawn - is all it
# takes for CONVOY and CONVOY_FORMATION to line up.
_apply_convoy_formation()
fleet.spawn_ships(CONVOY.size(), start_at, CONVOY)
narration.say("Convoy Kestrel, you are carrying the season's shipment to the World Ship.", 5.0)
narration.say("Hold your heading and keep the holds intact. We will be watching.", 4.5)
@ -159,6 +242,7 @@ func _begin(next: int) -> void:
Beat.BREACH:
GameState.intro_locks_movement = true
breach_at = fleet.get_centroid() + Vector2(0.0, -900.0)
_open_breach()
narration.say("Kestrel, your heading is - something is opening ahead of you -", 4.0)
Beat.VORTEX:
vortex_time = 0.0
@ -172,17 +256,44 @@ func _begin(next: int) -> void:
func _deadline() -> float:
match beat:
Beat.BRIEF: return 10.0
Beat.RUN: return 45.0
Beat.AMBUSH: return 75.0
Beat.CLEAR: return 4.0
Beat.GAUNTLET: return 60.0
Beat.BREACH: return 4.2
Beat.VORTEX: return 3.6
Beat.AFTERMATH: return 10.5
Beat.BRIEF: return 16.0
Beat.RUN: return 60.0
Beat.AMBUSH: return 90.0
Beat.CLEAR: return 8.0
Beat.GAUNTLET: return 75.0
Beat.BREACH: return 9.0
Beat.VORTEX: return 7.0
Beat.AFTERMATH: return 15.0
return 1.0
# #125: "everything happens seconds after the previous thing started."
#
# The deadline above is how long a beat may take; this is how long it must
# take. Two beats ran short for the same reason - their completion test was
# satisfied while the guide was still mid-sentence - so no beat may end
# before its own floor, and a beat that is still TALKING holds regardless.
# One rule, applied in one place, rather than tuning each condition.
func _floor_time() -> float:
match beat:
Beat.BRIEF: return 11.0
Beat.RUN: return 6.0
Beat.AMBUSH: return 3.0
Beat.CLEAR: return 5.0
Beat.GAUNTLET: return 6.0
Beat.BREACH: return 8.0
Beat.VORTEX: return 6.5
Beat.AFTERMATH: return 12.0
return 0.0
# Beats where the guide is the point, and cutting the line off would be
# cutting the beat off. The action beats are deliberately not here: a wave
# arriving must not wait for a sentence to finish.
func _waits_for_narration() -> bool:
return beat == Beat.BRIEF or beat == Beat.CLEAR or beat == Beat.AFTERMATH
func _beat_complete() -> bool:
match beat:
Beat.RUN:
@ -199,6 +310,9 @@ func _tick(delta: float) -> void:
match beat:
Beat.BREACH:
shake = minf(shake + delta * SHAKE_MAX * 0.9, SHAKE_MAX)
# Opens over the whole beat rather than snapping to full size,
# which is the "growing" the ticket asks for.
_drive_breach(clampf(beat_time / maxf(_deadline(), 0.001), 0.0, 1.0))
# Dragged in, not flown in: the player has already lost the wheel.
var to_breach: Vector2 = breach_at - fleet.get_centroid()
if to_breach.length() > 1.0:
@ -207,10 +321,15 @@ func _tick(delta: float) -> void:
Beat.VORTEX:
vortex_time += delta
shake = maxf(shake - delta * SHAKE_MAX * 0.5, SHAKE_MAX * 0.35)
_drive_breach(1.0)
_whirl(delta)
queue_redraw()
Beat.AFTERMATH:
shake = maxf(shake - delta * SHAKE_MAX, 0.0)
# It closes behind them over the first stretch of the aftermath,
# so the last thing the player sees is the hole sealing rather
# than a cut.
_drive_breach(clampf(1.0 - beat_time / 3.0, 0.0, 1.0))
queue_redraw()
@ -309,42 +428,17 @@ func _living(nodes: Array) -> int:
# --- what the prologue draws ----------------------------------------------
func _draw() -> void:
if not running:
# #125: the breach draws itself now - a growing black hole out in the
# world (DimensionalBreach) with a screen-space lens over it
# (BreachOverlay). What is left here is the ribbon of matter being torn
# off the convoy, which belongs to the fleet rather than to the hole.
if not running or beat != Beat.VORTEX:
return
if beat == Beat.BREACH:
_draw_breach(clampf(beat_time / _deadline(), 0.0, 1.0))
elif beat == Beat.VORTEX:
_draw_breach(1.0)
_draw_vortex()
func _draw_breach(progress: float) -> void:
var radius: float = lerpf(20.0, 340.0, progress)
draw_circle(breach_at, radius, Color(0.06, 0.0, 0.12, 0.75 * progress))
for i in range(VORTEX_COLORS.size()):
var colour: Color = VORTEX_COLORS[i]
var r: float = radius * (0.45 + 0.14 * float(i))
var spin: float = beat_time * (1.4 + 0.5 * float(i))
NeonDraw.draw_glowing_path(self, _spiral(breach_at, r, spin, i),
Color(colour, 0.55 + 0.35 * progress), 0.9, 0.5)
func _draw_vortex() -> void:
# Ribbons dragged inward, brightening as the fleet is pulled apart.
var pull: float = clampf(vortex_time / 3.0, 0.0, 1.0)
for i in range(VORTEX_COLORS.size() * 2):
var colour: Color = VORTEX_COLORS[i % VORTEX_COLORS.size()]
var angle: float = vortex_time * 3.2 + TAU * float(i) / float(VORTEX_COLORS.size() * 2)
var outer: float = lerpf(900.0, 120.0, pull)
var outer: float = lerpf(900.0, 150.0, pull)
var from: Vector2 = breach_at + Vector2(cos(angle), sin(angle)) * outer
var to: Vector2 = breach_at + Vector2(cos(angle + 1.1), sin(angle + 1.1)) * 40.0
NeonDraw.draw_glowing_line(self, from, to, Color(colour, 0.35 + 0.5 * pull), 1.0, 0.8)
func _spiral(centre: Vector2, radius: float, phase: float, arm: int) -> PackedVector2Array:
var points: PackedVector2Array = PackedVector2Array()
for i in range(18):
var t: float = float(i) / 17.0
var angle: float = phase + t * TAU * 0.8 + float(arm)
points.append(centre + Vector2(cos(angle), sin(angle)) * radius * (0.35 + 0.65 * t))
return points
var to: Vector2 = breach_at + Vector2(cos(angle + 1.1), sin(angle + 1.1)) * 60.0
NeonDraw.draw_glowing_line(self, from, to, Color(colour, 0.3 + 0.45 * pull), 1.0, 0.8)