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#+TITLE: Forts Gameplay — What Our Clone Is Missing (sourced)
#+AUTHOR: Forts Clone Project
#+DATE: 2026-07-01
#+OPTIONS: toc:3 num:t
* Purpose
An ENUMERATED, sourced list of gameplay systems Forts has that our clone does
not — so scope is driven by facts, not vibes. Ground truth is the shipped game
data (=SteamLibrary/.../Forts/data/=, device_list.lua / weapon_list.lua /
constants.lua) cross-checked against community docs:
- Steam guide "How to be a PRO at Vanilla Forts" (id 2035024654)
- Steam guide "Forts Glossary" (id 1380793614) and "Base Building" (1308699887)
- Forts RTS Wiki: Technology page
- Wikipedia: Forts (video game)
* What we HAVE (baseline)
Re-verified against the code on <2026-07-18>. Keep this section honest: it is
what the rest of the document is measured against.
Building (wood / bg-brace / rope), mass-spring structural sim with stress +
axial/angle breaking + cascading collapse, ground destroys debris, fire
(DoT + spread), per-strut HP, two weapons (cannon = ballistic, laser =
beam/ignite) with per-shot energy cost and firing arcs, a pre-built enemy fort
(=data/mods/enemy-fort/=), Lua-data + mods, a dev UI.
Since the first draft of this document we also have:
- *Devices*: reactor (=is_core=), mine, wind turbine, battery -- placeable, with
HP, damaged by splash and beams.
- *A real economy*: mines on metal deposits, turbines scaling with height,
storage caps, and metal/energy actually spent on building and firing.
- *A game loop*: win/lose when a team loses its last =is_core= device, plus
restart on R.
- *Bring-your-own Forts art*: =texture_forts= paths load real sprites from the
player's own install, falling back to the CC0 placeholders.
* MISSING — grouped by system, each with the in-game reference
** 1. The Reactor + win/loss [MOSTLY DONE — M5]
The core the whole game is about. =devices/reactor.lua=: HitPoints 100 (fragile),
and it is ALSO a generator (EnergyProductionRate 100, MetalProductionRate 5).
Win = destroy the enemy reactor by (a) direct damage, (b) fire/splash, or
(c) cutting its supports so it falls.
DONE: the reactor exists as an =is_core= device that also generates, takes
splash and beam damage, and ends the round when a team has none left; R
restarts. STILL MISSING: fire does not damage devices, and path (c) does not
exist -- devices sit at fixed coordinates rather than being mounted on the strut
graph, so cutting the supports under a reactor never drops it.
** 2. Real resource economy [CRITICAL for the core loop]
Two resources, generated by devices (all values from =devices/*.lua=):
- *Metal*: Mines on metal *deposits* (=mine.lua= MetalProductionRate 4,
EnergyProductionRate -5 — mining COSTS energy). Upgrade =mine2= (5 metal, -7 e).
- *Energy*: Wind *Turbines* — output scales with HEIGHT and clearance
(v0.1-core.org; MinWindEfficiency / MaxWindHeight fields). Reactor also makes
100 energy + 5 metal baseline.
- *Storage caps*: Battery (=battery.lua= EnergyStorageCapacity 2000), Metal Store.
Resources are capped, not infinite pools.
- *Costs*: building pieces, weapons, devices, AND FIRING all cost metal/energy
(cannon EnergyFireCost 2000, MetalFireCost 50). Repair costs too.
DONE in M5: mines on deposits, turbines scaling with height, battery storage
caps, and metal/energy spent on both building and firing. STILL MISSING: the
upgraded variants (mine2, turbine2), the derrick and the metal store, and
repair costs (see #7).
** 3. Devices [PARTIAL — we now have 4 of them]
We have reactor, mine, turbine and battery, placeable with HP. Two structural
gaps remain: devices are NOT mounted on the strut graph (they sit at fixed
coordinates, so they cannot fall when their supports are cut -- see #1), and
most of the catalogue below is still absent.
From =devices/device_list.lua=:
- Resource: mine, mine2, turbine, turbine2, derrick, battery (energy store),
store (metal store), reactor, minireactor.
- Tech buildings: workshop, armoury, munitions plant, factory, upgrade centre
(see #4).
- Utility/defence: sandbags (HP 300, cheap absorber), explosive barrel (barrel),
target (mission objective, HP 30).
Devices mount on structure, have HP, can be shot, and some need clearance/ground.
** 4. Tech tree + Upgrades [large system, OUT of v0.1 scope but core to Forts]
5 tech buildings gate weapons (wiki Technology; weapon_list Prerequisite fields):
- Workshop -> Mortar, Swarm Missiles
- Armoury -> Flak, EMP Rocket
- Munitions Plant -> 20mm Cannon, Cannon (needs Armoury)
- Factory -> Firebeam, Plasma Laser (needs Workshop)
- Upgrade Centre -> unlocks UPGRADING existing weapons/devices (mine2, turbine2,
mortar2, sniper2, minigun … =Prerequisite = "upgrade"=).
Research/prereqs create build-order strategy. We have neither tech nor upgrades.
** 5. More weapons [M4 continues]
We have cannon + laser. Full vanilla roster (=weapons/weapon_list.lua=):
machinegun, minigun (point-defence / anti-projectile), sniper (+spotter
mechanic, guides swarm missiles), mortar (high-arc, high building damage),
swarm missiles (guided), missile launcher, 20mm cannon, cannon, flak
(anti-projectile), EMP rocket (disables devices), firebeam / plasma laser
(beam). Notable *mechanics* we lack: point-defence (shoot down incoming shells),
guided/tracking projectiles, hitscan (machinegun/sniper), EMP disable.
** 6. Building materials we lack
=materials/building_materials.lua=: *armour* (HP 400, +25% stiffness, 2x mass —
kinetic tank), *door* (openable/closable, blocks then opens for your own fire),
*energy shield* (reflects beams/plasma, warmup), *metal beam*, *camo*, *solar*
(energy on the strut), *fuse* (relays fire slowly). We have wood/bg/rope only.
Doors and shields are real tactical mechanics (open to shoot, shield vs lasers).
** 7. Fort actions: Repair + Recycle [our M7]
- *Repair*: restore a damaged piece/device for resources proportional to damage
(Forts Repair.EnergyCostMultiplier; materials MetalRepairCost/EnergyRepairCost).
- *Recycle/Scrap*: remove a piece, recover partial resources (MetalReclaim,
ScrapTime). We have neither.
** 8. Weapon aiming/firing details we simplified
- Cannon/weapons cost energy+metal PER SHOT (EnergyFireCost) — firing is
resource-limited, not just reload-limited. DONE for energy (=energy_cost= per
weapon); the per-shot METAL cost is still missing.
- Recoil/kickback pushes the fort (we apply knockback to targets only, not
recoil to the firing structure — Forts Recoil 600000, KickbackMean 40).
- Spotters: sniper reveals targets and guides swarm missiles.
- Fire-clearance: a weapon won't fire if its own structure blocks the muzzle
(MinFireClearance) — prevents shooting through your own fort.
** 9. Commanders + Factions [OUT of v0.1 scope]
15 commanders across 5 factions, each with a passive trait + active ability
(e.g. Firebird halves fire spread & double-extinguishes on her forts). Huge
matchup variety. Purely a post-v1 concern but defines Forts' identity.
** 10. Map / world systems
- Metal *deposits* embedded in terrain (mine targets) — we have none.
- Terrain shape + foundation material chosen by ground *slope angle*
(StandardNode.Foundations brackets by angle). Ours is a flat half-plane.
- No-build zones, destructible terrain, water/buoyancy (High Seas DLC).
** 11. Meta / not-gameplay-but-expected
Skirmish AI opponent, campaign/missions, multiplayer lockstep netcode,
replays (trivial with deterministic lockstep), sandbox. All post-v0.1.
* Priority for OUR roadmap
Mapping the above onto the (already-reordered) milestones:
| Gap | Milestone | Status / notes |
|---------------------------------------+-----------+--------------------------------|
| Reactor + win/loss + restart | M5 | DONE; no collapse-win path |
| Resource economy (mine/turbine/store) | M5 | DONE (no mine2/turbine2/store) |
| Per-shot energy cost | M4 | DONE (metal-per-shot missing) |
| Devices framework (mount on struts) | M5/M6 | not mounted on strut graph |
| Armour + Door + Shield materials | M4/M7 | data-driven, small each |
| Firing recoil on the shooter | M4 | small, faithful, not started |
| More weapons (mortar/flak/mg/missile) | M4 | point-defence + guided are new |
| Repair + Recycle | M7 | resource-cost actions |
| Tech tree + Upgrades | post-v0.1 | big; build-order strategy |
| Commanders/Factions | post-v0.1 | defines identity, large |
| Map deposits / terrain / foundations | M6 | deposits done; terrain flat |
| AI / campaign / multiplayer | post-v1 | out of scope |
* Smallest high-value next steps (concrete)
Items 1 and 2 of the original list (reactor + win/loss, real resources) are DONE;
what follows is the refreshed queue.
1. *Armour material*: data-only addition to =data/materials.lua= (Forts armour is
HP 400, +25% stiffness, 2x mass). The material system already has every field
it needs, and =materials/armor.tga= is a TGA, so =texture_forts= picks up the
real sprite for free. Cheapest real gameplay depth available.
2. *Firing recoil*: apply an impulse to the FIRING structure, not just the target
(Forts Recoil 600000, KickbackMean 40). The knockback machinery already
exists; this is a few lines and makes combat feel like Forts.
3. *Mount devices on the strut graph*: attach devices to nodes so cutting the
supports drops them. Unlocks the second victory path in #1 and makes reactors
killable by collapse, which is a signature Forts moment.
4. *Door material*: toggles =blocks_projectiles= so you can open to shoot and
close to tank. Needs a small mechanic, not just data.
5. *Mortar or flak*: the next weapons. Flak brings a genuinely new mechanic
(point-defence intercepting incoming shells); mortar is a high-arc,
high-building-damage counterpart to the cannon.
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