Water's movecost of 0

[ianestrachan]

Water is currently represented as having a move-cost of 0, same as a wall. Except that, since water is actually passable, this means that any time something can legitimately go into water, all kinds of explicit checks and crazy hacks are involved, looking at the exact terrain type. It also causes some weird issues like NPCs spawning on top of the water and floating there, unable to move, forever.

Water should probably act something like this:

• Instead of checking vs. terrain type, add a "DEEP_WATER" flag or similar to the terrain. This could then be reused or other swimmable terrain (deep sewage, for instance, or entrances to underwater tunnels that would be represented as special stairs).
  • The SWIMS monster flag will then make monsters move faster through DEEP_WATER flagged terrain. AQUATIC monsters die if not in a DEEP_WATER tile.
  • Similarly, the Swimming skill should reduce the move cost.
  • Vehicle submerging code checks for DEEP_WATER instead of the literal tile ID.
  • NO_BREATHE monsters should still chase you into deep water. The only difference is that the check for the terrain type instead checks if the tile is DEEP_WATER.
• Player can still submerge by pressing > on a DEEP_WATER tile. (Or by being bad at swimming)
• Don't destroy stuff that goes into a DEEP_WATER tile, instead make it invisible unless you are submerged.
• Don't destroy vehicles that go into a DEEP_WATER tile... just destroy the engine instead, and make all the part colors become the water color. It'll look like you can see it from above the water, but it's still submerged.

[kevingranade]

Sounds good in general.

[BDR1985]

Unrelated, but this makes me want boats and jetskis. Their engine would conversely only operate in a DEEP_WATER tile.

[ianestrachan]

I don't think it would make much difference to the engine (it just drives other mechanical parts) as that the vehicle would need propellers instead of wheels.

You'd also probably need to waterproof the vehicle somehow, probably by putting some kind of new vehicle part on the underside of each square.

[KA101]

Just re-read this. Aquatic critters ought to be able to handle shallow water, perhaps at reduced movement?

[ianestrachan]

Sounds reasonable, since shallow water is used on river banks and such - I figure it's waist-deep at most.