Visualizer Nomenclature

This document shall have precedence over ANY other document in referring to various elements of the visualizer. If there is a name-conflict with this document, then it shall be fixed to be in accordance with this document or a motion to have this document amended shall occur.

Gameplay Modes

Unit-Mode

This has in the past also been referred to as unit-by-unit mode. This mode appears in the visualizer as movement occurring from a single object at a time, in the order that commands were sent to the server. This is useful for debugging unit logic based on the exact state of the game.

Normal-Mode

This has in the past also been referred to as turn-by-turn mode. This mode appears in the visualizer as all objects in a turn moving simultaneously (intelligently or not). This is useful for showing the flow of an AI on a turn-by-turn basis.

Condensed-Mode

This has in the past also been referred to as two-turn-mode. This mode appears in the visualizer as all objects for two (or more) turns moving simultaneously, having the appearance of a real-time game. This is useful for entertainment purposes and showing the flow of a game to some extent.

Liquid-Mode

This mode is a theoretical mode that is a mixture of Unit-Mode and Normal-Mode. Object movement is lagged to some extent based on when commands occurred, but there is still a fair amount of simultaneous moves occurring. This mode may be useful for quick debugging by inspection, but still showing the overall flow of the game.

Misc

Interaction

This word, when used in the context of the timeline, is reserved for an object animation’s dependence on the specific state of another object at a particular point in time. For example, an attack animation may require another unit be at a specific (x, y) coordinate, so the other object should be frozen at that position during the duration of the attack animation.

Condense(r)

This is a component of the timeline. The condenser will “condense” turns into a shorter period of time while trying to preserve, as much as possible, the time allocated for an animation. It tries its best to make normal-mode accurate and fast.

Tag

An element of the timeline which specifies a “special” point on timeline. A tag can be a turn number, break point, bookmark, etc.