godot-genre-metroidvania

NEVER Do (Expert Anti-Patterns)

World Design & Exploration

• NEVER allow "Soft-Locks" where a player is trapped; if they enter via a one-way path ("valve"), they MUST be able to leave using current abilities. Always design fail-safe escape routes.
• NEVER create empty dead ends; if a player backtracks to a remote area, they MUST be rewarded with a collectible, lore, or currency. Empty rooms are design failures.
• NEVER make backtracking purely repetitive; as the player gains movement (Dash/Teleport), traversal through old areas MUST become faster. Open shortcuts to bypass long, early routes.
• NEVER hide the critical path without "crumbs"; use distinct Landmarks, unique lighting, or environmental storytelling to build the player's mental map.
• NEVER design abilities that serve only one purpose; strictly implement dual-use traversal and combat functionality (e.g., a "Dash" that crosses gaps and dodges attacks).

Persistence & Mapping

• NEVER forget to save persistent room state; if a player opens a chest or defeats a boss, that state MUST remain saved when they leave and return.
• NEVER load interconnected rooms synchronously via load(); strictly use ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request() for seamless transitions.
• NEVER track global progression within localized room scripts; strictly use Autoload Singletons for global ability flags and world state.
• NEVER use floating-point types for grid coordinates (minimaps/fog); strictly use Vector2i to prevent precision jitter.
• NEVER manipulate the SceneTree directly from a background loading thread; strictly use call_deferred().

Physics & Controls

• NEVER calculate jump arcs or dashes inside _process(); strictly use _physics_process() to prevent stutter.
• NEVER multiply CharacterBody2D velocity by delta before move_and_slide(); the engine handles this internally.
• NEVER poll is_action_just_pressed() inside _physics_process() for buffering; strictly capture events in _unhandled_input().
• NEVER use standard strings for high-frequency ability checks; strictly use StringName (&"dashing") for pointer-speed comparisons.
• NEVER iterate through every node to broadcast updates; strictly use SceneTree.call_group() for efficient mass communication.
• NEVER delete active room/player nodes via free(); strictly use queue_free() to avoid segmentation faults.

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🛠 Expert Components (scripts/)

Golden-path order (MANDATORY reads)

1. Persistence / flags — metroid_game_state.gd + persistent_progression_system.gd
2. Ability definitions / gates — ability_unlock_resource.gd + progression_gate_manager.gd
3. Room stream / switch — background_room_streamer.gd + safe_scene_switcher.gd
4. Map fog — minimap_fog_manager.gd (orchestrator) with minimap_fog.gd / minimap_fog_revealer.gd

Original Expert Patterns

• minimap_fog.gd - Grid-based fog of war that tracks visited rooms and persists via global save data.
• progression_gate_manager.gd - Central manager for ability-gated progression (Locks/Keys) and world persistence.
• metroid_game_state.gd - MANDATORY Autoload-shaped world/ability/collectible state (do not paste a local game_state tutorial).
• ability_unlock_resource.gd - MANDATORY Resource definitions for unlockable abilities queried by gates.
• minimap_fog_manager.gd - MANDATORY Vector2i fog orchestration synced to progression/save.

Modular Components

• platformer_jump_buffer.gd - Modular coyote time and jump buffering for high-fidelity movement.
• background_room_streamer.gd - Thread-safe background room preloading using ResourceLoader.
• safe_scene_switcher.gd - Deferred scene transition pattern for stable cross-room world-state switching.
• minimap_fog_revealer.gd - Vector2i-based fog-of-war clearing logic synced to player position.
• persistent_progression_system.gd - Autoload pattern for tracking global ability/collectible flags.
• ability_state_machine.gd - Optimized StringName pattern matching for traversal/combat states.
• fast_wall_detector.gd - Direct PhysicsServer queries for performance-optimized wall detection.
• save_station_broadcast.gd - Group-based entity resetting and healing logic on save interaction.
• decoupled_hazard_logic.gd - Interface-style pattern for generic damage interaction.
• smooth_room_camera_transition.gd - Tween-based camera limit interpolation for seamless room movement.

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Core Loop

1. Exploration → blocked by a lock
2. Discovery → key ability / boss
3. Acquisition → new traversal/combat tool
4. Backtracking → shortcuts + dual-use abilities
5. Progression → new biome opens

Skill Chain

Phase	Skills	Purpose
1. Character	godot-characterbody-2d, godot-state-machine-advanced	Tight movement + ability states
2. World	godot-tilemap-mastery, godot-scene-management	Rooms, biomes, threaded transitions
3. Systems	godot-save-load-systems, godot-ability-system	Persist gates/collectibles; unlock keys
4. UI	godot-ui-containers, godot-inventory-system	Map / inventory / HUD
5. Balance	godot-monte-carlo-balancer	Soft-lock risk, backtrack length

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Architecture (script-first — no inline recipes)

1. Game State & Persistence

MANDATORY: metroid_game_state.gd + persistent_progression_system.gd. Rooms never own global ability flags. Room metadata uses resource_local_to_scene so instanced rooms do not share collectible state.

2. Room Transitions & Fast Travel

MANDATORY: background_room_streamer.gd + safe_scene_switcher.gd.

Fast travel must match NEVER (threaded load + deferred swap) — never ResourceLoader.load() / sync change_scene:

class_name FastTravelSystem extends Node

var _pending_path: String = ""
var _spawn_id: StringName = &""

func travel_to_room(scene_path: String, spawn_id: StringName) -> void:
    _pending_path = scene_path
    _spawn_id = spawn_id
    var err := ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request(scene_path)
    if err != OK:
        push_error("Fast travel request failed: %s" % scene_path)
        return
    set_process(true)

func _process(_delta: float) -> void:
    var status := ResourceLoader.load_threaded_get_status(_pending_path)
    if status == ResourceLoader.THREAD_LOAD_IN_PROGRESS:
        return
    set_process(false)
    if status != ResourceLoader.THREAD_LOAD_LOADED:
        push_error("Fast travel load failed: %s" % _pending_path)
        return
    var packed := ResourceLoader.load_threaded_get(_pending_path) as PackedScene
    # SceneTree work must be deferred — never from a worker thread
    call_deferred("_swap_room", packed, _spawn_id)

func _swap_room(packed: PackedScene, spawn_id: StringName) -> void:
    GlobalState.target_spawn_id = spawn_id
    get_tree().change_scene_to_packed(packed)

3. Ability Gating

MANDATORY: ability_unlock_resource.gd + progression_gate_manager.gd + ability_state_machine.gd. Gates query StringName abilities from the Autoload — do not hardcode ability strings in room scripts.

4. Map / Fog

MANDATORY: minimap_fog_manager.gd. Use Vector2i cells only.

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Design Principles (from Dreamnoid)

• Ability Versatility — traversal + combat dual use
• Practice Rooms — teach before punish
• Landmarks — mental map without explicit markers
• Item micro-stories — lore without cutscene walls

Common Pitfalls

1. Softlocks on one-way valves — always design an escape with current abilities
2. Backtracking tedium — shortcuts + faster movement after unlocks
3. Empty dead ends — every remote path needs a reward
4. Sync room loads — violates NEVER; use threaded request + deferred swap

Expert knowledge (on demand)

LLM-ignorance rule: If a general agent would not know it before reading, load the reference — never delete expert deltas.

• expert-metroidvania-patterns.md — restored baseline pedagogy (architecture, WHY, implementation depth)
• room_metadata.gd
• progression_manager.gd
• fast_travel_system.gd

Reference

Progressive disclosure: open Official Documentation links only when researching a specific API; load Related Skills when routing to a peer domain — do not preload the whole lattice.

Official Documentation

• Using CharacterBody2D — move_and_slide, floor detection, and velocity rules for coyote/buffer jumps and dash traversal.
• Idle and Physics Processing — keep jump arcs, dashes, and wall slides in _physics_process; capture buffers in input callbacks.
• InputEvent — _unhandled_input jump/ability buffering so presses are not lost between physics ticks.
• Background loading — ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request for adjacent-room preload without hitch spikes.
• Change scenes manually — deferred room swaps, spawn door IDs, and safe queue_free of the outgoing room.
• Saving games — persist abilities, opened gates, collectibles, and visited map cells across sessions.
• Singletons (Autoload) — global progression/game-state ownership so rooms never keep conflicting ability flags.
• Resources — ability unlock definitions and room metadata as .tres data with safe duplication.
• Using Tilemaps — TileMapLayer + Vector2i cells for minimap fog revelation and grid room tracking.
• Camera2D — room limit_* bounds and tweened limit handoffs for seamless camera room transitions.
• Using Area2D — doors, save stations, and hazard triggers via body_entered without hard scene coupling.
• Groups — call_group for save-station heal/respawn broadcasts instead of walking the whole tree.

Related Skills

Prerequisites

• godot-project-foundations — autoloads, scene layout, and project settings before stacking room streaming and global progression.
• godot-characterbody-2d — tight platformer locomotion is the substrate under ability-gated traversal (dash, wall slide, double jump).
• godot-tilemap-mastery — layered TileMap/TileMapLayer authorship for gameplay collision, landmarks, and minimap fog grids.
• godot-autoload-architecture — singleton ownership patterns for ability flags and world persistence that rooms must not duplicate.

Complements

• godot-scene-management — threaded load queues and deferred room switches that keep interconnected maps hitch-free.
• godot-save-load-systems — durable schemas for collectibles, boss flags, and visited cells across long exploration sessions.
• godot-camera-systems — room limits, RemoteTransform follow, and transition polish beyond basic Camera2D bounds.
• godot-ability-system — unlockable traversal/combat abilities that gates and state machines query as the “keys.”
• godot-state-machine-advanced — hierarchical player states for dash/wall-slide/double-jump without nested if/elif sprawl.
• godot-2d-physics — layers, Area2D doors/hazards, and direct space queries for wall detection and soft-lock-safe valves.
• godot-inventory-system — collectible/key item tracking that feeds map rewards and ability acquisition UI.

Downstream / consumers

• godot-monte-carlo-balancer — simulate ability unlock order, backtrack length, and soft-lock risk once gates and reward density are tunable.
• godot-genre-platformer — pure movement-feel patterns that Metroidvania traversal builds on when stripping ability gating.
• godot-signal-architecture — ability_unlocked / gate_opened / map_revealed buses so HUD and rooms observe progression without owning it.

Master

• godot-master — library router and mirrored module entry; use when discovering peer skills or syncing shared script mirrors after Domain Skill edits.