Developer Ashcan Rules, Wording Changes, and Playing Cards.io Update

A new file was added to Fight Card, devplayrules.txt. This is a rough plaintext document that has the ongoing rules and mechanics in a format that I actively work with. It is simplified, bare bones, and allows for quick iterating. While there is some form of the rules that has taken a type of book form, it is a hassle to update it often as I continually iterate through versions of the rules. (Besides, who's to say that the final version of Fight Card will be a book anyway?)

Character sheet added

The bare bones character sheet has been added and is in devplayrules.txt! It gets to the core of your character, and hopefully gives enough inspiration to encourage roleplay between the fighters in the ring.

Base mechanic added - Recover

To round out our rock-paper-scissor like interactions, Recover was added! Recover beats Block, and you Recover by taking your card back instead of playing it. When your opponent Blocks and you Recover, you mill (discard) the top 3 cards from their deck. Take that, Zoner! You're not the only one with mill mechanics now!

Blocking adjustments - now 100% more defensive! (on basic Hits)

To incentivize more Blocking because it now has a Move that can counter it, Blocking reduces the damage of basic Hits to 0. Sorry, card mashers. Being on the offensive isn't the best way to win, now.

Wording changes - from Read to getting In Step

Read was changed to In Step. Reads in fighting game terms corresponds to correct predictions of your opponent's intentions, and responding appropriately. While this can tactically happen in Fight Card now from its loose rock-paper-scissors like interactions within a single Beat (Blocking a Hit, Recovering a Block, or Hitting a Recover) it doesn't make sense to name a meta game concept the same term as an in-game mechanic.

Being In Step feels more in-line with the experience of playing Fight Card. Sometimes you play the same move as your opponent, and it's not because of a read or a tactical reason. Just like walking in a crowd, there are times when you step at the same time as someone else. Moving in sync doesn't mean that you're dancing together; what matters is intention.

Meter generation changes, and making it feel good to be In Step

Meter is no longer generated when you are In Step on a Beat with your opponent. To gain meter, all fighting styles can complete a combo starter. Some fighting styles can gain meter in other additional ways!

Each fighting style now gains certain benefits when they are In Step with their opponent in different ways and times. Hopefully, these different conditions occur at different places between each other's gameplay strategies and combo routes, so you are both trying to avoid being In Step when it benefits your opponent, and getting In Step when you can reap those benefits for yourself.

Playing Cards.io custom game update

The playing cards.io template being used to play test Fight Card online has been updated! The play pile is now a play spread that represents the combo that you are currently building. If you drop the combo for whatever reason, move those cards to your discard pile. The hope is that visually, it is more clear what the danger levels are, and how powerful of an attack your opponent is building up to (but playing while Desperate may still muddy this spread!)

A deck of blank cards was added to the game to represent empty Beats (Recover moves, or playing a Beat while Spent). A new reference card was added to a reworked version of the Grappler.