Kinetic Flow + Singularity — one Flow, two verbs
Status: Amended · 2026-11-05 (Asymmetric Flow + second-meter resolve + TBD-056 Health-only) · prior Demo scope 2026-10-27
Scope: Guns + melee → Singularity climax; Demo includes Asymmetric Flow fuel · second meter (= Kinetic Flow) · full Burst Storm art. Cite FS-CMB.
Still out of scope: Merging Ultimate into Flow · skill-tree Ult empowerment detail · campaign-only Flow variants
Implementer path (DEFERRED): docs/tutorials/melee-drive-guns-singularity.md — self-contained GAS / Plugify Melee Drive (tag gates · Motion Warp · Counter · gun matrix · Singularity bridge). Parked until own Melee Drive foundation ships.
Authority: FS-CMB-001…007 · FS camera hybrid (§4) · GDD Dual Armory + Hybrid Perspective Kinetic Combat Engine · Demo demo-multiplayer-ladder · bible docs/22-demo.md
Pack gaps: 2026-11-05-pack-design-gaps.md · Counter: 2026-11-05-melee-drive-counter-window-design.md
Locks from review:
- Demo: Asymmetric Flow · second meter · full Burst Storm art are in the Ladder Demo.
- Second meter = Kinetic Flow (the thin Shiv ring). There is no fourth combat meter. HUD / Demo Lab “second meter” language means Flow — distinct from Ultimate and Skill Energy.
- Melee = Melee Drive verb. Guns = Precision Fire. Singularity climax = Burst Storm (FS-CMB-005).
- Ultimate stays separate (FS-CMB-006).
- No Melee Drive Block input — defense = Dodge / vault / slide / Phys Shield / spacing.
- TBD-056 locked (2026-11-05): Flow dumps on Health damage only. Shield/Armor chips that do not reduce Health do not dump Flow.
- Approach A means only Ult / Skill Energy streak math (FS-CMB-007). It does not describe Flow fuel. Equal +1 Flow was an interim floor — superseded by Asymmetric Flow below.
- Kill credit path: GameplayMessage / tag
TFA.Combat.KillConfirmed(locked) → TFASingularity subscribes.
1. Intent
Section titled “1. Intent”Terra Firma’s hybrid combat already swaps FPP guns ↔ TPP melee. Players should feel one rising pressure (Kinetic Flow) whether they carve or shoot, then a single Singularity payoff — without teaching two combo systems.
Melee Drive is how melee plays (player-driven spacing and cadence) — not a separate meter.
2. Three meters (do not merge)
Section titled “2. Three meters (do not merge)”Unchanged from combat-economy design + FS:
| Meter | HUD | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate | Shiv / fire mark | Player-spent; kill-charged (Approach A streak — FS-CMB-007) |
| Skill / Arms Energy | Energy hotbar | Skills / tentacles (Approach A streak — FS-CMB-007) |
| Kinetic Flow (= second combat meter) | Thin ring on Shiv | Kill combo → Overclocked → Singularity (Asymmetric Flow) |
Ordnance charges stay their own pool.
Demo Lab “second” subtab dials Flow thresholds / presentation / OverclockedAt / SingularityAt — it does not create a fourth meter.
3. One Flow — shared rules (FS-CMB-004)
Section titled “3. One Flow — shared rules (FS-CMB-004)”| Tier | Combo | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–15 | Baseline |
| 2 Overclocked | 15–30 | +30% move; visor pulse |
| 3 Singularity | 30+ | 0.5 s bullet-time on trigger kill; auto Special Takedown |
Asymmetric Flow fuel (Demo defaults · lab-overridable)
Section titled “Asymmetric Flow fuel (Demo defaults · lab-overridable)”| Event | Flow credit |
|---|---|
| Melee Drive Strike kill | +2 |
| Precision Fire body kill | +1 |
| Precision Fire headshot kill | +2 |
| Counter success (non-fatal) | +1 |
| Counter fatal | Melee Drive kill path (+2) via KillConfirmed |
| Singularity / Burst Storm kills during climax | 0 (climax resolve resets Flow) |
| Gun miss / dry-fire | 0 (not a whiff) |
Demo Mod Lab (tfa-lab-flow.json asymmetric subtab) may override melee/gun/headshot multipliers and OverclockedAt / SingularityAt for session sims — defaults above are the ship floor.
Reset to Tier 1 / combo 0 when:
- Special Takedown resolves, or
- Whiff (strike empty air / miss execution window / failed Counter), or
- Damage break — TBD-056 locked: any GE that reduces Health (post Shield/Armor absorb). Shield-only or Armor-only chips do not dump. Phys Shield that prevents Health loss does not dump.
Whiff applies 0.5 s stagger. Damage-break stagger = 0.5 s with Health-only dump.
Singularity is a climax, not a sustained state: one auto takedown → back to Tier 1.
TBD-056 — Flow toughness without Block (closed)
Section titled “TBD-056 — Flow toughness without Block (closed)”Lock: Health-only dump. No Melee Drive Block verb on IMC. Players may eat Shield/Armor chips without losing Flow; a Health nick dumps the ring. Do not reintroduce silent “any damage” defaults in C++.
4. Two verbs (Asymmetric Flow credit)
Section titled “4. Two verbs (Asymmetric Flow credit)”| Verb | When | Camera | Fantasy | Flow credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee Drive (FS-CMB-002) | Melee active equipped stance | Always TPP | Directional lunge / slash; dash / vault / slide; no auto target pull | +2 per kill |
| Precision Fire (FS-CMB-003) | Firearm active / aim | FPP | Manual aim; gunfeel; headshots when TTK allows | +1 body / +2 headshot |
Mix mid-fight: Stance / seat keys and Square / X Melee Strike while a gun is drawn pull to TPP for the strike. Flow does not pause or fork on stance change.
Singularity sequence: Always TPP (FS-CMB-005). No player button. No aim. Payload = grounded Burst Storm varieties + Kinetic kick (GA_TFA_SingularityTakedown · DA_TFA_SingularityBursts).
Counter: 2026-11-05-melee-drive-counter-window-design.md.
5. Ultimate vs Singularity (FS-CMB-006)
Section titled “5. Ultimate vs Singularity (FS-CMB-006)”| Ultimate | Singularity | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Player spend at charge | Auto at Flow Tier 3 |
| Empowerment | Customizable 4×4 (Full game) | Flow climax only |
| Demo | Charge + spend hooks OK | Auto takedown required for combat spine |
| Kill math | Approach A streak (FS-CMB-007) | Asymmetric Flow table (§3) |
Do not merge meters, buttons, or HUD seats.
6. GDD deliverables
Section titled “6. GDD deliverables”Under Hybrid Perspective / combat engine:
- Dual Armory → two verbs, one Flow (Asymmetric credits).
- Tier table + reset rules (cite FS) · TBD-056 Health-only.
- Second meter = Kinetic Flow.
- Singularity climax ≠ Ultimate; Approach A = Ult/Energy only.
- Cross-link Demo chapter + Counter window Spec.
7. Demo deliverables
Section titled “7. Demo deliverables”In Demo (Ladder exit / combat spine):
| Item | Done-when |
|---|---|
| Asymmetric Flow | Fuel table (§3) live in Demo combat (lab may override) |
| Second meter | = Kinetic Flow ring; readable on OmniVisor; ≠ Ult / ≠ Energy |
| Kinetic Flow → Singularity | Overclocked + Singularity path; melee + gun per asymmetric rules |
| Melee Drive | Directional; no auto-pull; TPP when melee active |
| Counter | Window contract Spec; Phase E after foundation |
| Singularity / full Burst Storm art | Auto TPP; full DA_TFA_SingularityBursts (10 varieties + Kinetic kick) — not placeholder-as-exit |
| Stance mix | Gun ↔ melee keeps Flow rules coherent |
| HUD | Flow (= second meter) + Ultimate + Energy separate |
| Demo Mod Lab | OV36 Flow · Singularity — subtabs asymmetric · second · burst · singularity; export tfa-lab-flow.json |
Out of Demo: Final Ult 4×4 trees · campaign-only Flow variants · merging Ultimate into Flow.
Not the Demo exit ceiling: Ult/Energy Approach A alone without Asymmetric Flow + full Burst Storm.
8. Engineering cites
Section titled “8. Engineering cites”| Lock | Use |
|---|---|
| FS-CMB-002 | Melee Drive + Counter |
| FS-CMB-003 | Precision Fire |
| FS-CMB-004 | Kinetic Flow tiers / Asymmetric / TBD-056 |
| FS-CMB-005 | Special Takedown / Burst Storm |
| FS-CMB-006 | Ultimate vs Singularity |
| FS-CMB-007 | Ult / Energy kill economy (Approach A only) |
| Hybrid camera §4 | FPP / TPP / Shift-Out / Singularity TPP |
TFA.Combat.KillConfirmed |
Kill message → TFASingularity |
9. Acceptance (design)
Section titled “9. Acceptance (design)”- Asymmetric Flow table playable in Ladder Demo (lab overrides OK).
- Second meter reads as Kinetic Flow — no fourth meter.
- Singularity Special Takedown with full Burst Storm art (exit gate).
- Ultimate spend independent of Flow.
- Whiff / failed Counter / Health damage-break dump Flow; Shield-only chips do not.
- No takedown button in Input Context.
10. Spec self-review
Section titled “10. Spec self-review”- Demo in/out: Asymmetric Flow · second meter (= Flow) · full Burst Storm in Demo
- Ultimate / Flow / Energy not merged; no fourth meter
- TBD-056 Health-only locked
- Approach A disambiguated to FS-CMB-007
- Placeholder Burst Storm not accepted as Demo exit
11. Next
Section titled “11. Next”Patch GDD / Demo / Kanban for Demo in-scope— landed; keep sync on Flow table edits.- FS-CMB-004 / Counter shalls + Arch KillConfirmed — this pass.
- Rebuild pack HTML / kanban as needed.
- Implementation only when Melee Drive foundation + Phase D/E are requested.