03 — Enemy Design¶
Document Type: Design Document Last Updated: 2026-08-26 Vault destination:
06_Outpost
Auto Warz — Outpost Mode Design Document Version 1.1 — 2026-03-13
Overview¶
Three enemy categories inhabit outposts. Each has distinct spawn conditions, targets, and behaviours. Understanding their differences is essential for storey design and tower placement decisions.
Enemy Categories¶
| Category | Spawn source | Primary target | Underground? | One-time or endless? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| External drones | Surface landing zones | Power signatures and towers | Never | Endless |
| Internal security drones | Building basement | Genesis specifically | No | One-time clear |
| Aliens | Nest locations per storey | Genesis on proximity (heat) | One-time clear only | One-time per nest |
| Hazards | Fixed per storey seed | Environmental — no target | Environmental only | Persistent |
External Drones¶
Origin and Lore¶
Scavenger drones from space attracted to power emissions. They are not native to the outpost — they arrived after the outpost went dark and began harvesting residual power. Reactivating the power core draws them in greater numbers.
Behaviour¶
External drones spawn continuously from surface landing zones. They are the endless threat — the wave pressure that never fully stops.
Target priority — power sources, not a fixed destination:
Drones roam toward the nearest active power source (towers, power nodes). They do not path toward BEACON cells or toward Genesis. Only attack Genesis or defences when being shot at.
This means towers that are active (powered and firing) attract more drones than unpowered towers. A storey with many active towers draws heavy drone attention. A storey where Genesis has not yet built towers will see drones roaming somewhat aimlessly — dangerous but unfocused.
Soft cap — drones power down: Drones have a battery life. After a generous time threshold on a storey, drones begin to power down — batteries exhausted. This is the lore-consistent version of a wave timer. Players are never permanently trapped by endless drones.
Internal Security Drones¶
Origin and Lore¶
Original building security units. They were dormant when the outpost went dark. Reactivating the power core brings them back online. They detect Genesis as an intruder and pursue.
Behaviour¶
Internal security drones spawn from the building basement when Genesis first enters a building. They are a one-time clear — once destroyed they do not respawn. They pursue Genesis specifically using A* pathfinding updated every 0.5 seconds.
Internal drones never enter the underground layer. They are building security units — they operate within their assigned building floors only.
Internal drones do not attack power infrastructure. Their programming is intruder detection, not sabotage.
Target Priority¶
Internal security drones target Genesis exclusively. They do not attack towers, power nodes, or other infrastructure. If Genesis leaves a storey, the drones hold position and resume pursuit when Genesis returns.
Flight Height¶
Internal drones fly at a fixed low height (2.0 units) — within range of most tower types. Towers will engage them automatically. This creates an interesting dynamic — clearing internal drones benefits from the same towers defending against external drones, but the internal drones are hunting Genesis specifically rather than the trigger node.
Aliens¶
Origin and Lore¶
Native to the planet the outpost was built on. They established nests inside the derelict structure during the dark period. They are territorial and heat-sensitive — Genesis's power core generates a detectable heat signature that triggers aggressive response.
Behaviour¶
Aliens spawn from fixed nest locations seeded per storey. They are a one-time clear — once a nest is destroyed, aliens from that nest do not respawn.
Target priority — Genesis, always:
Aliens always roam toward Genesis (heat signature). They ignore towers, BEACONs, and power sources entirely. Only attack defences when blocked or being shot at.
This creates a fundamentally different threat dynamic from drones. Drones ignore Genesis and attack infrastructure. Aliens ignore infrastructure and hunt Genesis. The player must manage both simultaneously — position Genesis away from alien nests while keeping it close enough to manage the drone threat on towers.
Genesis and Alien Combat¶
Aliens are the only enemy that physically attacks Genesis.
Genesis has effective infinite health in outpost context. There is no death condition, no failure state. Alien attacks create pressure — Genesis staggers slightly when hit, movement is briefly impaired — but Genesis never goes down permanently.
The health bar exists and is visible. It communicates "you are being hit, move" rather than "you are at risk of dying." Genesis recovers health when out of alien detection range for a few seconds.
This is consistent with the no-death, no-failure design pillar. Stakes exist — tactical positioning matters, lingering near nests has consequences — but the game never ends because an alien reached Genesis.
Target Priority¶
Aliens target Genesis exclusively. They do not attack towers, power infrastructure, or drones. Aliens and drones do not interact with each other.
Nest Positions¶
Alien nest positions are seeded per storey during generation. The generator places nests in recessed positions — corners, dead ends, behind wall features — rather than in open areas. Nests are never placed on critical enemy paths or in tower zones.
Hazards¶
Behaviour¶
Hazards are environmental — fixed per storey seed, not actively hostile. They do not target Genesis or towers. They create environmental constraints: areas Genesis cannot safely enter, zones where towers cannot be placed, power fluctuations affecting specific nodes.
Hazard types (examples — full list in procedural generation doc): - Unstable power conduits — periodic electrical discharge, damages towers in range - Corroded flooring — Genesis movement slowed, cannot place towers - Thermal vents — periodic heat burst, attracts aliens in range
Hazards are permanent for the storey — they cannot be removed or destroyed. Players design around them.
Enemy Interactions Summary¶
| Interaction | Result |
|---|---|
| External drone vs Genesis | Drone ignores Genesis completely |
| External drone vs tower | Tower engages if drone within attack height range |
| External drone vs power node | Drone targets and damages power node |
| Internal drone vs Genesis | Drone pursues and attacks Genesis |
| Internal drone vs tower | Tower engages; drone does not retaliate against tower |
| Alien vs Genesis | Alien pursues and attacks on proximity (heat) |
| Alien vs tower | Alien ignores towers entirely |
| Alien vs drone | No interaction — they do not perceive each other |
| Hazard vs all | Environmental effect only — no targeting |
Wave Profiles¶
Wave profiles define the composition and intensity of each wave per storey. They are seeded by the storey generator and scale with storey depth and player count.
var wave_profile = _generate_wave_profile(
storey_seed,
storey_depth, # deeper storeys = harder composition
player_count, # 2 players = harder waves
outpost_level # higher levels = higher tier drones
)
Composition shift with storey depth:
| Storey depth | Scout/Standard | Heavy | Command | Alien ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storey 1 | 80% | 20% | 0% | Low |
| Storey 2-3 | 60% | 35% | 5% | Medium |
| Storey 4+ | 40% | 40% | 20% | High |
Soft cap — enemies power down:
Waves have a generous time threshold. If the trigger node has not been reached after this threshold, enemy drones begin to power down — their batteries exhausted. This is the lore-consistent version of a wave timer. Players are never permanently trapped by an endless wave.
Tower Height Tiers¶
Tower attack height determines which drones a tower can engage. This is the primary tactical dimension of tower placement.
| Tower type | Attack height | Engages |
|---|---|---|
| Basic turret | 2.0 units | Scout drones, standard drones (low), internal drones |
| Mid turret | 4.0 units | Scout, standard, heavy drones |
| Anti-air tower | 8.0 units | All drone tiers including command |
| Flak tower | 6.0 units (burst) | Groups at medium height |
| Tesla coil | Ground only | Aliens, internal drones, scout drones |
| EMP tower | All heights | Disables drones (no damage) — all tiers |
A storey defended only by basic turrets is completely exposed to heavy and command drones. Players must read the wave profile from the minimap and ensure appropriate tower coverage before waves begin.
Future milestone (post-Early Access): Tall barrier structures that physically block low-flying drones from pathing through. Selective implementation — not all buildings, only dedicated barrier buildings.
Open items for this document are tracked in docs/open-items.md, area outpost.
Revision History¶
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2026-03-12 | Initial document |
| 1.1 | 2026-03-13 | Clarified Genesis attack rules — external drones ignore Genesis, internal drones target Genesis, aliens attack Genesis on proximity. Added Genesis infinite health clarification. Added drone height tiers and tower attack height tiers. Added wave soft cap. |