Level Design Planning for Planets

All asteroids spawn outside the screen while moons being stationary spawn in properly visible.

Planet 1

Lvl 1 -

Only Terrestrial Moons appear in this level. Players cannot die in this level at all. Spawn rate is consistent. Whenever a player destroys a moon another one spawns.

Phase description -

Just two phases. First phase - TMs spawn one after the other upon destruction (6 in total). Second phase - TMs spawn in pairs upon destruction (12 in total).

Lvl 2 -

TM and Terrestrial Asteroids appear in this level onwards. TAs are slowest in this level. The base value of ttr in the xml file can be established for this level and all remaining levels have ttr with a subtraction to them based on difficult they need to be and what the CPM for that level is. TAs spawn one at a time in this level, when one is destroyed another spawns. If a TA gets too close the asteroids could all freeze and the player is told to type the letters on the asteroid closest to them to kill it.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 10 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-3 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning but only 2 can be on screen at any given time. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 8 more TAs spawn but 1 to 2 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-5). During this phase number of moons on screen is set to 2 at a time. After all are destroyed phase 3 is completed.

Lvl 3 -

Same as last level but TAs now spawn in pairs and are marginally faster (for instance ttr-5).

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 12 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-5 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning but only 2 can be on screen at any given time. After 12 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 15 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-12). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time. After all are destroyed phase 3 is completed.

Lvl 4 -

Introduces a barrage like system where clumps of 2-3 asteroids spawn at once on different corners of the screen. TMs continue spawning in almost all levels for the sake points and Gravel material.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 15 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-8 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning but only 3 can be on screen at any given time. After 12 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 10 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-12). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time to try to overwhelm players. After all are destroyed phase 3 is completed.

Lvl 5 -

The ttr is a bit lower (ex: ttr-10) but after a few barrage phases the players are faced by their first Gargantuan Asteroid. Killing it and its off-shoot asteroids completes all levels for this planet.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 10 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-10 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning but only 3 can be on screen at any given time. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 10 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-15). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time to try to overwhelm players. After phase 3 the GA spawns (base ttr) and begins moving closer to the player. When it is detroyed phase 4 is complete and so is the level.

Planet 2

Lvl 1 -

Introduces Vulcanian Moons.

Asteroidless lvl. However players will learn that if they keep destroying VMs their overheat meter rises. Maxing out the overheat meter causes a lose of life as well. Therefore players must try to mainly destroy TMs in this level and use VMs only when too many spawn or their overheat meter has cooled down.

Phase description -

Just two phases. First phase - TMs spawn one after the other upon destruction (4 in total). Second phase - TMs and VMs spawn in triplets (2 TMs and 1 VM) every 3 seconds (21 in total).

Lvl 2 -

TAs spawn this level onwards again in groups of 1 to 3 at a time. Make 3 asteroids spawn at the same time whenever a VM is on screen and the players overheat meter is sufficiently cool. This could encourage them to destroy the VM in order to destroy all other obstacles. A hint could spawn to tell the players to try and do this as well.

Max asteroid speed is faster (ttr-18)

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 5 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-15 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to VMs but only 2 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 2 at least one shall be of VM type. After 15 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 15 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-18). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time.

Lvl 3 -

Asteroids now spawn in groups of 1 to 4 at a time.

Max asteroid speed is faster (ttr-20).

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 8 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-18 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to VMs but only 2 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 2 at least one shall be of VM type. After 12 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 20 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-20). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time.

Lvl 4 -

Asteroids now spawn in groups of 2 to 4 at a time.

Max asteroid speed is faster (ttr-23).

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 3 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-20 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to VMs but only 3 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 3 at least one shall be of VM type. After 12 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 20 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-23). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time to try to overwhelm players.

Lvl 5 -

Asteroids now spawn in groups of 2 to 3 at a time. Max asteroid speed is faster (ttr-30).

2 Gargantuan Asteroids as bosses in this level. Players realise that destroying a GA with a VM is BAD because it makes the smaller asteroids faster and Vulcanic as well.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 5 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-25 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to VMs but only 4 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 4 at least one shall be of VM type. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 15 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-30). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 5 at a time to try to overwhelm players. After phase 3 the 2 GAs spawn (ttr-5) and begin moving closer to the player. When they are detroyed phase 4 is complete and so is the level.

Planet 3

Lvl 1 -

Introduces Cryogenic Moons but no VMs spawn.

Asteroidless lvl. However players will learn that if they keep destroying CMs their overheat meter drops. Bottoming out the overheat meter causes a slower rate of fire (bullets have a lag of 3 seconds before they are shot out of a frozen spaceship). Therefore players must try to find a balance between destroying CMs and VMs.

Phase description -

Just two phases. First phase - TMs spawn one after the other upon destruction (6 in total). Second phase - TMs and CMs spawn in pairs (1 TMs and 1 CM) every 2 seconds (26 in total). Always atleast 1 CM on screen bur if there is already one CM on screen another CM doesn't spawn.

Lvl 2 -

Max asteroid speed (MAS) could be (ttr-25) so that it feels slightly easier than the lvl 5 of Planet 2.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (1-3 at a time) (phase one). After 10 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-20 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 2 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 2 at least one shall be of CM type. After 20 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 10 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-25). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time.

Lvl 3 -

MAS = ttr - 35.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (1-3 at a time) (phase one). After 12 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-30 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 3 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 3 at least one shall be of CM type. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 15 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-35). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time.

Lvl 4 -

MAS = ttr - 40.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 10 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-35 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 3 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 3 at least one shall be of CM type. After 15 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 18 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-40). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time.

Lvl 5 -

MAS = ttr - 50.

3 Gargantuan Asteroids. Players realise CMs are great for GAs as they freeze them and the smaller asteroids they spawn upon destruction for 5 seconds. In later levels moons phase in and out and can only be destroyed in certain periods but once destroyed won't respawn so players may want to save cryogenic moons on Boss levels so as to deal with GAs better.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 8 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-40 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 4 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 4 at least one shall be of CM type. After 15 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 18 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-50). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 5 at a time to try to overwhelm players. After phase 3 the 2 GAs spawn (ttr-15) and begin moving closer to the player. When they are detroyed phase 4 is complete and so is the level.

Planet 4

Lvl 1 -

Introduces CMs and VMs interactions.

MAS = ttr-35

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (1-3 at a time) (phase one). After 8 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-30 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 2 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 2 at least one shall be of CM/VM type. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 20 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-35). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time.

Lvl 2 -

MAS = ttr - 40.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (1-3 at a time) (phase one). After 10 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-35 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 2 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 2 at least one shall be of CM/VM type. After 20 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 10 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-40). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 3 at a time.

Lvl 3 -

MAS = ttr - 45.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (1-3 at a time) (phase one). After 12 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-35 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 3 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 3 at least one shall be of CM/VM type. After 10 TAs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 15 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-45). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time.

Lvl 4 -

MAS = ttr - 55.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 8 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-45 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs but only 3 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 3 at least one shall be of CM type and one vM type. After 15 CMs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 20 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-55). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 4 at a time.

Lvl 5 -

MAS = ttr - 60.

Phase description -

Level begins with TMs spawning (2-3 at a time) (phase one). After 5 TMs have been destroyed, phase two begins. TAs start spawning from outside the screen and start moving towards the player (1 to 2 at a time with a ttr-50 speed). During this phase TMs continue spawning in addition to CMs and VMs but only 4 moons can be on screen at any given time. Out of these 4 at least one shall be of CM type and one shall be VM type. After 8 VMs and 4 CMs have been destroyed phase 3 begins. 20 more TAs spawn but 2 to 3 at a time and are slightly faster (ttr-60). During this phase number of moons on screen are increased to 5 at a time to try to overwhelm players. After phase 3 the 3 GAs spawn (ttr-20) and begin moving closer to the player. When they are detroyed phase 4 is complete and so is the level.

Planet 5

Lvl 1 -

First Moonless planet.

Introduces Cryogenic and Vulcanian Asteroids.

MAS = ttr - 40

Phase description - Level begins with TAs spawning (1 to 2 at a time). After 10 are destroyed phase two begins. Phase two invloves 8 VAs and 6 TAs spawning in groups of 1 to 3 followed by phase 3 which invloves 10 VAs and 20 TAs spawning in groups of 2 to 3.

Lvl 2 -

MAS = ttr - 45

Phase description - Level begins with TAs spawning (1 to 2 at a time). After 15 are destroyed phase two begins. Phase two invloves 10 CAs and 8 TAs spawning in groups of 1 to 3 followed by phase 3 which invloves 12 CAs and 16 TAs spawning in groups of 2 to 3.

Lvl 3 -

MAS = ttr - 50

Phase description - Level begins with TAs spawning (1 to 2 at a time). After 12 are destroyed phase two begins. Phase two invloves 20 CAs, 15 VAs and 20 TAs spawning in groups of 2 to 3.

Lvl 4 -

MAS = ttr - 60

Phase description - Level begins with TAs spawning (1 to 3 at a time). After 5 are destroyed phase two begins. Phase two invloves 30 CAs, 15 VAs and 10 TAs spawning in groups of 2 to 3 (MAS = 50). Phase 3 invloves 15 CAs, 25 VAs and 30 TAs spawning in groups of 1 to 4 (MAS = 60).

Lvl 5 -

MAS = ttr - 70

Phase description - Level begins with TAs spawning (1 to 3 at a time). After 8 are destroyed phase two begins. Phase two invloves 20 CAs, 25 VAs and 20 TAs spawning in groups of 2 to 3 (MAS = 60). Phase 3 invloves 15 CAs, 15 VAs and 35 TAs spawning in groups of 1 to 4 (MAS = 70). 3 GAs spawn one at a time in phase 4 along with 5 CAs (to help slow down the GAs).

Planet 6 -

Lvl 1 -

MAS = ttr - 60