Godot Turn System

NEVER Do (Expert Anti-Patterns)

Order & Determinism

• NEVER recalculate turn order every action; strictly sort once per round or ONLY when a speed-relevant stat changes to prevent O(n log n) lag.

• NEVER use random tie-breaking for initiative; strictly use a secondary static attribute (Agility, ID, or persistent "luck") for deterministic replays.

• NEVER modify an active turn-order queue while iterating it; strictly iterate over a duplicate() or apply queue modifications after the loop.

• NEVER broadcast global turn state changes using immediate call_group(); strictly use call_group_flags(SceneTree.GROUP_CALL_DEFERRED, ...) to prevent frame spikes when notifying hundreds of units.

• NEVER rely on the Node hierarchy as the source of truth; strictly use a Dictionary board state for logical grid coordinates.

Logic & Action Economy

• NEVER deduct Action Points (AP) before validation; strictly call can_perform_action(cost) before applying current_ap -= cost to prevent exploits.
• NEVER hardcode phase transitions (if phase == 0); strictly use an enum + match or a dedicated State Machine for Draw/Main/End phases.
• NEVER emit "Turn Ended" before internal cleanup; strictly reset AP and tick status effects BEFORE signaling the next turn.
• NEVER use exact floating-point equality (==) for AP checks; strictly use >= or is_equal_approx() for robust comparisons.

Tactical Grid & UI

• NEVER use generic AStar2D for tile grids; strictly use AStarGrid2D for 10x faster pathfinding and native diagonal handling.
• NEVER forget to call update() on AStarGrid2D after changing obstacle states; if you toggle set_point_solid(), the grid MUST refresh before the next query.
• NEVER lock the main thread with while loops for input; strictly use the await keyword or signals to yield execution back to the Tree.
• NEVER handle turn decisions with is_action_pressed(); strictly use is_action_just_pressed() for discrete, frame-locked menu input.
• NEVER skip turn timeouts in networked games; strictly implement a server-side timer with a default "pass" action to prevent griefing. See Networked Turn Timeout golden path below.

Decision Tree — Pick a Turn Model

Do NOT invent a fourth model inline. Read the matching script before coding.

Expert Components (scripts/)

• turn_system_patterns.gd — Match-based phase machines, UndoRedo, AStarGrid2D board helpers.
• active_time_battle.gd — ATB gauges, pause-on-ready, async action handoff.
• timeline_turn_manager.gd — Timeline / CTB with interrupts and pre-visualization.
• turn_predictor.gd — Simulate ATB gauges for timeline UI preview.
• combat_stats_resource.gd — Deterministic damage preview Resource for hover UI.

TurnManager Autoload — Interface Contract Only

Keep the Autoload thin. Do not paste full queue math here — implement in the script chosen above.

gdscriptCopy code
# turn_manager.gd (AutoLoad) — contract only
extends Node
signal turn_started(combatant: Node)
signal turn_ended(combatant: Node)
signal round_ended
signal turn_timed_out(combatant: Node)  # multiplayer: server default-pass

func start_combat(participants: Array[Node]) -> void: pass
func end_turn() -> void: pass
func request_pass(combatant: Node) -> void: pass  # default action on timeout

Networked Turn Timeout (Golden Path)

Referenced from NEVER: server owns the clock; clients never decide "pass."

1. On turn_started, server starts a one-shot Timer / SceneTreeTimer (authoritative).
2. On timeout: server calls request_pass(current) (or auto-end-turn), then emits turn_timed_out.
3. Clients only render the countdown; never mutate the turn queue locally.
4. Pair with godot-multiplayer-networking for host-auth RPC.

Action Points (Contract)

gdscriptCopy code
func can_perform_action(cost: int) -> bool:
    return current_action_points >= cost

func perform_action(cost: int) -> bool:
    if not can_perform_action(cost):
        return false
    current_action_points -= cost
    return true

Phases: prefer enum Phase { DRAW, MAIN, END } + match, or route to godot-state-machine-advanced. Full ATB / timeline math lives in the MANDATORY scripts — do not duplicate Elite snippets here.

Deep recipes (on demand)

LLM-ignorance rule: if a general agent would not know it before reading, it lives here or in scripts/ — never delete, only move.

Reference

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

Official Documentation

• Idle and Physics Processing — When turn ticks belong in _process vs _physics_process vs pure event steps.
• Using signals — Turn-start / turn-end / unit-acted events without polling gauges.
• Resources — Initiative/speed stats as Resources for sim and UI prediction.
• Singletons (Autoload) — TurnManager ownership boundaries.
• GDScript basics — await sequencing for multi-phase turns.
• Object — Signal connect flags for turn bus listeners.
• SceneTree — Pausing gameplay while menus resolve turn choices.
• Timer — Optional realtime turn clocks without busy loops.
• Tween — Animating ATB gauges and turn handoff juice.
• AnimationPlayer — Action animations that must finish before the next turn.
• MultiplayerAPI — Authoritative turn order in networked matches.
• JSON — Deterministic turn replay / seed logs for balance labs.

Related Skills

Prerequisites

• godot-project-foundations — Scene and Autoload placement for TurnManager.
• godot-signal-architecture — Turn bus contracts (signals up, commands down).
• godot-resource-data-patterns — Speed/initiative Resources shared with combat/UI.
• godot-autoload-architecture — Lifecycle of a global turn orchestrator.

Complements

• godot-state-machine-advanced — Per-unit states nested under turn phases.
• godot-combat-system — Actions resolved inside a granted turn.
• godot-rpg-stats — Speed/AGI feeding ATB gauges.
• godot-ability-system — Cooldowns measured in turns, not wall-clock only.
• godot-tweening — Gauge fill and handoff presentation.
• godot-multiplayer-networking — Host-auth turn order and lockstep.

Downstream / consumers

• godot-genre-action-rpg — ATB/turn hybrids in ARPG/JRPG-adjacent combat.
• godot-genre-card-game — Card turns and priority windows.
• godot-genre-rts — Discrete orders in strategy loops.
• godot-monte-carlo-balancer — Simulate turn matrices for speed/action fairness.

Master

• godot-master — Library router and mirrored module entry for turn systems.