User:Poisonshot/Analysis of Stick Ranger Enemy Species

This is an analysis of every species in the Stick Ranger Enemy Species page and how easy or hard they would be to add in a Stick Ranger mod.


 * Roller: The Hoverer species in Cavern Chronicles was actually a failed attempt to make this. However, I highly doubt it's impossible to do this species (or something similar to it). Making a Walker faster is easy, and I'm pretty sure there's you can draw circles in JavaScript. Even if you can't, you could simply make a picture of a circle, get the game to load it and then make the species use it as part of its body instead of the squares.


 * ZX Copter: You could probably load a sprite and then make it animate to replicate the "spinning copter" effect. As for its movement you can rather obviously just copy the canon Copter.


 * Twister: Would definitely require a lot of custom coding. Beyond my own abilities, but not impossible.


 * Ball: Probably possible. You'd have to find a way to make knockback affect it even when a weapon has no knockback but otherwise this wouldn't be too hard to do.


 * Drill: Now this is a tough one. Ignoring how hard it would be to fight this species, having it look like just like it does here would be very hard with the rotation and stuff, even with an animated sprite. If you substitute the drill with a regular triangle, that part is taken care off. Making it move around would still require a hefty amount of custom code, however.


 * Gorgon: Not too hard to edit from Stickmen. Replace the legs with a smaller drawn head and tweak its movement parameters a bit, and it's done.


 * Diver: Appearance is obviously not a problem, and player stickmen can already swim, so just look at the code for player stickmen and replicate it on the Stickman species.


 * Oyster: It goes without saying that it requires custom sprites to be loaded. Making it immobile is easy, but "closing its shell to increase its defense" would be a tough thing to do that requires a good amount of custom code.


 * Mermaid: This would likely be an edit of the Diver, perhaps with some Fish code spliced in (especially for flopping on land and for the tail movement)


 * Jellyfish: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/528204821388460032/541961559417552922/asss.gif


 * Scorpion: Custom code hell; would most likely require completely custom code for the most part. Way ahead of my own abilities.


 * Wrecker: Would likely be made out of custom code too, but easier than Scorpion as movement is less of a worry. Still beyond my abilities, though.


 * Flyman: LL's mod has Stickmen that fly, although as far as I recall they don't have wings. However, replacing the arms with wings shouldn't be too hard of a task.


 * Alien: Custom code required. MAYBE extrapolatable from Spider but I can't see this as an easy one to make. HOWEVER, Alien Invasion has a similar-looking species, although it's not an exact match.


 * Warper: Easily the hardest species here so far. While pretty much all species could be done with custom code, this is one of those species that are "close to impossible".


 * Tiger: See Scorpion.


 * Vine: This is already in the game as Inverted Tree. For full accuracy, making the boxes thinner is entirely doable. Quite possibly the easiest species so far.


 * Solid: Not impossible, although I'm a bit worried about the collision aspect.


 * Ghost: I'm not sure replicating its appearance is even possible, but movement-wise it's nothing special.


 * UFO: Already in both Ivan's Mod and the Alien Invasion mod. The Alien Invasion variant is closer, however.


 * Satellite: Probably extrapolatable from Bat. Medium level of difficulty, but doable.


 * Giant: Edit Stickman species. Done. Only part I'm slightly worried about is keeping the torso stationary, but I doubt that's hard to do.


 * Tumbler: Another tough one that would require some hellish af custom code if I understand how it moves right. Might even be harder than Scorpion.


 * Cart: Ignoring the question of how it's even supposed to rotate left or right, Cart would actually be relatively easy on the movement side if it wasn't for the spawning aspect. However, Bouncers do have spawning hard-coded in, so it's not impossible to do so, although checking when it collides with a wall is not something I think would be easy. But it's probably doable, just tough.


 * Long Walker: The Hoverer species in Cavern Chronicles is this except the legs are long horizontally instead of vertically. Entirely doable.


 * Chip: Ignoring the fact young me made a species based on potato chips, this is doable, although very uninteresting.


 * Seahorse: The tail tip makes this harder than it seems at first glance. Seahorse-like movement would also be hard to replicate without custom code. I'd say it's around Wrecker level of difficulty.


 * PS Pipe: Would likely be a good start for an eventual Warper species. Getting the head to warp around is a bit complex, however, and you also have to worry about two pipes trying to warp into the same pipe, unless you simply make every pipe have its own set of 3-4 pipes, which would still be rather complex. Now that I think about it I'm not sure this is easier or harder than Warper on the movement side (although appearance-wise, it's definitely easier)


 * Wyvern: Appearance-wise it would be complicated, but movement-wise it can just be edited from Dragon and Bat.


 * Devil: I was going to say this would be easy until I saw it has differences from Zombie movement-wise. The "phase into ground and warp near player" would be hard to implement, but I don't think it's an impossible species overall.


 * Rotator: Requires custom code, although this is essentially an easier Wrecker. Definitely doable.


 * Bacteria: Germ exists, so it wouldn't be hard to edit from that. I'm not sure how easy it is to add more limbs to a Germ, however. If this were to become a thing, it should also be noted that the positions of the arms would likely not change with the head outline.


 * Speaking of Head Outlines: Many species we've made use head outlines, although Stick Ranger has no such function. Head outlines would likely be done by having a separate head image with outline versions of each head, and then loading those into the species. I think doing so in a potential "species mod" would be worth it.


 * Robot: Requires custom code. Would be a tough cookie overall, although probably not impossible.


 * Fighter: ...I mean, this is already in Powder Game. So just replicate the code from that and translate it into Stick Ranger. The Lighthouse boss from Alien Invasion has a similar appearance to it as a bonus, as it lacks the arms Stickmen have.


 * Giantdiver: Diver edit.


 * Flower: Load a custom sprite for the appearance. Not a hard one.


 * PS Crab: Edit Spider and add some funny pincer waving. Done.


 * Hermit Crab: Has similar complications as Oyster, but if Oyster is made, then this becomes one of the easiest one on this list as you can just edit Walker and add the defense mechanism to it.


 * Butterfly: A similar-looking species is seen in Alien Invasion, although it uses triangles instead of boxes.


 * Submarine: A complicated one that would require a ton of custom code. What I'm actually worried about though is the appearance; I question how it'd rotate. I suppose it could just flip suddenly, although that'd look off.


 * PS Turtle: Shell would be a custom sprite. Movement would require custom code. Once again the question of how it rotates applies.


 * Hydra: Okay, this is a tough one, especially with the triple life mechanic. Having a center dragon makes things easier... unless the center head dies, in which case you have to wonder which head takes priority for the movement. Overall one of the harder ones.


 * Skater: This one is harder than it looks and would most likely require custom code for the movement.


 * Treant: Custom code required for movement. Appearance-wise it would also be complex although doable.


 * Creeper: Custom code. You know the gist.


 * Cage: This is a very confusing concept. The hardest part here is probably the dragon part, although getting it to randomly switch between two species could be complicated too (although it may or may not be easier than I think it is).


 * Spring: Attacking when attacked can obviously be taken from mushrooms and cacti. Movement-wise, you'll need custom code. Snake may or may not be usable as a reference.


 * Dog: Custom code strikes again! There are a worrying about of quadruped with bodies here. Would definitely be a good idea to make a base for "long body quadruped" if we were to make a species mod.


 * Astronaut: Edit Stickman to have lower gravity and a head outline. Done. As a matter of fact, the Stickmen in the Moon Mod already have a head outline. If you're reading this Marco go add Astronaut to Moon Mod if it's not already in.


 * LD Wyvern: May or may not be easier than the earlier Wyvern. What I'm mostly worried about is the wings. Maybe they could be animated sprites? Or maybe just static sprites.


 * HGD Chain: Tough cookie, like Tumbler.


 * Slug: This is pretty much a water eel out of water. Eels with more heads have already been done in Alien Invasion so that is not something to worry about.


 * TFM Chain: Depending on how chain-like you want it to act, it may or may not be an easy case.


 * Moth: Not sure about the rounded wings, but as far as movement goes this is basically just a Butterfly edit.


 * Pincher: Doable with custom animated sprites. If we want to get more complex, maybe add some bouncing/shaking every time it pinches in order to make it look livelier.


 * Tank: Custom sprite hell. I'm not actually too worried about the movement side of things, aside from it rotating. Maybe make the cannon rotate 180 degrees or something.


 * Bubble: Cavern Chronicles has a species based on this which is actually just a low-gravity wheel. However, there is probably a less hacky way to do it.


 * Bouncer: Would probably be an edit of the Spring species if it is made before.


 * Climber: Doable, although it would look strange when it "climbs" the edge of the screen. Would probably fit in a gimmick stage where the exit sign isn't at the edge of the screen.


 * Cannon: Actually not too bad. Probably wouldn't look exactly the same, but it could be made to rotate by just rotating 180 degrees upwards like my suggestion for Tank.


 * PS Plant: Easy peasy. Edit Tree.


 * TFM Plant: The branches make this more complex than my version of Plant, but it's far from impossible.


 * Hanger: Inverting the gravity of a Walker already nets a Hanger if I remember well. However I recall the Hanger head being too far away from the body itself, so that should probably be tweaked.


 * Lazro Tank: This is a rather easy one depending on how much movement you want it to have.


 * Ace: Would require custom code and brings up the rotation question again.


 * Lightning: Would require custom code but wouldn't be very hard custom code considering it's just cardinal direction movement.


 * Stacker: The Block species in Ivan's Mod looks very similar, and getting it to move would not be hard either. However, stacking might make things complicated.


 * Ant: Custom code, rotation question, yadda yadda. This introduces creatures with single-colored head segments. I'm not sure how hard this is to pull off but I don't think it's that hard. At worst it requires another set of custom sprites.


 * Boulder: Hurting on contact makes things complicated but otherwise this is actually pretty easy as a Wheel edit.


 * Snowman: Easily doable.


 * Shock: This is either easy or complicated custom code. Not too sure.


 * Train: This is an unusual one. I'm not sure how hard it would be, although it would most likely require custom code.


 * Turbine: If Rotator is doable, then so is Turbine.


 * Spinner: The rounded appearance makes this slightly complicated but it's yet another species in the line of Rotator and Turbine.


 * Bomber: This ridiculous-looking thing gets one of the hardest cases of "how does it rotate?" yet.


 * String: I doubt this is a hard one.


 * Rope: This one, however, is harder. I don't think it's impossible to do, although having it attack through the rope would make things complicated. Perhaps have a custom attack mode for ropes?


 * Cloud: Obviously requires a custom sprite. Aside from that, can probably be edited from Copter or UFO.


 * Tornado: Edit Twister if that is done before.


 * Seaweed: Edit Tree. Done. Use aquatic spawning modes to simulate it being an underwater species.


 * Spirit: This is an odd one that would require quite a lot of work. You encounter drill's sprite problem, and it isn't very descriptive as to how exactly it flies around. You'd also have to add some arm movement.


 * Plankton: Can probably be edited from a jellyfish species.


 * Coral: Seems pretty doable overall. Would be nice to have some slight movement on the tentacles.


 * Vase: Use a custom sprite for the body. Aside from that, easy and doable.


 * Spike: Hurting on contact requires a bit of custom coding, but otherwise see Vase.


 * Coil: Edit Spring.


 * Shrub: Looks easy and probably is too.


 * Car: "VROOM VROOM ROTATE QUESTION VROOM VROOM"


 * Mole: Encounters similar problems to Drill.


 * Square: Wheels with more segments have been done, so it shouldn't be hard to make a wheel with less segments.


 * Pot: See Vase. Pot with trees in them are harder. Something interesting that could be done is to make them compatible with more than just trees, perhaps by having code similar to eventual Stacker or Solid code applied to it and then using a custom spawning mode.


 * Totem: Another easy immobile species.


 * Spikeball: The appearance aspect of it makes it harder, but movement wise it can probably be a wheel edit.


 * Plane: Hey, you can actually see how this one would rotate! I don't think this is that hard to make, although it's not a cakewalk either.


 * Lilypad: This one is much harder to do than it looks and would require a lot of splicing code, some from pre-made custom code perhaps (such as potential "solid" code).


 * Fairy and Pixie: Both are easy edits of Stickmen and Flymen.


 * Centaur: Mentions the Horse species, despite said species being located after it for some reason. Has long quadruped species issues.


 * Chicken: Custom sprite hell.


 * Monkey: Looks like a variant of Zombie movement-wise. Adding stealing would probably be quite the challenge.