GAME 1303 — Tier 4: Hazards, Level Pieces & Progression

Eighteen scripts. No changes to earlier tiers this time — Tier 4 sits on top of Tier 1 (Health, DamageOnContact, CollectionTracker, AudioManager, SceneLoader, GameManager) and optionally Tier 2 (Hurtbox for breakables and hit-switches).

Requires the Tier 3 v1.1 update of DamageOnContact (the one that respects its enabled checkbox). Almost every hazard here works by switching damage on and off, and without that fix a retracted spike still kills you.

Scripts/
  Hazards/      SpinningSaw, SpikeTrap, Crusher, CyclingHazard, ElectricZone, KillZone
  Level/        Breakable, Door, PuzzleSwitch, SwitchGroup, LevelExit
  Progression/  ChoiceFlagManager, LevelData, LevelSet, LevelProgress,
                LevelTimer, LevelSelectButton, LevelSelectMenu

The pattern behind every hazard

A hazard is a trigger collider + DamageOnContact + a script that turns that component on and off on a schedule. Once students see that, they can build any trap in their pitch without new code:

Every timed hazard has a Warning Time with a shake or a warning sprite. That's the fairness rule worth stating in class: a trap the player couldn't have anticipated isn't difficulty, it's a coin flip. Nicholas's course lives or dies on this.

Doors, switches and gates

• Door — solid collider that opens by sliding, fading, or vanishing. Requirement is None, Collect (N of an ItemType from Tier 1's CollectionTracker, optionally consumed), or Flag. Fires OnOpenFailed when the player is short, so you can show a hint.
• PuzzleSwitch — Touch, Stand (pressure plate), or Hit (needs a Tier 2 Hurtbox). Wire OnActivated → Door.Open.
• SwitchGroup — "all three levers", with an option to break if one turns off.
• LevelExit — trigger that calls GameManager.LevelComplete(), sets a flag, and loads the next scene after a delay. Has the same Requirement options as Door.
• ChoiceFlagManager — named true/false facts plus counters, persistent across scenes. It's here because Door and LevelExit need it; Tier 6's dialogue and ending scripts will use this same component, so it's already the narrative backbone. HasAll("has_key, !alarm_tripped") handles compound conditions including negation.

Progression (Zap Attack and MythoClash mainly)

LevelData (one asset per level) and LevelSet (one per sector/world) are ScriptableObjects; LevelProgress is a static PlayerPrefs helper — no component to place. A level unlocks when it's marked unlocked-from-start, was purchased, or its prerequisites are cleared (default: the previous level in the set). TryPurchase spends currency from the CollectionTracker, which is exactly Tony's green-electricity generator door at the level-select scale.

LevelTimer counts up (speedrun) or down (a limit), formats as mm:ss.hh, and saves the best time per level id. Wire LevelExit.OnCompleted → LevelTimer.StopAndRecord.

LevelSelectMenu + LevelSelectButton build the grid from a LevelSet and show locked / cleared / best-time state.

Warn students about Level Id: progress saves under that string, so renaming one after playtesting silently resets it. And PlayerPrefs persists across rebuilds and is shared per-project on a machine — that's the usual answer to "why is level 3 still unlocked?" LevelProgress.ResetAll() is wired into LevelSelectMenu.ResetAllProgress for a clear-save button.

Per-game recipes

• Conquer the Cutthroat Course (Nicholas) — this tier plus Tier 1 is his game. SpinningSaw, CyclingHazard (fire), KillZone (acid pit), SpikeTrap, Crusher, ElectricZone (ceiling), LevelExit. Set RespawnManager to Use Lives = 3. Wire the third death (RespawnManager.OnGameOver) to AudioManager.PlaySFX with his funny sound.
• Zap Attack (Tony) — SpinningSaw, ElectricZone, SpikeTrap, Door (Collect: green electricity, Consume off) in front of the level-5 exit, LevelData/LevelSet/LevelSelectMenu for four sectors, LevelTimer for time attack.
• Commission Witch (Sylvia) — Door and LevelExit with Requirement = Collect on her ingredient ItemTypes; PuzzleSwitch for the order board.
• Roach Invasion (Joshua) — SpikeTrap, KillZone, LevelExit requiring all plants collected.
• Spark of Corruption (Kathryn) — Breakable walls with Min Damage To Break set so only the Sorcerer's stronger hit opens them; PuzzleSwitch + SwitchGroup for party-cooperation puzzles.
• The Magnet (Amarion) — Breakable crates that drop loot, and Tier 3's MetalObject thrown at them.
• Anabasis (Andraya) — PuzzleSwitch, Door (Flag), and ChoiceFlagManager as the memory of her player's choices.

AudioManager names referenced

spike_warn, spike_pop, crusher_slam, zap, fall, break, thud, door_open, door_locked, switch_on, level_complete.

Notes for the instructor

• ElectricZone extends CyclingHazard — the only inheritance in the whole kit so far, and a decent five-minute lesson on virtual/override if you want one. If it's a distraction, students can ignore CyclingHazard and use ElectricZone directly.
• Breakable's Min Damage To Break works by healing back damage that's too weak, so a weak hit is genuinely ignored rather than chipping it. It also forces destroyOnDeath = false and invulnerabilityTime = 0 in Awake so students can't misconfigure it.
• SpikeTrap (Triggered mode) and Door (proximity) poll with Collider2D.Overlap rather than needing a forwarder script on the child trigger — fewer files for students to wire, at the cost of a per-frame check. Fine at these scales.
• Crusher raycasts once at Start to find its own floor distance, so students can drag one prefab anywhere and it fits the shaft.
• Same caveat as before: hand-reviewed, not compiled here.