Minigames

Every hands-on action is done with the tool in your hand, not a generic progress bar: a pressure gauge on the pump, a cut line on the hydraulic cutter, a dial for coupling threads, a checklist for the SCBA. Every run shows a timer and finishes with a grade (clean, good or rough).

KindsCopy Anchor Link

Hand tools worked with the mouseCopy Anchor Link

Tools you turn, saw or pry by hand open a control next to the work and you work it with the mouse. There is no step list: you have to know what you are doing, and mistakes show up in the world.

The props move with your hands. While you work a control, the real object in the world follows it: the wrench turns on the hydrant's top nut and on the gas cylinder as you circle the mouse, the supply coupling slides onto the hydrant outlet as you do it up, the forced door strains open as you lever the halligan (jolts on each strike, slams back if the fork slips, swings open when it gives), and you hold the empty SCBA cylinder as it comes off and the spare as it goes on. Models and offsets: Config.DeviceProps in config_tools.lua.

Worked on the real thingCopy Anchor Link

• Hotspot attack: no panel. Flare-ups burn around the deep-seated fire and you put each one out with the real hose: aim the stream at it until it dies. Jet knocks one down fast, fog covers more but slower. Ones you leave alone grow back, and a new one can flare up (Config.Nozzle.world).
• Spreaders: hold E and the real door is forced open. At each creak, let go for a moment so the tips take a fresh bite; push through it and they slip and the door springs back.
• Cutter: aim the blades at each hinge on the real door and hold E to cut. Off the hinge nothing cuts. Both hinges through and the door comes off (Config.Extrication.world).

Walk-around jobsCopy Anchor Link

Some routine jobs are done by walking around in the world instead of on a panel:

• Truck check: walk round the truck and inspect each point (bonnet, cab, lockers, pump panel, tanks, tyres, hose bed, lights). The bonnet and doors open, the beacons are tested and a soft tyre is soft on the truck. Mark each point serviceable (E) or write it up (G). A soft tyre you write up is topped up on the spot. Defects you miss stay on the truck. Minigame name walkaround.
• Decontamination: a decon tent with stations from the dirty end to the clean end: rinse, scrub, final rinse, peel the suit off. Stand under the rinse until it is done. Walk into a later station early and you carry the contamination with you: back to the start. Minigame name decon_walk.

Set either to false in Config.Minigames.games to get the old panel back.

Backing a crewmate upCopy Anchor Link

Target a crewmate on duty and pick Back them up. While you stay close, heavy jobs go easier for them: wider zones, more time, one more slip, partner strikes on the halligan and faster saw cuts. When they start working you kneel in beside them. X stops. Config.Minigames.assist:

assist = {
    enabled = true,
    range = 4.0,                   -- metres
    maxTime = 120,                 -- seconds before backing up stops by itself
    games = { ram = true, airbags = true, door_work = true, ... },
    required = {},                 -- jobs that can't be done alone, e.g. { ram = true }
},

Getting quicker with experienceCopy Anchor Link

Routine jobs get quicker the more often a firefighter does them: fewer strikes and rounds, more time, and the walk-around readings come up faster. Once a job is second nature, jobs in skip become a short progress bar. Counts are kept per character. Config.Minigames.experience:

experience = {
    enabled = true,
    games = { walkaround = 20, hydrant = 25, cylinder_swap = 15, hose_repack = 15, ... }, -- times until second nature
    skip = { hose_repack = true, tool_check = true },
},

ComplicationsCopy Anchor Link

After some jobs there is a chance something goes wrong and needs a short extra job of another kind: a slab shifts at a collapse and needs shoring, the ram slips on the sill, roots across a firebreak, a spill running for a drain. Config.Minigames.complications:

complications = {
    enabled = true,
    chance = 0.25,
    list = {
        ram = {
            { text = 'The ram slips on the sill: reseat it', kind = 'align', params = { targets = 1, tolerance = 10 } },
        },
    },
},

kind is any of the kinds above.

The scene reactsCopy Anchor Link

The minigame isn't only on the panel. While you play, the world reacts to what you do:

• Close-up camera: the camera moves in over your shoulder and looks at the work (the door, the car, the hotspot, the patient), with a little handheld sway. It eases back out when you're done.
• Hotspot attack: the real hose sprays at the fire (jet or fog, whichever you pick in the minigame) and steam rises off it, with a bigger burst when a hotspot goes out.
• Spreaders: the car door opens as the force builds, and drops back if you lose the bite.
• Cutters, saws, chainsaw: sparks or wood chips fly while you cut, and a bind jolts you back a step.
• Hydrants and valves: a clank on every knock with the wrench.
• SCBA: air hisses out of the set when the cylinder change goes wrong, and the empty cylinder lies on the ground.
• Forcible entry and collapses: every good strike throws splinters off the door; digging out a collapse kicks up dust.
• Hits and slips: a good hit jolts the camera; a slip shakes it and flashes the edges of the screen red. The edges darken a little while a minigame is open, so your eyes go to the work.

Camera settings are in Config.Minigames.camera:

camera = {
    enabled = true,   -- false keeps the normal camera for everyone
    distance = 1.15,  -- metres behind your head
    side = 0.55,      -- metres to the right (over the shoulder)
    height = 0.35,    -- metres above your head
    lift = 9.0,       -- degrees it tilts down, so the work sits above the panel
    fov = 50.0,
    ease = 650,       -- ms to move in / out
    sway = 0.18,      -- handheld sway (0 = none)
    linger = 1300,    -- ms it stays after a minigame, so back-to-back ones don't jump
},

ScreenshotsCopy Anchor Link

ControlsCopy Anchor Link

Panel minigames work on keyboard and controller (game controls, not the mouse). The hand tools above are worked with the mouse; turn, saw and drag also take A / D or S held down.

DifficultyCopy Anchor Link

Config.Minigames in shared/config_minigames.lua:

A mistake never ends the job by itself: the tool slips and you lose a few seconds or redo a step. Only a run of slips (failAfter) starts that action over.

Each minigame in games can be:

nozzle = true,                                -- use the preset
nozzle = false,                               -- off: a short progress bar instead
nozzle = 'advanced',                          -- its own preset
nozzle = { preset = 'advanced', time = 1.3 }, -- own preset, holds / cuts take 30% longer

The checklists, defects, placards and diagnostics shown are text in Config.DrillContent, so you can translate or extend them.

Old checks = { 'easy', 'medium' } lists in the config still work: they run as a timing minigame (one release per entry, harder entries move faster) instead of a skill bar.

AccessibilityCopy Anchor Link

Players open Minigame settings in the tablet's Settings (the gear, top right) to set, for themselves:

• Assist mode: wider zones, slower drift, more time, two extra slips.
• Toggle instead of hold: press once to start, again to stop.
• Slow timing: timing and tracking at half speed, patterns stay visible.
• Reduced motion: no sliding or shaking.
• Larger panel: drawn 20% larger.
• Keep my camera: no close-up camera during minigames.

Server defaults are in Config.Minigames.accessibility.