Back again with another update on the game mechanics of Palpha. If you haven't already, checkout my previous post on the combat system. This game is simultaneous turn based. If you don't know what that genre is, then checkout Phantom Brigade and John Wick Hex. Anyways, here's how the timeline works.
Ticks
The timeline is split into units called ticks. 1 tick is equal to 1/3 of a second. The player queue holds up to 6 ticks (2 sec) of actions and a minimum of 3 ticks must be used before a player can end their turn.
Phases
Every tick is split into 4 phases. First is the prep phase, then dash phase, then blast phase, and finally move phase. This system is taken from a game called Atlas Reactor and it helps organize actions that occur on the same tick. All moves load in prep phase but the phase they execute in depends on its properties. Buffs execute in prep phase. Dashes and Bursts execute in dash phase. Attacks, Throws, and Specials execute in blast phase. Standard movement executes in move phase.
