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oracle-of-secrets/Docs/Sprites/ThunderGhost.md
scawful 1cc7d84782 Add detailed sprite analysis for Puffstool, Sea Urchin, Thunder Ghost and more
- Introduced comprehensive documentation for the Puffstool sprite, covering properties, core routines, and key behaviors.
- Added analysis for the Sea Urchin sprite, detailing its initialization, state management, and drawing routines.
- Included a thorough examination of the Thunder Ghost sprite, highlighting its dynamic health, lightning attack mechanics, and movement patterns.
2025-10-02 23:55:31 -04:00

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# Thunder Ghost Sprite Analysis
This document provides a detailed analysis of the `thunder_ghost.asm` sprite, outlining its properties, core routines, and behavioral patterns.
## 1. Sprite Properties
The following `!SPRID` constants define Thunder Ghost's fundamental characteristics:
```asm
!SPRID = Sprite_ThunderGhost
!NbrTiles = 03 ; Number of tiles used in a frame
!Harmless = 00 ; 00 = Sprite is Harmful, 01 = Sprite is Harmless
!HVelocity = 00 ; Is your sprite going super fast? put 01 if it is
!Health = 10 ; Number of Health the sprite have (dynamically set in _Prep)
!Damage = 00 ; (08 is a whole heart), 04 is half heart
!DeathAnimation = 00 ; 00 = normal death, 01 = no death animation
!ImperviousAll = 00 ; 00 = Can be attack, 01 = attack will clink on it
!SmallShadow = 00 ; 01 = small shadow, 00 = no shadow
!Shadow = 00 ; 00 = don't draw shadow, 01 = draw a shadow
!Palette = 00 ; Unused in this template (can be 0 to 7)
!Hitbox = 09 ; 00 to 31, can be viewed in sprite draw tool
!Persist = 00 ; 01 = your sprite continue to live offscreen
!Statis = 00 ; 00 = is sprite is alive?, (kill all enemies room)
!CollisionLayer = 00 ; 01 = will check both layer for collision
!CanFall = 00 ; 01 sprite can fall in hole, 01 = can't fall
!DeflectArrow = 00 ; 01 = deflect arrows
!WaterSprite = 00 ; 01 = can only walk shallow water
!Blockable = 00 ; 01 = can be blocked by link's shield?
!Prize = 00 ; 00-15 = the prize pack the sprite will drop from
!Sound = 00 ; 01 = Play different sound when taking damage
!Interaction = 00 ; ?? No documentation
!Statue = 00 ; 01 = Sprite is statue
!DeflectProjectiles = 00 ; 01 = Sprite will deflect ALL projectiles
!ImperviousArrow = 00 ; 01 = Impervious to arrows
!ImpervSwordHammer = 00 ; 01 = Impervious to sword and hammer attacks
!Boss = 00 ; 00 = normal sprite, 01 = sprite is a boss
```
**Note:** `!Health` is initially set to `10` but is dynamically determined during initialization based on Link's sword level.
## 2. Core Routines
### 2.1. `Sprite_ThunderGhost_Long` (Main Loop)
This is the primary entry point for Thunder Ghost's per-frame execution. It handles drawing, shadow rendering (conditionally), and then dispatches to the main logic routine if the sprite is active.
```asm
Sprite_ThunderGhost_Long:
{
PHB : PHK : PLB
JSR Sprite_ThunderGhost_Draw
LDA.w SprAction, X : CMP.b #$03 : BCS + ; Don't draw shadow if casting thunder
JSL Sprite_DrawShadow
+
JSL Sprite_CheckActive : BCC .SpriteIsNotActive
JSR Sprite_ThunderGhost_Main
.SpriteIsNotActive
PLB
RTL
}
```
### 2.2. `Sprite_ThunderGhost_Prep` (Initialization)
This routine is executed once when Thunder Ghost is first spawned. It sets its health based on Link's sword level and initializes `SprTimerA` and `SprTimerB`.
```asm
Sprite_ThunderGhost_Prep:
{
PHB : PHK : PLB
LDA.l Sword : DEC A : TAY
LDA.w .health, Y : STA.w SprHealth, X ; Set health based on sword level
LDA.b #$08 : STA.w SprTimerB, X
LDA.b #$08 : STA.w SprTimerA, X
PLB
RTL
.health
db $06, $0A, $0C, $10 ; Health values for each sword level
}
```
### 2.3. `Sprite_ThunderGhost_Main` (Behavioral State Machine)
This routine manages Thunder Ghost's AI through a state machine, using `SprAction, X` to determine its current behavior. It includes states for facing forward, left, and right, as well as states for casting thunder in different directions.
```asm
Sprite_ThunderGhost_Main:
{
%SpriteJumpTable(ThunderGhostFaceForward,
ThunderGhostLeft,
ThunderGhostRight,
CastThunderLeft,
CastThunderRight)
ThunderGhostFaceForward:
{
%PlayAnimation(0, 1, 16)
JSR Sprite_ThunderGhost_Move
RTS
}
ThunderGhostLeft:
{
%PlayAnimation(2, 3, 16)
JSR Sprite_ThunderGhost_Move
RTS
}
ThunderGhostRight:
{
%PlayAnimation(4, 5, 16)
JSR Sprite_ThunderGhost_Move
RTS
}
CastThunderLeft:
{
%StartOnFrame(6)
%PlayAnimation(6, 6, 16)
JSL Sprite_CheckDamageToPlayer
JSL Sprite_MoveLong
LDA.w SprTimerA, X : BNE + ; If timer A is not 0
STZ.w SprState, X ; Clear sprite state (despawn?)
+
RTS
}
CastThunderRight:
{
%StartOnFrame(6)
%PlayAnimation(7, 7, 16)
JSL Sprite_CheckDamageToPlayer
JSL Sprite_MoveLong
LDA.w SprTimerA, X : BNE + ; If timer A is not 0
STZ.w SprState, X ; Clear sprite state (despawn?)
+
RTS
}
}
```
### 2.4. `Sprite_ThunderGhost_Move` (Movement and Interaction Logic)
This routine handles Thunder Ghost's movement, collision, and interaction with the player. It also includes logic for randomly triggering lightning attacks and changing its facing direction.
```asm
Sprite_ThunderGhost_Move:
{
JSL Sprite_Move
JSL Sprite_BounceFromTileCollision
JSL Sprite_PlayerCantPassThrough
JSL Sprite_DamageFlash_Long
JSL Sprite_CheckIfRecoiling
LDA.w SprTimerC, X : BNE ++ ; Check timer C
JSL GetRandomInt : AND #$3F : BNE ++ ; Random chance to spawn lightning
LDA.b #$40 : STA.w SprTimerC, X ; Set timer C
JSR SpawnLightningAttack ; Spawn lightning attack
++
LDA.w SprTimerA, X : BNE + ; Check timer A
JSL Sprite_IsToRightOfPlayer : CPY.b #$01 : BNE .ToRight ; Determine if to the right of Link
%GotoAction(1) ; Transition to ThunderGhostLeft
JMP .Continue
.ToRight
%GotoAction(2) ; Transition to ThunderGhostRight
LDA.b #$20 : STA.w SprTimerA, X ; Set timer A
JMP .Continue
+
%GotoAction(0) ; Transition to ThunderGhostFaceForward
.Continue
LDA.w SprMiscB, X
JSL JumpTableLocal
dw ThunderGhostMove
ThunderGhostMove:
{
JSL GetRandomInt : AND.b #$03
JSL Sprite_ApplySpeedTowardsPlayer
JSL Sprite_CheckTileCollision
JSL Sprite_CheckDamageFromPlayer
JSL Sprite_CheckDamageToPlayer
RTS
}
}
```
### 2.5. `SpawnLightningAttack`
This routine is responsible for spawning the lightning attack sprite. It sets up the lightning's initial properties, including its `SprSubtype`, action, position, and speed, based on Thunder Ghost's position relative to Link.
```asm
SpawnLightningAttack:
{
PHX
LDA.b #$CD ; Sprite ID for lightning (assuming $CD is the lightning sprite ID)
JSL Sprite_SpawnDynamically : BMI .no_space
; Use SprXSpeed, SprYSpeed, SprXRound, SprYRound
; SprX, SprY, SprXH, SprY, to cast the lightning spell
; and make it move off to the bottom left or bottom right
; Y is the ID of the new attack sprite
; X is the ID of the current source sprite
; Left 0 or Right 1
PHY
JSL Sprite_IsToRightOfPlayer : TAY : CMP.b #$01 : BEQ + ; Determine if to the right of Link
LDA.b #$00
JMP .Continue
+
LDA.b #$01
.Continue
CLC : ADC.b #$03
PLY
STA.w SprSubtype, Y ; Set SprSubtype for lightning
STA.w SprAction, Y ; Set action for lightning
LDA.w SprX, X : STA.w SprX, Y
LDA.w SprY, X : STA.w SprY, Y
LDA.w SprXH, X : STA.w SprXH, Y
LDA.w SprYH, X : STA.w SprYH, Y
LDA.w SprXSpeed, X : STA.w SprXSpeed, Y
LDA.w SprYSpeed, X : STA.w SprYSpeed, Y
LDA.b #$02 : STA.w SprXRound, Y
LDA.b #$02 : STA.w SprYRound, Y
LDA.b #$30 : STA.w SprTimerA, Y
LDA.b #$30 : STA.w SprTimerB, Y
.no_space
PLX
RTS
}
```
### 2.6. `Sprite_ThunderGhost_Draw` (Drawing Routine)
This routine is responsible for rendering Thunder Ghost's graphics. It uses the `%DrawSprite()` macro, which reads from a set of data tables to handle its multi-tile appearance and animation.
```asm
Sprite_ThunderGhost_Draw:
{
%DrawSprite()
.start_index
db $00, $03, $06, $09, $0C, $0F, $12, $15
.nbr_of_tiles
db 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
.x_offsets
dw 0, 0, 8
dw 8, 0, 0
dw 0, 0, 8
dw 0, 0, 8
dw 0, 8, 0
dw 0, 8, 0
dw -12, -8, -16
dw 12, 16, 20
.y_offsets
dw -8, 0, -8
dw -8, 0, -8
dw 0, -8, -8
dw 0, -8, -8
dw 0, -8, -8
dw 0, -8, -8
dw 12, 24, 20
dw 12, 24, 12
.chr
db $3A, $02, $3B
db $3A, $02, $3B
db $20, $00, $01
db $22, $10, $11
db $20, $00, $01
db $22, $10, $11
db $28, $2A, $2B
db $28, $2A, $2B
.properties
db $2B, $2B, $2B
db $6B, $6B, $6B
db $2B, $2B, $2B
db $2B, $2B, $2B
db $6B, $6B, $6B
db $6B, $6B, $6B
db $2B, $2B, $2B
db $6B, $2B, $2B
.sizes
db $00, $02, $00
db $00, $02, $00
db $02, $00, $00
db $02, $00, $00
db $02, $00, $00
db $02, $00, $00
db $02, $00, $00
db $02, $00, $00
}
```
## 3. Key Behaviors and Implementation Details
* **Dynamic Health:** Thunder Ghost's health is determined at spawn time based on Link's current sword level, allowing for dynamic difficulty scaling.
* **Conditional Shadow Drawing:** The shadow is not drawn when Thunder Ghost is in its `CastThunderLeft` or `CastThunderRight` states, suggesting a visual distinction during its attack.
* **Lightning Attack:** Thunder Ghost has a random chance to spawn a lightning attack (`SpawnLightningAttack`) at regular intervals, which then becomes an independent sprite with its own movement and interaction logic.
* **State Management:** Thunder Ghost uses `SprAction, X` and `%SpriteJumpTable` to manage its facing direction (forward, left, right) and its thunder-casting states.
* **Movement Patterns:** Thunder Ghost moves randomly and applies speed towards the player, while also bouncing from tile collisions and being unable to be passed through by Link.
* **Projectile Spawning with Directional Logic:** The `SpawnLightningAttack` routine demonstrates how to spawn a projectile (`$CD`) and initialize its properties, including its `SprSubtype` and `SprAction`, based on Thunder Ghost's position relative to Link.
* **`SprTimerA`, `SprTimerB`, `SprTimerC` Usage:** These timers are used to control the frequency of lightning attacks and the duration of facing/movement states.
* **`Sprite_MoveLong`:** Used in the `CastThunderLeft` and `CastThunderRight` states, suggesting a specific movement behavior during the attack animation.