Production context
Canonical source
GDD/02-World/02-Vehicles.mdDecision markers1 confirmed · 2 recommendations · 3 TBD
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- Not verified for this documentation pass.
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- No explicit GDD links found.
Document contract coverage
Use these required Feature Specification areas during review. The imported GDD below is canonical; items not stated explicitly remain unresolved.
- ReviewPurpose & Player Value
- ReviewScope
- ReviewOut of Scope
- ReviewTerminology
- ReviewFunctional Behavior
- ReviewStates & Flows
- ReviewRules & Edge Cases
- ReviewDependencies
- ReviewAcceptance Criteria
- ReviewOpen Questions
Canonical GDD content
Drivable vehicles are in — [CONFIRMED]. Vehicles serve traversal across a large open world, hauling loot/resources, and squad mobility.
Roles
- Traversal: cross the map faster than on foot; reach distant POIs and boss sites.
- Logistics: carry gathered resources and loot (vehicle storage).
- Squad mobility: move a squad together; a getaway after a raid.
- Risk object: vehicles are loud (attract zombies), need fuel, can be damaged/destroyed, and can be stolen — consistent with the tension pillar.
Vehicle types — [RECOMMENDATION] (final list [TBD])
| Type | Role |
|---|---|
| Light car / sedan | Cheap, fast, low storage |
| Pickup / off-road | Storage + rough terrain |
| (Later) larger transport | Squad + heavy hauling |
Start with one well-tuned drivable vehicle in v1; expand later. Vehicles are explicitly a Phase-2 system in the roadmap (see ../00-Overview/02-Scope-and-Constraints.md).
Systems
- Fuel: consumes a fuel resource; refuel from jerry cans / gas stations. Out of fuel = stranded.
- Damage & repair: vehicles take damage (collisions, gunfire, zombies); repair with resources/kits. Can be wrecked.
- Storage: integrated container (server-authoritative, persisted while the vehicle persists).
- Ownership / theft: [TBD] — can anyone drive any vehicle? Lock/key system? Default [RECOMMENDATION]: vehicles are stealable if left unattended (tension), with optional lock built/crafted.
- Persistence: [TBD] — do vehicles persist across server restarts and where? This intersects the persistence backend (see ../04-Multiplayer/01-Network-Architecture.md).
Technical notes — [RISK]
- Networked vehicle physics is hard. Replicated, physics-driven vehicles with passengers, smooth client experience, and anti-cheat are a well-known source of bugs and cost. Budget accordingly; this is a key reason vehicles are Phase-2, not Phase-1.
- Use UE's Chaos Vehicle system as the baseline; evaluate replication smoothing carefully for ~40–60-player servers.
- Players riding vehicles must attach/replicate correctly (seats, exit, ragdoll on crash).
- Vehicles attract/aggro zombies (ties to ../03-Enemies/01-Zombie-Design.md).
Implementation guidance
- Vehicle as a C++ pawn using Chaos Vehicle Movement; per-vehicle stats (speed, fuel capacity, storage size, HP) data-driven.
- Interaction (enter/exit/seats) via the player's
UInteractionComponent.