Game structures

Core C++ data structures used in Wizard Duel for character management, spell projectiles, and network communication.

Character

The main structure representing a player or opponent in the game, including health, mana, position, and death state management.

struct Character {
    float health = 300.0f;
    float mana = 300.0f;
    double health_timer = 0.0;
    bool draining_mana = false;
    bool is_cast = false;
    float deathTime = 0.0f;
    bool isDead = false;
    bool deathSoundPlayed = false;
    bool is_local = false;
    Vector2 pos = {};
    Rectangle rect = { 0, 0, 20, 40 };
};

Fields

health · float · default: "300.0f"

Current health points of the character. When health reaches 0, the character dies. Can exceed maximum when shields are active.

mana · float · default: "300.0f"

Current mana points used for casting spells and abilities. Drains when camera zoom is below 5.0f, regenerates above 5.0f.

health_timer · double · default: "0.0"

Timer used to track shield decay intervals. When health exceeds 300.0f, this timer counts up to 2.0 seconds before reducing health by 3.0f.

draining_mana · bool · default: "false"

Indicates whether the character is currently draining mana due to camera zoom being below the threshold (5.0f).

is_cast · bool · default: "false"

Tracks whether the character has cast a spell and projectiles are currently active in the world.

deathTime · float · default: "0.0f"

Timer for death animation fade effect. Ranges from 0.0f to 1.0f, incremented by GetFrameTime() * 0.5f when character dies.

isDead · bool · default: "false"

Indicates whether the character is currently dead. Set to true when health drops to or below 0.0f.

deathSoundPlayed · bool · default: "false"

Ensures the death sound effect plays only once per death. Reset to false when character respawns.

is_local · bool · default: "false"

Distinguishes between the local player (true) and opponents (false). Used for rendering, input handling, and network synchronization.

pos · Vector2 · default: "{}"

World position coordinates of the character. Initialized randomly within safe spawn areas and updated based on movement input.

rect · Rectangle · default: "{ 0, 0, 20, 40 }"

Collision rectangle for the character with width 20 and height 40. Used for collision detection with trees and boundaries.

Show Usage example

Character player;
player.is_local = true;
player.pos.x = 640.0f;
player.pos.y = 360.0f;

// Check if player can cast spell
if (player.mana >= 25.0f && !player.isDead) {
    player.is_cast = true;
    player.mana -= 5.0f;
}

---

Ball

Represents a spell projectile cast by a character, including its appearance, trajectory, and damage properties.

struct Ball {
    Color spellColor = RED;
    Vector2 ball_pos = {};
    Vector2 target_pos = {};
    float ball_r = 25.0f;
    float ball_speed;
    float damage = 0.0f;
};

Fields

spellColor · Color · default: "RED"

Visual color of the spell projectile. Red spells (bloodRed = ) use radius 35.0f, blue spells (DARKBLUE) use default 25.0f radius.

ball_pos · Vector2 · default: "{}"

Current world position of the projectile. Updated each frame based on direction and ball_speed.

target_pos · Vector2 · default: "{}"

Target destination in world coordinates where the player aimed when casting. Projectile moves toward this position.

ball_r · float · default: "25.0f"

Current radius of the projectile in pixels. Decreases by 0.1f per frame and by 5.0f when colliding with trees.

ball_speed · float

Movement speed multiplier for the projectile. Red spell (KEY_ONE) uses 2.0f, blue spell (KEY_TWO) uses 4.0f.

damage · float · default: "0.0f"

Damage dealt by the projectile on impact. Calculated as 1.0f * ball_r at creation time.

Show Spell types

Red spell (KEY_ONE)

• Color: bloodRed
• Radius: 35.0f
• Speed: 2.0f
• Mana cost: 5.0f (requires 25.0f minimum)
• Damage: 35.0f (1.0f * 35.0f)

Blue spell (KEY_TWO)

• Color: DARKBLUE
• Radius: 25.0f (default)
• Speed: 4.0f
• Mana cost: 5.0f (requires 35.0f minimum)
• Damage: 25.0f (1.0f * 25.0f)

---

PositionPacket

Network packet structure for synchronizing character positions between client and server in multiplayer mode.

struct PositionPacket {
    float x;
    float y;
};

Fields

x · float

X-coordinate of the character’s position in world space. Sent over the network when position changes.

y · float

Y-coordinate of the character’s position in world space. Sent over the network when position changes.

Show Network usage

// Sending position update
if (all_players[0].pos.x != old_pos.x || all_players[0].pos.y != old_pos.y) {
    PositionPacket posPacket;
    posPacket.x = all_players[0].pos.x;
    posPacket.y = all_players[0].pos.y;
    
    ENetPacket* packet = enet_packet_create(
        &posPacket,
        sizeof(PositionPacket),
        ENET_PACKET_FLAG_RELIABLE
    );
    enet_peer_send(serverPeer, 0, packet);
}

// Receiving position update
if (event.type == ENET_EVENT_TYPE_RECEIVE) {
    PositionPacket* posPacket = (PositionPacket*)event.packet->data;
    all_players[1].pos.x = posPacket->x;
    all_players[1].pos.y = posPacket->y;
    enet_packet_destroy(event.packet);
}