TERMINARIA

Terminal-Based Tactical Strategy Game — C++ Edition

  TERMINARIA  —  Turn-Based Squad Combat in the Terminal

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Compile

make          # builds ./terminaria
make run      # builds and launches immediately
make clean    # removes object files and binary

Requirements: g++ with C++17 support (GCC 9+ or Clang 10+).
macOS: xcode-select --install is sufficient.
Linux: sudo apt install g++ or equivalent.

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Play

./terminaria

All interaction is through numbered menus and coordinate input.

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Game Modes

Mode	Description
Campaign	5 escalating battles culminating in a Boss fight vs. Lord Kross
Skirmish	Single custom battle with chosen difficulty
Survival	Endless enemy waves — survive as long as possible

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Units

Class	HP	ATK	DEF	SPD	Range	Role
Warrior	120	20	18	8	1	Melee bruiser
Archer	90	16	10	12	4	Ranged DPS
Mage	75	28	6	11	4	AoE magic
Healer	80	10	8	10	3	Support / heal
Tank	160	14	28	5	1	Frontline shield
Rogue	85	22	8	15	1	Assassin / DoT

Promoted classes unlock at Level 10:

• Warrior → Knight or Berserker
• Archer → Sniper
• Mage → Elementalist
• Healer → Priest

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Skills (per class)

Warrior: Slash (1.5× ATK), Shield Bash (stun), Taunt (Rage buff)
Archer: Piercing Arrow (ignore DEF), Multi Shot (AoE), Snipe (2.5× ATK long range)
Mage: Fireball (AoE burn), Ice Nova (freeze AoE), Lightning Chain (chain 3 targets)
Healer: Heal (+25 HP), Purify (cleanse statuses), Barrier (20 HP shield)
Tank: Guard (shield ally), Counter Stance (Rage), Fortify (30 HP shield self)
Rogue: Backstab (2.2× + bleed), Dash (stun), Poison Strike (3-turn poison)

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Terrain

Symbol	Type	Effect
	Empty	Normal movement
##	Wall	Impassable
%%	Forest	2× move cost, +15% evasion, +3 DEF
~~	Water	2× move cost
/\	Mountain	Impassable
^^	Trap	−8 HP on entry
++	Healing Spring	+5 HP per turn
^^	High Ground	+1 attack range, +5 DEF

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Status Effects

Poison Burn Bleed — HP loss per turn
Freeze Stun — prevent movement / actions
Slow — −1 movement range
Shield — absorb incoming damage
Rage — +ATK, −DEF
Armor Break — halve DEF
Silence — cannot use skills

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Controls

All input is number-based:

• Action menu: type the action number and press Enter
• Move target: row col (e.g. 3 5 to move to row 3, col 5)
• Cancel / Back: 0

Action menu (player turn)

[1] Move     — pick a destination tile
[2] Attack   — pick an enemy in range
[3] Skill    — choose skill, then target
[4] Item     — use a team inventory item
[5] Status   — view all unit cards
[6] Defend   — +50% DEF, end turn
[7] Wait     — end turn immediately
[8] Save     — save to file

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Save / Load

• Saves are written to saves/slot1.sav (etc.)
• Save during battle from the action menu
• Load from the main menu → "Load Game"
• Up to 3 save slots supported

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Architecture

main.cpp                   Entry point
src/
  Types.h                  Shared enums and Position struct
  Utils.h                  ANSI colors, bars, input helpers, RNG
  StatusEffect.h/.cpp      Status effect data and tick logic
  Skill.h/.cpp             Skill data + SkillFactory
  Item.h/.cpp              Item data + Inventory + ItemFactory
  Unit.h/.cpp              Base Unit class + 6 concrete classes + UnitFactory
  Tile.h/.cpp              Single map tile with terrain properties
  Map.h/.cpp               2D grid + A* pathfinding + BFS reachable + renderer
  BattleSystem.h/.cpp      Combat engine, turn queue, XP, item use
  AIController.h/.cpp      Rule-based enemy AI with priority targeting
  SaveManager.h/.cpp       File-based save / load
  InputManager.h/.cpp      All terminal input parsing
  Game.h/.cpp              Game state machine and screen orchestration

Design Patterns Used

• Factory — UnitFactory, SkillFactory, ItemFactory
• State — GameState enum drives the main loop
• Strategy — AIController decoupled from BattleSystem
• Observer-lite — BattleLog collects all events; rendered at frame end
• Polymorphism — Unit base with 6 concrete derived classes

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Tips

• Healers are priority targets for the AI — keep yours protected.
• High ground tiles extend your ranged attackers' reach by +1.
• Forest gives +15% evasion — park your Rogue there for near-immunity to hits.
• Silence the enemy Healer with the Rogue's Poison Strike combo before focusing them.
• Fortify + Barrier stack: Tank can absorb 50 damage before any HP is lost.
• The Boss (Lord Kross) has a Priest healer — kill it first or he will sustain forever.