Lanes
+ +
+ If up to now you've used mission stages like
+ This is the default or "main" lane, however, if you wanted to mix things up and create a more dynamic mission, you can use additional lanes.
+ Each lane can have its own set of mission stages, allowing for parallel or branching mission objectives.
+
How To
+Define Lanes
+
+ Lanes are defined implicitly in the naming convention of the
+ A lane is identified by a single character (alpha [A-Z]), which gives you 26 unique lanes.
+ For example,
+
+ If there is no lane character specified, the stage belongs to the main lane.
+
+ The 26 lane limit is only relevant if you want 26 lanes at the same time.
+ But splitting up lanes (eg. (1-4 and 10-15) ) you can easily have more than 26 stages throughout your entire mission.
+
+ Lanes don't have to start at index 1. as in the example lanes can easily start at any index.
+ How lanes are then activated and activate other lanes is described below in the Dependencies Explained part.
+
Dependencies Explained
+
+ When we are talking about lanes it's important to make the distinction between the main lane and additional lanes.
+ The main lane is not only the default, but it's also the central lane that other lanes depend on.
+
+
Chapters
+ Another term that we have used in the code is `Chapter` which refers to a grouping of mission stages within a lane.+ These are implied and cannot be directly controlled or altered.
+ A chapter is a set of `MissionStage`s that are directly connected.
+ For `MissionStages` `[ A1, A2, A3, A5, A6]` there are 2 chapters: `[ A1, A2, A3]` and `[ A5, A6]`.
+ Within a chapter the stages are only directly dependent on each other. Meaning A2 will start when A1 is completed.
+
+ However, the chapter start is where the inter-lane dependencies come into play.
+ These operate a little differently.
+
+ In the Visual example you can see the Stages grouped into chapters by the red boxes.
+ +
Side Lane Chapter start
+ ++ Side lane chapters are started when all are true: +
-
+
- The main lane is at or above the current stage lane number. +
- All previous chapters in the same side lane have been completed. +
Main Lane Chapter start
++ Main lane chapters are started when all are true: +
-
+
- The previous chapter in the main lane has been completed. +
- All side lanes are at or above the current stage lane number or the side lane has no additional stages. +
Visual
+
+ The image below illustrates how different lanes can be used within a mission.
+ In the example you can see how the dependency between the main lane and side lanes works.
+ An arrow means that the completion of one stage is required before the next stage can begin.
+
+
+ Mermaid
+
+ Spearhead automatically exports a spearhead diagram to the logs on starting a mission.
+ This can be handy to visualize the logic and lanes you've created and verify your mission flow will be the way you want it.
+
Log Example
+TODO: Show log example
+ +Diagram Example
+TODO: Show diagram example
+ +Limitations
+CAP
+
+ Due to the CAP naming conventions, we've opted to currently have CAP only react with the main lane.
+ This might mean a bit less flexibility when using lanes for major mission logic, however, it's a limitation we've accepted for now.
+ In the future we might be able to extend CAP's interaction with other lanes as well.
+ Currently this issue can be tracked here.
+