DeadVector is a browser-based top-down zombie survival arena built with HTML5 Canvas and vanilla JavaScript. Survive endless waves of FSM-driven zombies, unlock weapons and upgrades, and fight through escalating boss encounters.
| Action | Input |
|---|---|
| Move | W A S D or Arrow Keys |
| Aim | Mouse |
| Shoot | Left Click (hold for auto-fire) |
| Dash | Right Click |
| Switch Weapon | Scroll Wheel or 1 2 3 |
| Loadout / Stats | TAB or E |
| Pause | Escape |
| Mute | M |
| Restart (from menu / game over) | R |
Three unlockable weapons, each with a distinct role:
| Weapon | Type | Pellets | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Pistol | Semi-auto | 1 | Available from the start |
| Scatter Cannon | Semi-auto | 7 | Unlocked at level 2 (25 scrap) |
| Vector SMG | Full-auto | 1 | Unlocked at level 4 (75 scrap) |
- Killing enemies earns XP. Each level-up offers a choice of 3 upgrade cards.
- Enemies can drop scrap, a currency spent on premium upgrades and weapon unlocks.
- Combo system: chaining kills without a gap grants bonus XP and damage at higher streaks.
- 31 normal upgrades across pistol, shotgun, SMG, and global categories plus 3 rare upgrades.
- 6 boss-exclusive upgrades only available from boss reward cards.
Five zombie types, all driven by the shared FSM in js/ai/fsm.js:
| Type | Role |
|---|---|
| Shambler | Slow melee, high durability |
| Sprinter | Fast glass-cannon melee |
| Spitter | Ranged acid kiter |
| Brute | Heavy melee tank |
| Screamer | Ranged support, speed-buffs nearby allies |
Enemy stats scale with wave number (health, speed, notice range).
A boss spawns every 5 waves. Three base archetypes evolve into named variants across 8 scheduled encounters, then continue to scale infinitely:
| Wave | Boss | Archetype |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Juggernaut | Melee slam |
| 10 | Brood Mother | Ranged burst |
| 15 | Titan | AoE shockwave |
| 20 | Warlord Grim | Evolved Juggernaut |
| 25 | Queen Vespera | Evolved Brood Mother |
| 30 | The Monolith | Evolved Titan |
| 35 | The Amalgam | Hybrid (burst + slam) |
| 40 | Omega | Ultimate Titan |
Defeating a boss grants scrap and a boss reward card with exclusive upgrades.
- Wave-based spawning with increasing enemy count and composition.
- New enemy types unlock at higher waves (Spitter wave 2, Brute wave 4, Screamer wave 6).
- Beyond wave 40, bosses continue to scale in health, damage, and speed.
Every zombie and boss instance uses the reusable FiniteStateMachine class from js/ai/fsm.js.
States: SPAWN → WANDER → CHASE → ATTACK → RETREAT → DEAD
Any zombie transitions to DEAD when health reaches zero (global anyTransition). Transition conditions, speeds, retreat thresholds, and attack patterns vary per enemy type.
-
Full diagram with Mermaid source: docs/fsm-diagram.md
-
Transition table: docs/fsm-table.md
load, keydown, keyup, keypress, mousemove, mousedown, mouseup, click, contextmenu, wheel, resize, focus, blur, visibilitychange, custom events (gameStart, waveComplete, levelUp, gameOver), requestAnimationFrame, setTimeout, setInterval — 21 total.
- Main menu with Play, Guide, and Settings buttons.
- Pause menu with resume, settings, and quit-to-menu options (with confirmation dialog).
- Game over screen showing score, wave, kills, and max combo.
- Level-up screen presenting 3 upgrade cards (select with
123or click). - Boss reward screen after each boss kill.
- Loadout panel (
TAB/E) displaying weapon stats and acquired upgrades. - In-game Guide with tabs covering all enemies, bosses, weapons, items, and controls with animated canvas previews.
- Settings panel: master / music / SFX volume, screen shake, damage numbers, blood, FPS counter, UI scale, dev mode toggle.
- Canvas-rendered HUD with health, energy, weapon, wave, score, combo, and XP bar.
- HTML5 Canvas 2D
- JavaScript ES6 modules
- CSS3 (custom properties, grid, flexbox)
- Web Audio API
- Google Fonts (Orbitron, Inter, Share Tech Mono)
- rules.md — assignment brief
- docs/fsm-diagram.md — FSM diagram with Mermaid source
- docs/fsm-table.md — FSM transition table