Part

Tooltips and breakdowns

You might say: explanations, in-game encyclopedia

Hover text that shows where a number comes from and what a thing does.

What it does

Lets the player understand a complex system while playing it.

Ask

Can the player trace any number back to its causes?

What to look for

1. A breakdown such as "+3 from tiles, +2 from buildings"
2. Linked terms that open an encyclopedia entry

Sources

1. Soren Johnson, Seven Deadly Sins of strategy game design, 2. Black Box MechanicsThe reference level should answer any question the player can think of about how a game mechanic works.
2. Amplitude Studios, Endless Legend User’s Manual, Research ScreenYou can hover the cursor over a research icon to get information on what it provides.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Tooltips and breakdowns" (tooltips) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/4x-strategy/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal