BattleSpace - Medical System

Version: 1.0
Last Updated: November 2025
Design Philosophy: Engaging tactical medical gameplay without excessive complexity

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1. System Overview

The BattleSpace medical system balances tactical depth with accessibility, creating meaningful medic gameplay without overwhelming players. The system focuses on three core pillars:

1. Bandaging - Stop bleeding and stabilize wounded players
2. Revival - Bring incapacitated teammates back to the fight
3. Healing - Restore health to damaged body parts

Design Goals:

• Medic role is essential and rewarding
• Players understand their medical state intuitively
• Medical actions require tactical decision-making
• System scales from solo play to coordinated squad operations
• Performance-friendly for 32v32 combat

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2. Health System

2.1 Hit Zone System

Players have six distinct body parts, each with independent health pools:

Body Part	Health Pool	Death Threshold	Functionality Impact
Head	100 HP	Instant death at 0 HP	Vision blur below 50 HP
Torso	100 HP	Incapacitation at 0 HP	—
Left Arm	50 HP	—	Weapon sway penalty
Right Arm	50 HP	—	Weapon sway penalty
Left Leg	50 HP	—	Movement speed penalty
Right Leg	50 HP	—	Movement speed penalty

Key Mechanics:

• Head damage is lethal - headshots at 0 HP result in immediate death (no revival)
• Torso damage at 0 HP causes incapacitation (player can be revived)
• Limb damage reduces combat effectiveness but does not cause incapacitation
• Each body part bleeds independently

2.2 Player States

Healthy (All body parts > 0 HP)

• Full combat capability
• Can sprint, aim accurately, move at full speed
• All actions available

Wounded (One or more body parts damaged)

• Visual feedback: Blood effects, screen vignette intensity based on damage
• Audio feedback: Heavy breathing, groaning based on pain level
• Functional penalties based on damaged body part:
  • Arms: +25% weapon sway per damaged arm
  • Legs: -20% movement speed per damaged leg
  • Torso: -10% stamina regeneration

Bleeding (Active bleed on any body part)

• HP drains over time from affected body part
• Bleeding rate: 2-10 HP per second (based on wound severity)
• Blood trail visible to other players
• Screen desaturation effect increases with blood loss
• Critical bleeding (>5 HP/s) shows pulsing red screen edge
• Death occurs when torso or head reaches 0 HP

Incapacitated (Torso reaches 0 HP)

• Cannot move, shoot, or use items
• Can communicate via voice (reduced volume)
• Can see surroundings (reduced vision radius)
• Bleeds out in 120 seconds without medical intervention
• Bleedout timer visible to nearby teammates
• Can be revived by any player with appropriate medical supplies

Dead

• Headshot death: No revival possible
• Bleedout death: Exceeded incapacitation timer
• Must respawn at designated spawn point
• Body ragdolls and remains for 30 seconds (visual confirmation)

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3. Injury & Bleeding System

3.1 Wound Types

Light Wound

• Caused by: Pistol rounds, shrapnel (distance >20m), grazing hits
• Bleeding rate: 2 HP per second
• Requires: 1 bandage to stop bleeding

Moderate Wound

• Caused by: Rifle rounds, close shrapnel (distance 10-20m), fall damage
• Bleeding rate: 5 HP per second
• Requires: 2 bandages to stop bleeding

Severe Wound

• Caused by: High-caliber rounds, direct explosion, vehicle collision
• Bleeding rate: 10 HP per second
• Requires: 3 bandages to stop bleeding
• Visual: Heavy blood spurt effect, large blood pool

3.2 Multiple Wounds

• Each body part can have multiple active wounds
• Bleeding rates stack (e.g., 2 moderate wounds = 10 HP/s total)
• Bandaging addresses one wound at a time (most severe first)
• Maximum 3 wounds per body part before bleedout is inevitable without immediate treatment

3.3 Pain System

Pain Threshold:

• Pain accumulates based on damage taken (not current HP)
• Pain level: 0-100 (increases with damage, decreases slowly over time)
• Effects begin at Pain > 30

Pain Effects:

• 30-50 Pain: Slight vision blur, minor aim sway increase (+10%)
• 50-75 Pain: Moderate vision blur, significant aim sway (+25%), occasional screen flash
• 75-100 Pain: Severe vision blur, extreme aim sway (+50%), frequent screen flash, movement speed -10%

Pain Management:

• Pain naturally decreases at 5 points per minute
• Morphine (medic only) instantly reduces pain by 50 points
• Morphine lasts 5 minutes, provides complete pain suppression

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4. Medical Items & Actions

4.1 Bandages

Field Dressing (Standard Bandage)

• Availability: All players carry 2 bandages
• Application time: 5 seconds
• Effect: Stops one active bleed on target body part
• Animation: A_C_Bandage / A_I_Bandage
• Usage: Can self-apply or apply to teammate
• Resupply: Ammo caches, medical vehicle, medic supply drop

How Bandaging Works:

1. Approach wounded player (or self-treat)
2. Select bandage from inventory
3. Target specific body part showing bleed icon
4. Hold interaction key for 5 seconds
5. Bandage applied - one bleed stopped

Tactical Considerations:

• Vulnerable during application (cannot move, weapon lowered)
• Prioritize severe bleeds first (automatically targets worst bleed)
• Can bandage while prone or behind cover
• Squad callouts: “Bandaging!” voice line plays automatically

4.2 Medical Kit

Personal Medical Kit

• Availability: Medic role only (starts with 1, can carry 2 maximum)
• Application time: 10 seconds per body part
• Effect: Restores 50 HP to selected body part
• Animation: A_C_MedicalKit / A_I_MedicalKit
• Usage: Teammate only (cannot self-heal with medical kit)
• Charges: 6 uses per kit (one per body part for one full heal)
• Resupply: Medical vehicle, main base medical facility

Healing Mechanics:

• Must stop all bleeding on body part before healing can begin
• Healing is channeled - interruption cancels and wastes charge
• Partial healing not possible (full 10 seconds or nothing)
• Cannot heal dead players
• Can heal incapacitated players to stabilize before revival

Field Limitations:

• Maximum field heal: 50 HP per body part
• Full heal (100 HP) requires:
  • Medical facility (permanent structure)
  • Medical vehicle (mobile ambulance)
  • MASH tent (medic deployable)

4.3 Revival Items

Epinephrine Auto-Injector

• Availability: Medic role only (starts with 2)
• Application time: 8 seconds
• Effect: Revives incapacitated player to 50 HP (torso only)
• Animation: A_C_Epinephrine / A_I_Epinephrine
• Usage: Incapacitated teammates only
• Resupply: Medical vehicle, main base medical facility

Revival Process:

1. Approach incapacitated player
2. All critical bleeds must be bandaged first
3. Select epinephrine from inventory
4. Channel for 8 seconds
5. Player revived at 50 HP torso, all limbs at last known HP
6. Revived player has 10 second “grace period” with -50% incoming damage

Revival Restrictions:

• Cannot revive headshot deaths (instant death, no incap state)
• Cannot revive if bleedout timer expired
• Must bandage torso bleeds before revival possible
• Revived player cannot sprint for 5 seconds (recovery period)

4.4 Pain Management

Morphine Auto-Injector

• Availability: Medic role only (starts with 3)
• Application time: 3 seconds
• Effect: Instantly reduces pain by 50 points, prevents pain accumulation for 5 minutes
• Animation: A_C_Morphine / A_I_Morphine
• Usage: Self or teammate
• Resupply: Medical vehicle, main base medical facility

Morphine Mechanics:

• Provides immediate combat effectiveness restoration
• Does not heal damage, only suppresses pain effects
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Can be applied preemptively before engagement
• Overdose: Using 3+ morphine within 10 minutes causes 5-second unconsciousness (rare)

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5. Medical Animations

All medical actions feature dedicated character and item animations for visual clarity and immersion.

5.1 Medical Item Animations

Bandaging:

• A_C_Bandage - Character wraps bandage around body part
• A_I_Bandage - Bandage item unwrapping and application
• Duration: 5 seconds
• Can be performed prone, crouched, or standing

Medical Kit:

• A_C_MedicalKit - Character opens medical bag, applies supplies
• A_I_MedicalKit - Medical supplies being retrieved and used
• Duration: 10 seconds
• Requires medic to kneel beside patient

Epinephrine:

• A_C_Epinephrine - Character administers auto-injector to torso
• A_I_Epinephrine - Auto-injector device activation
• Duration: 8 seconds
• Dramatic revival animation on success

Morphine:

• A_C_Morphine - Quick injection to thigh/arm
• A_I_Morphine - Auto-injector usage
• Duration: 3 seconds
• Fast application for combat situations

5.2 Animation Interruption

• All medical animations can be interrupted by:
  • Taking damage
  • Movement input (intentional cancel)
  • Entering vehicle
  • Player death
• Interrupted actions consume the item but provide no benefit
• Revival interruption is particularly costly (wastes epinephrine)

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6. Medic Role

6.1 Medic Loadout

Starting Equipment:

• 6x Field Dressings (standard bandages)
• 1x Personal Medical Kit (6 charges)
• 2x Epinephrine Auto-Injectors
• 3x Morphine Auto-Injectors
• 1x Smoke Grenade (for medical cover)

Weight Considerations:

• Medical supplies add 8kg to loadout
• Reduced ammunition capacity (3 magazines vs. 6 for rifleman)
• Cannot carry heavy weapons
• Faster sprint speed than other roles (+5%) for medical emergencies

6.2 Medic Abilities

Medical Triage HUD

• Medic can see wounded player indicators through walls (within 50m)
• Wounded players show:
  • Health bar above nameplate
  • Bleed severity indicator (pulsing red)
  • Incapacitation status (grey icon)
• Allows medic to prioritize critical patients

Supply Resupply

• Medic can resupply bandages to teammates
• Transfer action: 3 seconds, gives 2 bandages to teammate
• Medic must have at least 4 bandages to share

MASH Deployment (Advanced Feature)

• Medic can deploy Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH)
• Requires: Medical vehicle within 25m
• Deployment time: 45 seconds
• Effect: Creates field hospital with full healing capability
• Capacity: 2 players simultaneously
• Duration: Permanent until destroyed or manually packed
• Destruction: 500 HP, destroyed by explosives or sustained fire

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7. Medical Facilities

7.1 Permanent Medical Facilities

Main Base Hospital

• Location: Team main spawn base
• Capacity: 8 players simultaneously
• Healing rate: Instant full heal on all body parts
• Free access: No supply cost
• Resupply station for all medical items

Captured Field Hospital

• Location: Designated capture points on map
• Capacity: 4 players simultaneously
• Healing rate: 10 HP per second (10 seconds for full heal)
• Requires: Friendly control of capture point
• Limited resupply: Bandages only

7.2 Mobile Medical Assets

Medical Vehicle (Ambulance)

• Deployed by commander or spawned at motor pool
• Driver + 3 passengers
• Interior healing zone: 50 HP per body part maximum
• Exterior resupply point for all medical items
• HP: 800 (light armor, vulnerable to small arms)
• Speed: Fast (80 km/h), good off-road capability

MASH Tent (Medic Deployable)

• Deployed by medic role only
• Requires medical vehicle proximity
• Provides full healing (100 HP per body part)
• Capacity: 2 players simultaneously
• Healing rate: 5 HP per second (20 seconds for full heal)
• Destructible: 500 HP structure
• Visible on tactical map to teammates

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8. Medical Tactics & Strategies

8.1 Casualty Priorities

Triage System (Medic Decision Making):

1. Immediate (Red) - Incapacitated with <30 seconds bleedout remaining
   • Priority: Immediate bandage + revival
   • Risk: High - may lose patient if delayed
2. Urgent (Yellow) - Severe bleeding (>5 HP/s), still conscious
   • Priority: Bandage severe bleeds to prevent incapacitation
   • Risk: Medium - will become Immediate if untreated
3. Delayed (Green) - Light/moderate wounds, functional
   • Priority: Bandage when safe, low urgency
   • Risk: Low - can wait for lull in combat
4. Expectant (Black) - Headshot death, bleedout timer expired
   • Priority: None - cannot be saved
   • Action: Move to next patient

8.2 Medical Tactics

“Combat Medic” Playstyle:

• Stay 10-15m behind frontline infantry
• Use smoke grenades to create medical cover
• Prioritize squad members over distant teammates
• Call out medical status: “Two down, need cover!”
• Coordinate with Squad Leader for rally point safety

“Trauma Surgeon” Playstyle:

• Operate from MASH tent or medical vehicle
• Create backline triage station
• Radio calls for wounded to fall back to medical position
• Maximum healing efficiency, minimum combat exposure
• Defend medical facility as priority target

Squad Medical Coordination:

• Buddy system: Pairs watch each other’s health
• Self-bandaging reduces medic workload
• Call “Medic!” voice command (automatic on incapacitation)
• Drop smoke for medic approach vectors
• Cover medic during revival channeling

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9. Balance & Tuning

9.1 Time-to-Kill vs. Time-to-Heal

Design Intent:

• TTK (Time to Kill): 0.5-2 seconds for skilled players
• Time to Stabilize: 5-15 seconds (bandaging)
• Time to Revival: 8 seconds (epinephrine)
• Time to Full Heal: 10 seconds (medical kit in field), 20 seconds (MASH)

Tuning Philosophy:

• Fast enough to keep combat flowing
• Slow enough to create tactical vulnerability
• Rewards coordinated squad protection during medical treatment

9.2 Medical Supply Economy

Supply Sources:

• Starting loadout (sufficient for 1-2 casualties)
• Ammo cache resupply: Bandages only
• Medical vehicle: Full resupply, no cost
• Main base: Full resupply, no cost

Supply Costs (Capital Warfare Mode):

• Personal Medical Kit: $50 (medic purchase)
• Epinephrine: $75 (medic purchase)
• Morphine: $25 (medic purchase)
• Bandages: Free (unlimited resupply)
• Medical Vehicle spawn: $2,000 (team capital)

9.3 Death Penalties

Respawn System:

• Death timer: 15 seconds base
• Spawn location: Rally point, FOB, or main base
• Equipment: Respawn with last selected loadout
• Penalty: Team loses $25 capital per death (Capital Warfare)

Revival vs. Respawn:

• Revival saves team capital and maintains squad position
• Revived player returns to combat immediately at reduced HP
• Encourages risk-taking for medic players
• Rewards squads that protect their medic

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10. UI & Feedback

10.1 Player HUD Elements

Health Display:

• Body part diagram in lower right corner
• Color-coded HP per body part:
  • Green: >75% HP
  • Yellow: 50-75% HP
  • Orange: 25-50% HP
  • Red: <25% HP
  • Grey: 0 HP (incapacitated)
• Bleed indicators: Pulsing red droplet icon on bleeding body parts
• Pain meter: Horizontal bar above health display

Medical Action Feedback:

• Progress bar for bandaging/healing/revival actions
• Text notification: “Bandaging left leg…” (2/3 bleeds stopped)
• Audio cues: Bandage tearing, medical kit rustling, injector click
• Teammate notification: “Medic is treating you” (5 seconds remaining)

10.2 Medic-Specific HUD

Triage Overlay:

• Wounded players highlighted through walls (50m range)
• Health percentage displayed above nameplate
• Color-coded urgency:
  • Red: Incapacitated or critical bleeding
  • Yellow: Wounded, moderate bleeding
  • Green: Minor wounds
• Distance to patient in meters
• Bleedout timer (incapacitated patients only)

Supply Tracking:

• Medical inventory always visible in corner of screen
• Numeric count for each item type
• Flashing indicator when supplies low (<2 bandages, <1 epinephrine)

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11. Performance Considerations

11.1 Network Optimization

Health Replication:

• Body part HP replicated at 5 Hz (every 200ms)
• Bleed status replicated at 2 Hz (every 500ms)
• Medical action events: Reliable RPC calls
• Bandwidth per player: ~0.5 KB/s for medical system

11.2 Animation System

LOD (Level of Detail) for Medical Animations:

• Full animation: <10m from camera
• Simplified animation: 10-30m from camera
• No animation (instant effect): >30m from camera

Performance Targets:

• Medical animations: Max 2ms CPU time per frame
• Blood particle effects: Max 500 active particles
• Health UI updates: Max 1ms CPU time per frame

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12. Future Expansion

Post-MVP Features (Not in Initial Release):

12.1 Advanced Wound System

• Fractures (limb immobilization, requires splint)
• Internal bleeding (not visible, requires diagnosis)
• Infection mechanic (long-duration wounds without treatment)

12.2 Medical Specializations

• Combat Lifesaver (basic medic for non-medic roles)
• Paramedic (advanced revival capabilities)
• Field Surgeon (can perform complex procedures at MASH)

12.3 Additional Medical Items

• Splints (fracture treatment)
• IV Saline (blood volume restoration)
• Chest Seals (punctured lung treatment)
• Tourniquets (limb-specific severe bleed control)

12.4 Medical Vehicle Variants

• Armored ambulance (better protection, slower)
• Medical UTV (fast extraction, light capacity)
• Medical helicopter (aerial evacuation)

Design Philosophy for Expansion:

• Add complexity only after core medical loop is proven fun
• Maintain 60 FPS performance target
• Keep medic role accessible to new players
• Avoid “sim” complexity that slows gameplay

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Document Changelog

• v1.0 (Nov 2025): Initial medical system design
• Core focus: Bandage, revive, heal
• Simplified from ACE Medical references
• Omitted cardiovascular/cardiac arrest complexity
• Aligned with BattleSpace MVP scope