Difficulty Settings¶

Difficulty settings live under settings.difficultySettings in config.json. Each entry defines the name and gameplay scaling for one difficulty option.

Shape¶

{
  "name": "Normal",
  "enemiesDifficulty": 4,
  "maxInitialLives": 5,
  "initialCredits": 3,
  "hasInfiniteContinues": false,
  "hasInstantEnemiesPulling": true,
  "settingsPerNumPlayers": []
}

Difficulty Fields¶

Field	Type	Description
`name`	`string`	Name shown in difficulty selection.
`enemiesDifficulty`	`int`	Classic-style enemy difficulty value.
`maxInitialLives`	`int`	Maximum initial lives selectable or assigned.
`initialCredits`	`int`	Starting credits.
`hasInfiniteContinues`	`bool`	Enables unlimited continues for this difficulty.
`hasInstantEnemiesPulling`	`bool`	Pulls or activates enemies more aggressively.
`settingsPerNumPlayers`	`array`	Scaling rules by number of active players.

Per-Player Scaling¶

Each entry in settingsPerNumPlayers applies to a player-count band. The game clamps to the closest available entry when needed.

{
  "maxNumEnemies": 8,
  "enemiesHealthMultiplier": { "numerator": 3, "denominator": 2 },
  "bossesHealthMultiplier": { "numerator": 2, "denominator": 1 },
  "enemiesDamageMultiplier": { "numerator": 1, "denominator": 1 },
  "enemiesVelocityMultiplier": { "numerator": 15, "denominator": 14 },
  "playersDamageMultiplier": { "numerator": 1, "denominator": 1 },
  "enemiesOnScreenActivationMultiplier": { "numerator": 3, "denominator": 2 },
  "timeActivationMultiplier": { "numerator": 5, "denominator": 4 },
  "useNextSpawnsDifficulty": true
}

Field	Description
`maxNumEnemies`	Maximum enemies allowed on screen.
`enemiesHealthMultiplier`	Health scaling for normal enemies.
`bossesHealthMultiplier`	Health scaling for bosses.
`enemiesDamageMultiplier`	Damage scaling for enemies.
`enemiesVelocityMultiplier`	Movement speed scaling for enemies.
`playersDamageMultiplier`	Damage scaling for players.
`enemiesOnScreenActivationMultiplier`	How many enemies can activate based on screen presence.
`timeActivationMultiplier`	Time-based activation scaling.
`useNextSpawnsDifficulty`	Allows later spawn definitions to use the next difficulty band.

Editing Guidance¶

For Classic reskins, difficulty settings are usually left alone. Change them when the reskin also changes balance, player count, or intended challenge.

When editing by hand:

keep at least one difficulty
keep settingsPerNumPlayers non-empty
use fraction multipliers instead of decimals
test one-player and multiplayer runs
verify menus still display every difficulty name