⚙️ GEARWORKS: TECHNICAL MANUAL & GAMEPLAY GUIDE

🕹️ 1. Core Gameplay Mechanics

Gearworks is a high-speed industrial simulation where players act as a Master Factory Engineer.

THE LOOP

1. Spawn: Machines of varying complexity enter from the left on a conveyor belt.
2. Identification: Each machine has 1-4 circular Slots requiring specific parts.
3. Repair: Drag the corresponding Part from the bottom tray and drop it onto the matching slot.
4. Completion: Once all slots are filled, the machine turns green and exits the belt, awarding points.
5. Leveling: Repair 6 machines to advance to the next level. Every 3 levels, the belt path geometry changes (Linear, S-Curve, ZigZag, Roundabout, Chaos).

💰 2. Scoring & Calculations

Your final score is determined by precision, speed, and consistency.

BASE POINTS

• Successful Part Placement: +100 pts
• Full Machine Repair (Standard): +500 pts
• Full Machine Repair (Boss): +2,500 pts

MULTIPLIERS & BONUSES

• Combo System: Every consecutive successful repair increases your multiplier (x1 up to x10). Failing to fix a machine or placing a wrong part resets the combo.
• Speed Bonus: If a machine is repaired in the first 25% of the belt length, you receive a x1.5 Speed Bonus to the machine's base points.
• Accuracy Streak: Fixing 5 machines in a row without a single error results in a permanent +50 XP bonus to your Tech Account.

GAME OVER

• You start with 3 Hearts (Lives).
• Losing a machine (it falls off the belt unrepaired) = -1 Life.
• Reaching Level 5, 10, or 15 grants a +1 Life Recovery.

⚡ 3. Skills & Tech

Master three active skills to manage the chaos:

1. ❄️ TIME FREEZE:
   • Cost: 0 XP (Starting)
   • Effect: Halts the conveyor belt entirely for 5 seconds.
   • Recharge: 30 seconds.
2. 🐢 SLOW-MO:
   • Cost: 0 XP (Starting)
   • Effect: Halves the belt speed for 8 seconds.
   • Recharge: 20 seconds.
3. 🔧 SUPER WRENCH:
   • Cost: Unlocks at Tech Level 3.
   • Effect: Instantly repairs one slot on the nearest machine.
   • Recharge: 15 seconds.

📈 4. Technology Upgrades

Spend earned XP in the Upgrade Shop to permanently boost your efficiency:

• Safety Gears: Increases base lives (+1, +2).
• Industrial Lubricant: Permanently reduces base belt speed by 10/20%.
• Supercapacitors: Reduces all skill cooldowns by 15/30%.
• Insurance Policy: Starts every game with a x2 Combo buffer.

🏆 5. Global Leaderboard & Synchronization

The leaderboard system operates in a Hybrid-Cloud configuration:

GLOBAL RECOGNITION

• Your Mechanic Callsign (Username) is used to identify you worldwide.
• Online Sync: If the game detects an active API backend (VITE_API_URL), it automatically transmits your score to the global server.
• Highlighting: In the leaderboard view, your own entry is highlighted in Gold with a "YOU" tag, making you easy to find even among thousands of records.

COMPETITION

• The leaderboard shows the Top 10 Engineers worldwide.
• If offline, the game falls back to a local highly-competitive "Ghost Board" to keep your training intense.

📅 6. Daily Challenges

The factory reconfigures its operational logic periodically:

• BOSS RUSH: Every 2nd machine is a heavy Boss unit.
• POWER SURGE: Skills recharge 50% faster, but the belt is 20% faster.
• PRECISION ONLY: Incorrect parts deal -1 Life damage.

🛡️ 7. Technical Integrity

The game includes IntegrityManager.js which prevents score tampering through:

1. Timestamp Validation: Scores must have realistic gameplay durations.
2. Encrypted Storage: High scores in localStorage are checksum-validated to prevent manual editing.
3. Action Logging: Each repair is logged for backend verification during global submission.