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⚙️ Configuration Guide

Overview

Alien Invasion stores runtime settings in Configuration at src/config/configuration.py. These values are read when the game starts and are used across logic, rendering, and entities. After changing settings, restart the game to apply them.

Key Settings

Display and Background

  • screen_width / screen_height: Set automatically from the current display resolution.
  • use_gradient_background: Enables the gradient background.
  • gradient_top_color / gradient_bottom_color: Gradient colors.
  • use_stars, star_count, star_color: Star field configuration.
  • bg_color: Fallback background when gradients are disabled.

Debug

  • show_fps: Toggle the FPS counter.

Ship

  • ship_count: Number of lives.
  • ship_speed_factor: Movement speed (dynamic).

Bullets

  • bullet_width, bullet_height, bullet_color
  • bullets_allowed: Max simultaneous bullets.
  • bullets_speed_factor: Bullet speed (dynamic).

Aliens

  • alien_speed_factor: Alien speed (dynamic).
  • fleet_drop_speed: Vertical step when fleet changes direction.
  • fleet_direction: 1 (right) or -1 (left).
  • alien_points: Score per alien (dynamic).
  • acceleration_scale, score_scale: Difficulty scaling per level.

Dynamic Configuration

Dynamic values are reset with initialize_dynamic_configurations() and scaled on level-up with boost_speed(). This is how the game increases difficulty over time.

Editing Settings

Update values directly in Configuration.__init__ to customize defaults:

class Configuration:
        def __init__(self) -> None:
                self.use_gradient_background = True
                self.star_count = 150
                self.ship_count = 3
                self.bullets_allowed = 4

Best Practices

  1. Avoid hard-coded values

    • Use configuration attributes instead of fixed sizes or speeds.

  2. Keep changes versioned

    • Track configuration changes in git for easy rollback.

  3. Validate gameplay feel

    • Test changes at multiple resolutions and difficulty levels.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues after changing settings:

  1. Reset values in Configuration to defaults
  2. Check the Troubleshooting Guide
  3. Open an issue

Next Steps