---
id: GAL-40
title: Design intricate flight patterns for non-shooting enemies
 status: Done
parent: GAL-38
labels: [gameplay, advanced-mechanics]
---

# GAL-40: Design and implement intricate flight patterns for enemies that do not shoot

Design and implement intricate flight patterns for enemies that do not shoot.

## Acceptance criteria

- [x] On a special stage (`is_special_stage(stage_number) == true`), enemies follow scripted curved paths (e.g. spline / Bezier / Lissajous), not the formation flow.
- [x] These enemies do **not** call `enemy_shoot` and never spawn `EnemyBullet`.
- [x] Enemies despawn when their path reaches its end off-screen.
- [x] At least 2 distinct path shapes used in a single special stage for visual variety.
- [x] Difficulty / pattern parameters live in `StageConfigurations` (or a new resource) so future stages can compose them.

## Integration test hints

- Build a headless `App` with `CurrentStage = 3` (first special stage); tick for N seconds; assert: zero `EnemyBullet` entities ever spawned, all special-stage enemies eventually despawned (count returns to 0).
- Snapshot the path: at fixed intervals record enemy `Transform.translation`; assert curvature (e.g. y is non-monotonic to prove it isn't a straight line).
- Visual smoke test via `nix run .#take-screenshots -- ./target/debug/bglga 3 6 1 ./shots` after triggering a special stage; eyeball that paths look intentional.

## Comments

- 2026-05-07 — Branch `opencode/happy-rocket`, commit a0863b2 — Design and implement intricate flight patterns for enemies that do not shoot