Starcone Zombie

Zombie file · Lower Waterfall, starcone stage

Starcone Zombie

Orbiting instruments leave gaps for passing shots.

Body durability270
Speednormal

Lore

Lily Pad's first warning on climbing Maple Falls concerns these zombies. Several cones orbit each body like a planetary model, prompting the team to ask how that differs from simply wearing one. Even familiar armor has changed beneath the autumn scenery.

Moving starcones keep the silhouette in motion. Their gaps remind Homing Thistle of games about sending shots through narrow openings, though there is little leisure for that now. A real encounter briefly overlaps with the memory of a pastime.

Stories around Maple Lake also concern starcones, giving the device a place in local history. Its ordinary users offer no explanation of those accounts. The travelers first understand it by watching the rotating cones and the zombie advancing behind them.

Mechanics

Role

Orbiting armor · Gap shooting

  • Body durability: 270 HP; normal speed.

  • Each active instrument contributes 500 HP to a shared pool; instrument and body hits resolve separately.

  • Instruments recover periodically; slow or freeze stops rotation.

  • Gap shots and rays still depend on collision position and attack rules.

Orbiting instruments intercept hits; the body and shared instrument pool take damage separately.

Shared ring pool and body

The body has 270 HP, including an approximately 90 HP critical reserve. Orbiting instruments are separate collision objects; hitting one damages the shared protection pool rather than the body.

Each active instrument corresponds to 500 HP. Crossing a 500 HP boundary reduces the active count; individual instruments do not have unrelated health bars.

HStarcone pool=500n HP,nactive=⌈HStarcone pool500⌉,Hbody to critical=180 HPH_{\text{Starcone pool}}=500n\text{ HP},\quad n_{\text{active}}=\left\lceil\frac{H_{\text{Starcone pool}}}{500}\right\rceil,\quad H_{\text{body to critical}}=180\text{ HP}
Hitting any instrument depletes the shared pool; three instruments are an example.

Orbit and projectile gaps

The instruments orbit at different phases and leave gaps between collision shapes. A straight projectile that hits an instrument damages the shared pool; one passing through a gap may reach the body.

Slow or freeze stops the rotation. This stops phase changes without removing existing collision objects or their remaining pool.

θi(t)=θ0(t)+2πin,slow/freeze⇒dθ0dt=0\theta_i(t)=\theta_0(t)+\frac{2\pi i}{n},\qquad \text{slow/freeze}\Rightarrow \frac{d\theta_0}{dt}=0
Slow stops rotation without removing existing instruments.

Recovery and count cap

After a recovery window, instruments return incrementally up to their count cap. Replenishing the pool restores the corresponding blocking objects.

Recovery does not add equivalent HP to the basic body. Body damage and instrument recovery are tracked separately.

n(t+)=min⁡(n(t−)+1,Ncap),HStarcone pool←min⁡(HStarcone pool+500,500Ncap) HPn(t^+)=\min(n(t^-)+1,N_{\text{cap}}),\qquad H_{\text{Starcone pool}}\leftarrow\min(H_{\text{Starcone pool}}+500,500N_{\text{cap}})\text{ HP}
Instrument recovery does not heal the basic body beneath it.

Rays and multiple collision objects

Piercing attacks and lasers apply their own hit rules to instruments and the body. An Opti-caltrop large laser crossing the orbit and center can reach both object types along one ray.

Each Starcone Zombie summoned by Starcone Master has its own body and protection pool; separate zombies do not share instrument HP.

Rays still resolve by collision position and attack rules.

Interactions & counters

  • Slow effects

    Slowing can stop the astrolabes and create a steadier damage window.

  • Opti-caltrop

    Laser hits depend on the positions of the Starcones and body; one beam is not guaranteed to hit both.

  • Starcone Master

    Summoned as Starcone Master's main support unit.