Mottle Rules
This ruleset outlines all verified match parameters, mathematical formulas, and system behaviors derived directly from client code analysis and confirmed in-game on 2026-11-15.
Official Match Rules
Arena Grid Architecture
Matches take place across a five-by-five grid containing seven possible tile shades: moss green, fern green, terracotta, sand yellow, limestone, pond blue, and asbestos purple. Adjacent tiles never share the same color.
Player Character and Speed
The player moves at a constant speed of 0.60 world units per second, tracking touch or keyboard inputs. The default player character base color is peach (#ff7a5c).
Camouflage and Visibility Mechanics
Camouflage spans from 0.00 to 1.00, and visibility equals 1.00 minus camouflage. Standing still restores camouflage to 1.00 in 0.75 seconds. Moving depletes camouflage to 0.00 in 0.22 seconds and enforces a minimum visibility of 0.55.
Alert Buildup Threshold
The alert meter only climbs when character visibility exceeds 0.10 inside an active vision cone. Alert increases at 58 percent per second multiplied by visibility, with an additional 1.45 multiplier per extra seeker illuminating the player.
Alert Decay and Elimination
Exiting seeker illumination decays alert at 26 percent per second. Reaching 100 percent alert results in capture and deducts one life. Physical contact does not cause instant death; players start with 3 lives.
Seeker AI State Cycle
Seekers cycle through patrol, stationary scan (55 percent chance upon reaching a destination, lasting 1.7 seconds with sweeping arc), and chase. Spotting a player with visibility above 0.32 triggers chase; losing sight for 1.1 seconds ends pursuit.
Seeker Vision Cone Geometry
Patrol vision half-angle measures 0.50 radians (58 degrees total field of view), expanding to 0.95 radians during scans. Proximity detection triggers automatically if distance is under 0.053 units and visibility exceeds 0.40.
Round Structure and Spawning
Each round opens with a mandatory 3-second HIDE phase where player inputs are ignored at arena center. Seekers spawn in a ring at 0.40 radius facing inward before the SEEK countdown begins.
Difficulty Progression Formulas
Seeker count equals 1 + floor(round / 2) capped at 4. Seeker speed equals 0.19 + 0.011 × round capped at 0.30. Vision range equals 0.30 + 0.010 × round capped at 0.42. Seek timer equals 13 + 2 × round capped at 26 seconds. Firefly count equals 4 + 1 × round capped at 9.
Scoring and Persistence
Collecting fireflies within 0.055 radius awards +10 points each. Clearing a round awards a bonus of 100 multiplied by the round number. High scores persist in local browser storage under the key mottle:best.
