CODING_PATTERNS.md

Coding Patterns & Best Practices

Technical implementation patterns for the Bigmode 2026 project. Update as we establish conventions.

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Cooldowns & Timers

Always use Timer nodes instead of manual delta counting.

❌ Anti-pattern: Manual delta counting

var cooldown_remaining: float = 0.0

func _process(delta: float):
    if cooldown_remaining > 0.0:
        cooldown_remaining -= delta

func try_action():
    if cooldown_remaining <= 0.0:
        do_action()
        cooldown_remaining = 5.0

✅ Preferred: Timer nodes

var _cooldown_timer: Timer

func _ready() -> void:
    _cooldown_timer = Timer.new()
    _cooldown_timer.one_shot = true
    add_child(_cooldown_timer)

func try_action():
    if _cooldown_timer.is_stopped():
        do_action()
        _cooldown_timer.start(5.0)

Benefits:

• Event-driven rather than polling every frame
• No wasted CPU cycles when cooldowns aren't active
• More declarative and easier to debug
• Timer state visible in editor/debugger

Usage patterns:

# Check if ready
if _timer.is_stopped():
    # cooldown finished

# Start cooldown
_timer.start(duration)

# Optional: connect to timeout signal
_timer.timeout.connect(_on_timeout)

func _on_timeout() -> void:
    # Handle cooldown completion
    pass

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[Future patterns go here]

Add more patterns as we establish them during development.