LAST KERNEL

Cyberpunk survival strategy game Build the system. Watch it run. Survive the night.

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Overview

LAST KERNEL is a hybrid system-driven game combining:

• Card-based colony simulation (day phase)
• Auto-battler defense (night phase)

You don't control units directly. You design a system that either holds — or collapses.

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Core Gameplay Loop

Start Run
  ↓
Day Phase (pauseable)
  ↓
Gather → Combine → Build → Assign
  ↓
Prepare defenses
  ↓
Night Phase (auto combat)
  ↓
Resolve outcome
  ↓
Repeat (increasing difficulty)

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Game Design

Day Phase — System Building

Everything is a card:

• Resources (scrap, energy, food)
• Units (workers, defenders)
• Structures (generators, labs, defenses)

Cards interact through stacking:

• Worker + Resource → production
• Resource + Structure → crafting
• Unit + Equipment → upgrades

You are building a self-sustaining system, not just placing objects.

Night Phase — Auto Battler

At night, the system runs on its own:

• Units auto-fight
• Defenses trigger
• Buffs and modifiers apply

Combat is real-time, deterministic, and hands-off. Your preparation determines the outcome.

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Project Structure

Assets/
 ├── _Project/
 │   ├── Scripts/
 │   │   ├── Runtime/              ← assembly: _Project.Runtime
 │   │   │   ├── Core/             (GameDirector, RunStateManager, SaveSystem, DayCycleManager, Board)
 │   │   │   ├── Cards/            (CardInstance, CardManager, CardView, CardStack, Definitions)
 │   │   │   ├── Combat/           (CombatManager, CombatRules, Encounter)
 │   │   │   ├── Crafting/         (recipe matching, output resolution)
 │   │   │   ├── Defense/          (defense placement, trigger logic)
 │   │   │   ├── Input/            (New Input System wrappers)
 │   │   │   ├── Localization/     (key-based runtime switching, EN/CN)
 │   │   │   ├── Night/            (night phase orchestration)
 │   │   │   ├── Packs/            (PackDefinition, PackSlot, PackInstance)
 │   │   │   ├── Quests/           (Quest, QuestInstance, QuestManager)
 │   │   │   ├── Trading/          (market / trading logic)
 │   │   │   ├── Audio/            (AudioManager, SFX, music)
 │   │   │   └── UI/               (HUD, panels, menus, UIEventBus)
 │   │   └── Editor/               ← assembly: _Project.Editor
 │   │       (validators, custom inspectors, dev tools)
 │   ├── Art/
 │   ├── Audio/
 │   ├── Data/                     (ScriptableObject assets)
 │   ├── Docs/
 │   └── Scenes/
 │       ├── Boot.unity
 │       ├── MainMenu.unity
 │       ├── Game.unity
 │       └── Island.unity
 └── ThirdParty/

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Systems Overview

Card System

All gameplay entities are cards defined as CardDefinition ScriptableObjects.

CardDefinition
 ├── ID (string)
 ├── Type (Resource / Unit / Structure / …)
 ├── Tags
 ├── Stats
 └── Localization Key

Runtime state lives in CardInstance. Visual presentation is handled by CardView.

Pack System

Cards are distributed through packs (PackDefinition). Each pack has weighted PackEntry slots that resolve to card draws at runtime.

Recipe / Crafting System

Input Cards → Match RecipeDefinition → Output Cards

Matching is tag and type aware. Output is resolved by the crafting service, not by UI.

Colony System

RunStateManager tracks the live run state:

• Resources and stockpiles
• Population and morale
• Day count and difficulty scaling
• Progression flags

Combat System

CombatManager runs a tick-based, deterministic simulation:

• Independent from UI
• Encounter definitions drive enemy waves
• HitResult carries per-tick outcome data

Quest System

QuestManager owns active QuestInstance objects. Quests are defined as Quest ScriptableObjects and evaluated against run-state conditions.

Localization

Key-based, runtime-switchable. Supports English and Simplified Chinese. All UI text goes through localization keys — no hardcoded strings.

Audio

Managed through AudioManager. SFX and music are separate concerns. DOTween is used for all audio fades and transitions.

UI

Event-driven via UIEventBus / UIEventBusBridge. Screens: DayHUD, NightHUD, PauseMenu, VictoryPanel, DefeatPanel, InfoPanel, ModalWindow. Safe-area aware (SafeAreaAnchor) for mobile.

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Architecture Principles

Layer	Responsibility
ScriptableObject	Data only — no logic
Service / plain C#	Game logic
MonoBehaviour	View, input, presentation
Editor scripts	Validation, automation, dev tools

• DOTween is the only tween system. Always .SetLink(gameObject).
• No singleton coupling between systems where avoidable.
• Namespace: Markyu.LastKernel

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Tech Stack

Tool	Purpose
Unity 6000.4.3f1	Engine (URP 2D)
C#	All game logic
Unity Localization	EN / CN text
Addressables	Asset loading
New Input System	Mouse + touch input
DOTween	All animations and tweens
Odin Inspector	Editor UI and validation

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Installation

Requirements: Unity 6000.4.x, Git

git clone https://github.com/zhenxiao-yu/LAST_KERNEL.git

Open in Unity Hub → Add Project → Select folder.

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Running

Open Assets/_Project/Scenes/Boot.unity and press Play. The boot scene auto-loads into MainMenu → Game.

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Validation

After structural changes, run:

Tools → LAST KERNEL → Validate Project

This checks for missing references, duplicate IDs, and invalid data.

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Roadmap

• More cards and synergies
• Enemy scaling and difficulty curves
• Events system
• Meta progression (unlocks, runs)
• Mobile polish (touch, safe area, performance)
• Full UI pass

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Author

Zhenxiao (Mark) Yu