The way turn order works in Dusk Tactics is heavily influenced by the Speed stat. Currently, each unit has a hidden counter that starts at 0. At constant intervals, called "Ticks", this value is increased by SPEED - WEIGHT until one or more units has reached the threshold value of 1000.Thanks to Kuro I re-read this and realized it was actually describing two different systems. I think I wrote it while transitioning or half asleep, haha. So I've edited it to correctly reflect how turn order works in Dusk Tactics.
-March 13, 2020
When a unit hits 1000, that unit gets a turn and every other unit gets their count reset to 0. If multiple units hit 1000 or more at the same time, the highest gets a turn, and the rest get reset to 0 + the remainder after subtracting 1000.
When the unit's turn is over, their count is reset to a value that depends on what they did during their turn. The less they did, the less of a penalty they would receive!
For example, if they did nothing, they get to start their next count at 500, basically halfway towards their next turn. Only moving would put them at 300, and only acting would put them at 200.
As you can see, this is how we get the 500 (300+200).
This entire process causes things to happen a bit different than what you might expect:
For units that hit 1000 but were not the highest, they would not necessarily be the next unit to move. In most cases they would get the next turn, but due to the reserve system, they can be passed by other units as the turn order is very dynamic.
Faster units would obviously get more turns, but could see themselves getting almost double their turns (if they were to do nothing on their turn). This allows them to manipulate the turn order a bit, and if used properly, you can have fast units that are ready for action pretty often!
Turn Order Factors
The more Speed you have, the faster the count will tick and more turns your unit will have. This has multiple factors to ensure a balance.
Each turn a unit will regenerate a portion of MP, the resource which is used to cast abilities. The longer the time in between turns, the more MP the unit will receive when their turn comes, so being slow and steady can come in handy.
Base Count, Speed, Weight, Penalties
The number 1000 that is used is pretty arbitrary, it could just as well be 100 however due to Speed value parameters and things like item weight, 1000 works pretty well.
So we know that Speed determines turn order, but it's not the only thing. Any equipment currently equipped on a unit will have a Weight value. This is a value that depicts how much this item slows you down. With equipment, the bigger it is, usually the more defense it grants or attack power it has, so this serves to balance weapons and armor. The amount it slows you down is minor, but you will notice higher Speed units not getting as many turns, so it's worth keeping an eye on.
As of the writing of this topic, the extra penalties for movement and acting are set to static values, meaning it doesn't matter how far you move or what action you take, you will always get the same value added to the base 0 count.
As mentioned above, the movement penalty is currently 200 meaning the potential 500 starting bonus will be decreased by 200, leaving you at 300.
Actions such as using an item, attacking, or using an ability incur a penalty of 300. So for example, if you attack without moving and then end your turn, your unit's count will start at 200.
If you move and act, the counter is reset to 0.
TODO: Sliding Penalties
What I will eventually incorporate is a more dynamic penalty. Rather than a flat value, the penalties will be based on the amount you move, including vertical movement, and for actions, each one will have a specific value. The latter adds a neat way to create abilities that are very powerful, but have major drawbacks.
Managing who moves when and what actions they take will have long term effects on the outcome of battle.
