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Survival Mode

Survival is Crimsonland’s signature endless mode. Fight infinite waves of creatures while gaining experience and selecting perks to build your character. The game ends when you die.

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Mode ID

Game Mode: 1 (GameMode.SURVIVAL) From src/crimson/game_modes.py:11

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Core Loop

  1. Kill creatures to gain experience
  2. Level up to select a perk from 5 random choices
  3. Collect weapon and power-up bonuses
  4. Survive as long as possible
  5. Die when health reaches zero

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Difficulty Scaling

Survival mode features continuous difficulty escalation:

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Spawn Rate

Creature spawn rate increases over time. The spawn timer starts at a moderate interval and accelerates as you progress, eventually spawning creatures every few frames.

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Enemy Composition

Early waves feature basic creature types (Zombies, Lizards, Spiders). As time progresses:
  • Tougher variants appear with higher HP and damage
  • Faster creatures with aggressive AI patterns
  • Ranged attackers and special ability creatures
  • Boss-type enemies with massive HP pools

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Density

The maximum simultaneous creature count increases, creating increasingly dense crowds that require area-damage weapons and positioning skill.

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Perk System

Survival mode is the primary showcase for Crimsonland’s perk system.

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Level-Up Mechanics

XP Thresholds: Each level requires progressively more XP. The first level-up happens quickly, but later levels take significantly longer. Perk Selection: On level-up, you choose from 5 random perks. The selection pool includes:
  • All perks not marked quest-only or two-player-only
  • Perks you already have (if they’re stackable)
  • Prerequisite-locked perks appear only after requirements are met
Perk Expert/Master: These perks increase the selection pool:
  • Perk Expert: +2 choices (7 total)
  • Perk Master (requires Perk Expert): Doubles to 14 choices

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Perk Availability

From src/crimson/perks/ids.py:10-16: 
class PerkFlags(IntFlag):
    QUEST_MODE_ALLOWED = 0x1
    TWO_PLAYER_ALLOWED = 0x2
    STACKABLE = 0x4
Perks without QUEST_MODE_ALLOWED flag are available in Survival. Some perks are survival-exclusive:
  • Breathing Room (two-player only)
  • Death Clock, Grim Deal, Final Revenge, Highlander (disabled in quest/two-player)

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Weapon Acquisition

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Bonus Drops

Weapon bonuses drop randomly from killed creatures. Drop rate is influenced by: Pistol Bias: While holding the Pistol, the game increases overall bonus drop rate and forces 75% of bonuses to be weapon pickups. Bonus Magnet Perk: Increases overall bonus spawn frequency. My Favourite Weapon Perk: Disables random weapon bonuses entirely (+2 clip size to current weapon as compensation).

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Starting Loadout

All survival games start with:
  • Pistol (Weapon ID 1)
  • 100 HP
  • No perks
  • Level 1 (0 XP)

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Scoring

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Score Calculation

Kill Score: Each creature kill awards points based on creature type and difficulty. Tougher enemies give more points. XP Score: Experience points contribute to final score. Survival Time: Longer survival times increase score multiplier. Bonus Pickups: Point bonuses add directly to score (500 XP per Points bonus pickup).

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High Scores

Survival mode tracks high scores per difficulty level. The scoring system rewards:
  • Long survival time
  • High kill counts
  • Efficient XP gain

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Strategy Considerations

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Early Game (Levels 1-5)

Priority Perks:
  • Fastshot: Increases DPS immediately
  • Bloody Mess/Quick Learner: Accelerates leveling
  • Radioactive: Passive area damage
Weapon Goals: Escape the Pistol ASAP. Assault Rifle, Shotgun, or Submachine Gun are solid early picks.

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Mid Game (Levels 6-15)

Priority Perks:
  • Fastloader: Reduces vulnerability during reloads
  • Ammo Maniac: Extends effective DPS windows
  • Bonus Magnet: Increases resource flow
  • Unstoppable: Prevents movement speed reduction from damage
Weapon Goals: Seek plasma weapons (Plasma Rifle, Plasma Minigun) or penetrating weapons (Gauss Gun).

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Late Game (Levels 16+)

Priority Perks:
  • Regeneration/Greater Regeneration: Sustain through chip damage
  • Dodger/Ninja: Avoid damage entirely
  • Thick Skinned: Reduce incoming damage (despite HP cost)
Weapon Goals: High DPS weapons with area effects (Plasma Shotgun, Ion Cannon, Rocket Minigun).

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Build Archetypes

Tank Build:
  • Thick Skinned
  • Regeneration → Greater Regeneration
  • Dodger → Ninja
  • Doctor
  • Unstoppable
DPS Build:
  • Fastshot
  • Fastloader
  • Ammo Maniac
  • Barrel Greaser
  • Uranium Filled Bullets
XP Rush Build:
  • Bloody Mess
  • Lean Mean Exp Machine (stack multiple times)
  • Perk Expert → Perk Master
  • Instant Winner (repeatable)
Passive Damage Build:
  • Radioactive
  • Plaguebearer
  • Veins of Poison → Toxic Avenger
  • Hot Tempered

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Death and Game Over

The game ends immediately when player HP reaches zero. No continues or second chances. Game Over Stats Display:
  • Final score
  • Survival time
  • Kills
  • Perks acquired
  • High score comparison

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Tips and Tricks

Kiting is Essential: Continuous movement prevents being surrounded. Use the screen edges to funnel enemies.
Reload Management: Reload during safe moments, not mid-combat. Fastloader perk is one of the best value picks.
Bonus Timing: Some bonuses (Energizer, Nuke, Freeze) are best saved for emergencies, but they expire if not picked up.
Spread Control: Short, controlled bursts maintain accuracy better than holding fire continuously.
Avoid death-risk perks (Grim Deal, Death Clock, Highlander, Fatal Lottery) unless you’re confident or testing builds.

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Source Code References

  • src/crimson/modes/survival_mode.py - Survival mode implementation
  • src/crimson/game_modes.py:11 - Mode ID definition
  • src/crimson/perks/availability.py - Perk filtering logic

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