Quartz 4

Security Level

11 min read

Security System (Zone-Based, Hytale-Scalable)

TL;DR

Hollowgate security is a rules engine that scales to ~80 players.

NPCs signal authority. Systems enforce authority.

Guards detect + warn + tag + attempt detain. Doors/checkpoints/scanners + Detain → Transfer do the real enforcement.

Design Goals

  • Localized response by default (one block can go hot without nuking the prison).
  • Rule-abiding players aren’t punished (inconvenience only, minimal).
  • Group attacks are handled (1 guard can’t chase 5+ targets).
  • Riots are possible as events, but riot spam becomes self-defeating.

Core Concepts

Zones

The prison is split into Zones with hard boundaries:

  • Cell Blocks: Block A, Block B, Block C
  • Wings: Yard, Workshop, Kitchen, Medbay
  • Core/Admin (intake, control corridors) - most protected

Each Zone has:

  • ZoneSecurityLevel (0..7)
  • ZoneThreatPoints (rises from incidents, decays during calm)
  • ZoneLockState (door/checkpoint/scanner mode)

Prison-wide:

  • PrisonSecurityLevel (0..7) - only rises if multiple zones destabilize.

Player Security Profile (Server-Authoritative)

Short-term

  • Heat: recent trouble (minutes), used for “how fast guards escalate on you”.
  • Wanted (Warrant): “detain on sight” (longer than Heat).

Event flag

  • Riot Participant: only set by specific actions.

Long-term

  • Offender Tier: repeat violent behavior compounding consequences (hours/days). Players do not see this, internal only.

Fairness doctrine: Security escalations punish behavior, not proximity.

Enforcement: Detain → Transfer (No Escorts)

Why

“Guards escorting players around” does not scale. It becomes janky and exploitable.

Detain Flow (with a small chance to run)

Guards must land detain, and players get counterplay.

flowchart TD
  A[Guard decides arrestable] --> W[Warning window 1.5-3s]
  W -->|Comply| H[Transfer: Holding/Intake (light)]
  W -->|Run| P[Pursuit]
  P --> X{Capture move hits?}
  X -->|Miss| P
  X -->|Hit| S[Stagger 0.8-1.2s]
  S --> CH[Cuff channel ~2.0s]
  CH -->|Break distance / interrupt| P
  CH -->|Complete| D[Detained 2.0s]
  D --> T[Transfer: Holding/Cell/Seg based on severity + tier]

Capture Moves (must be dodgeable / missable)

  • Tackle (telegraphed)
  • Net/Bola (projectile)
  • Baton stun (short range)
  • Grab (very short range)

Severity scaling (escape chance without RNG)

  • Minor (curfew/trespass): more warning time, easier LoS break
  • Contraband: moderate
  • Attack guard/riot: minimal warning, exits seal fast, checkpoints intercept aggressively

Optional stat hooks (physical)

  • Stealth: line-of-sight break + detection radius
  • Dexterity: dodge/counter windows vs tackle/net
  • Endurance: sprint duration + slightly reduced stagger duration
  • Strength (optional): rare “break free” during cuff channel (loud, costly)

Riot Participant Rules (Anti-Abuse)

A player becomes Riot Participant if they:

  • Deal damage to a guard
  • Interfere with an arrest (hit/stun a guard during detain/cuff channel)
  • Damage security infrastructure (blast doors, scanners, control panels)
  • Repeat “checkpoint blocking” while Wanted (design choice)

A player does NOT become Riot Participant for:

  • Being nearby / in the same zone
  • Being trapped by sealed doors
  • Running from a guard for a minor infraction
  • Watching

Security Levels (0-7) - Balanced + Localized

Levels are environment + rules toggles, not “spawn more guards”.

Key balance rule:

  • L4 closes the affected zone hard (containment), but does NOT close the prison.
  • Sector/prison-wide closures belong to L6+.
stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> L0
  L0 --> L1: minor incidents
  L1 --> L2: repeated trouble / contraband confirmed
  L2 --> L3: organized trouble / sustained fights
  L3 --> L4: serious incident / prolonged unrest
  L4 --> L5: riot triggers
  L5 --> L6: multi-zone instability
  L6 --> L7: sustained prison-wide crisis

  L7 --> L6: long calm window
  L6 --> L5: calm window
  L5 --> L4: calm window
  L4 --> L3: calm window
  L3 --> L2: calm window
  L2 --> L1: calm window
  L1 --> L0: calm window

L0 - Normal

Intent: routine operations

Affected Zone

  • Doors normal
  • Checkpoints normal

Outside Zone

  • No changes

L1 - Alert

Intent: “more eyes” in-zone, minimal friction

Typical triggers (any)

  • 1-2 fights detected in 3 minutes
  • Suspicious clustering around checkpoints
  • Low-severity infractions repeating

Affected Zone

  • More frequent scans at checkpoints
  • Guards warn quicker (VO/UI)

Outside Zone

  • No changes

Non-participants

  • Inconvenience: tiny (more scans)

L2 - Checks

Intent: targeted enforcement without stopping normal life

Typical triggers (any)

  • Contraband confirmed (1-2 events)
  • Arrest interference (1 event)
  • Group fight size threshold reached (see trigger table)

Affected Zone

  • Checkpoints become Controlled (scan required to cross)
  • Stop Wanted at checkpoints (intercept attempts)
  • Sensitive doors permissioned (storage/admin rooms)

Outside Zone

  • Unaffected zones remain normal

Non-participants

  • Pass through scanners, no penalties

L3 - Restriction (Localized)

Intent: limit movement out of the hot zone, keep the rest of prison playable

Typical triggers (any)

  • Multiple fights sustained
  • Organized trouble group size reached
  • Arrests repeatedly disrupted

Affected Zone

  • Zone becomes semi-sealed
  • Only 1-2 exits remain open and controlled by scanners
  • Checkpoints enforce:
    • Stop Wanted
    • Stricter scan failure handling (warn → intercept)
  • Guards prefer holding choke points (not chasing crowds)

Outside Zone

  • No hard closures
  • Normal operations continue

Non-participants

  • Still can function in-zone
  • Can exit via safe controlled checkpoint if not Wanted

L4 - Seal & Sweep (Localized Containment)

Intent: contain serious incident inside one zone without punishing others

Typical triggers (any)

  • Guard KO / severe injury
  • Sabotage of security devices
  • Prolonged L3 (no calm for X minutes)
  • High fight count sustained

Affected Zone ONLY

  • Blast doors seal all exits except:
    • ONE Safe Corridor Exit (scanner-controlled) for non-wanted players OR
    • Comply → Return to Cell option (teleport)
  • Sweep mode:
    • Repeated scans inside zone
    • Wanted/Riot Participants are intercepted aggressively
  • Sensitive rooms locked hard

Outside Zone

  • No hard closures
  • Checkpoints run slightly stricter scans (optional)

Non-participants

  • Must have a clean escape hatch:
    • Safe exit OR comply-to-cell
  • No punishments, no flags

L5 - Riot Protocol (Participant Removal)

Intent: end mass violence fast by isolating offenders (in-world)

Typical triggers (any)

  • Guard death
  • Riot Participant count reaches threshold
  • L4 persists beyond time limit with continued violence
  • Multiple guard attacks within short time window

Affected Zone

  • Remains sealed
  • Intercept rules:
    • Any Riot Participant = detain priority
    • Checkpoint intercepts go “hard” (short warning, quicker capture attempts)

Outside Zone

  • Still not prison-wide locked (unless spread)
  • Travel around hot zone via corridors if map supports

Non-participants

  • Same escape hatch as L4
  • Safe routes prioritized

L6 - Emergency Lockdown (Multi-Zone / Sector)

Intent: only when multiple zones go unstable; still protect normal players

Typical triggers

  • 2 zones reach L5 within 10 minutes
  • Repeated L5 loops with no calm window
  • Riot spreads across checkpoints

Effects

  • Inter-zone travel restricted (controlled)
  • Minimal ops:
    • Essential paths only (cells/medbay core/minimal canteen)
  • Offender Tier escalates faster for violent actions during L6

Non-participants

  • Inconvenience: moderate travel restrictions
  • No punishments; access to essentials preserved

L7 - Prison Crisis (Server Protection Mode)

Intent: rare “stop the bleeding”; restore stability fast

Typical triggers

  • 3+ zones at L5 within 15 minutes
  • Sustained L6 beyond time threshold
  • Coordinated prison-wide assault patterns

Effects

  • Full lockdown rules temporarily
  • Aggressive offender isolation:
    • Violent players routed to Segregation / High-Sec
  • Stability priority > freedom

Non-participants

  • Temporary global restriction, but short-lived
  • Safe hubs + essentials remain available

Trigger Values (Start Numbers - Tune Later)

These are starter values. Expect tuning. The design supports both hard triggers (counts/timers) and ThreatPoints.

Event TypeWindowValueNotes
Fight detected (players in combat)30s>= 4Escalate toward L2
Large fight detected30s>= 8Escalate toward L3
Mass fight detected30s>= 12Escalate toward L4
Guard attacked by multiple attackers10s>= 3 attackersImmediate L3 in-zone
Guard attacked by many10s>= 6 attackersImmediate L4 in-zone
Guard KO (downed)Instant1Immediate L4
Guard deathInstant1Immediate L5
Arrest interference events60s>= 2Escalate one level
Security device damage (door/scanner/panel)60s>= 1+1 level (L2+)
Riot Participant count120s>= 6Escalate to L5
Riot persists with no calm->= 90sL4 → L5
Multi-zone L510m>= 2 zonesTrigger L6
Multi-zone L5 widespread15m>= 3 zonesTrigger L7

”5 players hit a guard” rule (scales)

If a guard is hit by >= 3 attackers within 10s:

  • Guard enters Call Alarm
  • Offenders are snapshot tagged (Wanted + possible Riot flag)
  • Zone containment activates (doors/checkpoints)
  • Guard AI switches to Hold Choke (does not chase)

ThreatPoints (Secondary, for smoother tuning)

Event → ThreatPoints (starter)

  • Inmate vs inmate fight: +5
  • Large fight (>= 8): +15 (in addition to per-fight, or replace)
  • Arrest interference: +10
  • Contraband confirmed: +8
  • Attack guard: +15
  • Security device damage: +25
  • Guard KO: +35
  • Guard death: +80
  • Active riot pressure: +2 per Riot Participant per minute

ThreatPoints → Level thresholds (starter)

  • L1: 10+
  • L2: 25+
  • L3: 50+
  • L4: 80+
  • L5: 140+
  • L6/L7: driven by multi-zone rules (not just points)

Calm / decay (starter)

Calm means:

  • No guard attacks
  • No sabotage
  • No arrest interference
  • No mass fights

Decay suggestions:

  • L1-L2 calm: -3 pts/sec
  • L3 calm: -2 pts/sec
  • L4+ calm: -1 pts/sec

Any new qualifying incident resets calm timer.

Doors & Checkpoints Rules (Localized vs Outside)

Affected Zone Rules (by level)

LevelZone ExitsInternal Sensitive RoomsCheckpointsNotes
L0OpenOpenNormal-
L1OpenOpenMore scans-
L2ControlledControlledStop WantedTargeted
L31-2 controlled exitsLockedStop Wanted + strictSemi-seal
L4Sealed + 1 safe exit OR comply-to-cellLocked hardSweep modeContainment
L5SealedLocked hardAggressive interceptRemove rioters
L6SealedLocked hardSector rulesMulti-zone
L7SealedLocked hardCrisis rulesServer protection

Unaffected Zone Rules (by level elsewhere)

  • Remain L0-L2 behaviors, unless their own incidents raise them.
  • Do not hard-close because another block hit L4.
  • Only at L6+ do inter-zone restrictions apply broadly.

Processing Outcomes (Transfer Destinations)

Destinations

  • Holding (Intake): minor, short, mostly “reset to routine”
  • Cell (Standard): medium severity / repeat non-violent
  • Segregation (High-Sec wing): violent / riot / repeat offenders

Mapping (starter)

  • Trespass / curfew: Holding (5-15 min)
  • Contraband: Cell + confiscation + job lockout
  • Assault inmate: Cell (15-60 min) + increased scans
  • Attack guard / arrest interference: Segregation (30-180 min)
  • Guard death / sabotage: Segregation + Offender Tier increase

Offender Tier (Long-Term Anti-Grief)

Tier increase triggers

  • +1 tier: attack guard / sabotage / repeated riot participation within 6-12h
  • +1 tier: multiple detains for violence within a short window
  • Tier decay: slow (hours/days), not minutes

Suggested behavior per tier

  • Tier 0: normal
  • Tier 1: more scans, sensitive job lockouts
  • Tier 2: detain routes to segregation more often
  • Tier 3: assigned high-sec block routines, limited movement windows
  • Tier 4: effectively “living” in high-sec until long calm period

Goal:

  • Griefing doesn’t ruin the server - it ruins the griefer’s routine.

Segregation / High-Sec (No Instancing)

Segregation is a real physical wing on the same server:

  • Small cells, tiny yard, controlled corridors
  • Minimal job options
  • Frequent scans
  • Movement permissions extremely limited

Used for:

  • Riot participants after processing
  • Repeat violent offenders
  • Sabotage-heavy offenders

Guard AI (Minimal, Scalable)

Guards are not MMO police escorts. They are:

  • Detectors
  • Taggers
  • Choke holders

States (minimum)

  • Patrol → Warn → Pursue (single target) → Capture Attempt → Cuff Channel → Detain/Transfer
  • If multi-attacked: Call Alarm → Hold Choke

Multi-attacker rule:

  • If attacked by >= 3 offenders in 10s: do not pursue
  • Tag offenders + trigger zone containment

Edge Cases (Must-Haves)

Disconnects

If player logs out while Wanted/Detained:

  • On login, spawn in Holding/Cell/Seg based on severity
  • Prevents logout-cheese

Death/Respawn

If player dies while Wanted/Riot Participant:

  • Respawn into Holding/Cell/Seg
  • Flags do not reset

”Stuck in sealed zone”

  • Non-wanted must have: safe exit OR comply-to-cell
  • Wanted do not get a free exit (by design)

Player Feedback (So it feels fair)

Always show why something happened:

  • “Block B sealed due to Sweep Protocol.”
  • “You are Wanted: Assaulting Security.”
  • “Checkpoint denied: Wanted status.”
  • “Compliance option available: Return to cell.”

Never silent teleports without a reason message.

Telemetry (for tuning)

Track these:

  • Riot triggers per hour
  • Avg time zones spend at L3+
  • Riot Participants per riot
  • Offender tier distribution
  • False positives (players incorrectly flagged)
  • How often non-participants use comply-to-cell (friction signal)

Implementation Notes (Data Model)

Zone

  • id
  • securityLevel (0..7)
  • threatPoints
  • lockState
  • lastIncidentAt
  • calmSeconds

PlayerSecurity

  • heat
  • wantedUntil
  • riotFlagUntil (or per-incident log)
  • offenderTier
  • lastGuardAssaultAt
  • lastDetainAt

Events (inputs)

  • FightDetected(participants, zone)
  • GuardHit(attackerId, zone)
  • GuardKO(zone)
  • GuardDeath(zone)
  • ArrestInterference(attackerId, zone)
  • SecurityDeviceDamage(zone, deviceId)
  • ContrabandConfirmed(playerId, zone)

MVP Checklist

  • Zones + threat points + decay
  • Security levels 0-7 per zone
  • Hard triggers (counts/timers) + ThreatPoints thresholds
  • Wanted + Riot Participant tagging rules
  • Detain flow: warning → capture → cuff channel → detained → transfer
  • Checkpoint gating (Stop Wanted)
  • Blast doors + safe exit OR comply-to-cell at L4+
  • Segregation wing routing
  • Offender Tier escalation + slow decay

Integration Points

  • Reputation (external opinion; NOT a skill)
  • Heat (short-term detection + enforcement bias)
  • Jobs (access gates based on reputation + suspicion + offender tier)
  • Needs (lockdowns change routines; stress rises in sealed zones)

Tuning Knobs (Start Values)

  • Warning window: 2.0s
  • Cuff channel: 2.0s
  • LoS break time: 6-10s (depends on level)
  • Riot threshold: guard death OR 6+ participants OR sustained L4 90s (no calm)
  • L4 compliance option appears after 10-20s of seal
  • Offender tier decay: 6-24 hours per tier (design choice)

Design Promise (Player-Facing)

  • If you follow rules, the prison protects your play session.
  • If you riot, the prison isolates you quickly and your routine gets worse.
  • Griefing doesn’t ruin the server - it ruins the griefer.

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