Ability Command Bar

1. Summary

The Ability Command Bar is a non-diegetic HUD element anchored at the bottom center of the screen during active missions. It displays the currently selected character's four active abilities as icon buttons mapped to hotkeys A/S/D/F, enabling the player to quickly arm and execute tactical actions such as melee takedowns, ranged attacks, distractions, traps, and disguises. The bar updates dynamically when switching characters or when abilities become unavailable due to cooldowns, resource depletion, or state restrictions.

Overview

The Ability Command Bar is a non-diegetic HUD toolbar anchored at the bottom center of the screen during active missions. It displays the currently selected character’s four active abilities as square icon buttons, each mapped to a fixed hotkey (A, S, D, F). The bar also includes context actions for sneak (LCTRL) and jump/climb (SPACE) on the left, and the Shadow Mode trigger (G) on the right. The command set updates dynamically when switching characters or when abilities become unavailable due to cooldowns, resource depletion, or character state restrictions.

The bar is visually framed by decorative ornamental wing-like elements on both ends, integrating it into the larger Bottom Gameplay HUD Bar. Each ability icon is accompanied by a small hotkey label beneath it. When an ability requires target selection (e.g., placing a trap, throwing a shuriken), clicking the icon or pressing the hotkey arms the ability and changes the cursor to a targeting reticle.

Job Story

When the player has selected a character and needs to execute a tactical action during a mission, they want to see all available abilities at a glance with their corresponding hotkeys, so that they can quickly arm the right tool or attack without opening a separate menu or memorizing every keybind.

Classification

• diegesis: Non-diegetic
• functional_type: HUD

Wireframe

+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  [LCTRL]  [SPACE]  [A]  [S]  [D]  [F]  [G]                     |
|   icon     icon    icon icon icon icon icon                     |
|  sneak    jump   atk1 atk2 atk3 atk4  shadow                    |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

Components

• Ability Icon Slots (4): Square buttons displaying the ability icon (e.g., sword, shuriken, sake bottle, trap). Each shows the bound hotkey (A/S/D/F) below the icon.
• Left Context Actions: LCTRL (sneak/crouch) and SPACE (jump/climb) icons that flank the ability row on the left.
• Shadow Mode Trigger (G): A distinct icon on the far right of the bar used to enter Shadow Mode for coordinated multi-character planning.
• Decorative Frame: Ornamental wing-like elements on the left and right edges of the bar that visually integrate it with the bottom HUD.
• Hotkey Labels: Small text beneath each icon indicating the keyboard shortcut (A, S, D, F, G, LCTRL, SPACE).
• Unavailable State Overlay: Dimmed or grayed-out icon with a cooldown timer or charge counter when an ability is on cooldown or out of resources.

Parameters & Audio

Navigation

• To this element: Automatically visible when a mission is active and a playable character is selected. The player clicks an ability icon or presses its hotkey (A/S/D/F) to arm/use it.
• From this element: Clicking on the game world cancels an armed ability and returns to normal cursor mode. Pressing Escape cancels targeting. Pressing G transitions from the command bar into Shadow Mode planning.
• Related UI elements:
• Character Portrait And Selection Panel (ui_8) — switching characters updates the Ability Command Bar.
• Bottom Gameplay HUD Bar (ui_7) — the parent container that anchors this bar.
• Shadow Mode Command UI (ui_10) — activated via the G button on this bar.

Dependencies & Logic

• Selected Character: The bar's contents are entirely determined by which character is currently selected.
• Character State: Abilities may be unavailable while climbing, swimming, carrying a body, or in disguise (disguise breaks on attack/climb/swim).
• Cooldown & Resource State: Each ability slot reflects whether the ability is ready, on cooldown, or out of charges/ammunition.
• Campaign Progression: Firearm abilities remain locked until the designated campaign unlock flag is active.
• Environmental State: Some abilities require specific terrain (e.g., flat ground for traps, grappling hook rings for hook ability).
• Mission Squad Composition: Only abilities for characters present in the current mission are available.

BDD Scenarios

Edge Cases

• Player attempts to use an ability while the character is climbing, swimming, or carrying a body — the input is ignored.
• Ability is armed but the target dies before execution (e.g., another squad member kills the target first) — the ability cancels and the cursor returns to normal.
• Reusable ability item (shuriken, sake bottle, trap) lands in an unreachable location — the ability slot shows as unavailable until the item is retrieved.
• Trap is placed in an enemy's vision cone — enemies spot it and avoid it; the trap is wasted.
• Disguise is broken by environmental interaction (climbing, entering water) while an ability is armed — the ability cancels and the bar updates to reflect the lost disguise.
• Samurai sees through a disguise and attacks — the player may attempt to use an ability while staggered or mid-detection, which should be blocked.
• Shadow Mode is activated while an ability is armed — the armed ability state should be preserved or gracefully cancelled depending on implementation.
• All characters in the squad are incapacitated — the command bar is either empty or hidden until a reload.
• Firearm ability is selected before campaign unlock — the slot is either hidden or permanently grayed out.

QA Notes

Mechanic Links

• Character Ability System - The bar displays the four active abilities from the Character Ability System
• Normal Guards - Ability Command Bar provides the player actions used to distract, lure, neutralize, or coordinate solutions against Normal Guards.
• Samurai - The Ability Command Bar exposes the anti-Samurai tools and invalid/available ability states, including melee, firearm, hand cannon, rifle, grenade, and distraction abilities.
• Four-Slot Ability Binding Framework - The Ability Command Bar is the HUD surface that displays and activates the four ability slots with hotkey labels.
• Melee Takedown Variations - The Ability Command Bar exposes the current character's A-slot melee takedown variant, including the absence or replacement of that slot for characters without a melee takedown.
• Ranged Elimination Abilities - The ability command bar exposes ranged ability icons, slot bindings, ammo/readiness state, and selection input for projectile, firearm, and scoped-shot commands.
• Sound-Based Distraction Abilities - The Ability Command Bar exposes distraction abilities as character ability icons with hotkey labels, availability state, and targeting activation.
• Area-of-Effect Crowd Control Attack - The Ability Command Bar exposes the S-slot Sword Wind command, shows targeting and availability, and communicates cooldown/unavailable state after use.
• Disguise and Social Infiltration System - The Ability Command Bar exposes the disguise/conversation command, communicates availability after clothing is acquired, and should reflect unavailable or broken-disguise states.
• Deployable Pressure Trap Mechanic - The ability command bar exposes the trap command as an actionable ability slot and communicates whether it is available for placement or unavailable until recovered.
• Companion Command System - The ability command bar exposes the companion ability, its slot, and the follow-up command/toggle used to activate the distraction.
• Single-Use Healing Ability - The Ability Command Bar / gameplay HUD exposes healing as a medical-kit icon with a remaining-use counter and communicates when the one charge is available or spent.
• Vision Cone Debuff Ability - The Ability Command Bar exposes this vision-debuff ability as a selectable/hotkeyed command and reflects availability or targeting state.

References

1. 1.

   Osaka Castle Mission 1 - Shadow Tactics-Blades of The Shogun (Hardcore) (19:38-20:50) English gameplay footage showing Hayato selected with the bottom ability command bar visible, including LCTRL, SPACE, A/S/D/F ability slots, and the Shadow Mode G button. Also used for the full bottom HUD context crop.

2. 2.

   Shadow Tactics Blades of the Shogun PC Gameplay Imai Town (1:03:40-1:04:00) English gameplay footage from Imai Town showing Yuki selected with character-specific ability slots and the Shadow Mode hotkey in the bottom command bar.

3. 3.

   Osaka Castle Mission 1 - Shadow Tactics-Blades of The Shogun (Hardcore) (20:48-20:52) English gameplay footage showing Mugen selected with katana, Sword Wind, sake, and Shadow Mode hotkeys in the bottom ability command bar.