The player's guide
Everything on Battle Code Arena's screens, explained: what it is, what it's for, and how to use it.
In Battle Code Arena you build a fighting vehicle, write the program that drives it, and watch it fight. During a battle you don't steer anything. Your program does all of it: where to drive, where to point the radar, when to fire. So the game is about writing a better program, watching where it goes wrong, and fixing it.
This guide is for when you're not sure what you're looking at. For the language your programs are written in, see the BCAS reference. For problems with your account or the subscription, see Support.
How it fits together
- Build a vehicle in the GARAGE: choose a chassis and fit equipment within the budget.
- Program it in PROGRAM. Every new vehicle comes with the STARTER program, which already drives, scans and fires, so you can start by changing it.
- Test it in the ARENA against a training opponent or a house vehicle. A practice battle is fought on your device in a second or two.
- Find out why in the REPORT: the result, the totals and everything that happened. With the subscription, the debugger steps through your program at any moment of a practice battle.
- Compete in the LEAGUE: publish the vehicle, and it fights a match every four hours while you're away.
Then go back to step 2.
The five tabs
| Tab | What it's for | In this guide |
|---|---|---|
| GARAGE | Your vehicles, their equipment, and the rules | Vehicles and the garage |
| PROGRAM | The editor for the vehicle's program | Writing the program |
| ARENA | Practice battles, and watching any battle back | The arena and battles, Opponents |
| REPORT | The last battle's result, totals and timeline | The battle report, The debugger |
| LEAGUE | The league, the trial, sparring, events and private leagues | The league, Sparring, challenges and more |
Two buttons sit at the top of every screen. SOUND turns the sound on and off, and SYS opens the settings, your account and the rules (see Account, settings and sharing). The name next to the game's title, or above the tabs on a phone, is the vehicle you're working on. Every tab works with that vehicle.
On a phone, a tablet and in a browser
The screens are the same on iPhone, iPad, Android and in the browser version. Only the layout changes with the size of the screen:
- On a phone, the tabs run along the bottom. PROGRAM has its own ▶ RUN button, and the battle plays in the ARENA tab.
- On a tablet or a computer, the tabs run along the top, and there's no ARENA tab: the arena sits beside the editor in PROGRAM. EXPAND gives the arena the whole screen, and EDIT PROGRAM brings the editor back.
A battle comes out exactly the same on every device.
What's free, and what comes with the subscription
Building, programming and practice battles are free, with a garage of 3 vehicles.
The subscription adds:
- competing: the league and its trial, sparring, events, challenging a friend, and creating private leagues (answering a challenge and joining a private league are free);
- the tools: the debugger, "what went wrong" and version history;
- the extras: a garage of 30, replays kept for a year instead of 90 days, paint, screen themes, and the browser version.
Where something in this guide needs the subscription, it says so.