The delay mechanic can be used to apply a delay not only between ticks, but also inside of the same tick via a delay 0 mechanic.

DISCLAIMER

This is not an intended mechanic. It's just a happy accident that, somehow, consistently works. Do not expect this to be cutting edge, as, again, this is more of a convenient bug

Single Delay

You have to imagine each mechanic as a series of instructions that are executed orderly. In this scenario, using a delay 0 mechanic allows you to "schedule" the subsequent mechanics to be executed after every other non delayed mechanic that tick.

flowchart LR
    A(Mechanic 1) --> B(Mechanic 2)
    B --> C[Delay 0]
    B ---> D(Other mechanics this tick)
    C ----> F(Mechanic 3)

Example

ExampleMechanic:
  Skills:
  - skill{s=Skill1} @self
  - skill{s=Skill2} @self

Skill1:
  Skills:
  - delay 0
  - message{m="<skill.var.test>"}

Skill2:
  Skills:
  - setvariable{var=test;val=1}

Executing the ExampleMechanic will output

• UNDEFINED if no delay 0 is used
• 1 otherwise

Multiple Delays

This behavior works with multiple delays too: each time a new delay 0 is executed, the subsequent mechanics are pushed a the back of the execution line again

flowchart LR
    A(Mechanic 1) --> B(Mechanic 2)
    B --> C[Delay 0]
    B ---> D(Other mechanics this tick)
    C ----> F(Mechanic 3)
    F --> G(Delay 0)
    F ---> H(Other mechanics this tick)
    G ----> L(Mechanic 4)

Example

ExampleMechanic:
  Skills:
  - skill{s=SkillMessage} @self
  - skill{s=Skill1} @self
  - skill{s=Skill2} @self

Skill1:
  Skills:
  - delay 0
  - setvariable{var=test;val=2}

Skill2:
  Skills:
  - setvariable{var=test;val=1}

SkillMessage:
  Skills:
  - delay 0
  - delay 0
  - message{m="<skill.var.test>"}

Executing the ExampleMechanic will output

• UNDEFINED if no delay 0 is used inside of SkillMessage
• 1 if only one delay 0 is used inside of SkillMessage
• 2 if all delays are used inside of SkillMessage