Docs: redirect to co-op roguelite — Expedition spine + classes + persistent meta

Playtest of the single-arena slice (Scratch Notes 6152026) found it stale fast.
Answer the post-END-2 Decision Gate as continue/expand: re-scope off the fixed
June-30 demo to a co-op roguelite-ARPG — base = persistent buildable hub (never
resets), the procedural Expedition region = the required combat spine, two classes
(Warrior/Ranger), persistent meta (SaveData v6 later). Mission-as-Sortie model:
fulfils locked pillar #4, preserves the never-a-run-reset pillar; reverses DR-031's
expedition pause. Backed by an 8-agent design+feasibility pass (feasibility GREEN:
server-spawns-ghosts removes seed replication). Slice doc archived/superseded.

See DR-037.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Docs/Vault/06_Roadmap/Backlog.md

@@ -13,15 +13,24 @@ Open / candidate work only. **Done items live in [[Milestones]] + their DR / ses
 kept to the forward-looking pool — promote an item to [[Milestones|a milestone]] when committed, then drop it here).
 Last decluttered 2026-06-08 (removed all shipped `[x]` items; their context is preserved in the linked records).
 
-## NEXT — Awakening Engine Last Stand (End-of-Month Slice) ★
+## NEXT — Co-op Roguelite Redirect (Procedural Expedition Spine + Two Classes + Persistent Meta) ★
 
-**The active operational target for June 13–30 is the [[End_Of_Month_Game_Jam_Slice]]** — a compact top-down ARPG / survival base-defense demo (mine Ore → build Turret/Wall/Fabricator → Ore→Charge→turret-shots → survive escalating Husk waves → hold the losable Engine Core through a **final siege** → **win or lose in a 5–8 min run**, in **one compact arena**). This **answers the Path A Decision Gate early as *ship the minimum*** ([[DR-035_End_Of_Month_Slice_Adoption]]); [[Path_to_Fun]] stays the long-term north-star and **Path B stays provisional** until a ship-vs-continue note is logged *after* June 30.
+**The operative target as of 2026-06-17 is [[DR-037_Procedural_Expedition_Spine_Two_Classes_Persistent_Meta]].** An operator playtest ([[Scratch Notes 6152026]]) found the single-arena slice **stale fast**; the operator answered the post-END-2 Decision Gate as **continue/expand** and re-scoped off the fixed June-30 deadline. New direction: a **co-op roguelite-ARPG** — base = persistent buildable **hub** (never resets), the procedural **Expedition region = the required combat spine**, **two classes** (Warrior melee / Ranger ranged), a **persistent meta layer** (SaveData v6), readability fixed first. **Mission-as-Sortie**, pillar-safe (fulfils pillar-#4, preserves the "never a run-reset" pillar). **No time estimates** (operator directive); every slice still ends with a falsifiable fun-gate + server==client validation; netcode-heavy slices run the adversarial design-review FIRST ([[validate-netcode-design-before-coding]]).
+
+**Committed slices (sequence; ~70 % of the chassis already exists — reuse, don't rebuild):**
+
+- **Slice 1 — Combat Readability & HUD Declutter** ✅ **BUILT + engineering-validated 2026-06-17 ([[DR-038_Slice1_Combat_Readability_HUD_Declutter]])** — on-damage-sticky **enemy health bars** (+fade, <25 %HP always-on) in `CombatFeedbackSystem` (`Health.Current` already replicated); **telegraph fix** (per-enemy baked `EnemyTelegraph` windup ramp replacing the hard-coded `22f` + windup 18→22 + a scale-pulse); **build-mode toggle** (client `BuildPaletteState.PaletteOpen` gates the palette + a "Tab/Y — BUILD" chip); **Charger committed-lunge tell** (`[GhostEnabledBit] IsLunging` derived once/tick — one Charger re-bake). 345/345 EditMode; Play-validated (handshake intact, bake correct, no runtime errors). **Open: operator visual fun-gate.**
+- **Slice 2 — Two Classes (Warrior / Ranger)** *(review-gated)*: route `MeleeComboSystem` damage through `EffectiveAbilityStats` (the highest-impact edit; `StatTarget.MeleeDamage` byte); class anchor via `AbilityRef.Id` + `CharacterId`; wire the **Cone** archetype (Warrior secondary), keep the Ranger projectile; second ability cooldown; class-select UX; class-conditioned starting `StatModifier`. Absorbs Path B's MC-6 intent (lighter).
+- **Slice 3 — Expedition Combat Spine** *(review-gated)*: reactivate `ExpeditionFieldSystem` → **authored-arena pool** sampled by `ExpeditionEpoch` (pool-sampling, NOT WFC/terrain-gen); `ZoneEnemySpawnSystem` (`RegionTag{Expedition}`); the **`EnemyAISystem` region-filter fix**; the **`ThreatDirector` mid-siege-return gate**; a **zone-clear reward** on `ExpeditionGateSystem`; a **replicated zone-theme byte** on the global ghost; the required sortie→clear→return→escalated-siege loop. Manage `RegionRelevancySystem` per-tick cost (cap ghosts; cosmetic props non-ghost). Absorbs Path B MC-2 (enemy mix) intent.
+- **Slice 4 — Persistent Meta-Progression** *(review-gated)*: **SaveData v6** (meta-currency, unlocked classes, persistent epoch); a between-runs growth surface at the hub; persist-the-seed-regenerate-the-layout (pure-function generator).
+
+**Per-slice forks to lock at each review:** expedition depth (one zone vs sequential+boss); shared expedition region vs per-party instances (shared recommended); zone-clear reward shape; class-select moment (menu vs at-base); meta unlock surface.
 
 **Already shipped & code-verified (do NOT rebuild — 13/14 slice systems):** movement, dash (MC-1, fun-gate PASSED 2026-06-10), melee combo (MC-4), ranged poke; base-local Ore mining (DR-031); Turret/Wall/Fabricator palette + UITK build HUD (DR-021); Ore→Fabricator→Charge→turret economy (EB-2 / DR-033); destructible structures (EB-1 / DR-032); soft-loss Engine Core integrity + overrun flash (END-1 / DR-034); SaveData v4 + frontend menu / Continue / build menu (DR-019). The audit: 9-agent grounded gap-analysis, 2026-06-13.
 
 **END-2 (SL-3) is CODE-COMPLETE + validated (2026-06-13) — the Path-A blocker is CLEARED.** The goal meter now arms a visibly-larger final siege at `Charge>=Target` (=4) and latches a terminal **Victory** (survive it) / **Loss** (Core breached during it), with a HUD banner + run-halt. 342/342 EditMode green; Play-validated server==client + no ordering cycle; pre-coding + post-impl adversarial reviews. The **fun-gate** (does the climax land?) is the one open item → folds into SL-5. See [[DR-036_END2_Final_Siege_Win_Lose]] · [[2026-06-13_SL3_END2_Final_Siege_Win_Lose]]. **Charge cadence LOCKED 2026-06-13: siege-survived-only** (goal +1 per survived siege; "Both"/Aether-deposit deferred post-slice). See [[DR-035_End_Of_Month_Slice_Adoption#Locked fork — END-2 charge cadence (2026-06-13)]].
 
-**Critical path:** SL-1 → SL-2 → **SL-3 (END-2)** → SL-5 → SL-6 → SL-7; SL-4 (visual) runs parallel, done by Jun 23. Every milestone ends with a **falsifiable play/fun-gate**, not a test count. Full vision + visual direction + cohesion checklist + Done Definition: [[End_Of_Month_Game_Jam_Slice]].
+> **⚠️ SL-1…SL-7 below are SUPERSEDED (2026-06-17, [[DR-037_Procedural_Expedition_Spine_Two_Classes_Persistent_Meta]]) — kept as an archived reference.** The new committed work is Slices 1–4 above. SL-4's **visual cohesion** ("Aether Siege Outpost" palette + checklist) and SL-2's **loop-tuning** discipline still apply to the base hub and carry forward; SL-1's arena-cleanup and SL-3/END-2 (the final-siege win/lose, already shipped) remain in the build. The fixed June-30 packaging (SL-7) is dropped per the re-scope.
 
 ### SL-1 — Scope Lock & Arena Cleanup `Jun 13-15` · risk LOW
 > **Largely DONE 2026-06-13** (with SL-4): ARPG camera locked to a research-grounded steeper telephoto (pitch 58 / dist 17 / FOV 44 so Core + arena read together); meadow noise removed (~390 cheer/village objects cut); the Ore annulus pulled into the arena (6–11.5 m, 12 nodes) + the Core staged as the hero. **Open:** the Pylon decision; final camera lock-in via the operator's playtest. See [[2026-06-13_SL1_SL4_Visual_Cohesion_Dark_Frontier]].