Vault Re-Alignment

Docs/Vault/01_Vision/Identity.md

@@ -91,6 +91,18 @@ Industrial synth, weighty impacts, a low hostile drone for Husk proximity. **Add
 | Automation as progression | The colony's surviving Aether-machines compounding output while you raid |
 | Persistent base + instanced expeditions | The Engine's safe Aether-bubble (`BaseAnchor`) vs. the blighted **Wild** beyond |
 
+## The braid (locked 2026-06-08) — combat is the verb; the colony is what you fight with and for
+
+> [[DR-028_Combat_Primary_Verb_Depth_First]] · roadmap [[Path_to_Fun]]. No fiction changes — this names how the three pillars **reinforce** instead of sitting side by side as three separate modes (fight, OR build, OR watch automation tick), which is what made it not feel like a game.
+
+The fusion only reads as a game when the pillars **braid into one loop**, and in fiction the braid is already here:
+
+- **Automation makes what you fight WITH.** The colony's rebooted Aether-industry refines raw Aether into the **charges, munitions, turret feed, and upgrades** your abilities and defenses burn — the factory is your war economy (The Riftbreaker).
+- **Combat threatens what automation lives IN.** Husk sieges hit the **Engine and its machines**, not just the operators — defending the base is defending the economy, with a real loss beat (They Are Billions / The Riftbreaker).
+- **The Sortie feeds both.** Harvesting the Blightfield is the seed the factory needs *and* the act that provokes the siege (Deep Rock Galactic / Core Keeper).
+
+So every fight is fought *with* what the factory made and *for* the base the factory lives in. **Combat is the primary verb; the Awakening Engine and its industry are what give the verb stakes** — the same systems already built, pointed at each other instead of at a ledger.
+
 ## Locked narrative choices (2026-06-03)
 
 - **The Echo is ambiguous** — never fully trusted; "by any means"; needs a payoff beat at the goal.

Docs/Vault/01_Vision/Pillars.md

@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@ permalink: gamevault/01-vision/pillars
 
 ## Pillars
 
-1. **Action-ARPG combat** — twin-stick, controller-first (LoL / Diablo 4 / PoE2 feel); skill expression over stat-checks.
-2. **Co-op base power fantasy** — 2–4 friends build and grow a shared home base (V Rising feel).
-3. **Automation as progression** — production runs itself so play time compounds; the loop rewards setup, not grind.
-4. **Server-authoritative & deterministic** — input-only clients, client prediction; the simulation is the source of truth.
+> **Combat is the primary verb; base + automation braid around it** (locked 2026-06-08, [[DR-028_Combat_Primary_Verb_Depth_First]]). The fusion of all three is the identity — but as ONE braided loop with a single primary verb, never three co-equal, independently-deep modes. Roadmap: [[Path_to_Fun]].
+
+1. **Action-ARPG combat — the primary verb** — twin-stick, controller-first (Hades / Risk of Rain 2 / Deep Rock Galactic feel); **skill expression over stat-checks** (dodge, read-and-react, a real ability kit). The moment-to-moment the other pillars serve.
+2. **Co-op base power fantasy — braids in** — 2–4 friends defend and grow a shared home base (V Rising / The Riftbreaker feel); the base is what you fight *for* and the siege's stakes.
+3. **Automation as progression — braids in** — self-running production that makes what you fight *with* (charges / munitions / turrets / upgrades) and that sieges threaten; rewards setup, not grind (The Riftbreaker / Core Keeper).
+4. **Server-authoritative & deterministic** — input-only clients, client prediction; the simulation is the source of truth. Co-op is non-negotiable, so every mechanic stays server-authoritative.
 
 ## Locked decisions
 
@@ -25,6 +27,7 @@ permalink: gamevault/01-vision/pillars
 - **Multiplayer (locked):** small co-op **2–4, client-hosted listen-server** (BinaryWorlds + in-proc IPC; not the experimental SingleWorld host mode), PvE.
 - **World (locked):** persistent buildable **home base + instanced/procedural expeditions**.
 - **Automation (locked):** **progression accelerator** — self-running production chains; data model designed to grow toward full logistics.
+- **Combat-primary + depth-before-breadth (locked 2026-06-08):** combat is the primary braided verb; **no new system until one braided loop is genuinely fun**, and every milestone ends with a play/fun-gate (not just green tests). [[DR-028_Combat_Primary_Verb_Depth_First]] · roadmap [[Path_to_Fun]].
 
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