Vault Re-Alignment

Docs/Vault/06_Roadmap/Backlog.md

@@ -12,7 +12,19 @@ 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 — Inventory · Equipment · Progression (roadmap [[DR-026_Inventory_Equipment_Progression_Foundation]] / [[DR-027_Equipment_Slots_Phase1]])
+## NEXT — Combat-depth track (the fight, made fun)
+
+**The forward plan is [[Path_to_Fun]]** (direction [[DR-028_Combat_Primary_Verb_Depth_First]], refined 2026-06-08): combat is the primary braided verb; **depth-before-breadth**, with a **falsifiable fun-gate per milestone**. The roadmap is split into a **committed Path A** and a **provisional, NOT-scheduled Path B**, with a **mandatory logged Decision Gate** between them.
+
+- **Path A — the committed scope (a shippable game-with-a-point):** MC-0 instrument the box → MC-1 dash + committed-punishable Charger → MC-4 melee cone → *[Demo A: the Duel]* → EB-1 machines can die (structure loss-state) → EB-2 the felt spend (turret ammo from the factory) → *[Demo B: the Loop]* → END-1 a losable Core → END-2 final siege / win-lose → **[Decision Gate — log ship-vs-continue]**.
+  - **Status 2026-06-09: MC-0 + MC-1 CODE-COMPLETE, fun-gate pending** ([[2026-06-09_MC1_Implementation]]) — 259/259 EditMode + clean netcode Play sessions + post-build adversarial review (2 confirmed findings fixed); the operator feel pass (dash snap test, telegraph read, Charger feet) + the bench (timed vs spam) + friend read are the open gate. MC-4 starts only after the MC-1 gate passes.
+- **Path B — provisional (pick ONE after the gate, re-estimate first):** MC-2 ranged + swarm + mix-director · MC-3 pure juice · MC-5 downed/revive · MC-6 multi-slot kit · EB-3 base repair · EB-4 tool-gated harvest (braided) · EB-5 craft combat power · END-5 1–4p scaling + NG+. *(END-3 Echo narrative + END-4 content-treadmill are CUT until Path A is fun and the operator wants to author.)*
+
+Every milestone ends with a **play/fun-gate**, not a test count. **Path A forks are LOCKED** (2026-06-09 — [[DR-029_Path_A_Fork_Locks]] · [[Path_to_Fun#Locked decisions (Path A)]]); Path B forks stay open, locked via the same present-the-forks ritual at the Decision Gate.
+
+## PAUSED — Inventory · Equipment · Progression (roadmap [[DR-026_Inventory_Equipment_Progression_Foundation]] / [[DR-027_Equipment_Slots_Phase1]])
+
+> Paused 2026-06-08 ([[DR-028_Combat_Primary_Verb_Depth_First]]): Phases 2–4 are more breadth on systems whose payoff is combat power — resume once the fight is fun. Phases 0–1 shipped and stand.
 
 Phases 0 (inventory backbone) + 1 (equipment slots) shipped 2026-06-08. Remaining phases, in order: