---
tags:
- vision
- pillars
status: draft
updated: 2026-05-29
permalink: gamevault/01-vision/pillars
---

# Design Pillars & Locked Decisions

> The few non-negotiables every system must serve. Keep this short; promote only decisions that are truly locked.

## 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.

## Locked decisions

- **Tech stack:** Unity DOTS (Entities) + Netcode for Entities — server-authoritative, input-only clients, client prediction. Established [[2026-05-29_Project_Setup]].
- **Control (locked 2026-05-30):** WASD movement, controller-first, **directional / twin-stick aim** with soft auto-target in-arc. [[2026-05-30_M1_Player_Slice]]
- **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.

## Related

- [[Identity]] — the **fiction** that skins these pillars: **The Awakening Engine** (Aether-colony sci-fi), evolved 2026-06-03 ([[DR-015_The_Awakening_Engine_Fiction_Adoption]]) from the original frontier-colony skin ([[DR-009_GameFeel_Identity_FirstBlood]], 2026-06-02). Skin-only — no mechanical rework; **Aether** is the one substance unifying magic + tech (cyan = ordered / orange = wild Blight), with an amnesiac-**Sleeper** / **Echo** (the guiding voice) / **THEM** spine.
- Decision records: `07_Sessions/_Decisions/`