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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 Slice doc archived/superseded.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>
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tags, status, updated, permalink
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draft | 2026-05-29 | 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
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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
- 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. Sharpened 2026-06-17 (DR-037_Procedural_Expedition_Spine_Two_Classes_Persistent_Meta): the procedural Expedition region is the required combat SPINE (where the bulk of the fight happens); the base is the persistent HUB that never resets ("Mission-as-Sortie": Deep Rock Galactic / Cult of the Lamb). A "run" is a re-seeded Expedition region in the SAME world, not a new world or a base reset.
- 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.
- Classes + persistent meta (locked 2026-06-17, DR-037_Procedural_Expedition_Spine_Two_Classes_Persistent_Meta): two classes — Warrior (melee anchor) + Ranger (ranged, manually aimed — not auto-fire, which would break skill-expression). Class identity = the primary-attack archetype; run-acquired meta-buffs ride the existing
StatModifier/TimedModifierpipeline. A persistent meta-progression layer (SaveData v6) funds permanent growth at the hub; run combat-buffs are run-scoped. Reverses DR-031_Base_Mining_Loop_Cohesion's expedition pause (a real playtest — Scratch Notes 6152026 — showed the single arena goes stale).
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/