neon-sprawl-archived/docs/decomposition/epics/epic_03_crafting_economy.md

Epic 3 - Crafting, Gathering, and Itemization Economy

Source Anchors

• Master epic reference: neon_sprawl_vision.plan.md — Core Epic Map, System Modules Epic 3
• Related modules: E3.M1, E3.M2, E3.M3, E3.M4, E3.M5

Ownership and success (Level 1)

• Ownership focus: Economy Design + Content Engineering
• Success criteria: Crafting is a primary progression lane with healthy supply-demand loops and consistent item relevance.

Objective

Implement gathering from world nodes, item/inventory representation, recipe execution, and later durability/sinks and economy policy so players can complete gather-refine-craft-use loops that matter for combat and quests.

Module Breakdown

E3.M1 - ResourceNodeAndGatherLoop

• Responsibility: Node spawning, gather interaction, resource output events.
• Key contracts: ResourceNodeDef, GatherResult, ResourceYieldTable
• Dependencies: E1.M3, E2.M2
• Stage target: Prototype

E3.M2 - RefinementAndRecipeExecution

• Responsibility: Raw-to-refined processing and recipe crafting execution pipeline.
• Key contracts: RecipeDef, CraftRequest, CraftResult
• Dependencies: E3.M1, E3.M3
• Stage target: Prototype

E3.M3 - ItemizationAndInventorySchema

• Responsibility: Item definitions, rarity/quality fields, stackability and equipment metadata.
• Key contracts: ItemDef, ItemInstance, InventorySlot
• Dependencies: None
• Stage target: Prototype

E3.M4 - SinkAndDurabilityLifecycle

• Responsibility: Item decay/consumption/repair sinks that sustain market demand.
• Key contracts: DurabilityState, ItemSinkEvent, RepairCostRule
• Dependencies: E3.M3, E8.M3
• Stage target: Pre-production

E3.M5 - EconomyBalancePolicy

• Responsibility: Faucet/sink parameter set and guardrails for inflation/deflation.
• Key contracts: EconomyPolicy, PriceBandRule, FaucetSinkRatio
• Dependencies: E3.M4, E9.M2
• Stage target: Pre-production

Implementation Slices (Backlog-Ready)

Slice 1 - Items and inventory MVP

• Scope: E3.M3 with equipment/consumable slots sufficient for prototype loadouts and quests.
• Dependencies: None
• Acceptance criteria:
  • Craft outputs and quest rewards land in inventory deterministically.
  • Item schema versioned for forward-compatible migrations.
• Telemetry hooks: item_created, inventory_full / transfer failures.

Slice 2 - Gather nodes and outputs

• Scope: E3.M1 with 4-6 node types and yield tables; awards crafting/gathering XP via E2.M2.
• Dependencies: E3.M3, E1.M3, E2.M2
• Acceptance criteria:
  • Full gather interaction in prototype region without dupes or free resources.
• Telemetry hooks: resource_gathered, gather_node_depleted.

Slice 3 - Recipes and crafting pipeline

• Scope: E3.M2 with 8-12 starter recipes per prototype minimums.
• Dependencies: E3.M1, E3.M3
• Acceptance criteria:
  • Player completes gather to refine to usable item used in combat or quest.
• Telemetry hooks: item_crafted, craft_failed with reason, time-to-first-craft.

Slice 4 - Sinks and economy policy (pre-production)

• Scope: E3.M4 + E3.M5 with tuning hooks and validation against outliers.
• Dependencies: E8.M3 (market settlement optional), E9.M2
• Acceptance criteria:
  • At least one durable sink is live; policy alerts on faucet/sink ratio breaches.
• Telemetry hooks: item_sink, repair_performed, economy KPI aggregates.

Risks and Mitigations

• Risk: Crafting bypassed by drops or NPC vendors.
  • Mitigation: Prototype quest requires crafted item; monitor gather-to-craft conversion.
• Risk: Exploit duplication or negative stacks.
  • Mitigation: Server-authoritative craft and inventory; integrity signals via E9.M4.

Definition of Done

• Prototype gather-craft loop meets plan pass/fail gates.
• Pre-production adds sinks and policy with dashboard visibility.