--- name: Cyberpunk MMO Vision overview: Create a 50,000-foot planning document for a sci-fi/cyberpunk MMORPG inspired by RuneScape, focused on classless progression and deep crafting, with optional PvP and questing. todos: - id: lock-critical-decisions content: Combat model and world topology are locked; remaining decision is progression pace. status: completed - id: define-core-epics content: Split the vision into 6-10 product epics with ownership and success criteria. status: completed - id: prototype-core-loop content: Design and scope a prototype proving movement, combat, skill gain, crafting, and quest loops. status: completed - id: plan-preproduction content: Define pre-production deliverables for architecture, tools, and vertical slice quality bar. status: completed - id: establish-metrics content: Set top-level KPIs and telemetry requirements for testing and live operations. status: completed isProject: false --- # Cyberpunk MMORPG 50,000-Foot Plan ## Vision and Product Intent Build a long-lived online world that captures the freedom and progression depth of RuneScape while delivering a distinct sci-fi/cyberpunk identity. The core player fantasy is to start as a low-tier citizen of a mega-city ecosystem and grow into a high-impact operator through any combination of skills, professions, social play, and questlines. ## Delivery Model Constraint (Locked) - **Team model (locked):** Solo developer with AI assistant support; all roadmap, scope, and technical decisions must be feasible for one human operator. - **Execution principle:** Prefer smallest shippable slices, heavy reuse of data-driven systems, and ruthless deferral of non-core features. ### Experience Pillars - **Classless mastery:** Every character can learn and level every skill over time; identity comes from choices, gear, economy role, and mastery paths. - **Crafting-first economy:** Crafting and gathering are central progression loops, not side systems; player-made goods should matter at every stage. - **Persistent social world:** Shared hubs, guilds/corps, trading, and cooperative activities should be core to retention. - **Meaningful progression:** Long-term goals, visible advancement, and layered progression loops (short, mid, long horizons). - **Quest-driven worldbuilding:** Narrative arcs reveal factions, districts, corporate politics, and world-state tensions. - **Readable tactical presentation:** 3D world rendered through a fixed, character-centered isometric camera for clarity and consistency. - **PvE-first with optional PvP:** PvP exists as opt-in content in designated security zones, never as a mandatory progression gate. ## Big Product Scope (What Must Exist) - **World foundation:** Persistent zones, cities, wilderness/industrial sectors, instanced content where needed. - **Core MMO loops:** Movement, interaction, combat (PvE mandatory; PvP optional), loot, death/penalty rules. - **Skill system:** Multi-skill progression covering gathering, processing, crafting, combat, exploration, utility/social. - **Crafting ecosystem:** Resource acquisition, recipes/blueprints, quality tiers, item sinks, repair/decay, specialization edges. - **Economy and trade:** Currency strategy, NPC sinks/faucets, player marketplace/trading, anti-inflation tools. - **Questing framework:** Main arcs, faction missions, repeatable jobs, dynamic contracts, tutorial onboarding quests. - **Social systems:** Chat, groups, guild/corp structures, friends, cooperative content. - **Live operations:** Events, seasonal arcs, balancing cadence, telemetry, moderation, support workflows. - **Camera and controls model:** Locked isometric 3D view, zoom support, no camera rotation, and continuous character-centering. - **Security-zone ruleset:** Clear high/medium/low-security area rules that define where PvP is allowed, restricted, or disallowed. ## Design Decisions to Lock Early (Critical Unknowns) These decisions heavily affect architecture and content pipelines and should be resolved before deep production: - **Camera model (locked):** 3D fixed isometric view, zoom in/out enabled, no rotation, camera always centered on the player character. - **Combat model (locked):** Tab-target tactical combat (RuneScape-like readability and pacing) with clear telegraphs and ability timing. - **PvP policy (locked):** PvE-first, opt-in PvP via security-level zones; no player is required to PvP for core progression. - **World topology (locked):** Mostly seamless open world with regional zoning and minimal/surgical instancing where strictly needed. - **Economy strictness:** Player-driven with limited NPC intervention vs more curated economy. - **Progression velocity:** Slow-burn old-school pacing vs modernized pacing with catch-up systems. - **Death and loss model:** Cosmetic penalties, durability loss, resource drop, or gear risk. ## Gameplay Architecture (Macro) ### 1) Player Progression Architecture - **Horizontal + vertical progression:** Skills level up; mastery unlocks efficiency, recipes, perks, and advanced content access. - **Soft identity without classes:** Loadouts, implants, cyberware, weapon proficiencies, and crafted gear create build expression. - **Progression safeguards:** Diminishing returns, training bottlenecks, and sink systems to preserve long-term goals. ### 2) Crafting and Economy Architecture - **Resource ladder:** Raw materials -> refined components -> advanced modules -> high-end gear/consumables. - **Crafting depth:** Quality rolls, optional minigames/process control, blueprint rarity, experimental modifiers. - **Market health controls:** Crafting demand via item decay/upkeep, consumable usage, quest contracts, upgrade loops. - **Role interdependence:** No single skill line should be fully self-sufficient at endgame efficiency. ### 3) Quest and Content Architecture - **Narrative layers:** Main storyline, faction arcs, district stories, profession questlines. - **Systemic contracts:** Procedural or semi-procedural missions to supply endless midgame activities. - **Progression-linked content:** Quests unlock areas, facilities, blueprints, and social reputation paths. ### 4) Combat and Encounter Architecture - **PvE baseline:** Solo, duo/squad, and group-scale activities with variable challenge and rewards. - **Tab-target foundation:** Readable targeting, cooldown/resource management, and positioning decisions over twitch-heavy execution. - **Boss/raid-lite loops:** Repeatable high-value encounters feeding economy and social engagement. - **PvP zone architecture:** PvP enabled only in defined low-security spaces and specific opt-in contexts. - **Progression parity rule:** PvP-exclusive rewards must have a PvE and/or crafting path to equivalent or near-equivalent power. - **Horizontal PvP rewards:** PvP can grant unique cosmetics, variants, sidegrades, titles, and utility flavor without hard power lockout. - **Isometric combat readability:** Telegraphs, hit feedback, verticality handling, and target visibility designed for fixed-angle play. ### 6) PvP Governance and Fairness Architecture - **Security levels:** High-security (no PvP), contested/security-transition zones (limited PvP conditions), low-security (open PvP rules). - **Consent clarity:** Strong UI/state signaling when entering PvP-enabled areas and clear loss/risk expectations. - **Non-mandatory progression:** Main questing, skill advancement, and key gear tiers remain fully obtainable via PvE/crafting. - **Reward equivalency policy:** If PvP has an exclusive item archetype, provide PvE/crafting alternatives with comparable functional value. - **Abuse controls:** Anti-griefing protections, spawn safety, and guardrails for low-level/new-player experiences. ### 5) Social and Community Architecture - **Guild/Corp systems:** Shared progression goals, facilities, contracts, and territory/economic objectives. - **Community retention:** Events, cooperative milestones, social rewards, mentorship/new-player integration. - **Trust/safety:** Anti-toxicity systems, moderation workflows, reporting, and escalation. ## Technical and Production Architecture (Macro) ### Platform and Engine - Select engine stack based on MMO networking needs, toolchain maturity, hiring reality, and content velocity. - Prioritize deterministic-ish server authority and robust backend observability from day one. - Ensure rendering/input/camera stack supports fixed isometric projection, zoom tiers, occlusion handling, and always-centered follow behavior. ### Backend/Core Services - **Account and identity** - **Character and progression state** - **Inventory and itemization** - **Economy/marketplace** - **Quest/state machines** - **Social/guild/chat** - **Analytics and live-ops controls** - **World streaming and shard orchestration** (support large persistent regions with controlled handoffs) ### Content Pipeline - Data-driven systems for skills, items, recipes, quests, NPCs, and encounter tuning. - Authoring tools for designers/writers to ship safely without deep engineering dependency. - Validation and balancing pipeline to catch broken recipes/economy exploits before release. ### Security and Integrity - Server-authoritative critical actions (progression, trades, combat outcomes). - Anti-cheat, anti-bot, fraud detection, and exploit response processes. ## Development Roadmap at 50,000 Feet ### Phase 0 - Vision Alignment and Risk Burn-down - Lock pillars, target audience, and design constraints. - Resolve remaining critical unknown (progression velocity), with camera/PvP/combat/topology fixed. - Build paper economy and progression models. - Define success metrics for prototype and pre-production. ### Phase 1 - Prototype (Prove the Core Fun) - Deliver a playable vertical prototype proving: - Movement + interaction in shared space - Locked isometric camera behavior (center-follow, zoom ranges, no rotation) - Security-zone PvP rules (high-sec safe zone vs low-sec opt-in combat zone) - Basic combat loop - Skill gain loop - Gather -> craft -> use/sell loop - Minimal quest loop - Run small closed tests focused on “is this actually fun and sticky?”. ## Prototype Scope Definition (Todo 3 Output) ### Prototype Objective Prove that the core gameplay loop is fun, readable, and repeatable in a controlled slice before broad world/content expansion. ### Prototype Build Target - **Single contained test region:** One compact district with a safe hub, nearby PvE combat pocket, and a low-security edge zone. - **Playable session length:** 30-60 minute loop where players can complete a full gather -> craft -> combat -> reward cycle. - **Concurrent users target:** Small-scale multiplayer validation (e.g., internal team and invited external cohort), not production load. ### In-Scope Features (Must Have) - **Movement and camera:** Locked isometric camera, follow-center behavior, zoom bands, and occlusion handling. - **Combat MVP (tab-target):** Target selection, basic auto/basic attack flow, 4-6 starter abilities, cooldown/resource model, enemy telegraphs. - **Skill gain loop:** At least 3 skills represented (one gathering, one crafting, one combat) with visible XP gain and level-up feedback. - **Crafting loop:** Gather node -> refine component -> craft usable item (weapon, armor piece, or consumable) with material costs. - **Quest loop:** 3-5 onboarding quests plus one chain quest that requires gathering/crafting/combat in sequence. - **PvP rules MVP:** High-security no-PvP hub and low-security opt-in zone with clear UI signaling and no progression-gated rewards. - **Reward parity example:** One PvP-oriented sidegrade with a PvE or crafting equivalent of similar functional power. ### Out-of-Scope Features (Explicitly Deferred) - Full zone streaming across multiple regions. - Advanced guild systems, player housing, large-scale market depth, and endgame raids. - Full narrative arc breadth and extensive faction branching. - Launch-grade anti-cheat and complete live-ops tooling depth. ### Prototype Content Minimums - **Enemies:** 3 archetypes (melee pressure, ranged control, elite mini-boss). - **Resources:** 4-6 node types with tiered outputs. - **Recipes:** 8-12 starter recipes across gear and consumables. - **Quests:** 5-8 total quests, including one integrated multi-system questline. ### Pass/Fail Gates (Go/No-Go) - **Core fun gate:** Majority of test players complete at least two full loop cycles voluntarily in one session. - **Readability gate:** Players understand combat telegraphs, target state, and zone PvP status without external coaching. - **Progression gate:** Players clearly perceive skill advancement and short-term goals within first 15 minutes. - **Crafting relevance gate:** Crafted items are used in combat or quest completion at meaningful rates. - **PvP optionality gate:** Non-PvP participants can complete all prototype progression goals with no material disadvantage. ### Validation Metrics for Prototype - Session length and loop completions per player. - Time-to-first-combat, time-to-first-craft, and time-to-first-level-up. - Quest completion funnel and early churn points. - PvP zone entry rate, opt-out behavior, and parity satisfaction sentiment. ### Exit Criteria to Pre-Production - Prototype passes at least 4 of 5 go/no-go gates across two consecutive test rounds. - Highest-impact usability/combat/crafting issues triaged with clear follow-up owners. - Confirmed recommendation on progression pace direction (remaining unresolved decision). ### Phase 2 - Pre-Production (Build the Machine) - Establish final technical architecture, tools, and standards. - Implement foundational backend services and data schemas. - Build scalable content pipelines for quests, items, and skills. - Produce a polished vertical slice with representative quality. ## Pre-Production Deliverables (Todo 4 Output) ### Objective Transform the validated prototype into a scalable production-ready development machine across engineering, design, content, and operations. ### Workstreams and Deliverables #### 1) Engineering Architecture and Platform - **Engine/runtime baseline:** Frozen engine version, performance budgets, networking model constraints, and build targets. - **Service architecture:** Character/progression, inventory/itemization, economy, quest state, social/chat, telemetry services with interface contracts. - **World services:** Regional zoning, handoff strategy, shard policy, and failover/recovery behavior definitions. - **Dev infrastructure:** CI pipelines, automated build verification, environment promotion flow (dev/stage/test), and release branch policy. #### 2) Gameplay Systems and Data Contracts - **Combat specs:** Final tab-target rules, stat formulas, ability schema, threat/aggro model, and encounter tuning framework. - **Progression specs:** Skill XP curves, unlock dependencies, pacing knobs, catch-up policy stance, and level band definitions. - **Economy specs:** Currency faucets/sinks, crafting input/output ratios, durability/consumption sinks, and parity constraints (PvP vs PvE/crafting). - **PvP zone specs:** Security tier rules, opt-in boundaries, penalties/loss model, anti-griefing safeguards, and reward-sidegrade policy. #### 3) Content Pipeline and Authoring Tools - **Schema standards:** Versioned data schemas for items, skills, recipes, quests, NPCs, and loot tables. - **Authoring workflow:** Designer-facing tools/templates for quest scripting, encounter setup, item/recipe creation, and validation. - **Quality gates:** Lint/validation for broken references, invalid progression locks, economy outliers, and reward parity violations. - **Content throughput targets:** Expected per-sprint output capacity for quests, recipes, and encounters to sustain production velocity. #### 4) Vertical Slice Quality Bar - **Slice composition:** One district-quality slice with representative art style, final-ish UX standards, quest chain, combat encounters, and crafting progression. - **Performance bar:** Stable frame-rate target and acceptable latency envelope under expected slice concurrency. - **User experience bar:** Readable combat, understandable progression, clear PvP zone signaling, and smooth onboarding. - **Polish bar:** Audio/UI feedback baseline, bug severity thresholds, and crash stability criteria. #### 5) Team Process and Governance - **Solo ownership model:** Single owner across design/engineering/content with AI-assisted implementation and documentation workflows. - **Milestone cadence:** Lightweight weekly planning/review loop, monthly milestone gate, and explicit WIP limits to prevent context fragmentation. - **Change control:** Strict backlog triage, decision log, and rule that new scope replaces existing scope (no additive expansion without cuts). - **Automation-first workflow:** CI checks, test templates, codegen/helpers, and repeatable scripts to reduce manual operational load. ### Stage Gates (Pre-Production Pass/Fail) - **Gate A - Architecture Readiness:** Core services/interfaces documented, reviewed, and implementation-ready. - **Gate B - Pipeline Readiness:** Content tools and schema validation enable non-engineers to ship safe data changes. - **Gate C - Vertical Slice Readiness:** Slice meets quality/performance/readability targets with no blocker-class issues. - **Gate D - Production Readiness:** Solo-capacity plan, backlog structure, delivery cadence, and risk controls support sustained production. ### Pre-Production Exit Criteria - All four stage gates pass in sequence with documented sign-off owners. - Top 10 technical and design risks have mitigation plans and target dates. - Production roadmap is decomposed into epic/module backlogs with solo-capacity assumptions. - KPI instrumentation plan is approved and embedded in core systems before production scale-up. ### Phase 3 - Production (Build the World) - Expand zones, skills, crafting tree, factions, and questlines. - Iterate economy and progression with telemetry-driven tuning. - Implement social systems, events, and endgame loops. - Start staged external testing (alpha/beta cohorts). ### Phase 4 - Launch Readiness and Live Ops - Harden infrastructure and operations runbooks. - Finalize onboarding/new-player funnels. - Complete monetization and trust/safety implementation. - Launch with a clear 6-12 month live content roadmap. ## Core Epic Map (Level 1) ### Epic 1 - Core Player Runtime (Client Controls + Character Loop) - **Ownership focus:** Gameplay Engineering + Technical Design - **Scope:** Isometric camera runtime, character movement, interaction framework, input/ability scaffolding, moment-to-moment game feel. - **Success criteria:** Stable 3D isometric control loop feels responsive and readable across supported hardware tiers. ### Epic 2 - Classless Skill and Progression Framework - **Ownership focus:** Systems Design + Gameplay Engineering - **Scope:** Skill definitions, XP curves, unlock logic, mastery/perk unlocks, progression pacing controls. - **Success criteria:** Any character can train all skills, and progression remains long-term without dead-end grinds. ### Epic 3 - Crafting, Gathering, and Itemization Economy - **Ownership focus:** Economy Design + Content Engineering - **Scope:** Resource nodes, refinement chains, recipes/blueprints, quality tiers, crafting sinks, item lifecycle. - **Success criteria:** Crafting is a primary progression lane with healthy supply-demand loops and consistent item relevance. ### Epic 4 - World Topology and Zone Infrastructure - **Ownership focus:** Online/Backend Engineering + World Design - **Scope:** Seamless regional world structure, travel and handoff logic, selective instancing strategy, spawn/ecology systems. - **Success criteria:** Mostly seamless open world runs reliably with predictable transitions and low-disruption handoffs. ### Epic 5 - PvE Combat and Encounter Content - **Ownership focus:** Combat Design + Encounter Design - **Scope:** Tab-target combat rules, enemy AI patterns, dungeons/events, boss loops, reward hooks. - **Success criteria:** PvE combat delivers tactical depth, clear readability, and repeatable fun for solo and group play. ### Epic 6 - PvP Security Zones and Fairness Rules - **Ownership focus:** Systems Design + Online Engineering + Trust/Safety - **Scope:** High/contested/low-security rulesets, consent signaling, loss/risk models, anti-griefing systems. - **Success criteria:** PvP is compelling for participants while remaining fully optional and non-blocking for progression. ### Epic 7 - Questing, Narrative, and Faction Reputation - **Ownership focus:** Narrative Design + Quest Design + Tools - **Scope:** Main arc, faction questlines, repeatable contracts, reputation states, unlock dependencies. - **Success criteria:** Quest content provides clear progression direction, worldbuilding depth, and durable midgame engagement. ### Epic 8 - Social, Guild/Corp, and Cooperative Features - **Ownership focus:** Social Systems + Online Services - **Scope:** Party/group tools, guild/corp systems, chat and moderation hooks, cooperative objective systems. - **Success criteria:** Players can easily form long-term social bonds and group structures that improve retention. ### Epic 9 - LiveOps, Telemetry, and Game Integrity - **Ownership focus:** Live Operations + Data/Analytics + Security - **Scope:** Metrics pipeline, tuning controls, event tooling, anti-cheat/anti-bot workflows, incident runbooks. - **Success criteria:** Team can operate, balance, and protect the game continuously post-launch with fast feedback loops. ## System Modules by Epic (Level 2) Module template: - **Responsibility:** What this module owns. - **Key contracts:** Core data/events/interfaces exposed. - **Dependencies:** Upstream modules required before this module is effective. - **Stage target:** Minimum phase where the module must exist. ### Epic 1 Modules - Core Player Runtime - **E1.M1 InputAndMovementRuntime** - Responsibility: Character locomotion, click-to-move/path-follow baseline, interaction trigger range checks. - Key contracts: `MoveCommand`, `PositionState`, `InteractionRequest`. - Dependencies: None. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E1.M2 IsometricCameraController** - Responsibility: Locked isometric camera follow, zoom bands, occlusion handling, no-rotation enforcement. - Key contracts: `CameraState`, `ZoomBandConfig`, `OcclusionPolicy`. - Dependencies: E1.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E1.M3 InteractionAndTargetingLayer** - Responsibility: World object selection, target lock, focus swap rules, hover/highlight feedback. - Key contracts: `TargetState`, `InteractableDescriptor`, `SelectionEvent`. - Dependencies: E1.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E1.M4 AbilityInputScaffold** - Responsibility: Hotbar bindings, cooldown slot UI hooks, ability activation request path to combat systems. - Key contracts: `AbilityCastRequest`, `HotbarLoadout`, `CooldownSnapshot`. - Dependencies: E1.M3, E5.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. ### Epic 2 Modules - Classless Skill and Progression - **E2.M1 SkillDefinitionRegistry** - Responsibility: Central catalog for skill metadata, category tags, unlock prerequisites. - Key contracts: `SkillDef`, `SkillCategory`, `UnlockRequirement`. - Dependencies: None. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E2.M2 XpAwardAndLevelEngine** - Responsibility: XP award rules, level thresholds, level-up event generation. - Key contracts: `XpGrantEvent`, `LevelCurve`, `LevelUpEvent`. - Dependencies: E2.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E2.M3 MasteryAndPerkUnlocks** - Responsibility: Mastery tracks and perk unlock state for non-class build expression. - Key contracts: `MasteryTrack`, `PerkUnlockEvent`, `PerkState`. - Dependencies: E2.M2. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E2.M4 ProgressionPacingControls** - Responsibility: Tuning knobs for progression velocity and catch-up policy enforcement. - Key contracts: `XpModifierProfile`, `CatchUpRule`, `PacingPolicy`. - Dependencies: E2.M2, E9.M2. - Stage target: Pre-production. ### Epic 3 Modules - Crafting, Gathering, and Itemization Economy - **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. ### Epic 4 Modules - World Topology and Zone Infrastructure - **E4.M1 ZoneGraphAndTravelRules** - Responsibility: Regional zone graph, transition links, movement and travel constraints. - Key contracts: `ZoneDef`, `ZoneEdge`, `TravelRule`. - Dependencies: None. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E4.M2 SpawnEcologyController** - Responsibility: Resource and NPC spawn profiles per zone, respawn pacing, depletion recovery. - Key contracts: `SpawnProfile`, `RespawnRule`, `ZoneEcologyState`. - Dependencies: E4.M1, E3.M1, E5.M2. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E4.M3 SeamlessHandoffAndRegionState** - Responsibility: Cross-region handoff behavior and region authority ownership boundaries. - Key contracts: `RegionHandoffEvent`, `RegionAuthority`, `TransferState`. - Dependencies: E4.M1, backend world services. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E4.M4 SecurityTierZoneFlags** - Responsibility: High/contested/low-security tagging and client/server zone risk signaling. `E6.M1` reads `SecurityTier` and `ZonePolicyState` from here; Epic 4 does not depend on Epic 6 modules. - Key contracts: `SecurityTier`, `ZonePolicyState`, `ZoneEntryWarning`. - Dependencies: E4.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. ### Epic 5 Modules - PvE Combat and Encounter Content - **E5.M1 CombatRulesEngine** - Responsibility: Tab-target combat state machine, hit resolution, cooldown/resource timing. - Key contracts: `CombatAction`, `CombatResolution`, `ThreatState`. - Dependencies: E1.M3, E2.M2. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E5.M2 NpcAiAndBehaviorProfiles** - Responsibility: Enemy archetype behavior loops, aggro logic, telegraph scheduling. - Key contracts: `NpcBehaviorDef`, `TelegraphEvent`, `AggroRule`. - Dependencies: E5.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E5.M3 EncounterAndRewardTables** - Responsibility: Encounter setup templates, completion criteria, reward drop routing. - Key contracts: `EncounterDef`, `RewardTable`, `EncounterCompleteEvent`. - Dependencies: E5.M1, E3.M3, E7.M2. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E5.M4 GroupCombatScaling** - Responsibility: Duo/squad scaling logic and anti-trivialization balancing hooks. - Key contracts: `ScalingProfile`, `PartySizeModifier`, `CombatDifficultyBand`. - Dependencies: E5.M3, E8.M1. - Stage target: Pre-production. ### Epic 6 Modules - PvP Security Zones and Fairness - **E6.M1 PvPEligibilityAndFlagState** - Responsibility: PvP enablement logic by zone state and explicit opt-in context. - Key contracts: `PvPFlagState`, `EligibilityRule`, `PvPStateChanged`. - Dependencies: E4.M4. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E6.M2 ConsentAndRiskUxSignals** - Responsibility: Entry warnings, in-zone risk UI, and clear state communication for PvP status. - Key contracts: `RiskPrompt`, `ZoneRiskState`, `PvPIndicatorState`. - Dependencies: E6.M1, E1.M2. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E6.M3 LossPenaltyAndAntiGriefRules** - Responsibility: Death/loss rules in PvP contexts plus spawn protection and abuse mitigation. - Key contracts: `PvPLossRule`, `SpawnProtectionState`, `GriefingStrike`. - Dependencies: E6.M1, E9.M4. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E6.M4 RewardParityEnforcer** - Responsibility: Guarantee functional equivalents for PvP rewards through PvE/crafting paths. - Key contracts: `RewardParityMap`, `EquivalentPowerBand`, `ParityViolationAlert`. - Dependencies: E3.M2, E5.M3, E7.M2. - Stage target: Prototype. ### Epic 7 Modules - Questing, Narrative, and Faction Reputation - **E7.M1 QuestStateMachine** - Responsibility: Quest start/step/complete state transitions and persistence. - Key contracts: `QuestDef`, `QuestStepState`, `QuestStateTransition`. - Dependencies: E3.M2, E5.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E7.M2 RewardAndUnlockRouter** - Responsibility: Route quest outputs to XP, items, unlocks, and reputation. - Key contracts: `QuestRewardBundle`, `UnlockGrant`, `RewardDeliveryEvent`. - Dependencies: E2.M2, E3.M3, E7.M1. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E7.M3 FactionReputationLedger** - Responsibility: Track faction standing and gate faction-specific contracts/content. - Key contracts: `FactionStanding`, `ReputationDelta`, `FactionGateRule`. - Dependencies: E7.M1. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E7.M4 ContractMissionGenerator** - Responsibility: Semi-procedural repeatable contract generation with difficulty/reward bands. - Key contracts: `ContractTemplate`, `ContractSeed`, `ContractOutcome`. - Dependencies: E4.M1, E5.M3, E7.M3. - Stage target: Pre-production. ### Epic 8 Modules - Social, Guild/Corp, and Cooperative Features - **E8.M1 PartyAndMatchAssembly** - Responsibility: Party creation/invite/ready-state flow for cooperative activities. - Key contracts: `PartyState`, `InviteEvent`, `RolePreference`. - Dependencies: E1.M3. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E8.M2 GuildCorpProgressionState** - Responsibility: Guild/corp membership, rank permissions, and shared progression tracks. - Key contracts: `GuildState`, `GuildRolePolicy`, `GuildProgressionEvent`. - Dependencies: E8.M1, E7.M3. - Stage target: Production. - **E8.M3 PlayerTradeAndMarketplace** - Responsibility: Listing, trade, purchase, and settlement flows for player economy. - Key contracts: `MarketListing`, `TradeOffer`, `SettlementEvent`. - Dependencies: E3.M3, E3.M5. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E8.M4 ChatModerationAndReporting** - Responsibility: Channel chat, report pipeline, moderation action logs and escalation hooks. - Key contracts: `ChatMessageEvent`, `PlayerReport`, `ModerationAction`. - Dependencies: E9.M4. - Stage target: Pre-production. ### Epic 9 Modules - LiveOps, Telemetry, and Integrity - **E9.M1 TelemetryEventSchema** - Responsibility: Canonical event taxonomy covering session, progression, economy, combat, and PvP events. - Key contracts: `TelemetryEvent`, `EventSchemaVersion`, `ClientEventEnvelope`. - Dependencies: None. - Stage target: Prototype. - **E9.M2 KpiDashboardsAndAlerting** - Responsibility: KPI aggregation, dashboard surfaces, trend alerts, and milestone gate signals. - Key contracts: `KpiDefinition`, `AlertThreshold`, `MilestoneGateSignal`. - Dependencies: E9.M1. - Stage target: Pre-production. - **E9.M3 LiveBalanceControlPlane** - Responsibility: Runtime-safe tuning of combat, progression, and economy parameters. - Key contracts: `BalancePatch`, `ConfigVersion`, `RolloutState`. - Dependencies: E9.M2, E5.M1, E2.M4, E3.M5. - Stage target: Production. - **E9.M4 IntegrityAndAbuseResponse** - Responsibility: Bot/exploit detection signals, incident triage, and response workflows. - Key contracts: `IntegritySignal`, `IncidentTicket`, `EnforcementAction`. - Dependencies: E9.M1. - Stage target: Pre-production. ## Module Dependency Flow (Level 2) ```mermaid flowchart TD E1M1[InputAndMovementRuntime] --> E1M2[IsometricCameraController] E1M1 --> E1M3[InteractionAndTargetingLayer] E1M3 --> E5M1[CombatRulesEngine] E2M1[SkillDefinitionRegistry] --> E2M2[XpAwardAndLevelEngine] E2M2 --> E3M1[ResourceNodeAndGatherLoop] E3M1 --> E3M2[RefinementAndRecipeExecution] E3M3[ItemizationAndInventorySchema] --> E3M2 E4M1[ZoneGraphAndTravelRules] --> E4M4[SecurityTierZoneFlags] E4M4 --> E6M1[PvPEligibilityAndFlagState] E6M1 --> E6M2[ConsentAndRiskUxSignals] E5M1 --> E5M2[NpcAiAndBehaviorProfiles] E5M2 --> E5M3[EncounterAndRewardTables] E7M1[QuestStateMachine] --> E7M2[RewardAndUnlockRouter] E5M1 --> E7M1 E3M2 --> E7M1 E3M2 --> E6M4[RewardParityEnforcer] E5M3 --> E6M4 E9M1[TelemetryEventSchema] --> E9M2[KpiDashboardsAndAlerting] E9M1 --> E9M4[IntegrityAndAbuseResponse] E2M4[ProgressionPacingControls] --> E9M3[LiveBalanceControlPlane] E3M5[EconomyBalancePolicy] --> E9M3 E5M1 --> E9M3 ``` ### Critical Path Modules by Phase - **Prototype critical path:** E1.M1, E1.M2, E1.M3, E2.M1, E2.M2, E3.M1, E3.M2, E3.M3, E4.M1, E4.M4, E5.M1, E5.M2, E5.M3, E6.M1, E6.M2, E6.M4, E7.M1, E7.M2, E9.M1. - **Pre-production critical path additions:** E2.M4, E3.M4, E3.M5, E4.M2, E4.M3, E5.M4, E6.M3, E7.M3, E7.M4, E8.M1, E8.M3, E8.M4, E9.M2, E9.M4. ## Solo-Dev Build Order (First Executable Roadmap Cut) 1. **Foundation runtime:** E1.M1 -> E1.M2 -> E1.M3 to guarantee movement, camera lock, and interactions. 2. **Progression scaffold:** E2.M1 -> E2.M2 for visible XP progression in first session. 3. **Inventory and crafting core:** E3.M3 -> E3.M1 -> E3.M2 to enable gather -> craft loop. 4. **Combat baseline:** E5.M1 -> E5.M2 -> E5.M3 with starter encounters and reward hooks. 5. **Quest integration:** E7.M1 -> E7.M2 to chain gather/craft/combat into guided progression. 6. **Zone policy and optional PvP:** E4.M1 -> E4.M4 -> E6.M1 -> E6.M2 -> E6.M4 for clear opt-in PvP parity. 7. **Telemetry minimum:** E9.M1 events wired into prototype pass/fail gates. 8. **Pre-production hardening wave:** Add E2.M4, E3.M4/E3.M5, E4.M2/E4.M3, E8.M1/E8.M3/E8.M4, E9.M2/E9.M4 before large content expansion. ## Epic Dependency Flow ```mermaid flowchart TD E1[CorePlayerRuntime] --> E2[ClasslessProgression] E1 --> E5[PvECombatEncounters] E4[WorldTopologyZones] --> E5 E4 --> E6[PvPSecurityZones] E2 --> E3[CraftingEconomy] E3 --> E7[QuestFactionReputation] E5 --> E7 E7 --> E8[SocialGuildCorp] E2 --> E9[LiveOpsTelemetryIntegrity] E3 --> E9 E5 --> E9 E6 --> E9 E8 --> E9 ``` ## Business and Sustainability Frame - **Monetization guardrails:** Avoid pay-to-win; prioritize cosmetics, convenience with constraints, optional subscriptions/battle pass patterns as appropriate. - **Content economics:** Ensure live team can produce sustainable updates without unsustainable bespoke content burden. - **Community strategy:** Transparent communication cadence, test realms, creator/community partnerships. ## Success Metrics (Top-Level) - **Retention:** D1/D7/D30, returning weekly users, average session depth. - **Progression health:** Skill distribution, completion rates, midgame drop-off points. - **Economy health:** Inflation/deflation, item velocity, crafting participation, market concentration risk. - **Social health:** Guild participation, group activity rates, toxicity/report trends. - **Operational health:** Server stability, incident frequency, exploit response time. - **PvP policy health:** PvP participation rate, opt-in churn impact, kill/death concentration, and parity satisfaction across PvE/PvP reward paths. ## KPI and Telemetry Framework (Todo 5 Output) ### Measurement Principles (Solo-Friendly) - **Decision-driven instrumentation:** Track only metrics that change roadmap decisions. - **Tiered telemetry depth:** Start with lightweight event coverage and expand only where blind spots block progress. - **Automate collection first:** Prefer dashboards/reports generated from stable event schemas over manual analysis. - **One owner model:** All KPI definitions, thresholds, and review cadence are maintained by the solo developer. ### KPI Categories and Core Signals #### 1) Player Retention and Engagement - **Core KPIs:** D1/D7/D30 retention, weekly active users, average session duration, sessions per active user. - **Early warning signals:** Rising first-session abandonment, declining return rate after first craft or first quest chain. #### 2) Progression and Onboarding Health - **Core KPIs:** Time-to-first-level-up, time-to-first-craft, first-hour quest completion rate, skill progression distribution. - **Early warning signals:** Concentrated drop-off before first meaningful unlock, one skill line dominating due to imbalance. #### 3) Crafting and Economy Health - **Core KPIs:** Gather-to-craft conversion rate, crafted item usage rate, item sink velocity, median material price trend. - **Early warning signals:** Persistent oversupply without sinks, crafting bypassed by drops/vendors, inflation spikes. #### 4) Combat and Content Health - **Core KPIs:** Encounter completion rates by tier, death/failure rates, average combat duration, repeat participation rate. - **Early warning signals:** Frequent wipe/frustration clusters, trivialized encounters, low replay of intended repeatable loops. #### 5) PvP Policy and Parity Health - **Core KPIs:** PvP participation opt-in rate, non-PvP progression completion rate, reward parity sentiment, zone exit-after-death behavior. - **Early warning signals:** PvE players feeling forced into PvP, abnormal churn among players who enter low-security zones once. #### 6) Technical and Operational Health - **Core KPIs:** Crash-free session rate, server uptime, p95 latency, disconnect frequency, severe bug incidence. - **Early warning signals:** Regressions after releases, latency hotspots tied to specific zones/features, repeated rollback needs. ### Event Instrumentation Baseline - **Session lifecycle events:** Login, logout, session start/end, reconnect, crash marker. - **Progression events:** Skill XP gain, level-up, unlock acquisition, quest start/step complete/quest complete. - **Economy events:** Resource gathered, item crafted, item consumed/destroyed, trade/listing/purchase. - **Combat events:** Encounter start/end, ability used, player death, enemy defeat, boss completion. - **PvP events:** Zone enter/exit by security level, PvP flag state, PvP defeat, PvP reward claimed. - **System health events:** Error class counts, server tick/perf counters, network latency buckets. ### Phase-Based KPI Maturity - **Prototype phase:** Focus on onboarding funnel, core loop completion, readability, and optional PvP validation. - **Pre-production phase:** Add economy stability, content throughput metrics, and performance/latency trend tracking. - **Production phase:** Full KPI suite with release-over-release regression checks and automated anomaly alerts. - **Live operations phase:** Cohort tracking, long-horizon progression health, monetization guardrail checks, and seasonal event impact. ### Review Cadence and Decision Gates - **Weekly review:** Check core KPI dashboard and identify one to three highest-impact interventions. - **Monthly gate:** Validate whether KPI trends justify continuing current roadmap priorities. - **Milestone gate rule:** No phase advancement if two or more red-status KPIs remain unresolved. ### KPI Status Threshold Model - **Green:** Metric within target band for at least two consecutive review cycles. - **Yellow:** Metric drifting from target; requires hypothesis and owner-assigned corrective action. - **Red:** Metric outside acceptable bounds; triggers scope freeze on non-critical features until addressed. ### Minimal Dashboard Set (Solo Operator) - **Dashboard A - New Player Funnel:** Session start -> first quest -> first craft -> first level-up -> return session. - **Dashboard B - Core Loop Health:** Gather/craft/combat loop completion rates and average loop duration. - **Dashboard C - Economy Pulse:** Resource inflow/outflow, crafted item velocity, sink effectiveness. - **Dashboard D - Stability and Performance:** Crash rates, latency percentiles, disconnects, severe defect counts. - **Dashboard E - PvP Optionality and Parity:** Zone participation, opt-out churn, and parity pathway completion. ## Program Risks and Mitigations - **Scope overload:** Use staged gates and strict definition-of-done for each phase. - **Solo bandwidth saturation:** Cap concurrent initiatives, prioritize automation, and aggressively cut non-core feature requests. - **Content bottlenecks:** Invest early in data-driven pipelines and reusable encounter templates. - **Economy collapse:** Simulate and monitor continuously; maintain tunable sinks/faucets. - **Technical debt in networking/backends:** Build observability and load-testing into milestones. - **Identity drift (too derivative):** Enforce cyberpunk differentiators in art, narrative, systems, and social structures. - **PvP griefing harms PvE-first vision:** Enforce security zones, consent clarity, and progression parity policies with telemetry audits. ## High-Level System Map ```mermaid flowchart TD Vision[ProductVision] --> Pillars[ExperiencePillars] Pillars --> Systems[CoreSystems] Systems --> Progression[ClasslessSkillProgression] Systems --> Crafting[CraftingAndEconomy] Systems --> Questing[QuestAndFactionContent] Systems --> Combat[CombatAndEncounters] Systems --> Social[SocialAndGuildSystems] Systems --> Tech[BackendAndLiveOps] Tech --> Launch[LaunchAndOperations] Launch --> Growth[PostLaunchGrowth] ``` ## Document Finalization Status - **Status:** Finalized baseline vision document (v1). - **Purpose:** This file is now the canonical 50,000-foot reference for product intent, architecture, and phase gates. - **Change policy:** Keep this file stable; place detailed decomposition work in dedicated files under `docs/decomposition`. ## Decomposition Workspace (Next Artifacts) - **Index:** `docs/decomposition/README.md` - **Epic files:** `docs/decomposition/epics/` (one file per epic) - **Module mapping files:** `docs/decomposition/modules/` (cross-epic module contracts and dependency references) - **Milestone files:** `docs/decomposition/milestones/` (phase-gated implementation tracks) ## Immediate Next Step (Execution) 1. Create one decomposition file per epic in `docs/decomposition/epics/`. 2. Expand each epic into backlog-ready slices (system, content, tooling, telemetry, acceptance). 3. Capture cross-epic dependencies in `docs/decomposition/modules/module_dependency_register.md`. 4. Convert phase gates into actionable milestone checklists in `docs/decomposition/milestones/`.