5.6 KiB
Zones (places & identity)
Vision for what a place is in fiction and design: tone, danger feel, faction or economic role, and content hooks—paired with the same underlying zone graph as risk-security-bands.md (security tiers, PvP rules) but not duplicating tier or eligibility mechanics.
Topology & travel (runtime): E4.M1 — ZoneGraphAndTravelRules (ZoneDef, ZoneEdge, TravelRule)—server-authoritative zone id and legal transitions (Epic 4 — Slice 1). Travel costs, gates, and downtime fiction → future travel.md; TravelRule already covers gating (level, quest, faction).
Ecology & density: E4.M2 — SpawnEcologyController drives resource and NPC profiles per zone (gathering.md competition feel ties here).
Handoffs: E4.M3 — SeamlessHandoffAndRegionState for cross-region authority (later scope).
Security overlay: E4.M4 attaches SecurityTier to ZoneDef—one zone row carries both fiction tags and policy flags in data (open how we split design docs vs one ZoneDef sheet).
Zone lenses (design-facing)
Use these when briefing writers, environment, and systems; they overlap in data.
| Lens | Questions |
|---|---|
| Tone | Noir, grime, hope, satire—how hard is life here? (overview.md presentation band) |
| Threat | Ambient danger (mobs, cops, gangs) vs opt-in combat—distinct from SecurityTier alone |
| Economy | Hub, industrial, black market, corporate enclave—feeds loot, vendors, gather node flavor (economy.md) |
| Faction | Who owns the street? Rep gates, quests (skills.md world gates); detail → future factions doc |
| Activity mix | PvE lanes, skill instances, social hubs—what players do here |
Relationship to security tiers
SecurityTieranswers “what rules apply?” (risk-security-bands.md).- Zone identity answers “what is this place for in the fantasy?”—two districts can share a tier but feel different (open content).
- TravelRule can reference rep, licenses, quests—fiction explains why the gate exists.
Hubs, pockets, and edges
Directional shape for prototype districts (names TBD—align with Epic 4 — Slice 1):
| Role | Intent |
|---|---|
| Hub | Services, vendors, social density, lower ambient PvE pressure in safe bands |
| Focused PvE or skill content—instances or carved overworld chunks | |
| Edge / frontier | Higher risk feel, richer gather or loot fantasy, clear warnings on entry |
Module map (zone–fiction alignment)
| Module | Role | Ties to this doc |
|---|---|---|
| E4.M1 | ZoneDef, edges, TravelRule |
Identity data home |
| E4.M4 | Tier, warnings | Overlay on same zones |
| E4.M2 | Spawn profiles | Feel of danger / resources |
| E4.M3 | Region handoff | Scale up later |
| E7.M4 | Contract gen | Zone-tagged missions (per E4.M1 dependents) |
Decisions log
| Topic | Direction | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fiction vs policy | Same zone graph; tier is not the only identity axis | Agreed |
| Server zone truth | Current zone id authoritative—no client shortcuts | Agreed (E4.M1) |
| Presentation band | Grim ideas, restrained depiction—overview.md | Agreed |
Open questions
- Naming convention for player-facing district labels vs internal
ZoneDefids. - Verticality and interiors as sub-zones vs one flat graph node.
- Dynamic zones (lockdown, riot, player corp capture) vs static data only.
Where to read next
| Topic | Document / module |
|---|---|
| Security tiers, PvP, warnings | risk-security-bands.md |
| Gather contest, nodes | gathering.md |
| Death / loss by context | death-loss-recovery.md |
| Economy, trade hubs | economy.md |
| Epic 4 overview | Epic 4 |
| Travel detail (stub) | overview.md planned Travel & connections |