neon-sprawl/docs/decomposition/epics/epic_04_world_topology.md

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Epic 4 - World Topology and Zone Infrastructure

Source Anchors

  • Master epic reference: neon_sprawl_vision.plan.md — Core Epic Map, System Modules Epic 4
  • Related modules: E4.M1, E4.M2, E4.M3, E4.M4

Ownership and success (Level 1)

  • Ownership focus: Online/Backend Engineering + World Design
  • Success criteria: Mostly seamless open world runs reliably with predictable transitions and low-disruption handoffs.

Objective

Represent the world as a zone graph with travel rules, security-tier signaling for PvP policy, and later spawn ecology and seamless handoffs so content scales from one district to regional scope without rewiring fundamentals.

Module Breakdown

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.
  • Key contracts: SecurityTier, ZonePolicyState, ZoneEntryWarning
  • Dependencies: E4.M1
  • Stage target: Prototype

Implementation Slices (Backlog-Ready)

Slice 1 - Prototype district zone graph

  • Scope: E4.M1 defining hub, PvE pocket, and edge zones with valid transitions.
  • Dependencies: None
  • Acceptance criteria:
    • Server and client agree on current zone id for every player.
    • Travel rules prevent illegal shortcuts.
  • Telemetry hooks: zone_enter, zone_exit, invalid transition attempts.

Slice 2 - Security tier tagging and UI hooks

  • Scope: E4.M4 on E4.M1: per-zone SecurityTier, ZonePolicyState, and entry-warning payloads. E6.M1 subscribes to this data for PvP eligibility (implemented in Epic 6; no circular module dependency).
  • Dependencies: E4.M1
  • Acceptance criteria:
    • Server-authoritative tier matches client display for each zone transition; entry-warning contract is stable for E6.M2 to consume.
  • Telemetry hooks: security_zone_enter, security_zone_exit (aligned with PvP events).

Slice 3 - Spawn ecology (pre-production)

  • Scope: E4.M2 driving node and NPC densities per zone from data.
  • Dependencies: E4.M1, E3.M1, E5.M2
  • Acceptance criteria:
    • No zone starvation or infinite respawn exploits in test scenarios.
  • Telemetry hooks: spawn_wave, ecology depletion/recovery markers.

Slice 4 - Seamless handoff spike (pre-production)

  • Scope: E4.M3 minimal viable handoff between two regions with authority transfer.
  • Dependencies: backend world services
  • Acceptance criteria:
    • Handoff completes without duplicate entities; rollback path documented.
  • Telemetry hooks: region_handoff_start, region_handoff_complete, failures.

Risks and Mitigations

  • Risk: Zone/security inconsistencies between client and server.
    • Mitigation: Server is source of truth; client prediction only for display.
  • Risk: Premature seamless complexity for solo dev.
    • Mitigation: Prototype stays single region; handoff is gated pre-production slice.

Definition of Done

  • Prototype zone and security signaling validated with Epic 6.
  • Pre-production spawns and handoffs meet stage gates in master plan.