Roadmap and Next Steps

Roadmap and Next Steps

Spike 1 - tick engine core (first build)

The smallest thing that proves the system:

• Two actors (player fighter vs goblin), one action each with full PER cycles.
• The whirlwind exec window (zone damage while active).
• A spell prep + interrupt case.
• The resolution doctrine (actor loop in initiative order, reaction queue, uniform next-tick reactions).
• Seeded replay test - same seed, identical fight.
• Plus the goblin action-profile schema (archetype + ranked triggers as data).

After the spike

• Terrain-at-borders movement costs and the 3D/falling model.
• Reactions and the cancellation policy (boundary + deep-prep + telegraph).
• Profile data + code evaluator (the decision table) and a few monster types.
• The resolution mechanic (0-1 roll + degrees of success) wired into the sim.

Later

• Decision-model question pack for intent-reading judgment (hosted/local/fallback).
• A couple of playable classes (the tactical verbs: zone control, feints, prep-heavy spells, delayed effects).
• Knowledge system polish: what monsters and players can read about each other.
• Sensory model (noise, smell, light, patrol rhythm) + attacker attraction (Open Questions 18).

Far future

• Autopilot/intent mode: the user defines the player's intent and the app controls the PC. The player-set decision policy for reactions (Open Questions 15) is the first step toward this.

Future planning (not yet detailed)

Areas identified but still need their own planning sessions - placeholders to revisit:

• Treasure, loot, and inventory: what drops, how inventory works (weight/slots - the encumbrance question folds in here).
• Equipment and gear: weapons and armor as PER parameter sets (attack speeds, reach, zone windows, lingering effects).
• Leveling and progression: XP, level-up mechanics, how the degrees-of-success math scales with experience.
• Feat selection: how players earn and choose feats (zero-phase combos, cancel feats, reactive builds).
• Framework choice: build on an existing roguelike framework/library or start from scratch? Also relevant to the tick engine.
• Character creation: race/class/stat generation, within the "two classes to start" scope.
• Dungeon generation and the AI vision: the original goals (AI-driven dungeon variety, NPC conversations, descriptive text) still need their own planning.
• Non-combat simulation: rest, world clocks, patrols (Open Questions 14), senses and attraction (Open Questions 18).