docs(docs): add generator architecture workshop brief
Workshop brief for ticket #562 covering the top-down district generator pipeline (Cities Skylines model). Builds on D-094 chunk/block/district hierarchy. Targets Q-036 and Q-037 resolution. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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# Generator Architecture Workshop Brief
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**Goal:** Establish the top-down procedural generator pipeline architecture — from geography down to individual chunk fill — that will power the 300-world model. Produce a D-record defining generator primitives, the spatial hierarchy, and the sub-chunk building system.
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**Ticket:** #562 (story, parent: #50 Chunk-based Map System)
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**Priority:** MEDIUM — prerequisite to #144 (Chunk generation system), Sprint 21+ target
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**Participants:** Gestalt (systems design), Tyre (architecture), Miri (worldbuilding), Araminta (spatial/visual), Nigel (replayability/procedural gen), Qatux (docs), SI (tickets)
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**Source:** Station District Layout Workshop (#153, Round 3), lead directive
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---
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## Context
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The v0.1 Transit District is hand-authored. The long-game goal is 300 procedurally generated worlds. The question this workshop must answer is: **what is the generator's architecture — top to bottom?**
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The lead has identified a top-down pipeline model inspired by Cities Skylines:
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```
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Geography
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→ Infrastructure (transport nodes, utilities)
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→ Amenities & Services
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→ Population (extrapolated from capacity)
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→ Zoning
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→ Block generation
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→ Chunk fill (individual buildings and spaces)
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```
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This workshop also addresses a related structural question: how does the **sub-chunk quarter system** provide building variety within template-driven generation? A chunk divides into 4 quarters that can merge, split, leave gaps, or host shacks/gardens — producing L-shapes, mixed-use footprints, and irregular structures without breaking the generator's regularity.
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Multi-block structures (train stations, government buildings, stadiums, parks, farmland) span multiple chunks and must be accounted for in the block and zoning passes before individual chunks are filled.
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**Starting point:** Q-036 asks whether the district skeleton (social sites, NPC slots, triangle templates, economic function, access topology) is the atomic generator output unit. D-025 defines social sites as atomic template units for hand-authoring. This workshop must reconcile the two.
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**What is already decided:**
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- D-025: Social site / functional cluster as atomic template unit (hand-authoring)
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- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting (hand-authored)
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- D-012: Chunk-based map system (bounded for v0.1, borderless-capable)
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- #153 D-record (Station District Layout Workshop): district/block/chunk spatial hierarchy, spatial dimensions, access topology gradient — reference `decisions/content.md` for the confirmed record
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**What is still open:**
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- Q-036: District skeleton as generator output (assigned Tyre, Gestalt)
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- Q-037: Generator development pipeline / phased production model (assigned SI, Tyre)
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- Q-039: Procedural gate topology generation
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---
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## Key Questions to Resolve
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### 1. Pipeline Architecture
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1. Is the Cities Skylines top-down model (geography → zoning → chunk fill) the right architecture for The Settled Reach, or does the game's station-centric setting require a different ordering?
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2. What is the correct sequence — does population follow zoning, or precede it?
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3. How does the pipeline handle stations (Sova) vs. planet-side cities vs. orbital installations? Same pipeline, different geography inputs?
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4. Where do political/economic conditions enter the pipeline? (Faction control, prosperity tier, trade routes)
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5. At what pipeline stage are the triangle templates (D-025) instantiated?
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### 2. Spatial Hierarchy and Primitives
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6. What are the canonical spatial units in the hierarchy? (Region → District → Block → Chunk → Sub-chunk quarter? Or different names/levels?)
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7. What is the confirmed chunk size in sim tiles? (Reference #153 D-record — the district workshop decided this)
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8. What is the block size — how many chunks per block?
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9. What is the district size — how many blocks per district?
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10. How does the sub-chunk quarter system work mechanically? (Quarter = ¼ chunk, can merge 2×2, 1×2, L-shape. What are the merge rules? Who decides fill vs. empty?)
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### 3. Multi-Block Structures
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11. How are multi-block structures (train stations, stadiums, government complexes, parks) represented in the generator? (Reserved footprint at the zoning pass? Pre-baked templates that claim N×M blocks?)
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12. What is the maximum multi-block footprint — is there a cap?
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13. How do multi-block structures interact with neighbouring chunk fills at their edges?
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14. Can a multi-block structure span district boundaries?
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### 4. District Skeleton as Generator Output (Q-036)
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15. Is the district skeleton (social site arrangement, NPC slot allocation, triangle template selection, access topology) the correct atomic output of the district-generation stage?
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16. How does the district skeleton output interact with D-025's social site templates? (Generator selects and arranges templates, not individual tiles?)
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17. What inputs does the district skeleton generator consume? (Zoning type, population density, faction control, economic function, transport adjacency)
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18. What does the district skeleton output look like as a data structure? (List of social site slots with positions, access tier, NPC capacity, template tag)
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### 5. Replayability and Variation
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19. What variation levers exist at each pipeline stage? (Seed, faction weights, economic tier, historical events?)
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20. How does the sub-chunk quarter system produce perceived variety across multiple playthroughs?
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21. How are "flavour" structures (shacks, gardens, market stalls) assigned to unclaimed quarter space?
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22. What prevents two generated districts from feeling identical even if they share the same zoning type?
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### 6. v0.1 / Generator Boundary
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23. Where does the v0.1 hand-authored content end and the generator begin? What stub interfaces must v0.1 leave behind?
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24. Which pipeline stages are in scope for implementation, and which are deferred (per Q-037's phased production model)?
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25. Does the v0.1 Transit District need to be expressible as generator output (for validation), or is it purely an authored ground-truth?
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---
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## Input Documents
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| Document | What to read | Why |
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|----------|-------------|-----|
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| `decisions/content.md` | D-025 (social site template), #153 D-record | Generator must compose from these primitives |
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| `decisions/scope.md` | D-012 (chunk system), D-036 (Sova setting) | Spatial constraints and v0.1 setting |
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| `decisions/questions.md` | Q-036 (district skeleton), Q-037 (generator pipeline), Q-039 (gate topology) | Open questions this workshop resolves |
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| `docs/design/sova-station-profile.md` | District types, 6-district layout | The worldbuilding context the generator must reproduce |
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| `docs/design/spatial-layout-terminal-v01.md` | Terminal layout | Example of a hand-authored chunk cluster |
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| `docs/design/spatial-layout-bar-v01.md` | Bar layout | Example of a hand-authored chunk cluster |
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| `decisions/architecture.md` | D-014 (tile-based movement), D-012 (chunk loading) | Technical constraints on spatial units |
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| `docs/workshops/content-architecture/content-architecture-workshop-brief.md` | Three-tier content pipeline | How templates and procedural generation already relate |
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---
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## Expected Outputs
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1. **D-record: Generator Architecture** — confirmed in `decisions/architecture.md`:
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- Top-down pipeline stages (named and sequenced)
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- Spatial hierarchy (named levels, tile dimensions per level)
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- Sub-chunk quarter system rules (merge/split/fill logic)
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- Multi-block structure reservation protocol
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- District skeleton as generator output: data structure definition
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- v0.1 / generator boundary (what's hand-authored, what's stubbed)
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2. **Resolution of Q-036:** District skeleton as atomic generator output — yes/no + formal definition if yes
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3. **Resolution of Q-037 scope:** Which pipeline phases land in which version window (v0.1 stub, v0.2–0.5 template expansion, v0.6–0.10 generator development)
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4. **Tickets:** Implementation tasks derived from the D-record (chunk data structure update, district skeleton schema, zoning pass stub, block generation stub)
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---
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## Workshop Format
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Three rounds:
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**Round 1 — Domain Inventory**
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Each participant reviews existing decisions and states what their domain requires from the generator architecture.
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- Gestalt: what gameplay loops does the generator need to support? What must it guarantee (e.g., always a surveillance chokepoint, always a quiet zone)?
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- Tyre: what are the hard technical constraints on chunk size, hierarchy depth, and data structure for the district skeleton?
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- Miri: how does the generator reproduce the cultural/economic variation of 300 worlds? What lore-level inputs drive the pipeline?
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- Araminta: what visual coherence constraints does chunk fill need to satisfy? How does the sub-chunk quarter system produce plausible streetscapes?
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- Nigel: what variation and replayability guarantees must the generator provide? What makes two generated districts feel different?
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**Round 2 — Pipeline Proposals**
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Propose concrete pipeline architecture. Name the stages, define the spatial hierarchy levels with tile dimensions, describe the district skeleton data structure. Respond to each other's domain requirements from Round 1.
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**Round 3 — Convergence**
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Resolve conflicts, agree on the pipeline sequence, lock spatial hierarchy dimensions, define the district skeleton output format, set the v0.1/generator boundary. Draft the D-record.
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