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content(wiki): purge v0.1 Sova/Van Maanen residue (#865)

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Spring-cleaning accumulated v0.1 vertical-slice residue across the
wiki. Scope per Jeroen's pre-decisions on 2026-04-21:

- Delete outright: wiki/star-systems/GJ-35/sova/ subtree (5 files +
  2 dirs) — v0.1 Station Sova / Transit District content.
- Strip example blocks in authoring guides and _templates/ that
  cited dropped v0.1 NPCs (Kael Davan, Sera Venn, Nils Davan, Devra,
  Torek, Renn, Pell, Tav, Lera Sessik, Sabel). Replaced with short
  "v0.1 examples removed — D-122" notes pointing authors to the
  active NPC roster.
- Rewrite canonical-lore references file-by-file: faction pages,
  technology pages, contraband pages, concepts pages, corp pages
  that cited v0.1 names/places. Preserve institutional/structural
  content, drop specific-name citations.
- Commission name drift: replace "Concord Commission" and "Assembly
  Commission" with "the Lattice Commission" (D-193) throughout.
- Van Maanen's Star cultural references: the canonical in-game name
  is Vuurkloof. "Van Maanen's Star" is retained only as an
  astronomical designation (glossary + GJ-35 Calibration Note).
  All cultural/system references converted to Vuurkloof across
  culture-authoring-guide, cultural-generation-guide, founder-gates,
  and star-system adjacent-system descriptions.
- Strip `v0.1` from faction/triangle frontmatter tags (8 files).
- wiki/triangles/hub-power.md and wiki/factions/the-ring.md:
  rewritten using role-name exemplars (Ring Coordinator / Shift
  Supervisor / THE FRIEND) instead of named v0.1 NPCs. Triangle
  pattern preserved as a structural reference.

Also applies drive-by Commission drift fixes and minor cross-ref
updates to canonical corps (gate-corporation, mastroianni-vehicle-group,
stalownia-kowalski, prometheus-labs, ferreira-monteiro, vins-de-grand-vide,
and 13 others).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
jpmschweitzer
2026-04-22 10:26:45 +02:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 4.7
parent 9c68613ad8
commit 25eb8bd096
76 changed files with 1475 additions and 3283 deletions
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wiki/authoring/environmental-text-examples.md
+34 -39
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@@ -6,32 +6,32 @@ category: authoring-guide
status: canonical
created: 2026-02-13
updated: 2026-02-13
tags: [v0.1, authoring, environmental-text]
decision_refs: [D-016, D-032, D-036]
cross_refs: [monologue-guide, the-last-shift, the-terminal, maintenance-corridors]
tags: [authoring, environmental-text]
decision_refs: [D-016, D-032]
cross_refs: [monologue-guide]
---
# Environmental Text Examples
Worked examples of diegetic environmental text for Sova Transit District. Each example is Van Maanen's Star-voiced (working-class, direct, compact) with cultural notes explaining the choices, followed by monologue pairings showing how the smuggler and detective read the same text differently.
Worked examples of diegetic environmental text for a working freight district. Each example is mid-Reach industrial-voiced (working-class, direct, compact) with cultural notes explaining the choices, followed by monologue pairings showing how the smuggler and detective read the same text differently.
Environmental text is not decoration. It is world-state that the player reads through their character's perspective. The same sign on the same wall tells two different stories.
---
## 1. Bar Menu — The Last Shift
## 1. Bar Menu — The Local Bar
Mounted behind the bar counter. Hand-lettered on a metal panel in Lera's handwriting. Prices in station credits. Menu changes rarely — when an item runs out, Lera crosses it off and writes the replacement below.
Mounted behind the bar counter. Hand-lettered on a metal panel in the bar owner's handwriting. Prices in station credits. Menu changes rarely — when an item runs out, it gets crossed off and the replacement written below.
### The Text
```
LERA'S
THE LAST SHIFT
Grain spirit (Sova-brewed) 4
Grain spirit (station-brewed) 4
Grain spirit, double 7
Station lager 5
Imported lager (Van Maanen's Star Prime) 12
Imported lager (system prime) 12
Synth ale (cold) 3
Fried protein + bread 6
@@ -45,15 +45,15 @@ Last call 01:30.
### Cultural Notes
- **Pricing tells a story.** Imported lager at 12 credits — five shifts' disposable income for a logistics worker earning 200 credits margin per month. Ordering one is a status display. The smuggler knows who can afford it and who's showing off. The detective notes the financial tell.
- **"Ask what's in it"** — Van Maanen's Star directness. Lera doesn't pretend the stew is gourmet. The regulars don't care. This is food for people who need to eat, not a dining experience.
- **"No tabs. No arguments."** — Lera has been burned. The two-rule footer is social infrastructure: it prevents the awkward conversation where a colleague can't pay, which would damage the bar's function as a place where status is temporarily suspended.
- **Hand-lettered** — not Meridian-displayed. This is deliberate. A printed menu could be updated remotely. A hand-lettered one means Lera stood here and wrote it. It says: this is mine.
- **"Ask what's in it"** — Mid-Reach freight-district directness. No pretense that the stew is gourmet. The regulars don't care. This is food for people who need to eat, not a dining experience.
- **"No tabs. No arguments."** — The owner has been burned. The two-rule footer is social infrastructure: it prevents the awkward conversation where a colleague can't pay, which would damage the bar's function as a place where status is temporarily suspended.
- **Hand-lettered** — not Meridian-displayed. A printed menu could be updated remotely. A hand-lettered one means the owner stood here and wrote it. It says: this is mine.
- **No cocktails, no wine, no elaboration.** The menu matches the clientele: shift workers who want a drink, food, and to be left alone. Complexity would be pretension.
### Monologue Pairings
**Smuggler** (on entering The Last Shift, sees menu):
> Same menu. Same prices. Lera hasn't changed the stew description in three years.
> Same menu. Same prices. They haven't changed the stew description in three years.
*Tags: [environmental, atmospheric]. Trigger: enter_location. This is comfort. Sameness is safety.*
@@ -62,28 +62,28 @@ Last call 01:30.
*Tags: [environmental, investigation]. Trigger: enter_location. The detective reads the menu as economic data.*
**Smuggler** (on observing Torek ordering imported lager):
> Torek's buying the good stuff again. That's three times this week.
**Smuggler** (on observing a ring-adjacent NPC ordering imported lager):
> Buying the good stuff again. That's three times this week.
*Tags: [npc, torek, concern]. Trigger: observe_npc. The smuggler sees financial exposure — Torek's spending beyond what his official income explains.*
*Tags: [npc, concern]. Trigger: observe_npc. The smuggler sees financial exposure — spending beyond what official income explains.*
**Detective** (on observing Torek ordering imported lager):
> Lintar, T. Third imported lager this rotation. Spending pattern inconsistent with pay grade.
**Detective** (on observing a ring-adjacent NPC ordering imported lager):
> {Surname}, {initial}. Third imported lager this rotation. Spending pattern inconsistent with pay grade.
*Tags: [npc, torek, investigation, evidence]. Trigger: observe_npc. Same observation, institutional framing. Surnames, initials, pay grade — the language of a case file.*
*Tags: [npc, investigation, evidence]. Trigger: observe_npc. Same observation, institutional framing. Surnames, initials, pay grade — the language of a case file.*
---
## 2. Safety Notice — The Terminal
## 2. Safety Notice — Logistics Hub
Mounted on the wall near Scanner Bay 3. Concordat Standard official text with Van Maanen's Star vernacular annotation added by a worker in marker. The notice is slightly peeling at the bottom-left corner. Nobody has replaced it in months.
Mounted on the wall near Scanner Bay 3. Concordat Standard official text with freight-district vernacular annotation added by a worker in marker. The notice is slightly peeling at the bottom-left corner. Nobody has replaced it in months.
### The Text
**[Official — Concordat Standard, printed]**
```
SOVA TRANSIT LOGISTICS — BAY 7-C
DISTRICT LOGISTICS HUB — BAY 7-C
SCANNER BAY 3: OPERATIONAL ADVISORY
Spectral calibration drift detected (Report #ST-4471).
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ to Bays 1 or 2 pending recalibration.
### Cultural Notes
- **Institutional vs. vernacular** — the two voices on this sign are the two voices of Sova. The printed notice is how the institution talks: passive voice, report numbers, procedures. The marker annotation is how the workers talk: direct, sardonic, lowercase.
- **Institutional vs. vernacular** — the two voices on this sign are the two voices of the district. The printed notice is how the institution talks: passive voice, report numbers, procedures. The marker annotation is how the workers talk: direct, sardonic, lowercase.
- **"Pending recalibration"** is doing heavy narrative work. The calibration drift in Bay 3 is real — it produces less reliable scan results. Station maintenance hasn't fixed it because it's low-priority. The ring routes flagged containers through Bay 3 precisely because of this drift. An institutional failure becomes criminal infrastructure.
- **The peeling corner** — nobody maintains the notice because nobody cares about the notice. The institutional voice has lost authority through inaction. The hand-written annotation has more social force than the printed text.
- **Report #ST-4471** — bureaucratic specificity that makes the notice feel real and gives the detective something to query.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ to Bays 1 or 2 pending recalibration.
---
## 3. News Ticker Cycle — Meridian Feed at The Last Shift
## 3. News Ticker Cycle — Meridian Feed at the Bar
Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, standard news format. The cycle repeats every 8-10 minutes. Nobody watches it directly — it's ambient information, absorbed peripherally. Occasionally a headline makes someone look up.
@@ -138,27 +138,27 @@ Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, sta
2. CONCORD ASSEMBLY SESSION 1147: LATTICE STANDARDIZATION
AMENDMENT PASSES SECOND READING. IMPLEMENTATION TBD.
3. SOVA STATION: VENTILATION UPGRADE FOR SECTORS 2-4
3. STATION: VENTILATION UPGRADE FOR SECTORS 2-4
APPROVED IN NEXT FISCAL CYCLE. TIMELINE NOT CONFIRMED.
4. MEDICAL SUPPLY ADVISORY: NEURAL INTERFACE REPLACEMENT
COMPONENTS ON 6-WEEK BACKORDER. CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER.
5. COMMISSION ADVISORY: ROUTINE COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT
SCHEDULED FOR VAN MAANEN SYSTEM STATIONS. DATES TO FOLLOW.
SCHEDULED FOR MID-REACH SYSTEM STATIONS. DATES TO FOLLOW.
6. VAN MAANEN PRIME DOCKWORKERS LEAGUE VS. ORBITAL 3 UNITED:
6. FREIGHT DISTRICT DOCKWORKERS LEAGUE VS. ORBITAL 3 UNITED:
MATCH DAY 7. BROADCAST 19:00 MERIDIAN STANDARD.
```
### Cultural Notes
- **Headline 1 (freight backlog)** — affects every worker in the room. Backlog means overtime or schedule disruption. It's the one headline people actually respond to. Lera turns up the volume when freight news scrolls.
- **Headline 1 (freight backlog)** — affects every worker in the room. Backlog means overtime or schedule disruption. It's the one headline people actually respond to. The bar owner turns up the volume when freight news scrolls.
- **Headline 2 (lattice standardization)** — Assembly politics. Most workers ignore it. But "lattice standardization" has a chill to it: tighter standards mean tighter inspections, which means the grey market gets harder. The smuggler hears threat. The detective hears institutional support.
- **Headline 3 (ventilation upgrade)** — the universal safe topic. "Approved in next fiscal cycle" means "probably never." Workers have been complaining about ventilation for months. This headline generates eye-rolls and muttered commentary that fills conversational space.
- **Headline 4 (neural interface backorder)** — the one that matters most and says least. Neural interface replacements are essential medical supplies. A 6-week backorder on legitimate channels is exactly why the smuggling ring exists: people need these components, the legal supply chain can't deliver, and someone fills the gap. The headline is the ring's business case, printed on a news ticker.
- **Headline 5 (Commission assessment)** — "routine" is a word that means nothing and everything. Routine for the Commission. Not routine for a district that hasn't had a liaison in three months and has been operating in the gap. "Dates to follow" means: start worrying now.
- **Headline 6 (sports)** — normalcy. The match is what most people in the bar actually care about. It's the headline that makes Sova feel like a place where people live, not just a setting for a crime story.
- **Headline 6 (sports)** — normalcy. The match is what most people in the bar actually care about. It's the headline that makes the district feel like a place where people live, not just a setting for a crime story.
### Monologue Pairings
@@ -186,11 +186,11 @@ Displayed on the Meridian feed screen mounted above the bar. Scrolling text, sta
## 4. Corridor Graffiti — Maintenance Corridors
Found at three points along Corridor B-7. The graffiti exists in layers: old maintenance worker marks (decades old, institutional), informal worker tags (years old, social), and recent ring-related marks (weeks to months old, operational). The layers tell the corridor's history.
Found at three points along the restricted maintenance corridor. The graffiti exists in layers: old maintenance worker marks (decades old, institutional), informal worker tags (years old, social), and recent ring-related marks (weeks to months old, operational). The layers tell the corridor's history.
### The Text
**Location: Near south entry (Terminal break room hatch), on the right wall**
**Location: Near south entry (logistics hub break room hatch), on the right wall**
```
[Marker, faded, ~30 years old:]
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
### Cultural Notes
- **VNT-7 JUNCTION** — institutional remnant. This corridor used to be on the maintenance map. The directional marking is from the era when workers were dispatched here officially. It's a ghost of the corridor's legitimate past.
- **"kosse was here. day 1171."** — a maintenance worker who counted their shifts. Van Maanen's Star naming convention (compact, consonant-heavy). Day 1171 is roughly 3.2 years of shift cycles. Someone who spent long enough in these corridors to mark their territory. Kosse is probably retired or transferred. The name persists.
- **"kosse was here. day 1171."** — a maintenance worker who counted their shifts. A common corridor naming convention (compact, consonant-heavy). Day 1171 is roughly 3.2 years of shift cycles. Someone who spent long enough in these corridors to mark their territory. The worker is probably retired or transferred. The name persists.
- **"N.T. + someone who deserved better"** — a small human moment in infrastructure space. The initials could be anyone. The sentiment is universal. It humanizes the corridor — people have always come here for privacy, long before the ring did.
- **The chalk marks** — `—||—` and `|||` — are ring operational markers. They're meaningless to anyone who doesn't know the system. The double-bar mark near the south entry indicates "route active." The three vertical lines near the ventilation hub indicate a count — possibly dead drop cycles, possibly something else. The ring's internal signaling is deliberately ambiguous: even if you find the marks, you can't read them without context.
- **Chalk, not marker** — the ring uses chalk because it can be wiped. Marker is permanent. The choice of medium is operational security.
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
### Monologue Pairings
**Smuggler** (passing the chalk mark near south entry):
> Mark's fresh. Route's active. Renn was through here recently.
> Mark's fresh. Route's active. Someone was through here recently.
*Tags: [environmental, operational]. Trigger: enter_location. The smuggler reads the chalk like a message — because it is one. No emotional response. It's a status indicator.*
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ shift 3 crew '94
1. **The text exists before the player arrives.** It was written by someone for a reason that has nothing to do with the player. Write it for the character who put it there, not the character who reads it.
2. **Van Maanen's Star voice is direct.** No flourishes, no unnecessary words, no corporate warmth. "No tabs. No arguments." not "We kindly request that all patrons settle their accounts at time of service."
2. **The freight district voice is direct.** No flourishes, no unnecessary words, no corporate warmth. "No tabs. No arguments." not "We kindly request that all patrons settle their accounts at time of service."
3. **Institutional text and vernacular text coexist.** The tension between them IS the setting. The printed notice says what the institution wants. The hand-written annotation says what the workers know.
@@ -279,13 +279,8 @@ shift 3 crew '94
**Cross-References:**
- [Monologue Authoring Guide](monologue-guide.md) — Monologue formatting and tag reference
- [The Last Shift](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/the-last-shift.md) — Bar location profile
- [The Terminal](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/the-terminal.md) — Logistics hub profile
- [Maintenance Corridors](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/maintenance-corridors.md) — Corridor B-7 profile
- [Sova Transit District](../star-systems/van-maanens-star/sova/transit/index.md) — District overview
- D-016: Internal monologue as primary narrative system
- D-032: Separate monologue pools per character
- D-036: Sova Transit District as v0.1 setting
---