# Rejected Alternatives — Perception

Rejected proposals in the **perception** domain, rationale preserved for the audit trail.

### R-012: Overheard NPC conversation system (D-078) — scrapped
- **Rejected:** 2026-04-10
- **Reason:** The entire NPC ambient interaction model (overheard conversations, room grammar, zone-type NPC population, behavior engine for physical spaces) is scrapped. These systems were designed speculatively before a walkable environment exists. The NPC interaction model will be designed and built from scratch after Phase 5 (world generation at tile level) is complete. All content authored against these systems (overheard.ron, zone-type conversation pools) is orphaned. Related content pattern note in content.md and D-078 in perception.md are superseded.
- **Cross-reference:** D-078 (perception.md), content pattern note (content.md T-664)