settled-reach/docs/workshops/commodity-catalog/gestalt-round2.md

Gestalt — #801 Commodity Catalog: Round 2 Converged Proposal

Date: 2026-04-05 Status: Round 2 proposal

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What I'm Taking From Each Agent

Tyre: Flat slug IDs. Production chain TOML with location_bound and output_quantity fields. Hard build-step validation. The energy-as-non-physical carve-out problem is now cleanly resolved by the water→fuel chain.

Miri: Commission certification as a distinct service (not collapsed into legal). Re-embodiment as a required luxury service. Cooperage timber as a separate Calloway chain input. Lattice-grade materials anchoring the east reach. Prometheus maintenance network sparsity as a geographic availability constraint.

Burnelli-Sheldon: production_ubiquity flag (guides initialization geographic distribution). demand_model field (utility/compliance changes tâtonnement behavior). Panic mechanism for critical supply goods. Price table with margin analysis. Transport cost differentials showing geographic specialization emergence.

My own Round 1: 3 political sub-flags (commission_cert_required / compact_contested / shadow_viable). Service demand multiplier mechanics. Chokepoint identification. Elasticity classes with α modifiers.

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1. The Luxury Goods Tension — Resolved

The problem: Calloway whisky (12–20y aging, terroir lock), Kvitfjell marble (800t/y geological ceiling), and VGV wine (F8V stellar lock) have radically different production constraints. But they are all "luxury goods." One commodity record cannot encode all three simultaneously without becoming three commodity records.

The solution: Per-site, location-bound production chains. The commodity record carries the category-level properties. The chain records carry the constraint-specific properties.

The luxury_goods commodity record:

• tier = final
• production_ubiquity = monopolistic
• elasticity_class = e4_elastic
• base_price = 500T

Each real-world luxury source has its own chain record:

Chain ID	Location	Key inputs	Aging	Ceiling	Corporate archetype
luxury_calloway	Calloway Reach	agri_produce(0.4), timber(0.15, cooperage), industrial_chemicals(0.05)	12–20 game years	D-177 seeding bounds	Specialist
luxury_vgv_long	Confluent (F8V)	agri_produce(0.5, F8V grapes), industrial_chemicals(0.03)	5+ game years	F8V stellar lock	Monopolist
luxury_vgv_short	Confluent (F8V)	agri_produce(0.5, F8V grapes)	1–2 game years	F8V stellar lock	Producer
luxury_kvitfjell	Kvitfjell/Nyrheim	stone_aggregate(1.0, Kvitfjell Blue)	None	800t/y hard ceiling	Monopolist
luxury_thrds	Braemar	organic_biomass(0.6, brach fiber), textiles_composites(0.3)	None	Herd ceiling; actively defended monopoly	Specialist

Brand premiums live in the corporate behavioral layer, not the commodity catalog. The Specialist archetype running the luxury_calloway chain maintains elevated pricing through behavioral parameters. A Monopolist running luxury_kvitfjell holds pricing through the 800t/y ceiling constraint. The underlying luxury_goods commodity price reflects the aggregate market; corporate agents extract rent by being the only licensed operators of site-bound chains.

Miri's VGV split (Grand Vide Classé vs. Vins de Corridors) is preserved without two commodity entries. Two chains at the same site with different aging depths, run by VGV behaving as both Monopolist (long line) and Producer (short line) with different behavioral pricing parameters. The simulation sees one luxury_goods commodity; the player observes that VGV bottles trade at very different prices and can investigate why.

The aging_ticks field on the chain record encodes the pipeline delay. At game start, the Calloway pipeline already contains 12–20 years of maturing stock — D-177 states pipeline contents are fixed by lore, not seeded. The sim inherits this initial state and manages forward flow.

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2. The Water→Fuel Chain (Lead Directive)

This is the most important structural change from Round 1. It resolves Tyre's "energy-as-non-physical carve-out" problem entirely.

Water/volatiles becomes an explicit raw material with demand_model = utility.

Fusion fuel becomes an intermediate — refined from water at low yield.

Chain: chain_fusion_fuel

inputs:  water_volatiles (6.0)
output:  fusion_fuel (1.0)
description: "Deuterium/tritium extraction via centrifuge and electrolysis.
              6 tonnes of water processed per tonne of fusion fuel.
              Processing overhead is baked into base_price markup, not
              modeled as an additional input."

Geographic implications:

• water_volatiles base_price ≈ 2T (near-free on ocean worlds and ice moons; expensive on bare-rock stations)
• fusion_fuel base_price ≈ 30T (input cost: 12T of water + processing overhead)
• Remote, dry stations pay full transport cost on both water AND fuel — compounding disadvantage
• Ocean worlds and ice-moon systems have structural fuel production advantage
• Every active station consumes fusion_fuel continuously (demand_model = utility): demand floor never drops to zero

What this replaces: My Round 1's R-06 (Energy raw: fissile, reaction mass) is removed. The fissile/nuclear concept is folded into the fusion model — the Reach runs on fusion power. "Energy-rich" systems in the lore = systems with ocean worlds or ice moons that can produce cheap water → cheap fuel. Tyre's energy commodity (non-physical, chain-input carve-out) is no longer needed; fusion_fuel is a standard transportable intermediate.

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3. Unified Schema

Commodity Record (wiki/economics/commodities.toml)

[commodity_id]
name                    = "..."           # Display name, Title Case
tier                    = "raw | intermediate | final | service_professional | service_luxury"
elasticity_class        = "e1_perfectly_inelastic | e2_inelastic | e3_moderate | e4_elastic | e5_location_bound"
demand_model            = "market | utility | compliance"
base_price              = 0.0             # Equilibrium price in Tractus; must be > 0
bulk_class              = "dense_bulk | standard | perishable | precision | oversized | non_physical"
production_ubiquity     = "ubiquitous | common | regional | concentrated | monopolistic"
commission_cert_required = false          # Commission must certify; costs Tractus; Compact friction
compact_contested        = false          # Compact rejects Commission authority over this commodity
shadow_viable            = false          # Shadow market routinely operates for this commodity
panic_flagged            = false          # Critical supply: stockpile-target mechanism applies
panic_threshold_weeks    = 0             # Only set when panic_flagged = true
unit                    = "tonnes | units | contracts"
description             = "..."          # Optional flavor; wiki/UI tooltip

Field provenance and rationale:

Field	Source	Over alternative
tier (5 values)	Tyre	Services as tiers rather than a separate file — clean single-record approach
elasticity_class	Gestalt / Tyre	I defined numeric behavior + α modifiers; Tyre named the enum
demand_model	Burnelli-Sheldon	Utility/compliance goods have floors that never go to zero — not derivable from elasticity alone
base_price	Burnelli-Sheldon	Single equilibrium anchor; tâtonnement starts here
bulk_class (6 values)	Gestalt (synthesized from B-S 5-class)	Transport cost multiplier; drives geographic price differentials
production_ubiquity	Burnelli-Sheldon	Guides generate_corporations binary; determines initialization distribution
commission_cert_required	Gestalt	Encodes the Assembly/Compact friction mechanism precisely
compact_contested	Gestalt	Encodes "principled resistance" framing of D-174; not derivable from cert flag alone
shadow_viable	Gestalt	Encodes shadow economy risk per commodity; interacts with node-level intensity
panic_flagged + panic_threshold_weeks	Burnelli-Sheldon	Critical supply goods have qualitatively different shortage behavior
unit	Tyre	Keeps chain recipe quantities unambiguous

Eliminated:

• Tyre's single political_sensitivity boolean → superseded by 3 sub-flags; lead-endorsed
• Tyre's transportable → derivable from bulk_class == non_physical
• Tyre's energy commodity (non-physical carve-out) → replaced by water→fuel chain

Production Chain Record (wiki/economics/production_chains.toml)

[chain_id]
output               = "commodity_id"
output_quantity      = 1.0               # Units produced per cycle; default 1.0
inputs = [
    { commodity = "commodity_id", quantity = 0.0 },
]
location_bound       = false             # If true, chain only operates at site_id
site_id              = ""                # Body reference from systems.db; requires location_bound = true
max_output_per_cycle = 0.0              # Optional hard ceiling (Kvitfjell 800t/y equivalent)
aging_ticks          = 0                # Optional pipeline delay (Calloway 12-20 game years)
description          = "..."

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4. Full Commodity List

Raw Materials (8)

One raw added versus D-173's 7: water_volatiles, required by the water→fuel chain (lead directive). stone_aggregate absorbs my Round 1's silicate_mineral. organic_biomass absorbs my Round 1's chemical_feedstock (both are organic sources for the industrial chemicals chain). timber added as a separate raw from organic_biomass because its 40–60y recovery cycle and cooperage-specific use in the Calloway chain are mechanically distinct.

ID	Name	Elasticity	Demand	Bulk class	Ubiquity	Cert	Contested	Shadow	Notes
metallic_ore	Metallic Ore	E-2	market	dense_bulk	common	No	No	No	Stalownia primary; asteroid and planetary mines
stone_aggregate	Stone / Aggregate	E-3	market	dense_bulk	common	No	No	Partial	Kvitfjell Blue marble = monopolistic luxury variant; standard aggregate ubiquitous
agricultural_produce	Agricultural Produce	E-1	utility	perishable	ubiquitous	Partial	No	No	Crops, grain, grapes, livestock; F8V and terroir constraints per site
organic_biomass	Organic Biomass	E-2	market	standard	regional	No	No	No	Brach fiber (Braemar hard lock), marine catch, biological feedstock; chemical chain input
water_volatiles	Water / Volatiles	E-1	utility	dense_bulk	ubiquitous	No	No	No	Ocean worlds cheap; bare-rock stations expensive; primary fusion fuel input
rare_minerals	Rare Minerals	E-3	market	precision	concentrated	No	No	Partial	Rare earths, crystals; 5–10 systems; electronics and alloys bottleneck
timber	Timber	E-3	market	perishable	regional	No	No	No	Nordmark structural; Dunbar cooperage grade (Calloway chain); 40–60y recovery cycle
lattice_grade_material	Lattice-Grade Material	E-4	market	precision	monopolistic	Yes (strategic)	No	High	East reach anchor export; neural/gate substrate; Gate Corp strategic interest; no substitute

Intermediate Goods (8)

fusion_fuel replaces my Round 1's power_cell_fuel (renamed and now derived from water). electronics_components absorbs the "fabricated components" dependency role — it is now the intermediate required by the most finals. structural_materials has two production chain routes (stone or timber), giving flexibility in supply.

ID	Name	Primary inputs	Elasticity	Bulk class	Ubiquity	Cert	Contested	Shadow	Notes
refined_metals	Refined Metals	metallic_ore	E-2	standard	common	No	No	No	Smelted steel and alloys; Stalownia processes
structural_materials	Structural Materials	stone_aggregate OR timber + refined_metals	E-3	oversized	regional	No	No	No	Prefab panels, construction composites; two substitute routes
processed_food	Processed Food	agricultural_produce OR organic_biomass	E-1	standard	common	Partial	No	No	Shelf-stable; fisheries = second route; Mercado distribution
textiles_composites	Textiles / Composites	organic_biomass	E-3	standard	regional	No	No	No	Clothing, technical fabrics; brach fiber variant = premium Braemar-locked route
industrial_chemicals	Industrial Chemicals	organic_biomass	E-2	standard	regional	Yes (hazmat)	Yes	Yes	Pharma, solvents, reagents; cert = Assembly tariff by another name
electronics_components	Electronics / Components	rare_minerals + refined_metals	E-3	precision	concentrated	No	No	No	Circuits, processors; rare minerals bottleneck cascades to implants, gates, vehicles
fusion_fuel	Fusion Fuel	water_volatiles (6:1 input)	E-1	standard	common	Yes (safety)	Yes	Yes	6t water → 1t fuel; every station consumes continuously; water-rich systems have structural advantage
lattice_substrate	Lattice Substrate	lattice_grade_material	E-2	precision	monopolistic	Yes (strategic)	No	High	No substitute; feeds implant_hardware and gate_infrastructure — THE dual chokepoint

Final Goods (7)

habitat_modules (Burnelli-Sheldon's F7) is folded into heavy_industrial_equipment as a production chain variant. Its demand function (population-driven) is handled at the corporate behavioral layer, not the commodity catalog. Count stays at 7.

ID	Name	Inputs	Elasticity	Bulk class	Ubiquity	Cert	Contested	Shadow	Notes
heavy_industrial_equipment	Heavy Industrial Equipment	refined_metals + electronics_components + structural_materials	E-4	oversized	regional	No	No	No	Stalownia rigs, Cygni B station sections; 1–3y lead time; B-5 means manufacturing hubs are structural
consumer_goods	Consumer Goods	processed_food + textiles_composites	E-3	standard	common	No	No	Partial	Daily necessities; uncertified variants undercut in low-coverage nodes
luxury_goods	Luxury Goods	[5 site-bound chains — see §1]	E-4	precision/oversized	monopolistic	Partial	No	Yes	One catalog entry; brand in corporate behavior; biological ceilings on production chains
transport_vehicles	Transport Vehicles	refined_metals + fusion_fuel + electronics_components	E-4	oversized	regional	Yes (safety)	Partial	Partial	Ships, MVG; Commission registration; Compact often operates unregistered
implant_hardware	Implant Hardware	lattice_substrate + electronics_components	E-4	precision	concentrated	Yes (medical)	High	High	THE political flashpoint; D-037 adjacent; Commission cert = THE Compact grievance
gate_infrastructure	Gate / Infrastructure	refined_metals + lattice_substrate + electronics_components + fusion_fuel	E-4	oversized	monopolistic	Yes (strategic)	Extreme	High	Gate Corp monopoly + Commission cert = maximum structural extraction; double chokepoint dependency
medical_goods	Medical Goods	industrial_chemicals + electronics_components	E-2	precision	regional	Yes (medical)	Partial	High	Healthcare + re-embodiment supporting goods; D-174 canonical contraband adjacent

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5. Service List (9 total)

Why 6 professional services (not 5): Commission certification has demand_model = compliance, is only available in Commission-presence systems, and is mechanically the smuggling incentive mechanism from D-174. It cannot be collapsed into legal_services without losing that behavior. The lead directive explicitly endorsed it.

Why logistics management was removed: Logistics management is redundant with the transport cost model. The 5–12%/hop gate cost already encodes logistics overhead. Sova Logistics and other logistics corporations operate on commercial_intelligence and habitation_berths (berth and route management), not a separate logistics-management service commodity.

Why re_embodiment is not collapsed into medical_goods: Medical goods is a transportable physical commodity. Re_embodiment is a location-bound procedure. Different bulk class (non_physical vs. precision), different demand model (compliance vs. market), different shadow economy profile. D-174 names unlicensed re-embodiment as canonical contraband — the licensed service must be distinct.

Professional Services (6)

ID	Name	Demand	Cert	Contested	Shadow	Key simulation behavior
legal_services	Legal Services	market	No	No	Partial	Demand = f(economic activity, dispute rate); FM south reach, Crown's Hollow west reach
commission_certification	Commission Certification	compliance	N/A (IS certification)	High	High	Demand = f(regulated goods production); only in Commission-presence nodes; IS the smuggling incentive from D-174
financial_services	Financial Services	market	No	Partial	Partial	Tractus velocity; cross-zone trade friction; Groombridge clearing house = priority Tier 1 gap
insurance	Insurance	market	No	No	No	Affects trade volume via risk pricing; no goods demand; mutual insurance in south reach
commercial_intelligence	Commercial Intelligence	market	No	No	Partial	Improves official_coverage_ratio signal; consolidates B-S's "information brokerage" per lead directive
habitation_berths	Habitation / Berths	utility	No	No	Partial	Covers D-131 "rent" verb; fixed supply per node; booming nodes run out of berths → real estate signal

Luxury / Experiential Services (3)

ID	Name	Demand	Notes
tourism	Tourism	market	Pulls luxury_goods and consumer_goods demand; deep-corridor prestige; Confluent estates, Calloway distillery circuit
entertainment_media	Entertainment / Media	market	Holo-content, cultural production; pulls fusion_fuel and electronics_components
re_embodiment	Re-embodiment Services	compliance	Commission-licensed; Prometheus-adjacent; shadow market = unlicensed (D-174 canonical); demand_model = compliance because clients go where licensed facilities exist

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6. Complete Chain Graph (Summary)

Raws → Intermediates

Chain ID	Output	Inputs	Sub routes?
ore_smelting	refined_metals	metallic_ore(2.0)	—
stone_panel_fab	structural_materials	stone_aggregate(1.5) + refined_metals(0.5)	Substitute for timber route
timber_panel_fab	structural_materials	timber(1.0) + refined_metals(0.3)	Substitute for stone route; Nordmark territory
food_processing	processed_food	agricultural_produce(1.5)	Main food chain
seafood_processing	processed_food	organic_biomass(1.2)	Alternative; east reach fisheries anchor
fiber_processing	textiles_composites	organic_biomass(0.8)	Brach fiber = premium Braemar-locked variant of same chain
chemical_synthesis	industrial_chemicals	organic_biomass(1.0)	Pharma + industrial reagents
electronics_fab	electronics_components	rare_minerals(0.5) + refined_metals(0.3)	Rare minerals bottleneck
fusion_fuel_extraction	fusion_fuel	water_volatiles(6.0)	Low yield; key new chain
lattice_processing	lattice_substrate	lattice_grade_material(1.0)	No substitute

Intermediates → Finals

Chain ID	Output	Inputs
industrial_assembly	heavy_industrial_equipment	refined_metals(1.0) + electronics_components(0.3) + structural_materials(0.5)
consumer_assembly	consumer_goods	processed_food(0.3) + textiles_composites(0.3)
luxury_calloway	luxury_goods	agricultural_produce(0.4) + timber(0.15, cooperage) + industrial_chemicals(0.05)
luxury_vgv_long	luxury_goods	agricultural_produce(0.5, F8V grapes) + industrial_chemicals(0.03)
luxury_vgv_short	luxury_goods	agricultural_produce(0.5, F8V grapes)
luxury_kvitfjell	luxury_goods	stone_aggregate(1.0, Kvitfjell Blue)
luxury_thrds	luxury_goods	organic_biomass(0.6, brach fiber) + textiles_composites(0.3)
vehicle_assembly	transport_vehicles	refined_metals(0.8) + fusion_fuel(0.3) + electronics_components(0.3)
implant_manufacturing	implant_hardware	lattice_substrate(0.5) + electronics_components(0.3)
gate_construction	gate_infrastructure	refined_metals(1.0) + lattice_substrate(0.5) + electronics_components(0.4) + fusion_fuel(0.2)
medical_manufacturing	medical_goods	industrial_chemicals(0.3) + electronics_components(0.2)

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7. Chokepoints — Updated for Round 2

Three chokepoints drive gameplay tension, same locations as Round 1 but one upgraded:

1. Lattice chain: lattice_grade_material → lattice_substrate → implant_hardware + gate_infrastructure

• Still the richest chokepoint
• Now strengthened: gate_infrastructure requires lattice_substrate AND fusion_fuel (two chokepoints converge on gates)
• Geographic anchor: east reach. If east reach lattice-grade material exports are disrupted, both Commission-certified implants AND gate maintenance cascade

2. Electronics cascade: rare_minerals → electronics_components

• Required by: transport_vehicles, implant_hardware, gate_infrastructure, heavy_industrial_equipment, medical_goods
• That's 5 of 7 finals
• Replaces my Round 1's "fabricated components" as the broad dependency
• Rare minerals at 5–10 systems means geographic concentration; a single region controlling rare mineral supply has leverage over ALL manufacturing

3. Luxury goods biological ceilings

• Now structurally encoded in per-chain max_output_per_cycle and aging_ticks fields
• The player observes that no amount of economic activity can increase Kvitfjell marble output past 800t/y
• This is the simulation teaching its own rules: some scarcity is structural, not addressable through trade

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8. Base Prices (Reference Table)

Building on Burnelli-Sheldon's margin analysis, adjusted for the water→fuel chain.

Commodity	Base price (T)	Key margin note
water_volatiles	2	Near-free on ocean worlds; expensive on dry stations
agricultural_produce	5	Common output; staple food chain anchor
stone_aggregate	8	Ubiquitous; Kvitfjell Blue commands 15–50× at source
metallic_ore	10	Bulk mining reference commodity
organic_biomass	18	Complex biospheres only; brach fiber in premium tier
timber	15	Less common; cooperage grade commands premium
rare_minerals	80	Scarce; location-specific; electronics bottleneck
lattice_grade_material	120	Strategic; monopolistic; east reach anchor
refined_metals	28	~180% margin on ore; bulk volume
structural_materials	40	Input cost ~25T; moderate margin
processed_food	15	Near-input-cost; high volume, low margin
textiles_composites	50	Value-add from organic biomass
industrial_chemicals	60	Higher value-add; hazmat cert adds friction
electronics_components	120	High value-add from rare minerals bottleneck
fusion_fuel	30	12T input (6× water) + ~18T processing overhead
lattice_substrate	180	Near-input-cost; value is the raw material scarcity
heavy_industrial_equipment	250	Complex assembly; B-5 bulk protects manufacturing hubs
consumer_goods	80	Mass market; broad input mix
luxury_goods	500	Price is demand-driven, not cost-driven; brand premium in corporate layer
transport_vehicles	350	Three-input assembly; fusion_fuel dependency
implant_hardware	400	Enormous value-add; political premium
gate_infrastructure	800	Monopoly pricing; strategic premium; four-input cascade
medical_goods	150	High-value; regulatory overhead in cert cost

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9. Delta from Round 1

Change	Round 1	Round 2	Why
Energy raw removed	R-06 (fissile, reaction mass)	Removed	Lead directive; replaced by water→fuel chain
Raw count	7	8	water_volatiles required; directive-driven
Silicate/mineral	Separate raw	Merged into stone_aggregate	Same production chains
Chemical feedstock	Separate raw (R-05)	Merged into organic_biomass	Both organic sources for industrial chemicals
Fabricated components	Separate intermediate	Dissolved; electronics_components inherits role	Electronics is the natural high-tech bottleneck
Timber	Not separate	Added as 8th raw	Cooperage dependency; 40–60y recovery is distinct behavior
Luxury goods	One commodity, no chain detail	One commodity, 5 site-bound chains with aging_ticks and ceilings	Resolves brand vs. commodity tension
Services	5 professional + 3 luxury	6 professional + 3 luxury	Commission certification added per lead directive
Logistics management	In service list	Removed	Redundant with transport cost model
Schema: political_sensitivity	1 boolean	3 sub-flags	Lead-endorsed; richer encoding
Schema: production_ubiquity	Absent	Added	B-S contribution; initialization distribution
Schema: demand_model	Absent	Added	B-S contribution; utility/compliance tâtonnement behavior
Schema: panic_flagged	Absent	Added	B-S contribution; stockpile mechanism

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10. Outstanding Questions for Round 3

Q1: Rare minerals vs. lattice-grade material — one or two raws? I kept them separate: rare_minerals feeds electronics_components and advanced manufacturing broadly; lattice_grade_material is the specialized neural/gate substrate. If we collapse them, east reach loses its distinctive export identity (it would just be another rare minerals source). Recommendation: keep separate.

Q2: thrds garments — luxury_goods or consumer_goods output? Argument for luxury: brach exclusivity makes it a prestige product. Argument for consumer: north reach workers treat it as functional gear, not luxury. My proposal puts it in luxury_goods with Specialist markup. If we want thrds penetration in everyday outer-corridor markets, it might need a consumer_goods production variant alongside the luxury output. Worth discussion.

Q3: Habitat modules as a separate final? Burnelli-Sheldon argued for distinct demand function (population-driven vs. industrial-driven). I folded it into heavy_industrial_equipment as a production chain variant. If the simulation needs to model new-settlement expansion as a distinct signal, habitat_modules may need its own entry. Flagged.

Q4: water_volatiles bulk class I set it as dense_bulk (shippable as ice or liquid). Is there an argument for splitting the bulk class into "water-as-infrastructure" (local plumbing, not a cargo item) vs. "water-as-cargo" (ice hauled from a distant source)? Or does dense_bulk handle both cases correctly via transport cost?

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Total: 8 raw + 8 intermediate + 7 final + 9 services = 32 commodity types.

One above Burnelli-Sheldon's 32 (we have the same count by different routes). Within D-173's "approximately 30" spirit. The additions are lead-directive-driven (water/fuel chain, commission_certification) — not scope creep.