settled-reach/docs/workshops/gj-6711-furthest-system/brief-araminta-visual.md

GJ 6711 Workshop — Araminta's Brief (Visual Design)

Light Environment

K-type amber light. Primary palette anchor: #d4920a (warm amber). The doubled-light environment (direct starlight + gas giant reflection) means the lighting model needs to handle two light sources that don't behave like a binary star system. The reflected light is diffuse, slightly shifted in spectrum, and comes from a source that moves relative to the primary.

Practical Effect

• Shadows are softer than they should be — never fully crisp
• Color temperature shifts subtly as the gas giant's position changes
• Interior spaces that block the reflected light feel noticeably different from exterior spaces
• The effect is below conscious threshold for most viewers on first encounter; it accumulates

Two Architectural Modes

The settlement shows two distinct construction periods in visible tension:

Mode 1 — Founding Era (Heavy)

• Dense, bunker-like construction. Over-engineered for the actual environmental conditions.
• Materials: local stone and early-fabrication composites. Heavy walls, small windows, low ceilings.
• Aesthetic: functional to the point of severity. The founding settlers built like they expected to need shelter from something specific.
• Color palette: dark greys, weathered stone tones (#4a4a4a, #6b6357, #3d3d3d)

Mode 2 — Incremental Additions (Standard)

• Standard Reach industrial construction. Prefab panels, modular connections, adequate but unremarkable.
• Added over three centuries as the community grew beyond the founding structures.
• Color palette: standard Reach industrial (#7a8b7a, #8b8b7a, #6b7a6b)

Interface Seams

Where Mode 1 and Mode 2 meet, the construction joints are visible and sometimes awkward. The founding structures weren't designed to be extended. The extensions don't quite match the originals. These seams are the most visually distinctive feature of Stillpoint's built environment.

Interface seam palette: exposed fasteners, mismatched panel edges, visible sealant lines (#5a5a4a, #8b7a6b)

Scale Miscalibrations

Doors are slightly too tall. Not dramatically — perhaps 10-15% taller than standard Reach construction. Ceilings in the Mode 1 structures follow the same pattern. This is subtle enough that most players won't consciously notice it, but it contributes to the perceptual unease.

Whether this reflects the founding settlers' construction preferences, the influence of whatever they found, or accommodation for something not human-sized is left unresolved.

Directionality Inconsistency

Most settlements have a center of gravity — a main square, a primary corridor, a hub. Stillpoint doesn't. The settlement layout has multiple competing centers. Paths between locations are rarely the most direct route. The overall effect is a place that doesn't orient you — you can navigate it, but you can't hold a complete mental map of it.

Threshold Markings

The Mode 1 structures have markings at doorways and corridor junctions. These markings are consistent in style but don't correspond to any current function. They're not wayfinding — the locals don't reference them. They're not decorative — they're too systematic. They're just there, part of the founding-era construction, serving a purpose that either no longer applies or was never understood by the people who live with them.

Exterior Palette Summary

Element	Hex	Description
Primary light	#d4920a	K-type amber, dominant
Reflected light	#c4a040	Gas giant reflection, diffuse
Sky	#2a1a0a to #4a3020	Dark amber gradient
Mode 1 stone	#4a4a4a	Weathered founding-era
Mode 2 panel	#7a8b7a	Standard Reach industrial
Seam detail	#5a5a4a	Interface joints
Ground	#3a3020	Local terrain, dark amber