settled-reach/spikes/quaternius-aesthetic/BRIEF.md

---
title: "Quaternius Stack Aesthetic Validation Spike"
description: "Two-track spike: Quaternius character rig through toon shader, and Trellis1-generated clothing on the Quaternius rig. Pipeline tension is the primary output."
type: spike
status: ready
date: 2026-03-18
agents: "TYRE, ARAMINTA"
---

# Situation Brief — Character Pipeline Validation
**To:** TYRE, ARAMINTA
**From:** Jeroen
**Date:** 2026-03-18

## What we know

The 3D isometric pivot is live. The asset pipeline is split:

- **Environment assets** — Trellis1 generative pipeline, working, solved
- **Characters** — Trellis1 failed (wrong proportions, broken normals,
  outline pass artifacts). Route closed.
- **Clothing and accessories** — Trellis1 unproven on rigged items.
  This spike investigates whether it can work.

The Quaternius Universal Base Characters pack has been identified as a
candidate character rig foundation. It is CC0, Godot-compatible, ships
with a matching animation library, and has a modular clothing system on
the same rig.

## The core question

Can we build a character system where:

- The **Quaternius rig** provides the body, skeleton, and animation anchor
- **Trellis1-generated meshes** provide clothing and accessories attached
  to that rig

If yes, the in-game clothing catalogue becomes generative — every item
found across the Reach is a unique output, not a hand-authored or
pack-sourced mesh. This directly supports the design intent of clothing
as individual purchasable items with genuine variety.

If no, we understand exactly where the pipeline breaks and can scope
the alternative.

## What is NOT decided yet

- Whether the Quaternius rig becomes the character foundation
- Whether Trellis1 clothing is viable on any external rig
- Whether to acquire Patreon Source tier for any Quaternius pack
- How the character compositor is implemented

This spike produces the evidence. Decisions follow the evidence.

## Aesthetic reference

The target aesthetic is Invisible Inc — isometric, toon-shaded, readable
at gameplay zoom, eclectic human detail. ARAMINTA has seen this reference.
All verdicts are measured against it.

---

# Spike Brief — Quaternius Stack Aesthetic Validation
**Timebox:** 1 session
**Agents:** TYRE (import, scene setup, rig integration), ARAMINTA (asset
generation, aesthetic evaluation)
**Blocks:** Character spike rewrite, all asset acquisition decisions

## Two parallel tracks

This spike runs two tracks simultaneously. Both feed the same verdict doc.

---

## Track A — Quaternius rig through toon shader

**Owner:** TYRE (setup), ARAMINTA (evaluation)

**Packs — standard tier (free) only:**

| Pack | What we're testing |
|------|-------------------|
| Universal Base Characters | Body mesh + rig through toon shader |
| Universal Animation Library | Idle animation on Quaternius rig |
| Modular Character Outfits — Fantasy | One pack-sourced clothing piece as baseline |

Download current versions. The Animation Library rig naming was updated
January 2026 — confirm it matches the Base Characters before importing.

**Steps:**
1. Import one Universal Base Character (Regular proportions, either
   gender — TYRE's choice)
2. Apply existing toon shader unmodified
3. Place in current isometric scene at gameplay zoom
4. Add one idle animation from the Universal Animation Library
5. Attach one clothing piece from Modular Character Outfits Fantasy
   as a baseline clothing reference

**Screenshots — Track A:**
- Gameplay zoom
- Heavy zoom (character editor scale per D-146)
- Pulled-back crowd scale

**Track A acceptance criteria:**
- [ ] Character reads legibly as a person at gameplay zoom with toon
      shader active
- [ ] Outline pass behaves correctly on Quaternius mesh density — no
      face eating, no artifacts
- [ ] Idle animation plays without deformation artifacts
- [ ] Pack-sourced clothing piece attaches without visible clipping
      at gameplay zoom

---

## Track B — Trellis1 clothing on Quaternius rig

**Owner:** ARAMINTA (generation and attachment), TYRE (rig integration
support as needed)

**The question:** Can ARAMINTA generate a clothing or accessory mesh
via Trellis1 and attach it to the Quaternius rig cleanly enough to be
usable in-game?

**Steps:**
1. Using the Quaternius rig as reference, generate one clothing item
   via Trellis1 — ARAMINTA's choice of item and prompt approach
2. Attempt to attach the generated mesh to the Quaternius rig
3. Apply toon shader
4. Evaluate: does it deform correctly with the idle animation? Does
   it clip? Does it read at gameplay zoom?

Attempt at least two different item types if time allows — one body
garment, one accessory. Different mesh complexity will reveal where
the pipeline holds and where it breaks.

**Screenshots — Track B:**
- Generated item attached to rig, toon shader active, gameplay zoom
- Same, with idle animation playing (or paused mid-motion if that
  shows deformation more clearly)
- Failure cases are as useful as successes — screenshot those too

**Track B acceptance criteria:**
- [ ] At least one generated mesh attaches to the Quaternius rig
      without catastrophic deformation
- [ ] At least one generated mesh survives the idle animation without
      visible tearing or clipping
- [ ] ARAMINTA documents exactly where the pipeline succeeded and
      where it broke — partial success is a valid and useful result

---

## Track C — Character in environment (brief, after Track A)

If Track A produces a viable character, place them in a minimal
existing scene from the Trellis1 environment pipeline.

**Steps:**
1. Place Track A character in an existing interior scene
2. Screenshot at gameplay zoom — character and environment together

This is a single screenshot, not a full stage. It answers whether the
character aesthetic is consistent with the environment aesthetic that
is already working.

---

## What NOT to build

- Multiple body types — one proves the pipeline
- Full animation set — idle only
- Full room layout — use an existing scene
- Any game logic — visual validation only

## Hard constraints

- No Adobe products or services
- Standard tier only for Quaternius packs — do not acquire Source
  tier before the verdict is in
- Do not modify the toon shader to accommodate the assets — evaluate
  what the current pipeline produces unmodified
- Do not discard failure results — document them

---

## Primary output — Pipeline Tension Report

This is the main deliverable. ARAMINTA authors it. TYRE contributes
the technical observations.

The report answers three questions directly:

**1. Does the Quaternius rig work as a character foundation?**
Viable / not viable / viable with conditions. One paragraph.

**2. Does Trellis1 clothing attach to the Quaternius rig?**
This is the critical tension. Three possible outcomes:
- Clean attach — generative clothing pipeline is viable
- Partial attach — viable with constraints (document what the
  constraints are exactly)
- Failed attach — generative clothing is not viable on this rig
  (document where it broke and why)

**3. Are the two pipelines visually consistent?**
Does a Trellis1 clothing item on a Quaternius body read as coherent
through the toon shader, or do the two sources fight each other
aesthetically?

Secondary outputs:
- Screenshot set (minimum 8 images across all tracks), filed where
  TYRE sees fit
- Source tier recommendation: which Quaternius packs justify
  acquisition based on what the standard tier produced
- Flag to Jeroen if the character compositor brief needs rewriting
  based on findings

---

## This spike does NOT produce

- A locked decision on the character system
- A commitment to the Quaternius stack
- A commitment to the Trellis1 clothing approach
- Any game code

Jeroen reviews the Pipeline Tension Report before any decisions
are made.