settled-reach/docs/briefings/gestalt.md

Gestalt - Project Briefing

Last updated: 2026-02-11

Current Project State

The Settled Reach: top-down immersive sim, single-character perspective, asymmetric information core mechanic, Rimworld-style storyteller. 41 confirmed decisions, 17 discussion rounds + 2 workshops complete. Engine selected (D-020). Vertical slice defined (D-027). v0.1 Content Gap Analysis Workshop complete — tag taxonomy converged, FRIEND ECS spec defined, audio architecture designed, previewer scoped. Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop complete (D-041) — Q-016 resolved.

Status

ACTIVE. Systems specification work unblocked. Tag taxonomy needs formalization as standalone document. Knowledge state vocabulary blocks Mellanie's monologue authoring. 17 content-supporting systems identified, 0 built — significant server-side work ahead.

Decisions Relevant to Your Role

• D-005: Core concept — story generator mechanics, emergent narrative from systems
• D-007: Five pillars — mechanical framework
• D-008: Action pillar — hubris wall mechanic
• D-011: Fog of war as pillar 1 infrastructure
• D-015: Camera lock — vision cone as information constraint
• D-017: Perception loadout system — observer queries
• D-018: Three-range sound system — information quality by distance
• D-020: Godot client + Rust/bevy_ecs simulation via subprocess/IPC
• D-021: Official title "The Settled Reach"
• D-024: 10-axis NPC consolidation
• D-025: Social site as systemic unit
• D-026: Timestamp eviction
• D-027: Vertical slice as systems proof
• D-028: Axis-to-pipeline mapping (dialogue selection)

Workshop Decisions (Content Gap Analysis)

• D-032: Separate monologue pools — character is a hard partition tag. Two parallel content trees.
• D-034: THE FRIEND ECS spec — full pipeline depth test. Every system exercised on these two NPCs. ECS components: NpcIdentity, Want, Secret, Relationships[3], ToleranceThreshold, DailyRoutine, InformationInventory, Contentment, PersonalityTraits, TellState, SkillSet, AccessTierMap, TriangleMembership, MoodState.
• D-035: Converged tag taxonomy (6+3) — your Round 2 design is canonical:
  • 6 structural: id, text, role, access (list), trust, situation (list)
  • 3 selection: topic (list), mood (list), tags (freeform)
  • 13 situations, 9 topics, 8 moods, 9 monologue triggers
  • 4-layer pipeline: access (hard filter) → situation (context filter) → trust (hard filter) → mood+topic (weighted selection)
• D-033: Entity color — client-side derivation from RelationshipState + knowledge state. Not an NPC property.
• D-038: Audio architecture — event-driven: SoundEventEmitter → ObserverSnapshot → SoundRenderer with AudioAssetRegistry + VisualSoundIndicator + AmbientManager. Events first, assets second.
• D-039: 6 wow moments — systems must support all 6 (observation triggers, FRIEND contradiction staging, divergence reveal, ticker display, idle monologue).
• D-041: Knowledge Graph Data Model — 4-level confidence hierarchy: Suspects < KnowsOf < KnowsDetails < Direct. Resolves Q-016. Maps to D-028 access tiers and D-035 prerequisite tags. Per-entity KnowledgeGraph Component with BTreeMap storage. KnowledgeState enum supports contradiction detection for THE FRIEND arc (D-034). Sprint 2 scope: data structures + direct observation + basic decay.

Open Questions Assigned to You

• Q-002: v0.1 scope definition (co-lead)
• Q-005: Prototype scale (co-lead with Tyre, Miri)
• Q-009: Time system design — resolved (D-031)
• Q-010: Storyteller AI architecture (co-lead with Nigel)
• Q-012: Generation expansion method (co-lead with Mellanie)
• Q-013: Line previewer temporal progression (co-lead with Dudley)
• Q-014: Audio timing with monologue chime (co-lead with Ozzie)
• Q-015: Generation expansion for FRIEND content (co-lead with Mellanie)
• Q-016: Knowledge hierarchy for prerequisites — RESOLVED (D-041)
• Q-017: Triangle pressure threshold (co-lead with Paula)
• Q-024: Gossip propagation timing (co-lead with Tyre) — preferred direction: queued
• Q-026: Contradiction detection algorithm (co-lead with Paula, Dudley)

Current Priorities

Systems specification → server implementation support → previewer

1. Lock tag taxonomy + line pool format — formalize Round 2 converged schema as standalone spec document. Reference for all content authors.
2. Knowledge state vocabulary — UNBLOCKED by D-041. Use 4-level confidence hierarchy (suspects/knows_of/knows_details) plus FactId format (category.topic). See D-041 Appendix A for v0.1 vocabulary and prerequisite format.
3. Dialogue selection pipeline specification — formalize the 4-layer filter algorithm for server implementation.
4. Sound event system architecture — formalize Round 2 section 6 for Dudley.
5. Line previewer (#193) MVP scope — 7 must-have features. Build as first implementation of dialogue pipeline (shares 80% code). Rust CLI.
6. Content-to-system mapping validation — 17 content needs, 0 built. Track which systems are needed when.

Systems critical path

NPC Component Architecture (10 axes)
  +-> NPC Routine System → Observation Event Generator → Monologue Trigger System
  +-> NPC Mood State Machine → Tell State Derivation
  +-> Interaction Tracking → Trust Progression
  +-> YAML Content Loader → Dialogue Selection Pipeline → Line Variety Tracker

Key Documents

• decisions/content.md — D-023 through D-037
• decisions/architecture.md — D-008 through D-031
• docs/workshops/content-gap-analysis_v0_1/ — workshop outputs and SUMMARY.md (your Round 2 has converged taxonomy, ECS spec, audio architecture, previewer scope)