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jpmschweitzerandClaude Sonnet 4.6 f685cb7324 chore(meta): register D-079–D-083, close Q-024/Q-025/Q-026, ticket Sprint 17 knowledge flow work 
Workshop outputs from Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries workshop (2026-02-24):

Decisions registered in decisions/perception.md:
- D-079: Knowledge Grant Architecture (unified KnowledgeGranted event, Fact+Entity enum, ContentEntityRegistry)
- D-080: NPC-to-NPC Knowledge Propagation (transfer_npc_knowledge system, trust-tier gating, ToldBy source)
- D-081: Unprompted Disclosure Design (DisclosureCandidates component, two-stage trait filter, trigger gates)
- D-082: NPC Information Boundaries MVP Scope (tell_state + disclosure; pathfinding KG integration explicitly not planned)
- D-083: Contradiction Detection Pipeline (event-driven at observe_entity, ContradictionClaim struct, downstream chain)

Questions closed in decisions/questions.md:
- Q-024: closed by D-080 (immediate during conversation, not queued)
- Q-025: confirmed closed (gossip propagation ships Sprint 17; ~12MB peak, no cap needed before v0.3)
- Q-026: closed by D-083 (event-driven at KG write time, ContradictionClaim struct)

Tickets created (#545–#551, Sprint 17, team server):
- #545 KnowledgeGrant schema + ContentEntityRegistry (critical, blocks all downstream)
- #546 KnowledgeGranted event + process_knowledge_events handler
- #547 ContradictionClaim struct + detection in observe_entity
- #548 NPC-to-NPC knowledge transfer system
- #549 tell_state.rs KG awareness — MVP information boundary
- #550 Contradiction monologue + event chain completion
- #551 DisclosureCandidates + unprompted disclosure

Existing tickets updated: #141, #142 (sprint 17 + team assigned, descriptions updated); #172, #173 (full mechanical spec from D-081).

Workshop source files committed: all round docs + workshop-outcomes.md

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-24 01:59:58 +01:00

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Open Questions

Tracked questions awaiting discussion or resolution.

Q-001: Game engine selection

  • Status: Resolved → D-020

Q-002: Scope of v0.1 playable prototype

  • Status: Map spec resolved (D-014). Remaining: mechanics, characters, interactions for minimum playable build.
  • Assigned to: Full team

Q-003: Art direction / presentation style

  • Status: Further resolved for v0.1 via Content Gap Analysis Workshop. Araminta's v0.1 Visual Grammar proposal covers: entity color palette (D-033), zone-specific color palettes (3 zones with hex values), fog rendering (4 states), monologue presentation spec, insert dual-character variants. Long-term art direction beyond v0.1 remains open.
  • Remaining: Long-term art direction, sprite replacement timeline, full visual identity.
  • Assigned to: Araminta (lead)

Q-004: One campaign spanning all eras or separate era scenarios?

  • Status: Not yet discussed
  • Context: Gore raised that Commonwealth Era and Void Era play very differently. Prototype focuses on pre-Starflyer War era.
  • Assigned to: Gore, Miri to lead discussion

Q-005: Scale for prototype - locations, characters, factions

  • Status: Partially scoped
  • Early signal: Institute/Armstrong City hub, ~10-20 characters, Guardians + institutional + political factions
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Tyre, Miri

Q-006: Multiplayer or single-player only?

  • Status: Resolved → D-009

Q-007: Target platform(s)

  • Status: Not yet discussed
  • Context: Team Leader has Linux background (Fedora). Cross-platform considerations?
  • Assigned to: Tyre

Q-008: Licensing / distribution model

  • Status: Not yet discussed
  • Question: Open source? Free? Commercial? This affects engine choice and asset decisions.
  • Assigned to: Team Leader

Q-009: Time system

  • Status: Resolved → D-031

Q-010: Storyteller AI design

  • Status: Not yet discussed
  • Question: How does the Rimworld-style storyteller work? What are the pacing rules? How much structural randomness vs dramatic randomness?
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Nigel

Q-011: Character selection and playable characters

  • Status: Not yet discussed
  • Question: Which characters are playable in the prototype? How different are their starting positions? Can you play canon characters or only original ones?
  • Assigned to: Miri, Paula

Q-012: Generation expansion method for dialogue

  • Status: Open
  • Question: How does the 4x generation expansion pass work? LLM-based, template-based, or rule-based? Affects how base lines are authored — LLM needs style-strong anchors; rules need substitution patterns.
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Mellanie
  • Source: Content Gap Analysis Workshop (Mellanie R2)

Q-013: Line previewer temporal progression

  • Status: Open
  • Question: How does the line previewer (#193) handle THE FRIEND's multi-visit contradiction arc? Needs sequence mode to simulate interaction progression over multiple encounters.
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Dudley
  • Source: Content Gap Analysis Workshop (Mellanie R2)

Q-014: Audio timing with monologue chime

  • Status: Resolved → D-067
  • Resolution: Chime fires at ONSET of cognitive delay, not completion. 300-400ms duration, overlapping delay start. Chime is "unresolved" — opens a question, doesn't answer one. Sequence: hear/sense → chime plays → 0.6s delay begins → monologue text during delay → blob transitions to D-033 color → recognition complete.
  • Date resolved: 2026-02-16

Q-015: Generation expansion for THE FRIEND content

  • Status: Open
  • Question: Does the 4x generation expansion apply to THE FRIEND's custom lines, or are all ~70-100 lines per FRIEND hand-authored? Recommendation: no expansion on FRIEND lines — risk of flattening hand-crafted voice.
  • Assigned to: Mellanie, Gestalt
  • Source: Content Gap Analysis Workshop (Ozzie R2, Gestalt R2)

Q-016: Knowledge hierarchy for monologue prerequisites

  • Status: Resolved → D-041
  • Resolution: 4-level hierarchy: Suspects < KnowsOf < KnowsDetails < Direct. Suspects = "something's off", gates initial investigation and vague monologue. KnowsOf = "X is involved in Y", gates topic-specific dialogue and peer-tier access. KnowsDetails = actionable detail, gates confrontation and secret-tier dialogue. Direct = currently in LOS, provides live position data. Maps to D-028 access tiers and D-035 prerequisite tags.
  • Date resolved: 2026-02-11
  • Source: Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop

Q-017: Triangle pressure threshold

  • Status: Open
  • Question: Triangles need a numeric pressure value that increases based on events. When it crosses a threshold, confrontation situation activates. What events increase pressure? What's the threshold?
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Paula
  • Source: Content Gap Analysis Workshop (Gestalt R2)

Q-018: Shadowcasting algorithm selection

  • Status: Resolved → D-035
  • Question: Which line-of-sight algorithm should be used? Symmetric shadowcasting (Albert Ford) vs recursive shadowcasting. Both are proven but differ in symmetry properties (symmetric: if A sees B, then B sees A) and implementation complexity. Requires benchmarking at 150x150 map scale with 30 entities to validate performance within 100ms tick budget.
  • Context: D-011 mandates LOS shadowcasting for fog of perception. Architecture review identified this as unspecified (audit section 2.2). Critical for Sprint 2 perception pipeline.
  • Assigned to: Tyre, Dudley
  • Source: Architecture Review Audit 2026-02-11

Q-019: Entity ID stability strategy

  • Status: Partially resolved → D-041
  • Resolution: Server-side: StableEntityId component + EntityRegistry resource provides bidirectional StableId(u64) <-> Entity mapping. StableId assigned once at entity spawn, never changes, persists across save/load. Knowledge graphs reference StableId, not bevy Entity. Client-side mapping (Godot StableId -> scene node lifecycle) remains open.
  • Remaining: Client-side entity lifecycle management, scene node mapping strategy.
  • Date partially resolved: 2026-02-11
  • Assigned to: Tyre, Dudley (client-side portion)
  • Source: Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop

Q-020: Multi-entity collision resolution

  • Status: Open
  • Question: When two NPCs attempt to move to the same tile on the same tick, what is the resolution policy? Options: first-write-wins (deterministic with system ordering), both fail (conservative), priority-based (e.g., player > NPC, Active tier > Background tier).
  • Context: D-012 defines tile collision. WalkabilityMap exists (server/src/simulation/movement.rs) but handles single-entity validation. Architecture review identified multi-entity collision as unspecified.
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Dudley
  • Source: Architecture Review Audit 2026-02-11

Q-021: Tick budget overflow policy

  • Status: Open
  • Question: When a simulation tick exceeds the 100ms budget, what happens? Options: (1) slow down real-time and preserve determinism (tick completes fully before next), (2) skip ticks and break determinism, (3) cap work per tick and defer to next tick. Must align with D-010 principle 4 (deterministic simulation).
  • Context: D-026 defines 100ms tick budget for Active tier at 10 tps. Architecture review consensus recommendation proposes "slow real-time, don't skip ticks." Needs formal decision.
  • Assigned to: Tyre, Dudley
  • Source: Architecture Review Audit 2026-02-11

Q-022: NPC pathfinding cache eviction

  • Status: Open
  • Question: With 80 Active-tier NPCs each caching ~3 pathfinding routes, the cache holds ~240 paths. What is the eviction policy? LRU? Time-based expiration? Fixed size per NPC? How are paths invalidated when walkability changes (doors lock, areas become restricted)?
  • Context: Architecture review identified pathfinding as MEDIUM gap (audit section 2.2). Cache management needs specification regardless of algorithm choice.
  • Assigned to: Tyre, Dudley
  • Source: Architecture Review Audit 2026-02-11

Q-023: Debug visualization scope

  • Status: Open
  • Question: What information should the debug overlay display? Candidates: LOS rays, pathfinding waypoints, vision cones, information boundary tags (who knows what), tick timing breakdown, spatial partition grid cells. Dev-only tool, or accessible for mod development?
  • Context: Architecture review (Troblum) identifies debug visualization as missing operational infrastructure. Needed for debugging perception system, information boundaries, and performance issues.
  • Assigned to: Tyre, Stig
  • Source: Architecture Review Audit 2026-02-11

Q-024: Gossip propagation timing

  • Status: Resolved → D-080
  • Resolution: Knowledge transfer occurs via a separate transfer_npc_knowledge Bevy system running after(run_npc_conversations). Transfer fires once per conversation at conversation start (immediate during conversation, not queued). Rate: 1–3 facts drawn by recency. Trust-tier gated. See D-080 for full specification.
  • Closed by: Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries Workshop — unanimous. 2026-02-24.
  • Source: Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop (Gestalt Round 1); resolved in Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries Workshop Round 2.

Q-025: Knowledge graph cap and eviction strategy

  • Status: Resolved — no cap or eviction needed for v0.1/v0.2. Re-evaluation trigger: Active NPC count > 200 OR KG memory exceeds 50 MB.
  • Question: At what point does an NPC's knowledge graph need entry eviction? What is the eviction policy?
  • Resolution (2026-02-24, confirmed by Knowledge Flow workshop): Current analysis: ~14 KB per Active NPC KG (50 entities + 20 facts, D-041 budget). 80 Active NPCs = ~1.1 MB. 2,000 Background NPCs at 10 entries = ~5 MB. Total ~6 MB. With gossip propagation shipping in Sprint 17 (D-080, 1–3 facts per conversation): estimated ~12 MB peak at current NPC counts. Neither re-evaluation condition expected before v0.3. The existing decay system (decay_knowledge in knowledge/events.rs) downgrades confidence and marks entries Stale but does not remove them — correct behavior (preserves "I used to know X" for narrative). If eviction becomes necessary, simplest policy: on each decay pass, if entities.len() > MAX_ENTITIES, remove Stale entries with lowest last_updated_tick. BTreeMap makes this O(N).
  • Closed by: Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries Workshop — Tyre, Gestalt, Dudley confirmed; Paula non-objection noted. 2026-02-24.
  • Source: Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop (Dudley Round 1, section 8.3). Architecture audit 2026-02-23. Workshop confirmation 2026-02-24.

Q-026: Contradiction detection algorithm

  • Status: Resolved → D-083
  • Resolution: Event-driven detection at KG write time in observe_entity(), using ContradictionClaim struct. Location contradiction is automatic (Sprint 17): position comparison + time window (CONTRADICTION_WINDOW_TICKS = 600). Attribute and fact contradiction are content-authored (Sprint 18). Both ToldBy and DirectObservation entries receive Contradicted state (epistemic neutrality). ContradictionDetected event → monologue with resolved display names → relationship shift → AnomalyMarker via existing pipeline.
  • Closed by: Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries Workshop — unanimous on architecture. 2026-02-24.
  • Source: Knowledge Graph & Information Boundaries Workshop (Gestalt/Paula Round 1); resolved in Knowledge Flow & NPC Information Boundaries Workshop Round 2.

Q-027: Fast-travel system design

  • Status: Open
  • Question: How does inter-system travel work in production gameplay? The current hub teleport (Home key, #501) is scoped as Gauntlet-only dev tool. Production travel must be diegetic and respect asymmetric information. Proposed flow: player goes to local gate → warps to system gate → interacts with target menu → jumps to destination system gate. Key constraints:
    1. Region gating: fast-travel only available from safe or fast-travel-enabled regions. If you rented transport to reach a remote location (e.g. mountain colony), you must return the transport to civilization first — this can be a skip-travel interaction but must happen in-world.
    2. Asymmetric information: NPCs observe arrivals and departures. Travel choices leak information (who saw you leave, who sees you arrive, what transport was used).
    3. Home key in production: at most, Home could prompt "Do you want to fast-travel to the system hub?" if in a safe/enabled region — never instant teleport.
    4. Transport types: walking, rented vehicle, public transit, gate network — each with different information exposure profiles.
  • Context: #501 implemented instant Home key teleport gated behind gauntlet_mode. Re-scoped to Gauntlet-only after design review. Production fast-travel needs separate design and implementation.
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Paula, Tyre
  • Source: Sprint 10 PR review discussion (2026-02-19)

Q-028: Collision-resistant line IDs for auto-generated NPCs

  • Status: Open
  • Question: The D-035 NPC-scoped line ID scheme uses NPC slugs as prefix (kael-davan_d_001). Hand-authored NPCs have unique slugs, but auto-generated populations (D-029: hundreds of NPCs) will produce collisions when the generator creates multiple NPCs with the same role slug (e.g., two dock-worker NPCs). What collision-resistance mechanism should be used? Options: (1) Short UUID/hash suffix on auto-gen slugs (dock-worker-a7f3_d_001), (2) Entity UUID as prefix, (3) Slug registry that guarantees uniqueness at generation time, (4) Composite key (entity ID + sequence) in server, human-readable slug only for authored content.
  • Constraints: Line IDs must be globally unique across entire save file lifetime (history log readiness). Must stay human-readable for hand-authored content. Server treats IDs as opaque strings — solution lives in content/generation layer. Must be compatible with D-035 NPC-scoped namespace.
  • Ticket: #544
  • Assigned to: Gestalt, Tyre
  • Source: Sprint 16 PR #59 review discussion (2026-02-23)

28 questions (6 resolved, 1 partially resolved, 21 open). Last updated: 2026-02-24

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