jpmschweitzerandClaude Opus 4.7
25eb8bd096
Spring-cleaning accumulated v0.1 vertical-slice residue across the wiki. Scope per Jeroen's pre-decisions on 2026-04-21: - Delete outright: wiki/star-systems/GJ-35/sova/ subtree (5 files + 2 dirs) — v0.1 Station Sova / Transit District content. - Strip example blocks in authoring guides and _templates/ that cited dropped v0.1 NPCs (Kael Davan, Sera Venn, Nils Davan, Devra, Torek, Renn, Pell, Tav, Lera Sessik, Sabel). Replaced with short "v0.1 examples removed — D-122" notes pointing authors to the active NPC roster. - Rewrite canonical-lore references file-by-file: faction pages, technology pages, contraband pages, concepts pages, corp pages that cited v0.1 names/places. Preserve institutional/structural content, drop specific-name citations. - Commission name drift: replace "Concord Commission" and "Assembly Commission" with "the Lattice Commission" (D-193) throughout. - Van Maanen's Star cultural references: the canonical in-game name is Vuurkloof. "Van Maanen's Star" is retained only as an astronomical designation (glossary + GJ-35 Calibration Note). All cultural/system references converted to Vuurkloof across culture-authoring-guide, cultural-generation-guide, founder-gates, and star-system adjacent-system descriptions. - Strip `v0.1` from faction/triangle frontmatter tags (8 files). - wiki/triangles/hub-power.md and wiki/factions/the-ring.md: rewritten using role-name exemplars (Ring Coordinator / Shift Supervisor / THE FRIEND) instead of named v0.1 NPCs. Triangle pattern preserved as a structural reference. Also applies drive-by Commission drift fixes and minor cross-ref updates to canonical corps (gate-corporation, mastroianni-vehicle-group, stalownia-kowalski, prometheus-labs, ferreira-monteiro, vins-de-grand-vide, and 13 others). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
149 lines
6.8 KiB
Markdown
149 lines
6.8 KiB
Markdown
# Base Text Authoring Guide — The Settled Reach
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**Ticket:** #645
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**Author:** Mellanie
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**Status:** canonical
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**Last updated:** 2026-03-13
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---
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## Purpose
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Base text is the culture-neutral semantic layer that every NPC line must have. It serves two purposes simultaneously:
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1. **LLM seed** — the culture injector uses it as input. The better the base text, the better the voiced output.
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2. **Fallback** — when "AI-Enhanced Dialogue" is off or pre-voicing hasn't caught up, the player sees the base text directly. It must be functional and readable on its own.
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This guide establishes the quality bar for all base text and documents failure modes to avoid.
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---
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## The quality bar (three tests)
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Before committing a base text line, ask three questions:
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1. **Does this show a moment, not a category?**
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A category tells you *what kind of thing* the NPC does. A moment shows you *a specific instance* of doing it.
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- Category: `"tends crops in the field"` — you know the role, not the person
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- Moment: `"works back along a crop row with a hoe, stopping twice to pull weeds by the root before moving on"` — you see a specific action sequence
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2. **Could you picture a specific person doing this?**
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If the line could appear in a stock photo caption, it needs specificity. Add the HOW or the small physical detail that anchors it.
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3. **Would you be okay if this were the only text the player ever sees?**
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The voice pipeline may not be available. The base text is not a draft — it is the default experience for players below spec or with AI-Enhanced Dialogue disabled. Author it to that bar.
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---
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## Failure modes and fixes
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### 1. Category verb (`"tends"`, `"checks"`, `"monitors"`, `"manages"`)
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These describe a role, not an action. Replace with a physical verb sequence.
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| Below bar | At bar |
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| `"tends rows of low-growing crops"` | `"works back along a crop row, stopping to pull weeds by the root"` |
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| `"checks seedling trays"` | `"crouches over seedling trays and pinches back a leggy stem that grew sideways"` |
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| `"monitors the loading floor"` | `"stands at the mezzanine rail watching a forklift angle into a tight bay"` |
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Fix: replace the category verb with the specific physical action that *constitutes* the checking or tending.
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### 2. Quality modifier instead of specific action
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Phrases like `"with practiced ease"`, `"with no wasted motion"`, `"efficiently"` are editorial commentary. The reader is told a quality instead of shown it.
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| Below bar | At bar |
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| `"lifts a crate of produce onto a flatbed with practiced ease"` | `"lifts a crate of produce onto the flatbed in one motion and reaches for the next before it settles"` |
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| `"swaps a panel module with practiced speed and no wasted motion"` | `"swaps a panel module in under a minute, tools back in the pouch before the cover is latched"` |
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Fix: remove the modifier. Show the efficiency through the action sequence itself — specificity creates the impression.
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### 3. Universal gesture (no character information)
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Some gestures apply to anyone anywhere — wiping sweat, yawning, stretching. These are placeholder movements. Replace with something that shows role, circumstance, or cultural habit.
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| Below bar | At bar |
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| `"wipes sweat from her forehead with the back of a gloved hand"` | `"pulls a glove off with her teeth to wipe her face, pulls it back on without looking"` |
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| `"stretches"` | `"straightens up and rolls her neck once before kneeling back down"` |
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Fix: find the physical quirk that's specific to this role, this body, this situation.
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### 4. "Corporate-speak" / institutional passive
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Lines that sound like they belong in a procedure manual. The NPC is a person, not a process.
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| Below bar | At bar |
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| `"initiates task completion protocol"` | `"gets back to sorting the manifests"` |
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| `"performs routine inspection of the facility perimeter"` | `"walks the fence line at a measured, unhurried pace"` |
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Fix: use plain present tense and a physical verb. If you can hear a robot saying it, rewrite it.
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---
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## Lines you must NOT change
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**`Factual`-type lines** are protected. These are lines bearing:
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- Specific numbers or quantities: `"fourteen crates in bay seven"`
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- Causal chains: `"the pressure dropped when the coupling failed"`
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- Denial statements: `"I don't know anything about that"`
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Factual lines bypass the LLM entirely (D-138: `ContentType::Factual`). The pipeline serves them as exact base text. Do not elevate them — precision is their quality.
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If you're unsure whether a line is Factual: if it contains a number, a named quantity, a specific event chain, or a denial with named content, treat it as protected.
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---
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## Cultural neutrality requirement
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Base text must not contain culture-specific vocabulary. The culture injectors add that layer at voicing time. Base text is the semantic skeleton.
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**What to avoid:**
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- Culture-specific oath vocabulary: e.g. `"void take it"`, `"blood and void"` — these go in voice_examples, not base text
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- Culture-specific greetings or farewells
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- Slang that implies a particular register
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**Test:** Could this base text be voiced convincingly in *any* culture? If the answer is yes, it's culturally neutral. If not, strip the culture-specific markers.
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---
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## Volume guidance
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Each role should have 15–25 on-shift behaviors plus 5–10 off-shift / social site behaviors. This gives the generator enough variety across a session without repetition. Roles with narrower activity ranges (security, militia) can have fewer.
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---
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## Elevation checklist (per line)
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Before committing, run through:
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- [ ] Physical verb sequence, not category verb
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- [ ] No quality modifiers — show efficiency through action, not through adjective
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- [ ] Character information visible (not a universal gesture)
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- [ ] No institutional/passive language
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- [ ] Culturally neutral (no culture-specific vocabulary)
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- [ ] Not a Factual-type line (no numbers, denials, or causal chains to preserve)
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- [ ] Reads as a complete, legible observation on its own
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---
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## Examples of elevated base text (Sprint 26 elevation review)
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**Strong — moment-specific, role-grounded:**
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- `"kneels at the base of a struggling plant and parts the soil with two fingers"`
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- `"threads a wire through a conduit clip and bites the insulation back with her teeth"`
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- `"keeps a junior worker between herself and the inspection team as the inspectors pass through"`
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- `"trades a quick look with a colleague when the foreman walks by"`
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- `"leans back on a stool and tracks a browser who has checked the same display twice without committing"`
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**Strong — off-shift texture:**
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- `"sits with boots off under the table, socked feet flat on the floor"`
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- `"refills a neighbor's cup from her own jug without being asked"`
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- `"buys a round for the table and returns to her seat before anyone can thank her"`
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---
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*Last review: Sprint 26, base text elevation pass (#645). Apply this standard to all new zone RON files.*
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