Define MVP survival readiness criteria

2026-05-15 00:51:40 -07:00
parent 872aab2ff9
commit 3ef03469b6
3 changed files with 147 additions and 14 deletions
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ Core commitments:

 Baseline rule:

- [ ] Use `4 real hours = 1 in-game day` as the default server-authoritative world clock unless testing proves it is too slow.
+- [x] Use real local time pacing for the represented Earth region as the default server-authoritative world clock. Test-only time acceleration remains allowed.

 Design intent:

@@ -179,8 +179,8 @@ Remaining version 0.01 cleanup before moving deeper into new gameplay:
 - [x] Finish required plugin documentation.
 - [x] Confirm the project opens cleanly from a fresh checkout, not just the current working share.
 - [x] Organize `Content/Agrarian/` folders and move starter/prototype assets into clearly named locations.
- [ ] Launch near-term MVP map-tile serving cloud VM.
- [ ] Define MVP day/night length, survival pressure target, success loop, failure conditions, and closed-test readiness criteria.
+- [x] Launch near-term MVP map-tile serving cloud VM.
+- [x] Define MVP day/night length, survival pressure target, success loop, failure conditions, and closed-test readiness criteria.

 # Phase 0 - Project Foundation And Guardrails

@@ -288,12 +288,12 @@ Current tooling decisions:
 - [x] Define acceptable real terrain accuracy for MVP.
 - [x] Define acceptable real bathymetry/ocean-depth handling for MVP if Ground Zero is coastal.
 - [ ] Define acceptable first-pass biome/resource accuracy for MVP.
- [ ] Define MVP day/night length.
- [ ] Define survival pressure target.
- [ ] Define basic success loop.
- [ ] Define failure conditions.
- [ ] Define first playable internal milestone.
- [ ] Define closed test readiness criteria.
+- [x] Define MVP day/night length.
+- [x] Define survival pressure target.
+- [x] Define basic success loop.
+- [x] Define failure conditions.
+- [x] Define first playable internal milestone.
+- [x] Define closed test readiness criteria.

 ## 0.6 Operational Infrastructure

@@ -406,7 +406,8 @@ Target deliverable: A small group can join a server, spawn into one biome, gathe
 - [x] Create world time system.
 - [x] Add day/night cycle.
 - [x] Add configurable time scale.
- [ ] Set default server time scale to `4 real hours = 1 in-game day`.
+- [x] Set default server time scale to real-time pacing for the represented Earth region.
+- [ ] Add real local time-zone and sunrise/sunset lookup for Ground Zero by latitude/longitude.
 - [ ] Add Agrarian calendar conversion helpers for days, seasons, crop cycles, livestock maturity, spoilage, and long-running tasks.
 - [ ] Add temperature curve by time of day.
 - [x] Add simple weather states.
@@ -1396,6 +1397,7 @@ The first playable MVP is not complete until:
 - [ ] Players can create fire.
 - [ ] Players can build a primitive shelter.
 - [ ] Weather and time affect survival.
+- [ ] Day/night follows the real local time and light cycle of the represented map tile.
 - [ ] Hunger and thirst matter.
 - [ ] Injury or damage can create meaningful risk.
 - [~] At least one wildlife system exists.
@@ -1437,8 +1439,8 @@ Earliest incomplete foundation items:
 - [ ] Create art direction, UX/HUD direction, coding standards, Blueprint standards, and asset/folder naming standards.
 - [x] Organize `Content/Agrarian/` root folder and remove unused starter variant content.
 - [ ] Define what qualifies as the 6-month MVP and what is explicitly excluded.
- [ ] Define MVP day/night length, survival pressure target, success loop, failure conditions, first playable internal milestone, and closed-test readiness criteria.
+- [x] Define MVP day/night length, survival pressure target, success loop, failure conditions, first playable internal milestone, and closed-test readiness criteria.

 Immediate next item:

- [ ] Define MVP day/night length, survival pressure target, success loop, failure conditions, and closed-test readiness criteria.
+- [ ] Create the core design document.
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# MVP Survival And Readiness Criteria
+
+This document locks the early MVP target for time, survival pressure, player
+success, failure, and closed-test readiness.
+
+## Day And Night
+
+MVP rule: day/night should mimic the real Earth region represented by the
+loaded map tile.
+
+For Ground Zero, the server-authoritative world clock should follow the local
+time of the real Ground Zero region. Weather and sunlight should both come from
+the same real-world tile context so the player feels like they are standing in
+that place, not in an abstract accelerated map.
+
+Implementation target:
+
+- The server owns time and replicates it to clients.
+- Ground Zero uses the real local time zone for its real-world coordinates.
+- Sunrise, sunset, day length, night length, and seasonal light should be based
+  on the tile location as the system matures.
+- The MVP fallback can use a 24-hour local clock with conservative fixed night
+  bounds until real sunrise/sunset lookup is implemented.
+- Time acceleration is allowed for test commands and automation, but not as the
+  default player-facing world clock.
+
+Design consequence:
+
+- The sky clock stays grounded.
+- Skills, tools, teamwork, shelter, storage, domestication, and infrastructure
+  improve what players can accomplish inside real time.
+- Natural biological systems should not be casually compressed just to make
+  progress feel faster.
+
+## Survival Pressure Target
+
+The first playable MVP should feel difficult but learnable.
+
+Target experience:
+
+- A new solo player can survive the first session by gathering, drinking,
+  crafting a basic tool, making fire, and using shelter.
+- Ignoring hunger, thirst, cold, injury, or weather can kill the player.
+- Death should usually feel preventable after the player understands the rules.
+- Early play should be inefficient and hands-on.
+- Progress should noticeably reduce friction through better tools, storage,
+  shelter, food access, water access, and knowledge.
+
+Early survival pressure should come from:
+
+- thirst and freshwater access;
+- hunger and low-yield gathering;
+- cold exposure, especially at night or in bad weather;
+- injury/damage;
+- fire and shelter reliability;
+- limited inventory and carrying capacity;
+- weather changing the risk profile.
+
+## Basic Success Loop
+
+The MVP loop is complete when a player can:
+
+1. Spawn into the Ground Zero tile after the startup and character-selection
+   flow.
+2. Read the environment enough to find immediate resources.
+3. Gather primitive materials.
+4. Drink or collect water.
+5. Craft at least one useful primitive tool.
+6. Make or use fire.
+7. Build or use a primitive shelter.
+8. Survive weather and nighttime pressure.
+9. Store or preserve some useful progress.
+10. Leave and return after restart with core state preserved.
+
+The loop should show the intended long-term direction: survival starts with
+hands, improvised tools, and local knowledge, then moves toward better tools,
+storage, shelter, domestication, farming, logistics, and cooperation.
+
+## Failure Conditions
+
+The MVP should support clear player failure states:
+
+- death from health reaching zero;
+- dehydration;
+- starvation;
+- cold exposure/hypothermia;
+- injury or damage;
+- inability to recover after poor preparation for night/weather.
+
+For MVP, failure does not need a complete generational inheritance system.
+Respawn rules can be simple, but death should still cost enough to make survival
+matter.
+
+## First Playable Internal Milestone
+
+The first playable internal milestone is ready when:
+
+- one Ground Zero tile loads as the playable map;
+- the map uses the Ground Zero tile context for time/weather direction;
+- the player can gather, drink, craft, make fire, and use shelter;
+- hunger, thirst, body temperature, and health can all affect survival;
+- one meaningful death path works;
+- core state survives a server restart;
+- the startup flow reaches character selection before entering the world;
+- two players can join the same server for a basic multiplayer smoke test.
+
+## Closed-Test Readiness
+
+Closed testing can begin when:
+
+- the Windows build installs and launches on a clean test machine;
+- the public or LAN tile endpoint is stable for the test group;
+- onboarding tells players enough to start without exposing debug internals;
+- at least one full day/night survival test passes;
+- basic telemetry/logging is available for crashes and major failures;
+- known critical bugs are documented;
+- reset/recovery instructions exist for the test server;
+- testers can report bugs with build version, map tile, and reproduction notes.
+
+## Explicit Non-Goals For This MVP
+
+Do not block first playable MVP on:
+
+- full Earth-scale streaming;
+- full real-weather provider integration;
+- full sunrise/sunset astronomy accuracy;
+- mature farming/livestock life cycles;
+- full economy or AGR utility;
+- full generational succession;
+- polished character art;
+- public Steam/Epic release readiness.
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@ public:
 	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, Replicated, Category = "Agrarian|World")
 	float WorldHours = 8.0f;

-	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category = "Agrarian|World", meta = (ClampMin = "0.1"))
-	float GameHoursPerRealMinute = 0.5f;
+	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadWrite, Category = "Agrarian|World", meta = (ClampMin = "0.001"))
+	float GameHoursPerRealMinute = 1.0f / 60.0f;

 	UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, BlueprintReadOnly, ReplicatedUsing = OnRep_Weather, Category = "Agrarian|World")
 	EAgrarianWeatherType Weather = EAgrarianWeatherType::Clear;