Implementation Plan: Magical-Law Progression v0.2

Overview

Implement the progression in docs/tech-tree-v0.2.md as a sequence of playable magical-law experiments. The highest-risk mechanic—the portal's bounded random matter exchange—is prototyped before large content production. Once that proves fun, each ecology zone adds one distinct simulation law and one automated proof loop, culminating in a player-built dimensional gate and post-victory entropy economy.

Architecture decisions

Existing belts, mana pipes, bridge endpoints, fixed ticks, and event wakeups remain the physical substrate.
A biome law changes simulation through explicit data/state contracts; it cannot reach into arbitrary scene nodes.
Probability uses deterministic seeded result bags over mass batches. Saves preserve the active bag and seed so reload cannot reroll outputs.
Failure states are recoverable resources or paused machines on standard difficulty, never silent deletion.
Research proofs are produced by satisfying observable state sequences, not by renaming ordinary assembly recipes.
Boundary crossings are explicit logistics nodes. The visible map stays continuous while the transport graph remains partitioned.
First warp is deterministic once its conditions are met. Random exchange begins immediately after victory.

Dependency graph

M1 portal fun prototype ------+
                              |
M2 biome-law contract --------+----> M3 catalog + validator ----> M4 proof runtime/UI/save
                                                                  |
                                                                  v
M5 runic opening -> M6 life/death -> M7 ember -> M8 mirror -> M9 first warp
                                                                    |
                                                                    v
                                                         M10 postgame portal loop
                                                                    |
                                                                    v
                                                           M11 pacing proof

Task list

Phase 1: Prove the risky fun

M1: Prototype bounded random exchange, sorting, entropy, and recovery
M2: Define biome-law and boundary-crossing contracts
M3: Load and validate the 80-node v0.2 catalog
M4: Implement experiment-driven research proofs, UI, and saving

Checkpoint: Core hypothesis

A ten-minute portal toy creates at least two meaningful strategies: stable targeting and high-entropy throughput
Reloading cannot reroll a result bag
Each planned ecology law has an isolated state model and a recoverable failure path
Mainline graph is acyclic and contains all five magical verbs

Phase 2: Playable ecology progression

M5: Deliver the old-kingdom runic opening
M6: Deliver forest and undead zones in either order
M7: Deliver the life/death merge and ember-state loop
M8: Deliver mirror folding, visible probability, and identity anchoring

Checkpoint: Magic identity

A stripped-art test can distinguish all four external zones by rules alone
A starting-zone blueprint cannot run unchanged in another zone
Every proof line can be automated and exposes a precise stop reason
Life and death routes remain order-independent and converge without duplicate blockers

Phase 3: Victory and continuation

M9: Deliver the twelve-segment gate, synchronized ritual, and first-warp achievements
M10: Turn the opened gate into the postgame matter-exchange and paradox-research loop

Checkpoint: Complete loop

Completing G09 alone does not win; the walker construct must actually cross the aperture
First warp has no random failure
Continuing after victory immediately exposes useful portal production
Portal exchange reduces one resource pressure while measurably increasing sorting, buffering, entropy, or mana work

Phase 4: Timing proof

M11: Instrument and tune the expert and normal routes

Checkpoint: Release candidate

Expert-route P50 ≤ 7:15 and P90 ≤ 8:00
Experienced first-play P50 is 18–21 hours and P75 ≤ 24:00
The expert route still demonstrates growth, decay, three-state conversion, echo separation, and four-anchor synchronization

Risks and mitigations

Risk	Impact	Mitigation
Random exchange feels punitive or unplannable	Critical	Prototype first; use bounded bags, visible ranges, bias controls, and recyclable outcomes
Ecology laws become four unrelated minigames	High	Keep common item tags, mana frequencies, proof records, and boundary-node interfaces
Magical layouts become tedious pattern copying	High	Ship fixed 3×3/5×5 templates with snapping and previews
Portal becomes strictly better than gathering	High	Cap early usable mass at 90% and exact targeting at 65%; charge entropy and catalysts
Eight-hour play skips the interesting systems	Critical	Validate the mandatory closure and time the five explicit mechanic demonstrations
Region effects cause per-cell/per-frame cost	High	Recompute zone membership on construction and wake entities only when law state changes

Explicitly deferred

Full combat and tower-defense balance
Procedurally generated infinite biome types
Multiple full-sized playable dimensions
Freehand rune drawing
Irreversible corruption or permanent random destruction on standard difficulty

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