Design Philosophy
This document captures the broader design intent behind the simulation. These are deliberate exclusions that protect clarity, determinism, and development velocity. If a future idea conflicts with this document, the idea is rejected unless this document is consciously revised first.
High Fidelity Physical Simulation
The project does not aim to simulate real-world physics accurately. No real fluid dynamics, no accurate gas laws, no realistic electrical grids, no heat transfer or thermodynamics beyond simple thresholds, no structural stress or collision physics.
All physical systems are simplified, discrete, and room-scoped. Believability matters more than realism.
Continuous Space and Sub-Tile Precision
The simulation does not model continuous space. No floating-point world coordinates, no sub-tile positioning, no partial tile occupancy, no smooth spatial interpolation for simulation logic.
The world exists as an integer grid. Rooms are the primary unit of meaning, not geometry.
Direct Player Control of Individuals
The player does not directly control crew members. No manual movement commands, no click-to-order individual actions, no tactical micromanagement, no real-time combat control.
All crew behavior is autonomous and policy-driven. The player influences systems, not people.
Realistic Human Psychology
Crew psychology is intentionally coarse and symbolic. No detailed emotional models, no long-term memory simulation, no deep interpersonal relationship graphs, no therapy or recovery simulations.
Traits and needs exist to drive behavior and failure, not to model real humans.
Perfect Fairness or Balance
The game does not aim to be fair in a traditional game sense. No guaranteed recoverability from mistakes, no even difficulty curves, no protection from cascading failure, no symmetrical outcomes across runs.
Failure is expected, uneven, and sometimes abrupt.
Exhaustive Player Information
The player does not have perfect knowledge. No global omniscient dashboards, no exact future predictions, no full causal explanations surfaced automatically, no complete visibility into all internal variables.
Logs and UI expose symptoms and state changes, not internal reasoning.
Maximum Performance and Scalability
The simulation does not target massive scale. No thousands of crew, no entire planets or fleets, no massive stations with hundreds of rooms, no multiplayer or network synchronization.
Single-threaded determinism and clarity take priority over raw performance.
Modding and Scripting Support
The initial project does not support external modification. No modding APIs, no scripting languages, no data-driven system definitions, no save file editing as a feature.
Extensibility may come later, but only after the core simulation proves itself.
Moral Messaging or Didactic Design
The game does not aim to teach lessons or present moral judgments. No prescriptive ethics, no clear good or bad endings, no rewarding specific political or moral choices, no commentary delivered via exposition.
Any meaning emerges from systems and outcomes, not authorial intent.