e437a18121
Vision, requirements, tech stack, and phased roadmap for the space survival game, plus Unreal-appropriate .gitignore/.gitattributes and Git LFS setup.
113 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
113 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
# Requirements
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Requirements are grouped by system. Each item is tagged:
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- **[MVP]** — needed for the first playable milestone (single-player/session, one system)
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- **[Core]** — needed before calling this "the game" (session-based multiplayer, full loop)
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- **[Stretch]** — the persistent-MMO / full-galaxy ambition; comes after Core is solid
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## 1. Ship
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- [MVP] Player can pilot a ship with 6-DOF or flight-model movement in open space.
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- [MVP] Ship has at least: hull, one power source, thrusters, one storage container.
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- [MVP] Ship systems can be damaged and repaired (hull integrity, component health).
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- [Core] Modular grid-based construction: attach/detach blocks (thrusters, power,
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storage, weapons, life support) on a snap grid, similar to Space Engineers.
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- [Core] Power system: generation, consumption, and outage consequences (no thrust,
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no life support) when under-powered.
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- [Core] Life support: oxygen and/or power must be maintained for crew to survive
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aboard ship.
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- [Core] Ship persists between sessions (saved layout, inventory, damage state).
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- [Stretch] Multiple crew can occupy and operate the same ship simultaneously
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(pilot, gunner, engineer roles).
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- [Stretch] Ship-to-ship combat with component-level damage (target the engine,
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disable the shield generator, etc).
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## 2. Space Station (base of operations)
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- [MVP] A single hand-placed station exists as a hub: dock, restock, respawn point.
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- [Core] Players can build/expand the station from modular components (same
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construction system as ships, non-mobile).
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- [Core] Station has persistent storage, crafting stations, and a docking system for
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player ships.
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- [Core] Station respawn point on player death.
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- [Stretch] Multiple stations, player-founded, potentially claimable/ownable by a
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group.
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- [Stretch] Station defense (turrets, shields) against NPC or player raids.
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## 3. Galaxy & Travel
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- [MVP] One star system, flyable, with a defined boundary.
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- [Core] Star map UI showing known systems and jump targets.
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- [Core] Warp/jump travel between systems with a travel-time or loading transition
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(does not need to be seamless).
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- [Stretch] Procedurally generated galaxy (seeded), effectively unbounded number of
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systems, generated on demand rather than pre-authored.
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- [Stretch] Points of interest per system (asteroid fields, derelicts, anomalies,
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NPC factions/traders).
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## 4. Planets
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- [MVP] At least one landable planet/moon with a bounded, hand-authored surface
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(an "instanced landing zone," not the full sphere).
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- [MVP] On-foot exploration: movement, basic environment hazards (e.g. no
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atmosphere = needs suit oxygen).
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- [Core] Resource gathering on planet surface (mining/harvesting nodes feed back
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into ship/station crafting).
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- [Core] Multiple biomes/planet types with distinct visuals and hazards.
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- [Core] Surface vehicle for faster traversal on larger landing zones (optional if
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zones stay small).
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- [Stretch] Procedurally generated planet surfaces (seed-based terrain, biome
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rules), replacing hand-authored zones.
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- [Stretch] Seamless space-to-surface transition (no loading screen) — explicitly
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deferred; revisit only once everything else is solid, see 03_TECH_STACK.md.
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## 5. Planetary Bases
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- [Core] Same modular construction system usable on a planet surface (foundation-
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anchored instead of free-floating).
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- [Core] Base provides shelter from surface hazards (atmosphere, temperature,
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radiation as applicable) and a resource processing/crafting point.
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- [Stretch] Base persists and is visible/enterable by other players who land on the
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same planet instance.
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- [Stretch] Environmental hazards that specifically threaten planetary bases
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(storms, corrosive atmosphere, local wildlife).
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## 6. Survival Systems
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- [MVP] Player character has health and a suit resource (oxygen and/or power) that
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depletes and must be resupplied.
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- [Core] Ship/station/base life support all tie into the same suit/oxygen model
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consistently.
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- [Core] Hull/structure integrity as a maintainable resource (things break, need
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repair materials).
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- [Stretch] Additional survival axes (temperature, radiation exposure, hunger) if
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they add meaningful decisions rather than busywork.
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## 7. Multiplayer & Persistence
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- [MVP] Not networked — single player, local only. Prove the core loop first.
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- [Core] Session-based multiplayer: a host runs a session, friends join directly
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(via Epic Online Services sessions), state persists only for that session/host.
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- [Stretch] Persistent shared world: player accounts, server-authoritative galaxy
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state, ship/base ownership stored server-side, available across sessions without
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a specific host needing to be online.
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- [Stretch] World sharded by star system: each system instance runs as its own
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server process, spun up on demand (see 03_TECH_STACK.md) rather than one seamless
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mega-server.
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- [Stretch] Permissions/ownership model for shared bases (who can build, access
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storage, dock).
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- [Stretch] Basic anti-grief tooling (claim radius, lockable doors/containers).
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## 8. Progression & Economy
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- [Core] Crafting/tech tree gates access to better ship components and base
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modules.
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- [Stretch] Trading between players and/or NPC factions.
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- [Stretch] Currency or barter economy tied to resources gathered.
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## 9. Non-Functional Requirements
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- **Platforms:** PC (Steam) at launch; architecture should not preclude console
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porting later (drives Epic Online Services choice over Steam-only APIs).
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- **Performance target:** 60 fps on mid-range hardware (defer exact spec until an
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art-direction pass; Nanite/Lumen usage affects this significantly).
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- **Concurrent players (Stretch phase):** design target of dozens of concurrent
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players per shard/system server, not hundreds — keeps the backend tractable for a
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solo/small team.
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- **Save integrity:** no permadeath data loss from a server crash mid-session
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(autosave cadence + transactional persistence once a backend exists).
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- **Art style:** not yet decided — recommend committing to a style that reduces
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asset-production burden for a solo dev (stylized/mid-poly beats photoreal for a
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one-person or small team; revisit once Phase 1 is playable).
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