152 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
152 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
# Content Design — Ships & Modules
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First real-content iteration (June 2026). This pass defines ship hull grids
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and module surface masks only. Stats, materials, recipes, and threat costs in
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the config files are placeholders; the recipe pass and the balancing pass
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come later.
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## Design principle: footprint gating
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Which module fits on which hull is controlled purely by geometry — no
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explicit allow-lists. Each hull grid is shaped so that it physically cannot
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contain the footprint of modules from a larger size class. This keeps the
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rules transparent to the player ("it doesn't fit because there is no room")
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and makes them trivially moddable through the config files alone.
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### Module footprint ladder
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| Footprint | Modules | Smallest hull that fits it |
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|-----------|---------|----------------------------|
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| 1x1 | laser_cannon_s, salvager, repair_tool | drone |
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| 1x2 | maneuvering_thrusters, sensor_booster, armor_plates | frigate |
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| 1x3 | afterburner | frigate (eats most of it) |
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| L-shape (3 cells) | weapon_stabilizer, weapon_primer, weapon_upgrade | frigate |
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| 2x2 | laser_cannon_m, drone_bay | cruiser |
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| 3x3 | laser_cannon_l | battleship |
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| 2x6 | drone_hangar | carrier (only) |
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### Hull grids
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`O` = buildable cell, `X` = hull structure (not buildable).
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**drone (xs, 1 cell)** — exactly one 1x1 module: a small gun, a salvager, or
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a repair tool. This is what makes drone roles swappable.
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O
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**frigate (s, 5 cells)** — plus shape. Every 1x2 placement crosses the center
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cell, so at most ONE 1x2 support fits; alternatively one L-shaped weapon
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modifier or one afterburner through the center line. Gun-boat with one or two
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support modules, as intended.
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XOX
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OOO
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XOX
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**destroyer (s, 8 cells)** — gun deck with three turret bumps. More cells
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than the frigate (more small guns), but still no 2x2 area anywhere, so medium
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hardware can never be mounted.
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OXOXO
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OOOOO
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**cruiser (m, 12 cells)** — notched corners. Fits at most two 2x2 m guns
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(stacked through the middle), leaving the side cells for supports. No 3x3
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area.
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XOOX
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OOOO
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OOOO
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XOOX
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**battlecruiser (m, 16 cells)** — split bow with two gun cheeks, tapered
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stern. Fits three 2x2 m guns — one more than the cruiser — with small support
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slots left over. The bow split and stern taper prevent any 3x3 area (no l
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gun) and any 2x6 area (no drone hangar).
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OOXXOO
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OOOOOO
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XOOOOX
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XXOOXX
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**battleship (l, 24 cells)** — broadside hull with notched flanks on every
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other row. Fits four 2x2 m guns (two per gun deck) — one more than the
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battlecruiser — with bow, stern, and flank cells for supports. All 3x3
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placements crowd the center columns, so at most ONE l gun fits: mounted
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center it blocks every m gun mount (pure support strips remain), mounted
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offset it still allows two m guns. The notched rows are never adjacent-and-
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full, so no 2x6 drone hangar fits.
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XOOOOX
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OOOOOO
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XOOOOX
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OOOOOO
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XOOOOX
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**dreadnought (xl, 36 cells)** — the main battery deck is split into three
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3x3 gun slots by structural spacer columns, so exactly three l guns fit side
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by side (or m guns / supports in unused slots), plus bow/stern strips for
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supports. The spacers cap every horizontal run at 5 cells, so the 2x6 drone
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hangar can never fit — the carrier stays the only hangar hull.
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XXXOOOOOXXX
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OOOXOOOXOOO
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OOOXOOOXOOO
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OOOXOOOXOOO
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XXOOXXXOOXX
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**carrier (xl, 37 cells)** — the top flight deck (rows 0–1) is the only
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region wide enough for the 2x6 drone hangar, and exactly one fits. The middle
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deck row is broken up by elevator shafts (X cells placed so every 3-column
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window hits one), which is what prevents any 3x3 l gun from ever fitting.
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Lower decks hold supports and 2x2 point-defense m guns.
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XOOOOOOOOX
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OOOOOOOOOO
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OOXOOXOOXO
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XOOOOOOOOX
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XXXOOOOXXX
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### Verified gating matrix
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Checked programmatically against the configs (all four mask rotations,
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all placements):
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| Footprint | drone | frigate | destroyer | cruiser | battlecruiser | battleship | dreadnought | carrier |
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|-----------|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
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| 1x1 | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
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| 1x2 | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
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| 1x3 | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
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| L-shape | | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
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| 2x2 | | | | x | x | x | x | x |
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| 3x3 | | | | | | x | x | |
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| 2x6 | | | | | | | | x |
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Maximum simultaneous (disjoint) placements: m guns — cruiser 2,
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battlecruiser 3, battleship 4; l guns — battleship 1, dreadnought 3;
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drone hangar — carrier 1.
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## Deliberate placeholders / open questions for later passes
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- All new hulls have `threat.cost_formula = "0"` so enemy waves do not spawn
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them yet (WaveSystem treats any ship with positive threat cost as wave-
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eligible, regardless of unlock level). The balancing pass should set real
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threat costs together with `default_modules` loadouts so waves spawn them
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armed.
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- All new hulls are `unlock_at_station_level = -1` (available from the start)
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to make layout testing easy; the progression pass should stagger these.
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- Ship hull material items (`frigate_hull` … `carrier_hull`) and the new
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module items (`laser_cannon_m_module`, `laser_cannon_l_module`,
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`drone_bay_module`, `drone_hangar_module`, …) have no recipes yet — that is
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the recipe pass. The old `laser_cannon_xs_module` recipe is orphaned (the
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module was renamed to `laser_cannon_s`, consuming `laser_cannon_s_module`,
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which already has a recipe).
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- `drone_bay` and `drone_hangar` are footprint-only placeholders: the drone
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launching capability does not exist in the simulation yet, so they define
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no capability section.
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- Renames in this pass: `laser_cannon_xs` → `laser_cannon_s` (the old 2x2
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`laser_cannon_s` became `laser_cannon_m`), `armor_plate` → `armor_plates`,
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`manuvering_thrusters` → `maneuvering_thrusters` (typo fix). Test data
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under `bin/test/data/config` intentionally still uses the old ids — it is
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an independent fixture set.
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