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gig-line/Docs/Architecture/04_solution_strategy.md
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zwitschi a1d52aa583 docs(arch): realism leads the quality list; performance moves to the end
Owner decision: prioritise realism, keep the performance target but put it last.

- Quality goals reordered (01 + combined architecture.md): 1 visual realism,
  2 geographic fidelity, 3 walkability/usability, 4 reproducibility/portability,
  5 provenance, 6 performance efficiency.
- Quality requirements (10 + combined) reordered to match, with two new realism
  requirements (façade reads like the photographs; placement within ~1 m) and the
  quality scenarios renumbered so QS-1 is the reference comparison and QS-9 the
  frame rate.
- Both documents carry the same guard so the order cannot become an excuse:
  performance is a floor, not a preference - 60 FPS at 1440p without frame
  generation must be met at every release; if realism cannot fit, the realism scope
  is cut deliberately and recorded, never the frame rate. Walkability outranks
  realism in one direction: a block you fall through is not a demo.
- Solution strategy and 'quality achievement' now lead with realism and describe
  performance as a budget rather than a driver.
- Docs/release-checks.md: the performance check is the last check, with that reason
  stated; ROADMAP gains a 'Quality priority' section; AGENTS.md gains the tie-break
  rule beside the existing scope-cutting rule.
2026-11-08 20:37:03 +01:00

2.6 KiB

Solution Strategy

Technology decisions

  • Unreal Engine 5.8.4 for rendering, World Partition, physics (Chaos), and the Enhanced Input system. Chosen for its Linux support, open C++ source, and real-time rendering quality.

  • Blender 5.2 LTS for all 3D modelling, UV work, and collision mesh authoring. Driven headlessly via bpy Python scripts, not MCP.

  • QGIS 4.2.3 for geographic data cleanup, coordinate conversion (EPSG:26911), and DEM preparation.

  • Blosm 2.7.28 for OSM building and street blockouts inside Blender (layout data only — not authoritative façade, height, or pavement detail).

  • MPFB 2.0.18 for human base meshes and baked materials (NPCs in 0.2.0+).

Top-level decomposition

The system is a single Unreal game module (GigLine) with no plugins beyond EnhancedInput. Content is organised by domain under /Game/Hollywood/:

  • Site/ — terrain, road, sidewalks, kerbs, crossing markings, site materials

  • ElCapitan/ — hero façade mesh and materials

  • Frontage/ — south-side block building meshes

  • North/ — north-side building meshes

  • Input/ — Enhanced Input actions and mapping context

All modelling and geographic processing live outside the game project in Art/, Geo/, and Tools/. The Game/ directory contains only engine-ready content and C++ source.

Quality achievement

  • Realism first: reference photography and measured data drive every façade decision; renders are compared against the photographs with Tools/visual_loop.py, and a façade is built from the shared 4.96 m module kit so the street wall reads consistently. Materials are authored in Unreal with world-aligned generated textures, and lighting is fixed daytime so a shot is comparable between runs.

  • Performance as a budget, not a driver: dynamic-only lighting (no build step, no static shadow maps), world-space-noise materials (cheap procedural variation), minimal overdraw for street-level geometry, and a 60 FPS at 1440p floor that every release must meet. It closes the quality list because it constrains how much realism fits, not what the block should look like.

  • Walkability: complex-as-simple collision on terrain (C++ helper forces the flag on the asset), block-all collision on every site mesh, swept transect QA verifies zero raycast holes.

  • Fidelity: geographic data verified before modelling (footprints, bounds, DEM); building placement checked against street mesh, never in isolation; reference photography drives façade work.

  • Reproducibility: pinned toolchain in Docs/toolchain.md, named export presets, Tools/check-lfs.sh gate, fresh-checkout build procedure in Docs/build.md.