Reorder TODO and docs around character and map priorities

PLAN.md

@@ -14,6 +14,23 @@ The game is about **judgment, communication, access verification, and proportion
 - **Emergency help is a last resort.** Responders handle crises the guard cannot safely manage; calling them has costs.
 - **Readability beats raw fidelity.** The GL Compatibility renderer, clear silhouettes, the focus ring, and the HUD stay legible.
 
+## Development Priorities
+
+The active planning order is set in [`TODO.md`](TODO.md) and in `AGENTS.md`:
+
+1. **Character development (unversioned).** Expand the owned procedural character library with
+   crowd, age, build, hair and outfit variety. Keep the frozen bone/tint/gear contract; see
+   [ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md) and
+   [`docs/npc-model-sourcing.md`](docs/npc-model-sourcing.md). Quaternius is a reference;
+   MakeHuman is deferred to a separate local pipeline.
+2. **Local map development (unversioned).** Move beyond stylized venue reconstruction with
+   licensed OpenStreetMap and 3D building data, downloaded reference imagery for photoreal
+   facades, AI-assisted composition, and a Gaussian-splatting evaluation that stays in the
+   development pipeline unless it proves runtime-safe.
+3. **Versioned release hardening.** The 0.10.0 release candidate and later semantic versions come
+   after the unversioned development tracks in planning order. Versions are assigned only when a
+   track's scope is accepted into a release.
+
 ## Core Gameplay Loop
 
 1. Watch the entrance, steps, queue, and sidewalk.
@@ -152,14 +169,15 @@ The action wheel prioritizes de-escalation: Stop, Look, Point, No, Ask, Inspect,
 
 The visual direction is readable stylized realism:
 
-- **Blender library:** 8 skinned NPC variants, 18 gear pieces, and 20 street/venue props, with baked albedo/normal/AO/ORM maps, a manifest, and procedural fallbacks. `Rig/Head` stays the focus anchor.
+- **Character direction:** 8 skinned NPC variants, 18 gear pieces and 20 street/venue props, with four crowd-variety variants prototyped. The generator-first expansion is the active character track ([ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md)); Quaternius is a reference and MakeHuman is deferred to a local pipeline.
 - **Realism pass:** AI-assisted per-phase skyline panoramas, v2 surface tiles with normal maps, wet asphalt at night, a warm day haze, phase-specific sun/exposure/fog, a visible flashlight beam, and denser foliage.
+- **Local map direction:** the venues are currently stylized reconstructions. The local-map track evaluates licensed OpenStreetMap/3D building data, licensed reference photography, AI-assisted composition and Gaussian splatting as a development tool; online data and splat rendering are not runtime dependencies.
 - **References and QA:** runtime UI art lives in `assets/images/ui/`; reference/art-direction sets live in `docs/screens/designs/` and `docs/screens/concepts/`; captures live in `docs/screenshots/`; realism runs live in `docs/screens/realism/`. `screen_designs.py compare/judge` and `tools/check_screenshots.sh` guard drift.
 - **Storage convention:** see [ADR-0014](docs/adr/0014-runtime-image-root.md). Never overwrite an existing image; new outputs get a new path or `-vN` suffix.
 
-The path from the current vertical slice to the 0.10.0 release candidate — content depth, onboarding, accessibility, platform QA and release readiness — is tracked in [`TODO.md`](TODO.md); this plan stays at the product/design level.
+The active planning order — unversioned character and local-map development first, then the versioned 0.10.0 release-candidate hardening and later releases — is tracked in [`TODO.md`](TODO.md); this plan stays at the product/design level.
 
-Primary decisions: [ADR-0007](docs/adr/0007-locomotion-and-input-layers.md), [ADR-0008](docs/adr/0008-cone-focus-and-head-ring.md), [ADR-0009](docs/adr/0009-radial-action-menu.md), [ADR-0010](docs/adr/0010-procedural-npc-presentation.md), [ADR-0011](docs/adr/0011-aim-free-selection-and-precision-walk.md), [ADR-0012](docs/adr/0012-surface-materials-and-generated-props.md), [ADR-0013](docs/adr/0013-blender-authored-npc-characters.md).
+Primary decisions: [ADR-0007](docs/adr/0007-locomotion-and-input-layers.md), [ADR-0008](docs/adr/0008-cone-focus-and-head-ring.md), [ADR-0009](docs/adr/0009-radial-action-menu.md), [ADR-0010](docs/adr/0010-procedural-npc-presentation.md), [ADR-0011](docs/adr/0011-aim-free-selection-and-precision-walk.md), [ADR-0012](docs/adr/0012-surface-materials-and-generated-props.md), [ADR-0013](docs/adr/0013-blender-authored-npc-characters.md), [ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md).
 
 ## Tech Stack
 
@@ -176,7 +194,7 @@ Primary decisions: [ADR-0007](docs/adr/0007-locomotion-and-input-layers.md), [AD
 
 ## Versioning and Delivery
 
-`config/version` in `project.godot` is the single version source (currently `0.10.0-rc.1`). Releases are tagged `v<version>`; the CI pipeline builds and publishes the standard artifacts plus the optional Desktop HQ zip. Version bumps follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). See [`docs/RELEASING.md`](docs/RELEASING.md) and [`README.md`](README.md) for commands.
+`config/version` in `project.godot` is the single version source (currently `0.10.0-rc.1`). Releases are tagged `v<version>`; the CI pipeline builds and publishes the standard artifacts plus the optional Desktop HQ zip. Version bumps follow [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/): every major, minor and patch increment needs a changelog entry, a local `tools/build_releases.sh` build, and artifact/checksum verification before tagging. Unversioned development tracks do not receive a version until their scope enters a release. See [`docs/RELEASING.md`](docs/RELEASING.md) and [`README.md`](README.md) for commands.
 
 ## Design Direction
 
@@ -189,4 +207,3 @@ The game should feel like a tense workplace simulation with occasional crisis mo
 - A rare Bob Dobbs cameo (Easter-egg appearance; placement note in `MEMORY.md`).
 - Specific unusual NPC behaviors, such as slapping their own face, using hands as scissors, or interacting with props unexpectedly.
 - Live 3D body-camera replay; additional venues or seasonal events; real voice/dialogue audio; an image-to-mesh prop pipeline.
-- More varied NPC silhouettes (age, build, hair and outfit), using either an extended procedural character generator or a reviewed CC0/CC-BY source; the evaluation and pending decision are in `docs/npc-model-sourcing.md`.