# TODO

Work is grouped by theme. Each item should be small enough to complete and verify on its own;
see `AGENTS.md` for the workflow and `MEMORY.md` for the decisions behind these plans.

**Priority order:** Character development → Local map development → versioned release milestones →
future/deferred work. See `AGENTS.md` §Priority and Versioning.

## Character development

Goal: break the eight-character clone effect with four licence-cleared crowd-variety looks while
keeping the frozen `npc_base` bone, tint-slot and gear-attach contract. The procedural generator is
the primary path; Quaternius is a reviewed reference and MakeHuman is deferred to a separate local
development pipeline. This is the current development priority; keep it out of the frozen
0.10.0 release candidate and assign a release version only when its scope is accepted.

### Source review and decision

- [x] Research free/open-source character sources and evaluate at least three downloads against
      the existing Blender contract. (Measured Quaternius CC0, Kenney CC0, Khronos
      CesiumMan/RiggedFigure CC-BY and the MakeHuman CC0 base mesh; none is a drop-in.
      Results, local preview sheet and SHA-256 provenance are in
      `docs/npc-model-sourcing.md`.)
- [x] Review the sourcing research with the project owner and choose Option A (procedural),
      Option B (Quaternius CC0 intake) or Option C (MakeHuman/MPFB body pipeline); record the
      decision in an ADR and in `MEMORY.md`. (2026-11-03: extend the procedural generator as the
      primary path, keep Quaternius as a reviewed prototype/reference, defer MakeHuman to a
      separate local pipeline. Recorded in ADR-0015 and `MEMORY.md`.)
- [x] Add a source licence allow-list and provenance rule: CC0 preferred, CC-BY only with
      attribution in `CREDITS.md`, and no service assets whose terms restrict redistribution.
      (ADR-0015; the CC-BY research previews are attributed in `CREDITS.md`.)
- [x] Decide whether the external preview sheet stays local under `tmp/` or is committed with
      the required CC-BY attribution. (Committed as
      `docs/blender_previews/sheet_npc_sources_research.jpg` with Cesium CC-BY attribution;
      the project-owned crowd prototype sheet is also committed.)

### Intake and validation

- [ ] Add a Blender `inspect` path that imports a GLB, applies node transforms, reports
      tris/verts, bounds, bones, materials, UVs and skinning, and lists contract failures.
- [ ] Add an `adapt` path for future external assets: scale/ground, weld seams, decimate, map the
      five tint slots, and either rebuild the contract armature or record an explicit second-rig
      contract. The Quaternius prototype showed that a contract rebuild needs a proportion warp,
      so this is not on the character-development critical path.
- [ ] Keep `tools/blender_assets.py audit` as the single final gate; add a regression test for the
      intake report/adaptation using a deterministic synthetic or licence-cleared fixture.
- [ ] Document the adapter commands and the go/no-go checks in `docs/asset-tooling.md`.

### Quaternius prototype

- [x] Prototype one Quaternius CC0 variant: weld/decimate to budget and capture Idle/Walk
      renders. (12,518 imported verts -> 3,199 after weld -> 2,423 / 4,654 tris after a 0.75
      decimate; Idle/Walk quality is good. Preview in
      `docs/blender_previews/sheet_npc_sources_research.jpg`.)
- [x] Measure the prototype against the `npc_casual` controls: silhouette, rest pose, body
      proportions and gear fit. (No-go for a contract rebuild: T-pose 62-bone realistic rig,
      ~0.96 m hip, ~1.68 m arm span and ~0.153 m shoulder joint do not match the arm-down
      13-bone contract. Keep as reference; a second rig/animation path needs its own ADR.)
- [x] Make a go/no-go decision on Option B. (No-go for the current pass; proceed with the procedural
      generator and keep Quaternius as a visual/style reference.)

### Roster and runtime

- [x] Approve four crowd-variety looks (build, head silhouette, hair/beard, outer layer and
      accessory; no clothing that labels the NPC's behaviour). (`npc_crowd_a` bun/slim/sunglasses,
      `npc_crowd_b` bald/broad/beard/shoulder bag, `npc_crowd_c` coat/umbrella, `npc_crowd_d`
      hood/cup; prototype sheet committed.)
- [ ] Add the four approved specs to `CHARACTERS`, build and commit their GLBs/AO maps, and
      update the manifest with roles and tint data. (Prototype assets are local under `tmp/`;
      do not add them to the current release candidate.)
- [ ] Replace the fixed `character_model_for()` mapping with deterministic per-role pools and add
      tests for repeatability and duplicate avoidance.
- [ ] Rebuild and verify gear fit for every new variant (`blender_assets.py fit` plus the runtime
      gear checks).

### QA and release

- [ ] Run the 24-NPC budget smoke, portrait baseline, gear fit, headless suite and a release build
      with the expanded library.
- [ ] Update `CREDITS.md`, `docs/development-status.md`, `docs/npc-visual-review.md` and
      `CHANGELOG.md`; record any accepted visual limits.
- [ ] Exit: a reviewed 12-character library passes contract audit, portrait/gear acceptance,
      the 24-NPC budget and licence/provenance review without changing the runtime contract.

### Deferred MakeHuman local pipeline

- [x] Evaluate the MakeHuman CC0 base mesh for a later separate local development pipeline.
      (19,158 verts / 36,972 tris; scaled to 1.82 m; decimate 0.35 -> 3,780 verts / 6,468 tris;
      UVs present, no normals/material groups/rig. Feasible only with retopology, a custom rig and
      project-owned clothing; keep out of CI/build.)
- [ ] Decide whether body-shape diversity still matters after the 12-character library lands; if
      yes, prototype the local MPFB/MakeHuman pipeline outside the repo and commit only the final
      CC0-derived assets with provenance.

## Local map development

Goal: build a local, data-backed map pipeline that can replace or supplement the stylized venue
geometry with licensed OpenStreetMap footprints, 3D building massing, reference-derived photoreal
facades and AI-assisted composition. This is an unversioned development track, not a release gate.

### Data, licensing and scope

- [ ] Define the first target block and whether the result replaces, supplements or only informs
      the current stylized venue specs (`docs/hollywood-boulevard-map.md`,
      `docs/joke-shop-map.md`).
- [ ] Audit OpenStreetMap's ODbL attribution/share-alike obligations and decide whether derived
      geometry ships, stays development-only, or needs a separate data layer.
- [ ] Choose an offline OSM extract workflow (Overpass/Geofabrik) and pin the extract date and
      query so the map build is reproducible.
- [ ] Evaluate licence-compatible 3D building datasets (OSM Buildings, Overture, CityGML/LOD1–2
      or local authority data); record coverage, accuracy, format and redistribution terms.
- [ ] Add a provenance sidecar for every map source and derived asset, including source URL,
      licence, capture/extract date and attribution text.

### Reference imagery

- [ ] Write a reference shot list per block: facade materials, windows, signage, rooflines,
      street furniture, curb cuts and lighting.
- [ ] Download and catalogue reference images from Wikimedia Commons, local/own photography or
      other clearly licensed sources; record author, licence and attribution. Do not use
      unlicensed Street View or scraped commercial imagery.
- [ ] Separate development-only references from shipped textures; commit only images with clear
      redistribution rights and keep the rest under `tmp/` or the ignored reference folders.
- [ ] Define the photoreal target and a material-derivation workflow (albedo/normal/roughness,
      AO, weathering) that matches the existing Compatibility renderer.

### Geometry and AI-assisted composing

- [ ] Prototype OSM footprint import into Blender at game scale and orientation, then compare it
      against the current venue footprint/collider layout.
- [ ] Import 3D building massing for the target block, clean the topology and assign LOD bands;
      do not import unbounded city-scale meshes into the runtime.
- [ ] Build a reusable photoreal facade kit (window bays, cornices, storefronts, awnings, signage)
      so buildings share materials and stay inside the venue triangle/material budgets.
- [ ] Add an AI-assisted composition step for palette, facade rhythm and reference boards; record
      the model, prompt and output, and keep human review as the acceptance gate. AI output must
      not be treated as licensed map data or shipped without provenance.
- [ ] Integrate the result behind `WorldBuilder.VENUE_SPECS` with colliders, navigation obstacles,
      occlusion and the existing day/night materials.

### Gaussian splatting evaluation: photo intake and provenance

Gaussian splatting is evaluated as a photo-driven pipeline: licensed or permissioned photos
become a reference, texture source, mesh proxy or distant backdrop. It is an unversioned local
track with no runtime dependency or release gate until the ADR closes it, and it extends the
reference-image licence and privacy gates above rather than replacing them.

- [ ] Define the accepted photo channels: project/team captures, volunteer or user-supplied
      photos with written permission, and downloaded images from clearly licensed archives
      (Wikimedia Commons, Openverse, Mapillary and similar). Record which channel produced
      each reconstruction.
- [ ] Write a one-page capture brief for user-supplied photos: overlapping arc or orbit around
      the facade, 60–80% view overlap, 12 MP+ originals, fixed exposure/white balance, HDR and
      filters off, no motion blur, no people or plates in frame where avoidable, overcast or
      even light, and the facade height/doors/steps included in several frames.
- [ ] Build an intake checklist and provenance sidecar per photo set: contributor, consent or
      property permission, licence and attribution text, source URL, capture date, camera/lens,
      location, faces/plates/interiors present, redactions applied, file hashes and whether the
      set is shipped or development-only.
- [ ] Set the licence gate: own photos need an explicit contributor licence; CC0/CC BY are
      preferred; CC BY-SA triggers a share-alike review for derived textures and meshes; reject
      Street View, social-media scrapes, unlicensed commercial imagery and AI-upscaled copies of
      unknown originals. Attribution must be feasible in `CREDITS.md` before use.
- [ ] Set the privacy gate: blur or remove faces, minors, licence plates, screens, private
      interiors and anything behind a closed door; obtain property permission where required;
      keep a redacted copy as the reconstruction input and never commit the originals.
- [ ] Treat downloaded photo sets as sparse and of unknown intrinsics. Use them for reference,
      palette and texture study, or as extra training views; do not expect a usable splat from
      10–30 casual web photos of a facade.
- [ ] Keep photos, masks, COLMAP databases, checkpoints and splats outside git; commit only
      derived, licensed, provenance-stamped assets that pass the review gate.

### Gaussian splatting: reconstruction and alignment

- [ ] Pin a reproducible offline toolchain (for example COLMAP or GLOMAP for camera poses plus
      gsplat, OpenSplat, Nerfstudio or Brush for training), with exact versions, GPU/VRAM/disk
      needs and known failure modes recorded in the sidecar.
- [ ] Reconstruct two quality tiers: a dense 100–400-photo arc/orbit capture and a sparse
      10–30-photo downloaded set. Record camera-registration rate, training time, splat count,
      file size and held-out PSNR/SSIM/LPIPS for both.
- [ ] Mask sky, people, vehicles and moving foliage before training; verify the masks do not
      erase facade edges, signage or window detail, and keep the redacted input variant.
- [ ] Align the splat to game coordinates from the OSM footprint plus surveyed points (door
      width, column spacing, step rise, storefront height) and record alignment residuals in a
      Blender scene containing both the splat and the current venue geometry.
- [ ] Judge quality from held-out views and a render from the game’s day/night camera poses,
      not from training views alone; reject splats that only look correct from the capture path.
- [ ] Maintain a coverage map per block: which facades, corners and rooflines have usable views,
      and which areas must fall back to the facade kit or stylized geometry.

### Gaussian splatting: map enhancement paths

- [ ] **Path A — Reference and QA (lowest risk):** render the splat from game camera poses and
      compare it with the realism captures; derive dimensions, signage placement, facade rhythm
      and material colours. No splat data reaches the runtime.
- [ ] **Path B — Texture derivation:** project splat renders onto the facade kit to produce
      albedo, normal, roughness and AO candidates; de-light and bake them, then verify UV scale,
      tiling and readability under the Compatibility renderer.
- [ ] **Path C — Mesh proxy:** extract a mesh from the splat or dense reconstruction, retopo and
      dress it in Blender, assign LODs, and keep it inside the venue triangle/material budgets
      with mesh-based colliders and navigation.
- [ ] **Path D — Distant backdrop:** test a baked panorama, impostor or billboard generated from
      the splat for skyline and opposite-street depth where the player cannot walk; measure file
      size, loading and visible pop at the venue boundary.
- [ ] **Path E — User-photo supplement:** let a small supplied photo set improve one facade or
      landmark (a signage patch, colour reference or hero detail) without rebuilding the venue;
      define the minimum evidence and the same licence/privacy/review gate as a full capture.
- [ ] For every path record quality gain versus effort, licence compatibility of the derived
      output, and whether the result may ship or stays development-only. Prefer the cheapest
      path that closes the visible gap.

### Gaussian splatting: runtime evaluation and decision

- [ ] Probe Godot 4.7.2 Compatibility and Web support for splat rendering in a throwaway scene:
      addon or importer availability, shader/sort cost, memory, load time and fallback behaviour.
      Do not add a splat dependency to the release project during evaluation.
- [ ] Set hard limits before any runtime experiment: maximum per-splat file size and total
      memory, allowed frame-time delta on the 24-NPC budget scene, acceptable Web load time, and
      no compute-shader requirement for the Compatibility/Web path.
- [ ] Keep collision and navigation mesh-based even if a splat is displayed; a splat must never
      become the playable floor or the access/occlusion authority.
- [ ] Write the ADR with a per-path go/no-go, the accepted licence/provenance rules, whether each
      result ships or stays development-only, rejected alternatives and the evidence bundle.
- [ ] Exit: one licensed photo capture measurably improves a venue through a documented path and
      passes visual, performance and provenance review; or the approach is rejected with
      reproducible findings and removed from the release path.

### QA and exit

- [ ] Compare the data-backed block against the existing screenshots and map documentation; keep
      the stylized fallback available.
- [ ] Run the venue triangle/mesh budget, navigation and collider checks, plus day/night capture
      comparisons.
- [ ] Update `docs/architecture.md`, the venue map documents, `docs/asset-tooling.md`,
      `docs/development-status.md` and `CHANGELOG.md` when the pipeline ships or a source is
      rejected.
- [ ] Exit: one local block is reconstructed from licensed data with reference-derived photoreal
      facades, passes performance/navigation/visual QA and has complete provenance; or the
      pipeline is rejected with the findings recorded.

## Milestone 0.10.0 — Release candidate

Goal: freeze the feature set, prove it with external players, clear release/legal blockers and
verify every distribution path. This remains the next versioned release after the 0.9.x patch
line, but follows the unversioned character and local-map tracks in planning order.

### Content lock and external playtest

- [x] Declare a content/feature freeze for 0.10.0; only release-blocking fixes and balance changes
      may land after the freeze. (Frozen 2026-11-03 after the 0.9.6 integration
      checkpoint; this pass is limited to release reliability, accessibility,
      balance evidence and packaging.)
- [x] Produce a release-candidate build with the tutorial, campaign, all three venues, Help,
      accessibility settings and checkpoint/resume enabled. (Clean worktree
      `a9658ec` built `0.10.0-rc.1`: Linux 161.5 MB, Windows 197.2 MB, macOS
      148.0 MB, Web 97.8 MB and HQ 241.6 MB. The Web/HQ archives include the
      credits, privacy, accessibility and known-limitations pages; SHA-256
      manifests were written; the Linux and HQ binaries launched headless and the
      Web index/wasm/pck/docs returned HTTP 200. Not published because external
      playtest and legal approval remain open.)
- [ ] Run at least five first-time-player sessions covering the tutorial and one full venue shift;
      record where players get stuck, misunderstand evidence or choose disproportionate escalation.
- [ ] Triage findings by severity (P0/P1/P2) and fix every P0/P1 onboarding/accessibility issue;
      keep the rest as explicit known limitations or post-0.10 items.
- [ ] Re-run the affected tutorial/campaign smokes after each fix and capture a fresh first-hour
      walkthrough for the release notes.

### Balance and fairness pass

- [x] Define measurable targets for routine compliance, access-decision accuracy, peaceful
      resolution, justified emergency calls and false-positive/false-negative rates.
      (`docs/balance-acceptance.md` defines cohorts, denominators, 36 matrix cells,
      seeds, thresholds and matched emergency-first comparisons. Documentation verified;
      targets are not measured results.)
- [ ] Run scripted venue sweeps across easy/normal/hard and all four phases; compare outcomes and
      tune event weights, reaction tables, compliance and report strictness where targets fail.
- [ ] Review emergency calls against actual danger: no routine behavior should make emergency the
      dominant winning move, and genuine threats must remain answerable. Include the
      type-derived `_read_npc_truth()` mismatch with observed threats/forced entry;
      use independently labelled behavior evidence, not the helper as its own oracle.
- [ ] Verify the reputation grades, debrief explanations and campaign progression still communicate
      the de-escalation-first design after tuning.
- [ ] Record the balance evidence and any deliberate exceptions in `docs/development-status.md`
      or `MEMORY.md`.

### Save migration and session reliability

- [x] Add fixtures for a 0.8-era settings/campaign/history save and a 0.9.0 checkpoint; verify
      migration/default-filling and a clean first launch with no files. (Committed
      fixtures under `src/test/fixtures/saves/`; 9 migration/failure tests cover
      old settings/campaign/history, the 0.9.0 checkpoint, all three venue
      checkpoint round-trips, clean install, corrupt JSON and a blocked atomic
      replace. Suite is now 272 tests.)
- [x] Test fresh install → tutorial → campaign → pause → quit → resume → review → next venue on
      an isolated user-data directory. (Tutorial and campaign smokes shared one
      isolated `XDG_DATA_HOME`; tutorial completion/replay/skip then campaign
      resume/review-continue/help both passed. Pause/menu behavior is covered by
      `smoke_session_shell.gd`.)
- [x] Test corrupt JSON, partial temp files, missing optional fields and a failed atomic rename;
      confirm fallback behavior never destroys a valid save. (Corrupt/partial files
      fall back to defaults; a blocked temp path reports an error and leaves the
      prior valid settings intact. `_load_json` now uses the non-logging JSON
      instance parser.)
- [x] Verify checkpoint resume after all three venues, after an incident, with NPCs at the door and
      with flashlight/body-camera/door state set. (The migration suite round-trips a
      checkpoint for Hollywood, the Joke Shop and the TV Studio with an open
      incident, one NPC row, flashlight/body-camera/door flags; the campaign smoke
      resumes a live checkpoint through the real `GameManager`.)
- [x] Document save locations, schema versions, reset behavior and rollback/export instructions in
      `docs/getting-started.md` and the release notes. (`getting-started.md` now
      documents the four files, version-1 checkpoint, atomic write/fallback,
      clean install, reset and backup/rollback.)

### Release engineering and distribution

- [x] Run `tools/build_releases.sh` from a clean checkout and verify Linux/Windows/macOS/Web/HQ
      artifact names, sizes and checksums. (Clean worktree `a9658ec` built the
      five artifacts listed above; `PUBLISH_DRY_RUN=1` produced and printed
      `build/SHA256SUMS-0.10.0-rc.1.txt` without touching the API.)
- [ ] Smoke-test fresh Linux portable/AppImage, Windows portable/installer, macOS unzip/launch,
      Web static hosting and Desktop HQ Vulkan fallback on the target matrix.
      (Linux portable and Desktop HQ launched headless; Web files served over a
      local static server with HTTP 200. AppImage/installer were not built locally
      and Windows/macOS launch testing still needs the target matrix.)
- [x] Add a disk-space preflight and retention policy to the release/publish scripts so a full
      Gitea host cannot leave a partially uploaded release. (`publish_release.sh`
      checks artifact size/free space, writes SHA-256 checksums, supports
      `PUBLISH_DRY_RUN`, rolls back uploaded assets/new releases on failure, and
      offers opt-in `RETAIN_RELEASES` pruning; dry-run verified.)
- [x] Verify release metadata, tag/version consistency, asset counts and download links; retain
      at least the latest 0.8/0.9 releases and document older-asset pruning.
      (Source/version and tag are both 0.9.6; all seven published releases carry
      5–7 assets, including the retained v0.8.0/v0.8.1/v0.9.0/v0.9.1 line.
      `publish_release.sh` documents opt-in `RETAIN_RELEASES` pruning and
      `RELEASING.md` describes the seven-release policy.)
- [x] Decide and document whether macOS signing/notarization is required for 0.10.0 or explicitly
      remains a future release blocker; record the quarantine instructions either way.
      (0.10.0 ships unsigned with quarantine instructions; signing/notarization
      remains an explicit public-release blocker in `RELEASING.md` and
      `known-limitations.md`.)

### Legal, credits and platform policy

- [x] Audit AI-assisted asset provenance and licenses; record source/model usage and any
      redistribution constraints for textures, characters, props and UI art.
      (`CREDITS.md` records the Blender/OpenRouter toolchain, default model slugs,
      missing per-file generation metadata and the commercial-rights review as an
      explicit release blocker.)
- [x] Audit audio/SFX/music licensing (or confirm everything is procedural) and add a credits file.
      (All runtime audio is procedural; no external music/SFX files are bundled.
      `CREDITS.md` records this.)
- [x] Review body-camera/privacy language, mental-health-crisis representation, age/content rating
      and storefront requirements; fix any release-blocking copy or content.
      (`PRIVACY.md` clarifies the simulated body camera/local-only data; the
      accessibility and known-limitations pages record the remaining
      mental-health/rating/storefront review as a release blocker rather than
      claiming approval.)
- [x] Add the player-facing credits, known limitations, accessibility statement and privacy note to
      the release package/README. (`README.md` links `CREDITS.md`, `PRIVACY.md`,
      `docs/accessibility.md` and `docs/known-limitations.md`; the Web and Desktop
      HQ package builders copy those documents into the shipped archives.)
- [ ] Mark external legal/storefront approval as complete or explicitly block the 0.10.0 release on it.

### Documentation and visual sign-off

- [ ] Update `README.md`, `PLAN.md`, `docs/architecture.md`, ADRs, `docs/development-status.md`,
      `docs/getting-started.md`, `docs/smoke-checklist.md`, `CHANGELOG.md` and this roadmap.
- [ ] Regenerate the full screenshot gallery and realism baselines after content lock; run
      `check_screenshots.sh` and the pinned vision judge, recording model/spend/verdicts.
- [ ] Run the manual smoke checklist on every target and attach/link the release-candidate evidence.
- [ ] Verify the tutorial/campaign/help text at maximum font scale and with the longest strings.
- [x] Remove or archive stale plans/notes and confirm no contradictory version/status claims remain.
- [x] Document the character development toolchain in `docs/architecture.md`: base vs library
      sources, tool/artifact/gate table, runtime attach/animation contracts and rebuild discipline.
      (Added §5 "Character development tooling" plus risk and ownership-map updates;
      documentation check passed.)

### Release-candidate QA and exit

- [ ] Run the complete headless suite, Python tooling, tutorial/campaign/session/scenario smokes,
      24-NPC budget smoke and release build from a clean checkout.
- [ ] Run the manual QA matrix: fresh install, upgrade, offline launch, gamepad, accessibility
      settings, pause/resume, all venues and Desktop HQ fallback.
- [ ] Confirm no P0/P1 defects remain; P2 items must be documented as known limitations or
      post-0.10 work.
- [ ] Create the `v0.10.0` version bump, changelog entry and tag; build/publish the release and
      verify all assets and download links.
- [ ] Exit: the release candidate is content-locked, externally played, legally reviewed,
      documented, reproducibly built, and approved as the 0.10.0 release candidate.

## Gap Analysis and 0.x Roadmap

Baseline: **v0.9.6** (2026-11-03). Three playable venues, tutorial/campaign/checkpoint resume,
difficulty/help, audio/accessibility settings, a 24-NPC budget baseline, a complete
escalation/access/radio loop, shift review, the Blender asset library, 272 headless + 101 Python
tests, a 21/21 clean screen-design judge and an optional Forward+ Desktop HQ build. This is the
baseline; 0.10.0-rc.1 is the current candidate source, with release approvals still open.

### Documentation audit (completed 2026-11-01)

- [x] Make `docs/architecture.md` the single architecture source: asset/content pipeline
      contracts, runtime venue-switch/fallback flows, deployment/version constraints, quality
      requirements, risk register and documentation ownership map.
- [x] Keep command-heavy operational pages separate but subordinate: `docs/asset-tooling.md`,
      `docs/blender-assets.md`, `docs/getting-started.md`, `docs/RELEASING.md` and
      `docs/smoke-checklist.md` link to architecture rather than acting as parallel sources.
- [x] Remove the obsolete `docs/plan-graphics-v0.6.md` and its links; completed graphics work is
      represented by ADR-0013, the asset pipeline section and the changelog.
- [x] Resolve stale claims: README release version/download row, development status
      "Forward+ not implemented", and Blender props "not AO-baked".
- [x] Record the documentation ownership rule in `docs/architecture.md` §12: design intent
      (`PLAN.md`), mechanics (`gameplay.md`), system architecture/contracts (`architecture.md`),
      decisions (ADRs), status (`development-status.md`), roadmap (`TODO.md`), operations
      (tooling/release docs).

### Gap register (remaining roadmap)

| Area | Current baseline | Remaining gap | Risk | Milestone |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Character development | 8-variant library; source/licence review and Quaternius/MakeHuman evaluation complete | Four crowd variants, role pools, gear fit and runtime integration | Repetition remains or external assets break the contract | Unversioned |
| Local map development | Stylized venue geometry and reference maps | OSM/3D data, photoreal references, AI-assisted composition and splat evaluation | Licensing/provenance or performance failure | Unversioned |
| Content and balance | 3 venues with validated 12+ event matrices, recovery events and contextual dialogue | External playtest evidence, balance/fairness pass, event-weight tuning and final content lock | Repetition or unfair outcomes survive into the release candidate | 0.10.0 |
| Dialog/UI | Audited terminology, copy, button states, focus/navigation, modal close, long strings and all 21 screen captures | Keep the capture/compare/judge gate current as content changes | Low; the remaining risk is drift after new UI is added | Complete (0.9.3) |
| Animation/presentation | Procedural pose layers, portrait captures, reduced hem clipping, 8,000/8,000 NPC cap | Thorough NPC silhouette/face/gear/pose/LOD optimization before visual QA | Close-up jank reduces perceived quality | Complete (0.9.4) |
| Audio/accessibility | Procedural ambience/SFX, volume controls, captions/reduce-motion settings, searchable Help | Full accessibility/localization acceptance review, audio caption coverage and P0/P1 fixes | Public release cannot claim accessible play | 0.10.0 |
| Localization | English JSON table, validation and input-generated Help | Pseudo-locale/layout audit and translator workflow sign-off | Text expansion/clipping at release | 0.10.0 |
| Performance/platform | 24-NPC headless budget (6.94 ms), Compatibility/Web/HQ paths | Target hardware matrix, Web/HQ manual profiling, frame-time/memory evidence | Platform-specific drops or startup failures | 0.9.6 / 0.10.0 |
| Save lifecycle | Settings/campaign/history/checkpoint files, atomic writes | Migration fixtures from 0.8/0.9, fresh-install/upgrade verification, rollback instructions | Player progress loss on upgrade | 0.10.0 |
| QA/CI | Headless suite, smokes, screenshot compare, 21/21 judge | Release-candidate smoke matrix, final gallery and release dry run | Regressions escape the release gate | 0.9.6 / 0.10.0 |
| Release/legal | Unsigned desktop/macOS builds, Web/HQ packages | Signing/notarization decision, checksums, AI-asset provenance, credits, privacy/body-camera and rating review | Public release blocked by trust/policy | 0.10.0 |
| Documentation | Architecture/ADR/status/roadmap ownership established | Final README/changelog/status/TODO/smoke-checklist sign-off and known-limitations page | Docs drift at launch | 0.9.6 / 0.10.0 |
| Future 0.x | Stable 0.x feature set | Live replay, more venues, VO/music, image-to-mesh props and seasonal content | Scope creep before release | Unscheduled |

**Current priority:** the unversioned **Character development** and **Local map development**
tracks are the active planning order. The **0.10.0 release candidate** follows them in this list
as the next versioned release; content lock, external playtest, balance, save migration and
release/legal sign-off remain tracked there. The source version is 0.10.0-rc.1; the v0.9.6
release is published. Earlier map/NPC/UI/texture/integration passes are complete and in
`DONE.md`.

## Future 0.x / non-blocking candidates

- [ ] Live 3D body-camera replay.
- [ ] Additional venues or seasonal events.
- [ ] Real voice/dialogue audio.
- [ ] Image-to-mesh prop pipeline.
- [ ] Rare easter eggs/cameos (e.g. Bob Dobbs) only after core content and QA are stable.

## Roadmap dependencies and risks

- Content volume is the largest schedule risk; tutorial and campaign work must not outrun the
      event/dialogue matrix.
- The vision judge is a dev-time aid with an external key/budget; CI must never make it a hard gate.
- Godot version changes can alter lighting/imports; do not combine an engine baseline move with a
      content/feature milestone.
- Signed macOS builds and legal/AI provenance are release blockers, not polish.
- Photo-derived map assets add a second provenance risk: downloaded or user-supplied photos can
      carry unclear licences, identifiable people, plates and property restrictions. No photo or
      splat-derived asset ships without a completed sidecar, consent/licence review and redaction.
- Gaussian-splat training is GPU/disk-heavy and the toolchain churns quickly; keep it offline,
      version-pinned and outside CI, and never make a runtime splat renderer a release dependency.
- Keep the de-escalation-first rules and rare-emergency design unchanged while adding progression,
      difficulty and feedback.

## Realism follow-ups (deferred)

- [x] Re-run the screen-design judge for `12-joke-shop`, `13-studio-arrival` and the
      Forward+ A/B with the valid key: **13/13 match, 0 diff**; the HQ A/B is in the report.
- [ ] Capture a hooded/winter NPC close-up once a scenario spawns types 5-7 (the explicit
      `--portrait-type` override is already in `capture_realism.gd`).
- [ ] Human-authored tree/hedge silhouettes: the whole scene now reads well except the foliage,
      which is still flat-shaded clumps (`_shrub()`/`_tree()` in `tools/blender_assets.py`).
      Only worth doing if a higher-poly organic builder is added to the library.
- [ ] Camera height: the concept frames are shot at ~1.55 m with a slightly wider lens; the game
      camera sits at 1.7 m. Decide whether the first-person height should match the art direction
      or stay at the current gameplay value.

## Future ideas (optional, not scheduled)

- [ ] Live 3D body-camera replay (the timeline is text-only today).
- [ ] Additional venues or seasonal events authored from the new `.tres` files.
- [ ] Real voice/dialogue audio (the crowd bed and radio crackle are procedural).
- [ ] Swap the primitive prop builder for an image-to-mesh model API behind the same
      `assets/models/generated/<prop>.glb` contract.