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security-game/docs/adr/0010-procedural-npc-presentation.md
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zwitschi 2b631ae6d9 Add ADRs 0007–0010 for locomotion, focus ring, radial menu, NPC presentation
- 0007: input layers so WASD/look never fire person-verbs; freeze while modal
- 0008: cone focus + billboarded head ring; no type names in the world
- 0009: doughnut action menu (LMB/Space open, click or A/D then Space, Esc/RMB
  cancel); emergency stays on R
- 0010: keep procedural rigs, add face/hair/neck; no Mixamo this pass
Linked from architecture.md, PLAN.md, TODO.md, MEMORY.md.
2026-10-31 15:04:12 +01:00

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# ADR-0010: Procedural NPC presentation
- **Status:** Accepted
- **Date:** TBD
## Context
Avatars are `CharacterBody3D` capsules color-coded by `NpcType`, with a few props (camera, box, hat, sign, bag), height and brightness variation from a seed, a walk bob, and a head turn toward the guard when noticed. They work as markers. At conversation distance they do not read as people: no neck, no face direction, no shoes, no hair.
The player is supposed to judge from clothes, props, and behavior, not from a label. The HUD currently prints the internal type (`Violent Threat`, `Trespasser`) next to the name. Putting that name on the body would make the judgment for them.
A full Mixamo / GLB pipeline would also add animation imports, licenses, and a skeleton the rest of the sim does not need yet. AI textures in `assets/textures/ai/` are not sized or wired for clothing.
## Decision
Keep the procedural capsule rig for this pass. Do not add skinned meshes or Mixamo.
Make the body read as a person at conversation distance:
- Neck between torso and head.
- Shoes.
- Hair cap whose color comes from the visual seed.
- Two dark eye spheres so the head has a front.
- Named `Head` node (`Rig/Head`) as the attach point for the focus ring (ADR-0008) and the focus cone.
- Collision capsule scaled to the visible height so the cone hits the body the player sees.
Keep archetype props, height / brightness variation, walk bob, and the notice head-turn.
Do **not** put the internal type name on the body or as a world nametag. A focused `display_name` under the ring is allowed. The debug overlay (`F`) may still print type, intent, and FSM state. The HUD target line can keep the type during the prototype; removing it from the HUD is a later readability pass, not this one.
AI clothing textures stay out unless a map is already the right size and is wired on purpose.
## Consequences
### Positive
- People have a face direction the ring and the "noticed the guard" cue can use.
- No new asset toolchain, licenses, or animation retargeting.
- Head is a stable node other systems can find.
- The player is not told `Violent Threat` by a floating label.
### Negative
- Capsule people still look like a prototype at cinematic camera distance.
- Hair and eyes are spheres; they will not survive a close-up trailer.
- A later skinned-mesh pass will replace this rig and must keep the `Head` contract.
## Alternatives considered
- **Skinned Mixamo / GLB characters now:** Rejected. Cost and pipeline exceed this pass; the sim only needs a readable body and a head node.
- **Billboard sprites:** Rejected; first-person movement walks around people, and sprites fail at profile views.
- **Keep colored capsules as-is:** Rejected; the head ring and cone need a real head, and capsules do not read as people at two metres.
- **World labels with archetype names:** Rejected because they leak sim truth and skip observation.