# Session Summary ## Project State This repository now contains a playable Three.js/Vite prototype for a space RTS / economy sim testbed inspired by EVE Online and X4. The current prototype includes: - Two solar systems: `Helios Reach` and `Perseus Gate` - A large space environment with stars, planets, orbit lines, nebulae, asteroid/resource fields, and starfield - RTS-style ship selection, command issuance, camera movement, zoom levels, and follow-camera support - Three view levels based on zoom: `local`, `solar`, and `universe` - A bottom command bar with selection info, order buttons, and a minimap - A strategic HUD overlay that switches to NATO / military-style symbols at higher zoom levels ## Major Gameplay Systems Added ### World / Navigation - Ships can travel between the two systems using staged FTL travel - Travel flow includes: - leaving gravity well - FTL spool - warp - arrival - FTL speed was increased and a basic warp streak / tunnel effect was added - Local ship movement is no longer purely straight-line: - ships bias toward curved orbital-style transfers around the system center - idle ships hold a passive orbit instead of freezing in place ### Orbital Model - Stations are no longer static arbitrary points - Stations in `Helios` are placed on Lagrange-style offsets relative to planets - Stations update position over time with the planetary orbital motion - Ships and stations are beginning to behave like orbitals rather than free-floating markers ### Units / AI / Orders - Ship roles currently in the prototype: - military - transport - mining - Unit state machine now includes states for: - idle / moving - FTL travel - mining and delivery - docking approach / docking / docked / undocking - patrol / escort - Orders currently supported: - move - transfer - mine - patrol - escort ### Docking / Logistics - Docking was added as a required step for transfer to stations - Stations have limited docking capacity and explicit docking ports - Mining ships now: - mine ore in `Perseus` - return to `Helios` - dock at a refinery - transfer ore - undock and repeat ### Economy / Inventory Foundations - Added item storage classes: - `bulk-solid` - `bulk-liquid` - `bulk-gas` - `container` - `manufactured` - Added module categories and starter module definitions for ships/stations - Ships and stations now expose compatible cargo/storage/module metadata - Refineries track: - ore stored - active refining batch - refining timer - refined output stock ### Energy / Fuel - Ships now track: - fuel - energy - Stations now track: - fuel - energy - Ships consume energy/fuel depending on activity - Docked ships recharge energy - Stations recharge energy passively ## Testbed Layout - `Helios Reach` is now the industrial / infrastructure system - stations are concentrated there - refinery loop terminates there - `Perseus Gate` is now the extraction / resource system - resource asteroid nodes are concentrated there - miners operate there before hauling back ## UI / UX State - Ship and station selection is supported - Ship multi-selection is supported via click modifiers and marquee drag selection - `Solar` and `universe` views now overlay high-level tactical symbology instead of relying only on 3D meshes - Ships use role-specific long-range symbols: - military: hostile/combat-style diamond iconography - transport: boxed logistics symbol - mining: angular resource / industrial symbol - Stations and constructibles use square strategic markers with category-specific internal glyphs - `Universe` view groups ships into fleet counts per system and role for cleaner strategic readability - Focusing works for: - single ships: follow camera - stations: focus camera on the station - Selection panels show: - ship state, order, cargo, hold type, fuel, energy, modules - station role, docking occupancy, stored resources, refinery timing, fuel, energy, modules ## Controls - `Left Click`: select ships or stations - `Shift + Left Click`: add ships to ship selection - `Ctrl/Cmd + Left Click`: toggle ships in selection - `Left Drag`: marquee-select multiple ships - `Right Click`: issue move/transfer orders - `Mouse Wheel` or `-` / `=`: zoom - `W A S D`: pan camera - `Q / E`: rotate camera - `F`: focus selection, and follow a single selected ship - `Tab`: jump camera between systems - `B`: toggle build mode - `1-5`: choose constructible - `M`: assign mining - `P`: assign patrol - `E`: assign escort ## Technical Notes - The prototype is built with: - Vite - TypeScript - Three.js - High-level symbology is rendered through a dedicated 2D HUD overlay canvas layered above the 3D scene - Production build is currently passing with `npm run build` ## Known Limitations / Caveats - Orbital behavior is still an approximation for gameplay, not a full orbital mechanics simulation - Stations are on Lagrange-style offsets, but not using a physically rigorous orbital solver - Ship transfer paths are curved and orbit-biased, but still use authored steering rather than patched conics or n-body integration - Fuel / energy exist but station refueling, resupply, and depletion failure states are still minimal - Module definitions exist, but there is no actual ship/station designer yet - Inventory classes exist, but only a subset of economic flows are implemented - Docking works for logistics, but there is not yet a richer docking queue / reservation UI - NATO-style symbology is gameplay-oriented inspiration, not a strict APP-6 / MIL-STD implementation ## Suggested Next Steps - Introduce explicit orbital anchors for: - stars - planets - stations - asteroid belts / resource fields - Replace the current movement approximation with a more formal orbital transfer model - Add refueling and power management gameplay - Add ship/station fitting data structures that can later drive a designer UI - Expand the economy beyond ore/refining into manufactured goods and trade lanes - Improve FTL visuals with a fullscreen post-process distortion or tunnel effect - Expand the strategic overlay with threat rings, route arrows, and fleet stance/status markers