# Policies

This document defines policy rules for trade, docking, construction access, territorial behavior, and operational restrictions.

Policies are how commanders turn general strategy into concrete permissions and limits.

They sit between diplomacy, economy, space control, and ship behavior.

## Design Goals

The policy model should support:

- policy-based market access
- policy-based docking and service access
- regional or system-limited ship behavior
- construction rights at valuable locations
- faction differentiation without changing core mechanics

## Core Principles

- policy should constrain behavior without replacing command AI
- access should be explicit rather than assumed
- policy can restrict market participation even when market data is visible
- policy should operate at multiple levels
- ships and stations should obey policy limits when selecting work

## Policy Levels

Policies should exist at multiple levels:

- faction policy
- station policy
- ship or commander behavior policy

Higher-level policy sets the default.

Lower-level policy may narrow or specialize it.

Examples:

- a faction allows trade with neutrals
- one station is faction-only
- one ship is restricted to a single system

## Trade Access Policy

Trade access determines who may participate in a station's market.

Possible policies include:

- open trade
- faction-only trade
- friendly-only trade
- whitelist-based trade later
- blacklist-based trade later

Important distinction:

- market information may be visible
- actual participation may still be restricted by policy

This preserves your rule that station market intent is generally open knowledge while still allowing trade control.

## Docking Policy

Docking access should also be policy-controlled.

Possible policies include:

- open docking
- faction-only docking
- friendly-only docking
- emergency-only docking later
- denied docking for hostile factions

Docking policy matters because no trade or transfer can happen without actual local access.

## Construction Policy

Construction rights should be policy-relevant at the faction and system level.

This does not override the hard structural rule from [UNIVERSE-MODEL.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/UNIVERSE-MODEL.md):

- construction is only valid at supported construction anchors

But it does help define who is permitted or tolerated to claim and build in a given system.

Examples:

- a faction allows allies to build in its system
- a faction contests all foreign construction
- piracy or warfare makes claims vulnerable regardless of nominal policy

## Operational Range Policy

Ships should be able to operate under geographic or territorial restrictions.

Examples:

- stay in local system
- stay in assigned region
- stay near assigned station
- use only faction-controlled stations
- avoid hostile territory

These restrictions should be expressible as policy and behavior, not only as one-off hardcoded AI.

## Behavior Restrictions

Policy should be able to constrain ship work selection.

Examples:

- a trader may only serve faction stations
- a miner may only sell within one system
- a hauler may ignore low-profit trades outside an assigned region
- a station-serving ship may prioritize one station's needs even when broader market opportunities exist

This is how the simulation gets meaningful local identities and doctrines.

## Market Visibility vs Market Access

These should remain separate concepts.

Baseline design:

- station market intent is generally visible
- actual buying, selling, docking, or transfer may still be restricted by policy

This is important because intelligence and permission are not the same thing.

## Policy And Commanders

Policies should be authored or maintained by commanders.

Recommended responsibility split:

- faction commander sets broad access and territorial doctrine
- station commander sets station-specific access and market policy
- ship commander applies local behavioral restrictions when choosing work

This keeps policy tied to decision-making rather than existing as disconnected static data.

## Policy And Diplomacy

Policy should eventually connect to faction relationships.

Examples:

- friendly factions may trade and dock
- neutral factions may trade but not build
- hostile factions may be denied docking and targeted in localspace

The exact diplomacy system can evolve later, but policy should be ready to consume those relationship states.

## Policy And Claims

Claim objects at valid construction anchors are visible and contestable.

Policy influences:

- who may place claims without triggering hostility
- who is tolerated in a system
- who may receive peaceful access to build

But policy should not make claims magically invulnerable.

Claims remain physically contestable objects.

## Minimum Rules

The following rules should remain true unless deliberately revised:

- trade access is policy-based
- docking access is policy-based
- behavior range restrictions are policy-capable
- market visibility and market access are separate
- station and faction commanders should be able to define access rules
- policy constrains work selection without replacing command logic

## Relationship To Other Documents

- [COMMANDERS.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/COMMANDERS.md)
  - commanders define and apply policy

- [ECONOMY.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/ECONOMY.md)
  - policy constrains trade participation

- [UNIVERSE-MODEL.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/UNIVERSE-MODEL.md)
  - policy interacts with claims, systems, and local access

- [STATIONS.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/STATIONS.md)
  - station commanders apply local market and docking policy

- [SHIPS.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/SHIPS.md)
  - ship behavior should obey operational restrictions

- [COMBAT.md](/home/jbourdon/repos/space-game/docs/COMBAT.md)
  - policy interacts with hostility, defense, and contested access