space-game/docs/PRODUCTION.md

Production

This document defines the intended production model for the simulation.

Production is how modules consume inputs over time and turn them into useful outputs.

It connects items, modules, workforce, and market behavior into a continuous economic loop.

Design Goals

The production model should support:

• clear input-to-output conversion
• station specialization through module choice
• real supply-chain pressure
• visible bottlenecks
• workforce-sensitive throughput
• construction as part of the same economic logic

Core Principles

• production should consume real goods
• production should take time
• production should depend on module capability
• production should be affected by workforce and power state
• shortages should halt or degrade output naturally

Production Units

The core production concepts should be:

• recipe
• production module
• input inventory
• output inventory
• cycle time
• throughput

This is enough to define most of the industrial simulation at a high level.

Recipes

A recipe is a conversion rule from one set of goods to another.

A recipe should conceptually define:

• required input items
• produced output items
• cycle time
• valid producing module types
• optional workforce requirement

Recipes should be first-class design objects, not hidden assumptions inside modules.

Production Modules

Recipes are executed by production-capable modules.

Examples:

• refinery module
• factory module
• food-chain module later
• shipyard support module

Modules define what recipes an entity can run.

Recipes define what actual transformation occurs.

Production Flow

The intended production flow is:

1. a station has the required production module
2. required inputs exist in inventory
3. the module has enough power and operational support
4. the recipe runs for its cycle time
5. outputs are added to station inventory
6. the station commander updates market behavior based on new shortages or surpluses

This keeps production grounded in world state rather than in abstract magic conversion.

Time And Throughput

Production should be time-based.

That means:

• recipes take time to complete
• modules have finite throughput
• more modules should generally mean more production capacity
• better staffing should improve effective throughput

Throughput should be visibly affected by:

• module count
• workforce percentage
• input availability
• power availability

Workforce Interaction

Production should respect the workforce rules in WORKFORCE.md.

For now:

• workforce scales production effectiveness the same way it scales other module effectiveness
• zero-workforce stations still retain baseline production
• full staffing yields peak production

This keeps the initial system consistent and simple.

Input Shortage Behavior

If inputs are missing:

• the recipe cannot complete

This should naturally create market demand rather than needing a special shortage system layered on top.

Input shortage should be one of the primary reasons station commanders publish buy orders.

Output And Inventory Pressure

Production also depends on output handling.

If output storage is full or constrained:

• production should stop or stall

This gives storage modules and logistics real importance.

Example Production Chains

The exact recipes can evolve, but the intended shape includes chains like:

1. raw extraction

   • ore
   • gas
   • water later if extracted directly

2. refining or processing

   • ore -> refined goods
   • food-loop conversions later

3. industrial use

   • refined goods -> construction goods
   • processed goods -> module or ship build inputs

4. population support

   • food, water, energy, consumer goods -> workforce survival and growth support

These chains should create meaningful interdependence between station roles.

Construction As Production

Construction should be treated as a special production form rather than a completely unrelated system.

This applies to:

• station founding
• station module expansion
• ship construction later

The same general pattern should hold:

1. desired build target defines required goods
2. required goods are delivered
3. build progress consumes those goods over time
4. build output becomes a completed structure, module, or ship

This keeps construction inside the same economic language as the rest of the simulation.

Construction Storage

Construction storage should act as the temporary industrial interface for building.

It should:

• hold required construction goods
• publish demand through buy orders
• allow delivery by traders or support ships
• feed the actual building process

This is especially important during station founding at claimed Lagrange points.

Production Queues

Stations should eventually be able to run more than one productive concern at once.

The exact queue model can stay simple for now, but the design should support:

• one recipe per module at a time
• multiple modules running independently
• commander-controlled production priorities

That is enough to express useful industrial behavior without needing a fully complex factory UI yet.

Commander Interaction

Production should feed directly into station commander behavior.

Station commanders should observe:

• current recipe needs
• input shortages
• output surpluses
• workforce limitations
• power limitations

Based on that, they should:

• create buy orders
• create sell orders
• reprioritize station activity
• request logistics support

Profit And Production

Production is not only about self-sufficiency.

Stations should produce when it is useful because:

• they need the output internally
• the output can be sold profitably
• the output supports faction strategy

This lets industrial behavior emerge from a mix of necessity and opportunity.

Minimum Rules

The following rules should remain true unless deliberately revised:

• production consumes real inputs
• production takes time
• modules determine what recipes can run
• workforce affects production throughput
• lack of power stops normal production
• lack of inputs halts recipe completion
• storage limits can bottleneck output
• construction is a specialized form of production

Relationship To Other Documents

• ITEMS.md

  • defines what goods flow through recipes

• MODULES.md

  • defines which modules can execute production

• ECONOMY.md

  • defines how production shortages and surpluses affect the market

• STATIONS.md

  • defines station roles that host production

• WORKFORCE.md

  • defines workforce scaling and survival constraints