Novolis Docs
novolis-governance / completed-plans/tramp_berth_fantasy_02b56c7e.plan.md

Tramp berth fantasy (fun loop)

Policies that keep the org coherent

dotnetgovernancenovolis

name: Tramp berth fantasy overview: "Reframe Calypso’s dock loop from ops console + filterable boards into a tramp-captain berth: always-playable bets, one primary verb, Mesh locked until first payday, and early UI that sells voyage—not ledgers." todos:

  • id: mesh-unlock

content: Add MeshBoardUnlocked + persist; set on first escrow release; hide board combo until unlock status: completed

  • id: berth-offers

content: BerthOffer Local/Rumor/Wait projection with Fat/Fair/Thin; never-empty bridge board status: completed

  • id: primary-verb

content: "MainWindow CTA: Accept / Steam for haul / Wait by selection; tuck free Travel when rumor selected" status: completed

  • id: early-chrome

content: Hide Ops/Registry until payday; lien grace countdown on voyage hero status: completed

  • id: coach-tutorial

content: Tutorial beats + CaptainCoach copy in offer language status: completed

  • id: verify

content: Unit tests for offers/unlock + Avalonia ProjectRef rebuild smoke status: completed isProject: false

North star

At a dock the player should only feel: pick a bet → commit hull → leave → get paid (or hurt). Simulation fidelity stays under the hood; the face becomes captain’s wagers.

Playtest metric (30 min): high commits (accept / steam-on-rumor / depart), near-zero stares at empty/incomprehensible UI, at least one retellable beat.

flowchart LR
  Berth[Berth scene] --> Bet[Pick Local or Rumor or Wait]
  Bet -->|Local| Load[Accept at dock]
  Bet -->|Rumor| Steam[Empty steam to origin]
  Load --> Depart[Depart]
  Steam --> Arrive[Arrive load dock]
  Arrive --> Load
  Depart --> Pay[Escrow release]
  Pay --> Unlock[Mesh unlocked]

Locked design choices

  • One early board: Dock-only until first Calypso escrow release. No Mesh/Dock combo until then.
  • Never-empty berth: always show 1–3 BerthOffer rows (Local / Rumor / Wait)—never a blank ListBox as the main state.
  • Contract implies travel: remote/rumor primary CTA is steam-to-origin (already in UI/UI service); demote free-floating Travel for board rows.
  • Gut bands: Fat / Fair / Thin from margin; Pay/Lift/Net one line under the band, not the headline.
  • Phase 1 only: rivalry/gossip theater later; this plan does not add rival AI.

Existing leverage (do not rebuild)

Implementation

1. Unlock flag: Mesh after first payday

Add MeshBoardUnlocked on `PlayerControlState` (persist on save record).

Set true when Calypso gets first escrow release (hook beside existing milestone in EscrowPulse, or one-shot in PlayerTutorialHost / bridge capture when Milestones already has Kind=="escrow" + Detail starts with release for load games).

Until unlocked:

  • Force DockBoardOnly = true
  • Hide _boardScope ComboBox in `MainWindow`
  • Coach/feed may still mention mesh inbox counts lightly; no second job list

After unlock: show Mesh/Dock combo; keep Mesh-empty honest (no silent live fill)—already fixed.

2. `BerthOffer` projection (never empty)

New small type (in CaptainJobBoard or bridge model):

  • Kind: Local | Rumor | Wait
  • Title, Band (Fat/Fair/Thin/None), Hook (one short risk line), Spot?, WaitDaysHint?
  • Band thresholds from Margin (tune in CampaignWorld): e.g. Thin < 8, Fair 8–20, Fat > 20

Build in CaptainBridgeModel.From:

  1. Up to 2 Local from dock ListSpot / live at-origin (best margins)
  2. If < 2 locals, fill with Rumor from ListLiveFreight remotes (best margin / suggested travel)—replace today’s dump of 16 INTEL rows
  3. If still empty, one Wait offer: “Hold berth · next board pulse ~Nd” (use coach/survival hint or fixed 1–2d)

SpotJobs can remain for Accept indexing (offers that wrap a SpotCandidate), or map offer index → spot; Keep Accept path working for Local + Rumor.

UI list: render offers as contract rows — Band · Title · Hook; subtitle Pay/Lift/Net or “Steam → {Origin}”. Wait row selects Wait button / disables Accept.

3. One primary berth verb

In Avalonia berth chrome:

  • Primary CTA label by selection: Accept at dock (Local) / Steam for this haul (Rumor) / Wait (Wait)
  • Keep Depart as second primary when ManifestUsed > 0
  • Soften or tuck standalone Travel when a Rumor is selected (map click travel stays)
  • Flash/coach: one NEXT line that matches the selected offer (reuse CaptainCoach)

No change required inside TryAcceptSpot (still at-origin only); travel stays in UI/bridge-service layer.

4. Early bridge: voyage over ops

Until MeshBoardUnlocked (same gate as Mesh):

  • Collapse/hide Ops + Registry expanders by default (or omit from first viewport)
  • Voyage hero shows lien grace countdown when day <= LienServiceGraceDays: e.g. Grace 12d · then lien bites from `CampaignWorld.LienServiceGraceDays`
  • Idle premium already shown; keep as quiet chip, not a lecture

5. Tutorial + coach copy

Extend `PlayerTutorialHost`:

  • Beat on first Local accept / first Depart / first escrow release (“payday — Mesh digests unlocked”)
  • Align day 2–3 charter suggestion with BerthOffer Local preference

Tune `CaptainCoach` priority to speak in offer language: “NEXT: Fat local ore” / “NEXT: Steam empty → EZ (Fair rumor)” / “NEXT: Depart staged hold”.

6. Tests + smoke

  • Unit: BerthOffer builder — local present; barren dock yields rumors not empty; total empty yields Wait; MeshUnlocked false until release milestone
  • Existing accept/travel bridge-service behavior unchanged for AtOrigin vs remote
  • Avalonia: rebuild with -p:NovolisUseProjectReferences=true; kill exe if locked
  • Policy: verify-nuget-only / project-ref as usual (no package surface change expected)

Out of scope (later)

  • Rival snipes / dockmaster gossip as mesh face
  • Full voyage theater UI while underway
  • Economy retune beyond band thresholds / presentation
  • Rewriting CLI board commands (keep working; Avalonia is the fantasy surface)

Key files