Gaming layer policy
Policies that keep the org coherent
Operational summary for novolis-gaming. Stack boundaries: library-boundaries.md.
Purpose
novolis-gaming ships game authoring and shipping libraries: pseudonymous identity, menu navigation, multiplayer lobby glue, procedural content tools, Inno Setup helpers. On the closed spine it sits above Simulation and below Avalonia:
Math → Physics → Simulation → Gaming → Avalonia → Apps.
It must stay Avalonia-free. UI hosts live in Novolis.Avalonia.* or apps.
Live agent surfaces (HTTP/SSE/WebSocket/LocalIpc control) live in `novolis-agent` (Novolis.Agent.Core / Novolis.Agent.Surface) — not here.
Repo map
| Repo | Role |
|---|---|
| novolis-gaming | Novolis.Game.* authoring packages |
| novolis-commands | Intent/command tooling (parse → envelope → queue) |
| novolis-agent | Agent Surface (Novolis.Agent.Core / .Surface / .Testing) |
| novolis-install | Platform novolis global tool (GPR package install) |
| novolis-templates | dotnet new scaffolds (general + MonoGame) |
| novolis-workflows | Shared GitHub Actions workflows for org CI/CD (not product libraries) |
| novolis-dogfooding | Integration samples (PackageReference only) |
Allowed in novolis-gaming
- ASP.NET Core + SignalR for game multiplayer and lobby flows in
Novolis.Game.Multiplayer.AspNetCore - Chat conversation hosting is an orthogonal exception in
Novolis.Chat.Hosting.AspNetCore;
it does not belong in Novolis.Game.Multiplayer.AspNetCore
- Procedural authoring (
Novolis.Game.Procedural) — noise, infinite chunks/tracks, spawn tables; BCL only (feeds Simulation.Voxels height samplers at the app layer) - Opaque refs (
PlayerRef,SessionRef,LobbyId) — no email, legal name, or provider subject strings in public API - Same-repo
ProjectReferencebetweenNovolis.Game.*facets PackageReferenceto lower spine layers as needed (Novolis.Math.*,Novolis.Physics.*,Novolis.Simulation.*) — e.g.Novolis.Game.Humanoid→Novolis.Simulation.HumanoidPackageReferencetoNovolis.Testing.*, and third-party NuGet (Identity/Multiplayer as needed)
Forbidden in novolis-gaming
- Any
Avalonia/Avalonia.*orNovolis.Avalonia.*package references (UI belongs in Avalonia layer / apps) - Live agent surface hosts /
agent.*wire (novolis-agent) Novolis.Raylib.*,Novolis.Rendering.*package references- Character cameras, PA-style tile grids, voxel worlds/meshing — keep those APIs in
Novolis.Simulation.View/.Tiles/.Voxels(+.Meshing); Gaming may consume Simulation packages but must not re-own world/camera stacks - Simulation ↔ Raylib wiring inside a single package
- Game domain models (factions, ships, SCR/GalacticSim rules)
- SignalR or game lobby code in
novolis-transports - PII persistence in platform packages
PII split
| Concern | Owner |
|---|---|
Opaque PlayerRef, in-memory display nicknames | Novolis.Game.Identity.* |
| Steam / email / GDPR / Identity Server | Product app |
Apps implement IExternalIdentityLinker and real auth; platform sees hashed external subjects only.
Application core and player intent
IGameApplication-shaped Start/Tick/Save/Load and game domain rules stay in apps, not in Novolis.Game.*. A future BCL-only Novolis.Game.Intent (player command envelopes) is deferred until multiple apps share a shape — see hexgame-authoritative-core.md.
Related
- novolis-gaming design
- hexgame-authoritative-core.md — HexGame-aligned composition; no GameKit / no HexGame NuGet
- nuget-only-policy.md
novolis-workflows is the org's reusable GitHub Actions repo. Backend WorkflowEngine (Cron / Mapping / Messaging) lives in the separate `novolis-workflow-engine` package repo — do not conflate the two.