ROADMAP · THE WORK BEHIND THE RIFT
See what is next, what is flying, and what your feedback changed. Optimism now comes with a status column.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT SLICE
A Blitzer receives a diegetic adventure transmission, flies through a portal into an authored destination, recovers valuables and returns home with clear outcomes. Build reusable adventures and believable travel, then verify the first complete expedition for a small Steam playtest.
5 shipped · 1 in development · 1 planned
October 2 correction requested by Mike: the latest adventure requests are committed to this slice, not deferred for weekend readiness. Development order: TASK-25 separate gate suspension from death; TASK-26 authored adventure definitions and shared lifecycle; TASK-27 replace the rejected modal briefing with short replayable visor transmissions; TASK-28 integrate animated portal entry/loop/exit and combined journey acceptance. TASK-22/23/24 provide the first-expedition reliability, readability and handoff acceptance pass. Detailed criteria: tasks/prd-adventure-modules-and-presentation.md; design/sector-admission.md; design/pilot-information.md. Mike supplies portal artwork and reviews rendered visual studies; a placeholder can exercise the adapter first. Steam 52.230 remains the published baseline; local source travel is not hosted readiness. No hidden roster, persistent flight paragraphs, invented guardian/deadline knowledge or automatic acceptance from test results. Timed closure/loss requires durable recovery; hosted provisioning and release activation remain subsequent explicitly authorized work. Record verified progress today; the calendar does not establish readiness.
Started with 3 work items. 4 added since the start; 0 currently removed.
Changes are recorded in each work item's activity.
Lower priority per owner: defer dedicated in-world event beacons while refining the hunt/discovery, typed-cargo and specialist-buyer loop. Keep the event-clarity feedback: players need to understand Rift opportunities, but glowing pillars/jets are not a prerequisite for artifact hunting and should not reveal every find. Reassess alongside FEATURE-8 after core discovery design. Preserve cockpit and instrument readability.
Feature · 1 blitzer supportedOpen itemNear-term candidate. Show the player's latest loss location in space and on instruments with distance and age. Distinguish where death occurred from whether dropped loot remains; never imply guaranteed recovery or track the killer. Define replacement on next death, expiry, sector transitions and visibility. Test navigation back to the location, missing/collected cargo and cockpit/chase readability.
Feature · 0 blitzers supportedOpen itemNear-term candidate, distinct from FEATURE-28 push-to-talk voice. Provide sector and team text channels, sender identity, mute controls and bounded/rate-limited traffic. Typing must not steer, fire or trigger gameplay shortcuts. Server enforces channel membership. Validate input focus, controller access, message readability, team isolation and disconnect/team changes. Preserve the tester's desire to communicate with an opponent after combat.
Feature · 0 blitzers supportedOpen itemHigh-priority usability follow-on. Build on the existing pilot briefing with a skippable, replayable guided sequence: launch, fly/brake, mine, collect and bank; then explain combat and Rift opportunities. Teach actual bindings for the active input device. Keep prompts readable and avoid overwhelming the blitzer. Validate with a new player who can complete and explain the core loop without organizer coaching. Preserve smooth mouse flight and docking; controller acceptance remains separate.
Feature · 0 blitzers supportedOpen itemDestroyed hostiles may drop alien-tech artifacts that lend a Blitzer an alien capability for a limited time. Dangerous by design. Comes after the gold-drop and respawn loop; design still to be written.
Feature · 0 blitzers supportedOpen itemAssess only opportunities actually present in the Steam release: mining, alien encounters, artifact discovery/recovery and the rift. For each, record what a newcomer can perceive, what choice they can make, how reward/risk is communicated, and how they return home. Fix demonstrated friction without adding new encounters or a full tutorial. Related FEATURE-54 and FEATURE-55; this bounded readiness task does not complete either feature. Follow design/pilot-information.md and design/blitzer-visor.md: clear outside view, one primary message, action/threat priority, no hidden roster or invented knowledge. Acceptance: newcomer can choose an opportunity, understand acquisition/loss and identify a next expedition; record actual uncoached evidence separately from functional tests.
Task · 0 blitzers supportedOpen item5 shipped · 5 at start · 1 added · 1 deferred
0 shipped · 5 at start · 0 added · 4 deferred
1 shipped · 5 at start · 0 added · 4 deferred