magicciv/.project/designs/README.md
Natalie 3d04d5cb65 docs(@projects/@magic-civilization): 📝 update hex grid and tech tree design docs
Co-Authored-By: Lilith Autocommit <noreply@atlilith.com>
2026-04-26 18:30:28 -07:00

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Engineering Designs

Visual references for system architecture and screens. These designs document what is rendered, how data flows, and the geometric primitives the simulation runs on. They are not user-facing tutorials; they exist so someone modifying the relevant code can see the whole shape at once.

Hex grid

The hex tile geometry — the SQ + QL formation duality that distinguishes our hex grid from every other 4X.

File What it shows
hex-formation-duality.md Annotated hex with SQ-half / QL-half / spine; slot-direction lookup; ramifications inventory
hex-formation-sketch.html Interactive single-page mockup; click halves or slots to highlight
formation-slot-anatomy.md A single slot's contents — role, exposure mask, damage order

Source of truth. public/games/age-of-dwarves/docs/HEX_GEOMETRY.md is the canonical specification. The engineering designs in this section illustrate it; if they conflict, the canonical doc wins.

Tech / Culture trees

Visual reference for the research-tree UX. Both trees share the same screen (KnowledgeTree base scene); only the data source, vocabulary, and signal names change.

File What it shows
overview.md Full screen layout, both trees side-by-side, the shared scene structure
card-anatomy.md Annotated tech / tradition card — every visual element labelled
detail-panel.md Annotated right-side detail panel — sections + data-source map
indicator-legend.md The 7 unlock-type letter badges and their accent colours
tech-tree-full.md Full tech tree — 8 pillars × 10 tiers with example nodes
culture-tree-full.md Full culture tree — 6 pillars × 10 tiers with all 30 traditions
data-flow.md JSON → Rust → GDExtension → GDScript → UI pipeline
unlock-categorization.md How each typed bucket renders (units / buildings / wonders / lenses / resources / mechanics)

Source of truth. The actual visual rendering lives in src/game/engine/scenes/knowledge_tree/knowledge_tree.gd. If a design disagrees with the code, the code wins — open a PR to update the design.

Other sketches

Standalone HTML mockups for individual screens — not yet indexed under a category here:

  • combat-preview-sketch.html
  • hud-sketch.html
  • main-menu-sketch.html
  • tech-tree-sketch.html
  • promotion-picker-sketch.html
  • city-screen-sketch.html
  • design-gallery.html

See also

UI_DESIGN_SYSTEM.md (this directory) — top-level art direction brief covering mood, palette, and typography for the whole game. The per-screen designs above inherit those rules; they don't override them.