Development Log

Planned comprehensive quest system to solve core engagement issues and transform gameplay from passive waiting into goal-driven progression.

The Problem

• Players had "nothing to do while waiting for resources"
• Building system felt "too free" - could build anything anywhere
• No sense of progression or accomplishment

Design Philosophy

Inspired by Terrafactor (quest-gated unlocks), Factorio (production milestones), and Stronghold (mission objectives), the quest system will provide clear objectives and unlock buildings as rewards.

Quest Progression

1. First Light: Build 2 Solar Panels → unlocks Battery
2. Through the Night: Survive until Day 2 → unlocks Food Fabricator
3. Colony Nutrition: Produce 30 Food → unlocks Comms Center
4. Earth Contact: Order supply drop → unlocks Pressure Dome
5. Lunar Permanence: Survive 7 days with 3+ colonists → Victory!

Technical Architecture

• QuestManager: Tracks quest status, progress, and triggers unlocks
• Quest Panel UI: Side panel showing active objective and rewards
• Comms Center: New building for ordering supply drops from Earth
• Building locks: Only starter buildings available, rest unlocked via quests

Target: 7-day implementation sprint. This system is critical for establishing a clear gameplay loop and sense of accomplishment.

Implemented Stronghold-style food mechanics and individual survival stats to create a compelling survival loop for Project Moon.

Food System

• Global consumption: 10 food/colonist/day from stockpile
• If sufficient food → colonists eat, hunger resets
• If insufficient → nobody eats, health/morale decline begins

Survival Stats (UnitDetails.gd)

• Hunger: Depletes 33%/day without food, critical at day 3
• Health: Master stat, damaged by starvation (-34/day) and oxygen loss (-20/min)
• Morale: Crashes during starvation (-40/day), slow decay otherwise (-2/day)

Death & Game Over

• Colonists die at 0 health
• Game over screen shows death causes by type (starvation, oxygen deprivation)

UI Improvements

• Day counter tracks current sol
• Resource panel displays consumption rates (e.g., "Food: 500 (-30/day)")
• Unit details panel ready for stat visualization
• Debug key ']' to skip days for testing

Timeline example: 500 food + 3 colonists = starvation begins ~day 17, deaths ~day 21

Added atmospheric pressure zones to buildings with aluminium-based oxygen generation, creating a critical resource management layer.

Oxygen System

• Renamed zones: InsideZone → PressureZone across all buildings
• Aluminium consumption: Buildings with pressure zones consume aluminium to maintain oxygen
• Zone failure: Oxygen zones fail when aluminium depleted (collision disabled)
• Immediate danger: Units inside failed zones start losing oxygen immediately

Building Details Panel

• Shows oxygen consumption: "Generates oxygen zone. Cost: 1 alu/10s"
• Displays oxygen status (Active/FAILING) for pressure zone buildings
• Updated power display formatting for cleaner units
• ResourcesLabel repurposed for oxygen info display

Design Improvements

• Made building UI panel larger to accommodate oxygen and power information
• Better visual hierarchy for critical system status

This system creates tension between expansion and resource management - every pressurized building needs constant aluminium supply to keep colonists alive.

Created comprehensive CLAUDE.md document to establish the game's vision, core mechanics, and technical architecture.

Game Vision

• Soviet lunar colony management with 1970s aesthetic and Cold War tension
• Focus on survival, resource scarcity, and tough moral decisions
• Inspired by classics: Stronghold Crusader's economic chains and castle-building, RimWorld's emergent storytelling and colonist management
• Every decision matters: balance expansion vs. survival, production vs. consumption, safety vs. efficiency
• Estimated price: 15 EUR at launch
• Target platform: Steam (PC), January 2026 demo release

Core Mechanics Documented

• Resource management: Minerals, food, power, oxygen, aluminium
• Building systems: Placement, power grids, production chains
• Unit systems: Worker assignment, survival stats, pathfinding
• Day/night cycle: 24-hour sol system for pacing

Technical Stack

• Engine: Godot 4.4
• Language: GDScript
• Architecture: Scene-based with singleton managers
• UI: Custom panels with real-time stat tracking

This document serves as the development north star - defining scope, mechanics, and technical decisions to keep the project focused during solo development.