Space Between Blocks — Build the Complete Space Experience

Build philosophy

This track is not a miniature demo. Follow the milestones in order and keep the build playable after every milestone. Do not proceed when the current test gate fails.

Suggested working tree

Keep responsibilities separated from the beginning. This mirrors the real project namespace closely enough that later features do not collapse into one giant tick file.

data/dai_starfall/
├─ dai_experiences/
├─ dai_worldgen/
├─ dai_structures/
├─ dai_title_screens/
├─ function/build/
├─ function/module/
├─ function/scene/
├─ function/travel/
├─ function/physics/
├─ function/food/
├─ function/ui/
├─ function/player/
└─ reactions/

Full build walkthrough

1. Milestone 0 — Three world scopesWrite the architecture first: personal prologue, personal persistent ship, shared universe. Never mix their ownership/state.
2. Milestone 1 — Personal plot allocationAssign every player a stable ship/prologue coordinate plot. Store owner and plot origin so rejoin/recovery can always resolve the correct ship.
3. Milestone 2 — Flagship tutorialBuild a safe capital-ship route, issue the MultiTool/supplies, teach movement and lead to a physical Drop Bay.
4. Milestone 3 — Literal planetfallOpen a real hatch. Let the player fall through the ship into the authored planet below. Keep impact protection until solid touchdown is confirmed.
5. Milestone 4 — Canonical Aurod terrainAuthor one canonical geography: hills, coast, palms, river, extraction route. Verify every water entry has a climbable exit.
6. Milestone 5 — Collection objectiveCount actual qualifying items currently carried. HUD progress mirrors inventory and another player handing you the resource must count.
7. Milestone 6 — Fleet catastropheRemove real flagship regions and replace them with diverging falling hull assemblies; use debris as secondary detail, not the whole destruction illusion.
8. Milestone 7 — Escape pod + blackoutLaunch a physical pod/display shell, protect the player, preload the destination ship, then transfer only after the destination floor is loaded.
9. Milestone 8 — Starter shipBuild a fully sealed craft with core/drop bay connector and breach recovery. Make it the player checkpoint.
10. Milestone 9 — Shared post-crash AurodTransform the same canonical terrain into T:16950, then layer wreckage/trench/scorching on top. Do not maintain an unrelated second terrain model.
11. Milestone 10 — 0.4g environmentApply namespaced gravity/fall-damage modifiers only while on Aurod and remove only your modifiers on ship return. Verify with velocity/jump traces.
12. Milestone 11 — Modular ship constructionDefine universal module bounds, anchors, sockets, occupied volume and recognition. Validate socket/clearance/cost before placement and activate capability only after recognition.
13. Milestone 12 — Progression economyExplore → gather → refine → Part Builder → module → destination/capability unlock. Every planet should change what the player can do elsewhere.
14. Milestone 13 — Multiplayer shared universePersonal prologues/ships stay private; T:16950+ planets are shared for co-op/PvP/resources. New players on mature servers still receive their own prologue.
15. Milestone 14 — Versioned local repairEvery terrain/ship correction gets a one-time migration flag and local repair function. Never require a full restart for a one-block riverbank or hull seam.
16. Ship itTest both planetfalls, water exits, collection handoff, destruction, pod, shared planet, ship return, two players and upgrade from the prior save.

Release gate