# GigaSlop — project notes for Claude

## What this is
Satirical AI-datacenter tycoon game. Web-first: TypeScript + Vite + PixiJS v8.
Design doctrine: **the sim stays engine-agnostic** — `src/sim/` must never
import from `src/render/` or `src/ui/` (a future Godot/Steam port swaps the
renderer only). Fixed 10 Hz tick, deterministic (seeded rng in state, no
Date.now/Math.random inside sim).

## Dev loop
- `npm run dev` on :5173 (`.claude/launch.json` has the preview config).
- The Browser-pane tab is usually `visibility: hidden` → RAF doesn't fire.
  The sim is pumped by setInterval on purpose; don't move it back into RAF.
- `window.__giga` = debug handle {state, scene, place(), wire()} for
  JS-driven playtesting. Keep it working — automation depends on it.
- All balance tunables live in `src/sim/balance.ts`. Tune there, nowhere else.

## Art pipeline (MODELBEAST)
- `python3 tools/mb_gen.py [--only room|objects|slop]` regenerates art on the
  farm (queue http://100.89.131.57:8777, token from ~/Documents/backnforth/.env).
  Deterministic seeds from asset slug — same slug, same image.
- Object sprites: flux_local → bg_remove_local (background:"transparent") →
  autocropped in place (PIL alpha-bbox, 8px pad). If you regenerate, re-crop.
- Room/grid registration: `src/render/iso.ts` (TILE 82x41, ORIGIN 510,346)
  is hand-fitted to `public/assets/gen/room.png`. New room image = refit
  constants (toggle the Grid overlay to check).
- Slop thumbnails are intentionally AI slop; titles in src/data/sloptitles.json
  (Ollama on m4pro was down at bake time; hand-authored — regenerate via
  tailnet Ollama when it's back if more are needed).

## Roadmap (agreed with John 2026-08-01)
✅ M1 art-forward Tier-1 slice (save/load, naming, SFX)
✅ M2 platform-decay treadmill: platformAdapt rises per publish, throttles all
   view rates (up to 85%), tier-up grants relief — verified loop: publish →
   squeeze → train → relief. Infra: 20A sub-panel (+1500W), fiber uplink
   (1Gbps/8 ports), Cash Furnace (burns $1.5/s for +40% views; John's idea,
   keep it — endgame R&D tree should have a literal cash-conveyor upgrade).
✅ M3: VC rounds (Seed→C) with views-delta mandates — fail = -25% cash and
   permanent equity dilution; rival CEO events (Doomsworth/Hypeman/Freeman
   Weights/Poogle) on a seeded timer with timed view/price effects and a
   60/40 CLAP BACK gamble. Seed goal calibrated empirically: decisive play
   ≈48K views/8min, goal 40K, idle ≈12K.
✅ M4 skill trees (src/sim/research.ts is the single source of truth; sim
   reads one computeMods() bundle — add nodes there, never special-case sim):
   • Model Lab (L): gen ladder is now bought from the training bank; modality
     branch (voice→image→video→A/V, richer = more views but pricier videos);
     one exclusive spec per gen (engagement/stealth/efficient, cleared on
     gen-up); data source own/scraped/licensed — own rolls 35% MODEL COLLAPSE
     (half revenue + all-gibberish titles for that gen), scraped attracts
     lawsuits, licensed bills per token.
   • Corporate R&D (R): perk point per closed VC round + cash; Ops/Growth/
     Legal branches; capstones Diesel Backup (grace+auto-reset, no checkpoint
     corruption), THE CONVEYOR (10% gross income burned, +50% views), 
     Regulatory Capture (lawsuit immune, 2x adapt decay).
   • Sockets: click device → inspector panel (stats, on/off, sell, 2 upgrade
     slots: fans/undervolt/risers).
✅ M5 model line + API market: player names their model at incorporation
   (versions 1/1.5/2/3 = the old tier ladder); ship grades mini/pro/MAX
   from the training bank (margin/demand/distill-risk per grade, GRADES in
   research.ts); 3-way compute split train/host/slop (allocHosting);
   rotating third-party market (rollMarketModel), hot drops crater
   incumbent margins ~28%; hosting your own grade rolls distillation
   (margin cut 60% that version — re-ship on a newer version to restore
   the moat); scraping ops cash ladder (puppeteer→proxies→botnet→captcha)
   vs severity-1..3 IP-ban outages. Market panel = M key.
✅ M6 hardware depth: GPU cards (GPUS in catalog.ts, 11 parody cards
   P106→BigChungus) install into carrier slots (PC=1, rig=4, half-rack=8
   +rackClass for datacenter cards); carriers have no intrinsic tok —
   cards provide tok/watts/VRAM/heat. VRAM totals gate ALL token output
   vs the running version's needs (TIERS vramGB, floor 0.25). Storage
   devices (shoebox/NVMe/NAS) gate training checkpoints (TIERS
   checkpointGB — training stalls without disk). Switch layer:
   device→switch→uplink with per-switch Mbps caps (no daisy chains).
   Shop has category headers. Old saves get equivalent card loadouts
   (save.ts migration).
→ M7 backlog: ad-spend slider + email-spam campaigns, ACTIVE scraping
   minigame, hazards (thermal runaway fire), Tier 2 garage move,
   subscribers/SaaS churn revenue, Conveyor belt visual, per-carrier
   PSU capacity, unreliable used cards (degradation).
Design pillars (John-approved framing): Throughput, Allocation, Attention,
Capital, Expansion. Macro layer (Tier 4-5) = strategic map, NOT city-builder.
Cut until earned: Tiers 3–5, immersion cooling, offshore ships, lobbying.