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45c0c78481
First /snapshot: seeds persistent-memory.md (+ one detail file for the freeze-meter variant decision), amends CLAUDE.md with the persistent- memory pointer section.
59 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
59 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
# 2026-08-07 — Freeze charge meter adopted as the card-time playtest variant
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**Status: playtest variant, NOT canon.** Ratification into the advisor
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repo's CONCEPT.md is deferred until the operator's falsification-playtest
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verdict — tracked at commit `73f84e7` (whose message records the pending
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state) and the advisor repo's CONCEPT.md § Open questions #0 (the greybox
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work tracker).
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## The mechanic
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A "Freeze" charge (meter) grows while the hand is closed, drains while
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open. Its level maps to bands, best to worst:
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- **FROZEN** (level ≥ 45%): true pause (`SceneTree.paused`).
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- **THAW** (≥ 18%): slow-mo ramping back to full speed as it drains, on
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an acceleration curve (`thaw_curve` 2.2 — hangs slow, then rushes).
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- **REALTIME** (≥ 10%): hand open, world at full speed.
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- **UNAVAILABLE** (below): the hand will not open at all; a drained-open
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hand force-closes.
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Opening with a full meter buys the whole ladder (~1.65s freeze → ~0.8s
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thaw → ~0.5s realtime at defaults: cap 3.0s, drain 1.0/s, regen 0.4/s).
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Closing the hand spools time back up over `release_thaw_s` (0.5s) instead
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of snapping. All rates/bands are `@export` knobs; M flips live to the
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original unlimited-toggle variant for A/B.
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## Why (KB-grounded pressure test, 2026-08-07)
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- **Kills a latent dominant strategy**: unlimited freeze made "open the
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hand as a free tactical pause" always-optimal (Schell: rework rules so
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a dominant strategy stops being dominant; aligns with CONCEPT.md's
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anti-dominant-strategy posture). The empty-meter lockout also closes
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the Space-spam refreeze exploit found during the pressure test.
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- **Tension cycle**: freeze→thaw→realtime is Schell's
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rising-tension-then-release loop in miniature, inside every hand-open.
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- **Temporal triangularity**: play one card early (safe) vs chain deeper
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into the thaw (greedy) — stacks with belt-depth pricing post-greybox.
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- **Difficulty/accessibility axis**: meter size / regen / thaw length are
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one-scalar difficulty knobs that never touch enemy content — can't
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collide with the invincibility laws. Generous-to-infinite freeze is the
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accessibility floor.
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- **Honesty note**: the KB surfaced nothing directly on decision timers /
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time pressure (retrieval miss) — grounding is flow/tension/triangularity/
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dominant-strategy material, adjacent but not a direct verdict.
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## Canon tension to watch in playtest
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"Attention is spent ON cards, not during them" (pillar 1, gentlest action
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skill): a tight freeze window would turn the hand into a reflex test. The
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generous default + continuous thaw (never a cliff) is the mitigation; the
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ramp prices dithering and deep chains, not basic use.
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## Evidence chain
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Pressure test + operator "A for now" directive: session 2026-08-07.
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Implementation: `73f84e7` (meter + bands), `3d2410c` (release ramp +
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thaw curve). Operator early verdict: "that DOES feel very good", "ramp
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feels good too… starting to feel game-like".
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