PRD: Content Space Balancing

Status: Draft - future work

Problem

If skills (or dialogue options) are too far in an evaluation space from vectors a player can realistically reach through gameplay, that content becomes unreachable. We need:

1. Visibility - Aggregated distance metrics (skills in range, minimum distance, mean distance to nearest N)
2. Adjustment - Move content vectors, gating radii, or player capability vectors so content becomes reachable
3. Balancing - Understand whole-space effects when one content point changes

Aggregated Metrics (Implemented)

• Skills in range - Count of skills where d(playerVector, skillVector) <= unlockRadius
• Minimum distance to skill - Distance to nearest skill vector
• Mean distance to nearest 5 - Average distance to the five closest skills
• Reachable IDs - Skill IDs currently in range

Balancing Strategies

1. Move content closer - Reduce distance from content clusters to typical player trajectories
2. Tune unlock radius - Adjust skill reachability without collapsing progression
3. Add jump mechanics - Deeds/items/events that project vectors toward otherwise distant content
4. Adjust action deltas - Room influence and action deltas so typical paths traverse more useful regions

Future Tooling

• Balance algorithm - Suggest vector shifts or radius changes to reach target coverage
• Trajectory simulation - Run N playthroughs, record player vectors over time, and visualize coverage
• Content placement optimizer - Given target "X% reachable by turn Y", suggest vectorProfile / unlockRadius updates

References

• Space Explorer - reachability panel and distance metrics
• Spaces doc - canonical vector/space definitions
• Formulas - unlock rule d(playerVector, skillVector) <= unlockRadius