# MVP gameplay balance

This document locks the gameplay configuration evaluated for Milestone 011.
It is not a claim that the required human playtests have completed; their
results belong in `docs/PLAYTEST_REPORT.md`.

## Locked configuration

| Parameter | Locked value | Purpose |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Maze dimensions | 128 x 64 cells | MVP map size |
| Initial vision radius | 3 cells | Current-view-only exploration |
| Cross-half connection pairs | 3 | Multiple routes between conceptual halves |
| Extra cycle pairs | 64 | Alternative routes without removing dead ends |
| Minimum start-to-exit separation | 64 cells | Keeps exits distant from starts |
| Landmark pairs | 8 | Spatial-memory cues in symmetric positions |
| Vision-artifact pairs | 4 | Eight one-use artifacts; exceeds the MVP minimum of two |
| Compass pairs | 1 | One compass for each player's own exit |
| Movement cooldown | 150 ms | Server-enforced minimum accepted-move interval |
| Enhanced-vision duration | 10 successful moves | MVP artifact duration |
| Draw window | 200 ms | Authoritative simultaneous-exit boundary |
| Match timer | None | Matches end only by defined result conditions |

The values come from `maze32_maze_default_config()` and
`maze32_game_default_config()`. They are server-owned defaults; browser
clients cannot alter them.

## Deterministic generation evidence

`test/host/test_maze_generation.c` generates and validates seeds 0 through
1,023 with this configuration. For every generated map it proves reachability,
central symmetry, positive cycles and dead ends, at least four cross-half
connections, paired player-relative route distances, and this balance
invariant:

```
start_to_key_distance >= key_to_exit_distance
```

The test measures shortest traversable routes, not straight-line distance. It
therefore establishes that finding a key is never made easier by a shorter
required route than the later exit search. It does not substitute for human
search behaviour in a maze with fog of war, landmarks, compasses, and
artifacts.

The most recent recorded sweep (2026-09-08) reported:

| Metric | Observed range across 1,024 seeds |
| --- | ---: |
| Cycles | 133..133 |
| Dead ends | 704..854 |
| Start to key | 416..1,442 cells |
| Key to exit | 346..1,244 cells |
| Start to exit | 102..992 cells |
| Generation attempts | 1 |

At the 150 ms cooldown, an uninterrupted shortest 416-cell key route takes at
least 62.4 seconds of accepted-move time. Actual match duration also includes
route discovery, current-view-only navigation, the exit search, detours,
interactions, and player decisions. The approximately five-minute target must
be confirmed by the representative human-playtest procedure; no hard timer is
introduced to force that outcome.

## Tuning decision

No parameter change is justified before representative timing evidence exists.
Changing maze density or cooldown solely from shortest-path metrics would risk
making the target duration less representative of real fog-of-war play. If the
playtest median materially misses the five-minute target, change only the
smallest relevant locked value, rerun the 1,024-seed suite, record the new
range here, and repeat the affected playtests.