maze32/PLANS.md

maze32 Implementation Plan

Plan rules

1. Milestones may be planned and added in batches.
2. Milestone numbering starts at 1 and increases without gaps. Headings use the zero-padded form Milestone 001, Milestone 002, and so on.
3. Milestones are executed strictly in ascending numerical order. Work on a milestone may begin only after every preceding milestone is COMPLETE.
4. At most one milestone may have status IN_PROGRESS.
5. A newly discovered milestone is appended to the end of the plan. Existing milestone numbers and execution order are not changed without explicit project-owner approval.
6. Every milestone contains an objective, scope, deliverables, acceptance criteria, evidence, and status.
7. Allowed statuses are NOT_STARTED, IN_PROGRESS, BLOCKED, and COMPLETE.
8. A milestone may be marked COMPLETE only when every acceptance criterion is satisfied and concrete evidence is recorded in the milestone.
9. Evidence must identify the command, test result, inspected artifact, or hardware observation that demonstrates completion. Statements such as "implemented" or "looks correct" are not sufficient evidence.
10. A NOT_STARTED milestone explicitly records that completion evidence is not yet available. Expected evidence may be listed in advance.
11. If later work invalidates recorded evidence, reopen the affected milestone and change its status before continuing.
12. All project documentation, milestone text, source comments, test names, and user-facing diagnostic messages are written in English.

Milestone 001 — Requirements and technical baseline

Status: COMPLETE

Objective

Establish a consistent, implementation-ready product specification, architecture, board passport, build profile, and Flash layout without modifying the read-only project sources.

Scope

• Consolidate the agreed gameplay, browser, lobby, observer, reconnection, and Wi-Fi provisioning requirements.
• Establish the ESP32-C6/ESP-IDF/PlatformIO baseline inherited from Battleship.
• Resolve the stale 2 MB versus confirmed 4 MB Flash configuration.
• Define the authoritative-server architecture and verification boundaries.
• Establish the sequential milestone and evidence policy.

Deliverables

• MVP.md
• ARCHITECTURE.md
• PLANS.md
• AGENTS.md
• docs/BOARD_PASSPORT.md
• platformio.ini
• partitions.csv
• sdkconfig.defaults

Acceptance criteria

1. All canonical project documentation is in English.
2. MVP.md captures all agreed roles, gameplay rules, networking behavior, technical constraints, exclusions, and acceptance criteria.
3. ARCHITECTURE.md defines server authority, component boundaries, state machines, role-specific projection, protocol direction, storage, and verification strategy.
4. The build profile pins PlatformIO espressif32@7.0.1, ESP-IDF, the compatible esp32-c6-devkitm-1 profile, and 4 MB Flash.
5. The partition layout is contiguous and ends exactly at 0x400000.
6. sdkconfig.defaults explicitly selects 4 MB Flash and 16 LwIP sockets.
7. The board passport matches the canonical configuration and does not claim an unverified physical board model, GPIO mapping, LED, or PSRAM.
8. No file under sources/ is modified.
9. PlatformIO can parse and resolve the canonical project configuration.

Evidence

• MVP.md contains the complete English product and acceptance specification.
• ARCHITECTURE.md contains the English runtime, component, state-machine, protocol, memory, failure, and verification contracts.
• platformio.ini resolves the environment esp32-c6-mini with espressif32@7.0.1, ESP-IDF, explicit 4 MB build/upload size, partitions.csv, LittleFS, and sdkconfig.defaults.
• Running /home/sasa/.platformio/penv/bin/pio project config successfully parsed and printed the canonical configuration. PlatformIO subsequently emitted a sandbox-local telemetry cache permission warning during process shutdown; it did not prevent configuration parsing.
• Static partition arithmetic verified that the 2 MiB factory application ends at 0x210000 and the 1,984 KiB LittleFS partition ends at 0x400000.
• sdkconfig.defaults contains CONFIG_ESPTOOLPY_FLASHSIZE_4MB=y and CONFIG_LWIP_MAX_SOCKETS=16.
• docs/BOARD_PASSPORT.md records the confirmed ESP32-C6FH4, 4 MB Flash, no-required-PSRAM baseline and the remaining explicit hardware unknowns.
• Canonical files were created outside sources/; the reference files under sources/ were not edited.

Completion note

Milestone 001 establishes documentation and configuration only. It does not claim that firmware source code exists, that a firmware image builds, or that the target board has passed runtime tests. Those claims require evidence in later milestones.

Milestone 002 — Firmware skeleton and reproducible build

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Create the smallest maintainable ESP-IDF firmware and web-asset skeleton that builds reproducibly with the locked platform and partition configuration.

Scope

• Establish firmware, component, test, web, and script directories.
• Add startup logging, version information, and a minimal health state.
• Mount LittleFS and serve a minimal static page.
• Implement deterministic compression and filesystem-image packaging for web assets.
• Add build-time application and filesystem size checks.

Deliverables

• Minimal bootable firmware source tree.
• Minimal static web application.
• Web-asset compression and LittleFS packaging script.
• Host-test entry point for portable code.
• Documented build, filesystem-build, upload, and monitor commands.

Acceptance criteria

1. A clean PlatformIO build succeeds with the locked environment.
2. The application image fits the 2 MiB factory partition.
3. The LittleFS image fits the 1,984 KiB filesystem partition.
4. Web-asset generation is deterministic and does not require manual edits.
5. The firmware boots on the target board, mounts LittleFS, and reports its version and health state.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes clean build output, image sizes, asset reproducibility checks, and a target-board boot log.

Milestone 003 — Wi-Fi provisioning and persistent configuration

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Implement station-first Wi-Fi operation with NVS persistence and a fallback access-point provisioning flow.

Scope

• Versioned NVS configuration storage.
• Station connection using saved credentials.
• Fallback access point when configuration is missing or connection fails.
• Browser flow to scan, configure, save, and retry an existing network.
• Safe handling of invalid credentials and configuration reset.

Deliverables

• Persistent configuration component.
• Network manager and provisioning state machine.
• Provisioning HTTP interface.
• Automated configuration tests and on-device recovery procedure.

Acceptance criteria

1. First boot exposes the fallback provisioning interface.
2. Valid credentials are stored in NVS and used after reboot.
3. Failed station connection returns to a usable fallback access point.
4. Invalid requests cannot corrupt stored configuration.
5. Network reconfiguration cannot leave an active game silently running.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes NVS tests and target-board logs for first boot, successful station connection, reboot persistence, and fallback recovery.

Milestone 004 — HTTP, WebSocket, sessions, and lobby

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Provide the bounded network and session layer required for two players, four observers, and an owner-controlled lobby.

Scope

• HTTP application delivery and diagnostic endpoint.
• Versioned WebSocket envelope, parser, validation, and bounded queues.
• Temporary session-token creation and browser refresh restoration.
• Unique player names and humorous name suggestions.
• Two player slots, four observer slots, and Player 1 start authority.
• Lobby snapshots, readiness, and the authoritative 3-2-1 countdown.

Deliverables

• HTTP and WebSocket gateway components.
• Session and lobby services.
• Protocol schemas and protocol tests.
• Minimal browser lobby UI and non-browser protocol test client.

Acceptance criteria

1. Two players and four observers can connect concurrently within fixed limits.
2. Duplicate player names and excess role claims are rejected safely.
3. Page refresh restores the same session and player slot.
4. Only Player 1 can start, and only with both player slots occupied.
5. Malformed, oversized, unauthorized, and stale messages do not mutate state.
6. Both players receive one authoritative countdown and activation instant.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes protocol-test output, six-client connection results, session restoration tests, and lobby authorization tests.

Milestone 005 — Symmetric maze generation and validation

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Generate connected, cyclic, reproducible, 180-degree symmetric mazes with fair object placement and bounded memory use.

Scope

• Compact configurable maze representation.
• Seeded generation for the default 128 x 64 map.
• Cycles, alternative paths, and multiple cross-half passages.
• Symmetric starts, keys, exits, compass cells, landmarks, and vision artifacts.
• Reachability, symmetry, collision, and fairness validation.
• Bounded regeneration when a candidate fails validation.

Deliverables

• Portable maze generator and validator.
• Deterministic host-side test suite over a large seed set.
• Diagnostic generation metrics and failure reports.

Acceptance criteria

1. The same configuration and seed always produce the same valid maze.
2. Every tested map is fully reachable and rotationally symmetric.
3. Every tested map contains cycles and multiple cross-half connections.
4. Player-relative starts and required objects have equal symmetric metrics.
5. Keys are outside their owners' initial views.
6. Default generation fits the agreed RAM and runtime budgets without per-cell heap allocation.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes deterministic seed-test results, validator statistics, memory measurements, and representative generated maps.

Milestone 006 — Authoritative movement and visibility core

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Implement deterministic player movement, command ordering, cooldowns, and server-enforced role-specific visibility.

Scope

• Serial authoritative command queue and sequence numbers.
• Orthogonal one-cell movement and wall rejection.
• Independent player actions with configurable server cooldown.
• Shared-cell occupancy and meeting detection.
• Chebyshev-radius visibility with walls that do not occlude.
• Player-specific projections and complete observer projections.

Deliverables

• Portable game-state and movement engine.
• View projector with fog-of-war security tests.
• Movement, cooldown, ordering, collision, and visibility tests.

Acceptance criteria

1. Accepted inputs move exactly one valid orthogonal cell.
2. Invalid, premature, or rate-limited commands do not mutate state.
3. Both players may occupy the same cell and generate one meeting event.
4. Player payloads contain no hidden cells, objects, or stale opponent state.
5. Observer payloads contain the complete current state.
6. Radius-three and radius-six projections match the documented formula at walls and map boundaries.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes host-test output, serialized payload inspection, and deterministic command-order tests.

Milestone 007 — Keys, artifacts, compasses, exits, and results

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Complete the authoritative gameplay mechanics and terminal match outcomes.

Scope

• One-slot key inventory, pickup, voluntary drop, and sabotage.
• Automatic return of keys to their owners when players meet.
• Owner-only key and exit restrictions.
• One-use vision artifacts lasting ten successful moves.
• Stationary compass activation and exit-direction hints.
• Exit opening, outward victory move, 200 ms draw window, and result state.

Deliverables

• Gameplay object and result systems.
• Deterministic edge-case and simultaneous-event tests.
• Role-specific events for inventory, hints, effects, and results.

Acceptance criteria

1. Inventory and ground-key state never duplicate or lose a key.
2. Meeting behavior returns or swaps carried keys atomically.
3. A player cannot use the opponent's key or exit to win.
4. Vision effects last exactly ten successful moves and ignore failed moves.
5. Compass activation points toward only the activating player's own exit.
6. Victory requires the outward move, and exits within 200 ms produce a draw.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes complete mechanic tests and timestamped result-window tests.

Milestone 008 — Player browser experience

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Deliver the complete responsive player interface without moving game authority into the browser.

Scope

• Name selection, lobby, countdown, running, paused, and result screens.
• Maze viewport and visual landmarks.
• Keyboard movement and touchscreen swipes.
• Accessible drop-key action.
• Inventory, vision duration, compass hint, connection, and error feedback.
• Session restoration after page refresh.

Deliverables

• Responsive browser application and compressed production assets.
• Browser interaction tests for desktop and mobile input.
• Accessibility and viewport behavior checks.

Acceptance criteria

1. Keyboard and swipe actions produce equivalent server commands.
2. The client renders only state received in the player projection.
3. Hidden and previously seen cells are not retained on screen.
4. Inventory, effects, hints, pause, and results are unambiguous.
5. Refresh restores the active player without changing position or inventory.
6. The production asset image fits its LittleFS partition.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes browser-test output, desktop/mobile visual checks, refresh recovery results, and filesystem image size.

Milestone 009 — Observer mode and disconnect recovery

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Complete the read-only full-map observer experience and reliable player pause and reconnect behavior.

Scope

• Full-map observer rendering with player and object updates.
• Observer access without a password and strict read-only authorization.
• Player disconnect detection and authoritative pause.
• Session reattachment and 60-second monotonic deadline.
• Timeout draw and observer-independent match continuity.

Deliverables

• Observer browser mode.
• Pause/reconnect state-machine integration.
• Authorization, reconnect, refresh, and timeout tests.

Acceptance criteria

1. Four observers can view the complete live state without control authority.
2. Observer disconnects do not pause or mutate a match.
3. Either player disconnect immediately pauses gameplay and effect progression.
4. Reconnection within 60 seconds restores and resumes the same state.
5. Reconnection timeout ends the match in a draw.
6. Observer attempts to send mutation commands are rejected and audited.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes role-authorization tests, four-observer browser evidence, and timed reconnect/timeout scenarios.

Milestone 010 — On-device integration and resource hardening

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Demonstrate that the integrated system remains correct and responsive within the ESP32-C6 Flash, RAM, socket, and network limits.

Scope

• Full firmware and LittleFS production build.
• Two-player plus four-observer load testing.
• Heap, largest-block, socket, queue, latency, and disconnect measurements.
• Slow-client backpressure and malformed-message stress.
• Station and fallback-access-point integration tests.
• Long-running match and repeated-match stability.

Deliverables

• On-device integration test procedure and results.
• Resource budget report.
• Fixed limits and defensive failure behavior.

Acceptance criteria

1. Application and filesystem images fit their partitions with recorded margin.
2. Six simultaneous clients remain connected and responsive on target hardware.
3. Slow or malformed clients cannot exhaust memory or block player processing.
4. Heap and largest free block remain stable across repeated matches.
5. Station reconnect, provisioning fallback, and browser recovery work on the physical device.
6. No test relies on PSRAM or an unverified GPIO.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes production build reports, physical-device logs, six-client load results, memory graphs or samples, and repeated-match stress results.

Milestone 011 — Gameplay tuning and MVP acceptance

Status: NOT_STARTED

Objective

Tune the game to its target experience and demonstrate every MVP acceptance criterion on the release candidate.

Scope

• Tune movement cooldown, maze balance thresholds, landmarks, artifact density, and compass placement.
• Measure key-search and exit-search difficulty.
• Run representative human playtests targeting approximately five minutes.
• Execute the complete MVP acceptance suite and document known limitations.
• Produce the reproducible release image and matching web filesystem image.

Deliverables

• Locked MVP gameplay configuration.
• Playtest and balance report.
• MVP acceptance report mapped to MVP.md.
• Release build artifacts and version record.

Acceptance criteria

1. Key discovery is demonstrably no easier than the subsequent exit search under the agreed metrics and playtest evidence.
2. Representative completed matches normally target approximately five minutes without a hard match timer.
3. Every acceptance criterion in MVP.md has recorded passing evidence or an explicitly approved deviation.
4. The final firmware and web images build reproducibly and fit the target.
5. No unresolved defect prevents the two-player or observer MVP flows.

Evidence

Completion evidence is not yet available because this milestone has not started. Required evidence includes playtest data, the mapped acceptance report, final build hashes and sizes, and project-owner approval of any deviations.