Reactionary Impulse

A medieval action RPG set in a world inspired by 812 AD. Journey alone through a persistent world shaped by the consequences of other players’ actions.

ROADMAP

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IN PROGRESSFOUNDATIONS

GDD V18 REVISION

The revised design draft was written on 6 October 2026, bringing the world, player experience and production plan into one reference.

Its chapters connect character development, Entail identity and the persistent world. The glossary establishes shared terms for contributions, reputation and weapon history, so these systems can be discussed and tested consistently.

The document also separates conversation from validated commitments, personal achievement from weapon ownership, and the initial playable scope from later additions. Proposed rules and open decisions remain identifiable throughout the draft.

This milestone records the completion of that revision. Implementation, balancing and playable validation remain separate work; the following phases will test whether the documented relationships hold together in practice.

FOUNDATIONS

Current work turns the revised design into architecture and internal prototypes, with a defined first playable scope.

Character growth, an Entail’s record and changes to a place need consistent rules. A completed action must be distinguishable from its personal reward, its shared contribution and the eventual outcome of a crisis.

The prototypes establish what must be demonstrated before the scope grows: readable combat, understandable progression and consequences that another player can encounter asynchronously. Each requirement needs evidence from play, rather than only a written specification.

Italian and English are developed together across interface text, dialogue and rumours, preserving differences in rank and relationships. Scope and balancing remain under evaluation, and no public release date is announced.

INTERNAL PLAYTESTS

A small, controlled playable scope will test whether the central activities are understandable and worth returning to.

The first checks cover entering the game, reading an opponent and recognising the Impulse’s role in combat. A weapon’s early deeds must be recorded clearly, without confusing its development with the character’s own skills.

Separate sessions will test the asynchronous connection: one player completes work, and another encounters the resulting conditions. Civilian, political and combat contributions must all be legible within the same crisis and its outcome.

The evaluation also considers meaningful short sessions and freedom to specialise. Players should understand what their work achieved, what still depends on others and why new opportunities follow from the state of a place.

TECHNICAL TEST

This phase will examine whether persistence, dialogue and transfers remain reliable when the supporting services are put under test.

Server validation, data recovery and fault handling must preserve the distinction between an accepted action and an unconfirmed claim. Rewards, contributions and weapon records need to remain consistent when the service encounters a problem.

NPC conversations will be checked against the character’s permitted knowledge and memory. Concrete commitments require explicit acceptance and server validation; dialogue must not invent completed deeds, create items or silently alter a rule.

Weapon transfers will use valueless test credits, with no real-money transactions in this phase. The checks must keep identity, configuration and chronicle with the Entail while leaving personal skill, reputation and earned influence with its former wielder.

CLOSED TEST

The initial closed test will bring the connected experience into one shared world and evaluate it over longer play.

The planned scope combines the full prologue, the recurring world cycle and the initial pairs: sword and shield, bow and sax, and sword and sax. Each piece must retain its individual identity and history.

Testing will follow access to work, contributions and outcomes across successive crises. The return experience must explain what changed during an absence, what a player already earned and which contributions are still awaiting resolution.

The Shambles remains outside this first closed test. Scope and balancing depend on earlier results, including whether players can follow shared consequences without meeting each other and return without losing possessions or personal history through absence.

GRADUAL EXPANSION

Testing will expand through invitations before a wider opening is evaluated, with content and capacity following the evidence gathered.

A larger scope must preserve the experience already examined: readable local needs, contributions with understandable outcomes and a clear return after time away. More content or participants should be introduced when the service and game can support them.

Later systems will be considered after the initial closed test. These include The Shambles, whose planned opponents are server-controlled snapshots of other characters and equipment; its introduction and timing remain to be decided.

Any real-money systems require separate review and approval. Wider access depends on stability evidence, and participation conditions will be communicated when confirmed. This sequence does not announce a public beta or a release date.