realms-in-ruin-dev/Documentation/Phase2/02-Phase2A-OpenDecisions.md

Phase 2A — Open Decisions and Validation Obligations

Field	Value
Status	Draft
Date	2026-07-17
Phase 2A1 Git commit	aa0058a0
Phase 2A2a commit	c2fa15db
Phase 2A2b base commit	c2fa15db
Why Draft remains	Runtime validation obligations are incomplete; architecture contracts are owner-approved but not runtime-proven

Architecture questions C-001 through C-015 are Resolved by owner decision (2026-07-17). This document no longer holds open architecture conflicts for those contracts. It preserves validation obligations, deferred implementation choices, and historical evidence.

Contracts: 03-SharedGameplayContracts.md (Status: Complete). Register: 04-Phase2A-DecisionRegister.md (Status: Complete).

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Phase 2A2b — Owner decision reconciliation

Field	Value
Pass	2A2b — Apply owner contract approvals
Owner decision date	2026-07-17
Architecture status	C-001–C-015 resolved

Architecture questions resolved by owner decision

Decision	Classification	Contract	Owner state
Canonical health source of truth	Resolved by owner decision	C-001	Approved
Canonical mana source of truth	Resolved by owner decision	C-001, C-003	Approved
Canonical stamina source of truth	Resolved by owner decision	C-001, C-002	Approved / Approved with Conditions (init)
Temporary legacy mirror during reconstruction	Resolved by owner decision	C-004	Approved (transitional only)
Where damage must enter shared framework	Resolved by owner decision	C-005	Approved
Where death threshold evaluation must occur	Resolved by owner decision	C-007	Approved
Whether AnimNotifies may trigger authoritative gameplay	Resolved by owner decision	C-009, C-010	Approved / Approved with Conditions
Required interruption and cleanup contract	Resolved by owner decision	C-011	Approved
Required respawn and HUD lifecycle contract	Resolved by owner decision	C-008, C-013	Approved with Conditions / Approved
Pickup authority model	Resolved by owner decision	C-014	Approved
PlayerState versus pawn ownership boundaries	Resolved by owner decision	C-012	Approved
How to enable 2-client PIE for remaining evidence	Validation obligation / environment	—	Not an architecture SoT conflict
Enhanced Input injection for automated ability tests	Validation obligation / environment	—	Not an architecture SoT conflict

Deferred implementation choices (not open architecture conflicts)

Choice	Related contract	Resolve during
Exact default-GE mapping mechanism	C-002	Implementation planning / bounded init batch
Gameplay Effect versus ExecutionCalculation details for damage	C-005	Implementation planning / damage batch
Exact authoritative animation-timing mechanism	C-010	Implementation planning / ability framework
Exact temporary observability implementation	C-015	Implementation planning / harness
Whether any real consumer requires a temporary legacy shadow	C-004	Consumer inventory during migration planning

Runtime validation obligations

These remain validation obligations. They are not architecture approval blockers. Tool inaccessibility is not runtime absence.

Area	Status	Evidence IDs	Related contracts
Enhanced Input ability execution	Blocked by Test Environment / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-015, 019, 021; RT-002/004/005	C-009, C-010, C-011
AnimNotify execution roles	Blocked by Missing Runtime Evidence	RE-2A1-019, 021	C-009, C-010
Ability cost mutation	Blocked by Missing Runtime Evidence / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-014, 015	C-003, C-004
Interruption and cleanup	Blocked by Test Environment	RE-2A1-020; RT-004B	C-011
Player damage / death / respawn	Blocked by Missing Implementation / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-022; RT-006	C-005, C-007, C-008
Two-client replication	Blocked by Test Environment / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-023–026; RT-007–010	C-009, C-014
Remote character selection	Blocked by Test Environment	Depends on RE-2A1-023	C-008 related / 2E
Pickup authority and visibility	Blocked by Test Environment / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-017, 018; RT-003/010	C-014
Enemy attribute mutation	Blocked by Missing Runtime Evidence / Tool Limitation	RE-2A1-028, 030; RT-011	C-005, C-012
Session behavior	Still open for Phase 2E	Not closed by 2A1	Outside 2A contracts

Defects and limitations still accounted for

Observation	Handling
PlayerFirstSpawn Accessed None; spawn still succeeds	C-008 failure modes; validation during respawn/spawn work
Amazonian/Paladin legacy defaults differ; legacy health at 0	C-001/C-004/C-007; migration must not leave lethal legacy writers
ASC defaults identical; no active default GE; no granted GAs	C-002 Approved with Conditions
Enhanced Input / multi-client PIE tooling limits	Validation obligations; C-015
Enemy inspector cannot read attributes	C-012 corrected accessor; C-015; not treated as ASC absence

Duplicate / superseded (historical)

Topic	Classification	Disposition
Separate health/mana/stamina SoT rows	Duplicate → unified under C-001	Historical table retained below
Legacy mirror options	Superseded by C-004 owner decision	Bidirectional Rejected

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Historical — Phase 2A2a reconciliation (preserved)

Phase 2A2a classified decisions as Addressed by Proposed Contract only. Owner approval occurred in 2A2b. The 2A2a classifications are superseded by the 2A2b table above but retained for continuity.

Pass	Status
2A2a	Proposed contracts; none Approved
2A2b	Owner Approved / Approved with Conditions

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Historical Phase 2A1 open-decision table (preserved)

The following table is the Phase 2A1 inventory. Evidence references are retained. Architecture options in this table are historical; owner outcomes live in docs 03/04 and the 2A2b section above.

Decision	Static evidence	Runtime evidence	Options	Blocking unknown	Required approval
Canonical health source of truth	Dual pools: ASC Health/MaxHealth vs DEPRECATED_CurrentHealth/MaxHealth; combat uses legacy; potions use ASC	ASC init 75/100 confirmed; Amazonian/Paladin legacy Current/Max Health = 0 at spawn; Overlay binds ASC	A) ASC only immediately B) Legacy only during reconstruction C) ASC canonical with temporary legacy mirror D) Character-specific transitional policy	Whether death/combat must keep working on legacy-zero characters before mirror	Phase 2A2 architecture contract — Resolved 2A2b C-001
Canonical mana source of truth	Abilities use DEPRECATED_*Mana + FCanUseMana; potions modify ASC Mana	ASC Mana 25/50; Paladin legacy Mana 100/100; Amazonian legacy Mana 0/0; Paladin Ability004ManaCost CDO = 0	A) ASC only B) Legacy only during reconstruction C) ASC + mirror D) Per-ability migration	Ability cost mutation path not runtime-proven (input Tool Limitation)	Resolved 2A2b C-001/C-003
Canonical stamina source of truth	ASC Stamina attrs present; no stamina widget; no stamina pickup	ASC Stamina 0/0; Amazonian legacy stamina 85/100; Paladin legacy stamina 0/0	A) ASC only B) Legacy only C) Defer stamina until after health/mana D) Remove stamina until redesigned	Whether stamina is required for Phase 2B ability framework	Resolved 2A2b C-001/C-002; UI gated by C-013
Temporary legacy mirror during reconstruction	No sync code found	Confirmed divergent values at spawn; Overlay shows ASC while combat vars are legacy zeros	A) One-way ASC→legacy B) One-way legacy→ASC C) Bidirectional during transition D) No mirror; switch cutover	Which systems still read legacy at runtime (death path not executed)	Resolved 2A2b C-004; whether any shadow consumer needed remains Deferred
Where damage must enter shared framework	Player ApplyDamage + legacy health; potions via GE; enemy inbound Missing	Damage path not exercised (no enemy attack; ability input Tool Limitation)	A) Gameplay Effect Execution only B) Shared native damage API writing ASC C) Keep ApplyDamage adapter to ASC D) Hybrid	Runtime authority of ApplyDamage vs GE still unverified	Resolved 2A2b C-005; ExecCalc Deferred
Where death threshold evaluation must occur	Amazonian AnyDamage → subtract legacy health → ≤0 PlayerDeath	Not observed; legacy health already 0 at spawn implies immediate death-threshold risk if AnyDamage fires	A) ASC Health ≤0 B) Legacy ≤0 C) Shared Predicates on ASC with legacy shim D) Tag-based death	Whether AnyDamage runs with CurrentHealth=0	Resolved 2A2b C-007; validation obligation remains
Whether AnimNotifies may trigger authoritative gameplay	Static: UseAbility* from AN_*; Multicast montage; server notify evaluation assumed	Ability/notify chain not executed (Enhanced Input Tool Limitation)	A) Forbid authoritative notify gameplay B) Allow only on Authority with validation C) Move timing to Ability Tasks D) Keep notify for VFX only	Server vs client notify execution roles unknown at runtime	Resolved 2A2b C-009/C-010; timing mechanism Deferred
Required interruption and cleanup contract	AN_AttackComplete clears CurrentlyAttacking; montage complete pins unconnected; interrupt may skip cleanup	Interrupt test blocked; cleanup not observed	A) Ability Task end states B) Cancel tags C) Explicit EndAbility + force clear CurrentlyAttacking D) Montage blend-out notify required	Which existing actions can interrupt without asset edits	Resolved 2A2b C-011; validation obligation remains
Required respawn and HUD lifecycle contract	Server_RespawnPlayer ~2s; Overlay recreate risk; stale widgets possible	RT-006 blocked — respawn/HUD recreation not observed	A) Destroy+recreate Overlay each possess B) Rebind existing Overlay C) HUD owned by PC only D) PlayerState-driven Overlay	Post-respawn Owner/Avatar and Overlay instance counts	Resolved 2A2b C-008/C-013; validation obligation remains
Pickup authority model	No authority gate; bReplicates=false; overlap→GE→destroy	HealthPotion runtime bReplicates=false confirmed; overlap/GE apply not observed	A) Server-only overlap apply + replicate actor B) Server RPC from client overlap C) GAS cue + server GE only D) Keep local for SP prototypes	Duplicate apply / client desync still unverified in MP	Resolved 2A2b C-014; option B rejected as default
PlayerState versus pawn ownership boundaries	ASC on ARIRPlayerState; pawn caches via InitAbilityActorInfo; Overlay via HUD	PS ASC works; pawn attribute query works; enemy ASC component present but inspector rejects actor	A) Keep ASC on PlayerState for players B) Move ASC to pawn C) Dual ownership with clear Avatar rules D) Enemy-specific ASC init contract	Enemy ASC InitAbilityActorInfo / interface exposure at runtime	Resolved 2A2b C-012
How to enable 2-client PIE for remaining evidence	MCP StartPIE lacks NumberOfPlayers; PlayIn settings exist	Read: playNumberOfClients=1, PIE_Standalone; non-persisting UI set not achieved; config save unauthorized	A) Manual editor Play settings (user) then re-run RT-007–010 B) Authorize transient SetSectionProperties without Save if possible C) Defer MP until harness exists D) Dedicated listen-server process (out of scope)	Whether editor can raise clients without writing config	Environment / validation harness — remains open
Enhanced Input injection for automated ability tests	Input maps IA_Ability_* in IMC_PlayerDefault	Slate PressKey does not activate abilities; OS injection blocked by policy	A) Manual human-driven ability tests B) Authorize OS input for evidence harness C) Temporary debug console activate (unauthorized now) D) Automation Driver outside MCP	Cannot close AnimNotify/authority decisions without ability fire	Environment / validation harness — remains open

Explicitly not decided here

• Final Gameplay Ability class layout
• Final attribute set schema changes beyond approved SoT
• Whether to delete DEPRECATED_* in a specific batch
• Per-character reconstruction start (blocked until Phase 2A implementation sequence approved)
• Exact deferred implementation choices listed above

Next authorized step

Wait for explicit authorization before Phase 2A3 implementation planning. Do not begin Unreal implementation or Phase 2B from this document alone.