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This page is the active planning surface after the broad engine optimization pass. The framework refactor work in Performance And Engine Refactor Plan is closed for the current release cycle; future engine work should be targeted, measured, and tied to a release need from one of the current games.
Release Strategy
- Ship focused releases instead of starting another broad framework rewrite.
- Keep reusable improvements inside
scripts/systems/ when at least two games need the behavior or the feature is clearly genre-independent.
- Use active games as proof points: Arcade Pong for arcade/input/audio/render flow, Emoji Card Collector for inventory/cards/menus/save slots, Project Alchemy for grid/adventure/content tools, and Platformer Demo for level data and editor workflows.
- Keep
all_demos as the GitLab Pages web launcher until individual games are split into their own release repositories.
- Add fixture saves before any save-shape change.
Sprint R1: Arcade Pong Feature Update
Goal: prepare the next Arcade Pong public update with polish and measured browser/mobile performance fixes.
Status: active next.
Planned work:
- Finish any remaining items in Arcade Pong Release Feedback.
- Re-test difficulty selection, New Match flow, stats, achievements, power-up slots, keyboard/controller label switching, and touch-control hiding.
- Verify music transitions do not hitch gameplay on web. Keep music defaulted to 40%.
- Validate fast/slow ball multiplier behavior and high-speed swept paddle collision in browser.
- Confirm the single-game Arcade Pong profile starts at the splash/menu flow and never routes back to the multi-game launcher.
- Publish through itch.io from the active build profile.
Framework work allowed in this sprint:
- Targeted
audioManager, arcadePhysicsManager, inputManager, resultsScreenController, or achievementScreen fixes only when the release issue is reproducible.
- No speculative entity-system rewrite.
Exit criteria:
- Arcade Pong web, Windows, and Linux builds pass for the active profile.
- A manual browser/mobile pass completes the Arcade Pong section of Mobile And Browser Hardening Checklist.
- The itch.io Arcade Pong page receives the updated web build.
- No known release-blocking UI, input, audio, or scoring issues remain.
Sprint R2: Emoji Card Collector Release Candidate
Goal: make Emoji Card Collector ready for a first public release.
Status: planned after Arcade Pong update.
Planned work:
- Complete the validation list in Emoji Card Collector First Release Plan.
- Lock down shop, inventory, merge, battle, raid, collection, achievements, and save-slot flows.
- Add a compact help/info page for packs, singles, locks, merging, battles, raids, and permanent card death.
- Verify card and pack sprites resolve through game-local sprite maps and shared sprite caches.
- Add or verify SFX for purchase, sell, merge, battle roll, card death, win, loss, and achievement unlock.
- Add itch metadata only after the target page exists.
Framework work allowed in this sprint:
inventoryList, cardInventoryAdapter, battleSequenceManager, statsManager, saveManager, and resultsScreenController improvements that reduce duplicated UI or state handling.
Exit criteria:
- Card Game save slots, shop, inventory, battle, raid, collection, settings, and achievements pass a desktop and browser playtest.
- Linux and Windows downloadable builds pass from the
emoji_card_collector profile.
- Remaining release gaps are content/art polish rather than broken flow.
Sprint R3: Build, Docs, And Publishing Hardening
Goal: keep the published framework site and release pipelines reliable while the demos expand.
Status: planned after the next two game release passes unless CI blocks a release sooner.
Planned work:
- Keep the GitLab Pages landing page focused on RGF docs,
all_demos, and links to individual itch.io game pages.
- Keep downloadable artifacts limited to active release profiles until the repo is split.
- Audit per-game build profiles for correct include roots, excluded game roots, start scenes, splash/menu routes, and itch metadata.
- Reduce CI log noise without hiding real export failures.
- Confirm cached Godot/editor template setup is stable on the self-hosted runner.
- Keep Doxygen navigation clean: framework docs at the top, examples and playtest notes beneath.
Framework work allowed in this sprint:
buildProfileManager, CI helper scripts, docs generation, and profile validation only.
Exit criteria:
- GitLab Pages publishes the RGF landing page, Doxygen docs, and
all_demos web launcher.
- Individual itch.io links on the landing page point at released game pages.
- CI artifacts stay under runner/GitLab limits for the active profiles.
- Build profile validation catches missing include roots, excluded data leaks, and invalid start/menu routes before export.
Sprint R4: Level Editor And Platformer Prep
Goal: prepare the next game lane without pulling MVP release work off course.
Status: planned after release hardening.
Planned work:
- Continue moving level-editor behavior into reusable manager code.
- Support larger rectangular maps with void/null space for rooms, corridors, and non-playable areas.
- Improve editor palette placement so selecting a tile/object and selecting a square work in either order.
- Keep Validation and Raw JSON panels collapsible.
- Expand object libraries in game-local data so Platformer, Project Alchemy, and future metroidvania-style games can share the same editor shell.
Framework work allowed in this sprint:
levelEditorManager, levelManager, editor plugin tooling, data validation, and level schema docs.
Exit criteria:
- Built-in and custom Platformer/Project Alchemy levels can be opened, edited, validated, and saved through the same editor flow.
- The editor supports quick tile/object placement without hidden mode friction.
- Level JSON remains game-local while reusable editor behavior stays in the framework.
Future Optimization Backlog
These items remain valid, but they should wait for profiling, release feedback, or a clear reuse target.
- Continue targeted lifecycle cleanup for known popup, signal, deferred-callback, or cache ownership issues. Avoid broad root-wide teardown.
- Add browser/mobile profiler captures around audio transitions, sprite-heavy scenes, large inventory lists, and dense level rendering.
- Add optional shader/material animation effects with low-power fallbacks.
- Expand entity/update managers only where a current game has measurable duplicated per-frame work.
- Add list virtualization only when card inventory or editor palette sizes make it necessary.
- Split game repositories or packages once artifact size and release ownership justify the cost.
Not Active Right Now
These are intentionally not part of the next few sprints:
- A broad entity-system rewrite across all games.
- Reworking Project Alchemy beyond validation, tuning, and art-readability fixes.
- Android build recovery unless web, Windows, and Linux releases are stable.
- Full game-repository splitting before artifact/package ownership requires it.
Active References