Aetheria/docs/aetheria-current-codebase-model.md

# Aetheria Current Codebase Model

Date: 2026-06-22

This is a modeling pass over the live codebase as it exists now. It is not the
ideal architecture; it is the current control-flow map, with migration pressure
points called out where Unity still acts like more than a thin renderer/input
lowerer.

## Topology

- `Aetheria.State` owns the CultCache/CultNet typed state node, document
  registry, Eve surface state, provider advertisement projection, command
  acceptance, and durable Aetheria state documents.
- `Aetheria.State.Daemon` is the local Verse member. It opens an
  `AetheriaStateNode`, starts the CultMesh server, publishes discovery, accepts
  typed Eve commands, reads typed daemon commands, ticks the authoritative run
  document, and republishes daemon witnesses.
- `Packages/org.gamecult.aetheria.state/Runtime` is the embedded Unity-facing
  runtime package. It contains the shared daemon frame documents, typed command
  clients, render query helpers, stat recipe surfaces, replica/discovery code,
  and the SoA publication schema that Unity can map.
- `Assets/Scripts` is the Unity client. It still contains the gameplay facade
  graph, behavior simulation classes, zone renderer, UI shells, and Ymir query
  bridge. During the migration it is partly renderer/input client and partly
  legacy simulation host.
- `Aetheria.State.Verify` is the migration fence. It asserts that deleted
  authority paths stay dead: stringly public command APIs, queues as public API,
  Unity physics authority, direct Unity-side zone rendering ownership, old
  serializer/database paths, and several daemon publication invariants.

## Boot And Daemon Tick

The daemon entry point is `Aetheria.State.Daemon/Program.cs`.

Current daemon control flow:

1. Parse daemon options: state path, daemon id, session id, Verse id, CultMesh
   address, tick interval, fixed delta.
2. Open `AetheriaStateNode` with `startServer: true`.
3. Start `AetheriaVerseDiscoveryHost`.
4. Ensure world, Verse host settings, runtime session, compatibility surfaces,
   and first daemon tick.
5. On each interval:
   - accept observed Eve commands through `AetheriaEveCommandBridge`;
   - read the current daemon frame from the state path;
   - collect typed loadout templates from the node cache;
   - collect observed daemon command documents from the state graph;
   - call `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonTickRunner.Tick`;
   - publish the resulting frame, SoA view, provider advertisement, health,
     command boundary, game GUI/TUI surface, and editor GUI/TUI surface back
     into the typed state node.

`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonTickRunner.Tick` is the authoritative tick boundary. It
filters already-accounted commands, executes new daemon commands through
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonOperations.Execute`, stamps zone simulation time, builds
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonFrameDocument`, writes the frame witness, writes the
current-zone entity SoA slab, then publishes command boundary, provider
advertisement, health, and Eve surfaces.

Important nuance: the current tick applies command effects to a typed run
checkpoint. It is authoritative for many menu, inventory, targeting, movement
intent, docking, loot, trade, loadout, and action-bar operations, but it is not
yet a complete standalone simulation engine for every behavior that still lives
under Unity `Assets/Scripts/ServerShared/Behaviors`.

## Command Flow

Unity public gameplay calls mostly route through typed operation wrappers now:

- `AetheriaDaemonObserver` polls observed daemon state and owns
  `AetheriaDaemonOperations`.
- `AetheriaDaemonOperations` exposes typed methods such as `SetTarget`,
  `SetMoveVector`, `TransferCargoItem`, `TradePurchase`, `RestoreLoadout`,
  `ToggleHullConductivity`, and `SetBehaviorActive`.
- `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonOperationClient` builds
  `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonCommandDocument` values and submits them through
  `AetheriaRuntimeCommandSubmitter.TrySubmitDaemonCommand`.
- The daemon reads those typed command documents and applies them in
  `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonOperations`.

This is much healthier than the earlier `Apply(command, payload)` shape. The
remaining compromise is that the command document is one broad record with many
optional fields, selected by `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonCommandKinds`. That is typed
at the document boundary, but not as strong as distinct command body types per
operation. The verifier now prevents public Unity-facing queue/string APIs from
returning, but the command shape is still a union-ish document rather than
fully discriminated typed bodies.

Eve commands are a parallel typed edge for operator/runtime UI surfaces. The
daemon accepts observed Eve commands, applies known surface commands, and
publishes acceptance status. Daemon-published game/editor surfaces should keep
moving toward command templates that point at typed daemon command documents or
typed state refs, not generic payload maps.

## Observation And Render Flow

Unity observes daemon state through `AetheriaDaemonObserver`:

1. Poll `AetheriaRuntimeStateReader.TryReadObservedDaemonState`.
2. Feed the result through `AetheriaRuntimeDaemonObservationCursor`.
3. If the SoA view changed, map daemon memory through
   `AetheriaDaemonSoaMemoryMap`.
4. Lower the mapped columns to `AetheriaDaemonRenderNativeView`, which exposes
   `NativeArray<T>` columns for Burst/Jobs-friendly rendering.

The daemon SoA hot slab is written by
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonSoaFramePublisher.PublishCurrentZoneEntities`. It
currently publishes entity index, position, rotation, velocity, physics body
radius/mass/inverse mass, render scale, visibility, LOD, and render group. This
is the right direction for a thin Unity client: daemon state appears as a native
view instead of a serialized object graph.

Current limitation: physics body radius, mass, inverse mass, render scale, LOD,
and render group are still generic defaults in the publisher. Entity identity
and position are real; body semantics are not yet rich enough to replace all
renderer/gameplay guesses.

`ActionGameManager.ApplyLatestAuthoritativeDaemonFrame` is the main Unity frame
consumer. It reads the newest authoritative daemon frame, restores or updates
the Unity observed facade graph, calls `ZoneRenderer.ApplyDaemonFrame`, and
loads the daemon zone view when the zone changes.

`ZoneRenderer` is currently a projection cache. It lowers daemon zone snapshots
into Unity GameObjects for bodies, belts, wormholes, entities, compass markers,
loot visuals, and gravity presentation. Per frame, it asks
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonRenderQueries` for body poses, asteroid poses, visible
entity indices, compass markers, wormhole exits, gravity terrain height, and
gravity terrain bands.

This means `ZoneRenderer` is no longer the canonical level hierarchy owner, but
it still exists as a persistent Unity hierarchy cache. The migration target is
smaller: a per-frame query/lowering layer that feeds native render buffers and
presentation objects only where GameObject views are still unavoidable.

## Physics And Ymir

Unity physics is already fenced as forbidden gameplay authority by
`Aetheria.State.Verify`.

Current Ymir control flow:

- Projectiles ask `AetheriaYmirPhysicsBridge.TryStepProjectile`.
- Daemon RTS combat spawns typed projectile state, but projectile motion and
  contact discovery route through `AetheriaRuntimeYmirProjectilePhysics` before
  Aetheria applies damage policy. Combat does not own projectile kinematics.
- Target/zone hit queries call `TryOverlapTargetHulls`, `TryCastTargetHulls`,
  `TryOverlapZoneHulls`, or `TryCastZoneHulls`.
- `TryBuildDaemonWorld` builds Ymir bodies from `AetheriaDaemonRenderNativeView`
  rather than from Unity `HullCollider` geometry.
- Ymir step/overlap/cast requests execute through the typed
  `YmirPhysicsQueries` surface in `YmirPhysicsContracts.cs`.
- Query results are resolved back to Unity presentation hulls through daemon
  entity ids, so visual effects still have a GameObject to attach to.

This is the right authority direction: Ymir receives bodies derived from daemon
SoA, and Unity hulls are presentation targets. Remaining debt:

- `AetheriaYmirPhysicsBridge` requires daemon `EntityIndex` and
  `PhysicsBodyRadius` columns before it builds Ymir bodies; stable entity
  identity is required for daemon/Ymir correspondence.
- Ymir query requests no longer use Unity-owned JSON endpoint calls. The
  remaining durable target is exposing the same typed query semantics through
  CultNet/CultMesh query handles.
- Clickable raycasts still construct query bodies from Unity click bounds. That
  is presentation picking, not simulation authority, but it should stay clearly
  labeled as renderer/UI picking.

## Gravity Terrain

There are now shared daemon render queries for gravity influence brushes and
terrain sampling. `ZoneRenderer` uses
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonRenderQueries.EvaluateGravityTerrainHeight` and
`QueryGravityTerrainBand` for rendering.

The old `Assets/Scripts/Gravity.cs` still exists. It samples Unity
`GravityObject` materials and shader names directly. That path is a legacy
Unity-local gravity evaluator. It should not own gameplay gravity or canonical
terrain facts. The desirable shape is:

- daemon zone state defines body/orbit/gravity influence data;
- shared runtime query code answers viewport/intersection questions such as
  "which influence brushes intersect this XZ area?";
- Unity receives only the brushes and terrain samples needed for the current
  camera/minimap/render pass;
- Ymir receives physics-relevant fields from the same daemon state.

`Aetheria.State.Verify` already checks for shared gravity influence query
symbols and pushes `ZoneRenderer` away from mirrored Unity `Zone` math.

## Stats And Behaviors

Stats are mid-migration.

Designer-facing recipe state exists in
`AetheriaRuntimeStatRecipes` and `AetheriaRuntimeStatRecipeSurfaceBuilder`.
Runtime item stat inspection exists in
`AetheriaRuntimeDaemonItemStatQueries`. Recipes are explicit: base value plus
enabled condition modifiers for quality, durability, heat, charge, ammo, range,
integrity, pilot skill, and environment. The recipe evaluator caches enabled
modifiers and dependency masks on the Unity-side `StatRecipe`.

The live behavior system still uses `PerformanceStat` heavily. Every behavior
constructs stat objects, registers them, and calls `Evaluate(...)` during
runtime. If a recipe exists, it uses the recipe evaluator. If not, it falls back
to the legacy exponent model:

- quality exponent;
- durability exponent multiplier;
- heat exponent multiplier;
- curve sampling for behavior-specific effects.

`StatModifier` still mutates target `PerformanceStat` modifier dictionaries at
runtime by behavior and entity. This is a partial modifier system, but it is
attached to the old `PerformanceStat` object graph rather than a compact
blueprint/instance stat set.

Migration target:

- blueprint/catalog rows define base stat ids and default values;
- designer recipes define explicit condition dependencies per stat;
- item/entity instances carry only condition values and sparse modifier state;
- each stat has a dependency mask so hot paths sample only required conditions;
- current stat queries are daemon-owned and can answer "what is this stat now?"
  without Unity spelunking behavior objects;
- Unity behavior code consumes resolved current stat values or cached stat
  handles, not raw `PerformanceStat` exponent objects.

## UI Surfaces

The current UI direction is Eve/CultUI:

- daemon publishes game/editor GUI and TUI surfaces;
- compatibility state surfaces exist for operations, player settings, catalog,
  loadout templates, zone details, trade item details, and stat recipes;
- Unity lowers local surfaces through UI Toolkit for many menu/inventory/trade
  panels;
- Brokkr should be considered just another daemon publishing Unity editor Eve
  surfaces, not a special Codex socket.

The architectural note in `Aetheria.State/docs/verse-daemon-shape.md` is still
the right boundary: Odin discovers/indexes providers, Bifrost hosts MCP tools
for xeno agents, Eve/CultUI defines presentation, and the daemon owns side
effects.

Remaining UI debt is not mostly visual. It is resolution semantics: if an Eve
surface contains a typed pointer to daemon state, the runtime should resolve it
automatically. Current surfaces still often duplicate display values into
component props. That works for rendering, but it is weaker than state-ref
driven UI where agents and clients can inspect or invoke the same typed daemon
state.

## Remaining Unity Responsibility

Unity is already less authoritative than it was, but not detached.

Still in Unity:

- observed `Galaxy`, `Zone`, `Entity`, `Ship`, `EquippedItem`, and behavior
  facade graph projection;
- live behavior classes and much stat evaluation;
- `ActionGameManager` as a large input/UI/projection coordinator;
- `ZoneRenderer` persistent GameObject projection cache;
- prefab/hull visual instantiation and effect attachment;
- some presentation picking and clickable queries;
- old gravity material evaluator in `Gravity`;
- Unity-specific rendering settings and asset palette lowering.

Moved or moving out:

- durable world/catalog/player/run/zone/entity state;
- typed daemon command acceptance and operation application;
- provider advertisements, health, command boundaries, and surfaces;
- current-zone entity hot slab for native rendering and Ymir body construction;
- shared render queries for body poses, gravity terrain, wormholes, markers,
  visible entities, and asteroid poses;
- Unity physics authority.

## High-Value Next Cuts

1. Enrich daemon SoA physics columns. Publish body radius/mass/inverse mass
   from typed entity/hull state instead of `1.0` placeholders.
2. Add daemon current-stat query documents/surfaces. Designers and clients
   should query current resolved stats through daemon-owned state refs, not
   inspect Unity behavior objects.
3. Convert hot behavior reads from `PerformanceStat` to stat handles with
   dependency masks and cached condition sampling. Leave legacy exponent
   evaluation only as migration import/readback.
4. Shrink `ZoneRenderer` toward stateless per-frame render lowering. Persistent
   GameObjects can remain for prefabs, but zone/body/entity discovery should be
   query-driven from daemon state.
5. Promote Ymir's typed local query surface to CultNet/CultMesh query handles
   when the Ymir daemon interface is ready.
6. Make Eve state refs first-class in the UI runtime so surfaces can point to
   daemon state and clients resolve it automatically.

## Mental Model

The current machine is no longer "Unity owns the game and exports some state."
It is now "the Aetheria daemon owns typed state and publications, while Unity is
a powerful but still-too-large observer/projection runtime." The main migration
task is to keep deleting places where Unity turns observed daemon facts back
into local authority.