# Current development status

Updated 14 September 2026. **The full twelve-faction goal is unfinished. Basic
is playable; public Advanced and unfinished expansion/module starts remain
gated.** Prototypes do not open completion or publication gates.

## Current checkpoint and work

Latest verified checkpoint: `9f1f783`, private Mentat question preview.
Types, lint, **4,605 offline tests**, build and **43 HTTP tests** passed.
All 665 opening rooms and original seat/recovery records were preserved
(699 after HTTP checks). The existing server was reused after the outage;
Ecaz, Ixian and Mentat browser seats restored their private state and decisions.
The only post-verification edit removed an extra newline in a developer document.

[Mentat](MENTAT_QUESTION.md) connects private naming/disclosure before posture
and faction powers, all four AI profiles and saved continuation in explicitly
opted-in previews. Two controlled-shuffle genuine-setup samples finish. Ordinary
activation still awaits the uniform private response UX decision.

The current milestone connects [Bureaucrat payments](BUREAUCRAT_PAYMENTS.md):
ordinary auctions, shipment income, Richese sale proceeds and actual bribe
transfers, with a once-per-phase optional redirection and preserved continuation.
Qualifying allied funding, other payment families and combined-module acceptance
stay explicit. Independent review and focused controls/AI/recovery checks pass.
Four genuine-setup games finish without rejected candidates, but contain no payment
choice; a separate staged browser exercise verifies both choices and refresh.
All 699 opening rooms and original seat/recovery records survived the reported
outage. The healthy server was reused. The completed checkpoint's Git record
contains final broad verification and post-HTTP preservation totals.

## Authoritative navigation

- [Rules checklist](../game/reference.ts), topic `implementation-checklist` and
  each feature's entries: track implementation, controls, AI, documentation and
  verification, plus Missing, Prototyped, Integrated, Verified and Polished stages.
- [Rule decision index](RULE_DECISIONS.md): settled contracts, source precedence
  and pending material interpretations. Consult it before reopening research.
- [Development guide](DEVELOPMENT.md) and [verification tools](VERIFICATION_WORKFLOW.md):
  architecture, focused checks, source-bound reports, reusable faction samples,
  private backup and saved-seat restoration.
- [Implementation history](IMPLEMENTATION_STATUS.md): newest first. Historical
  evidence and outage records stay there and in feature documents; read bounded
  relevant sections and verify old absence claims against current code/tests.
- [Efficiency pilot](EFFICIENCY_PILOT.md): the first three milestones are pushed;
  measurement limits remain explicit. Reuse tools and checks, without promising
  an unmeasured savings percentage.

## Connected development capabilities

These links define bounded working behavior, not complete module certification.

| Area | Current connected work and evidence |
| --- | --- |
| Base/Advanced setup | [Genuine setup](ADVANCED_SETUP_TEST_SEAM.md), [Advanced study](AI_ADVANCED_SETUP_CALIBRATION_20260907.md), [Fremen cancellation](FREMEN_MOVEMENT_KARAMA_RULES.md), [Atreides full-plan audit](ATREIDES_FULL_PLAN_TIMING.md). Earlier Basic-then-flip fixtures do not establish current setup coverage. |
| Expansion factions | [Ixians/Tleilaxu](IX_PROTOTYPE.md) and [all seven faction selections](EXPANSION_FACTIONS_PROTOTYPE.md): genuine setup, Ecaz six-force placement, separate optional card variants, private controls and saved per-lot Ixian/Richese decline. Actual special-lot exchange remains pending. |
| Leader Skills | [Common lifecycle](LEADER_SKILLS_RUNTIME.md), [known skilled capture](LEADER_SKILLS_CAPTURE.md), [Mentat question preview](MENTAT_QUESTION.md), [Bureaucrat payments](BUREAUCRAT_PAYMENTS.md), five battle disciplines, [Planetologist](PLANETOLOGIST_RULES.md), [Suk Graduate](SUK_GRADUATE_RULES.md), [Rihani and other battle effects](LEADER_BATTLE_EFFECTS.md), [Smuggler shipment](SMUGGLER_SHIPMENT.md) and [No-Field](SMUGGLER_NO_FIELD.md), [Sandmaster routes](SANDMASTER_MOVEMENT.md), [Banker spending](SPICE_BANKER_RUNTIME.md), [Diplomat defense](DIPLOMAT_DEFENSE.md). Remaining bands and combinations are explicit in those contracts. |
| Discoveries | [Prototype](DISCOVERY_PROTOTYPE.md): genuine setup, Great Maker, seven cards/eight tokens, inspection and stash rewards, nested sites, signed later free entry, carried Ornithopter, sole Cistern, bounded Jacurutu income, Testing Station and Shrine. Orgiz and contested/mixed cases remain pending. |
| Nexus/Homeworlds | [Decision index](RULE_DECISIONS.md) links each integrated faction family, native/borrowed effects, physical custody, private choices, payments and transport. [CHOAM Collection trade](NEXUS_CHOAM_SECRET_ALLY.md) is connected; its after-victory inspection remains pending. A source audit or helper alone is not a completed effect. |
| Truthtrance | [Spice facts](TRUTHTRANCE_SPICE_FACTS.md), [card counts](TRUTHTRANCE_CARD_COUNT.md), [hand inventory](TRUTHTRANCE_HAND_INVENTORY.md), and [Basic/no-Guild Advanced reserve-shipment promises](TRUTHTRANCE_SHIPMENT_PROMISES.md) use authoritative private state. Earlier readiness audits do not supersede these follow-ups. |
| Other cards | [Sapho runtime](JUICE_OF_SAPHO_RUNTIME.md) includes first among remaining unstarted movement turns after Advanced Guild has finished. Richese card contracts and the checklist identify the other connected effects and explicit gaps. |
| Multiplayer | Saved rooms/seats, [recovery](../README.md#saved-seats-and-reconnecting), uncertain-request retry, [own-seat AI](AUTOPILOT.md), and [voluntary seat handover](SEAT_HANDOVER.md) have connected controls and recovery evidence. |

## Remaining readiness

| Area | Remaining gate |
| --- | --- |
| Basic core | Ordinary Guild repricing/transport settlement, broader truthful commitments, unresolved special timing and integrated rules/human/AI acceptance. |
| Six-faction Advanced | Base gaps, provisional special-Karama outcomes, remaining timing audits and authentic multiplayer/browser acceptance. Setup matrices and complete samples do not open public starts. |
| Twelve factions and all optional modules | Every missing effect, remaining skill bands, Ecaz card variant, Kull Wahad, unfinished Richese cards, Terror effects, occupation entitlement, Nexus interactions, contested Discoveries and complete games across valid combinations. Detailed boundaries remain in the checklist/decision index. |
| AI | Legal continuation for every supported function and distinct Easy/Medium/Hard/Brutal strategy; consistent upper-level strength ordering remains unproven. Defer broad calibration until functional coverage warrants it. |
| Multiplayer | Broader disconnected/abandoned-seat recovery, unattended continuation and network-failure acceptance, while preserving authoritative versioning, custody, privacy and saves. |
| Components and experience | Full component inventory/text verification, all readable inspectors, original artwork, animation/sound/accessibility/mobile polish, complete internal guidance and end-to-end human play. |

[AI calibration](AI_CALIBRATION.md), [multiplayer audit](MULTIPLAYER_AUDIT.md),
[component inventory](COMPONENT_INVENTORY.md) and [visual playtest](VISUAL_PLAYTEST.md)
record their measured scope. [README](../README.md) retains publication gates.

## Working sequence and preservation

Prototype every remaining function in dependency order, using existing controls,
legal AI and the saved-state model. Continue independent functions while material
rulings are pending. Then run integrated games, repair failures, deepen combination
and recovery coverage, calibrate AI and polish. Keep focused checks for crashes,
deadlocks, legality, custody and privacy; complete required broad checkpoint checks.
Use selective subagents and independent review for complex rules/privacy/persistence.
Commit and push verified checkpoints under **“Push all from now on”**, verify push
success, and stop pursuit at **80% weekly usage consumed** with the goal unfinished.

The user-authorized 13 September reset happened once; preserve all games created
since it. Keep `.wrangler/state`, credentials and private backup artifacts out of
Git. Reuse a healthy server; restart only for a relevant change or observed problem,
with a fresh backup, safe human-play boundary and verified restoration. No hourly
restart or recurring maintenance automation is installed; do not recreate one.