Station-0/CONTENT_SPEC.md

Station 0 — Content Spec (Vertical Slice)

Last updated: 2026-03-03 Scope: Vertical slice only. All content here is confirmed for VS unless marked [OPTIONAL].

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Enemies

All enemies are corrupted Adaptive Maintenance Units — same chassis class as the player, visually degraded. Their corruption manifests in their function, not their form.

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DRIFTER

Corruption type: Locomotion Movement: Pathfinding broken. Moves in slow arcs and wide curves. Never charges in a straight line. Attack: Contact damage only. No projectiles. Threat level: Low-Medium Design role: Individually harmless. Disruptive in groups — fills the room with unpredictable bodies, cuts off escape routes. Forces players to unlearn "dodge in a straight line" habits.

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REPEATER

Corruption type: Task-loop Movement: Slow. Drifts toward last known player position, stops, then executes its loop. Attack: Fires a burst of 3 projectiles in a fixed direction, rotates ~20° clockwise, fires again, repeats indefinitely. Does not track the player — it is completing a stuck subroutine. Threat level: Medium Design role: Pattern recognition. First enemy that teaches players to observe before moving. Dangerous in confined rooms or when combined with other threats.

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ANCHOR

Corruption type: Structural integrity Movement: Pathfinds to the nearest wall or corner and locks in. Does not move once anchored. Knockback: Immune to knockback while anchored. Attack: Fires slow homing projectiles at the player until destroyed. Projectiles are individually easy to outrun but accumulate. Threat level: High Design role: Changes room geometry. Turns safe corners into bad positions. Forces aggressive play. Punishes passivity.

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Boss: THE SUPERVISOR

A larger maintenance unit whose supervisor protocol has fully overridden all other functions. It does not perceive the player as an enemy — it perceives them as a malfunctioning unit and is attempting to decommission them.

Room: Large. No environmental hazards. Preceded by a charging station in the hallway (full HP restore before entry).

Phase 1 (100%–55% HP)

• Patrols a fixed rectangular path around the room.
• When the player enters a forward sensor cone, fires a sweeping calibration beam (slow AoE line that leaves a brief floor hazard — clears within ~1 second, nothing lingering).
• Freely damageable from behind and sides.
• No adds. Room feels almost too easy — players get overconfident.

Phase 2 (55%–20% HP)

• Patrol pattern collapses. Supervisor begins tracking the player directly.
• Moves faster. Calibration beam fires more frequently at tighter arcs.
• Spawns one Drifter from a maintenance hatch.
• Visual state change: one arm hanging, sparking.

Climax (below 20% HP)

• Supervisor freezes mid-room. Broadcasts a distress signal (visual + audio cue).
• Frozen for ~2 seconds. Not invulnerable — can be killed during the freeze.
• No lore triggered on death.
• On death: guaranteed body part drop, then powers down.

Emotional intent: The freeze is not a mechanic — it's a beat. Players will kill it without thinking, then maybe feel it a second later. WALL-E tone.

Post-boss

• Body part drop (guaranteed).
• Explicit early exit prompt offered.
• Hub door opens.

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Run Items

8 items for VS. Populate item rooms and shops. BOI-style: diverse effects, some synergies, not just stat buffs.

Item	Effect
Coolant Leak	Leaves a slick trail for 1s when you take damage. Enemies that touch it are slowed for 2s.
Overclock Module	Fire rate +40%. Every 3rd shot deals 0 damage.
Scrap Magnet	Scrap tokens auto-collect within 3 tiles.
Memory Spike	First projectile fired in each room deals 3× damage.
Rust Coat	Reduce all incoming damage by 1 (min 1).
Static Discharge	On taking damage, emit a short-range AoE burst (1 tile radius).
Fragmented Map	Each time you clear a combat room, one unexplored room on the floor map is revealed.
Patch Kit	Consumed on pickup: restore 2 HP immediately.

Synergies worth noting

• Coolant Leak + Static Discharge: Taking damage becomes room control.
• Memory Spike + Overclock Module: Active tension — sacrificing your free first shot on dead 3rd shots.
• Rust Coat + Lightweight Frame (body part): Glass cannon with a floor on incoming damage.

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Body Parts

8 non-default upgrades across 4 active slots for VS. All slots have a default (baseline, no stat change) that is never listed as a pickup.

Trade-offs are required — no pure upgrades.

HEAD

Part	Effect
Wide-Angle Lens	Vision radius +30%. Projectile speed -20%.
Targeting Spike	Projectile speed +40%, range +25%. Field of view -20%.

TORSO

Part	Effect
Reinforced Chassis	Max HP +2. Move speed -10%.
Lightweight Frame	Move speed +20%. Max HP -1.

LEFT ARM (utility/shield slot)

Part	Effect
Scatter Emitter	Fires 3-way spread instead of single shot. Each projectile deals 60% damage.
Shield Projector	Active block on cooldown (3s): absorbs one hit. No offensive change.

RIGHT ARM (damage slot)

Part	Effect
Heavy Emitter	Damage +60%. Fire rate -40%.
Rapid Emitter	Fire rate +50%. Damage -30%.

LEGS [OPTIONAL — include if bandwidth allows]

Part	Effect
Hydraulic Boosters	Move speed +15%. Deceleration takes longer. Brief i-frames on dash through enemies.

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Room Content Spec

Room types

Combat rooms Doors lock on entry. Unlock when all enemies are defeated.

Floor depth	Enemy count	Composition
Floor 1, rooms 1–3	1–2	Drifters only
Floor 1, rooms 4+	2–3	Drifters + 1 Repeater
Floor 2	2–4	Mix of all three types
Floor 3 (pre-boss)	2–3	Include Anchor; rooms tighter

Enemy count capped by room size — small rooms get -1 enemy.

Item rooms One item on a pedestal. No enemies. Safe. 20% chance to also contain a lore terminal (not wired to any lore content for VS — terminal present, content placeholder).

Shop rooms Unmanned. No NPC keeper. Sells 2 items + 1 consumable at fixed scrap prices. No haggling. Purely transactional — all NPC personality lives in the hub.

Boss room See Boss section above.

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Environmental Hazards

Both hazard types included in VS.

Oil slick

• Slippery surface. Reduces player movement control (momentum-based sliding).
• Enemies unaffected.
• Appears as puddles in combat rooms.

Exposed wiring

• Deals 1 HP on contact.
• Blocks movement paths — functions as impassable terrain with a damage border.
• Appears as sparking floor sections along walls.

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Run arc (VS target)

Floor	Room count	Beat
Floor 1	4–5 rooms	Learn the rhythm. One item. Maybe find the shop. First Repeater feels like a puzzle.
Floor 2	5–6 rooms	Mixed threats. Find a body part. Build takes shape. One tense near-death moment.
Floor 3	2 rooms + boss	Charging station. Supervisor fight. The freeze. Kill it. Hub door opens.

Target run time: 20–30 minutes.

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Open questions (not resolved, revisit post-VS)

• Zone-specific enemy variants — do hazard types change per zone, or stay consistent?
• Mini-boss rooms — add for post-VS (e.g., named Anchor variant + Drifters in a sealed room)?
• Lore terminal content — terminals exist in VS as placeholders; content pass comes later.
• Hydraulic Boosters — confirm in or out based on animation budget before VS build locks.