Initial scaffold: promote JANKENSTEIN idea to project (Unity, NGO+Relay prototype plan)

memory.md

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+# memory — JANKENSTEIN
+
+Durable memory for this project. Read at session start, update before session end. Date format: `YYYY-MM-DD`. Deep design detail lives in `DESIGN.md` (the full record carried over from the idea's `plan.md`); this file is the distilled decisions + live work.
+
+## Decisions & rationale
+
+- **Concept (locked).** ~25-player friendslop build-brawl: teams build a janky physics robot from themed scrap; **each teammate pilots one functional part** (pillar #6 — "you build your control scheme, not a robot"); death → free-roaming ragdoll **gremlin**. 8 design pillars in `DESIGN.md`.
+- **Engine: Unity** (2026-07-10). Decided after a 3-angle netcode/prior-art study. The physics-party genre is overwhelmingly Unity (Fall Guys, Gang Beasts, Human Fall Flat, PEAK, Lethal Company, Party Animals, Stumble Guys, Trailmakers, Besiege, Robocraft); the two UE physics-heavy titles both swapped UE physics for Bullet. An earlier Unreal-MCP-tooling edge was correctly overridden. **The defining risk is networked physics at ~25-player scale — no shipped game occupies that quadrant.**
+- **Control feel v0.1 — driving = symmetric** (2026-07-10). Each locomotion part = one pilot applying *literal force* ("you are the left tread") — the only model that generalises to arbitrary scrap contraptions and the one that keeps pillar #6. Tread pilot verbs: **snap-to-cruise throttle** (both slam forward = easy straight; coordination lives in the in-between), **lock-pivot** (called-play turns), **passive lean** (nobody idle). Asymmetric (throttle/steer split) held as the fallback if the prototype groans.
+- **Weapons = three-body call-and-response** (2026-07-10). A weapon pilot perturbs the drivers' world → turn simultaneous chaos into rhythm: wind-up **telegraphs a brace**, a **braced bonus** makes drive+strike a combo, weapon doubles as engine/counterweight. Generalises to **5 archetypes** — Punch / Grinder / Grip (later tier) / Guard / Passive. The **weapon mix is a build-time chaos dial** (over-building self-punishes = pillar #6 made mechanical).
+- **Team size & lobby math** (2026-07-10). Team **3–5** (3 = smallest full driver+driver+weapon triangle; 5 = coordination/budget ceiling); lobby **≥2 teams**; sweet spot 5 teams of 5. Unequal sizes balanced by a **flat build budget** (small team = concentrated & nimble; big team = distributed & tippy → equal power, different character), reinforced by physics (bigness = top-heavy, self-limiting) + coordination tax; matchmaking buckets pre-made friend groups & prefers equal sizes, NPC-fills the rest. **No living "roamer" — everyone is in the bot; off-bot = gremlins (dead) only.** Style vote needs ≥3 teams (2-team lobbies use fight-result + spectator vote).
+- **Prototype netcode = Unity NGO + Relay, host-authoritative** (2026-07-10). Chosen for the *throwaway* first prototype (free, first-party, friends join by code, no port-forwarding). **This does NOT commit the final architecture** — server-authoritative state sync vs Photon Quantum deterministic lockstep is still deferred until the game is proven fun.
+
+## Open questions / TODOs
+
+- [ ] **Build Milestone 1** — networked shared bot, each player one tread (see `docs/prototype-plan.md`). The immediate work.
+- [ ] **Create the Unity project** on the Windows host + decide its version control (git-on-`F:\` vs symlink into this repo).
+- [ ] **Stand up a Unity MCP server** (CoplayDev/unity-mcp or IvanMurzak) host-side, WSL-bridged, so Claude can help drive the editor.
+- [ ] **Netcode architecture (deferred, the real risk)** — dedicated server-authoritative state sync (Robocraft 2 blueprint) vs Photon Quantum lockstep (Stumble Guys precedent). Decide *after* the fun is proven + the 25-player physics spike. Netcode target ≈ 25–30 primary rigid bodies + gremlins/debris.
+- [ ] **The 25-player physics/netcode spike** — two ~30-joint bots colliding at arena scale, ≥100 ms latency, min-spec. The make-or-break gate before scaling up.
+- [ ] Remaining **design** questions (detail in `DESIGN.md`): build-coupling tightness, hidden per-player agenda, at-scale voting, part taxonomy, scavenge-contest rules, art style, progression (cosmetic-only), final name (working title JANKENSTEIN; alts BODGEBOTS / SCRAPYARD SCRUM / CLANKERS / RUSTBUCKETS / JALOPY WARS).
+
+## Session log
+
+### 2026-07-10
+- **Promoted from `ideas/jankenstein` to a real project.** Scaffolded the WSL-side project home (this repo): filled `CLAUDE.md`, seeded this `memory.md` from the idea's `plan.md`, carried the full design record over as `DESIGN.md`, added `docs/prototype-plan.md`. Idea folder archived to `archive/ideas/jankenstein`.
+- Decided to build a **basic networked prototype first** (user wants to test the coordination feel with real friends — local split-screen won't capture the social/voice-chat core). Stack: **Unity NGO + Relay**, host-authoritative, throwaway netcode. Milestone 1 = one shared bot, each player one tread.
+
+## External references
+
+- Full design record: `DESIGN.md` (this repo) — control feel v0.1, weapon archetypes, lobby math, tech direction, netcode prior art.
+- Prototype build-plan: `docs/prototype-plan.md`.
+- Wiki (orientation): http://192.168.1.249:6876/projects/jankenstein
+- Idea-phase history: `~/claude/archive/ideas/jankenstein/` (original brainstorm `plan.md` + session logs).
+- Netcode prior art (Rocket League GDC talk, Fall Guys/Robocraft/Stumble Guys case studies, Gaffer On Games) — cited in `DESIGN.md` → References.