# Progression model and balance

The authoritative implementation is SmallWorlds/Core/Economy.swift and Catalog.swift. Tools/Balance runs that same engine; it does not substitute a simplified spreadsheet economy. All reported simulations use no purchases.

## Opening and main-survey targets

Opening target: first journey, recorded encounter, befriended companion, one affordable upgrade and a newly reachable landmark within ten minutes. The actual first route takes 35 seconds at base speed. Its first signal occurs after 12.25 seconds; the starting Field lens and Shelter cloth guarantee Pebbletuck. Three comfortable actions grant 18 Notes and an immediately useful Root sense companion. First arrival plus gathering makes the 45-Note Scanner upgrade affordable, opening Fernbridge and Honey Stone Bend.

Deterministic decision policy results (not retention research or promised player completion times):

| Policy | First six friends | All 18 friends | Main survey complete |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Decisions every 5 seconds | 12 min | 36.8 min | 65.7 min |
| Decisions every 5 minutes | 40 min | 120 min | 140 min |
| Revisit every 8 hours | 2.7 days | 7.7 days | 9 days |

The 8-hour policy intentionally does nothing until its first revisit, so its first friend is delayed until 16 hours. This is a cadence test, not the opening tutorial. See BALANCE_RESULTS.txt for the exact event trace. A practiced active player can finish the finite survey in roughly an hour; a relaxed player can spread it over many returns. Repeatable optional seasons provide further progress. Real-player enjoyment and retention require a human playtest and are not inferred from these numbers.

## Coupled formulas

Each path's base distance is 35–130 fictional metres, taking the same number of seconds at base speed. Multi-path journeys sum prepared travel times. Speed = (1 + .08 × Trail practice) × (1 + .04 × Mastery), with multiplicative marsh/steep bonuses, capped at 4 m/s. Marsh skis and Climbing line add 15% on their terrain; Tool craft scales that bonus by (1 + .10 × rank). Appropriate companions add 25% times their strength. Recorded crossings remain open with any pack.

Base Note multiplier = (1 + .15 × Survey methods) × (1 + .10 × Mastery). Destination reward = (24 + 28 × biomeIndex + 3 × landmarkID) × multiplier. Survey companions add 20% times companion strength. Each newly recorded landmark also awards 18 + 10 × biomeIndex. Gathering = (6 + 4 × biomeIndex) × multiplier, with Root sense adding 35% times companion strength in Mossfold and Survey brush adding 25% times Tool craft scaling.

Companion strength = 1 + .10 × Companion care + .04 × min(10, familiarity − 1). Familiar encounters give 4 × Note multiplier and one familiarity. A first friendship grants 18 + 12 × rarityIndex Notes. Scanner reduces required clues by floor(rank / 2), never below one. Field lens and Signal sense each add a clue; Shelter cloth adds two for sheltering species.

| Upgrade | First cost | Cost growth per rank | Maximum |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Trail practice | 35 | 1.85 | 15 |
| Scanner range | 45 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Survey methods | 40 | 1.9 | 15 |
| Tool craft | 80 | 2.15 | 8 |
| Field station | 100 | 2.2 | 8 |
| Companion care | 90 | 2.1 | 8 |

Costs round up. Scanner preparation unlocks landmarks at levels 0–5. A fast coat cannot replace marsh or steep preparation. Crafting: Marsh skis 120, Climbing line 220, Survey brush 180 (station level 1); Resonance chime 360 (station level 2). Starting lens and cloth are free; only two tools can be equipped.

## Offline and permanent progress

Free offline hold = min(24, 8 + 2 × station rank + Mastery) hours. Deep field archive sets it to 32 hours. The cap bounds both earnings and computation; there is no loss of existing progress. All route events process in chronological order, including tide changes, signals, gathering, waypoints and repeated journeys. Clock rollback never subtracts or replays earnings. A future device clock delays new earnings until real time catches up; online clock verification is intentionally absent.

One study per biome per season requires its four current-season landmarks, at least four friends and eight familiarity marks, counting at most three from each species. Each study grants 250 Notes and one permanent Mastery. Publishing resets nothing.

Optional next season requires all eighteen companions, all twelve landmarks and this season's three studies. Notes become min(600, 100 + 25 × Mastery); upgrades become [0,1,0,0,1,0]; travel returns to camp, and current-season visit/study checklists clear. All collection, encounters and partial interactions, crafted tools, records, purchases, settings and Mastery remain. Completing new studies can earn three more Mastery. Lifetime values are bounded; the latest 120 individual journey entries are kept, with aggregate totals and discovered places retained permanently.

Every first visit to a landmark in each field season is kept as a permanent journey record. Only the routine repeated-journey list is limited to the most recent 120 entries; this never deletes the first-visit history.