Home Overview Architecture Core Systems Gameplay Social Economy Content UI/UX Roadmap

§9 — Development Roadmap

What remains to be built. Phases 1 through 3 prioritised by impact and effort.

0%
Complete
Phase 1 (v1.0 → v3.1) is COMPLETE. All core gameplay systems are server-authoritative, wired to the client, and tested. The game is playable end-to-end.

Phase 1 — Completed (v1.0 – v3.1)

  • v1.0–v1.5
    Foundation
    Node.js stack, MongoDB, Socket.IO, JSON data layer (475 files), ContentLoader, all base systems instantiated.
  • v1.6–v2.0
    Core Gameplay
    Resource economy, buildings, fleet missions, dungeons, skills, crafting, research, ship construction, galaxy map.
  • v2.0–v2.1
    Social & Economy
    Alliance system, player market (2% fee + expiry), friends, combat log, reputation system, leaderboard.
  • v2.2–v2.8
    Live Events & Seasons
    Galaxy Events (4 types), Season System (90-day cycles), season leaderboard, NPC faction missions (8), XP bar, i18n stubs.
  • v3.0
    Mobile-first UI Overhaul
    Full CSS rewrite, bottom nav, slide-up drawer, iOS safe area, 42px tap targets, modal bottom-sheets, responsive breakpoints.
  • v3.1
    PvP + Modules + Crafting
    PvP challenge system, ship module equipping, craft_item server handler, .env setup, API CORS fix, data cleanup & merge.

Phase 2 — Polish & Depth

Phase 2 is COMPLETE as of v3.4. All Priority 1, 2, and 3 items shipped.
  • Priority 1
    Module Inventory Picker UI
    v3.2: Full rarity-coloured picker modal — slot filter, stats comparison bar, search, equip with one tap.
  • Priority 1
    Crafting Timed Queue
    v3.3: Live progress bars, countdown timers, Collect/Collect-All buttons, gem speed-up (3💎 = instant finish). Queue panel in crafting tab.
  • Priority 1
    Alliance Research Tree
    v3.3: 3-tier tree with 8 techs, prereqs, warehouse costs, 1h timers, collect handler — fully visible in Alliance tab.
  • Priority 2
    Fleet Drag-Drop Ship Editor
    v3.3: Drag-drop formation editor with hangar zone. Touch events for mobile. Save Formation persists order to DB.
  • Priority 2
    Price History in Player Market
    v3.3: SVG sparkline popup per listing, 14-day OHLC history, median/high/low stats. 📈 Price history link on every listing row.
  • Priority 2
    Gem Currency Flow
    v3.3: Gem Store tab with 9 items (cosmetics, utility, boosts). Earn via login streak + dungeons. Spend on craft speed-ups, +slots, nameplates, trails.
  • Priority 2
    Alliance Chat
    v3.3: Private Socket.IO room per alliance, 7-day message persistence, history on tab load, embedded panel in Alliance tab.
  • Priority 3
    Localisation — 7 Languages
    v3.4: All 7 locale files (de/fr/es/ja/zh/ko/pt) fully populated — 136 keys each covering nav, resources, dungeons, quests, crafting, alliance, market, inventory, shop, settings, A11y. GSO_i18n module with fetch-based loader, t() helper, data-i18n attribute binding, language selector in Settings.
  • Priority 3
    Quest Expansion (35 → 100+)
    Supplied by external datapack (2000+ quests). Quest category system wired: daily/weekly/monthly/main_story JSON files loaded via ContentLoader. Data injected in v3.4.
  • Priority 3
    Full Keyboard Navigation (A11y)
    v3.4: GSO_A11y module — skip-to-content link, ARIA live regions (polite + assertive), focus trap in all modals (Tab/Shift-Tab loops), Escape closes topmost modal/drawer, Arrow key nav on sidebar + sub-tab groups (quests/leaderboard/dungeon), role=dialog + aria-modal + aria-labelledby on all modals, aria-hidden on decorative icons, :focus-visible ring throughout.

Phase 3 — Scale & Launch

Phase 3 Launch Prep and Platform are complete as of v3.5. Infrastructure and Monetisation remain.
  • Launch Prep
    Raid System
    v3.5: RaidSystem.js — weekly guild raids (2–5 players, 3 phases), monthly world boss (up to 20 players, 500K HP). Raid-exclusive loot tables. Party queue, phase progression, damage tracking, full reward distribution (credits, gems, XP, loot). Client Raids tab with queue cards and live HP bar.
  • Launch Prep
    PvP Matchmaking & Rankings
    v3.5: ELO-style rating system (K=32). pvp_ranked_challenge / pvp_ranked_accept / pvp_ranked_decline handlers. Rating, wins, losses, streak, tier (bronze/silver/gold/platinum/diamond) stored in PlayerData. get_pvp_rankings leaderboard. Client PvP Rankings tab with tier badges.
  • Launch Prep
    Alliance Wars
    v3.5: AllianceWarSystem.js with MongoDB-persisted AllianceWar documents. declare_alliance_war with 24h declaration phase → 72h active war. War score = battle wins. Territory bonus (+10% resources, +5% XP) to winning alliance for 7 days. Timers resume on server restart. Client Alliance Wars tab with live scorecard.
  • Infrastructure
    Production Deployment
    MongoDB Atlas cluster, NGINX reverse proxy, SSL, PM2 process management, Docker for game server scaling, health check endpoints.
  • Infrastructure
    Analytics & Telemetry
    Track DAU/MAU, session length, funnel drop-offs, economy balance metrics. Integrate with Mixpanel or custom event pipeline.
  • Monetisation
    Premium Store
    Gem purchase flow via Stripe or similar. Cosmetics-only store — no pay-to-win. Battle Pass season option.
  • Platform
    Mobile App (iOS / Android)
    v3.5: capacitor.config.ts with @capacitor/core, push-notifications, local-notifications, splash-screen, status-bar, haptics, network. mobile-package.json with build scripts. GSO_PushNotifications module — Electron native Notification API, Capacitor LocalNotifications, Web Notification API fallback. Fires on: mission complete, PvP challenges, market sales, craft done, ship built, raid start, alliance war events. docs/mobile-setup.md with Firebase + APNs setup guide.

Known Issues & Tech Debt

IssueSeverityStatusNotes
Premium gem purchase (Stripe)—⬜ Not StartedLow — Phase 3 — Infrastructure
Production deployment (NGINX/Docker)—⬜ Not StartedLow — Phase 3 — Infrastructure
Analytics & telemetry—⬜ Not StartedLow — Phase 3 — Infrastructure