tomevault-io Platform-First Development Philosophy
The Golden Rule
Fix the platform, not the content.
At this stage of development, all agents focus on platform code (core/, scenes/, Sparkling Editor), NOT mod content (mods/).
Why This Matters
The Captain (user) creates all mod content exactly as a real modder would. This ensures:
- Real-world testing of the modding experience
- No special treatment for demo content
- Tool validation - if content is broken, the tool that made it is broken
Decision Framework
| Symptom | Wrong Response | Correct Response |
|---|---|---|
| Character data is malformed | Fix the .tres file | Fix the Sparkling Editor component that generated it |
| Battle doesn't load correctly | Edit the battle resource | Fix BattleManager or MapMetadataLoader |
| Item stats are wrong | Edit the item resource | Fix the item editor or validation |
| Cinematic breaks | Edit the JSON file | Fix CinematicLoader or the cinematic editor |
What Agents Should Do
- Identify the root cause in platform code
- Fix the tool or system that produces/consumes the content
- Validate the fix by having the Captain recreate the content
- Never edit mod content to work around platform bugs
What Agents Should NOT Do
- Edit files in
mods/*/data/ - Create new mod content (characters, items, battles, etc.)
- "Fix" mod resources that appear broken
- Hardcode workarounds for specific content
Exception
Direct mod content changes are acceptable ONLY when:
- The Captain explicitly requests it
- The change is for testing/debugging purposes (then reverted)
- The mod system itself is being tested
Remember
If a modder would hit the same problem the Captain hit, the platform is broken. Fix the platform.
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