Files
tokyo-wangan-racing/docs/ROADMAP.md
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jesse e94bb8fcda
CI / quality (push) Successful in 52s
M1/M2: chase camera + expressway map v2
CameraController (client):
- Scriptable chase cam only while in the DriveSeat; restores default on exit
- Frame-rate independent damped follow with look-ahead aim point
- Flat horizon (ignores car pitch/roll) so bumps don't shake the view
- Speed-based FOV kick (quadratic ramp) for sense of pace
- Cleans up on Died/despawn

MapBuilder v2:
- Highway extended 2400 -> 3200 studs with distinct feature zones
- Gantry arches (seg 2), enclosed neon-lit tunnel (seg 3), jump ramp +
  landing pair on the right lane (seg 4, left lane stays flat)
- Procedural neon skyline towers flanking both sides (deterministic seed,
  same city every server)
- End kill-wall so you can't sail off the far edge
2026-07-22 01:09:44 -04:00

3.3 KiB

Roadmap — realistic solo-dev plan

Assumes one part-time developer learning as they go. The MVP is intentionally tiny — just driving — so there's a fun, testable thing FAST. Everything else is layered on only after the driving feels good.

Expect months, not weeks to a polished full game. That's normal. This order guarantees you always have something that runs.


✅ M0 — Drive-only MVP (DONE — this repo)

Spawn on the neon expressway, drive a car, switch cars, respawn. RX-7 demo-locked to owner + son. Cars persist between sessions. CI green on a self-hosted runner.

M1 — Make driving feel GOOD (the real work, do this next)

  • Adopt a constraint chassis for real suspension/grip instead of the raw VehicleSeat: springs + prismatic suspension, servo steering (speed-sensitive lock), motor-driven wheels, engine braking, ballast anti-roll. Shared tuning in src/shared/Chassis.luau; client-side ChassisController drives it (driver owns network physics). Needs a Studio playtest to tune feel.
  • Import the real RX-7 mesh; weld the shell onto the chassis Body. See docs/MESH_SWAP.md for the exact steps (needs Studio for asset upload).
  • Tune acceleration curve and grip (after first playtest).
  • Chase camera: scriptable follow cam while seated — damped chase with look-ahead, flat horizon (ignores car pitch/roll), speed-based FOV kick. src/client/CameraController.luau. Tune constants after playtest.
  • Sound: engine loop, tire screech, boost. Exit test: the RX-7 is genuinely fun to just drive around. Ship nothing else until this is true.

M2 — More cars + polish (still no racing)

  • Import a few more real car meshes.
  • Better map v2: 3200-stud expressway with gantry arches, a neon-lit tunnel, jump ramps (right lane; left stays flat), end wall, and a procedural neon skyline flanking the route.
  • Day/night, weather mood.

M3 — Racing (the first "game" layer)

  • Checkpoints + timing (a new RaceManager — the old one was removed in M0).
  • Personal best times.
  • Simple point-to-point and drag modes.

M4 — Progression & economy (only once racing is fun)

  • Money from races, a garage, buying/unlocking cars, upgrades, reputation. (These systems existed as scaffolding and were cut for the MVP; reintroduce them deliberately when they have a purpose.)

M5 — Systems hardening & monetization

  • Leaderboards, anti-cheat pass 2, DataStore backup drill.
  • Performance pass (StreamingEnabled, part budget, mobile).
  • Fair gamepasses/products — never pay-to-win.

M6 — Traffic AI (deferred hardest system)

  • Spline-following dummy cars first (cheap). True AI only if perf allows.

Standing engineering rules

  • Every change must pass stylua --check, selene, and rojo build — CI on the self-hosted Gitea runner enforces all three on every push.
  • Keep the client dumb: it requests, the server decides. The RX-7 allowlist and anti-cheat live server-side.
  • Add tunables to GameConfig, not scattered magic numbers.
  • Add a save key by adding it to ProfileTemplate (auto-reconciles); never remove a key without a migration (bump ProfileStoreName _vN in dev to wipe).
  • Test in Studio after every server change (ProfileStore uses a mock store there).