# Fleeting — Mythic Hearth MVP

## Product sentence

Fleeting is a 1–4 player open-world mythic survival builder: explore Ithaca by day, reclaim sacred land, turn gathered resources into defenses, and protect Hestia's last Hearth from civilizations that grow more dangerous with every age.

## Reference boundaries

- **Cluckmech Oasis:** free defense placement, hero-defined build styles, readable waves, and upgrades that combine into a build.
- **Don't Starve Together:** a dangerous explorable world, preparation pressure, gathering and crafting, and a home players make for themselves.
- **Fleeting's identity:** one persistent Hearth, territory that visibly expands, cooperative heroes, mythology-driven civilizations, and days that culminate in tower-defense nights.

Do not copy characters, art, maps, progression tables, or named mechanics from either reference.

## Current playable proof

1. Start at the Hearth of Ithaca with one of three heroes.
2. Explore a 4,200 × 2,600 open land using direct eight-direction movement.
3. Gather olive wood, marble stone, and golden grain by contact.
4. Defeat a guardian and press **E** to claim its sacred territory.
5. Move to an unlocked stone foundation and press **B** to build an Apollo Tower for 4 wood and 2 stone.
6. Use automatic bow fire or hold **Space** to focus fire.
7. Survive a night raid. Dawn advances the day and raises the next civilization's pressure.

## Current rules

- The Hearth is the only run-ending failure condition.
- A fallen hero respawns at the Hearth and loses half the shared stores.
- Divine Favors are one-use recoveries: Hermes returns the hero, Ares breaks visible raiders, and Hestia repairs the Hearth.
- Territory unlocks build space; it is not a percentage score.
- Wood and stone build defenses. Food is tracked now and becomes the worker/settler constraint next.
- Enemies must differ from resources by silhouette as well as color.

## First civilization ladder

| Era | Invader | New doctrine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Day 1 | Bronze Age Raiders of Ares | Direct rush and shielded vanguard |
| Day 3 | Heroic Amazon Warhost | Fast flanking attacks on outer structures |
| Day 6 | Imperial Persian Host | Organized ranged pressure and siege lines |
| Day 10 | Titan Giants of Othrys | Huge wall-breaking mythic elites |

These names are an early tone study, not a claim of historical continuity. Each era must earn its place through a distinct gameplay doctrine and respectful visual research.

## Acceptance signal

The MVP passes when a first-time player can:

- name the three resources by appearance;
- claim one territory and build one defense without explanation;
- explain why dusk changed their plan;
- survive or understand why the Hearth fell; and
- name one thing they want to build or explore on the next day.

## Next smallest tests

1. Add Hearth damage animation and an audible dusk warning.
2. Add a wall plus Hestia Brazier so placement creates at least two valid defensive answers.
3. Make claimed groves and quarries renew resources through a visible worker.
4. Introduce one Amazon flanker and verify that it changes layouts rather than only increasing damage.
5. Test two-player shared-store coordination before implementing online networking.