The carrier never waits
Every side trip trades distance and safety for tomorrow’s fuel. The shared clock makes even peaceful exploration tense.
PROJECT / NORTH STAR
The long way home.
Saved locally
CO-OP EXPEDITION SURVIVAL / 1–4 PLAYERS
Keep the mothership moving.
Risk leaving it behind.
Your megaship is gone. A battered carrier and its tiny fleet must crawl through a hostile, maze-like galaxy—harvesting enough fuel, making uneasy allies, and surviving every swarm between here and home.
◆◆◆
HOME / 18 SECTORS
FLEET-07
Separate, then reunite
Crews scatter into winding pockets, call discoveries to each other, then race back when the mothership needs hands.
Every route leaves a scar
Destroyed pods, allied planets, recruited buddies, and installed relics reshape the fleet for the rest of the journey.
THE 12-MINUTE LOOP
Leave. Gather. Answer the recall.
- 01Read the route1:00
Choose a branch, planet posture, and who stays aboard.
- 02Scatter5:00
Detach pods to mine, trade, rescue, or hunt a relic.
- 03Recall2:00
A swarm, anomaly, or weapon opportunity demands crew aboard.
- 04Survive & refit4:00
Spend the haul, repair losses, and commit to the next route.
OPEN DESIGN QUESTION
What makes a recall exciting?
Try: warning language, time-to-return, partial crew defenses, and rewards for arriving early.
PLAYTEST ZONE / LEVEL 01
The first journey home.
A short, episodic route that teaches the game through play: launch, gather what the carrier needs, answer a recall, defend home, and reach the gate.
CURRENT BUILDLevel 01 · First Light
Play the complete first episode from launch to the route gate.
- 01LaunchLearn the pod
- 02GatherFuel the fleet
- 03RecallChoose to return
- 04DefendProtect home
- 05GateFinish the leg
POD FUEL 100%POD CARGO 0HOLDINGS 0/3CARRIER FUEL 40%HULL 100%TIME 0.0s
RECALL ACTIVEReturn to the carrier
W or ↑ thrust
QUICK COMMS
DESIGN MEMORY / AUGUST 2026
What changed, and why
This archive records the playable decisions we have made together. It preserves the reason behind each change so future tuning does not accidentally reintroduce solved friction.
Flight-feel sandbox
Started with momentum, steering, boost, fuel, gathering, recall, and docking in one focused canvas test.
FOUNDATIONForgiving collection
Expanded the resource contact field so close passes feel intentional instead of arbitrarily missed.
KEPTMore decisive boost
Raised boost impact so spending fuel produces an immediately legible movement advantage.
KEPTOne-button docking
Removed precision alignment. Near the carrier, pressing E simply picks up the pod.
KEPTE to Dock prompt
Added a hotkey callout only when docking is available, with a small animated emphasis.
KEPTSimpler pod, rarer glow
Simplified the fighter silhouette and reserved the stronger glow language for radiant, higher-value resources.
KEPTLocator backdrop
Added a soft local backdrop and cyan chevron when the pod crosses the carrier silhouette.
ACTIVEMoving carrier crawl
The full expedition drill now asks the player to leave, gather, answer recall, and catch a moving home base.
ACTIVELevel 01 · First Light
Combined the proven interactions into a timed route with fuel delivery, shared holdings, an attack wave, carrier defense, and a route gate.
CURRENTTEST COVERAGE / LEVEL 01
One question per module
Use the smallest child item that can answer the question. Level 01 is the integration test; its five focused modules remain available whenever one interaction needs tuning.
| Module | Primary question | Observe | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch & flight | Does movement feel expressive and controllable? | Correction time, boost use, wall contacts | FOCUSED |
| Fuel gathering | Do fuel and salvage teach their roles through use? | Resource recognition, route choices, banking | FOCUSED |
| Recall & docking | Is returning deliberate and low-friction? | Response time, prompt readability, hesitation | FOCUSED |
| Carrier defense | Is the first attack readable without stopping travel? | First shot time, threat priority, hull damage | NEW |
| Route & gate | Does the winding carrier path create useful pressure? | Carrier tracking, return path, gate clarity | NEW |
| Level 01 · First Light | Does the episode teach a complete Fleeting loop? | Holdings banked, carrier fuel, hull, completion | CURRENT |
LEVEL 01 / FIRST RULES TEST
Victory and failure conditions
These rules are deliberately small enough to test now. The first level succeeds at the gate, setbacks cost shared resources, and the episode fails only when the carrier can no longer continue.
Reach the sector gate
Survive sixty seconds and bank at least three holdings before the carrier reaches the gate.
PLAYABLELose cargo, pod, or repairs
Pod mistakes cost time and shared resources, but the player remains part of the crew.
NEXT MODULEThe carrier can no longer continue
The episode ends if carrier fuel or hull reaches zero. That makes gathering and defense parts of the same journey.
PLAYABLEWHAT WE LEARN NEXT
Does one episode create a complete story?
Level 01 now has a beginning, rising pressure, defense beat, and ending. The next decision is whether pod loss should cost cargo, repair material, time, or a combination.
- Test whether three holdings is understandable.
- Observe whether players return before the attack.
- Choose the fairest recoverable pod penalty.
SHARED PROJECT / VERSIONED SOURCES
Fleeting asset registry
Every sound, song, graphic, and motion keeps a stable gameplay ID, an editable source in its specialist tool, and a runtime handoff. This is the bridge that lets the game and both creative sites improve together.
SOUNDDECK / FLEETING PROJECT
Audio palette
fleeting/pod/boost/standardPod BoostSEEDED
fleeting/recall/warning/urgent-01Recall WarningSEEDED
fleeting/resource/fuel/pickupFuel Shard PickupSEEDED
fleeting/pod/dock/latchDocking LatchSEEDED
fleeting/carrier/engine/cruise-loopCarrier DriftSEEDED
fleeting/carrier/weapon/charge-loopWeapon ChargeSEEDED
fleeting/swarm/assault/phase-01Recall Under FireSEEDED
fleeting/music/journey/long-way-homeThe Long Way HomeSEEDED
MOTIONDECK / FLEETING PROJECT
2D, 3D & motion pipeline
2D RUNTIME ARTPod, carrier, common/radiant shards, locator, dock prompt, route7 MAPPED
3D PRODUCTIONPod, carrier core, docking bay, fuel shard4 PLANNED
MOTION & VFXIdle, boost, radiant pulse, locator, dock pickup, carrier crawl6 MAPPED
fleeting/pod/player/silhouette-2dPlayer Pod SilhouettePROTOTYPE
fleeting/resource/fuel/radiant-2dRadiant Fuel ShardPROTOTYPE
fleeting/ui/pod-locator/overlap-2dPod Overlap LocatorPROTOTYPE
fleeting/carrier/core/slow-driftCarrier Route CrawlPROTOTYPE
SELF-IMPROVING LOOP
1Game brief→2Editable source→3Runtime export→4Playtest evidence→5Reusable template
Fleeting-specific learning becomes an optional SoundDeck or MotionDeck template only after it proves useful. The source recipe remains attached to every runtime asset.
PLAYABLE SPREADSHEET
Expedition balance lab
Tune a single travel leg. The model exposes the central trade: more scavengers bring fuel home, but fewer hands are ready when the swarm arrives.
FUEL 100SCRAP 18HULL 100%STABLE
Drag the pod markers to test risky gathering positions.
GENERATED LEG
Encounter timeline
MODEL READOUT
Stable expedition
Current assumption
One defender contributes 17 power. A scavenger contributes resources, but is unavailable during the recall window.
SYSTEM MAP / V0.1
One pressure loop, many answers
Every feature should feed the journey, the fleet, or the choice to split up. If it touches none of them, it is probably a distraction.
SHARED CLOCKMothership
keeps moving
keeps moving
LEAVEDetach podsfuel risk ↑
EXPLOREMaze pocketsknowledge ↑
RETURNRecall eventdefense ↑
SPENDRefit fleetoptions ↑
ECONOMY
Fuel
Two tanks create the defining tension: shared carrier fuel advances the run; pod fuel determines who can safely roam.
COMBAT
Recall swarms
Threats are announced, then build. Players choose between an early safe return and one last high-value grab.
PROGRESSION
Relics & refits
Relics bend rules for one run. Refit modules permanently specialize the carrier but compete for scarce slots.
DIPLOMACY
Planet posture
Raid for a large immediate haul, trade for precision purchases, or ally for recurring aid and future story beats.
LOSS
Replaceable pods
A destroyed mini-ship returns its player quickly, while the fleet pays scrap and loses its installed pod upgrade.
COMPANIONS
Autonomous buddies
Recruits fill absent-player roles, handle simple duties, and become optional specialists when four humans play.
CONTENT RULE
Planet reward triangle
| Posture | Immediate reward | Long-term value | Primary cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raid | Large mixed haul | None; may create hunter events | Hull, reputation, ammunition |
| Trade | Chosen item or repair | Store refresh on later visits | Scrap or specific goods |
| Ally | Small welcome cache | Recurring fuel, buddy, route intel | Mission time and obligation |
EDITABLE SCOPE
Feature board
Keep the first playable honest. Move features as the design proves itself, and capture ideas without letting them quietly become commitments.
LEARN, DON'T JUST PLAY
Playtest log
Each session needs one question, one observable signal, and a decision. Notes without a decision become lore.
SESSIONS
Evidence archive
NEXT TEST / SUGGESTED
Does the crew return by choice?
Run one 12-minute leg with a 45-second recall warning. Do not tell players when to turn around.
- Count who returns before the final 10 seconds.
- Ask what information caused the decision.
- Watch for confusion between pod fuel and carrier fuel.
Pass signal
At least 75% of returns feel deliberate, and one player chooses to risk arriving late for a clear reason.
FROM LAB TO LAUNCH
Build the proof before the galaxy
The first technical goal is a great four-player expedition loop. Content scale, platform packaging, and metagame come after that loop survives playtests.
NOW / 1–2 WEEKS
Paper engine
Lock vocabulary, resource math, route timing, and one swarm recall.
- Balance workbook
- Input + camera spike
- Network architecture decision
PROTOTYPE / 4–6 WEEKS
Ugly fun
One carrier, four pods, one maze sector, one resource, one swarm.
- Host-authoritative co-op
- Drop-in local bots
- Desktop web build
VERTICAL SLICE / 8–12 WEEKS
A remembered journey
Three planet postures, upgrades, pod loss, one recruit, and a run ending.
- Save/profile layer
- Steam input pass
- Mobile performance budget
PRODUCTION
Build the galaxy
Procedural route grammar, content tools, accessibility, matchmaking, and platform services.
- Content pipeline
- Steam + mobile packaging
- Telemetry and balance
COMMITMENT PLAN / DEFINITION OF DONE
Seven gates from idea to stewardship
0Product truthWorkbook + pipeline
1Flight feelPod is fun alone
2Co-op heartbeatSplit + recall
3Vertical sliceMemorable journey
4Content factoryGodot + tools
5Platform betaSteam + mobile
6StewardshipLaunch + learn
STANDING PROMPT
Build the smallest playable proof of Fleeting’s central promise. Work in vertical slices, measure every test, and expand only when the current loop meets its written acceptance signal.
ENGINE DIRECTION
Godot 4, data-first
Godot gives this 2D co-op game a clean path to Steam and mobile, strong scene tooling, an open runtime, and an approachable scripting layer. Keep rules in deterministic, data-driven modules so this web lab can mirror the production economy.
GAMEPLAYGodot scenes + GDScript/C#
↓RULESPure simulation modules
↓DATAResources / JSON content
CREATIVE PIPELINE
Connect your tools
TECHNICAL RISKS TO PROVE EARLY