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Design: Core Loop Development Consensus & Next Steps

October 26, 2025​

  • @Galactic_15
  • @ImplementsLegend
  • @Lins
  • @maloki
  • @rachaelrose1212
  • @Rev
  • @Rora
  • @Sp3cialK
  • @WarrenGore
  • @Wout
  • @wwwwwwhale

Focus​

  • Reach consensus on core game loop for GDD update
  • Define downtime/cool-off phase role
  • Plan 0.3.0 Rift expansion focus
  • Establish next design meeting process

Core Game Loop Structure​

Basic Rhythm Agreed Upon​

  • Beginning phase
  • The Rift
  • Reset/cleanup phase

Simple Loop Draft (Consensus)​

Prepare → Rift → Advance → loop

  • Prepare: Equip Gear, Equip Abilities, Form Party, Select Contract, Food, Potions, Rift modification
  • Rift: exploration, combat, loot, objective
  • Advance: Delooting, upgrading (gear,abilities,guilds)
  • Loop

Implementation​

  • Put simple loop into GDD
  • Expand with subcategories and sub-loops later if needed
  • Balance between descriptive and concise language

Downtime/Cool-Off Phase Discussion​

Arguments For Including Downtime​

  • Significant part of game (upgrading gear, leveling up)
  • DBZ's three subcategories: advanced preparation, preparation, relax
  • Important part of player experience

Arguments Against Core Loop Inclusion​

  • Not required for progression
  • More of side or alternative option
  • Not done every time

Proposed Solutions​

  • Rename: "After action" instead of "downtime" (better reflects building, Overworld exploration)
  • Alternative: "Occasional activities"
  • Could be part of core loop if cooldown on opening Rifts exists
  • Making potions and expanding base can be part of preparation phase

Clarification​

  • Core loop is what you describe when introducing mod
  • Different loops exist: core loop, sub-loops, choices to go into other loops
  • Core loop doesn't mean other elements don't exist
  • One Rift isn't necessarily only one loop

Loot and Cleanup Systems​

Cleanup Phase Discussion​

  • Modern games have better loot systems
  • Question: Is cleanup as primary step necessary?
  • Ideas: Minimize cleanup or cut entirely (special bags/pouches)

Meaningful Loot Philosophy​

  • Everything in chest should be worthwhile
  • Avoid "bunch of stuff just to sort through" (Vault Hunters trap)
  • Balance between loot quantity and inventory management
  • Meaningful loot may require fewer chests

Current System Issues​

  • Many chests feels good initially
  • Inventory fills quickly
  • Necessitates inventory management mods (backpacks, sorting systems)
  • Basic chests giving early game loot become bloat later

Proposed Solutions​

Packrat:

  • Rift pack holds unlimited stacks of Rift items
  • Lost upon death
  • Incentivizes removing valuable items

Quality over Quantity:

  • Less loot, more meaningful items
  • Sell/buy system makes items more valuable
  • Players weigh pros/cons of keeping items

Upgradeable Systems:

  • Bag upgraded to only hold useless loot
  • Keeps relevant loot in main inventory

Special Chest Design:

  • 3x3 POIs: One chest with choice of one out of three good items
  • Special rooms: Single chest with three good items, can only choose one
  • 3x3 POIs as catch-all for special events (anomalies, choice chests)

Quality of Life vs Friction​

ARPG Examples:

  • POE: Currency in inventory slots (feels more important)
  • Last Epoch: Currency auto-stored (less friction)

Design Principles:

  • Automatic loot can diminish reward feeling
  • Good loot needs some friction
  • Too much QoL makes game too easy
  • Streamlining too much loses value
  • Player choice important: limited inventory forces choices

Inventory Management Question​

  • Should inventory cleanup be dedicated step or integrated into advancement after Rift?
  • Suggestion: "Pack rat guild" introduces players to inventory management mechanics
  • Consider beginning vs end game loop for inventory management

Version 0.3.0 Planning: Rift Expansion​

Focus​

Expand content of Rifts rather than sub-loop detail Expansion Content:

  • New mobs
  • Special rooms
  • Points of interest
  • Theme differences and uniqueness
  • More objectives for variability
  • Expanded anomalies
  • Loot goblin/piñata entities (different focuses and decisions)

Proposal Philosophy​

  • Make Rift more interesting
  • Expand upon existing experiences within Rift
  • Rift is core piece of mod's gameplay loop

Scope Management​

  • Focus on ideas fitting core game loop (avoid scope creep)
  • Focus on elements like loot and food buffs
  • Take ideas from submission and analyze through GDD lens

Caveats​

  • Much still goes through pitch to feature
  • Don't treat as definitive list
  • These are goals to work towards
  • Don't all necessarily have to happen

Design Process Moving Forward​

Phase Status​

  • Confident with first three phases of GDD
  • Moving to more directed design analysis and discussions

Question: Sub-Loops vs 0.3.0 Content​

  • Should design continue nailing down sub-loops (Phase 2) or support project by working on content directly impacting 0.3.0?
  • Decision: Start helping rest of project with next update content
  • Next Meeting Topic Selection

Process Options Discussed:​

  • Democratic: Everybody votes on next design meeting topic
  • Structured: Leadership selects

Voting Considerations:​

  • How long to leave vote open?
  • 24-hour voting window suggested
  • Set deadline (e.g., end of Sunday/Monday)
  • Quick vote for meeting subject different than feature vote
  • Consider if people need to write things before meeting
  • Barrier concern: people feel they must contribute something

Decision:​

  • Put quick vote together for design team
  • Vote on which ideas from backlog to discuss at next meeting
  • Also: Contributor-wide vote for GDD draft

Design Team Actions​

  • Start looking at stuff in idea backlog
  • Help pitch to feature process for 0.3.0 items
  • With GDD work: should be able to answer questions that come up for 0.3.0 features
  • At least bare minimum of what features can be

Additional Topics​

Emerged organically through discussion

Gathering and Essence Mechanics​

Current State​

  • Requires processing materials into essence (diminished step)

Discussion Points​

  • Should gathering be more important, requiring resource collection to enter next Rift?
  • Plan to include essences as loot in chests (self-replication through Rifts)
  • Suggestion: Allow essence to be turned into materials (interesting for Skyblock version)

Integration Proposals​

  • Tie essence more to Rift-only loot (incentivize Rift exploration)
  • Offer Overworld side quests that reward essence (give players options)
  • Use Overworld as boost instead of wall
  • Example: If short on currency for merchant item, quick Overworld side quest provides needed amount

Overworld and Vanilla Integration​

Current Philosophy​

  • Mod is Rift-centric, separating Rift and Overworld activities
  • Focus primarily on Rift stuff
  • Overworld currently defined by Mojang
  • Not vanilla plus pack, ARPG with progression based around player

Integration Questions​

  • How much should mod interact with vanilla Minecraft?
  • How much to integrate vanilla dimensions and existing elements?
  • Avoid alienating players by removing too much Overworld

Overworld as Frontier Dimension​

  • Re-flavor Overworld as frontier dimension with homesteading quests
  • Could be secret sandbox portion where players use unlocked skills/abilities
  • Challenge: Integrating Overworld into rigid progression and balancing system is near impossible
  • Core player experience has little explicitly calling out Overworld

Vanilla Elements Discussion​

  • Vault Hunters comparison: VH3 removed Overworld (considered useless)
  • Terraria comparison: Different because Terraria's world scales with player and is main part of game
  • Could retool Minecraft and make each dimension unique with add-ons
  • Option: Remove elements from vanilla and put inside Rifts

Development Considerations​

  • Removing dimensions like Nether: worth dev time if players might want to sandbox?
  • Could be less about modded Minecraft, more about using Minecraft as engine
  • Everything retooled into pack
  • Focus on Rifts and their content

Rift Creation and Progression​

Creating the Rift​

  • Question: Dedicated beat or part of preparation?
  • Depends on how involved Rift opener creation is
  • If requires extensive farming: could become annoying
  • Philosophy: Reward players for doing it instead of punishing for not doing it

Game Loop and Player Progression​

  • Exploring Rifts always core element
  • How it's done changes with progression
  • Progression affects loop execution

Important Core Topics to Address​

Before Feature Pitching should answer these before feature adding phases:

  • Overworld vanilla importance
  • Loot density and importance
  • Minecraft hunger and health system
  • How loot works
  • Most important parts of game

Rationale: Ideas closer to core are more important than others at the moment

Next Actions

Forum Discussion​

  • Minecraft hunger/health

GDD Draft Vote​

  • In the upcoming week, 1 week long, vote of confidence

Idea Submission​

  • Overworld/Vanilla importance/integration

Timeline

  • One week for GDD draft vote
  • Select topic for next week's Design Meeting though poll