🌟 Comprehensive Project Summary - December 2025
🎮 Bumble (Bee Management & Garden Simulation)
Core Concept Evolution
You’re building Bumble as a cozy farming game with pollinator ecology mechanics, blending Stardew Valley-style resource management with citizen science education. The game has evolved significantly with clear design decisions emerging from your physical notes.
Key Ideas & Mechanics
Garden & Expansion System:
- Grid-based expansion with different plot types (grape, mint, basil, greenhouse plots)
- Weather effects that impact garden plots and create seasonal transitions
- Dynamic UI for managing expanding garden spaces
- Coral regions integration - exploring coral classification as additional gameplay content
Bee & Pollination Mechanics:
- Simplified honey production workflow - Users collect honey (not raw nectar), bees automatically manage collection/processing
- Hexagon-based hive system with visual cross-section view to see honey storage
- Pollination factor system that triggers bee spawning based on plants, harvest history, and weather
- Classification bonuses - Classifying visiting bees increases yields through “better pollination”
- XP system: Harvesting (1 XP), Mass harvest (10 XP), Pollination (3 XP), Fair participation (2-4 XP)
Fishing & Coral Minigame (Emerging Concept):
- Coral regions as expansion content for Bumble
- Simple classification interface for coral identification
- Integration with N31 regions creating variety in gameplay
- “Fishing brambles” system - mentioned but needs further definition
Questions/Struggles
- Narrative framing: “Don’t want to romanticize leaving city life” - seeking alternatives to typical farming game narratives
- Classification integration: How to make bee/pollinator classification provide tangible narrative benefit beyond just mechanics
- Honey vs nectar: Wrestling with whether players collect raw nectar or processed honey (resolved: honey)
- Space setting: Questioning if space theme works for farming game or if it needs Earth-based setting
🔴 Godot Mars (Mars Exploration & Colony Building)
Core Vision
A mission-driven Mars colonization game with construction mechanics, terrain exploration, and progressive system unlocking. Influenced by survival/crafting games but with structured mission progression.
Key Systems Being Developed
Terrain & Environment:
- Martian soil color palettes implemented (completed Dec 12)
- Multiple biomes: Ice regions, crater formations, diverse terrain types
- Weather system: Dynamic weather affecting construction and resource gathering
- Spider & cloud tilemaps for environmental variety
Construction & Base Building:
- Stellar construction missions - Solar array building as first major project
- Block-based construction (solar panels, corner/cable connectors)
- Sealing requirements - Buildings must be complete and sealed for atmospheric integrity
- Union transport system for moving construction materials
- Mission progression: Solar → Hydroponics → Advanced facilities
Early Game Mission Structure:
- Telegraph/communication systems for early-game progression
- Life support systems requiring power infrastructure
- Station building with modular, flexible shapes
- Progressive unlocking of capabilities based on completed infrastructure
Resource Management:
- Inventory system
- Farming/crop growing (Mars agriculture)
- Save state integration (local or Supabase)
- Enemies/NPCs
- Day/date transition mechanics
- Block placement system
- Level building tools
Integration with Star Sailors Ecosystem
- Godot-RN template: Building reusable framework for all Godot games
- Supabase integration for cross-platform saves and data
- “View discoveries” - Common feature linking all Star Sailors ecosystem games
- Citizen science missions planned for integration
Questions/Struggles
- Scope management: Balancing demo vs full release features
- Graphics complexity: Keeping visuals simple enough to implement quickly while maintaining quality
- Integration timing: When to fully integrate into Star Sailors ecosystem vs standalone development
⭐ Star Sailors (Citizen Science Web Platform)
Core Mission
“Contributing to science through gamified astronomical data classification” - Your flagship project connecting real research with engaging gameplay.
Citizen Science Integration
Real Data Sources:
- Planet classification using real astronomical data (temperature, radius from TIC/KOI datasets)
- NGTS integration - New lightcurve types from NGTS research
- Exoplanet data from multiple scientific databases
- User-generated observations - Users can upload their own photos/observations
Two-Way Contribution Model:
- Researchers → Users: Big datasets need classification help
- Users → Researchers: Crowd-sourced observations (e.g., bird migrations, unusual sightings)
- Example: “Saw a red-tailed black cockatoo 20km outside its regular area? Upload photo, get in-game points, data goes to research maintainer”
Scientific Authenticity:
- “Cannot present as confirmed until it actually is” - Maintaining scientific integrity
- Real formulas for planet classification (Terrestrial/Gaseous/Ice based on parent star data)
- External dataset prefixes (KOI-xxx, TIC-xxx) for research integration
- Spectroscopy data and stellar metallicity values for sandbox content
Current Development Focus
V2.1 Bug Fixes & Patches (Current Segment):
- Ensure stable user experience: Bug fixes and performance improvements
- Allow users to navigate easily: Mailing list integration, landing page improvements
- Provide fast and responsive experience: PostHog analytics, web scrapers, route optimization
V3.0 Vision (Future):
- Implement user feedback from Product Hunt launch
- Rebuild missions/storyline around projects users want to participate in
- Advanced discovery features and new user interface
Platform Integration
- Multiple game projects feeding into one ecosystem:
- Star Sailors (web) - Main classification platform
- Bumble - Coming soon
- “Voxel”/Godot-Mars - Coming soon
- Godot-RN template allows multiple Godot builds in one React Native app
- Deeplinks strategy to avoid confusing users focused on specific mechanics
Questions/Struggles
- When to resume full-time web development vs focusing on new game projects
- Balancing act: Not letting web version interfere with Godot games progress
- User engagement: Determining what mechanics users actually want through analytics and feedback
- Multi-app strategy: One app for all games vs separate apps with deeplinks?
🎯 Cross-Project Themes & Design Philosophy
Overarching Vision
You’re building a “Star Sailors universe” - an interconnected ecosystem of games that:
- Ground gameplay in real science without being purely educational
- Contribute to actual research through citizen science mechanics
- Provide cozy, engaging gameplay that respects players’ time
- Enable creative expression through construction, discovery, and exploration
Design Principles Emerging
Anti-Patterns You’re Avoiding:
- No romanticizing “leaving city life” narratives
- Not purely educational - must have real gameplay value
- Not Pokémon clones - finding unique takes on collection/classification mechanics
- Not overwhelming complexity - keeping graphics and systems manageable for solo development
What You’re Seeking:
- Cozy but meaningful - Games that feel good to play while contributing something real
- Semi-sandbox freedom - Users can build/explore but with some structure (like Crashlands/Stardew)
- Survival-lite - Limited resources without harsh punishment
- Puzzle integration - Order systems that become puzzle games
- Real-world relevance - Every mechanic should connect to something tangible
Mechanics You Want Across Projects
- Construction - Block-based building in both Bumble and Mars
- Fishing/Marine life - Emerging coral classification concept
- Classification - Core mechanic linking all games to science
- Exploration - Discovery-driven gameplay
- Resource management - Meaningful choices without grinding
Content/Marketing Strategy
- Product Hunt launch for Star Sailors v2
- “scroobl.es” website consolidating all projects
- Social media presence needed but uncertain which platform
- Devlog-style content showing development process
- Soft-launch approach for new games
📝 Current Challenges & Open Questions
Technical
- Asset generation workflow: Need local 3D/2D generators (maybe on Raspberry Pi?)
- Godot-RN integration: Ensuring timing/latency values remain strong
- Save state architecture: Local vs Supabase for different game types
- Graphics pipeline: Crashlands-style thick outlines, AI generation + manual cleanup
Design
- Bumble narrative: What’s the story/setting if not traditional farm game?
- Coral/fishing integration: How does this fit into Bumble’s core loop?
- Classification rewards: Making citizen science feel meaningful in-game
- Progression pacing: Balancing XP systems, unlocks, and player agency
Strategic
- Time allocation: When to focus on web Star Sailors vs Godot games?
- Launch sequencing: Bumble demo → Godot Mars → Integration into ecosystem?
- Audience building: How to start creating signal without becoming “content creator”?
- Scope control: What’s truly MVP for each project segment?
🚀 Next Steps & Momentum
You’ve established clear organizational systems (segments, stories, project folders) and are actively developing across multiple fronts. The coral/fishing minigame concept is emerging as a bridge between Bumble’s core mechanics and Star Sailors’ classification focus. Your mission-driven Godot Mars structure is taking shape with concrete systems (stellar construction, terrain generation).
The key insight from your notes: You’re building an ecosystem, not just separate games. Each project feeds into and supports the others, creating a unified “Star Sailors universe” where players contribute to real science while enjoying cozy, meaningful gameplay experiences.
📚 Related Documentation
Generated: December 14, 2025
Sources: Dashboard notes, Physical notes (Dec 4-8), Design proposals, Sprint documentation