Last Updated: October 2025 (post-profiling system implementation)
Source: FINAL_RECOMMENDATIONS.md (October 2023 strategic analysis)
Status: Active guidance for development priorities

Related Pages:

Performance-and-Profiling - Profiling system (completed ✅)
Animation-System - Current animation architecture
Proposal-Next-Gen-Grid-Entity-System - Major architectural proposal

Current State Assessment

Achievements (2023-2025)

✅ Comprehensive C++/Python game engine with SFML/libtcod integration
✅ Animation system with 24+ easing functions
✅ Profiling infrastructure (F3 overlay, ScopedTimer, metrics) - Completed Oct 2025
✅ 70% complete tutorial series (parts 0-6 implemented)
✅ Three-audience strategy (beginners, game jammers, researchers)

Known Problems

⚠️ Animation system has API inconsistencies and bugs
⚠️ Grid rendering lacks dirty flag optimization (re-renders static content every frame)
⚠️ Tutorial continuation blocked by animation issues
⚠️ No public release (features not stable enough)

Recent Progress (October 2025)

✅ Profiling system implemented - Issue #104 completed
✅ Benchmarks created - tests/benchmark_static_grid.py, tests/benchmark_moving_entities.py
🔄 Next: Grid dirty flags (#116), SpatialHash (#115), Animation system overhaul (#120)

Core Recommendation: Foundation First

Principle: Fix foundation systems before expanding features.

Immediate Focus (Next 3-6 Months)

Grid rendering optimization - Dirty flags, viewport culling
Animation system overhaul - Fix APIs, squash bugs, consistent behavior
Performance profiling - ~~Measure~~ ✅, optimize, compete with TCOD

Defer Until Foundation Stable

ECS architecture rewrite
Living world/MMO features
Python wheel distribution
Tutorials 7-13 (advanced content)
Research platform features

Why: Stable, performant engine with consistent APIs is achievable in 3-6 months. Chasing bigger visions before fixing foundation repeats burnout cycle.

What to Pursue, Defer, or Abandon

✅ PURSUE (Active Development)

Core Features:

Three-audience strategy (beginners, jammers, researchers)
Pythonic API with clean abstractions
"Batteries included but removable" philosophy
Forward-only tutorial progression
Performance competitive with libtcod

Foundation Systems:

Grid rendering optimization (#116, #115, #113)
Animation system fixes (#120, #119, #100)
Python binding consistency (#126, #109, #101)
Documentation infrastructure (#92, #91, #97)

⏸️ DEFER (Until After v1.0)

Good Ideas, Wrong Timing:

Python wheel packaging (pip install mcrogueface) - Wait for stable API
Advanced tutorials 7-13 - Complete basic tutorials first
Research platform features - Build community first
Multi-window support (#62) - Limited demand
Shader support (#106) - Advanced feature
Particle system (#107) - Advanced feature

Rationale: These are valuable but require stable foundation. Attempting them now creates scope creep and burnout risk.

❌ ABANDON (Not Aligned with Project Vision)

Out of Scope:

Living world MMO features - Wrong project, years of work, no user demand
Full ECS rewrite - Wrong timing, makes tutorials harder for beginners
50,000 tile ecosystem - Wrong scale for target audience
Tile state machines - Too complex for beginner-friendly engine

Rationale: McRogueFace is a beginner-friendly roguelike engine, not an MMO platform or research simulator. Stay focused on core mission.

Critical Path to v1.0

Phase 1: Performance Foundation (✅ Partially Complete)

Timeline: October-November 2025

[✅] Task #104: Profiling infrastructure (F3 overlay, ScopedTimer)
[✅] Benchmarks: static grid, moving entities
[🔄] Task #116: Grid dirty flag system
[🔄] Task #115: SpatialHash for entity queries
[⏳] Task #113: Batch operations API

Success Metric: 60 FPS with 10,000 entities and 100x100 grid

Phase 2: Animation System Overhaul

Timeline: December 2025 - January 2026

[⏳] Task #120: Property locking system
[⏳] Task #100: Rotation support
[⏳] API consistency audit
[⏳] Comprehensive test suite
[⏳] Documentation update

Success Metric: Tutorial-ready animation system with consistent API

Phase 3: Tutorial Completion

Timeline: February - March 2026

[✅] Parts 0-6: Implemented and working
[⏳] Parts 7-10: Complete on stable foundation
[⏳] Parts 11-13: Advanced content (optional)
[⏳] Tutorial testing framework
[⏳] Documentation sprint

Success Metric: Professional tutorial ready for public release

Phase 4: Public Release

Timeline: April 2026

API freeze (v1.0)
Python wheel packaging
Documentation finalization
Public announcement

Success Metric: First stable public release

Key Principles

1. Fix Foundation Before Features

Wrong: "Let's add ECS while animation system has bugs"
Right: "Let's fix animation bugs, THEN evaluate if ECS is needed"

2. Measure Before Optimizing

Wrong: "Grid rendering seems slow, let's rewrite it"
Right: "Let's profile grid rendering (✅), identify bottlenecks, optimize hot paths"

3. Simplicity Over Completeness

Wrong: "Let's support every possible use case"
Right: "Let's nail the beginner experience first"

4. Ship Incrementally

Wrong: "Can't release until everything is perfect"
Right: "Release tutorial parts 0-4 as Early Access while fixing rest"

5. Listen to Burnout Signals

Wrong: "Power through tutorial frustrations"
Right: "Tutorial burnout = foundation problem. Stop and fix foundation."

Decision Framework

When considering new work, ask:

1. Does it fix foundation?

✅ Grid dirty flags - Yes (core performance)
✅ Animation bug fixes - Yes (tutorial blocker)
❌ ECS rewrite - No (architectural experiment)

2. Does it unblock tutorials?

✅ Animation API consistency - Yes (tutorial depends on it)
❌ Living world features - No (tutorials don't need it)

3. Does it align with "beginner-friendly"?

✅ Pythonic API improvements - Yes (easier to learn)
❌ Advanced shader system - No (intimidating for beginners)

4. Can it wait until v1.0?

⏸️ Python wheel packaging - Yes (good feature, not urgent)
❌ Performance fixes - No (embarrassing performance hurts adoption)

Rule of Thumb: If it doesn't fix foundation, unblock tutorials, or improve beginner experience, defer it.

Synergies & Dependencies

Critical Path Dependencies

Profiling System (✅ Done)
    ↓
Grid Optimization (#116, #115)
    ↓
Animation System Overhaul (#120)
    ↓
Tutorial Completion (Parts 7-10)
    ↓
Public Release (v1.0)

Each phase blocks the next. Don't skip ahead.

Parallel Work (Can Do Anytime)

Independent improvements that don't block critical path:

Documentation updates (#92, #91, #97)
Python binding patterns (#101, #109)
Test infrastructure improvements
Bug fixes not affecting tutorials

Rule: These can fill time while waiting on reviews or builds, but never at expense of critical path.

Warnings & Anti-Patterns

Warning Signs of Scope Creep

"Let's add just one more feature before release"
"This ECS idea is so cool, let's explore it"
"We should support [edge case] before v1.0"
"Let's redesign [working system] to be more elegant"

Response: Stop. Refer to this document. Is it on critical path? No? Defer.

Known Burnout Triggers

Based on September 2025 tutorial burnout:

Teaching broken features - Tutorial work on unstable APIs
Working around bugs - Complex code to avoid animation issues
Scope creep during tutorial - Adding features mid-tutorial
Perfectionism - Rewriting working code

Response: Recognize burnout signals early. Stop tutorial work. Fix foundation. Resume tutorials on stable base.

Success Metrics

v1.0 Release Criteria

Performance:

✅ 60 FPS with 100x100 grid
✅ 60 FPS with 10,000 entities (requires #115)
Grid render time <2ms for static content (requires #116)

API Stability:

Animation system has consistent APIs (#120)
Python bindings follow patterns (#126, #101)
No major breaking changes expected

Documentation:

Tutorial parts 0-6 polished (✅ code exists)
Tutorial parts 7-10 completed
API documentation generated (#97)
Python type stubs available (#91)

User Experience:

Tutorial can be followed start-to-finish
Examples run without errors
Performance competitive with libtcod

Release Readiness:

API frozen
Changelog prepared
Python wheel available
Public announcement ready

Monthly Check-In Questions

At end of each month, evaluate:

Are we on critical path?
- If not, why did we deviate?
- Was deviation justified?
Did we ship anything?
- Code merged to master
- Tutorial parts completed
- Documentation updated
- Issues closed
Is burnout risk increasing?
- Working on frustrating bugs?
- Scope creeping?
- Losing motivation?
- Response: Return to foundation work
What's blocking next phase?
- Dependencies clear?
- Resources available?
- Technical unknowns identified?
Should we adjust timeline?
- Faster than expected?
- Unforeseen blockers?
- Change priorities?

Current Status (October 2025)

✅ Recent Wins

Profiling system implemented (Issue #104)
Benchmarks created
F3 overlay functional
ScopedTimer infrastructure in place

🔄 In Progress

Grid System wiki documentation (this sprint)
Issue organization and labeling

⏳ Next Up (November 2025)

Issue #116: Grid dirty flag system
Issue #115: SpatialHash implementation
Issue #120: Animation property locking

📅 Upcoming Milestones

Q4 2025: Performance foundation complete
Q1 2026: Animation system overhaul
Q2 2026: Tutorial completion
Q2 2026: v1.0 public release

Resources

Source Documents:

FINAL_RECOMMENDATIONS.md - Full strategic analysis (October 2023)
MASTER_TASK_SCHEDULE.md - Comprehensive task catalog
ROADMAP.md - High-level project roadmap

Related Issues:

#104 - Profiling system (✅ complete)
#115 - SpatialHash optimization
#116 - Grid dirty flags
#120 - Animation property locking
#126 - Perfect Python interface

Related Wiki Pages:

Performance-and-Profiling - Profiling infrastructure
Animation-System - Current animation implementation
Proposal-Next-Gen-Grid-Entity-System - Future architecture proposal

Navigation:

Home - Documentation hub
Performance-and-Profiling - Current performance work
Animation-System - Animation system details