--- name: player-control-principle description: "HARD roadmap principle — the PLAYER has full control; the AI decides ONLY when the player wants it to (opt-in assistance, never authority); RNG/random mode is the one sanctioned exception." metadata: node_type: memory type: feedback originSessionId: player-control-principle --- **Owner directive (2026-07-01):** "this has gone from AI makes the decisions, to AI makes the decisions when the user wants it to. Player should have full control apart from random RNG mode. Keep that in mind and fold in whatever changes need to be done to keep it that way." **THE PRINCIPLE (umbrella over the "Native Input Path Required" protocol + the [[parked-ai-to-native-feature-audit]] theme):** - The **PLAYER has full authority** over their game state and every decision. - The **AI is OPT-IN assistance the player INVOKES** — it never decides, never enters/edits state on its own, never overrides the player. It narrates / answers / suggests only when asked, and its output is always the player's to accept, edit, or discard. - Every outcome is either **PLAYER-CHOSEN** or driven by **RNG** — and RNG is the **ONE sanctioned exception**: encounter rolls, seeded combat, loot/dice rolls where randomness deliberately decides. Even that is a **MODE the player opts into** ("let the dice decide"), never forced. - Every native feature has a native input/edit path (this SUBSUMES/strengthens the Native-Input-Path-Required protocol). No feature forces the AI to enter data or make a call on the player's behalf. **HOW TO APPLY (the "fold in whatever changes" part):** audit every AI touchpoint across the roadmap — INTERCEPT, the streaming narrator, companion memory, CONSULT, TRADE banter, etc. — each must be **assistance-on-demand + fail-safe + non-authoritative** over player state (the player can always take the wheel, edit, or turn the AI off entirely). RNG features must be explicit, opt-in "let randomness decide" modes, clearly labeled. **Codify as a protocol in `CLAUDE.md` / `rules/` when built.** This is a hard, cross-cutting principle governing the whole roadmap — right alongside the [[parked-wasteland-uplink-engine]] "writes nothing durable" invariant and the game-save↔terminal-meta boundary.