Fork Idea Branch — Omega War → Unthinkable + Vittles

The conversation established that "Omega War" is becoming a brand, not a single title. The existing flat-mode research is one specific game — the 1945 Operation Unthinkable open-front RTS — and a second, distinct title was scoped: Omega War: Vittles, the 1948 Berlin blockade gone hot. The two share engine DNA but are independent divergences from real history (an anthology), with different fantasies and timelines. A single flat research tree can no longer hold both without confusion, so the brand splits into parallel product paths.

The skill's default is "fresh start (recommended)" for every branch, because carried-forward artifacts were shaped by assumptions that may not hold for a new ICP/market (contamination risk). That logic applies to Vittles — which is why Vittles gets a fresh start. It does not apply to Unthinkable: Unthinkable is not a new market interpretation of the source, it is the source. Carrying it forward is a relocation, not contamination.

This replaces the skill's "archive current path to research/_archive/" step. Because Unthinkable is preserved (not abandoned), dumping it into _archive/ would mislabel live research as dead. Instead:

• Relocate via git mv — file history follows each file into research/unthinkable/; nothing is lost or duplicated.
• No _archive/ copy of Unthinkable — git history is the rollback path (git mv is fully reversible).
• Snapshot policy unchanged — the alignment pages and packets already under docs/history/archive/ stay where they are; this page itself will be archived if later amended.

A. Move (git mv → research/unthinkable/)

B. Modify (cross-reference rewrite inside moved files only)

~23 references of research/<file>.md → research/unthinkable/<file>.md across game-fantasy.md, divisions-1945.md, proposed-divisions-and-decks-roster.md, arsenal-1945.md, idea-brief-interview.md, and the three unit-data-schema working docs (the last pointing at the future research/unthinkable/unit-data-schema.md synthesis target). Only the 8 known artifact filenames + unit-data-schema.md are rewritten; URLs are untouched.

C. Create

D. Left untouched (by design)

# Omega War — product-path manifest (created 2026-06-14 by fork-idea-branch)
active_paths:
  - unthinkable
  - vittles
max_concurrent: 2

product_paths:
  - id: unthinkable
    label: "Omega War: Unthinkable"
    scope_path: research/unthinkable/
    status: active
    source_skill: fork-idea-branch
    pipeline_stage: unit-data-schema
    reason: >-
      1945 Operation Unthinkable — Allies vs USSR open-front RTS; the brand's first
      title. Mature research relocated intact from flat research/ during the
      2026-06-14 brand split. unit-data-schema cycle in flight.
    last_touched: 2026-06-14

  - id: vittles
    label: "Omega War: Vittles"
    scope_path: research/vittles/
    status: active
    source_skill: fork-idea-branch
    pipeline_stage: idea-scope-brief
    next_skill: /idea-scope-brief vittles
    reason: >-
      Berlin blockade goes hot, June 1948 — two-act campaign: besieged-enclave
      siege-and-relief escalating into open-front war. Independent divergence in the
      Omega War anthology; reuses Unthinkable's engine (stack-reuse depth deferred).
      Scaffolded 2026-06-14; idea brief to be written next.
    last_touched: 2026-06-14

  - id: airlift
    label: "Omega War — airlift sim (working name)"
    scope_path: research/airlift/   # reserved; not created until activated
    status: deferred
    source_skill: idea-scope-brief
    pipeline_stage: idea-scope-brief
    next_skill: /idea-scope-brief airlift
    revisit_trigger: >-
      When the brand wants a non-combat / logistics-deterrence entry (ATC-style or
      asymmetric deter-vs-provoke), or after a Vittles/Unthinkable slice ships.
    reason: >-
      The Berlin Airlift as the gameplay itself — win without firing a shot. Parked
      2026-06-14 in favor of the hot-war Vittles path; recorded, not lost. NOTE:
      "Vittles" is the real airlift codename — reconcile naming if activated.
    last_touched: 2026-06-14

# Fork Seed — Omega War: Vittles
# Ground-truth inputs only. Seeded 2026-06-14 by fork-idea-branch from the flat
# Omega War research at split time. Everything below is to be RE-VALIDATED by
# /idea-scope-brief vittles, not treated as settled findings.

## Original idea
Omega War: Vittles — an alt-history story + campaign set during the Berlin
Airlift; the premise is "the blockade goes hot" (June 1948).

## Brand model (interview decision)
Anthology of almost-wars: each Omega War title is an INDEPENDENT divergence from
real history. Vittles = real history holds (1945 stays cold, the Airlift happens)
until June 1948, when the blockade turns into a shooting war. NOT a continuation
of Unthinkable's 1945 timeline.

## Core fantasy (interview decision)
Two-act: opens as besieged-enclave SIEGE-AND-RELIEF (hold the encircled West
Berlin garrison; keep a lifeline / air corridor open against the odds), then
escalates into OPEN-FRONT war as the conflict spreads. Siege first, wider war
later.

## Engine / scope (interview decision)
Reuses Unthinkable's engine and brand constraints (browser Three.js, deck+base
hybrid, tactical+strategic layers, CC0 stand-in art/audio, single-player first,
no netcode v1, Europe-only). EXACT depth of stack reuse is deferred to a design
pass — record as open, do not assume the full stack.

## Value-wedge hypothesis (to test)
Near-untouched Airlift flashpoint; the besieged-enclave + lifeline spine as the
distinguishing mechanic vs Unthinkable's open-front maneuver; the 1945→1948
arsenal shift.

## Beneficiary hypothesis (to test)
Primary: the developer (passion project). Secondary: Cold War / alt-history
enthusiasts; possibly a different audience than Unthinkable's open-front RTS crowd.

## Riskiest unknowns (for idea-scope-brief + downstream)
1. Is siege-and-relief fun and distinct, or just a slower start?
2. The 1948 spark (candidates: corridor buzzing, the Gatow midair, a checkpoint
   incident) — credible tip from blockade into combat.
3. Two-phase scope (siege -> breakout doubles the design surface).
4. Stack-reuse depth (deferred).
5. The 1945->1948 arsenal delta (a Vittles-specific arsenal study).

## Sibling concept (parked, do NOT scope here)
"Airlift sim" — the airlift AS the gameplay (win without firing a shot). Deferred
sibling in the manifest; revisit per its trigger. Reconcile the "Vittles" naming
if that path is ever activated.

## Provenance
Brand DNA reference (do not copy as fact — re-validate): the Unthinkable research
now lives at research/unthinkable/ (idea-brief, game-fantasy, arsenal-1945, etc.).
Unthinkable's fantasy doc already anticipated this premise — "Vienna as the
besieged-enclave drama (the Berlin of this war)."

# Fork Memo — 2026-06-14

- **Source skill:** user-initiated (/fork-idea-branch)
- **Source path:** flat-mode research/ (the "Omega War: Unthinkable" concept)
- **Method:** PRESERVING restructure (git mv), not destructive archive-and-restart.

## Branches
| slug | label | status | reuse |
|------|-------|--------|-------|
| unthinkable | Omega War: Unthinkable | active | full carry-forward (moved intact) |
| vittles | Omega War: Vittles | active | fresh start (seed only) |
| airlift | airlift sim (working name) | deferred | none — concept recorded only |

## Rationale
"Omega War" becomes an anthology brand. The flat research was one title
(Unthinkable, 1945 open-front RTS). A second, distinct title (Vittles, 1948
Berlin blockade gone hot — independent divergence) was scoped, so the brand
splits into symmetric product paths.

## Artifact inventory (what moved where)
research/{arsenal-1945,divisions-1945,game-audience,game-fantasy,game-genre-map,
glossary,idea-brief,idea-brief-interview,proposed-divisions-and-decks-roster}.md
  -> research/unthinkable/.md
research/_working/unit-data-schema/  -> research/unthinkable/_working/unit-data-schema/
Cross-references inside the moved files rewritten research/.md ->
research/unthinkable/.md (8 artifact files + future unit-data-schema.md).

## Created
research/.progress.yaml ; research/vittles/_working/fork-seed.md ;
research/_working/fork-memo-2026-06-14.md

## Left untouched (recorded here as the authoritative migration note)
tasks/todo.md, tasks/history.md — path pointers now reference pre-move locations;
refresh on the next unit-data-schema run. alignment/*.html keep point-in-time path
strings. docs/history/archive/ unchanged.

## Restart instructions
- unthinkable: NO restart — mature; continue at the unit-data-schema cycle
  (now under research/unthinkable/_working/unit-data-schema/).
- vittles: /idea-scope-brief vittles (interview already done in-conversation;
  resume to write research/vittles/idea-brief.md + interview).
- airlift: /idea-scope-brief airlift only when its revisit trigger fires.

Stock fork-idea-branch "scaffolds and stops," handing back a restart checklist. Because the Vittles interview is already done in this conversation, the natural next step is to continue straight into /idea-scope-brief vittles and write its brief — rather than stopping and re-invoking. Your call:

• unthinkable — no restart; continues at the unit-data-schema cycle.
• vittles — /idea-scope-brief vittles (build its alignment page → write research/vittles/idea-brief.md + interview).
• airlift — only when its revisit trigger fires.

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