Conquest / Assault / Raid Score-Pressure Adapters & Indirect Map-Objective Scoring
A design synthesis proposing an explicit score-pressure adapter abstraction — one shared command-score substrate, one per-mode conversion layer — and defining how Helmstedt map objectives feed the score indirectly (temporary tactical rewards → better scoring actions → ownership/progress shift → command-score drain), never as a second victory track.
status: review tier: visual category: product-design stage: 1 (scope + proposed synthesis)
Alignment date: 2026-07-04 Product path:
unthinkable Producing skill: create-alignment-pagePage:
alignment/create-alignment-page-score-pressure-adapters.htmlPrimary sources:
research/unthinkable/helmstedt-objective-brainstorm.md, research/unthinkable/conquest-gamemode-rules-inventory.md, research/unthinkable/conquest-of-helmstedt-level-design.md, research/unthinkable/game-rules-inventory.mdNature: Conquest half is grounded in approved rules; the Assault/Raid adapters and the formal "adapter" abstraction are design-forward inference requiring review before any canonical write.
Table of Contents
- 1. Scope, Framing & Terminology
- 2. The Score-Pressure Adapter Model
- 3. Indirect Map-Objective Scoring
- 4. Helmstedt Objectives → Indirect Score Channels
- 5. Evidence Matrix
- 6. Assumptions / Confidence Register
- 7. Alternatives & Rejected / Lower-Confidence
- 8. Source Coverage & Gaps
- 9. Proposed Artifact & File Changes
- 10. Compile Responses
1. Scope, Framing & Terminology
This page proposes a vocabulary and design contract for how the three planned game modes convert battlefield state into the single victory currency, and how map-specific objectives influence that currency indirectly. It does not change any implemented behavior. Conquest is the only mode in the first playable slice; Assault and Raid are named future patterns only (CNQ-001 implementation note).
| Term | Meaning in this proposal |
|---|---|
| Command score (the substrate) | The single victory currency. Win by draining the enemy's to zero (or the Phase-C Advance Command Post fallback); lose if yours reaches zero. Shared by all modes. Source: CNQ-007 / BTL-002 / CSC-001–003. |
| Score-pressure adapter (new term) | A per-mode conversion layer that decides which battlefield states apply command-score pressure. Modes differ only in this conversion, not in the currency. |
| Game-mode objective | The rule that decides how you win — the adapter made concrete. Conquest = five capture points + drain. Source: brainstorm "Terminology". |
| Map objective | A thematic battlefield event layered on a specific map (Helmstedt = Checkpoint Alpha Transit Events). Grants a temporary tactical advantage. Not a second victory track. Source: brainstorm "Terminology" + "Core Model". |
| Indirect scoring | Map objectives never touch command score. They alter the battlefield state that the adapter reads, so their effect on score is mediated (doubly, per §3). |
In scope: the adapter abstraction, the indirect-scoring pipeline, and the Conquest→Assault→Raid reward/conversion mapping. Out of scope: final numeric tuning (deferred by
CNQ-022), new experiments (brainstorm "Experiment Mapping" says none needed), and any runtime promotion.Gate · Scope & Non-Goals
Is the "score-pressure adapter" framing (one shared command-score substrate + a per-mode conversion layer) the right abstraction to document now?required
How much Assault/Raid detail should this proposal carry?required
2. The Score-Pressure Adapter Model
Every mode shares one substrate and differs by one conversion function. The substrate is the command-score currency, its drain relationship, the ownership/progress state it reads, and the Phase-progression comeback relief that snapshots score pressure at transitions (CNQ-012). The adapter is the mode-specific rule mapping battlefield state → score pressure.
2.1 Shared substrate (constant across modes)
- Currency: command score; drained by the winning side's held value. approved
CNQ-007 / BTL-002 / CSC-001–003 - Resolution: reach zero enemy score, or destroy the enemy Advance Command Post after Phase C opens. approved
CNQ-007 - Comeback relief: at A→B and B→C, snapshot score pressure; a meaningfully-behind side gets one free command-structure upgrade — never score, units, income, or combat effect. approved
CNQ-012 - Gates: command-post prerequisites and phase timers gate availability regardless of mode. approved
CNQ-010 / CNQ-011
2.2 The three adapters
| Mode | Adapter — how battlefield state becomes score pressure | Primary tracked state | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conquest playable now |
Ownership of five capture points sets resource rate and command-score drain; the central command point (CP-C) exerts the strongest drain while side points feed income, flanking, raids, and comeback pressure. | Persistent point ownership over time | approvedCNQ-003/004/006 |
| Assault future |
Territorial progress: an attacker breaching and holding a staged objective line drains the defender's score; the defender preserves score by denying the line. Pressure tracks position, not persistent multi-point hold. | Objective-line / breach position | future patternCNQ-001 (inferred) |
| Raid future |
Completion timing: reaching, extracting, or exposing a raid target applies a pressure pulse; the contest is the reach/extract window and its denial, not holding ground. | Raid-target reach / extract state + timers | future patternCNQ-001 (inferred) |
2.3 The invariant
Command score is the only victory currency in every mode. Adapters change the conversion function (which states apply pressure and how fast), never the currency, the comeback-relief rule, or the command-post/phase gates. A mode is defined by its adapter plus its map objectives — not by a new win condition bolted beside the score.
Gate · Design Decision — Adapter Invariant
Should "command score is the only victory currency; modes differ only by conversion" be recorded as a hard invariant?required
3. Indirect Map-Objective Scoring
Map objectives (Helmstedt: Checkpoint Alpha Transit Events) never modify command score. They inject a temporary tactical advantage into the battlefield-state layer; that advantage improves the mode's scoring actions; the adapter then converts the improved state into drain. Impact on the score is therefore doubly indirect, and always ignorable.
3.1 The indirect-scoring pipeline
| Stage | What happens | Touches command score? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Map objective won | A side wins the Checkpoint Alpha event for the current phase. | No |
| 2 · Temporary tactical reward | Reward granted (capture speed, contest strength, logistics, etc.); reward type adapts per mode. | No |
| 3 · Better scoring action | The reward makes a capture / contest / defend / attack more effective. | No |
| 4 · Ownership / progress shift | The improved action changes the state the adapter reads (point ownership, breach line, raid window). | No (state only) |
| 5 · Adapter → drain | The per-mode adapter converts the shifted state into command-score drain. | Yes — via the adapter, never the objective |
| 6 · Victory pressure | Accumulated drain builds toward the win condition. | Yes |
Design property: because the objective only ever multiplies effectiveness at stage 3, a player who ignores it is under tactical pressure but never instantly invalidated, and the objective is never a mandatory victory gate (brainstorm "Conquest Integration Notes").
3.2 Reward policy (what "indirect" is allowed to mean)
Verbatim from the brainstorm's Reward Policy — the guardrails that keep map objectives indirect:
Allowed (indirect) rewards
- Capture-speed bonus near a specified lane / point
- Contest-strength bonus for eligible units in a marked radius
- Temporary defensive works near an owned point
- Smoke or artillery preparation on a visible point
- Faster road deployment along a marked corridor
- Temporary command aura near contested points
- Emergency logistics near owned points
- Short repair / resupply pulse tied to a visible destination
Disallowed (would make it direct)
- Immediate point capture
- Direct command-score damage
- Permanent income multiplier
- Free Phase B/C command-post unlock
- Hidden or untelegraphed unit spawn
- Wonder activation without Advance CP + declaration
- Global buff without map-local explanation
- Reward that forces abandoning the core capture game
3.3 The reward step adapts per mode
The same event family changes its reward logic by mode (brainstorm "Future-Mode Note") — this is the mode-adaptation at stage 2, distinct from the adapter's conversion at stage 5:
| Mode | Reward adapts to help you… | Feeds which adapter input |
|---|---|---|
| Conquest | capture, defend, contest, or attack control points | point ownership (§2.2 row 1) |
| Assault | breach, hold staging ground, or reinforce an attack lane | breach-line position (§2.2 row 2) |
| Raid | reach, extract, obscure, or temporarily expose a raid target | reach/extract window (§2.2 row 3) |
Gate · Design Decision — Indirect-Only Rule
Should "map objectives never touch command score directly" be an absolute rule, or allow sanctioned exceptions?required
Does the six-stage pipeline (§3.1) correctly capture the intended indirection? (optional)
4. Helmstedt Objectives → Indirect Score Channels
Concrete instantiation for the first playable Conquest map. The five capture points are the Conquest adapter's inputs; the phase-flavored Checkpoint Alpha events feed them indirectly.
4.1 Capture points = adapter inputs
| Point | Role | Adapter contribution |
|---|---|---|
| CP-NW / CP-SW | Player-near resource points | Income + comeback pressure; light drain contribution when held. |
| CP-C | Central command point | Strongest command-score drain; contestable from multiple lanes. |
| CP-NE / CP-SE | AI-near resource points | Raid/flank targets; splitting AI attention and testing comeback. |
Ownership controls resource rate and command-score drain; exact contest radius / capture time / income / drain values are deferred to EXP-04 tuning (LDD "Capture Points"; CNQ-022).
4.2 Checkpoint Alpha events → indirect channels
| Phase event | Reward (indirect) | Which point it pressures | Safety ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| A · Gatehouse Seizure | Faster capture / stronger infantry contest near one lane; one-time smoke on an approach; Phase-A road-entry speed. | Flip / hold CP-NW or CP-SW | Helps take/hold; does not own the point or touch score. |
| B · Checkpoint Alpha Convoy | Emergency logistics; faster reinforcement on the transit road; short defensive works; artillery/smoke prep; limited repair pulse. | Sustain hold of CP-C or a side point | Creates a push window; no capture, score, free CP, or permanent income. |
| C · Corridor Breakthrough | Faster corridor reinforcement; temporary command aura; brief contest strength; artillery/smoke on the next attack point. | Decisive drain push around CP-C | Accelerates a conventional push; cannot replace Advance CP / wonder prerequisites, declarations, or telegraphs. |
AI honesty: the AI must be able to choose to contest, escort, interdict, or ignore the event honestly (brainstorm Experiment Mapping → EXP-08). Indirect scoring only works if both sides treat the objective as optional leverage, not a forced lane.
5. Evidence Matrix
Each major claim mapped to repo evidence, inference, confidence, assumption status, and decision impact. Observed rule = present in an approved/working register; inferred = this proposal's synthesis.
| Claim | Evidence (source · path) | Inference | Conf. | Assumption | Decision impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Command score is the single victory currency across modes. | Observed — CNQ-007, BTL-002, CSC-001–003 |
If all modes resolve on command score, mode differences are conversion rules, not new currencies. | high | Future modes keep this currency. | Grounds the invariant (§2.3). Approve to make it a rule. |
| Conquest converts capture-point ownership into drain; CP-C strongest. | Observed — CNQ-003/004/006, CSC-003, LDD "Capture Points" |
Conquest = the ownership-over-time adapter. | high | None material. | Conquest adapter row is safe to document as-is. |
| Map objectives must not touch command score directly. | Observed — brainstorm "Core Model" + "Reward Policy" (disallowed list) | Objectives influence score only via battlefield state → adapter. | high | Holds for all future modes unless a sanctioned exception is approved. | Grounds the indirect-only gate (§3). |
| The reward step adapts per mode (Conquest/Assault/Raid). | Observed — brainstorm "Future-Mode Note" | Stage-2 reward is mode-specific even when the theme is constant. | high | Assault/Raid reward verbs stay as listed. | Supports §3.3 table verbatim. |
| Helmstedt events map to indirect per-phase channels. | Observed — brainstorm "Checkpoint Alpha Transit Events" + "Conquest Integration Notes" | Each phase event pressures specific points without owning them. | high | Event family survives review (see helmstedt-real-world-objective-review). | Supports §4 mapping. |
| A formal "score-pressure adapter" abstraction is worth naming. | Inferred — synthesis of the above; no source uses the term. | Naming the conversion layer clarifies mode design and keeps the substrate stable. | medium | The team wants a named abstraction vs informal notes. | Primary approval item (gate §1 / §2). |
| Assault adapter = territorial breach-line progress → drain. | Inferred — CNQ-001 names Assault as future; brainstorm gives Assault reward verbs only. |
A breach/hold-line conversion fits "breach, hold staging, reinforce". | low | No approved Assault spec exists. | Label design-forward; do not canonize numbers. |
| Raid adapter = reach/extract timing → pressure pulse. | Inferred — CNQ-001 + brainstorm Raid reward verbs (reach/extract/obscure/expose). |
A completion-timing conversion fits raid verbs better than territory hold. | low | No approved Raid spec; may need its own win-pulse rules. | Label design-forward; ties to indirect-exception gate (§3). |
Gate · Evidence & Design Completeness
Is the evidence sufficient to record the Conquest half and the indirect-scoring rule as canonical, with Assault/Raid clearly flagged as low-confidence?required
Could any missing context change the recommendation? (optional)
6. Assumptions / Confidence Register
| Conclusion | Status | What would change it |
|---|---|---|
| Command score is the shared currency; modes differ by conversion. | evidence-backed | A future mode spec that introduces a second win currency. |
| Conquest = capture-ownership adapter (CP-C strongest). | evidence-backed | A rules change to how ownership drives drain. |
| Map objectives influence score only indirectly. | evidence-backed | An approved exception (e.g. Raid expose pulse). |
| Formal "adapter" naming is the right abstraction. | provisional | Team decision to adopt / rename / keep informal (gate §1). |
| Assault = breach-line progress adapter. | provisional inference | An approved Assault mode spec. |
| Raid = reach/extract timing adapter. | provisional inference | An approved Raid mode spec + win-pulse rules. |
| All concrete magnitudes (drain, capture time, bonus sizes). | deferred | EXP-04 / EXP-06 tuning evidence (CNQ-022). |
Gate · Assumptions / Confidence
Are the confidence labels correct — Conquest + indirect rule as evidence-backed, adapter naming provisional, Assault/Raid low-confidence?required
7. Alternatives & Rejected / Lower-Confidence
7.1 Rejected design directions
| Rejected approach | Why rejected |
|---|---|
| Map objectives that damage command score directly. | Creates a parallel victory track; violates the brainstorm Reward Policy disallowed list; removes the "ignorable" safety property. |
| A separate score currency per mode. | Breaks the shared substrate, duplicates comeback-relief logic (CNQ-012), and makes cross-mode balance opaque. |
| Objective as a mandatory scoring lane. | A player who ignores it would be instantly invalidated — explicitly disallowed (brainstorm "Conquest Integration Notes"). |
| Reward that permanently multiplies income/economy. | Disallowed reward; converts a temporary event into permanent dominance. |
7.2 Event-family alternatives (from brainstorm, secondary)
| Alternative | Why secondary (brainstorm) |
|---|---|
| Rail Corridor Surge | Strong visual identity but narrower; may overemphasize one lane. |
| Lappwald Relay Net | Good for recon, less central to Helmstedt's transit identity. |
| Border Gate Control | Useful Phase-A variant, too small to carry all three phases. |
| Marienborn Signal Intercept | Good intel hook, risks an info-system feature before core systems are proven. |
| Autobahn Breakthrough | Strong Phase-C fantasy, too late-game-specific to be the only family. |
8. Source Coverage & Gaps
- Covered (repo rules): command-score substrate, five-point Conquest conversion, comeback relief, command-post/phase gates, indirect reward policy, Helmstedt event family, per-mode reward adaptation.
- Gap — Assault/Raid specs: no approved mode spec exists; only
CNQ-001naming + brainstorm reward verbs. Their adapter rows are inference. - Gap — numeric tuning: all magnitudes deferred to EXP-04 / EXP-06 (
CNQ-022); this page records structure, not balance. - Gap — objective-review status: the Checkpoint Alpha family is itself under review in
alignment/helmstedt-real-world-objective-review.html; this proposal assumes that family survives review. - Not consulted: live prototype runtime (
prototypes/…/playable-battle/js/) — the modes/objectives are design-stage, not yet implemented, so runtime was not treated as authority.
Gate · Coverage Checkpoint
Is this coverage boundary acceptable (design-stage sources only; runtime and numeric tuning excluded)?required
9. Proposed Artifact & File Changes
Nothing is written until approval. The brainstorm already anticipated this as "a later rules pass" for full Conquest/Assault/Raid game-mode objective rules. Candidate destinations:
| Option | Destination | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| A (recommended) | New research/unthinkable/score-pressure-adapters.md, cross-linked from the Conquest inventory. | Keeps the cross-mode abstraction in one place; inventory stays Conquest-focused. |
| B | Append a "Score-Pressure Adapters" section to research/unthinkable/conquest-gamemode-rules-inventory.md. | Co-locates with Conquest rules but mixes cross-mode content into a mode-specific register. |
| C | Add adapter rules (e.g. CSC-005+) to research/unthinkable/game-rules-inventory.md. | Canonical register, but buries the model among all rules. |
Proposed mutation scope after approval (Option A): create the new doc; add a one-line pointer + "Related" cross-link in conquest-gamemode-rules-inventory.md; update alignment/index.html; convert this page to confirmed. No changes to prototypes/… runtime, no numeric balance, no experiment changes.
Gate · Artifact Destination & Proposed File Changes
Where should the approved model be canonized?required
Is the proposed mutation scope (new/append doc + cross-link + index; no runtime, no numbers) approved?required
Gate · Post-Approval Route
After approval and the canonical write, what is the next step?required
10. Compile Responses
Answer the gate questions above (and/or select section feedback), then compile a single response payload. Enabled as soon as one gate is answered or one section-feedback control is selected. Partial responses are fine — you do not need to answer every gate to send emphasis or concerns.
Review path: read this page, then compile either local section-feedback YAML (from any section's emphasize / thumbs-down / clarify control) or the bottom Compile Responses YAML, and paste it back into a /create-alignment-page session to continue. The YAML carries its own command: route.