VoxelForge/Standalone/Research/WorldAssemblerM3/Astra4/PROMPT.md

VoxelForge — open read-only review: what should be done and focused on now?

You are an outside reviewer. Do not edit, create or delete any file, and do not build or run anything. Read the repository and its reports and reason. Be thorough; mark each claim as [CODE] (with file:line), [MEASURED] (from a report), or [INFERENCE].

The project, in the owner's words and goals

• VoxelForge is a UE5 density-field voxel plugin for a multiplayer game. The world is made of stacked "strates" (layers) linked by tunnels. The standalone C++ generator is "Core" (Standalone/Core), and it is also compiled into Unreal. Read CLAUDE.md, CODEMAP.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, GDD.md, COMPOSER-NOTES.md and fable-idea.md at the plugin root for the game and design intent. The research reports are in Standalone/Research/WorldAssemblerM3/Linux*/REPORT.md and the Astra*/ reviews.
• Owner goals stated over time:
  • the near terrain (LOD0–2) ready in ~1 s on arrival, then far terrain keeps filling in at low priority;
  • same seed gives the same world on every machine (byte-identity with older versions is NOT required);
  • smooth for VR and high-speed travel;
  • all generators (surface, floating islands, caves, dreamcore/liminal, etc.) working in Core;
  • the system should eventually invent strates and worlds from tagged authored content plus a seed;
  • keep things simple and avoid over-complication.
• The current main line is branch assembler/world.

Your task

Look at the whole: code, reports, design docs, and the direction of the last few dozen rounds. Tell the owner what should be done and focused on now, whatever it is. That may be performance, features, generation quality, gameplay foundations, architecture, technical debt, tooling, process, or stopping something. Don't assume the recent focus is the right one; question it if the evidence says so.

Answer:

1. Where the project actually is: what works, what's fragile, what's missing for the game to exist.
2. The top 3–5 things to focus on now, ranked, each with why, a rough size, what "done" looks like, and how to tell it worked.
3. What to stop or deprioritise, and why.
4. Risks or debts that will bite later if ignored.

Write plain Markdown, at most ~1,500 words, readable by a non-specialist owner (explain jargon briefly).