wownerogue/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

Architecture

Wowngeon is a provably-fair, block-timed roguelike that doubles as a multi-chain on-ramp for the Smirk wallet. This is the index for the architecture docs; each subsystem below has its own page.

The map

             ┌──────────── players (browser) ────────────┐
             │  index.html · tavern.html · render kit     │
             └───────────────┬───────────────┬────────────┘
                    Socket.IO │               │ REST (auth, status)
             ┌────────────────▼───────────────▼────────────┐
             │  src/network/*  (socket handlers, chat,     │
             │                  tavern, match, payments)   │
             ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  game core  │  src/game/*      dungeon · rulesets · modes  │  → RULESETS.md
  money      │  src/payments/*  providers · wallet-rpc      │  → PAYMENTS.md
  cosmetics  │  src/multiplayer/entitlements + catalog      │  → MONETIZATION.md
  chains     │  src/chain/chainProfile.js                   │  → chain profiles (below)
  chat       │  src/network/chat/*  local + nostr           │  → CHAT_AND_NOSTR.md
             └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    │                         │
              PostgreSQL              Wownero/Monero wallet-RPC + BTCPay/checkout relays

The five pillars (2026-07 "10x" build)

Pillar	What	Doc
P1 — Credits & catalog	Operator-owned cosmetic catalog + tiered unlock rule (free / grant / spend-threshold / tier)	MONETIZATION.md
P2 — Chain profiles	One registry for the 5 Smirk chains (decimals, block time, adapter family, URI scheme)	see Chain profiles below
P3 — Modular payments	Pluggable payment providers: BTCPay + xmr/wowcheckout (Greenfield) + native Monero, behind one registry	PAYMENTS.md
P4 — Ruleset / PvP	Gameplay as a data object; race / last-alive / score / co-op are rulesets on the match engine	RULESETS.md
P5 — Nostr chat	Global cross-server chat over relay.smirk.cash; bridge → per-player Smirk-npub identity	CHAT_AND_NOSTR.md

All five are behavior-preserving and env-gated — each stays dormant (native/local defaults) until its config is set, so main is always deployable.

Chain profiles (P2)

src/chain/chainProfile.js is the single source of truth for per-chain constants across BTC, LTC, XMR, WOW, GRIN: decimalsFor, meanBlockTimeMsFor, familyFor (monero / utxo / mimblewimble), uriSchemeFor, atomicDivisor (BigInt). Unknown chains fall back to a WOW-shaped default. Money math stays exact via src/money/atomic.js (BigInt, decimals-parameterized) — never floats.

Resolved (2026-07): cryptoType now keys difficulty off block time via NETWORK_TUNING in difficultyConfig.js — the pacing lever is multi-level depth (levels ∝ block time), measured and calibrated with a headless balance simulator. Also corrected: WOW is ~5 min/block, not 2 (measured on the live daemon). See BALANCE_SIM.md and MULTI_LEVEL.md.

Client render kit

html/js/render/ (RK) draws the shared Scene in multiple techniques (Tiled / ASCII / Iso / 3D) and interchangeable art packs, with a shared pure-canvas FX layer (torch/hearth fire, hazard tiles), zoom, and an operator-gated cosmetic catalog. See RENDER_PACKS.md.

Game balance & pacing

Difficulty is measured, not guessed: single-player runs are bounded by a random (exponential) block deadline, so the house edge is a simulation problem. src/sim/ drives the real engine with headless bots; NETWORK_TUNING + multi-level depth are the calibrated levers. See BALANCE_SIM.md and MULTI_LEVEL.md.

Regenerating the API reference (autodocs)

The code is heavily JSDoc-commented. To regenerate a Markdown API reference from those comments:

cd src && npm install   # first time, pulls jsdoc-to-markdown (devDependency)
npm run docs:api        # writes docs/API/*.md

Autodocs cover the reference layer (what each function/param is). The why — the seams and flows in the pages above — is hand-authored and lives here in docs/. Keep both.

Conventions worth knowing

• Game id is a UUID stored in games.dungeon_seed; games.id is a serial int. Match game objects with WHERE dungeon_seed = $N, never WHERE id = $N.
• Socket ids are volatile (change on refresh). For stable identity use the DB user_id / session, never socket_id.
• WOW has 11 decimals (atomic divisor 1e11), not Monero's 12.
• Tests: cd src && npm test (jest, --runInBand). Migrations live in src/migrations/NNN_*.sql.