Warfare Domain Plugin Specification

Version: 0.1.0 Status: Draft Date: 2026-03-09

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1. Overview

The Warfare domain plugin extends DINOForge with combat-oriented modding capabilities: factions, doctrines, unit taxonomies, weapon systems, wave composition, and themed content packs.

This is the first domain plugin and serves as the reference implementation for the domain plugin architecture.

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2. Faction Archetypes

Three mechanical families underpin all factions:

A. Order / Conventional Quality Army

Used by: Republic, West

Trait	Value
Line infantry	Strong
Ranged DPS	Reliable
Static defenses	Stronger
Artillery/vehicle access	Better
Command/support buffs	Better
Individual unit cost	Higher
Raw swarm count	Lower

B. Industrial Swarm / Mechanical Attrition Army

Used by: CIS, Classic West Enemy

Trait	Value
Unit numbers	Larger
Core unit cost	Cheaper
Expendability	High
Siege pressure	Strong
Per-unit durability	Weaker (unless elite)
Emphasis	Mechanical/armor, massed fire

C. Asymmetric Harassment / Insurgent Pressure Army

Used by: Guerrilla West Enemy

Trait	Value
Unit weight	Light
Mobility	High
Ambush capability	Strong
Frontline durability	Weak
Raid pressure	Strong
Anti-structure	Explosives/rockets
Battlefield presence	"Annoying" harassment

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3. Faction Definitions

Republic (Star Wars)

• Theme: starwars, Archetype: order, Doctrine: elite_discipline
• Fantasy: Clone infantry line, specialist troopers, walkers, artillery, Jedi command
• Gameplay: High precision, strong fortified defense, expensive losses hurt, strong late game

CIS (Star Wars)

• Theme: starwars, Archetype: industrial_swarm, Doctrine: mechanized_attrition
• Fantasy: B1 flood, B2 heavy line, droideka shields, spider/tank droids
• Gameplay: Flood and pressure, disposable front, oppressive economy, shield spikes

West (Modern)

• Theme: modern, Archetype: order, Doctrine: combined_arms_precision
• Fantasy: Rifle squads, marksmen, AT teams, IFVs/MBTs, drones/airstrikes
• Gameplay: Flexible, strong anti-armor, premium units, high burst damage

Classic West Enemy (Modern)

• Theme: modern, Archetype: industrial_swarm, Doctrine: massed_peer_assault
• Fantasy: Conscript mass, mechanized waves, rocket saturation, heavy fortifications
• Gameplay: Attritional, stronger mass, lower finesse, brutal siege, dangerous late push

Guerrilla West Enemy (Modern)

• Theme: modern, Archetype: asymmetric, Doctrine: raid_and_attrit
• Fantasy: Raiders, technicals, RPG teams, mortars, tunnel/cache networks
• Gameplay: Weak head-on, strong vs exposed economy, high harassment

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4. Unit Role Matrix

Every faction fills the same slots with theme-appropriate units:

Slot	Republic	CIS	West	Classic Enemy	Guerrilla
T1 Cheap	Militia clone	B1	Militia	Conscript	Irregular
T1 Core	Clone trooper	B1 improved/B2	Rifle squad	Rifle infantry	Raider rifle
T2 Elite	ARC trooper	Commando droid	Spec ops	Guards/assault	Veteran cell
T2 Anti-armor	Clone AT	Heavy droid AT	ATGM team	AT team	RPG team
T2 Support	Repeater team	Heavy blaster	MG team	MG team	HMG/recoilless
T2 Recon	Scout trooper	Commando scout	Drone recon	Scout/mech recon	Infiltrator
T3 Light Vehicle	AT-RT/speeder	Dwarf/spider	Technical/IFV	IFV	Technical
T3 Heavy Vehicle	Walker/tank	AAT/heavy droid	MBT	MBT/assault gun	(N/A)
T3 Artillery	SP battery	Shelling droid	MLRS/howitzer	Tube+rocket arty	Mortar/rocket
Defense 1	Blaster tower	Droid tower	MG nest	Bunker	Fortified nest
Defense 2	Heavy laser	Shielded turret	AT/missile	Heavy missile	Rocket emplace
Commander	Jedi/clone cmdr	Tactical relay	Officer/UAV	Commissar/cmd	Field emir
Spike Unit	Shield elite	Droideka	Drone strike	Thermobaric	Ambush wave

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5. Combat Model

Unit Classes

MilitiaLight, CoreLineInfantry, EliteLineInfantry, HeavyInfantry, Skirmisher, AntiArmor, ShockMelee, SwarmFodder, FastVehicle, MainBattleVehicle, HeavySiege, Artillery, WalkerHeavy, StaticMG, StaticAT, StaticArtillery, SupportEngineer, Recon, HeroCommander, AirstrikeProxy, ShieldedElite

Weapon Classes

BallisticLight, BallisticHeavy, BlasterLight, BlasterHeavy, ExplosiveAT, ExplosiveHE, BeamPrecision, FlameArea, MissileGuided, SuppressionWeapon, MeleeLight, MeleeHeavy

Defense Tags

Unarmored, InfantryArmor, HeavyArmor, Fortified, Shielded, Mechanical, Biological, Heroic

Behavior Tags

HoldLine, AdvanceFire, Charge, Kite, Swarm, SiegePriority, AntiStructure, AntiMass, AntiArmor, MoralePressure

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6. Faction Schema

faction:
  id: republic
  theme: starwars
  archetype: order
  display_name: Galactic Republic

economy:
  gather_bonus: 1.0
  upkeep_modifier: 1.1
  research_speed: 1.05

army:
  morale_style: disciplined
  unit_cap_modifier: 0.9
  elite_cost_modifier: 1.2

roster:
  line_infantry: clone_trooper
  elite_infantry: arc_trooper
  anti_armor: clone_at
  shock_unit: republic_guard
  recon: clone_scout
  heavy_vehicle: at_rt_proxy
  artillery: sp_artillery_proxy
  hero_commander: jedi_commander_proxy

buildings:
  barracks: republic_barracks
  workshop: republic_motor_pool
  artillery_foundry: republic_field_command
  tower_mg: republic_laser_tower
  heavy_defense: republic_turbolaser_proxy

visuals:
  primary_color: "#d8d8d8"
  accent_color: "#8b0000"
  projectile_pack: blaster_red_republic
  ui_skin: republic_clean

audio:
  weapon_pack: republic_blaster
  structure_pack: republic_ui

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7. Content Production Strategy

Level 1 - Zero-New-Model Build (MVP)

Only: renamed units, new icons, recolors, projectile/VFX swaps, stat changes, wave logic, SFX swaps, text/UI replacement. Gets a playable framework fast.

Level 2 - Selective Model Swaps

Add: hero units, key vehicles, signature defenses, faction command buildings. Only highest-visibility pieces.

Level 3 - Full Asset Conversion

Only after framework is proven fun. This is the difference between "released mod" and "dead dream repo."

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8. Theme Requirements

Star Wars Theme - Required Illusion Package

• Blaster projectiles
• Brighter energy muzzle VFX
• Droid-vs-clone sound identity
• Shield visuals for select units
• Command-post style UI text
• Walker/hover/repulsor approximations

Modern Theme - Required Illusion Package

• Ballistic tracers
• Rockets/missiles
• Modern infantry names and icons
• Modern fortification names
• Drone/airstrike proxies
• Tanks/artillery identity
• Different enemy doctrine packs

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9. Module Split

Module	Responsibility
DinoWarfare.Core	Schemas, faction definitions, balance tables, shared enums, logging, config
DinoWarfare.ECS	Entity queries, ECS patching, component mutation, spawn overrides, system hooks
DinoWarfare.Assets	Icon registry, localization, audio routing, VFX registry, prefab mapping
DinoWarfare.Campaign	Wave composition, faction matchup rules, mission-level overrides
DinoWarfare.Theme.StarWars	Republic/CIS content pack
DinoWarfare.Theme.Modern	West/Classic Enemy/Guerrilla content pack
DinoWarfare.Debug	Overlay, entity inspector, hot reload, test-spawn menus, component dumps