🚀 MUD Game Platform Development To-Do List

This checklist is structured to build foundational features first, followed by gameplay mechanics, multiplayer, administration, and optimizations.

📋 Phase 0: Project Planning

• Define Vision & Scope of the Platform

  • Write a high-level product vision and key goals
  • Create phased development plan

• Establish Naming Conventions & Folder Structure

  • Standardize service names, package structure, and code conventions
  • Document folder and repo layout for multi-service organization

• Draft Technical Architecture Diagrams

  • High-level service map
  • Data flow diagrams between client/editor/server
  • Deployment architecture (e.g., Kubernetes clusters, CI/CD flow)

• Miscellaneous

  • Write initial design for each microservice
  • Investigate transaction support for microservices
    • See Transaction Strategies
    • Document gRPC endpoints and compensating actions
    • Describe Saga orchestration components in the shared library
    • Provide example workflows (e.g., user registration)
  • Implement dedicated TCP Proxy Service bridging Telnet clients to the Gateway
  • Finalize Spring Cloud Gateway design
  • Update README after all services are defined
  • Finalize architecture design documentation and diagrams
  • Document service responsibility matrix
  • Remove legacy Game Management Service and redistribute duties
  • Conduct final review of all design documentation
  • Address any missing diagrams or cross-references discovered during review
  • Expand CONTRIBUTING.md with onboarding instructions
  • Populate FAQ.md with common questions
  • Add service-level design README links to central architecture docs

• Expand docker-compose.yml to include all services

• Create baseline Kubernetes manifests or Helm charts for deployment

  • Add Deployment and Service YAML manifests for each microservice
    • account-service
    • automation-scripting-service
    • entity-management-service
    • game-design-service
    • game-logic-service
    • game-session-service
    • logging-admin-service
    • social-groups-service
    • spring-cloud-gateway
    • tcp-proxy-service
    • world-management-service
  • Create Kubernetes NetworkPolicy manifests to restrict service communication
    • Document network policy usage in architecture docs

🛠️ Phase 1: Core Infrastructure & Basic Services

Immediate Next Steps

• Configure Gradle protobuf plugin and generate gRPC stubs
  • Apply com.google.protobuf Gradle plugin in each service module
  • Verify Java sources are generated under build/generated after ./gradlew build
• Add base application.yml configuration and profiles
  • Create default application.yml with dev and prod profiles
  • Externalize database and Redis settings via environment variables
• Implement PostgreSQL and Redis Docker containers for local dev
  • Add postgres and redis services to docker-compose.yml
  • Provide default credentials and mounted volumes for local data
  • Include .env.sample with default environment variables
  • Document connection settings in DEVELOPER_SETUP.md
  • Create Docker volumes for persistent databases
  • Verify services start via docker compose up
  • Confirm each service logs Started without errors

Behavior and Orchestration Planning

• Define core service responsibilities and runtime behaviors

  • Outline tick flow, session management, reconnect logic, and command execution
  • Document game instance lifecycle diagrams

• Write sample gameplay use cases and trace the end-to-end flow

  • Example flows: LOGIN, MOVE, CAST_SPELL

• Identify the data each service needs to handle those flows

• Derive minimal data models and proto schemas based on real usage

• Refine shared DTOs and gRPC contracts from concrete examples

• Document Redis key naming conventions and locking scheme

• Create Gradle modules for all services with placeholder sources

• Add base Spring Boot Application classes for each service

• Generate skeleton controllers and service classes for each microservice

• Define base entity and repository classes for core domains

  • Account Service: Account and Profile entities with JPA repositories
  • Entity Management Service: Character, Item, NPC entities
  • World Management Service: Room and Region entities
  • Game Session Service: GameInstance entity
  • Game Design Service: design-time schema entities
  • Social & Groups Service: ChatMessage, Guild, FriendLink entities
  • Logging & Admin Service: LogEvent and ModerationAction entities
  • Automation & Scripting Service: ScriptDefinition entity
  • Create DTO records and MapStruct mappers

• Create a Common Package for Shared Microservice Code

  • Implement common request/response DTOs for inter-service communication
  • Implement ApiResponse, ResultStatus, and GlobalExceptionHandler
  • Implement centralized logging utilities
  • Implement gRPC interceptors for logging and metrics
  • Implement authentication & authorization utilities (OAuth2, JWT helper methods)
  • Implement database connection utilities (PostgreSQL, Redis connectors)
  • Implement base configuration classes for service discovery and shared properties
  • Implement common exception handling & error response structures
  • Implement configuration management (centralized properties, environment handling)
  • Enforce tenantId validation for create endpoints across all microservices
  • Publish common package to internal repository (Maven/Gradle)
  • Add common-library README with usage examples
  • Extend firemud-common with saga orchestration support
    • Define saga schema tables for step tracking and state
    • Implement fluent API for saga orchestration
    • Add gRPC call helpers with retry and compensation hooks
    • Document example saga usage
  • Replace placeholder classes with real implementations

• Set up Git repository and development workflow

• Implement CI/CD pipeline for automated builds, testing, and deployment (see CI/CD Pipeline)

  • Ensure CI/CD includes the common package build process

• Define API contracts & inter-service communication (REST, gRPC, WebSockets)

  • Ensure API contracts include standard error handling and request validation
  • Configure gRPC infrastructure with mTLS certificates for internal calls
  • Install cert-manager and store certificates as Kubernetes Secrets
  • Implement hot reload for TLS certificates and JWKS keys across services

• Define high-level architecture & microservices boundaries

• Choose technology stack (Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, Redis, WebSockets, Kubernetes, etc.)

• Set up Docker and Kubernetes for containerized deployment

• Configure Flyway-based database migrations for each microservice

• Implement service discovery for internal microservices (Spring Cloud, Eureka, Consul, or Kubernetes-native)

  • Ensure common package includes service discovery utilities

• Set up centralized logging & monitoring (Fluent Bit, Elasticsearch, Kibana, Grafana, Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Alertmanager)

  • Define security best practices (OAuth2, JWT, RBAC, input validation, rate-limiting)

  • Ensure authentication utilities from common package integrate seamlessly

  • Implement Spring Security configuration for each microservice using common components

  • Add initial protobuf IDL files for all microservices based on sample flows

    • Account Service proto definitions
    • Game Session Service proto definitions
    • World Management Service proto definitions
    • Entity Management Service proto definitions
    • Game Logic Service proto definitions
    • Automation & Scripting Service proto definitions
    • Game Design Service proto definitions
    • Social & Groups Service proto definitions
    • Logging & Admin Service proto definitions
    • Payment & Monetization proto definitions (Account Service)
    • TCP Proxy Service proto definitions
    • Spring Cloud Gateway proto definitions
    • Shared common types

  • Integrate proto generation into CI workflow

  • Expose /actuator/health endpoints for service monitoring

    • Add spring-boot-starter-actuator dependency to each service
    • Enable health endpoint in application.yml

  • Configure Kubernetes readiness and liveness probes

  • Add metrics and tracing instrumentation for all services

    • Configure Micrometer with Prometheus registry
    • Enable OpenTelemetry tracing via spring-boot-starter-otel

Coding Kickoff Checklist

• Add baseline Dockerfile for each service
• Create Gradle tasks to build Docker images for each service
• Verify ./gradlew :<service>:build succeeds for every module
• Add a minimal README.md in each service with local run instructions
• Configure Flyway and add initial V1__init.sql for all microservices
• Implement basic JPA entities and repositories in Account Service
• Set up protobuf generation with gRPC stubs
• Implement PingController endpoint in each service for basic health check
• Add unit tests for PingController endpoints to verify service startup
• Add gRPC PingService stub in each service to validate connectivity
• Update each service README.md with links to design docs and proto definitions
• Add Docker Compose health checks for PostgreSQL, Redis, and all services
• Enable Spotless plugin for code formatting
• Add GitHub Actions workflow to build and publish Docker images for each service
• Integrate markdownlint in CI build
• Add pre-commit hooks for Spotless, Checkstyle, and markdownlint
• Configure static analysis tools
  • Add Checkstyle rules for code style enforcement
  • Integrate SpotBugs for static bug detection
  • Generate JaCoCo coverage reports in CI
• Integrate container and dependency scanning (Trivy) in CI
• Establish base integration test setup using Spring Boot Test with Testcontainers for PostgreSQL and Redis
• Finalize API schemas from concrete gameplay flows
  • Database schema diagrams for each microservice
  • Example Flyway migration scripts
• Create ERD diagrams and baseline Flyway scripts for all services
  • Produce entity relationship diagrams for initial domain models
  • Add V1__init.sql migrations for each service database
    • account-service
    • automation-scripting-service
    • entity-management-service
    • game-design-service
    • game-logic-service
    • game-session-service
    • logging-admin-service
    • social-groups-service
    • spring-cloud-gateway
    • tcp-proxy-service
    • world-management-service
  • Configure Flyway plugin in each service build file
  • Verify migrations run on startup
• Provide optional dev data seeding scripts for each service
• Document REST endpoints and gRPC method flows in each microservice README
  • account-service/design/README.md
  • automation-scripting-service/design/README.md
  • entity-management-service/design/README.md
  • game-design-service/design/README.md
  • game-logic-service/design/README.md
  • game-session-service/design/README.md
  • logging-admin-service/design/README.md
  • social-groups-service/design/README.md
  • spring-cloud-gateway/design/README.md
  • tcp-proxy-service/design/README.md
  • world-management-service/design/README.md
  • Summarize controller routes in each service design/README.md
  • Include example request/response payloads
  • Provide sample cURL commands for REST create endpoints
  • Provide example grpcurl commands for gRPC create methods
  • Link to corresponding proto files
  • Generate OpenAPI specs and publish Swagger UI

🛠️ Phase 2: Account & Game Operations

• Develop Account Service

  • Implement user registration and authentication (OAuth2, JWT)
  • Implement session management and persistent logins
  • Implement role-based access control (RBAC) for admins, moderators, and players
  • Enable external account linking (Google, Discord, Steam)
  • Implement profile system with achievements, game history, and social features
  • Implement player data export & deletion (GDPR compliance)
  • Create AccountController REST endpoints
    • Provide POST /accounts and /profiles for account creation flows
  • Create JPA repositories for Account and Profile
  • Add gRPC AccountService with proto contract
  • Expose JWKS endpoint for token verification
  • Use saga orchestrator for account creation workflow
  • Implement self-service account recovery
  • Add optional 2FA for admin and moderator roles

• Expand Game Session Service

  • Implement game instance lifecycle (start, stop, restart)
  • Support multi-tenancy for hosted games
  • Implement tick orchestration using Redis for command queues
  • Implement Lua-based staging, commit, and rollback scripts for tick transactions
  • Implement distributed lock acquisition in Redis for tick updates
  • Implement tick replay and crash recovery logic
  • Persist session state in Redis for reconnect recovery
  • Enforce single-session control per character (session takeover on new login)
  • Manage runtime feature flags and expose toggle API via Logging & Admin Service (Versioning & Runtime Configuration)
  • Plan for cross-region sharding and session handoff
  • Implement game_manifest table for version coordination
  • Emit gameplay analytics for operators
  • Create GameSessionController REST endpoints
    • Add endpoint to create and start new game sessions
  • Add gRPC GameSessionService with proto contract

• Expand Game Design Service

  • Provide game templates and configuration tools
  • Enable publishing of game versions

• Use saga orchestrator for game publishing workflow

• Ensure domain services copy data by version_id and never query the design database at runtime

• Create GameDesignController REST endpoints for design CRUD operations

  • Support creation of new games, worlds, and abilities

• Create gRPC GameDesignService and design-time database models

• Develop Email & Notification System

  • Implement email verification & password resets
  • Implement in-game notification system for events & messages
  • Configure SMTP provider and test templates
  • Document email and notification design in account-service/design/README.md
  • Add asynchronous NotificationService components with gRPC endpoints
  • Create NotificationController REST endpoints
    • Provide APIs for sending in-game notifications to accounts

🛠️ Phase 3: Game World & Entity Persistence

• Develop World Management Service

  • Implement world map storage (rooms, regions)
  • Implement instance-based game spaces (e.g., dungeons, player housing)
  • Define instance rules, expiration, and persistence
  • Implement world event scheduling system (seasonal events, resets)
  • Implement environmental effects & persistent world state (weather, dynamic NPC behaviors)
  • Implement travel & navigation system (movement, teleportation, pathfinding)
  • Implement A* or Dijkstra-based pathfinding for NPCs & movement validation
  • Create WorldController REST endpoints
    • Expose POST /rooms and /regions for world creation
  • Add gRPC WorldManagementService with proto contract
  • Use saga orchestrator for world creation workflow
  • Provide tools to fine-tune procedural generation rules
  • Support multi-server world shards

• Develop Entity Management Service

  • Implement player character storage
  • Implement NPC storage and data structures
  • Implement item and inventory management
  • Implement entity stats and progression tracking
  • Implement NPC respawn rules and timing
  • Implement cross-game account linking (allow single account across multiple hosted games)
  • Create EntityController REST endpoints
    • Provide creation APIs for characters, items, and NPCs
  • Add gRPC EntityManagementService with proto contract
  • Implement entity graph caching for fast lookups
  • Support complex crafting recipes

• Implement Persistence Strategy

  • Use PostgreSQL for primary storage
  • Use Redis for transient session state and ephemeral gameplay coordination
  • Implement world saving/loading system
  • Implement per-instance state persistence
  • Configure Redis cluster with AOF persistence and replica failover

🛠️ Phase 4: Game Logic & AI

• Develop Game Logic Service

  • Implement command parsing & validation
  • Implement action processing (movement, interactions, combat)
  • Implement roleplay actions & emotes
  • Implement event-driven logic processing (triggers, world events)
  • Implement action aliases system (custom command mappings)
  • Create GameLogicController REST endpoints
    • Allow creation of custom commands and abilities
  • Add gRPC GameLogicService with proto contract
  • Add scripting hooks for custom actions
  • Optimize performance for large-scale battles

• Develop Automation & Scripting Service

  • Implement state-driven & event-driven NPC behaviors

  • Implement procedural world generation

  • Implement scripted events for game mechanics and NPC interactions

  • Implement AI memory & dynamic NPC behaviors (NPCs remember past player interactions)

  • Implement player vs. environment (PvE) mechanics (random encounters, environmental hazards)

  • Implement faction & reputation system (players gain faction reputation over time)

  • Implement NPC aggression states (hostile, neutral, passive)

  • Implement NPC fleeing/surrender logic

  • Implement NPC formations & squad AI

  • Add gRPC AutomationService with script execution API

  • Create ScriptingController REST endpoints

    • Upload and manage script definitions via REST

  • Create sandboxed script runtime

  • Support hot reloading of scripts published by the Game Design Service

  • Provide web UI for script creation and testing

  • Add advanced AI modules for complex behaviors

  • Enforce fairness quotas and per-script resource limits

  • Define Telnet bridge gRPC APIs for TCP Proxy Service

• Develop Trading & Economy System

  • Support in-game currency and player transactions
  • Implement auction house and player-to-player trading
  • Implement dynamic resource spawning & distribution (controlled item & resource generation)
  • Implement tax & fee system for in-game economies
  • Implement player-run shops/stalls
  • Implement black market & underground economy system

• Develop Leveling & Progression System

  • Implement experience tracking and level progression

• Develop Crafting & Item System

  • Support item creation and crafting mechanics

🛠️ Phase 5: Game Design & Customization

• Develop Game Design Service

  • Implement world editing & customization tools
  • Implement scripting & event design tools
  • Build a visual scripting editor using a component-based DSL
  • Sandbox script execution with quotas via the Automation & Scripting Service
  • Implement ability & action design tools
  • Implement item & equipment balancing tools
  • Track version history and patch notes for published games
  • Build a web-based visual design interface
  • Integrate version control for design assets

• Expand Scripting & Modding

  • Implement event-driven scripting API for game creators
  • Implement in-game modding/plugin framework
  • Implement scripted AI behaviors for NPCs

🛠️ Phase 6: Multiplayer & Social Features

• Develop TCP Proxy Service

  • Implement Telnet networking and WebSocket bridging
  • Buffer Telnet input and discard on disconnect to support reconnection
  • Initialize TcpProxyServiceApplication with Netty server (implement connection pipeline)
  • Create base Spring Boot application skeleton
  • Enforce Telnet command whitelist and input sanitization
  • Implement connection throttling and rate limits
  • Support TLS termination for secure Telnet clients
  • Add gRPC TelnetSessionService for handshake and session creation

• Develop Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Handle API routing and request validation
  • Terminate TLS and forward traffic to internal services using mTLS
  • Collect connection metrics and throttle abusive clients
  • Create gateway route configuration files for all services
  • Add baseline route configuration for Spring Cloud Gateway
  • Create GatewayController endpoints for dynamic route management
    • Allow creation of custom gateway routes via API
  • Add gRPC GatewayManagementService for remote route configuration

• Develop Social & Groups Service

  • Enable cross-game friend lists and social graph
  • Support private messages, global chat, and guild channels
  • Implement player-to-player mail system (asynchronous in-game messaging)
  • Allow players to form and manage guilds
  • Implement guild ranking & permissions system
  • Implement shared guild storage and alliance system
  • Provide rich moderation tools for chat
  • Add optional voice chat integration
  • Create SocialController REST endpoints
    • Add APIs for guild creation and friend requests
  • Add gRPC SocialService for guild and friend management
  • Use saga orchestrator for guild creation workflow

🛠️ Phase 7: Moderation & Restrictions

• Develop Logging & Admin Service

  • Collect logs from all services and provide search dashboards
  • Allow players to report others for abuse/violations
  • Store logs for admin moderation and auditing
  • Expose runtime feature flag toggles (Versioning & Runtime Configuration)
  • Provide analytics dashboards for operators
  • Define moderation policies including profanity filters
  • Integrate Alertmanager for automated alerts
  • Deploy Fluent Bit sidecars to forward logs to Elasticsearch
  • Create LoggingController REST endpoints for searching logs via Elasticsearch
  • Add gRPC LoggingService for log search operations
  • Evaluate adopting a zero-trust network model for internal traffic
  • Create Saga Dashboard to inspect workflow states and failures
  • Integrate saga metrics and timeout recovery
  • Use saga orchestrator for multi-service admin operations (bans, content revocation)
  • Build role-based admin UI
  • Create AdminController REST endpoints
    • Expose ban and moderation creation APIs
  • Add gRPC AdminService for moderation actions

• Implement Banning & Restriction System

  • Implement IP bans, temporary suspensions, and game-specific restrictions

• Implement Anti-Spam & Rate Limiting

  • Prevent chat flooding, command spamming, and abuse

• Implement Player-Owned Housing or Personal Areas

  • Allow players to “own” rooms or private spaces in games with permissions

🛠️ Phase 8: Monetization & Payment System

• Develop Monetization & Payment System
  • Integrate Stripe or similar for in-game purchases
  • Support subscriptions, one-time purchases, and donations
  • Enforce platform fee on transactions
  • Implement refund & chargeback handling
  • Use saga orchestrator for cross-service purchase workflows
  • Create payment_transaction and subscription entities in the Account Service
  • Add gRPC PaymentService endpoints for billing operations
  • Create PaymentController REST endpoints
    • Provide endpoints for payment intents and subscriptions
  • Define proto contracts for payment and subscription flows
  • Add Flyway migration scripts for payment tables
  • Document monetization design in account-service/design/README.md
  • Implement virtual currency system (game-specific currencies)
  • Implement premium hosting tiers & features for game creators
  • Implement platform-controlled ad system (for free-to-play games)
  • Implement revenue-sharing system for game creators

🛠️ Phase 9: Testing & Pre-Launch Preparations

• Implement Automated Unit & Integration Tests

  • Develop unit tests for core services (command parsing, actions, world updates)
  • Implement integration tests for multi-service interactions
  • Add integration tests for each service’s create endpoints
  • Validate saga workflows for account and world creation
  • Perform API testing with Postman, RestAssured

• Conduct Load & Security Testing

  • Simulate high-concurrency scenarios to identify bottlenecks
  • Run load tests using JMeter, Gatling, or Locust
  • Implement security testing (OWASP ZAP, penetration tests, rate limiting)

• Deploy Staging Environments for Playtesting

  • Perform multi-user playtests and gather feedback

• Write Developer Documentation for Game Creators

  • Provide API references for scripting & integration
  • Guide for setting up and configuring hosted games

🛠️ Phase 10: Deployment & Post-Launch Iteration

• Monitor Logs & Fix Issues in Production

  • Track errors, crashes, and performance issues
  • Implement hotfixes for immediate problems

• Scale & Optimize Performance

  • Implement horizontal scaling (Auto-scaling, Load Balancer)
  • Optimize database queries & network traffic handling
  • Define backup & disaster recovery strategy (see Backup & Disaster Recovery Plan)
  • Deploy Velero for scheduled Kubernetes and PostgreSQL backups
  • Configure production snapshots as described in Backup & Disaster Recovery Plan

• Iterate on Features & Add More Game Customization

  • Expand game customization options for hosted games
  • Improve scripting capabilities & developer tools

• Onboard Game Creators & Improve UX

  • Develop tutorials & guides for game creators on customizing worlds and configuring hosted games
  • Gather feedback from early users & iterate on UI/UX
  • Add MCP support for AI assisted game creation

• Enhance Saga Orchestration

  • Add timeout detection and automatic recovery
  • Support declarative saga definitions via YAML or annotations
  • Integrate saga events with logging and metrics

🛠️ Phase 11: Community & Funding

• Set up financial contribution options
  • Add PayPal donation link
  • Configure GitHub Sponsors profile
  • Create Patreon page