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Hub/base design: compact, made by people, not a company #21

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opened 2026-10-18 15:43:15 +00:00 by muse-lantern · 1 comment

muse-lantern commented

2026-10-18 15:43:15 +00:00

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Purpose

Design the player's home base — the hub they return to between excursions.
Individual layout ideas and component designs go as comments below.

The ITR1 vs ITR2 lesson

ITR1's Vanno: Smaller, compact. Everything important together — sleeping,
storage, missions, map all in one building. The store in another building not
far away. A central area that felt like a home. The layout was clearly made
by people, not a company.

ITR2's Vanno: Built large and wide. Different areas with noticeable walk
time between them. Places you frequent are spread out. Combined with 4-player
multiplayer where everyone has to travel together, this creates real friction —
you are always waiting for the group to walk somewhere.

Design principles

Compact. Important stuff clustered together. Sleeping, storage, mission
board, map — one building. Store nearby, not across the map.
Made by people, not a company. The layout should feel organic, lived-in,
improvised. Personal touches. Things placed where someone put them, not
where a facilities planner drew them on a blueprint.
A central area that feels like home. Not a lobby. Not a concourse. A
place that feels like someone lives there.
Multiplayer-ready. When multiplayer eventually lands, a compact hub
means less "waiting for everyone to walk over." Group friction scales with
distance.

Open questions

What is the hub in our setting? (A vehicle? A building? Something else?)
How does the hub reflect the with/without Observers split?
Does the hub change over the course of the story?

## Purpose Design the player's home base — the hub they return to between excursions. Individual layout ideas and component designs go as comments below. --- ## The ITR1 vs ITR2 lesson **ITR1's Vanno:** Smaller, compact. Everything important together — sleeping, storage, missions, map all in one building. The store in another building not far away. A central area that felt like a home. The layout was clearly made by *people*, not a *company.* **ITR2's Vanno:** Built large and wide. Different areas with noticeable walk time between them. Places you frequent are spread out. Combined with 4-player multiplayer where everyone has to travel together, this creates real friction — you are always waiting for the group to walk somewhere. ## Design principles - **Compact.** Important stuff clustered together. Sleeping, storage, mission board, map — one building. Store nearby, not across the map. - **Made by people, not a company.** The layout should feel organic, lived-in, improvised. Personal touches. Things placed where someone *put* them, not where a facilities planner drew them on a blueprint. - **A central area that feels like home.** Not a lobby. Not a concourse. A place that feels like someone lives there. - **Multiplayer-ready.** When multiplayer eventually lands, a compact hub means less "waiting for everyone to walk over." Group friction scales with distance. --- ## Open questions - What is the hub in our setting? (A vehicle? A building? Something else?) - How does the hub reflect the with/without Observers split? - Does the hub change over the course of the story?

muse-lantern commented

2026-10-18 16:06:51 +00:00

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ITR1 Vanno layout: what worked

Living quarters: a room with shelves, a bed, a sink, a small work bench,
and the mission terminal. Everything you need in one room.

Outside the front: the main social area.
Across: the main work bench + another living quarters.
Next to the main one: two more living quarters.
Around back: bulk storage shelves.

It worked because it felt arranged by people. Things were where someone put
them. The social area was outside the front door because that is where people
naturally gather. Bulk storage was around back because that is where you put
stuff you do not need every day.

ITR2 Hub: what did not

Barracks. Segmented areas. Armor stands. Walls to mount stuff on rather than
shelves. A single work bench. A kitchen area. You later unlock another room
that is just more of everything except the bed.

Outside: physical training equipment, camp-style social areas, an upstairs
social area. Then on the far walls from the barracks: the Quest Terminal
Building and the Store.

Spacious without earning it. Everything is spread out because there is space,
not because the layout means something.

The contrast principle

This is the deeper lesson, and it applies to the zone itself:

	Hub	Zone
ITR1	Compact, earned	Open, barren, liminal
ITR2	Open, liminal, unearned	Tighter, more linear

ITR1's hub is small and cozy so that the Radius feels vast and empty by
contrast. Safety is compact. Danger is expansive. The contrast does the
emotional work.

ITR2 inverts it. The hub is open and liminal (feels exposed, not safe), while
the Radius is tighter and more linear — clear roads and pathways where ITR1
had multiple ways to approach damn near everywhere. The hub does not feel
like shelter, and the zone does not feel like wilderness.

Design rule: the hub and the zone must be opposites. Compact hub, open
zone. The hub earns its coziness by being small; the zone earns its dread by
being vast. And the zone itself should reward exploration — multiple approaches,
not guided paths.

## ITR1 Vanno layout: what worked **Living quarters:** a room with shelves, a bed, a sink, a small work bench, and the mission terminal. Everything you need in one room. **Outside the front:** the main social area. **Across:** the main work bench + another living quarters. **Next to the main one:** two more living quarters. **Around back:** bulk storage shelves. It worked because it felt arranged by people. Things were where someone put them. The social area was outside the front door because that is where people naturally gather. Bulk storage was around back because that is where you put stuff you do not need every day. ## ITR2 Hub: what did not Barracks. Segmented areas. Armor stands. Walls to mount stuff on rather than shelves. A single work bench. A kitchen area. You later unlock another room that is just more of everything except the bed. Outside: physical training equipment, camp-style social areas, an upstairs social area. Then on the far walls from the barracks: the Quest Terminal Building and the Store. Spacious without earning it. Everything is spread out because there is space, not because the layout means something. ## The contrast principle This is the deeper lesson, and it applies to the zone itself: | | Hub | Zone | |---|---|---| | **ITR1** | Compact, earned | Open, barren, liminal | | **ITR2** | Open, liminal, unearned | Tighter, more linear | ITR1's hub is small and cozy *so that* the Radius feels vast and empty by contrast. Safety is compact. Danger is expansive. The contrast does the emotional work. ITR2 inverts it. The hub is open and liminal (feels exposed, not safe), while the Radius is tighter and more linear — clear roads and pathways where ITR1 had multiple ways to approach damn near everywhere. The hub does not feel like shelter, and the zone does not feel like wilderness. **Design rule:** the hub and the zone must be opposites. Compact hub, open zone. The hub earns its coziness by being small; the zone earns its dread by being vast. And the zone itself should reward exploration — multiple approaches, not guided paths.

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