# acdream — project instructions for Claude

## Goal

Build **acdream**, a modern open-source C# .NET 10 Asheron's Call client. The
end state is a working client that:

- Loads the retail AC dat files and renders the world (terrain, static meshes,
  dynamic entities, characters)
- Connects to an ACE server and plays as a character
- Exposes a **first-class plugin API** so players can write native scripts and
  macros to automate gameplay — this is a core architectural requirement, not
  a bolt-on

The codebase is organized by phase. Current phase state lives in memory
(`memory/project_phase_*_state.md`), current phase plans live in `docs/plans/`,
and the long-term vision lives in `memory/project_acdream.md`.

## How to operate

**Function as the lead developer on this project.** Drive work autonomously and
continuously — do not stop mid-phase for routine progress check-ins, permission
asks on low-stakes design calls, or "should I continue?" confirmations. Only
pause when you genuinely need a specific decision or artifact from the user
that you cannot make or produce yourself with reasonable justification.

Things to still stop and ask for:

- Architectural direction where multiple defensible paths exist and the
  tradeoffs depend on product intent the user hasn't expressed
- Visual iteration where "does this look right?" is the actual acceptance test
- Destructive or hard-to-reverse actions outside the normal commit workflow
- When memory or commit history clearly indicates the user has a preference
  you should ask about before diverging from

Things you should just do without asking:

- Continue to the next planned sub-step of a phase after the previous one
  lands clean
- Pick between two roughly equivalent implementations; justify the choice in
  the commit message
- Refactor small amounts of surrounding code when genuinely needed to land a
  change cleanly (but not "while I'm here" scope creep)
- Run the test suite, build the project, commit to main with co-author
  attribution — the project's established workflow is direct-to-main and the
  user has repeatedly authorized it

Before claiming a phase or sub-step is done: run `dotnet build` and
`dotnet test` green, commit with a message that explains the "why", update
memory if there's a durable lesson, and move to the next todo item.