aetherbound-guild/docs/reference/REFERENCE_EXPERIENCE_MAPPING.md

Reference Experience Mapping

Date: 2026-08-11 Status: PHASE5_REFERENCE_FIDELITY_CANDIDATE

Purpose

This document maps directly observed functional structures from authorized public-video research into Aetherbound Guild's original product. It is not a commercial screen catalog and contains no copied screenshots, names, prose, formulas, art, audio, code, or extracted assets.

The mapping answers four questions for every important player surface:

1. What layout and operation were directly observed?
2. Why did that structure help the player make a decision?
3. What does Aetherbound adopt or improve?
4. Which expressive or product-specific parts remain rejected?

Evidence classes retain their research meaning: PROVEN, PROVEN_UI_ONLY, LOWER_BOUND, and UNKNOWN. An observed layout never proves an unseen rule.

Product Decision

Aetherbound may learn functional information architecture, option grouping, interaction sequence, visible state, comparison density, and feedback timing. It does not reproduce the reference game's ornament, exact geometry, wording, content identities, formulas, radial graph, or commercial media.

The strongest adopted composition is:

persistent run/status strip
-> visible Company bench
-> three comparable Market or encounter choices
-> visible run inventory and mode actions
-> one primary commitment

The player should not need to leave the Market merely to remember Company size, available inventory, current Coin, refresh cost, lock state, or what changed.

Fifteen-Surface Mapping

ID	Observed surface and evidence	Functional layout and visible options	Why it works	Aetherbound adoption	Deliberate change or rejection	Target
REF-01	Title and run entry; PROVEN across Phase 3 terminal returns and versioned titles	Stable title, current version/state, obvious new/continue path, secondary system entries at edges	Separates run action from persistent preparation	Title keeps Continue, New Run, Records, Settings, and save health in one first viewport	Original guild threshold art and hierarchy; no copied title treatment	SYS-003, SYS-004
REF-02	Difficulty and run setup; PROVEN for three described difficulties and mobile setup	Few large mode/difficulty choices, concise consequences, one commit	Makes failure policy visible before investment	Contract, difficulty, slot, and four stable provisional Recruit offers are reviewed before atomic Run creation	No clan names, copied difficulty prose, or hidden permanent-death switch	SYS-005, PST-002
REF-03	Mobile Shop/Hall; PROVEN continuous tutorial and late-run states	Company bench above, three offer cards centered, inventory grid below, tools on edges, currency and victories persistent	Keeps purchase context visible and makes comparison fast	Market shows Company, three Recruit offers, inventory, Coin, Credit, refresh, lock, selling mode, and the next risk route together	Original parchment-workshop composition; no copied frame, symbols, or exact dimensions	SHP-001
REF-04	Recruit offer and inspection; PROVEN tutorial purchase and multiple profession/tooltips	Large offer card, price, role/stat read, inspect before buy, Company slot context	Turns hiring into valuation rather than a blind button	Generated identity, Profession, Trait benefit/cost, behavior read, price, fit and Company delta precede hire confirmation	No fixed commercial character identity or relationship content	SHP-002, REC-002
REF-05	Inventory, equipment and selling; PROVEN Tap inventory placement, selling mode and visible capacity	Persistent slot grid, equipped/unequipped distinction, explicit selling mode, focused tooltip	Reduces navigation and prevents accidental destructive input	Eligible inventory, before/after behavior delta, target Recruit, reversible apply, separate sell review and capacity read	Equipment changes behavior; no copied item list, rarity palette, or exact sell values	SHP-003, EQP-001, EQP-002
REF-06	Ordered party surface; PROVEN Tap pickup/swap and late ten-member bench	One ordered horizontal Company row, stable slot positions, direct swap, equipment visible near each unit	Makes formation the central build expression	Tap Recruit then Tap destination is primary; drag optional; protected rear remains left and exposed front right	No named formation cards required for basic ordering and no mirrored locale layout	PTY-001, PTY-002
REF-07	Three-card encounter choice; PROVEN early and late runs	Three adjacent choices expose enemy composition, bounty/reward and entry result before battle	Creates a repeated risk/reward comparison with low navigation cost	Three battle offers show threat, reward class, retreat consequence, current coverage and frozen Company order	No copied enemy names, bounty formula or mystery card backs	RSK-001, RSK-002
REF-08	Automatic horizontal battle; PROVEN ordinary, ten-member and boss battles	Enemy and Company occupy one landscape arena; health/status remain near units; battle fills the visual center	Lets preparation become a readable spectacle	One ordered Company line, automatic actions/ultimates, clear objective, forecast, position and no-respawn rule	No manual attack/ultimate controls and no copied actor or HUD art	BAT-001, BAT-002
REF-09	Battle observation controls; PROVEN pause, speed, camera and retreat boundary	Small persistent controls around the arena without replacing combat focus	Supports diagnosis and pacing while preserving automation	Pause, 1x/2x/4x, inspect, event log and retreat review remain available; event cause can be pinned	No pointer-only shortcuts or hidden manual targeting	BAT-003..BAT-006
REF-10	Victory report and reward; PROVEN ordinary/boss reports	Outcome appears immediately, unit rows and rewards remain visible, then returns to preparation	Connects battle result to the next build decision	First meaningful divergence precedes totals; losses, returned equipment, fixed reward choices and next Market are explicit	No copied report decoration, reward formula or item identities	OUT-001..OUT-004
REF-11	Game Over and persistent handoff; PROVEN at multiple run terminals	Full-party terminal report, accumulated victories/reward, direct route to persistent spending/title	Failure still advances understanding and long-term breadth	Run summary names exact closure cause, retained Records/Renown, cleared Coin/Credit and legal next actions	No same-battle resurrection claim and no victory-count farming requirement	OUT-005, SYS-003
REF-12	Rune Circle transaction; PROVEN point debit/path illumination, other persistence operations UNKNOWN	Persistent currency header, connected prerequisite paths, selectable node preview, visible cost and unlock boundary	Makes long-term planning spatial and shows progress immediately	Guild Charter uses eight horizontal Region seals, exact prerequisites, cost, future-run effect and breadth-only receipt	No radial graph, copied nodes, raw power, refund/import claims or reference formulas	PRO-002
REF-13	Forge, storage and veteran operation; LOWER_BOUND with one completed consumptive operation	Recipe browser or operation modal over visible inventory/storage; ingredients, target and result reviewed before commit	Keeps production transaction grounded in owned items	Equipment Workbench and Artifact Ledger keep source items, target, behavior delta, conflict and receipt visible	No separate crafting economy until a vertical slice proves it changes decisions; no copied recipes or probabilities	EQP-001, ART-001
REF-14	Tavern retirement/experience recovery; PROVEN_UI_ONLY	Separate between-run surface explains retirement value and redistribution but execution was not observed	Offers a closure sink for veteran value	Generated Company is archived into Records; Guild breadth and Oath eligibility persist without playable Recruit carryover	No retirement XP conversion, irreversible operation, equipment disposal or save claim until independently designed	PRO-003, PST-001
REF-15	Raid, final boss and continue/retire modal; PROVEN final victory and explicit choice	Boss preview precedes a large automatic fight; report and two clear post-victory paths follow	Gives the long run a visible target and respects completion/continuation motives	Sixteenth boss settles first, then Complete the First Chronicle or Open the Oath Season; both archive Company, ordinary New Run remains	No copied Raid page, boss identity, special reward, endless current-Company continuation or retirement wording	RSK-002, BAT-002, PST-001..003

Cross-Surface Option Inventory

The following observed option families are valid structural inputs:

• New Run, Continue, difficulty, mode/law review and safe return;
• recruit, inspect, compare, buy, refresh, lock and selling mode;
• inventory placement, equipment apply, storage inspection and transaction review;
• Tap pickup, Tap destination, optional drag and stable position labels;
• encounter comparison, battle start, pause, speed, inspect and retreat;
• result acknowledgement, reward choice, recovery, Game Over and next run;
• persistent-path inspect, cost preview, prerequisite preview and claim;
• boss preview, final victory, finite completion and continued mastery.

Every adopted option must bind to an Aetherbound transaction and state. A button is rejected if it merely resembles the reference UI or duplicates an existing action without changing player choice.

Layout Acceptance

The HTML reference map must show all 15 rows without embedding commercial media. REF-03, REF-07, REF-08, REF-12, and REF-15 require distinct neutral wireframes plus the actual Aetherbound target composition. Desktop and phone layouts must keep both the observed structure and the original adaptation fully inspectable.

Owner review should answer:

1. Does the Aetherbound Market now preserve enough Company and inventory context?
2. Are three offers comparable without opening three separate pages?
3. Does the battle still read as the payoff of preparation?
4. Is the Guild Charter understandable despite rejecting the radial layout?
5. Does the final choice preserve the motivation of continue versus finish?