# Layerline — UX Flow v0.1

**Status:** provisional; paired with GDD v0.1

## Primary flow

`Launch -> Home -> Chapter Map -> Level -> Completion -> Next Level`

On first launch, Home offers one primary action: **Start**. Returning players see **Continue** and
the next incomplete board. No account, marketing modal, daily reward, or purchase prompt interrupts
the first session.

## Screen inventory

| Screen/state | Required elements | Primary action | Escape/recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boot | logo mark, loading indicator only when needed | automatic | retry local data load |
| Home | Continue/Start, Chapters, Settings | enter next board | no destructive prompt |
| Chapter Map | eight modules, completion counts, locked reason | choose unlocked board | Home |
| Level Intro | rule name and one visual example for first-use rules | Start | Map |
| Playing | board, source/terminal status, level label, undo, restart, pause | preview/flip | undo/restart/pause |
| Paused | Resume, Restart, Settings, Exit | Resume | system back resumes or confirms exit |
| Completed | powered board, Next, Replay, Map | Next | Map |
| Settings | audio, haptics, reduced motion, high contrast, reset progress | save immediately | Back |
| Reset Confirm | exact progress-loss warning | hold to reset | Cancel default |

## Playing interaction

1. Pointer down on an exposed hinge tab enters `previewing`.
2. A ghost shutter shows the destination; prospective covered objects dim; newly exposed objects
   brighten; dashed flow shows the exact after-state.
3. Release on the tab commits. Move away before release cancels without changing state.
4. A committed flip animates, then flow settles. Undo becomes available.
5. When every terminal is live, board controls remain visible until the completion transition.

Illegal or covered hinges are visibly recessed. Touching one pulses the blocker and produces a
soft locked tick; it never changes state.

## Tutorial sequence

- Board 1: one legal flip; teach press, preview, release.
- Board 2: alternate face changes the route; ask the player to predict the lit terminal.
- Board 3: one shutter exposes another while breaking a route; teach the two-consequence rule.
- Text is one short sentence per board and disappears after the demonstrated action.
- Replay Help shows the same interactive examples; tutorials can be reset independently.

## Navigation and persistence

- System back from play opens Pause; system back from Home exits normally.
- Backgrounding saves board ID, state bitset, undo stack, and settings atomically.
- A corrupted or incompatible save falls back to the start of the current board, never a full
  progress reset, and displays a plain recovery message.
- Safe-area insets protect all navigation and hinge targets; the puzzle can scale without cropping.

## Accessibility behavior

- Every powered channel has color, line pattern, and endpoint shape.
- High contrast strengthens trace/background luminance and removes translucent decorative layers.
- Reduced motion replaces flips and power chases with short crossfades.
- Controls expose text labels to platform accessibility APIs; gameplay objects announce state,
  face, legal/blocked status, and connected terminal count.
- Haptics and audio can be disabled independently.

## Error and empty states

- No network: play continues; analytics queue locally.
- No saved progress: Start begins Board 1.
- Chapter complete: return to Map with the next module highlighted, no reward chest.
- All launch boards complete: show Replay Chapters and a simple completion message; never claim
  that more content is available unless it is installed.