Draft blog comeback and catch-up posts

BLOG_QUESTIONS.md

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+# Questions for Blog Post Series
+
+These questions need answers to ensure factual accuracy and proper context for the blog catch-up series.
+
+## Timeline and Major Events
+
+### The "Rewrite" (March 2024)
+**Current understanding:** March 2024 wasn't a "rewrite from scratch" but rather a focused effort to reach LARP-playable product.
+
+**Questions:**
+1. What specifically happened in March 2024? Was it:
+   - A restructuring/refactoring of existing code?
+   - A shift in development priorities/focus?
+   - Removing scope creep to focus on core features?
+   - Something else?
+
+2. What changed about the development approach at that time?
+
+3. Was there any actual "starting over" or was it more "getting back on track"?
+
+4. What PRs or commits mark this transition? (so I can look at what actually changed)
+
+---
+
+### 3D Rendering Removal
+
+**Current understanding:**
+- 3D was for feature parity and wow effect
+- Important for immersion but not as critical as informative UI
+- Reasons for removal: (1) focus effort on critical stuff including assets pipeline, (2) Unity POC with Colyseus polyglot means main screen can be different client
+
+**Questions:**
+1. When was the Unity + Colyseus POC built? Before or after removing the 3D code?
+
+2. Is the Unity client still being developed or is it on hold?
+
+3. What's the plan for the main screen going forward? Will it be:
+   - Unity-based 3D client?
+   - Different technology?
+   - Still TBD?
+
+4. Should the blog post present the 3D removal as:
+   - "We're not doing 3D in the main client, we'll do it as a separate Unity client later"?
+   - "We're deferring 3D until core features are done"?
+   - Something else?
+
+---
+
+## Technical Systems
+
+### Energy/Heat/Coolant System
+**Questions:**
+1. When were these systems actually implemented? (year/month roughly)
+
+2. Were they part of the 2021-2022 prototype or only in the 2024 work?
+
+3. Any specific PRs or commits I should reference?
+
+---
+
+### Missiles and Torpedoes
+**Questions:**
+1. When were missiles implemented?
+
+2. Were they in the original prototype or only recent?
+
+3. Any specific PRs to reference?
+
+---
+
+### Armor System
+**Current understanding:** PRs #1696 and #1733 fixed armor bugs in April 2024
+
+**Questions:**
+1. When was the armor system first implemented (even if buggy)?
+
+2. Was the basic armor concept working before April 2024, just with calculation bugs?
+
+3. Is the Battletech inspiration still accurate to mention?
+
+---
+
+### Bot AI and Autopilot
+**Current understanding:** The "spiral bug" was from June 2022 post
+
+**Questions:**
+1. When did the smart pilot system get implemented?
+
+2. When did the bot orders system (MOVE, ATTACK, FOLLOW) get implemented?
+
+3. PR #1640 (March 2024) - is this when bot AI was added, or is that PR about something else?
+
+---
+
+### Warp, Waypoints, Docking
+**Current understanding:** PR #1753 (May 2024) added waypoints
+
+**Questions:**
+1. When were warp drives implemented?
+
+2. When was docking implemented?
+
+3. Were these all 2024 additions or were some in the earlier prototype?
+
+---
+
+## Development History
+
+### 2021-2022 Prototype
+**Questions:**
+1. What major systems were in the 2021-2022 version? (so I know what was actually "carried forward")
+
+2. What was the state of the project in June 2022 when the blog went silent?
+
+3. Why did development slow down / blog go silent? Was it:
+   - Feeling stuck on technical problems?
+   - Uncertainty about direction?
+   - Life/work getting in the way?
+   - Something else?
+
+---
+
+### Memory Leaks and Technical Debt
+**Current understanding:** PR #1680 (March 2024) fixed memory leaks
+
+**Questions:**
+1. Were there specific incidents that prompted the memory leak fixes? (server crashes, degrading performance?)
+
+2. Was this part of the "March 2024 focus" or unrelated?
+
+---
+
+## Documentation and Testing
+
+### Documentation Effort
+**Questions:**
+1. When were the major docs files (ARCHITECTURE.md, SUBSYSTEMS.md, etc.) written?
+
+2. Was this part of the March 2024 work or spread over time?
+
+3. Who wrote most of the documentation? (team effort or one person's initiative?)
+
+---
+
+### Testing Infrastructure
+**Questions:**
+1. When was Playwright testing added?
+
+2. When were the test harnesses built?
+
+3. Was testing part of the "focus on LARP-playable product" effort?
+
+---
+
+## Current State and Future
+
+### What's Actually Playable Now (Nov 2024)?
+**Questions:**
+1. Can you actually run a LARP event with Starwards today? Or is it "almost there"?
+
+2. What's the biggest blocker to running a real event?
+
+3. Has anyone outside the dev team playtested it?
+
+---
+
+### What's Actually Missing?
+**Current understanding from BLOG_CATCH_UP_PLAN.md:**
+- Corvette-class ships
+- Multiple bridges
+- Advanced damage reports
+- Cyber warfare
+- Point defense / CIWS
+
+**Questions:**
+1. Are there other critical missing features not listed in the plan?
+
+2. What's the #1 priority for next development phase?
+
+3. Is the roadmap in the plan accurate to your thinking?
+
+---
+
+## Open Source and Community
+
+### GitHub and Community
+**Questions:**
+1. When did the repository become public?
+
+2. Have there been any external contributors? Even small PRs?
+
+3. Is there an active Discord? How many members?
+
+4. What's the realistic expectation for community contributions?
+
+---
+
+## Blog Series Meta
+
+### Goals for the Series
+**Questions:**
+1. Primary goal: Re-engage dormant audience, attract new contributors, or both?
+
+2. Target audience: Technical game devs, LARP organizers, general open-source enthusiasts?
+
+3. Tone: Apologetic for silence, matter-of-fact about work done, excited about future? Mix?
+
+---
+
+### Publication Plan
+**Questions:**
+1. Do you want to edit these before publishing or publish as-is after fixes?
+
+2. Should I include placeholder sections like "[SCREENSHOT: armor widget]" where visuals would go?
+
+3. Any posts you want to skip from the series?
+
+4. Any posts you want to add that aren't in the current 10-post plan?
+
+---
+
+## Fact-Checking Specific Claims
+
+Please mark TRUE/FALSE/CLARIFY for each:
+
+1. **Claim:** "Starwards is more complete than it's ever been as of November 2024"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+2. **Claim:** "The rewrite took eight months (March-November 2024)"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+3. **Claim:** "We have comprehensive testing infrastructure with Playwright E2E tests"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+4. **Claim:** "We have Node-RED integration for external scripting"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+5. **Claim:** "The 3D code was deleted in PR #1659"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+6. **Claim:** "All ship systems use the effectiveness formula: `effectiveness = power × coolantFactor × (1 - hacked)`"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+7. **Claim:** "Missiles have 720°/s rotation capacity and 100m proximity detonation"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+8. **Claim:** "The last blog post was June 19, 2022"
+   - [ ] TRUE  [ ] FALSE  [ ] CLARIFY: _______
+
+---
+
+## Additional Context
+
+**Any other context I should know that would help write these posts accurately?**
+
+(Space for freeform answers)

DRAFT_STATUS.md

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+# Blog Draft Status
+
+## What I Fixed
+
+### 1. Voice Documentation (WRITING_STYLE_ANALYSIS.md)
+Added a critical section called "Avoid AI Social Media Content Patterns" that explicitly calls out:
+- No dramatic pacing with artificial tension
+- No extracting drama from mundane decisions
+- No breaking rhythm with short paragraphs for effect
+- No marketing speak formulas
+- No artificial cliffhanger transitions
+
+This should prevent future AI writing from having that slick, mechanical pacing.
+
+### 2. Opening Post (were-back.md)
+**Before:** Full of dramatic tension, "liberating and terrifying" language, false rewrite narrative
+**After:**
+- Straightforward admission of silence
+- Removed false "March 2024 rewrite" story
+- Changed to "shifted focus to reach LARP-playable product"
+- Cut the performative vulnerability
+- More matter-of-fact about what happened and why
+
+### 3. 3D Removal Post (01-letting-go-of-3d.md)
+**Added:**
+- Unity POC context (Colyseus polyglot capability)
+- Explanation that 3D will return as separate Unity client
+- This is deferral, not abandonment
+- Asset pipeline cost (not just code maintenance)
+
+**Removed:**
+- Dramatic opening ("In March 2024, we made a decision that was both liberating and terrifying")
+- "And then we merged it." style one-liners
+- Overly dramatic narration
+
+### 4. Created BLOG_QUESTIONS.md
+Comprehensive list of questions I need answers to for next iteration, organized by topic:
+- Timeline clarifications (what actually happened in March 2024?)
+- Technical system implementation dates
+- Development history
+- Current state assessment
+- Fact-checking specific claims
+
+## What Still Needs Major Work
+
+### Posts with Voice Issues (need de-dramatization)
+
+All the technical posts (02-10) still have the AI social media voice problems:
+- Too many "Here's where it gets interesting..." transitions
+- Short one-line paragraphs for dramatic effect
+- "And that's when we realized..." formula writing
+- Artificial tension building
+
+These need to be rewritten in a more straightforward, matter-of-fact tone.
+
+### Posts with Factual Issues
+
+**Post 9 (The Rewrite)** - This entire post is based on a false premise. Options:
+1. Delete it entirely
+2. Massively rewrite it as "The Focus Shift" or "Reaching for Playable"
+3. Merge its content into other posts
+
+Need your guidance on what actually happened to write this accurately.
+
+**All technical posts (02-08)** - Need to verify:
+- When systems were actually implemented
+- What was in 2021-2022 vs. 2024
+- Specific PR numbers and dates
+- Whether features actually work as described
+
+## What I Need From You
+
+### Priority 1: Answer BLOG_QUESTIONS.md
+This will let me fix factual errors and understand what actually happened.
+
+### Priority 2: Voice Guidance
+After I rewrite with correct facts, I'll need you to check if the voice is closer to yours. I can iterate on this.
+
+### Priority 3: Content Decisions
+- Should I delete Post 9 entirely or rewrite it?
+- Are there posts in the series you don't want?
+- Are there topics missing from the series?
+
+## Remaining Work
+
+1. **Rewrite all technical posts (02-08)** with:
+   - Correct voice (matter-of-fact, not dramatic)
+   - Verified facts from your answers
+   - Proper context and timeline
+
+2. **Fix or delete Post 9** based on your guidance
+
+3. **Verify Post 10** (roadmap/future) is accurate to your thinking
+
+4. **Add placeholder notes** for visuals ("[SCREENSHOT: armor widget here]")
+
+5. **Final voice pass** - you review and I iterate until it sounds like you
+
+## Files Modified
+- `WRITING_STYLE_ANALYSIS.md` - Added "what not to do" section
+- `_drafts/were-back.md` - Fixed voice and removed false rewrite narrative
+- `_drafts/01-letting-go-of-3d.md` - Added Unity POC context, fixed voice
+- `BLOG_QUESTIONS.md` - New file with questions for you
+- `DRAFT_STATUS.md` - This file
+
+## Files Still Needing Work
+- `_drafts/02-engineering-complete.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/03-missiles-torpedoes-explosions.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/04-armor-reborn.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/05-bots-ai-commanders.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/06-navigation-warp-waypoints-docking.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/07-combat-refinements.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/08-developer-experience-revolution.md` - Voice issues
+- `_drafts/09-the-rewrite.md` - Factually wrong, needs major revision or deletion
+- `_drafts/10-state-of-starwards-2025.md` - Needs verification
+
+## Next Steps
+
+Please review:
+1. Are the voice fixes in `were-back.md` and `01-letting-go-of-3d.md` closer to what you want?
+2. Can you answer the questions in `BLOG_QUESTIONS.md`?
+3. Should I proceed with rewriting posts 02-10, or do you want to handle these yourself?