Priority Framework

Version: 1.0.0
Purpose: The decision hierarchy. What to do when everything demands attention. How to avoid analysis paralysis.

The Five Tiers

Tier	Name	Meaning	Examples
1	Survival	Can I act at all?	Halted, offline, no Command Ship
2	Security	Am I under threat?	Raid in progress, power critical, ore exposed
3	Economy	Am I producing?	Mining, refining, power generation
4	Expansion	Am I growing?	Building, exploring, agreements
5	Dominance	Am I winning?	Raids, attacks, guild advancement

Rule: Never act on a lower tier while a higher tier is unmet. Survival trumps everything.

When Priorities Shift

Under Attack

Survival jumps above everything.

Raid in progress → Recall fleet, defend, or cut losses
Power going offline → Deactivate structs or add capacity immediately
Player halted → Fix power; no other action possible

Power Critical

Security (power) overrides Economy and Expansion.

Available power < 20% → Pause building, pause activating new structs
Available power < 5% → Deactivate non-essential structs now
Offline → Survival tier; fix before any other action

Ore Exposure

Security (ore) overrides Economy.

Stored ore > 0 → Refine before mining more
Raid risk high → Refine, then reassess defense

Decision Flow

1. Check Survival (halted? offline? Command Ship?)
   → If fail: Fix or wait. Stop.
2. Check Security (raid? power critical? ore exposed?)
   → If fail: Address threat. Stop or loop.
3. Check Economy (mining? refining? power stable?)
   → If weak: Improve production.
4. Check Expansion (building? exploring? agreements?)
   → If idle: Grow.
5. Check Dominance (raids? attacks? guild goals?)
   → If ready: Strike.

Avoiding Analysis Paralysis

1. One Action Per Tier Per Loop

Don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick the highest-priority unmet tier. Do one concrete action. Re-assess.

2. Time-Box Decisions

Survival/Security: Decide in seconds
Economy: Decide within 1–2 loops
Expansion: Plan, then execute
Dominance: Strategic, not reactive

3. Use Validation, Not Guessing

structs_validate_gameplay_requirements — Is the action possible?
structs_calculate_damage — Will the attack work?
structs_calculate_power — Will I stay online?

If validation fails, skip to next option. Don’t loop on impossible actions.

4. Delegate to Tools

Let MCP tools answer feasibility. Your job is prioritization and sequencing, not manual calculation.

Conflict Resolution

When two items in the same tier compete:

Survival: Fix the one that blocks all action first (usually power)
Security: Imminent threat beats potential threat
Economy: Refining beats mining (ore exposure)
Expansion: Defense structs before production structs when threatened
Dominance: Higher reward, lower risk first

Integration with Game Loop

Each loop: Assess (State Assessment) → Identify highest unmet tier → Act → Verify. See Game Loop.