Implement Combat discipline branches: Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed with prerequisite chains #230

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opened 2026-03-16 01:40:15 +00:00 by freemo · 0 comments

freemo commented

2026-03-16 01:40:15 +00:00

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Metadata

Key	Value
Parent Epic	#224 — Combat Discipline Tree
Legendary	#198 — Character Progression & Skills
Branch	`feature/m4-combat-discipline-branches`
Commit Message	`feat(skills): implement Combat discipline branches with prerequisite chains`
Points	5
Priority	High
MoSCoW	Must Have

Background and Context

The Combat discipline is the first fully fleshed-out skill tree in Aethyr. It branches from the Combat root node into three primary specializations: Swordplay (blade-based combat techniques), Shield (defensive blocking and bashing), and Unarmed (hand-to-hand fighting). Each of these tier-1 branches requires the player to have reached at least level 1 in the Combat root skill.

These branches form the foundation of the Combat sub-tree and serve as prerequisites for the tier-2 advanced specializations defined in a subsequent issue. The node definitions must be added to conf/skill_trees.yaml under the combat discipline section.

Expected Behavior

YAML Definitions added to conf/skill_trees.yaml under the combat discipline:

combat_branches:
  swordplay:
    name: Swordplay
    discipline: combat
    description: "Mastery of blade-based combat techniques including slashing, thrusting, and parrying."
    tier: 1
    prerequisites:
      - name: combat
        level: 1
    xp_required: 10000
    max_level: 10
  shield:
    name: Shield
    discipline: combat
    description: "Defensive arts focusing on blocking, deflecting, and shield-based counter-attacks."
    tier: 1
    prerequisites:
      - name: combat
        level: 1
    xp_required: 10000
    max_level: 10
  unarmed:
    name: Unarmed
    discipline: combat
    description: "Hand-to-hand fighting techniques including punches, throws, and body conditioning."
    tier: 1
    prerequisites:
      - name: combat
        level: 1
    xp_required: 10000
    max_level: 10

Prerequisite Validation:
- check_unlockable(player) should only list Swordplay, Shield, or Unarmed if the player has Combat >= level 1.
- children_of("combat") should return Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed.
Tree Integrity:
- After loading, SkillTree#validate! should pass with no errors.
- list_by_discipline(:combat) should return Combat (tier 0), Swordplay (tier 1), Shield (tier 1), Unarmed (tier 1).

Acceptance Criteria

Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed nodes are defined in conf/skill_trees.yaml.
Each branch requires combat at level 1 as a prerequisite.
All branches are tier: 1 under the combat discipline.
SkillTreeLoader.load correctly parses and creates all 3 branch nodes.
check_unlockable correctly gates branches behind Combat level 1.
children_of("combat") returns all 3 branches.
list_by_discipline(:combat) returns 4 nodes (root + 3 branches) sorted by tier.
validate! passes with all combat nodes loaded.

Subtasks

Add Swordplay node definition to conf/skill_trees.yaml under the combat discipline.
Add Shield node definition to conf/skill_trees.yaml under the combat discipline.
Add Unarmed node definition to conf/skill_trees.yaml under the combat discipline.
Update SkillTreeLoader if needed to handle nested branch definitions in YAML.
Verify check_unlockable correctly evaluates Combat level 1 prerequisite.
Verify children_of("combat") returns Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed.
Verify list_by_discipline(:combat) returns sorted results.
Run validate! on the loaded tree and confirm no errors.
Docs: Update YARD comments on affected classes and methods. Update relevant Docusaurus documentation pages if applicable.
Tests (Cucumber): Add tests/unit/combat_branches.feature covering branch loading from YAML, prerequisite gating for Combat level 1, children_of traversal, discipline listing with tier sort, tree validation.
Tests (Cucumber Integration): Add integration feature in tests/integration/ for Combat discipline branch loading and prerequisite validation.
Tests (Profiling): Run bundle exec rake unit_profile and verify no performance regressions.
Quality: Verify coverage >=97% via bundle exec rake unit. If coverage is <97% then review the current unit test coverage report at build/tests/unit/coverage/ and use it to write new Cucumber based unit tests to improve code coverage. Specifically, write Cucumber/Gherkin style unit tests that are descriptively named and specifically improve coverage on whichever file has the most uncovered lines by writing tests that will target the uncovered lines in the report. Once that is done rerun bundle exec rake unit to verify all tests pass and coverage is above >=97%. Only mark this as complete once coverage is >=97%, if not repeat this task as many times as is needed until coverage reaches >=97%.
Quality: Run bundle exec rake (default task: unit tests with coverage) and bundle exec rake integration, fix any errors if needed ensuring both pass across entire code base, do not ignore any failure even if it seems unrelated to this commit, fix it.

Definition of Done

This issue is complete when:

All subtasks above are completed and checked off.
A Git commit is created where the first line of the commit message matches the Commit Message in Metadata exactly, followed by a blank line, then additional lines providing relevant details about the implementation.
The commit is pushed to the remote on the branch matching the Branch in Metadata exactly.
The commit is submitted as a pull request to master, reviewed, and merged before this issue is marked done.

## Metadata | Key | Value | |-----|-------| | **Parent Epic** | #224 — Combat Discipline Tree | | **Legendary** | #198 — Character Progression & Skills | | **Branch** | `feature/m4-combat-discipline-branches` | | **Commit Message** | `feat(skills): implement Combat discipline branches with prerequisite chains` | | **Points** | 5 | | **Priority** | High | | **MoSCoW** | Must Have | ## Background and Context The Combat discipline is the first fully fleshed-out skill tree in Aethyr. It branches from the Combat root node into three primary specializations: Swordplay (blade-based combat techniques), Shield (defensive blocking and bashing), and Unarmed (hand-to-hand fighting). Each of these tier-1 branches requires the player to have reached at least level 1 in the Combat root skill. These branches form the foundation of the Combat sub-tree and serve as prerequisites for the tier-2 advanced specializations defined in a subsequent issue. The node definitions must be added to `conf/skill_trees.yaml` under the combat discipline section. ## Expected Behavior 1. **YAML Definitions** added to `conf/skill_trees.yaml` under the `combat` discipline: ```yaml combat_branches: swordplay: name: Swordplay discipline: combat description: "Mastery of blade-based combat techniques including slashing, thrusting, and parrying." tier: 1 prerequisites: - name: combat level: 1 xp_required: 10000 max_level: 10 shield: name: Shield discipline: combat description: "Defensive arts focusing on blocking, deflecting, and shield-based counter-attacks." tier: 1 prerequisites: - name: combat level: 1 xp_required: 10000 max_level: 10 unarmed: name: Unarmed discipline: combat description: "Hand-to-hand fighting techniques including punches, throws, and body conditioning." tier: 1 prerequisites: - name: combat level: 1 xp_required: 10000 max_level: 10 ``` 2. **Prerequisite Validation:** - `check_unlockable(player)` should only list Swordplay, Shield, or Unarmed if the player has Combat >= level 1. - `children_of("combat")` should return Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed. 3. **Tree Integrity:** - After loading, `SkillTree#validate!` should pass with no errors. - `list_by_discipline(:combat)` should return Combat (tier 0), Swordplay (tier 1), Shield (tier 1), Unarmed (tier 1). ## Acceptance Criteria - [ ] Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed nodes are defined in `conf/skill_trees.yaml`. - [ ] Each branch requires `combat` at level 1 as a prerequisite. - [ ] All branches are `tier: 1` under the `combat` discipline. - [ ] `SkillTreeLoader.load` correctly parses and creates all 3 branch nodes. - [ ] `check_unlockable` correctly gates branches behind Combat level 1. - [ ] `children_of("combat")` returns all 3 branches. - [ ] `list_by_discipline(:combat)` returns 4 nodes (root + 3 branches) sorted by tier. - [ ] `validate!` passes with all combat nodes loaded. ## Subtasks - [ ] Add Swordplay node definition to `conf/skill_trees.yaml` under the combat discipline. - [ ] Add Shield node definition to `conf/skill_trees.yaml` under the combat discipline. - [ ] Add Unarmed node definition to `conf/skill_trees.yaml` under the combat discipline. - [ ] Update `SkillTreeLoader` if needed to handle nested branch definitions in YAML. - [ ] Verify `check_unlockable` correctly evaluates Combat level 1 prerequisite. - [ ] Verify `children_of("combat")` returns Swordplay, Shield, Unarmed. - [ ] Verify `list_by_discipline(:combat)` returns sorted results. - [ ] Run `validate!` on the loaded tree and confirm no errors. - [ ] Docs: Update YARD comments on affected classes and methods. Update relevant Docusaurus documentation pages if applicable. - [ ] Tests (Cucumber): Add `tests/unit/combat_branches.feature` covering branch loading from YAML, prerequisite gating for Combat level 1, children_of traversal, discipline listing with tier sort, tree validation. - [ ] Tests (Cucumber Integration): Add integration feature in `tests/integration/` for Combat discipline branch loading and prerequisite validation. - [ ] Tests (Profiling): Run `bundle exec rake unit_profile` and verify no performance regressions. - [ ] Quality: Verify coverage >=97% via `bundle exec rake unit`. If coverage is <97% then review the current unit test coverage report at `build/tests/unit/coverage/` and use it to write new Cucumber based unit tests to improve code coverage. Specifically, write Cucumber/Gherkin style unit tests that are descriptively named and specifically improve coverage on whichever file has the most uncovered lines by writing tests that will target the uncovered lines in the report. Once that is done rerun `bundle exec rake unit` to verify all tests pass and coverage is above >=97%. Only mark this as complete once coverage is >=97%, if not repeat this task as many times as is needed until coverage reaches >=97%. - [ ] Quality: Run `bundle exec rake` (default task: unit tests with coverage) and `bundle exec rake integration`, fix any errors if needed ensuring both pass across **entire** code base, do not ignore any failure even if it seems unrelated to this commit, fix it. ## Definition of Done This issue is complete when: - All subtasks above are completed and checked off. - A Git commit is created where the **first line** of the commit message matches the Commit Message in Metadata exactly, followed by a blank line, then additional lines providing relevant details about the implementation. - The commit is pushed to the remote on the branch matching the **Branch** in Metadata exactly. - The commit is submitted as a **pull request** to `master`, reviewed, and **merged** before this issue is marked done.