Release 1.1.0 — one config file, and a process weight you choose

`project.yaml` at the repo root is now the single source of truth for a
project's configuration, replacing `production/stage.txt`,
`production/review-mode.txt` and `.claude/docs/technical-preferences.md` (all
three still read as a fallback; nothing is force-deleted).

**`modes.rigor` — one question instead of six.** `minimal`, `standard` or
`full` fronts six knobs: `modes.workflow`, `docs.density`, `qa.level`,
`modes.story_granularity`, `modes.review_mode` and `team.size`. It defaults to
`minimal`, which is a change from 1.0's behaviour: the heavier tier was
measured costing several times more to reach working code without producing a
better result, and returning nothing when a fresh developer inherited the
project. Pin `modes.rigor: standard` to keep 1.0's process level.

Also in this release:

- `/settings` to view or change any setting, and `project.local.yaml` for
  per-developer preferences that should not be committed.
- `system_overrides` to hold one system to a higher standard than the rest of
  the project, and `testing.strict` to set per test type whether missing
  evidence blocks a story or warns.
- A story that changes anything the player sees is not closed until the game
  has been launched, observed, and a screenshot retained in
  `production/qa/evidence/`. A parse check is not a run. This holds at every
  rigor level, including `minimal`, where automated tests are waived but the
  look is not.
- The code root is engine-specific and enforced as such: Godot `src/`, Unity
  `Assets/`, Unreal `Source/<Module>/`. Two of the three will not build a
  project laid out any other way.
- Migration tooling for existing projects: `.claude/scripts/migrate-v1-config.sh`
  converts a 1.0 layout, non-destructively by default, with a report to review
  before `--finalize` deletes anything.
- Ask-before-write holds regardless of personal automation settings.

Upgrading from 1.0 or earlier: see UPGRADING.md. Full list of changes:
CHANGELOG.md.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_016xvzG3i7pWQg4LjyDwWMXd

.claude/skills/team-narrative/SKILL.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 ---
 name: team-narrative
-description: "Orchestrate the narrative team: coordinates narrative-director, writer, world-builder, and level-designer to create cohesive story content, world lore, and narrative-driven level design."
+description: "Orchestrate the narrative team — narrative-director, writer, world-builder, level-designer — for story, world lore, narrative-driven levels."
 argument-hint: "[narrative content description] [--review full|lean|solo]"
 user-invocable: true
-allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit, Task, AskUserQuestion, TodoWrite
+allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit, Agent, AskUserQuestion, TaskCreate, TaskGet, TaskList, TaskUpdate
 model: sonnet
 ---
 If no argument is provided, output usage guidance and exit without spawning any agents:
@@ -14,20 +14,58 @@ When this skill is invoked with an argument, orchestrate the narrative team thro
 **Decision Points:** At each phase transition, use `AskUserQuestion` to present
 the user with the subagent's proposals as selectable options. Write the agent's
 full analysis in conversation, then capture the decision with concise labels.
-The user must approve before moving to the next phase.
+In `collaborative` mode, the user must approve before moving to the next phase.
+In `guided` mode the pipeline advances automatically unless a phase is BLOCKED;
+in `autonomous` mode it runs end to end, recording each phase outcome via
+`log_decision`. Decisions in `automation_always_ask` categories
+(`is_always_ask_category` helper) always prompt regardless of mode. See
+`.claude/docs/automation-modes.md`.
 
-## Phase 0: Resolve Review Mode
+## Phase 0: Resolve Config
 
-1. If `--review [mode]` was passed as an argument, use that mode.
-2. Else read `production/review-mode.txt` — use whatever is written there.
-3. Else default to `lean`.
+!`source "${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-.}/.claude/hooks/yaml-helper.sh" 2>/dev/null && resolve_config --keys review_mode,automation,team.size`
 
-Modes:
+Resolved above — use as-is; `--review` overrides `review_mode`. No block →
+defaults in `.claude/docs/config-resolution.md`.
+
+`review_mode` sets gate depth:
 - `full` — spawn all director and lead gates as described
 - `lean` — skip director gates unless they are PHASE-GATE type (CD-PHASE-GATE, TD-PHASE-GATE, PR-PHASE-GATE, AD-PHASE-GATE)
 - `solo` — skip all director gate spawning entirely; run the skill without any agent gates
 
-Store the resolved mode for use in all subsequent phases.
+`automation` drives the Decision Points note above. See the Decision Points note above and
+`.claude/docs/automation-modes.md` for how each mode changes pipeline behavior.
+
+**`team.size`**: which agents are active (orthogonal to review_mode gate-depth and workflow docs).
+- **`individual`** (default): `writer` only; `narrative-director` invoked only on an explicit pillar conflict. Other agents consulted via the writer, not spawned separately.
+- **`small`**: `narrative-director` + `writer` + (per review_mode) `localization-lead`, `world-builder`.
+- **`studio`**: all narrative agents active + per-system writer reviews.
+Directors (CD/TD/PR) still spawn at phase gates regardless of size; a non-core agent needed at `individual` routes through the nearest active core agent with an informational note. **"Phase gate" means any phase that ends in an `AskUserQuestion` decision point before the pipeline advances** — not every phase. Apply the test literally: if the phase below has no decision point, it is not a gate, and an agent restricted to "phase gates only" is not spawned for it. This active-set scoping applies throughout the pipeline below: any phase that names an agent outside the active set routes through the nearest core agent rather than spawning it.
+
+**Announce the active set before Phase 1 — never let the collapse be silent.**
+Before spawning anything, state in one line which agents this run will actually
+spawn, and which the pipeline below names but will **not** spawn at the resolved
+`team.size`. For example:
+
+> `Active set (team.size: <resolved>): <the agents listed for that size above>.`
+> `Not spawned this run: <every other agent this pipeline names> — consulted`
+> `through <nearest active core agent>. Raise team.size (or modes.rigor) to widen.`
+
+Fill it from the `team.size` list directly above and the agents this file's own
+pipeline names — not from an example. Both sets differ per orchestrator.
+
+The pipeline below reads as a multi-agent fan-out and at the shipped default it
+is one or two agents — `team-release` names eight and runs one, `team-narrative`
+names six across five phases and runs `writer` alone. **The collapse is correct**:
+`team.size` is rigor-fronted and the narrow default is the token lever, measured
+at roughly 10x. What was wrong is that nothing said so, so a reader could not
+distinguish a correctly-collapsed run from a broken pipeline, and the per-agent
+"routes through the nearest core agent with an informational note" rule above
+fires at routing time and never states the shape of the run as a whole.
+
+This is the same rule as the skipped-check reporting elsewhere in this file: **a constraint that is enforced but never surfaced is
+indistinguishable, to the person reading the output, from one that was never
+enforced.**
 
 ## Team Composition
 - **narrative-director** — Story arcs, character design, dialogue strategy, narrative vision
@@ -39,7 +77,7 @@ Store the resolved mode for use in all subsequent phases.
 
 ## How to Delegate
 
-Use the Task tool to spawn each team member as a subagent:
+Use the `Agent` tool to spawn each team member as a subagent:
 - `subagent_type: narrative-director` — Story arcs, character design, narrative vision
 - `subagent_type: writer` — Dialogue writing, lore entries, in-game text
 - `subagent_type: world-builder` — World rules, faction design, history, geography
@@ -47,7 +85,33 @@ Use the Task tool to spawn each team member as a subagent:
 - `subagent_type: level-designer` — Level layouts that serve the narrative, pacing
 - `subagent_type: localization-lead` — Localization readiness — flags non-localizable strings, cultural assumptions, and i18n gaps
 
-Always provide full context in each agent's prompt (narrative brief, lore dependencies, character profiles). Launch independent agents in parallel where the pipeline allows it (e.g., Phase 2 agents can run simultaneously).
+**Brief each agent — do not dump context.** Read the shared inputs **once** and pass a distilled brief inline: the lines each agent actually needs, never a file path for a document you have already read (an agent handed a path re-reads the whole file). Pass a path only for a document you have not read and only that agent needs.
+
+**End every agent prompt with a return contract:** "Write your full output to `[path]` — that named path is your write authorisation under the bounded exception below, so write it without a separate approval prompt. Return **only** (1) the path written, (2) a ≤5-bullet summary of decisions, (3) any BLOCKED/CONCERNS items, one line each. Do not restate the documents you read." Without it, an agent returns everything it read back into this session.
+
+**Substitute a real path for `[path]` — this skill's destination is
+`design/narrative/`.** Name it per agent, one file each:
+
+| Agent | Writes to |
+|---|---|
+| narrative-director | `design/narrative/[content-slug]-brief.md` |
+| world-builder | `design/narrative/lore/[topic].md` |
+| writer | `design/narrative/dialogue/[scene-slug].md` |
+| art-director | `design/narrative/[content-slug]-visual-direction.md` |
+
+> **The destination is not a free choice.** `design/narrative/` is read by
+> `/asset-spec`, `/design-review`, `/localize`, `/onboard`,
+> `/project-stage-detect`, `/team-level` and the `cd-narrative` director gate.
+> An artifact written anywhere else is invisible to all seven.
+>
+> The `[path]` contract above has a precondition: the path is one *you* named. A
+> skill that states the contract but names no concrete destination leaves every
+> run to invent one, which defeats it. `/team-qa` Phase 4 carries the same
+> requirement for the same reason.
+
+> **Why this does not violate the Collaboration Protocol.** `CLAUDE.md` requires an agent to ask "May I write this to [filepath]?" before Write/Edit. A subagent spawned here writes **without** asking, and that is a deliberate, bounded exception rather than an oversight — the same call already made for `consistency-check` appending to `active.md`. The exception holds only when all three are true: (1) the path is one **you** named in the prompt, so the user approved the destination when they approved the phase; (2) it is a new artifact under `production/`, `docs/` or `tests/`, never an edit to existing source or config; (3) the phase that produced it is itself gated by an `AskUserQuestion` before the pipeline advances. Outside those three, the agent must ask. **Do not "fix" this by asking per subagent** — a prompt per agent per phase makes an orchestrator unusable, which is why the exception exists.
+
+Launch independent agents in parallel where the pipeline allows it (e.g., Phase 2 agents can run simultaneously).
 
 ## Pipeline
 
@@ -60,11 +124,17 @@ Delegate to **narrative-director**:
 - Output: narrative brief with story requirements
 
 ### Phase 2: World Foundation (parallel)
-Delegate in parallel — issue all three Task calls simultaneously before waiting for any result:
+Delegate in parallel — issue all three `Agent` calls simultaneously before waiting for any result:
 - **world-builder**: Create or update lore entries for factions, locations, and history relevant to this content. Cross-reference against existing lore for contradictions. Set canon level for new entries.
 - **writer**: Draft character dialogue using voice profiles. Ensure all lines are under 120 characters, use named placeholders for variables, and are localization-ready.
 - **art-director**: Define character visual design direction for key characters appearing in this content (silhouette, visual archetype, distinguishing features). Specify environmental visual storytelling elements for each key space (prop composition, lighting notes, spatial arrangement). Define tone palette and cinematic direction for any cutscenes or scripted sequences.
 
+**Phase gate:** collect all three Phase 2 outputs, then apply the Decision Points
+rule before starting Phase 3 — present the lore, dialogue, and visual direction
+summaries and capture approval via `AskUserQuestion` in `collaborative` mode
+(auto-advance in `guided` unless a result is BLOCKED; `log_decision` in
+`autonomous`).
+
 ### Phase 3: Level Narrative Integration
 Delegate to **level-designer**:
 - Review the narrative brief and lore foundation
@@ -87,15 +157,17 @@ Delegate in parallel:
 
 ## Error Recovery Protocol
 
-If any spawned agent (via Task) returns BLOCKED, errors, or cannot complete:
+**First, verify the artifact.** If the return contract named a path, check the
+path exists before treating the phase as done — **a named artifact that is not
+on disk is a failed phase, however fluent the response reads.** An agent can
+burn a full phase and return a plausible preamble having written nothing, which
+is neither BLOCKED nor an error nor "cannot complete", so the trigger below
+never fires. Resume it naming the unmet contract; the context is
+usually still there.
 
-1. **Surface immediately**: Report "[AgentName]: BLOCKED — [reason]" to the user before continuing to dependent phases
-2. **Assess dependencies**: Check whether the blocked agent's output is required by subsequent phases. If yes, do not proceed past that dependency point without user input.
-3. **Offer options** via AskUserQuestion with choices:
-   - Skip this agent and note the gap in the final report
-   - Retry with narrower scope
-   - Stop here and resolve the blocker first
-4. **Always produce a partial report** — output whatever was completed. Never discard work because one agent blocked.
+If any spawned agent returns BLOCKED, errors, or cannot complete: **surface it
+immediately, don't proceed past a dependency it blocks, and always produce a
+partial report.** Full procedure: `.claude/docs/error-recovery-protocol.md`.
 
 Common blockers:
 - Input file missing (story not found, GDD absent) → redirect to the skill that creates it
@@ -106,8 +178,12 @@ Common blockers:
 ## File Write Protocol
 
 All file writes (narrative docs, dialogue files, lore entries) are delegated to
-sub-agents spawned via Task. Each sub-agent enforces the "May I write to [path]?"
-protocol. This orchestrator does not write files directly.
+sub-agents spawned via `Agent`. Those writes follow the **bounded exception**
+documented above under "Why this does not violate the Collaboration Protocol" —
+the path is one you named, the artifact is new under `production/`, `docs/` or
+`tests/`, and the phase is gated by an `AskUserQuestion`. A sub-agent does **not**
+prompt per write inside those bounds; outside them it must ask. This orchestrator
+does not write files directly.
 
 ## Output