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D068: Selective Installation & Content Footprints

Decision Capsule (LLM/RAG Summary)

  • Status: Accepted
  • Phase: Phase 4 (official pack partitioning + prompts), Phase 5 (fingerprint split + CLI workflows), Phase 6a (Installed Content Manager UI), Phase 6b (smart recommendations)
  • Canonical for: Selective installs, install profiles, optional media packs, and gameplay-vs-presentation compatibility fingerprinting
  • Scope: package manifests, VirtualNamespace/D062 integration, Workshop/base content install UX, Settings → Data content manager, creator validation/publish checks
  • Decision: IC supports player-facing install profiles and optional content packs so players can keep only the content they care about (e.g., MP/skirmish only, campaign core without FMV/music) while preserving a complete playable experience for installed features.
  • Why: Storage constraints, bandwidth constraints, different player priorities, and a no-dead-end UX that installs missing content on demand instead of forcing monolithic installs.
  • Non-goals: Separate executables per mode, mandatory campaign media, or a monolithic “all content only” install model.
  • Invariants preserved: D062 logical mod composition stays separate from D068 physical installation selection; D049 CAS remains the storage foundation; missing optional media must never break campaign progression.
  • Defaults / UX behavior: Features stay clickable; missing content opens install guidance; campaign media is optional with fallback briefing/subtitles/ambient behavior.
  • Compatibility / Export impact: Lobbies/ranked use a gameplay fingerprint as the hard gate; media/remaster/voice packs are presentation fingerprint scope unless they change gameplay.
  • AI remaster media policy: AI-enhanced cutscene packs are optional presentation variants (Original / Clean / AI-Enhanced), clearly labeled, provenance-aware, and never replacements for the canonical originals.
  • Public interfaces / types / commands: manifest install metadata + optional dependencies/fallbacks, ic content list, ic content apply-profile, ic content install/remove, ic mod gc
  • Affected docs: src/17-PLAYER-FLOW.md, src/decisions/09e-community.md, src/decisions/09g-interaction.md, src/04-MODDING.md, src/decisions/09f-tools.md
  • Revision note summary: Clarified in March 2026 that media language capability and fallback policy are canonical package/import-index metadata, not merely properties of an individual media container. Explicitly rejects creating a custom low-level AV container for this purpose.
  • Keywords: selective install, install profiles, campaign core, optional media, cutscene variants, presentation fingerprint, installed content manager

Decision: Support selective installation of game content through content install profiles and optional content packs, while preserving a complete playable experience for installed features. Campaign gameplay content is separable from campaign media (music, voice, cutscenes). Missing optional media must degrade to designer-authored fallbacks (text, subtitles, static imagery, or silence/ambient), never a hard failure.

Why this matters: Players have different priorities and constraints:

  • Some only want multiplayer + skirmish
  • Some want campaigns but not high-footprint media packs
  • Some play on storage-constrained systems (older laptops, handhelds, small SSDs)
  • Some have bandwidth constraints and want staged downloads

IC already has the technical foundation for this (D062 virtual namespace + D049 content-addressed storage). D068 makes it a first-class player-facing workflow instead of an accidental side effect of package modularity.

Core Model: Installed Content Is a Capability Set

D062 defines what content is active (mod profile + virtual namespace). D068 adds a separate concern: what content is physically installed locally.

These are distinct:

  • Mod profile (D062): “What should be active for this play session?”
  • Install profile (D068): “What categories of content do I keep on disk?”

A player can have a mod profile that references campaign media they do not currently have installed. The engine resolves this via optional dependencies + fallbacks + install prompts.

Install Profiles (Player-Facing, Space-Saving)

An install profile is a local, player-facing content selection preset focused on disk footprint and feature availability.

Examples:

  • Minimal Multiplayer — core game module + skirmish + multiplayer maps + essential UI/audio
  • Campaign Core — campaign maps/scripts/briefings/dialogue text, no FMV/music/voice media packs
  • Campaign Full — campaign core + optional media packs (music/cutscenes/voice)
  • Classic Full — base game + classic media + standard assets
  • Custom — player picks exactly which packs to keep

Install profiles are separate from D062 mod profiles because they solve a different problem: storage and download scope, not gameplay composition.

Content Pack Types

Game content is split into installable packs with explicit dependency semantics:

  1. Core runtime packs (required for the selected game module)
    • Rules, scripts, base assets, UI essentials, core maps needed for menu/shellmap/skirmish baseline
  2. Mode packs
    • Campaign mission data (maps/scripts/briefing text)
    • Skirmish map packs
    • Tutorial/Commander School
  3. Presentation/media packs (optional)
    • Music
    • Cutscenes / FMV
    • Cutscene remaster variants (e.g., original / clean remaster / AI-enhanced remaster)
    • Voice-over packs (per language)
    • HD art packs / optional presentation packs
  4. Creator tooling packs
    • SDK/editor remains separately distributed (D040), but its downloadable dependencies can use the same installability metadata

Package Manifest Additions (Installability Metadata)

Workshop/base packages gain installability metadata so the client can reason about optionality and disk usage:

# manifest.yaml (conceptual additions)
install:
  category: campaign_media          # core | campaign_core | campaign_media | skirmish_maps | voice_pack | hd_assets | ...
  default_install: false            # true for required baseline packs
  optional: true                    # false = required when referenced
  size_bytes_estimate: 842137600    # shown in install UI before download
  feature_tags: [campaign, cutscene, music]

dependencies:
  required:
    - id: "official/ra1-campaign-core"
      version: "^1.0"
  optional:
    - id: "official/ra1-cutscenes"
      version: "^1.0"
      provides: [campaign_cutscenes]
    - id: "official/ra1-music-classic"
      version: "^1.0"
      provides: [campaign_music]

fallbacks:
  # Declares acceptable degradation paths if optional dependency missing
  campaign_cutscenes: text_briefing
  campaign_music: silence_or_ambient
  voice_lines: subtitles_only

The exact manifest schema can evolve, but the semantics are fixed:

  • required dependencies block use until installed
  • optional dependencies unlock enhancements
  • fallback policy defines how gameplay proceeds when optional content is absent

Cutscene Variant Packs (Original / Clean / AI-Enhanced)

D068 explicitly supports multiple presentation variants of the same campaign cutscene set as separate optional packs.

Examples:

  • official/ra1-cutscenes-original (canonical source-preserving package)
  • official/ra1-cutscenes-clean-remaster (traditional restoration: deinterlace/cleanup/color/audio work)
  • official/ra1-cutscenes-ai-enhanced (generative restoration/upscaling/interpolation workflow where quality and rights permit)

Design rules:

  • Original assets are never replaced by AI-enhanced variants; they remain installable/selectable.
  • Variant packs are presentation-only and must not alter mission scripting, timing logic, or gameplay data.
  • AI-enhanced variants must be clearly labeled in install UI and settings (AI Enhanced, Experimental, or equivalent policy wording).
  • Campaign flow must remain valid if none of the variant packs are installed (D068 fallback rules still apply).
  • Variant selection is a player preference, not a multiplayer compatibility gate.

This lets IC support preservation-first users, storage-constrained users, and “best possible remaster” users without fragmenting campaign logic or installs.

Voice-Over Variant Packs (Language / Style / Mix)

D068 explicitly supports multiple voice-over variants as optional presentation packs and player preferences, similar to cutscene variants but with per-category selection.

Examples:

  • official/ra1-voices-original-en (canonical English EVA/unit responses)
  • official/ra1-voices-localized-he (Hebrew localized voice pack where rights/content permit)
  • official/ra1-voices-eva-classic (classic EVA style pack)
  • official/ra1-voices-eva-remastered (alternate EVA style/tone pack)
  • community/modx-voices-faction-overhaul (mod-specific presentation voice pack)

Design rules:

  • Voice-over variants are presentation-only unless they alter gameplay timing/logic (they should not).
  • Voice-over selection is a player preference, not a multiplayer compatibility gate.
  • Preferences may be configured per category, with at minimum:
    • eva_voice
    • unit_responses
    • campaign_dialogue_voice
    • cutscene_dub_voice (where dubbed audio variants exist)
  • A selected category may use:
    • Auto (follow display/subtitle language and content availability),
    • a specific language/style variant,
    • or Off where the category supports text/subtitle fallback.
  • Missing preferred voice variants must fall back predictably (see D068 fallback rules below) and never block mission/campaign progression.

This allows players to choose a preferred language, nostalgia-first/classic voice style, or alternate voice presentation while preserving shared gameplay compatibility.

Media Language Capability Matrix (Cutscenes / Dubs / Subtitles / Closed Captions)

D068 requires media packages that participate in campaign/cutscene playback to expose enough language metadata for clients to choose a safe fallback path.

At minimum, the content system must be able to reason about:

  • available cutscene audio/dub languages
  • available subtitle languages
  • available closed-caption languages
  • translation source/trust labeling (human / machine / hybrid)
  • coverage (full vs partial, and/or per-track completeness)

This metadata may live in D049 Workshop package manifests/index summaries and/or local import indexes, but the fallback semantics are defined here in D068.

Player preference model (minimum):

  • primary spoken-voice preference (per category, see voice-over variants above)
  • primary subtitle/CC language
  • optional secondary subtitle/CC fallback language
  • original-audio fallback preference when preferred dub is unavailable
  • optional machine-translated subtitle/CC fallback toggle (see phased rollout below)

This prevents the common failure mode where a cutscene pack exists but does not support the player’s preferred language, and the client has no deterministic fallback behavior.

Canonical Ownership Of Media Language Metadata

The language capability matrix above is canonical package-level metadata.

That metadata may be populated from multiple sources:

  • Workshop manifests / D049 package indexes
  • local import indexes
  • embedded track metadata discovered during import from formats such as Matroska/WebM or Ogg Skeleton

But the canonical authority for IC behavior remains the package/import-index layer, not the raw container alone.

Why:

  • a player may install separate subtitle, dub, or voice packs
  • one campaign may expose multiple cutscene variants with different coverage
  • translation trust labels and coverage are IC product metadata, not generic container concepts
  • fallback decisions must remain deterministic even when media is split across multiple files/resources

Therefore:

  • embedded container metadata is advisory import input
  • package/import-index metadata is authoritative runtime policy
  • IC does not introduce a custom low-level AV container to solve this; composability lives at the package/resource layer instead

Optional Media Must Not Break Campaign Flow

This is the central rule.

If a player installs “Campaign Core” but not media packs:

  • Cutscene missing → show briefing/intermission fallback (text, portrait, static image, or radar comm text)
  • Music missing → use silence, ambient loop, or module fallback
  • Voice missing → subtitles/closed captions/text remain available

Campaign progression, mission completion, and save/load must continue normally.

If multiple cutscene variants are installed (Original / Clean / AI-Enhanced), the client uses the player’s preferred variant. If the preferred variant is unavailable for a specific cutscene, the client falls back to another installed variant (preferably Original, then Clean, then other configured fallback) before dropping to text/briefing fallback.

If multiple voice-over variants are installed, the client applies the player’s per-category voice preference. If the preferred voice variant is unavailable for a line/category, the client falls back to:

  1. another installed variant in the same category/language preference chain,
  2. another installed compatible category default (e.g. default EVA pack),
  3. text/subtitle/closed-caption presentation (for categories that support it),
  4. silence/none (only where explicitly allowed by the category policy).

For cutscenes/dialogue language support, the fallback chain must distinguish audio, subtitles, and closed captions:

  1. preferred dub audio + preferred subtitle/CC language,
  2. original audio + preferred subtitle/CC language,
  3. original audio + secondary subtitle/CC language (if configured),
  4. original audio + machine-translated subtitle/CC fallback (optional, clearly labeled, if user enabled and available),
  5. briefing/intermission/text fallback,
  6. skip cutscene (never block progression).

Machine-translated subtitle/CC fallback is an optional, clearly labeled presentation feature. It is deferred to M11 (P-Optional) after M9.COM.D049_FULL_WORKSHOP_CAS, M9.COM.WORKSHOP_MANIFEST_SIGNING_AND_PROVENANCE, and M10.SDK.LOCALIZATION_PLUGIN_HARDENING; it is not part of the M6.SP.MEDIA_VARIANTS_AND_FALLBACKS baseline. Validation trigger: labeled machine-translation metadata/trust tags, user opt-in UX, and fallback-safe campaign path tests in M11 platform/content polish.

This aligns with IC’s existing media/cinematic tooling philosophy (D038): media enriches the experience but should not be a hidden gameplay dependency unless a creator explicitly marks a mission as requiring a specific media pack (and Publish validation surfaces that requirement).

Install-Time and Runtime UX (No Dead Ends)

The player-facing rule follows 17-PLAYER-FLOW.md § “No Dead-End Buttons”:

  • Features remain clickable even if supporting content is not installed
  • Clicking opens a guidance/install panel with:
    • what is missing
    • why it matters
    • size estimate
    • one-click choices (minimal vs full)

Examples:

  • Clicking Campaign without campaign core installed:
    • Install Campaign Core (Recommended)
    • Install Full Campaign (Includes Music + Cutscenes)
    • Manage Content
  • Starting a mission that references an optional cutscene pack not installed:
    • non-blocking banner: “Optional cutscene pack not installed — using briefing fallback”
    • action button: Download Cutscene Pack
  • Selecting AI Enhanced Cutscenes in Settings when the pack is not installed:
    • guidance panel: Install AI Enhanced Cutscene Pack / Use Original Cutscenes / Use Briefing Fallback
  • Starting a cutscene where the selected dub language is unavailable:
    • non-blocking prompt: No Hebrew dub for this cutscene. Use English audio + Hebrew subtitles?
    • options: Use Original Audio + Subtitles / Use Secondary Subtitle Language / Use Briefing Fallback
    • optional toggle (if enabled in later phases): Allow Machine-Translated Subtitles for Missing Languages

First-Run Setup Wizard Integration (D069)

D068 is the content-planning model used by the D069 First-Run Setup Wizard.

Wizard rules:

  • The setup wizard presents D068 install presets during first-run setup and maintenance re-entry.
  • Wizard default preset is Full Install (player-facing default chosen for D069), with visible one-click alternatives (Campaign Core, Minimal Multiplayer, Custom).
  • The wizard must show size estimates and feature summaries before starting transfers/downloads.
  • The wizard may select a preset automatically in Quick Setup, but the player can switch before committing.
  • Any wizard selection remains fully reversible later through Settings → Data (Installed Content Manager).

This keeps first-run setup fast while preserving D068’s space-saving flexibility.

Owned Proprietary Source Import (Remastered / GOG / EA Installs)

D068 supports install plans that are satisfied by a mix of:

  • local owned-source imports (proprietary assets detected by D069, such as the C&C Remastered Collection),
  • open/free sources (OpenRA assets, community packs where rights permit), and
  • Workshop/official package downloads.

Rules:

  • Out-of-the-box Remastered import: D069 must support importing/extracting Red Alert assets from a detected Remastered Collection install without requiring manual path wrangling or external conversion tools.
  • Read-only source installs: IC treats detected proprietary installs as read-only sources. D069 imports/extracts into IC-managed storage and indexes; repair/rebuild actions target IC-managed data, not the original game install.
  • No implicit redistribution: Imported proprietary assets remain local content. D068 install profiles may reference them, but this does not imply Workshop mirroring or publish rights.
  • Provenance visibility: Installed Content Manager and D069 maintenance flows should show which content comes from owned local imports vs downloaded packages, so players understand what can be repaired locally vs re-downloaded.

This preserves the easy player experience (“use my Remastered install”) without weakening D049/D037 provenance and redistribution rules.

Implementation detail and sequencing are specified in 05-FORMATS.md § “Owned-Source Import & Extraction Pipeline (D069/D068/D049, Format-by-Format)” and the execution-overlay G1.x / G21.x substeps.

Multiplayer Compatibility: Gameplay vs Presentation Fingerprints

Selective install introduces a compatibility trap: a player missing music/cutscenes should not fail multiplayer compatibility if gameplay content is identical.

D068 resolves this by splitting namespace compatibility into two fingerprints:

  • Gameplay fingerprint — rules, scripts, maps, gameplay-affecting assets/data
  • Presentation fingerprint — optional media/presentation-only packs (music, cutscenes, voice, HD art when not gameplay-significant)

Lobby compatibility and ranked verification use the gameplay fingerprint as the hard gate. The presentation fingerprint is informational (and may affect cosmetics only).

AI-enhanced cutscene packs are explicitly presentation fingerprint scope unless they introduce gameplay-significant content (which they should not). Voice-over variant packs (language/style/category variants) are also presentation fingerprint scope unless they alter gameplay-significant timing/data (which they should not).

If a pack changes gameplay-relevant data, it belongs in gameplay fingerprint scope — not presentation.

Player configuration profiles (player-config, D049) are outside both fingerprint classes. They are local client preferences (bindings, accessibility, HUD/layout/QoL presets), never lobby-required resources, and must not affect multiplayer/ranked compatibility checks.

Storage Efficiency (D049 CAS + D062 Namespace)

Selective installs become practical because IC already uses content-addressed storage and virtual namespace resolution:

  • CAS deduplication (D049) avoids duplicate storage across packs/mods/versions
  • Namespace resolution (D062) allows missing optional content to be handled at lookup time with explicit fallback behavior
  • GC (ic mod gc) reclaims unreferenced blobs when packs are removed

This means “install campaign without cutscenes/music” is not a special mode — it’s just a different install profile + pack set.

Settings / Content Manager Requirements

The game’s Settings/Data area includes an Installed Content Manager:

  • active install profile (Minimal Multiplayer, Campaign Core, Custom, etc.)
  • pack list with size, installed/not installed status
  • per-pack purpose labels (Gameplay required, Optional media, Language voice pack)
  • media variant groups (e.g., Cutscenes: Original / Clean / AI-Enhanced, EVA Voice: Classic / Remastered / Localized) with preferred variant selection
  • language capability badges and labels for media packs (Audio, Subs, CC, translation source/trust label, coverage)
  • voice-over category preference controls (or link-out to Settings → Audio) for EVA, Unit Responses, and campaign/cutscene dialogue voice where available
  • reclaimable space estimate before uninstall
  • one-click switches between install presets
  • “keep gameplay, remove media” shortcut

D069 Maintenance Wizard Handoff

The Installed Content Manager is the long-lived management surface; D069 provides the guided entry points and recovery flow.

  • D069 (“Modify Installation”) can launch directly into a preset-switch or pack-selection step using the same D068 data model.
  • D069 (“Repair & Verify”) can branch into checksum verification, metadata/index rebuild, source re-scan, and reclaim-space actions, then return to the Installed Content Manager summary.
  • Missing-content guidance panels (D033 no-dead-end behavior) should offer both:
    • a quick one-click install action, and
    • Open Modify Installation for the full D069 maintenance flow

D068 intentionally avoids duplicating wizard mechanics; it defines the content semantics the wizard and the Installed Content Manager share.

CLI / Automation (for power users and packs)

# List installed/available packs and sizes
ic content list

# Apply a local install profile preset
ic content apply-profile minimal-multiplayer

# Install campaign core without media
ic content install official/ra1-campaign-core

# Add optional media later
ic content install official/ra1-cutscenes official/ra1-music-classic

# Remove optional packs and reclaim space
ic content remove official/ra1-cutscenes official/ra1-music-classic
ic mod gc

CLI naming can change, but the capability should exist for scripted setups, LAN cafes, and low-storage devices.

Validation / Publish Rules for Creators

To keep player experience predictable, creator-facing validation (D038 Validate / Publish Readiness) checks:

  • missions/campaigns with optional media references provide valid fallback paths
  • required media packs are declared explicitly (if truly required)
  • package metadata correctly classifies optional vs required dependencies
  • presentation-only packs do not accidentally modify gameplay hash scope
  • AI-enhanced media/remaster packs include provenance/rights metadata and are clearly labeled as variant presentation packs

This prevents “campaign core” installs from hitting broken missions because a creator assumed FMV/music always exists.

Integration with Existing Decisions

  • D030 (Workshop): Installability metadata and optional dependency semantics are part of package distribution and auto-download decisions.
  • D040 (SDK separation): SDK remains a separate download; D068 applies the same selective-install philosophy to optional creator dependencies/assets.
  • D049 (Workshop CAS): Local content-addressed blob store + GC make selective installs storage-efficient instead of duplicate-heavy.
  • D062 (Mod Profiles & VirtualNamespace): D068 adds physical install selection on top of D062’s logical activation/composition. Namespace resolution and fingerprints are extended, not replaced.
  • D065 (Tutorial/New Player): First-run can recommend Campaign Core vs Minimal Multiplayer based on player intent (“I want single-player” / “I only want multiplayer”).
  • D069 (Installation & First-Run Setup Wizard): D069 is the canonical wizard UX that presents D068 install presets, size estimates, transfer/verify progress, and maintenance re-entry flows.
  • 17-PLAYER-FLOW.md: “No Dead-End Buttons” install guidance panels become the primary UX surface for missing content.

Alternatives Considered

  1. Monolithic install only — Rejected. Wastes disk space, blocks low-storage users, and conflicts with the project’s accessibility goals.
  2. Make campaign media mandatory — Rejected. FMV/music/voice are enrichments; campaign gameplay should remain playable without them.
  3. Separate executables per mode (campaign-only / MP-only) — Rejected. Increases maintenance and patch complexity. Content packs + install profiles achieve the same user benefit without fragmenting binaries.
  4. Treat this as only a Workshop problem — Rejected. Official/base content has the same storage problem (campaign media, voice packs, HD packs).

Phase

  • Phase 4: Basic official pack partitioning (campaign core vs optional media) and install prompts for missing campaign content. Campaign fallback behavior validated for first-party campaigns.
  • Phase 5: Gameplay vs presentation fingerprint split in lobbies/replays/ranked compatibility checks. CLI content install/remove/list + GC workflows stabilized.
  • Phase 6a: Full Installed Content Manager UI, install presets, size estimates, CAS-backed reclaim reporting, and Workshop package installability metadata at scale.
  • Phase 6b: Smart recommendations (“You haven’t used campaign media in 90 days — free 4.2 GB?”), per-device install profile sync, and finer-grained prefetch policies.
  • Phase 7+ / Future: Optional official/community cutscene remaster variant packs (including AI-enhanced variants where legally and technically viable) can ship under the same D068 install-profile and presentation-fingerprint rules without changing campaign logic.