Iron Curtain — Design Documentation

D046: Community Platform — Premium Content & Comprehensive Platform Integration

Status: Accepted Scope: ic-game, ic-ui, Workshop infrastructure, platform SDK integration Phase: Platform integration: Phase 5. Premium content framework: Phase 6a+.

Context

D030 designs the Workshop resource registry including Steam Workshop as a source type. D035 designs voluntary creator tipping with explicit rejection of mandatory paid content. D036 designs the achievement system including Steam achievement sync. These decisions remain valid — D046 extends them in two directions that were previously out of scope:

1. Premium content from official publishers — allowing companies like EA to offer premium content (e.g., Remastered-quality art packs, soundtrack packs) through the Workshop, with proper licensing and revenue
2. Comprehensive platform integration — going beyond “Steam Workshop as a source” to full Steam platform compatibility (and other platforms: GOG, Epic, etc.)

Decision

Extend the Workshop and platform layer to support optional paid content from verified publishers alongside the existing free ecosystem, and provide comprehensive platform service integration beyond just Workshop.

Premium Content Framework

Who can sell: Only verified publishers — entities that have passed identity verification and (for copyrighted IP) provided proof of rights. This is NOT a general marketplace where any modder can charge money. The tipping model (D035) remains the primary creator recognition system.

Use cases:

• EA publishes Remastered Collection art assets (high-resolution sprites, remastered audio) as a premium resource pack. Players who own the Remastered Collection on Steam get it bundled; others can purchase separately.
• Professional content studios publish high-quality campaign packs, voice acting, or soundtrack packs.
• Tournament organizers sell premium cosmetic packs for event fundraising.

What premium content CANNOT be:

• Gameplay-affecting. No paid units, weapons, factions, or balance-changing content. Premium content is cosmetic or supplementary: art packs, soundtrack packs, voice packs, campaign packs (story content, not gameplay advantages).
• Required for multiplayer. No player can be excluded from a game because they don’t own a premium pack. If a premium art pack is active, non-owners see the default sprites — never a “buy to play” gate.
• Exclusive to one platform. Premium content purchased through any platform is accessible from all platforms (subject to platform holder agreements).

# Workshop resource metadata extension for premium content
resource:
  name: "Remastered Art Pack"
  publisher:
    name: "Electronic Arts"
    verified: true
    publisher_id: "ea-official"
  pricing:
    model: premium                    # free | tip | premium
    price_usd: "4.99"                # publisher sets price
    bundled_with:                     # auto-granted if player owns:
      - platform: steam
        app_id: 1213210              # C&C Remastered Collection
    revenue_split:
      platform_store: 30             # Steam/GOG/Epic standard store cut (from gross)
      ic_project: 10                 # IC Workshop hosting fee (from gross)
      publisher: 60                  # remainder to publisher
  content_type: cosmetic             # cosmetic | supplementary | campaign
  requires_base_game: true
  multiplayer_fallback: default      # non-owners see default assets

Comprehensive Platform Integration

Beyond Workshop, IC integrates with platform services holistically:

Critical principle: All platforms play together. IC’s multiplayer is platform-agnostic (IC relay servers, D007). A Steam player, a GOG player, and a standalone player can all join the same lobby. Platform services (friends, invites, overlay) are convenience features — never multiplayer gates.

Platform Abstraction Layer

The PlatformServices trait is defined in ic-ui (where platform-aware UI — friends list, invite buttons, achievement popups — lives). Concrete implementations (SteamPlatform, GogPlatform, StandalonePlatform) live in ic-game and are injected as a Bevy resource at startup. ic-ui accesses the trait via Res<dyn PlatformServices>.

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
/// Engine-side abstraction over platform services.
/// Defined in ic-ui; implementations in ic-game, injected as Bevy resource.
pub trait PlatformServices: Send + Sync {
    /// Sync an achievement unlock to the platform
    fn unlock_achievement(&self, id: &str) -> Result<(), PlatformError>;

    /// Set rich presence status
    fn set_presence(&self, status: &str, details: &PresenceDetails) -> Result<(), PlatformError>;

    /// Get friends list (for invite UI)
    fn friends_list(&self) -> Result<Vec<PlatformFriend>, PlatformError>;

    /// Invite a friend to the current lobby
    fn invite_friend(&self, friend: &PlatformFriend) -> Result<(), PlatformError>;

    /// Upload save to cloud storage
    fn cloud_save(&self, slot: &str, data: &[u8]) -> Result<(), PlatformError>;

    /// Download save from cloud storage
    fn cloud_load(&self, slot: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>, PlatformError>;

    /// Platform display name
    fn platform_name(&self) -> &str;
}
}

Implementations: SteamPlatform (via Steamworks SDK), GogPlatform (via GOG Galaxy SDK), StandalonePlatform (no-op or IC-native services).

Monetization Model for Backend Services

D035 established that IC infrastructure has real hosting costs. D046 formalizes the backend monetization model:

Free tier is always fully functional. Premium content is cosmetic/supplementary. Backend monetization sustainably funds relay servers, tracking servers, and Workshop infrastructure without gating gameplay.

Relationship to Existing Decisions

• D030 (Workshop): D046 extends D030’s schema with pricing.model: premium and publisher.verified: true. The Workshop architecture (federated, multi-source) supports premium content as another resource type.
• D035 (Creator recognition): D046 does NOT replace tipping. Individual modders use tips (D035). Verified publishers use premium pricing (D046). Both coexist — a modder can publish free mods with tip links AND work for a publisher that sells premium packs.
• D036 (Achievements): D046 formalizes the multi-platform achievement sync that D036 mentioned briefly (“Steam achievements sync for Steam builds”).
• D037 (Governance): Premium content moderation, verified publisher approval, and revenue-related disputes fall under community governance (D037).

Alternatives Considered

• No premium content ever (rejected — leaves money on the table for both the project and legitimate IP holders like EA; the Remastered art pack use case is too valuable)
• Open marketplace for all creators (rejected — Skyrim paid mods disaster; tips-only for individual creators, premium only for verified publishers)
• Platform-exclusive content (rejected — violates cross-platform play principle)
• IC processes all payments directly (rejected — regulatory burden, payment processing complexity; delegate to platform stores and existing payment processors)