rivencraft/docs/LEGACY_AGE_GRAMMAR_AUDIT.md

# Mystcraft Legacy Age grammar audit (milestone 5, issue #28)

Reference: [Mystcraft-Legacy commit `9bc8ddc`](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/tree/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae), whose [build properties](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/build.properties) identify version 0.13.7.06. The user-provided local Minecraft 1.12.2 extraction (`mystcraft-1.12.2-0.13.7.06`) has the same version in `mcmod.info`; its `assets/mystcraft/textures/symbolcomponents.png` is byte-identical to the source checkout. That extraction contains compiled classes and assets, but no shipped `.cfg` or `.java` files. Source-linked behavioral claims below use the corresponding GitHub Java source. This is a behavior specification, not a code port. Any later adapted code needs its own copyright/provenance record under [PORTING.md](PORTING.md).

## What Legacy actually does

Legacy's [root rule](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/GrammarRules.java#L62) produces, in order: terrain, biome controller, weather, lighting, optional spawning, suns, moons, starfields, doodads, visuals, small/medium/large features, and effects. Each symbol declares the rule it can satisfy and any preceding modifier tokens it needs in [SymbolRules](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/SymbolRules.java). The written page order therefore matters: modifiers appear before their consumer, while missing grammar branches can be generated. The [grammar tree](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/grammar/GrammarTree.java#L158-L222) connects authored terminals and inserts missing branches; [AgeData](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/world/agedata/AgeData.java#L230-L258) does this on first link with an Age-seeded RNG. Weighted rule *ranks* choose generated symbols; a `null` rank is not randomly generated, though such a rule can connect authored pages ([GrammarGenerator](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/grammar/GrammarGenerator.java#L28-L112)).

Legacy does **not** reject a book just because it omits terrain, biome, weather, or lighting. It fills the gaps. It also has separate instability accounting for dangling/excess symbols; this audit records those as diagnostics, not as milestone 5 generation effects ([AgeController](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/world/AgeController.java#L196-L247)).

## Symbol-to-Rivencraft mapping

| Legacy category and symbols | Existing Rivencraft path | Milestone 5 disposition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `TerrainNormal`, `TerrainAmplified`, `TerrainFlat`, `TerrainVoid`, `TerrainNether`, `TerrainEnd`; terrain and sea block modifiers | `AgeProfile` selects noise/flat/void and registered noise settings; random profiles already persist per Age | Compile supported terrain shapes into profile/resources. Nether/End and material modifiers require explicit compatible data-pack resources; do not claim exact 1.12 terrain parity. |
| `BioConNative`, `Single`, `Tiled`, `Grid`, `Tiny`, `Small`, `Medium`, `Large`, `Huge`, plus biome pages | `AgeTraits.BiomeDistribution` has all nine modes; `AgeDimensionService` has sources for these modes | Map modes, consume authored biome IDs in order, then deterministically fill required minimums. Native uses the profile's modern biome preset, not the old `BiomeProvider`. |
| `LightingNormal`, `Dark`, `Bright` | `AgeTraits.Lighting`, dimension type construction | Compile the choice to a stable dimension type/light behavior. Exact Legacy 1.12 brightness-table rendering is not guaranteed by NeoForge's dimension-type fields. |
| `WeatherNorm`, `Fast`, `Slow`, `Off`, `On`, `Cloudy`, `Rain`, `Snow`, `Storm` | `AgeTraits.Weather` has matching names except Legacy `On` maps to `ALWAYS` | Compile weather semantics separately from biome selection. `Snow` must remain deferred until optional season integration; do not silently substitute another weather mode. |
| Suns, moons, starfields; angle, phase, period, color/gradient/sunset modifiers | One `celestialPeriod`, `celestialAngle`, `celestialPhase` on `AgeTraits` | Compile only the representable single-cycle subset first. Multiple celestial bodies, independent periods, custom stars, gradients and sunsets need a richer definition and renderer, not flattening into one value. |
| Sky/fog/cloud/grass/foliage/water colors, natural variants, horizon, rainbow | Existing sky/dimension visuals and preview | Require an explicit modern client/biome-color design; metadata-only symbol pages must not pretend to change rendering. |
| Caves, ores, huge trees, lakes, floating islands, tendrils, skylands, spheres, spikes, crystals; vanilla villages, strongholds, mineshafts, dungeons, fortresses, obelisks, fissures | Current cave profile, authored Floating Islands/Tendrils/Skylands/Spheres/Spikes/Obelisks/Crystal Formations and Dense Ores, and page-gated vanilla Dungeons/Mineshafts/Nether Fortresses/Strongholds/Villages | The five Legacy vanilla structure symbols gate Minecraft 1.21.1 generation. Dungeons use monster-room placement; the others use vanilla structure sets. Obelisks use a bespoke 4×4 plinth and 2×12×2 shaft with safe modern placement. Crystal Formations retain Legacy's blue tile and one-in-fifteen attempt rate but use new budding, shard-producing mounds. Fissures and exact 1.12 structure geometry remain separate work. |
| `EnvAccel`, explosions, lightning, meteors, scorching; PvP and dummy suppression pages | No equivalent Age-definition effect | Defer environmental hazards/instability effects to milestone 6, PvP rule to a separately scoped server policy; retain authored IDs without fake behavior. |

The Legacy symbol list and page names come from [ModSymbols](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L129-L240) and [SymbolRules](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/SymbolRules.java#L19-L137). Rivencraft's [catalog](../src/main/java/net/dnorberg/rivencraft/writing/SymbolCatalog.java) currently holds display metadata only; its built-in set is just standard terrain, native biomes, normal weather, normal lighting, normal time, and caves. [OrderedWriting](../src/main/java/net/dnorberg/rivencraft/writing/OrderedWriting.java) preserves page order, but no compiler yet connects it to [AgeTraits](../src/main/java/net/dnorberg/rivencraft/book/AgeTraits.java) or [Age profiles](AGE_PROFILES.md).

## Symbol-page artwork: `symbolcomponents.png`

Legacy does not allocate one image tile to each complete Age symbol. The [default word image source](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/api/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/api/word/DrawableWord.java#L24-L75) is `mystcraft:textures/symbolcomponents.png`, a 512×512 RGBA sheet. It has an 8×8 grid of 64×64 component cells. For zero-based component index `n`, source pixels begin at `x = (n % 8) * 64`, `y = (n / 8) * 64`. [GuiUtils.drawComponent](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/client/gui/GuiUtils.java#L131-L152) uses that mapping for GUI drawing; [PageBuilder.PageSprite.stitchWord](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/client/render/PageBuilder.java#L287-L331) uses it when composing an item sprite. Cell `0` is the missing-word/question-mark fallback. Each component may be tinted and its alpha layered with the other components of a word.

The complete lookup chain for a unique page is:

1. [WordData.init](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/api/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/api/word/WordData.java#L96-L166) registers a list of component indices for each named word (for example, `Nature` uses `5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 22`). [DrawableWord](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/api/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/api/word/DrawableWord.java#L26-L75) also permits per-component colors and an alternate image source. Unregistered words get a deterministic component list from their lowercase name hash ([DrawableWordManager](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/words/DrawableWordManager.java#L34-L56)).
2. [ModSymbols.registerSymbol](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L105-L116) assigns four poem words to each Age symbol. For example, `LightingNormal` is `Ethereal, Dynamic, Cycle, Balance` ([registration](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L184-L186)). The poem, not the symbol ID, selects the component layers.
3. [PageBuilder.PageSprite](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/client/render/PageBuilder.java#L232-L279) draws those words above, right, below, and left of the page center, respectively. Their target rectangles on its 160×160 working image are `(48,0)`, `(96,48)`, `(48,96)`, `(0,48)`, each 64×64 ([getPageTarget](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/client/render/PageBuilder.java#L360-L378)). It scales the composed image to a 128×128 item sprite. [GuiUtils.drawSymbol](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/client/gui/GuiUtils.java#L74-L96) renders the same four-word arrangement directly in book/workstation GUIs.

For Rivencraft, keep **symbol semantics** (`SymbolReference`/catalog ID) separate from **page artwork** (four ordered word names, their component indices/colors, and the shared sheet). Existing built-in page images are static renditions of this process ([asset provenance](ASSET_PROVENANCE.md)); future symbol pages can compose it at build time or in a client-only renderer. Unknown words and missing symbols need distinct fallbacks, and data-pack-only symbols must remain usable without silently borrowing another symbol's image. Do not copy the Legacy renderer wholesale: its texture-atlas and GUI APIs target 1.12.2.

## Verified numeric defaults and bounds

These values are from code, **not** a supposed shipped `.cfg`: the inspected Legacy repository contains no default configuration file with numeric min/max fields for age grammar. [MystConfig](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/config/MystConfig.java) supplies typed config helpers, while symbol enablement uses a Boolean `<symbol>.enabled` option ([SymbolManager](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/SymbolManager.java#L91-L107)). Do not label Rivencraft's present numeric range as a Legacy config range.

| Parameter | Legacy source value/rule | Implementation consequence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Period pages | `Zero=0`, `Half=0.5`, `Full=1`, `Double=2` ([ModSymbols](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L194-L201)); repeated period modifiers average pairwise ([SymbolLength](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/modifiers/SymbolLength.java#L25-L37)) | Authored basic values have min 0 and max 2; no arbitrary continuous written range is established. A sun without a period uses `0.8 + 0.4 * nextDouble()`—`[0.8, 1.2)`—before conversion to ticks ([SymbolSunNormal](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolSunNormal.java#L47-L73)). Rivencraft's random nonzero `[0.2, 2.0)` is its own existing policy. |
| Angle pages | North/East/South/West = `0/90/180/270` degrees ([ModSymbols](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L187-L190)); repeated values use shortest-arc averaging ([ModifierUtils](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/api/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/api/symbol/ModifierUtils.java#L54-L73)) | Canonical angle is `[0, 360)`; consumers may seed a random angle if omitted. |
| Phase pages | Nadir/Rising/Zenith/Setting = `0/90/180/270` degrees ([ModSymbols](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/ModSymbols.java#L198-L201)); the sun divides by 360 ([SymbolSunNormal](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolSunNormal.java#L65-L73)) | Written phase is `[0, 360)` degrees, represented by Rivencraft as `[0, 1)` turns. |
| Biome count | Grammar requires one page for `Single`, `Tiled`, `Grid`; `Tiny`–`Huge` have two explicit biome slots plus a biome-list branch ([SymbolRules](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/data/SymbolRules.java#L91-L99)). `Single` fills to 1 ([source](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolBiomeControllerSingle.java#L22-L37)), `Tiled`/`Grid` to 2 ([source](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolBiomeControllerTiled.java#L25-L38)), and `Tiny`–`Huge` to 3 ([source](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolBiomeControllerLarge.java#L61-L84)) | These are **minimums**, not maximums. `Native` uses vanilla's provider and has no authored biome-list requirement ([source](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolBiomeControllerNative.java#L34-L44)). Preserve additional authored biomes where the chosen controller can accept them. |
| Weather normal | Rain duration/base `12000/12000`, cooldown/base `168000/12000`; thunder duration/base `12000/3600`, cooldown/base `168000/12000` ticks ([SymbolWeatherNormal](https://github.com/Mystcraft/Mystcraft-Legacy/blob/9bc8ddc061845df0cd5ea47f4fdef773cff786ae/src/main/java/com/xcompwiz/mystcraft/symbol/symbols/SymbolWeatherNormal.java#L25-L36)) | These are source constants, not configurable min/max bounds. Other weather controllers need individual review before parity claims. |

## Compilation and fallback contract for the next issues

1. A Link-Panel-only book, a legacy page-free book, and any book with no effective supported Age symbols retain the current seed-derived random Age path. Preserve the saved writing untouched.
2. A supported partial sequence is **not** invalid: complete missing required branches deterministically from the Age seed, then compile the result. Authored symbols take precedence over generated fillers. This follows Legacy's grammar tree, rather than requiring a full hand-written list.
3. Unknown/unresolved IDs, unsupported-but-known effects, misplaced modifiers, duplicates, and conflicts must be reported distinctly. Do not silently apply a different effect or discard an authored page. A first compiler may use the existing random Age path for combinations it cannot represent, with an explicit diagnostic; it must never claim such a book was successfully compiled.
4. Grammar diagnostics are not instability. Milestone 5 decides recognition, ordering, completion, and whether a supported combination can compile. Milestone 6 may use dangling/excess/conflict diagnostics for instability effects. Milestone 7 owns bespoke structures and polish.
5. Freeze the completed, effective generation definition with the Age identity before creating chunks. Keep page order and original IDs for display/migration, and keep seeded completion deterministic across reloads. New symbol behavior belongs in versioned server data, not the schema-1 display catalog.

The mapping is intentionally narrower than all Legacy symbols. The exact rule and compiler schema are follow-up issues #29–#31; terrain, biome, environment, and feature implementations are #32–#35. No generation behavior or release version changes in this audit.