The Art of Knowing What You Have

The Inventory Interface is an Incarnation’s personal ledger, a subjective record of the pieces of the world it has claimed for its own. In keeping with the core philosophies of ATET, this is not an objective, spreadsheet-like grid of items. It is a dynamic, annotated, and deeply personal space that reflects what the character knows and believes about the things they carry.

This interface is designed to solve the “RimWorld food poisoning problem”: the challenge of representing hidden or subjective qualities within a stack of seemingly identical items. The solution is the Subjective Stack, a system that models an object’s identity as a layered truth, only revealing the layers the Incarnation is capable of perceiving.

The Objective Stack: The Ground Truth of the Simulation

“Under the hood,” the simulation tracks every item with perfect fidelity. A stack of 32 Iron Ore is not a single entity with an averaged quality. The system’s database knows, with absolute certainty, the full history and properties of every single unit in that stack.

• Example Ground Truth:
  • Stack ID: 778
  • Item Type: Iron Ore
  • Quantity: 32
  • Sub-Unit Data:
    • Unit 1-29: { Tags: [Mundane] }
    • Unit 30-32: { Tags: [Latent: Echoes of Grief], Origin: [Ancient Battlefield] }

This objective data is the ground truth. The player, however, never sees this. They see only what their character’s mind is capable of interpreting.

The Subjective Stack: The Player’s Perceived Reality

The Inventory Interface renders this objective data through the filter of the Incarnation’s perception and knowledge. An item stack is presented not as a simple icon and number, but as a “card” containing layers of information that are revealed or concealed based on the character’s skills and beliefs.

Scenario: An Incarnation examines the stack of 32 Iron Ore.

• Case A: The Novice Scavenger

  • Skills & Beliefs: Low Geology, low Resonance. No belief in the supernatural.

  • The UI Presentation: The player sees a single, simple item card:

    Iron Ore

    Quantity: 32

    A heavy, reddish rock. Looks like it could be smelted into something useful.

  • What’s Happening: The Scavenger’s perception is not refined enough to detect the latent Eidos. The UI only shows them the consensus reality, the Objective Substrate. To them, all 32 units are identical. If they use one of the “haunted” units in a craft, its metaphysical properties are simply lost, shattered by the mundane process.

• Case B: The Master Thanatech

  • Skills & Beliefs: High Resonance, high Metaphysics. A deep Faith in the power of memory.

  • The UI Presentation: The player sees a more complex, layered item card. The UI is communicating that not all items in the stack are the same.

    Iron Ore

    Quantity: 32

    A heavy, reddish rock. Looks like it could be smelted into something useful.

    ---

    Sub-Group Detected (Resonance Scan):

    Iron Ore [Echoes of Grief]

    Quantity: 3

    This ore hums with a profound sorrow. It feels… haunted. It is unsuitable for mundane forging but could be a powerful catalyst in an Eidic ritual.

  • What’s Happening: The Thanatech’s high skill and attuned Psyche have pierced the veil. The UI automatically sorts the stack into a primary group and a subjective sub-group based on the character’s perception. The game is now showing a deeper truth.

The Mechanics of Interaction

This system of subjective sub-grouping is the core of the solution.

• Smart Stacking: When items are added to a stack, their objective data is preserved. The UI simply re-evaluates the entire stack and updates the visible sub-groups based on the character’s current knowledge.
• Targeted Selection: A skilled character who perceives a sub-group can specifically choose to interact with it. The Thanatech can choose to [Take] only the 3 [Echoes of Grief] units from the stack for a ritual, leaving the mundane ore behind. A novice cannot, as they cannot even perceive the distinction.
• Knowledge is Key: This makes knowledge and perception a tangible, mechanical advantage. Leveling up your Geology skill might suddenly cause a stack of “worthless rocks” in your inventory to reveal a new sub-group of [Geodes - Unidentified], which were there all along, waiting for you to become smart enough to notice them.

This approach ensures that the inventory is not a source of frustration, but a space of discovery. It preserves the game’s deep subjectivity, eliminates the “smearing” problem of hidden stats, and turns the simple act of looking at what you’re carrying into a rewarding expression of your Incarnation’s unique and evolving worldview.