Aethergrid — Living Isometric Pixel Diorama Simulator

Aethergrid is a fork-in-spirit of the Mythos World Simulator: it keeps the useful simulation ideas, but the default presentation is rebuilt around a pixel‑isometric diorama look (layered height, visible walls, cozy “mini‑universe” vibe).

The core goal is simple: the world should feel alive.

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What this project aims to be

Visual default

• Fixed isometric view (orthographic-style feel).
• Layered terrain (height steps + wall faces + overlays).
• Pixel pipeline (sprite atlases + metadata in-repo; no editor required to run).

World “liveness”

• Ambient motion (water shimmer, wind, particles, subtle light shifts).
• Agents with readable intent (idle loops, turns, micro-walks, interactions).
• Optional “thinking” agent that can talk + act from a strict action set.

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Run (local)

This repo contains both frontend and backend. The exact run commands may evolve; see:

• docs/DEV_GUIDE.md

Windows + WSL (dedicated GUI window): run ./run_gui.sh from WSL. Fallback Electron launch is available via run_desktop.cmd (or run_all.cmd) from the repo root.

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Asset pipeline (plug-and-play)

Users do not need any sprite editor installed to run Aethergrid.

The repo commits only:

• exported atlases (.png / .webp)
• atlas metadata (.json)
• docs/CREDITS.md and any license notes

If someone wants to edit art, they can use any compatible pixel editor and re-export.

See:

• docs/ASSETS.md

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Key docs

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md — system overview
• docs/WORLD_FORMAT.md — worldpack format (tiles/heights/spawns)
• docs/AI_AGENT_PROTOCOL.md — optional “thinking” character protocol
• docs/ROADMAP.md — milestones

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License / Credits

External assets must be listed in docs/CREDITS.md with license + source.