The economy-and-people release — job volatility (the employment shock), a content-depth pass (nine new events), the closed economy loops (an unemployment bridge + benefits cliff, and child support as a recurring drain), and a tenth build: Hector, a justice-involved veteran.
Added
- A tenth build — Hector, a justice-involved veteran. The VA is his distinctive support — a
benefits stipend and healthcare from day one, a leg up some builds never get — set against the
wounds it can't fix: PTSD (the mental-health crisis + counseling), a service injury, and the
self-medication that became a recovery arc. Two veteran-only paths: the VSO (a Veterans
Service Org and the battle buddies in it — his earned support routine) and pushing a VA claim
(the backlog grind — real back-pay if you keep at it, or another month of hold music). On
probation through a veterans' treatment court. Supported and wounded, both at once. - Closed the economy loops — unemployment and child support are ongoing now. The layoff's
one-time cushion became a real few-week unemployment bridge: a weekly check while you're
between jobs, then the benefits cliff ("the last check" — a card you absorb by leaning on
people or tightening the belt). And for a reunifying parent, child support is now a recurring
monthly drain rather than a single notice — the arrears notice's payment plan eases it to
something sustainable, while ignoring it keeps the full bite and costs you standing at the
custody hearing. (Engine: a weeklyapplyUnemploymentflow + a monthly child-support drain.) - Job volatility — a promotion or a layoff. Employed builds can now hit an employment
shock: a supervisor offers a step up (a raise — more on every check, at the cost of hours
and some time for the people in your corner), or the company downsizes and you're let go
(last hired, first cut — the reentry reality). The layoff is recoverable: file for
unemployment (gated on having a state ID — the document wall, again), work your network
for leads, or take the hit. It's scheduled once per run but waits until you actually have a
job, and never fires for a build that never lands work. (Engine: scheduled incidents now
respect theirconditions.) - A content-depth pass — nine new events for replayability and texture. The random interrupt
pool nearly doubled (each run now draws from six, not three): a predatory loan / fee-scam
that looks like help and bites weeks later (it schedules its own reckoning), the
background-check stigma as a door that closes mid-conversation, and a loved one's day
you can't be two places for. The employment-shock pool gained a shorted paycheck (speak up
and risk it, or eat it). Two new player actions reward what you've earned: gig work (a phone
gets you deliveries; a car gets you better-paying rides) and a small, chosen joy (a meal, a
haircut — morale you buy on purpose). Plus two dignity / relationship beats: registering to vote
or a library card once you've got an ID ("on the rolls again"), and, for a reunifying parent,
a back-child-support notice that's a debt and a pressure on the custody hearing's standing.
Full detail: CHANGELOG.md