Index

Documentation Index

This index provides an overview of the Essence Engine documentation structure. Documentation is organized into two main categories:

• How-To Guides - User-facing guides ("How do I use this?")
• Architecture Documentation - Technical/implementation docs ("How does this work under the hood?")

Quick Navigation

User Guides (How-To)

• Training Guide – Covers the in-app control panel, generation workflow, and CEM learning loop from the operator perspective
• Multi-Agent Guide – Explains the shared-policy setup, reward aggregation, and cooperation dynamics
• Policy Analyzer Guide – How to analyze and compare trained policies
• Debug Mode Guide – Isolated feature testing with debug profiles
• Participation Guide – Interactive agent guidance with mouse/pointer input
• Scent Gradient Guide – Using scent gradients for navigation
• Plant Ecology Guide – Understanding the plant ecology system
• TC Browser Guide – Using Turing Complete features in the browser

See the how-to directory for a complete list of user guides.

Technical Documentation (Architecture)

• Technical Documentation – Core mechanics breakdown
• Learning System – Learning system architecture
• Signal Field System Overview – Signal-based coordination system
• Gradient Implementation Summary – Scent gradient implementation details
• Adaptive Reward Implementation Summary – Adaptive reward system details

See the architecture directory for a complete list of technical documentation.

Architecture Snapshot

The codebase has been refactored into a modular structure:

• World & Systems: src/core/world.js assembles bundles, resources, ecology regulators, and adaptive reward tracking into a cohesive world object that other systems consume. Bundle and Resource classes are created via factories (createBundleClass, createResourceClass) to allow dependency injection.
• Simulation Loop: src/core/simulationLoop.js exposes reusable tick orchestration so play and training modes share a deterministic sequence of capture, update, and render phases. The main app.js imports and uses startSimulation from this module.
• Training Orchestrator: src/core/training.js coordinates synchronized multi-agent episodes, hooks in telemetry capture, and feeds aggregate returns back to the learner and UI. Created via createTrainingModule factory function.
• System Modules: Pure function modules in src/systems/ handle individual mechanics (movement, metabolism, resource collection, etc.) without side effects, making them easily testable.
• UI Bridge: Browser-specific code (canvas management, input handling) lives in src/ui/ to keep DOM logic separate from core simulation systems.
• Entry Point: app.js serves as the main entry point, importing from modular src/ packages while maintaining backward compatibility through global exports.

Legacy & Archive

Outdated documentation has been moved to the archive directory for historical reference. These documents may not reflect the current state of Essence Engine.

TC Documentation

Turing Complete (TC) related documentation and notes are located in tc/docs/.

Experimental Features

• Signal Field analytics – Opt-in telemetry for channel coherence remains experimental; cross-verify terminology and screenshots before publishing externally.
• TC resource overlay – The Rule 110 integration scripts require manual toggles and console setup; treat the quickstart guide as experimental until the UI flow is redesigned.