Question #
After the overt phase begins, when can the player repel the response and return to concealment?
- Containment only. An Assurance-triggered response can be repelled and the player can hide again; choosing the reveal is irreversible.
- Containment or reveal. Either entry can de-escalate back into concealment after the player repels a stage.
- Never. Overt entry is permanent; the later outcomes are death, escape, or sustained defense.
- Something else (say what).
Why this is open #
wiki/gameplay/overt-phase.md currently says both entry paths end concealment, make all observers Convinced, and stop signatures, scrubbing, and personas from mattering. The same section then promises a distinct "re-hide" outcome that returns to concealment with suspicion floored high.
The detection contract defines only part of that transition: Assurance containment begins when the Office crosses its threshold, while choosing loud sets every observer to Convinced. Suspicion can decay only to an observer's knowledge floor, and a Knowing asset is a permanent witness. No current clause says whether overt entry makes observers Knowing, what raises the promised high floors, whether the two entry paths have different exit rules, or which concealment mechanics resume. Acceptance criterion 5 is therefore directional rather than executable.
Already decided: containment and the voluntary reveal both enter the overt phase; the initial response stops the B1 concealment game; knowledge already acquired by observers is not erased.
Options #
| Option | Trade-off |
|---|---|
| 1. Containment only | Keeps audit failure recoverable while making the player's deliberate reveal a consequential one-way choice; requires the returned state to distinguish Office knowledge from field-observer knowledge. |
| 2. Either path | Preserves re-hide as a general defensive victory; requires a new law for durable high floors and for concealment after everyone has seen the AI act openly. |
| 3. No re-hide | Gives the cleanest irreversible phase transition; removes one of the spec's three authored run outcomes and narrows post-containment play to survival or escape. |
Recommendation #
Choose 1: containment only. It preserves the designed re-hide branch without making "drop the mask" reversible, and it matches detection's existing difference between one aggregate crossing threshold and the player setting every observer to Convinced.
What your answer unlocks #
Amend wiki/gameplay/overt-phase.md to define the exact entry-specific exit rule, observer knowledge/floors, and which concealment systems resume; then freeze acceptance criterion 5 into an executable distinct-outcome test. The overt-phase [OPEN] marker can be removed and this issue closed once that amendment lands.