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ChoiceFlow QA Guide

Version: 1.0 | Date: March 30, 2026 | Status: Alpha

System rules and edge cases for testing ChoiceFlow. Each section states the rule, then the edge cases a tester should verify.

1. Age Progression 2. Skills & XP 3. Activities 4. Education 5. Careers & Jobs 6. Martial Arts 7. Business 8. Financial System 9. Housing 10. Relationships 11. Family 12. NPCs 13. Crime & Prison 14. Health 15. Energy 16. Events 17. Economy 18. Persistence

1. Age Progression

Rules

21-step pipeline executes in strict order every year
Player death check happens in Step 2 (before salary, housing, etc.)
No hard age cap except 130 (100% death)
Phase 2 of player death checks player.maxLifespan (default 85). Players reaching their maxLifespan die deterministically before the probability check.
NPC aging happens in Step 15

Edge Cases

Player dies at age 130 (guaranteed) — verify game over triggers Player has 1 health at age 100+ — death chance nearly doubled All 21 steps execute even if player has no job, no housing, no relationships NPC death during Step 15 triggers proper death event (P0 for family/spouse) Multiple NPCs die in same year — all death events queue properly Baby character (age 0) ages up — verify no adult-only steps crash Player in prison during age-up — salary step skipped, housing maintained

2. Skills & XP

Rules

11 skills, all max level 100
XP curve is exponential (RuneScape-inspired): Level 100 = approximately 14.4M total XP
Personality grants +5-25% XP bonus to related skills
Diminishing returns apply per age group

Edge Cases

All skills (including Looks) max at level 100 Skill at level 99 — verify correct XP needed for 100 (1,356,729) Personality bonus applies correctly (Ambitious character gets +25% Business XP) Adult repeating same activity 18+ times — verify 0.1x floor on diminishing returns Baby (age 0-2) — verify NO diminishing returns apply Child with 4+ repeats in last 6 — verify 0.6x floor Variety bonus (+15%) triggers when 3+ unique activities done

3. Activities

Rules

All activities have skill-based failure (5% base rate)
Below-average performance gives 0.75x XP (not 0x)
Failure gives 0x XP + possible negative consequence
Item bonuses multiply XP (gym, phone, books, etc.)

Edge Cases

Activity with relevant skill < 15 — verify +5-7% failure rate applied Physical activity failure with Fitness < 20 — 50% chance of -15 Health injury Activity with item bonus — verify XP multiplied correctly Baby activities (tummy time, peek-a-boo) — verify no failure system applies Teen money-making activities — verify income goes to wallet Elite/Ultimate activities — verify age 18+ restriction Activity when energy is 0 — verify activity is blocked Repetition counter resets each day

6. Martial Arts / Fighting

Rules

Belt rank only advances upward (never demotes)
4 divisions x 5 ladder levels
Energy costs: Spar 15, Train 20, Practice 10
Max 14 fights per season
Gym cut: Budget 40%, Standard 30%, Elite 20%

Edge Cases

Belt rank at Black Belt 3rd Dan — verify cannot exceed Master 14 fights completed — verify no more fights allowed this season Same opponent in same season — verify blocked Injury during fight — verify 2-8 week recovery Elite gym medical staff — verify 5-15% recovery reduction Championship belt won — verify permanent stat effects applied Fight with 0 energy — verify blocked Spar costs exactly 15 energy, not more

7. Business

Rules

Revenue = base x economy x staff x reputation x effort x locations
Employee satisfaction below 30% = 40% quit chance
Paying <80% market rate = -10 satisfaction/year
Employee retirement at age 65
Bankruptcy check runs annually

Edge Cases

Economy at CRASH (0.5x) with 1 employee, bad reputation (0.5x) — verify minimum revenue Economy at BOOM (1.4x) with many employees, great reputation (1.5x) — verify stacking Employee satisfaction at 29% — 40% quit chance applies Employee satisfaction at 30% — 20% quit chance (not 40%) Employee reaches age 65 — verify automatic retirement Business with $0 revenue and expenses — verify bankruptcy triggers Multiple locations — verify revenue multiplied by location count Work effort bonus capped at +20%

12. NPCs

Rules

Death probability-based: 8% per annual check at 85+
6 personality types affect interaction outcomes
Career assigned at age 22 from 19 categories
Retail is universal fallback
NPCs locked to career category for life
Level advancement based on skills, no demotions

Edge Cases

NPC at age 85 — verify 8% per annual check NPC at age 65 — verify 0.8% per annual check NPC at age 110 — verify 99%+ death chance NPC with no qualifying skills at age 22 — assigned Retail NPC at career Level 4 — verify cannot advance further NPC career level never decreases even if skills decay NPC death while married to player — verify spouse death event (P0) NPC death while parent of player's child — verify proper handling NPC promoted recently — verify recentPromotion flag clears after 2 years

17. Economy

Rules

6 states: Boom, Stable, Slowdown, Recession, Crash, Recovery
Markov chain transitions (probability-based, annual)
Affects: business revenue, investment returns, job market, interest rates, housing
Dynamic APY from inflation, GDP, unemployment

Edge Cases

Economy transitions Boom -> Boom (60% chance) — verify can persist Economy at Crash — verify 50% chance of Recovery Economy at Crash — verify business revenue at 0.5x Economy at Boom — verify business revenue at 1.4x Bank interest during Crash — verify lower APY Bank interest during Boom — verify higher APY Recession -> Crash (10% chance) — verify transition possible Multiple consecutive Crash years — verify handles gracefully Economy affects investment returns — verify market trend applied

Business Core Game Loop

How the Business Ownership System's core game loop functions.

Overview

Work Activities → progress Tasks → grant XP → level up the Business
Age Up drives yearly Simulation affecting revenue, CSAT, equipment, and stock
Staff contribute passively through the simulation
Equipment degrades over time, affecting revenue

1. Task System 2. Work Activities 3. Yearly Simulation 4. Equipment Durability 5. Staff Contribution 6. Stock History 7. Bank Account XP & Leveling Data Flow

1. Task System (Primary XP Source)

Tasks are the PRIMARY source of Business XP. No XP comes from clicking work alone.

Task Types

Task Type	Description	Base Target	XP Reward
`revenue`	Generate yearly revenue	£25,000	150 × level
`csat`	Maintain customer satisfaction	55%	100 × level
`sales_units`	Sell product units	100 units	100 × level
`work_activities`	Complete work sessions	10	50 × level
`equipment_condition`	Keep equipment above threshold	70%	75 × level
`profitable_years`	Consecutive profitable years	1	200 × level

Task Availability by Level

Level 1-2: revenue, csat, sales_units, work_activities
Level 3+: + equipment_condition
Level 5+: + profitable_years

Key Functions

generateYearlyTasks(level, year) — Creates tasks at business founding & yearly refresh
updateTaskProgress(business, metrics) — Updates progress, returns completed tasks & XP
getTaskSummary(business) — Returns { total, completed, inProgress, xpAvailable }

2. Work Activities

Work Activities are player actions, not auto-generated content.

Requirements

Business must be OPEN (isOpen: true)
Consumes player energy (default 10)

What Happens When a Work Activity Completes

Increments yearlyWorkActivities counter
Adds money to business cash
Updates customerSatisfaction (CSAT)
Degrades equipment by 0.5% per activity
Updates task progress
Awards XP if any tasks complete
Checks for level up

Key Function

processWorkActivity(business, workResult, energyCost)

// workResult: { moneyEarned, satisfactionDelta }

// Returns: Updated business with _workActivityResult

3. Yearly Simulation (Age Up)

When Age Up occurs and business is OPEN, the full yearly simulation runs.

Simulation Steps

Calculate staff contribution (revenue bonus, CSAT bonus, equipment wear)
Apply equipment degradation with staff wear factor
Calculate base revenue from business type & economy
Apply staff revenue bonus
Apply equipment penalty to revenue
Calculate expenses (payroll, rent, inventory, marketing, utilities)
Calculate profit
Calculate stock consumption and sales data
Update CSAT based on work effort, staff, and equipment
Track consecutive profit years
Update stock history
Update product stock levels
Update task progress with final metrics
Award XP from completed tasks
Check for level up
Generate new tasks for next year
Build yearly report

Key Function

runYearlyBusinessSimulation(business, gameState, currentYear, seed)

// Returns: {

// updatedBusiness, yearlyReport, degradationReport,

// staffContribution, completedTasks, totalXpEarned,

// leveledUp, newLevel

// }

4. Equipment Durability

Degradation Sources

Yearly: 5-15% base degradation per year
Work Activities: 0.5% per activity
Staff Usage: 1-3% additional yearly wear based on staff count

Revenue Penalty

Starts when condition < 70%
Maximum 80% total penalty
Broken equipment (0%) has additional 20% penalty

Key Functions

processYearlyEquipmentDegradation(business, staffWear, seed)
calculateEquipmentRevenuePenalty(equipmentList)
applyEquipmentPenaltyToRevenue(baseRevenue, equipmentList)

5. Staff Contribution

Staff contribute passively during yearly simulation.

Contributions Based on Skills

Revenue: +2% per sales or customer_service skill level (max 100%)
CSAT: +0.5 points per skill level (max +15)
Equipment Wear: +2% if assigned, +1% if unassigned (max 20%)

Key Function

calculateStaffContribution(business, seed)

// Returns: { revenueBonus, csatBonus, equipmentWear, staffCount, staffReport }

6. Stock History

Data Tracked Per Year

year — Game year
unitsSold — Units sold that year
unitsRemaining — Stock left at year end
revenue — Revenue from this product

Key Functions

updateStockHistory(business, year, salesData) — Updates history during simulation
getProductStockHistory(business, productId) — Gets history for display

7. Business Bank Account (Gating)

Opening a business requires a Business Bank Account.

Rules

Each character may have ONE business bank account
Business money is fully separate from personal wealth
Must check account exists before allowing business creation

Key Functions

hasBusinessBankAccount(player) — Returns { hasBusinessAccount, account }
createBusinessBankAccount(player, bankId, initialDeposit) — Creates account
canOpenBusiness(player) — Returns { canOpen, reason }

XP & Leveling

XP Thresholds

getXpForLevel(level) = level² × 1000

// Level 2: 4,000 XP

// Level 5: 25,000 XP

// Level 10: 100,000 XP

What Levels Unlock

Level	Staff	Equipment	Stores	Features
1	3	1	1	basic_operations
2	5	2	1	product_designer
3	8	3	2	market_research
5	18	6	5	business_analyst
10	100	32	100	ipo_eligible

Data Flow Summary

Player Work Activity
        |
        v
processWorkActivity()
        |
        |-- Update yearlyWorkActivities
        |-- Update cash
        |-- Update CSAT
        |-- Degrade equipment
        '-- updateTaskProgress()
                    |
                    |-- Check task completion
                    '-- Award XP if completed
                                |
                                v
                        Check level up

Age Up (business OPEN)
        |
        v
runYearlyBusinessSimulation()
        |
        |-- calculateStaffContribution()
        |-- processYearlyEquipmentDegradation()
        |-- Calculate revenue/expenses/profit
        |-- Update stock & history
        |-- updateTaskProgress()
        |           |
        |           '-- Award XP from tasks
        |-- Check level up
        '-- Generate new tasks for next year

Quick Reference: Key Thresholds

System	Threshold	Value
Education	Passing exam score	60
Education	Expulsion GPA	< 1.0
Education	Full scholarship	3.8+ GPA
Career	Termination performance	25%-50% (rep-based, default 40%)
Career	Interview pass	60% score
Romance	Dating	Level 30+
Romance	Marriage	Level 80+
Romance	NPC breakup (dating)	Level < 0 for 2 years
Romance	NPC divorce	Level < -25 for 2 years
Crime	Min arrest chance	5%
Crime	Max arrest chance	75%
Crime	Prior conviction multiplier	+25% per prior
Health	Death hard cap	Age 130
Energy	Exhausted threshold	<= 40 energy
Energy	Power nap daily limit	2
Housing	Eviction threshold	3 years unpaid
NPC	High death rate age	85+ (8% per annual check)
Events	Year hard cap	3 events

QA Portal

ChoiceFlow QA Guide

Contents

1. Age Progression

Rules

Edge Cases

2. Skills & XP

Rules

Edge Cases

3. Activities

Rules

Edge Cases

4. Education

Rules

Edge Cases

5. Careers & Jobs

Rules

Edge Cases

6. Martial Arts / Fighting

Rules

Edge Cases

7. Business

Rules

Edge Cases

8. Financial System

Rules

Edge Cases

9. Housing

Rules

Edge Cases

10. Relationships & Romance

Rules

Edge Cases

11. Family

Rules

Edge Cases

12. NPCs

Rules

Edge Cases

13. Crime & Prison

Rules

Edge Cases

14. Health

Rules

Edge Cases

15. Energy

Rules

Edge Cases

16. Events

Rules

Edge Cases

17. Economy

Rules

Edge Cases

18. Persistence & Saves

Rules

Edge Cases

Business Core Game Loop

Overview

Contents

1. Task System (Primary XP Source)

Task Types

Task Availability by Level

Key Functions

2. Work Activities

Requirements

What Happens When a Work Activity Completes

Key Function

3. Yearly Simulation (Age Up)

Simulation Steps

Key Function

4. Equipment Durability

Degradation Sources

Revenue Penalty

Key Functions

5. Staff Contribution

Contributions Based on Skills

Key Function

6. Stock History

Data Tracked Per Year