Document project architecture and asset provenance

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# NETfishing
+
+NETfishing is a multiplayer-first fishing game built with Godot 4.7. The
+current pre-alpha includes host-authoritative fishing and economy flows,
+freshwater and saltwater habitats, persistent player data, social features,
+customization, jobs, and a controller-aware interface.
+
+The project is under active development. Interfaces, balance, content, and
+save migrations may continue to change before a stable release.
+
+## Requirements
+
+- Godot 4.7.x with the GL Compatibility renderer
+- Linux, Windows, or an Android development environment supported by Godot
+- Bash for the repository helper scripts
+
+Open `project.godot` in Godot, or start the editor from the repository root:
+
+```sh
+godot --editor --path .
+```
+
+Run the game directly with:
+
+```sh
+godot --path .
+```
+
+## Validation
+
+The validation scripts isolate Godot's settings and application-data roots.
+Run the fast, deterministic suite before submitting a change:
+
+```sh
+scripts/run_validations.sh quick
+```
+
+Additional suites and individual commands are documented in
+[`docs/TESTING.md`](docs/TESTING.md).
+
+## Building
+
+Export presets are maintained for Linux, Windows, and Android. Repository
+scripts expect the matching Godot export templates and platform toolchains to
+already be installed:
+
+```sh
+scripts/build_playtest.sh
+scripts/build_android_debug.sh
+```
+
+Build outputs belong under the ignored `builds/` directory. Release builds
+must follow the project's separate tagged-release checklist; these convenience
+scripts do not create or publish tags.
+
+## Project map
+
+- `main/`: composition root and application orchestration
+- `world/`: map, environment, water, and world presentation
+- `player/`, `fishing/`, `fish/`: player and fishing domain
+- `network/`: transport, identity, and host-authoritative services
+- `inventory/`, `items/`, `economy/`, `progression/`, `jobs/`: game state
+- `save/`, `settings/`: versioned persistence
+- `ui/`: gameplay and menu presentation
+- `tests/`: focused Godot validation scripts
+- `scripts/`: build, bake, and validation entry points
+
+See [`docs/ARCHITECTURE.md`](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) and
+[`world/README-WORLD-AUTHORING.md`](world/README-WORLD-AUTHORING.md) for more
+detail.
+
+## Authorship and assets
+
+NETfishing is human-directed and uses a mixture of human-authored assets and
+software-development assistance. The project records this plainly rather than
+claiming that repository history can prove how each line was produced. See
+[`CREDITS.md`](CREDITS.md) and
+[`docs/ASSET-PROVENANCE.md`](docs/ASSET-PROVENANCE.md).
+
+No project-wide source license has been selected yet. Do not assume permission
+to redistribute the source or bundled assets beyond rights stated in their
+individual license records.