M4 Flagship Live (outline)

M4 opens the 1989 Everon flagship to the public as a recurring server with its own community. The maintainer set the shape on 2026-11-08. This file is an outline. Each workstream is broken into sub-issues on GitHub, listed under its section; they get full scope cards after M3 ships. Read it with direction, decisions, and the M3 outline.

Launch gate. M3 has shipped. The flagship runs the released LifeFramework core and the LF_Everon1989 pack, configured through its own config.json, which is the same build and the same path an owner gets. Nothing flagship-only is patched in.

Done when. No bar: M4 is the live phase, and it keeps iterating (maintainer, 2026-11-08). Its first goal is the step to 24/7.

How it runs.

Sizing. The target is about 40 players. Plan the host, the police ratio, and staff cover for that: roughly 6 to 8 police and 2 to 3 moderators online.

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1. Hosting and ops

• Session runbook: start, announce, restart, shut down, from tools\cli commands, written so a second person can run a session.
• Save backups before every session and every restart, with a restore that has been tested (wt e2e-style proof against a copy of the live save).
• Crash auto-restart and a restart schedule. Players get an in-world warning before a planned restart.
• Log watching: [ELDebug:*] errors and VME: lines from the live server are summarised after each session and triaged into issues (docs/debug-log-triage.md).
• Hotfix path: a config-only fix goes out through config.json without a new Workshop build. A script fix goes through the normal PR and a pack release.
• Move to the rented box: a checklist (box spec for 40 players, ports, profile copy, save copy), done once the 24/7 trigger is met.

Sub-issues (epic #230, in order):

1. #305 Session runbook and session commands (flagship)
2. #306 Save backup before every session and restart, with a tested restore
3. #307 Crash auto-restart
4. #308 Scheduled restarts with in-world warnings
5. #309 Post-session log triage into issues
6. #310 Config-only hotfix path (flagship)
7. #311 Move to a rented box checklist (flagship)

2. Staff and community

• Server rules, written and linked from the town board and Discord.
• A moderator team with named people, and Game Master use from the M2 moderation tools (incident log, logged admin actions).
• The police path: the application at the station desk (#128, M2) feeds the whitelist. Staff review applications on Discord.
• An appeals channel and a ban record.
• Session announcements and a feedback channel. Feedback is triaged into GitHub issues with the existing template.

Sub-issues (epic #231, in order):

1. #312 Server rules on the town board and Discord (flagship)
2. #313 Moderator team and moderator guide (flagship)
3. #314 Police applications reviewed by staff (flagship)
4. #315 Appeals channel and ban record (flagship)
5. #316 Session announcements and feedback triage (flagship)

3. Showcase and growth

• A launch trailer and session clips from the filming harness.
• A Workshop page for the flagship and a server-browser listing with a clear name and description.
• The site's servers page lists the flagship's status and next session.
• A "run your own" funnel: every flagship surface links back to the framework, its install guide, and the generator (M3).

Sub-issues (epic #232, in order):

1. #317 Launch trailer from the filming harness (flagship)
2. #318 Flagship Workshop page and server-browser listing (flagship)
3. #319 Servers page shows the flagship's status and next session (flagship)
4. #320 Run-your-own links from every flagship surface (flagship)

Scopes Mapping A sends to M4

• Day and night cycle: accelerated by default, real-time option (#129). It is a server setting the flagship needs live.
• Police missions: these need a live police roster to be worth building.

Not in M4

• Live economy tuning from telemetry. The maintainer did not pick it as a workstream; config-only tuning through config.json is still possible.
• Managed hosting for other communities, and an external database (M3 non-goals).
• Cosmetic donations. The decision allows them on the flagship only, within Bohemia's policy; they are not planned in M4.
• Scheduled and organised events (parked).
• Flagship story content, bus stops, trash cans, housing (M5).

Risks

• A PC host for 40 players: check CPU and upload on a full session before announcing a large one.
• Staff burnout is what kills life servers (benchmark). Recruit moderators before the first public session, not after.
• A save lost on the live server is a trust event. No session starts without a fresh backup.