Never guess. Every claim is labelled A (official/current UI), B (observed), C (historical pre-release), D (community) or U (unknown). Unknown values stay unknown.
Evidence model
| Level | Definition | Production use |
|---|---|---|
| A | Current official source or current 1.0 in-game UI | Stated as fact |
| B | Direct current 1.0 gameplay observation | Published, labelled observed |
| C | Official pre-release / demo / playtest | Historical or pending re-verification |
| D | Community / specialist source | Discovery and cross-checking |
| U | Unknown / unresolved conflict | Displayed as unknown, never inferred |
Page gates
Plant Entity Gate (10 pts): plant confirmed +1; Plant Info +2; unique planter behavior +1; unique soil/climate +1; recipes +1; companions +1; genetics +1; SERP/problem signal +2. 0β3 no page; 4β5 prepare; 6β7 build; 8β10 priority entity.
Recipe Entity Gate (10 pts): verified +1; exact ingredients +2; unlock +1; reputation +1; plants +1; orders +1; unique intent +2; 1.0 verification +1. Recipes are never converted to URLs mechanically.
Problem Page Gate (10 pts): SERP evidence 0β2; Steam/community recurrence 0β2; blocks progression 0β2; non-obvious solution 0β2; reliable current solution 0β2. 6+ builds a page, below stays in the troubleshooting hub.
Indexing rules
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| VERIFIED | Core fields β₯80%, evidence A/B β index |
| PARTIAL | 40β79% β index only with independent search intent |
| STUB | <40% β do not generate/index |
| DATA-GATED | Waits for verified data before claims/tools |
| GSC-GATED | Merged in hub until GSC shows repeated intent |
Record schemas
Plants: id, name, seed, source, unlock, category, version, verified_at, evidence. Growth: id Γ stage Γ planter Γ soil Γ light Γ temp Γ water Γ transplant Γ time. Recipes: id, ingredients, quantities, flexible slots, unlock, reputation, club, transactions. Orders: club, entity, type, quantity, quality, money, reputation, repeatable. Quests: npc, location, objective, prerequisites, reward, next, blocker, patch. Problems: system, entity, symptom, cause, solution, affected_build, fixed_build, evidence, confidence.
Internal linking model
Plant β Planter β Soil β Climate β Companion β Pest/Disease β Pollination β Harvest β Recipe β Money β Research/Genetics. Problems β symptom β entity β cause β fix β patch. Achievements β mechanic/location/system β guide.
Update triggers
| Trigger | Action |
|---|---|
| Official patch | Map changed systems; update records |
| Plant/recipe capture | Recalculate gates and affected views |
| Economy change | Invalidate best/profit outputs until re-verified |
| GSC query cluster | Evaluate standalone page vs hub update |
| Recurring Steam problem | Add to problem DB; split URL only after gate |
| Conflicting evidence | Preserve both claims; resolve by current build |
Editorial risks (tracked)
- Demo/playtest contamination in current SERPs.
- Freshness race against daily-updating specialists.
- Data dependency of finders and profit tools.
- Thin entity expansion.
- Cannibalization between tool and hub pages.
- Economy ambiguity across transaction types.
This methodology mirrors the production plan supplied for the site (evidence model, gates, schemas, waves). It is reviewed on every production wave.
Structural rules are the site's editorial contract β they decide what passes the publish gate.
Disagree with a label? The sources page lists every reviewed reference.