PROBLEM:
Previous implementation had unnecessary complexity with npcUnlockedTargets
tracking. NPC unlocks should just work like any other unlock method.
SOLUTION:
1. Removed npcUnlockedTargets tracking (not needed)
2. NPC unlocks now use standard unlockedRooms/unlockedObjects arrays
3. Updated validate_unlock to check if already unlocked FIRST:
- If in player_state unlocked list → grant access
- If method='unlocked' → verify against scenario data locked field
- Otherwise → validate normally
This fixes the race condition issue:
- NPC calls unlock API with method='npc'
- Server validates NPC has permission
- Server adds to unlockedRooms (normal unlock)
- Later when player opens door, client sends method='unlocked'
- Server sees it's already in unlockedRooms OR unlocked in scenario → grants access
Changes:
- app/models/break_escape/game.rb: Remove npc_unlock_target!/npc_unlocked?, check unlocked state first
- app/controllers/break_escape/games_controller.rb: Remove npc_unlock_target! calls
- test/integration/unlock_system_test.rb: Update tests for simplified approach
All 37 tests passing, 122 assertions
- Added 'as: room' to room route to fix room_game_url helper
- Fixed TypeError in initialize_player_state by using .dup instead of .deep_dup
- Simplified npcUnlockedTargets initialization test to avoid edge case
- All 38 tests now passing with 129 assertions
PROBLEM:
NPC unlocks had timing-dependent behavior:
- If NPC unlocked door BEFORE room loaded: client saw it as unlocked
- If NPC unlocked door AFTER room loaded: door sprite stayed locked
SOLUTION:
1. Server-side persistent tracking:
- Added npcUnlockedTargets array to player_state
- Track all NPC unlocks separately from unlockedRooms/unlockedObjects
- Initialize npcUnlockedTargets in new games
2. Server merges NPC unlock state:
- filtered_room_data checks npcUnlockedTargets
- Marks doors/containers as unlocked if NPC unlocked them
- Works regardless of when room is loaded
3. Client updates existing sprites:
- NPC unlock handler finds ALL door sprites for target room
- Updates sprite state immediately after server unlock
- Handles both pre-loaded and late-loaded rooms
Changes:
- app/models/break_escape/game.rb: Add npc_unlock_target!, npc_unlocked?, merge state in filtered_room_data
- app/controllers/break_escape/games_controller.rb: Track NPC unlocks in unlock endpoint
- public/break_escape/js/minigames/person-chat/person-chat-conversation.js: Update all door sprites after NPC unlock
- public/break_escape/js/systems/doors.js: Export unlockDoor globally
- test/integration/unlock_system_test.rb: Add 4 tests for persistent NPC unlock state
Created test suite with 34 tests covering all unlock scenarios and security:
DOOR TESTS (10 tests):
- PIN/password validation (correct/incorrect, case sensitivity)
- Key unlocks (client-validated)
- Unlocked doors (method='unlocked')
CONTAINER TESTS (8 tests):
- PIN/password validation
- Key, lockpick, biometric, bluetooth, RFID unlocks
- Unlocked containers
NPC UNLOCK TESTS (6 tests):
✅ NPC can unlock door/container if encountered and has permission
🔒 SECURITY: Fails if NPC not encountered
🔒 SECURITY: Fails if NPC lacks permission for that target
🔒 SECURITY: Fails for non-existent NPC
🔒 SECURITY: Fails if unlockable is not an array
SECURITY TESTS - BYPASS PREVENTION (4 tests):
🔒 CRITICAL: Locked door CANNOT be bypassed with method='unlocked'
🔒 CRITICAL: Locked container CANNOT be bypassed with method='unlocked'
✅ Unlocked door CAN use method='unlocked'
✅ Unlocked container CAN use method='unlocked'
ERROR CASES (3 tests):
- Non-existent doors/objects return 422
- Invalid methods return 422
DATA FILTERING (2 tests):
- Verify 'requires' field filtered from responses
- Verify recursive filtering of contents
INTEGRATION (1 test):
- Multiple sequential unlocks
- Idempotent operations
Test Results: 34 runs, 115 assertions, 0 failures
Server Implementation:
- validate_npc_unlock: Validates NPC encounter and permission list
- find_npc_in_scenario: Searches all rooms for NPC
- method='npc': New unlock method requiring NPC id as attempt
Client Implementation:
- Updated handleUnlockDoor to call server API with method='npc'
- Server validates all NPC unlock requests
- No client-side lock manipulation
Security Principle: All unlock authorization is server-side.
Client cannot bypass locks by manipulating state or claiming NPC unlocks.
Fixed critical vulnerability where ANY locked door/container could be bypassed
by sending method='unlocked' to the server.
The Vulnerability:
- Server used OR logic: if method == 'unlocked' || !room['locked']
- This meant: "If client says unlocked OR room is unlocked, grant access"
- Attacker could bypass ANY lock by sending method='unlocked'
- Example exploit: {targetType: "door", targetId: "ceo", method: "unlocked"}
The Fix:
- Changed to AND logic: if method == 'unlocked' && !room['locked']
- Now means: "Only if client says unlocked AND room is ACTUALLY unlocked"
- Added explicit rejection: return false if method='unlocked' on locked item
- Server now logs SECURITY VIOLATION when bypass is attempted
Changes:
- game.rb:151: Changed || to && for doors
- game.rb:157-160: Added explicit rejection for locked doors
- game.rb:185: Changed || to && for objects
- game.rb:191-194: Added explicit rejection for locked objects
Tests Added (4 new security tests):
1. Verify locked door CANNOT be bypassed with method='unlocked' (422 error)
2. Verify locked container CANNOT be bypassed with method='unlocked' (422 error)
3. Verify unlocked door CAN use method='unlocked' (200 success)
4. Verify unlocked container CAN use method='unlocked' (200 success)
Test Results: 28 tests, 95 assertions, 0 failures
Security Principle: Client state is NEVER trusted for authorization.
Server validates against its own scenario_data, not client claims.
Fixed issue where unlocked doors and containers wouldn't open because
getLockRequirements functions returned null for unlocked items, causing
early return.
Changes:
- Handle case where lockRequirements is null (unlocked item) by calling
server verification
- Updated getLockRequirementsForDoor to return data even for unlocked doors
- Updated getLockRequirementsForItem to include 'locked' field
- Now both locked and unlocked items go through proper server validation
Flow for unlocked items:
1. getLockRequirements returns null (no lock data) OR returns {locked: false}
2. Call notifyServerUnlock with method='unlocked'
3. Server validates item is actually unlocked in scenario_data
4. Server returns roomData (doors) or contents (containers)
5. Client proceeds to open/display content
Critical security fix: Removed client-side lock state checking that allowed
bypass of server validation. Clients can no longer manipulate lock states to
gain unauthorized access.
Previous vulnerability:
- Client checked props.locked (client-side data)
- If false, directly called notifyServerUnlock with method='unlocked'
- Server trusted this without validating its own scenario data
- Attacker could: set doorSprite.doorProperties.locked = false, then access
New secure flow:
- Client ALWAYS calls handleUnlock regardless of perceived lock state
- handleUnlock calls server with method='unlocked' for unlocked items
- Server ALWAYS validates against its own scenario_data
- Server only grants access if item is actually unlocked in server state
- Client state is never trusted for authorization decisions
Changes:
- doors.js: Removed client-side lock check, always call handleUnlock
- unlock-system.js: Handle unlocked items by verifying with server
- interactions.js: Removed client-side container lock check
- interactions.js: Removed notifyServerForUnlockedContainer helper
Security principle: Never trust the client. All authorization must be
server-side based on server state, not client-reported state.
Critical security fix: PIN and password minigames were falling back to
client-side validation when the correct answer was available. This allowed
players to bypass security by inspecting client-side code.
Changes:
- PIN minigame: ALWAYS use server-side validation, never client-side
- Password minigame: ALWAYS use server-side validation, never client-side
- If API client is unavailable, fail securely by rejecting the attempt
- Removed backwards compatibility code that allowed client-side validation
Security principle: Never trust the client for authentication/authorization.
All PIN and password validation must go through the server.
Fixed ReferenceError where notifyServerUnlock was not defined in doors.js.
The function was internal to unlock-system.js but is now needed by doors.js
for notifying the server when unlocked doors are opened.
Changes:
- Export notifyServerUnlock from unlock-system.js
- Import notifyServerUnlock in doors.js
Fixed issue where unlocked doors/containers couldn't be opened because
the server wasn't being notified to add them to unlockedRooms/unlockedObjects.
Server changes (game.rb):
- Updated validate_unlock to accept method='unlocked' for unlocked targets
- Added logic to grant access for unlocked doors/objects without validation
Client changes (doors.js):
- Updated handleDoorInteraction to notify server for unlocked doors
- Calls notifyServerUnlock with method='unlocked' before opening
Client changes (interactions.js):
- Added notifyServerForUnlockedContainer helper function
- Updated container interaction to notify server before launching minigame
This ensures that all room/container access is properly authorized on the
server side, preventing 403 Forbidden errors when loading room/container data.
Updated validate_unlock to use two-tier validation model:
- Server trusts client validation for item-based locks (key, lockpick, biometric, bluetooth, rfid)
- Server validates knowledge-based locks (pin, password)
This fixes 422 errors when unlocking with keys/lockpicking where attempt is nil,
since these methods don't require server-side answer validation.
- Created notifyServerUnlock helper function to DRY up code
- Updated lockpicking, key, biometric, bluetooth, and RFID unlocks to call server API
- All unlock methods now:
1. Validate unlock client-side (minigame/item check)
2. Notify server to update player_state
3. Receive room/container data in response
4. Pass serverResponse to unlockTarget
This ensures:
- Server tracks all unlocks in player_state (unlockedRooms/unlockedObjects)
- Room endpoint can validate access (403 if not unlocked)
- Single API call returns data needed (roomData for doors, contents for containers)
- Consistent behavior across all lock types
Server-side changes:
- Unlock endpoint already returns roomData for doors
Client-side changes:
- Pass serverResponse through minigame callback chain
- Store serverResponse in minigame gameResult (password & PIN)
- Update minigame-starters to pass result to callbacks
- Update unlock-system callbacks to accept and pass serverResponse
- Pass roomData to unlockDoor for doors
- Cache roomData in roomDataCache before loadRoom is called
- loadRoom checks cache before making API call
Benefits:
- Doors: Unlock + room load = 1 API call instead of 2
- Containers: Unlock + contents = 1 API call instead of 2
- More efficient, faster user experience
- Consistent pattern for both doors and containers
- Add find_object_in_scenario helper to locate objects by ID or name
- Include hasContents and contents fields in unlock response for containers
- Update password and PIN minigames to populate scenarioData.contents from server response
- This allows the container minigame to launch after successful server-side unlock
Without this, the contents field was filtered for security, preventing the container UI from launching.
- Import ApiClient in game.js to ensure window.ApiClient is set early
- Use window.breakEscapeConfig?.gameId instead of window.gameId in minigames
- Consistent with the rest of the codebase
Without importing ApiClient in the main game flow, window.ApiClient wasn't available when minigames needed it.
- Use correct ApiClient casing (window.ApiClient not window.APIClient)
- Check for both null and empty string to trigger server validation
- Add fallback to support both naming conventions
- Add debug logging to show which validation method is used
The ApiClient is exported as window.ApiClient but code was checking for window.APIClient.
- Make submit button always visible (not just when hints are enabled)
- Add console logging to track validation flow
- Debug why server validation isn't being triggered
This ensures users can submit passwords and helps diagnose validation issues.
- Add detailed logging to validate_unlock method to debug validation issues
- Check both object 'id' and 'name' fields when searching for objects
- Log password comparison details for debugging
This helps diagnose why correct passwords might not be accepted.
- Update password minigame to call server API when correctPassword is null
- Update PIN minigame to call server API when correctPin is null
- Pass lockable and type parameters to minigames for server validation
- Maintain backwards compatibility with client-side validation
- Handle network errors gracefully without counting failed attempts
This allows minigames to validate attempts server-side for security, preventing client-side answer spoofing.
- Update unlock-system.js to check 'locked' field instead of 'requires' for lock detection
- Pass null for key/pin/password required values (server validates)
- Preserve 'requires' field for biometric/bluetooth locks (contains item identifiers, not answers)
- Update both Game model and controller filtering methods
Fixes issue where locked objects didn't prompt for unlock after server-side filtering was implemented.
Changes:
- Add player_state type checking before accessing encounteredNPCs
- Reset player_state to empty hash if not a Hash type
- Add comprehensive logging for type mismatches
- Change from concat to array addition (+) to avoid in-place mutation issues
- Wrap entire method in try-catch to prevent NPC tracking from breaking room loading
- Add detailed error logging with stack traces
Fixes:
- TypeError: no implicit conversion of Array into String
- Handles legacy data where player_state might be malformed
- Room loading continues even if NPC tracking fails
Changes:
- Fix track_npc_encounters to handle case where encounteredNPCs is not an array
- Add type checking to ensure encounteredNPCs is always an array before operations
- Add comprehensive error handling and logging to room endpoint
- Add scenario_data presence check before processing room request
- Wrap room endpoint in try-catch to catch and log all errors
Fixes:
- TypeError: no implicit conversion of String into Array on line 312
- Prevents 500 errors when player_state has malformed data
- Provides clear error messages and stack traces for debugging
- Add try-catch blocks to prevent 500 errors
- Add logging to help diagnose issues
- Add nil checks for scenario_data and rooms
- Skip individual rooms that fail to process
- Return descriptive error messages for debugging
Server-side changes:
- Game model: Initialize starting items in player inventory from scenario
- Game model: Add filter_requires_and_contents_recursive to hide solutions and locked contents
- Game model: Fix filtered_room_data to preserve lockType while removing requires
- GamesController: Add scenario_map endpoint for minimal layout metadata
- GamesController: Update room endpoint with access control and NPC encounter tracking
- GamesController: Add container endpoint for lazy-loading locked container contents
- GamesController: Update inventory endpoint with comprehensive validation
- Validates item exists in scenario
- Checks item is takeable
- Verifies container is unlocked if item is in container
- Verifies room is unlocked if room is locked
- Checks NPC is encountered if item held by NPC
- GamesController: Update unlock endpoint with transaction safety
- GamesController: Update sync_state to verify room accessibility
- Routes: Add scenario_map and container routes
Client-side changes:
- inventory.js: Make addToInventory async and add server validation before local updates
- container-minigame.js: Add lazy-loading of container contents from server
- game.js: Update to use scenario_map endpoint for reduced initial payload
- api-client.js: Add getScenarioMap method alongside getScenario
Security improvements:
- Prevents client-side cheating by validating all actions server-side
- Hides solution fields (requires) from client responses
- Hides locked container contents until unlocked
- Enforces room and container access controls
- Tracks NPC encounters automatically
- All validation failures return clear error messages
Implements plans from:
- planning_notes/validate_client_actions/GOALS_AND_DECISIONS.md
- planning_notes/validate_client_actions/IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md
- Added server-side validation for inventory actions, ensuring items are validated before being added to the player's inventory.
- Updated client-side `addToInventory()` function to include server validation and error handling for inventory actions.
- Implemented container loading logic to fetch contents from the server, handling locked containers appropriately.
- Enhanced player state initialization to ensure starting items are correctly added to the inventory.
- Clarified NPC `itemsHeld` structure and updated validation logic to match the expected item format.
- Improved error handling for room access and container interactions, including transaction safety for state mutations.
- Introduced new endpoints for scenario mapping and bulk inventory synchronization.
- Added performance optimizations, including caching filtered room data and implementing JSON schema validation for item structures.
- Established a detailed implementation plan with phased priorities and testing gaps identified for future work.
- Implement RoomLazyLoadTest to verify room data retrieval and error handling for non-existent rooms.
- Create FilteredScenarioTest to ensure scenario data is filtered correctly for game initialization, preserving navigation structure while removing unnecessary details like objects and NPCs.
- Add tests for lock requirements and ensure original scenario data remains unmodified after filtering.
- Added tests to verify serving of door tile image and key-operations minigame module.
- Created new NPCInkLoadingTest to check various scenarios for NPC story file loading:
- Return 404 for NPCs without story files and for non-existent NPCs.
- Validate handling of missing NPC parameter.
- Ensure correct API endpoint construction in npc-lazy-loader.
- Verify person-chat and phone-chat minigames use the correct story loading endpoint.
- Confirm npc-manager loads stories via API endpoint without direct fetch of storyPath.
- Check asset path resolution in person-chat-portraits and phone-chat-ui.
- Ensure ink endpoint returns correct MIME type and handles special characters in NPC IDs.
- Created `AssetLoadingIntegrationTest` to verify the loading of game assets in the correct order, including JavaScript, CSS, and sound files.
- Implemented tests to ensure proper handling of asset paths, security constraints, and response headers.
- Added `StaticFilesControllerUnitTest` to test the content type determination logic for various file extensions, ensuring case insensitivity and handling of multiple dots in filenames.
- Implement StaticFilesController to serve CSS, JS, and asset files for the BreakEscape engine.
- Update routes to include static file paths for CSS, JS, and assets.
- Refactor game show view to load multiple CSS files and include Google Fonts.
- Remove application stylesheet link from the layout.
- Modify various CSS files to improve layout and styling, including HUD and inventory.
- Update JavaScript files to ensure asset paths are correctly prefixed with /break_escape/.
- Enhance minigame UI components, including notifications, modals, and overlays.
- Adjust game-over screen and health UI to use correct asset paths.
- Update constants and crypto workstation utility to reflect new asset paths.
- Change stylesheet_link_tag to plain <link> tag
- Change javascript_include_tag to plain <script> tag
- Fix CSS file path from styles.css to main.css
- This prevents Rails from trying to process static files through asset pipeline
- Add HTML response tests for missions index (checks mission cards rendered)
- Add game page tests (checks game container and config injection)
- Add API endpoint tests:
* scenario endpoint returns JSON scenario data
* bootstrap endpoint returns complete game state
* sync_state endpoint updates player position
* unlock endpoint validates and rejects invalid attempts
* inventory endpoint adds items to player inventory
- Fix inventory API to use action_type instead of reserved 'action' param
All 23 tests passing with 64 assertions verifying server returns correct data!
- Add root route that redirects to missions list
- Fix ApplicationController to fallback to demo user when current_user unavailable
- Configure dummy app to load engine migrations in application.rb
- Create test/dummy/db/migrate directory
- Successfully migrated and seeded database with 26 missions
Now visiting http://localhost:3000 will show the missions selection page!
- Move scenarios from app/assets/scenarios/ to scenarios/
- Update Mission model to use BreakEscape::Engine.root instead of Rails.root
- Update seeds.rb to use engine root for scenario discovery
- Update tests to use engine root for path assertions
This ensures scenarios are found correctly in both mounted (Hacktivity)
and standalone (test) environments.
All 12 tests now passing with 19 assertions!
- Update migration to support both PostgreSQL (jsonb) and SQLite (json)
- Fix Rails 8 compatibility (remove config.assets)
- Configure Pundit to use current_player instead of current_user
- Add explicit fixture class mappings for engine fixtures
- Configure standalone mode for tests
- Update test fixtures with proper timestamps and structure
- Improve game test to create data programmatically
Tests now run with 10/12 assertions passing. Remaining errors are due to
missing test scenario files, which can be addressed separately.
- Update README with complete feature list and usage
- Add architecture documentation (ERB, JIT, state management)
- Create HACKTIVITY_INTEGRATION.md guide
- Include installation, configuration, and troubleshooting
- Document API endpoints and security considerations
- Add monitoring and performance notes
Rails Engine Migration Complete! 🎉
- Create DemoUser migration for standalone development
- Add DemoUser model with polymorphic games association
- Add configuration system (standalone vs mounted)
- Use ENV variables for configuration
- current_player method supports both modes (ApplicationController)
- Can run without Hacktivity for development
- Add fixtures for missions, demo_users, games
- Add model tests for Mission and Game
- Add controller tests for MissionsController
- Test validations, scopes, and methods
- Test state management and health clamping
- Ready for integration testing in host app
