# Decisions log — retired paths, kept so they are not re-litigated

One dated line per decision that **no longer governs**, plus the reason it died. Read only when
you are about to re-open one of them. Live rules live in the subsystem files; this is the
graveyard with cause of death.

## Monetization

### 2026-10-30 — freemium replaces free-forever (creator ruling)

Free tier caps output at **720p30**; **$10/month** or **$400 lifetime** unlocks 1080p. Reverses the
2026-10-08 free-forever ruling below, which was a *current decision*, not an absolute.

**The website publishes the model, never the numbers** (free forever, every feature unlocked, a paid
edition at launch) — the terms may still change. The real plan is recorded internally in the site's
`build-this.md`; keep both in step when it moves.

### Superseded: free forever (2026-10-08, TASK 54)

- **2026-09-21** one-time perpetual licence `$29` founder → `$49` list — superseded 6 days later.
- **2026-09-27** `$10/mo` subscription or `$400` lifetime, **no annual**. Store revenue share was
  verified at **15%** (ADA v8.10 §6(b)(i) → `$8.50` / `$340` net), including subscriptions.
- **No annual tier** because Microsoft does not pro-rate: *"monthly subscriptions and initial
  (pre-renewal) purchases aren't eligible for a prorated refund"* — a first-year subscriber who
  cancels loses the remaining months and the developer cannot refund it.
- **Clean numbers, no `.99`** (creator: *"Let's stop with the x.99 stuff"*). The convention exists
  only to make a price look cheaper, which is incoherent for a brand sold on honesty.
- **Escalation model** (2026-09-01): the credit was deliberately obnoxious self-promo; the cadence
  *is* the nagware — no modals, no feature locks, no stream-time cutoffs.
- **Pre-GA posture — preview-only flash** (reversed 2026-09-26): the credit used to render in the
  preview and never on the broadcast, to keep test VODs clean. The creator ruled the free tier must
  be honest advertising; it now composites into output and recordings when enabled.
- **Rejected**: always-on watermark (obscurable — replaced by the flash), hard stream-time cutoffs
  (a stream dying mid-broadcast reads as broken), soft-limit nagging, freemium feature tiers,
  donation-only, and any resolution/quality ceiling. Auto step-down (TASK 33) is a *protect the
  stream* feature, never a monetization penalty.
- **Polar** — $50 already paid, 5% + $0.50 Starter, merchant of record. Dormant, not
  deleted-in-principle: no product, org ID, key prefix or discount code exists
  (`d105dfa1-…`, `c05fb364-…`, `LCYT-`, `LLAMAFOUNDER`/`LLAMA50`, the portal-validate endpoint and
  the 14-day offline-grace machine are all gone). `Distribution.md` §4.2/§4.5 keeps the design.
- **Store IAP** was never implemented — `Windows.Services.Store` appears nowhere in the repo.
- ⚠️ **Two obligations any future subscription would create** (ADA §6(h)): fulfil the whole period
  as marketed (breach → Microsoft may refund in full at its discretion), and **raising the price
  disables auto-renew** — the launch price is effectively locked for the product's life.

## Distribution — Store route RE-OPENED 2026-10-30 (Individual account)

**2026-10-30:** the Store is the route again, via a **Microsoft Individual developer account**
(not Company), so no legal entity is needed and the publisher line shows the verified individual
name. The creator will open the account; distribution work stays parked until then. The site copy
("Coming soon to the Microsoft Store") is therefore accurate again, and the 2026-10-22
"Store is dead / direct + Steam" ruling below is superseded.

## Superseded: Store route withdrawn 2026-10-22

- **2026-09-27 Store MSIX + Store IAP decided; 2026-10-22 withdrawn.** A brand name on the
  Store's *publisher* line requires a **Company** account → a registered legal entity (LLC ~$85
  New Mexico with a ~2-week SOS backlog, ~$143 Wyoming). Partner Center does **not** convert an
  Individual account to a Company account later, and an Individual account publishes under the
  verified legal name. The creator will not fund an entity for a nameplate.
- **2026-10-22 Velopack deleted** — it downloaded and executed, which Store policy 10.2.2 forbids.
  The Store was going to update the app, so that premise died with the route: **the app now has no
  update path**, and `StorePackagingTests` currently asserts that no updater exists — rewrite that
  guard with the chosen updater, never leave it to veto one.
- **The MSIX package still builds** (159 MB `artifacts/LlamaCasty.msix`, submitted nowhere). The
  route contradiction between `ai.md`'s older text and the TASKS files is settled in one sweep at
  the distribution revisit, not patched piecemeal.
- **Signing**: Microsoft removed the EV instant-bypass for SmartScreen in March 2024, so EV buys
  what OV buys; the 2026-10-22 ruling is **ship unsigned** and accept the "unrecognized publisher"
  warning until download reputation accrues. Deferred, not rejected.
- **Steam when $100 exists**: Steam Direct $100/product (recoupable after $1,000 AGR), categories
  *Audio/Video Production* / *Player Tools* (OBS precedent), developer/publisher name self-chosen
  (no entity needed), 5+ 1920×1080 screenshots + capsule art, a build Valve runs, a 2-week live
  page, 30% cut.

## Product surface — retired

- **2026-09-24 StreamElements replaced by native alerts** (TASK 43). No third-party widget feed:
  the chat poll *is* the event feed.
- **2026-09-01 the screens/layers settings audit** was retired into the gold pass (TASK 36 item 3)
  rather than run as session debt.
- **2026-10-04 launch position**: restoring the saved position was rejected for a derived
  top-left placement. The live rule is in `ui-surface.md`; the old clamp's tolerance range is why
  it must not come back.
- **D3D11 swap compositor** — superseded by the software compositor (TASK 3 item 16).
- **Windows 8 / 32-bit support** — 64-bit Windows 10/11 only (creator ruling 2026-10-09).
- **"There is no v1.x"** (2026-09-01): everything queues to v1 or to *out of product,
  permanently* — no feature parks "for a later version".

## Out of product — permanently

Do not build these; each was explicitly ruled out.

- D3D11 swap compositor (superseded by the software compositor).
- OBS-style source expansion — game capture, browser-source zoo, media playlist, VLC, colour-key,
  MIDI. The minimal source set is deliberate; creators who need more have graduated to OBS.
- Multi-layout / profiles / presets — that is what OBS is for.
- Cross-process stream resume (impossible via the API; creator ruling 2026-09-01).
- Stream Deck / Loupedeck integration — the device sends keystrokes, and global hotkeys already
  *are* the integration.
- Per-source audio sync offset — global offset shipped (TASK 22); per-source is the OBS mixer
  rabbit hole and breaks the one-knob audio rule.
- Chroma key / NVIDIA-only background removal (the bundled ONNX path is the one shipped).
- Virtual camera output — a different product and a device-driver swamp; our output is one
  YouTube stream.
- Replay buffer, stream clipping, multi-destination restreaming, an in-app bug reporter, and an
  advanced broadcast-form tab (latency/DVR/embed/projection/CC/region are fixed at sane defaults;
  every exposed field is a support ticket).