deadmtl-site

Static Astro site for DeadMTL — a Montréal survival network, server hub, dispatch archive, map terminal, and media platform for a Project Zomboid world set in winter 1993.

DeadMTL is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with The Indie Stone.

Current public status

• Static website: live.
• Game server: pending.
• Whitelist: closed.
• Discord: pending.
• Season 0: setup.
• Map: in progress.
• Site signal: online.

The site must never imply that the game server is online unless it actually is. Use "Site Signal: Online" for the website and "Game Server: Pending" for the server until that changes.

Stack

• Astro v5 static site generator.
• SCSS compiled through Astro/Vite.
• Vanilla JavaScript for progressive enhancement.
• Astro Content Collections for dispatch entries.
• GitHub Pages deployment.
• No React.
• No Svelte.
• No CMS.
• No backend.
• No analytics.
• No runtime database.
• No runtime image upload.

Local development

npm install
npm run dev
npm run build
npm run preview

Common flow:

cd E:\Omni\Zomboid\deadmtl-site

npm run build
npm run preview

Then open the local preview URL printed by Astro, usually:

http://localhost:4321/

Deployment

The site is static. Production deploy is handled by GitHub Pages on push to main.

git status --short
git add <files>
git commit -m "<message>"
git pull --rebase origin main
git push origin main

After pushing, watch the GitHub Pages workflow if needed:

gh run list --repo mrcheval91/deadmtl-site --limit 3
gh run watch --repo mrcheval91/deadmtl-site

Production domain:

deadmtl.com

Project structure

src/
  components/
    DeadMtlInteractiveMap.astro     Interactive tactical map component

  content/
    config.ts                       Astro content collection definitions
    dispatch/                       Dispatch markdown entries

  data/
    deadmtl-zones.ts                Zone metadata for the tactical map
    site-settings.ts                Optional site/homepage settings if enabled

  layouts/
    Base.astro                      Base HTML layout, nav, footer, head slots

  pages/
    index.astro                     Homepage
    construction.astro              Season 0 status / construction page
    404.astro                       Custom 404
    archive/                        Archive page
    assets/                         Asset/tooling page
    community/                      Community page
    dispatch/                       Dispatch index and dispatch entries
    join/                           Join / open access info
    knowledge/                      Knowledge Center
    map/                            Interactive tactical map
    rules/                          Server rules
    saint-paul-emard/               First active zone dossier

  styles/
    global.scss                     SCSS entry point
    _tokens.scss                    Design tokens
    _reset.scss                     CSS reset
    _layout.scss                    Layout primitives
    _components.scss                General reusable components
    _terminal.scss                  Terminal UI, homepage, cards, panels
    _map.scss                       Tactical map styles

public/
  favicon.svg
  images/
    home/
      deadmtl-hero.webp             Homepage hero WebP
      deadmtl-hero-sm.webp          Mobile homepage hero WebP
      deadmtl-hero.jpg              Homepage hero JPEG fallback
  maps/
    arrondissements-quartiers-montreal-200802.svg
  scripts/
    main.js                         Nav/ticker progressive enhancement
    dead-map.js                     Client-side tactical map logic

assets/
  Local source assets. Not every file here is shipped directly.

docs/
  HOMEPAGE_IMAGE.md                 Hero image source and derivative notes
  HOMEPAGE_HERO_SETTINGS.md         Hero settings notes, if added
  LOCALIZATION.md                   Language/localization doctrine
  MAP_SYSTEM.md                     Tactical map architecture and limits

scripts/
  inspect-map-svg.mjs               Non-destructive SVG inspection utility
  make-hero.py                      Hero derivative generator
  make-hero-v2.py                   Updated hero derivative generator

Some files above may exist only after their related slice has been applied. Do not add duplicate README files at the repo root. Keep root documentation in README.md and move supporting notes into docs/.

Routes

Route	Purpose
/	Homepage with hero image, status grid, access cards, map teaser, latest dispatches
/rules/	Server rules and code of conduct
/join/	Open access info; server not yet live
/construction/	Season 0 status and honest project limits
/dispatch/	Dispatch index
/dispatch/[slug]/	Individual dispatch entries
/saint-paul-emard/	First active zone dossier
/map/	Interactive Montréal tactical map
/knowledge/	Knowledge Center
/assets/	Tools, assets, PZMapForge links, devlog placeholders
/community/	Community/Discord placeholder; no fake invite
/archive/	Archive page
/404	Custom 404

Homepage hero

The homepage hero uses local static image derivatives under:

public/images/home/

Current active derivatives:

deadmtl-hero.webp
deadmtl-hero-sm.webp
deadmtl-hero.jpg

The source image is kept in assets/ and should not be destroyed when making web derivatives.

Hero requirements:

• Root site language is English.
• French/localized versions come later as separate locale routes or i18n.
• The image should remain a Montréal/Stade Olympique survival signal, not a generic dark texture.
• The status grid must stay honest:
  • Season 0: Setup
  • Game Server: Pending
  • Whitelist: Closed
  • Map: In Progress
  • Discord: Pending
  • Site Signal: Online

To change the hero image in the current static workflow:

1. Add or choose a source image under assets/.
2. Generate optimized web derivatives under public/images/home/.
3. Update the homepage image paths or the site settings file if enabled.
4. Run npm run build.
5. Commit and push.

A Facebook-style live upload UI would require a backend, CMS, or GitHub-writing admin layer. Do not add that until deliberately scoped.

Interactive map

The /map/ page contains a client-side-only tactical map built from a local Montréal borough SVG.

Current map architecture:

• public/maps/arrondissements-quartiers-montreal-200802.svg
• src/data/deadmtl-zones.ts
• src/components/DeadMtlInteractiveMap.astro
• src/styles/_map.scss
• public/scripts/dead-map.js
• scripts/inspect-map-svg.mjs
• docs/MAP_SYSTEM.md

The map is static and browser-side only. There is no backend, tracking, or analytics.

Known limitation: the current SVG uses older borough boundaries and does not expose every desired neighbourhood or borough as a distinct clickable polygon. A better post-2002 SVG or custom DeadMTL-specific vector map is future work.

Content collections

Dispatch entries live in:

src/content/dispatch/

Expected frontmatter fields include:

title
slug
date
zone
signal
status
excerpt
type

Add a new dispatch by creating a Markdown file in src/content/dispatch/ with the required frontmatter.

Design direction

DeadMTL should feel like:

• 1993 Montréal emergency broadcast
• pirate municipal BBS
• contaminated city terminal
• tactical survival archive
• cheap degraded media, scanlines, cyan/red signal language

Visual doctrine:

• Cyan / teal: signal, network, identity.
• Red: threat, contamination, emergency.
• Amber: pending, warning, operational status.
• Bone / white: readable public text.
• Black: void, terminal base.

Do not turn the whole site into full pixel art. Use pixelization, halftone, dither, and scanline effects as image/media treatment, while keeping UI text sharp and readable.

Language doctrine

Root/source site language is English.

Allowed in the English root:

• DeadMTL
• Project Zomboid
• The Indie Stone
• Montréal
• Saint-Paul-Émard
• LaSalle
• Verdun
• Jolicoeur
• Pont Mercier
• BBS / PKT / CRIT / LOCK / ACTF-style terminal codes

French localization can be added later as /fr/ or a proper i18n layer. Do not mix French UI and English UI on the root site.

Asset doctrine

• Do not use Project Zomboid logos or copyrighted game assets.
• Do not hotlink external images.
• Use local, intentional, project-owned static assets.
• Keep source assets in assets/.
• Put optimized shipped images in public/images/.
• Document significant image sources and derivatives in docs/.

Server and community doctrine

• No fake server launch claims.
• No fake player counts.
• No fake Discord invite.
• No fake uptime.
• No pay-to-win language.
• No donor gameplay perks.
• No gameplay advantage sales.
• The server is pending until a real server address is intentionally published.
• Open access is planned. The server is not live. Do not imply players can join now.

Validation checklist

Before committing:

npm run build
git status --short

For homepage or visual work, also check:

• Root language remains English.
• No visible escaped HTML entities.
• No broken hero image paths.
• No false "game server online" wording.
• Hero/status remains readable on desktop and mobile.
• The map page still loads if map-related files were touched.

Cleanup rule

The repository root should stay clean.

Keep:

README.md
CHANGELOG.md
package.json
astro.config.mjs
src/
public/
assets/
docs/
scripts/

Do not keep generated package notes at root, such as:

README.txt
INTEGRATION_NOTES.md

Move supporting notes into docs/ with a clear filename.