Core Loop

Meet: Encounter potential love interests and establish baseline rapport.
Date: Engage in structured events to learn preferences and test compatibility.
Deepen: Invest resources (time, gifts, choices) to increase affection/stats.
Branch: Story diverges into character-specific "Routes" based on major milestones.
Resolve: Reach a specialized ending (Good/Normal/Bad) based on relationship quality.

NEVER Do (Expert Anti-Patterns)

NEVER create "Vending Machine" romance; strictly incorporate variables like NPC Mood, Timing, and Multi-Stat Thresholds to ensure characters feel autonomous.
NEVER use binary Affection (Love/Hate); strictly use a Multi-Axial Model (Attraction, Trust, Comfort) for believable psychological depth.
NEVER focus on 100% opaque stats; strictly provide Visible Indicators (heart UI, blushing text, pulsing hearts) to help players make informed choices.
NEVER use the "Same Date Order" trap; strictly implement a Repetition Penalty (~30%) for visiting the same location twice in a row.
NEVER forget "Missable" Milestones; strictly ensure meaningful consequences (e.g., missing events due to poor scheduling) to add weight to the experience.
NEVER ignore NPC Autonomy; strictly allow NPCs to have their own Schedules and the ability to Reject the player based on low trust or conflicting events.
NEVER use polling (_process) for NPC schedule checks; strictly use a Signal-Driven TimeManager (Autoload) to broadcast hour/day changes for performant state updates.
NEVER hardcode character references for jealousy logic; strictly use Groups (add_to_group) to broadcast romantic events across the scene for decoupled, autonomous NPC reactions.