Phase 1: Parse Arguments
version: the release version to generate notes for (e.g., 1.2.0)--style: output style — brief (bullet points), detailed (with context), full (with developer commentary). Default: detailed.
If no version is provided, ask the user before proceeding.
Phase 2: Gather Change Data
- Read the internal changelog at
production/releases/[version]/changelog.md if it exists
- Also check
docs/CHANGELOG.md for the relevant version entry
- Run
git log between the previous release tag and current tag/HEAD as a fallback
- Read sprint retrospectives in
production/sprints/ for context
- Read any balance change documents in
design/balance/
- Read bug fix records from QA if available
If no changelog data is available (neither production/releases/[version]/changelog.md
nor a docs/CHANGELOG.md entry for this version exists, and git log is empty or unavailable):
"No changelog data found for [version]. Run /changelog [version] first to generate the
internal changelog, then re-run /patch-notes [version]."
Verdict: BLOCKED — stop here without generating notes.
Phase 2b: Detect Tone Guide and Template
Tone guide detection — before drafting notes, check for writing style guidance:
- Check
docs/framework/technical-preferences.md for any "tone", "voice", or "style"
fields or sections.
- Check
docs/PATCH-NOTES-STYLE.md if it exists.
- Check
design/community/tone-guide.md if it exists.
- If any source contains tone/voice/style instructions, extract them and apply
them to the language and framing of the generated notes.
- If no tone guidance is found anywhere, default to:
player-friendly, non-technical language; enthusiastic but not hyperbolic;
focus on what the player experiences, not what the developer changed.
Template detection — check whether a patch notes template exists:
- Glob for
docs/patch-notes-template.md and docs/framework/templates/patch-notes-template.md.
- If found at either location, read it and use it as the output structure for Phase 4
instead of the built-in style templates (Brief / Detailed / Full). Fill in the
template's sections with the categorized data.
- If not found, use the built-in style templates as defined in Phase 4.
Phase 3: Categorize and Translate
Categorize all changes into player-facing categories:
- New Content: new features, maps, characters, items, modes
- Gameplay Changes: balance adjustments, mechanic changes, progression changes
- Quality of Life: UI improvements, convenience features, accessibility
- Bug Fixes: grouped by system (combat, UI, networking, etc.)
- Performance: optimization improvements players might notice
- Known Issues: transparency about unresolved problems
Translate developer language to player language:
- "Refactored damage calculation pipeline" → "Improved hit detection accuracy"
- "Fixed null reference in inventory manager" → "Fixed a crash when opening inventory"
- "Reduced GC allocations in combat loop" → "Improved combat performance"
- Remove purely internal changes that don't affect players
- Preserve specific numbers for balance changes (damage: 50 → 45)
Phase 4: Generate Patch Notes
Brief Style
# Patch [Version] — [Title]
**New**
- [Feature 1]
- [Feature 2]
**Changes**
- [Balance/mechanic change with before → after values]
**Fixes**
- [Bug fix 1]
- [Bug fix 2]
**Known Issues**
- [Issue 1]
Detailed Style
# Patch [Version] — [Title]
*[Date]*
## Highlights
[1-2 sentence summary of the most exciting changes]
## New Content
### [Feature Name]
[2-3 sentences describing the feature and why players should be excited]
## Gameplay Changes
### Balance
| Change | Before | After | Reason |
| ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| [Item/ability] | [old value] | [new value] | [brief rationale] |
### Mechanics
- **[Change]**: [explanation of what changed and why]
## Quality of Life
- [Improvement with context]
## Bug Fixes
### Combat
- Fixed [description of what players experienced]
### UI
- Fixed [description]
### Networking
- Fixed [description]
## Performance
- [Improvement players will notice]
## Known Issues
- [Issue and workaround if available]
Full Style
Includes everything from Detailed, plus:
## Developer Commentary
### [Topic]
> [Developer insight into a major change — why it was made, what was considered,
> what the team learned. Written in first-person team voice.]
Phase 5: Review Output
Check the generated notes for:
- No internal jargon (replace technical terms with player-friendly language)
- No references to internal systems, tickets, or sprint numbers
- Balance changes include before/after values
- Bug fixes describe the player experience, not the technical cause
- Tone matches the game's voice (adjust formality based on game style)
Phase 6: Save Patch Notes
Present the completed patch notes to the user along with: a count of changes by category, and any internal changes that were excluded (for review).
Ask: "May I write these patch notes to docs/patch-notes/[version].md?"
If yes, write the file to docs/patch-notes/[version].md, creating the directory
if needed. Also write to production/releases/[version]/patch-notes.md as the
internal archive copy.
Phase 7: Next Steps
Verdict: COMPLETE — patch notes generated and saved.
- Run
/release-checklist to verify all other release gates are met before publishing.
- Share the patch notes draft with the community-manager for tone review before posting publicly.