Cod3x once annotated a cell pathgrid as though it necessarily existed.
Real content disagreed.
Commit f834f17e corrected the field to be optional.
The rule
Model what the engine can actually return, not what well-behaved content usually contains.
This matters for:
- optional records;
- ownership fields;
- cell data;
- magic fields;
- content added by mods;
- transitional engine state;
- objects in inventories/containers.
A type system that lies confidently is worse than one that admits uncertainty.
The same principle applies to runtime code. If absence is valid input, handle it. If absence violates a true invariant, assert with a useful message.
Source: S3ctors S3cret St4sh commit f834f17e.