Feedback: Claude can iterate 8+ times on same layer without considering 'wrong layer' as hypothesis

Context

Working on a Roblox game project. A creature physics issue ("Bear bouncing/flipping when hitting walls") was reported. Spent 8 versions iterating in the physics layer:

• v1582: Massless+nocollide for body parts
• v1583/v1584: Reactive upright watcher with raycast Y correction
• v1585: BodyGyro X/Z lock + SetNetworkOwner(nil)
• v1586: Tuned BodyGyro damping
• v1587: Heartbeat positive-Y velocity clamp
• v1588: Aggressive humanoid state disable (broke ground snap → reverted)
• v1589: Restored v1587 + debug print
• v1590: Fixed humanoid forward-reference bug exposed by debug print
• v1591: Tried BodyVelocity Y lock (caused some bears to walk in midair → reverted)
• v1592: Reverted to v1590 acceptable state

Each iteration introduced new edge cases (sinking into ground, walking in midair, oscillation). I marked the residual bouncing as "acceptable" and moved on.

Three turns later, user asked about a different problem: "creatures embed into structures before attacking, AttackRange becomes meaningless." I implemented a forward raycast in the AI layer (v1593-v1594) so creatures stop at AttackRange instead of colliding into walls.

User then reported: "the bouncing also disappeared because creatures no longer touch structures."

The 8 physics-layer iterations were treating a symptom. The root cause was an AI behavior — creatures were ramming walls and the impulse caused vertical bouncing. Fixing the AI fixed the physics issue as a byproduct.

The pattern

When iterating on a problem in layer X for 3+ turns without convergence, I should naturally generate the hypothesis: "Maybe this isn't an X-layer problem." Currently I don't — I keep refining within the layer because each fix produces some improvement, never zero. This is a textbook local minimum.

Suggestion

Some heuristic for the model to surface "you've iterated N times in this domain — would it help to step back and consider whether the problem lives elsewhere?" The user shouldn't have to be the one to suggest it (they often won't know either, since the symptom genuinely appears in layer X).

Cost observed

Per iteration: ~5-10 minutes user time + cache invalidation between sessions. 8 iterations ≈ 60+ minutes plus a memory file documenting failed approaches.

Environment

• Claude Code (Opus 4.7)
• Roblox/Luau project