Merge pull request #56 from DramaticShape/back-sprite-transparency-fix

v1.5.0

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,320 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 1.5.0
+
+### Added
+
+- **1ST: a first-person camera, played like a modern one.** A seventh
+  rung on the VOXEL ladder (hotkey 3 walks it; the OPTIONS row carries
+  it). Stepping onto it dives the camera from wherever the orbit was
+  into the player's own head over half a second, and stepping off flies
+  it back out. The rig rides the same placed-camera seam the staged
+  battle proved out, so the sky's bands meet the horizon, the sun and
+  moon hang where their shadows say, and the water reflects at eye
+  level -- all through math that was already there.
+
+  - **Free look.** Relative mouse motion (the cursor is captured while
+    the rung is on; left click is A, right click is B), the right
+    stick at a rate with a squared response curve, or a touch dragged
+    across any open screen -- the overlay's d-pad and buttons still
+    work, and a second finger can drag the view while the first
+    walks. Pitch clamps short of straight up and straight down.
+
+  - **Free movement.** While 1ST drives, the grid walk is replaced by
+    a continuous, camera-relative one: push forward and you go where
+    you look, at any angle, sliding along whatever you graze. The left
+    stick's raw deflection, the touch d-pad's true vector, or the held
+    keys (forward / backpedal / strafe) all steer it. The grid is
+    still the game: the walk asks the engine's own collision the same
+    per-cell questions a grid step asks, the logical cell tracks the
+    body, and every cell crossed runs the engine's own landing
+    pipeline -- warps, encounters, spinners, gates, poison, repel, the
+    step counters. Walking off the map edge, into a ledge or into a
+    boulder hands the push to the engine's own handlers, so
+    connections cross, ledges hop and boulders shove exactly as
+    themselves. Speed is the grid walker's own (bike included), so
+    distance per second and encounters per tile are unchanged.
+
+  - **Billboards seen from inside the world.** Character cards stop
+    leaning and start turning: upright, yawed about their feet to face
+    the eye, wearing the frame their pose shows *this* viewer -- walk
+    behind an NPC and you see their back, circle to a flank and you
+    get the profile, exactly the four frames Gen 1 drew. The authored
+    figures (the couch sitters) turn the same way, about their own
+    middle. The sun pass swaps frames in step, so a card never reads
+    its own shadow through a mirror-flipped record of itself. The
+    player's own card is left out of the camera draw -- the eye stands
+    in it -- but still casts its shadow on the ground ahead.
+
+  - The shadow map's box follows the look (the orbit's fit reaches far
+    north and barely south, which is wrong for a head facing south);
+    the world curve is declined outright while the head owns the
+    camera; and the whole rung falls back to the 75-degree orbit on
+    hardware without the 3D pass.
+
+## 1.4.3
+
+### Added
+
+- **The furniture of the whole game goes through the building
+  pipeline.** 1.4.1 put four drawings through it; this is the rest of
+  the rooms. Every one of them is the same read -- the drawing's own
+  bands say what is a top seen from above, what is a face seen head-on,
+  and where the thing ends on the floor -- and every one of them
+  replaces a pinned box that wore its drawing as a decal. The pins all
+  stay as the degradation path, neutralized wherever a template stamps.
+
+  - **The bookcase, the commonest piece of furniture in the game** --
+    58 placements across two drawings on the town-house atlas (books
+    and a bowl on each shelf at the west end of eighteen homes, books
+    on both at the east), plus Red's and the Copycat's pair. Pinned
+    `desk` it was a 24px box with the books painted on its flat front.
+    Modelled it is 23 voxels of cabinet with its top seen from above,
+    and every book, bowl and door panel sunk a voxel behind the frame
+    the drawing seals it in.
+  - **Celadon's display cabinets** -- the tall one with the trophy
+    behind its glass and the short one beside it, band for band the
+    same object as the town house's on another atlas, which is what
+    makes the pair read as one line of furniture: 23 voxels and 15,
+    exactly the 8 rows of drawing between them.
+  - **The dining table, everywhere it is drawn** -- the generic town
+    house's at 18 placements, Red's and the Copycat's, and the chief's
+    long table at four cells wide. All of them the lab table's read at
+    a different width, all of them 6 voxels, all of them standing on
+    the ground line their legs are drawn stopping at rather than on
+    the grid's floor.
+  - **The stool at every one of those tables** -- 94 placements on the
+    house atlas alone, ten more in Red's and the Copycat's, and the Fan
+    Club's four members' chairs, a different drawing that is
+    pixel-identical from the seat down. The first template with no base
+    piece at all: a stool is drawn mid-cell over its own floor, so it
+    is a desk-set of exactly one part, seat lid over legs with the
+    floor showing between them.
+  - **The Pokemon Center's healing machine** -- two variants, 24
+    placements, plus the Indigo Plateau lobby's pair. A wall-height
+    cabinet with its monitor perched on the front of its top face,
+    drawn across two map rows because it towers over the 16px band
+    behind it, which the volume path could only read as more wall. The
+    hoses leaving its side are modelled as hoses, at the elevation and
+    the depth the two stacked motifs put them; the west machine's
+    keyboard is a shelf at counter height wearing its own top-view art.
+  - **Bill's desk, and the Silph president's** -- the same drawing in
+    both rooms. Its terminal is drawn in 2:1 isometric, turned 45
+    degrees to the map, and builds as a cube rather than the slab a 2:1
+    reading gives; the kinked dark run between keyboard and computer is
+    raised to the keyboard's height and reads as the cable it is. The
+    desk stops at its own two cells because the artist drew its apron
+    into the walkable cell in front, sharing tiles with the chair
+    pushed up to it -- so the chair is modelled as a part of the desk.
+  - **The Bike Shop's open toolbox.** The drawing looks down INTO the
+    tray, which is why every solid treatment failed it -- as a
+    `billboard` the whole cell went up as one 10-voxel slab wearing the
+    drawing as a decal. `tray` builds four walls, a floor and air
+    between them, with the lid standing open on its hinge.
+
+  What the template language grew to carry them: `tray`; a `desk` band
+  that lays its top face flat as a lid; the `box`, `flat` and `iso`
+  part kinds; `stretch` for a band mapped over a deeper plot than it
+  was drawn on; `inset` for a pane sunk by hand; `panes = false` where
+  the global recess pass has the polarity backwards; a `wall` element
+  so a template can keep the band behind it solid; `plane` for a height
+  the drawing states elsewhere; and `scrub`/`keep`/`support`, which let
+  a template model a surface while leaving an object standing on it to
+  its own standee -- Red's potted plant on the dining table.
+
+- **Round bins: the `can` class.** Vermilion Gym's switch puzzle stands
+  fifteen galvanised trash cans in a row, and the S.S. Anne redraws the
+  same object pixel for pixel as its galley barrels. Left to the thin
+  standee pool they were flat discs on edge -- fifteen coins standing
+  in a row; pinned a plain `cylinder` the drawing's base arc revolves
+  too and they came out as barrels balanced on a three-voxel stem.
+  `can` is the round hull cut at both ends, hollowed and tapered: the
+  drawn mouth ellipse projects across the top and down the well so you
+  look into the bin, the drawn base ellipse is ground contact rather
+  than body, and the plan narrows toward the floor. The two ellipses
+  are measured off the pixels; the height, the well and the taper are
+  authored, and the entry says why.
+
+- **The rock gyms' boulders are round.** 87 placements over Pewter's
+  walls and maze and Bruno's clusters, and every one of them was a
+  square bar wearing a boulder texture in relief -- the repeat-aware
+  scenery path extruding the whole drawing as one course. Each cell is
+  now a hull whose plan is its own drawn width profile turned in depth:
+  a dome full-width from the drawn shoulder down, tapering over the top
+  five rows exactly where the art tapers, with the floor's corner
+  diamonds opening between them the way the drawing has them. Still
+  16px, so nothing standing on or beside a rock moves.
+
+- **The potted plant stands as a plant.** The most repeated interior
+  prop in the game -- 78 placements over 13 maps, six per Pokemon
+  Center -- and its urn was rendering as a hollow black frame, because
+  the drawing's foot lies flush on the block's bottom edge and the
+  background vote took the plant's own darks away with the floor. Named
+  outright as light and white instead, it stands as one organic
+  silhouette 32px tall over its two stacked cells, crown overhanging
+  the stem. `planter` carries the same reading for a round drawing
+  stacked two cells high on one cell of plot.
+
+- **Bicycles, in both places the Bike Shop draws them.** The six on the
+  showroom floor get their own pool at two voxels rather than the thin
+  pool's five: a bike is a line drawing, and at five voxels every
+  stroke closes the gap to its neighbour with its own side faces, so
+  from any angle but dead-on the air inside the frames filled in and
+  the six came out as one dark lump. And the two against the north wall
+  get `mounted`, a new authored-mask escape for a thing drawn INTO a
+  wall band: it holds the wall's plane as a thin per-pixel slab instead
+  of standing up as a sprite card, and it keeps its drawn elevation, so
+  a bicycle hung clear of the floor stays hung. Its mask is measured
+  rather than hand-drawn -- the plain panel tile composited across the
+  same grid and the background flooded in through the pixels that still
+  match it, which separates bicycle from stripe exactly.
+
+- **The Marts' cash register is a machine, not a decal.** An authored
+  figure may now state a `depth`, which makes it an object rather than
+  a person: a per-pixel solid standing on the counter instead of the
+  flat card that turned edge-on with the camera. And the drawing is not
+  a box -- its black linework packs two facings, an L of base and arm
+  around a keypad that is the machine's deck seen from above. `flat`
+  lays that rect horizontal in the notch of the L, and `thin` gives the
+  receipt curl a paper's thickness where the body's would have made it
+  a wedge.
+
+- **Shelf fronts have relief.** Everything the `bookcase` collapse is
+  used for is a shelf, a rack or a display case, and all of them seal
+  their contents behind the drawing's own black frame -- so those
+  regions now sink a voxel, the same rule a facade's window panes are
+  recessed by, and the books stand in the shelf instead of being
+  painted on it. A tileset that borrows the collapse for something that
+  is not a shelf says `bookcase_relief = false`: the League's masonry
+  and pilasters, whose courses are the wall itself, and Bill's
+  transporter drums, whose light regions are a lit barrel.
+
+### Changed
+
+- **Class heights now follow the models under them.** A tileset's
+  `heights` gets stools at 5 and tables at 6 in the houses, Bill's desk
+  at 8, and cans at 9 -- each of them the drawn elevation the new
+  template or hull stands at, so whoever sits on a stool sits on the
+  seat, and whatever object sprite stands on a table lands on the
+  modelled top rather than three voxels over it or under it.
+- The healing machines' two flanks leave the `wall` pin for the thin
+  standee pool. They are equipment standing beside the console -- a
+  pair of pipes and a keyboard -- and as wall each was boxed into a
+  solid 16px half-cell wearing its drawing in relief.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Water no longer hides behind water.** The reflective pass writes no
+  depth -- the depth canvas is detached for the length of it so the
+  shader can read it -- so nothing put a lake in the buffer and no lake
+  could occlude another; the sheets were simply painted in mesh order.
+  Flat water never showed it, one plane, a farther sheet always landing
+  farther down the screen. The world curve ends that: it drops the far
+  side of the map into the near field of view, and a sea a hundred and
+  fifty tiles away came out rasterised on top of the pond at the
+  player's feet, tall grass and all -- water and terrain "from the
+  other side of the map", not reflected but there. The water meshes now
+  go down flat first, through the ordinary scene shader with depth
+  writes on, and the reflective pass draws over what survived. The
+  buffer holds the surface, so the pass's own test throws the far sheet
+  away; the reflection copy holds it too, so a ray grazing another part
+  of the lake reads water rather than the void behind it; and a frame
+  that cannot run the pass at all is unchanged, because the flat draw
+  is the fallback that was already there.
+- **Reflections under the world curve.** The bend tips the world away
+  and the things standing on it do not lean with it -- and a lake is
+  one of those things. Reflected off the bowl the bend makes, the far
+  half of a pond was a mirror tilted twenty degrees: it threw the ray
+  past the vertical, where the sky ramp's own measure swings from one
+  end to the other across a single column, and hard-edged patches of
+  the wrong sky stamped into the water; the same tilt sent the
+  screen-space march grazing along the bank rather than over it, which
+  is what smeared the dock and the roofs across the harbour. What the
+  water reflects is now worked out in the flat world, exactly as it
+  would be with the curve off, and every marched sample is bent on its
+  way to the screen by the vertex stage's own displacement -- so the
+  ray is straight where it should be and lands where the geometry did.
+  The wave columns are read on the flat sheet too: the relief walk is
+  built on an even slab over a level plane, and in the curved world
+  that slab is a bowl, which handed back a column a pixel or three off
+  per fragment -- a patch of noise in the middle of a pond.
+- **Merged runs tore open under the curve.** A quad's interior is the
+  chord of a parabola its neighbours draw the arc of, so a long run
+  hangs below the short quads butted against it. Nothing bounded a
+  run's length, and the ones that ran away were those wearing a
+  constant texel -- a roof's black eave outline, its fascia, its shaded
+  underside -- because a flat run has no art to break it. At 102px
+  across a gym the eave tore off the roof and the slot showed the
+  building's dark interior through it. Runs now stop at the next 8px
+  lattice line, which is the lattice buildings are stamped on and the
+  one every other quad in the scene already ends on, so every join is
+  vertex-for-vertex and the bend carries them together. It costs quads
+  whether the curve is on or not -- Cerulean's object stream goes from
+  35.7k to 41.6k -- and that is deliberate: the mesh is cached per map
+  and built over seconds, so meshing for the curve's sake only when the
+  curve is on would mean rebuilding every live map on a keypress.
+
+## 1.4.1
+
+### Added
+
+- **Furniture through the building pipeline.** The band-table voxelizer
+  that models whole buildings from their own drawings (lib/Buildings.lua)
+  now reads interior furniture too, and the first four drawings are in:
+
+  - **F01, the starter-ball table in Oak's lab** -- the tabletop's 16
+    drawn rows lay flat over a 16px plot (1:1, the first template that
+    never cycles), the black/#555/black edge band folds into the slab's
+    own rim, and the base extrudes with its corner feet. Six voxels
+    tall, exactly the drawn elevation.
+  - **F03, the empty north table beside it** -- the same band table on a
+    grid two tiles narrower.
+  - **F02, the lab's computer desk** -- the first DESK-SET template: the
+    drawing segments into PARTS, each classified by the surface it
+    depicts. The monitor and the computer tower stand upright on the
+    desk wearing their own drawn tops as lids; the keyboards and the
+    mouse lie flat in front of them; the sheet of paper on the right
+    lies flat across the desk. Flat parts keep the drawing's own rule --
+    drawn row IS depth row, the same 1:1 the tabletop is drawn with --
+    so an object's height on the drawing is its position on the desk.
+    The Hall of Fame's recording machine is this drawing tile for tile
+    on the GYM atlas, and models identically for free.
+  - **F04, the Center PC** -- the desk-set read again: a Mac-style unit
+    with its screen and drive slot in relief, standing at the back of a
+    low white-topped desk with its keyboard lying at the front edge.
+    Eleven Pokemon Centers, plus the Indigo Plateau lobby, whose MART
+    tileset shares the atlas.
+
+  Two measurements had to stop being assumptions for furniture to fit
+  the pipeline: the GROUND LINE is now read off the drawing (a building
+  ends on the black threshold row it stands on; a table's legs stop two
+  rows short of theirs, and extruding against the grid floated them in
+  the air), and a template may name its PLOT (`depth`) when the matched
+  grid runs past it onto the walkable floor the legs merely stand on.
+  Both are identities for every existing building.
+
+- **The Center couch has a backrest.** The couch is drawn from above --
+  back-and-arm strip down the west side, cushions and seams on the east
+  -- and rendered as one seat-high box. The new `backrest` class raises
+  the drawn back strip to 12px over the 8px seat, in every Center and
+  the Celadon Hotel. The man sitting on it keeps his seat: the figure
+  anchor now scans under his card for the tallest authored upright (his
+  cushion) instead of reading the corner tile, which is the backrest
+  now.
+
+### Changed
+
+- **Sprites ride at the height the art actually stands.** Class heights
+  can now be overridden per tileset (a tileset entry's `heights`), and
+  DOJO's lab tables use it: they are drawn 6px tall, not the default
+  table's 12, so the starter balls sit exactly on the modelled tabletop
+  -- and the volume-built north tables drop to the same height, keeping
+  every table in the room level.
+- The Center PC's old rendering -- a 12px table box with the unit as a
+  flat standee on it -- retires wherever the F04 template stamps; the
+  pins stay only as the degradation path when the shape profile is
+  absent.
+
 ## 1.4.0
 
 ### Added
@@ -116,6 +431,72 @@
   ever lands half-way between two pixels and changing a wavelength moves the
   speed with it.
 
+- **AA, a new options row: OFF / 2X / 4X.** Everything else in this game is
+  flat art blitted at whole pixels. This mode's world is real geometry seen
+  through a perspective camera, and a polygon edge that lands at an angle
+  across the pixel grid is the one place where a hard stair-step is not a
+  stylistic choice -- a roof ridge, a ledge lip, a tree's silhouette against
+  the sky, the leaning card of a character. At the shallow rungs, where the
+  diorama reads most like a photograph of a model, they crawl as the camera
+  drifts.
+
+  The row is SUPERSAMPLING: the whole pass renders into a canvas larger than
+  the window and is folded back down at the end. The ladder is samples per
+  display pixel, so 2X is a canvas root-two wider and taller and 4X one
+  exactly twice the size -- an honest 2x2 box.
+
+  Two alternatives were tried against what this pass already is, and both
+  lost:
+
+  - **MSAA** would have taken the water with it. The reflections read the
+    frame's own depth buffer as a texture, and a multisampled depth
+    attachment is not something a fragment shader in this dialect can sample.
+    The row would have quietly switched the WATER row off.
+
+  - **An edge filter** (FXAA and its relatives) works from the finished
+    colour alone, so it would be guessing where the edges are out of one
+    sample per pixel -- inventing detail it never rendered, and unable to
+    tell a geometry edge from the boundary between two texels of a tileset.
+
+  Rendering larger has neither problem, and nothing in the frame had to be
+  taught about it: every pass already measures itself in the canvas it was
+  handed, so the sky's dither, the water's ray march, the shadow lookups and
+  the camera itself come out the same picture at a higher sample rate. It
+  antialiases the geometry, the alpha-cut outline of a sprite card, the
+  wireframe and the reflections at once, because none of them know it is
+  happening.
+
+  And it softens the ARTWORK with them, which is worth saying plainly. A
+  tileset texel out here is not a screen pixel, it is a quad in a perspective
+  view, and its boundary crosses the pixel grid at the same arbitrary angle a
+  roof ridge does -- so the fold averages across it exactly as it averages
+  across the ridge. That is what an honest extra sample says about that
+  pixel, and it is also the trade the row is: the diorama comes out smoother,
+  not sharper. Which is why it is a row and not something that is simply on.
+
+  Two things are quoted in DISPLAY pixels rather than canvas ones and are
+  multiplied up to match: the voxel wireframe's line width -- left alone it
+  would fold down to half a line, so turning the smoothing up would appear to
+  fade the grid out -- and the scale the overworld's FX closures draw at.
+
+  The fold is a shader rather than a scaled draw, because the void this pass
+  renders into is a transparent BLACK: averaging a straight-alpha edge against
+  it drags the colour toward black as well as toward transparent, and the
+  engine's composite then multiplies by that alpha a second time. Every
+  silhouette against the sky would have come out ringed with a dark fringe --
+  the exact artefact the row exists to remove. So the taps are premultiplied
+  before they are averaged and divided back out after.
+
+  The staged battle gets it too, on its own canvas: the arena is folded back
+  to the window's pixel size before the depth-of-field pass and the HUDs go
+  on, so the world is smoothed and the pics, panels and text box stay the
+  chunky GB art they are.
+
+  OFF by default, and **FULL neither sets it nor takes the row away** -- it
+  is the one row that is not a knob on the look but on what the look COSTS,
+  and only the player knows what their machine can carry. No hotkey, for the
+  same reason: it is set once, not flicked while walking.
+
 
 ### Changed
 
@@ -216,6 +597,36 @@
   depth16 as the floor every GLES3 device can read. Refused all four, the
   reflections are lost and nothing else, exactly as before.
 
+- **Under BACK SPRITES some of your own Pokemon were see-through -- Pikachu,
+  Seel, Dewgong, Chansey, Jigglypuff -- with the arena showing through the
+  middle of them.** Those back pics are drawn as OUTLINES: everything inside
+  the ink is the lightest shade, the decoder keys that shade to nothing, and
+  on hardware it did not matter because the field behind them was white too.
+
+  BattlePics already put that paper back by flooding the background inward and
+  filling whatever it could not reach, and along the bottom of a figure it told
+  a narrow opening (a belly the drawing ran out of, sealed) from a wide one (a
+  stride, left open for the world to show through). Right for a mon standing
+  on the map -- but the pinned back pic is not on the map, it is on the text
+  box with its feet on row 96, and there is white box under its lowest row
+  rather than arena. Every one of those mons leaks out through an opening far
+  too wide to read as a drain, so the flood walked straight up inside them.
+
+  A pic on the box is now told so, and its bottom edge seals: nothing reaches
+  it from below at any width, and the rule stops being a heuristic -- paper is
+  whatever the background cannot walk to from the left, the right or the top.
+  Twelve of the game's 151 back pics turn on this; the other 139 come back
+  byte-identical, and no front pic is touched at all.
+
+  **And a hole is filled with the pic's own paper rather than with white.**
+  Shade 0 is only white while the pic is still grays, and pics arrive here
+  after the bake -- a species SGB colour, a BGP fade mid-animation, PAL_BLACK
+  across the whole screen while the blackout text is up. A hardcoded white
+  belly would have been the one lit thing on a blacked-out mon. The lightest
+  shade still standing in the pic is that colour, and every one of the game's
+  battler pics keeps at least one such pixel -- an eye, a highlight down a
+  cheek -- so what goes back is the baked shade itself.
+
 ### Known
 
 - Screen-space reflections can only reflect what is in the frame. A tree just

README.md

@@ -32,11 +32,26 @@ clear ground — shot over the shoulder, the player's mon low and left and
 the enemy high and right, with a slow parallax drift behind them and a
 depth-of-field pass that keeps both of them sharp.
 
-Purely presentational. Nothing here reaches collision, movement, triggers
-or scripts — it changes what the world *looks* like and nothing about what
-it *is*. The battle arena is where the **camera** goes, not where anybody
-goes: no cell, facing, flag or warp is written, so the player is standing
-exactly where the fight found them when it ends.
+And the whole thing from inside. The ladder's top rung, **1ST**, dives the
+camera into the player's own head: free look on the mouse (captured while
+the rung is on — left click is A, right click is B), the right stick, or a
+touch dragged across open screen; free movement that goes where you look,
+at any angle, sliding along walls — the left stick's raw deflection, the
+touch d-pad's true vector, or WASD as forward/backpedal/strafe. NPCs turn
+to face the eye wearing the frame their pose shows *this* viewer — walk
+behind someone and you see their back — and the sky, the shadows and the
+water reflections all carry over, because the head rides the same placed
+camera the battle shot proved out.
+
+Presentational, with one deliberate exception. Every rung but 1ST changes
+what the world *looks* like and nothing about what it *is*; the battle
+arena is where the **camera** goes, not where anybody goes. 1ST replaces
+the grid walk with a free one while it is selected — but even there the
+game is untouched: the walk asks the engine's own collision the same
+questions a grid step asks, keeps the player's cell synced, and runs the
+engine's own landing pipeline per cell crossed, so warps, encounters,
+ledges, gates and scripts all fire exactly as themselves. Step off the
+rung and the grid walk is back.
 
 ## Controls
 
@@ -52,6 +67,7 @@ menu.
 | `8`, or the **3D-BTL** options row | ON / OFF — fight on the map instead of on a white field |
 | `9`, or the **WATER** options row | FULL / SKY / OFF — waves and reflections on water. **SKY** gives the surface its pixel-tall wave columns and puts the sky, the sun, the moon and the cast in them; **FULL** adds a screen-space ray march that also reflects the shoreline, the trees and the buildings standing behind it |
 | the **BACK SPRITES** options row | OFF / ON — keep your own Pokémon on the battle menu, seen from behind in its classic slot, instead of standing it on the map; the foe is still out there. Only on the menu while **3D-BTL** is on, because it decides nothing without it |
+| the **AA** options row | OFF / 2X / 4X — smooth the stair-stepped edges of the 3D world by rendering the diorama larger than the window and folding it back down. The ladder is samples per display pixel: 2X is a canvas root-two wider and taller, 4X one exactly twice the size. Every edge in the projected picture softens with the silhouettes — the tileset's own texels are quads in a perspective view and cross the pixel grid at the same arbitrary angles — so the diorama reads smoother rather than sharper. The most expensive row in the mod, so it is OFF by default and **FULL** leaves it alone |
 | the **DAYTIME** options row | SYNC / DAY / NIGHT / DUSK / DAWN / CYCLE — what time it is outdoors, on the diorama *and* on the flat 2D world; held at SYNC (and off the menu) while VOXEL is FULL |
 
 **3D-BTL** is on by default and is independent of **VOXEL**: battles draw

lib/AntiAlias.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+-- Voxel world mode: anti-aliasing, by supersampling.
+--
+-- Everything else in this mod is flat art blitted at whole pixels; this one
+-- pass is real geometry seen through a perspective camera, and a polygon
+-- edge that lands at an angle across the pixel grid is the one place in the
+-- game where a hard stair-step is not a stylistic choice. A roof ridge, a
+-- ledge lip, a tree's silhouette against the sky and the leaning card of a
+-- character are all cut by an edge that has no reason to line up with
+-- anything, and at the shallow rungs -- where the diorama reads most like a
+-- photograph of a model -- they crawl as the camera drifts.
+--
+-- SUPERSAMPLING, not MSAA and not a filter over the finished frame, for two
+-- reasons that both come out of what the pass already is:
+--
+--   MSAA would take the water with it. The reflections read the frame's own
+--   DEPTH buffer as a texture (Voxel3D.beginWater), and a multisampled depth
+--   attachment is not a thing a fragment shader in this dialect can sample.
+--   The row would have quietly switched the other row off.
+--
+--   An edge filter (FXAA and its relatives) works from the finished colour
+--   alone, and would be GUESSING where the edges are out of one sample per
+--   pixel -- inventing detail it never rendered, and unable to tell a
+--   geometry edge from the boundary between two texels of a tileset.
+--
+-- Rendering the pass larger and folding it back down has neither problem:
+-- the depth buffer stays an ordinary texture, every pass in the frame keeps
+-- working in the canvas it was handed, and the fold is an average of samples
+-- that were each rendered honestly. It antialiases everything at once --
+-- geometry, the alpha-cut outline of a sprite card, the wireframe, the
+-- water's ray march -- because none of them know it is happening.
+--
+-- Be clear about what "everything" means: the artwork softens too. A tileset
+-- texel out here is not a screen pixel, it is a quad in a perspective view,
+-- and its boundary crosses the pixel grid at the same arbitrary angle a roof
+-- ridge does -- so the fold averages across it exactly as it averages across
+-- the ridge. That is what an honest extra sample says about that pixel, and
+-- it is also the trade the row IS: the diorama comes out smoother, not
+-- sharper. Which is why this is a row and not something that is simply on.
+--
+-- What it costs is pixels, which is the whole of why this is a row and not
+-- something that is simply on: 2X is half again as many in each direction,
+-- 4X is twice, and the scene pass is the most expensive thing in the frame.
+
+-- the mod namespace (see main.lua): V.require loads a sibling module
+local V = ...
+
+local ModSetting = V.require("ModSetting")
+
+local AntiAlias = {}
+
+-- the key under options.modOptions.DRAMATIC_SHAPE, shared by the row in
+-- OPTIONS and the mod manager's own settings page for this mod
+AntiAlias.KEY = "aa"
+AntiAlias.LABEL = "AA"
+
+-- The ladder is SAMPLES PER DISPLAY PIXEL, which is how an AA setting reads
+-- everywhere else, and the canvas scale each rung costs is its square root:
+-- 2 samples is a canvas 1.41x wider and taller, 4 is one exactly twice the
+-- size. OFF is the default -- this is a cost knob, and a mod should not
+-- quietly spend four times the fill rate of the machine it lands on.
+AntiAlias.setting = ModSetting.new(AntiAlias.KEY, AntiAlias.LABEL,
+                                   { 0, 2, 4 }, { "OFF", "2X", "4X" })
+
+-- The scale the pass currently open was actually expanded by (see expand).
+-- 1 while there is no supersampling in force, which is also what every
+-- reader gets on a frame that never opened a pass at all.
+local live = 1
+
+function AntiAlias.samples()
+  return tonumber(AntiAlias.setting:get()) or 0
+end
+
+-- What the row ASKS for. The scale in force is `factor()`, which is this
+-- clamped to what the driver will actually allocate.
+local function wanted()
+  local n = AntiAlias.samples()
+  if n <= 1 then return 1 end
+  return math.sqrt(n)
+end
+
+-- The biggest canvas this driver admits to, or nil where it will not say.
+-- A 4K window at 4X asks for 7680 across, which is past the limit on plenty
+-- of hardware and every phone -- and a refused canvas is not a softer
+-- diorama, it is beginScene returning false and the whole mode falling back
+-- to the flat 2D path.
+local function textureLimit()
+  if not (love.graphics and love.graphics.getSystemLimits) then return nil end
+  local ok, limits = pcall(love.graphics.getSystemLimits)
+  return (ok and limits and limits.texturesize) or nil
+end
+
+-- The size to render `w` x `h` display pixels at, and the size everything
+-- inside the pass then measures itself in.
+--
+-- Also where `live` is set, which is why this must be called once per pass
+-- immediately before beginScene: the wireframe's line width and the FX
+-- overlay's sprite scale are both quoted in DISPLAY pixels and have to be
+-- multiplied up into canvas ones, and the honest multiplier is the one this
+-- returned rather than the one the row asked for.
+function AntiAlias.expand(w, h)
+  local s = wanted()
+  local max = textureLimit()
+  if max and max > 0 then
+    -- clamped rather than abandoned: a window too big for 4X can usually
+    -- still carry some of it, and half a rung of smoothing is worth more
+    -- than a row that silently does nothing at that size
+    s = math.min(s, max / math.max(1, w), max / math.max(1, h))
+  end
+  if not (s > 1.01) then
+    live = 1
+    return w, h
+  end
+  local ew, eh = math.floor(w * s + 0.5), math.floor(h * s + 0.5)
+  live = ew / math.max(1, w)
+  return ew, eh
+end
+
+-- The scale the open pass was expanded by; 1 when it was not.
+function AntiAlias.factor()
+  return live
+end
+
+-- ------- the fold
+--
+-- One target per pass (the free-roam world and the battle's arena are alive
+-- at different moments but reallocating on every battle entry and exit is
+-- what the scene canvas's own slots exist to avoid), reallocated only when
+-- that pass's DISPLAY size changes -- a window resize, or the row itself
+-- moving, which changes the source and not this.
+
+local targets = {}
+
+local function targetFor(slot, w, h)
+  local t = targets[slot]
+  if not (t and t.w == w and t.h == h) then
+    local ok, c = pcall(love.graphics.newCanvas, w, h)
+    if not (ok and c) then return nil end
+    -- nearest, like the canvas it stands in for: this one is composited a
+    -- canvas pixel to a display pixel, and the smoothing has already happened
+    pcall(c.setFilter, c, "nearest", "nearest")
+    if t and t.canvas and t.canvas.release then pcall(t.canvas.release, t.canvas) end
+    t = { canvas = c, w = w, h = h }
+    targets[slot] = t
+  end
+  return t.canvas
+end
+
+-- The box filter, and the whole of why it is a shader rather than a scaled
+-- draw with linear filtering on.
+--
+-- The void this pass renders into is cleared to a TRANSPARENT BLACK, and at
+-- the rungs below FULL a good deal of the frame is still that. Averaging a
+-- straight-alpha edge against it drags the result toward black as well as
+-- toward transparent, and then the engine's own composite multiplies by that
+-- alpha a second time -- so every silhouette against the void would come out
+-- ringed with a dark fringe, which is exactly the artefact the row is here to
+-- remove.
+--
+-- So the taps are premultiplied before they are averaged and divided back out
+-- after, which is the arithmetic that makes an edge pixel mean "half covered
+-- by this colour" instead of "covered by half of this colour".
+--
+-- Four taps, half a source texel from the destination centre. At 4X those
+-- land dead on the four texel centres the destination pixel covers, so it is
+-- an exact 2x2 box; at 2X the source grid does not divide, and the bilinear
+-- fetch under each tap widens the box a little rather than missing samples.
+local SHADER = [[
+  uniform vec2 tap;        // half a SOURCE texel, in uv
+  vec4 effect(vec4 color, Image tex, vec2 tc, vec2 sc) {
+    vec4 a = Texel(tex, tc + vec2(-tap.x, -tap.y));
+    vec4 b = Texel(tex, tc + vec2( tap.x, -tap.y));
+    vec4 c = Texel(tex, tc + vec2(-tap.x,  tap.y));
+    vec4 d = Texel(tex, tc + vec2( tap.x,  tap.y));
+    float al = (a.a + b.a + c.a + d.a) * 0.25;
+    if (al <= 0.0) return vec4(0.0);
+    vec3 sum = a.rgb * a.a + b.rgb * b.a + c.rgb * c.a + d.rgb * d.a;
+    return vec4(sum * 0.25 / al, al) * color;
+  }
+]]
+
+local shader = nil            -- nil = untried, false = unavailable
+
+local function getShader()
+  if shader == nil then
+    local ok, sh = pcall(love.graphics.newShader, SHADER)
+    shader = (ok and sh) or false
+  end
+  return shader or nil
+end
+
+-- Fold `canvas` down to `w` x `h` and hand back the result.
+--
+-- Returns the input untouched when there is nothing to fold -- the row is
+-- off, or the canvas already IS that size -- so a caller can run it
+-- unconditionally, and so can a headless test run. A target that would not
+-- allocate is the same answer: the pass is lost either way if this hands back
+-- something the wrong size, so it hands back the input and the frame draws at
+-- the size it was rendered.
+function AntiAlias.resolve(canvas, w, h, slot)
+  if not canvas then return canvas end
+  local ok, cw, ch = pcall(canvas.getDimensions, canvas)
+  if not ok or (cw == w and ch == h) then return canvas end
+  local target = targetFor(slot or "world", w, h)
+  if not target then return canvas end
+
+  local sh = getShader()
+  local prevBlend, prevAlpha = love.graphics.getBlendMode()
+  -- the scene canvas filters nearest for its usual 1:1 blit; the taps want
+  -- linear, put back below so every other pass finds what it expects
+  pcall(canvas.setFilter, canvas, "linear", "linear")
+  love.graphics.setColor(1, 1, 1, 1)
+  -- replace, not alpha-blend: this is an image-processing copy, and the alpha
+  -- the shader worked out has to land as itself rather than be composited
+  -- against whatever the target held
+  love.graphics.setBlendMode("replace", "premultiplied")
+  if sh then
+    love.graphics.setShader(sh)
+    pcall(sh.send, sh, "tap", { 0.5 / cw, 0.5 / ch })
+  end
+  local drew = pcall(function()
+    love.graphics.setCanvas(target)
+    love.graphics.clear(0, 0, 0, 0)
+    love.graphics.draw(canvas, 0, 0, 0, w / cw, h / ch)
+  end)
+  love.graphics.setCanvas()
+  love.graphics.setShader()
+  love.graphics.setBlendMode(prevBlend or "alpha", prevAlpha)
+  pcall(canvas.setFilter, canvas, "nearest", "nearest")
+  return drew and target or canvas
+end
+
+-- Drop the GPU objects (window resize, hot reload).
+function AntiAlias.invalidate()
+  for slot, t in pairs(targets) do
+    if t.canvas and t.canvas.release then pcall(t.canvas.release, t.canvas) end
+    targets[slot] = nil
+  end
+end
+
+function AntiAlias.row()
+  return AntiAlias.setting:row()
+end
+
+return AntiAlias

lib/BattlePics.lua

@@ -57,6 +57,26 @@
 -- and they come back untouched because that is what their own shape says, not
 -- because they were special-cased.
 --
+-- The drain/mouth cut is for a pic STANDING ON THE MAP, where a mouth is a
+-- real hole with real ground behind it. A pic PINNED TO THE MENU has no such
+-- hole to be: under BACK SPRITES the player's mon is drawn in the GB's own
+-- slot with its feet flush on the text box (BattleState.backPlacement pins
+-- row 96), so the only thing under its lowest row is white box. Nothing can
+-- reach it from below, whatever the opening's width, and the caller says so
+-- by asking for a SEALED BOTTOM -- for which the rule stops being a heuristic
+-- and becomes exact: paper is whatever the background cannot walk to from the
+-- left, the right or the top.
+--
+-- That is the difference between a Pikachu that reads as a mon and one that
+-- reads as wireframe. The pale-bodied back pics -- Pikachu, Seel, Dewgong,
+-- Chansey, Jigglypuff -- are drawn as OUTLINES: everything inside the ink is
+-- shade 0 and every one of them is keyed away, so the figure is a rim with the
+-- arena showing through it. Each one also has a wide opening along its bottom,
+-- which the drain cut correctly reads as a mouth and the sealed bottom
+-- correctly does not. Twelve of this game's 151 back pics turn on it; the
+-- other 139 come back byte-identical either way, because they had nothing
+-- under them the flood was getting in through.
+--
 -- The silhouette is untouched, so the mon still cuts cleanly against the
 -- world; only its insides stop being see-through.
 --
@@ -71,14 +91,23 @@ local V = ...
 
 local BattlePics = {}
 
--- Cached by the image the engine handed over. Weak keys, so a pic that goes
--- out of scope takes its filled twin with it rather than pinning a texture
--- for the session.
-local cache = setmetatable({}, { __mode = "k" })
+-- Cached by the image the engine handed over, one table per bottom rule --
+-- the same pic answers differently sealed and unsealed, and a single table
+-- would hand the wrong twin back to whichever caller asked second. Weak keys,
+-- so a pic that goes out of scope takes its filled twin with it rather than
+-- pinning a texture for the session.
+local function newCache()
+  return {
+    [false] = setmetatable({}, { __mode = "k" }),
+    [true]  = setmetatable({}, { __mode = "k" }),
+  }
+end
+local cache = newCache()
 
--- What an enclosed hole is filled with. White, because white is what the
--- battle field was: this restores the pixel the artist drew and the engine
--- then keyed away, it does not invent a new one.
+-- What an enclosed hole is filled with when the pic itself offers nothing
+-- better. White, because white is what the battle field was: this restores the
+-- pixel the artist drew and the engine then keyed away, it does not invent a
+-- new one.
 BattlePics.FILL = { 1, 1, 1, 1 }
 
 -- Anything at or under this alpha counts as keyed-out rather than drawn.
@@ -154,6 +183,42 @@ local function inkBounds(data, w, h)
   return x0, y0, x1, y1
 end
 
+-- The colour the keyed-away shade would have had: the LIGHTEST colour still
+-- standing in the pic.
+--
+-- Pure white is only the right answer while the pic is still grays, and by the
+-- time it reaches here it usually is not. picImage hands a pic over AFTER the
+-- bake -- a species SGB colour, a BGP fade mid-animation, PAL_BLACK for the
+-- whole screen while the blackout text is up -- and shade 0 travels with the
+-- rest. A white belly inside a blacked-out mon would be the one lit thing on a
+-- dark screen; inside a warm-palette mon it would be a cold patch the artist
+-- never drew.
+--
+-- So the paper is read off the pic rather than assumed, which needs shade 0 to
+-- have survived somewhere in it. It always has: every one of this game's 151
+-- back pics keeps at least one opaque shade-0 pixel -- a highlight down a
+-- cheek, the white of an eye -- because only the shade-0 pixels the decoder
+-- could reach were keyed. So what comes back is the baked shade 0 itself, not
+-- an approximation of it, and it tracks every palette the engine picks without
+-- being told which one that was.
+--
+-- Ranked by channel sum, which orders four DMG shades exactly: a palette maps
+-- all three channels monotonically, so lightest by sum is lightest full stop.
+local function paperColor(data, x0, y0, x1, y1)
+  local best, pr, pg, pb = -1, nil, nil, nil
+  for y = y0, y1 do
+    for x = x0, x1 do
+      local r, g, b, a = data:getPixel(x, y)
+      if a > CUT then
+        local lum = r + g + b
+        if lum > best then best, pr, pg, pb = lum, r, g, b end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  if best < 0 then return nil end
+  return pr, pg, pb
+end
+
 -- The widest opening along the bottom of a figure that still counts as a drain
 -- rather than a mouth. See the header for the measurements either side of it.
 BattlePics.DRAIN = 6
@@ -161,7 +226,9 @@ BattlePics.DRAIN = 6
 -- Mark every transparent pixel the BACKGROUND can reach, flooding inward from
 -- the edges of the artwork's box: the left, the right and the top whole, and
 -- along the bottom only those openings wide enough to be background rather
--- than the underside of a figure the drawing ran out of.
+-- than the underside of a figure the drawing ran out of -- or none of them at
+-- all, for a pic whose feet are on the text box and which therefore has
+-- nothing behind its lowest row to let in.
 --
 -- Confined to the box as well as seeded from it, so the empty frame under a
 -- short pic cannot walk around a sealed drain and come back up through it.
@@ -169,7 +236,7 @@ BattlePics.DRAIN = 6
 -- An explicit stack rather than recursion: a 56x56 pic is three thousand
 -- pixels and a keyed-out background is most of them, which is a deeper call
 -- chain than is worth risking for no gain.
-local function markOutside(data, w, h, x0, y0, x1, y1)
+local function markOutside(data, w, h, x0, y0, x1, y1, sealBottom)
   local outside = {}
   local stack, top = {}, 0
   local function clear(x, y)
@@ -191,17 +258,21 @@ local function markOutside(data, w, h, x0, y0, x1, y1)
     push(x1, y)
   end
   -- the bottom, run by run: a wide one is the gap between two legs and lets
-  -- the world through, a narrow one is where a belly ran out and is sealed
-  local x = x0
-  while x <= x1 do
-    if clear(x, y1) then
-      local from = x
-      while x <= x1 and clear(x, y1) do x = x + 1 end
-      if (x - from) > BattlePics.DRAIN then
-        for k = from, x - 1 do push(k, y1) end
+  -- the world through, a narrow one is where a belly ran out and is sealed.
+  -- Skipped whole for a pic on the box, where even the widest of them has
+  -- white paper behind it rather than arena.
+  if not sealBottom then
+    local x = x0
+    while x <= x1 do
+      if clear(x, y1) then
+        local from = x
+        while x <= x1 and clear(x, y1) do x = x + 1 end
+        if (x - from) > BattlePics.DRAIN then
+          for k = from, x - 1 do push(k, y1) end
+        end
+      else
+        x = x + 1
       end
-    else
-      x = x + 1
     end
   end
   while top > 0 do
@@ -219,9 +290,15 @@ end
 -- The pic with its enclosed holes filled, or the pic itself when that could
 -- not be done (no pixel access, a driver that refused the readback). Never
 -- nil for a non-nil argument: a caller must always have something to draw.
-function BattlePics.filled(img)
+--
+-- sealBottom for a pic pinned to the text box rather than standing on the map:
+-- see the header. A caller that does not say defaults to the map, which is
+-- where all but one of this mod's pics are.
+function BattlePics.filled(img, sealBottom)
   if not img then return img end
-  local hit = cache[img]
+  sealBottom = sealBottom and true or false
+  local slot = cache[sealBottom]
+  local hit = slot[img]
   if hit ~= nil then return hit or img end
 
   local made = nil
@@ -231,8 +308,12 @@ function BattlePics.filled(img)
     local w, h = data:getDimensions()
     local x0, y0, x1, y1 = inkBounds(data, w, h)
     if not x0 then return end          -- a pic with nothing drawn in it
-    local outside = markOutside(data, w, h, x0, y0, x1, y1)
+    local outside = markOutside(data, w, h, x0, y0, x1, y1, sealBottom)
     local fill = BattlePics.FILL
+    local pr, pg, pb = paperColor(data, x0, y0, x1, y1)
+    local fr = pr or fill[1]
+    local fg = pg or fill[2]
+    local fb = pb or fill[3]
     local changed = false
     -- only inside the box: everything beyond it is frame the artist never
     -- reached, and filling that would put the mon in a white rectangle
@@ -242,7 +323,7 @@ function BattlePics.filled(img)
         if not outside[row + x] then
           local _, _, _, a = data:getPixel(x, y)
           if a <= CUT then
-            data:setPixel(x, y, fill[1], fill[2], fill[3], fill[4])
+            data:setPixel(x, y, fr, fg, fb, fill[4])
             changed = true
           end
         end
@@ -255,12 +336,12 @@ function BattlePics.filled(img)
     made = out
   end)
 
-  cache[img] = (ok and made) or false
+  slot[img] = (ok and made) or false
   return made or img
 end
 
 function BattlePics.invalidate()
-  cache = setmetatable({}, { __mode = "k" })
+  cache = newCache()
 end
 
 return BattlePics

lib/BattleScene.lua

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ local BattleCam = V.require("BattleCam")
 local BattleBillboard = V.require("BattleBillboard")
 local VoxelGrid = V.require("VoxelGrid")
 local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+local AntiAlias = V.require("AntiAlias")
 local PaletteFX = require("src.render.PaletteFX")
 local Map = require("src.world.Map")
 
@@ -427,7 +428,16 @@ function BattleScene.render(state, arena, textures, token)
     -- its own canvas slot: this renders at the window's pixel size and the
     -- free-roam pass does too, but the two are alive at different moments
     -- and a shared slot would reallocate on every battle entry and exit
-    if not Voxel3D.beginScene(pw, ph, cx, cy, vw, vh, sky, "battle") then
+    --
+    -- AA, if the row asks for it, renders it larger still and folds it back
+    -- to pw x ph below (see AntiAlias). The framing is untouched by that:
+    -- the lens was widened by the window's RATIO to the letterbox and the
+    -- rig solved in the GB's own frame, so a bigger canvas is more samples
+    -- of the identical shot -- which is why the pins below still measure in
+    -- pw and ph, and why the HUDs and the depth of field, drawn onto the
+    -- folded canvas afterwards, stay the chunky GB art they are.
+    local rw, rh = AntiAlias.expand(pw, ph)
+    if not Voxel3D.beginScene(rw, rh, cx, cy, vw, vh, sky, "battle") then
       return
     end
     Voxel3D.draw(terrain, atlasFor(host), nil)
@@ -500,7 +510,7 @@ function BattleScene.render(state, arena, textures, token)
                    Mat4.translate(nb.ox, 0, nb.oy), fpull,
                    ShadowMap.snug(Mat4.translate(nb.ox, 0, nb.oy)))
     end
-    local canvas = Voxel3D.endScene()
+    local canvas = AntiAlias.resolve(Voxel3D.endScene(), pw, ph, "battle")
     if not canvas then return end
 
     local vp = Voxel3D.vp

lib/Buildings.lua

@@ -68,6 +68,47 @@ local RECESS_MAX = 24
 local SHADE = { top = 0.95, south = 1.0, north = 0.68,
                 side = 0.78, bottom = 0.5 }
 
+-- ------- how far a merged run may reach: the tile lattice
+--
+-- Merging is what keeps a 90k-voxel house down to ~2k quads, and under a
+-- straight projection a run may be as long as it likes -- a straight line
+-- is a straight line however finely it is cut. THE WORLD CURVE IS NOT
+-- STRAIGHT. It drops every vertex by the square of its distance from the
+-- focus (see WorldCurve), so a quad's interior is the CHORD of a parabola
+-- its neighbours draw the arc of: a run of length L hangs k*L^2/4 below
+-- the short quads butted against it, and the join tears open.
+--
+-- Nothing bounded a run's length before, and the runs that ran away were
+-- the ones wearing a CONSTANT texel -- the roof's black eave outline, its
+-- fascia, the shaded underside -- because a flat run has no art to break
+-- it. Those reached 102px across a gym, which at V-CURVE 3 hangs some
+-- three world pixels under the roof surface beside it: the eave tore off
+-- the roof and the drop showed the building's dark interior through the
+-- slot. (Strip runs, the drawing marching along the atlas, break at the
+-- tileset's own boundaries and were never the problem.)
+--
+-- So a run stops at the next 8px lattice line. Buildings are stamped at
+-- tx*8 (see stamp), so the model's lattice IS the map's: every quad in the
+-- scene -- terrain, props, this -- now ends on the same lines, every join
+-- is vertex-for-vertex, and the bend carries them together. What is left
+-- is the sag WITHIN one cell, k*64/4, which is under a twentieth of a
+-- world pixel at any rung.
+--
+-- It costs quads on a dense city map (Cerulean's object stream goes from
+-- 35.7k to 41.6k, and its longest edge from 102px to 8px) and it costs them
+-- whether the curve is on or not, which is the deliberate trade: the mesh
+-- is cached per map and built asynchronously over seconds, so meshing for
+-- the curve's sake only when the curve is on would mean rebuilding every
+-- live map on a keypress.
+local CELL = 8
+
+-- How far a run starting at `a` may go before it crosses the next lattice
+-- line. Floor-mod, so the awning's negative z lands on the same lines the
+-- positive side does.
+local function runCap(a)
+  return CELL - a % CELL
+end
+
 local function keyOf(tx, ty)
   return (ty + 64) * 4096 + (tx + 64)
 end
@@ -170,6 +211,39 @@ local function read(t, data, perRow)
 
   local inside = {}
   for i = 0, W * H - 1 do inside[i] = not outside[i] end
+
+  -- `scrub` names pixel rects where the drawing paints an object standing
+  -- ON the surface (Red's potted plant on the dining tabletop). The object
+  -- keeps its own standee -- the template's `keep` leaves its tiles
+  -- unclaimed -- so the band beneath it is the one surface the drawing
+  -- implies but never paints clear: every rect pixel takes the field
+  -- shade, sourced from the first field texel outside the rects, and the
+  -- model's top comes out as the plain surface the object sat on.
+  if t.scrub then
+    local function inRect(x, y)
+      for _, r in ipairs(t.scrub) do
+        if x >= r[1] and x <= r[3] and y >= r[2] and y <= r[4] then
+          return true
+        end
+      end
+      return false
+    end
+    local donor = nil
+    for i = 0, W * H - 1 do
+      if col[i] == GREY and inside[i]
+         and not inRect(i % W, math.floor(i / W)) then
+        donor = i
+        break
+      end
+    end
+    for i = 0, W * H - 1 do
+      if inRect(i % W, math.floor(i / W)) then
+        col[i] = GREY
+        ax[i], ay[i] = ax[donor], ay[donor]
+        inside[i] = true
+      end
+    end
+  end
   return { W = W, H = H, col = col, ax = ax, ay = ay, inside = inside }
 end
 
@@ -190,7 +264,24 @@ local function measure(sp, t)
     top[x] = r
   end
 
-  local wallH = H - roofRows
+  -- The drawing's own ground line: the row after the last drawn one. A
+  -- building ends on the black threshold row it stands on (ground == H),
+  -- but furniture is drawn standing on open floor -- the lab table's
+  -- legs stop two rows short of its grid -- and extruding against H
+  -- would float it that far above its own plot.
+  local ground = roofRows
+  for sy = H - 1, roofRows, -1 do
+    local drawn = false
+    for sx = 0, W - 1 do
+      if sp.inside[sy * W + sx] then drawn = true break end
+    end
+    if drawn then
+      ground = sy + 1
+      break
+    end
+  end
+
+  local wallH = ground - roofRows
   local ytop = wallH - 1 + t.slab
 
   -- Side faces must not come out as slabs of outline black: where the
@@ -259,6 +350,14 @@ local function measure(sp, t)
     end
   end
 
+  -- The pane rule reads a LIGHT region the drawing seals behind a BLACK
+  -- frame. A drawing built the other way round -- the healing machine's
+  -- dark screens sealed behind their own white bezels -- inverts under
+  -- it: every lit edge sinks and the black panes stand proud, a black
+  -- lattice a voxel off the face. `panes = false` says the drawing does
+  -- not carry the rule's polarity, so the facade stays flush.
+  if t.panes == false then recess = {} end
+
   -- One representative texel per shade, taken from the building's own art:
   -- the roof's fascia and its undersides are geometry the drawing implies
   -- but never paints, and they must still wear its palette (and pick up
@@ -279,20 +378,510 @@ local function measure(sp, t)
   -- sprite taller than its footprint -- the tower's 16-row drawing
   -- stands on the 8 rows of it that are actually on the map, and D = H
   -- would have pushed its body 64px south into the town plaza.
-  return { top = top, ytop = ytop, D = #t.tiles * 8,
+  -- `depth` (in tile rows) names the plot when the grid runs PAST it
+  -- onto ground the drawing merely stands its legs on: the lab table's
+  -- third row is the walkable cell the player faces it from, and the
+  -- full-grid depth would stand the model in their path.
+  -- `depth` names the plot in TILE ROWS, which is the right grain for a
+  -- building. `depthPx` names it in voxels, for an object whose real
+  -- depth is not a whole tile row -- the Bike Shop toolbox is a box
+  -- standing in the middle of its own cell, not a thing that fills a plot.
+  return { top = top, ytop = ytop,
+           D = t.depthPx or ((t.depth or #t.tiles) * 8),
+           ground = ground,
            recess = recess, interior = interior, shadeTexel = shadeTexel }
 end
 
 -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- build --
 
+-- A desk with separately-classified objects on it (a template's `parts`
+-- list): the methodology's region classification at part granularity.
+-- Upright parts anchor their drawn bottom row to the desk's top plane
+-- and wear their own drawn tops as lids; flat parts (a keyboard, a
+-- sheet of paper) lie one voxel proud at drawn row = depth row -- the
+-- same 1:1 the tabletop itself is drawn with, so an object's height ON
+-- the drawing is its position ON the desk. The desk is the lab-table
+-- slab + base; its lid is the one synthesized surface in the model
+-- (the objects cover every drawn pixel of the tabletop), continued
+-- from the sibling tables' pattern in the drawing's own shades.
+-- tools/building_voxels.py `build_desk_set` is the reference twin.
+local function deskSetModel(sp, pr, t)
+  local W, H, D = sp.W, sp.H, pr.D
+  local ground = pr.ground
+  local col, inside = sp.col, sp.inside
+  local vox = {}
+  local function key(x, y, z) return (y * D + z) * W + x end
+  local function put(x, y, z, i) vox[key(x, y, z)] = i end
+
+  -- de-outline walk bounded to the part, so a part's side faces show
+  -- its own material and never the neighbour's (the sprite-wide walk
+  -- the facade path uses would cross the black seam between units)
+  local function interiorAt(sx, sy, lo, hi)
+    local i = sy * W + sx
+    if col[i] ~= BLACK then return sx end
+    local step = sx < math.floor((lo + hi) / 2) and 1 or -1
+    for d = 1, 3 do
+      local nx = sx + step * d
+      if nx >= lo and nx <= hi then
+        local ni = sy * W + nx
+        if inside[ni] and col[ni] ~= BLACK then return nx end
+      end
+    end
+    return sx
+  end
+
+  -- The parts list, shared by every base piece: a desk plane or an
+  -- open tray rim alike, `plane` is simply the height they ride.
+  local ytop = 0
+  local function buildParts(plane)
+    for _, p in ipairs(t.parts) do
+      Budget.tick()
+      local x0, x1 = p.x[1], p.x[2]
+      if p.kind == "flat" then
+        -- drawn row = depth row by default; `z` renames the origin when
+        -- the flat sits below the desk's own drawn top span (the Center
+        -- PC's keyboard). `at` names the sheet's own height when it does
+        -- not lie on the desk plane (the healing machine's keyboard is a
+        -- shelf mounted on the cabinet's side); `thick` gives it a body
+        -- -- layers below the sheet repeating each column's own texel,
+        -- the same continuation rule every synthesized surface follows.
+        local r0 = p.rows[1]
+        local z0 = p.z or r0
+        local atY = p.at or plane
+        local thick = p.thick or 1
+        if atY > ytop then ytop = atY end
+        for sy = r0, p.rows[2] do
+          local z = z0 + (sy - r0)
+          if z >= 0 and z < D then
+            for sx = x0, x1 do
+              if inside[sy * W + sx] then
+                for y = math.max(0, atY - thick + 1), atY do
+                  put(sx, y, z, sy * W + sx)
+                end
+              end
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      elseif p.kind == "box" then
+        -- A BOX part is a drawn rect standing at its own drawn
+        -- elevation -- equipment attached to the machine rather than an
+        -- object on the desk plane. The rows are face-on art: the top
+        -- row's drawn height IS the box's top (ground - 1 - r0,
+        -- measured), and the box runs down to `base` (default the drawn
+        -- extent; 0 continues it to the floor, the legs-continue rule).
+        -- Height beyond the drawn rows fills the way a roof band does:
+        -- rows before `cycle` map 1:1 from the top, rows after it 1:1
+        -- from the bottom -- the healing machine hoses' foot lands ON
+        -- the floor -- and the cycle window repeats between.
+        local r0, r1 = p.rows[1], p.rows[2]
+        local c0 = p.cycle and p.cycle[1] or r1
+        local c1 = p.cycle and p.cycle[2] or r1
+        local pz = p.z or 0
+        local pd = p.depth
+        local top = pr.ground - 1 - r0
+        local bot = p.base or (pr.ground - 1 - r1)
+        local nTop, nBot = c0 - r0, r1 - c1
+        if top > ytop then ytop = top end
+        for y = bot, top do
+          local k, j = top - y, y - bot
+          local sy
+          if k < nTop then
+            sy = r0 + k
+          elseif j < nBot then
+            sy = r1 - j
+          else
+            sy = c0 + (k - nTop) % (c1 - c0 + 1)
+          end
+          for sx = x0, x1 do
+            local i = sy * W + sx
+            if inside[i] then
+              local ix = interiorAt(sx, sy, x0, x1)
+              for z = pz, pz + pd - 1 do
+                if z >= 0 and z < D then
+                  local px = (z == pz or z == pz + pd - 1) and sx or ix
+                  put(sx, y, z, sy * W + px)
+                end
+              end
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      elseif p.kind == "iso" then
+        -- An ISO part is drawn in 2:1 isometric -- a box TURNED 45
+        -- degrees to the map, so one rhombus carries its top, its front
+        -- and its side at once and no band or facade split can reach
+        -- them. Un-projecting it is that projection run backwards: the
+        -- box stands as a real diamond in plan and every voxel wears the
+        -- texel the drawing paints where that voxel projects TO. The
+        -- drawn top lands on the top, the screen on the screen-facing
+        -- side and the flank on the flank, and nothing is segmented by
+        -- hand -- which is the only way to get this right, because the
+        -- three faces meet on a diagonal no rectangle can name.
+        --
+        -- Everything but the depth centre falls out of the drawn rect,
+        -- because the projection fixes it: the half-width is the drawn
+        -- rhombus's x radius, HALF that again its z radius (2:1 is what
+        -- makes it isometric), the near corner's drawn row is the base
+        -- rhombus's front tip, and whatever drawn height is left once
+        -- that rhombus is accounted for is the box's own height. Bill's
+        -- computer: rx 6, rz 3, base centre row 10, and 6 voxels tall --
+        -- which puts its left corner's vertical edge at drawn rows
+        -- 4..10, exactly where the drawing paints one.
+        --
+        -- `plan` is the one thing the drawing CANNOT state: 2:1 is the
+        -- projection, not the object, so reading rz as the plan radius
+        -- too builds a box half as deep as it is wide -- a slab, not the
+        -- cube the drawing depicts. `plan` names the real z radius and
+        -- the drawn row is scaled into it, so a cube is `plan = rx` and
+        -- the drawing still lands on it pixel for pixel.
+        local pr0, pr1 = p.rows[1], p.rows[2]
+        local rx = math.floor((x1 - x0 + 1) / 2)
+        local rz = math.floor(rx / 2)
+        local plan = p.plan or rz
+        local oy = pr1 - rz
+        local h = oy - rz - pr0
+        local ytp = plane + h
+        if ytp > ytop then ytop = ytp end
+        for sx = x0, x1 do
+          -- doubled, so a rect of even width keeps its centre between
+          -- two columns instead of limping one to the left
+          local dx2 = 2 * sx - (x0 + x1)
+          for dz = -plan, plan do
+            local z = p.z + dz
+            local d2 = math.abs(dx2) * plan + 2 * math.abs(dz) * rx
+            if z >= 0 and z < D and d2 <= (2 * rx + 1) * plan then
+              -- the plan row scaled back into the drawn rhombus
+              local dzs = math.floor((2 * dz * rz + plan) / (2 * plan))
+              for y = 0, h do
+                local sy = oy + dzs - y
+                local i = sy * W + sx
+                if sy >= pr0 and sy <= pr1 and inside[i] then
+                  put(sx, plane + y, z, i)
+                end
+              end
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      else
+        local tr0, tr1 = p.top[1], p.top[2]
+        local fr0, fr1 = p.facade[1], p.facade[2]
+        local pd = p.depth
+        -- `rise` lifts a part off the desk's top plane and `z` names its
+        -- back-most depth row (the field a flat part already carries). An
+        -- object STANDING on a desk needs neither: it starts on the plane
+        -- at the plot's back. The healing machine's console needs both --
+        -- it stands in the FRONT map row of a grid whose back row is the
+        -- wall band it leans against, and its screen head is MOUNTED on
+        -- the console's front two voxels above the body's top. Both come
+        -- off the drawing, not off taste.
+        local base = plane + (p.rise or 0)
+        local pz = p.z or 0
+        local ytp = base + (fr1 - fr0)
+        if ytp > ytop then ytop = ytp end
+        -- `inset` sinks an authored pane one voxel: the pane rule
+        -- applied by hand, for a part whose screen IS sealed behind its
+        -- own black frame while the template's `panes = false` (set for
+        -- the polarity-inverted panel elsewhere in the same drawing)
+        -- blocks the global pass. Same mechanism as a recess: the front
+        -- voxel is simply not placed.
+        local ins = p.inset
+        for sx = x0, x1 do
+          -- the lid: the part's drawn top laid across its depth from the
+          -- back, last row continuing forward; the front lid row is the
+          -- facade's own top row -- the drawn front-top edge.  `stretch`
+          -- maps the drawn band over the whole depth instead, the tray's
+          -- rule: for a part authored DEEPER than its drawing (the house
+          -- stool grown past its drawn seat), clamping would print the
+          -- last row as a long smear off the back band's edge.
+          for z = pz, pz + pd - 1 do
+            local front = z == pz + pd - 1
+            local sy
+            if front then
+              sy = fr0
+            elseif p.stretch then
+              sy = math.min(tr0 + math.floor((z - pz) * (tr1 - tr0 + 1)
+                                             / (pd - 1)), tr1)
+            else
+              sy = math.min(tr0 + z - pz, tr1)
+            end
+            while sy <= tr1 and not inside[sy * W + sx] do sy = sy + 1 end
+            local ok = sy <= tr1 or (front and inside[fr0 * W + sx])
+            if ok and z >= 0 and z < D then
+              put(sx, ytp, z, (front and fr0 or sy) * W + sx)
+            end
+          end
+          -- the body: facade rows anchored to the part's own base
+          for sy = fr0 + 1, fr1 do
+            local y = base + (fr1 - sy)
+            local i = sy * W + sx
+            if inside[i] then
+              local ix = interiorAt(sx, sy, x0, x1)
+              for z = pz, pz + pd - 1 do
+                if z >= 0 and z < D then
+                  if z == pz + pd - 1 then
+                    local sunk = ins and sx >= ins.x[1] and sx <= ins.x[2]
+                                 and sy >= ins.rows[1] and sy <= ins.rows[2]
+                    if not sunk and not pr.recess[i] then put(sx, y, z, i) end
+                  elseif z == pz then
+                    put(sx, y, z, i)
+                  else
+                    put(sx, y, z, sy * W + ix)
+                  end
+                end
+              end
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- A TRAY is an open container -- the drawing looks down INTO it, so its
+  -- top-view band is not a lid but the inside of the box, and the model
+  -- has to be hollow. Bands, all measured 1:1 like any other band table:
+  -- `top` is the opening (drawn row -> depth row), `front` the near wall
+  -- seen face-on (drawn row -> elevation), `x` the box's outer span and
+  -- `inner` the opening's, so the difference between them is the wall.
+  -- Four walls stand to the rim, the floor slab lies `floor` voxels thick
+  -- under the opening, and the cavity between them is left as AIR -- which
+  -- is the whole point, and what an extruded facade can never be. Parts (a
+  -- standing lid) then ride the rim like any object on a desk's plane.
+  if t.tray then
+    local tr = t.tray
+    local top0 = tr.top[1]
+    local fr0, fr1 = tr.front[1], tr.front[2]
+    local bx0, bx1 = tr.x[1], tr.x[2]
+    local ix0, ix1 = tr.inner[1], tr.inner[2]
+    local floor = tr.floor or 0
+    local plane = fr1 - fr0 + 1            -- the rim: the wall's height
+    -- Which drawn row lies at depth z. The far rim is the band's first
+    -- row and the near rim the front wall's own, and the drawn inside
+    -- STRETCHES over whatever depth is between them: a box deeper than
+    -- its drawing has rows to spare is the ordinary case once the plot
+    -- stops being the grid, and the alternative -- running out of rows
+    -- and repeating the last one -- would print the wrench twice.
+    local lo, hi = top0 + 1, tr.top[2] - 1     -- the drawn inside
+    local span = math.max(1, D - 3)            -- interior depth rows - 1
+    local function trayRow(z)
+      if z == 0 then return top0 end
+      if z == D - 1 then return fr0 end
+      return lo + math.floor((z - 1) * (hi - lo) / span)
+    end
+    for sx = bx0, bx1 do
+      Budget.tick()
+      for z = 0, D - 1 do
+        local hollow = sx >= ix0 and sx <= ix1 and z > 0 and z < D - 1
+        for y = 0, (hollow and floor or plane - 1) do
+          if hollow or y == plane - 1 then
+            -- the opening seen from above: the tray's own floor and
+            -- whatever lies in it -- and the rim is the same band where
+            -- the wall meets it
+            local i = trayRow(z) * W + sx
+            if inside[i] then put(sx, y, z, i) end
+          else
+            -- the wall below the rim: the front band folded up it, the
+            -- drawn face on the front and back layers and the de-outlined
+            -- interior between, exactly as a facade extrudes.
+            --
+            -- NO recess pass here, and it must stay that way: a pane sinks
+            -- by DELETING its front voxel so the one behind becomes the
+            -- pane, and a container's wall is one voxel thick -- there is
+            -- nothing behind it, so the front panel simply opened a hole
+            -- straight into the box and you could see the wrench through it.
+            local sy = fr1 - y
+            local i = sy * W + sx
+            if inside[i] then
+              local px = (z == 0 or z == D - 1) and sx
+                         or interiorAt(sx, sy, bx0, bx1)
+              put(sx, y, z, sy * W + px)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    if plane > ytop then ytop = plane end
+    buildParts(plane)
+    return { at = function(x, y, z)
+               if x < 0 or x >= W or y < 0 or z < 0 or z >= D then
+                 return nil
+               end
+               return vox[key(x, y, z)]
+             end,
+             W = W, ytop = ytop, zmin = 0, zmax = D - 1 }
+  end
+
+  -- No base piece at all: the drawing IS its parts (the house stool -- a
+  -- seat and its legs, nothing under them but floor). The plane the parts
+  -- anchor to is the ground itself.
+  if not t.desk then
+    buildParts(0)
+    return { at = function(x, y, z)
+               if x < 0 or x >= W or y < 0 or z < 0 or z >= D then
+                 return nil
+               end
+               return vox[key(x, y, z)]
+             end,
+             W = W, ytop = ytop, zmin = 0, zmax = D - 1 }
+  end
+
+  -- The desk's top plane. Usually the drawing states it: the fascia and
+  -- base rows it paints below the objects ARE the front face, and their
+  -- row count is the height. Bill's desk paints neither inside its grid
+  -- -- its apron is drawn into the WALKABLE cell in front, and that cell
+  -- is left out on purpose so the chair standing there keeps its own
+  -- tiles -- so `plane` names the height directly and the body below the
+  -- lid is synthesized: the band table's own rim treatment, a shaded box
+  -- closed by the outline where it meets the floor, in the drawing's
+  -- shades via shadeTexel.
+  local f0, f1 = t.desk.fascia[1], t.desk.fascia[2]
+  local b0, b1 = t.desk.base[1], t.desk.base[2]
+  local plane = (b1 - b0 + 1) + (f1 - f0 + 1)
+
+  -- The desk's own PLOT, when the grid holds more than the desk. Bill's
+  -- grid runs on into the walkable cell, because the drawing puts the
+  -- desk's apron AND the chair pushed up to it in the same tiles -- so
+  -- the desk box has to stop at its own cell (`depth`) and stand on its
+  -- own ground line rather than the grid's, which the chair's feet set
+  -- eight rows lower. The base band's last row IS that ground line by
+  -- definition, and for every desk drawn inside its own grid it is the
+  -- measured one to the row (lab table, lab computers, Center PC, the
+  -- Bike Shop toolbox), so this changes nothing for them.
+  -- ...and in voxels (`depthPx`) plus a back origin (`z`) when the desk
+  -- is shallower than a tile row and leans against something: the
+  -- healing machine's cabinet is 10 deep -- its drawn top band's 9 rows
+  -- plus the front edge -- standing against the wall band, so its box
+  -- runs z 16..25 of a 32-deep plot.
+  local deskD = t.desk.depthPx or (t.desk.depth and t.desk.depth * 8) or D
+  local dz0 = t.desk.z or 0
+  local dz1 = dz0 + deskD - 1
+  local deskG = b1 + 1
+  -- ...and the desk's COLUMNS (`x`), when the grid is wider than the
+  -- desk: the healing machine's grid carries its flanking hoses and
+  -- keyboard, and the cabinet is only the middle 16 columns.
+  local dx0 = t.desk.x and t.desk.x[1] or 0
+  local dx1 = t.desk.x and t.desk.x[2] or W - 1
+
+  -- The WALL element: the band the machine backs onto, whose tiles this
+  -- grid claims. The drawing shows it only as the stripe background
+  -- around the tower (the same standing as the potted plants' floor),
+  -- so the block cycles the drawing's own stripe unit -- real pixels of
+  -- column `x`, rows `cycle` -- at wall-band height over the back plot,
+  -- exactly what the neighbouring cells' `wall` pins render.
+  if t.wall then
+    local wl = t.wall
+    local c0, c1 = wl.cycle[1], wl.cycle[2]
+    local cn = c1 - c0 + 1
+    local wx = wl.x or 0
+    for y = 0, wl.h - 1 do
+      Budget.tick()
+      local sy = c0 + (wl.h - 1 - y) % cn
+      for sx = 0, W - 1 do
+        for z = 0, wl.depthPx - 1 do
+          put(sx, y, z, sy * W + wx)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- the base band, extruded exactly like every lab table's
+  for sy = b0, b1 do
+    Budget.tick()
+    local y = deskG - 1 - sy
+    for sx = dx0, dx1 do
+      if inside[sy * W + sx] then
+        local ix = interiorAt(sx, sy, dx0, dx1)
+        for z = dz0, dz1 do
+          local px = (z == dz0 or z == dz1) and sx or ix
+          put(sx, y, z, sy * W + px)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  for i in pairs(pr.recess) do
+    local sy = math.floor(i / W)
+    local sx = i % W
+    if sy >= b0 and sy <= b1 and sx >= dx0 and sx <= dx1 then
+      vox[key(sx, deskG - 1 - sy, dz1)] = nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- the slab: fascia rows wrap every side
+  for sy = f0, f1 do
+    Budget.tick()
+    local y = plane - 1 - (sy - f0)
+    for sx = dx0, dx1 do
+      for z = dz0, dz1 do put(sx, y, z, sy * W + sx) end
+    end
+  end
+
+  if t.desk.top then
+    -- The lid wears the desk's own drawn top band -- the drawing DOES
+    -- paint this tabletop (the healing machine's white top face with
+    -- its lit west and shaded east strips), so nothing is synthesized
+    -- where it is visible: band rows map back-to-front, the first
+    -- fascia row is the drawn front-top edge, same rule as an upright
+    -- part's lid. Where a part's drawing occludes the band (the monitor
+    -- standing on it), the lid continues the nearest strip BESIDE the
+    -- part -- still the drawing's own pixels, the same sibling-pattern
+    -- rule every synthesized lid follows.
+    local tr0, tr1 = t.desk.top[1], t.desk.top[2]
+    for z = dz0, dz1 do
+      Budget.tick()
+      local sy = z == dz1 and f0 or math.min(tr0 + (z - dz0), tr1)
+      for sx = dx0, dx1 do
+        local px = sx
+        for _, p in ipairs(t.parts) do
+          local px0, px1 = p.x[1], p.x[2]
+          local r0, r1
+          if p.kind == "flat" or p.kind == "iso" or p.kind == "box" then
+            r0, r1 = p.rows[1], p.rows[2]
+          else
+            r0, r1 = p.top[1], p.facade[2]
+          end
+          if sx >= px0 and sx <= px1 and sy >= r0 and sy <= r1 then
+            px = (sx - px0 < px1 - sx) and (px0 - 1) or (px1 + 1)
+            px = math.max(dx0, math.min(dx1, px))
+            break
+          end
+        end
+        put(sx, plane - 1, z, sy * W + px)
+      end
+    end
+  else
+    -- the lid continues the sibling tables' top -- black rim, white
+    -- highlight courses along the north and west, grey field
+    local field = t.desk.lid == "white" and WHITE or GREY
+    for sx = dx0, dx1 do
+      for z = dz0, dz1 do
+        local shade = field
+        if sx == dx0 or sx == dx1 or z == dz0 or z == dz1 then
+          shade = BLACK
+        elseif sx == dx0 + 1 or z == dz0 + 1 then
+          shade = WHITE
+        end
+        put(sx, plane - 1, z, pr.shadeTexel[shade])
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  if plane > ytop then ytop = plane end
+  buildParts(plane)
+
+  return { at = function(x, y, z)
+             if x < 0 or x >= W or y < 0 or z < 0 or z >= D then return nil end
+             return vox[key(x, y, z)]
+           end,
+           W = W, ytop = ytop, zmin = 0, zmax = D - 1 }
+end
+
 -- The voxel model as a lookup: `at(x, y, z)` is the index of the sprite
 -- pixel that voxel wears, or nil. Build ORDER is expressed as lookup
 -- order -- roof first, so it overwrites the walls it intersects, and walls
 -- are trimmed to its underside so nothing pokes through the surface.
 local function model(sp, pr, t)
+  if t.parts then return deskSetModel(sp, pr, t) end
   local W, H, D = sp.W, sp.H, pr.D
   local slab, roofRows = t.slab, t.roofRows
-  local top, ytop = pr.top, pr.ytop
+  local top, ytop, ground = pr.top, pr.ytop, pr.ground
 
   -- The roof's drawn span. A sprite inset from its box (B03) leaves outer
   -- columns undrawn in the roof band; they carry no roof at all, and the
@@ -367,16 +956,18 @@ local function model(sp, pr, t)
 
     -- the awning: the band juts two voxels past the walls, front and back
     if ledge0 and (z == -2 or z == -1 or z == D or z == D + 1) then
-      local sy = H - 1 - y
+      local sy = ground - 1 - y
       if sy >= ledge0 and sy <= ledge1 and sp.inside[sy * W + x] then
         return sy * W + x
       end
       return nil
     end
 
-    -- the facade, extruded straight back over the footprint
+    -- the facade, extruded straight back over the footprint. Rows map
+    -- against the measured ground line, not the grid's last row: the two
+    -- differ only for furniture standing on open floor (see measure).
     if z < 0 or z >= D then return nil end
-    local sy = H - 1 - y
+    local sy = ground - 1 - y
     local i = sy * W + x
     if y == 0 and not sp.inside[i] and sy > 0 and sp.inside[i - W] then
       -- the drawing's last row is the ground the building stands on, so
@@ -464,7 +1055,8 @@ local function emit(m, sp, atlasW, atlasH)
   local function runX(y, z, dx, dy, dz, x)
     local i0 = ci(x, y, z)
     local strip, n = nil, 1
-    while true do
+    local cap = runCap(x)
+    while n < cap do
       local nx = x + n
       local i = ci(nx, y, z)
       if not i or ci(nx + dx, y + dy, z + dz) then break end
@@ -556,8 +1148,8 @@ local function emit(m, sp, atlasW, atlasH)
         while z <= zmax do
           local i = ci(x, y, z)
           if i and not ci(x + d, y, z) then
-            local n = 1
-            while z + n <= zmax do
+            local n, cap = 1, runCap(z)
+            while n < cap and z + n <= zmax do
               local j = ci(x, y, z + n)
               if j ~= i or ci(x + d, y, z + n) then break end
               n = n + 1
@@ -666,7 +1258,7 @@ function Buildings.build(S, map, data, perRow)
               end
               built = models[key]
             end
-            Buildings.stamp(S, map, built, tx, ty, bw, bh)
+            Buildings.stamp(S, map, built, tx, ty, bw, bh, t)
           end
         end
       end
@@ -676,9 +1268,24 @@ end
 
 -- One placement: claim its tiles (so the detector leaves them alone and
 -- the mesher paints ground under them) and copy the model into place.
-function Buildings.stamp(S, map, quads, tx, ty, bw, bh)
-  local shape = { class = "building", h = 0, art = "building",
-                  flat = false, authored = true }
+--
+-- Two template fields alter what a claim means, for a drawing that
+-- carries a STANDEE on its surface (Red's potted plant on the dining
+-- table). `keep` names tile ids the stamp must NOT claim: their authored
+-- pins stay live, so the standee scan still stands the object exactly as
+-- it always did. `support` is the model's top plane in voxels: the claim
+-- shape carries it as its height, which is what tells that scan the
+-- standee's shelf -- a plain claim stays at h = 0, and Structures treats
+-- a building claim with height as a full model (skip, never a second
+-- box; see its support branches).
+function Buildings.stamp(S, map, quads, tx, ty, bw, bh, t)
+  local shape = { class = "building", h = (t and t.support) or 0,
+                  art = "building", flat = false, authored = true }
+  local keep = nil
+  if t and t.keep then
+    keep = {}
+    for _, id in ipairs(t.keep) do keep[id] = true end
+  end
 
   -- the ground the building stands on: the commonest flat tile around its
   -- feet, so a house on a path keeps its path
@@ -704,9 +1311,18 @@ function Buildings.stamp(S, map, quads, tx, ty, bw, bh)
   for r = 0, bh - 1 do
     for c = 0, bw - 1 do
       local k = keyOf(tx + c, ty + r)
-      S.shapeAt[k] = shape
-      S.skip[k] = true
-      S.ground[k] = best or false
+      if keep and keep[S.tileAt[k]] then
+        -- unclaimed by request: the tile keeps its pin (the plant's
+        -- cutout pool) and the standee scan finds it there. Only the
+        -- ground is set now, so the scan's own claim of these tiles has
+        -- the building's floor to paint when no flat tile touches a
+        -- cluster ringed by its own furniture.
+        S.ground[k] = best or false
+      else
+        S.shapeAt[k] = shape
+        S.skip[k] = true
+        S.ground[k] = best or false
+      end
     end
   end
 

lib/ChunkMesher.lua

@@ -853,14 +853,24 @@ end
 -- character card (VoxelScene). A figure baked into the terrain mesh could
 -- not lean, and a shared mesh could not carry per-figure placement.
 --
--- A list, not a mesh: `{ mesh, wx, wz, y }` per figure. Maps have one or
--- none, so the loop that draws them is shorter than the terrain's.
+-- A list, not a mesh: `{ mesh, wx, wz, y, w }` per figure. Maps have one
+-- or none, so the loop that draws them is shorter than the terrain's.
+-- `w` is the card's own width in its local space (its quads start at
+-- x = 0), measured here because the first-person pass yaws a card about
+-- its middle -- a card yawed about its left edge swings off its seat.
 local function buildFigureMeshes(map)
   local out = {}
   for _, f in ipairs(Structures.forMap(map).figures or {}) do
     local mesh = quadsMesh(f.quads)
     if mesh then
-      out[#out + 1] = { mesh = mesh, wx = f.wx, wz = f.wz, y = f.y }
+      local w = 0
+      for _, q in ipairs(f.quads) do
+        for c = 1, 4 do
+          local x = q[c] and q[c][1]
+          if x and x > w then w = x end
+        end
+      end
+      out[#out + 1] = { mesh = mesh, wx = f.wx, wz = f.wz, y = f.y, w = w }
     end
   end
   return out
@@ -1132,8 +1142,8 @@ function ChunkMesher.flowers(map)
   return c and c.flowers or nil
 end
 
--- Authored figures as `{ mesh, wx, wz, y }` records -- each placed by its
--- own leaning matrix at draw time, so they cannot share one mesh.
+-- Authored figures as `{ mesh, wx, wz, y, w }` records -- each placed by
+-- its own leaning matrix at draw time, so they cannot share one mesh.
 function ChunkMesher.figures(map)
   local c = cache[map.id]
   local list = c and c.figures

lib/FirstPerson.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,713 @@
+-- Voxel world mode: the first-person camera -- the 1ST rung.
+--
+-- Every other rung is the same camera at a different pitch: an orbit over
+-- the view centre, described by one number. 1ST is a different rig
+-- entirely: the eye stands in the player's own head, the view direction is
+-- the player's to steer -- mouse, right stick or a touch drag -- and the
+-- rig rides the placed-camera seam (Voxel3D.camera) that the staged battle
+-- already proved out. Everything downstream of that seam -- the shader
+-- uniforms, project(), the sky's vanishing line, the water's lean -- reads
+-- eye and focus the same way it always has.
+--
+-- What this module owns:
+--
+--   the ATTITUDE   yaw and pitch, fed by whichever look input speaks:
+--                  relative mouse motion, the right stick's rate, or a
+--                  touch dragged across open screen. All three drive the
+--                  same two numbers, so they compose instead of fighting.
+--
+--   the BLEND      easing between the orbit and the head. Stepping onto
+--                  the rung dives the camera from wherever the orbit was
+--                  into the player's eyes over half a second; stepping off
+--                  flies it back out. Mid-blend the rig is a straight lerp
+--                  of the two cameras -- eye, focus, fov, up -- through
+--                  the same placed-camera record.
+--
+--   the MOVE INTENT   the analog vector FreeMove walks the player by,
+--                  gathered here because it is made of the same devices:
+--                  the left stick's raw axes, the touch d-pad's true
+--                  deflection, or the held keys, rotated by this camera's
+--                  yaw so "forward" means "where I am looking".
+--
+-- Deliberately NOT here: movement itself (lib/FreeMove.lua, which owns the
+-- collision walk and the grid the game logic still lives on), and the
+-- billboard math that faces cards at this eye (VoxelScene, which owns
+-- every other card matrix too).
+--
+-- Everything the module reaches -- the mouse's relative mode, the wrapped
+-- love handlers, the touch overlay's hit test -- is pcall-guarded the same
+-- way the 3D pass is: headless runs and drivers without a mouse simply
+-- never see the input, and the rung falls back to holding the 75-degree
+-- orbit.
+
+-- the mod namespace (see main.lua): V.require loads a sibling module
+local V = ...
+
+local Mat4 = V.require("Mat4")
+local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+local Voxel3D = V.require("Voxel3D")
+local WorldCurve = V.require("WorldCurve")
+
+local FirstPerson = {}
+
+-- ------- the rig's numbers
+--
+-- EYE_HEIGHT stands the eye near the top of the 16px sprite -- the head,
+-- not the hat tip -- above the same ground-plus-lift the character card
+-- stands on, so surfing bobs and ledge hops carry the view with them.
+--
+-- FOV is wider than the diorama's ~53 degrees: inside the world, the
+-- diorama's lens reads as a keyhole. 65 vertical is the modern-shooter
+-- middle ground.
+--
+-- FOCUS_DIST is short on purpose: the placed-camera branch derives its
+-- near plane from |eye - focus| (dist * 0.05), and the eye walks within
+-- 2-3 world pixels of a wall face when sliding along it -- a far focus
+-- would push the near plane through the wall and clip a hole in it.
+FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT = 13
+FirstPerson.FOV = math.rad(65)
+FirstPerson.FOCUS_DIST = 24
+
+-- Pitch limits, in radians below horizontal (positive looks DOWN). The
+-- world has no ceiling and the sky's bands sit low, so looking far up
+-- shows the void above the gradient; the up-range is clamped tighter than
+-- the down-range for that reason, not a technical one.
+FirstPerson.PITCH_DOWN = math.rad(70)
+FirstPerson.PITCH_UP = -math.rad(50)
+FirstPerson.PITCH_DEFAULT = math.rad(10)
+
+-- how long the dive into (and out of) the head takes, in seconds
+FirstPerson.BLEND_TIME = 0.45
+
+-- ------- look input tuning
+--
+-- MOUSE_SENS is radians per relative-mode count -- about 0.18 degrees per
+-- count, the conventional shooter default. STICK rates are radians per
+-- second at full deflection, with a squared response curve so small
+-- deflections aim and full ones turn. TOUCH_TURN is what one full screen
+-- width of drag turns, mobile-shooter convention.
+FirstPerson.MOUSE_SENS = 0.0032
+FirstPerson.STICK_YAW = 3.5
+FirstPerson.STICK_PITCH = 2.4
+FirstPerson.STICK_DEAD = 0.18
+FirstPerson.TOUCH_TURN = 2.2 * math.pi
+FirstPerson.MOVE_DEAD = 0.25
+
+-- ------- state
+--
+-- Yaw is a world bearing: 0 faces south (+Z, the way a resting sprite
+-- faces), pi/2 east -- the same convention VoxelScene.YAW uses, so a
+-- facing converts to a yaw by table lookup.
+FirstPerson.yaw = 0
+FirstPerson.pitch = FirstPerson.PITCH_DEFAULT
+FirstPerson.blend = 0
+
+local wasEngaged = false
+local stick = { x = 0, y = 0 }        -- right stick, latest event values
+local mouseDX, mouseDY = 0, 0         -- relative counts since last update
+local lookTouch = nil                 -- { id, x, y } of the claimed finger
+local touchMove = nil                 -- the touch d-pad's analog deflection
+local captured = false                -- mouse relative mode engaged by us
+
+-- the placed-camera record this module last handed to Voxel3D, so passes
+-- that key behaviour off "is the first-person rig the one drawing" (the
+-- billboard yaw, the frame remap) can ask by identity rather than by mode
+-- -- the battle's own placed camera must never read as first person
+local rig = nil
+
+local FACING_ANGLE = {
+  down = 0,
+  right = math.pi / 2,
+  up = math.pi,
+  left = -math.pi / 2,
+}
+local FACING_ORDER = { "down", "right", "up", "left" }
+
+local function wrapPi(a)
+  return (a + math.pi) % (2 * math.pi) - math.pi
+end
+
+local function ease(t)
+  return t * t * (3 - 2 * t)
+end
+
+-- ------- gates
+
+-- Whether the 1ST rung is selected and the 3D pass can carry it.
+function FirstPerson.engaged()
+  return Voxel.isFirstPerson(Voxel.level) and Voxel3D.available()
+end
+
+-- Whether first person should be READING the player's inputs right now:
+-- engaged, with the overworld on top of the stack (a menu, a dialog or a
+-- battle above it owns the buttons, exactly as it does for grid walking).
+function FirstPerson.driving()
+  if not FirstPerson.engaged() then return false end
+  local ok, top, ow = pcall(function()
+    local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+    return Game.stack and Game.stack:top(), Game.overworld
+  end)
+  return ok and top ~= nil and top == ow
+end
+
+-- The eased blend, 0 at the orbit and 1 in the head.
+function FirstPerson.blendEased()
+  return ease(FirstPerson.blend)
+end
+
+-- The blend, but only while the free-roam pass's own rig is the placed
+-- camera. The battle scene places a camera of its own through the same
+-- seam, and its cards must keep their stage lean rather than yawing at a
+-- first-person eye that is not looking at them.
+function FirstPerson.cardBlend()
+  if not rig or Voxel3D.camera ~= rig then return 0 end
+  return ease(FirstPerson.blend)
+end
+
+-- Whether the player's own card should be left out of the camera draw:
+-- deep enough into the blend that the card would fill the lens from
+-- inside. The sun pass keeps drawing it either way -- a first-person
+-- player still throws a shadow on the ground ahead.
+function FirstPerson.hidePlayer()
+  return FirstPerson.cardBlend() > 0.9
+end
+
+-- ------- attitude
+
+-- Apply a look delta, in radians. Everything that turns the head funnels
+-- through here, so the clamps live once.
+function FirstPerson.lookBy(dyaw, dpitch)
+  FirstPerson.yaw = wrapPi(FirstPerson.yaw + dyaw)
+  FirstPerson.pitch = math.max(FirstPerson.PITCH_UP,
+                       math.min(FirstPerson.PITCH_DOWN,
+                                FirstPerson.pitch + dpitch))
+end
+
+-- The view direction's flat compass facing, for everything that still
+-- thinks in the grid's four directions: the cell A interacts with, the
+-- sprite the sun sees, the direction a blocked slide bonks in.
+function FirstPerson.compassFacing()
+  local s, c = math.sin(FirstPerson.yaw), math.cos(FirstPerson.yaw)
+  if math.abs(s) > math.abs(c) then
+    return s > 0 and "right" or "left"
+  end
+  return c > 0 and "down" or "up"
+end
+
+-- The unit look direction, and its flat (ground-plane) part.
+local function lookDir()
+  local cp = math.cos(FirstPerson.pitch)
+  return math.sin(FirstPerson.yaw) * cp,
+         -math.sin(FirstPerson.pitch),
+         math.cos(FirstPerson.yaw) * cp
+end
+
+function FirstPerson.lookFlat()
+  return math.sin(FirstPerson.yaw), math.cos(FirstPerson.yaw)
+end
+
+-- ------- billboards seen from inside the world
+--
+-- The diorama's cards face south and lean back by the camera's pitch --
+-- correct for a camera that always stands south. An eye that can stand
+-- ANYWHERE sees a south-facing card edge-on from the east, so in first
+-- person every card yaws about its feet to face the eye (cylindrical
+-- billboarding: upright, never tipping). VoxelScene blends its matrices
+-- between the two by cardBlend.
+
+-- The yaw that turns a card's south-facing normal toward the eye.
+function FirstPerson.cardYaw(wx, wz)
+  local eye = rig and rig.eye
+  if not eye then return 0 end
+  local dx, dz = eye[1] - wx, eye[3] - wz
+  if dx * dx + dz * dz < 1e-9 then return 0 end
+  return math.atan2(dx, dz)
+end
+
+-- Which of the four sprite frames an entity shows THIS eye: its facing
+-- rotated into the viewer's own frame, quantised. The flat game's frames
+-- are "how this pose looks from the south", so the apparent facing is the
+-- pose rotated by where the viewer actually stands -- walk behind an NPC
+-- and you see their back, circle to their flank and you see the profile,
+-- exactly as the four frames Gen 1 drew intend.
+function FirstPerson.apparentFacing(facing, wx, wz)
+  local eye = rig and rig.eye
+  local phi = FACING_ANGLE[facing]
+  if not (eye and phi) then return facing end
+  local dx, dz = eye[1] - wx, eye[3] - wz
+  if dx * dx + dz * dz < 1e-9 then return facing end
+  local rel = wrapPi(phi - math.atan2(dx, dz))
+  local idx = math.floor((rel + math.pi / 4) / (math.pi / 2)) % 4
+  return FACING_ORDER[idx + 1]
+end
+
+-- ------- the move intent
+--
+-- The analog vector FreeMove walks by, in CAMERA space: mx strafes (+
+-- right), mz advances (+ forward). Whichever device is actually deflected
+-- answers -- the left stick's raw axes first (the engine quantises them to
+-- a d-pad; the raw pair is the analog truth), then a touch d-pad finger,
+-- then the held keys. Magnitude caps at 1.
+function FirstPerson.moveVector()
+  local ok, Game = pcall(require, "src.core.Game")
+  local input = ok and Game.input or nil
+
+  local ax = input and input.stickAxis or nil
+  if ax then
+    local mag = math.sqrt(ax.x * ax.x + ax.y * ax.y)
+    if mag > FirstPerson.MOVE_DEAD then
+      local t = math.min(1, (mag - FirstPerson.MOVE_DEAD)
+                            / (1 - FirstPerson.MOVE_DEAD))
+      return ax.x / mag * t, -ax.y / mag * t
+    end
+  end
+
+  if touchMove then
+    local mag = math.sqrt(touchMove.x * touchMove.x
+                          + touchMove.y * touchMove.y)
+    if mag > FirstPerson.MOVE_DEAD then
+      local t = math.min(1, mag)
+      return touchMove.x / mag * t, -touchMove.y / mag * t
+    end
+  end
+
+  if input then
+    local mx = (input:isDown("right") and 1 or 0)
+               - (input:isDown("left") and 1 or 0)
+    local mz = (input:isDown("up") and 1 or 0)
+               - (input:isDown("down") and 1 or 0)
+    if mx ~= 0 or mz ~= 0 then
+      local mag = math.sqrt(mx * mx + mz * mz)
+      return mx / mag, mz / mag
+    end
+  end
+  return 0, 0
+end
+
+-- Rotate a camera-space move into world space: forward is the flat look
+-- direction, strafe-right is its right hand. (cross(forward, up) with
+-- forward = (sin y, 0, cos y) and up = +Y lands right on (-cos y, 0,
+-- sin y): face south and your right hand points west.)
+function FirstPerson.moveWorld(mx, mz)
+  local s, c = math.sin(FirstPerson.yaw), math.cos(FirstPerson.yaw)
+  return -c * mx + s * mz, s * mx + c * mz
+end
+
+-- ------- the tick
+
+-- Runs from the pipeline's update hook, every frame whatever the level --
+-- the same tick VoxelState eases the orbit on. Owns the blend, the mouse
+-- capture lifecycle, and the frame's stick-rate look.
+function FirstPerson.update(dt)
+  local engagedNow = FirstPerson.engaged()
+
+  -- entering the rung: the head starts looking the way the sprite faces,
+  -- pitched gently down -- the reading pose of the flat game
+  if engagedNow and not wasEngaged then
+    local ok, facing = pcall(function()
+      local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+      return Game.overworld and Game.overworld.player
+             and Game.overworld.player.facing
+    end)
+    FirstPerson.yaw = (ok and FACING_ANGLE[facing]) or 0
+    FirstPerson.pitch = FirstPerson.PITCH_DEFAULT
+  end
+  wasEngaged = engagedNow
+
+  -- the blend, held at flat until there is terrain to dive into -- the
+  -- same wait Voxel.update keeps for the orbit tween, for the same reason
+  local target = engagedNow and 1 or 0
+  if target > FirstPerson.blend and FirstPerson.blend == 0
+     and not Voxel.ready then
+    target = 0
+  end
+  local step = dt / FirstPerson.BLEND_TIME
+  if FirstPerson.blend < target then
+    FirstPerson.blend = math.min(target, FirstPerson.blend + step)
+  elseif FirstPerson.blend > target then
+    FirstPerson.blend = math.max(target, FirstPerson.blend - step)
+  end
+  if FirstPerson.blend <= 0 and rig then
+    -- fully out: let go of the placed camera (unless a battle already
+    -- swapped its own in, which is not ours to clear)
+    if Voxel3D.camera == rig then Voxel3D.camera = nil end
+    rig = nil
+  end
+
+  -- mouse capture follows engagement: captured whenever the rung is on and
+  -- the window has focus, released the moment either ends. Checked against
+  -- the live mode rather than toggled on edges, so a capture lost to the
+  -- OS (alt-tab) re-arms itself on the next focused frame.
+  local wantCapture = engagedNow
+  if wantCapture and love.window and love.window.hasFocus then
+    local okF, focus = pcall(love.window.hasFocus)
+    wantCapture = okF and focus or false
+  end
+  if love.mouse and love.mouse.setRelativeMode then
+    local okM, isRel = pcall(love.mouse.getRelativeMode)
+    if okM and isRel ~= wantCapture then
+      pcall(love.mouse.setRelativeMode, wantCapture)
+    end
+    captured = wantCapture
+  end
+
+  local driving = FirstPerson.driving()
+
+  -- The mouse's counts, accumulated by the wrapped handler since the last
+  -- tick; dropped unread while something else owns the screen.
+  --
+  -- The yaw sign is NEGATED, here and in every look input below: yaw grows
+  -- south -> east -> north (the world runs +X east, +Z south, and the
+  -- direction is (sin yaw, cos yaw)), which seen from behind the eye is a
+  -- LEFT turn -- so "move the mouse right, look right" means subtracting.
+  local dx, dy = mouseDX, mouseDY
+  mouseDX, mouseDY = 0, 0
+  if driving and (dx ~= 0 or dy ~= 0) then
+    FirstPerson.lookBy(-dx * FirstPerson.MOUSE_SENS,
+                       dy * FirstPerson.MOUSE_SENS)
+  end
+
+  -- the right stick is a rate: radians per second, squared response so
+  -- the first half of the throw aims and the rest turns
+  if driving then
+    local rx, ry = stick.x, stick.y
+    local function curve(v)
+      local a = math.abs(v)
+      if a < FirstPerson.STICK_DEAD then return 0 end
+      a = (a - FirstPerson.STICK_DEAD) / (1 - FirstPerson.STICK_DEAD)
+      return (v < 0 and -1 or 1) * a * a
+    end
+    local cy, cp = curve(rx), curve(ry)
+    if cy ~= 0 or cp ~= 0 then
+      -- negated yaw for the same reason as the mouse above
+      FirstPerson.lookBy(-cy * FirstPerson.STICK_YAW * dt,
+                         cp * FirstPerson.STICK_PITCH * dt)
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+-- ------- the rig itself
+
+-- The orbit camera's eye/focus/fov/up for the frame's centre -- the same
+-- arithmetic Voxel3D.viewProjection runs, restated here because the blend
+-- needs both ends as DATA. Kept textually tiny so the two cannot drift:
+-- focus on the centre, eye FOCAL*vh away at the pitch, up perpendicular
+-- in the YZ plane.
+local function orbitRig(cx, cy, vh)
+  local a = Voxel.angle
+  local dist = Voxel.FOCAL * vh
+  return { cx, dist * math.cos(a), cy + dist * math.sin(a) },
+         { cx, 0, cy },
+         2 * math.atan(1 / (2 * Voxel.FOCAL)),
+         { 0, math.sin(a), -math.cos(a) }
+end
+
+local lastEye = nil                   -- frozen head pose for player-less frames
+
+-- Build this frame's placed camera and hand it to Voxel3D, plus the scene
+-- centre the curve and the depth reference should use. `me` is the
+-- player's posed entry (px, py, gh, lift) or nil (a Fly animation), and
+-- (cx, cy) the orbit's own view centre.
+--
+-- Returns nil with the blend fully out, which is the caller's signal to
+-- leave the orbit in charge.
+function FirstPerson.frame(me, cx, cy, vw, vh)
+  local b = FirstPerson.blend
+  if b <= 0 then
+    if rig and Voxel3D.camera == rig then Voxel3D.camera = nil end
+    rig = nil
+    return nil
+  end
+  local e = ease(b)
+
+  local head
+  if me then
+    head = { me.px + 8,
+             (me.gh or 0) + (me.lift or 0) + FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT,
+             me.py + 8 }
+    lastEye = head
+  else
+    head = lastEye or { cx, FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT, cy }
+  end
+  local lx, ly, lz = lookDir()
+  local fpFocus = { head[1] + lx * FirstPerson.FOCUS_DIST,
+                    head[2] + ly * FirstPerson.FOCUS_DIST,
+                    head[3] + lz * FirstPerson.FOCUS_DIST }
+
+  local oEye, oFocus, oFov, oUp = orbitRig(cx, cy, vh)
+  local function mix(p, q)
+    return { p[1] + (q[1] - p[1]) * e,
+             p[2] + (q[2] - p[2]) * e,
+             p[3] + (q[3] - p[3]) * e }
+  end
+  local up = mix(oUp, { 0, 1, 0 })
+  local ul = math.sqrt(up[1] * up[1] + up[2] * up[2] + up[3] * up[3])
+  if ul > 1e-6 then up[1], up[2], up[3] = up[1] / ul, up[2] / ul, up[3] / ul
+  else up = { 0, 1, 0 } end
+
+  -- the world curve eases out with the blend: standing inside the world,
+  -- the bend that sells the diorama reads as the ground falling away. A
+  -- true zero (curve declined) needs the field present -- nil would let
+  -- Voxel3D fall back to the setting
+  local k = WorldCurve.k(vh) * (1 - e)
+
+  rig = {
+    eye = mix(oEye, head),
+    focus = mix(oFocus, fpFocus),
+    fov = oFov + (FirstPerson.FOV - oFov) * e,
+    up = up,
+    curve = k,
+  }
+  Voxel3D.camera = rig
+
+  -- the scene centre walks from the orbit's view centre to the head, so
+  -- the curve's focus, the depth reference and the glint's travel follow
+  -- the camera that is actually in charge
+  local sx = cx + (head[1] - cx) * e
+  local sy = cy + (head[3] - cy) * e
+  return rig, sx, sy
+end
+
+-- Where the shadow pass should centre its box: pushed along the flat look
+-- so the fitted frustum -- built for an orbit that always looks north --
+-- covers the ground THIS camera sees. The push is strongest looking
+-- south (the direction the orbit's box barely reaches) and scales with
+-- the blend.
+function FirstPerson.shadowCenter(sx, sy, vh)
+  local e = FirstPerson.cardBlend()
+  if e <= 0 then return sx, sy end
+  local fx, fz = FirstPerson.lookFlat()
+  local ShadowMap = V.require("ShadowMap")
+  local cap = (ShadowMap.FAR_CAP or 2.5) * vh
+  return sx + fx * 0.6 * vh * e,
+         sy + fz * (fz > 0 and (cap - vh * 0.5) or vh * 0.4) * e
+end
+
+-- The first-person facts a shadow signature has to include: the sun's
+-- box is fitted around this camera, so turning the head or walking the
+-- blend has to re-fit it even standing still.
+function FirstPerson.signature()
+  local b = FirstPerson.blend
+  if b <= 0 then return "" end
+  return table.concat({
+    math.floor(b * 64),
+    math.floor(FirstPerson.yaw * 64),
+    math.floor(FirstPerson.pitch * 64),
+  }, ",")
+end
+
+-- ------- input capture
+--
+-- The seams: relative mouse motion has no Game handler at all (the
+-- engine's love.mousemoved only feeds the mouse-as-touch debug path), the
+-- right stick's axes are explicitly ignored by Input, and a touch
+-- anywhere off the overlay's controls dies in TouchControls. Each wrap
+-- forwards everything it does not claim, and claims only while first
+-- person is actually driving -- so with the rung off, every byte flows
+-- exactly where it always did.
+
+local installed = false
+
+function FirstPerson.install()
+  if installed then return end
+  installed = true
+
+  local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+
+  -- ------- right stick
+  do
+    local inner = Game.gamepadaxis
+    function Game:gamepadaxis(joystick, axis, value)
+      if axis == "rightx" then stick.x = value
+      elseif axis == "righty" then stick.y = value end
+      return inner(self, joystick, axis, value)
+    end
+  end
+  -- generic (non-gamepad) sticks: axes 1/2 are the left stick by SDL
+  -- convention and Input already claims them; 3/4 are the usual right
+  -- pair on the same class of device. Real gamepads are excluded -- they
+  -- already spoke through the mapped rightx/righty above, and their RAW
+  -- axis 3 is as likely a trigger as a stick.
+  --
+  -- Two more exclusions, both learned the hard way on Android, where this
+  -- wrap runs BEFORE the engine's own generic-joystick guards:
+  --
+  --   the accelerometer arrives as a joystick named for what it is, with
+  --   gravity pinning an axis well past any deadzone -- the same device
+  --   Game:joystickaxis refuses for movement (#459), refused here by the
+  --   same name test, or the view spins on its own the moment 1ST opens.
+  --
+  --   and a raw axis is only BELIEVED after it has been seen near centre
+  --   once. A stick at rest sits at zero, so a real one earns trust with
+  --   its first touch; a gravity-pinned sensor axis or a trigger resting
+  --   at an extreme never centres and so never steers the look.
+  local function isAccelerometer(joystick)
+    local ok, name = pcall(function() return joystick:getName() end)
+    return ok and type(name) == "string"
+           and name:lower():find("accelerometer", 1, true) ~= nil
+  end
+  local rawCentred = {}
+  do
+    local inner = Game.joystickaxis
+    function Game:joystickaxis(joystick, axis, value)
+      local mapped = joystick and joystick.isGamepad and joystick:isGamepad()
+      if not mapped and (axis == 3 or axis == 4)
+         and not isAccelerometer(joystick) then
+        if math.abs(value) < 0.3 then rawCentred[axis] = true end
+        if rawCentred[axis] then
+          if axis == 3 then stick.x = value else stick.y = value end
+        end
+      end
+      return inner(self, joystick, axis, value)
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- ------- mouse
+  --
+  -- love.mousemoved rather than a Game method, because the engine has no
+  -- Game:mousemoved to wrap -- the callback in the project's main.lua is
+  -- the one place relative counts arrive. Claimed only while captured;
+  -- pass-through otherwise, including the mouse-as-touch path.
+  do
+    local inner = love.mousemoved
+    love.mousemoved = function(x, y, dx, dy, istouch)
+      if captured and not istouch then
+        mouseDX = mouseDX + (dx or 0)
+        mouseDY = mouseDY + (dy or 0)
+        return
+      end
+      if inner then return inner(x, y, dx, dy, istouch) end
+    end
+  end
+  -- While the mouse is captured there is no cursor to click UI with, so
+  -- the buttons become GB buttons: left is A, right is B -- through the
+  -- overlay's own press path, which a rebind can never detach. What WE
+  -- pressed is remembered per button, so the release always reaches the
+  -- overlay even if the capture ended while the button was down --
+  -- otherwise a click that outlives the rung strands A held forever.
+  local mouseHeld = {}
+  local MOUSE_BTN = { [1] = "a", [2] = "b" }
+  do
+    local inner = love.mousepressed
+    love.mousepressed = function(x, y, button, istouch, presses)
+      if captured and not istouch and MOUSE_BTN[button] then
+        local Input = require("src.core.Input")
+        mouseHeld[button] = true
+        Input:overlayPressed(MOUSE_BTN[button])
+        return
+      end
+      if inner then return inner(x, y, button, istouch, presses) end
+    end
+  end
+  do
+    local inner = love.mousereleased
+    love.mousereleased = function(x, y, button, istouch, presses)
+      if mouseHeld[button] then
+        local Input = require("src.core.Input")
+        mouseHeld[button] = nil
+        Input:overlayReleased(MOUSE_BTN[button])
+        return
+      end
+      if inner then return inner(x, y, button, istouch, presses) end
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- ------- touch
+  --
+  -- A finger on open screen -- not on the overlay's d-pad or buttons --
+  -- becomes the look drag. One finger owns the look at a time; every
+  -- other touch flows to TouchControls untouched, so a thumb can drag the
+  -- view while the other walks the d-pad. That d-pad finger is also read
+  -- back ANALOG here: TouchControls quantises it to four directions for
+  -- the grid game, but the deflection it quantised is exactly the move
+  -- vector a free walk wants.
+  local TouchControls = require("src.core.TouchControls")
+
+  local function dpadVector(x, y)
+    local ok, v = pcall(function()
+      local L = TouchControls:layout()
+      local dz = L.dpad
+      local half = dz.w * 0.65
+      return { x = math.max(-1, math.min(1, (x - dz.cx) / half)),
+               y = math.max(-1, math.min(1, (y - dz.cy) / half)) }
+    end)
+    return ok and v or nil
+  end
+
+  do
+    local inner = Game.touchpressed
+    function Game:touchpressed(id, x, y)
+      if FirstPerson.driving() then
+        local onControl = nil
+        pcall(function() onControl = TouchControls:hitTest(x, y) end)
+        if not onControl and not lookTouch then
+          lookTouch = { id = id, x = x, y = y }
+          return
+        end
+        inner(self, id, x, y)
+        if onControl == "dpad" and TouchControls.dpadTouch == id then
+          touchMove = dpadVector(x, y)
+        end
+        return
+      end
+      return inner(self, id, x, y)
+    end
+  end
+  do
+    local inner = Game.touchmoved
+    function Game:touchmoved(id, x, y)
+      if lookTouch and lookTouch.id == id then
+        local w = 1280
+        pcall(function() w = love.graphics.getWidth() end)
+        local per = FirstPerson.TOUCH_TURN / math.max(320, w)
+        if FirstPerson.driving() then
+          -- negated yaw for the same reason as the mouse (see update):
+          -- drag right, look right, the mobile-shooter convention
+          FirstPerson.lookBy(-(x - lookTouch.x) * per,
+                             (y - lookTouch.y) * per)
+        end
+        lookTouch.x, lookTouch.y = x, y
+        return
+      end
+      if touchMove and TouchControls.dpadTouch == id then
+        touchMove = dpadVector(x, y) or touchMove
+      end
+      return inner(self, id, x, y)
+    end
+  end
+  do
+    local inner = Game.touchreleased
+    function Game:touchreleased(id, x, y)
+      if lookTouch and lookTouch.id == id then
+        lookTouch = nil
+        return
+      end
+      if TouchControls.dpadTouch == id then touchMove = nil end
+      return inner(self, id, x, y)
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- a reset that drops held input state drops ours with it
+  do
+    local inner = Game.focus
+    function Game:focus(f)
+      lookTouch, touchMove = nil, nil
+      stick.x, stick.y = 0, 0
+      mouseDX, mouseDY = 0, 0
+      return inner(self, f)
+    end
+  end
+  -- a disconnected controller cannot send the centering event for whatever
+  -- its stick last held -- the engine drops all input state here, and the
+  -- look rate (plus the raw axes' earned trust) goes with it
+  do
+    local inner = Game.joystickremoved
+    function Game:joystickremoved(joystick)
+      stick.x, stick.y = 0, 0
+      rawCentred[3], rawCentred[4] = nil, nil
+      return inner(self, joystick)
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+return FirstPerson

lib/FreeMove.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,345 @@
+-- Voxel world mode: free movement for the first-person rung.
+--
+-- The engine walks a grid: sixteen frames per cell, four directions,
+-- input locked mid-step. Inside a first-person camera that gait reads as
+-- riding a rail, so while 1ST drives, this module replaces the WALK and
+-- nothing else: the player's position becomes continuous, steered by the
+-- camera's own yaw -- push forward and you go where you look, at any
+-- angle, sliding along whatever you graze.
+--
+-- THE GRID IS STILL THE GAME. Every fact the world cares about is a fact
+-- about cells -- what blocks, what warps, what rustles, what bites -- and
+-- this module keeps the player's logical cell synced to wherever the free
+-- walk stands, then reuses the engine's own machinery for every one of
+-- those questions:
+--
+--   passability      the same isWalkableCell / water-while-surfing /
+--                    tile-pair / entity-occupancy verdicts Collision
+--                    hands the grid walker, asked per cell the player's
+--                    body overlaps.
+--
+--   cell arrival     OverworldState:onStepComplete, the same landing
+--                    pipeline a grid step runs -- warps, spinners, gates,
+--                    forced currents, poison, repel, encounters, the
+--                    step counters -- fired once per cell crossed, which
+--                    is exactly the rate a grid walk fires it.
+--
+--   the special pushes   walking off the map edge, into a ledge, or into
+--                    a boulder hands the quantised direction straight to
+--                    checkEdgeExit / checkLedgeHop / checkBoulderPush,
+--                    the engine's own handlers, which validate and stage
+--                    everything themselves (connections, the hop arc,
+--                    the two-push arm). While any of those animates a
+--                    scripted grid move, this module stands aside and
+--                    adopts the result.
+--
+-- Nothing here writes save state, rolls encounters, or decides what a
+-- warp does -- it moves a point, keeps the cell honest, and lets the
+-- engine be the engine. Stepping off the rung snaps the point to its
+-- cell and hands the walk back to the grid, and with the rung off this
+-- module costs one gate check per frame.
+
+-- the mod namespace (see main.lua): V.require loads a sibling module
+local V = ...
+
+local FirstPerson = V.require("FirstPerson")
+
+local FreeMove = {}
+
+-- The body: a circle in the ground plane. Small enough to walk every
+-- one-cell corridor the grid game has (half a cell is 8), big enough to
+-- keep the eye's near plane out of wall faces when sliding along them.
+FreeMove.RADIUS = 5.5
+
+-- World pixels per fixed 60Hz frame -- the grid walker's own speeds (16
+-- frames per 16px cell on foot, 8 on the bike), so distance covered per
+-- second is unchanged and the encounter rate per tile crossed stays the
+-- game's own.
+FreeMove.WALK = 1.0
+FreeMove.BIKE = 2.0
+
+local EPS = 0.01
+
+-- the free position (player centre, world px) and the px/py we last wrote
+-- -- if they differ from the player's, something else (a warp, a script)
+-- moved them, and the free walk adopts rather than fights
+local pos = nil
+local lastPx, lastPy = nil, nil
+
+local function adopt(p)
+  pos = { x = p.px + 8, z = p.py + 8 }
+  lastPx, lastPy = p.px, p.py
+end
+
+function FreeMove.drop()
+  pos = nil
+end
+
+-- named for the suite: the module's live position, nil while dropped
+function FreeMove._pos()
+  return pos
+end
+
+-- ------- the per-cell verdict
+--
+-- The same questions Collision.canMove asks for a grid step, asked of one
+-- cell from the player's current standing. The player's OWN cell never
+-- blocks -- the body must always be free to leave wherever it stands
+-- (a warp mat, the water it is surfing, a cell an NPC just stepped
+-- against).
+
+local function pairBlocked(map, surfing, sx, sy, tx, ty)
+  local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+  local tp = Game.data and Game.data.field and Game.data.field.tilePairs
+  if not tp then return false end
+  local list = surfing and tp.water or tp.land
+  if not list or #list == 0 then return false end
+  local tileset = map.def.tileset
+  local a = map:cellTile(sx, sy)
+  local b = map:cellTile(tx, ty)
+  for _, p in ipairs(list) do
+    if p.tileset == tileset
+       and ((p.a == a and p.b == b) or (p.a == b and p.b == a)) then
+      return true
+    end
+  end
+  return false
+end
+
+-- Why (cx, cy) refuses the player's body, or nil when it may enter:
+-- "bounds" | "tile" | "entity", the grid verdict's own names.
+local function blockedCell(state, p, cx, cy)
+  if cx == p.cellX and cy == p.cellY then return nil end
+  local map = state.map
+  if not map:inBounds(cx, cy) then return "bounds" end
+  if not map:isWalkableCell(cx, cy) then
+    if not (p.surfing and map:isWaterCell(cx, cy)) then return "tile" end
+  end
+  if pairBlocked(map, p.surfing, p.cellX, p.cellY, cx, cy) then
+    return "tile"
+  end
+  local Collision = require("src.world.Collision")
+  if Collision.occupied(state.entities, cx, cy, p) then return "entity" end
+  return nil
+end
+
+FreeMove._blockedCell = blockedCell   -- named for the suite
+
+-- ------- the slide
+--
+-- One axis at a time, clamped at the first refusing cell's face: the
+-- classic axis-separated walk, which is where wall-sliding comes from --
+-- the blocked axis stops and the free one keeps going. Returns the
+-- refusal ("bounds"/"tile"/"entity") when this axis was clamped.
+
+local function slideX(state, p, dx)
+  if dx == 0 then return nil end
+  local r = FreeMove.RADIUS
+  local nx = pos.x + dx
+  local z0 = math.floor((pos.z - r + EPS) / 16)
+  local z1 = math.floor((pos.z + r - EPS) / 16)
+  local hit = nil
+  local edge = dx > 0 and math.floor((nx + r) / 16)
+               or math.floor((nx - r) / 16)
+  for zc = z0, z1 do
+    hit = blockedCell(state, p, edge, zc)
+    if hit then break end
+  end
+  if hit then
+    if dx > 0 then nx = math.min(nx, edge * 16 - r - EPS)
+    else nx = math.max(nx, (edge + 1) * 16 + r + EPS) end
+  end
+  pos.x = nx
+  return hit
+end
+
+local function slideZ(state, p, dz)
+  if dz == 0 then return nil end
+  local r = FreeMove.RADIUS
+  local nz = pos.z + dz
+  local x0 = math.floor((pos.x - r + EPS) / 16)
+  local x1 = math.floor((pos.x + r - EPS) / 16)
+  local hit = nil
+  local edge = dz > 0 and math.floor((nz + r) / 16)
+               or math.floor((nz - r) / 16)
+  for xc = x0, x1 do
+    hit = blockedCell(state, p, xc, edge)
+    if hit then break end
+  end
+  if hit then
+    if dz > 0 then nz = math.min(nz, edge * 16 - r - EPS)
+    else nz = math.max(nz, (edge + 1) * 16 + r + EPS) end
+  end
+  pos.z = nz
+  return hit
+end
+
+-- ------- the blocked push
+--
+-- The grid game's blocked step is where half its verbs live: the map-edge
+-- crossing, the ledge hop, the boulder shove, the route-gate warp fired
+-- by collision, and the honest bonk. Hand the engine the quantised
+-- direction and let its own handlers decide -- each one validates itself
+-- (checkLedgeHop matches the tile pair, checkEdgeExit checks the bounds),
+-- so calling them on every firm push is safe. Returns true when one of
+-- them took the frame over.
+local function pushSpecials(state, dir, why)
+  local p = state.player
+  p.facing = dir      -- the handlers read the push off the facing
+  if why == "bounds" and state:checkEdgeExit(dir) then return true end
+  if state:checkLedgeHop(dir) then return true end
+  if state:checkBoulderPush(dir) then return true end
+  if why ~= "entity" and state:canCollisionWarp() then
+    local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+    local Warp = require("src.world.Warp")
+    local w = Warp.onCollision(state.map, Game.data.field.warpCarpets,
+                               p.cellX, p.cellY, dir)
+    if w then
+      state:takeWarp(w.def)
+      return true
+    end
+  end
+  if why ~= "entity" then
+    if (state.bumpCooldown or 0) <= 0 then
+      local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+      require("src.core.Sound").play(Game.data, "Collision")
+      state.bumpCooldown = 16
+    end
+  end
+  return false
+end
+
+-- ------- the tick
+--
+-- Runs in place of OverworldState:handleInput while first person drives
+-- (see install below), which means it inherits every gate the grid walk
+-- has: never during scripted moves, transitions, or with anything above
+-- the overworld on the stack.
+
+function FreeMove.tick(state)
+  local p = state.player
+
+  -- a grid move is animating -- a ledge hop, a spinner slide, a scripted
+  -- walk -- or a cutscene owns the player: stand aside, adopt the result
+  if p.moving or p.inputLocked then
+    FreeMove.drop()
+    return
+  end
+  if not pos or p.px ~= lastPx or p.py ~= lastPy then adopt(p) end
+
+  local Game = require("src.core.Game")
+  local input = Game.input
+
+  -- the head is the facing: what A talks to, what the sun's card shows,
+  -- which way a bonk points
+  p.facing = FirstPerson.compassFacing()
+
+  if input:wasPressed("a") then
+    state:interact()
+    return
+  end
+  if input:wasPressed("start") then
+    require("src.core.Sound").play(Game.data, "Start_Menu")
+    require("src.ui.Screens").push(Game, "StartMenu")
+    return
+  end
+
+  local mx, mz = FirstPerson.moveVector()
+  local wx, wz = FirstPerson.moveWorld(mx, mz)
+
+  -- Cycling Road's downhill pull, the free-walk restatement of the grid
+  -- path's simulated PAD_DOWN: south drift with nothing held, braked by
+  -- holding A or B exactly as the Route 17 sign promises
+  local moving = (mx ~= 0 or mz ~= 0)
+  if not moving and Game.save and Game.save.onBike then
+    local fm = Game.data.field.forcedMovement
+    local braking = input:isDown("a") or input:isDown("b")
+    if fm and not braking then
+      for _, m in ipairs(fm.slopeMaps or {}) do
+        if m == state.map.id then
+          wx, wz, moving = 0, 1, true
+          break
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  if not moving then return end
+
+  state.bumpCooldown = math.max(0, (state.bumpCooldown or 0) - 1)
+
+  local speed = (Game.save and Game.save.onBike) and FreeMove.BIKE
+                or FreeMove.WALK
+  local dx, dz = wx * speed, wz * speed
+
+  local hitX = slideX(state, p, dx)
+  local hitZ = slideZ(state, p, dz)
+
+  -- the walk cycle: the wall-bonk clock animates the legs of a player the
+  -- grid thinks is standing still, refreshed while the free walk covers
+  -- ground (Player:update ticks animClock off it; walkPhase reads it)
+  p.bumpFrames = 2
+
+  p.px, p.py = pos.x - 8, pos.z - 8
+  lastPx, lastPy = p.px, p.py
+
+  -- the cell the body stands in; crossing into a new one IS a step
+  local ncx = math.floor(pos.x / 16)
+  local ncy = math.floor(pos.z / 16)
+  if ncx ~= p.cellX or ncy ~= p.cellY then
+    p.cellX, p.cellY = ncx, ncy
+    state:onStepComplete()
+    -- a warp or a battle may have moved the world out from under the
+    -- walk; the adopt check on the next tick picks the pieces up
+    return
+  end
+
+  -- a firm push into something that refused: the engine's own blocked-step
+  -- verbs, aimed the way the push leans
+  local hit, dir
+  if hitX and (not hitZ or math.abs(dx) >= math.abs(dz)) then
+    hit, dir = hitX, (dx > 0 and "right" or "left")
+  elseif hitZ then
+    hit, dir = hitZ, (dz > 0 and "down" or "up")
+  end
+  if hit and math.max(math.abs(dx), math.abs(dz)) > 0.4 * speed then
+    if pushSpecials(state, dir, hit) then
+      FreeMove.drop()
+      return
+    end
+    -- the push handlers may have turned the facing; the head still rules
+    p.facing = FirstPerson.compassFacing()
+  end
+end
+
+-- ------- the seam
+--
+-- OverworldState:handleInput is the one choke point where the grid walk
+-- reads the pad -- the same seam the engine's own Cycling Road pull and
+-- collision warps live behind -- so replacing the walk means wrapping it
+-- and nothing else. Every gate ABOVE the call (scripted moves, trainer
+-- engagement, transitions, anything on the stack) still applies to the
+-- free walk, because the wrap sits below them all.
+function FreeMove.install()
+  local OverworldState = require("src.world.OverworldController")
+  if OverworldState.dramaticShapeFreeMoveHook then return end
+  local inner = OverworldState.handleInput
+
+  function OverworldState:handleInput()
+    if not FirstPerson.driving() then
+      if pos then
+        -- stepping off the rung: back onto the grid, on the cell the
+        -- free walk stood in
+        local p = self.player
+        p.px, p.py = p.cellX * 16, p.cellY * 16
+        FreeMove.drop()
+      end
+      return inner(self)
+    end
+    return FreeMove.tick(self)
+  end
+
+  OverworldState.dramaticShapeFreeMoveHook = true
+end
+
+return FreeMove

lib/OverworldBattle.lua

@@ -104,6 +104,31 @@ function OverworldBattle.backPinned()
   return OverworldBattle.backSetting:get() and true or false
 end
 
+-- Whether a pic is the one drawn in the GB's own slot with its feet on the
+-- text box, rather than geometry standing out on the map.
+--
+-- Exactly the player's side under BACK SPRITES -- its mon, or the trainer back
+-- that holds the slot until "Go!" -- because that is the only pic this mod
+-- ever leaves flat (see drawPicsLayer below). The foe is a billboard on its
+-- tile whichever mode is on, and with the mode off the player's side is one
+-- too, so both of those keep the open bottom that lets the arena through a
+-- stride. What the answer buys is in BattlePics: a pic on the box has nothing
+-- behind its lowest row, so its bottom edge seals.
+-- Read by TRUTHINESS rather than against nil, because sideTexture blanks the
+-- side it is not rendering by setting the field to FALSE (see OFF) and holds
+-- it that way for the whole render -- during which the pic layer runs, and
+-- picImage asks this. A nil test passes a `false` straight through to the
+-- index below, and the error comes out of sideTexture into the pcall that
+-- calls it: the foe's billboard is dropped for the frame and the Pokemon
+-- simply is not there.
+function OverworldBattle.pinnedPic(battle, img)
+  if not (battle and img) then return false end
+  if not OverworldBattle.backPinned() then return false end
+  if img == battle.playerBackPic then return true end
+  local player = battle.player
+  return (player and img == player.sprite) and true or false
+end
+
 -- ------- both mons face you
 --
 -- Standing on a map, seen from in front, a Pokemon showing you its BACK is
@@ -831,11 +856,17 @@ function OverworldBattle.install()
   -- behind it. There is a world back there now, so they are filled here
   -- instead -- see BattlePics, which puts the paper back without touching
   -- the silhouette.
+  --
+  -- The pinned pic is told that its feet are on the box, which is what lets
+  -- the pale-bodied back sprites be filled at all: their bellies leak out
+  -- through an opening too wide to read as a drain, and only the box under
+  -- them settles that it is not a hole. Passed the pre-bake image, because
+  -- that is the one the battle holds a reference to.
   local innerPic = BattleState.picImage
   function BattleState:picImage(img)
     local out = innerPic(self, img)
     if not OverworldBattle.shot() then return out end
-    return BattlePics.filled(out)
+    return BattlePics.filled(out, OverworldBattle.pinnedPic(self, img))
   end
 
   -- While a billboard texture is being rendered both pics are put in the same

lib/TileShape.lua

@@ -71,6 +71,21 @@ local FALLBACK_HEIGHTS = {
   -- body builds from the bark rows and the drawn ellipse projects onto
   -- the hull's round top
   stump = 16,
+  -- the same hull cut at both ends, hollowed and tapered: an OPEN bin
+  -- standing on a floor (the Vermilion Gym trash cans).  The drawn mouth
+  -- ellipse projects onto the round top and down the well, the drawn base
+  -- ellipse is ground contact rather than body, and the plan narrows toward
+  -- the floor.  Height is AUTHORED (the profile's can_height, which this
+  -- pin must be kept equal to so anything riding a can lands on its rim) --
+  -- the drawing's own straight run is only a couple of rows, because a GB
+  -- cell spends most of itself on the opening
+  can = 9,
+  -- round scenery drawn ONE cell wide and TWO cells TALL, standing on one
+  -- cell of plot: the Pokemon Centers' potted plants. Carved as one
+  -- 16x32x16 hull in the SOUTH (pot) cell -- the drawing's upper cell is
+  -- the object's height, not its depth. BOTH cells take the class; the
+  -- group build anchors on the north one (Structures.buildCylinders)
+  planter = 32,
   billboard = 16,
   signpost = 16,
   post = 16,
@@ -83,10 +98,18 @@ local FALLBACK_HEIGHTS = {
   bed = 7,
   stool = 8,
   counter = 8,
+  -- the raised back band of low seating: the Center couch's west strip
+  -- is drawn from above like the rest of the couch, but depicts the
+  -- back and arm rising over the 8px seat
+  backrest = 12,
   table = 12,
   desk = 24,
   prop = 16,
   cutout = 16,
+  -- a vehicle drawn SIDE-ON: the showroom bicycles.  Standee height like
+  -- every other cutout pool -- what differs is the thickness (see
+  -- Structures' PINNED_DEPTH)
+  bike = 16,
   console = 16,
   relief = 3,
   bookcase = 32,
@@ -123,6 +146,8 @@ local ART = {
   cylinder = "cylinder",
   canopy = "canopy",
   stump = "cylinder",
+  can = "cylinder",
+  planter = "planter",
   billboard = "billboard",
   -- signposts share the billboard treatment but as their own pool at a
   -- 2-voxel depth: a sign is a thin plate on a stick, and the standard
@@ -145,6 +170,9 @@ local ART = {
   -- profile archetype Structures builds real steps for -- rising flights
   -- for stairs leading up, sunken stairwells for stairs leading down
   bed = "top",
+  -- a backrest's art is the couch seen from above, so like the bed it
+  -- rides the top face of its taller box
+  backrest = "top",
   stool = "billboard",
   -- half-cell furniture: a service counter, a low couch.  One 8px band,
   -- so exactly the drawing's bottom row stands up as the front and
@@ -158,6 +186,13 @@ local ART = {
   desk = "upright",
   prop = "billboard",
   cutout = "billboard",
+  -- a bicycle is a LINE drawing seen side-on, and its negative space --
+  -- the air inside the frame, between the wheel and the fork -- is what
+  -- makes it read as a bicycle at all.  Its own pool at two voxels: any
+  -- thicker and the side faces of neighbouring strokes close those gaps
+  -- from every angle but dead-on, and six of them in a showroom come out
+  -- as one dark lump (which is what the 5px `prop` pool gave)
+  bike = "billboard",
   -- a machine standing on furniture: the billboard treatment with
   -- body, plus the one-object contract `cutout` has -- the drawing is
   -- ringed by the furniture it sits on, and those edges must not be
@@ -176,6 +211,7 @@ local ART = {
 local spec = nil          -- the loaded data file, or false when absent
 local cache = {}          -- tileset id -> resolved shape list
 local figCache = {}       -- tileset id -> parsed figure masks, or false
+local mntCache = {}       -- tileset id -> parsed mounted masks, or false
 local bgCache = {}        -- tileset id -> prop background shades, or false
 
 -- The shape profile ships with the mod (data/voxel_heights.lua) and is read
@@ -295,6 +331,24 @@ function TileShape.forMap(map)
   if cache[id] then return cache[id] end
 
   local heights = TileShape.heights()
+  -- Per-tileset height overrides (a tileset entry's `heights`): the class
+  -- vocabulary is global but the drawings are not -- the DOJO lab tables
+  -- are drawn 6px tall where the default `table` is 12 -- and the height
+  -- a sprite RIDES at (VoxelScene.groundAt) must be the height the art
+  -- actually stands, or the starter balls float over their own table.
+  -- Same gate as the global list: known classes, numbers only.
+  do
+    local s = load()
+    local entry = s and s.tilesets and s.tilesets[id]
+    local over = entry and entry.heights
+    if type(over) == "table" then
+      for class, h in pairs(over) do
+        if type(h) == "number" and FALLBACK_HEIGHTS[class] then
+          heights[class] = h
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
   local authored = authoredGroups(id, heights)
   local count = math.floor((tileset.imageWidth or 128) / 8)
                 * math.floor((tileset.imageHeight or 48) / 8)
@@ -405,68 +459,158 @@ end
 -- pixel by pixel (see data/voxel_heights.lua):
 --
 --   figures = { { w      = <tiles across>,
+--                 depth  = <voxels of body; ABSENT for a person>,
+--                 thin   = { rows = <top rows>, depth = <voxels> },
+--                 flat   = { x = { <lx0>, <lx1> }, rows = { <r0>, <r1> } },
 --                 tiles  = { ...w*h tile ids, row-major... },
 --                 under  = { ...w*h ids: what each tile wears once the
 --                            figure is lifted off it... },
 --                 pixels = { ...h*8 strings of w*8 chars, "." = not the
 --                            figure... } } }
 --
--- No class: a figure is always a flat sprite card, drawn the way
--- SpriteBillboards draws a character (see Structures.buildFigures).
+-- No class -- what the entry carries instead is a `depth`, or does not:
+--
+--   WITHOUT one it is a flat sprite card, drawn the way SpriteBillboards
+--   draws a character.  That is the right reading for a PERSON: a Gen 1
+--   figure is a face-on 2D icon, and extruding one reconstructs a body
+--   nobody drew (see Structures.buildFigures).
+--   WITH one it is an OBJECT and gets the standee treatment every other
+--   solid here gets -- a per-pixel slab in world space, standing on the
+--   same furniture the card would have stood on.  The Marts' cash
+--   register is the case: a machine on a counter is a box, not an icon.
+--
+-- Two fields say which parts of such a drawing are NOT the extrusion,
+-- because a solid drawn in one 16x16 GB cell still packs more than one
+-- facing:
+--
+--   `thin` caps the thickness over the mask's top rows, for the part of
+--   the drawing that is not the machine (the register's receipt curl).
+--   `flat` names a rect of the mask that is a TOP-VIEW surface rather
+--   than a face -- the register's keypad, whose keys lie ON its deck.
+--   The rect lays horizontal one voxel proud of whatever the extrusion
+--   leaves below it, at the elevation its BOTTOM row would have had,
+--   with drawn row = depth row 1:1 (the mapping the lab tabletop is
+--   drawn with).  So a drawing whose front elevation is an L reads as
+--   one: body up the side and along the base, keys lying in the notch.
 --
 -- Returned normalized: `mask` as a set keyed by ly * (w * 8) + lx, so
 -- Structures can read it as a bitmap without re-parsing per position.
 -- A malformed entry is dropped rather than half-applied -- a typo in a
 -- mask should leave the couch alone, not carve a hole in it.
+--
+-- `mounted` (below) carries the same four fields, so the parse is shared,
+-- and so are the optional ones that give an authored mask a BODY: `depth`,
+-- `thin` and `flat` above.  `depth` is left nil when unstated, because
+-- absence is meaningful on a figure: no depth means the flat sprite card a
+-- person is drawn as.
+local function authoredMasks(list)
+  local out = {}
+  if type(list) ~= "table" then return out end
+  for _, f in ipairs(list) do
+    local ok = type(f) == "table" and type(f.w) == "number"
+               and type(f.tiles) == "table" and type(f.under) == "table"
+               and type(f.pixels) == "table"
+    local w = ok and math.floor(f.w) or 0
+    local h = (w >= 1) and (#f.tiles / w) or 0
+    ok = ok and w >= 1 and h >= 1 and h == math.floor(h)
+         and #f.under == #f.tiles and #f.pixels == h * 8
+    if ok then
+      for i = 1, h * 8 do
+        local row = f.pixels[i]
+        if type(row) ~= "string" or #row ~= w * 8 then
+          ok = false
+          break
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    if ok then
+      local mask, n = {}, 0
+      for ly = 0, h * 8 - 1 do
+        local row = f.pixels[ly + 1]
+        for lx = 0, w * 8 - 1 do
+          if row:sub(lx + 1, lx + 1) ~= "." then
+            mask[ly * (w * 8) + lx] = true
+            n = n + 1
+          end
+        end
+      end
+      local depth = tonumber(f.depth)
+      local thin = nil
+      if type(f.thin) == "table" and tonumber(f.thin.rows)
+         and tonumber(f.thin.depth) then
+        thin = { rows = math.floor(tonumber(f.thin.rows)),
+                 depth = math.floor(tonumber(f.thin.depth)) }
+      end
+      local flat = nil
+      if type(f.flat) == "table" and type(f.flat.x) == "table"
+         and type(f.flat.rows) == "table" then
+        flat = { x0 = math.floor(f.flat.x[1]), x1 = math.floor(f.flat.x[2]),
+                 r0 = math.floor(f.flat.rows[1]),
+                 r1 = math.floor(f.flat.rows[2]) }
+      end
+      if n > 0 then
+        out[#out + 1] = { w = w, h = h, n = n, mask = mask,
+                          tiles = f.tiles, under = f.under,
+                          depth = depth and math.floor(depth) or nil,
+                          thin = thin, flat = flat }
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  return out
+end
+
 function TileShape.figures(tilesetId)
   local hit = figCache[tilesetId]
   if hit ~= nil then return hit or nil end
 
   local s = load()
   local entry = s and s.tilesets and s.tilesets[tilesetId]
-  local list = entry and entry.figures
-  local out = {}
-  if type(list) == "table" then
-    for _, f in ipairs(list) do
-      local ok = type(f) == "table" and type(f.w) == "number"
-                 and type(f.tiles) == "table" and type(f.under) == "table"
-                 and type(f.pixels) == "table"
-      local w = ok and math.floor(f.w) or 0
-      local h = (w >= 1) and (#f.tiles / w) or 0
-      ok = ok and w >= 1 and h >= 1 and h == math.floor(h)
-           and #f.under == #f.tiles and #f.pixels == h * 8
-      if ok then
-        for i = 1, h * 8 do
-          local row = f.pixels[i]
-          if type(row) ~= "string" or #row ~= w * 8 then
-            ok = false
-            break
-          end
-        end
-      end
-      if ok then
-        local mask, n = {}, 0
-        for ly = 0, h * 8 - 1 do
-          local row = f.pixels[ly + 1]
-          for lx = 0, w * 8 - 1 do
-            if row:sub(lx + 1, lx + 1) ~= "." then
-              mask[ly * (w * 8) + lx] = true
-              n = n + 1
-            end
-          end
-        end
-        if n > 0 then
-          out[#out + 1] = { w = w, h = h, n = n, mask = mask,
-                            tiles = f.tiles, under = f.under }
-        end
-      end
-    end
-  end
+  local out = authoredMasks(entry and entry.figures)
 
   figCache[tilesetId] = (#out > 0) and out or false
   return figCache[tilesetId] or nil
 end
 
+-- Hand-authored MOUNTED objects for one tileset: a thing drawn INTO the
+-- wall band it hangs on, cut out by an explicit pixel mask and stood
+-- proud of the wall's face.
+--
+-- Same authoring problem as `figures` and the same answer -- a class pin
+-- resolves a whole 8x8 tile, and the detector cannot segment a drawing
+-- that has no background margin to flood from.  The Bike Shop's two wall
+-- bicycles are the case: the shop's striped wall panel runs BEHIND them,
+-- and its #555 stripes are a flood boundary, so a silhouette flood comes
+-- back with the stripes attached to the bike.
+--
+-- Two things differ from a figure, and both follow from the object being
+-- an object rather than a character:
+--
+--   it keeps its DRAWN ELEVATION.  A figure stands on its own feet; a
+--   mounted thing sits where the wall band draws it, so a bicycle hung
+--   clear of the floor stays hung.
+--   it has THICKNESS (`depth`, default 2), and it is built in world
+--   space as a per-pixel slab jutting south of the band -- not as a
+--   camera-facing sprite card.  A bicycle drawn side-on is a plane
+--   parallel to the wall, not a face-on icon.
+--
+--   mounted = { { w      = <tiles across>,
+--                 depth  = <voxels it juts into the room>,
+--                 tiles  = { ...w*h tile ids, row-major... },
+--                 under  = { ...w*h ids: what each tile wears once the
+--                            object is lifted off it (the plain panel)... },
+--                 pixels = { ...h*8 strings of w*8 chars, "." = wall... } } }
+function TileShape.mounted(tilesetId)
+  local hit = mntCache[tilesetId]
+  if hit ~= nil then return hit or nil end
+
+  local s = load()
+  local entry = s and s.tilesets and s.tilesets[tilesetId]
+  local out = authoredMasks(entry and entry.mounted)
+
+  mntCache[tilesetId] = (#out > 0) and out or false
+  return mntCache[tilesetId] or nil
+end
+
 -- Which GB shades count as BACKGROUND for a pinned per-pixel prop, per tile
 -- (a tileset entry's prop_bg). Returns tile id -> set of shade names, or nil.
 --
@@ -539,12 +683,30 @@ function TileShape.bookcaseBackfill(tilesetId)
   return mode == "above" and mode or nil
 end
 
+--- Does this tileset's `bookcase` run carry the measured pane RELIEF on
+--- its front (a tileset entry's bookcase_relief)?  Default yes: the class
+--- almost always collapses a shelf, a rack or a display case, and every
+--- one of those seals its contents behind a frame that should stand proud
+--- of them.
+---
+--- A tileset says `bookcase_relief = false` when it borrows the collapse
+--- for something that is NOT a shelf -- the League's gate walls and
+--- pilasters, Bill's transporter drums -- where the drawing's light
+--- regions are the masonry and the barrel, not panes, and sinking them
+--- carves the surface instead of describing it.
+function TileShape.bookcaseRelief(tilesetId)
+  local s = load()
+  local entry = s and s.tilesets and s.tilesets[tilesetId]
+  return not (entry and entry.bookcase_relief == false)
+end
+
 -- Drop the cache: a mod that shadows data/voxel_heights.lua or a tileset
 -- record needs the next lookup to re-resolve (hot reload, mod toggle).
 function TileShape.invalidate()
   spec = nil
   cache = {}
   figCache = {}
+  mntCache = {}
   bgCache = {}
 end
 

lib/Voxel3D.lua

@@ -421,7 +421,8 @@ end
 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- camera --
 
 -- An explicit camera, replacing the orbit below for as long as it is set:
--- { eye = {x,y,z}, focus = {x,y,z}, fov = radians, curve = k or nil }.
+-- { eye = {x,y,z}, focus = {x,y,z}, fov = radians, curve = k or nil,
+--   up = {x,y,z} or nil }.
 --
 -- The orbit is the free-roam camera and it is described entirely by ONE
 -- number, the pitch, because that is all a camera following the player over
@@ -496,9 +497,12 @@ function Voxel3D.viewProjection(cx, cy, vw, vh)
     -- the same clip-space Y flip the orbit needs, for the same reason: we
     -- bypass LOVE's transform_projection and canvas coordinates run Y down
     proj = Mat4.mul(Mat4.scale(1, -1, 1), proj)
-    -- world up, so the horizon stays level -- a placed camera that rolled
-    -- with its own pitch would tip the whole arena
-    return Mat4.mul(proj, Mat4.lookAt(eye, focus, { 0, 1, 0 }))
+    -- world up by default, so the horizon stays level -- a placed camera
+    -- that rolled with its own pitch would tip the whole arena. A caller
+    -- may hand its own up: the first-person BLEND does, because its far
+    -- end is the orbit, whose up leans with the pitch -- world up at the
+    -- orbit's steep end degenerates against a straight-down view.
+    return Mat4.mul(proj, Mat4.lookAt(eye, focus, cam.up or { 0, 1, 0 }))
   end
 
   local a = Voxel.angle
@@ -715,7 +719,7 @@ function Voxel3D.beginScene(w, h, cx, cy, vw, vh, sky, slot)
   pcall(sh.send, sh, "sunTexel", { texel, texel })
   if grid then
     pcall(sh.send, sh, "gridDark", VoxelGrid.DARK)
-    pcall(sh.send, sh, "gridWidth", VoxelGrid.WIDTH)
+    pcall(sh.send, sh, "gridWidth", VoxelGrid.width())
   end
   -- ordinary shading until the silhouette pass asks for otherwise. Sent
   -- every frame rather than once, because a scene that opened mid-ghost --

lib/VoxelGrid.lua

@@ -44,6 +44,19 @@ VoxelGrid.DARK = 0.45
 -- 1.0 here is the one-pixel wireframe.
 VoxelGrid.WIDTH = 1.0
 
+-- The same width in the CANVAS pixels the shader measures in, which is what
+-- every sender of it actually wants.
+--
+-- The two are the same number until AA renders the pass larger than the
+-- window (see AntiAlias): there a canvas pixel is a fraction of a display
+-- one, and a width left at 1.0 would come out a half or a quarter of a line
+-- after the fold -- the wireframe fading as the smoothing goes up, which
+-- reads as one row breaking the other. Scaled, it stays a one-pixel seam and
+-- simply gains the antialiasing everything else in the frame just gained.
+function VoxelGrid.width()
+  return VoxelGrid.WIDTH * V.require("AntiAlias").factor()
+end
+
 -- where it persists and the rows that cycle it (see ModSetting)
 VoxelGrid.setting = ModSetting.new(VoxelGrid.KEY, VoxelGrid.LABEL,
                                    { false, true }, { "OFF", "ON" })

lib/VoxelScene.lua

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ local Sky = V.require("Sky")
 local Water = V.require("Water")
 local VoxelGrid = V.require("VoxelGrid")
 local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+local FirstPerson = V.require("FirstPerson")
 local PaletteFX = require("src.render.PaletteFX")
 local Map = require("src.world.Map")
 
@@ -214,6 +215,22 @@ local function frameFor(def, facing, phase, flip)
   return frame, mirror
 end
 
+-- The facing a pose SHOWS this camera. The flat frames are "how this pose
+-- looks from the south", which is where the orbit always stands; a
+-- first-person eye stands anywhere, so deep enough into the blend the
+-- facing is remapped to how the pose looks from THERE -- walk behind an
+-- NPC and their card wears the back sprite. Used by the camera draw and
+-- the sun pass BOTH: the card the sun stored and the transform a lit card
+-- reads its own shadowing with must describe the same frame, or the
+-- mirror-flip half of the pair asks the map about texels the sun filed
+-- under the other cheek.
+local function viewFacing(p)
+  if FirstPerson.cardBlend() > 0.5 then
+    return FirstPerson.apparentFacing(p.facing, p.px + 8, p.py + 8)
+  end
+  return p.facing
+end
+
 -- FALLBACK ONLY (see castShadows below). Draw one entity's drop shadow as
 -- a decal: its current sprite frame as a single quad, flattened onto the
 -- ground along the sun line (Voxel3D.shadowMatrix). Runs inside
@@ -236,10 +253,22 @@ end
 -- Shared by the solid draw and the silhouette below, so the two can never
 -- drift apart -- a silhouette standing anywhere but exactly behind the
 -- figure would read as a second character.
+--
+-- IN FIRST PERSON the card stops leaning and starts TURNING: upright, yawed
+-- about its feet to face the eye (cylindrical billboarding). A south-facing
+-- card is invisible edge-on to an eye standing east of it, which no orbit
+-- camera could ever do and a first-person one does constantly. The blend
+-- carries one pose into the other -- the lean eases out as the yaw eases in
+-- -- and cardBlend is zero for every camera that is not the first-person
+-- rig, the battle's placed shot included, so nothing else moves.
 local function billboardMatrix(px, py, y, mirror)
   local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
-  local m = Mat4.mul(Mat4.translate(px + 8, y, py + 8),
-                     Mat4.rotateX(Voxel.angle - math.pi / 2))
+  local b = FirstPerson.cardBlend()
+  local m = Mat4.translate(px + 8, y, py + 8)
+  if b > 0 then
+    m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.rotateY(FirstPerson.cardYaw(px + 8, py + 8) * b))
+  end
+  m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.rotateX((Voxel.angle - math.pi / 2) * (1 - b)))
   if mirror then m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.scale(-1, 1, 1)) end
   return Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.translate(-8, 0, 0))
 end
@@ -258,10 +287,24 @@ end
 -- the Pokemon Center couch reads face-on at every tilt like the NPCs
 -- around him. No cell centring: unlike a character he is not standing on a
 -- cell, he is standing where he was drawn, which may straddle two.
+--
+-- First person turns him at the eye like the walkers (see billboardMatrix)
+-- -- about his own middle, because unlike a character card his local space
+-- starts at x = 0 rather than being anchored by a -8 shift, and a yaw about
+-- his edge would swing him off his seat. The width rode in on the record
+-- for exactly this (ChunkMesher.buildFigureMeshes).
 local function figureMatrix(f, offX, offZ)
   local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
-  return Mat4.mul(Mat4.translate(f.wx + (offX or 0), f.y, f.wz + (offZ or 0)),
-                  Mat4.rotateX(Voxel.angle - math.pi / 2))
+  local b = FirstPerson.cardBlend()
+  local wx, wz = f.wx + (offX or 0), f.wz + (offZ or 0)
+  local m = Mat4.translate(wx, f.y, wz)
+  if b > 0 and f.w and f.w > 0 then
+    local half = f.w / 2
+    m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.translate(half, 0, 0))
+    m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.rotateY(FirstPerson.cardYaw(wx + half, wz) * b))
+    m = Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.translate(-half, 0, 0))
+  end
+  return Mat4.mul(m, Mat4.rotateX((Voxel.angle - math.pi / 2) * (1 - b)))
 end
 
 -- What the sun sees: the same card UNLEANED and flattened, exactly as
@@ -333,7 +376,7 @@ VoxelScene.drawEntity = drawEntity
 -- mesh for it.
 local function drawGhost(p)
   local def = p.sprite.def
-  local frame, mirror = frameFor(def, p.facing, p.phase, p.flip)
+  local frame, mirror = frameFor(def, viewFacing(p), p.phase, p.flip)
   local mesh = SpriteBillboards.shadowQuad(def, frame)
   if not mesh then return end
   local tex = p.sprite:resolveImage()
@@ -462,7 +505,13 @@ local function posesOf(state, spriteColors)
         gh = groundAt(state.map, e.cellX, e.cellY),
         lift = e.py - vy, colors = colors,
       }
-      if e == state.player then me = posed[#posed] end
+      if e == state.player then
+        me = posed[#posed]
+        -- marked so the camera draw can leave the card out in first
+        -- person, where it would fill the lens from inside; the SUN pass
+        -- reads the same list and deliberately does not check the mark
+        me.isPlayer = true
+      end
     end
   end
   return posed, me
@@ -529,9 +578,18 @@ local function drawCast(state, posed, atlasFor)
   -- drawEntity resolves the lean-over-the-wall-in-front case, and a
   -- character genuinely behind a building is far deeper and loses the
   -- test, so buildings and trees really occlude.
+  --
+  -- In first person two of them change: the player's own card is left out
+  -- (the eye is standing in it), and every other card wears the frame its
+  -- pose SHOWS this eye (viewFacing) rather than the one it shows the
+  -- south. Both run through here, so the water's reflection copy -- drawn
+  -- by this same function -- agrees with the frame to the pixel.
+  local hideMe = FirstPerson.hidePlayer()
   for _, p in ipairs(posed) do
-    drawEntity(p.sprite, p.px, p.py, p.facing, p.phase, p.flip, p.gh,
-               p.colors, p.lift)
+    if not (p.isPlayer and hideMe) then
+      drawEntity(p.sprite, p.px, p.py, viewFacing(p), p.phase, p.flip, p.gh,
+                 p.colors, p.lift)
+    end
   end
   -- back on for everything textured from the atlas again -- figures, grass
   -- and flowers all sample it, where the mask's coordinates are honest
@@ -583,8 +641,48 @@ end
 -- The overworld's alone: the staged battle draws its water plain, always --
 -- its placed camera reads this pass wrong, and a stage set wants painted
 -- water anyway (see BattleScene, where the choice is argued).
+-- ------- and why the flat draw happens FIRST while the world is curved
+--
+-- The reflective pass writes no depth -- it cannot, the depth canvas is
+-- detached for the length of it so the shader can READ it -- and it does its
+-- own depth test against that texture instead. That test asks whether
+-- something opaque is in front, and it answers correctly for every case but
+-- one: WATER IN FRONT OF WATER. Nothing puts water in the depth buffer, so
+-- no lake can hide another, and the pass simply paints them in mesh order.
+--
+-- On a flat world that never matters: every surface lies in the one plane
+-- at its own recessed height, and a farther sheet always lands farther down
+-- the screen. THE WORLD CURVE ENDS THAT. The bend drops the world by the
+-- square of its distance, so the far side of the map swings down and back
+-- up into the near field of view -- and a sheet of sea a hundred and fifty
+-- tiles away, drawn later in the same mesh, paints straight over the pond
+-- at the player's feet. Not a reflection of the far shore: the far shore
+-- itself, rasterised on top of the water in front of you.
+--
+-- So WHILE THE CURVE IS ON, the meshes go down flat first, through the
+-- ordinary scene shader with depth writes on, and the reflective pass draws
+-- over the top of what survived: the depth buffer now holds the water
+-- surface, so the pass's own test throws the far sheet away, and the
+-- reflection COPY holds it too, so a ray grazing another part of the lake
+-- reads water rather than the void behind it.
+--
+-- With the curve OFF the prepass is not just unnecessary, it is a LIABILITY,
+-- and it stays off -- the reflective pass tests only against terrain, as it
+-- always did. Painting the surface into the depth texture turns the pass's
+-- test into a comparison of the surface against ITSELF, which asks the two
+-- rasterisations to agree to within interpolation error -- and on mobile
+-- GPUs they don't reliably (that fight is what put the Android port back on
+-- flat water). Confined to the curve there is no regression to reach: the
+-- flat world never had the far-shore bug in the first place.
 function VoxelScene.drawWater(draws, cast)
-  local plain = true
+  -- prepass only under the bend; see the header
+  local curved = (Voxel3D.curveK or 0) > 0
+  if curved then
+    for _, d in ipairs(draws) do
+      Voxel3D.draw(d[1], d[2], d[3])
+    end
+  end
+  local plain = not curved
   if Water.enabled() and Voxel3D.depthReadable() then
     local mirror, depth = Voxel3D.beginWater(cast)
     local w, h = Voxel3D.size()
@@ -607,10 +705,12 @@ function VoxelScene.drawWater(draws, cast)
     -- Unconditionally, and OUTSIDE the success branch: beginWater unbinds
     -- the shader and the depth mode BEFORE it can discover it cannot go on,
     -- so a frame that bails halfway through has to be put back together
-    -- exactly like one that succeeded -- otherwise the plain draw below (and
-    -- every pass after it) runs with no shader and no depth test.
+    -- exactly like one that succeeded -- otherwise every pass after it runs
+    -- with no shader and no depth test.
     Voxel3D.endWater()
   end
+  -- the fallback flat draw -- unless the curve's prepass already put the
+  -- same meshes down, in which case a bailed frame is already whole
   if plain then
     for _, d in ipairs(draws) do
       Voxel3D.draw(d[1], d[2], d[3])
@@ -645,6 +745,10 @@ local function shadowSignature(terrain, nbMesh, posed, cx, cy, vw, vh)
   -- few times a minute rather than every frame.
   put(math.floor(ShadowMap.KX * 128))
   put(math.floor(ShadowMap.KZ * 128))
+  -- and the first-person head: the box is fitted around wherever it looks
+  -- and the sprite cards swap frames as it circles them, so a turn on the
+  -- spot re-fits and redraws exactly like a camera move ("" outside 1ST)
+  put(FirstPerson.signature())
   put(tostring(terrain))
   for i = 1, #nbMesh do put(tostring(nbMesh[i])) end
   for _, p in ipairs(posed) do
@@ -717,7 +821,12 @@ local function castShadows(state, terrain, nbMesh, posed, cx, cy, vw, vh,
   end
   for _, p in ipairs(posed) do
     local def = p.sprite.def
-    local frame, mirror = frameFor(def, p.facing, p.phase, p.flip)
+    -- viewFacing, exactly as the camera draw picks it (see viewFacing for
+    -- why the two passes must agree): in first person the sun's card
+    -- swaps frame as the eye circles, which costs a redraw the signature
+    -- already charges for (FirstPerson.signature) and keeps a card from
+    -- fringing against a mirror-flipped record of itself
+    local frame, mirror = frameFor(def, viewFacing(p), p.phase, p.flip)
     local mesh = SpriteBillboards.shadowQuad(def, frame)
     if mesh then
       ShadowMap.draw(mesh, p.sprite:resolveImage(),
@@ -773,7 +882,23 @@ function VoxelScene.render(state, w, h, vw, vh, paletteFor)
   end
 
   local posed, me = posesOf(state, spriteColors)
-  castShadows(state, terrain, nbMesh, posed, cx, cy, vw, vh, atlasFor,
+
+  -- The first-person rig, built (or blended) for this frame and handed to
+  -- Voxel3D BEFORE either pass runs: the sun's box is fitted around this
+  -- camera, and every card matrix asks it which way to turn. With the
+  -- blend fully out the call clears the placed camera and the orbit is
+  -- exactly what it always was. The scene centre it returns walks from
+  -- the orbit's view centre into the head, so the curve's focus and the
+  -- depth reference follow the camera actually in charge.
+  local fpRig, fpCx, fpCy = FirstPerson.frame(me, cx, cy, vw, vh)
+  if fpRig then cx, cy = fpCx, fpCy end
+
+  -- The sun's box, pushed along the first-person look so it covers the
+  -- ground THIS camera sees (a no-op at blend zero): the orbit's fit
+  -- reaches far north and barely south, which is right for every rung
+  -- but a head free to face south.
+  local shCx, shCy = FirstPerson.shadowCenter(cx, cy, vh)
+  castShadows(state, terrain, nbMesh, posed, shCx, shCy, vw, vh, atlasFor,
               water, nbWater)
 
   if not Voxel3D.beginScene(w, h, cx, cy, vw, vh, skyFor(state.map)) then
@@ -796,7 +921,7 @@ function VoxelScene.render(state, w, h, vw, vh, paletteFor)
   if not Voxel3D.shadowsActive() then
     Voxel3D.beginShadows()
     for _, p in ipairs(posed) do
-      drawShadow(p.sprite, p.px, p.py, p.facing, p.phase, p.flip, p.gh,
+      drawShadow(p.sprite, p.px, p.py, viewFacing(p), p.phase, p.flip, p.gh,
                  p.lift)
     end
     Voxel3D.endShadows()
@@ -842,7 +967,11 @@ function VoxelScene.render(state, w, h, vw, vh, paletteFor)
   -- wrote it, so the silhouette would paint over the player at all times.
   -- Every character then draws on top as usual, which leaves the silhouette
   -- showing in exactly one situation: where the world hides them.
-  if me then
+  --
+  -- Not in first person: the card it silhouettes is the one the camera is
+  -- standing inside, and "the world is in front of the player" is every
+  -- wall the player faces.
+  if me and not FirstPerson.hidePlayer() then
     Voxel3D.beginGhost()
     drawGhost(me)
     Voxel3D.endGhost()

lib/VoxelState.lua

@@ -32,8 +32,18 @@ local Voxel = {}
 -- Its ANGLE is 35 degrees, the same as the rung of that name. The duplicate
 -- in the table is deliberate: the ladder is a list of what each rung LOOKS
 -- like, and two rungs may look the same while meaning different things.
-Voxel.ANGLES_DEG = { 0, 35, 15, 35, 50, 75 }
-Voxel.ANGLE_LABELS = { "OFF", "FULL", "15", "35", "50", "75" }
+--
+-- 1ST is the other rung that is more than an angle: the camera steps off its
+-- orbit entirely and stands in the player's own eyes (lib/FirstPerson.lua),
+-- with free look and free movement. Its ANGLE entry is 75 -- the orbit rung
+-- it hands over from -- because the tween in and out of first person starts
+-- from whatever the orbit shows, and the lowest rung is the one a dive into
+-- a head should start from. Everything angle-derived (the sky's fade, the
+-- billboard lean the blend eases away) reads that 75 while the first-person
+-- rig owns the actual camera.
+Voxel.ANGLES_DEG = { 0, 35, 15, 35, 50, 75, 75 }
+Voxel.ANGLE_LABELS = { "OFF", "FULL", "15", "35", "50", "75",
+                       "1ST (EXPERIMENTAL)" }
 Voxel.MAX_LEVEL = #Voxel.ANGLES_DEG - 1
 
 -- the rung FULL sits on, so nothing has to hunt for it by label
@@ -43,6 +53,13 @@ function Voxel.isFull(level)
   return (level or Voxel.level) == Voxel.FULL_LEVEL
 end
 
+-- the rung the first-person camera sits on, likewise
+Voxel.FP_LEVEL = 6
+
+function Voxel.isFirstPerson(level)
+  return (level or Voxel.level) == Voxel.FP_LEVEL
+end
+
 -- ------- what the hotkey walks
 --
 -- The ANGLE rungs only, with FULL left out. The key is a display-mode
@@ -51,7 +68,12 @@ end
 -- mid-walk, would silently turn the blur to maximum and flatten the horizon
 -- with no indication that a keypress had done so. FULL stays on the OPTIONS
 -- row, which is where a preset that changes other rows belongs.
-Voxel.HOTKEY_ORDER = { 0, 2, 3, 4, 5 }   -- OFF, 15, 35, 50, 75
+--
+-- 1ST is on the path: it changes the camera and only the camera, which is
+-- exactly what the key promises -- and the key is also the way back OUT of
+-- first person on a keyboard, where the mouse is captured and the OPTIONS
+-- menu is a trip.
+Voxel.HOTKEY_ORDER = { 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 }   -- OFF, 15, 35, 50, 75, 1ST
 
 -- The rung a press moves to from `level`.
 --

lib/Water.lua

@@ -381,9 +381,32 @@ Water.EDGE_FADE = 0.14         -- reflection eased off over this much of the fra
 --
 -- The scene shader's own vertex path, plus the world position the geometry
 -- was actually DRAWN at -- after the world curve, because that is the space
--- the depth buffer holds and therefore the space the march has to walk in.
--- (The curve only ever moves Y, so a fragment's world XZ is the same on both
--- sides of it and the ripple can be measured off this one too.)
+-- the surface the eye MEETS lives in: which wave column a screen pixel is
+-- looking at is a question about the geometry as drawn, and relief() answers
+-- it there. (The curve only ever moves Y, so a fragment's world XZ is the
+-- same on both sides of it and the ripple can be measured off this one too.)
+--
+-- WHAT IT REFLECTS is worked out on the other side of the bend, in the FLAT
+-- world, and this is the same rule the rest of the mode keeps: the curve
+-- tips the world away and the things standing on it do not lean with it (see
+-- WorldCurve -- buildings stay upright, shadows are resolved before the bend
+-- and ride along). A lake is one of those things. Reflect off the bowl the
+-- bend has made instead and the far half of a pond is a mirror tilted twenty
+-- degrees: it throws the ray past the vertical, where the sky ramp's own
+-- measure -- a screen row, through the frame's matrix -- swings from one end
+-- of the ramp to the other across a single column, and the pond comes out
+-- with hard-edged patches of the wrong sky stamped into it -- the overhead
+-- band and the horizon band abutting in the middle of a lake, which reads as
+-- something other than water showing through. The same tilt sends the
+-- screen-space march grazing along the bank instead of over it, which is the
+-- other half: the dock and the roofs smeared across the harbour.
+--
+-- So the reflection is taken with the flat view ray about the flat normal,
+-- exactly as it would be with the curve off -- and the MARCH still has to
+-- walk the world as drawn, because that is what the depth buffer holds. Both
+-- at once: the ray is straight in the flat world, and project() bends each
+-- sample on its way to the screen, which is the same displacement the vertex
+-- stage applies and therefore lands in the same place the geometry did.
 local SHADER_SRC = [[
 varying float vShade;
 varying vec3 vSun;
@@ -435,6 +458,20 @@ uniform vec3 eye;
 uniform vec2 screen;         // the canvas, in pixels
 uniform float cell;          // one diorama pixel, in canvas pixels
 uniform float pxAngle;       // radians of view one screen pixel subtends
+// The same bend the vertex stage applied. This stage has to undo it to get
+// back to the flat world it reflects in, and re-apply it on every marched
+// sample to get back to the screen. Declared in both stages, like `vp`, and
+// both are highp here.
+uniform vec3 curve;          // xy = the focus in world XZ, z = k; 0 = off
+
+// How far the bend has pushed the world down at world XZ `q` -- the vertex
+// stage's own displacement, as a number this stage can add and subtract.
+// Zero when the curve is off, which is the shader's "skip it" everywhere.
+float bendDrop(vec2 q) {
+  if (curve.z <= 0.0) return 0.0;
+  vec2 d = q - curve.xy;
+  return dot(d, d) * curve.z;
+}
 
 // the sun's own pass, exactly as the scene shader reads it
 uniform Image sunMap;
@@ -658,10 +695,14 @@ vec3 bodyAt(vec3 d, vec3 c, float parity) {
 // clip-space Y flip is already baked into `vp`, and a canvas texture's v runs
 // the same way its pixel rows do, so one 0.5x+0.5 answers for both.
 //
-// This is why the march walks in the world as DRAWN rather than as authored:
-// the depth buffer holds the curved world, so a straight line in that space
-// is the ray, and a straight line in the flat one would bend through it.
+// The point arrives in the FLAT world -- the space the ray is straight in --
+// and is bent here, by the same displacement the vertex stage applied, so it
+// lands exactly where the geometry it is being compared against landed. That
+// split is the whole trick: the reflection is worked out in a world that has
+// not been tipped, and every sample of it is tipped on the way to the screen,
+// so the march reads the depth buffer it actually has.
 vec4 project(vec3 p) {
+  p.y -= bendDrop(p.xz);
   vec4 c = vp * vec4(p, 1.0);
   if (c.w <= 1e-6) return vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
   return vec4(c.xy / c.w * 0.5 + 0.5, c.z / c.w * 0.5 + 0.5, 1.0);
@@ -915,8 +956,33 @@ vec4 effect(mediump vec4 color, Image tex, mediump vec2 tc, mediump vec2 sc) {
   // the bound canvas's own pixel size, the same units sc is measured in, on
   // every display. (`screen` stays in units: skyPos reads it against cell
   // and skyEdge, which are unit-measured with it.)
+  //
+  // The buffer now holds THIS SURFACE too (VoxelScene draws the water flat
+  // before the pass that reflects it), which is what makes one lake able to
+  // hide another -- and it means every fragment here is testing against its
+  // own depth. That raises the bar on the fragment's own z: gl_FragCoord is
+  // allowed to be MEDIUMP on GLES (and is, on Adreno), and fp16 near the far
+  // end of the range steps by about half a thousandth -- which the old test
+  // against the terrain far behind the surface never felt, and a comparison
+  // of the surface against itself loses outright. Every fragment failed, the
+  // pass discarded the whole lake, and Android showed the flat draw
+  // underneath. So the depth is recomputed HERE, in highp, from the same
+  // vBent and vp the vertex stage used -- full precision on every driver.
+  //
+  // The slack is sized to what remains after that, which is not rounding:
+  // the buffer holds depth interpolated LINEARLY IN SCREEN SPACE, while the
+  // recomputation projects the perspective-interpolated vBent -- the exact
+  // answer. The two agree at the vertices and drift apart across a quad's
+  // interior, by more the bigger the quad stands on screen; on a phone
+  // (fit scale 6, water quads hundreds of pixels tall) the drift crosses
+  // 1e-5 mid-quad, which discarded the middle of every tile row and looked
+  // like flat water with reflective seams. Anything GENUINELY in front of a
+  // water pixel is whole world units nearer -- upward of 1e-3 in depth --
+  // so 2e-4 clears the drift with room while still catching every occluder.
   vec2 uv = sc / love_ScreenSize.xy;
-  if (gl_FragCoord.z > Texel(depthTex, uv).r) discard;
+  vec4 selfC = vp * vec4(vBent, 1.0);
+  float selfZ = selfC.z / selfC.w * 0.5 + 0.5;
+  if (selfZ > Texel(depthTex, uv).r + 2e-4) discard;
 
   // THE COLUMN THIS FRAGMENT IS LOOKING AT. Every water pixel is a bar of
   // its own standing a whole number of pixels tall, and the ray decides
@@ -925,12 +991,23 @@ vec4 effect(mediump vec4 color, Image tex, mediump vec2 tc, mediump vec2 sc) {
   // drawn at, with no smooth shading anywhere across it. (The depth test
   // above is the one thing that stays per fragment: that is the hardware's
   // own question and it is asked in screen space.)
-  vec3 view = normalize(vBent - eye);
+  //
+  // Answered on the FLAT sheet, which is where the bars are a slab of even
+  // thickness over a level plane -- the one thing relief() is built on. The
+  // bend translates every bar straight down by its own column's drop, so the
+  // field keeps its shape and only its height moves; undo that here and the
+  // walk is the walk it was written for. Try it in the world as DRAWN
+  // instead and the slab is a bowl: the backward step up the ray climbs the
+  // bowl's near side as fast as it climbs out of the water, the walk starts
+  // inside the sheet, and it hands back a column a pixel or three off -- per
+  // fragment, differently, which is a patch of noise rather than parallax.
+  vec3 sheet = vec3(vBent.x, vBent.y + bendDrop(vBent.xz), vBent.z);
+  vec3 view = normalize(sheet - eye);
   vec3 hit;
   vec2 col;
   float face;
   float axis;
-  relief(vBent, view, hit, col, face, axis);
+  relief(sheet, view, hit, col, face, axis);
   // and the bar's centre, so a column is sampled and reflected from one
   // place rather than from wherever inside it the fragment happened to land
   vec3 surf = vec3(col.x + 0.5, hit.y, col.y + 0.5);
@@ -1001,7 +1078,7 @@ vec4 effect(mediump vec4 color, Image tex, mediump vec2 tc, mediump vec2 sc) {
   vec3 rgb = mix(base, refl, clamp(f, 0.0, 1.0));
 
 #ifdef VOXEL_GRID
-  rgb *= 1.0 - gridDark * columnSeam(hit, vBent, axis);
+  rgb *= 1.0 - gridDark * columnSeam(hit, sheet, axis);
 #endif
   return vec4(rgb, 1.0) * color;
 }
@@ -1192,7 +1269,7 @@ function Water.begin(ctx)
   if ctx.grid then
     local VoxelGrid = V.require("VoxelGrid")
     send("gridDark", VoxelGrid.DARK)
-    send("gridWidth", VoxelGrid.WIDTH)
+    send("gridWidth", VoxelGrid.width())
   end
 
   Water.sendSky(sh, ctx)

main.lua

@@ -23,9 +23,16 @@
 -- the engine's TILT mode -- is engine plumbing driven by the records
 -- below.  This file declares; lib/ draws.
 --
--- Nothing here reaches collision, movement, triggers or scripts.  Voxel
--- mode is purely presentational: it changes what the world LOOKS like and
--- nothing about what it IS.
+-- Voxel mode is presentational: it changes what the world LOOKS like and
+-- nothing about what it IS.  ONE rung is the deliberate exception. 1ST --
+-- the first-person camera -- replaces the grid WALK with a free,
+-- camera-relative one while it is selected (lib/FreeMove.lua), because a
+-- head you can steer with a mouse demands feet that go where it looks.
+-- Even there the game is untouched: the walk asks the engine's own
+-- collision the same questions a grid step asks, keeps the player's
+-- logical cell synced, and fires the engine's own landing pipeline per
+-- cell crossed -- warps, encounters, ledges, gates and scripts all run
+-- exactly as themselves. Step off the rung and the grid walk is back.
 
 local mod = ...
 
@@ -82,6 +89,9 @@ local BattleExit = V.require("BattleExit")
 local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
 local DayTint = V.require("DayTint")
 local Water = V.require("Water")
+local AntiAlias = V.require("AntiAlias")
+local FirstPerson = V.require("FirstPerson")
+local FreeMove = V.require("FreeMove")
 
 -- Forward declaration: the voxel pipeline's update hook (registered below)
 -- calls this, and it is defined further down with the settings it drives.
@@ -161,6 +171,11 @@ mod.content.render_pipelines:register("voxel", {
     -- would fight anyone who changed one deliberately.
     applyFull(level)
     Voxel.update(dt, level)
+    -- the first-person head, on the same tick: its blend in and out of the
+    -- orbit, the mouse capture lifecycle, and the frame's stick-rate look.
+    -- Unconditional like Voxel.update, because the blend has to keep easing
+    -- OUT after the rung is left
+    FirstPerson.update(dt)
     -- the day/night clock, on the same always-running tick: Pipelines.update
     -- runs whatever the level, so time passes with the mode off, through
     -- battles and menus, and a CYCLE evening falls mid-fight exactly as it
@@ -203,20 +218,34 @@ mod.content.render_pipelines:register("voxel", {
     -- a magnified low-res image, while the FX closures keep drawing in
     -- world-pixel units.
     local sw, sh = sceneSize(ctx)
-    local canvas = VoxelScene.render(ctx.state, sw, sh,
+    -- With AA on, the whole pass runs into a canvas BIGGER than the window
+    -- and is folded back down at the end (see AntiAlias).  Nothing between
+    -- these two lines knows: every pass in the frame measures itself in the
+    -- canvas it was handed, so the sky's dither, the water's march and the
+    -- camera itself all come out the same picture at a higher sample rate.
+    local rw, rh = AntiAlias.expand(sw, sh)
+    local canvas = VoxelScene.render(ctx.state, rw, rh,
                                      ctx.vw, ctx.vh, ctx.paletteFor)
     if not canvas then return nil end   -- fall back to the 2D path
     if Voxel3D.beginOverlay() then
+      -- the FX closures are ordinary 2D draws sized in DISPLAY pixels, and
+      -- they are drawing into the supersampled canvas alongside everything
+      -- else -- so the scale goes up with it, or the "!" bubble lands the
+      -- right place at half the size.  project() already answers in canvas
+      -- pixels, so only the scale needs saying.
       ctx.drawFx(function(wx, wy) return Voxel3D.project(wx, 0, wy) end,
-                 ctx.scale)
+                 ctx.scale * AntiAlias.factor())
       Voxel3D.endOverlay()
     end
-    return canvas
+    -- and back to the window's own size, which is what the engine composites
+    -- one canvas pixel to one display pixel.  A pass-through when AA is off.
+    return AntiAlias.resolve(canvas, sw, sh, "world")
   end,
 
   invalidate = function()
     Voxel3D.invalidate()
     OverworldBattle.invalidate()
+    AntiAlias.invalidate()
     ChunkMesher.invalidate()   -- no map id = every cached mesh
   end,
 })
@@ -361,6 +390,21 @@ local SETTINGS = {
     .. "let CYCLE run it -- ten minutes of sun, ten of moon, with the "
     .. "shadows, the sky and the light following -- or SYNC it to the "
     .. "clock on the wall, so Kanto's evening falls when yours does." },
+  -- Marked `full` for the opposite reason the battle rows are: this is not a
+  -- knob on the look at all, it is what the look COSTS. FULL is a preset for
+  -- the diorama, not a licence to spend four times the fill rate on the
+  -- machine it happens to be running on, so it neither sets this nor takes
+  -- the row away -- the player decides what their hardware can carry, from
+  -- inside FULL like anywhere else.
+  { AntiAlias.setting,
+    "Smooth the stair-stepped edges of the 3D world -- roof ridges, ledge "
+    .. "lips, a tree against the sky -- by rendering the diorama larger than "
+    .. "the window and folding it back down. Every edge in the picture "
+    .. "softens with them, the tileset's own texels included, so the diorama "
+    .. "reads smoother rather than sharper. 2X costs half again as many "
+    .. "pixels in each direction and 4X twice, which makes this the most "
+    .. "expensive row in the mod.",
+    full = true },
 }
 
 local schema = {}
@@ -759,6 +803,32 @@ end
 -- so this file keeps naming every engine seam the mod touches.
 OverworldBattle.install()
 
+-- ------- the first-person rung's inputs and its walk
+--
+-- 1ST needs two things no other rung does, and each is a named seam:
+--
+-- FirstPerson.install claims the LOOK inputs the engine ignores: the right
+-- stick's axes (Game:gamepadaxis passes them to Input, which returns early
+-- on anything but the left pair), relative mouse motion (love.mousemoved --
+-- there is no Game handler to wrap; the engine's own callback only feeds
+-- the mouse-as-touch debug path, which stays untouched), the mouse buttons
+-- while the cursor is captured (A and B -- there is no cursor to click UI
+-- with), and any touch that lands off the overlay's controls (a drag on
+-- open screen is the look; the d-pad and buttons still go to
+-- TouchControls, whose own d-pad finger is also read back analog as the
+-- move vector). Every wrap forwards whatever it does not claim, and claims
+-- only while 1ST is actually driving.
+--
+-- FreeMove.install wraps OverworldState:handleInput -- the one choke point
+-- where the grid walk reads the pad, and the same seam the engine's own
+-- Cycling Road pull lives behind. While 1ST drives, the walk is continuous
+-- and camera-relative; the player's logical cell stays synced and every
+-- per-cell consequence still runs through the engine's own machinery
+-- (onStepComplete, checkEdgeExit, checkLedgeHop, checkBoulderPush). The
+-- file argues the whole arrangement.
+FirstPerson.install()
+FreeMove.install()
+
 -- The overworld's own pushBattle is the choke point for a wild encounter or
 -- a trainer, and it is wrapped. A battle that arrives some other way -- a
 -- link battle, a script pushing a BattleState directly -- reaches this
@@ -860,7 +930,7 @@ mod.hooks:wrap("world.tod", function(next, tod, ctx)
   return DayNight.tod()
 end)
 
-mod.exports.version = "1.4.0"
+mod.exports.version = "1.5.0"
 -- exposed so a companion mod can pin its own tiles' shapes or read the
 -- camera without reaching into this mod's file layout
 mod.exports.lib = V

manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "DRAMATIC_SHAPE",
   "name": "Dramatic Shape Voxel Mod",
-  "version": "1.4.0",
+  "version": "1.5.0",
   "api": 2,
   "entry": "main.lua",
   "profile": "content",

mod.card

@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@ return {
       "a battle's letterbox voids go black rather than white, because the battle canvas is no longer white",
       "the engine's TILT and GBC FX rows are taken OFF the OPTIONS menu and held at off for as long as this mod is installed -- TILT is the flat fake of what this mode does for real, GBC FX is a full-screen pass over the top of it; uninstalling puts both rows back",
       "hotkeys 3 and 5 are taken over from those two, which have no key and no row while this is loaded",
+      "on the 1ST rung ONLY, the grid walk is replaced by free camera-relative movement: collision, warps, ledges, encounters and scripts still run through the engine's own machinery, and every other rung leaves movement untouched",
+      "on the 1ST rung the mouse cursor is captured for free look; left click is A, right click is B, and any touch off the overlay's controls drags the view",
     },
     added = {
-      "VOXEL options row and hotkey 3 (OFF / 15 / 35 / 50 / 75 degrees)",
+      "VOXEL options row and hotkey 3 (OFF / 15 / 35 / 50 / 75 degrees / 1ST, a first-person camera with free look and free movement)",
       "T-SHIFT options row and hotkey 6 (OFF / 1 / 2 / 3), the miniature blur",
       "V-GRID on hotkey 5 and V-CURVE on hotkey 7",
       "WATER on hotkey 9 (FULL / SKY / OFF, FULL by default): the water surface becomes a field of pixel-tall voxel columns rising and falling as waves, reflecting the sky, the sun, the moon and the cast standing beside it -- and, on FULL, the shoreline, trees and buildings behind it, by a screen-space ray march",
@@ -39,6 +41,9 @@ return {
       "the battle backdrop renders at the GB's 160x144 to match the pics composited over it, so it is chunkier than the free-roam pass",
       "menus and cutscenes are unaffected -- outside a battle the mode only draws the free-roam overworld",
       "terrain meshes are cached per map, so the first frame after entering a large map costs a build",
+      "1ST needs the 3D pass like every rung; without it the level still persists but the world stays 2D and the grid walk stays in charge",
+      "in 1ST, scripted walks, ledge hops and spinner slides play out as the grid moves they are, with the camera riding along; free control resumes when they land",
+      "rooms have no ceilings, so a first-person look over an interior wall shows the void the diorama always had behind it",
     },
   },
   credits = {

tests/aa_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+-- Driver: one scene, once per rung of the AA row.
+--
+-- The AA row is the one setting in this mod whose whole effect is a pixel
+-- wide, so it is also the one that cannot be judged from a description. This
+-- renders the SAME frame at each rung and writes one PNG per rung; put two of
+-- them side by side, magnified, and the row is either doing something or it
+-- is not.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/aa_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=<dir> lovec.exe .
+--
+-- knobs (env):
+--   SHOT_DIR   output directory (created if missing)  (default "shots/aa")
+--   AA_MAP     map id                                 (default VIRIDIAN_CITY)
+--   AA_SPOT    "x,y[,facing]"                         (default 20,26,up)
+--   AA_RUNG    the voxel camera rung                  (default 5, the 75 one)
+--
+-- The scene defaults to a town at the LOW camera on purpose: roof ridges, the
+-- diagonal of a fence and a tree's silhouette against the sky are the edges
+-- that stair-step, and 75 degrees is the rung that puts the most of them at an
+-- angle to the pixel grid.
+--
+-- Determinism matters here for the same reason it does in voxel_shots_ab: the
+-- three shots differ ONLY by the row under test, or comparing them means
+-- nothing. The clock is pinned, the animated tile slots are frozen, the
+-- townsfolk are stopped where they stand, and the tilt-shift is held at zero
+-- (a gaussian over the frame would smear away the very edges being looked at).
+--
+-- Nothing here writes the player's options: the row is moved with
+-- ModSetting:sync, which moves the cached index and persists nothing.
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+  local OverworldState = require("src.world.OverworldController")
+
+  local ROOT = os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/aa"
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[aa] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded -- nothing to shoot")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local AntiAlias = V.require("AntiAlias")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+  local ShadowMap = V.require("ShadowMap")
+
+  local MAP = os.getenv("AA_MAP") or "VIRIDIAN_CITY"
+  local SPOT = os.getenv("AA_SPOT") or "20,26,up"
+  local RUNG = math.floor(tonumber(os.getenv("AA_RUNG")) or 5)
+  local sx, sy, sf = SPOT:match("^(%-?%d+),%s*(%-?%d+),?%s*(%a*)$")
+  sx, sy = tonumber(sx) or 20, tonumber(sy) or 26
+  if sf == "" then sf = "up" end
+
+  OverworldState.rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+
+  local NPC = require("src.world.NPC")
+  if not NPC.dramaticShapeAaFreeze then
+    local inner = NPC.update
+    function NPC:update(...)
+      self.frozen = true
+      return inner(self, ...)
+    end
+    NPC.dramaticShapeAaFreeze = true
+  end
+  pcall(love.math.setRandomSeed, 20260801)
+
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function cameraStill()
+    local o = game.overworld
+    local c = o and o.camera
+    if not c then return true end
+    local lx, ly, held = nil, nil, 0
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if c.x == lx and c.y == ly then
+        held = held + 1
+        if held >= 10 then return true end
+      else
+        held = 0
+        lx, ly = c.x, c.y
+      end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    return false
+  end
+
+  -- The camera PITCH, which is the one that caught this driver out. The tween
+  -- runs on wall-clock dt and Voxel.t reaching 1 is not the same instant the
+  -- angle stops moving, so the first shot of a run came out at 67 degrees
+  -- while the two after it were at 75 -- three frames that differ by the
+  -- camera, in a comparison whose entire subject is a pixel.
+  local function angleStill()
+    local last, held = nil, 0
+    for _ = 1, 600 do
+      if Voxel.angle == last then
+        held = held + 1
+        if held >= 10 then return true end
+      else
+        held = 0
+        last = Voxel.angle
+      end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    return false
+  end
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    angleStill()
+    cameraStill()
+    -- the sun map is only redrawn when its inputs move, and the AA row is not
+    -- one of them -- so force one pass at the settled camera rather than
+    -- comparing a frame against a map fitted a few hundredths of a pixel ago
+    if ShadowMap.forget then ShadowMap.forget() end
+    U.wait(20)
+  end
+
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+  U.teleport(game, MAP, sx, sy, sf)
+  Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", RUNG)
+  Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+
+  -- Warm up before the FIRST shot, not just between them.
+  --
+  -- Neighbour maps are requested from inside the render itself
+  -- (VoxelScene.prefetch), so an empty build queue right after a teleport
+  -- means "nothing has been asked for yet", not "everything is here". The
+  -- first capture of a run came out with the map beyond Viridian missing --
+  -- a whole tree line absent from one frame of a three-way comparison, which
+  -- looks exactly like the row under test doing something enormous. Settling
+  -- twice lets the first render request the neighbourhood and the second
+  -- drain it.
+  settle()
+  settle()
+
+  local shots, missed = 0, 0
+  for _, samples in ipairs({ 0, 2, 4 }) do
+    AntiAlias.setting:sync(samples)
+    settle()
+    -- AA_TRACE=1 prints the state each shot was taken in. When two shots of a
+    -- run disagree by more than the row could account for, this is what says
+    -- which input moved -- it is how the camera-tween and the neighbour-mesh
+    -- settles above were both found.
+    if os.getenv("AA_TRACE") == "1" then
+      local Voxel3D = V.require("Voxel3D")
+      local o = game.overworld
+      local cw, chh = Voxel3D.size()
+      print(("[aa] trace samples=%d angle=%.6f fov=%.6f cell=%.4f canvas=%dx%d cam=(%.3f,%.3f) eye=(%.2f,%.2f,%.2f) factor=%.4f")
+        :format(samples, Voxel.angle or -1, Voxel3D.fovY or -1,
+                Voxel3D.cell or -1, cw or 0, chh or 0,
+                o and o.camera and o.camera.x or -1,
+                o and o.camera and o.camera.y or -1,
+                (Voxel3D.eye or {})[1] or 0, (Voxel3D.eye or {})[2] or 0,
+                (Voxel3D.eye or {})[3] or 0, AntiAlias.factor()))
+    end
+    local path = ("%s/aa_%d.png"):format(ROOT, samples)
+    game.capturePath = path
+    U.wait(6)
+    local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+    if f then
+      f:close()
+      shots = shots + 1
+      print(("[aa] %s  samples=%d"):format(path, samples))
+    else
+      missed = missed + 1
+      print("[aa] capture did not reach disk: " .. path)
+    end
+  end
+  -- left where it was found, so a run cannot leak a rung into the next one
+  AntiAlias.setting:sync(0)
+
+  print(("[aa] %d shots into %s (%d failed to reach disk)")
+    :format(shots, ROOT, missed))
+end

tests/bike_shop_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the Bike Shop showroom, for the bicycle
+-- voxelization.  Two viewpoints -- the north wall (the two bikes drawn
+-- INTO the wall band) and the showroom floor (the six standing bikes).
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/bike_shop_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/bikes AB_TAG=before lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/bikes")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "before")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[bike] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  -- cells: wall bikes ride cell row 0 (tile cols 1-3 and 6-8); the six
+  -- floor bikes stand in cell columns 0 and 2, rows 1-2 and 4-5
+  local SCENES = {
+    { x = 2, y = 2, face = "up",   label = "wall" },
+    { x = 3, y = 3, face = "up",   label = "room" },
+    { x = 2, y = 4, face = "left", label = "floor" },
+    { x = 3, y = 6, face = "up",   label = "wide" },
+    -- the two toolboxes, cells (6,6) and (7,7)
+    { x = 5, y = 6, face = "right", label = "tools" },
+    { x = 6, y = 4, face = "down",  label = "tools2" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, "BIKE_SHOP", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[bike] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[bike] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/bills_desk_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of Bill's desk, for the `bills_desk`
+-- voxelization.  The desk fills cells (1,4) and (2,4) of Bill's house
+-- with its chair in the walkable cell (1,5) below it, so these are the
+-- angles you can actually stand at: head-on from the floor two cells
+-- south, and from either flank.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/bills_desk_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/billsdesk AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/billsdesk")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[bills] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { x = 1, y = 6, face = "up",    label = "headon" },
+    { x = 2, y = 6, face = "up",    label = "headon_e" },
+    { x = 4, y = 5, face = "left",  label = "east" },
+    { x = 0, y = 5, face = "right", label = "west" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, "BILLS_HOUSE", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[bills] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[bills] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/chief_house_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the Celadon chief's house, for the display
+-- cabinet and long table voxelizations.  Three viewpoints -- the
+-- cabinet rank along the north wall, the long table in the middle of
+-- the room, and a wide shot with both in frame.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/chief_house_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/chief AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/chief")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[chief] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  -- the cabinets occupy cells 2..5 of rows 0-1; the long table cells
+  -- 2..5 of rows 3-4; the player walks rows 2 and 5
+  local SCENES = {
+    { x = 3, y = 2, face = "up",    label = "cabinets" },
+    { x = 5, y = 2, face = "up",    label = "bookcase" },
+    { x = 3, y = 5, face = "up",    label = "table" },
+    { x = 1, y = 5, face = "right", label = "wide" },
+    -- the same rank on CELADON_MANSION_1F, where it stands against the
+    -- interior partition and the grids start on an ODD tile row
+    { map = "CELADON_MANSION_1F", x = 2, y = 4, face = "up",
+      label = "mansion1f" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, s.map or "CELADON_CHIEF_HOUSE", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[chief] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[chief] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/dramatic_shape_test.lua

@@ -49,12 +49,14 @@ T.eq(defs._owners and defs._owners.voxel, "DRAMATIC_SHAPE",
 
 -- ------- the ladders the engine drives
 
-T.eq(#defs.voxel.levels, 6, "voxel exposes a six-rung ladder")
+T.eq(#defs.voxel.levels, 7, "voxel exposes a seven-rung ladder")
 T.eq(defs.voxel.levels[1], "OFF", "rung 0 is OFF")
 T.eq(defs.voxel.levels[2], "FULL",
   "FULL is the first rung after OFF -- the order those two get used in")
-T.eq(defs.voxel.levels[6], "75", "the top rung is the 75-degree camera")
-T.eq(Pipelines.maxLevel("voxel"), 5, "the engine reads the ladder height")
+T.eq(defs.voxel.levels[6], "75", "rung 5 is the 75-degree camera")
+T.eq(defs.voxel.levels[7], "1ST (EXPERIMENTAL)",
+  "the top rung is the first-person camera, labelled as the experiment it is")
+T.eq(Pipelines.maxLevel("voxel"), 6, "the engine reads the ladder height")
 T.eq(Pipelines.levelLabel("voxel", 3), "35", "the engine reads the rung labels")
 
 -- ------- gating: inert until switched on, and inert without a GPU
@@ -145,6 +147,9 @@ T.check(not fullIds["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:daytime"], "and DAYTIME")
 -- back sprite (or no staged fights at all) can still say so from inside FULL
 T.check(fullIds["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:battles"], "3D-BTL is still on the menu under FULL")
 T.check(fullIds["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:battleBack"], "and BACK SPRITES with it")
+-- and AA, for the opposite reason: it is not a knob on the look at all, it is
+-- what the look COSTS, and only the player knows what their machine can carry
+T.check(fullIds["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:aa"], "and AA, which FULL neither sets nor owns")
 
 -- DAYTIME is not only hidden under FULL, it is HELD at SYNC: the row cannot
 -- be reached while FULL owns it, so a value changed underneath (the mod
@@ -379,9 +384,11 @@ end
 Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 2)
 local hookedRows = Runtime.call("ui.options.rows", function(_, r) return r end,
                                { data = Data }, { { id = "text_speed" } })
-T.eq(#hookedRows, 7, "the options hook added a row per setting")
+T.eq(#hookedRows, 8, "the options hook added a row per setting")
 local grid, curve, water = hookedRows[2], hookedRows[3], hookedRows[4]
 local battles, backRow, daytime = hookedRows[5], hookedRows[6], hookedRows[7]
+-- the AA row is hookedRows[8]; it is read in its own block below, because
+-- this chunk is one main function and has 200 local slots to spend
 T.eq(water.label, "WATER", "the water row carries its label")
 T.eq(water.value(), "FULL",
   "and defaults to FULL -- reflections are the point of having the row")
@@ -459,6 +466,57 @@ curve.step(settingGame, 1)
 curve.step(settingGame, 1)
 T.eq(curve.value(), "OFF", "the curve is left off for the rows below")
 
+-- ------- AA renders the pass larger and folds it back down
+--
+-- The ladder is SAMPLES per display pixel, so the canvas scale each rung asks
+-- for is its square root -- and the scale in force has to be readable after
+-- the fact, because two things are quoted in DISPLAY pixels and have to be
+-- multiplied up into the canvas the pass actually opened: the wireframe's
+-- line width and the FX overlay's sprite scale.
+do
+local AntiAlias = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("AntiAlias")
+local VoxelGrid = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("VoxelGrid")
+local aaGame = { save = { options = {} }, mods = { modOptions = {} } }
+local aa = hookedRows[8]
+T.eq(aa.label, "AA", "the anti-aliasing row carries its label")
+T.eq(aa.value(), "OFF",
+  "and starts off -- supersampling is a cost knob, and a mod must not spend "
+  .. "four times the fill rate of the machine it lands on unasked")
+
+T.eq(AntiAlias.samples(), 0, "AA is off by default")
+local w, h = AntiAlias.expand(320, 200)
+T.eq(w, 320, "an OFF row renders at the window's own width")
+T.eq(h, 200, "and its height")
+T.eq(AntiAlias.factor(), 1, "with nothing to multiply display pixels by")
+T.eq(VoxelGrid.width(), VoxelGrid.WIDTH,
+  "so the wireframe is the one-display-pixel line it has always been")
+
+aa.step(aaGame, 1)
+T.eq(aa.value(), "2X", "stepping the row climbs to two samples a pixel")
+T.eq(aaGame.save.options.modOptions.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.aa, 2,
+  "the sample count persists beside the other settings, not over them")
+w, h = AntiAlias.expand(320, 200)
+T.eq(w, 453, "two samples a pixel is a canvas root-two wider")
+T.eq(h, 283, "and root-two taller")
+T.check(math.abs(AntiAlias.factor() - 453 / 320) < 1e-9,
+  "and the factor is what it MEASURED, not what the row asked for")
+
+aa.step(aaGame, 1)
+T.eq(aa.value(), "4X", "and again to four")
+w, h = AntiAlias.expand(320, 200)
+T.eq(w, 640, "four samples a pixel is a canvas exactly twice the size")
+T.eq(h, 400, "in each direction, which is the 2x2 box the fold reads")
+T.eq(AntiAlias.factor(), 2, "with everything in display pixels doubled")
+T.eq(VoxelGrid.width(), VoxelGrid.WIDTH * 2,
+  "the wireframe among them -- a seam left at 1.0 would fold down to half a "
+  .. "line, so the smoothing row would appear to fade the grid row out")
+
+aa.step(aaGame, 1)
+T.eq(aa.value(), "OFF", "and the ladder wraps back to off")
+AntiAlias.expand(320, 200)
+T.eq(AntiAlias.factor(), 1, "leaving nothing behind for the next pass")
+end
+
 -- ------- the animated terrain atlas survives an engine without its seams
 --
 -- Regression: cycling palette modes with voxel mode on eventually killed
@@ -1023,12 +1081,12 @@ local Curve = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("WorldCurve")
 -- with nothing on screen saying a keypress had done it.
 Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 0)
 local walk = {}
-for _ = 1, 6 do
+for _ = 1, 7 do
   Game.keypressed(keyGame, "3")
   walk[#walk + 1] = Pipelines.levelLabel("voxel")
 end
-T.eq(table.concat(walk, ","), "15,35,50,75,OFF,15",
-  "3 walks OFF -> 15 -> 35 -> 50 -> 75 and wraps, never touching FULL")
+T.eq(table.concat(walk, ","), "15,35,50,75,1ST (EXPERIMENTAL),OFF,15",
+  "3 walks OFF -> 15 -> 35 -> 50 -> 75 -> 1ST and wraps, never touching FULL")
 
 -- FULL is 35 degrees, so a press from it goes ON to 50 rather than back to
 -- the rung that shows the same camera -- the key never appears to do nothing.
@@ -1087,8 +1145,8 @@ T.eq(GBCFX.level, 0, "and on the live renderer")
 -- TILT with or without us. Park the ladder on its top rung and turn both
 -- back on, so the single press under test is the one that wraps to OFF --
 -- where nothing else is going to clear them.
--- 5 is the "75" rung, the last one the key walks before it wraps to OFF
-Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 5)
+-- 6 is the "1ST" rung, the last one the key walks before it wraps to OFF
+Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 6)
 Tilt.setLevel(3)
 GBCFX.setLevel(4)
 keyGame.save.options.tilt = 3
@@ -1744,9 +1802,21 @@ T.check(plain:find("waveNormal(vec2 q, float tilt)", 1, true) ~= nil
         and plain:find("waveNormal(col,", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "still one answer per column, so the surface stays pixel-quantised in "
   .. "space while the value it reflects with is continuous")
-T.check(plain:find("relief(vBent, view, hit, col, face, axis)", 1, true) ~= nil,
+T.check(plain:find("relief(sheet, view, hit, col, face, axis)", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "and the visible column is found by walking the view ray through the "
   .. "slab, which is what makes a tall bar hide the short ones behind it")
+-- ...over the FLAT sheet, which is the one thing that walk is built on: an
+-- even slab over a level plane. The world curve drops each bar straight down
+-- by its own column's drop, so undoing that drop hands relief() the field it
+-- was written for. Walked in the world as DRAWN instead, the slab is a bowl:
+-- the backward step up the ray climbs the bowl's near side as fast as it
+-- climbs out of the water, the walk starts inside the sheet, and it returns a
+-- column a pixel or three off -- differently per fragment, which is a
+-- hard-edged patch of noise in the middle of a pond.
+T.check(plain:find("vec3 sheet = vec3(vBent.x, vBent.y + bendDrop(vBent.xz), vBent.z)",
+                   1, true) ~= nil,
+  "and it walks the sheet the mesh was AUTHORED as, the bend taken back off, "
+  .. "because a slab walk over a bowl starts inside the water")
 -- the march's reach grows as one over the ray's descent, so a grazing camera
 -- asks for hundreds of world pixels of it from a fixed number of samples --
 -- which stepped over whole crests and smeared the surface into streaks
@@ -1774,7 +1844,7 @@ T.check(plain:find("waveUV(tc, col)", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "and the column is what is handed to it")
 
 -- the wireframe is ruled on the COLUMNS, not on the flat sheet they stand on
-T.check(gridded:find("columnSeam(hit, vBent, axis)", 1, true) ~= nil,
+T.check(gridded:find("columnSeam(hit, sheet, axis)", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "with V-GRID on, the seams outline the column the ray landed on -- every "
   .. "voxel of water its own block -- rather than ruling a grid across the "
   .. "flat quad underneath and ignoring the bars entirely")
@@ -1783,6 +1853,25 @@ T.check(gridded:find("vec3 w = fwidth(base);", 1, true) ~= nil,
   .. "between neighbouring fragments and its own derivative is a step")
 T.check(plain:find("march(surf, r)", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "the reflection marches from that column, not from the raw fragment")
+-- The two halves of the world curve, and they pull opposite ways. WHAT the
+-- lake reflects is worked out FLAT -- the same rule the rest of the mode
+-- keeps, that the world tips away and the things standing on it do not lean
+-- with it. Reflect off the bowl the bend has made instead and the far half
+-- of a pond is a mirror tilted twenty degrees, throwing the ray past the
+-- vertical, where the sky ramp's own measure (a screen row, through the
+-- frame's matrix) swings from one end of the ramp to the other across a
+-- single column and stamps hard-edged patches of the wrong sky into the
+-- water.  But WHERE it lands has to be found in the world as DRAWN, because
+-- that is what the depth buffer holds -- so the ray stays straight in the
+-- flat world and every sample of it is bent on the way to the screen, by the
+-- vertex stage's own displacement.
+T.check(plain:find("p.y -= bendDrop(p.xz);", 1, true) ~= nil,
+  "and every marched sample is bent into the world as DRAWN before it is "
+  .. "projected, because that is the world the depth buffer holds")
+T.check(plain:find("vec3 r = reflect(view, n);", 1, true) ~= nil
+        and plain:find("reflect(view, vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0))", 1, true) ~= nil,
+  "while the reflection itself is taken about the FLAT normal, so a curved "
+  .. "world does not tip the lake the way it does not lean the buildings")
 T.check(plain:find("mod(col.x + col.y, 2.0)", 1, true) ~= nil,
   "and the dither's checkerboard is cut from the columns too, so a camera "
   .. "pan slides the world through nothing")
@@ -1828,6 +1917,21 @@ T.check(plain:find("sc / love_ScreenSize.xy", 1, true) ~= nil,
   .. "size -- `screen` counts canvas UNITS, and on a highdpi phone the two "
   .. "differ by the density, which clamped the lookup and cut the water "
   .. "into blocks")
+-- ...and it tests against a buffer that now holds the water surface too,
+-- because VoxelScene lays the meshes down flat before the reflective pass
+-- runs over them. Nothing else can make one lake hide another: the pass
+-- writes no depth (the buffer is detached so it can be READ), so before this
+-- the sheets were simply painted in mesh order. Flat water never showed it --
+-- one plane, and a farther sheet always lands farther down the screen -- but
+-- the world curve drops the far side of the map into the near field of view,
+-- and a sea a hundred and fifty tiles away came out rasterised on top of the
+-- pond at the player's feet, tall grass and all.
+T.check(plain:find("vec4 selfC = vp * vec4(vBent, 1.0)", 1, true) ~= nil
+        and plain:find("Texel(depthTex, uv).r + 2e-4", 1, true) ~= nil,
+  "testing a HIGHP recomputed depth (gl_FragCoord.z is mediump on mobile "
+  .. "GLES -- fp16 loses a self-comparison outright) with slack covering "
+  .. "the buffer's screen-linear interpolation drift across big quads")
+T.check(VoxelScene.drawWater ~= nil, "and the flat draw that puts it there")
 
 -- ------- the lift itself
 --
@@ -2476,7 +2580,35 @@ T.check(onAt["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:battleBack"], "switched back on, so is the row")
 T.eq(onAt["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:battleBack"] - onAt["DRAMATIC_SHAPE:battles"], 1,
   "directly under the row it belongs to")
 
+-- ------- and which pic is the pinned one is asked with the other side BLANKED
+--
+-- picImage asks this so BattlePics knows whether a pic's feet are on the text
+-- box -- where its bottom edge seals, and its belly stops being see-through --
+-- and it is asked DURING the billboard render, inside which sideTexture has
+-- switched the side it is not drawing off by setting the field to FALSE rather
+-- than to nil (see OFF).
+--
+-- So the read has to be by truthiness. A test against nil passes that `false`
+-- through to the index below it, the error comes back out of sideTexture into
+-- the pcall that calls it, textures() reports no card for the side -- and the
+-- foe is simply not on the field. Which is the whole bug: fixing the player's
+-- back pic took the enemy's billboard out.
+local mine, theirs = {}, {}
+local live = { player = { sprite = mine }, enemy = { sprite = theirs } }
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic(live, mine), true,
+  "the player's own mon is the pic on the box")
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic(live, theirs), false,
+  "and the foe is geometry out on the map, whatever the mode")
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic({ player = false, enemy = { sprite = theirs } }, theirs),
+  false, "asking about the foe while the player is blanked answers, not throws")
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic({ playerBackPic = mine }, mine), true,
+  "the trainer back holds the slot until Go!, on the box like the mon")
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic({ player = false, playerBackPic = false }, mine), false,
+  "and with the side blanked outright nothing of it is pinned")
+
 Battles.backSetting:setIndex(1, backGame)          -- and off for the rows below
+T.eq(Battles.pinnedPic(live, mine), false,
+  "with BACK SPRITES off the player's mon is out on the map with the foe")
 end
 
 -- ------- the hour reaches the FLAT world too
@@ -2611,21 +2743,35 @@ local BattlePics = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("BattlePics")
 -- reader over what came out. The pic is faked at the readback seam, which is
 -- the only thing between this and the pixels the engine would have blitted.
 local lastCanvas = nil                  -- what the readback asked newCanvas for
-local function fill(rows)
+-- '#' is ink and '.' the keyed-out nothing. 'W' is ink too, of the pic's
+-- LIGHTEST shade -- a highlight the decoder happened not to key -- which is
+-- what the paper a hole gets filled with is read off.
+local SHADE = { ["#"] = 0.25, ["W"] = 0.75 }
+-- reuse hands the SAME pic back through, which is how the two bottom rules
+-- can be asked of one image the way a running battle would ask them
+local function fill(rows, sealBottom, reuse)
   local W, H = #rows[1], #rows
   local built = nil
   local function fakeData()
-    local px = {}
+    local px, sh = {}, {}
     for y = 0, H - 1 do
       for x = 0, W - 1 do
-        px[y * W + x] = rows[y + 1]:sub(x + 1, x + 1) == "#" and 1 or 0
+        local shade = SHADE[rows[y + 1]:sub(x + 1, x + 1)]
+        px[y * W + x] = shade and 1 or 0
+        sh[y * W + x] = shade or 0
       end
     end
     return {
-      px = px,
+      px = px, sh = sh,
       getDimensions = function() return W, H end,
-      getPixel = function(self, x, y) return 0, 0, 0, self.px[y * W + x] end,
-      setPixel = function(self, x, y, r, g, b, a) self.px[y * W + x] = a end,
+      getPixel = function(self, x, y)
+        local k = y * W + x
+        return self.sh[k], self.sh[k], self.sh[k], self.px[k]
+      end,
+      setPixel = function(self, x, y, r, g, b, a)
+        self.px[y * W + x] = a
+        self.sh[y * W + x] = r
+      end,
     }
   end
 
@@ -2639,12 +2785,14 @@ local function fill(rows)
     built = data
     return { setFilter = function() end }
   end
-  local pic = { getDimensions = function() return W, H end }
-  local out = BattlePics.filled(pic)
+  local pic = reuse or { getDimensions = function() return W, H end }
+  local out = BattlePics.filled(pic, sealBottom)
   love.graphics.newCanvas, love.graphics.newImage = realNewCanvas, realNewImage
   -- deliberately NOT invalidated: each figure brings its own pic, and the
   -- cache check at the bottom needs one of them still in there
-  return out, pic, built and function(x, y) return built.px[y * W + x] > 0.5 end
+  return out, pic,
+         built and function(x, y) return built.px[y * W + x] > 0.5 end,
+         built and function(x, y) return built.sh[y * W + x] end
 end
 
 -- ------- the cut at the feet, which is what the closed bottom edge is for
@@ -2727,6 +2875,75 @@ local drainOut, drainPic, drain = fill({
 T.check(drainOut ~= drainPic and drain and drain(8, 4),
   "a narrow one is where the drawing ran out, and is paper")
 
+-- ------- but a pic ON THE MENU has no mouth at all
+--
+-- The drain/mouth cut is for a pic standing on the MAP, where a wide opening
+-- along the bottom is a stride with real ground behind it. Under BACK SPRITES
+-- the player's mon is drawn in the GB's own slot with its feet flush on the
+-- text box, and the only thing under its lowest row is white box -- so nothing
+-- reaches it from below, whatever the opening's width, and the rule stops
+-- being a heuristic: paper is whatever the background cannot walk to from the
+-- left, the right or the top.
+--
+-- Which is the difference between a Pikachu and a wireframe. The pale-bodied
+-- back pics -- Pikachu, Seel, Dewgong, Chansey, Jigglypuff -- are drawn as
+-- OUTLINES, every shade-0 pixel inside the ink keyed away, and each of them
+-- leaks out through a bottom opening far too wide to read as a drain. On the
+-- map that reading is right; on the box it left the mon a rim with the arena
+-- showing through it.
+--
+-- The same stride figure the map rule leaves open, now standing on the box.
+local boxOut, boxPic, boxOpaque = fill({
+  "..##############..",
+  "..##############..",
+  "..##############..",
+  "..###........###..",
+  "..###........###..",
+  "..###........###..",
+}, true)
+T.check(boxOut ~= boxPic and boxOpaque,
+  "the gap a stride would have shown the world through is paper on the box")
+T.check(boxOpaque(8, 3) and boxOpaque(8, 5),
+  "and it fills right down to the row the feet are on")
+
+-- the seal is the BOTTOM alone: the sides and the top still let the background
+-- in, which is what keeps the silhouette cutting against the arena instead of
+-- standing the mon in a white block
+local boxGapOut, boxGapPic = fill({
+  "..#####.",
+  "..#...#.",
+  "..#...#.",
+  "....###.",   -- opens at the left, and drains out that way
+  "..#####.",
+  "..#####.",
+}, true)
+T.eq(boxGapOut, boxGapPic,
+  "a pocket that drains out to the side is background on the box too")
+
+-- ------- and a hole is filled with the pic's OWN paper, not with white
+--
+-- Shade 0 is white only while the pic is still grays, and by the time one
+-- reaches here it usually is not: picImage hands it over after the bake -- a
+-- species SGB colour, a BGP fade mid-animation, PAL_BLACK across the whole
+-- screen while the blackout text is up -- and shade 0 travels with the rest.
+-- A hardcoded white belly would be the one lit thing on a blacked-out mon.
+--
+-- So the paper is read off the pic: the lightest shade still standing in it,
+-- which is shade 0 wherever the decoder could not reach one. It never has to
+-- guess -- all 151 of this game's back pics keep at least one, an eye or a
+-- highlight down a cheek.
+local _, _, _, paperShade = fill({
+  "..####..",
+  "..#WW#..",   -- a highlight the decoder did not key: this is the paper
+  "..#..#..",
+  "..#..#..",
+  "..####..",
+})
+T.eq(paperShade(3, 2), paperShade(3, 1),
+  "the hole takes the lightest shade the pic still has")
+T.check(paperShade(3, 2) ~= paperShade(2, 2),
+  "which is not the ink beside it")
+
 -- ------- and the readback is measured in PIXELS, which is what kept the mons
 -- the size of the squares they stand on
 --
@@ -2743,12 +2960,31 @@ T.check(drainOut ~= drainPic and drain and drain(8, 4),
 -- scale that was wrong everywhere.
 T.check(lastCanvas and lastCanvas.opts and lastCanvas.opts.dpiscale == 1,
   "the readback canvas is one texel per pic pixel, on a highdpi phone too")
-T.eq(lastCanvas.w, 18, "and it is the size of the pic, in those pixels")
+T.eq(lastCanvas.w, 8, "and it is the size of the pic, in those pixels")
 
 -- the answer is cached on the image, so a pic costs one readback a session
 -- rather than one a frame -- checked on the first figure, which is still in
 -- there because fill() does not clear it
 T.eq(BattlePics.filled(pic), out, "the rebuilt pic is cached on the original")
+-- and cached PER BOTTOM RULE, because one image answers differently on the map
+-- and on the box. A single table for both would hand whichever caller asked
+-- second the other one's answer -- the map's stencil to the menu, or a menu
+-- fill to a mon standing on grass -- which is this section's bug arriving
+-- through the cache rather than through the flood.
+--
+-- The stride figure again, on the SAME pic the map rule already answered for.
+local reOut = fill({
+  "..##############..",
+  "..##############..",
+  "..##############..",
+  "..###........###..",
+  "..###........###..",
+  "..###........###..",
+}, true, stridePic)
+T.check(reOut ~= stridePic,
+  "the pic the map left open still fills when the box asks for it")
+T.eq(BattlePics.filled(stridePic), stridePic,
+  "and the map's own answer for it is still the pic itself")
 BattlePics.invalidate()
 end
 
@@ -3102,7 +3338,10 @@ Commands.start_battle(ctx, "trainer", "RIVAL1", 1)
 T.check(viaOverworld ~= nil and pushed == nil,
   "a scripted trainer goes through pushBattle: the flash, the wipe and the "
   .. "theme, like any fight walked into")
-T.eq(viaOverworld.kind, "trainer", "with the battle it was asked to start")
+-- guarded index: when the seam above regresses, this must FAIL like any
+-- assertion rather than crash the suite half-run
+T.eq(viaOverworld and viaOverworld.kind, "trainer",
+  "with the battle it was asked to start")
 ctx.overworld = nil
 Commands.start_battle(ctx, "wild", "PIDGEY", 5)
 T.check(pushed ~= nil,
@@ -3228,6 +3467,182 @@ T.eq(g.amp, 0, "standing still fades it back out within a beat")
 T.eq(g.phase, held, "and the phase does not move while the camera does not")
 end
 
+-- ------- the first-person rung
+--
+-- 1ST rides the same placed-camera seam the battle proved out, so most of
+-- what it adds is arithmetic this suite can hold still: the rig built from
+-- a pose, the compass the grid game still thinks in, the camera-relative
+-- walk vector, and the frame an NPC shows an eye that can stand anywhere.
+
+do
+local FirstPerson =
+  run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("FirstPerson")
+local VoxelState = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("VoxelState")
+local FreeMove = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("FreeMove")
+local Voxel3D = run.loader.exports.DRAMATIC_SHAPE.lib.require("Voxel3D")
+
+T.eq(VoxelState.FP_LEVEL, 6, "1ST is the seventh rung")
+T.check(VoxelState.isFirstPerson(6), "and isFirstPerson answers for it")
+T.check(not VoxelState.isFirstPerson(5), "but not for the 75 orbit")
+T.eq(VoxelState.ANGLE_LABELS[VoxelState.FP_LEVEL + 1], "1ST (EXPERIMENTAL)",
+  "the rung wears the experimental label")
+T.eq(VoxelState.ANGLES_DEG[VoxelState.FP_LEVEL + 1], 75,
+  "and hands the blend the 75-degree orbit as its far end")
+
+-- ------- the compass and the walk vector
+--
+-- Yaw 0 faces south (+Z), the way a resting sprite faces; the compass is
+-- the dominant axis and the walk rotates camera space into world space.
+FirstPerson.yaw, FirstPerson.pitch = 0, 0
+T.eq(FirstPerson.compassFacing(), "down", "yaw 0 looks south")
+FirstPerson.yaw = math.pi / 2
+T.eq(FirstPerson.compassFacing(), "right", "a quarter turn looks east")
+FirstPerson.yaw = math.pi
+T.eq(FirstPerson.compassFacing(), "up", "a half turn looks north")
+FirstPerson.yaw = -math.pi / 2
+T.eq(FirstPerson.compassFacing(), "left", "and three quarters looks west")
+
+local function near(a, b) return math.abs(a - b) < 1e-9 end
+
+FirstPerson.yaw = 0
+local wx, wz = FirstPerson.moveWorld(0, 1)
+T.check(near(wx, 0) and near(wz, 1), "facing south, forward walks south")
+wx, wz = FirstPerson.moveWorld(1, 0)
+T.check(near(wx, -1) and near(wz, 0),
+  "facing south, the right hand points west")
+FirstPerson.yaw = math.pi
+wx, wz = FirstPerson.moveWorld(0, 1)
+T.check(near(wx, 0) and near(wz, -1), "facing north, forward walks north")
+wx, wz = FirstPerson.moveWorld(1, 0)
+T.check(near(wx, 1) and near(wz, 0),
+  "facing north, the right hand points east")
+
+-- the look clamps: pitch stops at the limits, yaw wraps
+FirstPerson.pitch = 0
+FirstPerson.lookBy(0, 100)
+T.eq(FirstPerson.pitch, FirstPerson.PITCH_DOWN, "pitch clamps looking down")
+FirstPerson.lookBy(0, -100)
+T.eq(FirstPerson.pitch, FirstPerson.PITCH_UP, "and looking up")
+FirstPerson.yaw = 0
+FirstPerson.lookBy(2 * math.pi, 0)
+T.check(math.abs(FirstPerson.yaw) < 1e-9, "a full turn of yaw wraps to zero")
+
+-- ------- the rig
+--
+-- frame() is pure arithmetic over the pose and the orbit, so the suite can
+-- stand the blend anywhere and read the record it hands Voxel3D.
+FirstPerson.yaw, FirstPerson.pitch = 0, 0
+FirstPerson.blend = 1
+local me = { px = 100, py = 200, gh = 0, lift = 0 }
+local rig, sx, sy = FirstPerson.frame(me, 500, 600, 320, 288)
+T.check(rig ~= nil, "with the blend in, frame() builds a rig")
+T.eq(Voxel3D.camera, rig, "and hands it to Voxel3D")
+T.check(near(rig.eye[1], 108) and near(rig.eye[3], 208),
+  "the eye stands on the player's centre")
+T.eq(rig.eye[2], FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT, "at head height")
+T.check(near(rig.fov, FirstPerson.FOV), "wearing the first-person lens")
+T.check(near(sx, 108) and near(sy, 208),
+  "and the scene centre stands with it")
+T.check(rig.curve == 0,
+  "the world curve is declined outright -- a zero, not a nil the setting "
+  .. "could override")
+T.check(rig.focus[3] > rig.eye[3],
+  "yaw 0 focuses south of the eye")
+
+-- surf bob and ledge lift carry the eye with them
+local bobbed = FirstPerson.frame({ px = 100, py = 200, gh = 4, lift = 6 },
+                                 500, 600, 320, 288)
+T.eq(bobbed.eye[2], 10 + FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT,
+  "ground height and lift both raise the eye")
+
+-- mid-blend, the rig is a lerp of the orbit and the head: its eye sits
+-- between the two ends, and the curve is only half declined
+VoxelState.angle = math.rad(75)
+FirstPerson.blend = 0.5
+local mid = FirstPerson.frame(me, 500, 600, 320, 288)
+T.check(mid.eye[2] > FirstPerson.EYE_HEIGHT,
+  "half way out, the eye is higher than the head")
+T.check(mid.eye[2] < 288 * VoxelState.FOCAL,
+  "and lower than the orbit")
+
+-- ------- the cards ask the rig, and only the rig
+FirstPerson.blend = 1
+FirstPerson.frame(me, 500, 600, 320, 288)
+T.check(FirstPerson.cardBlend() == 1, "the free-roam rig turns the cards")
+T.check(FirstPerson.hidePlayer(), "and hides the player's own card")
+
+-- an NPC south of the eye: the card yaws to face north, back at the eye
+local yaw = FirstPerson.cardYaw(108, 300)
+T.check(near(math.sin(yaw), 0) and near(math.cos(yaw), -1),
+  "a card south of the eye turns its face north")
+
+-- the frame an entity SHOWS this eye: stand north of someone facing away
+-- and you see their back; face to face you see their front; flanks show
+-- profiles, named by which flank is toward you
+T.eq(FirstPerson.apparentFacing("down", 108, 300), "up",
+  "an NPC facing south, seen from the north, shows their back")
+T.eq(FirstPerson.apparentFacing("up", 108, 300), "down",
+  "an NPC facing north, seen from the north, shows their face")
+T.eq(FirstPerson.apparentFacing("right", 108, 300), "left",
+  "an NPC facing east, seen from the north, shows their left flank")
+T.eq(FirstPerson.apparentFacing("left", 108, 300), "right",
+  "an NPC facing west, seen from the north, shows their right flank")
+
+-- another camera on the same seam -- the battle's placed shot -- and the
+-- cards stand down: blend still 1, but it is not our rig drawing
+local battleCam = { eye = { 0, 40, 120 }, focus = { 0, 8, 0 },
+                    fov = math.rad(30) }
+Voxel3D.camera = battleCam
+T.eq(FirstPerson.cardBlend(), 0,
+  "a battle camera on the seam turns no cards")
+T.check(not FirstPerson.hidePlayer(),
+  "and hides nobody")
+
+-- blend fully out: frame() clears only a camera that is still ours
+FirstPerson.blend = 0
+T.eq(FirstPerson.frame(me, 500, 600, 320, 288), nil,
+  "with the blend out, frame() answers nil and the orbit rules")
+T.eq(Voxel3D.camera, battleCam,
+  "without touching a camera some other pass placed")
+Voxel3D.camera = nil
+
+-- ------- the free walk's per-cell verdict
+--
+-- The same questions Collision asks a grid step, asked per cell the body
+-- overlaps -- through a map stub shaped like the engine's own.
+local blocked = FreeMove._blockedCell
+local stubMap = {
+  def = { tileset = "OVERWORLD" },
+  inBounds = function(self, x, y)
+    return x >= 0 and y >= 0 and x < 10 and y < 10
+  end,
+  isWalkableCell = function(self, x, y) return x ~= 3 end,
+  isWaterCell = function(self, x, y) return x == 3 and y == 3 end,
+  cellTile = function() return 0 end,
+}
+local p = { cellX = 5, cellY = 5, surfing = false }
+local state = { map = stubMap, entities = {} }
+
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 5, 5), nil, "the body's own cell never refuses it")
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 6, 5), nil, "an open neighbour admits it")
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 3, 5), "tile", "an unwalkable cell refuses it")
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, -1, 5), "bounds", "off the map is the edge's answer")
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 3, 3), "tile", "water refuses a walker")
+p.surfing = true
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 3, 3), nil, "and admits a surfer")
+p.surfing = false
+
+state.entities = { { cellX = 6, cellY = 5 } }
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 6, 5), "entity", "an occupied cell refuses the body")
+state.entities = { { cellX = 7, cellY = 5, targetX = 6, targetY = 5 } }
+T.eq(blocked(state, p, 6, 5), "entity",
+  "and so does one an NPC is mid-step into")
+
+-- the ladder's own state, put back the way the suite found it
+FirstPerson.blend = 0
+VoxelState.reset()
+end
+
 Pipelines.reset()
 run.release()
 

tests/fp_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the 1ST (first-person) rung -- the rig standing
+-- in the player's head, billboards yawing to face it, the sky meeting the
+-- horizon, the shadow box following the look, water seen from eye level,
+-- and an interior with its figures.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/fp_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/fpshots lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/fp")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[fp] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return love.event.quit()
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local FirstPerson = V.require("FirstPerson")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 0
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if FirstPerson.blend >= 1 and Voxel.ready
+         and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  -- Teleport to the nearest WALKABLE cell: a guessed coordinate inside a
+  -- building footprint buries the eye in the geometry, which is what the
+  -- first cut of every Pallet shot did.
+  local function place(mapId, x, y)
+    U.teleport(game, mapId, x, y, "down")
+    local ow = game.stack:top()
+    local map = ow and ow.map
+    if not map or map:isWalkableCell(x, y) then return end
+    for r = 1, 8 do
+      for dy = -r, r do
+        for dx = -r, r do
+          if math.max(math.abs(dx), math.abs(dy)) == r then
+            local cx, cy = x + dx, y + dy
+            if map:inBounds(cx, cy) and map:isWalkableCell(cx, cy) then
+              U.teleport(game, mapId, cx, cy, "down")
+              print(("[fp] (%d,%d) not walkable; standing at (%d,%d)")
+                    :format(x, y, cx, cy))
+              return
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- yaw is a world bearing: 0 south, pi/2 east, pi north, -pi/2 west
+  local SCENES = {
+    -- Pallet Town, mid-street: houses, the lab, NPCs -- the town seen
+    -- from inside it, in each compass direction plus a diagonal
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 13, y = 14, yaw = math.pi, label = "pallet_north" },
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 13, y = 14, yaw = 0, label = "pallet_south" },
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 9, y = 7, yaw = math.pi / 2, label = "pallet_east" },
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 9, y = 7, yaw = 3 * math.pi / 4,
+      label = "pallet_diag" },
+    -- the shoreline: water at eye level, which is where the battle pass
+    -- says a low placed camera reads the reflection wrong -- the shot
+    -- decides whether 1ST keeps it
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 9, y = 12, yaw = 0, label = "pallet_water" },
+    -- looking up: the sky's bands and the horizon line
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 13, y = 14, yaw = math.pi,
+      pitch = -math.rad(25), label = "pallet_skyward" },
+    -- and down: the ground, the feet-level shadow
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN", x = 13, y = 14, yaw = math.pi,
+      pitch = math.rad(45), label = "pallet_down" },
+    -- Route 1: grass rows and ledges from inside them
+    { map = "ROUTE_1", x = 10, y = 28, yaw = math.pi, label = "route1_north" },
+    -- an interior: the Center's counter, machines and couch figures
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 3, y = 5, yaw = math.pi,
+      label = "center_north" },
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 6, y = 4, yaw = -math.pi / 2,
+      label = "center_west" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    place(s.map, s.x, s.y)
+    Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", Voxel.FP_LEVEL)
+    Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+    settle()
+    FirstPerson.yaw = s.yaw
+    FirstPerson.pitch = s.pitch or FirstPerson.PITCH_DEFAULT
+    U.wait(20)
+    if U.shot(game, ("%s/%s.png"):format(ROOT, s.label)) then
+      shots = shots + 1
+    end
+  end
+
+  -- one mid-blend shot: step the ladder onto 1ST from 75 and catch the
+  -- dive halfway
+  place("PALLET_TOWN", 13, 14)
+  Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 5)
+  settle()
+  Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", Voxel.FP_LEVEL)
+  for _ = 1, 300 do
+    if FirstPerson.blend >= 0.5 then break end
+    U.wait(1)
+  end
+  if U.shot(game, ROOT .. "/blend_mid.png") then shots = shots + 1 end
+
+  -- ------- the free walk, exercised
+  --
+  -- Hold forward with the head yawed off-grid and confirm the player
+  -- GLIDES: the position moves along the look direction, lands off the
+  -- 16px grid (which no grid step can do), and the logical cell follows.
+  place("PALLET_TOWN", 13, 14)
+  Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", Voxel.FP_LEVEL)
+  settle()
+  local ow = game.stack:top()
+  local p = ow.player
+  FirstPerson.yaw = 3 * math.pi / 4       -- northeast, deliberately off-grid
+  FirstPerson.pitch = FirstPerson.PITCH_DEFAULT
+  local x0, y0, c0x, c0y = p.px, p.py, p.cellX, p.cellY
+  U.hold(game, "up", 90)
+  U.wait(5)
+  local moved = math.abs(p.px - x0) + math.abs(p.py - y0)
+  print(("[fp] walk: (%.1f,%.1f) cell(%d,%d) -> (%.1f,%.1f) cell(%d,%d)")
+        :format(x0, y0, c0x, c0y, p.px, p.py, p.cellX, p.cellY))
+  print(("[fp] walk moved %.1f px; off-grid: %s; diagonal: %s")
+        :format(moved,
+                tostring(p.px % 16 ~= 0 or p.py % 16 ~= 0),
+                tostring(math.abs(p.px - x0) > 8
+                         and math.abs(p.py - y0) > 8)))
+  if U.shot(game, ROOT .. "/walked.png") then shots = shots + 1 end
+
+  print(("[fp] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/heal_machine_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the Pokemon Center healing machines behind
+-- the counter, for the center_heal_machine voxelization.  The pair
+-- stands at cells (1,0):(2,1) and (6,0):(7,1) of every Center; the
+-- nurse aisle (row 2) is the row you can actually face them from, and
+-- the public floor south of the counter gives the wide view.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/heal_machine_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/healshots AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/healmachine")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[heal] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { x = 1, y = 2, face = "up",   label = "west_head" },
+    { x = 2, y = 2, face = "up",   label = "west_keyboard" },
+    { x = 3, y = 2, face = "left", label = "west_side" },
+    { x = 6, y = 2, face = "up",   label = "east_head" },
+    { x = 3, y = 4, face = "up",   label = "wide" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[heal] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[heal] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/house_furniture_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the house dining tables and stools, for the
+-- band-table + no-desk-part voxelization.  Every generic home places the
+-- table at cells (3,3):(4,4) with four stools around it (Blue's house has
+-- Daisy seated at hers); Red's and the Copycat's ground floors place the
+-- same furniture one cell lower, with the potted plant CUTOUT standing on
+-- the tabletop -- the standee the table template must support, not
+-- swallow.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/house_furniture_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/housefurn AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/housefurn")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[housefurn] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    -- head on: below Blue's table looking north over a stool at it,
+    -- Daisy seated at the left one
+    { map = "BLUES_HOUSE", x = 3, y = 5, face = "up", label = "blues_front" },
+    -- from the east, table and both east stools in profile
+    { map = "BLUES_HOUSE", x = 6, y = 3, face = "left", label = "blues_side" },
+    -- from the north wall looking south down over the tabletop
+    { map = "BLUES_HOUSE", x = 4, y = 2, face = "down", label = "blues_over" },
+    -- close beside a stool: seat top, legs and the gap between them
+    { map = "BLUES_HOUSE", x = 2, y = 5, face = "up", label = "stool_close" },
+    -- Red's table head on from the south: the plant cutout standing on
+    -- the modelled tabletop
+    { map = "REDS_HOUSE_1F", x = 4, y = 6, face = "up", label = "reds_front" },
+    -- and from the east along the stool row, plant in profile
+    { map = "REDS_HOUSE_1F", x = 6, y = 4, face = "left", label = "reds_side" },
+    -- the Fan Club's four members' chairs round the boardroom table:
+    -- from the south of the west pair, both stools stacked in profile
+    { map = "POKEMON_FAN_CLUB", x = 1, y = 5, face = "up",
+      label = "club_west_pair" },
+    -- across the table from the west, both pairs and the octagon between
+    { map = "POKEMON_FAN_CLUB", x = 0, y = 3, face = "right",
+      label = "club_across" },
+    -- close on the east pair from the north, looking down over the seats
+    { map = "POKEMON_FAN_CLUB", x = 6, y = 2, face = "down",
+      label = "club_over" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[housefurn] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[housefurn] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/mart_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of a Poke Mart's clerk counter, for the cash
+-- register voxelization.  The register is drawn at cell (1,5) of the 4x4
+-- shop layout every Mart shares, in the middle of the counter's east arm,
+-- so these are the three angles you can actually stand at: head-on from
+-- the aisle, side-on from the east, and over the counter's south arm.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/mart_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/register AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/register")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[mart] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { x = 1, y = 7, face = "up",   label = "aisle" },
+    { x = 2, y = 5, face = "left", label = "side" },
+    { x = 2, y = 6, face = "left", label = "over" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, "VIRIDIAN_MART", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[mart] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[mart] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/potted_plant_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the potted plants, for the plant standee
+-- voxelization.  Every Center places three side-by-side pairs on its
+-- bottom row -- crowns at cells (0,6)/(1,6), (6,6)/(7,6), (12,6)/(13,6),
+-- pots below at y=7 -- and INDIGO_PLATEAU_LOBBY (the MART tileset id,
+-- same atlas) lines four of them along its hall at cells (12,10)..(15,10).
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/potted_plant_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/plants AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/plants")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[plant] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    -- east of the left pair, looking west along the bottom row: both
+    -- plants in profile, crown overhang and pot silhouette side-on
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 3, y = 6, face = "left",
+      label = "pair_side" },
+    -- north of the left pair, looking south down over the crowns
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 1, y = 5, face = "down",
+      label = "pair_over" },
+    -- head on: standing below the middle pair looking north at it
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 6, y = 7, face = "up",
+      label = "pair_front" },
+    -- close up beside the east pair's pot
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 11, y = 7, face = "right",
+      label = "close" },
+    -- the Plateau lobby's row of four (MART tileset id), along the row
+    { map = "INDIGO_PLATEAU_LOBBY", x = 11, y = 10, face = "right",
+      label = "lobby_row" },
+    -- and head on from the hall below
+    { map = "INDIGO_PLATEAU_LOBBY", x = 13, y = 12, face = "up",
+      label = "lobby_front" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[plant] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[plant] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/roof_curve_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+-- Scratch driver: the Cerulean gym and the houses beside it, shot at
+-- several camera rungs with V-CURVE walked OFF..3, to see what the world
+-- bend does to a building's roof.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/roof_curve_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/roofcurve AB_TAG=before lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/roofcurve")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[roof] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+  local WorldCurve = V.require("WorldCurve")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(30)
+  end
+
+  -- the gym door is CERULEAN_CITY (30,19); the bike shop and the row of
+  -- houses along the west side give a second, smaller roof in frame
+  local SCENES = {
+    { map = "CERULEAN_CITY", x = 30, y = 20, face = "up",   label = "gym" },
+    { map = "CERULEAN_CITY", x = 27, y = 21, face = "up",   label = "gymwide" },
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN",   x = 5,  y = 6,  face = "up",   label = "house" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      for _, curve in ipairs({ 0, 3 }) do
+        U.teleport(game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+        Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+        Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+        WorldCurve.setting:setIndex(curve + 1, game)
+        settle()
+        local path = ("%s/%s_v%d_c%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung, curve)
+        game.capturePath = path
+        U.wait(8)
+        local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+        if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+        else print("[roof] capture missed: " .. path) end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[roof] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/roof_span_probe.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+-- Scratch probe: how long do a building model's merged quads get?
+--
+-- A quad's longest world-space edge is what decides how far its CHORD
+-- falls below the world curve's parabola, so this is the number that says
+-- whether the bend can crack the mesh open.
+--
+--   BUILD_MAP=CERULEAN_CITY POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/roof_span_probe.lua lovec .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local mapId = os.getenv("BUILD_MAP") or "CERULEAN_CITY"
+  U.teleport(game, mapId, tonumber(os.getenv("BUILD_X") or "30"),
+             tonumber(os.getenv("BUILD_Y") or "20"), "up")
+  U.wait(30)
+
+  local V = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  V = V and V.lib
+  local Structures = V and V.require("Structures")
+  local ow = game.overworld
+  if not (Structures and ow and ow.map) then
+    print("[span] mod or map unavailable")
+    love.event.quit()
+    return
+  end
+  local S = Structures.forMap(ow.map)
+  local hist, worst = {}, 0
+  for _, q in ipairs(S.objectQuads) do
+    local dx = math.max(q[1][1], q[2][1], q[3][1], q[4][1])
+             - math.min(q[1][1], q[2][1], q[3][1], q[4][1])
+    local dz = math.max(q[1][3], q[2][3], q[3][3], q[4][3])
+             - math.min(q[1][3], q[2][3], q[3][3], q[4][3])
+    local dy = math.max(q[1][2], q[2][2], q[3][2], q[4][2])
+             - math.min(q[1][2], q[2][2], q[3][2], q[4][2])
+    local span = math.max(dx, dz, dy)
+    local bucket = span <= 8 and "<=8" or (span <= 16 and "<=16"
+                  or (span <= 32 and "<=32" or (span <= 64 and "<=64" or ">64")))
+    bucket = bucket .. (q.own and " bld" or " prop")
+    hist[bucket] = (hist[bucket] or 0) + 1
+    if span > worst then worst = span end
+  end
+  print(("[span] %d object quads, longest edge %d px"):format(#S.objectQuads, worst))
+  for _, b in ipairs({ "<=8", "<=16", "<=32", "<=64", ">64" }) do
+    for _, kind in ipairs({ " bld", " prop" }) do
+      print(("[span]   %-10s %d"):format(b .. kind, hist[b .. kind] or 0))
+    end
+  end
+  love.event.quit()
+end

tests/round_regress_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+-- Scratch driver: one shot of every OTHER user of the round-hull builder
+-- (tree canopies, boulders, hedges, stumps, the Center planter), to check
+-- that the `can` class's base cut is the identity it is supposed to be for
+-- everything that does not ask for it.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/round_regress_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/round AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/round")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then return end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_FOREST", x = 16, y = 20, face = "up",   label = "forest" },
+    { map = "PEWTER_GYM",      x = 4,  y = 10, face = "up",   label = "boulders" },
+    { map = "CELADON_GYM",     x = 4,  y = 8,  face = "up",   label = "hedges" },
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_POKECENTER", x = 6, y = 5, face = "up", label = "planter" },
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN",     x = 5,  y = 8,  face = "up",   label = "trees" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    local ok = pcall(U.teleport, game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+    if ok then
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 5)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s.png"):format(ROOT, s.label)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[round] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    else
+      print("[round] teleport failed: " .. s.map)
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[round] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/shelf_relief_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the `bookcase` class across the tilesets that
+-- pin it, for the shelf-front relief.  Two of them are NOT shelves --
+-- the League's gate walls and the terraces on PLATEAU -- and are here as
+-- the control: their courses run edge to edge, so nothing should sink.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/shelf_relief_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/shelves AB_TAG=before lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/shelves")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "before")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[shelf] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { map = "OAKS_LAB",           x = 7, y = 2, face = "up", label = "dojo_lab" },
+    { map = "CELADON_MANSION_2F", x = 2, y = 4, face = "up", label = "mansion_2f" },
+    { map = "CELADON_MART_2F",    x = 5, y = 5, face = "up", label = "lobby_mart" },
+    { map = "MUSEUM_1F",          x = 2, y = 4, face = "up", label = "museum" },
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_MART",      x = 3, y = 5, face = "up", label = "mart" },
+    { map = "SS_ANNE_CAPTAINS_ROOM", x = 5, y = 2, face = "up", label = "ship" },
+    -- the controls, both of them tilesets that borrow the collapse for
+    -- something that is NOT a shelf and say so with `bookcase_relief =
+    -- false`: the League's masonry gate walls, and Bill's transporter
+    -- drums.  Nothing in either may move.
+    { map = "INDIGO_PLATEAU",     x = 2, y = 5, face = "up", label = "plateau" },
+    { map = "BILLS_HOUSE",        x = 2, y = 3, face = "up", label = "bills" },
+    -- the house shelves: pinned `desk`, NOT `bookcase`, so they go
+    -- through the world mesher's box fold and this relief never reaches
+    -- them.  Here to show the gap.
+    { map = "REDS_HOUSE_1F",      x = 1, y = 2, face = "up", label = "reds" },
+    { map = "BLUES_HOUSE",        x = 1, y = 2, face = "up", label = "blues" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    local ok = pcall(U.teleport, game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+    -- twice: the first load of the session has no mesh to settle against
+    pcall(U.teleport, game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+    if ok then
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 5)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s.png"):format(ROOT, s.label)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[shelf] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    else
+      print("[shelf] teleport failed: " .. s.map)
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[shelf] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/ship_can_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of the SS Anne's galley barrels, which are Lt.
+-- Surge's trash can redrawn on the ship atlas.  Three down the kitchen's
+-- east wall at cells (13,5)/(13,7)/(13,9), one in the captain's room at
+-- (4,1), and one each in the two ship-interior houses at (7,7).
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/ship_can_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/ssanne AB_TAG=after lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/ssanne")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[ship] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { map = "SS_ANNE_KITCHEN",       x = 12, y = 11, face = "up",    label = "galley_up" },
+    { map = "SS_ANNE_KITCHEN",       x = 12, y = 3,  face = "down",  label = "galley_down" },
+    { map = "SS_ANNE_KITCHEN",       x = 11, y = 7,  face = "right", label = "galley_side" },
+    { map = "SS_ANNE_CAPTAINS_ROOM", x = 4, y = 4,   face = "up",    label = "captain" },
+    { map = "CERULEAN_BADGE_HOUSE",  x = 6, y = 7,   face = "right", label = "house" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    local ok = pcall(U.teleport, game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face)
+    if ok then
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", 5)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s.png"):format(ROOT, s.label)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[ship] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    else
+      print("[ship] teleport failed: " .. s.map)
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[ship] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/trash_can_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+-- Scratch driver: shots of Vermilion Gym's trash cans, for the trash can
+-- voxelization.  The fifteen cans stand on odd cell columns 1..9 in cell
+-- rows 7, 9 and 11; the sixteenth is up at cell (6,1) beside the leader's
+-- platform.  Even columns are open floor, so the player can be parked
+-- between two cans and look along a row.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/trash_can_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/cans AB_TAG=before lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/cans")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "before")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[can] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync("day")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    -- head on into the middle of the field, cans left, right and ahead
+    { x = 4, y = 12, face = "up",    label = "field" },
+    -- close up: standing between two cans of the bottom row
+    { x = 2, y = 11, face = "left",  label = "close" },
+    -- along the row, so the cans line up in depth
+    { x = 4, y = 13, face = "up",    label = "row" },
+    -- from the north, looking back down over all three rows
+    { x = 4, y = 6,  face = "down",  label = "over" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 5 }) do
+      U.teleport(game, "VERMILION_GYM", s.x, s.y, s.face)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+      Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+      settle()
+      local path = ("%s/%s_v%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung)
+      game.capturePath = path
+      U.wait(6)
+      local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+      if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+      else print("[can] capture missed: " .. path) end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[can] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+end

tests/voxel_figure_test.lua

@@ -214,6 +214,172 @@ Structures.buildFigures(twice, map, 0, 3, 8, 11)
 T.eq(#twice.figures, 1,
   "the repaint replaces the pattern, so a rescan cannot match it again")
 
+-- ------- a figure with a DEPTH is an object, not a card
+--
+-- The Marts' cash register: the same authored-mask escape, but a machine
+-- set down on a counter is a box seen from the front rather than a
+-- face-on icon, so it builds as a per-pixel solid.  Driven over a
+-- synthetic copy of the counter's east arm, as all nine maps on the MART
+-- id draw it at cell (1,5):
+--
+--     y=9    16 41      the work surface north of it
+--     y=10   14 15      the register: keypad and receipt curl
+--     y=11   30 31
+--     y=12   16 41      the work surface it stands on
+
+T.check(TileShape.figures("POKECENTER")[1].depth == nil,
+  "the seated man states no depth -- he stays a flat sprite card")
+
+local regs = TileShape.figures("MART")
+T.check(type(regs) == "table" and #regs == 1,
+  "MART carries exactly one figure")
+local reg = regs[1]
+T.eq(reg.w, 2, "the register is two tiles across")
+T.eq(reg.h, 2, "and two tall")
+T.eq(reg.n, 150, "the mask claims 150 pixels of the 256 it spans")
+T.eq(reg.depth, 12, "its body is 12 voxels deep -- three quarters of the cell")
+T.check(reg.thin and reg.thin.rows == 4 and reg.thin.depth == 2,
+  "the four rows above its drawn top edge are 2-voxel paper")
+T.check(reg.flat and reg.flat.x0 == 2 and reg.flat.x1 == 8
+        and reg.flat.r0 == 4 and reg.flat.r1 == 11,
+  "and the keypad is a TOP-VIEW rect, not a face")
+
+local MART_ROWS = { [9] = { 16, 41 }, [10] = { 14, 15 },
+                    [11] = { 30, 31 }, [12] = { 16, 41 } }
+local martS = { shapeAt = {}, tileAt = {}, figures = {}, skip = {},
+                ground = {}, runs = {}, objectQuads = {} }
+for ty, row in pairs(MART_ROWS) do
+  for i, tile in ipairs(row) do
+    martS.tileAt[keyOf(1 + i, ty)] = tile
+    martS.shapeAt[keyOf(1 + i, ty)] = COUNTER
+  end
+end
+local martMap = {
+  tileset = { id = "MART", tilesPerRow = 16,
+              imageWidth = 128, imageHeight = 48 },
+  isWalkableCell = function() return false end,
+}
+Structures.buildFigures(martS, martMap, 2, 3, 9, 12)
+
+T.eq(#martS.figures, 0, "no card was built -- it is a solid")
+T.eq(#martS.objectQuads, 351,
+  "and it landed in the standee channel as 351 quads")
+T.eq(martS.tileAt[keyOf(2, 10)], 16,
+  "its tiles wear the plain work surface now")
+T.eq(martS.tileAt[keyOf(3, 11)], 41, "all four of them")
+T.eq(martS.shapeAt[keyOf(2, 10)].class, "counter",
+  "and keep the counter box the machine stands on")
+
+local rx0, rx1, ry0, ry1, rz0, rz1
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  for c = 1, 4 do
+    local p = q[c]
+    rx0 = math.min(rx0 or p[1], p[1]); rx1 = math.max(rx1 or p[1], p[1])
+    ry0 = math.min(ry0 or p[2], p[2]); ry1 = math.max(ry1 or p[2], p[2])
+    rz0 = math.min(rz0 or p[3], p[3]); rz1 = math.max(rz1 or p[3], p[3])
+  end
+end
+T.eq(ry0, 8, "it stands ON the counter's 8px top plane, not the floor")
+T.eq(ry1, 24, "and is its drawn 16px tall")
+T.eq(rx0, 18, "west edge at the mask's column 2")
+T.eq(rx1, 30, "east edge at column 13, inside its own cell (16..32)")
+T.eq(rz1, 96, "its FRONT is the cell's own front edge, where it is drawn")
+T.eq(rz0, 84, "and it grows north from there, 4 short of the cell's back")
+
+-- the two thicknesses: the body at 8, the receipt curl at 2, the curl
+-- centred in the body's own band rather than flush with its front
+local bands = {}
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  for c = 1, 4 do bands[q[c][3]] = true end
+end
+for _, z in ipairs({ 84, 89, 91, 96 }) do
+  T.check(bands[z], "the model has a face at z = " .. z)
+end
+local curl = {}
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  local lo = math.min(q[1][2], q[2][2], q[3][2], q[4][2])
+  if lo >= 21 then for c = 1, 4 do curl[q[c][3]] = true end end
+end
+T.check(curl[89] and curl[91] and not curl[84] and not curl[96],
+  "clear of the arm's top only the 2-voxel paper band exists")
+
+-- THE L.  The base band (drawn rows 12-15) stands 4 above the counter and
+-- the keypad lies on it as a horizontal plate, so the whole machine is
+-- exactly three surfaces: a foot, an arm, and a deck in the notch.
+local plate, deckTop = {}, 0
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  local flatQuad = q[1][2] == q[2][2] and q[2][2] == q[3][2]
+                   and q[3][2] == q[4][2]
+  if flatQuad and q[1][2] == 13 then
+    plate[#plate + 1] = q
+  elseif flatQuad and q[1][2] == 12 then
+    deckTop = deckTop + 1
+  end
+end
+T.eq(#plate, 83,
+  "the keypad lies FLAT: one top quad per masked voxel of the deck")
+T.eq(deckTop, 7,
+  "on the base band's own top, which is 4 voxels up (drawn rows 12-15)")
+local dz0, dz1
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  if q[1][2] == 12 and q[3][2] == 12 then
+    for c = 1, 4 do
+      dz0 = math.min(dz0 or q[c][3], q[c][3])
+      dz1 = math.max(dz1 or q[c][3], q[c][3])
+    end
+  end
+end
+T.eq(dz0, 84, "and that deck runs the body's whole depth")
+T.eq(dz1, 96, "-- plain behind the panel, covered by it in front")
+
+local px0, px1, pz0, pz1
+for _, q in ipairs(plate) do
+  for c = 1, 4 do
+    px0 = math.min(px0 or q[c][1], q[c][1]); px1 = math.max(px1 or q[c][1], q[c][1])
+    pz0 = math.min(pz0 or q[c][3], q[c][3]); pz1 = math.max(pz1 or q[c][3], q[c][3])
+  end
+end
+T.eq(px0, 18, "the deck spans the mask's columns 2..8")
+T.eq(px1, 25, "-- the keypad panel and its own black rim")
+T.eq(pz1, 96, "the deck reaches the body's front edge")
+T.eq(pz0, 84, "and its back -- 8 drawn rows STRETCHED over 12 voxels")
+
+-- the stretch is by whole voxels, centre-sampled: 8 drawn rows over 12
+-- voxels of deck doubles every second one and blurs nothing
+local perRow16, atlasH16 = 16, 48
+local depthRow = {}
+for _, q in ipairs(plate) do
+  local z = math.min(q[1][3], q[2][3], q[3][3], q[4][3])
+  depthRow[z] = math.floor(q.v * atlasH16)
+end
+local seen = {}
+for z = 84, 95 do
+  T.check(depthRow[z] ~= nil, "deck voxel at z = " .. z .. " wears a texel")
+  seen[depthRow[z]] = (seen[depthRow[z]] or 0) + 1
+end
+T.eq(depthRow[95], 11, "the front voxel wears the keypad's own bottom rim")
+T.eq(depthRow[84], 4, "the back one wears its top rim")
+local doubled = 0
+for _, n in pairs(seen) do
+  T.check(n == 1 or n == 2, "no drawn row spreads over more than two voxels")
+  if n == 2 then doubled = doubled + 1 end
+end
+T.eq(doubled, 4, "exactly four of the eight rows double -- 8 into 12")
+
+
+-- and the arm still stands its drawn 8 rows above that deck, carrying
+-- the paper: nothing in the notch reaches higher than the plate
+local armTop, notchTop = 0, 0
+for _, q in ipairs(martS.objectQuads) do
+  for c = 1, 4 do
+    if q[c][1] >= 25 then armTop = math.max(armTop, q[c][2])
+    elseif q[c][1] <= 24 then notchTop = math.max(notchTop, q[c][2]) end
+  end
+end
+T.eq(armTop, 24, "the arm and its receipt curl reach the drawn 16px")
+T.eq(notchTop, 23,
+  "and west of it only the keys (13) and the paper overhanging them")
+
 -- ------- prop_bg: the shades a pinned prop treats as background
 --
 -- The potted plants needed this: their pot's olive base is drawn flush on

tests/water_curve_shots.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+-- Scratch driver: water shot with V-CURVE walked OFF..3, to see what the
+-- world bend does to the reflective pass.
+--
+--   POKEPORT_DRIVER=mods/DramaticShapeVoxelMod/tests/water_curve_shots.lua \
+--   SHOT_DIR=.scratchpad/watercurve AB_TAG=before lovec.exe .
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local Pipelines = require("src.render.Pipelines")
+
+  local ROOT = (os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "shots/watercurve")
+    .. "/" .. (os.getenv("AB_TAG") or "after")
+
+  local handle = game.mods.exports["DRAMATIC_SHAPE"]
+  if not (handle and handle.lib) then
+    print("[water] DRAMATIC_SHAPE mod not loaded")
+    return
+  end
+  local V = handle.lib
+  local DayNight = V.require("DayNight")
+  local ChunkMesher = V.require("ChunkMesher")
+  local Voxel = V.require("VoxelState")
+  local WorldCurve = V.require("WorldCurve")
+  local Water = V.require("Water")
+  -- WATER_RUNG=sky drops the screen-space march and leaves the sky path, to
+  -- tell an artefact of the one from an artefact of the other
+  if os.getenv("WATER_RUNG") then Water.setting:sync(os.getenv("WATER_RUNG")) end
+
+  require("src.world.OverworldController").rollEncounter = function() return nil end
+  local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
+  TileRenderer.tick = function() end
+  TileRenderer.animFrame = function() return 0 end
+  DayNight.setting:sync(os.getenv("WATER_TIME") or "night")
+
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir -p "' .. ROOT .. '" 2>/dev/null')
+  pcall(os.execute, 'mkdir "' .. ROOT:gsub("/", "\\") .. '" 2>nul')
+
+  local Zoom = require("src.render.Zoom")
+  pcall(function()
+    game.save.options.zoom = 1
+    Zoom.applyOptions(game.save.options)
+  end)
+
+  local function settle()
+    for _ = 1, 900 do
+      if ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    for _ = 1, 300 do
+      if Voxel.t >= 1 and Voxel.ready and ChunkMesher.pending() == 0 then break end
+      U.wait(1)
+    end
+    U.wait(40)
+  end
+
+  -- Stand on the walkable cell just north of the widest run of water on the
+  -- map, so a scene is picked by where the water actually is rather than by
+  -- a coordinate guessed off the block list.
+  local TileShape = V.require("TileShape")
+  local function shore(map)
+    local def = map.def
+    local shapes = TileShape.forMap(map)
+    local function classAt(cx, cy)
+      local tx, ty = cx * 2, cy * 2
+      local s = TileShape.at(map, shapes, map:tileAt(tx, ty), tx, ty)
+      return s and s.class
+    end
+    local best, bestRun = nil, 0
+    for cy = 1, def.height * 2 - 1 do
+      local run, start = 0, nil
+      for cx = 0, def.width * 2 - 1 do
+        if classAt(cx, cy) == "water" then
+          start = start or cx
+          run = run + 1
+          if run > bestRun and classAt(cx, cy - 1) ~= "water" then
+            bestRun, best = run, { x = start + math.floor(run / 2), y = cy - 1 }
+          end
+        else
+          run, start = 0, nil
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    return best
+  end
+
+  local SCENES = {
+    { map = "PALLET_TOWN",     label = "pallet" },
+    { map = "CERULEAN_CITY",   label = "cerulean" },
+    { map = "VERMILION_CITY",  x = 18, y = 27, label = "vermilion" },
+    { map = "ROUTE_24",        label = "route24" },
+    { map = "VIRIDIAN_CITY",   label = "viridian" },
+  }
+
+  local shots = 0
+  for _, s in ipairs(SCENES) do
+    if not s.x then
+      -- teleport once so the map is loaded, then let the scan place us
+      U.teleport(game, s.map, 1, 1, "down")
+      U.wait(4)
+      local spot = game.overworld and game.overworld.map and shore(game.overworld.map)
+      if spot then s.x, s.y = spot.x, spot.y else s.x, s.y = 1, 1 end
+      print(("[water] %s shore at (%d,%d)"):format(s.label, s.x, s.y))
+    end
+    for _, rung in ipairs({ 3, 4 }) do
+      for _, curve in ipairs({ 0, 3 }) do
+        U.teleport(game, s.map, s.x, s.y, s.face or "down")
+        Pipelines.setLevel("voxel", rung)
+        Pipelines.setLevel("tiltshift", 0)
+        WorldCurve.setting:setIndex(curve + 1, game)
+        settle()
+        local path = ("%s/%s_v%d_c%d.png"):format(ROOT, s.label, rung, curve)
+        game.capturePath = path
+        U.wait(8)
+        local f = io.open(path, "rb")
+        if f then f:close() shots = shots + 1
+        else print("[water] capture missed: " .. path) end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  print(("[water] %d shots into %s"):format(shots, ROOT))
+  love.event.quit()
+end