graphics and stutters part 1

docs/new-features.md

@@ -68,19 +68,31 @@ Game Boy equivalent:
 
 ## Colors mode
 
-The `2` key (and the Options menu COLORS row) cycles the global shade-remap
-display mode through **GBC → OG → OG INV → GBC INV → CLASSIC → GBC**:
+The `2` key (and the Options menu COLORS row) cycles the display mode
+through **OG RED → SGB → RED++ → OG → OG INV → SGB INV → CLASSIC → OG RED**.
+The first three are the real colorizations; the rest are DMG-shade novelties:
 
-- **GBC** (default): current SGB / GBC zone palettes.
+- **OG RED**: the Game Boy Color boot-ROM look for Pokemon Red -- one global
+  red BG palette + one green OBJ palette, every map, no per-map variation
+  (Pokemon Red has no CGB code, so on a GBC the boot ROM colors it globally).
+  The player/NPCs stay green over the red terrain via the OBP bake +
+  post-zone redraw (`PaletteFX.GBC_BG` / `GBC_OBJ`).
+- **SGB** (default): the per-map Super Game Boy region palettes
+  (`data/sgb/sgb_palettes.asm`). Sprites tint with the region palette, as on
+  real SGB. (This is the mode formerly mislabeled "GBC".)
+- **RED++**: pokered-gbc SuperPalettes -- real per-tile GBC coloring plus
+  per-species mon colors (`data/palettes_gbc.lua`).
 - **OG**: force the four DMG grays (colorization off).
 - **OG INV**: inverted DMG grays.
-- **GBC INV**: each SGB zone palette with shade order reversed.
+- **SGB INV**: each SGB zone palette with shade order reversed.
 - **CLASSIC**: original Game Boy pea-soup greens
   (`#9BBC0F` / `#8BAC0F` / `#306230` / `#0F380F`).
 
-The transform is applied centrally in `PaletteFX.sendColors`, so it covers
-overworld, menus, battles, and tilt upright billboards. Persisted as
-`save.options.colors`.
+The shade-remap transform is applied centrally in `PaletteFX.sendColors`, so
+it covers overworld, menus, battles, and tilt upright billboards. OG RED's
+global BG palette is supplied by `OverworldState:overworldBgColors` (per-map
+override in the overworld pass). Persisted as `save.options.colors`; the
+`gbc` / `gbc_inv` save ids are kept for back-compat under the new labels.
 
 ## GBC FX
 
@@ -132,7 +144,8 @@ migrated once into `options.lua` on load.
 - Music / SFX volume
 - Music Filter
 - OG GLITCHES on / off (Gen 1 quirks vs. modern-clean battle rules)
-- COLORS (GBC / RED++ / OG / OG INV / GBC INV / CLASSIC),  also hotkey `2`
-  (RED++ uses pokered-gbc SuperPalettes + per-species mon colors)
+- COLORS (OG RED / SGB / RED++ / OG / OG INV / SGB INV / CLASSIC),  also
+  hotkey `2` (OG RED = GBC boot-ROM look; RED++ uses pokered-gbc
+  SuperPalettes + per-species mon colors)
 - TILT (OFF / 15 / 35 / 50),  also hotkey `3` while free-roaming
 - GBC FX (OFF / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4),  also hotkey `5`

src/battle/AnimPlayer.lua

@@ -144,6 +144,25 @@ function AnimPlayer.new(data)
   }, AnimPlayer)
 end
 
+-- Release the tilesheet images and quads this player built.  They live in
+-- per-instance caches (a fresh AnimPlayer is made per battle), so unlike a
+-- shared module cache they are dead the moment the battle ends -- freeing
+-- them here instead of waiting on a GC finalizer keeps grinding battles
+-- from piling orphaned VRAM up faster than the (Lua-heap-triggered) GC
+-- reclaims it.
+function AnimPlayer:release()
+  for _, img in pairs(self.images) do
+    if img and img.release then pcall(img.release, img) end
+  end
+  self.images = {}
+  for _, byTile in pairs(self.quads) do
+    for _, q in pairs(byTile) do
+      if q and q.release then pcall(q.release, q) end
+    end
+  end
+  self.quads = {}
+end
+
 function AnimPlayer:warnOnce(key, fmt, ...)
   if not self.warned[key] then
     self.warned[key] = true

src/battle/BattleState.lua

@@ -934,6 +934,20 @@ end
 -- (end_of_battle.asm clears wLowHealthAlarm when a battle ends)
 function BattleState:exit()
   require("src.core.Sound").stopLoop("Low_Health_Alarm")
+  -- Free this battle's own GPU objects now rather than waiting on a GC
+  -- finalizer: the two full-screen wavy-effect canvases (colorMode) and
+  -- the AnimPlayer's per-instance tilesheet images/quads.  The shared
+  -- module caches (imageCache/imagePadBottom, keyed by path+palette) are
+  -- reused by the next battle, so they are deliberately left alone -- only
+  -- the per-instance objects, which are dead once this battle is popped,
+  -- are released here.
+  local function rel(o) if o and o.release then pcall(o.release, o) end end
+  rel(self.bgCanvas); self.bgCanvas = nil
+  rel(self.waveCanvas); self.waveCanvas = nil
+  self.colorFxReady = nil
+  if self.animPlayer and self.animPlayer.release then
+    self.animPlayer:release()
+  end
 end
 
 -- An action the battler is locked into (bypasses the menu), or nil.
@@ -3551,12 +3565,28 @@ function BattleState:sgbBattlePals()
     if placeholder or not b then return pals.MEWMON or pals.GREENBAR end
     return PaletteFX.monPal(self.data, b.mon.species) or pals.MEWMON
   end
-  return {
+  local out = {
     [0] = bar(self.player),
     [1] = bar(self.enemy),
     [2] = mon(self.player, self.showPlayerBack or self.safari or self.demo),
     [3] = mon(self.enemy, self.showEnemyTrainer),
   }
+  -- OG RED: the Game Boy Color drew the whole battle from one BG palette --
+  -- white paper, black ink -- so every zone shares the same background and
+  -- outline; only the two mid shades differ per element (green HP bar, red
+  -- mon pic).  The bar/base zones otherwise carry the SGB off-white
+  -- (255,239,255) as color 0 while the mon zones (monPal -> GBC_BG) carry a
+  -- true white, which is what drew a white box around each pic on the pink
+  -- field.  Snap every zone's color 0/3 to the global GBC white/black; the
+  -- mid shades (and the green bar the user prefers) stay untouched.
+  if PaletteFX.mode == "ogred" then
+    local white, black = PaletteFX.GBC_BG[1], PaletteFX.GBC_BG[4]
+    for i = 0, 3 do
+      local c = out[i]
+      out[i] = { white, c[2], c[3], black }
+    end
+  end
+  return out
 end
 
 -- the SGB palette covering a screen pixel (BlkPacket_Battle regions)

src/core/ChipAudio.lua

@@ -708,14 +708,27 @@ local function soundData(engine, samples, channels)
   return result
 end
 
-local function fillMusic()
+-- Amortized queue fill.  The queue is deep (MUSIC_BUFFER_COUNT buffers, ~6s)
+-- for stall tolerance, but synthesizing all of it at once -- which is what a
+-- song change did -- renders ~6 seconds of Game Boy audio in a single frame:
+-- that was the map-switch stutter (a new map's theme starts a new song).  So
+-- cap how many buffers each fill renders.  Playback drains ~1 buffer every ~11
+-- frames while update() tops up a few per frame, so the deep queue still ramps
+-- to full within a fraction of a second and keeps its headroom -- it just gets
+-- there gradually instead of all on the frame the song starts.
+local MUSIC_FILL_INITIAL = 4  -- buffers rendered when a song first starts
+local MUSIC_FILL_PER_CALL = 3 -- buffers rendered per update()/recovery tick
+
+local function fillMusic(limit)
   local music = currentMusic
   if not music or music.engine:finished() then return end
+  limit = limit or MUSIC_FILL_PER_CALL
   local free = music.source:getFreeBufferCount()
-  while free > 0 and not music.engine:finished() do
+  while free > 0 and limit > 0 and not music.engine:finished() do
     music.source:queue(soundData(
       music.engine, MUSIC_BUFFER_SAMPLES, 2))
     free = free - 1
+    limit = limit - 1
   end
 end
 
@@ -728,7 +741,9 @@ function ChipAudio.playMusic(data, header, allowLoops)
   if not ok then return nil, source end
   ChipAudio.stopMusic()
   currentMusic = { source = source, engine = engine }
-  fillMusic()
+  -- only a small starting cushion here; update() ramps the deep queue to full
+  -- over the next frames so the song-start frame never renders the whole queue
+  fillMusic(MUSIC_FILL_INITIAL)
   source:play()
   return source
 end
@@ -741,7 +756,7 @@ function ChipAudio.ensureMusicPlaying()
   if not music or music.engine:finished() then return end
   local ok, playing = pcall(music.source.isPlaying, music.source)
   if ok and not playing then
-    fillMusic()
+    fillMusic(MUSIC_FILL_INITIAL)
     pcall(music.source.play, music.source)
   end
 end

src/core/Game.lua

@@ -194,6 +194,13 @@ function Game:update(dt)
   -- frame dt (not the fixed logic step) for a smooth ~0.25s glide.
   require("src.render.Tilt").update(dt)
   pcall(function() require("src.core.DiscordPresence").update(dt) end)
+  -- Steady-state memory backstop: advance the incremental collector one
+  -- small step every rendered frame.  The heavy GPU objects are now freed
+  -- explicitly (map eviction, battle exit, canvas/renderer swaps), so this
+  -- only has to keep ordinary Lua-heap garbage (per-frame tables/closures)
+  -- from drifting upward over a long session, and to spread collection out
+  -- so the default lazy schedule never batches it into a visible pause.
+  if collectgarbage then collectgarbage("step", 1) end
 end
 
 -- render.zones' identity default: unhooked, the zone list reaches the blit

src/render/PaletteFX.lua

@@ -15,11 +15,16 @@ local PaletteFX = {}
 local shader -- false = unavailable (headless / no shader support)
 local gbcPack -- false = missing; nil = not loaded yet
 
--- Cycle order matches OptionsMenu / hotkey 2
-PaletteFX.MODES = { "gbc", "redpp", "og", "og_inv", "gbc_inv", "classic" }
+-- Cycle order matches OptionsMenu / hotkey 2.  The three real colorizations
+-- come first (OG RED = GBC hardware, SGB = per-map Super Game Boy, RED++ =
+-- pokered-gbc per-tile), then the DMG-shade novelty modes.
+PaletteFX.MODES = { "ogred", "gbc", "redpp", "og", "og_inv", "gbc_inv", "classic" }
+-- `gbc`/`gbc_inv` keep their save-value ids for back-compat; their LABELS are
+-- "SGB"/"SGB INV" because that is what the mode actually is (the old "GBC"
+-- label was a misnomer -- it never was the real Game Boy Color palette).
 PaletteFX.MODE_LABELS = {
-  gbc = "GBC", redpp = "RED++", og = "OG", og_inv = "OG INV",
-  gbc_inv = "GBC INV", classic = "CLASSIC",
+  ogred = "OG RED", gbc = "SGB", redpp = "RED++", og = "OG",
+  og_inv = "OG INV", gbc_inv = "SGB INV", classic = "CLASSIC",
 }
 PaletteFX.mode = "gbc"
 
@@ -28,6 +33,20 @@ PaletteFX.CLASSIC = {
   { 155, 188, 15 }, { 139, 172, 15 }, { 48, 98, 48 }, { 15, 56, 15 },
 }
 
+-- OG RED: the Game Boy Color boot-ROM auto-palette for Pokemon Red.  Pokemon
+-- Red ships no CGB code (pokered's wOnCGB is hardwired 0), so on a Game Boy
+-- Color the boot ROM colorizes it with ONE global palette pair -- a red
+-- background and green objects -- applied to the whole game with no per-map
+-- variation (that variety was the Super Game Boy's doing, i.e. SGB mode).
+-- Lightest shade first, matching the SGB palette tables.  Values verified
+-- against hardware captures of Pallet Town and Oak's Lab.
+PaletteFX.GBC_BG = {
+  { 255, 255, 255 }, { 255, 132, 132 }, { 148, 58, 58 }, { 0, 0, 0 },
+}
+PaletteFX.GBC_OBJ = {
+  { 255, 255, 255 }, { 123, 255, 49 }, { 0, 132, 0 }, { 0, 0, 0 },
+}
+
 local INV_MAP = { [0] = 3, [1] = 2, [2] = 1, [3] = 0 }
 
 function PaletteFX.shader()
@@ -141,16 +160,18 @@ function PaletteFX.usesGbcPack(mode)
   return mode == "redpp"
 end
 
--- Per-object overworld sprite coloring (ColorOverworldSprite) applies in
--- plain GBC mode too, not only under the RED++ pack: without it the
--- whole-map zone shader paints characters with whatever two mid shades
--- the terrain palette defines.  RED++ handles sprites through the baked
--- usesGbcPack() path in SpriteRenderer; this names the modes where the
--- OBP bake plus the post-zone redraw (below) stand in for real OBJ
--- palettes over a shader-colorized background.
+-- Whether the active mode bakes a per-OBJ palette onto overworld sprites
+-- (the OBP bake + post-zone redraw path).  ONLY OG RED does: it wears the
+-- GBC boot-ROM green object palette (PaletteFX.GBC_OBJ) so the player and
+-- NPCs stay green over the red background, exactly like Pokemon Red on a
+-- Game Boy Color.  SGB mode deliberately does NOT: an SGB OBJ carries no
+-- palette of its own, so the characters tint with the whole-map region
+-- palette along with the terrain (the Super Game Boy never colored Pokemon
+-- Red's sprites separately -- baking a per-sprite palette there was the
+-- "reds coloring on the player/NPCs" bug).  RED++ colors sprites through
+-- the usesGbcPack() path in SpriteRenderer instead.
 function PaletteFX.usesSpriteObp(mode)
-  mode = mode or PaletteFX.mode
-  return mode == "gbc"
+  return (mode or PaletteFX.mode) == "ogred"
 end
 
 -- ------- post-zone sprite redraw (GBC mode)
@@ -201,7 +222,13 @@ end
 
 -- named palette from the active pack (nil on stale builds / missing name).
 -- RED++ falls back to the ROM pack for names the gbc table omits (rare).
+-- OG RED short-circuits EVERY name to the one global GBC boot-ROM BG palette
+-- (the hardware had a single BGP for the whole game), so terrain zones,
+-- battle HP bars / text, and menu boxes all come out red -- everything a
+-- background tile drew.  Objects do not come through here (they bake
+-- GBC_OBJ green), so this stays a BG-only hook.
 function PaletteFX.pal(data, name)
+  if PaletteFX.mode == "ogred" then return PaletteFX.GBC_BG end
   local p = PaletteFX.pack(data)
   local c = p and p.palettes[name]
   if c then return c end
@@ -217,6 +244,11 @@ end
 -- Transformed mon's pic is tinted gray, not the copied species' own
 -- SGB color).  RED++ uses per-species pals from mon_palettes.asm.
 function PaletteFX.monPal(data, species, transformed)
+  -- OG RED: a battle mon pic is a BG tile on the Game Boy Color (drawn into
+  -- the tilemap, colored by BGP), so it wears the global red BG palette, not
+  -- a per-species one -- matching the hardware capture where both mons are
+  -- red/pink on the white field.
+  if PaletteFX.mode == "ogred" then return PaletteFX.GBC_BG end
   local p = PaletteFX.pack(data)
   if not p then return nil end
   if transformed then

src/render/Renderer.lua

@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ function Renderer:beginWorldPass()
   local vw, vh = self:worldViewSize()
   if not self.worldCanvas or self.worldCanvas:getWidth() ~= vw
      or self.worldCanvas:getHeight() ~= vh then
+    -- free the old canvas before replacing it: a zoom/tilt tween changes
+    -- the view size every frame, so without this the superseded canvases
+    -- pile up in VRAM until a GC finalizer happens to run
+    if self.worldCanvas and self.worldCanvas.release then self.worldCanvas:release() end
     self.worldCanvas = love.graphics.newCanvas(vw, vh)
     self.worldCanvas:setFilter("nearest", "nearest")
   end
@@ -107,6 +111,7 @@ function Renderer:beginUprightPass()
   local cw, ch = vw + 2 * M, vh + 2 * M
   if not self.uprightCanvas or self.uprightCanvas:getWidth() ~= cw
      or self.uprightCanvas:getHeight() ~= ch then
+    if self.uprightCanvas and self.uprightCanvas.release then self.uprightCanvas:release() end
     self.uprightCanvas = love.graphics.newCanvas(cw, ch)
     self.uprightCanvas:setFilter("nearest", "nearest")
   end
@@ -200,6 +205,7 @@ function Renderer:drawTiltedWorld(zoneList, s, wox, woy, target)
   -- 2x for extra crispness.
   if not self.tiltCanvas or self.tiltCanvas:getWidth() ~= wvw
      or self.tiltCanvas:getHeight() ~= wvh then
+    if self.tiltCanvas and self.tiltCanvas.release then self.tiltCanvas:release() end
     self.tiltCanvas = love.graphics.newCanvas(wvw, wvh)
     self.tiltCanvas:setFilter("linear", "linear")
   end

src/render/SpriteRenderer.lua

@@ -114,15 +114,13 @@ function SpriteRenderer:draw(px, py, camX, camY, facing, walkPhase, stepFlip)
       image = getObpImage(self.def.image, colors, group)
     end
   elseif PaletteFX.usesSpriteObp() and PaletteFX.spriteRedrawPassActive() then
-    -- plain GBC: the terrain zone shader still runs over the world canvas,
-    -- so the baked sprite is also queued for a post-zone redraw
-    -- (PaletteFX.markSpriteRedraw) that restores its own OBP colors on top
-    local colors, group = PaletteFX.spriteObp(self.def, self.seed)
-    if colors then
-      image = getObpImage(self.def.image, colors, group)
+    -- OG RED (GBC boot-ROM look): every OBJ wears the one global green
+    -- object palette.  The red BG zone shader still runs over the world
+    -- canvas, so the baked sprite is queued for a post-zone redraw
+    -- (PaletteFX.markSpriteRedraw) that restores its green pixels on top.
+    image = getObpImage(self.def.image, PaletteFX.GBC_OBJ, "gbcobj")
     redraw = true
   end
-  end
   -- single-frame sprites (item balls, fossils...) have one fixed pose;
   -- still 3-frame sprites turn to face (the nurse at her machine,
   -- facePlayer on STAY NPCs) but never show walk frames

src/render/TileRenderer.lua

@@ -90,8 +90,8 @@ function TileRenderer.setSpinning(active)
 end
 
 -- true while the spinner arrow tiles should show the 'blur' graphic; false
--- means draw nothing extra (the static mapBatch/ringBatch tile shows
--- through, matching the asm's restore-to-original behavior). The 8-tick
+-- means draw nothing extra (the static window tile shows through,
+-- matching the asm's restore-to-original behavior). The 8-tick
 -- half-period approximates one GB movement step (2px/frame); this is a
 -- deliberate approximation of wSimulatedJoypadStatesIndex bit-0 parity, not
 -- a cycle-accurate replication -- the port's tweened scriptMove has no
@@ -426,22 +426,24 @@ function TileRenderer.new(map, data)
   end
 
   local def = map.def
-  local wB, hB = def.width, def.height
-  -- two batches: the border-block ring around the map, and the map body.
-  -- Connected-map strips draw body-only on top of this map's ring.
-  local total = (wB + 2 * BORDER_BLOCKS) * (hB + 2 * BORDER_BLOCKS) * 16
-  self.ringBatch = love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(self.image, total, "static")
-  self.mapBatch = love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(self.image, wB * hB * 16, "static")
-  -- animated tiles overdraw the static batches each frame.  Entry order
-  -- decides which one claims a tile listed twice, so the vanilla defaults
-  -- keep the old water-then-flower-then-spinner precedence.
+  -- The map body measured in 8px tiles (each block is 4x4 tiles).  The tile
+  -- layer is drawn windowed to the camera (see :ensureWindow) instead of
+  -- baked into a whole-map SpriteBatch, so a map becoming visible -- a warp,
+  -- a connection seam -- costs nothing to "build": there is no per-map batch
+  -- construction that scales with map size, which is what stuttered.
+  self.bodyTilesW = def.width * 4
+  self.bodyTilesH = def.height * 4
+  -- Animated tiles overdraw the static window each frame.  Only the per-entry
+  -- render spec (textures/sequence/gate) is kept here; the animated cells are
+  -- gathered per camera window in :ensureWindow, so nothing here scales with
+  -- map size either.  Entry order decides which entry claims a tile listed
+  -- twice (the vanilla water-then-flower-then-spinner precedence).
   local anims, claimedBy = {}, {}
   local declared = map.tileset.animatedTiles
                    or TileRenderer.defaultAnimatedTiles(map.tileset)
   for _, spec in ipairs(declared) do
     local anim = buildAnim(spec, map.tileset.image, perRow, self.quads, gbcCtx)
     if anim then
-      anim.cells = {}
       anims[#anims + 1] = anim
       for _, tile in ipairs(anim.tiles) do
         if claimedBy[tile] == nil then claimedBy[tile] = anim end
@@ -460,66 +462,9 @@ function TileRenderer.new(map, data)
       aliasMap[al.block] = cells
     end
   end
-
-  for by = -BORDER_BLOCKS, hB + BORDER_BLOCKS - 1 do
-    for bx = -BORDER_BLOCKS, wB + BORDER_BLOCKS - 1 do
-      local inside = bx >= 0 and by >= 0 and bx < wB and by < hB
-      local batch = inside and self.mapBatch or self.ringBatch
-      -- beyond-edge ring cells use the same override drawBorderFill does,
-      -- so the ring and the far background fill agree (OVERWORLD maps
-      -- whose raw border_block is water still ring with the tree wall)
-      local blockId = inside and map:blockAt(bx, by) or borderBlockFor(map)
-      local block = map.tileset.blocks[blockId + 1]
-      if not block then
-        -- a tileset without the tree-wall block keeps its own border
-        blockId = map:blockAt(bx, by)
-        block = map.tileset.blocks[blockId + 1]
-      end
-      local remap = aliasMap and aliasMap[blockId]
-      for ty = 0, 3 do
-        for tx = 0, 3 do
-          local ci = ty * 4 + tx
-          local tile = block[ci + 1]
-          if remap and remap[ci] then tile = remap[ci] end
-          local quad = self.quads[tile]
-          if quad then
-            batch:add(quad, bx * 32 + tx * 8, by * 32 + ty * 8)
-          end
-          local anim = claimedBy[tile]
-          if anim then
-            local cells = anim.cells
-            cells[#cells + 1] = { bx * 32 + tx * 8, by * 32 + ty * 8, inside, tile }
-          end
-        end
-      end
-    end
-  end
-
-  -- animated overdraw batches: the full set (ring + body) for the
-  -- current map, and a body-only set for connected-map drawing --
-  -- a neighbor's water ring must never overdraw this map's tiles.
-  -- `quadFor`, when given, looks up a per-entry quad (used by toggle
-  -- entries, whose texture is a full tileset-atlas clone rather than a
-  -- single-tile image like the hshift/frames variants).
-  local function animBatches(entries, image, quadFor)
-    if #entries == 0 then return nil, nil end
-    local all = love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(image, #entries, "static")
-    local body
-    for _, c in ipairs(entries) do
-      if quadFor then all:add(quadFor(c[4]), c[1], c[2]) else all:add(c[1], c[2]) end
-      if c[3] then
-        body = body or love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(image, #entries, "static")
-        if quadFor then body:add(quadFor(c[4]), c[1], c[2]) else body:add(c[1], c[2]) end
-      end
-    end
-    return all, body
-  end
-  for _, anim in ipairs(anims) do
-    anim.batch, anim.bodyBatch =
-      animBatches(anim.cells, anim.textures[1], anim.quadFor)
-    anim.cells = nil
-  end
+  self.aliasMap = aliasMap
   self.anims = anims
+  self.claimedBy = claimedBy
 
   -- a repeating 32x32 image of the border block, tiled behind
   -- everything the 3-block ring doesn't cover (the survey zoom sees
@@ -554,8 +499,16 @@ function TileRenderer:drawBorderFill(camX, camY, vw, vh)
   if not self.borderFill then return end
   if self.trueColor then PaletteFX.markTrueColor(0, 0, vw, vh) end
   local x, y = math.floor(camX), math.floor(camY)
-  local quad = love.graphics.newQuad(x, y, vw, vh, 32, 32)
-  love.graphics.draw(self.borderFill, quad, 0, 0)
+  -- one reused Quad per renderer, mutated in place: this runs every
+  -- overworld frame, so allocating a fresh Quad here churned the GC
+  local q = self.borderQuad
+  if q then
+    q:setViewport(x, y, vw, vh, 32, 32)
+  else
+    q = love.graphics.newQuad(x, y, vw, vh, 32, 32)
+    self.borderQuad = q
+  end
+  love.graphics.draw(self.borderFill, q, 0, 0)
 end
 
 -- GB OBJ-to-BG priority: sprites show through BG color 0 and hide under
@@ -616,19 +569,98 @@ function TileRenderer:markCellBottomRedraw(cx, cy, camX, camY, colors)
   end
 end
 
--- animated overdraw at the current step; bodyOnly skips the ring
--- positions (connected maps draw body-only)
-function TileRenderer:drawAnimated(camX, camY, bodyOnly)
+-- Window cover for the static tile layer.  Refill the reusable window batch
+-- (and the per-entry animated batches) only when the camera has scrolled past
+-- what they already cover; a small margin keeps small scrolls free.  Cost
+-- scales with the view, never the map -- crossing a seam or warping in builds
+-- nothing.  The beyond-body area (what the old 3-block ring drew) is painted
+-- by :drawBorderFill, whose world-aligned border-block tiling is identical
+-- there, so only body tiles are gathered here.
+local WINDOW_MARGIN = 8 -- tiles of slack kept around the view between refills
+
+function TileRenderer:ensureWindow(camX, camY, vw, vh)
+  local W, H = self.bodyTilesW, self.bodyTilesH
+  vw = vw or W * 8 -- a nil view (headless draw) means the whole body
+  vh = vh or H * 8
+  -- visible body-tile range (8px tiles), clamped to the map body
+  local tx0 = math.min(W, math.max(0, math.floor(camX / 8)))
+  local ty0 = math.min(H, math.max(0, math.floor(camY / 8)))
+  local tx1 = math.max(0, math.min(W, math.floor((camX + vw) / 8) + 1))
+  local ty1 = math.max(0, math.min(H, math.floor((camY + vh) / 8) + 1))
+  local win = self.win
+  if win and tx0 >= win.tx0 and ty0 >= win.ty0
+     and tx1 <= win.tx1 and ty1 <= win.ty1 then
+    return -- still inside the last fill
+  end
+  -- refill with margin so the next few scrolled pixels stay covered
+  tx0 = math.max(0, tx0 - WINDOW_MARGIN)
+  ty0 = math.max(0, ty0 - WINDOW_MARGIN)
+  tx1 = math.min(W, tx1 + WINDOW_MARGIN)
+  ty1 = math.min(H, ty1 + WINDOW_MARGIN)
+  if not self.winBatch then
+    self.winBatch = love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(self.image, 1024, "dynamic")
+  end
+  self.winBatch:clear()
+  local anims = self.anims
+  for _, anim in ipairs(anims) do
+    if not anim.batch then
+      anim.batch = love.graphics.newSpriteBatch(anim.textures[1], 256, "dynamic")
+    end
+    anim.batch:clear()
+  end
+  local map, quads = self.map, self.quads
+  local claimedBy, aliasMap = self.claimedBy, self.aliasMap
+  for ty = ty0, ty1 - 1 do
+    local by = math.floor(ty / 4)
+    local ty4 = ty % 4
+    for tx = tx0, tx1 - 1 do
+      local blockId = map:blockAt(math.floor(tx / 4), by)
+      local block = map.tileset.blocks[blockId + 1]
+      if block then
+        local ci = ty4 * 4 + (tx % 4)
+        local tile = block[ci + 1]
+        local remap = aliasMap and aliasMap[blockId]
+        if remap and remap[ci] then tile = remap[ci] end
+        local wx, wy = tx * 8, ty * 8
+        local quad = quads[tile]
+        if quad then self.winBatch:add(quad, wx, wy) end
+        local anim = claimedBy[tile]
+        if anim then
+          if anim.quadFor then
+            anim.batch:add(anim.quadFor(tile), wx, wy)
+          else
+            anim.batch:add(wx, wy)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  self.win = { tx0 = tx0, ty0 = ty0, tx1 = tx1, ty1 = ty1 }
+end
+
+-- draw the static tile window, then its animated overdraw, at the camera offset
+function TileRenderer:drawWindow(camX, camY, vw, vh)
+  self:ensureWindow(camX, camY, vw, vh)
+  if self.winBatch then
+    love.graphics.draw(self.winBatch, -math.floor(camX), -math.floor(camY))
+  end
+  self:drawAnimated(camX, camY)
+end
+
+-- animated overdraw at the current step, over the static window batch.  The
+-- cells were gathered for the current camera window by :ensureWindow, so this
+-- only ever touches on-screen animated tiles.
+function TileRenderer:drawAnimated(camX, camY)
   local anims = self.anims
   if not anims then return end
   local x, y = -math.floor(camX), -math.floor(camY)
   for _, anim in ipairs(anims) do
-    local batch = bodyOnly and anim.bodyBatch or anim.batch
+    local batch = anim.batch
     if batch then
       if anim.gate then
         -- a gated entry has only the two frames the asm has (patch /
         -- restore-to-static); when the gate is shut draw nothing so the
-        -- already-static mapBatch/ringBatch tile shows through unchanged
+        -- already-static window tile shows through unchanged
         if gateOpen(anim.gate) then love.graphics.draw(batch, x, y) end
       else
         local step = math.floor(animFrame / anim.period) % #anim.sequence + 1
@@ -649,30 +681,68 @@ function TileRenderer:markTrueColor(camX, camY, blocks)
                           (def.height + 2 * blocks) * 32)
 end
 
-function TileRenderer:draw(camX, camY)
+function TileRenderer:draw(camX, camY, vw, vh)
   if self.trueColor then self:markTrueColor(camX, camY, BORDER_BLOCKS) end
-  love.graphics.draw(self.ringBatch, -math.floor(camX), -math.floor(camY))
-  love.graphics.draw(self.mapBatch, -math.floor(camX), -math.floor(camY))
-  self:drawAnimated(camX, camY)
+  self:drawWindow(camX, camY, vw, vh)
 end
 
--- body only, for connected-map strips
-function TileRenderer:drawMapOnly(camX, camY)
+-- body only, for connected-map strips.  Identical to :draw now that the
+-- border ring is served by :drawBorderFill for the current map too -- the
+-- only remaining difference is the trueColor mark extent.
+function TileRenderer:drawMapOnly(camX, camY, vw, vh)
   if self.trueColor then self:markTrueColor(camX, camY, 0) end
-  love.graphics.draw(self.mapBatch, -math.floor(camX), -math.floor(camY))
-  self:drawAnimated(camX, camY, true)
+  self:drawWindow(camX, camY, vw, vh)
 end
 
--- rebuild after a block change (Cut trees)
+local function safeRelease(o)
+  if o and o.release then pcall(o.release, o) end
+end
+
+-- Release only the GPU objects this instance built and uniquely owns: the
+-- two SpriteBatches, the border-fill image and its quad, the per-tile
+-- quads, and the animated-overdraw batches.  Deliberately leaves the
+-- tileset atlas (self.image, shared through Assets/imageCache) and the
+-- animation textures (shared module caches) alone -- other maps still use
+-- them.  Used by :rebuild before it swaps in fresh batches, and by
+-- :release on eviction.
+function TileRenderer:releaseBatches()
+  safeRelease(self.winBatch); self.winBatch = nil
+  safeRelease(self.borderFill); self.borderFill = nil
+  safeRelease(self.borderQuad); self.borderQuad = nil
+  self.win = nil
+  if self.quads then
+    for _, q in pairs(self.quads) do safeRelease(q) end
+    self.quads = nil
+  end
+  if self.anims then
+    for _, a in ipairs(self.anims) do
+      safeRelease(a.batch); a.batch = nil
+      -- a.textures are shared, module-cached: never released here
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+-- Full teardown for eviction (MapLoader.evict): the owned batches, plus
+-- the RED++ per-map recolored atlas, which -- unlike the plain tileset
+-- atlas -- is unique to this map (gbcAtlasCache is keyed by map id).
+function TileRenderer:release()
+  self:releaseBatches()
+  if self.gbcAtlas and self.image then
+    local key = self.map.tileset.image .. "#gbc:" .. self.map.id
+    if gbcAtlasCache[key] == self.image then gbcAtlasCache[key] = nil end
+    safeRelease(self.image)
+    self.image = nil
+    self.gbcAtlas = nil
+  end
+  self.anims = nil
+end
+
+-- rebuild after a block change (Cut trees, card-key doors).  The tile layer
+-- is read live from the map on every window fill, so a block swap only needs
+-- the cached window dropped -- the next draw re-reads the changed blocks.  No
+-- SpriteBatch is reconstructed; that is the whole point of the windowed draw.
 function TileRenderer:rebuild()
-  local fresh = TileRenderer.new(self.map, self.data)
-  self.image = fresh.image
-  self.gbcAtlas = fresh.gbcAtlas
-  self.quads = fresh.quads
-  self.ringBatch = fresh.ringBatch
-  self.mapBatch = fresh.mapBatch
-  self.anims = fresh.anims
-  self.borderFill = fresh.borderFill
+  self.win = nil
 end
 
 -- drop every atlas and every derived animation texture so the next

src/world/MapLoader.lua

@@ -2,6 +2,13 @@
 -- data, cached by map id.  The cache is keyed so a mod that patches one
 -- map record after boot (or the dev-mode hot reload) can drop just that
 -- entry instead of every map's SpriteBatches.
+--
+-- The resident set is trimmed LRU (trim) so exploring a large world never
+-- holds every visited map's GPU objects at once.  Maps are built on demand
+-- and cheaply: a map's tile layer draws windowed to the camera (see
+-- TileRenderer), so there is no per-map batch to construct up front and thus
+-- nothing to stream -- OverworldState:rebuildNeighbors just loads each
+-- neighbor directly.
 
 local Assets = require("src.render.Assets")
 local Map = require("src.world.Map")
@@ -10,9 +17,20 @@ local TileRenderer = require("src.render.TileRenderer")
 local MapLoader = {}
 
 local cache = {}
+-- mapId -> monotonic access stamp, for LRU eviction
+local lru = {}
+local accessSeq = 0
+-- max map renderers kept resident.  Comfortably above the largest
+-- current+neighbor set (~15 in dense overworld), so protected maps are
+-- never the ones evicted; this only caps the lingering trail behind you.
+local RESIDENT_CAP = 32
 
-function MapLoader.load(data, mapId)
-  if cache[mapId] then return cache[mapId] end
+local function touch(mapId)
+  accessSeq = accessSeq + 1
+  lru[mapId] = accessSeq
+end
+
+local function build(data, mapId)
   local def = data.maps[mapId]
   assert(def, "unknown map: " .. tostring(mapId) ..
          " (not in the maps registry)")
@@ -25,26 +43,75 @@ function MapLoader.load(data, mapId)
   local map = Map.new(def, tilesetDef)
   map.renderer = TileRenderer.new(map, data)
   cache[mapId] = map
+  touch(mapId)
   return map
 end
 
+function MapLoader.load(data, mapId)
+  local m = cache[mapId]
+  if m then touch(mapId); return m end
+  return build(data, mapId)
+end
+
 -- the live instance for a map id, or nil when it has not been loaded;
 -- callers that must not build a map (invalidation, tests) use this
 function MapLoader.cached(mapId)
-  return cache[mapId]
+  local m = cache[mapId]
+  if m then touch(mapId) end
+  return m
+end
+
+-- evict one resident map, releasing its renderer's GPU objects.  Callers
+-- must ensure the map is not the current map and not drawn as a connected
+-- strip (nothing live may hold its renderer) -- MapLoader.trim guarantees
+-- this via its `protected` set.
+function MapLoader.evict(mapId)
+  local m = cache[mapId]
+  if not m then return false end
+  cache[mapId] = nil
+  lru[mapId] = nil
+  local r = m.renderer
+  if r and r.release then pcall(r.release, r) end
+  return true
+end
+
+-- keep the resident renderer set bounded.  `protected` (mapId -> true) is
+-- never evicted (the current map and everything drawn as a connected
+-- strip); the rest is trimmed least-recently-used down to RESIDENT_CAP.
+function MapLoader.trim(protected)
+  local n = 0
+  for _ in pairs(cache) do n = n + 1 end
+  if n <= RESIDENT_CAP then return end
+  local ids = {}
+  for id in pairs(cache) do
+    if not (protected and protected[id]) then ids[#ids + 1] = id end
+  end
+  table.sort(ids, function(a, b) return (lru[a] or 0) < (lru[b] or 0) end)
+  local over = n - RESIDENT_CAP
+  for _, id in ipairs(ids) do
+    if over <= 0 then break end
+    MapLoader.evict(id)
+    over = over - 1
+  end
 end
 
 -- drop one map so the next load re-reads its record and rebuilds its
--- renderer.  Callers holding the old instance keep it -- OverworldState
--- re-points self.map itself (WorldAPI:invalidateMap).
+-- renderer.  Deliberately does NOT release the old renderer: callers
+-- holding the old instance keep drawing it until they re-point themselves
+-- (OverworldState re-points self.map / self.neighbors via setMap /
+-- rebuildNeighbors), so releasing here would free a batch still in use.
+-- The orphaned instance is reclaimed by GC; MapLoader.evict is the path
+-- that releases eagerly, and it only runs on maps nothing live holds.
 function MapLoader.invalidate(mapId)
   local had = cache[mapId] ~= nil
   cache[mapId] = nil
+  lru[mapId] = nil
   return had
 end
 
 function MapLoader.invalidateAll()
   cache = {}
+  lru = {}
 end
 
 -- kept as the pre-v2 name

src/world/OverworldController.lua

@@ -357,20 +357,32 @@ end
 -- widened to everything the current view size can show so a full
 -- zoom-out never runs past the rendered set.  Re-run whenever the view
 -- grows (zoom/resize), not only on setMap.
+--
+-- Neighbors are built eagerly here.  A TileRenderer is now a light object --
+-- the tile layer draws windowed to the camera, so nothing per-map is
+-- constructed up front (see TileRenderer) -- so there is no build cost to
+-- amortize and no prefetch race to lose at a seam.  That is what the old
+-- one-per-frame streaming queue existed to hide, and it is gone.
 function OverworldState:rebuildNeighbors()
   local mapId = self.map.id
   self.neighbors = {}
   local hops = FieldDefaults.world(Game.data, "neighborHops") or NEIGHBOR_HOPS
   local vw, vh = Game.renderer:worldViewSize()
   self.neighborViewW, self.neighborViewH = vw, vh
+  -- resident set the eviction pass must never touch: the current map plus
+  -- every drawn neighbor
+  local keep = { [mapId] = true }
   for _, n in ipairs(OverworldState.computeNeighbors(Game.data.maps, mapId,
                                                      hops,
                                                      math.floor(vw / 2) + 64,
                                                      math.floor(vh / 2) + 64)) do
-    table.insert(self.neighbors,
-                 { map = MapLoader.load(Game.data, n.id),
-                   ox = n.ox, oy = n.oy })
+    keep[n.id] = true
+    local m = MapLoader.load(Game.data, n.id)
+    table.insert(self.neighbors, { map = m, ox = n.ox, oy = n.oy })
   end
+  -- bound resident memory: drop maps behind us that are neither current nor
+  -- a drawn neighbor, releasing their window batch / border image / atlas
+  MapLoader.trim(keep)
 
   -- visual-only NPCs on connected maps (survey zoom): same spawn filter
   -- as a real map entry, but they never join self.entities -- no sight
@@ -434,7 +446,9 @@ function OverworldState:paletteNameFor(map)
   return Runtime.call("map.palette", samePalette, name, map)
 end
 
--- UI-pass palette (text boxes and menus tint with the current map)
+-- UI-pass palette (text boxes and menus tint with the current map).  OG RED
+-- resolves every name to the one global red BG palette inside PaletteFX.pal,
+-- so this needs no mode-specific branch.
 function OverworldState:sgbPalettes()
   local PaletteFX = require("src.render.PaletteFX")
   return PaletteFX.wholeNamed(Game.data, self:paletteNameFor(self.map))
@@ -3346,9 +3360,9 @@ function OverworldState:drawWorld()
   -- reorder (no draws), so they run once for both paths.
   local tilt = Tilt.active()
   self.map.renderer:drawBorderFill(cam.x, bgY, vw, vh)
-  self.map.renderer:draw(cam.x, bgY)
+  self.map.renderer:draw(cam.x, bgY, vw, vh)
   for _, nb in ipairs(self.neighbors) do
-    nb.map.renderer:drawMapOnly(cam.x - nb.ox, bgY - nb.oy)
+    nb.map.renderer:drawMapOnly(cam.x - nb.ox, bgY - nb.oy, vw, vh)
   end
   -- per-billboard SGB palette source; only needed (and only paid for) when
   -- tilting.  nil headless / on stale palettes -> billboards go uncolorized.
@@ -3492,11 +3506,21 @@ function OverworldState:drawWorld()
       end)
       -- EXCLAMATION_BUBBLE is index 0 -> first crop; the emote command
       -- picks question/happy crops instead
-      local rect = bubble.bubbles and bubble.bubbles[self.emote.bubble or 1]
+      local bi = self.emote.bubble or 1
+      local rect = bubble.bubbles and bubble.bubbles[bi]
       if ok and img and rect then
         love.graphics.setColor(1, 1, 1, 1)
-        love.graphics.draw(img, love.graphics.newQuad(rect.x, rect.y,
-                           rect.w, rect.h, img:getDimensions()), ex, ey)
+        -- one Quad per bubble crop, cached: this draws every frame the "!"
+        -- (or the emote-command crops) is up, so a fresh Quad here churned
+        -- the GC.  The bubble set is small and fixed, so the cache is bounded.
+        self.emoteQuads = self.emoteQuads or {}
+        local q = self.emoteQuads[bi]
+        if not q then
+          q = love.graphics.newQuad(rect.x, rect.y, rect.w, rect.h,
+                                    img:getDimensions())
+          self.emoteQuads[bi] = q
+        end
+        love.graphics.draw(img, q, ex, ey)
         drawn = true
       end
     end

tests/drivers/ogred_battle_test.lua

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+-- Visual test: SQUIRTLE (player) vs BULBASAUR (enemy) in OG RED, to match
+-- the Game Boy Color hardware capture.  Run with a display:
+--
+--   SHOT_DIR=/tmp/ogred POKEPORT_IDENTITY=pokeport-ogred-shot \
+--     POKEPORT_DRIVER=tests/drivers/ogred_battle_test.lua love .
+--
+-- Captures ogred_0{1..5}_*.png into SHOT_DIR.  OG RED is a global palette:
+-- red BG (terrain, mon pics, HUD, text) + green OBJ (overworld characters,
+-- battle effects).  Battle mon pics are BG tiles, so they come out red/pink
+-- on the near-white field -- see PaletteFX.GBC_BG / monPal.
+return function(game)
+  local U = dofile("tests/drivers/util.lua")
+  local DIR = os.getenv("SHOT_DIR") or "."
+  local PaletteFX = require("src.render.PaletteFX")
+
+  -- Set the SAVED option, not just the live mode: Game:applyOptions re-reads
+  -- save.options.colors, so a bare setMode would get reverted to the default.
+  game.save.options = game.save.options or {}
+  game.save.options.colors = "ogred"
+  PaletteFX.setMode("ogred")
+
+  local Pokemon = require("src.pokemon.Pokemon")
+  game.save.party = { Pokemon.new(game.data, "SQUIRTLE", 5) }
+
+  U.teleport(game, "ROUTE_1", 5, 5, "down")
+  local ow = game.overworld
+
+  local BattleState = require("src.battle.BattleState")
+  local battle = BattleState.newWild(game, "BULBASAUR", 5)
+  battle.onFinish = function() end
+  ow:pushBattle(battle)
+
+  U.wait(220)
+  U.shot(game, DIR .. "/ogred_01_intro.png")
+
+  for _ = 1, 24 do U.tap(game, "a"); U.wait(6) end
+  U.shot(game, DIR .. "/ogred_02_menu.png")
+
+  U.tap(game, "a"); U.wait(12)            -- FIGHT -> move list
+  U.shot(game, DIR .. "/ogred_03_moves.png")
+
+  U.tap(game, "down"); U.wait(6)          -- TACKLE -> TAIL WHIP
+  U.tap(game, "a"); U.wait(30)
+  U.shot(game, DIR .. "/ogred_04_tailwhip.png")
+  U.wait(40)
+  U.shot(game, DIR .. "/ogred_05_after.png")
+  U.wait(4)
+end

tests/love_stub.lua

@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ stub.graphics = {
   newSpriteBatch = function(image, size)
     local batch = { image = image, sprites = {} }
     function batch:add(quad, x, y) table.insert(self.sprites, { quad, x, y }) end
+    function batch:clear() self.sprites = {} end
+    function batch:setTexture(tex) self.texture = tex end
     return batch
   end,
   draw = noop, rectangle = noop, setColor = noop, clear = noop,

tests/mod_graphics_tests.lua

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ love.graphics = {
   newSpriteBatch = function(image, size)
     local batch = { image = image, sprites = {} }
     function batch:add(quad, x, y) table.insert(self.sprites, { quad, x, y }) end
+    function batch:clear() self.sprites = {} end
     function batch:setTexture(tex) self.texture = tex end
     return batch
   end,
@@ -287,6 +288,8 @@ local renderer = TileRenderer.new(map)
 check(#renderer.anims == 1, "a declared animatedTiles entry builds one anim")
 check(renderer.anims[1].period == 12, "the declared period is honored")
 check(#renderer.anims[1].textures == 3, "the declared frame images load")
+-- the camera-window fill gathers the on-screen animated cells into anims[].batch
+renderer:draw(0, 0)
 check(renderer.anims[1].batch ~= nil, "the animated tile collected cells")
 
 -- the vanilla water cycle, driven through the same data path: eight
@@ -307,6 +310,8 @@ local sea = TileRenderer.new({
 check(#sea.anims == 1, "an OVERWORLD tileset animates its water with no record edit")
 check(#sea.anims[1].textures == 8, "the water entry builds 8 shifted variants")
 
+-- fill the camera window so the water cells are gathered into the batch
+sea:draw(0, 0)
 local seen = {}
 for step = 1, 8 do
   sea:drawAnimated(0, 0)