guts/docs/LANES/ROUND2_INSTRUCTIONS.md

GUTS — Round 2 lane instructions (from Fable, integrator)

⚡ MID-ROUND STATUS (F, 2026-07-16 evening) — read this first if you are resuming

All round-2 sessions were cut off 15:08–15:16 before NOTES or commits. F triaged, verified and committed the orphaned work per lane (f0982e7 A · 4ed3433 B · 2e85ec0 C — read your commit message, it is the NOTES you never got to write), then landed the wiring B was cut off in the middle of. The tree is GREEN and L2 now plays start-to-finish: every spawn resolves, all three hazards run, pickups collect, checkpoint→death→respawn works, gate emits level:complete {stats, par}. Proof: f-progress + laneF shots.

What F landed that touches your lane (F commit, post-2e85ec0):

• B: your round-2 #1–#5 are DONE in skeleton — resolve + theta-arrays/spread (combat/index.js), hazards+pickups wired, player.kill/shove/refill added, respawn/level:complete glue in boot. Your crestSpeed fallback guard is deleted (A landed the law). STILL YOURS: re-measure surf economy in-engine (#6), hazard feel + your proposed pickup values vs C's economy, arena 6DOF stretch, NOTES.
• A: nothing of yours changed. STILL YOURS: stomach-arena shape read for C (#7), biome-tint re-eyeball vs D's textures (#4 second half), NOTES. [A, later 2026-07-16: all three done — lane A's round-2 list is closed. Tints stand, wall shader retuned for the colorspace law (see LANE_A_NOTES §Round 2); shape read + sketch in NOTES §→ Lane C; harness moved to web/dev/laneA_world.html per ruling #5. Only round-3 items remain for A.] **[A, later still — went past the list; read LANE_A_NOTES §Round 2 part 3 before resuming: C — the swept room + acid sea are FLYABLE (?lvl=swept), and acid.height turns out to be a one-number dial for how much of the sea is survivable. Your shape decision is now a look-at, not a read. D — all six biomes are textured (A generated oral+colon on MODELBEAST, $0, your pipeline, yours to ratify or bin), and 4 of 6 walls had provenance recording a prompt that never shipped — fixed + gated, please check the call. B — nothing of yours moved; world.acid.depthAt() is a hook awaiting your coat rules. F — four rulings requested (§→ Lane F), incl. qa.sh gate 5b and a pinch-metric change that moves quoted numbers (L2 3.32→4.16, L3 1.91→6.99, same geometry, measured correctly).]
• C: pump semantics settled: events fire ONCE per run, respawn does NOT rewind the pump, hazards re-arm via combat.reset(fromS). boot.step(dt) now exists — your fly-through validation (#1) is unblocked and can run deterministically. STILL YOURS: fly it, pickup economy → B (B proposed placeholder values in balance.js §pickups), L1 design doc (#5), GDD boss folding (#4), NOTES.
• D/E: no round-2 files reached the tree before the cut. Your lists below stand unchanged. E: the level:complete payload for your medal card is live and verified.
• Ports: the cut sessions left sinks running — 8143 (→laneF shots) and 8144 (→laneA). Reuse them or pick a fresh port.

Everything below is the original round-2 brief and still stands except where this box says F already did it.

Date: 2026-07-16 · Written after reviewing all four round-1 lanes (A/B/C/D — E did not run and joins this round) and integrating their offered wiring. Every round-1 claim I checked held up: A's hash cefc4f83 and 8-draw sweep, B's node --check ESM no-op (reproduced on a deliberately broken file), C's 3/3 selfcheck, D's manifest. Superb round, all of you.

Repo state (F integrated, commit this round)

The game is a game now. Default boot = A's world on C's L2_esophagus with D's textures, B's ENDO-1 + camera + combat, level-event pump live. Verified by stepped simulation (60 sim seconds, deterministic dt): flow carried the player to s=777, checkpoints + pickups fired, 9 draws / 52–61k tris, zero console errors, zero asset misses. Evidence: docs/shots/laneF/round1_integrated_s777.png.

F landed since round 1: B/C/D snippets in boot.js (assets → world, player/combat wiring, ?stub=1&lvl= composing, event pump) · qa.sh ESM gate fixed (it had never checked anything — thank you B) + A's spline selfcheck gate · TECH: world contract frozen v1.1, bus events ratified, asset entry points ratified, colorspace + crest-speed laws · stub: crestSpeed(), CREST factor, colorspace fix. Second dev server config guts-f on 8141 (8140 was held by another session — lanes: if 8140 is busy, use your own port and say so).

The ONE integration gap found (and it was predicted)

Stepped sim confirmed: all 11 L2 spawn events no-op with [combat] unknown enemy type "bolus_chunk"/"eosinophil_swarm"/"candida_bloom". C's fiction-id → archetype resolve (LANE_C_NOTES → Lane B #1) is the single blocker between "it boots" and "it's a game with enemies". B: it is your first task.

Integrator rulings (settled — argue in NOTES for round 3 if you must)

1. Surf: CREST_FACTOR = 1.6. B proved crest speed == flow makes surfing strictly worse than throttle (LANE_B_NOTES §surf). Ruling: crestSpeed(s) = 1.6 × flow(s) (beats throttleMax 1.4), A implements k(s) = OMEGA/(1.6·flow), B speed-locks to world.crestSpeed(s) while riding, gameplay wave == visual wave stays law. Stub already complies — B can build now. C re-runs pacing (pars will compress; the finale's escape math changes deliberately — surfing becomes the stylish escape).
2. Colorspace law (TECH §Shader law): every custom shader ends main() with #include <colorspace_fragment>. Stub done. A (wall), B (emissive) apply this round — expect a visible shift; A re-eyeballs biome tints against D's textures after.
3. Texture naming: D renames keys to A's biome ids early in the round and pings in NOTES; A deletes the slug map after pulling. That order, one round, done.
4. level:event pump is boot's (F). Landed. B: when you build respawn, tell F what reset/replay API the pump needs (### → Lane F), don't work around it.
5. web/dev/ ratified as the shared dev-harness dir, per-file lane ownership, never shipped. D's texview stays. A: world/dev.html may move there or die, your call. D's pipeline/shot_sink.py is the house evidence tool — all lanes: python3 pipeline/shot_sink.py --dir docs/shots/lane<x> --port 8143 (NOT 8140/8141), then POST the canvas. DBG.shot()'s download silently no-ops in the pane (A was right).
6. WebP shots ratified (B's 25 KB vs 1.9 MB argument). PNG also fine. Name the round.
7. C's GDD refinements + boss specs: signed off. C folds the three boss one-pagers into GDD.md proper. Per-level pars stand. A/D treat boss specs as stable input.
8. A's uv simplification (one uv attr + uTile uniform, no uv2): ratified, contract-level. C's arena semantics + A's per-segment wave override request: approved — C specs segments[].wave: { amp } into schema v2, A implements waveMaxAt preferring it.

Round-2 goal

L2 esophagus, playable start to finish, textured, scored, survivable and losable — every spawn live, all three hazards real, checkpoints/death/respawn, gate → level:complete, HUD + audio on top. Tag v0.2. (Round-3 preview: arenas — L1 tutorial + L3 acid sea + the Pyloric Guardian.)

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Lane A — contract v1.2 + the look, deepened

1. crestSpeed(s) + CREST_FACTOR 1.6 (ruling #1) — small, unblocks B, do first.
2. Answer C's biggest dependency (LANE_C_NOTES → A #4): segment radius blending. C assumes a smooth ~40–60u taper at joins (12→9 at s 1100, 10→6.8 at 2600). Confirm or implement; a hard step reads as a level seam and breaks the constrictions.
3. Per-segment wave override (ruling #8) — the hiatus should be tight AND calm.
4. Colorspace one-liner in the wall shader (ruling #2), then re-eyeball all six biome tints with D's textures; adjust biomes.js freely (C's selfcheck re-checks live, as designed).
5. TBN normal maps — lift D's perturb() from web/dev/laneD_texview.html (their NOTES has the exact GLSL and the trap: never add tangent-space normals to vertex normals). Wire _b variants + matcap. This is the round's visual headline; D called it "the single biggest visual win" and their shots agree.
6. sample(s, out) out-param variant (v1.2) — B adopts on landing.
7. Stomach-arena shape read for C (→ C #5): propose capsule/lobed/chained-spheres, one paragraph + sketch, before C authors the acid sea in round 3. Triplanar arena shells if time (the pole-pinch fix) — acid plane can wait for round 3 with the L3 work. Defer: villi band (no L4 level yet).

Lane B — make L2 a game (priority order is the order)

1. C's three consumption fixes (LANE_C_NOTES → B #1–3, exact snippets provided): getEnemy() resolve, theta arrays, spread. Verify against the live L2: sim to s=800 and the console warns must be gone, bolus/eosinophil/candida all spawning.
2. The three L2 hazards (params in levels/enemies.js HAZARDS): reflux_surge (rear chaser; emit hazard:proximity {kind,distance} — C's most important UI dependency), aortic_squeeze (directional — one-sided by design, keep contact non-lethal or tell C), ring_gate (timeable point gate). Emit hazard:warn {kind,s,eta} from each event's warn field.
3. Checkpoint / death / respawn (≤30 s law). Define the pump reset API with F (ruling #4). Respawn never inside a hazard zone (C placed checkpoints accordingly — keep it true).
4. Pickups: nutrient, mucin, B12, antacid ammo, biopsy samples (pickup events are in L2 already; economy numbers from C via NOTES if you need more than levels/enemies.js).
5. Gate → level:complete {stats} with score/time/samples for E's medal card.
6. Surf speed-lock on world.crestSpeed(s) (stub has it now; A lands theirs early). Re-measure: riding a crest must beat throttle-mashing by a margin worth learning.
7. Colorspace in emissive.js (your own finding) — then re-shoot round1_combat's hostile amber and confirm it reads amber.
8. Stretch only: arena 6DOF controller (round 3 needs it for L1/L3). Your tuning.js header still cites the stale wallRho numbers (C flagged) — fix the comment.

Lane C — validate with a real canal

1. Fly L2 on the integrated build once B's #1 lands (mid-round — watch B's NOTES). Use F's stepped-sim technique (f-progress documents it) or the browser; replace sim numbers with observed ones. The hiatus (s 2600–3000) is the thing to validate; your open question #4 (MIN_CLEARANCE 2.5) gets its answer here, alongside John's playtest.
2. Re-run pacing under CREST 1.6 surf (ruling #1): pars, the finale escape math, and whether antacid-stalling is still the smart play. Adjust par values with rationale.
3. Schema v2: segments[].wave override (approved) — spec it, re-author the hiatus calm (amp ~0.6), selfcheck it.
4. Fold boss specs into GDD.md (signed off, ruling #7).
5. L1 encounter design on paper (molar crush-cycles, saliva tides, epiglottis exam) — full authoring waits for B's arena controller in round 3, but the design doc and the skeleton→full upgrade plan land now.
6. Give B the pickup economy (counts/values) as data or NOTES — B's #4 consumes it.

Lane D — heroes and the full pack

1. Slug rename first (ruling #3): wall_small_intestine_a etc., manifest + batch JSONs, ping A in NOTES same session.
2. Hero meshes, the round-2 headline: ENDO-1 ship, bolus_chunk, eosinophil_swarm — concepts via flux_local (ART_BIBLE stems + C's tints in levels/enemies.js) → concepts into docs/shots/laneD/ + NOTES for F/C sign-off BEFORE any TRELLIS run → sf3d draft → trellis_mac → normalize (port normalize.py + glb_stat.py from PROCITY — the GLB law is unenforced until they exist) → thumbs → manifest. candida_bloom as a decal/sprite sheet (your call, ratified — C agreed).
3. Colon + mouth walls (2 each) + acid/decal sprites — completes the biome texture set.
4. Full audio pack: E must hand you their key list by mid-round (E's #5); if it hasn't arrived, propose the keys yourself in NOTES and E adapts. Beds for all six biomes, sfx (torpedo, gate, alarm, checkpoint, death/respawn, UI ticks), 3 boss stingers, ≤10 MB law.
5. Tapeworm stays a round-3 fal.ai candidate — do NOT spend on it yet; if concepts are ready early, put it on FAL_LIST.md with the concept attached for John's go.

Lane E — you have a full house waiting (round-1 charter + these specifics)

Read your charter + the → Lane E sections in B/C/D/A NOTES — all four wrote APIs for you.

1. HUD from player:state + combat:state (emitted every frame, live now): coat/hull, heat, throttle/speed/flow, boost cd, score/combo. Bus-only, no imports from B.
2. Gut-map v1 (the signature): listLevels()/getLevel() in levels/index.js give you names/lengths/pars; L2 has 7 named segments + 10 checkpoints authored for exactly this.
3. Rear-proximity indicator for hazard:proximity + telegraph pings for hazard:warn — C calls this the single most important UI request (the surge chases from behind).
4. Title (over ?fly=1-style drift) · pause · medal card on level:complete (par data in the level) · death/respawn feed-drop. Damage = feed corruption, never red vignette.
5. Audio engine: D's pack via assets.audioUrl/audio (keys + gain law in LANE_D_NOTES → Lane E), procedural fallback beeps (?localassets=0 must make noise), bed crossfade on biomeAt, heartbeat tempo → danger scalar (define it from bus events, document mapping). Hand D your round-3 key wishlist by mid-round (D's #4).
6. Respect ?shots=1/?mute=1; every screen screenshotted into docs/shots/laneE/.

Lane F (me) — done this round: the integration above. On-call for contract questions;

end of round: boot matrix, v0.2 tag, ROUND3.

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🎮 John's playtest checklist (the things no agent can measure)

Open http://localhost:8140/?dbg=1 (or 8141) in a real browser and just play:

1. The fps number in the bottom-left overlay (we can only prove draws/tris; rAF is paused in our tooling — every lane flagged this honestly).
2. Feel — B set bank.gain, cam.discFollow, aim.lag by reasoning, not play. Say "banking feels heavy/floaty/right" in any form; B will translate.
3. The hiatus (s 2600–3000, once B's hazards land): thrilling or miserable? This decides C's clearance floor.
4. Dart readability when a turret volley passes the camera (B suspects too dominant).
5. Audio ear-check of D's pack (spectrograms pass; ears are yours).