# acdream — strategic roadmap

**Status:** Living document. Updated 2026-05-02 for Phase M network-stack conformance planning.
**Purpose:** One source of truth for where the project is and where it's going. Every observed defect or missing feature has a named phase that owns it; when something looks wrong in-game, look here to find the phase that'll address it. Implementation details live in per-phase specs under `docs/superpowers/specs/`, not in this file.

---

## Phases already shipped

| Phase | What landed | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terrain rendering, plugin host scaffold | Visual ✓ |
| 2a | Static stabs/buildings (126 entities) | Visual ✓ |
| 2b | Textured 3×3 landblock grid + FlyCamera + IGameState | Visual ✓ |
| 2c | Procedural scenery (419 trees/rocks/bushes) | Visual ✓ |
| 2d | Interior EnvCell walker (475 static interior objects) | Visual ✓ |
| 3a/3b | Directional sun lighting + per-vertex terrain normals | Visual ✓ |
| 3c | Per-cell terrain texture blending (alpha atlas) | Visual ✓ |
| 4 | Full UDP codec + handshake + character login + WorldSession | Live ✓ |
| 5 | ObjDesc: AnimPartChange + TextureChanges + SubPalettes + ObjScale + Placement.Resting | Live ✓ |
| 6.1 | Idle motion frame resolution (MotionResolver MVP) | Live ✓ |
| 6.2 | Server-sent `MovementData` stance + forward command honored | Live ✓ |
| 6.3 | Server-supplied `MotionTableId` override (fixes drudge statue) | Live ✓ |
| 6.4 | Per-frame animation playback (breathing, idle cycles) | Live ✓ |
| 6.5 | Slerp between keyframes for smooth animation | Live ✓ |
| 6.6 | `UpdateMotion` (0xF74C) parser + dispatch to animation tick | Live ✓ |
| 6.7 | `UpdatePosition` (0xF748) parser + position reseating | Live ✓ |
| 7.1 | EnvCell room geometry — walls/floors/ceilings via CellStruct + Environment dats | Visual ✓ |
| 9.1 | Translucent render pass (AlphaBlend / Additive / InvAlpha + per-kind blend funcs) | Visual ✓ |
| 9.2 | Back-face culling in translucent pass (fixes lifestone crystal) | Visual ✓ |
| A.1 | Streaming landblock loader — runtime-configurable visible window (default 5×5, `ACDREAM_STREAM_RADIUS`), camera-centered offline / player-centered live, hysteresis-based unloads, pending-spawn list for late CreateObject events | Live ✓ |
| A.2 | Frustum culling — per-landblock AABB test (Gribb-Hartmann), terrain + static-mesh renderers skip culled landblocks, perf overlay in window title | Visual ✓ |
| A.3 | Background net receive thread — dedicated daemon thread buffers UDP into Channel, render thread drains | Visual ✓ |
| B.3 | Physics MVP resolver foundation — terrain contact, CellSurface prototype, streaming-populated collision inputs, and first `PhysicsEngine` resolver path. Not the complete retail collision system. | Tests ✓ |
| B.2 | Player movement mode — Tab-toggled WASD ground walking, walk/run/idle animations, third-person chase camera, MoveToState + AutonomousPosition outbound, portal entry. Outdoor-only MVP. | Live ✓ |
| D.1 | 2D ortho overlay + font rendering (StbTrueTypeSharp atlas + TextRenderer + DebugOverlay) | Visual ✓ |
| E.1 | Motion-hook expansion — AnimationSequencer fires all 27 hook types per crossed frame; PosFrames root motion + vel/omega exposure; IAnimationHookSink + AnimationHookRouter fan-out | Tests ✓ |
| E.2 | Audio engine — OpenAL 16-voice 3D pool with retail-faithful quieter-slot eviction, SoundTable cookbook (probability-weighted variant picking), Wave PCM decoder, AudioHookSink wiring | Tests ✓ |
| E.3 | Particle system (data layer) — ParticleSystem with 13 motion integrators, EmitterDescRegistry, ParticleHookSink wiring all CreateParticle / DestroyParticle / StopParticle hooks | Tests ✓ |
| E.4 | Combat notifications + outbound — AttackTargetRequest (0x0008), 7 combat notification parsers (Victim/Defender/Attacker/Evasion/AttackDone/UpdateHealth), CombatState per-entity health tracker | Tests ✓ |
| E.5 | Spell cast wire — CastSpellRequest targeted (0x004A) + untargeted (0x0048), Spellbook (learned spells + active-enchantment layers), 5 enchantment GameEvent parsers | Tests ✓ |
| F.1 | GameEvent (0xF7B0) envelope dispatcher — all 94 sub-opcodes routed, exception-isolated handler registry, unhandled-count diagnostic bag; 18 event-payload parsers | Tests ✓ |
| F.2 | Item model + Appraise — ItemRepository with move/equip/property events, AppraiseRequest (0x00C8), IdentifyObjectResponse header, WieldObject + InventoryPutObjInContainer | Tests ✓ |
| G.1 | Sky + day/night — DerethDateTime (retail-exact 7620-tick calendar + 16-hour names + PY year), SkyStateProvider (4-keyframe default with angular-wrap lerp), WorldTimeService (server-synced clock with real-time advance) | Tests ✓ |
| G.2 | Dynamic lighting (selection) — LightSource + LightManager with retail 8-light cap, range-squared with 1.1× slack, slot 0 reserved for Sun, OwnerId-keyed unregister | Tests ✓ |
| G.1+ | Full sky visuals + weather + dynamic-light shader — SkyDescLoader parses Region 0x13000000 dat keyframes with retail fog fields (start/end/mode); WeatherSystem picks Clear/Overcast/Rain/Snow/Storm deterministically per in-game day with 10s fade; SkyRenderer draws far-plane-1e6 celestial meshes with UV scroll; SceneLightingUbo binds at std140 location=1 with 8 Light slots + fog + lightning flash; terrain.vert + mesh.frag + mesh_instanced.frag + sky.frag all consume the shared UBO; LightingHookSink auto-registers Setup.Lights per entity + flips IsLit on SetLightHook; ParticleRenderer renders rain/snow billboards; F7 cycles day time override, F10 cycles weather; WorldSession surfaces server time via ServerTimeUpdated (ConnectRequest + TimeSync flag) | Tests ✓ |
| H.1 | Chat window — wire layer + panel + outbound input + holtburger inbound parity all shipped (I.1-I.7). Talk (0x0015) / Tell (0x005D) / ChatChannel (0x0147) outbound + EmoteText (0x01E0) / SoulEmote (0x01E2) / ServerMessage (0xF7E0) / PlayerKilled (0x019E) / TurbineChat (0xF7DE) / SetTurbineChatChannels (0x0295) inbound; `ChatPanel` with Enter-to-submit input + slash commands; `CombatChatTranslator` posts combat events as chat lines. | Live ✓ |
| Glue | GameEventWiring.WireAll — single-call registration mapping parsed GameEvents → Core state classes (ChatLog, CombatState, Spellbook, ItemRepository); GameWindow exposes state classes + wires them to live session | Tests ✓ |
| D.2a | UI scaffold — `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` stable contract (`IPanel` / `IPanelHost` / `IPanelRenderer` / `ICommandBus` + `VitalsVM` / `VitalsPanel`); `AcDream.UI.ImGui` backend on ImGui.NET + `Silk.NET.OpenGL.Extensions.ImGui` (pivoted from Hexa.NET.ImGui on 2026-04-25 — Hexa's native OpenGL3 backend resolves GL via GLFW/SDL and crashed 0xC0000005 without them); VitalsPanel wired into GameWindow behind `ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1` with `ImGui.WantCaptureKeyboard` WASD suppression. 11 new tests. | Live ✓ |
| I.1 | `IPanelRenderer` widget extension — TextColored / Checkbox / Combo / InputTextSubmit / BeginTable + ~9 more widget signatures on `IPanelRenderer`; matching `ImGuiPanelRenderer` impls. Foundation for I.2 + I.4. | Tests ✓ |
| I.2 | DebugPanel migration — replaced 473-LOC StbTrueTypeSharp `DebugOverlay` with `AcDream.UI.Abstractions/Panels/Debug/DebugPanel` (collapsing-headers + diagnostics checkboxes + combat-event tail). `DebugOverlay.cs` deleted; `TextRenderer` + `BitmapFont` retained for the future world-space HUD (D.6). | Live ✓ |
| I.3 | `LiveCommandBus` + `WorldSession.SendTalk` / `SendTell` / `SendChannel` — replaces `NullCommandBus.Instance` with a real handler-registry `ICommandBus`. New `SendChatCmd` record + `ChannelResolver` legacy-id mapping (per holtburger). 3-line wrappers around existing `ChatRequests.BuildTalk/Tell/ChatChannel`. | Tests ✓ |
| I.4 | `ChatPanel` input field + slash commands — Enter-to-submit input field; `ChatInputParser` recognises `/say` `/t` `/tell` `/r` `/g` `/f` `/a` `/m` `/p` `/v` `/cv` `/lfg` `/trade` `/role` `/society` `/olthoi`; `ChatVM.LastIncomingTellSender` tracks for `/r` reply. `ImGui.WantCaptureKeyboard` already suppresses WASD on focus. | Live ✓ |
| I.5 | Holtburger inbound chat parity + Windows-1252 codec — `EmoteText (0x01E0)`, `SoulEmote (0x01E2)`, `ServerMessage (0xF7E0)`, `PlayerKilled (0x019E)` parsers + `WeenieError` routing through `GameEventWiring`. Global string codec switch from `Encoding.ASCII` to `Encoding.GetEncoding(1252)` so accented names round-trip per retail + holtburger. | Tests ✓ |
| I.6 | TurbineChat codec + `ChatChannelInfo` — full `0xF7DE` codec with three payload variants (`EventSendToRoom`, `RequestSendToRoomById`, `Response`), UTF-16LE strings with variable-length prefix, `SetTurbineChatChannels (0x0295)` parser, unified `ChatChannelInfo` (Legacy + Turbine variants), `TurbineChatState`. **ACE doesn't host a TurbineChat server — codec is ready when retail-emulating servers exist.** | Tests ✓ |
| I.7 | `CombatChatTranslator` — retail-faithful combat-text formatters into `ChatLog` ("You hit drudge for 50 slashing damage (87%)"). Subscribes to `CombatState`'s `DamageTaken` / `DamageDealtAccepted` / `EvadedIncoming` / `MissedOutgoing` / `AttackDone` / `KillLanded`; templates ported verbatim from holtburger `panels/chat.rs:221-308`. | Tests ✓ |
| K | Input architecture — `Action` enum, `KeyChord`, `KeyBindings`, multicast `InputDispatcher` with scope-stack + modal capture, retail-default keymap (152 bindings), `keybinds.json` persistence, F11 Settings panel with click-to-rebind + conflict detection, main menu bar + View menu | Live ✓ |
| L.0 | Full retail-style Settings interface — F11 tabbed panel with 6 tabs (Keybinds + Display + Audio + Gameplay + Chat + Character). `settings.json` at `%LOCALAPPDATA%\acdream\`, per-toon `Character` keying (swapped on EnterWorld). Display GL knobs (Resolution / Fullscreen / VSync / FOV / ShowFps) + Audio (Master / SFX) live-wired; Gameplay / Chat / Character settings persist for server-sync wiring later. Tab API extension to `IPanelRenderer`; chat Copy mode (read-only multi-line); per-panel layout reset; FramebufferResize handler keeps GL viewport + camera aspect + panel positions in sync. | Live ✓ |
| C.1 | PES particle system + sky-pass refinements — retail-faithful `ParticleEmitterInfo` unpack with all 13 motion integrators (`Particle::Init`/`Update` ports of `0x0051c290`/`0x0051c930`), `PhysicsScriptRunner` with `CallPES` self-loop semantics, `ParticleHookSink` with `EmitterDied` cleanup, instanced billboard `ParticleRenderer` with material-derived blend (DAT emitters never default additive — pulled from particle GfxObj surface), global back-to-front sort, BC clipmap alpha-keying, AttachLocal `is_parent_local=1` live-parent follow via `UpdateEmitterAnchor`. Sky pass: `Translucent+ClipMap` → alpha-blend cloud sheet (matches `D3DPolyRender::SetSurface` `0x0059c4d0`), raw-`Additive` fog-skip (matches `0x0059c882`), per-keyframe `SkyObjectReplace` Translucency/Luminosity/MaxBright divide-by-100, bit `0x01` pre/post-scene split (matches `GameSky::CreateDeletePhysicsObjects` `0x005073c0`), Setup-backed (`0x020xxxxx`) sky objects via `SetupMesh.Flatten`, persistent GL sampler objects (Wrap + ClampToEdge) replace per-frame wrap-mode mutation (ported from WorldBuilder's `OpenGLGraphicsDevice`), post-scene Z-offset gated on `(Properties & 4) != 0 && (Properties & 8) == 0` per `GameSky::UpdatePosition` `0x00506dd0`. Sky-PES playback disabled by default (named-retail proves `GameSky` drops `pes_id`); `ACDREAM_ENABLE_SKY_PES=1` opens the experimental path. 1325 → 1331 tests. | Live ✓ |

Plus polish that doesn't get its own phase number:
- FlyCamera default speed lowered + Shift-to-boost
- SurfaceDecoder: PFID_P8 / PFID_R8G8B8 / PFID_X8R8G8B8 decoders
- GfxObjMesh: emit both pos and neg sides of double-sided polygons
- EnvCell mesh Z-lift to fix ground-floor / terrain flicker

---

## Phases ahead — agreed order

### Phase A — Foundation (in progress)

**Goal:** walk across 10+ landblocks without crashes, without hitches at landblock boundaries, and without framerate cratering.

**Sub-pieces:**
- **✓ SHIPPED — A.1 — Streaming landblock loader.** Runtime-configurable visible window (default 5×5, `ACDREAM_STREAM_RADIUS` env var override). Center follows the fly camera offline and the server-sent player position in live mode. Currently runs **synchronously** on the render thread — the original async-worker design hit DatCollection's lack of thread safety and was reverted for correctness. The Channel-based outbox API is preserved so async loading can return cleanly when `Phase A.3` introduces a thread-safe dat wrapper. Pending-spawn list in `GpuWorldState` parks live `CreateObject` events whose target landblock hasn't been streamed in yet and back-fills them when it arrives, so spawn-vs-streaming races are no longer racy at all. `MaxCompletionsPerFrame=4` spreads the 5×5 first-frame load over ~7 frames (~116ms) to avoid GPU OOM.
- **✓ SHIPPED — A.2 — Frustum culling.** Per-landblock AABB test (Gribb-Hartmann plane extraction + positive-vertex AABB test) in both `TerrainRenderer.Draw` and `StaticMeshRenderer.Draw`. Per-entity culling deferred. LOD deferred to Phase C. Performance overlay in window title shows FPS, frame time, visible/total landblock ratio, entity count, animated count. ~160fps uncapped at 5×5 radius.
- **✓ SHIPPED — A.3 — Background net receive thread.** Dedicated daemon thread continuously pulls raw UDP datagrams from the kernel buffer into a `Channel<byte[]>`. Render thread's `Tick()` drains the channel. All decode, fragment assembly, ISAAC crypto, event dispatch, and ack-sending remain on the render thread — minimal change that prevents packet drops during frame stalls. Thread starts after `EnterWorld()` completes; `PumpOnce()` during handshake still reads the socket directly.
- **A.4 — Async dat decoding.** Folded into the streaming worker — it's the worker's read path, not a separate subsystem. Called out here because regressions in dat caching could land on this surface.

**Acceptance:**
- Walk across 10+ landblocks in any direction, no crashes, no empty voids.
- Landblock-boundary crossings produce no visible hitch.
- Runtime window radius toggleable via environment variable.

**Detailed spec:** `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-11-foundation-phase-design.md`

---

### Phase B — Gameplay / interaction

**Goal:** actually play the game — walk the character on the server, click NPCs, pick up items, chat, basic combat loop.

**Sub-pieces:**
- **✓ SHIPPED — B.1 — Outbound ack pump.** Shipped as Phase 4.9 — per-packet ACK_SEQUENCE, not periodic. Server no longer drops idle clients.
- **✓ SHIPPED — B.2 — Player movement mode.** Tab-toggled WASD ground walking with collision-resolved outdoor terrain, walk/run/idle/turn-right animations, third-person chase camera, outbound MoveToState (0xF61C) + AutonomousPosition (0xF753) server messages, portal entry works. Outdoor→indoor transition disabled for MVP (CellSurface floor polygons too aggressive without portal-based detection). Minor polish remaining: strafe animation, turn-left animation. Spec: `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-12-player-movement-design.md`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — B.3 — Physics MVP resolver foundation.** Terrain contact, CellSurface prototype, streaming-populated collision inputs, and first `PhysicsEngine` resolver path. This shipped enough foundation for outdoor walking and early portal experiments, but it is not the complete retail collision system. Current conformance work lives under **Phase L.2 — Movement & Collision Conformance**. Spec history: `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-12-physics-collision-engine-design.md`.
- **B.4 — `Use` / `UseWithTarget` / `PickUp`.** Outbound interaction messages. Drives opening doors, looting, talking to vendors.
- **B.5 — Chat.** `SendTell`, `SendChat` outbound + receive/display inbound (display side depends on Phase D.1).

**References:**
- `references/ACE/Source/ACE.Server/Network/Handlers/MovementHandler.cs`
- `references/ACE/Source/ACE.Server/Network/Handlers/UseObjectHandler.cs`
- `references/holtburger/src/session/send.rs` for outbound packet-building patterns

**Acceptance:** walk on-server with your character, open a door, talk to an NPC, send a chat message and see the echo.

---

### Phase C — Polish / visuals

**Goal:** close the visible gaps that make the world read as "old / broken" compared to retail.

**Sub-pieces:**
- **✓ SHIPPED — C.1 — VFX / particle system + sky-pass refinements.** Retail-faithful `ParticleEmitterInfo` runtime + 13-type motion integrator port + `PhysicsScript` runner + instanced billboard renderer with material-derived blend + global back-to-front sort + AttachLocal live-parent follow. Sky-pass refinements: Translucent+ClipMap alpha-blend, raw-Additive fog-skip, per-keyframe SkyObjectReplace divide-by-100, sampler-object wrap selection (ported from WorldBuilder), gated post-scene Z-offset. Sky-PES disabled by default — named-retail decomp proves `GameSky` drops `pes_id`. **Portal swirls, chimney smoke, fireplace flames** still need a Phase C.1.5 follow-up to wire entity-attached emitters to retail effect IDs (the data layer is ready; only the wiring is deferred). Lands as merge `feat(vfx): Phase C.1 — PES particle renderer + post-review fixes` (`ec1bbb4`) + `refactor(sky): replace per-frame wrap-mode mutation with persistent samplers` (`3d21c13`).
- **C.2 — Dynamic point lights.** Fireplaces and lamps need local lighting; small upgrade to the mesh shader to accumulate N (e.g., 4) nearest point lights per draw. Uniform-buffer or UBO-friendly layout.
- **C.3 — Palette range tuning.** Small per-range offset/length tweaks to match retail skin/hair/eye colors. Mostly diff and verify work, no architecture change.
- **C.4 — Double-sided translucent polys.** Edge case left by Phase 9.2: neg-side translucent polys are culled because cull is always BACK. Fix by tracking per-sub-mesh `CullMode` and flipping GL state per draw (or drawing twice with opposite cull). Minor.
- **C.5 — Shadow mapping (optional).** Deferred unless it becomes a bottleneck in screenshots — dynamic shadows are a known complexity trap.

**References:**
- `references/ACE/Source/ACE.DatLoader/FileTypes/PhysicsScript.cs` for the emitter schema
- `references/ACViewer/ACViewer/Physics/Particles/` for the visual model
- `references/WorldBuilder/Chorizite.OpenGLSDLBackend/Lib/ParticleBatcher.cs` for the Silk.NET-flavored implementation

**Acceptance:** portals look like swirly gates, chimneys smoke, fireplaces burn, character skin matches retail screenshots.

---

### Phase D — UI / HUD + Sound

**Goal:** chat window, nameplates, inventory, and audio. Can run concurrently with Phase B or C because it doesn't touch gameplay/net/rendering surfaces.

> **Updated 2026-04-24 — staged backend strategy.** We split Phase D into
> two stages so game logic can be validated quickly without waiting for
> the full retail-look custom toolkit. See
> [`docs/plans/2026-04-24-ui-framework.md`](2026-04-24-ui-framework.md)
> for the full design. Short version:
>
> 1. **D.2a — ImGui as the short-term backend.** Wire up in days,
>    iterate game logic (chat-send, inventory actions, vitals HUD reading
>    real state) in weeks. Looks like a debugger; that's fine. *(Shipped
>    2026-04-25 on ImGui.NET + `Silk.NET.OpenGL.Extensions.ImGui` after a
>    day-one pivot away from Hexa.NET.ImGui; see shipped table.)*
> 2. **Stable `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` layer** — ViewModels + Commands +
>    `IPanel` / `IPanelRenderer` interfaces. Backend-agnostic. Plugin API
>    publishes against this layer and never sees ImGui.
> 3. **D.2b onward — custom retail-look backend** using dat assets (icons,
>    panels, fonts). Swap one panel at a time; ImGui stays forever as the
>    `ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1` overlay for packet trace / state dump / dat browser.
>
> Every sub-piece below (D.3 AcFont, D.4 dat sprites, D.5 core panels,
> D.6 HUD, D.7 cursors) ships against the abstraction layer, so it
> doesn't matter which backend is drawing when the port lands.

**Sub-pieces:**
- **D.1 — 2D ortho overlay + font rendering.** ✅ SHIPPED 2026-04-17 as the dev-facing debug overlay (StbTrueTypeSharp system-font atlas + `TextRenderer` + `DebugOverlay`).
- **✓ SHIPPED — D.2a — ImGui scaffold + `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` layer.** Shipped 2026-04-25. Wires ImGui as the short-term backend behind `ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1`. Defines `IPanel` / `IPanelHost` / `IPanelRenderer` / `ICommandBus` + the first ViewModel (`VitalsVM`) in the new `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` project. First real panel: `VitalsPanel` reading HP from `CombatState.GetHealthPercent`. **Backend pivoted Hexa.NET.ImGui → ImGui.NET + `Silk.NET.OpenGL.Extensions.ImGui` during integration** — Hexa's native OpenGL3 backend does its own GL function resolution via GLFW/SDL and crashed with `0xC0000005` in `ImGuiImplOpenGL3.InitNative` against Silk.NET (no GLFW/SDL present). The Silk.NET extension is purpose-built for this scenario and is the `ImGui.NET` mitigation path that `docs/plans/2026-04-24-ui-framework.md` already called out as a "one-morning operation". Stam/Mana return `float?` null in D.2a because absolute values need `LocalPlayerState` + `PlayerDescription (0x0013)` parsing (filed post-D.2a). 11 new `AcDream.UI.Abstractions.Tests` green.
- **D.2b — Custom retail-look backend.** Implements the same `IPanel` / `IPanelRenderer` contracts using a custom retained-mode toolkit sourced from retail dat assets. Requires D.2a shipped. Panels get reskinned one at a time; ImGui stays as the `ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1` overlay forever. The original 2026-04-17 scaffold research (`UiRoot` / `UiElement` / `UiPanel` / `UiHost` + retail event codes + focus / drag-drop state machine + `WorldMouseFallThrough`) is the implementation foundation here — see `docs/research/retail-ui/`.
- **D.3 — AcFont from portal.dat.** Replace stb_truetype system font with retail `Font` DBObjs (`0x40000000..0x40000FFF`) baked from `RenderSurface` source sheets — see research slice 03 §4. Preserves retail visual identity. **(D.2b dependency — needs the custom renderer.)**
- **D.4 — Dat sprites + 9-slice panel backgrounds.** Load `RenderSurface` (`0x06xxxxxx`) as GL textures; add `DrawSprite` to `UiRenderContext`. Enables retail panel art. **(D.2b dependency.)**
- **D.5 — Core panels.** Attributes (`chunk_00470000.c:FUN_0047ba70`), Skills (same), Paperdoll (`chunk_004A0000.c:FUN_004A5200`), Inventory, Spellbook (`chunk_004C0000.c`), Fellowship, Allegiance. Each uses the port sketches in slice 05. **(Targets `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` — ships with D.2a using ImGui-rendered widgets; reskinned by D.2b.)** The *chat* panel originally listed under D.5 shipped early in Phase I (I.4 input + I.7 combat translator superseded the chat-panel design here); this entry now covers Attributes / Skills / Paperdoll / Inventory / Spellbook / Fellowship / Allegiance only.
- **D.6 — HUD.** Vital orbs (scissor-rect partial fill, dat sprites `0x060013B2`), radar (`0x06001388` / `0x06004CC1`, 1.18× range factor), compass strip (scrolling U), target name plate, damage floaters, selection indicator. See slice 06. **(Targets `AcDream.UI.Abstractions` — ships with D.2a; reskinned by D.2b.)** Phase I.2 retired the StbTrueTypeSharp `DebugOverlay` but kept `TextRenderer` + `BitmapFont` alive specifically for D.6's world-space HUD elements (damage floaters, name plates) — they need raw GL text drawing that ImGui can't reach into the 3D scene.
- **D.7 — Cursor manager.** OS + dat-sourced custom cursors (`FUN_0043c1c0` GDI HCURSOR builder pattern from slice 03). **(D.2b dependency.)**
- ~~**D.8 — Sound.**~~ **Superseded — shipped as Phase E.2** (`SoundTable`/`Sound` dat decode, OpenAL 16-voice engine, per-entity 3D positional audio via `AudioHookSink`). Entry kept here for history; see the shipped table.

**Reference docs:** `docs/research/retail-ui/00-master-synthesis.md` + slices 01-06. Every AC-specific behavior has a decompiled FUN_ / DAT_ citation.

**Acceptance:** chat messages display in a retail-style panel, health/stamina/mana orbs fill correctly, attributes panel shows player stats, inventory opens with drag-drop working, and sound plays on hit/footstep.

---

### Phase E — "Feel alive" — motion hooks + audio + VFX

Unlocks the sensory layer: footsteps, swing whooshes, impact sparks,
spell auras. All three systems share animation-hook delivery as the
trigger source — motion hooks are the blocker.

Research backing: `docs/research/deepdives/00-master-synthesis.md` + R3 + R4 + R5.

- **E.1 — Motion-hook expansion.** Extend MotionInterpreter + AnimationSequencer to deliver all 27 AnimationHookType values (Sound=1, SoundTable=2, CreateParticle=18, AttackFrame=20, SoundTweaked=21, …) during frame advance. See `r03-motion-animation.md`.
- **E.2 — Audio engine.** `AudioEngine` via `Silk.NET.OpenAL`, inverse-square CPU falloff, 16-voice pool. SoundTable + Wave dat decoders. Motion-hook wiring for footsteps + attacks. See `r05-audio-sound.md`.
- **E.3 — Particle system.** `ParticleSystem` on Silk.NET GL (port WorldBuilder's `ParticleBatcher`). 13 motion-type integrators. `PhysicsScript` dispatcher tied to motion-hooks. See `r04-vfx-particles.md`.

**Acceptance:** walk around, footstep sounds per material; swing a weapon, hear whoosh; combat impact shows sparks + hit sound.

### Phase F — Fight + cast + gear

Core gameplay loop on top of Phase E.

Research: R1 + R2 + R6 + R8 + UI slices 04/05.

- **F.1 — GameEvent envelope dispatcher.** 94 sub-opcodes in `0xF7B0`. Zero handled today. Start with `PlayerDescription (0x0013)` + property-update events. See `r08-network-protocol-atlas.md`.
- **F.2 — Item + inventory model.** `ItemInstance` / `Container` / `PropertyBundle`. Appraise round-trip (`0x00C8` → `0x00C9`). Burden math. See `r06-items-inventory.md` + `src/AcDream.Core/Items/`.
- **F.3 — Combat math + damage flow.** Damage formula, per-body-part AL, crit, hit-chance sigmoid. Server broadcasts damage events; client displays + HP bar. See `r02-combat-system.md` + `src/AcDream.Core/Combat/`.
- **F.4 — Spell cast state machine.** `SpellCastStateMachine` + active buff tracking. Buffs + recalls first, projectile spells later. Fizzle sigmoid + mana conversion. See `r01-spell-system.md` + `src/AcDream.Core/Spells/`.
- **F.5 — Core panels.** Attributes / Skills / Paperdoll / Inventory / Spellbook — using the retail-ui framework from Phase D.2. See `05-panels.md` under retail-ui. **(Targets `AcDream.UI.Abstractions`; unblocked by D.2a — ships with ImGui widgets — and reskinned when D.2b lands.)**

**Acceptance:** equip a weapon, swing at a monster, see damage numbers, buff yourself, recall to the lifestone.

### Phase G — World systems

Research: R9 + R12 + R13.

- **✓ SHIPPED — G.1 — Sky + weather + day-night.** Deterministic client-side from Portal Year time. Sky dome geometry + keyframe gradients + rain/snow particles. See `r12-weather-daynight.md`. Full data + visual stack shipped: Region dat loader, keyframe interp, WeatherSystem with 5-kind PDF + transitions + storm flashes, WorldSession→WorldTimeService sync via ConnectRequest+TimeSync, SkyRenderer with sky-object arcs + UV scroll, rain/snow billboard renderer, F7/F10 debug cycle keys.
- **✓ SHIPPED — G.2 — Dynamic lighting.** 8-light D3D-style fixed pipeline. Hard-cutoff at Range, no attenuation inside. Cell ambient. Shader UBO per frame. See `r13-dynamic-lighting.md`. SceneLightingUbo std140 at binding=1 feeds terrain + mesh + mesh_instanced + sky shaders. LightingHookSink auto-registers Setup.Lights at entity stream-in, flips IsLit on SetLightHook, unregisters on landblock unload.
- **G.3 — Dungeon streaming + portal space.** `EnvCellStreamer`, portal-visibility BFS, `PlayerTeleport (0xF751)` handling with `LoginComplete` re-send, "pink bubble" loading state. **Blocked on L.2e** for trustworthy `cell_bsp`, indoor/outdoor portal transit, adjacent-cell ownership, and building entry/exit collision boundaries. See `r09-dungeon-portal-space.md`.

**Acceptance:** walk outside at dusk, see the sky gradient + sun moving; enter a torch-lit dungeon via portal; leave back to daylight.

### Phase H — Social + progression

Research: R7 + R10 + R11 + UI slice 05.

- **✓ SHIPPED — H.1 — Chat window.** UI panel + all 6 wire opcodes (Channel, Tell, System, HearSpeech, HearRangedSpeech, TurbineChat). Wire layer + panel + outbound input + holtburger inbound parity + combat translator all shipped across I.1-I.7 on 2026-04-25. Targets `AcDream.UI.Abstractions`; will be reskinned when D.2b's custom retail-look toolkit lands.
- **H.2 — Allegiance.** Tree model + XP pass-up math + 5 allegiance chat channels + MOTD. See `r11-allegiance.md`.
- **H.3 — Emote scripts + quests + dialogs.** 122 EmoteType × 39 Trigger mini-VM. Contract tracker UI. NPC dialog rendered via chat with `<Tell:…>` markup. See `r10-quest-dialogs.md`.
- **H.4 — Character creation.** `0xE000002 CharGen` dat + 13 heritages + templates + appearance picker + preview renderer. See `r07-character-creation.md`.

**Acceptance:** create a character from scratch, talk to an NPC, get + complete a quest, gain XP that passes up to the patron.

### Phase I — UI consolidation + complete chat system

**Goal:** retire the dual UI stack (custom StbTrueTypeSharp DebugOverlay + ImGui)
in favour of ImGui hosting *all* dev/debug surfaces, then finish the chat
system end-to-end (input, slash commands, holtburger inbound parity, combat
translator). After this phase, dev tools live in one place and chat works
the way retail + holtburger expect.

**Sub-pieces (all ✓ SHIPPED 2026-04-25):**

- **✓ SHIPPED — I.1 — `IPanelRenderer` widget extension.** Adds `TextColored`, `Checkbox`, `Combo`, `InputTextSubmit`, `BeginTable` + ~9 more widget signatures to `IPanelRenderer` and matching `ImGuiPanelRenderer` impls. Foundation for I.2 (DebugPanel) and I.4 (chat input). Commit `b131514`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.2 — DebugPanel migration.** Replaces the 473-LOC StbTrueTypeSharp `DebugOverlay` with `AcDream.UI.Abstractions/Panels/Debug/DebugPanel` (collapsing-headers + diagnostics checkboxes + combat-event tail). `DebugOverlay.cs` deleted; `TextRenderer` + `BitmapFont` retained for the future world-space HUD (D.6 — damage floaters, name plates). Commit `56037a4`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.3 — `LiveCommandBus` + `WorldSession.Send{Talk,Tell,Channel}`.** Replaces `NullCommandBus.Instance` with a real handler-registry `ICommandBus`. New `SendChatCmd` record + `ChatChannelKind` enum + `ChannelResolver` legacy-id mapping (per holtburger). `WorldSession.SendTalk` / `SendTell` / `SendChannel` are 3-line wrappers around existing `ChatRequests.BuildTalk/Tell/ChatChannel`. Commit `8e6e5a0`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.4 — `ChatPanel` input field + slash commands.** Enter-to-submit input field on `ChatPanel`; `ChatInputParser` recognises `/say` `/t` `/tell` `/r` `/g` `/f` `/a` `/m` `/p` `/v` `/cv` `/lfg` `/trade` `/role` `/society` `/olthoi`; `ChatVM.LastIncomingTellSender` tracks for `/r` reply. `ImGui.WantCaptureKeyboard` already suppresses WASD on input focus. Commit `f14296c`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.5 — Holtburger inbound chat parity + Windows-1252.** `EmoteText (0x01E0)`, `SoulEmote (0x01E2)`, `ServerMessage (0xF7E0)`, `PlayerKilled (0x019E)` parsers + `WeenieError` routing through `GameEventWiring`. Global string codec switch from `Encoding.ASCII` to `Encoding.GetEncoding(1252)` so accented names round-trip per retail + holtburger. Commit `ff5ed9e`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.6 — TurbineChat codec + `ChatChannelInfo`.** Full `0xF7DE` codec with three payload variants (`EventSendToRoom`, `RequestSendToRoomById`, `Response`), UTF-16LE strings with variable-length prefix, `SetTurbineChatChannels (0x0295)` parser, unified `ChatChannelInfo` (Legacy + Turbine variants), `TurbineChatState`. **ACE doesn't host a TurbineChat server — codec is ready when retail-emulating servers exist.** Commit `ca968fc`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.7 — `CombatChatTranslator`.** Retail-faithful combat-text formatters into `ChatLog` ("You hit drudge for 50 slashing damage (87%)"). Subscribes to `CombatState`'s `DamageTaken` / `DamageDealtAccepted` / `EvadedIncoming` / `MissedOutgoing` / `AttackDone` / `KillLanded`; templates ported verbatim from holtburger `panels/chat.rs:221-308`. Commit `3d26c8e`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — I.8 — Docs alignment.** Roadmap (this file) + `docs/ISSUES.md` issues #14-#20 closed + `memory/project_chat_pipeline.md` crib + `MEMORY.md` index entry + `CLAUDE.md` UI strategy paragraph all updated to reflect Phase I shipped state. Commit `(this commit)`.

**Acceptance (verified 2026-04-25):**
- All ImGui dev panels open with `ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1`: VitalsPanel + ChatPanel + DebugPanel.
- Old `DebugOverlay.cs` is deleted; `TextRenderer` / `BitmapFont` still compile for D.6.
- `/say hello` in chat sends a Talk packet; local echo lands in the panel.
- Attacking a creature produces "You hit Drudge for 12 slashing damage (87%)" lines in chat.
- Accented character names round-trip through the wire correctly (CP1252).

**Memory crib:** `memory/project_chat_pipeline.md`.

---

### Phase K — Input architecture + retail bindings + Settings panel

**Goal:** retire the hardcoded WASD-style scheme; ship retail-faithful
bindings as the default; let users remap any action via an in-game
Settings panel; auto-enter player mode at login; replace mouse-X-yaw
with retail's MMB-hold mouse-look.

**Sub-pieces (all ✓ SHIPPED 2026-04-26):**

- **✓ SHIPPED — K.1a — Input architecture skeleton.** Action enum,
  multicast `InputDispatcher` with scope stack, `KeyChord` /
  `Binding` / `KeyBindings`, Silk.NET adapters, parallel to existing
  handlers — no behavior change. Commit `84512d3`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — K.1b — Cut handlers over to dispatcher.** Drop the
  legacy mouse-X-character-yaw path, fix `WantCaptureMouse` gating,
  single input path. Commit `256e962`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — K.1c — Retail-default keymap + JSON persistence.**
  ~149 bindings matching
  `docs/research/named-retail/retail-default.keymap.txt` + JSON
  load/save with merge-over-defaults migration at
  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\acdream\keybinds.json`. Acdream debug F-keys
  relocated to `Ctrl+F*` to avoid retail conflicts. Commit `da18910`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — K.2 — Login flow + MMB mouse-look + free-fly button.**
  Auto-enter player mode at login (one-shot guard reusing the existing
  Tab handler), MMB-hold mouse-look (retail's `CameraInstantMouseLook`
  — cursor-locked camera + character yaw drive together), `DebugPanel`
  "Toggle Free-Fly Mode" button, `Tab → ToggleChatEntry →
  ChatPanel.FocusInput()`. Commit `af74eac`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — K.3 — Settings panel + Keybindings UI + roadmap/issues
  update.** `SettingsPanel` with click-to-rebind UX (modal capture
  via `InputDispatcher.BeginCapture`, Esc cancels, conflict-detection-
  with-confirmation prompt, draft / Save / Cancel semantics), F11
  toggle + ImGui MainMenuBar entry, per-action / per-section /
  reset-all-defaults buttons. Roadmap + ISSUES + memory crib +
  CLAUDE.md updated in this commit. Commit `(this commit)`.

**Acceptance (verified 2026-04-26):**
- Login → spawn at the character's actual world position in chase
  camera (NOT Holtburg orbit). Tab not required.
- W = run forward; X = run back; A/D = turn; Z/C = strafe;
  Alt+A/D/Left/Right = strafe (alternate); Q = autorun; Space = jump;
  Shift = walk modifier; S = stop; Y/G/H/B = postures.
- Mouse alone does NOT drive character yaw. MMB-hold = cursor-locked
  camera + character yaw drive together. RMB and LMB are
  `SelectRight` / `SelectLeft` per retail.
- F11 / View → Settings opens panel. Click "Rebind" next to any
  action → press a key → if conflict, prompt. Save writes
  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\acdream\keybinds.json`. Restart preserves
  customizations.
- Mode-dependent combat keys (Insert/PgUp/Delete/End/PgDn) bound but
  dormant — light up in Phase L when `CombatState.CurrentMode` is
  wired (issue #L.3).

**Memory crib:** `memory/project_input_pipeline.md`.

---

### Phase L.1 — Animation system completion

**Status:** IN PROGRESS on `feature/animation-system-complete`.

**Goal:** complete the retail-faithful animation surface beyond the
locomotion/jump K-fix series: combat swings, spell casting, emotes, death,
item-use, NPC/monster special actions, remote observer parity, and the
remaining floating-point polish around style transitions, modifiers, action
queues, speed scaling, and PosFrame root motion.

**Plan of record:** `docs/plans/animation-system-audit.md`.

**Coupling to L.2:** L.1 owns animation/motion parity. L.2 owns collision,
contact truth, movement packets, and server-visible placement. They meet where
root motion or observer movement changes the predicted body path; any such
change must keep both phase plans in sync.

**Sub-pieces:**
- **L.1a — Audit & inventory.** Map retail named-decomp evidence, ACE
  cross-references, existing acdream hook points, and current gaps for each
  animation category. Output: `docs/plans/animation-system-audit.md`.
- **L.1b — Command router + motion-state cleanup.** Extract tested
  `SetCycle` vs `PlayAction` routing, add missing `MotionCommand` constants,
  and split death `Sanctuary` action from persistent `Dead` substate.
- **L.1c — Combat animation wiring.** Combat mode tracking, draw/sheath
  style transitions, attack swings by stance/power/height, hit reactions,
  evades/blocks/parries, and death handoff.
- **L.1d — Spell casting wiring.** Cast command classification, windup,
  release, fizzle/interruption, recoil, and school/effect distinctions.
- **L.1e — Emotes + postures.** Outbound slash emotes, inbound
  command-list emotes, and persistent sit/lie/kneel/sleep states.
- **L.1f — NPC/monster + item-use coverage.** Scripted gestures, monster
  special actions, potion/food/scroll/recall cycles, and remote parity.
- **L.1g — Polish + conformance.** Style-transition chain, durable
  modifiers/action queues, root-motion handling, speed scaling, and broad
  synthetic MotionTable tests.

**Acceptance:**
- `dotnet build` and `dotnet test` green at each commit.
- Test count grows by at least 30 with one representative cycle/action test
  per major animation category.
- Every AC-specific behavior cites named retail decomp or ACE/holtburger
  cross-reference evidence in code comments, tests, or commit notes.
- User visual sign-off for local and remote attack, spell, emote, death, and
  item-use animation parity before marking shipped.

---

### Phase L.2 — Movement & Collision Conformance

**Status:** ACTIVE.

**Goal:** make acdream's movement and collision behavior retail-faithful across
terrain, buildings, walls, roof edges, cell seams, portal boundaries, outbound
movement packets, and server correction. This is the holistic bucket for the
work previously scattered across B.3 physics follow-ups, L.1 motion coupling,
and G.3 dungeon/portal ownership.

**Plan of record:** `docs/plans/2026-04-29-movement-collision-conformance.md`.

**Current foundation:** `PhysicsEngine.ResolveWithTransition`,
`BSPQuery`, `TransitionTypes`, `PhysicsDataCache`, and
`ShadowObjectRegistry` exist and are active. They are partial retail ports and
diagnostic scaffolding, not yet the final collision system.

**Sub-lanes:**
- **L.2a — Truth & diagnostics.** Local placement/contact/cell logs, object-hit
  probes, correction-delta diagnostics, retail-observer capture workflow, and
  real-DAT fixture capture.
- **L.2b — Movement wire/contact authority.** Fix outbound contact truth,
  full-cell id handling, packet cadence, and routine server correction handling.
- **L.2c — Transition parity: edge/slide/neg-poly.** Port and test retail
  `edge_slide`, `cliff_slide`, `precipice_slide`, step-up/down slide, and
  `NegPolyHit` dispatch behavior.
- **L.2d — Shape fidelity: sphere/cylsphere/building objects.** Finish
  `CSphere` / `CCylSphere` parity, live-entity object shapes, building object
  collision identity, and `Setup.Radius` fallback audit.
- **L.2e — Cell ownership: outdoor seams, `CELLARRAY`, `cell_bsp`.** Update
  low outdoor cell id across 24m seams, port adjacent-cell checks, activate
  `cell_bsp`, and hand G.3 a trustworthy building/portal boundary model.
- **L.2f — Real-DAT and live retail-observer conformance.** Promote synthetic
  tests to real-world fixtures and verify local acdream view plus retail
  observer view. ACE accepting a position is a compatibility check, not proof
  of fine-grained retail collision parity.

**Acceptance:**
- A developer can trace the active movement path: input/motion -> body
  prediction -> `ResolveWithTransition` -> contact/cell result -> outbound
  packets -> server echo/correction.
- Buildings, edge-slide, wall-slide, cell seams, packet authority, and dungeon
  portal ownership each have an L.2 lane.
- Every AC-specific algorithm port cites named retail decomp, or a documented
  fallback when named retail lacks the body.
- `dotnet build` and `dotnet test` are green for each implementation slice.

---

### Phase M — Network Stack Conformance

**Status:** PLANNED.

**Goal:** replace the current happy-path `WorldSession` networking shape with a
proper AC client network stack that reaches functional parity with
`references/holtburger/` while preserving acdream's stricter packet checksum
verification and live ACE compatibility. This phase owns packet reliability,
ordered delivery, retransmission, ACK piggybacking, echo/keepalive, typed
message/action routing, diagnostics, and the migration of low-level network
responsibilities out of the render tick.

**Why now:** The Phase 4/A.3 stack is good enough for local ACE smoke testing:
login, ISAAC, checksums, per-packet ACKs, fragments, movement, chat, combat,
and object updates all work. It is not yet a complete client network runtime.
Compared with holtburger it lacks ordered S2C delivery, retransmit request
handling, outbound packet caching/retransmission, ACK piggybacking,
EchoRequest/EchoResponse handling, runtime ping/timeout policy, and a typed
protocol/action layer. These gaps will become expensive as movement, dungeons,
inventory, combat, and plugins depend on stable packet semantics.

**Plan of record:** create
`docs/superpowers/specs/2026-05-02-network-stack-conformance.md` before
implementation starts. Treat holtburger as the client-behavior oracle for this
phase; cross-check wire details against named retail, ACE, Chorizite, and AC2D
before porting.

**Sub-lanes:**
- **M.1 — Audit & parity map.** Produce a source-by-source comparison of
  acdream `AcDream.Core.Net` and holtburger `holtburger-session`,
  `holtburger-protocol`, and `holtburger-core` networking code. Inventory each
  packet flag, optional header, session transition, control packet, fragment
  path, game message, and game action. Mark each as `parity`, `partial`,
  `missing`, or `intentional divergence`.
- **M.2 — Layer extraction.** Split the low-level stack under `WorldSession`
  into testable components: `INetTransport`, `PacketCodec`,
  `ReliablePacketSession`, `FragmentSession`, `GameMessageSession`, and the
  high-level `WorldSession` behavior layer. Preserve existing public events and
  live-client call sites during the migration.
- **M.3 — Reliability core.** Port holtburger-style sequence tracking:
  last-delivered server sequence, duplicate/old-packet suppression,
  out-of-order buffering, missing-sequence detection, throttled
  `RequestRetransmit`, outbound packet cache, server-requested C2S retransmit,
  `RejectRetransmit` handling, and retransmission checksum recomputation.
- **M.4 — ACK and control-packet policy.** Replace standalone-only ACKs with
  queued ACK state, ACK piggybacking on normal outbound packets, standalone ACK
  flush when idle, and clean handling for ACK-only packets. Add EchoRequest /
  EchoResponse and idle ping/timeout behavior matching holtburger unless named
  retail proves a different cadence.
- **M.5 — Fragment and payload completeness.** Keep inbound multi-fragment
  assembly, add TTL/eviction diagnostics for orphaned partials, implement
  outbound multi-fragment splitting when payloads exceed the current single
  fragment limit, and verify fragment id/sequence/queue behavior against
  holtburger, ACE, and retail evidence.
- **M.6 — Typed protocol surface.** Introduce typed `GameMessage` and
  `GameAction` routing modeled on holtburger. Migrate current builders and
  parsers first: login complete, DDD, movement, chat/TurbineChat, combat,
  spellcast, item/appraise, object/update/motion/position, and teleport.
  Unknown opcodes must remain observable and non-fatal.
- **M.7 — Runtime loop and diagnostics.** Move decode/order/reassembly/control
  handling out of the render tick into a dedicated network runtime that emits
  clean session events through channels. Add byte counters, packet trace hooks,
  optional capture/replay fixtures, idle/disconnect state, and dev-panel
  diagnostics suitable for packet debugging.
- **M.8 — Conformance tests and live validation.** Add deterministic unit tests
  for checksum, ISAAC key consumption, optional headers, ordering, retransmit,
  ACK piggybacking, echo, fragments, typed actions, and login flow. Add
  replay/capture tests from holtburger-style fixtures where possible. Finish
  with `dotnet build`, `dotnet test`, local ACE login, chat, movement, combat
  action smoke test, reconnect test, and user visual sign-off where networking
  affects the running client.

**Non-goals:**
- Do not reimplement ACE server behavior.
- Do not replace acdream's stricter inbound checksum verification unless named
  retail proves it is wrong.
- Do not rewrite renderer/gameplay systems as part of this phase; migrate
  network call sites through compatibility adapters first.
- Do not remove unknown-message visibility. Plugins and devtools need packet
  trace surfaces even when parsers are incomplete.

**Acceptance:**
- acdream has a layered, testable network stack rather than one monolithic
  `WorldSession`.
- Every holtburger session capability has an acdream equivalent, an explicit
  test, or a documented intentional divergence with retail/ACE evidence.
- Packet ordering, retransmit, outbound cache, ACK piggybacking, echo/keepalive,
  fragment assembly/splitting, and typed message/action routing are covered by
  tests.
- Live ACE loop succeeds: login, enter world, movement, chat, combat action,
  teleport/reconnect, and clean logout.
- `dotnet build` and `dotnet test` are green for every implementation slice.

---

### Phase J — Long-tail (deferred / low-priority)

Not detailed here; each gets its own brainstorm when it becomes relevant.

- Player character full rig (held weapons, spell effects, death/revive animation)
- Group/fellowship UI
- Trade window (multi-player confirms)
- Salvage + tinker UI
- House ownership + hooks
- Society UI
- GM visible tools (we explicitly don't build GM powers; but DEV-mode tools like teleport anywhere are useful)

---

### Phase R — Retail research infrastructure

**Goal:** sustainable, scalable access to retail-client decompilation —
named symbols, struct layouts, wire schemas — so every future port is
a 5-second grep instead of 30-minute archaeology.

**Sub-pieces:**

- **✓ SHIPPED — R.1 — Named-retail corpus committed.** Shipped 2026-04-25
  (commit `a9a01d8`). `docs/research/named-retail/{acclient_2013_pseudo_c.txt,
  acclient.h, acclient.c}` + `docs/research/data/spells.csv` + vendored
  `references/actestclient/`. 1.4 M lines of named pseudo-C (99.6% function
  naming) + 70K lines of verbatim retail headers + 3,956 spells with `Family`
  for buff stacking + machine-readable wire schema in `messages.xml`.
- **✓ SHIPPED — R.2 — pdb-extract tool + JSON sidecars.** Shipped 2026-04-25
  (commit `69d884a`). `tools/pdb-extract/pdb_extract.py` reads
  `refs/acclient.pdb` (Sept 2013 EoR build) and emits `symbols.json`
  (18,366 named functions) + `types.json` (5,371 named struct types) to
  `docs/research/named-retail/`. Pure Python, no deps, runs in <1 s.
- **✓ SHIPPED — R.3 — actestclient vendored.** Shipped 2026-04-25 alongside
  R.1. `references/actestclient/` (covered by `references/` gitignore)
  includes the canonical `messages.xml` AC-protocol wire schema.

**Acceptance:** Step 0 of `CLAUDE.md`'s development workflow points at
`named-retail/` first; subsequent issue closures (#6 / #7 / #9 / #11)
all consume this foundation.

**Effects on other phases:** Issue closures unblocked by Phase R land
under their existing letter phases (#6 enchantment buffs → Phase D /
F.5 maintenance; #7 PlayerDescription trailer → Phase H.1 / F.2
maintenance). The PDB symbols + headers also accelerate any future
port in any phase — no separate listing here.

---

## Cross-cutting work tracked in parallel

- **Test coverage.** Each phase lands with unit + integration tests in `tests/`. Current count: 98 Core + 96 Core.Net = 194. Keep the ratio as new phases land.
- **Memory files.** Project state under `memory/project_phase_*_state.md` is updated when a phase ships. `MEMORY.md` is the index.
- **`CLAUDE.md` discipline.** Check all four references (ACE, ACViewer, WorldBuilder, Chorizite) before committing to an approach. WorldBuilder is the closest stack match and should be checked first.

---

## Explicitly out of scope

- **Server emulation** — we use ACE for server, never reimplement.
- **Account creation** — direct user to ACE tooling.
- **Anti-cheat / GM tools / live-ops** — irrelevant for personal use.
- **Cross-platform support** — Windows-only; the dat path assumptions depend on retail Windows install layout. Silk.NET is cross-platform but we don't promise.
- **Custom game content** — this is a client for existing AC data, not a toolchain.

---

## "When will my specific complaint be fixed?" — quick lookup

| Observation | Phase |
|---|---|
| Drudge statue in wrong pose | **6.3 FIXED** ✓ |
| Characters in T-pose / wrong idle | **6.1 FIXED** ✓ |
| No breathing on NPCs | **6.4 + sentinel fix FIXED** ✓ |
| Lifestone crystal has one side missing | **9.2 FIXED** ✓ |
| Ground floor flickering with terrain | **7.1 FIXED** ✓ |
| Houses missing second floors / walls | **7.1 FIXED** ✓ (interior mesh landed) |
| Character clothing missing / wrong | **5 FIXED** ✓ |
| Statue wrong color / wrong scale | **5 FIXED** ✓ |
| Holtburg sign half-buried | **5 FIXED** ✓ |
| Can't walk past the loaded 3×3 window | **A.1 FIXED** ✓ (5×5 default, `ACDREAM_STREAM_RADIUS` to tune) |
| Frame hitch crossing landblock boundary | **Phase A.3** (synchronous loader for now; async returns when DatCollection is thread-safe) |
| Walking around doesn't move me on the server | **Phase B.2/B.3 FIXED** ✓ for coarse server movement; fine retail collision parity is **Phase L.2** |
| Packet loss / out-of-order UDP causes stale or missing world updates | **Phase M.3** |
| Server asks for retransmit and client doesn't resend cached packets | **Phase M.3** |
| ACKs are standalone-only instead of piggybacked like a full client | **Phase M.4** |
| Echo / idle keepalive / reconnect behavior is incomplete | **Phase M.4 + M.7** |
| Large outbound game messages exceed the current single-fragment path | **Phase M.5** |
| Network protocol coverage is spread across ad-hoc builders/parsers | **Phase M.6** |
| Sliding along buildings / walls feels wrong | **Phase L.2c + L.2d** |
| Roof edge / cliff / precipice blocks or slides wrong | **Phase L.2c** |
| Crossing outdoor cell seams reports the wrong cell | **Phase L.2e** |
| Can't talk to NPCs | **Phase H.3** (emote scripts + dialogs) |
| Can't open a door | **Phase F** (object-use action) |
| Portals render as a rotating black disk | **Phase E.3** (particle system) |
| Chimneys have no smoke | **Phase E.3** |
| Houses have no fireplace fire | **Phase E.3** |
| No fireplace / torch lighting | **Phase G.2** (shipped; Setup.Lights auto-register, 8-light cap with hard-cutoff) |
| Skin/hair color slightly off | **Phase C.3** |
| No chat window | **Phase H.1 / I.1-I.7 FIXED** ✓ |
| Chat? You can finally type and send messages | **I.4 FIXED** ✓ (shipped 2026-04-25) |
| Combat doesn't show in the chat log | **I.7 FIXED** ✓ |
| Accented character names show as `?` or garbled | **I.5 FIXED** ✓ (Windows-1252 codec) |
| No sound | **Phase E.2** |
| Dungeons / foundry interior missing | **Phase G.3** after **L.2e** cell/building ownership |
| Can't fight monsters | **Phase F.3** (combat math + damage) |
| Can't cast spells | **Phase F.4** |
| No inventory panel | **Phase F.2 + F.5** |
| No character creation — must use ACE admin | **Phase H.4** |
| Sky is a flat color | **Phase G.1** (shipped; F7 cycles time, F10 cycles weather) |
| Can't join allegiance | **Phase H.2** |
| No quest tracker | **Phase H.3** |

If you see something not on this list, add it here and assign a phase.
