# Campaign VM — VM7 automated closeout

**Date:** 2026-08-23 · **Binary:** `99d5b2a6` (source = binary, gate-verified) ·
**Status:** every automated VM7 row PASSED; the owner's visual gates (VM3,
VM6, VM7 matrix) and the merge to main are OWED and were not attempted.

Every row names its command, lane and artifact (the campaign's closeout rule).

| Row | Command | Lane | Result | Artifact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complete Release gate | `pwsh ./tools/run-release-gate.ps1` | hermetic (54-project graph, locked restore) | **15,283 passed / 0 skipped / 0 failed** across 14 assemblies | `artifacts/release-gate/release-gate-summary.json` |
| Connected lifecycle/reconnect route, pack off | `tools/run-connected-world-lifecycle-gate.ps1 -SkipBuild` | Live (local ACE, `+Acdream`) | **PASS**; warning: 25 expected world-edge landblock misses (capped) | `logs/connected-world-gate-20260823-043414/report.json` |
| Connected lifecycle/reconnect route, High pack | `… -RenderPackPreset high` | Live | **PASS**; same expected warning | `logs/connected-world-gate-20260823-043951/report.json` |
| VM0 invariance on the final binary | `tools/run-offline-pixel-gate.ps1 -RenderPackPreset retail -BuildingDetailTextures $false -Uncapped` for HEAD and `-ExeOverride <base+normals exe>`, two captures each | offline, isolated settings, one tool | **robust diff 5–10 px** (all in the lifestone band, VM0's known dynamic); whole-frame mean \|Δ\| 0.0075 = the repeat floor | `docs/research/evidence/vm7/1f151242-pack-off-vs-base-normals-robust.png` |
| #422 characterisation | `tools/i422/loop-debugheap.ps1 -Runs 24` (under cdb, debug heap) + 16 attached runs | offline High, Release | **0 / 40 faults** (P ≈ 0.5 % at the filed 1-in-8 rate) — not reproducible on this binary; watch item | `docs/research/evidence/vm7/i422-*.txt`; `docs/ISSUES.md` #422 |
| AR performance matrix, changed presets | `tools/run-atmospheric-performance-matrix.ps1 -PresetSet retail,low,medium,high -ResolutionSet 1920x1080 -FramePacing uncapped -SkipBuild` | offline, 45 s warm-up | see the "Performance matrix" section below | `artifacts/vm7-matrix/atmospheric-performance-matrix.md` |

The `base+normals` reference is main `6c79d35c` + the two patches recorded at
`docs/research/evidence/vm0/` (config-dir isolation; A2 terrain normals),
built in a throwaway worktree and run through HEAD's gate script — never
the old tool (VM0 §"three methods that did not work", method 1).

## Performance matrix

(filled from `artifacts/vm7-matrix/atmospheric-performance-matrix.md`)

## Register, roadmap, memory

- Register: IA-24 amended (the receiver lighting direction follows the
  celestial shadow source while shadows render; authored-light fallback when
  the gate is closed), IA-25 (foliage wind) and AP-232 (detail blend weight)
  stand from their slices; no row retired at VM7.
- Roadmap: Campaign VM entry → "in flight, automated closeout complete;
  owner gates and merge owed".
- Memory: `project_visualmaster_campaign.md` (digest + DO-NOT-RETRY) and
  `feedback_pixel_diff_needs_repeat_floor.md`.

## What the owner gets to decide

1. **VM3** — the linear-light post stack (brief: plan §VM3 gate brief; the
   neutral High preset is pixel-identical to pack-off on static content, the
   non-neutral presets are darker and differently toned than before — the
   curve table in the brief says by how much).
2. **VM6** — the wind (plan §VM6 Acceptance, six steps; Clear should read
   "barely moving, alive", Rain/Storm "clearly windy, still not a flag";
   the shadows follow; nothing moves indoors or pack-off).
3. **VM7** — the final pack-off / pack-on matrix, then the merge.

If any pack-on run ends with exit code `-1073740940`, #422 is back: run
`tools/i422/loop-debugheap.ps1` first.