Two should-fix items from the pre-merge code review pass:
1. Persisted settings now apply on startup unconditionally
(previously gated on ACDREAM_DEVTOOLS=1).
2. Music + Ambient volume sliders are hidden because the
underlying engine paths don't exist yet (R5 MIDI playback).
== 1. Settings load + apply outside DevToolsEnabled gate ==
Previous structure put SettingsStore construction, LoadDisplay /
LoadAudio / etc, and ApplyDisplayWindowState inside the
`if (DevToolsEnabled)` block. A user running with the env var unset
silently got WindowOptions defaults (1280x720 / VSync=false /
60° FOV) instead of their saved settings.json values — even though
the settings file existed and was valid.
Refactored: extracted LoadAndApplyPersistedSettings() that runs
unconditionally in OnLoad after _audioEngine is constructed but
before the DevToolsEnabled block. Persisted values cached as
_persistedDisplay / _persistedAudio / _persistedGameplay /
_persistedChat / _persistedCharacter fields. The Settings PANEL
construction (devtools-gated, naturally — no UI without ImGui) now
reads those fields when wiring SettingsVM.
The Settings UI gating is correct (panel needs ImGui devtools);
the persisted-runtime-state gating was the bug.
== 2. Music + Ambient sliders hidden ==
OpenAlAudioEngine has Music/MusicVolume/Ambient/AmbientVolume
properties but they're never read — PlayMusic is a stub for R5 MIDI
playback that hasn't shipped, StartAmbient reserves a handle but
doesn't start a source. Dragging those sliders moved a number that
nothing observed.
Hid the Music + Ambient sliders from RenderAudioTab; left the
AudioSettings record fields intact so settings.json round-trips
the values across phases — when R5 lands and the sliders return,
saved values will already be in place. Updated the panel's footer
note to call out the limitation. Updated
Audio_tab_when_active_renders_implemented_volume_sliders to assert
Master + SFX are present AND Music + Ambient are absent.
dotnet build green; dotnet test 1,309 / 1,309 green.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>