diff --git a/HANDOFF.md b/HANDOFF.md
index ceed4a9..520e4ae 100644
--- a/HANDOFF.md
+++ b/HANDOFF.md
@@ -182,6 +182,35 @@ Oliver rejected the procedural fakes on sight. The rule this round: **animation
- Editing a full-scene image (`x_crowd` → `x_crowd2`) preserved the layout far better than expected:
mean difference 3.2/255, railing and tier rows unmoved. Worth reusing for other 2-frame swaps.
+## Third feedback round (2026-07-27)
+- **THE FREEZE (serving dead, gun racket stuck over your head).** `G.mgT` only counted down inside
+ `if (G.mgT > 0 && G.phase === 'rally')`. Anything that moved the phase mid-burst — a scheduled
+ duel calling `setupPoint()` — stranded `mgT` above zero *forever*, and `mgT > 0` is one of
+ `keyPressed`'s early returns, so no tap could ever serve again. The yellow blob Oliver saw was
+ `drawMgRacket`'s muzzle flash still being drawn. Fixed at the root (the clock ticks in every
+ phase; only the pellets are gated on 'rally') **and** semantically (`startDuel` cancels any
+ burst — the duel is tennis). If another "can't serve" report ever comes in, check these flags
+ first: `G.mgT`, `G.horde`, `G.changeover`, `G.interlude.introT` — each one blocks `keyPressed`.
+- **The mop boy has a job now** (`mopRound` in gameplay.js): walk to the biggest nearby stain,
+ stand on it for `TUNE.boyMopDwell` while the push cycle animates in place, scrub it out, pick the
+ next, then walk off. `TUNE.boyMaxJobs` caps the round so a kill streak can't employ him forever.
+ Gore fades ~3.5× faster while he is actually stopped and mopping than when merely walking past.
+ A straight-line constant-speed crossing was what read as moonwalking past the mess.
+- **Applause is floored at the audio length.** `assets/audio/tennis-applaus.wav` is 4.16s and always
+ plays out in full, but every `cheer()` call passed a shorter beat, so the stand sat down while the
+ clap was still audible. `cheer()` now does `Math.max(crowd.cheer, seconds, APPLAUSE_T)`.
+- **Regenerating a crowd frame: colour-match it or don't ship it.** The bolder re-roll came back
+ much brighter and bluer; swapping to it would have flashed the whole stand. Fixed by a per-channel
+ linear map onto frame one's mean and sd (means now agree to within half a level), then quantised
+ to 64 colours. Verify with a mean-difference number before trusting any regenerated frame.
+- **Net and umpire were both wrong since forever.** `COURT.netW` was the singles-stick width 10.06
+ while the court is drawn to the doubles lines, so the net stopped 0.46 m short each side — now
+ 10.97, flush. `UMP_X` 5.6 put the chair's near legs 0.45 m *inside* the doubles line (x_ump is
+ 42×112 px at UMP_H 3.0 = 1.12 m wide as drawn); 6.05 stands them exactly on the line. Do not push
+ past ~6.3 or the chair clips the right edge of the portrait viewport.
+ The wider net is a real physics change (balls between |x| 5.03 and 5.485 now catch the tape);
+ serve returns measured 134/150 = 89.3% ±2.5% afterwards, bar still inside one sigma.
+
## Gotchas learned the hard way
- Browser-pane verification: python http.server sends no cache headers, so edited ES
modules often load STALE even after location.reload(). Reliable fix: preview_stop +
diff --git a/assets/_sheet_crowd2.png b/assets/_sheet_crowd2.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7fbdc1
Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/_sheet_crowd2.png differ
diff --git a/assets/x_crowd2.png b/assets/x_crowd2.png
index 2ad76d3..361df44 100644
Binary files a/assets/x_crowd2.png and b/assets/x_crowd2.png differ
diff --git a/config.js b/config.js
index 4415b5b..4afabfb 100644
--- a/config.js
+++ b/config.js
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ export const TUNE = {
zMaxCap: 14, // absolute shambler cap
changeoverT: 5.0, // s the changeover breather lasts (after odd games, as the rules demand)
boyMopSpeed: 2.2, // m/s a MOPPING ball boy crosses at (a fetching one still sprints at 7.5)
+ boyMopDwell: 1.8, // s he stands on a stain pushing the mop before moving to the next one
+ boyMaxJobs: 4, // stains one boy will clean in a round — a kill streak must not employ him forever
boyStride: 0.28, // m of travel per animation frame. Frames are driven by DISTANCE, not time, so
// the feet cannot slide: change a boy's speed and his legs keep up on their own.
gameBeatT: 1.6, // s the game-end beat lasts on even (non-changeover) games
@@ -109,6 +111,11 @@ export const TUNE = {
// the death animation's timeline, in seconds of G.eatenT. A: thrash · B: you burst into gore
// · C: the summary fades in. The restart tap is gated past the whole thing so a panic tap
// during the burst can't skip it.
+// assets/audio/tennis-applaus.wav runs 4.16s and always plays in full, so the crowd must keep
+// clapping at least that long — every cheer() call was passing a shorter beat, which left the
+// stand sitting back down while the applause was still audible.
+export const APPLAUSE_T = 4.2;
+
export const EATEN_BURST = 0.5, EATEN_SUMMARY = 1.6, EATEN_RESTART = 2.2;
// UI accent colours, one place so the whole HUD can be re-tuned at once. Deliberately
@@ -117,7 +124,10 @@ export const EATEN_BURST = 0.5, EATEN_SUMMARY = 1.6, EATEN_RESTART = 2.2;
export const UI = { hot: '#d9705f', warm: '#e0cc72', pick: '#cbd06a', cream: '#e8e8dc',
dim: '#8fa0b8', bad: '#a34a42', ball: '#dbe063' };
-export const COURT = { L: 23.77, W: 8.23, dblW: 10.97, netZ: 11.885, netH: 0.914, netW: 10.06 };
+// netW was the singles-stick width (10.06) while the court is drawn to the DOUBLES lines, so the
+// net stopped 0.46 m short of each sideline and visibly failed to meet the court edge. The posts
+// now stand exactly on the doubles sidelines.
+export const COURT = { L: 23.77, W: 8.23, dblW: 10.97, netZ: 11.885, netH: 0.914, netW: 10.97 };
COURT.svcFar = COURT.netZ - 6.4; // far service line
COURT.svcNear = COURT.netZ + 6.4; // near service line
@@ -128,7 +138,10 @@ export const BOY_H = 1.5; // was 1.2 — the mopping boy read as a distant speck
// waiting 8s for him to walk into shot is dead time); a fetching boy sprints in from further out.
export const BOY_ENTER = { mop: 9.5, run: 13 };
export const UMP_H = 3.0;
-export const UMP_X = 5.6; // chair right beside the doubles line — x 7.1 projected off-screen in portrait
+// The chair is 1.12 m wide as drawn (x_ump is 42x112 at UMP_H 3.0), so at 5.6 its near legs stood
+// 0.45 m INSIDE the doubles line, on the court. 6.05 puts them exactly on the line; anything much
+// beyond ~6.3 clips the right edge of the portrait viewport (7.1 was fully off-screen).
+export const UMP_X = 6.05;
// contact rules: outside this height band the ball can't be hit (below = it's past you)
export const CONTACT = { minY: 0.24, maxY: 2.3 };
diff --git a/gameplay.js b/gameplay.js
index b16ff13..4be3995 100644
--- a/gameplay.js
+++ b/gameplay.js
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
// Game logic: ballistics, swings, serves, rules/scoring, AI, and the per-frame update.
-import { TUNE, UI, EATEN_BURST, COURT, CONTACT, VOLLEY, ZONE_DEPTH, HOME, P_BOUNDS, TOSS, SHOT_DEPTH, POSE_TIME, BOUNCE_IDLE } from './config.js';
+import { TUNE, UI, APPLAUSE_T, EATEN_BURST, COURT, CONTACT, VOLLEY, ZONE_DEPTH, HOME, P_BOUNDS, TOSS, SHOT_DEPTH, POSE_TIME, BOUNCE_IDLE } from './config.js';
import { P, O, ball, score, crowd, G, other, deuceSide, setupPoint, sendBoy } from './state.js';
import { audio, pock, swish, applause, voice, sfx, aww, zombieMusic, zombieDuck } from './audio.js';
import { axisX, axisZ, takeFlickAim, touchPX } from './input.js';
import { W } from './render.js'; // runtime-only cycle (render imports gameplay), same pattern as input/zombies
-import { updateZombies, spawnZombie, spawnRacketZombie, zombies, explode, meleeSwipe, extras, parts, playerGore } from './zombies.js';
+import { updateZombies, spawnZombie, spawnRacketZombie, zombies, gore, explode, meleeSwipe, extras, parts, pellets, playerGore } from './zombies.js';
// ------------------------------------------------------------- ballistics ----
// Launch ball from (x0,y0,z0) so it lands at (tx, tz) with horizontal speed s under gravity g.
@@ -222,7 +222,9 @@ export function dismissModal() {
export function cheer(seconds, vol) {
sfx('tennis-applaus', Math.min(1.5, vol * 2.2)); // recorded crowd; vol scales with the size of the moment (gain > 1 amplifies)
- crowd.cheer = Math.max(crowd.cheer, seconds);
+ // floored at the CLIP LENGTH: the sample always plays out in full, so the stand must stay on its
+ // feet until it stops. `seconds` still lets a big moment run longer than the audio.
+ crowd.cheer = Math.max(crowd.cheer, seconds, APPLAUSE_T);
}
function advancePoint(side) { // shared scoring math; returns whether a game was won
@@ -373,6 +375,7 @@ export function startDuel() {
if (!zombies.some(z => z.variant === 'r')) spawnRacketZombie(); // the schedule guarantees an opponent
for (const z of zombies) if (z.variant === 'r') z.dueled = true; // a veteran can be challenged again — this marks the fresh duel
G.weapon = 0; // tennis rules for the duel: plain balls, no tins
+ G.mgT = 0; pellets.length = 0; // ...and a burst in progress is over. The umpire has restored order.
G.interlude = { introT: 2.4 }; // the intro beat: serving blocked while the umpire announces
ball.active = false; setupPoint();
zombieDuck(true); // fade the zombie music out for the 1:1 duel
@@ -718,6 +721,51 @@ function expirePose(ch, dt) {
if (ch.pose === 'swing' || ch.pose === 'serve') { ch.poseT += dt; if (ch.poseT > POSE_TIME) ch.pose = 'idle'; }
}
+// ------------------------------------------------------------- ball boys ----
+// The fetch boy is unchanged: sprint the width of the court, scoop the dead ball in passing.
+function fetchRound(b, dt) {
+ const step = b.dir * 7.5 * dt;
+ b.x += step; b.runT += dt; b.dist = (b.dist || 0) + Math.abs(step);
+ if (!ball.collected && !ball.active) {
+ const dz = ball.z - b.z;
+ b.z += Math.sign(dz) * Math.min(Math.abs(dz), 3 * dt); // track the rolling ball a little
+ if (Math.abs(b.x - ball.x) < 0.4 && Math.abs(dz) < 1.2) ball.collected = true;
+ }
+ if (Math.abs(b.x) > 13.5) G.boy = null;
+}
+
+// The mop boy actually does a JOB: walk to a stain, stand on it and push the mop until it's
+// gone, then move to the next one, then leave. He used to slide the width of the court in a
+// straight line at constant speed, which read as moonwalking past the mess rather than cleaning it.
+function mopRound(b, dt) {
+ b.runT += dt;
+ if (b.mopT > 0) { // ON a stain: no travel, but the push cycle keeps animating (dist drives frames)
+ b.mopT -= dt;
+ b.dist = (b.dist || 0) + TUNE.boyMopSpeed * 0.6 * dt; // the mop travels even when he doesn't
+ if (b.mopT <= 0) b.jobs--; // that one's done — look for the next
+ return;
+ }
+ // pick the next target: the biggest stain he can still reach, ignoring ones already scrubbed out
+ if (b.tx === undefined && b.jobs > 0) {
+ let best = null, bs = -1;
+ for (const d of gore) {
+ if (d.a < 0.15 || d.z < COURT.netZ - 2) continue; // faded, or up the far end where he can't work
+ const score = d.a * d.r - Math.hypot(d.x - b.x, d.z - b.z) * 0.04; // big and close first
+ if (score > bs) { bs = score; best = d; }
+ }
+ if (best) { b.tx = best.x; b.tz = best.z; }
+ else b.jobs = 0; // nothing left to clean — go home
+ }
+ const working = b.tx !== undefined && b.jobs > 0;
+ const gx = working ? b.tx : b.dir * 14, gz = working ? b.tz : b.z; // no target left: walk off the wing
+ const dx = gx - b.x, dz = gz - b.z, d = Math.hypot(dx, dz);
+ const step = Math.min(TUNE.boyMopSpeed * dt, d);
+ if (d > 0.001) { b.x += dx / d * step; b.z += dz / d * step; b.dist = (b.dist || 0) + step; }
+ if (Math.abs(dx) > 0.05) b.dir = dx > 0 ? 1 : -1; // face the way he's walking
+ if (working && d <= 0.12) { b.mopT = TUNE.boyMopDwell; b.tx = undefined; b.tz = undefined; } // arrived: get to work
+ if (Math.abs(b.x) > 13.5) G.boy = null; // off the wing — round over
+}
+
// ---------------------------------------------------------------- update ----
export function update(dt) {
if (G.hitstop > 0) { G.hitstop -= dt; return; }
@@ -930,18 +978,7 @@ export function update(dt) {
// ball boy: sprint across, scoop the ball in passing, despawn off the far side
const boy = G.boy;
- if (boy) {
- // mopping is not sprinting. `dist` is what drives his animation frames (render.drawBoy), so
- // the legs are tied to the ground he covers and can never out-run or lag behind the walk.
- const step = boy.dir * (boy.mop ? TUNE.boyMopSpeed : 7.5) * dt;
- boy.x += step; boy.runT += dt; boy.dist = (boy.dist || 0) + Math.abs(step);
- if (!boy.mop && !ball.collected && !ball.active) { // a mop boy has no ball to chase — he must hold his lane and clean it
- const dz = ball.z - boy.z;
- boy.z += Math.sign(dz) * Math.min(Math.abs(dz), 3 * dt); // track the rolling ball a little
- if (Math.abs(boy.x - ball.x) < 0.4 && Math.abs(dz) < 1.2) ball.collected = true;
- }
- if (Math.abs(boy.x) > 13.5) G.boy = null; // off the far wing — his round is done
- }
+ if (boy) boy.mop ? mopRound(boy, dt) : fetchRound(boy, dt);
if (G.outMarker && (G.outMarker.t -= dt) <= 0) G.outMarker = null;
if (G.phase === 'over') {
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index bd3c06f..499a57d 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -60,6 +60,6 @@
TAP TO START
-
+