Ten small flourishes, all borrowed machinery

Kills stutter the world a touch more per streak; a massacre borrows the
boss's slow-mo; a boss death gets the transition's zoom punch. PERFECT
contact flashes a spark ring. The sidestep and every real bounce kick up
court-tinted dust. The net cord ripples where the ball clips it. The
landing ring contracts on time-to-touchdown. Hot rally balls drag three
fading ghosts. And every 8-15 seconds the floodlights stutter.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

gameplay.js

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // Game logic: ballistics, swings, serves, rules/scoring, AI, and the per-frame update.
 
 import { TUNE, UI, BOSS_ART, APPLAUSE_T, EATEN_BURST, EATEN_SUMMARY, COURT, CONTACT, VOLLEY, ZONE_DEPTH, HOME, P_BOUNDS, TOSS, SHOT_DEPTH, POSE_TIME, BOUNCE_IDLE, zombieH, Z_CHEST , WEAPONS, RACK_MAX , BARREL_WEAPONS } from './config.js';
-import { P, O, ball, score, crowd, G, other, deuceSide, setupPoint, sendBoy, resetState } from './state.js';
+import { P, O, ball, score, crowd, G, court, other, deuceSide, setupPoint, sendBoy, resetState } from './state.js';
 import { audio, pock, swish, whoosh, applause, voice, sfx, aww, zombieMusic, zombieDuck, menuDuck, splat, shriek, boom } from './audio.js';
 import { axisX, axisZ, takeFlickAim, touchPX, resetInput } from './input.js';
 import { W } from './render.js'; // runtime-only cycle (render imports gameplay), same pattern as input/zombies
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export function predictLanding() { // first-bounce point, closed form — exact,
   const disc = ball.vy * ball.vy + 2 * g * ball.y;
   if (disc < 0) return null;
   const t = (ball.vy + Math.sqrt(disc)) / g; // time until y = 0
-  return { x: ball.x + ball.vx * t, z: ball.z + ball.vz * t };
+  return { x: ball.x + ball.vx * t, z: ball.z + ball.vz * t, t }; // t rides along: the landing ring contracts on it
 }
 
 // splatter FREE-AIM (slingshot). The pull is a RAY, not a landing point: its DIRECTION picks the
@@ -52,6 +52,18 @@ function praise() {
   G.flash = { text: PRAISE[praiseN++ % PRAISE.length], t: 0.7 };
 }
 
+// Court dust: a kicked-up puff at ground level, tinted per surface — chalk on clay, flecks on the
+// grass, grit on the slab. Squarely inside the "blood, fire, smoke" procedural exemption; the ball's
+// bounce and the sidestep both kick it, which is what pins fast feet and fast balls to the ground.
+const DUST_COL = { grass: '#8fa06a', clay: '#c9895a', hard: '#8494a4' };
+function dustPuff(x, z, n = 5, sp = 1) {
+  for (let k = 0; k < n; k++) parts.push({
+    x: x + (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * 0.15, y: 0.05, z: z + (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * 0.1,
+    vx: (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * 1.2 * sp, vy: 0.5 + Math.random() * 0.9 * sp,
+    vz: (Math.random() * 2 - 1) * 1.2 * sp,
+    t: 0.25 + Math.random() * 0.2, spark: DUST_COL[court.id] || '#98948a' });
+}
+
 export function flickTarget(ch, aim) { // exported: render draws the live reticle with it
   const q = pullQuality(aim.mag), f = pullFrac(aim.mag);
   if (aim.mag < TUNE.pullMin) return { q, f }; // barely drawn: no lane yet, so no target
@@ -156,7 +168,8 @@ function doHit(ch, quality, aim) {
     G.aiReactT = 0; // CPU hasn't read the shot yet
   }
   sfx(ch.side === 'P' ? 'tennis-player' : 'tennis-opponent', 0.9, { reverb: true }); // recorded racket strike, per side
-  if (quality > 0.999) { G.hitstop = 0.05; praise(); pock(0.5, 1600); } // the rally hit: a real 45 ms window (perfectMs)
+  if (quality > 0.999) { G.hitstop = 0.05; praise(); pock(0.5, 1600); // the rally hit: a real 45 ms window (perfectMs)
+    if (ch.side === 'P') G.spark = { x: ball.x, y: ball.y, z: ball.z, t: 0.3 }; } // ...and the contact flashes a ring
   ch.pose = 'swing'; ch.poseT = 0;
 }
 
@@ -318,7 +331,8 @@ function hitServe(sv, quality, aim = null, perfect = quality > 0.999) {
   if (sv.side === 'P' && G.mode === 'tennis') G.outMarker = { x: boxX, z: tzs, out: !inServeBox(boxX, tzs), t: 1.3 };
   G.phase = 'rally'; sfx(sv.side === 'P' ? 'tennis-player' : 'tennis-opponent', 0.9, { reverb: true }); // recorded serve strike, per side
   sv.pose = 'serve'; sv.poseT = 0;
-  if (perfect) { praise(); G.hitstop = 0.05; }
+  if (perfect) { praise(); G.hitstop = 0.05;
+    if (sv.side === 'P') G.spark = { x: ball.x, y: ball.y, z: ball.z, t: 0.3 }; } // the PERFECT ring, at the strike
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------- scoring ----
@@ -803,6 +817,7 @@ export function spentBall() {
 export function dodge(dir) {
   if (G.mode !== 'splatter' || G.modal || G.dodgeCd > 0 || G.dodgeT > 0) return;
   G.dodgeDir = dir; G.dodgeT = TUNE.dodgeT; G.dodgeCd = TUNE.dodgeCool; G.dodgeI = TUNE.dodgeIFrame;
+  dustPuff(P.x, P.z, 6); // the committed step kicks up the court — it also marks where the i-frame began
   G.idleHintT = 0;   // ...and the apron demo goes away, like any other gesture. The touch path nulls
                      // G.aim to fire this, and the demo's own guard only watches G.aim.
   P.facing = dir;
@@ -1299,6 +1314,8 @@ export function update(dt) {
     if (was < EATEN_SUMMARY && G.eatenT >= EATEN_SUMMARY) { zombieDuck(true); menuDuck(false); }
     crowd.cheer = Math.max(0, crowd.cheer - dt); // the stand sits back down over the death too —
                                                  // a cheer live at the kill used to clap forever
+    if (G.spark && (G.spark.t -= dt) <= 0) G.spark = null;             // one-shot effects finish
+    if (G.netRipple && (G.netRipple.t -= dt) <= 0) G.netRipple = null; // rather than freezing mid-air
     if (G.shake && (G.shake.t -= dt) <= 0) G.shake = null;
     if (G.boomFlash > 0) G.boomFlash -= dt;
     updateZombies(dt);
@@ -1311,6 +1328,8 @@ export function update(dt) {
     else { G.card.t -= dt; if (G.card.t <= 0) G.card = null; }
   }
   if (G.shake && (G.shake.t -= dt) <= 0) G.shake = null;
+  if (G.spark && (G.spark.t -= dt) <= 0) G.spark = null;             // the PERFECT ring burns out
+  if (G.netRipple && (G.netRipple.t -= dt) <= 0) G.netRipple = null; // the tape settles
   if (G.zoom && (G.zoom.t += dt) >= G.zoom.T) G.zoom = null; // scripted punch-in (render applies it)
   if (G.bossBurst && (G.bossBurst.t -= dt) <= 0) G.bossBurst = null;
   if (G.boomFlash > 0) G.boomFlash -= dt;
@@ -1514,11 +1533,13 @@ export function update(dt) {
         ball.z = COURT.netZ + (oldZ < COURT.netZ ? -0.05 : 0.05);
         ball.vz *= -0.08; ball.vx *= 0.3; ball.vy = Math.min(ball.vy, 0);
         pock(0.4, 300);
+        G.netRipple = { x: ball.x, t: 0.4 }; // the tape carries the hit: a damped wobble where it clipped
       }
     }
     if (ball.y <= 0 && ball.vy < 0) {
       ball.y = 0; ball.vy = -ball.vy * TUNE.bounceY;
       ball.vx *= TUNE.bounceXZ; ball.vz *= TUNE.bounceXZ;
+      if (Math.abs(ball.vy) > 1.0) dustPuff(ball.x, ball.z, 3, 0.7); // a real bounce kicks up the court
       onBounce();
       if (ball.active && Math.abs(ball.vy) < 0.8) { // rolled out — dead ball
         ball.active = false;