The longer racket

Third recorded session. The previous fixes did their job and exposed the last
gap: he ran onto every ball (2.9-3.9m per point, was 0.2-0.5), the ball
reached him (died at z 22.5-24, was 18-20), he swung every single time — and
the closest approach clustered at a sampled 1.3-1.6m, centimetres outside the
1.3m post-bounce reach, point after point. The assist delivers you NEAR the
ball but not inside a phone-tuned contact radius, and that also explains "not
really better or I played worse": every point suddenly looked makeable and
still died.

matchReach 1.35 widens the contact test in the match only — the gore modes'
"tight contact radius: the tap must be honest" rule stands untouched. A rally
mode lives on contact feeling fair.

Recorded for future sessions: a 20Hz sampler overstates closest approach by
up to ~0.5m on a 20 m/s ball. The recorder samples at 60Hz now.

49 tests, 12 seeds clean.

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

PROJECT.md

@@ -1010,6 +1010,16 @@ vignette. just a slight red pulsing from below"*. Three distinct defects:
 - **Test-measurement trap for the log**: reading `P.z` after the chase loop proves nothing — the
   point reset teleports him home. Measure the minimum DURING the chase.
 
+**TWENTY-SECOND PASS — the longer racket.** Third recorded session, and the previous fixes did
+their job while exposing the last gap: he ran onto every ball (2.9-3.9 m per point, was 0.2-0.5),
+the ball reached him (died at z 22.5-24, was 18-20), he swung every single time — and the closest
+approach clustered at a sampled 1.3-1.6 m, centimetres outside the 1.3 m post-bounce reach, point
+after point. The assist can deliver you NEAR the ball but not inside a phone-tuned contact radius.
+`matchReach` 1.35 widens the contact test in the match only (gore modes untouched — their "tight
+contact radius: the tap must be honest" rule stands). A rally mode lives on contact feeling fair.
+Note for future recorder sessions: **a 20 Hz sampler overstates closest approach by up to ~0.5 m**
+on a 20 m/s ball — the recorder now samples at 60 Hz.
+
 **Open, and every one of them is Oliver's call after he plays it:**
 1. ~~**A ball that carries through the lane can complete two steps at once.**~~ Largely CLOSED by
    the slice removal (seventh pass) — a cut ball picking its own next victim was the main way this

index.html

@@ -400,6 +400,6 @@
     </div>
   </div>
 </div>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=174"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=175"></script>
 </body>
 </html>

src/config.js

@@ -394,6 +394,9 @@ export const TUNE = {
   matchFlub: 0.08,     // the match's own whiff base — the duel's 0.2 gives away a fifth of all
                        // returns, which across a game is an opponent that beats itself
   matchFlubKeep: 0.82, // ...and it keeps only this much per rung — the ladder now that hp is flat
+  matchReach: 1.35, // contact reach multiplier in the MATCH. The recorder showed swings missing by
+                    // centimetres point after point — the assist parks you near the ball, not inside
+                    // a 1.3 m reach. A rally mode lives on contact feeling fair. Match-only
   matchAssist: 1.15, // auto-run floor DURING A MATCH, any device. autoAssist keys off pointer:coarse,
                      // so desktop had no legs at all — the match is a tap-timing game and footwork
                      // is the game's job. Held keys still override

src/gameplay.js

@@ -953,7 +953,12 @@ function trySwing(ch, isAI, qCap = TUNE.aiQualityMax) {
   // Contact happens if the ball is inside reach while the swing window is open.
   // Player volleys (pre-bounce) get wider reach + window: full-speed ball, no bounce cue.
   const volley = !isAI && ball.bounces === 0;
-  const reach = isAI ? TUNE.aiReach : TUNE.reach * (volley ? VOLLEY.reach : 1);
+  // The MATCH plays with a longer racket. The flight recorder's third session: he ran onto every
+  // ball (2.9-3.9 m per point) and swung every time, and the closest approach clustered at a
+  // sampled 1.3-1.6 m — centimetres outside the 1.3 m post-bounce reach, point after point. The
+  // assist can deliver you NEAR the ball but not INSIDE a phone-tuned reach; a rally mode lives or
+  // dies on contact feeling fair, and the gore modes are untouched.
+  const reach = isAI ? TUNE.aiReach : TUNE.reach * (volley ? VOLLEY.reach : 1) * (G.match ? TUNE.matchReach : 1);
   const win = TUNE.swingWindow * (volley ? VOLLEY.window : 1);
   const t = ch.swingT;
   if (t < TUNE.swingWindup || t > TUNE.swingWindup + win) return;

test.js

@@ -684,6 +684,11 @@ test('REACHABILITY: an auto-run player can cover the first opponent\'s returns',
   } finally { TUNE.autoAssist = assist; }
 });
 
+test('the match racket is longer, and only the match racket', () => {
+  assert.ok(TUNE.matchReach > 1.2, 'match contact reach is widened — the recorder showed misses by centimetres');
+  // the gore modes' contact stays untouched: matchReach only multiplies inside G.match
+});
+
 test('the ladder pace dial exists and starts below full pace', () => {
   assert.ok(TUNE.matchOppPace < 1, 'opponent one returns slower than the physics maximum');
   assert.ok(TUNE.matchOppPacePer > 0, 'and earns pace back per rung');