Three verdicts from the phone

The PERFECT spark ring is out — the hitstop, the click and the praise word
already carry the moment. The net-cord wobble drops to ~1 px. And the
floodlight stutter is gone entirely: on the iPhone a random dark dip over
the stands reads as the crowd flickering black — a rendering bug, not
ambience.

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

gameplay.js

@@ -168,8 +168,7 @@ 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 (ch.side === 'P') G.spark = { x: ball.x, y: ball.y, z: ball.z, t: 0.3 }; } // ...and the contact flashes a ring
+  if (quality > 0.999) { G.hitstop = 0.05; praise(); pock(0.5, 1600); } // the rally hit: a real 45 ms window (perfectMs)
   ch.pose = 'swing'; ch.poseT = 0;
 }
 
@@ -331,8 +330,7 @@ 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 (sv.side === 'P') G.spark = { x: ball.x, y: ball.y, z: ball.z, t: 0.3 }; } // the PERFECT ring, at the strike
+  if (perfect) { praise(); G.hitstop = 0.05; }
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------- scoring ----
@@ -1314,8 +1312,7 @@ 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.netRipple && (G.netRipple.t -= dt) <= 0) G.netRipple = null; // settles rather than freezing
     if (G.shake && (G.shake.t -= dt) <= 0) G.shake = null;
     if (G.boomFlash > 0) G.boomFlash -= dt;
     updateZombies(dt);
@@ -1328,7 +1325,6 @@ 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;