Steady the gold ring, and move the praise word off the ball

Oliver: the target ring twitches sometimes, and "shot of the day",
"textbook" etc. cover the ball. The timed ring re-solved every frame and a
small shift in the auto-run's target moved its moment by up to 158 ms in a
frame; the drawn cue now counts down on its own clock and eases toward
each solve (p99 jump 100 -> 17 ms). The rally's praise word rose straight
into the struck ball's path (and a serve's sat on the far bounce, where the
return comes back); it now lands under the player, behind his feet, and
stays put. Same moment, out of the way. v371.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

PROJECT.md

@@ -5515,6 +5515,22 @@ taken earlier, on the rise, while it is still inside. The final target is clampe
 ball still gets a run to the nearest legal spot. Test: his ball (hard cross-court, lands at 3.3, kicks
 out). Without the fix the target is 14.8 m; with it the run stays in bounds and he returns it.
 
+### The ring stops twitching, and the praise word gets out of the ball's way (2026-10-14, v371)
+Oliver: *"der Treffer-/Zielkreis zittert jetzt manchmal, außerdem ... die Nachrichten wie shot of the
+day, textbook ... verdecken manchmal den Ball."*
+- **The timed ring re-solved every frame** against the auto-run's target, and a target shifting a few
+  centimetres moved the predicted moment. Probe: p99 100 ms, max 158 ms per frame, nearly half the
+  ring's size in one frame. The drawn cue is now `G.ring`, smoothed in `update`: it counts down on its
+  own clock and eases toward each fresh solve (`ringSmooth` 8/s), and a frame with no solve holds it
+  for up to 0.12 s. Measured jump: p99 17 ms, max 21 ms. Gold toggles are unchanged (two per ball).
+  The bots and tests keep reading the raw `ringCue`.
+- **The praise word sat ON the ball.** On a rally contact it rose straight into the path of the ball
+  just struck; a serve's word sat on the far bounce, where the return comes back through.
+  `praisePop`: in tennis modes it lands `praiseBehind` (1 m) behind the player's feet, on the dark
+  apron under him, and stays put (`popText`'s new `still`). The MOMENT is unchanged (contact / the
+  serve's landing). Gore keeps its words on the bodies they belong to. Checked in the pane: PERFECT
+  under him, ball clear.
+
 # OPEN — leftovers, in rough priority order
 
 Nothing here is broken; these are known gaps and unverified risks.

index.html

@@ -1140,6 +1140,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
   </div>
 </div>
 <span id="recLamp" hidden>REC</span>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=370"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=371"></script>
 </body>
 </html>

src/config.js

@@ -648,6 +648,8 @@ export const TUNE = {
                     // the swing window, at any pace. 0 = the old distance ring (matchRingSweet/Band)
   ringBand: 0.35,   // share of the half-window either side of the sweet moment that draws gold (edge = q 0.65)
   ringLead: 0.9,    // s before contact the timed ring appears
+  ringSmooth: 8,    // 1/s: how fast the drawn ring eases toward each fresh solve (it counts down on its own)
+  praiseBehind: 1.0, // m behind the player's feet a rally's praise word is drawn (under him, off the ball's path)
   flickLead: 0,     // s a flick's swing is back-dated toward touch-down (v366 used 0.1 — his next log showed
                     // every 62-64 ms flick landing ~85 ms EARLY: a flick is timed by its swipe, not its touch)
   // ---- THE READ (2026-08-28, Oliver: past the HEAD COACH "the opponents are very fast and barely

src/gameplay.js

@@ -87,6 +87,16 @@ let praiseN = 0;
 // the word must land at the IMPACT, not at the release (Oliver: "the reactions are playing after
 // shooting the ball, not when the ball hits"). A serve arms it on ball.praise and the contact/
 // bounce pops it; a rally hit pops it at the racket, where contact and praise are the same moment.
+// ...and in a rally it lands BELOW THE PLAYER, just behind his feet, and stays put (Oliver, 2026-10-14:
+// "die Nachrichten wie shot of the day, textbook verdecken manchmal den Ball"). On the contact it rose
+// straight into the path of the ball he had just struck; a serve's word sat on the far bounce, which
+// is exactly where the return comes back through. The MOMENT is unchanged — only where it is drawn.
+// Gore keeps its words on the bodies they belong to.
+function praisePop(w, x, y, z) {
+  if (rallyFeel() || G.mode === 'tennis') popText(P.x, 0, P.z + TUNE.praiseBehind, w, undefined, true);
+  else popText(x, y, z, w);
+}
+
 function praiseWord() {
   if (G.praiseT > 0) return null;
   G.praiseT = TUNE.praiseEvery;
@@ -410,7 +420,7 @@ function doHit(ch, quality, aim) {
   if (quality > 0.999 && ch.side === 'P') { // the rally hit: a real 45 ms window (perfectMs)
     G.hitstop = 0.05; pock(0.5, 1600);
     const w = praiseWord(); // a rally hit IS the impact — the word pops right on the contact
-    if (w) popText(ball.x, ball.y, ball.z, w);
+    if (w) praisePop(w, ball.x, ball.y, ball.z);
   }
   ch.pose = 'swing'; ch.poseT = 0;
   if (G.net && ch.side === 'P') netSendShot(); // netplay: the shot IS the sync unit
@@ -1320,7 +1330,7 @@ function onBounce() {
   pock(0.35, 500);
   if (ball.scored) return; // a called ball still bounces and still sounds; it just cannot score twice
   // a deferred praise word that met no body lands with the ball — the DRAW was still perfect
-  if (ball.praise) { popText(ball.x, 0.3, ball.z, ball.praise); ball.praise = null; }
+  if (ball.praise) { praisePop(ball.praise, ball.x, 0.3, ball.z); ball.praise = null; }
   if (G.mode === 'splatter' && ball.bomb && ball.bounces === 1) { // a bomb that missed everyone still blows up
     explode(ball.x, ball.z); ball.bomb = false;
     spentBall(); return;
@@ -2306,6 +2316,19 @@ export function update(dt) {
   // mid-stride left him welded to a single run frame — the "stuck mid-animation" report.
   // vx/vz die with the mover too, or the speed ghosts would trail a body that stopped dead.
   else { P.vx = 0; P.vz = 0; if (P.pose === 'run' && G.dodgeT <= 0) { P.pose = 'idle'; P.poseT = 0; } }
+  // THE GOLD RING, STEADY (Oliver, 2026-10-14: "der Treffer-/Zielkreis zittert jetzt manchmal").
+  // ringCue re-solves every frame against where the auto-run is taking him, and a target that shifts
+  // a few centimetres moved the predicted moment by a frame or two — the ring's size twitched and its
+  // gold blinked. The drawn cue COUNTS DOWN on its own clock and only eases toward each fresh solve
+  // (TUNE.ringSmooth), and a frame with no solve holds it instead of dropping it.
+  if (G.phase === 'rally' && ball.active && ball.lastHit === 'O' && (rallyFeel() || G.mode === 'tennis')) {
+    const c = ringCue();
+    if (c && !G.ring) G.ring = { ...c };
+    else if (c) { const e = G.ring.eta - dt; G.ring = { ...c, eta: e + (c.eta - e) * Math.min(1, dt * TUNE.ringSmooth) }; }
+    else if (G.ring && (G.ring.hold = (G.ring.hold || 0) + dt) < 0.12) G.ring.eta -= dt;
+    else G.ring = null;
+    if (G.ring) G.ring.gold = Math.abs(G.ring.eta - G.ring.sweet) < G.ring.band;
+  } else G.ring = null;
   // The sidestep runs in EVERY phase — that is the entire point of it, since a boss fight is spent
   // in 'pretoss' where the block above never runs. Same clamp as the walk, so it cannot carry him
   // off the edge of the screen either.

src/render.js

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { cv, ctx } from './dom.js';
 import { BENCH, BENCH_STAGES, ZFAMS, famFrames, racketStage, TUNE, UI, EATEN_BURST, EATEN_SUMMARY, EATEN_RESTART, DONE_RESTART, COURT, P_BOUNDS, PLAYER_H, BOY_H, UMP_H, UMP_X, MACH_H, BOSS_ART, ZWOUND, woundStage, BOUNCE_IDLE, SPRITE_H, zombieH , WEAPONS, RACK_ROW, TOSS, HEAD_CROP, TINT, SHOT_DEPTH, matchFoe, cupFixture, cupRoundName } from './config.js';
 import { P, O, ball, score, crowd, G, court, tour, kit, skin } from './state.js';
 import { RAISERS, FRAMES } from './crowd.js';
-import { predictLanding, previewServe, slotId, slotStock, serveApexY, rallyFeel, swayOf, ringCue } from './gameplay.js';
+import { predictLanding, previewServe, slotId, slotStock, serveApexY, rallyFeel, swayOf } from './gameplay.js';
 import { drillQueue, drillLegal, drillMult } from './drill.js';
 import { zombies, gore, piles, parts, pellets, extras, shots, pops } from './zombies.js';
 import { runDelta, progress, prof, cupBest, hasPromo } from './profile.js';
@@ -1075,7 +1075,7 @@ function drawApproachRing() {
   const rSweet = Math.max(6, p.s * 0.055);                    // the fixed target ring
   let inBand, r;
   if (TUNE.ringTime) {                                         // TIMED (gameplay.ringCue): kiss = touch now
-    const c = ringCue();
+    const c = G.ring;                                          // gameplay's STEADY copy of ringCue
     if (!c || c.eta > TUNE.ringLead || c.eta < c.sweet - c.band) return; // not yet, or the moment has passed
     inBand = c.gold;
     r = rSweet * (1 + Math.max(0, c.eta - c.sweet) * 4);      // closes onto the target as the moment nears
@@ -2883,7 +2883,7 @@ export function render() {
     ctx.save();
     ctx.globalAlpha = Math.min(1, f * 3);           // holds, then a quick fade at the end
     ctx.font = B(13); ctx.textAlign = 'center'; ctx.textBaseline = 'top';
-    shadowText(p.text, Math.round(pr.x), Math.round(pr.y - (1 - f) * 14), p.col || '#ffffff');
+    shadowText(p.text, Math.round(pr.x), Math.round(pr.y - (p.still ? 0 : (1 - f) * 14)), p.col || '#ffffff');
     ctx.restore();
   }
   // (a PERFECT-contact spark ring lived here for one build — Oliver's verdict: too much. The

src/state.js

@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ export const G = {
   rallyNear: null,    // closest the incoming ball got this rally (for never-swung passes)
   swung: false,       // player swung at least once this rally — whiff log supersedes PASSED
   lastMiss: null,     // {text, at} — most recent miss reason, drawn on the HUD briefly
+  ring: null,         // the drawn gold ring's steady cue (gameplay update smooths ringCue)
   logShow: false,     // tap the scoreboard to toggle the on-screen miss-log dump
 };
 

src/zombies.js

@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ export const shots = [];   // {x, y, z, vx, vy, vz, g, t}
 // the impact — the answer to "what did I just do" appears where you are already looking, not in
 // the announcement band. Render draws them, gameplay's update ticks them, killed in resetZombies.
 export const pops = [];    // {x, y, z, text, col, t, T}
-export function popText(x, y, z, text, col) {
-  pops.push({ x, y, z, text, col, t: 0.85, T: 0.85 });
+export function popText(x, y, z, text, col, still = false) {
+  pops.push({ x, y, z, text, col, still, t: 0.85, T: 0.85 }); // still: does not rise (the rally's praise, under the player)
   if (pops.length > 10) pops.shift();
 }