Mini Looper Details 2

Summary

Continuation of the Mini Looper per-unit attack feel + sound pass (see [[Mini Looper Details 1]]), finishing the last four units — magician, archer, earthshaker, poisoner, detonator — so the whole roster's moment-to-moment attacks are now tuned and sounded. Each unit was isolated via the solo_unit toggle in main.lua's SCENE (train_build(1, solo_unit); the detonator got a special multi-unit roster). The engine was never run by Claude; every Lua change was syntax-checked with lua54.exe; all SFX were sourced from the original E:/sound packs libraries and converted with ffmpeg -c:a libvorbis -q:a 10 into assets/, loaded in main.lua's GAME SOUNDS block BEFORE volumes_apply_overrides() so F3 snapshots them.

Magician — magic-impact sound:

• User: "use RPG3_Magic_Impact02.wav for its sounds." Found in RPG Magic Sound Effects Pack 3 [ELEMENTAL]/Generic Magic and Impacts/ (48kHz stereo, 1.34s). Converted to assets/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg.
• main.lua: sounds.magic_impact + volumes.magic_impact = 0.4. The magician's blast is instant (cast == impact), so ONE play on cast — sfx(sounds.magic_impact, volumes.magic_impact) added right after spawn_area in the magician attack (units.lua). sfx self-jitters pitch ±5%, so repeats vary without a variant set.

Archer — infinite pierce:

• User: "The archer's projectile should infinitely pierce, that's the only change necessary." Then: drop the per-enemy dedup guard — "If an enemy is pushed back it should get hit by the same projectile again."
• Added a pierce opt to snkrx/projectile.lua (mini-looper's own forked carrier copy — the template deliberately had no pierce, "gameplay-side anyway"; the host game owns its copy so a single boolean gate is the intended place). projectile:new stores self.pierce; on_hit deals damage + FX but only calls self:die() when NOT piercing; spawn_projectile threads the opt. NO hit-set/dedup (per the user) — a pushed enemy re-crossing the arrow takes another hit on a fresh sensor-begin. No main.lua change needed: the sensor dispatch (main.lua:480) already calls pr:on_hit(e) once per begin, guarded only by not pr._dead, which a piercing arrow never sets. Archer def gets pierce = true; the archer has no max_range, so it flies through the whole enemy column and dies only on the off-map cull. Docblock updated.

Earthshaker — Looping Fissure feel pass (the most-iterated unit):

• Discovery: wave.lua is the discrete clear-to-advance enemy-wave director (director_start_wave, director_awaiting_start, the START WAVE button). shake.lua: shake_trauma(s, amount, dur) APPENDS a new trauma instance each call and they SUM (intensity = value²×amplitude per instance, value unclamped, linear decay).
• Random earth sound per loop crack: was fissure_cast_1 (Spell_Earth_02) every 4th crack. Sourced Spell_Earth_01.wav from SFX_Collection/WAV/Combat/ (confirmed the Combat pack is the source because Spell_Earth_04 exists ONLY there, not in the 4 Elements pack; ogg-vs-wav md5 don't match since vorbis is lossy, so the structural fact settled it). New sounds.earth_cast_variants = { Spell_Earth_01(new), fissure_cast_1(=02), fissure_cast_2(=04) } + volumes.earth_cast. spawn_looping_fissure now plays a random variant on EVERY crack (dropped the j % 4 gate).
• Removed the per-crack unit flash/particles: the loop's spawn_area used caster = u, which fired the area carrier's cast juice (flash + spring + cast puff + 4 particles) on the earthshaker ~per crack. Changed to spec = u.spec (keeps color + explicit r = segdir rotation, drops the juice). The aimed Fissure's caster = u was left alone (user only flagged the loop).
• Per-crack trauma shake: replaced shake_shake(loop_shake_each, 0.08) with shake_trauma(main_camera.shake, loop_fissure_trauma, loop_fissure_trauma_dur). New knobs loop_fissure_trauma / loop_fissure_trauma_dur; removed loop_shake_each. Started 0.3/0.18 (deliberately gentle — ~30-50 cracks over the 2.1s wave stack into a sustained rumble); user: "Higher" → bumped to 0.5 (quadratic, ~2.8× intensity).
• Attack lockout during the wave: "When Looping Fissure is happening, the Earthshaker cannot use his normal attack." Added a general u.attack_suppressed flag — set true in spawn_looping_fissure once the wave commits (past the degenerate guards, at the start-shake), cleared by the existing keyed loopfis_end timer at wave's end. unit_attack_update returns early when set (FREEZES the cooldown — a clean pause, not a burst when it lifts).
• Space key — a misread, then corrected: user said "Let me start the next wave by pressing space." Claude first bound space to trigger the Looping Fissure (earthshaker_loop_tick per earthshaker, relying on timer.lua's keyed-name replacement to reset the auto-cadence). User: "Space is creating a looping fissure, I just want it to start a wave" — "wave" meant an ENEMY wave. Re-pointed bind('start_next_wave', 'key:space') → director_start_wave() (a keyboard shortcut for the START WAVE button; guarded internally, no-op mid-wave). Removed the looping-fissure trigger. (Lesson re-logged: "wave" was ambiguous; confirm before re-doing.)

Poisoner — trail feel pass + F1 live knobs + SNKRX sound:

• The poisoner has NO attack; its kit is a passive trail (unit_init_combat schedules drops; spawn_poison drops a persistent circle DoT every poison_drop_interval).
• Poison-sound research: no poison/acid-specific clips in the packs; the palette is bubbling/hiss/sizzle/fizz/snake-hiss. Found candidates: Gamemaster Audio/Comedy_Cartoon/bubble_effect_01-04, Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn1-4, Miscellaneous/Spray Bottle/spray_bottle_*, Animal_Impersonations/snake_hiss_short_*. SNKRX's poison sound (researched in E:/a327ex/SNKRX/player.lua): its dot1 = Sound('Magical Swoosh 18.ogg'), played ONCE per DoT-area creation (Player:dot_attack, vol 0.5, pitch 0.9-1.1, + camera:shake(2,0.5)), NO per-tick sound — an abstract arcane swoosh, not a chemical sound. SNKRX's DotArea visual spawns white → springs → tweens to yellow (confirms the creation-pop design).
• Removed per-drop strobe/fountain: spawn_poison used caster = u (flash + particles every 0.15s). Changed to spec = u.spec, re-added only a brief poison_flash_dur = 0.06 white blip on the unit (was 0.15 via caster).
• Patch creation pop — kept Poisoner-specific. User: "do NOT add the pull as a general thing... this is a Poisoner specific thing... we'll do things like this generally, with huge if/else chains for each character whenever we want specific behaviors, since it's simple." So the patch's flash + spring_pull(a.spring,'main',0.25) live in spawn_poison (reaching into the returned area), NOT in area.lua. Then refined: the pop should fire at FULL radius, not on startup — moved into a timer_after(a.timer, 0.25, 'poison_bloom', ...) (0.25 = the area carrier's persistent tween-up duration); the unit blip stays at cast.
• Magical Swoosh 18 port: found in Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/ (no HD-Remaster variant for this file — only in the 2020 pack). Converted to assets/Magical Swoosh 18.ogg. sounds.poison_cast + volumes.poison_cast = 0.5; played on each drop with random_float(0.9, 1.1) pitch (SNKRX's range). Flagged: at the 0.38s drop rate it repeats often, so 0.5 may want lowering in F3.
• F1 live sliders (Option B): poison_drop_interval and poison_duration exposed as RATE / DUR sliders in a new POISONER section of the F1 panel (grew panel 112→175). RATE needed a refactor: the drop loop was timer_every (interval baked at spawn), changed to a self-rescheduling timer_after('poison_drop', ...) that re-reads poison_drop_interval each cycle so the slider applies live. DUR was already read per-drop.
• Default values: poison_drop_interval = 0.38, poison_duration = 3.2 (the sliders start there).

Detonator — solo setup, cannon sound, sequenced cascade:

• Solo test setup: "spawn 4 inert blocks of random size." main.lua special-cases solo_unit == 'detonator' → builds a roster { 'detonator', + 4× {character='block', size=random_int(1,3)} } via train_build. Verified array.random(t, n) safely returns all elements when n > #t (so Cascade asking for 5 with 4 blocks is fine).
• Cannon explosion sound + per-explosion trauma: reused the cannoneer's explosion_large_variants. detonate_block now plays a random one + shake_trauma(trauma or detonate_block_trauma, detonate_trauma_dur), and switched its area from caster = source to spec = source.spec (so a block pop doesn't also flash the detonator).
• Detonator self-explosion (first in sequence): reused detonate_block(u, u, detonate_self_radius) — same function on the detonator itself gives it a smaller blast with flash + spring-pull juice. New knob detonate_self_radius = 18.
• Staggered cascade: the loop no longer detonates all blocks in one frame — detonator self at t=0, then each block at i*detonate_stagger via timer_after on the detonator's timer (each block explodes at its LIVE position). New knobs detonate_stagger, detonate_self_trauma = 0.35, detonate_block_trauma = 0.45; detonate_trauma_dur shortened 0.6→0.4; removed the single detonate_trauma = 0.9.
• Order fix — ripple back the snake: user: "should start with detonator and go back the snake, right now it isn't doing that." The cascade was detonating RANDOM blocks (array.random). Changed to TRAIN ORDER — iterate blocks[1..n] (already in ascending train index from the ipairs gather), so the ripple travels from the head-detonator back down the body.
• F1 STAGGER slider: added a DETONATOR section to the F1 panel's right column (under the 4 ramming-modifier checkboxes) — detonate_stagger as a live slider (0.0-0.2). It applies on the next detonation since the attack re-reads the global each fire (no refactor needed, unlike poison rate).
• Removed the big hit circle: user noticed the detonator's explosions had a big expanding ring the cannoneer lacked. Grep of every spawn_hit_circle confirmed: the detonator was the ONLY explosion with it, sized to the blast radius (~45px blocks / 18 self) vs every other hit_circle's small fixed 6-20px; the cannoneer's on_death has none. User: "Remove it for the detonator as well." Deleted the spawn_hit_circle line from detonate_block (now visually consistent with the cannon: rect AoE + flash/pop + boom + shake).
• Final tune: detonate_stagger = 0.08.

Assets added (mini-looper/assets/): RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg, Spell_Earth_01.ogg, Magical Swoosh 18.ogg.

Per-unit pass COMPLETE — all nine attacking units now tuned + sounded (geomancer, outlaw, cannoneer, swordsman, magician, archer, earthshaker, poisoner, detonator). Carry-over: the 3 "spice" modifiers still unimplemented; solo_unit is left at 'detonator'; volumes.explosion_large is shared between cannoneer + detonator (split into its own key if they need different levels).

Let's continue on Mini Looper, read last session log summary to get aligned.

I'll get aligned on Mini Looper. Let me read the project memory and find the last session log.

1    ---
2   name: project_mini_looper
3   description: "Mini Looper — active game (SNKRX × tower-defense, on Anchor 2); all three fun-gates passed (movement, ramming endgame, card/mana deploy). Now in the JUICE/production phase: a per-unit attack feel+sound pass via the solo_unit toggle, porting SFX from E:/sound packs."
4   metadata: 
5     node_type: memory
6     type: project
7     originSessionId: f6d87419-3048-4f13-9948-dad03424ef5a
8   ---
9   
10  Mini Looper (`E:/a327ex/mini-looper/`, forked from snkrx-template) is an active game: an on-rails SNKRX-style **train/snake** runs a fixed **loop** defending a central **base**; enemies march in from all edges, train units auto-attack and the body **rams**. A beat-based director scales pressure. It is NOT in the global CLAUDE.md project list yet, and its `.claude/CLAUDE.md` is still the snkrx-template's — the game lives in root `*.lua` (main, loop, train, units, enemy, building, wave, grid, builds, info_text).
11  
12  **⚡ 2026-06-05 — card/mana fun-gate PASSED; now in the JUICE phase (see [[Mini Looper Details 1]]).** The draft/card-deploy slice (grow the train with ramping mana vs rising pressure) was fun-verified — the third fun-gate passed. Now in production-juice: a **per-unit attack feel+sound pass**, one unit at a time. `solo_unit` in main.lua's SCENE isolates one (a unit name → train = N copies of just it; `nil` → random 2-unit starter; count = 1 currently). **Tuned so far:** geomancer (skip lead-prediction for PUSHED enemies — the knockback velocity threw the aim), outlaw (5-knife fan + real knife-throw SFX, fired 5× staggered ~15ms into a flurry), cannoneer (SNKRX cannon-shot on fire + random explosion_large on impact + trauma shake 0.85; note trauma intensity scales with value², value unclamped), swordsman (ported 062026's Cleave: yellow, square offset toward the target, crowd-scaling +1/enemy, layered v3+v2 slashes). **In progress:** magician (silent blast → wants a magic-impact sound, e.g. SNKRX's "Magical Impact" set). **Remaining:** archer, earthshaker, poisoner, detonator (needs blocks → solo-test specially). **SFX-port pipeline:** pull ORIGINALS from `E:/sound packs` (NOT the SNKRX/EBB game copies); for the Ultimate SFX Bundle compare 2020-Pro vs HD-Remaster by decoded-audio md5 (`ffmpeg -f md5 -`) — use HD if it differs, else 2020; convert `ffmpeg -c:a libvorbis -q:a 10` into assets/; load in main.lua's GAME SOUNDS block BEFORE `volumes_apply_overrides()` (so F3 snapshots them); tune live in F3. Sibling project **062026** holds reference unit code to copy from. Also note: AskUserQuestion guidance was removed from the global + mini-looper CLAUDE.md this session (propose options in PROSE, let the user pick or redirect — the tool was forcing answers).
13  
14  **⚠️ 2026-06-04 PIVOT (supersedes the RTS direction below — that text is now HISTORY).** After building part of the RTS loop-economy (resource/economy/extractor/building_ui), the user decided — a **reward-function** call, not a fun verdict — that he doesn't want to *make* a resource-management RTS. DROPPED. New direction: a **draft / card-deploy** version, back in proven SNKRX waters (arrange a build, watch it fight). **Core kept unchanged:** edge-spawn enemies marching INWARD to the central Core (objective; lose when it dies), single train looping the fixed loop auto-attacking + ramming, beat director (wave.lua) for pressure (turn director_enabled back ON). **New:** a card/mana system REPLACES the wood economy as progression — cards = units + modifiers with mana costs; fixed mana ramp per wave (3→4→5…); deploy from a hand BETWEEN waves to grow a minimally-started train. NO pre-run draft for the first slice (big pool + draft-choice = production/replayability, not the gate); the user does want a few NEW varied modifier/effect cards (roster is mostly units). This slice IS the third fun-measurement: "is building the train with ramping mana vs rising pressure fun?" Grey-box, 3 sittings, read the third, kill-criterion stated up front. Decided across the [[Mini Looper Ideaguying]] session, grounded in [[feedback_shipping_gate]] + the Gamedev Progress Assessment (cheap measurement, don't build systems to reach the test).
15  
16  As of 2026-06-02 the **ramming endgame build** is built and **fun-verified** (the build-heavy "End" fun-gate passed — see [[feedback_shipping_gate]]; this was correct A-work, testing fun, not B). It's a hardcoded fake build in `builds.lua` (`setup_ramming_build`): Juggernaut head + variable-size inert white blocks (count-scales contact dmg/speed) + Swordsman (cleave) / Earthshaker (Fissure + Looping Fissure unlock) / Detonator (Cascade) / Poisoner (Virulence) + 2 old ranged units (archer, cannoneer). The F1 panel toggles the ramming modifiers; `b` bursts a test crowd. Each unit's special "unlock" is a hardcoded global flag (`*_unlocked`), on by default.
17  
18  **Production direction (decided in the 2026-06-03 strategy meeting — see [[feedback_shipping_gate]]).** Both build-heavy fun-gates have now passed (*beginning* = movement, *end* = ramming build), so the project enters production via the **constraint**. Key decisions:
19  - **Constraint = an RTS loop-economy, NOT a pre-run draft.** Resource-extraction buildings are placed *inside the loop* near map resource nodes; they pay out **per completed lap**, so **speed is the currency** (the satisfying play and the optimal play align — the reason this beat a draft). A **deterministic (non-random) tech tree** gates unit/capability unlocks; enemy difficulty is stepped to the gates. Player commits to one line per run (resource-scarce).
20  - **Replayability via map variance**, not draft randomness: the loop shape + resource-node positions are generated per run, so which tech lines are viable shifts run-to-run while the tree stays deterministic. Chosen over pure-determinism (solved-game risk), run-modifiers, and randomized unlock offers.
21  - **Chose Option A** (build the *whole game* with a reduced unit set → first complete end-to-end run, never reached before) over building more endgame archetypes. The other 3 archetypes (projectile/construct/mage) are deferred content, NOT a fun-gate — one proven archetype (ramming) is enough.
22  - **Sequencing (defers the historically-dangerous procedural-loop work behind the cheap fun-gate):**
23    - **Slice v0** = economy on the EXISTING fixed `loop.lua` (no generator). One resource, shallow tree (2–3 tiers), 3–4 units, enemy scaling keyed to gates, win/lose. This IS the **third fun-measurement**: is managing the loop + tech line vs. rising pressure fun? Read its verdict as "are the verbs (build/gate/defend/speed-up) satisfying," not "would I play 20h" (variance is omitted in v0, so it can feel solved early).
24    - **Slice v1** = add map variance via a **dead-simple perturbed-loop generator** (randomize `loop.lua`'s per-point radius multipliers + scatter nodes). ⛔ This is NOT the genesis road/piece/turtle-editor system — that infra ate the 2026-05-27 session and was thrown away; rebuilding any piece-kit / closure-search / authoring tool is the named relapse alarm.
25    - **Then** content (more units/lines) → juice → web build → itch page.
26  - Scope tripwire: keep the first economy a **toy**. The `ideas.md` "RTS direction… ideally hundreds of units / standard tech tree" is the scope bomb — stays parked until the economy's fun is proven.
27  
28  **Next session (draft/card-deploy slice — see the 2026-06-04 PIVOT note above):** ONE STEP AT A TIME, design-brief before code. (1) Remove the dropped RTS economy — wood resource + per-lap income (economy.lua), resource nodes (resource.lua), the extractor + its placement, the wood/extractor UI, and the Core's extractor buy-menu (building_ui.lua placement flow + main.lua Core `menu`); KEEP the generic click→panel selection UI; assess grid.lua/buildable-cells (existed only for placement). (2) Turn the director on + strip the train to a minimal start. (3) Build the card/mana data model + per-wave mana ramp + between-wave deploy. (4) Wrap existing units as cards + add a few NEW varied modifier cards. (5) Minimal grey-box deploy UI. (6) Win (survive to beat N) / lose (Core dies). (7) Play, read the third sitting.
29  
30  Carry-over (lower priority): **Psylooper dropped** (too complex, doesn't fit the archetype); the 3 "spice" modifiers (enter/exit aura, proximity-all-damage, crush-on-kill) unimplemented; high-beat test harness still just the `b` burst key. Method that worked well: port real mechanics from SNKRX source (`E:/a327ex/SNKRX/`) and Invoker-old, one unit per increment, design-brief-then-code each time.
... [1 more lines]

a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-01-07-37\ANCHOR.md
a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-01-07-37\CLAUDE.md
a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-02-10-00\ANCHOR.md
a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-02-10-00\CLAUDE.md
a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-01-07-37\IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md
a327ex-site\media\logs\2026-01-02-10-00\IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-01-07-37.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-01-19-37.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-02-10-00.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-02-18-59.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-03-12-30.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-03-15-30.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-03-18-20.md
a327ex-site\logs\2026-01-04-12-15.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-app-design.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-app-phase-1-part-1.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-app-ui-discussion.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-arena-final-and-neovim-diff-tool.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-arena-test.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-1.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-1.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-10.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-11.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-2.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-3.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-4.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-5.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-6.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-7.md
a327ex-site\logs\anchor-phase-10-part-8.md
... [71 more lines]

Let me find the most recent Mini Looper session logs specifically.

a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-road-and-editor.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-attacks-and-enemies.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-movement.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-ramming-endgame-build.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-buildings-and-resources.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-ideaguying.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-card-mana-system.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-details-1.md

a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-road-and-editor.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-attacks-and-enemies.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-movement.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-ramming-endgame-build.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-buildings-and-resources.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-ideaguying.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-card-mana-system.md
a327ex-site\logs\mini-looper-details-1.md

-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 152621 Jun  5 23:20 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-details-1.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 227501 Jun  5 00:44 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-card-mana-system.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 161309 Jun  4 19:23 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-ideaguying.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 229923 Jun  3 14:25 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-buildings-and-resources.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 230417 Jun  2 23:17 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-ramming-endgame-build.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 238809 Jun  2 00:10 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-movement.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 228279 Jun  2 00:10 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-attacks-and-enemies.md
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 234271 May 27 23:49 E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/mini-looper-road-and-editor.md

The most recent is mini-looper-details-1.md (Jun 5). Let me read its summary.

1    Title: Mini Looper Details 1
2   Date: 2026-06-05 23:15:44
3   
4   # Mini Looper Details 1
5   
6   ## Summary
7   
8   A "details" session on Mini Looper (now past all three fun-gates, in the juice/production phase): a **per-unit attack feel + sound pass**, one unit at a time, each isolated as a solo train. Also reworked the AskUserQuestion guidance in CLAUDE.md. The engine was never run by Claude; every Lua change was syntax-checked with `lua54.exe`; all SFX were sourced from the original `E:/sound packs` libraries and converted to ogg via ffmpeg (`-c:a libvorbis -q:a 10`).
9   
10  **CLAUDE.md — drop AskUserQuestion as the reflex (not a ban):**
11  - User: the AskUserQuestion tool "forces me to answer when often times I want to go in a different direction entirely." Wanted its mentions removed but explicitly NOT a "never use it" prohibition ("sometimes it's useful") — replaced with guidance to propose options in prose that he can pick OR redirect.
12  - `E:/a327ex/.claude/CLAUDE.md` "When to Ask": dropped "Use the `AskUserQuestion` tool liberally"; rewrote to "lay it out in chat as a question with labeled options ... then stop and let him pick one *or* redirect entirely." Changed "batch them into one AskUserQuestion call" → "batch them into one message."
13  - `mini-looper/.claude/CLAUDE.md`: the lone "AskUserQuestion for design decisions" bullet → "Surface design decisions ... as options in chat."
14  - Per user follow-ups: checked 062026 (no CLAUDE.md) and Anchor2 (has one, but no AskUserQuestion mention — nothing to change). Left the 6 other projects' copies (snkrx-template, Invoker, ricochet-template, anchor.blot.im, archived mini-looper-old/word-game/generation-loss) untouched.
15  
16  **Per-unit pass setup — the `solo_unit` toggle (main.lua SCENE):**
17  - `solo_unit` = a unit name → `train_build(N, solo_unit)` (train = N copies of just that unit); `nil` → the random 2-unit starter. Count started at 3 (geomancer), then user: "keep it 1 unit only" → count 1 thereafter.
18  - Method: roll the next unit "randomly" from the solo-testable pool (all except detonator, which needs blocks). Order: geomancer → outlaw → cannoneer → swordsman → magician.
19  
20  **Geomancer (rock lob) — one fix:**
21  - User: "Only fix needed for Geomancer is that it shouldn't predict for enemies that are currently being pushed, otherwise it predicts very incorrectly due to the heightened enemy velocity."
22  - `unit_lead_position(e, lead_time)` (units.lua): added `if e.pushed then return e.x, e.y end`. A knocked-back enemy's velocity is the ram impulse (far above its ~25px/s march, and decaying), so extrapolating it over the 2s flight threw the aim wildly past the landing point. `e.pushed` is set/cleared by enemy:push's timer.
23  
24  **Outlaw — 5-knife fan + knife-throw SFX (first sound port):**
25  - User: "Make it a fan of 5 knives and increase the damage a little." `outlaw_pellets` 3→5, per-knife damage 2→3, spread 0.22→0.15 (5 at 0.22 ≈ 50° fan, too wide; 0.15 ≈ 34°).
26  - Sound research / "are they the same?": SNKRX knife throw = `scout1/scout2` = `Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3.ogg`/`4.ogg`. EBB's `knife_throw_1/2` are those SAME files (EBB's own comment maps "knife_throw_1 (Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3)"). SNKRX wall-hit = `Shield Impacts Sword 1.ogg`; NO knife-specific enemy-hit (uses the generic body-hit, which mini-looper already plays via enemy:hit).
27  - User: source ORIGINALS from `E:/sound packs`, not the game copies. Found in `Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Mediveal Fight Sounds Pro/`. The HD-Remaster knife pack DIFFERS (longer durations); SNKRX used the 2020-Pro durations, so used 2020 Pro. Converted `Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3/4` + `Shield Impacts Sword 1` (direct conversion leaves no wavs to delete).
28  - main.lua GAME SOUNDS block (placed BEFORE `volumes_apply_overrides()` so F3 snapshots them): `knife_throw_variants` (vol 0.35), `knife_hit_wall` (vol 0.2). Outlaw fire = random knife_throw variant; wall sound dormant (no walls); enemy hits stay on the body-hit.
29  - User: "Actually play the knife sound 5 times, slightly offset, so it sounds like lots of knives." Each knife plays its own throw — first immediately, the rest via `timer_after(u.timer, (i-1)*outlaw_knife_sfx_gap, ...)` (un-keyed timers get unique ids via `uid(t)`, so all 4 fire). `sfx` self-jitters pitch (`pitch or random_float(0.95,1.05)`) + each picks a random variant → 5 overlapping plays thicken into a flurry. `outlaw_knife_sfx_gap` 0.03 → 0.015.
30  
... [90 more lines]

I'm aligned. Let me quickly confirm the current live state of the per-unit pass (the solo_unit toggle) so I know exactly where we left off.

228-train_contact_damage = 2
229--- PER-UNIT FEEL PASS (this session): isolate ONE unit so its attack can be tuned +
230:-- sounded on its own. solo_unit = a unit name builds the train as several copies of
231:-- just that unit; solo_unit = nil restores the random 2-unit starter. We're going
232--- unit by unit — change this one string to switch which unit we're tuning.
233:solo_unit = 'magician'
234:if solo_unit then
235:  train_build(1, solo_unit)
236-else
237-  local starter_pool = { 'archer', 'magician', 'cannoneer', 'outlaw', 'geomancer', 'swordsman' }

Aligned. Here's where we left off.

Mini Looper — current state

Past all three fun-gates; in the juice/production phase. The active work is a per-unit attack feel + sound pass, one unit at a time, isolated via the solo_unit toggle in main.lua's SCENE (train_build(1, solo_unit) — a train of one unit so its attack can be felt/sounded in isolation).

Done last session (order: geomancer → outlaw → cannoneer → swordsman → magician):

• Geomancer — skip lead-prediction for pushed enemies (knockback velocity was throwing the aim).
• Outlaw — 5-knife fan, dmg 2→3, tighter spread; real knife-throw SFX played 5× staggered ~15ms into a flurry.
• Cannoneer — SNKRX cannon-shot on fire, explosion_large on impact, trauma shake settled at 0.85 (trauma offset is value²·amplitude, unclamped).
• Swordsman — ported 062026's Cleave, recolored yellow, crowd-scaling +1/enemy, layered slashes.

Currently live: solo_unit = 'magician' — set up but not yet tuned. It does an instant 40×40 rect blast on the densest pack (range 110, every 1.5s, dmg 3) with caster juice but no sound. Last session flagged SNKRX's "Magical Impact" set (psychic1/arcane1/force1 = Magical Impact 12/13/18/26) as the likely port.

Remaining in the pass: magician (in progress) → archer → earthshaker → poisoner → detonator (needs blocks, so it's solo-tested specially).

Also parked from last session: the wall system ("if we have tokens left we'll do the wall system").

Where to point this session

The natural continuation is finish magician (port the Magical Impact SFX + tune the blast feel), then keep walking the remaining units. But a few directions are open:

• A — Continue the per-unit pass at magician (the in-progress unit; smallest next step).
• B — Skip ahead to a different unit in the remaining set (archer / earthshaker / poisoner / detonator) if one matters more to you.
• C — Switch to the wall system (the parked structural feature) instead of more unit juice.
• D — Something else entirely — a direction none of these cover.

Which way do you want to go? My recommendation is A (close out the unit that's already half-set-up before moving on), but pick or redirect.

Let's continue on Magician, use RPG3_Magic_Impact02.wav for its sounds.

On it. Let me find the wav file, review the magician's current attack code, and the sound-loading pattern.

36:magician_cooldown  = 1.5
46:unit_type_order     = { 'archer', 'magician', 'cannoneer', 'outlaw', 'geomancer' }
54:magician_spec  = { pattern = 'organic', pattern_scale = 0.5, color = 'mix',
117:-- MAGICIAN — instant rectangular AoE on the densest enemy pack (area carrier).
119:unit_defs['magician'] = {
120:  cooldown   = function() return magician_cooldown end,
123:  spec       = magician_spec,

E:/sound packs/RPG Magic Sound Effects Pack 3 [ELEMENTAL]/Generic Magic and Impacts/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.wav

Found the wav. Let me read the magician def and the GAME SOUNDS block.

115  
116 
117 -- MAGICIAN — instant rectangular AoE on the densest enemy pack (area carrier).
118 -- A 40px square with a light cast shake (small attack -> small shake).
119 unit_defs['magician'] = {
120   cooldown   = function() return magician_cooldown end,
121   range      = 110,
122   aoe_radius = 20,        -- targeting: center the square on a pack
123   spec       = magician_spec,
124   attack = function(u, target)
125     spawn_area(target.x, target.y, {
126       shape  = 'rect',
127       radius = 20,        -- half-side -> 40x40 square
128       damage = 3,
129       caster = u,
130       shake  = 2,
131     })
132   end,
133 }
134 
135 
136 -- CANNONEER — a NORMAL projectile (10x4, like the archer) that EXPLODES into a
137 -- rectangular AoE on impact (SNKRX: "projectile that deals 2x AoE damage"),
138 -- aimed at the densest pack. SNKRX's cannon boom on fire (Cannon shots 1/7) +
139 -- a strong TRAUMA-system camera shake on the blast (like the detonator).
140 cannon_trauma     = 0.85   -- explosion trauma (felt shake scales with trauma^2, value unclamped). cf. detonator 0.9 cascade
141 cannon_trauma_dur = 0.6    -- ... decaying over this long
142 unit_defs['cannoneer'] = {
143   cooldown   = function() return cannoneer_cooldown end,
144   range      = 140,
... [25 more lines]

104-
105--- ============================================================
106:-- GAME SOUNDS  (mini-looper's own, beyond the snkrx toolkit bank in
107--- snkrx/init.lua). Loaded as ORIGINALS — F3's per-sound DSP applies any
108--- lo-fi crunch at runtime; the volumes here are the baseline. MUST sit before
109:-- volumes_apply_overrides() below so the F3 tuner snapshots them as baseline.
110--- ============================================================
111--- Knife throw (the outlaw's fan): the SNKRX / emoji-project knife sound, a random
112--- pair from the Medieval Fight Sounds pack (Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3 / 4).
113:sounds.knife_throw_variants = {
114-  sound_load('assets/Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3.ogg'),
115-  sound_load('assets/Throwing Knife (Thrown) 4.ogg'),
--
122--- Cannon fire (the cannoneer's shot): SNKRX's cannoneer boom, a random pair from
123--- the Pirate Sounds pack (Cannon shots 1 / 7).
124:sounds.cannon_fire_variants = {
125-  sound_load('assets/Cannon shots 1.ogg'),
126-  sound_load('assets/Cannon shots 7.ogg'),
--
133--- Cannon impact explosion (the cannoneer's blast): a random large explosion from
134--- the Gamemaster Audio pack, played when the shell hits an enemy or a wall.
135:sounds.explosion_large_variants = {
136-  sound_load('assets/explosion_large_02.ogg'),
137-  sound_load('assets/explosion_large_03.ogg'),
--
147--- the snapshot will miss them and the tuner will write your custom
148--- entries to volume_tuning.lua even when you haven't changed them.
149:volumes_apply_overrides()
150-
151--- ============================================================

Let me inspect the wav file and the exact load-block context so the brief is accurate.

sample_rate=48000
channels=2
duration=1.336208
---siblings---
RPG3_GenericArrow_Impact01.wav
RPG3_GenericArrow_Impact02.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_Impact01.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_Impact02.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_Impact03.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_LowImpact01.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_LowImpact02.wav
RPG3_GenericCannon_LowImpact03.wav
RPG3_GenericPunch_Impact01.wav
RPG3_GenericPunch_Impact02.wav
RPG3_GenericPunch_Impact03.wav
RPG3_GenericPunch_Impact04Crit.wav
RPG3_Magic2_HeavyImpact01.wav
RPG3_Magic2_HeavyImpact02.wav
RPG3_Magic2_HeavyImpact03.wav
RPG3_Magic2_HeavyImpact04Crit.wav
RPG3_Magic2_LightImpact01.wav
RPG3_Magic2_LightImpact02.wav
RPG3_Magic2_LightImpact03.wav
RPG3_Magic2_LightImpact04Crit.wav
RPG3_MagicArrow_Impact01.wav
RPG3_MagicArrow_Impact02.wav
RPG3_MagicArrow_Impact03.wav
RPG3_MagicArrow_Impact04Crit.wav
RPG3_MagicCute_P3_Impact.wav
RPG3_MagicCute_P3_Impactv2.wav
... [9 more lines]

110  -- ============================================================
111 -- Knife throw (the outlaw's fan): the SNKRX / emoji-project knife sound, a random
112 -- pair from the Medieval Fight Sounds pack (Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3 / 4).
113 sounds.knife_throw_variants = {
114   sound_load('assets/Throwing Knife (Thrown) 3.ogg'),
115   sound_load('assets/Throwing Knife (Thrown) 4.ogg'),
116 }
117 volumes.knife_throw = 0.35
118 -- Knife hitting a WALL (a metal clink). Loaded + F3-tunable now; gets wired into
119 -- the projectile carrier's wall path once the wall system lands (no walls yet).
120 sounds.knife_hit_wall = sound_load('assets/Shield Impacts Sword 1.ogg')
121 volumes.knife_hit_wall = 0.2
122 -- Cannon fire (the cannoneer's shot): SNKRX's cannoneer boom, a random pair from
123 -- the Pirate Sounds pack (Cannon shots 1 / 7).
124 sounds.cannon_fire_variants = {
125   sound_load('assets/Cannon shots 1.ogg'),
126   sound_load('assets/Cannon shots 7.ogg'),
127 }
128 volumes.cannon_fire = 0.5
129 -- Cannonball hitting a WALL. Loaded + F3-tunable now; wired into the projectile
130 -- carrier's wall path once the wall system lands (no walls yet).
131 sounds.cannon_hit_wall = sound_load('assets/Cannon impact sounds (Hitting ship) 4.ogg')
132 volumes.cannon_hit_wall = 0.1
133 -- Cannon impact explosion (the cannoneer's blast): a random large explosion from
134 -- the Gamemaster Audio pack, played when the shell hits an enemy or a wall.
135 sounds.explosion_large_variants = {
136   sound_load('assets/explosion_large_02.ogg'),
137   sound_load('assets/explosion_large_03.ogg'),
138   sound_load('assets/explosion_large_04.ogg'),
139 }
... [10 more lines]

I have everything. Here's the design brief.

Design brief — Magician blast sound

Context. The magician fires an instant 40×40 rect AoE on the densest pack every 1.5s (dmg 3, caster juice) but is currently silent. We're giving it RPG3_Magic_Impact02.wav (RPG Magic SFX Pack 3 [ELEMENTAL], "Generic Magic and Impacts" — 48kHz stereo, 1.34s). Because the blast is instant, the cast and the impact are the same moment, so it's one sound played once on cast — not a fire/impact pair like the cannoneer.

Approach.

1. Convert the original → mini-looper/assets/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg via the established pipeline (ffmpeg -c:a libvorbis -q:a 10). Single pack, no 2020/HD split to reconcile here.
2. Load it in main.lua's GAME SOUNDS block, before volumes_apply_overrides() so F3 snapshots it as baseline. A single sound (not a _variants list), since you specified one file — sfx already self-jitters pitch ±5% per play, so repeated casts won't sound machine-gun identical: sounds.magic_impact = sound_load('assets/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg') volumes.magic_impact = 0.4 -- baseline; tune live in F3 (0.4 is a starting guess — between the knife's 0.35 and the cannon's 0.5. The whole point of F3 is you'll dial it in by ear.)
3. Wire it into the magician's attack in units.lua — one sfx(sounds.magic_impact, volumes.magic_impact) right after spawn_area(...), so the blast and its sound fire together.

Interfaces. Touches two files: main.lua (GAME SOUNDS block, +2 lines) and units.lua (magician attack, +1 line). Reuses the existing sfx / sound_load / sounds / volumes plumbing exactly as the cannoneer and outlaw do. No new mechanics.

Open question — one decision for you: there are sibling files that could become a variant set later (RPG3_Magic_Impact01/03, plus Magic2_Light/HeavyImpact, MagicArrow, etc.). For now I'm doing the single Impact02 you asked for. If you'd rather I pull 01/02/03 as a random-variant trio (like the cannon/knife pattern), say so — otherwise I go with the single file.

Sound good, or adjust the volume baseline / placement?

Go ahead.

      copyright       : 2021 W.O.W SOUND (RPG Magic SFX Pack 3) https://wowsound.com
[out#0/ogg @ 0000019fdcafe580] video:0KiB audio:60KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:4KiB muxing overhead: 8.049389%
size=      65KiB time=00:00:01.33 bitrate= 396.6kbits/s speed=42.3x elapsed=0:00:00.03    
---verify---
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 66244 Jun  6 07:22 assets/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg

Converted. Now the two edits.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Now syntax-check both files.

main.lua OK
units.lua OK

Both files pass syntax check. Done.

What changed:

• assets/RPG3_Magic_Impact02.ogg — converted from the original wav (-c:a libvorbis -q:a 10).
• main.lua GAME SOUNDS block — sounds.magic_impact + volumes.magic_impact = 0.4, placed before volumes_apply_overrides() so F3 snapshots it.
• units.lua magician attack — sfx(sounds.magic_impact, volumes.magic_impact) fires alongside the blast.

To test: solo_unit is already 'magician', so just run the game. The magician train fires its 40×40 blast on the densest pack every 1.5s — you should now hear the magic impact on each cast, pitch-jittered ±5% so repeats don't sound identical.

• If the level's off, hit F3, find magic_impact, and tune the volume by ear (I started it at 0.4 — a guess between the knife and cannon). S saves it to volume_tuning.lua.
• If you decide you want the variant trio (Impact 01/02/03) instead of the single file, say the word.

That closes out magician. The remaining units in the pass are archer → earthshaker → poisoner → detonator (detonator needs blocks, so it's the special one). Want to keep walking the list — and if so, shall I roll the next one, or do you have a preference for which?

Let's go to the next.

Let me read the units file to see the current state of the remaining units before picking the next.

1    --[[
2     units.lua — the shared unit auto-attack scaffold + the per-character
3     attack registry (mini-looper).
4   
5     Every train unit is an auto-attacker: on a cooldown it finds the nearest
6     enemy in range and fires a carrier at it. The shared machinery (target
7     acquisition, cooldown tick, fire) lives here; each character is ONE entry
8     in unit_defs. Adding a unit = add a registry entry — no new plumbing,
9     since the carrier update / draw / damage loops already live in main.lua.
10  
11    train_unit (train.lua) owns self.character + self.attack_cooldown, takes
12    its color (self.spec) from its def, and calls unit_attack_update(self, dt)
13    each frame.
14  
15    Desync: cooldowns are seeded with a random phase AND jittered on every
16    reset (cooldown_jitter), and an idle unit (no target in range) re-arms
17    after a small random delay — so a cluster of units never fires on the
18    same frame. Without this they collapse to "ready" while idle and volley
19    in lockstep the instant enemies arrive.
20  
21    unit_defs[name] = {
22      cooldown,         -- seconds between attacks (number OR function -> number,
23                        --   so it can read a live tuning knob)
24      cooldown_jitter,  -- optional ± fraction applied on each reset (default 0.15)
25      range,            -- target-acquisition radius (px)
26      spec,             -- effect spec = the unit's (and its projectiles') color
27      attack,           -- function(u, target): fire the unit's carrier at target
28    }
29  ]]
30  
... [564 more lines]

Read the full unit registry. The next solo-testable unit in order is archer (the simplest — earthshaker and poisoner remain after it; detonator is the special one that needs blocks). Let me flip the toggle so you can play it.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Switched solo_unit = 'archer' — run the game and you'll get a train of archers firing single arrows at the nearest enemy.

Archer — current state

It's the baseline ranged unit, already partly juiced from the template defaults:

• Attack: single straight arrow at the nearest enemy. Cooldown 1.0s, range 130, dmg 2, speed 200.
• Fire feel: shake = 1 (tiniest kick) + the projectile carrier's flash + recoil spring + muzzle puff/cone particles.
• Fire sound: arrow_shoot only (RPG3_GenericArrow_Shoot01).
• On hit: the projectile carrier's spec-tinted hit FX + the enemy's generic body-hit sound (enemy_hit). No arrow-specific impact sound.

So unlike magician/outlaw/cannon, the archer already makes sound — it's the one unit that came pre-sounded from the template. That makes this less a "port a sound" job and more a "does it feel good, and what's missing" judgment call.

Where the archer's feel pass could go

A few directions, none mandatory — listen first, it may already be close:

• A — Leave the mechanic, thicken the fire sound. v1 layered two sounds on every arrow shot (arrow_shoot + arrow_hit_wood as a twang stack); we only play arrow_shoot. Adding the second layer gives the shot more body. Smallest change.
• B — Add an arrow-impact sound on enemy hit. Right now the arrow landing only triggers the generic body-hit. A dedicated arrow thunk (the pack has RPG3_GenericArrow_Impact01/02) would make hits read as arrow hits. Needs a small hook into the projectile's on-hit.
• C — Touch the mechanic — e.g. a faster/snappier arrow, a double-shot, or a small pierce. This drifts toward gameplay design rather than pure feel, so I'd flag it as the bigger move.
• D — It's already fine — play it, decide nothing needs doing, move to earthshaker.

My read: the archer's whole identity is "the simple clean baseline," so I'd lean A or B (keep it simple, just make the shot and/or impact sound better) and avoid C unless you want to give it a gameplay hook. But you've driven each unit's direction so far — how do you want to shape the archer? Or play it first and tell me what it's missing.

The archer's projectile should infinitely pierce, that's the only change necessary.

Let me read the projectile carrier to see how it handles hits and death, so I wire piercing in correctly.

1    --[[
2     projectile.lua — straight-line attack carrier (minimal v1 port).
3   
4     Scope of this first pass (per session 2 decisions):
5       • Default rounded-rect shape (w=10, h=4). No shape variants yet
6         (ball_lightning circle, wind_slash blades, arc crescent come later).
7       • Straight-line travel only. No homing / linear-return / arc-return.
8       • Sensor box collider — projectiles pass through enemies/walls
9         visually. Enemy hits are surfaced via sensor_entities_begin in
10        main.lua. Walls are caught by a per-frame forward raycast (sensors
11        don't physically collide).
12      • Spawn juice: spring pull on 'main' + 0.2s white flash.
13      • Wall hit:  6r/0.15s hit_circle + 2 particles, then die.
14      • Enemy hit: full damage + hit_effect sprite burst, then die. No
15        pierce/chain in this first pass — that's gameplay-side anyway.
16      • Death:     8r/0.2s hit_circle + 2 particles, particle color =
17                   spec_color(self.spec).
18  
19    Caller API (per session 2 decision — "everything in spawn_projectile,
20    caster passed in, everything else derived"):
21      spawn_projectile(caster, {
22        aim_r,             -- optional, default: caster -> main_camera.mouse
23        spawn_offset,      -- default 8 (v1's hardcoded muzzle offset)
24        spec,              -- four-axis effect spec; default caster.spec
25        max_range,         -- default nil = unlimited
26        damage,            -- default 1
27        speed,             -- default 190
28        w, h,              -- default 10, 4
29        on_death,          -- optional fn(x, y) called at the impact/death point
30                           --   (NOT on off-screen cull) — a host-composition
... [276 more lines]

Read the carrier. One thing to verify — how main.lua dispatches the projectile↔enemy sensor event, since piercing changes the projectile's lifetime.

11-
12:    snkrx/<carrier>.lua     attack toolkit — projectile / area / beam
13-                            / flicker / prop, the effect draw-shader
--
118--- Knife hitting a WALL (a metal clink). Loaded + F3-tunable now; gets wired into
119:-- the projectile carrier's wall path once the wall system lands (no walls yet).
120-sounds.knife_hit_wall = sound_load('assets/Shield Impacts Sword 1.ogg')
--
128-volumes.cannon_fire = 0.5
129:-- Cannonball hitting a WALL. Loaded + F3-tunable now; wired into the projectile
130--- carrier's wall path once the wall system lands (no walls yet).
131:sounds.cannon_hit_wall = sound_load('assets/Cannon impact sounds (Hitting ship) 4.ogg')
132:volumes.cannon_hit_wall = 0.1
133--- Cannon impact explosion (the cannoneer's blast): a random large explosion from
--
162-physics_register_tag('enemy')
163:physics_register_tag('projectile')   -- carrier: projectile (sensor box)
164-physics_register_tag('debris')       -- carrier: prop shatter shards
--
172-physics_enable_collision('building', 'enemy')  -- mini-looper: enemies attack buildings
173:physics_enable_sensor('projectile', 'enemy')   -- carrier: projectile hits
174-physics_enable_collision('debris', 'debris')   -- carrier: prop
--
359-
360:         spawn_projectile(p, { damage = 1, speed = 190, max_range = 220,
361-           fire_sounds = {{ sound = sounds.arrow_shoot,
--
375-
376:       Example — a projectile on left click (also bind 'fire' above):
377-         if is_pressed('fire') and not p._dead then
... [24 more lines]

The sensor dispatch (main.lua:480) already calls pr:on_hit(e) once per begin event, guarded only by not pr._dead. That's the key: a piercing arrow never goes _dead on hit, so each enemy it passes through fires its own on_hit. No main.lua change needed. Here's the brief.

Design brief — archer infinite pierce

Approach. Today projectile:on_hit(e) deals damage + hit FX, then calls self:die() — so the arrow dies on the first enemy. Pierce = skip that die() and keep flying. The archer has no max_range, so a non-dying arrow flies through everything and only dies on the off-map cull (or a wall, once walls exist) — i.e. infinite pierce, for free.

Two pieces:

1. A pierce flag on the projectile. In on_hit: deal damage + FX as now, but only self:die() when not piercing.
2. A per-arrow hit-set (self.hit_ids keyed by enemy id) so an enemy is damaged at most once per arrow. This isn't theoretical paranoia — enemies get knocked back by rams (:push), and a pushed enemy can be flung back across a still-flying arrow's path, which would re-trigger a begin event and double-hit without the guard.

Interfaces. Only two touch-points:

• snkrx/projectile.lua (mini-looper's own forked copy) — projectile:new stores self.pierce + self.hit_ids; on_hit dedups and conditionally dies; spawn_projectile threads the pierce opt through. Plus a docblock update (the current comment says "No pierce/chain — that's gameplay-side anyway").
• units.lua archer def — add pierce = true to its spawn_projectile call.

No change to main.lua.

One design note for you. The carrier deliberately had no pierce ("gameplay-side anyway") to keep the template pure. mini-looper is the host game that's supposed to add gameplay on top, and it owns its snkrx/ copy, so a single pierce boolean gating one die() call is the intended "host adds a knob," not the start of a modifier system. I think that's the right home for it (the alternative — intercepting in main.lua's dispatch — would need the carrier to expose damage-without-die separately, which is messier). Flagging it since it consciously diverges from a documented decision.

Good to proceed?

If an enemy is pushed back it should get hit by the same projectile again, I think you don't need to hit_ids guard on enemies. Other than that everything looks good.

Agreed — dropping the hit_ids guard entirely. A pushed enemy crossing the arrow again gets a fresh begin event and takes another hit, which is exactly what you want. Simpler. Implementing now.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Now the archer def — add pierce = true and correct its (now stale) comment.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

projectile.lua OK
units.lua OK
main.lua OK

All three files pass syntax check. Done.

What changed:

• snkrx/projectile.lua — added a pierce opt (mini-looper's own carrier copy). projectile:new stores self.pierce; on_hit skips self:die() when piercing (so the arrow keeps flying); spawn_projectile threads the opt through. No per-enemy dedup, per your call — a pushed enemy re-crossing the arrow takes another hit. Docblock updated.
• units.lua — archer's spawn_projectile gets pierce = true; stale comment corrected.

To test: solo_unit is already 'archer', so just run. Each arrow now passes through every enemy it crosses and flies off-screen instead of dying on the first hit — a column of enemies marching in a line should all take a hit from one arrow. Knock an enemy back into a still-flying arrow's path (via a ram) and it'll take a second hit.

That's archer done. Remaining in the pass: earthshaker → poisoner → detonator (detonator needs blocks, tested specially). Say the word and I'll flip to the next one.

Great, let's do earthshaker.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Switched solo_unit = 'earthshaker'. This is the most complex remaining unit — it has two effects firing in solo mode, so here's the full picture before you decide what to tune.

Earthshaker — current state

1. Fissure (the main attack, cooldown 1.0s, range 80)

• A forward-marching chain of 4 jagged-rect areas that race from the unit toward the nearest enemy, each cracking open fissure_delay = 0.08s after the last. Radius 14, dmg 3 per crack, spacing 2 radii.
• Sound: fissure_cast_1 (Spell_Earth_02.ogg) played once per crack → 4 staggered earth-cracks per cast.
• Shake: one shake_shake(4, 0.25) rumble per cast.
• Each crack wavers ±8° so the chain looks organic.

2. Looping Fissure (the unlock, on by default — earth_loop_unlocked)

• Periodically a fissure races backward around the entire loop from the earthshaker, one crack every ~30px of arc, over ~2.1s — a traveling shockwave that damages enemies as it sweeps the whole ring.
• Sound: fissure_cast_1 every 4th crack (to avoid spam).
• Shake: 6 at start, 1.5 per crack as it travels, 6 at the end.
• Cooldown counts from the effect's end: 10s gap after the wave finishes.

So in solo mode you'll see frequent small forward fissures plus an occasional loop-wide wave. It's already sounded (both use Spell_Earth_02) — like the archer, this is a "does it feel right" judgment, not a from-scratch port.

Where the earthshaker's feel pass could go

• A — Sound variety / depth. Both effects lean on the single Spell_Earth_02 clip. Options: pull a variant set (the elemental pack has more earth/impact clips) so cracks don't sound identical, and/or layer a low rumble under the cast for weight. Currently fissure_cast_2 (Spell_Earth_04) is loaded but only used by the geomancer's rock — could be added as a second earth layer.
• B — The Looping Fissure's audio rhythm. Every-4th-crack can read as either "nice sparse rumble" or "disconnected from the visual." Worth a listen — might want it denser, or a distinct start/end boom separate from the per-crack ticks.
• C — Shake/impact feel. The fissure uses the older shake_shake (directional-less). The cannoneer/detonator moved to the shake_trauma system for a punchier, decaying rumble. The earthshaker could get the same treatment if the current shake feels weak.
• D — Mechanic tweak — crack count, spacing, speed, the waver. Drifts toward design rather than feel; bigger move.
• E — It's fine — play it, move to poisoner.

My read: the earthshaker's signature is rumble and ground-cracking, and right now it's a bit thin — one repeated clip + an old-style shake. I'd lean A + C (sound depth + trauma shake) as the highest-impact feel work, leaving the mechanic alone. But you've driven each unit — play it and tell me what it's missing, or pick a direction.

Looping Fissure sound each new area: Spell_Earth_01.wav, also 02 and 04, playing one at random. Currently the earthshaker unit has particles and flash happen on it on each new Looping Fissure area, that shouldn't happen. Looping Fissure areas should also each apply trauma based shake, modelled on other attacks that use such shakes, I believe maybe Cannoneer, Big Rock and Detonator.

Three specific changes to the Looping Fissure. Let me read area.lua to see exactly what caster does (so I remove the unit's flash/particles correctly while keeping the area's color), and confirm the trauma-shake signature.

1    --[[
2     area.lua — area-of-effect attack carrier.
3   
4     Three base shapes with an orthogonal `jagged` flag:
5       'circle'  + jagged=false:  filled disc + orbiting arc segments
6       'circle'  + jagged=true:   filled disc + jittered perimeter polygon outline
7       'rect'    + jagged=false:  filled rect + bracket corners
8       'rect'    + jagged=true:   filled triangle fan + jittered perimeter polygon outline
9       'polygon' + jagged=false:  filled disc + clean polygon outline
10      'polygon' + jagged=true:   filled disc + jittered polygon outline (jitter mutates hit area)
11  
12    Damage queries match base shape (not jagged):
13      circle  → query_entities_circle   (jagged is visual-only)
14      rect    → query_entities_box      (jagged is visual-only)
15      polygon → query_entities_polygon  (jagged actually changes hit area, since verts are the shape)
16  
17    Two lifecycle modes selected by `duration`:
18  
19      Instant (default, duration = nil): tween radius 0 → target over 0.05s
20        → single damage pass + spring pop + 0.15s flash → 0.2s hold → blink × 7 → kill.
21  
22      Persistent (duration set): tween radius 0 → target over 0.25s. Damage
23        ticks every `tick_rate` seconds (default 0.5s); each tick that lands
24        on anyone plays `dot_tick`, pulls the spring 0.1, flashes 0.1s, and
25        spikes the arc speed by 1.25π (capped at 3π). After `duration`
26        seconds, blink × 7 → kill. Per-enemy cooldown prevents the same
27        enemy from being hit more than once per tick_rate window.
28  
29    Caller API:
30      spawn_area(x, y, {
... [471 more lines]

Now I understand the caster mechanics — it's what triggers the unit's flash + cast particles. Let me read the shake system to model the per-crack trauma correctly (whether it accumulates or resets), and locate the Spell_Earth_01.wav source.

1    --[[
2     shake — procedural camera shake system.
3   
4     Lives as a sub-structure of a camera. Tracks trauma (Perlin noise shake),
5     spring-based push, random shake, sine/square wave shakes, and handcam
6     (continuous subtle motion).
7   
8     Usage:
9       -- Part of camera_new; normally you don't create shake directly.
10      -- In game code you access camera.shake.
11      shake_push(camera.shake, angle, amount)
12      shake_shake(camera.shake, amplitude, duration)
13      shake_trauma(camera.shake, amount, duration)
14  
15    Get the current transform offset for the camera each frame:
16      local ox, oy, r, z = shake_get_effects(camera.shake)
17  ]]
18  
19  --[[
20    shake_new()
21    Create a new shake state table. Normally called by camera_new.
22  ]]
23  function shake_new()
24    return {
25      -- Trauma (Perlin noise shake)
26      trauma_instances = {},
27      trauma_amplitude = {x = 24, y = 24, rotation = 0.2, zoom = 0.2},
28      trauma_time = 0,
29  
30      -- Spring-based push (directional impulses)
... [257 more lines]

E:/sound packs/SFX_Collection/WAV/4 Elements (air, fire, earth, water)/Spell_Earth_01.wav
E:/sound packs/SFX_Collection/WAV/Combat/Spell_Earth_01.wav
---existing earth oggs in assets---
Spell_Earth_02.ogg
Spell_Earth_04.ogg

Now I understand shake_trauma fully — crucially, each call appends a new trauma instance and they sum (intensity = value²×amplitude per instance, summed). That matters here: a loop-wide wave drops many cracks in rapid succession, so per-crack trauma will overlap and stack. I'll keep the per-crack value small and make it a tunable knob.

There are two Spell_Earth_01.wav sources. Let me confirm which pack the existing 02/04 came from so 01 matches.

=== 4 Elements folder ===
Spell_EarthSpear_01.wav
Spell_EarthSpear_02.wav
Spell_EarthSpear_03.wav
Spell_Earth_01.wav
Spell_Earth_02.wav
Spell_Earth_03.wav
Spell_Earth_Buff.wav
Spell_Earth_Critical_01.wav
Spell_Earth_Critical_02.wav
Spell_Earth_Critical_03.wav
Spell_Earth_Impact_01.wav
Spell_Earth_Impact_02.wav
Spell_Earth_Impact_03.wav
Spell_Earth_Impact_Critical.wav
Spell_Earth_Loop_01.wav
Spell_Earth_Loop_02.wav
Spell_Earth_Small_Whoosh_01.wav
Spell_Earth_Small_Whoosh_02.wav
Spell_Earth_Small_Whoosh_03.wav
Spell_Earth_Whoosh_01.wav
Spell_Earth_Whoosh_02.wav
Spell_Earth_Whoosh_03.wav
Spell_Earthquake_Loop.wav
=== Combat folder ===
Spell_Earth_01.wav
Spell_Earth_02.wav
Spell_Earth_03.wav
Spell_Earth_04.wav
Spell_Earth_05.wav
... [8 more lines]

Confirmed the source: Spell_Earth_04 exists only in the Combat/ pack (the 4 Elements pack has no _04), so the existing 02/04 assets came from Combat — 01 should too, for consistency. (The ogg-vs-wav md5s don't match because vorbis is lossy; the structural fact settles it.)

Here's the brief for all three changes.

Design brief — Looping Fissure feel pass

All three changes live in spawn_looping_fissure (units.lua), plus one sound added to main.lua. The aimed Fissure and the wave's start/end shakes are untouched — you only flagged the per-area loop behavior.

1. Random earth sound on every loop crack.

• Convert Combat/Spell_Earth_01.wav → assets/Spell_Earth_01.ogg.
• In main.lua GAME SOUNDS, add a variant set reusing the already-loaded handles for 02/04: sounds.earth_cast_variants = { Spell_Earth_01(new), fissure_cast_1(=02), fissure_cast_2(=04) } volumes.earth_cast = volumes.fissure_cast_1 -- own knob, tune in F3
• In spawn_looping_fissure, drop the current "sound every 4th crack" gate (snd = j % 4 == 1) and instead play sfx(array.random(sounds.earth_cast_variants), volumes.earth_cast) on every crack. (Each crack already pitch-jitters via sfx, so 3 clips × pitch variance reads as a rich rolling rumble, not a loop.)

2. Remove the earthshaker's flash + particles per loop crack.

• The flash/particles come from caster = u in the loop's spawn_area — caster triggers the unit's white flash, recoil spring, and a cast puff + 4 particles per crack (38 cracks → 38 puffs on the unit). Change caster = u → spec = u.spec. That keeps the crack's color and its explicit r = segdir rotation, but drops all the caster-side juice. The aimed Fissure keeps its caster = u (you only flagged the loop).

3. Trauma-based shake per loop crack (modeled on cannoneer/detonator/big-rock).

• Replace the per-crack shake_shake(loop_shake_each, 0.08) with shake_trauma(main_camera.shake, loop_fissure_trauma, loop_fissure_trauma_dur) — the same Perlin-noise decaying shake those attacks use.
• Important subtlety: shake_trauma appends a new instance every call and they sum (intensity = value²×amplitude each). The wave drops ~30–50 cracks over ~2.1s, so several trauma instances overlap at any moment and stack into a sustained rumble. So the per-crack value must be small — I'll start loop_fissure_trauma = 0.3, loop_fissure_trauma_dur = 0.18 (vs a single cannon blast at 0.85). These are code knobs (not F3), so they're prominent named globals you tune-and-rerun. Starting deliberately on the gentle side — a too-violent full-screen shake sustained for 2 seconds is nauseating; easier to crank up than to discover it's sickening.
• loop_shake_each (1.5) becomes unused → removed. loop_shake_start/loop_shake_end (the wave's start/finish booms) stay as shake_shake — not flagged.

Files: main.lua (+sound/volume, 2 lines), units.lua (3 edits in spawn_looping_fissure + swap the loop_shake_each knob for the two trauma knobs).

Good to go, or adjust the trauma starting values / sound set?

Go ahead.

Approved. Converting the sound and making the three edits.

size=     133KiB time=00:00:02.22 bitrate= 487.6kbits/s speed=48.1x elapsed=0:00:00.04    
---verify---
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 135707 Jun  6 08:03 assets/Spell_Earth_01.ogg

Now the sound load in main.lua:

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Now the units.lua knob swap and the spawn-closure edits:

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK
main.lua OK

Both pass. Done.

What changed:

• assets/Spell_Earth_01.ogg — converted from the Combat pack (same source as 02/04).
• main.lua — added sounds.earth_cast_variants (01 + the existing 02/04 handles) and volumes.earth_cast.
• units.lua spawn_looping_fissure — every crack now (1) plays a random earth clip instead of one fixed clip every 4th, (2) spawns with spec = u.spec instead of caster = u so the earthshaker no longer flashes/puffs per crack, and (3) emits a shake_trauma rumble instead of the old shake_shake. Swapped the loop_shake_each knob for loop_fissure_trauma / loop_fissure_trauma_dur.

To test: solo_unit is already 'earthshaker', so just run. Two things to watch, but note the timing:

• The aimed Fissure (forward 4-crack chain) fires every ~1s when an enemy is within 80px — unchanged, your reference for "before."
• The Looping Fissure (the loop-wide wave) is on a 10s timer — the first one fires ~10s after start, then 10s after each completes. When it sweeps the ring, listen for the rolling random-earth rumble + the accumulating trauma shake, and confirm the earthshaker unit no longer flashes or spits particles on each crack.

Tuning:

• Rumble too weak/violent? Edit loop_fissure_trauma (0.3) / loop_fissure_trauma_dur (0.18) at the top of the earthshaker block in units.lua and rerun. I started gentle on purpose — a sustained full-screen shake for 2s gets sickening fast, so crank up from here.
• Sound level: F3 → earth_cast → tune, S to save.

That's the earthshaker pass. Remaining: poisoner → detonator (detonator needs blocks, tested specially). Say when and I'll flip to poisoner.

When Looping Fissure is happening, the Earthshaker cannot use his normal attack. Let me start the next wave by pressing space.

Two changes: gate the normal attack while the wave is traveling, and add a space key to trigger a wave on demand. Let me check how input is bound in main.lua and how keyed timers behave (so the manual trigger doesn't double-arm).

93-require('loop')   -- waypoint loop: loop_points, build_loop_ring, loop_draw
94:require('train')  -- steered train: train_units, train_unit, train_*
95-require('enemy')  -- center-seeking enemy: enemies, enemy, spawn_enemy_at_edge
--
189--- ============================================================
190:bind('left',  'key:a'); bind('left',  'key:left')
191:bind('right', 'key:d'); bind('right', 'key:right')
192:bind('up',    'key:w'); bind('up',    'key:up')
193:bind('down',  'key:s'); bind('down',  'key:down')
194:bind('toggle_debug_draw', 'key:f2')
195:bind('toggle_tuning',     'key:f1')      -- mini-looper: show/hide the tuning panel
196:bind('spawn_enemy',       'key:e')       -- mini-looper: spawn one enemy at a random edge
197:bind('spawn_burst',       'key:b')       -- mini-looper: dump a crowd of enemies (ram test)
198:bind('restart',           'key:r')       -- mini-looper: restart after the base is destroyed
199:bind('quit_game',         'key:escape')  -- mini-looper: ESC quits immediately
200:bind('hand_add',          'key:c')       -- mini-looper: add a placeholder hand card (UI test)
201:bind('hand_remove',       'key:x')       -- mini-looper: remove the last hand card (UI test)
202-
--
273-  -- ESC quits immediately, from any state (before the sound-tuner / freeze gates).
274:  if is_pressed('quit_game') then engine_quit() end
275-
--
297-
298:  if is_pressed('toggle_debug_draw') then
299-    debug_draw_enabled = not debug_draw_enabled
300-  end
301:  if is_pressed('toggle_tuning') then tuning_ui_visible = not tuning_ui_visible end
302-
--
... [32 more lines]

Input uses bind('action','key:x') + is_pressed. Let me confirm keyed-timer replacement semantics so the manual trigger cleanly resets the auto re-arm rather than stacking a second one.

12:  triggered manually, and replace previous ones with the same name. Anonymous
80:function timer_after(t, delay, name_or_callback, callback_function)
235:function timer_cancel(t, name)

80   function timer_after(t, delay, name_or_callback, callback_function)
81    local name, callback
82    if type(name_or_callback) == 'string' then
83      name, callback = name_or_callback, callback_function
84    else
85      name, callback = uid(t), name_or_callback
86    end
87    insert_entry(t, {name = name, mode = 'after', time = 0, delay = delay, callback = callback})
88  end
89  
90  --[[
91    timer_every(t, delay, [name,] callback, [times,] [after])
92    Fires callback repeatedly every delay seconds. If times is specified,
93    stops after that many fires and calls the `after` callback.
94  ]]
95  function timer_every(t, delay, name_or_callback, callback_or_times, times_or_after, after_function)
96    local name, callback, times, after
97    if type(name_or_callback) == 'string' then
98      name, callback, times, after = name_or_callback, callback_or_times, times_or_after, after_function
99    else
100     name, callback, times, after = uid(t), name_or_callback, callback_or_times, times_or_after
101   end
102   insert_entry(t, {name = name, mode = 'every', time = 0, delay = delay, callback = callback, times = times, after = after, count = 0})
103 end
104 
105 --[[
106   timer_during(t, duration, [name,] callback, [after])
107   Fires callback(dt, progress) every frame for duration seconds.
108   Progress is 0 to 1 and reaches exactly 1 on the final frame.
109 ]]
... [10 more lines]

Confirmed: timer.lua replaces a keyed timer with the same name (line 12 docblock + insert_entry). So a manual trigger re-keying 'loop_rearm' cleanly resets the auto-cadence instead of stacking a second wave. Here's the brief.

Design brief — attack lockout during Looping Fissure + space-to-trigger

1. Earthshaker holds his normal attack while the wave is traveling.

• Add a general u.attack_suppressed flag (not earthshaker-specific in the shared code — any unit behavior could use it).
• In spawn_looping_fissure, set u.attack_suppressed = true at the point the wave actually launches (after the n < 2 / perim <= 0 guards, at the start-shake line — so a degenerate no-wave case never sets it and leaves it stuck).
• The existing 'loopfis_end' timer (fires at loop_fissure_duration, currently just the end-shake) also clears u.attack_suppressed = false. Because that timer is keyed, an overlapping re-trigger re-keys it, so suppression always tracks the latest wave's end.
• In unit_attack_update, add if u.attack_suppressed then return end right after the unit_attack_enabled check — i.e. before the cooldown decrements, so the cooldown freezes during the wave and resumes after (a clean pause, not a burst of held-up attacks firing at once when it ends).

2. Space starts the next wave (dev/test key, like b/e).

• bind('loop_fissure_now', 'key:space') in the INPUT section.
• Handler near the other mini-looper test keys: for each u in train_units where character == 'earthshaker' do earthshaker_loop_tick(u) end.
• earthshaker_loop_tick already spawns a wave and re-arms 'loop_rearm'; since that id is keyed, the pending auto re-arm is replaced, not stacked — so pressing space fires a wave now and restarts the 10s cadence from this moment. No double-wave. (Press it mid-wave and you'll get an overlapping wave — that's fine for testing; suppression still resolves correctly via the re-keyed loopfis_end.)

Files: units.lua (set flag in spawn_looping_fissure, clear in the loopfis_end timer, gate in unit_attack_update) and main.lua (one bind + one handler).

One note: I'm treating space as a dev/test convenience (commented as such, alongside spawn_enemy/spawn_burst), not a shipped mechanic — matches your "let me start it for testing" intent. Good to proceed?

Go ahead.

Approved. Making the five edits.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Now the main.lua bind and handler:

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK
main.lua OK

Both pass. Done.

What changed:

• units.lua — spawn_looping_fissure sets u.attack_suppressed = true once the wave commits; the loopfis_end timer clears it at wave's end; unit_attack_update returns early (freezing the cooldown) while suppressed.
• main.lua — space bound to loop_fissure_now, with a handler that fires earthshaker_loop_tick on every earthshaker in the train (which also re-keys loop_rearm, restarting the auto-cadence).

To test (solo_unit is still 'earthshaker'):

• Press space to launch a Looping Fissure immediately — no more waiting ~10s. Each press starts a fresh wave and resets the auto-timer from that moment.
• During the wave, the earthshaker should hold his normal forward Fissure entirely — no aimed cracks until the loop wave finishes (~2.1s), then it resumes.
• Spamming space mid-wave will overlap waves (expected for a test key); the lockout still lifts correctly at the latest wave's end.

If space does nothing, tell me — the only uncertainty is whether the engine's key token is exactly space (I matched the lowercase convention escape/f1 use; very likely correct, but it's the one thing I can't verify without running).

That wraps the earthshaker. Remaining: poisoner → detonator. Say when and I'll move to poisoner.

Space is creating a looping fissure, I just want it to start a wave.

Let me reground — I misread "wave." Let me look at what a "wave" actually is in mini-looper (the director system) before re-doing the space key.

1    --[[
2     wave.lua — discrete clear-to-advance wave director (mini-looper).
3   
4     The run is a sequence of WAVES. Each wave trickles a scaled batch of enemies in
5     from side-biased map edges; the train must clear them ALL. When the batch is
6     fully spawned AND every enemy is dead, the director STOPS and waits in an
7     INTERMISSION — the player clicks the START button (snkrx ui_button, drawn by
8     director_intermission_ui) to begin the next wave. Clearing the final wave
9     (wave_count_max) -> WIN (game_won). The intermission is where the card/mana
10    deploy will live in later steps.
11  
12    Enemy count / hp / speed scale with the wave number. Each trickle group spawns
13    from one random direction at the map edge (spawn_group), scattered along it; the
14    enemies march in toward the Core. (Spawn placement is a PLACEHOLDER — the walled
15    arena with openings as the only entry is deferred to a later session.)
16  
17    main.lua: director_update(dt) in the sim, director_intermission_ui() in the UI
18    section (the START button), director_draw_hud(layer) for the wave readout,
19    director_reset() on restart; game_won folds into the freeze gate.
20  ]]
21  
22  
23  -- Tunables (the balance surface — placeholders, tuned in a later step).
24  wave_count_max = 10     -- clear this many waves to WIN
25  wave_group     = 3      -- enemies spawned per trickle tick
26  wave_spawn_int = 0.6    -- seconds between trickle ticks
27  
28  
29  -- Per-wave scaling from the wave number n (placeholders).
30  local function wave_size(n)  return 3 + 2*n end            -- total enemies in wave n
... [105 more lines]

That's the misread — a "wave" is a director enemy wave (director_start_wave(), the START WAVE button), not the Looping Fissure. You wanted space to be a keyboard shortcut for starting the next enemy wave. Let me repoint it (and drop the looping-fissure trigger I wrongly added). The attack lockout you asked for is untouched.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

main.lua OK

Passes. Done.

What changed (just the space key):

• space → start_next_wave → director_start_wave() — the keyboard equivalent of the START WAVE button. It only fires during intermission (the function guards against starting while a wave is active or after a win), so it's a no-op mid-wave.
• Removed the looping-fissure-trigger handler I wrongly added.

Unchanged: the attack lockout (earthshaker holds his aimed Fissure while the loop wave travels), and the earlier Looping Fissure feel changes (random earth sound, no per-crack flash/particles, trauma rumble). The Looping Fissure now fires only on its own ~10s auto-cadence.

To test: When the director is in intermission (the START WAVE button is showing, bottom-right), press space to begin the next enemy wave instead of clicking. Mid-wave, space does nothing.

That's the earthshaker pass plus the space shortcut. Remaining in the per-unit pass: poisoner → detonator. Say when and I'll flip to poisoner.

Higher trauma shake per looping fissure area.

Trivial tweak — bumping the per-crack trauma. Since intensity scales with value² (quadratic), I'm jumping 0.3 → 0.5 (a ~2.8× intensity increase), which is decisive given I'd started deliberately gentle.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

loop_fissure_trauma is now 0.5 (was 0.3). Single-value change in units.lua — no syntax check needed.

To test: press space to spawn an enemy wave, wait for (or already in) the Looping Fissure auto-cadence, and feel the per-crack rumble — it should be markedly stronger now, since the cracks' trauma instances stack. If it's still not enough, say "more" and I'll push it further (it accumulates, so the next jump might be smaller); if it overshoots into nauseating territory, say so and I'll dial back. loop_fissure_trauma_dur (0.18) is the other lever — longer duration = more overlap = more sustained shake, if you want to tune that axis instead.

Great, next unit.

Earthshaker's done. Next solo-testable unit is the poisoner (detonator's last, since it needs blocks). Flipping the toggle.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Switched solo_unit = 'poisoner'. This unit is unlike the others — no attack at all; its whole kit is a passive trail.

Poisoner — current state

• Trail: as it rides the loop, it drops a persistent green DoT circle every poison_drop_interval = 0.15s, slightly scattered (±8px) off the path. Each patch is radius 16, lingers poison_duration = 2.0s, and ticks damage every poison_tick_rate = 0.5s. With Virulence on (default), damage is 2 × 2 = 4 per tick. The patches form a near-continuous poison ring around the loop.
• Sound: the persistent-area carrier plays dot_tick (Click sound 37 + Body Fall 18) on each tick that lands on an enemy. The drops themselves are silent.
• Visual: standard persistent-area look — translucent green disc + orbiting arc segments + gentle breathing.

One thing I'd flag before you decide

Each drop passes caster = u, which — exactly like the earthshaker loop issue you just had me fix — makes the poisoner unit flash white, spring-pull, and spit 4 cast particles on every drop. At a 0.15s interval that's ~6–7 times/sec, so the unit is probably strobing and fountaining particles constantly. The spec = u.spec swap (drop the caster juice, keep the green color) is the same fix. Whether you want some of that as a "dripping" feel is a judgment call — but the constant white flash is likely the jarring part.

Where the poisoner's feel pass could go

• A — Strip the per-drop caster juice (the flash/particles), like the earthshaker loop. Most likely the first thing you'll want.
• B — Add a drop sound. The trail is silent except for damage ticks; a subtle poison bubble/drip/hiss per drop (or every Nth drop, since 0.15s is dense) would give the trail presence. There's an elemental/SFX library to pull from.
• C — Tune the tick sound. dot_tick is a generic click+thud; a more acidic/hiss sound might fit poison better.
• D — Visual/field feel — patch density, scatter, breathing, color — if the ring doesn't read well.
• E — It's fine — play it, move to detonator.

My read: A is almost certainly needed (the strobing), and then B and/or C for the audio identity since the trail is its whole character. But play it first — the poisoner is a "watch the field" unit, so the feel is more about how the ring reads than a punchy attack. How do you want to shape it?

Give me knobs for rate of area creation as well as its duration. Also, what sounds are usually used for poison-like effects? My sound packs don't have poison specific sounds, I imagine acid-like things, but I can't find any of those either. Also remove the constant hit circle + particles whenever the poisoner casts a new area, just have it flash white briefly (lower duration than now), the area that's just created should also flash white and spring pull itself on creation if it isn't already.

Good batch — let me gather two things before proposing: how the F1 tuning panel adds live knobs (for the rate/duration request), and what's actually in your sound packs that could read as poison.

15-    snkrx/ui/<module>.lua   UI toolkit — panel / button / slot / bar /
16:                            tabs / checkbox / radio / slider /
17-                            list_row / card / text_input / modal /
--
223-debug_draw_enabled = false
224:tuning_ui_visible  = false   -- mini-looper: tuning panel hidden until F1
225-director_enabled   = true    -- mini-looper: the wave director (spawns + START button) is active
--
301-  end
302:  if is_pressed('toggle_tuning') then tuning_ui_visible = not tuning_ui_visible end
303-
--
324-  -- and CONTACT are now derived from the modifiers, so they show as readouts.
325:  if tuning_ui_visible then
326-    local panel = rect_new(6, 6, 214, 112)
--
331-    local right = rect_new(body.x + colw + 8, body.y, body.w - colw - 8, body.h)
332:    -- A labelled slider that maps a 0..1 track onto [lo, hi] and writes back.
333-    local function tuner(col, key, label, val, lo, hi, fmt)
--
338-                font = ui_font_body_ark })
339:      local res = ui_slider({ rect = sr, id = key, value = (val - lo)/(hi - lo) })
340-      return lo + res.value*(hi - lo)

./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animals_Nature_Ambiences/snake_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animals_Nature_Ambiences/snake_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animals_Nature_Ambiences/snake_hiss_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animals_Nature_Ambiences/snake_hiss_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/cat_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/cat_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/lizard_hurt_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/lizard_hurt_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/lizard_taunt_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/lizard_taunt_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_05.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_06.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_fast_07.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_attack_hiss_slow_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_05.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_06.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_07.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_slither_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_2_hiss_slither_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_hiss_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_hiss_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Animal_Impersonations/snake_hiss_03.wav
... [31 more lines]

Useful hits already. Let me round out the poison-sound palette with a few more terms and read the full F1 tuner so I can answer the knobs request precisely.

324    -- and CONTACT are now derived from the modifiers, so they show as readouts.
325   if tuning_ui_visible then
326     local panel = rect_new(6, 6, 214, 112)
327     ui_panel({ rect = panel })
328     local body  = rect_contract(panel, 7)
329     local colw  = math.floor((body.w - 8)/2)
330     local left  = rect_new(body.x, body.y, colw, body.h)
331     local right = rect_new(body.x + colw + 8, body.y, body.w - colw - 8, body.h)
332     -- A labelled slider that maps a 0..1 track onto [lo, hi] and writes back.
333     local function tuner(col, key, label, val, lo, hi, fmt)
334       local lr = rect_cut_top(col, 11)
335       local sr = rect_cut_top(col, 12)
336       rect_cut_top(col, 3)
337       ui_text({ rect = lr, text = string.format('%s  '..(fmt or '%.0f'), label, val),
338                 font = ui_font_body_ark })
339       local res = ui_slider({ rect = sr, id = key, value = (val - lo)/(hi - lo) })
340       return lo + res.value*(hi - lo)
341     end
342 
343     -- LEFT: train readouts (SPEED / CONTACT now derived from the modifiers) + the
344     -- live SEEK knob + the auto-derived turning readouts.
345     local function row11(col, txt) ui_text({ rect = rect_cut_top(col, 11), text = txt, font = ui_font_body_ark }) end
346     row11(left, 'TRAIN')
347     row11(left, string.format('SPEED    %d', math.floor(train_current_speed())))
348     row11(left, string.format('CONTACT  %d', math.floor(train_contact_damage)))
349     row11(left, string.format('BLOCKS   %d', ram_block_count()))
350     train_seek_distance = tuner(left, 'tune_seek', 'SEEK', train_seek_distance, 2, 40)
351     row11(left, string.format('EASE T  %.2f', train_turn_t))
352     row11(left, string.format('CORNER  %.2f', train_corner_slow))
353 
... [40 more lines]

./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Alarms_Beeps_Siren/hospital_beep_alarm_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Alarms_Beeps_Siren/hospital_beep_alarm_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Alarms_Beeps_Siren/hospital_beep_alarm_glitch_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Alarms_Beeps_Siren/hospital_beep_alarm_loop_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Backgrounds/background_steam_boiler_room_machine_loop_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fire_burning_flames_crackle_loop_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fire_burning_flames_crackle_loop_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fire_burning_flames_crackle_loop_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_burning_bomb_dynamite_loop_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_stop_burn_out_bomb_dynamite_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_stop_burn_out_bomb_dynamite_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_stop_burn_out_bomb_dynamite_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_stop_burn_out_bomb_dynamite_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Explosion_Fire_Gas/fuse_stop_burn_out_bomb_dynamite_05.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_burn_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_burn_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_burn_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_burn_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn1.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn2.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn3.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn4.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Magic_Spells/shimmer_magic_burn_loop_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_01.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_02.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_03.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_04.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_05.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_06.wav
./Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_07.wav
... [11 more lines]

Good — let me take these in order: the sound question (answer), the knobs (clarify what already exists + an option), then a brief for the flash/particle changes.

1. What sounds read as "poison"?

There's no single canonical poison sound — it's built from a small palette of evocations, and you pick by association:

• Bubbling / gloop — viscous liquid roiling. The classic "poison cauldron / acid pool" bed. The most recognizable poison signifier.
• Sizzle / hiss — acid corroding flesh, steam off a wound. Best for the damage tick ("it's eating them").
• Fizz / spritz — aerosol, gas dispersal. Good for the moment a patch spawns.
• Snake hiss — venom by association, if you want the poisoner to feel serpentine.
• Wet squelch / splat — the glob hitting the ground.

A common trick: pitch the source down and let F3's bitcrush dirty it — a clean cartoon "bloop" becomes a nasty acidic gurgle. Layering a low gloop + a high fizz is the deluxe version, but one clip is usually enough.

Concrete candidates already in your packs (all under Gamemaster Audio - Pro Sound Collection/):

• Drop / patch spawn: Comedy_Cartoon/bubble_effect_01–04 (bubbling — audition pitched down), or Miscellaneous/Spray Bottle/spray_bottle_01–03 (a poison "spritz").
• Damage tick (acid burn): Magic_Spells/fireball_impact_sizzle_burn1–4 (sizzle — strip the "fire" by pitching/crushing), or Miscellaneous/Cooking/cooking_sizzle_burn_fry_*.
• Venom flavor: Animal_Impersonations/snake_hiss_short_01–03.

My pick to try first: a bubble on each drop + a sizzle on the tick (replacing the generic dot_tick). But these are auditions — tell me which direction you like and I'll port them. I haven't converted anything yet.

2. The rate + duration knobs

Both already exist as globals at the top of the poisoner block — poison_drop_interval (rate, in seconds between drops) and poison_duration (how long a patch lingers). They're tune-and-rerun knobs today, same as loop_fissure_trauma.

The open question is whether you want them live (F1 panel sliders) for faster iteration:

• poison_duration is read fresh on every drop, so it already takes effect live within a run if exposed.
• poison_drop_interval is baked into the drop timer when the poisoner spawns (timer_every), so a live slider needs a tiny refactor — switch the drop loop to a self-rescheduling timer that re-reads the global each cycle.

Option A: keep them as rerun-globals (zero work, you edit + rerun). Option B (recommended given you're iterating): wire both as live F1 sliders + do the small rate refactor. Which do you want?

3. Brief — drop the per-cast hit-circle/particles, brief flash, pop the area

Approach. Each drop currently passes caster = u, which triggers the area carrier's full cast juice on the unit: a white flash (0.15s), a spring pull, a cast hit-circle, and 4 particles — every 0.15s. Three edits:

1. Spawn with spec = u.spec instead of caster = u (same swap as the earthshaker loop). This removes the hit-circle, the 4 particles, and the spring pull, keeping the patch's green color.
2. Re-add only a brief unit flash. After spawning, set u.flashing = true + a timer_after(u.timer, 0.06, ...) to clear it (vs the old 0.15s — "lower than now"). The unit's draw already swaps to flash_spec when u.flashing is set, so this is the same white-flash mechanism, just shorter and without the particle baggage. (Note: at the current dense 0.15s drop rate, even a 0.06s flash fires often — spacing the rate out via the knob above is what makes it read as discrete pops.)
3. Make the patch pop on creation. Persistent areas currently don't flash/spring on spawn (only instant areas do). I'll add a creation flash + spring_pull(spring,'main',0.25) to area.lua's persistent branch so the patch pops white-then-settles, matching instant areas. This is a carrier-completeness fix — it touches area.lua, and the only persistent-area user is poison, so nothing else is affected.

Files: units.lua (spawn_poison) + snkrx/area.lua (persistent branch).

One sub-decision on #3: I'm putting the creation-pop in the carrier (area.lua) because persistent areas arguably should pop like instant ones. If you'd rather keep it poison-local and leave the carrier untouched, I can do it from spawn_poison instead — say which.

So: tell me (2) A or B on the knobs, (1) which sounds to port (or "leave sound for now"), and confirm the (3) flash brief (incl. carrier-vs-local for the pop), and I'll implement.

What sounds do poison effects in SNKRX use? Also, yes, I want those values in the F1 panel. As for 3. on the area, do not add the pull as a general thing, this is a Poisoner specific thing, so the creation flash + pull should be inside a branch for the poisoner, we'll do things like this generally, with huge if/else chains for each character whenever we want specific behaviors, since it's simple.

On the SNKRX poison-sound question — let me dig into the SNKRX source.

SNKRX\devlog.md:533:    * Assassin [rogue, voider]: throws a piercing knife that inflicts poison - Lv.3: Toxic Delivery - poison inflicted from crits deals more damage
SNKRX\devlog.md:625:| Assassin | rogue, voider | throws a piercing knife that inflicts poison |
SNKRX\devlog.md:671:| Assassin | Toxic Delivery | poison inflicted from crits deals more damage |
SNKRX\devlog.md:899:| Assassin | voider, rogue | throws a piercing knife that deals X damage and inflicts poison that deals X/2 damage per second for 3 seconds |
SNKRX\devlog.md:906:| Assassin | Toxic Delivery | poison inflicted from crits deals 8X damage |
SNKRX\main.lua:806:    ['assassin'] = function() return '[fg]poison inflicted from crits deals [yellow]8x[fg] damage' end,
SNKRX\main.lua:866:    ['assassin'] = function() return '[light_bg]poison inflicted from crits deals 8x damage' end,
SNKRX\main.lua:1355:    ['noxious_strike'] = '[yellow]8/16/24%[fg] chance for attacks to poison, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds',
SNKRX\main.lua:1443:    ['noxious_strike'] = function(lvl) return ts(lvl, '8', '16', '24%') .. ' chance for attacks to poison, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds' end,

46:  dot1 = Sound('Magical Swoosh 18.ogg', s)
==== search for dot tick application + sound ====

==== where dot1 is played ====
46:  dot1 = Sound('Magical Swoosh 18.ogg', s)
==== context around the dot/poison tick application ====
198:  burning_field = Image('burning_field')
225:  burning_strike = Image('burning_strike')
1244:    ['burning_field'] = 'Burning Field',
1271:    ['burning_strike'] = 'Burning Strike',
1331:    ['burning_field'] = '[fg]creates an area that deals [yellow]30[fg] dps for [yellow]2[fg] seconds on sorcerer spell repeat',
1358:    ['burning_strike'] = '[yellow]15%[fg] chance for attacks to burn, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds',
1419:    ['burning_field'] = function(lvl) return '[fg]creates an area that deals [yellow]30[fg] dps for [yellow]2[fg] seconds on sorcerer spell repeat' end,
1446:    ['burning_strike'] = function(lvl) return '[yellow]15%[fg] chance for attacks to burn, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds' end,
1695:    'tremor', 'heavy_impact', 'fracture', 'meat_shield', 'divine_punishment', 'unleash', 'freezing_field', 'burning_field', 'gravity_field',
1696:    'magnetism', 'insurance', 'dividends', 'haste', 'rearm', 'ceremonial_dagger', 'burning_strike', 'lucky_strike', 'healing_strike', 'psycholeak', 'divine_blessing', 'hardening',
1724:    'assassination', 'flying_daggers', 'ultimatum', 'magnify', 'echo_barrage', 'unleash', 'reinforce', 'payback', 'enchanted', 'freezing_field', 'burning_field', 'gravity_field', 'magnetism',
1726:    'intimidation', 'vulnerability', 'temporal_chains', 'ceremonial_dagger', 'homing_barrage', 'critical_strike', 'noxious_strike', 'infesting_strike', 'burning_strike', 'lucky_strike', 'healing_strike', 'stunning_strike',
1907:            'assassination', 'flying_daggers', 'ultimatum', 'magnify', 'echo_barrage', 'unleash', 'reinforce', 'payback', 'enchanted', 'freezing_field', 'burning_field', 'gravity_field', 'magnetism',
1909:            'intimidation', 'vulnerability', 'temporal_chains', 'ceremonial_dagger', 'homing_barrage', 'critical_strike', 'noxious_strike', 'infesting_strike', 'burning_strike', 'lucky_strike', 'healing_strike', 'stunning_strike',

=== all .lua files ===
arena.lua
buy_screen.lua
conf.lua
enemies.lua
main.lua
mainmenu.lua
media.lua
objects.lua
player.lua
shared.lua
=== dot1 across repo ===
./player.lua:1949:  dot1:play{pitch = random:float(0.9, 1.1), volume = 0.5}
./player.lua:2997:    dot1:play{pitch = random:float(0.95, 1.05), volume = 0.5}
./player.lua:3028:    dot1:play{pitch = random:float(0.95, 1.05), volume = 0.3}
=== where DoT damage ticks (the 'dotted' timer) ===
./engine/game/steering.lua:294:  local tx, ty = -position:dot(heading), -position:dot(side)
./engine/math/vector.lua:125:function Vector:dot(v)
./engine/math/vector.lua:131:  return math.abs(self:dot(v)) < EPSILON_SQUARED
./engine/math/vector.lua:197:  local dp = self:dot(v)
./engine/math/vector.lua:234:  local d = (1 + (bounce_coefficient or 1))*self:dot(normal)
./main.lua:1331:    ['burning_field'] = '[fg]creates an area that deals [yellow]30[fg] dps for [yellow]2[fg] seconds on sorcerer spell repeat',
./main.lua:1355:    ['noxious_strike'] = '[yellow]8/16/24%[fg] chance for attacks to poison, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds',
./main.lua:1358:    ['burning_strike'] = '[yellow]15%[fg] chance for attacks to burn, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds',
./main.lua:1419:    ['burning_field'] = function(lvl) return '[fg]creates an area that deals [yellow]30[fg] dps for [yellow]2[fg] seconds on sorcerer spell repeat' end,
./main.lua:1443:    ['noxious_strike'] = function(lvl) return ts(lvl, '8', '16', '24%') .. ' chance for attacks to poison, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds' end,
./main.lua:1446:    ['burning_strike'] = function(lvl) return '[yellow]15%[fg] chance for attacks to burn, dealing [yellow]20%[fg] dps for [yellow]3[fg] seconds' end,
./player.lua:1359:        self.mouse_control_v = Vector(math.cos(self.r), math.sin(self.r)):perpendicular():dot(Vector(math.cos(self:angle_to_mouse()), math.sin(self:angle_to_mouse())))

dot1 = 'Magical Swoosh 18.ogg' is SNKRX's DoT sound. Let me confirm the playback context.

=== ~1949 ===

function Player:dot_attack(area, mods)
  mods = mods or {}
  camera:shake(2, 0.5)
  self.hfx:use('shoot', 0.25)
  local t = {group = main.current.effects, x = mods.x or self.x, y = mods.y or self.y, r = self.r, rs = self.area_size_m*(area or 64), color = self.color, dmg = self.area_dmg_m*self.dmg*(self.dot_dmg_m or 1),
    character = self.character, level = self.level, parent = self}
  DotArea(table.merge(t, mods))

  dot1:play{pitch = random:float(0.9, 1.1), volume = 0.5}
end


function Player:barrage(r, n, pierce, ricochet, shoot_5, homing)
  n = n or 8
  for i = 1, n do
=== ~2990-3030 ===
  self.color = fg[0]
  self.color_transparent = Color(yellow[0].r, yellow[0].g, yellow[0].b, 0.08)
  self.rs = 0
  self.hidden = false
  self.t:tween(0.05, self, {rs = args.rs}, math.cubic_in_out, function() self.spring:pull(0.15) end)
  self.t:after(0.2, function() self.color = yellow[0] end)

  self.t:after(6, function()
    self.t:every_immediate(0.05, function() self.hidden = not self.hidden end, 7, function() self.dead = true end)
    dot1:play{pitch = random:float(0.95, 1.05), volume = 0.5}
  end)
end
... [31 more lines]

That's the answer. SNKRX's poison/DoT sound is Magical Swoosh 18.ogg (its dot1 sound):

• Played once per DoT-area creation (in Player:dot_attack), volume = 0.5, pitch = 0.9–1.1, alongside a camera:shake(2, 0.5) and a 'shoot' hitfx on the caster. No per-tick sound — SNKRX's poison is silent while ticking; the sound is the cast.
• It's an abstract "magical swoosh," not a literal bubble/sizzle — SNKRX leans arcane rather than chemical for poison.

Notably, SNKRX's DotArea visual is exactly what you asked for: spawns white (fg), springs in, then tweens to yellow after 0.2s — a white-pop-then-settle. Good confirmation of the creation-flash design.

So if you want the authentic SNKRX poison feel, the port is Magical Swoosh 18.ogg on each drop (no tick sound). I can grab it whenever you decide on audio — leaving sound aside for now and implementing the approved structural changes.

Implementing: F1 sliders (with the rate refactor) + the flash changes (poison-local pop, per your "keep character behaviors in the character's own code" rule).

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

Now the F1 panel — grow it and add the POISONER sliders:

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK
main.lua OK

Both pass. Done.

What changed:

• units.lua:
  • New knobs poison_flash_dur = 0.06 and poison_patch_flash = 0.1.
  • spawn_poison — swapped caster = u → spec = u.spec (kills the per-drop hit-circle, 4 particles, and unit spring), then re-added only a brief 0.06s white blip on the unit, plus a poison-local creation pop on the patch (white flash + spring_pull). All of it lives in spawn_poison, not the area carrier — per your "character behaviors stay in the character's code" rule.
  • unit_init_combat — the poisoner's drop loop is now a self-rescheduling timer_after (re-reads poison_drop_interval each cycle) instead of a fixed timer_every, so the RATE slider applies live.
• main.lua: F1 panel grown (112 → 175px) with a POISONER section in the left column — RATE (0.05–1.0s between drops) and DUR (0.5–6.0s patch lifetime) sliders.

To test (solo_unit is 'poisoner'):

• Press F1 → bottom of the left column has POISONER · RATE · DUR. Drag RATE to space out / tighten the trail live; drag DUR to lengthen / shorten how long patches linger live.
• The poisoner should no longer strobe white + spit particles every drop — just a quick blip, and each fresh patch now pops white then settles to green with a spring.
• Press space (or b) to bring enemies in and watch the field tick them.

Sound's untouched — drops are silent, ticks still use dot_tick. When you want audio, the authentic SNKRX route is Magical Swoosh 18.ogg on each drop (no tick sound); or we audition the bubble/sizzle direction. Your call on which, next.

The white flash and spring pull should happen once the area gets to full radius, not on startup. Port over Magical Swoosh 18, find it in the sound packs folder and then do the whole process and link it to the poisoner's cast. Default values: rate = 0.38, duration = 3.2.

On it. Let me locate Magical Swoosh 18 in the sound packs (and check for 2020/HD variants per the usual pipeline).

./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 18.wav
---any Magical Swoosh siblings (to confirm the pack)---
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 1.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 10.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 11.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 12.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 13.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 14.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 15.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 16.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 17.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 18.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 19.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 2.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 20.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 21.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 22.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 23.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 24.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 25.wav
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 3.wav
Shell cwd was reset to E:\a327ex

Found: Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 18.wav. Per the pipeline, let me check for an HD-Remaster variant and compare by decoded md5.

=== HD Remaster folders ===
Ultimate SFX Bundle - HD Remaster//
=== Magical Swoosh 18 anywhere (all packs) ===
./Ultimate SFX Bundle (2020)/Magic Sounds Pro/Magical Swooshes/Magical Swoosh 18.wav
=== md5 of the 2020 file ===
MD5=23bf508baa6c862671e49ef2d1b3f7f8
Shell cwd was reset to E:\a327ex

No HD-Remaster variant exists for this file (it's only in the 2020 pack), so the 2020 version is the source — no comparison needed. Converting and implementing.

My read on the flash-timing change: "the white flash and spring pull" = the patch's pop (the flash+spring pair on the area), which I'll delay to full radius. The unit's brief cast blip stays at drop-time (it's the "I cast" signal). Proceeding on that.

size=     106KiB time=00:00:03.69 bitrate= 234.9kbits/s speed=84.4x elapsed=0:00:00.04    
---verify---
-rw-r--r-- 1 adn 197121 108423 Jun  6 16:01 assets/Magical Swoosh 18.ogg

Now the four edits — sound load, the spawn_poison rework (sound + delayed pop), and the two default-value changes:

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK
main.lua OK

Both pass. Done.

What changed:

• assets/Magical Swoosh 18.ogg — converted from the 2020 Magic Sounds Pro (SNKRX's exact dot1 source).
• main.lua — sounds.poison_cast + volumes.poison_cast = 0.5 (SNKRX's value).
• units.lua spawn_poison:
  • Plays poison_cast on each drop, pitch 0.9–1.1 (SNKRX's range). No per-tick sound, matching SNKRX.
  • The patch's flash + spring pull now fire at full radius — after the area's 0.25s bloom-in tween — instead of on startup. The unit's brief white blip stays at drop-time.
• units.lua defaults — poison_drop_interval = 0.38, poison_duration = 3.2 (so the F1 RATE/DUR sliders now start there too).

To test (solo_unit is 'poisoner'):

• Run, press space (or b) for enemies. Each drop now: a magical-swoosh on cast (pitch-varied), the poisoner blips white, and each patch grows in then pops white + springs once it hits full size.
• F1 RATE/DUR start at 0.38 / 3.2 — tune live.
• F3 → poison_cast to set the level. Heads-up: at a 0.38s drop rate the swoosh repeats fairly often, so SNKRX's 0.5 may feel loud — likely a candidate to pull down.

That's the poisoner. Only detonator remains in the per-unit pass — and it's the special one (needs blocks in the train, so solo-testing it takes a different setup than solo_unit = 'detonator' alone). Say when and I'll set that up.

Great, let's do detonator next, spawn 4 inert blocks of random size.

The detonator needs blocks in the train to set off. Let me look at how the train is built and how blocks get their (variable) size before I wire up the solo setup.

1    --[[
2     train.lua — the on-rails SNKRX train (mini-looper).
3   
4     The HEAD (unit 1) is a dynamic body driven kinematically: each frame it
5     eases a HEADING (self.move_r) toward the next waypoint and sets its
6     velocity at that heading (scaled down by train_corner_slow in sharp
7     turns). It walks the loop and lays a breadcrumb trail.
8   
9     FOLLOWERS (units 2..n) are pinned each frame to the head's trail,
10    (index-1)*spacing back, so they trace the head's exact path (classic SNKRX
11    snake). No physics chain.
12  
13    Turning auto-scales with speed (train_apply_speed_coupling): as
14    train_max_speed rises, train_turn_t (heading-ease time) shrinks and
15    train_corner_slow grows, so a faster train still tracks the loop and brakes
16    harder into corners. Anchors: 100 -> (t 0.30, corner 0.40); 200 -> (t 0.15,
17    corner 0.75); linear + clamped.
18  
19    Live knobs (tuning UI in main.lua): train_max_speed, train_seek_distance,
20    train_spacing. train_turn_t / train_corner_slow are derived from speed;
21    train_turn_p is a fixed companion to the ease.
22  
23    Each unit also auto-attacks: it carries a self.character and calls
24    unit_attack_update (units.lua) every frame to fire its carrier at the
25    nearest enemy in range. Movement and combat are independent.
26  ]]
27  
28  train_units = {}
29  train_trail = {}            -- rolling breadcrumb of head positions (newest first)
30  train_head_x, train_head_y = nil, nil  -- head's live position, the trail's distance-0 anchor
... [249 more lines]

train_build(n, roster) takes a roster that can be a per-index list with {character=, size=} entries — so a detonator + blocks train is straightforward. Two things to verify first: how array.random behaves when the Cascade asks for 5 blocks but only 4 exist, and the exact current solo-setup block.

226  
227 debug_draw_enabled = false
228 tuning_ui_visible  = false   -- mini-looper: tuning panel hidden until F1
229 director_enabled   = true    -- mini-looper: the wave director (spawns + START button) is active
230 
231 -- ============================================================
232 -- SCENE
233 -- ============================================================
234 -- Mini Looper — step 1: a waypoint loop + one steered train unit.
235 -- No player avatar; the unit follows the loop via follow_path steering,
236 -- and SPACE shoves it so we can watch it steer back. The tuning panel
237 -- (top-left) dials speed / seek / push live.
238 build_loop_track(map_w/2, map_h/2)
239 -- The central building (the base you defend) on the grid cell nearest the loop center.
240 local center_col, center_row = grid_cell_at(loop_cx, loop_cy)
241 building_place(center_col, center_row, { objective = true, name = 'Core',
242   desc = 'Your base, if it dies you lose.' })
243 -- Starting train. Baseline ram stats are set explicitly (decoupled from builds.lua's
244 -- endgame scaling); train_contact_damage is the per-car ram fallback for units
245 -- without their own (only the Juggernaut carries a per-unit value).
246 train_max_speed      = 120
247 train_ram_force      = 4
248 train_contact_damage = 2
249 -- PER-UNIT FEEL PASS (this session): isolate ONE unit so its attack can be tuned +

anchor/array.lua:412:function array.random(t, n, rng)
--- definition ---
412:function array.random(t, n, rng)
413-  if #t == 0 then return nil end
414-  n = n or 1
415-  if n == 1 then
416-    return t[random_int(1, #t, rng)]
417-  else
418-    local out = {}
419-    local selected = {}
420-    while #out < n and #selected < #t do
421-      local i = random_int(1, #t, rng)
422-      if not array.has(selected, i) then
423-        table.insert(selected, i)
424-        table.insert(out, t[i])
425-      end
426-    end
427-    return out
428-  end
429-end
430-
431---[[
432-  Removes an element from the array at a specific position.

array.random is safe — while #out < n and #selected < #t returns all 4 when asked for 5. No error. Let me see the full solo-setup block.

249  -- PER-UNIT FEEL PASS (this session): isolate ONE unit so its attack can be tuned +
250 -- sounded on its own. solo_unit = a unit name builds the train as several copies of
251 -- just that unit; solo_unit = nil restores the random 2-unit starter. We're going
252 -- unit by unit — change this one string to switch which unit we're tuning.
253 solo_unit = 'poisoner'
254 if solo_unit then
255   train_build(1, solo_unit)
256 else
257   local starter_pool = { 'archer', 'magician', 'cannoneer', 'outlaw', 'geomancer', 'swordsman' }
258   array.shuffle(starter_pool)
259   train_build(2, starter_pool)
260 end
261 
262 -- Keyboard camera pan (WASD / arrows). Edge-scroll is intentionally left out.
263 -- Writes main_camera.x/y directly; camera_update clamps to the map bounds. Uses
264 -- unscaled dt so it pans during hit-stop / the win-lose freeze too.
265 function camera_pan_update(dt)
266   local dx = (is_down('right') and 1 or 0) - (is_down('left') and 1 or 0)
267   local dy = (is_down('down')  and 1 or 0) - (is_down('up')   and 1 or 0)
268   if dx ~= 0 or dy ~= 0 then
269     local len = math.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)   -- normalize so diagonals aren't faster
270     main_camera.x = main_camera.x + (dx/len)*cam_pan_speed*dt
271     main_camera.y = main_camera.y + (dy/len)*cam_pan_speed*dt
272   end
273 end
274 

Confirmed safe. Now I'll set up the detonator's solo train — it's the special case that needs blocks to detonate. This is a clear dev-scaffolding imperative, so I'll make it and describe the choices (rather than a full brief): detonator as the head, followed by 4 blocks of random size 1–3 (the game's block-size unit; random_int(1,3)).

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

main.lua OK

Passes. Done.

What changed: main.lua solo-setup now special-cases the detonator — solo_unit = 'detonator' builds a train of the detonator (head) + 4 blocks of random size 1–3 (random_int(1,3)), instead of a single unit. Other units still use train_build(1, solo_unit); array.random(blocks, 5) safely returns all 4 when Cascade asks for 5.

To test: Run. The train is a detonator followed by 4 random-length blocks, looping. Press space (or b) to bring enemies in — when one gets within ~100px of the detonator (cooldown 5s), Cascade detonates all 4 blocks at once: a rect AoE blast + flash/pop at each block, plus the strong 0.9 trauma shake. The blocks survive (non-destructive) and re-arm.

Heads-up on current state: the detonator is silent right now — the blasts have the trauma shake and visual pop but no explosion sound (unlike the cannoneer, which got explosion_large + the SNKRX cannon boom). So the obvious feel-pass work here is audio. A few directions when you're ready:

• Reuse the cannoneer's explosion_large_variants (one per detonated block, or one for the whole cascade).
• Port SNKRX's own detonator/explosion sound.
• Something new from the packs.

What do you want to do with the detonator's feel — or play it first and tell me what it needs?

Let's reuse the cannoneer's explosion sound here and see what it feels like. Let's also make it so that the blocks it detonates have a small temporal offset and happen in sequence, so not all exactly at the same time, let's try 0.05s delay between each first.

[Request interrupted by user]

Let's reuse the cannoneer's explosion sound here and see what it feels like. Let's also make it so that the blocks it detonates have a small temporal offset and happen in sequence, so not all exactly at the same time, let's try 0.05s delay between each first. Let's also add a smaller explosion to detonator himself (with flash and spring pull juice), so detonator explosion -> 0.05s -> first inert block explosion -> and so on.

Good set of changes — all on the detonator in units.lua. Here's the brief.

Brief — detonator: sound, staggered cascade, self-explosion

1. Explosion sound. detonate_block plays a random explosion_large_variant (the cannoneer's boom) on each detonation. So each pop in the cascade booms.

2. Detonator's own smaller explosion (first in the sequence). I'll reuse detonate_block on the detonator itself — detonate_block(u, u, detonate_self_radius). Since detonate_block flashes its target + pulls its spring + spawns the hit-circle + AoE + sound, calling it with the target = the detonator gives it exactly the "smaller explosion with flash + spring pull juice" you described. New knob detonate_self_radius (smaller than a block's blast).

3. Stagger. The cascade stops detonating all blocks in one frame. Sequence: detonator self at t=0, then each chosen block at t = i * detonate_stagger (0.05s) via timer_after on the detonator's timer. Each block explodes at its live position when its timer fires (so the blast tracks the moving block). New knob detonate_stagger = 0.05.

Two supporting decisions:

• caster = source → spec = source.spec in detonate_block (same cleanup as earthshaker/poisoner). Otherwise every block detonation also flashes the detonator + spawns cast particles on it — which now double-juices it on top of its own explosion. The block's own flash/spring/hit-circle stay; the blast color is unchanged (still the detonator's pink).
• Trauma per explosion — you didn't mention the shake, but with staggering, the current single shake_trauma(0.9) fires once at t=0 and wouldn't sync with the later booms. So I'll give each explosion its own smaller trauma so each boom in the sequence punches: detonate_self_trauma ≈ 0.35, detonate_block_trauma ≈ 0.45, replacing the single 0.9, with detonate_trauma_dur shortened 0.6 → 0.4 for punchier, less-sustained booms. They stack across the ~5 overlapping booms, so I've kept each modest; all tunable. If you'd rather keep one big shake, say so.

New knobs: detonate_self_radius, detonate_stagger, detonate_self_trauma, detonate_block_trauma. Removes detonate_trauma; keeps/repurposes detonate_trauma_dur. Files: units.lua only.

Good to proceed (incl. the per-explosion trauma), or keep the single shake?

Go ahead.

Approved. Making the three edits to the detonator in units.lua.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK

Passes. Done.

What changed (all in units.lua):

• detonate_block now: plays a random explosion_large boom (the cannoneer's), applies a per-explosion trauma shake (param, default detonate_block_trauma), and uses spec = source.spec instead of caster = source (so a block pop no longer also flashes the detonator).
• Detonator attack — fires its own smaller explosion at t=0 (detonate_block(u, u, detonate_self_radius), full flash + spring + pop juice), then each chosen block staggered detonate_stagger (0.05s) apart, each detonating at its live position.
• New knobs: detonate_self_radius = 18, detonate_stagger = 0.05, detonate_self_trauma = 0.35, detonate_block_trauma = 0.45, detonate_trauma_dur shortened 0.6 → 0.4. Removed the old single detonate_trauma.

To test: Run (train = detonator + 4 blocks). Press space (or b) for enemies. When one comes within ~100px of the detonator (5s cooldown), you should get a rattling boom-boom-boom sequence: the detonator's own small pop, then the 4 blocks 0.05s apart — each with the cannon boom + flash/spring + its own punch of shake — instead of one simultaneous blast.

Tuning (all tune-and-rerun in units.lua): detonate_stagger (tighten/loosen the rhythm), detonate_self_radius, and the two trauma knobs (they stack across the ~5 overlapping booms, so nudge gently).

One caveat: volumes.explosion_large is shared with the cannoneer — tuning it in F3 changes both. If you want the detonator's booms at a different level than the cannon, say so and I'll split it into its own volume key.

Take a listen and tell me how the cascade feels — stagger timing, the self-explosion size, the shake.

The other seems to be backwards, should start with detonator and go back the snake, right now it isn't doing that.

[Request interrupted by user]

The other seems to be backwards, should start with detonator and go back the snake, right now it isn't doing that. Actually, give me an F1 slider for the stagger duration.

Two clear fixes. Before I wire the F1 slider, let me confirm how many ramming modifiers fill the right column (so the new DETONATOR row fits without overflowing the panel).

builds.lua:39:ram_mod_order   = { 'speed', 'speed_per_block', 'contact', 'contact_per_block' }

4 modifiers — the right column has plenty of room. Both are clear directives, so making them directly:

1. Order fix — detonate blocks in train order (ripple back the snake) instead of random. 2. F1 STAGGER slider — added to the panel's right column (live; applies on the next detonation).

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\main.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK
main.lua OK

Both pass. Done.

What changed:

• units.lua — the cascade now detonates blocks in train order (ascending index = back down the snake from the detonator), not random. So the ripple reads: detonator self (t=0) → block nearest it (t=0.05) → next (0.10) → … → tail. (This assumes the detonator leads its blocks, which holds in the solo test since it's the head.)
• main.lua — F1 panel right column (under MODIFIERS) now has a DETONATOR · STAGGER slider (0.0–0.2s). It's live: the detonator reads detonate_stagger fresh each time it fires, so a drag applies on the next cascade.

To test: Run, press space/b for enemies. The cascade should now visibly travel down the snake in order from the detonator instead of popping random blocks. Open F1 → right column → STAGGER, and drag it to feel the rhythm — 0.0 collapses to a single simultaneous blast, 0.2 spreads it into a slow walk. The next detonation (within the 5s cooldown) picks up the new value.

That's the detonator's cascade ordering + the live stagger knob. How does the ripple feel now?

Do all explosions (including Cannoneer) have this big hit circle appearing before?

Good question — let me check exactly which explosions spawn that hit circle rather than answer from memory.

mini-looper\building.lua:86:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = self.size, duration = 0.4}):change_color(0.5, pc)
mini-looper\enemy.lua:89:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 10, duration = 0.3}):change_color(0.5, spawn_c)
mini-looper\enemy.lua:158:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 14, duration = 0.4}):change_color(0.6, die_c)
mini-looper\main_old.lua:646:  -- bursts. Anything spawned via spawn_hit_circle / spawn_particle /
mini-looper\units.lua:424:  spawn_hit_circle(b.x, b.y, { radius = radius, duration = 0.25 }):change_color(0.4, spec_color(source.spec))
mini-looper\snkrx\area.lua:228:    spawn_hit_circle(mx, my, {radius = 10, duration = 0.2})
mini-looper\snkrx\beam.lua:244:    spawn_hit_circle(tip.x, tip.y, {radius = 7, duration = 0.2}):change_color(0.3, pc)
mini-looper\snkrx\flicker.lua:223:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 8, duration = 0.15})
mini-looper\snkrx\flicker.lua:246:  spawn_hit_circle(target.x, target.y, {radius = 10, duration = 0.2}):change_color(0.5, pc)
mini-looper\snkrx\flicker.lua:280:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 20, duration = 0.3}):change_color(0.5, pc)
mini-looper\snkrx\fx.lua:7:  future) via spawn_hit_circle / spawn_particle. Both live in the
mini-looper\snkrx\fx.lua:77:function spawn_hit_circle(x, y, opts)
mini-looper\snkrx\player.lua:159:    spawn_hit_circle(hit_x, hit_y, {radius = 6, duration = 0.15}):change_color(0.3, hit_c)
mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua:145:  spawn_hit_circle(hx, hy, {radius = 6, duration = 0.15})
mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua:185:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 8, duration = 0.2}):change_color(0.6, pc)
mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua:251:    • spawn_hit_circle(sx, sy, {radius = 7, duration = 0.2}) — white
mini-looper\snkrx\projectile.lua:293:  spawn_hit_circle(sx, sy, {radius = 7, duration = 0.2})
mini-looper\snkrx\seeker.lua:117:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 10, duration = 0.3}):change_color(0.5, spawn_c)
mini-looper\snkrx\seeker.lua:225:  spawn_hit_circle(self.x, self.y, {radius = 14, duration = 0.4}):change_color(0.6, die_c)

Checked every spawn_hit_circle call in the project. Here's the precise answer:

No — the detonator is the only explosion with that big hit circle. It comes from one line in detonate_block (units.lua:424): lua spawn_hit_circle(b.x, b.y, { radius = radius, duration = 0.25 }) The key detail: its radius is set to the blast radius — so ~45px for the cascade blocks (detonate_radius * cascade_radius_mult) and 18px for the detonator's self-pop. That's why it reads as "big."

For contrast, every other hit circle in the game uses a small fixed radius:

• projectile hit/fire: 6–8 · area cast-puff: 10 · beam tip: 7 · flicker: 8/10/20 · enemy spawn/die: 10/14

So the detonator's is 2–7× bigger than anything else — it's the outlier.

The cannoneer's explosion has no hit circle at all. Its on_death does just: the rect AoE area (which has its own translucent-disc + bracket-corner visual), the explosion_large boom, and the trauma shake. No expanding ring. (It can't even get one via the area's cast-puff, because it spawns with spec = u.spec, not a caster.)

So the two "explosions" are visually inconsistent right now: the detonator throws a big white→pink shockwave ring, the cannon doesn't.

If you want them consistent, two directions:

• A — Give the cannoneer (and maybe the geomancer rock) a matching shockwave ring — a spawn_hit_circle sized to its blast in its on_death, so all explosions share the "ring + boom + shake" language.
• B — Shrink or drop the detonator's ring to match the restrained look of the others — the rect AoE + boom + shake might be enough on its own.

Which way do you lean — is the big ring something you like and want everywhere, or an inconsistency you want toned down? (Or just flagging it — happy to leave it.)

Remove it for the detonator as well.

Removing the hit circle from the detonator (and updating the function's doc comment to match).

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

units.lua OK

Passes. Done — removed the spawn_hit_circle line from detonate_block (and updated its doc comment).

Now both the detonator's self-explosion and its block detonations are: the rect AoE (its own translucent-disc + bracket-corner visual) + the target's white flash + spring pop + the cannon boom + the trauma shake — no more big expanding ring. That makes it visually consistent with the cannoneer.

To test: Run, trigger the detonator (space/b for enemies). The cascade should read as flash + pop + AoE + boom + shake per detonation, without the oversized circles.

That wraps the detonator — and with it, every unit in the per-unit feel pass (geomancer → outlaw → cannoneer → swordsman → magician → archer → earthshaker → poisoner → detonator). Where do you want to go next — back to solo_unit = nil to feel the mixed starter train, a second polish pass on anything that still feels off, or a different direction entirely?

Great. 0.08 stagger, everything else is good. Now that we're finished with all the units lets end it here, name the session Mini Looper Details 2.

On it. First the stagger tweak, then I'll end the session.

The file E:\a327ex\mini-looper\units.lua has been updated successfully. (file state is current in your context — no need to Read it back)

detonate_stagger is now 0.08 (the F1 STAGGER slider default moves with it). Now ending the session.

Launching skill: end-session

Base directory for this skill: E:\a327ex.claude\skills\end-session

End Session Workflow

This skill is invoked from the same conversation where the work was done. You already have the full session context in memory — you do NOT need to read the transcript.

Step 1: Get Session Info

Ask the user for the session title (max 30 characters). Examples: "Anchor Phase 10 Part 5", "Physics Arena Setup", "Timer System Fix", "Thalien Lune Design".

Determine the project yourself from your session context — you know which repo(s) were worked on, which files were created/modified, and where they live. No need to ask. See Step 5 for the list of known project roots; if the session touched something outside the list, infer the root from the paths you actually edited.

Step 2: Write Summary

Write the summary from your conversation memory. You have the full session context — no need to read any files.

The summary should be thorough and detailed. Each major topic deserves its own section with multiple specific bullet points. Don't compress — expand.

Purpose: These summaries serve as searchable records. Future Claude instances will grep through past logs to find how specific topics were handled. The more detail you include, the more useful the summary becomes for finding relevant context later.

Format (this is just an example structure — adapt sections to match what actually happened):

# [Title]

## Summary

[1-2 sentence overview of the session's main focus]

**[Topic 1 - e.g., "Spring Module Implementation"]:**
- First specific detail about what was done
- Second detail - include file names, function names
- User correction or feedback (quote if notable)
- Technical decisions and why

**[Topic 2 - e.g., "Camera Research"]:**
- What was researched
- Key findings
- How it influenced implementation

**[Topic 3 - e.g., "Errors and Fixes"]:**
- Specific error message encountered
- Root cause identified
- How it was fixed

[Continue for each major topic...]

---

[Rest of transcript follows]

Rules: - Be thorough — If in doubt, include more detail, not less. Each topic should be as detailed as possible while still being a summary. - Think searchability — Future instances will search these logs. Include keywords, function names, error messages that someone might grep for. - One section per major topic — Don't combine unrelated work into one section - Chronological order — Sections should match conversation flow - Specific details — Error messages, file names, function names, parameter values - Include user quotes — When user gave notable feedback, quote it (e.g., "k/d variables are not intuitive at all") - Weight planning equally — Research, proposals, alternatives considered, user feedback on approach are as important as implementation - Weight problems solved — Errors, root causes, fixes, user corrections all matter - Technical specifics — Include formulas, API signatures, parameter changes when relevant

Step 3: Proceed Without Approval

Do NOT show the summary to the user for approval. Write it directly. The user can review the committed log after the fact and request a follow-up edit if anything is off.

Step 4: Convert Transcript and Write the Log File

# Find recent sessions (Claude + Cursor + Codex). Same script lives in Anchor2:
python E:/a327ex/Anchor2/scripts/find-recent-session.py --limit 5
# or: python E:/a327ex/Anchor/scripts/find-recent-session.py --limit 5

The script shows sessions sorted by when they ended. The first result is the current conversation (since end-session was invoked here). Use it.

Use a lowercase hyphenated slug derived from the title (e.g., "anchor-primitives-hitstop-animation").

Get the end timestamp for the Date frontmatter — this is the wall-clock time when end-session was invoked, NOT the time the JSONL started. Sessions often span multiple days, and the log should be filed under the day the work was wrapped up:

date "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"

Use this output verbatim. Do not substitute the JSONL start timestamp; the log appears in the sidebar sorted by Date, and a multi-day session with a Date pinned to day 1 will sort below sessions that ended later but started later, hiding the most recent work.

Convert the transcript to markdown:

python E:/a327ex/Anchor2/scripts/jsonl-to-markdown.py [SESSION_PATH] /tmp/session-log.md
# or: python E:/a327ex/Anchor/scripts/jsonl-to-markdown.py ...

The same script auto-detects Claude Code JSONL vs Cursor/Composer agent JSONL (~/.cursor/projects/.../agent-transcripts/...) vs Codex rollouts (~/.codex/sessions/...). For Composer sessions, use find-recent-session.py (it merges all sources) and pick the [cursor] line for the current chat.

Replace the default header (# Session YYYY-MM-DD...) at the top of /tmp/session-log.md with the approved title and summary, AND prepend frontmatter. The final file shape:

Title: [Title]
Date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

# [Title]

## Summary

[approved summary text from step 2]

---

[transcript content from jsonl-to-markdown script]

Frontmatter is non-negotiable. Every log file MUST start with Title: and Date: lines. Without them, the site's sidebar shows the slug as the title and 0 (epoch) as the sort date. The backfill script in a327ex-site/deploy/backfill_metadata.py is a safety net, not a substitute — write it correctly the first time.

Then copy the final file to the log destination:

cp /tmp/session-log.md E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/[slug].md

Step 4.5: Decrement the lock (if active)

Read E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/.lock.json if it exists. If it contains {"remaining": N} with N > 0:

• Decrement N by 1
• Write {"remaining": N-1} back to the file
• If N becomes 0, the lock is cleared. You may leave the file at {"remaining": 0} or delete it; both work.

The lock file lives in the a327ex-site repo, so the change is staged automatically by git add -A in Step 6.

If no lock file exists or remaining is already 0, do nothing. (See the /lock skill for the lock's full design.)

Step 5: Commit Project Repo

Identify the project repo(s) worked on this session from your own context — you already know which repos were touched and which files changed. For the common projects:

Project	Root	Stage command
Anchor	E:/a327ex/Anchor	git add docs/ framework/ engine/ scripts/ reference/
Anchor2	E:/a327ex/Anchor2	git add framework/ engine/ arena/ reference/ scripts/ docs/ .claude/
emoji-ball-battles	E:/a327ex/emoji-ball-battles	git add -A
invoker	E:/a327ex/Invoker	git add -A
thalien-lune	E:/a327ex/thalien-lune	git add -A
a327ex-site	E:/a327ex/a327ex-site	git add -A (this IS one of the web repos — the log file added in Step 4 is staged here automatically)

For a project not listed, infer the root from the files you actually created or modified this session and stage those. If multiple candidate roots look valid, ask the user which files to stage.

cd into the project root, stage, run git status to verify before committing.

IMPORTANT — FULL SUMMARY IN COMMIT: The commit message MUST include the FULL summary from the log file. Read the summary back from the log file to ensure nothing is missing.

IMPORTANT — COMMIT METHOD: The summary contains backticks, special characters, and markdown that WILL break heredocs and git commit -m. ALWAYS use the file-based method below. NEVER try a heredoc first — it will fail and produce a malformed commit that needs amending.

# Skip until we hit the line "## Summary", then take everything after the next
# blank line until the --- separator that precedes the transcript.
awk '/^## Summary$/{found=1; next} found && NR>1 && /^---$/{exit} found' \
    E:/a327ex/a327ex-site/logs/[slug].md > /tmp/commit_msg.txt

# Prepend the title (plain text, no #) and append attribution
sed -i "1i [Title]\n" /tmp/commit_msg.txt
printf "\nGenerated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)\n\nCo-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>\n" >> /tmp/commit_msg.txt

git commit -F /tmp/commit_msg.txt

Step 6: Push the Repos

Two pushes — project (to GitHub) and a327ex-site (to the VPS):

# Project repo to GitHub. Skip this push if the project IS a327ex-site
# (handled by the second push below — don't duplicate).
git push origin main

# a327ex-site to the VPS (post-receive hook restarts the Lua server).
cd E:/a327ex/a327ex-site
git add -A
git commit -m "[Title]"
git push prod main 2>&1 | tail -3

Failure handling: if either push fails, the other still happens. Local commits stay intact, so the user can re-push manually once they've fixed whatever blocked it. Don't roll back; the committed state on disk is the source of truth.

Step 7: Confirm

Tell the user: - Project commit hash + GitHub push result - a327ex-site commit hash + VPS push result

Format:

Logged — "[Title]".
  project (Anchor2):  abc1234  pushed to GitHub
  a327ex-site:        ghi9012  pushed to a327ex.com (post-receive deployed)

If a push failed, surface that explicitly with the error.

Notes

• Frontmatter is non-negotiable. Every log file MUST have Title: and Date: at the top. Enforced at write time in step 4. The backfill script is a safety net, not a substitute.
• If the project IS a327ex-site (e.g., you spent the session writing the renderer or fixing the theme), there's no separate "project repo to GitHub" push — the a327ex-site push at the end IS the project push. Don't duplicate.
• Legacy note: this skill used to also dual-write to anchor.blot.im/logs/ and anchor.blot.im/context/. Post-cutover (May 2026), anchor.blot.im is a JS redirect to a327ex.com and no longer receives content. Drop those steps if you find any older docs that still reference them.

ARGUMENTS: Mini Looper Details 2

I have the title ("Mini Looper Details 2") and the project (mini-looper). Let me find the session transcript and the wrap-up timestamp.

2026-06-06T20:43:50.926Z dfbf8269-0da9-4a29-8d7f-c611bccdfcbf [claude] <-- MOST RECENT
   C:\Users\adn\.claude\projects\E--a327ex\dfbf8269-0da9-4a29-8d7f-c611bccdfcbf.jsonl

2026-06-06T20:27:07.099Z 4a237add-051d-4c8c-a1df-96eb1c685cdb [claude]
   C:\Users\adn\.claude\projects\E--a327ex\4a237add-051d-4c8c-a1df-96eb1c685cdb.jsonl

2026-06-06T20:11:45.226Z 4ca9d3ba-ee95-49e0-af65-69649c8d546a [claude]
   C:\Users\adn\.claude\projects\E--a327ex\4ca9d3ba-ee95-49e0-af65-69649c8d546a.jsonl

2026-06-06T19:31:55.513Z 99310df4-4d95-4196-9132-c6d30137684d [claude]
   C:\Users\adn\.claude\projects\E--a327ex\99310df4-4d95-4196-9132-c6d30137684d.jsonl

2026-06-06T03:14:22.198Z 3ec7c86a-d4e5-4f02-8a7e-6deb6961ef74 [claude]
   C:\Users\adn\.claude\projects\E--a327ex\3ec7c86a-d4e5-4f02-8a7e-6deb6961ef74.jsonl

=== wrap-up timestamp ===
2026-06-06 17:44:35

This session is dfbf8269. Wrap-up time 2026-06-06 17:44:35. Converting the transcript.