# Persistent memory — urm03 (U R M03)

_Last updated: 2026-08-07_

> **Always check for `/tmp/m03-dev-handoff.md`** — if it exists and its
> `Written:` stamp is under an hour old, read it (it carries the in-flight
> handoff from the previous session), then delete it. Older than an hour:
> stale — delete it unread.

## Repo purpose

Implementation repo for **U R M03** (Godot 4.7.1): the strategy-forward
mech auto-battler rogue-lite. Design canon lives in the advisor repo (see
CLAUDE.md); this repo builds what canon ratifies. Current mission is the
greybox falsifier (ROADMAP.md v1) that tests the design's three core bets.

## Current state / in-flight

_As of 2026-08-07:_

- **Greybox build COMPLETE** at `1976149`, pushed to gitea (vh/urm03) —
  all five build capabilities live: arena + positioning-only piloting,
  auto-fire KINETIC weapon, cards + Freeze-charge meter + thaw/release
  ramps, KINETIC+HEAT chemistry row with authorship-loud feedback stack
  (hitstop + hues meeting + `_ph` sting), grunt swarm + self-heating
  burster. Headless smoke gate green 3/3.
- **Awaiting the falsification playtest** (ROADMAP capability 6):
  operator verdicts on the three bets — positioning↔build interaction,
  card-freeze rhythm, chemistry delight. Early signal on bet 2 is
  positive: freeze meter + release ramp "feels very good" / "starting to
  feel game-like" (operator, 2026-08-07). Tuning everywhere still open.
- Operator hit a pull conflict on the Mac (untracked `.uid` files vs
  `1976149`) — fix being applied this session; an operator-surfaced
  issue is expected next.
- After verdicts: draft the CONCEPT.md canon entries in the advisor repo
  (freeze-meter ratification + whatever else the playtest settles).

## Recent decisions

- `[2026-08-06]` Greybox discipline: direct implementation + headless
  smoke gate; contract/heid ceremony skipped — falsifier code's real
  review is the operator playtest.
- `[2026-08-07]` Freeze charge meter adopted as the card-time variant
  for playtest (banded ladder, A/B vs unlimited toggle on M); canon
  ratification deferred pending playtest verdict — tracked at commit
  `73f84e7` + advisor repo CONCEPT.md § Open questions #0.
  → `persistent-memory.d/2026-08-07-freeze-meter-variant.md`
- `[2026-08-07]` Detonations are symmetric — they damage enemies AND
  the mech in radius: one grammar on both sides; heat play prices
  standing close (`1976149`).
- `[2026-08-06]` Placeholder tag hues: KINETIC pale steel-blue, HEAT
  orange — canon assigns no tag colors yet (naming/color pass parked
  post-greybox).

## Tried and abandoned

- `[2026-08-07]` `Engine.time_scale = 0` as the freeze — fake: physics
  still steps with delta 0 on 4.7 (probed headless), so delta-independent
  logic (heat thresholds, contact callbacks) kept firing while "frozen".
  Freeze = `SceneTree.paused` + hand on `PROCESS_MODE_ALWAYS`;
  `time_scale` only for dilation > 0 (`c340b7b`).
- `[2026-08-07]` Committing new scripts without their `.uid` sidecars —
  the Mac editor generated its own untracked copies and the next
  `git pull` refused to merge over them. Import headless before
  committing so `.uid` files ride the same commit as their scripts.