# Current review — 18 October 2026

The prologue is playable. Selected artwork means included in this review build; it does not imply user approval.

- [Prologue review on LAN](http://192.168.1.139:8765/review.html)
- [Chapter 1 candidates on LAN](http://192.168.1.139:8765/chapter1-review.html)
- [Current full film](art/previews/prologue_preview_v9.mp4)

## Changes in this pass

- Removed narration. The 58 source speech fragments remain in order across 48 speaking paragraphs. Twelve punctuation edits repair dialogue-tag removal; see `content/dialogue_punctuation_audit.json`.
- Attached the tower to the wall and removed the extra stairs. Entrances are shorter. Surly leads the departure, followed by each acolyte; each disappears separately at the threshold.
- Retained Ganoes's approved tiptoe geometry. Commander and Fiddler now watch upright, avoiding the height jump into a lean.
- Darkened Ganoes's hair in portraits and sprites. Chapter 1, line 625 of the supplied text explicitly describes black hair.
- Locked subtle expressions to facial regions. Hair, clothes and alpha silhouettes stay identical to neutral; blends take 0.20 seconds.
- Revised north heel shading, Surly's alternating support, Fiddler's north/south run and east/west walk. The motion comparison includes previous and revised versions.
- Selected B / Chamber / On the Battlement as the musical direction. Audio remains draft material.

## Chapter 1

The board contains revised fishergirl identity and tired possessed expression, a broader adult Ganoes with visible mail and black hair, and greener Topper portraits. Topper has both short- and long-haired interpretations: the checked book descriptions establish white hair but not its length. Adult Ganoes and the girl have static four-direction sprite candidates, not completed walk cycles. Rigga, Lorn and Tavore remain earlier candidates.

Chapter 1 is preproduction. The playable timeline remains the prologue. See `CHAPTER1_ART_PLAN.md` for the wider cast and scene requirements.

## Consistency and remaining polish

`SPRITE_CONTRACT.md` defines frame size, body height, head proportions, palette and motion requirements. A smaller-headed Surly study is shown separately; it does not match the chosen chapter-one proportions closely enough for a cast migration. The current production family remains together.

Motion still needs visual review for silhouette stability, equipment, foot contact and transitions to idle. The fiddle remains painted into the current body. Environment masonry remains busy, and the tower joins need dedicated tile polish. Historical clips are labelled as earlier studies.

## Presentation and controls

640×360 canvas, 32×32 tiles, 48×64 sprite cells and 160×192 portrait busts. Full HD uses exact 3× scaling. The panorama introduces the scene and supplies a distant-city layer; the main scene uses tiles and scripted sprite movement.

Run `./run.sh`, or open `project.godot` in Godot and press F5. Space/Enter/click advances dialogue; A toggles autoplay. F2 opens the cast gallery, F3 audio settings, G map coordinates, F11 fullscreen, R replay. In the gallery: 1–4 choose a character, Tab changes expression, arrows change facing, V switches Fiddler walk/run and 5 shows guards.

For feedback, use character, direction and frame, or map tile `(column,row)`.

## Evidence and provenance

The current Godot film rendered all 48 dialogue paragraphs over 7,724 frames at 60 fps, without script errors. Facial pixel comparison found no changes outside the defined expression regions. No new automated tests were added or run.

New art was generated with built-in ImageGen. Aseprite handles native pixel corrections and export. Exact prompts and source masters are retained beside one another; see `content/revision_generation_jobs.json`, `art/CANDIDATE_MANIFEST.json` and `content/chapter1/art_manifest.json`. Reproduction notes are in `MOTION_FEEDBACK.md`.