# Release readiness — reviewed 17 September 2026

Planning only. Latest recorded baseline: Glimmer-Closed.mod (14 September receipt). No fresh server-health claim. **Zero clean deploy-ready packages; two staged components need extraction and rebase.** Optional UAT is separate from delivery.

| Work | Actual state | What exists | Remaining work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Square | Published | Same-size square upgrade; release receipt and positive CEP feedback. | Optional targeted feedback only. Do not rebuild it to satisfy an old RC. |
| Lantern, guest rooms and Returning Light | Published | Tavern services, booking/escort, beds, outdoor healer and native geometry/appearance repair recorded as published. | Player feedback is separate; new refinements must name one experience. |
| Shared Tyr altar and domestic foundations | Published | Targetable hand/scales, blessing/light lifecycle and shared bed/sleep foundations. Approved inner-chamber hand retained. | Do not equate shared foundations with every desired local NPC routine being authored. |
| Orc balance and Games spectacle | Published | 22 softened orc profiles; automatic bouts, countdown, betting and victory effects published. | Optional playtest; remove from future frontier RC. |
| CEP, HD, refined heads and appearance editor | Published | All four packages delivered; Brianna reskin separately recorded. | Client feedback only unless a concrete defect is raised. |
| Design and audio research | Research complete | Dor/Netheria and Vault lessons available; audio architecture documented. | Further exhaustive Dor study deferred. Research completion does not mean an audio library or new map exists. |
| Categorised Tester Compass | Staged components | 43 stops / 32 areas / 7 categories in Testing-Tools.mod; native checks recorded. Exact scripts differ from the recorded production module. | Extract only compass changes onto current baseline; disable closed Glimmer destination; test categories and destinations. Old mixed candidate must not be deployed. |
| Healer dawn/dusk bells | Staged components | Three healer sites; 5am/5pm timing and repeat checks recorded. tt_bells is absent from the recorded current MOD and boot. | Extract bell scripts and startup hook only; verify each site and duplicate prevention on current baseline. |
| Glimmer client crash and pool buttons | Deferred defect | Crash reproduced by door and widget on Low after minimal VFX. Monks and locked door published; cause unresolved. Pool UI edits exist only in older mixed candidate. | Do not reopen or mark fixed. Separate bounded asset/model diagnosis when selected; pool submission must then be tested independently. Compass bypass is a known closure gap. |
| Apprentice spell expansion | Not implemented | Five apprentices and curated level 0–2 routines are delivered. | Expand approved list through level 5 with the same harmless/targeting restrictions; do not add lethal practice to children. |
| Enchanted approach garden | Redesign not implemented | Initial map and reference direction exist; Joel found current composition and single wisp underwhelming. | One-map composition pass: distinct planted spaces, purposeful effects and multiple restrained fey routines. Include its fitted entrance correction as required travel work. |
| Academy tower and grounds | Design only for requested overhaul | Initial academy exterior is delivered. Large tower, richer outer grounds and lethal NPC demonstrations are requested. | Separate tower/grounds authoring from the shared NPC battle/resurrection system; level-15 clerics, NPC-only combat. Do not label the whole academy built. |
| Lantern Marches network | Private partial build | Native regional areas and encounter/life/story sources exist; implementation notes describe camps, residents, caches and four stories. | Rebase and reconcile kobold/goblin war scope; resolve recorded route issues; integrate one playable map first. No current-baseline region release verified. |
| Kobold/goblin war simulation | Requested; integration unproven | Regional encounter components are reusable; this is not evidence of the requested complete faction war. | One shared-system slice for opposing missions, respawns, bosses and rewards; then integrate map by map. |
| Hearthward, homes, castle and temple refinements | Backlog; mixed existing foundations | Published areas, shared furniture/life and specific design notes exist. | Choose one map at a time. No blanket all-room rebuild or area-UAT completion debt. Preserve approved school/guest-room/altar designs. |
| Situated NPC life and cheeky reactions | Concept with shared foundations | Netheria sleeper/door example and design lessons; some existing service/routine systems. | Author a small reusable interaction family with cooldown/return behaviour, then use it in a selected map. No claim that town-wide reactions are built. |
| Existing VFX placement/cleanup patch | Future scoped patch | Installed effect libraries and approved blue/green/yellow examples; prior global ambience is already delivered, not a fresh staged patch. | Choose one map or one faulty shared effect controller. Anchor effects to objects/events; preserve approved Tyr hand. Glimmer remains a separate defect. |
| Original Starshine VFX creation | Deferred; no release candidate | Explicit F01 future project and reference library exist. No original effect build is established by this review. | Select one original effect; reuse-first check, create and inspect in context, package compatibility/performance; only then prepare a separately scoped integration patch. |
| Original voices and soundsets | Research only | SSF/event voice packaging research and a proposed library concept. | Start with one original voice/routine sample; verify rights, format, loudness and repetition before scaling. No generated library is staged. |
| Engine Full Send: richer interactions/UI | Discussion umbrella | Desired richness and quick compatible upgrades are agreed; appearance work already delivered. | Select one concrete global system or existing-map experience in Q&A. No hidden implementation commitment or new-area bundle. |
| Film and future hammer repair | Published / paused | Published 2:19 cut retained; wrong hammer recorded around 1:22 through roughly 1:43–1:45. Tower sequence remains separate paused material. | Future re-render only when resumed; no video work tonight. |
| Workflow, progress and infrastructure | Documentation delivered | Seven principles, task-based board, account-aware usage and simplified backup policy exist. | Apply backup chain at next authorised release; operational AI-Core backup path not provisioned by policy alone. Token audit refinements and local approval controls need separate scoped assessment. Spark discontinued. |

## Evidence and limits

- Mercy Square: `outputs/changes/20260914-mercy-square`
- Lantern, guest rooms and Returning Light: `outputs/changes/20260914-native-world-rebuild`
- Shared Tyr altar and domestic foundations: `outputs/uat-gold/Tyr-lifecycle-validation.md`
- Orc balance and Games spectacle: `outputs/changes/20260914-orcs-games`
- CEP, HD, refined heads and appearance editor: `outputs/changes/20260914-appearance-studio`
- Design and audio research: `outputs/changes/20260914-character-assets/Audio-research.md`
- Categorised Tester Compass: `outputs/changes/20260914-testing-tools/candidate.json`
- Healer dawn/dusk bells: `outputs/changes/20260914-testing-tools/native-result.json`
- Glimmer client crash and pool buttons: `outputs/changes/20260914-glimmer-closed/defect.json`
- Apprentice spell expansion: `outputs/progress/overhaul.json`
- Enchanted approach garden: `outputs/design-study-20260912/Adopted-design-decisions.md`
- Academy tower and grounds: `outputs/next-four-release-candidates.md`
- Lantern Marches network: `outputs/lantern-marches-01/Implementation-status.md`
- Kobold/goblin war simulation: `outputs/lantern-marches-01/Implementation-status.md`
- Hearthward, homes, castle and temple refinements: `outputs/workflow-review-20260917/LESSONS.md`
- Situated NPC life and cheeky reactions: `outputs/design-study-20260912/Netheria-design-assessment.md`
- Existing VFX placement/cleanup patch: `outputs/changes/20260912T084500Z-living-city/SCOPE.md`
- Original Starshine VFX creation: `outputs/changes/20260912T084500Z-living-city/SCOPE.md`
- Original voices and soundsets: `outputs/changes/20260914-character-assets/Audio-research.md`
- Engine Full Send: richer interactions/UI: `outputs/changes/20260914-character-assets/Next-engine-direction.md`
- Film and future hammer repair: `outputs/progress/overhaul.json`
- Workflow, progress and infrastructure: `WORKFLOW.md`

Direct archive comparison: staged ut_entry/ut_pick/ut_destinations differ from the recorded current MOD; tt_bells is absent and is not called by aw_boot. Testing-Tools.mod also contains pool edits, so deploying it would mix scopes and overwrite later work. No game builds, server operations or new runtime tests were performed. Historical task states are preserved in board-before.json, not silently relabelled as player-approved.