PAC-MAN Royale — Status Board

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🗺 Milestone Timeline

COMPLETE
M1: Single-Player Core
Maze, movement, ghosts, pellets, scoring — Feb 22 2026
COMPLETE
M2: Battle Royale Layer
Attack system, targeting, elimination, combo scoring — Feb 2026
COMPLETE
M3: Local Multiplayer
4-player shared maze, lobby, speed ramp, celebration music — Feb 2026
COMPLETE
M4: Online Multiplayer
FishNet + Bayou, lobby, Docker deploy — Mar 1 2026
COMPLETE
M5: Server-Authoritative Online
60Hz snapshots, dead-reckoning, full visual parity — Mar 6 2026
COMPLETE
M6: Automated Play Testing
Bot AI, headless game runner, invariant validation, CI pipeline — Mar 17 2026
COMPLETE
M7: Next-Gen UI Enhancements
Neon arcade visual fidelity — NeonAmbientBg, VictoryCelebration, GhostEyeTracker, PowerPelletGlow, M7 QA
COMPLETE
M8: Bugs & Enhancements
Pellet persistence fixes, 3 random maze layouts, 64×64 power-up icons, 30 new QA tests — 447 total
IN PROGRESS
M9: Code Hardening & Anti-Fragility
All 14 stories done. Decompose god objects, unify local/server tick (IGameTicker), single source of truth (PlayerStateRecord), fail-fast validation (RequireReference), break assembly hub, ARCHITECTURE.md, full architecture invariant test suite.
IN PROGRESS
M10: Performance & Rendering Optimization
60 FPS on weak hardware. Snapshot throttle + delta, incremental tilemap, pre-baked textures, TMP caching, effect pooling, auto-quality, perf CI gate — 14 stories
IN PROGRESS
M11: Online Robustness & Release Readiness
Make it shippable to strangers. Disconnect grace + reconnect, room codes, error-recoverable matchmaking, spectator mode, telemetry + crash reporting, color-blind palettes + motion reduction + high-contrast HUD, tab blur auto-pause, semver + git SHA, settings audit + release CI gate — 14 stories

Milestone 1: Single-Player Core DONE

✔
Unity project scaffolding
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Grid/Maze (MazeLayout, MazeRenderer, ClassicMazeData)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
GridMover (IGridMover, GridMover)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pac-Man controller (PacmanController)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pellet/power-up logic (PelletManager)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
GameContext (DI hub, bootstrap)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghost AI state machine
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghost prefabs with GhostStateMachine, GridMover, coloured sprites
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghost exit-house state + staggered release delays
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghost / Pac-Man collision (normal + frightened)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Lives system (PlayerState / EliminationTracker / HUD)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Death blink animation + invincibility window
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Score display wired end-to-end
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
AudioManager + AudioClipLibrary
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
WebGL build pipeline
Full Stack Engineer
Done

Milestone 2: Battle Royale Layer DONE

✔
Combo scoring system (AttackSystem, TargetingSystem, EliminationTracker)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
AttackSystem.ComboStep public property
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
GameLoop wired to AttackSystem + TargetingSystem + EliminationScreenUI
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Scene wiring + QA for full battle royale layer
Full Stack Engineer + QA
Done

Milestone 3: Local Multiplayer DONE

✔
4-player redesign — shared single maze, tabletop layout
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
LobbyController — press-to-join overlay, countdown, BeginGame
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
LocalMultiPlayerLoop — 1-4 player support, rotated input
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Game-over detection + OnGameOver event
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Winner screen — flash banner, return to lobby
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Pellet repopulation (power-pellets + board clear)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Incremental speed ramp (3%/30s, capped at 150%)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Celebration music (VictoryFanfare at game-over)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
PlayMode integration tests
QA Engineer
Done

Milestone 4: Online Multiplayer DONE

✔
FishNet networking (Broadcast API rewrite)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Online lobby UI (OnlineLobbyScreen)
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Online player names + roster broadcast
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Deploy pipeline: Docker / TrueNAS
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Bug fix: game.html WebGL loader filenames (WebGL.* not PACMAN Royale.*)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Bug fix: Build-ServerImage copy order (static files before Unity index.html rename)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Bug fix: Deploy-TrueNAS.ps1 standalone failure (remove app before file upload)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
WSS TLS configuration (NPM + Let's Encrypt)
Full Stack Engineer
Done

Milestone 5: Server-Authoritative Online DONE

✔
OnlineServerGameLoop — full server-authoritative simulation
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
OnlineClientRenderer — snapshot interpolation + dead-reckoning
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
GameStateBroadcast — 60Hz snapshots
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Slot assignment + HUD/camera config
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Velocity-based dead-reckoning extrapolation
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Board repopulation relay
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Full power-up visual effects on clients
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Speed multiplier HUD + screen shake
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Auto-start countdown (10s when 2+ players)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Game reset fix — pellet event leak
Full Stack Engineer
Done

Milestone 6: Automated Play Testing DONE

✔
US-6.01: Bot Input Controller — BotPacmanController (BFS, 3 aggression levels)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
US-6.02: Headless Game Session Runner — PlayTestRunner + JSON output
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
US-6.03: Play Test Assertions — 6 invariants, PlayTestInvariantValidator
QA Engineer
Done
✔
US-6.04: CI Play Test Integration — Run-PlayTests.ps1 gates deploy
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
BotPacmanControllerTests.cs — 14 EditMode tests
QA Engineer
Done
✔
PlayTestInvariantTests.cs — 18 EditMode tests
QA Engineer
Done
✔
PlayTestRunnerTests.cs — 7 PlayMode tests
QA Engineer
Done

Milestone 7: Next-Gen UI Enhancements DONE

Based on analysis of the PAC-MAN BATTLE ROYALE CHOMPIONSHIP arcade cabinet. These user stories close the visual gap between our WebGL version and the arcade original.

US-7.01
3D-Effect Neon Maze Walls
As a player, I want the maze walls to have a 3D beveled neon glow effect (like the arcade cabinet) so the playfield looks polished and premium. Acceptance: walls render with inner/outer edge highlights, glow bloom shader, and depth illusion.
MUST Done
US-7.02
High-Resolution Character Sprites
As a player, I want Pac-Man and ghosts to have smooth, high-resolution sprites (128px+) with anti-aliased edges matching the arcade's crisp character rendering. Acceptance: each character has idle, moving, frightened, and dead sprite sets at 128px minimum.
MUST Done
US-7.03
Arcade-Style HUD Chrome
As a player, I want the HUD to feature arcade-cabinet-style score displays with pixel fonts, neon outlines, and animated score counters that roll up on change, matching the arcade aesthetic.
MUST Done
US-7.04
Attract Mode / Demo Screen
As a visitor, I want an attract mode that plays automatically before anyone joins — showing AI-controlled Pac-Men playing the game with "INSERT COIN" style prompts, just like the real arcade cabinet.
SHOULD Done
US-7.05
Cabinet-Style Border Chrome
As a player, I want a decorative border around the play area that mimics the physical arcade cabinet's marquee and control panel art, giving the WebGL version a "virtual cabinet" feel.
SHOULD Done
US-7.06
Enhanced Ghost Animations
As a player, I want ghosts to have animated eye tracking (eyes follow nearest Pac-Man), body wobble/bob while moving, and a "poof" disappear effect when eaten — matching the arcade's fluid ghost animations.
MUST Done
US-7.07
Particle System Overhaul
As a player, I want pellet collection to produce bright spark showers, power pellets to create screen-wide pulse waves, and ghost eating to produce dramatic explosion effects with lingering particles.
SHOULD Done
US-7.08
Dynamic Maze Colour Cycling
As a player, I want the maze walls to gradually cycle through different neon colours as the match progresses (blue / purple / pink / red as speed increases), creating visual urgency like the arcade version.
SHOULD Done
US-7.09
Victory Celebration Animation
As a winner, I want a dramatic victory sequence: winner's Pac-Man grows large and does a victory dance, firework particles explode across the screen, and a "CHAMPION!" banner slams in with the celebration fanfare.
MUST Done
US-7.10
Smooth Power-Up Transition Effects
As a player, I want the transition into powered state to feel impactful: screen flash, Pac-Man grows slightly with a glow aura, and the maze briefly pulses — more dramatic than the current implementation, matching the arcade's "supercharged" feel.
COULD Done
US-7.11
Unique Power-Up Types
As a player, I want new power-up types beyond the classic power pellet (speed boost, ghost freeze, score multiplier) that the arcade CHOMPIONSHIP edition introduced, adding strategic depth to matches.
COULD Done
US-7.12
Animated Game Logo & Splash
As a player, I want an animated PAC-MAN Royale logo on the title screen that assembles piece-by-piece with neon glow trails, matching the energy and polish of the arcade cabinet's marquee display.
COULD Done
US-7.13
Power Pellet Visual Overhaul — Larger & Throbbing
As a player, I want power pellets to be noticeably larger than regular pellets (2–3× diameter) with a pulsating throb animation — a smooth scale oscillation combined with a bright glow aura that intensifies and fades rhythmically. The throb should convey "eat me for a power-up" at a glance, making power pellets impossible to miss even in a frantic 4-player match. Acceptance: power pellets render at ≥2× base pellet size, throb cycle 0.6–1.0s, glow radius pulses in sync, clearly distinguishable from normal pellets at all zoom levels.
MUST Done
US-7.14
Speed Boost Pellet — Winged Sneaker Icon
As a player, I want speed boost pellets to have a unique, eye-catching procedurally-generated icon — a stylised winged sneaker (a shoe silhouette with small feathered wings extending from the heel) rendered in electric-blue with a white speed-streak trail. The icon should bob gently and emit a faint particle sparkle trail so it reads instantly as "speed power-up." The design should be distinct from power pellets and regular pellets, making its purpose obvious without a tutorial. Acceptance: procedural sprite generated at runtime (no external assets), clearly reads as a winged shoe at 64–128px, animated bob + sparkle, colour palette distinct from power pellets.
MUST Done
US-7.15
Online Lobby Screen Overhaul — Hype & Clarity
As a player entering the online lobby, I want an exciting, polished UI that immediately tells me I'm about to enter a high-stakes PAC-MAN BATTLE. The current lobby has overlapping text boxes, no field labels, and a flat, lifeless layout. The redesign must: (1) Fix all overlapping/misaligned input fields — player name and server address inputs must be clearly separated with distinct placeholder labels (e.g. “ENTER YOUR NAME”, “SERVER ADDRESS”). (2) Add a bold, arcade-style lobby header with animated glow or neon treatment (e.g. “BATTLE LOBBY” or “ENTER THE ARENA”). (3) Add hype elements: pulsing background, animated Pac-Man or ghost silhouettes, dramatic colour palette (dark bg with neon accents). (4) HOST and JOIN buttons should be large, satisfying, and clearly convey their purpose with hover/press feedback. (5) Connection status should be prominent and colour-coded (red = disconnected, green = connected). (6) Overall feel: arcade cabinet attract-mode energy — the player should feel the adrenaline before the game even starts. Acceptance: no overlapping UI elements, all fields labelled, lobby reads as exciting/high-stakes, passes visual QA on 1080p and 720p, HOST/JOIN buttons have hover + press states.
MUST Done
US-7.16
Full Menu Suite Visual Overhaul — Neon Arcade Theme
As a player, I want every screen — from the initial loading splash through the main menu, game mode selection, and local lobby — to share a cohesive neon arcade aesthetic matching the M7 visual overhaul, so the entire journey from first load to first move feels premium and on-theme.

(1) Loading / splash screen — Animated PAC-MAN BATTLE ROYALE logo assembles with neon glow trails; progress bar styled as a pellet trail eaten by Pac-Man; animated maze silhouette with wandering ghost and Pac-Man silhouettes in the background.
(2) Main menu — Dark background (#0a0a0f) with dynamic neon grid or animated maze silhouette; oversized branded header with pulsing glow; PLAY LOCAL and PLAY ONLINE rendered as arcade-button cards with distinct hover (scale + brightness) and press (sink + flash) animations; version and status-page link present but not dominant.
(3) Mode selection / local lobby — Player-slot cards tinted in canonical slot colours (P1 yellow, P2 cyan, P3 pink, P4 orange) with join animations; countdown as an oversized neon digit with punch-scale keyframe; ambient ghost and Pac-Man silhouettes wander behind the UI.
(4) Unified design system — Arcade/pixel typeface, dark neon palette, consistent glow/bloom on all interactive elements, animated ambient background on every screen. No screen resembles a Unity default layout.
(5) Screen transitions — Brief animated wipe (neon chomp or black flash) on all scene changes; no bare instant cuts.
(6) Visual QA — Zero overflow, clipping, or z-fighting at 1920×1080 and 1280×720; all text legible at both resolutions.
MUST Done

Milestone 8: Bugs & Enhancements DONE

Bug fixes for pellet persistence across games (local + online), random maze layouts for variety, and power-up icon overhaul for visibility.

US-8.01
BUG: Local Play — Pellets Don’t Disappear in Game 2+
PelletTwinkleEffect.OnDestroy() only unsubscribes events but does NOT destroy its overlay GameObjects. When the component is destroyed between games, orphaned SpriteRenderer children persist and render on top of the tilemap. Same issue in PowerPelletGlowEffect. Fix: explicit child GO cleanup in OnDestroy().
MUST
US-8.02
BUG: Online Play — Fake Power Pellets in Game 2+
Same orphaned-GO root cause as US-8.01, plus ClearClientPowerPellets() does not rebuild twinkle/glow effects after downgrading PPs, leaving power-pellet-styled overlays at wrong positions. Fix: OnDestroy() cleanup + rebuilt effects after PP clear.
MUST
US-8.03
Random Maze Layouts
Only the classic 28×31 maze exists (US-17, never implemented). Create 3+ additional maze layouts, random selection at game start, updated Reinitialise(). All layouts must pass dead-end validation and have ghost house + tunnels.
SHOULD
US-8.04
Power-Up Icons — Larger with Fast Strobe
Power-ups render at ~60% cell size with 32×32 sprites and 1.5 Hz pulse — easily mistaken for pellets. Fix: 64×64+ sprites, 1.5× cell scale, 6 Hz strobe, coloured glow ring, sorting order ≥14.
MUST
US-8.05
QA: Pellet Cleanup Regression Tests
Tests for US-8.01/8.02: OnDestroy() destroys overlay GOs; no orphans after ResetForNewGame() + BeginGame(); overlay count matches layout after Reinitialise().
MUST
US-8.06
QA: Random Maze Layout Tests
Tests for US-8.03: no dead ends per layout, ghost house exists, tunnels exist, ≥100 pellet tiles, random selection variation, Reinitialise() correct pellet count.
MUST
US-8.07
QA: Power-Up Visibility Tests
Tests for US-8.04: textures ≥64×64, scale ≥1.2× cell, sorting order >12, 3 distinct sprites, strobe ≥4 Hz.
MUST

Milestone 9: Code Hardening & Anti-Fragility DONE

Eliminate the structural reasons why every change breaks something else. Informed by a full-codebase fragility audit (May 23 2026): hub-assembly coupling, god objects (LocalMultiPlayerLoop ~1,300 LOC), multiple sources of truth for player state, defensive null-conditional patterns that hide broken wiring, and duplicated local-vs-server tick logic.

US-9.01
Decompose LocalMultiPlayerLoop God Object
Extract PowerUpManager, PlayerLifecycleController, ScoreCoordinator, BoardRepopulator from the ~1,300 LOC class. Loop becomes a thin orchestrator (≤ 350 LOC).
MUST
US-9.02
Unify Local + Online Tick via IGameTicker
Added IGameTicker + shared GameTickerOrchestrator and refactored LocalMultiPlayerLoop to execute a deterministic ordered ticker pipeline. EditMode tests validate registration-order execution, exception isolation, and verbatim deltaTime forwarding.
MUST
US-9.03
Single Source of Truth for Player State
PlayerEntry / PlayerState / snapshot structs mirror the same fields. Collapse into one canonical PlayerStateRecord owned by PlayerStateStore; sync bugs become impossible by construction.
MUST
US-9.04
Fail-Fast Reference Validation
Replace defensive ?. chains on required [SerializeField] refs with fail-fast validation hooks. Added [RequireReference] coverage across production MonoBehaviours plus EditMode reflection enforcement. Phase 1 + 2 complete.
MUST
US-9.05
Magic Numbers → GameConfig ScriptableObjects
Move all hardcoded gameplay constants (spawn tiles, ghost speeds, power durations, sorting orders, strobe frequencies) into GameConfig.asset + BalanceConfig.asset. Tuning becomes a single asset edit.
MUST
US-9.06
Event Subscription Lifecycle Audit
Every += paired with -= in OnDestroy. Introduce EventBag helper for auto-unsubscribe. Replaces // avoid double-sub defensive patterns.
MUST
US-9.07
Ban Find* Outside Bootstrap
Replace FindFirstObjectByType / FindObjectsByType in OnlineServerGameLoop, GameContext, MazeGlowController with explicit DI. EditMode test fails if Find* appears outside Bootstrap*.cs.
MUST
US-9.08
Eliminate Scene-YAML-Surgery Dependency
The changelog cites manual .unity YAML edits as a fix path repeatedly. Move all such wiring into a self-validating SceneBootstrapper; the committed scene file becomes a thin stub.
SHOULD
US-9.09
Break Assembly Hub Coupling
PacmanRoyale.Game.asmdef references Core + BattleRoyale + UI + Networking. Introduce PacmanRoyale.Contracts (interfaces only). Dep graph becomes acyclic with max depth 3.
MUST
US-9.10
Encapsulate PlayerEntry
~10 public mutable fields become private with read-only properties + explicit mutation methods (StartPower(float), Eliminate()). Validates state transitions.
SHOULD
US-9.11
Split PacmanController Rendering from Logic
Extract PacmanRenderer (chomp, rotation, network facing, death blink). Controller handles input + movement + collision only. Structurally prevents the "rendering code overwrote network state" bug class.
SHOULD
US-9.12
Architecture Invariant Tests
EditMode invariants now enforce folder/namespace conventions, singleton bans, Game-folder Update()/IGameTicker contract checks, Core mutable-field bans (with explicit allowlists), and US-9.05 catalogue-driven config-consumption regressions.
MUST
US-9.13
QA: Hardening Regression Suite
Full game restart 5× (no leaked GOs/events); scene reload (no doubled subs); null-out a required [SerializeField] → component disables itself + logs error (no silent soft-fail). Test files authored and in review.
MUST
US-9.14
ARCHITECTURE.md
Module diagram, assembly graph, single-source-of-truth doctrine, event-lifecycle rules, fragility audit findings. Linked from README.md and Copilot instructions.
MUST

Milestone 10: Performance & Rendering Optimization DONE

Beautiful AND silky-smooth on weak hardware. Target: steady 60 FPS on Intel HD 620 / 4-year-old laptop / 720p / 4-player local mode; ≤ 0.5 ms/frame GC pressure; ≤ 200 KB/s online bandwidth; ≤ 3 s scene load. Informed by the May 23 2026 performance audit (10 specific wins identified).

US-10.01
Throttle Online Snapshots + Delta Compression
Current: every frame (~75 Hz, 30 KB/s per client). Move to 30 Hz tick + delta encoding (send only changed fields). Target ≤ 200 KB/s for 4 players at idle.
MUST
US-10.02
Incremental Tilemap Pellet Rendering
MazeRenderer.RenderPelletsOnly() clears 868 tiles + redraws every pellet eat (~217,000 wasted ops per game). Replace with ClearPellet(col, row) / SetPellet(col, row).
MUST
US-10.03
Pre-Bake Runtime-Generated Textures (In Review)
Added shared MazeTextureGenerator + editor menu Tools/Pac-Man/Bake Maze Textures; baked 4 assets under Resources/Textures/Generated/; runtime now uses Resources.Load<Texture2D> with warning-backed fallback generation. Baked assets are uncompressed RGBA32 for this story (ETC2 follow-up).
MUST
US-10.04
Cache All TMP .text Assignments (In Review)
TmpTextCache.SetIfChanged() added; ScoreFormat pre-formats 100k score strings. 14 .text= assignments migrated across ArcadeHudChrome, HudController, PowerTimerHud, LeaderDisplay, OnlineClientRenderer. TmpTextCacheTests + ScoreFormatTests added.
MUST
US-10.05
Eliminate per-frame FindObjectsByType in MazeGlowController (In Review)
MazeGlowController now caches tilemaps in OnEnable and refreshes the cache on sceneLoaded; EditMode cache tests added.
MUST
US-10.06
Cache Shaders / Materials (In Review)
Static _spritesDefaultMat + GetSpritesDefaultMaterial() added to LeaderDisplay and OnlineYouArrow. MaterialCachingTests verifies same instance returned on repeated calls. 2 material caches added.
MUST
US-10.07
Zero-Allocation Steady-State Update Path (In Review)
Hot update paths now reuse cached collections/delegates and avoid per-frame string churn in steady-state flow; added SteadyStateAllocationTests ([Category("Performance")]) for a 1,000-frame GC budget assertion (≤ 1 MB).
MUST
US-10.08
WebGL Post-Processing Budget
Half-res Bloom via skipIterations=1 (already configured); URP Bloom/Vignette controlled by PostProcessQualityBridge. QualityPresetManager static service (enum Low/Medium/High, PlayerPrefs key pacman.quality, QualityChanged event). Ghost trails disabled on Low (GhostTrailEffect). Leader aura disabled on Low (LeaderDisplay). Corner vignettes disabled on Low (MazeGlowController). QualityToggleSettingsPanel toggle UI. 10 EditMode tests added.
MUST
US-10.09
Effect Pooling (In Review)
Added generic EffectPool<T> + PoolableEffect; migrated PacmanDeathEffect, PelletEatEffect, PowerActivateEffect, ComboScorePopup, PowerPelletGlowEffect, PelletTwinkleEffect, and EnhancedParticles; added pool reuse/max-size PlayMode tests.
MUST
US-10.10
Auto-Detect Quality Preset on First Launch (In Review)
Pick Low/Medium/High from SystemInfo (GFX MB + CPU MHz) on non-WebGL; WebGL starts Medium then runs a 5-second FPS sampler — average < 50 FPS downgrades to Low. Guard key pacman.quality.detected prevents re-detection. Wired via WebGLBootstrapper. 14 EditMode tests.
SHOULD
US-10.11
Pre-Render & Memoize ProceduralMusic (In Review)
Track-id memoization landed with session clip caching, output downsampled to mono 22 kHz, and boot memory budget instrumentation/tests (≤ 5 MB).
SHOULD
US-10.12
Move Maze Glow into a Shader (In Review)
MazeGlow.shader (URP HLSL) moves sine pulse + neon colour cycle to GPU via _Time.y. MazeGlowController throttles MaterialPropertyBlock pushes to ≤ 10 Hz. 4 EditMode tests verify push-count invariant.
SHOULD
US-10.13
Performance CI Gate (In Review)
PlayTestRunner records frame-time + GC bytes/frame against PerfBaseline.json. Deploy blocks if frame time > +10% or GC bytes > +25%.
MUST
US-10.14
QA: Performance Regression Suite (In Review)
Zero-alloc steady-state assertion; TMP rebuild count; snapshot size budget; effect-pool reuse; auto-quality preset selection. All tests pass.
MUST

Milestone 11: Online Robustness & Release Readiness IN PROGRESS

Make it shippable to strangers. M9 made the code anti-fragile and M10 made it fast; M11 closes the gap between "technically solid" and "publish-ready." Four pillars: Online resilience (graceful disconnects, reconnect-with-state-restore, shareable room codes, error-recoverable matchmaking, host-leave handling, spectator mode), Operability (anonymous telemetry, crash reporting + "Report Issue" UI, semver + embedded git SHA), Inclusivity (color-blind palettes, motion-reduction, high-contrast HUD), and Release plumbing (WebGL tab blur auto-pause, settings persistence audit, release CI gate with WebGL build smoke + perf gate + version-tag automation). 14 stories.

US-11.01
Graceful Disconnect Detection + Server-Side Grace Period
Two-phase player drop: mark Disconnected, freeze Pac-Man at last tile, render RECONNECTING… overlay for ≤ 30 s (GameConfig.DisconnectGracePeriodSeconds); only on grace expiry call existing elimination path. New PlayerConnectionTracker + DisconnectGraceController.
MUST
US-11.02
Reconnect with Full State Restoration
(roomCode, playerToken) handshake; server restreams last GameStateBroadcast + recent deltas; Pac-Man resumes at frozen tile with prior lives/score/power-timer. PlayerPrefs.pacman.playerToken GUID; new ReconnectHandshake + PlayerTokenStore.
MUST
US-11.03
Shareable Room Codes
Implemented 6-char room-code flow end-to-end: RoomCodeGenerator + RoomDirectory + LobbyManager, FishNet room-code handshake, Create Private Room + Join with Code modal (auto-uppercase + validation), copy-share-link helper (https://<host>/?room=CODE), and WebGL URL prefill bridge.
MUST
US-11.04
Error-Recoverable Matchmaking Flows
Typed MatchmakingFailureMode enum (TransportTimeout/ServerFull/VersionMismatch/AuthFailed/RoomNotFound/Unknown) + MatchmakingErrorService diagnostics persistence + MatchmakingErrorPanel with Retry/Back/Report. Retry backoff uses 1s → 2s → 4s and final failure surfaces a stable error code.
MUST
US-11.05
Host-Migration Consideration & Graceful Host-Leave
Server detects host transport disconnect → broadcasts HostLeftMatch → 5 s HOST LEFT — RETURNING TO MENU overlay on remaining clients → auto-return to main menu. ARCHITECTURE.md §11 documents v1 decision to defer peer-to-peer host promotion.
SHOULD
US-11.06
Late-Join Read-Only Spectator Mode
Mid-match joiners enter as spectators (server drops their input; receive GameStateBroadcast snapshots); SpectatorHud shows leader view + cycle-with-Tab + "SPECTATOR" badge; promoted to active player on next-round lobby transition.
SHOULD
US-11.07
Optional Anonymous Round Telemetry
Opt-in (default on, toggle in Settings) POST at game end with {schemaVersion, buildVersion, gitSha, platform, mode, playerCount, durationSec, avgFps, p99FrameTimeMs, winnerSlot, totalPellets, totalEliminations}. Stub https://telemetry.pacmanbr.example/v1/round, 3 s fire-and-forget. No PII.
SHOULD
US-11.08
Crash / Error Reporting + "Report Issue" UI
UncaughtExceptionBuffer retains last 100 Exception/Error log entries (ring, stack + timestamp + scene + version). Pause-menu Report Issue button opens ReportIssuePanel with description text + "Include diagnostic log" checkbox; POST to stub /v1/report.
SHOULD
US-11.09
Color-Blind Palettes (Deutan / Protan / Tritan)
ColorBlindPalette enum + central PaletteService; Ghost/PowerUpSprites/LeaderDisplay/HudController consume from service; runtime switch updates visuals in one frame via PaletteChanged event. Each palette: 4 unique ghost colors + 3 unique power-up tints with min ΔE ≥ 25.
MUST
US-11.10
Motion-Reduction Option
Single Reduce Motion toggle disables camera shake, GhostTrailEffect, EnhancedParticles burst mode (rate cap 25%), PelletTwinkleEffect/PowerPelletGlowEffect pulse, VictoryCelebration confetti. All five hooks read from MotionReductionService.
MUST
US-11.11
High-Contrast HUD Toggle
WCAG AAA (≥ 7:1) white-on-black HUD chrome + thicker fonts + monochrome icons + text labels for ghost-status; affects HudController/ArcadeHudChrome/PowerTimerHud/LeaderDisplay/EliminationScreenUI. Independent of US-11.09 (combinable).
MUST
US-11.12
Tab Blur / Focus Auto-Pause (WebGL)
Implemented with TabFocusController + VisibilityBridge.jslib + TabInactiveOverlay. Single-player/local-MP now fully pause (Time.timeScale=0 + audio duck) and resume on focus return; online mode keeps simulation running while muting locally, showing overlay, and suppressing local input broadcast only.
MUST
US-11.13
Build Versioning — Semver + Git SHA
BuildInfo.cs stamped by BuildInfoBaker (IPreprocessBuildWithReport) from PlayerSettings.bundleVersion + git rev-parse --short HEAD + UTC build timestamp. BuildVersionHud (bottom-right, 10 pt, 50% alpha) shows v{semver}+{shortSha} on every screen, with persisted ON/OFF toggle (default ON). Main-menu AboutPanel shows full version + SHA + build timestamp + Unity version + repo URL + credits.
MUST
US-11.14
Settings Persistence Audit + Release CI Gate
(a) SETTINGS_REGISTRY.md enumerates every user-tunable setting with PlayerPrefs key + default + consumer; SettingsPersistenceAuditTests.cs round-trips each. (b) Run-Release-PlayTests.ps1: full EditMode+PlayMode → headless WebGL build (fail on warning) → temp HTTP server + headless-browser smoke (READY ≤ 30 s) → M10 perf gate → git tag v$(Semver)-$(GitSha) + release-notes skeleton on success.
MUST

🐛 Bug Fixes

✔
Ghosts freeze after being eaten
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Wave timer fires mid-exit-house
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pellet eaten ahead of sprite
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Maze dead ends (stale .asset + cell size)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
LobbyController coroutine crash
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Yellow blob in single-player
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
DRAW! in single-player
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Join prompts misaligned
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
HUD visible for inactive players
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Wrong spawn positions
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pellets not edible after second game
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
HUD labels x-shift
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
P3/P4 HUD and join-prompt orientation
Full Stack Engineer + QA
Done
✔
Blinky spawns outside ghost house
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghosts 2-4 stuck in house on game 2+
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
NetworkObject on NetworkManager blocks clients
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
TLS conflict on port 443
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
HOST connects wrong endpoint + JOIN never works
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
ObserversRpc timing race — Broadcast API rewrite
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Online movement jitter
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pac-Man facing direction (network)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pellets not disappearing on client (v1-v3)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Lobby sticks after game over
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
All Pac-Men same color
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghosts turn transparent blue
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Tunnel pass-through slide
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Remote input lag
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Powered Pac-Man always yellow
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Fake power pellet (client PP desync)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Player names not displayed
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Lobby shows "Slot X Player X"
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Wrong player names after reconnect
Full Stack Engineer + UI/UX
Done
✔
Stale lobby after game ends
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Pellet event leak between online games
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Power pellet glow at wrong position (online PP desync)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Phantom power pellet — glow rings mismatch with layout
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
PowerPelletGlowEffect scale drift (.normalized bug)
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Ghost one-frame wrong direction on house exit
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
US-7.01: Neon wall edge glow layer (visible 3D-depth)
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Ghosts jump to exit then snap back (Unity Start() ordering race) — DeferredGhostUnfreeze 2-frame fix
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Music repeats same track every game — no-repeat shuffle + always-restart PlayBGM
Full Stack Engineer
Done

🧪 QA & Test Coverage

✔
EditMode: MazeLayout, ClassicMazeData, PelletManager, GhostNavigation, PlayerState, EliminationTracker, TargetingSystem, AttackSystem, AudioManager
QA Engineer
Done
✔
PlayMode: GridMover, GhostStateMachine, PolishSystems, AudioManager, HudAndShake
QA Engineer
Done
✔
LocalMultiPlayerLoopTests.cs — 14 EditMode tests
QA Engineer
Done
✔
VisualEffectsTests.cs — 7 PlayMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
VisualPolishTests.cs — 11 PlayMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
VisualFeaturesTests.cs — 30 EditMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
GhostReleaseConfigTests.cs — 6 EditMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
GhostStateMachineTests.cs — 14 PlayMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
OnlineLobbyDefaultsTests.cs — 11 EditMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
OnlineMultiplayerTests.cs — 20 EditMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
PowerPelletEffectsTests.cs — 7 PlayMode
QA Engineer
Done
✔
PacmanControllerTests.cs — 4 PlayMode
QA Engineer
Done

✨ Visual Polish & Effects

✔
PacmanDeathEffect — procedural wedge shards
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
PelletEatEffect — filled-disc pop / ring burst
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
PowerActivateEffect — two-ring + 8 radial shards
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
MazeGlowController — wall pulse + vignettes + dominant colour
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
PlayerBorderFX — L-shaped corner brackets
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
ComboScorePopup + ring shockwave
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
GhostTrailEffect — 16-clone afterimage pool
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
PelletTwinkleEffect — oscillation + orbit
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
LeaderDisplay — crown + threat aura
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Flashy lobby text animations
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Pac-Man chomp animation + directional rotation
UI/UX & Gameplay
Done
✔
Procedural Audio — SFX + 10 Music Tracks
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Victory Fanfare — celebration music at game-over
Full Stack Engineer
Done

⚡ Performance Optimizations

✔
Performance pass v1 — zero-alloc trails, cached renderers, sqrMagnitude, precomputed trig
Full Stack Engineer
Done
✔
Performance pass v2 — CachedMover, CachedSpriteRenderer, _lastAppliedFacing
Full Stack Engineer
Done