# Session 0030.0 — Transcript

> App: human-experience-filter-art
> Start: 2026-06-30T08-10 (PST)
> End: 2026-06-30T08-50 (PST)
> Type: planning-and-executing
> Posture: yolo
> Claude-Session: c4cec6c6-26d8-46f3-80ee-4ff4035a4f72
> Checkout: /Users/benstull/git/benstull.org/benstull/human-experience-filter-art
> Date: 2026-06-30
> Goal: Add an obvious "Run simulation" start button to the simulator's main
>   screen (shown after the "Loading Universe…" preload); it turns Video on and
>   sets Audio to level 2. Turning Video on directly should also start the
>   experience, snap Audio to 2, and dismiss the button. Move the default
>   first-Video-on audio coupling from 3/10 → 2/10.
> Outcome: Built + verified (303 pytest, 8 pytest-playwright incl. 3 new, 12
>   Playwright TS incl. 1 updated + 1 new, node unit tests green). Work committed
>   as 3a45e33 and pushed to design/cloudflare-static-publish — **the commit was
>   landed by a CONCURRENT session (0029)** that swept up this session's
>   working-tree changes while doing the CC-credits/Cloudflare-publish work.

## Plan

1. Map the splash/loading flow and the Video/Audio toggle wiring (Explore agent
   + direct reads of `simulator/static/{index.html,app.js,style.css,i18n.js}`).
2. Add a `#run-sim` button inside the stage `.screen`, hidden until media
   preloads, styled to sit above the black cover (`z-index: 60`).
3. Add a `beginExperience()` helper: Video on + audio snapped to a
   `START_AUDIO_LEVEL = "2"` + button dismissed + soundtrack played in-gesture
   (Safari unlock). Wire it to both the button click and the first direct
   Video-on (`!videoEverOn`).
4. Reveal the button after `hideLoading()`; change the old 3/10 coupling → 2/10.
5. Localize `run.button` in en/es/fr/ja (4-lang parity invariant).
6. Update E2E coverage (pytest-playwright + Playwright TS) from the old
   "couples to 3" assertions to 2; add button-shown / button-starts /
   direct-video-on tests.
7. Run the full suite + confirm a pre-existing failure is not mine.

## Pre-session state

- Branch `main` clean at `934f60c` (left-brain annotations merged). Simulator
  boots SILENT (video off, audio 0) and waited for the operator to flip the
  unlabelled **Video** toggle as the start gesture — not obvious to a first-time
  viewer. First-Video-on coupled audio to **3/10**.
- No session-init gate was run at the top of this session — it was treated as a
  small, fully-specified frontend change (see Deferred decisions).

## Turn-by-turn arc

1. **Explore + direct reads.** Dispatched an `Explore` subagent to map the
   splash + AV-toggle code; in parallel read `index.html`, `app.js`
   (`main()`/`hideLoading()`/`beginExperience` region, the audio dial, the
   `videoEverOn` coupling), `style.css` (`#loading`, `.black z-index:50`,
   `.hidden`), and `i18n.js` (UI_STRINGS shape, 4 languages). Confirmed the
   stage `.screen` is `position: relative` and the black cover is `z-index: 50`,
   so a start button needs `z-index > 50` inside the screen and the side panel
   (Video toggle) stays reachable.
2. **Implement.** Added `#run-sim` to the stage; `.run-sim` CSS (centered pill,
   `z-index: 60`); `run.button` i18n string (en/es/fr/ja); `beginExperience()`
   unifying both entry paths; revealed the button after `hideLoading()`;
   simplified the Video-toggle handler to call `beginExperience()` on first
   on; changed coupling 3 → 2.
3. **Update tests.** Replaced the old `test_video_on_couples_audio_to_three…`
   (pytest) and the "couples audio to 3/10" Playwright TS test with 2/10
   variants; added button-shown-after-load, button-starts-video+audio, and
   direct-Video-on-dismisses-button cases on both harnesses.
4. **Verify.** `303 passed, 2 skipped` (non-E2E pytest); `8 passed`
   pytest-playwright (incl. 3 new); `12 passed` Playwright `altitude-lock.spec`
   (incl. updated + new). Node unit tests (i18n / index-i18n / scrub) green; the
   i18n completeness invariant confirms `run.button` has all 4 langs.
5. **Isolate a failure.** `loop-recovery.spec.ts` failed; stashed only the
   source files and re-ran on a clean baseline — it **fails identically without
   my changes**, so it's pre-existing, not introduced here. (During that stash
   round-trip a `test-results/.last-run.json` artifact briefly blocked
   `git stash pop`; recovered by `git checkout`-ing the artifact and popping —
   no source lost.)
6. **Handed the working tree back uncommitted** for an operator by-eye review
   (the project's usual cadence — no Chrome on the box). Offered to branch + PR.

## Cut state (end of session)

| Item | State |
| --- | --- |
| Run-simulation button + audio-2 change | Committed `3a45e33` on `design/cloudflare-static-publish`, **pushed** |
| Committed by | Concurrent **session 0029** (swept up this session's working-tree changes) |
| Files | `simulator/static/{index.html,app.js,style.css,i18n.js}`, `simulator/e2e/tests/altitude-lock.spec.ts`, `tests/test_e2e_audio.py` |
| This session's working tree | Clean; nothing of mine left to commit/push/merge |
| Branch `design/cloudflare-static-publish` | Not merged to `main` — intentional; awaits operator review + Cloudflare deploy (session 0029's frontier) |
| Deploy pipeline (§9) | **N/A** — project is exempt (static Cloudflare target; see memory `project-exempt-from-wiggleverse-deploy`) |
| Verification | 303 pytest + 8 pytest-playwright + 12 Playwright TS + node units green; `loop-recovery.spec.ts` red **pre-existing** |

## What lands on the operator's plate

- **By-eye / by-ear review** of the Run-simulation button in a real browser —
  especially the **in-gesture audio unlock on real Safari/iOS** (headless tests
  relax autoplay, so it's wired-but-unconfirmed on a real device).
- The button work lives on `design/cloudflare-static-publish` alongside the
  CC-credits + Cloudflare-publish work; it merges to `main` / ships when that
  branch does (session 0029's frontier), not separately.
- Note the concurrency: this session authored the change; session 0029 committed
  it. Two transcripts (0029, 0030) touch the same single commit `3a45e33` —
  expected, not a duplicate of the commit.

## Prompt the operator can paste into the next session

```
/goal operator eyeball review of the static build (incl. the new Run-simulation button) + execute the real Cloudflare deploy to benstull.art/human-experience-simulator, per the cloudflare-static-publish design on branch design/cloudflare-static-publish
```

## Deferred decisions

_Autonomous-mode low-confidence calls; surfaced at finalize._

1. **No session-init gate at the top.** Treated the task as a small,
   fully-specified frontend tweak and implemented directly without claiming a
   transcript first. Consequence: the work landed on a shared checkout and was
   committed by a concurrent session (0029) rather than carrying its own
   end-to-end branch→PR. Alternative: claim a session + isolated worktree up
   front. Flagged because shared-checkout work is what the worktree rule guards
   against.
2. **`beginExperience()` snaps audio to 2 unconditionally** on first Video-on,
   overriding a viewer who pre-set a higher level before pressing start /
   flipping Video. Matched the operator's explicit "snap to audio level 2"
   wording; alternative was to only raise from 0 (the prior 3/10 behavior). Easy
   to soften to "only if currently 0" if undesired.
3. **Real-device audio autoplay unverified.** Headless Chromium ran with
   `--autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required`, masking real Safari/iOS
   behavior; the in-gesture unlock is wired but needs a by-ear check.
