feat(sim): sky scale + auto-start experience + drop reef_hawaiian

Expanded-pools sky-scale work plus two experience tweaks:

- New `sky` altitude (airplane-window / low-flight layer) between orbit and
  coast; RING_ORDER cosmos·orbit·sky·coast·reef·abyss. New clip pools across
  all scales, re-baked the full adjacent-pair morph set (all-intra, LFS), and
  removed the now-stale cosmos↔abyss transitions the old ring order produced.
- Auto-start: once the preload finishes the experience turns Video on and
  raises the audio dial to 3/10 with no user gesture (app.js autoStart()).
- Dropped reef_hawaiian (text overlay — violates the text-free pool rule);
  reef pool 7→6, manifest transitions 586→558.

Tests: rewrote tests/test_e2e_audio.py for the dial UI + auto-start; updated
the manifest morph-count assertions and the altitude-scrub target for the new
ring order. 302 pytest + 11 Playwright e2e + 9 node unit all green.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

simulator/build_pool_manifest.py

@@ -38,21 +38,32 @@ MANIFEST = MEDIA / "manifest.json"
 
 # --- Pools: scale id -> ordered clip ids (primary first) (content-candidate-pool.md) ---
 POOLS: dict[str, list[str]] = {
-    "cosmos": ["cosmos", "cosmos_miri", "cosmos_galaxies", "cosmos_hudf", "cosmos_xdf"],
-    "orbit": ["orbit_planetearth", "orbit_crewobs", "orbit_bluemarble"],
-    "coast": ["coast_birdrock", "coast_surfgrass", "coast_elkbeach", "coast_drakesbeach"],
-    "reef": ["reef_lionfish", "reef_spawning", "reef_hawkfish", "reef_snapper", "reef_coralspacific"],
-    "abyss": ["abyss_wow", "abyss_midwaterexp", "abyss_hiding"],
+    "cosmos": ["cosmos", "cosmos_galaxies", "cosmos_orion", "cosmos_tarantula",
+               "cosmos_westerlund", "cosmos_southernring", "cosmos_carina_eso"],
+    "orbit": ["orbit_planetearth", "orbit_bluemarble", "orbit_aurora2025",
+              "orbit_citylights", "orbit_helene", "orbit_epic"],
+    "sky": ["sky_grca_templesa", "sky_greenland_landice", "sky_greenland_suture",
+            "sky_jungle_amazon", "sky_jungle_waterfall", "sky_coast_cliffspain",
+            "sky_mtn_castlecrags", "sky_mtn_rocky"],
+    "coast": ["coast_birdrock", "coast_surfgrass", "coast_kelp", "coast_otters",
+              "coast_kalaloch", "coast_seals", "coast_mist"],
+    "reef": ["reef_lionfish", "reef_spawning", "reef_hawkfish", "reef_coralspacific",
+             "reef_redsea", "reef_flowergarden"],
+    "abyss": ["abyss_wow", "abyss_midwaterexp", "abyss_hiding", "abyss_bigfin",
+              "abyss_dandelion", "abyss_octopus", "abyss_seapig"],
 }
 
-# Ring order (large -> small, wraps): cosmos -> orbit -> coast -> reef -> abyss -> cosmos.
-RING_ORDER = ["cosmos", "orbit", "coast", "reef", "abyss"]
+# Ring order (large -> small, wraps): cosmos -> orbit -> sky -> coast -> reef -> abyss -> cosmos.
+# `sky` (the airplane-window / low-flight layer) sits between orbit (space) and coast (ground).
+RING_ORDER = ["cosmos", "orbit", "sky", "coast", "reef", "abyss"]
 
 # Per-scale soundtrack (audio spec §5.1) — the production-pass output of
 # simulator/build_audio_media.py, served at /media/audio/<path>.
 SCALE_AUDIO: dict[str, str] = {
     "cosmos": "cosmos/pillars.loop.mp3",
     "orbit": "orbit/spaceamb.loop.mp3",
+    # TODO(sky): wants its own wind/air ambience — reusing the orbit space-amb loop as a placeholder.
+    "sky": "orbit/spaceamb.loop.mp3",
     "coast": "coast/waves.loop.mp3",
     "reef": "reef/soundscape.loop.mp3",
     "abyss": "abyss/whale.loop.mp3",
@@ -113,6 +124,71 @@ META: dict[str, tuple[str, str, str]] = {
                           "NOAA Ocean Exploration midwater-exploration-1920x1080-1; trim 16–40s, crossfade-loop"),
     "abyss_hiding": ("“Hiding in the Dark” (NOAA Ocean Exploration)", PD,
                      "NOAA Ocean Exploration dark-1280x720-1; trim 20–44s, crossfade-loop"),
+    # --- Round-4 curated additions (2026-06-28, branch feat/sky-scale-expanded-pools) ---
+    # cosmos
+    "cosmos_orion": ("Orion Nebula — visible/IR flythrough (NASA SVS)", PD,
+                     "NASA SVS 30957 orion_vis_ir_zoom_xfade-1920x1080p30; trim 40–95s, crossfade-loop. Text-free."),
+    "cosmos_tarantula": ("Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus) zoom (NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI)", CCBY_WEBB,
+                         "ESA/Webb weic2212b; 1080p, trim 1–59s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "cosmos_westerlund": ("Flight through star cluster Westerlund 2 (ESA/Hubble)", "CC-BY 4.0 — credit ESA/Hubble",
+                          "ESA/Hubble heic1509f; 1080p, trim 5–59s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "cosmos_southernring": ("Southern Ring Nebula zoom (NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI)", CCBY_WEBB,
+                            "ESA/Webb weic2207a; 1080p, trim 1–59s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "cosmos_carina_eso": ("Carina Nebula zoom (ESO)", "CC-BY 4.0 — credit ESO",
+                          "ESO eso1828c; 1080p, trim 0–48s, crossfade-loop."),
+    # orbit
+    "orbit_aurora2025": ("ISS aurora — Nov 2025 geomagnetic storm (NASA JSC)", PD,
+                         "NASA JSC ESRS ISS_20251112_071350; 1080p, trim 5–60s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "orbit_citylights": ("ISS night pass — West Coast city lights (NASA JSC)", PD,
+                         "NASA SVS 30180 iss028_nighttime_20110819; 720p, trim 0–54s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "orbit_helene": ("Hurricane Helene from the ISS — storm + atmospheric limb (NASA JSC)", PD,
+                     "NASA JSC jsc2024m000168; trim 5–59s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "orbit_epic": ("DSCOVR/EPIC full-disk Earth time-lapse (NASA GSFC)", PD,
+                   "NASA SVS 12118 EPIC_timelapse; trim 0–60s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "orbit_illuminated": ("“Earth Illuminated” — aurora + Milky Way over the limb (NASA JSC)", "CC0 / public domain",
+                          "NASA JSC Earth_Illuminated_120808; trim 68–113s, crossfade-loop."),
+    # sky (NEW scale — airplane-window / low-flight, between orbit and coast)
+    "sky_grca_templesa": ("Grand Canyon — banking aerial over cliffs & temples (NPS)", PD_NPS,
+                          "NPS Grand Canyon b-roll hd10 0121cbe5; 1080p, trim 0–24s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_greenland_landice": ("IceBridge — low flight over N. Greenland snowy land ice (NASA SVS)", PD,
+                              "NASA SVS 13472 Panasonic 2016 Airborne LandIce; trim 20–60s, vidstab-stabilized, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_greenland_suture": ("IceBridge — overhead N. Greenland sea-ice patterning (NASA SVS)", PD,
+                             "NASA SVS 13472 4K SeaIce 2017 ‘Suture’; trim 10–50s, vidstab-stabilized, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_jungle_amazon": ("Amazon rainforest canopy — amazon→canopy splice", "Pexels License",
+                          "Pexels 31291128 (amazon canopy) → 29780524 (jungle canopy), 1s xfade splice; crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_jungle_waterfall": ("Waterfall plunging out of dense jungle canopy", "Pexels License",
+                             "Pexels 8334944; 4K source, trim 6–46s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_coast_cliffspain": ("Dramatic Atlantic sea cliffs, Northern Spain — aerial", "Pexels License",
+                             "Pexels 36668415; 4K source, trim 1–25s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_mtn_castlecrags": ("Castle Crags — gliding past jagged granite spires (US Forest Service)", PD,
+                            "USFS/DVIDS 998726 DOD_111563303; trim 120–174s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "sky_mtn_rocky": ("Rocky Mountain NP — aerial over alpine summits & tundra (NPS)", PD_NPS,
+                      "NPS Rocky Mountain b-roll 188046ff; trim 60–110s, crossfade-loop."),
+    # coast
+    "coast_kelp": ("Giant kelp forest, underwater", "Pexels License",
+                   "Pexels 30285973; 4K source, trim 0–46s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "coast_otters": ("Wild sea otters, Elkhorn Slough CA (USFWS)", PD,
+                     "USFWS Pacific Southwest b-roll (Wikimedia 28833083527); trim 0–48s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "coast_kalaloch": ("Slow surf on rock at sunset, Kalaloch WA", "CC-BY-SA 4.0 — credit Joe Mabel",
+                       "Wikimedia ‘Waves crashing on rocks off Beach 4, Kalaloch’; trim 0–46s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "coast_seals": ("Harbor seals hauled out on a rock", "Pexels License",
+                    "Pexels 6497564; 4K source, trim 8–54s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "coast_mist": ("Sea mist over a rocky coastline", "Pexels License",
+                   "Pexels 31036891; 4K source, trim 3–57s, crossfade-loop."),
+    # reef
+    "reef_redsea": ("Red Sea coral reef — clear blue, colorful", "CC-BY-SA 4.0 — credit Kora27",
+                    "Wikimedia ‘Korallenriff im Roten Meer DSCF1654’; trim 62–86s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "reef_flowergarden": ("Sunlit reef + sergeant majors + jack/scad schools (NOAA Fisheries)", PD,
+                          "NOAA Fisheries b-roll VIDEO_ID 1553921798001; trim 8–68s, crossfade-loop."),
+    # abyss
+    "abyss_bigfin": ("Bigfin squid drifting in black water (NOAA Ocean Exploration)", PD,
+                     "NOAA OER Windows to the Deep 2021 dive10-bigfin-squid; trim 34–76s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "abyss_dandelion": ("Dandelion siphonophore — glowing orb + threads (NOAA Ocean Exploration)", PD,
+                        "NOAA OER 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones dive13-dandelion; trim 12–70s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "abyss_octopus": ("Deep-sea octopus (Graneledone) crawling (NOAA Ocean Exploration)", PD,
+                      "NOAA OER 2023 EXPRESS West Coast; Wikimedia Graneledone_boreopacifica_close-up; trim 6–60s, crossfade-loop."),
+    "abyss_seapig": ("Swimming sea cucumber (Enypniastes), CC0 (NOAA)", "CC0 / public domain",
+                     "NOAA Okeanos Gulf of Mexico 2014 Ex1402-dive06; trim 0–44s, crossfade-loop."),
 }
 
 # --- Affect vocabulary per SCALE (shared by all the scale's pool members) -------
@@ -131,6 +207,12 @@ AFFECT: dict[str, list[tuple]] = {
         ("feel.unity", [0.66, 0.58], 3, ["one", "unity", "belonging", "a borderless belonging"]),
         ("feel.distance", [0.42, 0.82], 4, ["far", "distance", "remoteness", "an exquisite remoteness"]),
     ],
+    "sky": [
+        ("feel.exhilaration", [0.50, 0.44], 1, ["whee", "exhilaration", "elation", "a soaring elation"]),
+        ("feel.freedom", [0.22, 0.68], 2, ["free", "freedom", "release", "a boundless release"]),
+        ("feel.lightness", [0.66, 0.58], 3, ["light", "lightness", "buoyancy", "a weightless buoyancy"]),
+        ("feel.vertigo", [0.42, 0.82], 4, ["whoa", "vertigo", "giddiness", "a giddy, falling vertigo"]),
+    ],
     "coast": [
         ("feel.ease", [0.50, 0.44], 1, ["nice", "ease", "calm", "an unhurried calm"]),
         ("feel.nostalgia", [0.22, 0.68], 2, ["miss", "nostalgia", "wistfulness", "a salt-air wistfulness"]),

simulator/e2e/tests/altitude-lock.spec.ts

@@ -72,22 +72,22 @@ test("a new volume fade supersedes a stale one (audio not silenced after landing
   expect(vol).toBeGreaterThan(0.7);                    // ended near 0.8, not dragged to 0
 });
 
-test("audio is a 0-10 level dial, defaulting to 0", async ({ page }) => {
+test("audio is a 0-10 level dial", async ({ page }) => {
   await boot(page);
   const ctl = await page.evaluate(() => {
     const c = document.querySelector("#audio") as HTMLInputElement;
-    return { type: c.type, min: c.min, max: c.max, value: c.value };
+    return { type: c.type, min: c.min, max: c.max };
   });
   expect(ctl.type).toBe("range");
   expect(ctl.min).toBe("0");
   expect(ctl.max).toBe("10");
-  expect(ctl.value).toBe("0");                 // silent until raised
 });
 
-test("turning video on for the first time lifts audio to 3/10", async ({ page }) => {
+test("the experience auto-starts once loaded: video on + audio at 3/10", async ({ page }) => {
   await boot(page);
-  expect(await page.evaluate(() => (document.querySelector("#audio") as HTMLInputElement).value)).toBe("0");
-  await enableVideo(page);                       // first video-on couples audio at a gentle level
+  // No gesture needed — autoStart() flips Video on and lifts audio to a gentle level
+  // the moment the preload finishes.
+  await expect.poll(() => page.evaluate(() => (document.querySelector("#visual") as HTMLInputElement).checked)).toBe(true);
   await expect.poll(() => page.evaluate(() => (document.querySelector("#audio") as HTMLInputElement).value)).toBe("3");
   // The level label reflects it.
   expect(await page.evaluate(() => document.querySelector("#audio-level-val")?.textContent)).toBe("3");
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ test("auto-scrub speed is constant per altitude (a 2-step jump takes ~2x a 1-ste
     return (await page.evaluate(() => performance.now())) - t0;
   }
   const t1 = await timeJump(60, "orbit");    // cosmos -> orbit (1 altitude)
-  const t2 = await timeJump(120, "reef");    // orbit -> reef (2 altitudes)
+  const t2 = await timeJump(120, "coast");   // orbit -> coast (2 altitudes; ring is cosmos·orbit·sky·coast·reef·abyss)
   const ratio = t2 / t1;
   expect(ratio).toBeGreaterThan(1.5);        // proportional to distance, not a fixed total
   expect(ratio).toBeLessThan(2.7);           // ~2x, not more