# Findings

> Last Updated: 2026-04-09T20:59:51.000Z

## Summary

Initializer refresh for SCOPONE-0010. The cache was invalid because `docs/FINDINGS.md` no longer matched its recorded hash, and the architecture document no longer matched the live source layout after settings, preferences, and benchmark changes. The observations below reflect the current repository state.

## Codebase Observations

- Primary gameplay code currently lives in 15 TypeScript source files under `src/`; the Android wrapper adds 3 Java files.
- The project is structurally split between framework-free gameplay modules in `src/game/` and Phaser scene code in `src/scenes/`.
- `src/scenes/GameScene.ts` and `src/game/ai.ts` remain the two largest concentrations of application logic.
- A dedicated audio preference path now exists: `src/game/preferences.ts`, `src/scenes/MenuScene.ts`, and `src/scenes/SettingsScene.ts`.
- `main.ts` still contains a local `SettingsScene` placeholder class, while `MenuScene.ensureSettingsSceneAvailable()` swaps in the concrete imported scene before navigation.
- The AI transport layer is a stable three-file path: `ai-worker-protocol.ts`, `ai-worker-client.ts`, and `ai.worker.ts`.
- The AI exposes three difficulty levels: `beginner`, `advanced`, and `master`.
- `advanced` and `master` both use `CardTracker` to reason about unseen cards without directly reading hidden hands.
- The base `master` search profile is `4300 ms / 8 samples / depth 5 / batch 2`, with tighter endgame branches down to `3200 ms / 4 samples / exact remaining depth / batch 1` when 4 cards remain.
- `GameScene` consumes AI progress callbacks to update an on-screen think bar while a worker request is running.
- `GameScene` now enforces `AI_MIN_THINK_MS = 1000` and `MOVE_OUTCOME_STATUS_MS = 2000` through timer-backed scene logic.
- `AIWorkerClient` fails over pending work to in-thread `chooseMove()` if worker creation, posting, or deserialization fails.
- The AI benchmark harness is now in source under `src/game/ai-benchmark.ts` and `src/game/ai-benchmark-fixtures.ts`, and `package.json` exposes it as `npm run benchmark:ai-quality`.
- The current benchmark contract is iteration 5: 13 fixed fixtures, 6 critical concepts, and 48 self-play matches.
- The Android wrapper targets SDK 36 with `minSdkVersion` 24 and applies immersive mode from the native activity.
- Audio remains procedural via Web Audio; there is still no dedicated audio asset pipeline in the source tree.
- No ESLint or Prettier configuration is present.
- The only repository-wide verification command supplied is `npx tsc --noEmit`.

## Potential Improvement Areas

- `GameScene.ts` still centralizes layout, turn flow, HUD updates, effects, audio, status messaging, and AI orchestration in one scene class.
- `ai.ts` still combines heuristic tiers, inference helpers, determinization, move ordering, and alpha-beta evaluation in one module.
- The current settings flow works, but the dual registration pattern for `SettingsScene` in `main.ts` plus dynamic replacement in `MenuScene` is fragile and worth simplifying later.
- Worker transport is isolated cleanly, but progress rendering and fallback behavior remain coupled to scene-level UI concerns.
- A 3.2 to 4.35 second master search window may still be noticeable on slower mobile devices even with yielding and the minimum-think pacing already in place.
- There is no dedicated automated rules test suite beyond type-checking and the AI benchmark harness.
- Formatting and style are enforced socially rather than by automated linting or formatting tools.

## Current Rule / Implementation Notes

### Capture behavior in `engine.ts`

- Direct-match capture has priority over subset-sum capture.
- When multiple direct matches exist, `findCaptures()` returns one single-card option per matching card.
- Subset-sum captures are considered only when no direct match exists.
- `applyMove()` defaults to the first legal capture if no explicit capture choice is supplied.
- Scopa is awarded only when a capture clears the table before the final play of the round.

### AI implementation snapshot

- `beginner` uses a simpler heuristic with noise to remain beatable.
- `advanced` adds race awareness, anti-scopa logic, partner setup, denari pressure, and tracker-based probability estimates.
- `master` orders legal moves with a quick evaluator, samples hidden hands, and scores them with alpha-beta search under a dynamic deadline.
- Progress is reported through `AIDecisionProgress` so the scene can keep the think bar responsive.
- `CardTracker` now exposes same-rank residue summaries through `getValueRankResidue()` and `getValueRankResidueSummary()`, and those semantics are the live inference surface for unseen-value reasoning.

### Worker execution snapshot

- `GameScene` creates `AIWorkerClient` during `create()` and disposes it on both `shutdown` and `destroy`.
- `AIWorkerClient` serializes `CardTracker` state through `toSnapshot()` instead of attempting to transfer the class instance.
- `ai.worker.ts` rebuilds tracker state with `CardTracker.fromSnapshot()` before calling `chooseMove()`.
- Progress, result, and serialized error payloads all travel through `ai-worker-protocol.ts`.
- If worker execution becomes unavailable, pending requests are rerun with the in-thread AI path rather than being dropped.

### Scene / UI implementation snapshot

- `BootScene` loads atlas assets and presents a simple loading bar.
- `MenuScene` now exposes both difficulty selection and a dedicated entry point into `SettingsScene`.
- `SettingsScene` persists music and effects toggles immediately through `saveAudioPreferences()`.
- `GameScene` reads normalized audio preferences from scene data or persisted storage before match start.
- `GameScene` tracks played and captured cards in `CardTracker` as the round evolves.
- The scene owns score HUD rendering, player labels, status text, think-bar rendering, procedural audio, and particle effects.
- Round-end and match-end flows remain managed inside the scene instead of separate overlay components.

### Benchmark snapshot

- `ai-benchmark.ts` now uses a simulated timing source for fixture and self-play evaluation instead of depending only on wall-clock timing.
- The benchmark summary records per-seed aggregates, dual-loss seeds, and a regression watchlist intersection.
- The harness remains source-local under `src/`, so it is covered by the default `npx tsc --noEmit` include set.

## Research Performed

### Web Research: Scopone Scientifico Rules (2026-03-31)

**Sources**: Wikipedia (*Scopa* article, Scopone section), Pagat.com (*Scopone* page by John McLeod)

#### Core Rules (Scopone Scientifico variant)
- 4 players, 2 fixed teams of 2 (sit opposite): Team A = players 0+2, Team B = players 1+3.
- 40-card Napoletane deck: 4 suits (`bastoni`, `coppe`, `denara`, `spade`), values 1-10.
- All 40 cards are dealt at the start of the round; the table begins empty.
- Turns advance in the implementation as `0 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3`.

#### Capture Rules
1. If the played card matches one or more table cards by value, a direct match must be taken.
2. If multiple direct matches exist, one matching table card is chosen.
3. If no direct match exists, a subset of table cards may be captured when their values sum to the played value.
4. A direct match has priority over any possible sum capture.
5. Scopa awards a point only when the table is cleared before the final play of the round.

#### Scoring
| Category | Rule |
|----------|------|
| Carte | Majority of captured cards |
| Denari | Majority of `denara` suit cards |
| Settebello | Team that captures the 7 of `denara` |
| Primiera | Highest best-of-each-suit prime value |
| Scope | One point per scopa |

#### Primiera values used in code
| Card value | Primiera value |
|------------|----------------|
| 7 | 21 |
| 6 | 18 |
| 1 | 16 |
| 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 8, 9, 10 | 10 |

### SCOPONE-0008: AI progress rendering notes (2026-04-02)

- The current implementation does not use Phaser `TimerEvent` progress helpers.
- Instead, `chooseMove()` emits its own normalized progress payload through `AIDecisionProgress`.
- `GameScene.updateThinkBar()` renders remaining time from that callback.
- The yielding behavior in the master search path is necessary so the browser can repaint while search batches continue.

### SCOPONE-0009: Phaser scene lifecycle notes (2026-04-08)

- Source: Context7 `/websites/phaser_io_api-documentation`, query `Phaser 3.87 Scene lifecycle create restart shutdown destroy event listeners scene restart preserving external state`.
- Phaser dispatches `shutdown` when a scene stops being active but may be re-used later; resource cleanup that should also cover final teardown can additionally listen to `destroy`.
- The current `GameScene` pattern of registering one-shot shutdown and destroy handlers is aligned with Phaser guidance for worker disposal and UI cleanup.
- Dealer rotation and next-round state changes can stay inside the existing in-scene orchestration without requiring a different Phaser lifecycle primitive.

### SCOPONE-0010: UI, settings, and benchmark refresh notes (2026-04-09)

- `src/game/preferences.ts` is now the authoritative audio preference seam. It normalizes stored values and shields scenes from malformed storage state.
- `src/scenes/MenuScene.ts` now reads persisted audio preferences and exposes a dedicated settings entry point instead of keeping audio options implicit.
- `src/scenes/SettingsScene.ts` exists as a real scene and persists music and effects toggles independently through `saveAudioPreferences()`.
- `src/scenes/GameScene.ts` already contains the previously planned pacing and status work: `AI_MIN_THINK_MS = 1000`, `MOVE_OUTCOME_STATUS_MS = 2000`, timer-backed `setStatus(...)`, and `handleSceneShutdown()` timer cleanup are all present in source and should be treated as current behavior, not future work.
- `src/game/ai-benchmark.ts` now enforces an iteration 5 contract with simulated timing, cross-seed aggregation, dual-loss reporting, and a regression watchlist intersection. Older findings that described iteration 4 targets or wall-clock-only timing are stale.
- `main.ts` still registers a local `SettingsScene` stub while `MenuScene` dynamically installs the concrete scene implementation before use. This works today but is an architectural wrinkle worth remembering in later planning.