From 00052b0117f10c5cedaf6341dc87d60c7a6e9422 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sylpheed RE agent <agent@localhost>
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:27:35 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] tools: add SYLPH_WEAKEST target scoring; record that
 assert_stage != in flight

pilot.py gains SYLPH_WEAKEST=1, which scales a target's score by its remaining
hull (pos+0x154) so the pilot finishes what is already hurt instead of
re-engaging whatever is nearest.  Motivated by b69cc23: over ~8 minutes the pilot
damaged 14 of 16 e010 attackers (hulls 360..500) and killed none, because 500 HP
spread across a squadron kills nobody.

STATUS: the flag is implemented and its targeting works -- 3105 of 3105 target
samples selected e010 -- but it is UNVERIFIED in combat, because the run it was
written for was lost.

That loss is the second half of this commit.  The run printed "READY ROOM / >>>
HUD / Stage 02 OK" and I began the experiment; there was no FLIGHT: line, because
the flight check failed three times and fell through silently while the next line
read like success.  The game was frozen on a near-black screen (screen_id `other`,
mean 10.8/2.8/2.1, frozen.py max_pixel_delta=0) and the pilot's every sample from
t=0.0 to t=406.1 is byte-identical with speed 0.

assert_stage.py could not have caught it: it reads the DEFINITION table, which is
populated when the STAGE loads, independently of whether the mission is running.
Recorded in nav-guards.md with the rule -- enforce the flight gate with a non-zero
exit, and run the three-crop TIME liveness check before any experiment.
---
 docs/re/nav-guards.md     | 33 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 tools/re-capture/pilot.py | 10 ++++++++++
 2 files changed, 43 insertions(+)

diff --git a/docs/re/nav-guards.md b/docs/re/nav-guards.md
index b679eee..2ea136d 100644
--- a/docs/re/nav-guards.md
+++ b/docs/re/nav-guards.md
@@ -104,3 +104,36 @@ this confirms it visually and pins the cursor's start position.)
   unit-tested, but "the route is now reproducible" rests on a single success.
 * Why the game window leaves the window tree during a load at all was not
   investigated — only guarded against.
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ `assert_stage` passing does NOT mean the run is in flight
+
+Measured the hard way 2026-08-27. A run printed:
+
+```
+MENU confirmed
+loaded
+READYROOM
+>>> HUD
+Stage 02 OK
+```
+
+…and I started an experiment against it. There is no `FLIGHT:` line in that
+output. The flight check ran, failed to match three times, and fell through
+**silently**; the very next line said `Stage 02 OK`, which read like success.
+
+It was not. The game was frozen on a near-black screen — `screen_id` `other`,
+mean `(10.8, 2.8, 2.1)`, `frozen.py max_pixel_delta=0` — and the whole 460 s
+experiment ran against a static world. The pilot's own log is the clearest
+evidence: **every sample from t=0.0 to t=406.1 is byte-identical**, speed `0`,
+the ship never even started moving.
+
+**Why the stage assertion did not catch it:** `assert_stage.py` reads the
+DEFINITION table, and definitions are loaded when the *stage* loads — before,
+and independently of, the mission actually starting. It answers "is the right
+stage loaded", never "is the mission running".
+
+**Rule:** the flight gate must be *enforced*, not attempted — exit non-zero when
+`screen_id` never reads `flight`, and take the three-crop TIME liveness check
+before any experiment. Both were skipped here, and the run was lost.
diff --git a/tools/re-capture/pilot.py b/tools/re-capture/pilot.py
index 79abfdd..90c488d 100644
--- a/tools/re-capture/pilot.py
+++ b/tools/re-capture/pilot.py
@@ -115,6 +115,12 @@ KILL_TURRETS = os.environ.get("SYLPH_KILL_TURRETS") == "1"
 
 HUNT = os.environ.get("SYLPH_HUNT") == "1"
 PREFER = os.environ.get("SYLPH_PREFER", "")
+# SYLPH_WEAKEST=1 scores a target by REMAINING HULL as well as range, so the
+# pilot finishes what is already hurt instead of re-engaging whatever is
+# nearest. Measured 2026-08-27 (ob-counts-marked-attackers.md): over ~8 minutes
+# the pilot damaged 14 of 16 e010 attackers -- hulls 360..500 -- and killed
+# NONE, because each carries 500 HP and the fire was spread across the squadron.
+WEAKEST = os.environ.get("SYLPH_WEAKEST", "") not in ("", "0")
 
 
 class Pilot:
@@ -399,6 +405,10 @@ class Pilot:
             # pointed at the thing the mission actually asks for.
             if PREFER:
                 score *= 0.05 if PREFER in nm else 4.0
+            if WEAKEST:
+                h = self.f32(off + HULL_OFF)
+                if h and h > 0.0:
+                    score *= max(h, 1.0) / 500.0
             if score < bestscore:
                 best, bestscore = (off, nm, lead, lead - me_p, d, r), score
         return best