hero: make the portals real recesses and land the facade on Z 0

The portal detail shot failed for a modelling reason, not a camera reason: the
doors were 0.1 m panels on a solid plinth, so they read as shading. The plinth is
now four piers plus a lintel band, with a 1.2 m reveal, stone jambs and lintels
standing 0.10 m proud and three mullions per opening. review-06 frames them from
8 m at eye height.

Two defects fixed while doing it: the jamb boxes hung 0.15 m below the pavement,
so the facade imported with min Z -15 cm; and a rebuild run against a read-only
.blend silently skipped the save, which is why screenshots kept showing the old
geometry.

Art/blender/hero/hero-facade-2026-11-07.json

@@ -28,30 +28,39 @@
       ],
       "evidence": "measured frontage x assumption depth x measured height, inset behind the cornice"
     },
-    {
-      "object": "Hero_Stylobate",
-      "dims_m": [
-        25.75,
-        2.4,
-        1.45
-      ],
-      "evidence": "assumption: pedestal height"
-    },
     {
       "object": "Hero_Column_x6",
       "dims_m": [
         0.95,
         0.95,
-        9.25
+        7.45
       ],
       "evidence": "6 columns at 4.96 m centres (sibling notes x measured frontage)"
     },
+    {
+      "object": "Hero_Architrave",
+      "dims_m": [
+        25.75,
+        1.65,
+        0.84
+      ],
+      "evidence": "assumption: stacked entablature bands"
+    },
+    {
+      "object": "Hero_Cornice",
+      "dims_m": [
+        25.75,
+        1.75,
+        0.36
+      ],
+      "evidence": "assumption: projecting cornice line"
+    },
     {
       "object": "Hero_Entablature",
       "dims_m": [
         25.75,
         1.5,
-        2.2
+        3.4
       ],
       "evidence": "assumption: entablature depth"
     },
@@ -60,7 +69,7 @@
       "dims_m": [
         25.75,
         1.2,
-        1.6
+        2.2
       ],
       "evidence": "assumption: parapet carries the motto band"
     },
@@ -82,6 +91,15 @@
       ],
       "evidence": "photographs: two stone discs beside the motto"
     },
+    {
+      "object": "Hero_Stylobate",
+      "dims_m": [
+        25.75,
+        2.4,
+        1.45
+      ],
+      "evidence": "assumption: pedestal height; four piers and a lintel band leave three recesses"
+    },
     {
       "object": "Hero_PortalFlight_1",
       "dims_m": [

Game/GigLine/Config/DefaultEngine.ini

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ GameName=GigLine
 [/Script/AndroidFileServerEditor.AndroidFileServerRuntimeSettings]
 bEnablePlugin=False
 bAllowNetworkConnection=False
+SecurityToken=01A1B5CDAFDE7AAEB5DFBB48880D25DE
 bIncludeInShipping=False
 bAllowExternalStartInShipping=False
 bCompileAFSProject=False

MEMORY.md

@@ -120,3 +120,9 @@ Scope: facts and traps that cost time to establish. Planned work lives in [ROADM
 - **Blender-side builders live in `Art/blender/*/`** (terrain, street, site, blockout) and reach helpers via `os.path.join(HERE, "..","..","..","Geo","tools")`. Moving them breaks the old `"..", "Geo", "scripts"` path silently until the script is run.
 - **Height provenance:** 3 of the 15 block buildings carry no OSM height and Blosm renders them at a placeholder 6.4 m. `Geo/tools/block_height_report.py` lists them; they need heights measured off the photographs before the skyline is believable.
 
+## 2026-11-07 — Blender rebuilds that silently did nothing
+
+- **A read-only `.blend` makes Blender skip the save without failing the run.** `Tools/hero_facade_build.py` printed its part list and "bounds" as normal, then went straight to the export: the `.blend` and the report stayed at their old timestamps, and the Unreal re-import brought back the old mesh. Symptom to watch for: the imported bounds do not change after a rebuild. Fix: `chmod u+w` the `.blend` first, then confirm the timestamp moved.
+- **Model bottom must land on Z 0.** The hero portal jambs were sized `PORTAL_H + 0.3` and centred at `PORTAL_H / 2`, so they hung 0.15 m below the pavement and the whole facade imported with `min z = -15 cm`. Always check the asset's `bounds_m.min.z` in the build report.
+- **Rebuilding a facade is not enough to make a detail shot work**: doors modelled as thin panels on a solid plinth read as shading, not openings. Cutting the plinth into piers with a lintel band is what makes them legible from 8 m.
+

ROADMAP.md

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Owner: this session. Scope: the review scene used for all visual approval — th
 - [x] **Character placement shot**: `review-03-player-placement` shows the pawn (`AGigLineCharacter`) staged by `Tools/ue_build_review_map.py` with a cube behind it. Note: the pawn's capsule renders invisible in `-game` because the character has no visible mesh, so the shot shows where the player lands relative to the scene rather than the body.
 - [x] **Ground-contact detail shot**: `review-04-ground-contact`, knee height, close on the feet — the soles meet the floor and the shadow joins them.
 - [x] **Shadow-comparison detail shot**: `review-05-shadow-compare`, both cubes in one frame from a low angle; the floating cube's shadow is detached, the grounded one's touches.
-- [ ] **Detail shot of the hero façade portals**: the portals sit behind the colonnade and are only about 3.4 m tall against a 14.5 m façade, so from the review floor they read as dark recesses at best (`review-06`). Resolving them needs either a camera on the plinth itself or the portals rebuilt proud of the stylobate — recorded as work, not done.
+- [x] **Detail shot of the hero façade portals**: `review-06-hero-portals` from 8 m at eye height now fills the frame with all three doorways. The camera alone was not enough: the doors were flat panels on a solid face, so they were rebuilt as three genuine recesses — plinth split into four piers plus a lintel band, 1.2 m reveal, stone jambs and lintels standing 0.10 m proud, three mullions each. Facade bounds are now exactly Z 0..14.50 m; a jamb overhang had been sinking the model 0.15 m into the ground.
 - [x] Document the shot list, camera positions, and what each shot is evidence for in `Screenshots/README.md`; nine shots, each with an approval line.
 - [x] Extend the review floor beyond the hero façade: 160 m square centred on the façade, so façade shots stand on ground instead of the horizon band.
 - [x] Delete retired shots: the old `first-person` frame is gone and the camera list is now a single table so a change cannot leave an orphan.

Screenshots/README.md

@@ -75,11 +75,13 @@ Low camera, knee height, close on the mannequin's feet. A floating or sinking ch
 
 Low angle, both cubes side by side with the character between them. The detached shadow of the floating cube against the grounded one.
 
-## review-06-hero-portals.png — Hero façade, whole elevation, approval: ☐ pending
+## review-06-hero-portals.png — Hero façade portals, approval: ☐ pending
 
-![Hero façade, whole elevation](review-06-hero-portals.png)
+![Hero façade portals](review-06-hero-portals.png)
 
-Straight-on from eye height 25 m out. Six columns, plinth, entablature, parapet; the three portals sit behind the colonnade at this distance.
+New: generated 2026-11-07 after the portals were rebuilt. Eye height at 8 m, filling the frame with the three doorways, their flights, and the plinth. The doors are now genuine 1.2 m recesses cut through four plinth piers, with stone jambs and lintels standing proud and three mullions in each opening.
+
+What this shot is evidence for: that the entrance is three separate openings with individual flights (not the inherited "eight steps, 12 m wide"), and that the facade stands on Z 0 rather than sinking into the ground.
 
 ## review-07-hero-facade-front.png — Hero façade, north sidewalk, approval: ☐ pending
 

Tools/hero_facade_build.py

@@ -122,8 +122,7 @@ def build():
 
     # --- stylobate and steps ----------------------------------------------
     # A plinth from the pavement to the pedestal shelf, with three door flights.
-    cube("Hero_Stylobate", 0.0, -1.2, PEDESTAL_H / 2.0, FRONTAGE_W, 2.4, PEDESTAL_H, stone)
-    note("Hero_Stylobate", (FRONTAGE_W, 2.4, PEDESTAL_H), "assumption: pedestal height")
+    # The stylobate is built later as piers around the three door openings.
 
     # --- Ionic colonnade ---------------------------------------------------
     col_xs = []
@@ -171,24 +170,65 @@ def build():
     note("Hero_Medallion_x2", (1.1, 1.1, 0.02), "photographs: two stone discs beside the motto")
 
     # --- entrances ---------------------------------------------------------
-    # Three portals between column pairs, each with its own short flight.
+    # Three portals between column pairs, each with its own short flight. The
+    # doorway is cut INTO the stylobate face rather than laid on it: the plinth is
+    # modelled as three segments so the opening is a real recess, and the portals
+    # stand proud of the wall behind the colonnade so they read from the street.
     portal_xs = (-COLUMN_BAY, 0.0, COLUMN_BAY)
+    plinth_front = -2.4          # front face of the plinth, in the facade frame
+    plinth_back = 0.0
+    gap = PORTAL_W
+    # The plinth is four piers between and beside the openings, plus a band over
+    # them, so each door is a real recess instead of a panel on a solid face.
+    piers = [
+        (-(FRONTAGE_W / 2.0), portal_xs[0] - gap / 2.0),
+        (portal_xs[0] + gap / 2.0, portal_xs[1] - gap / 2.0),
+        (portal_xs[1] + gap / 2.0, portal_xs[2] - gap / 2.0),
+        (portal_xs[2] + gap / 2.0, (FRONTAGE_W / 2.0)),
+    ]
+    for pi, (x0, x1) in enumerate(piers, start=1):
+        cube(f"Hero_Stylobate_{pi}", (x0 + x1) / 2.0, -1.2, PEDESTAL_H / 2.0,
+             x1 - x0, 2.4, PEDESTAL_H, stone)
+    # Band above the openings, closing the plinth to full height between the doors.
+    cube("Hero_Stylobate_LintelBand", 0.0, -1.2, PORTAL_H + (PEDESTAL_H - PORTAL_H) / 2.0,
+         (portal_xs[-1] + gap / 2.0) - (portal_xs[0] - gap / 2.0), 2.4,
+         PEDESTAL_H - PORTAL_H, stone)
+    note("Hero_Stylobate", (FRONTAGE_W, 2.4, PEDESTAL_H),
+         "assumption: pedestal height; four piers and a lintel band leave three recesses")
+
     for i, x in enumerate(portal_xs, start=1):
-        # Recessed doorway: a dark panel set into the stylobate face.
-        cube(f"Hero_Portal_{i}", x, -2.35, PORTAL_H / 2.0,
-             PORTAL_W, 0.10, PORTAL_H, glass)
-        # Door grille above the steps, using the banner red for the sign panel.
-        cube(f"Hero_PortalSign_{i}", x, -2.42, PORTAL_H + 0.55,
+        # Recessed doorway: a dark reveal set back inside the plinth, 1.2 m deep so
+        # it reads as an opening from any angle.
+        depth = 1.2
+        cube(f"Hero_Portal_{i}", x, plinth_front + depth / 2.0 + 0.05, PORTAL_H / 2.0,
+             PORTAL_W, depth, PORTAL_H, glass)
+        # Stone surround, standing 0.1 m proud of the plinth face.
+        for side, sx in (("L", -1.0), ("R", 1.0)):
+            # Jambs stop at the pavement: a 0.15 m overhang below Z 0 would sink the
+            # whole facade into the ground plane.
+            cube(f"Hero_PortalJamb_{i}{side}", x + sx * (PORTAL_W / 2.0 + 0.15),
+                 plinth_front - 0.10, (PORTAL_H + 0.3) / 2.0, 0.3, 0.2, PORTAL_H + 0.3, stone)
+        cube(f"Hero_PortalLintel_{i}", x, plinth_front - 0.10, PORTAL_H + 0.15,
+             PORTAL_W + 0.6, 0.2, 0.3, stone)
+        # Door grille: mullions across the opening, dark metal read at distance.
+        for m in range(1, 4):
+            cube(f"Hero_PortalMullion_{i}_{m}", x - PORTAL_W / 2.0 + m * PORTAL_W / 4.0,
+                 plinth_front + 0.12, PORTAL_H / 2.0, 0.09, 0.06, PORTAL_H, stone_dark)
+        # Sign panel over the doorway, as the photographs show.
+        cube(f"Hero_PortalSign_{i}", x, plinth_front - 0.16, PORTAL_H + 0.75,
              0.7, 0.06, 0.9, banner)
         # Photographs show four to five risers per portal; the count follows the
         # pedestal height rather than inheriting the old "eight steps" claim.
         steps = max(3, min(5, int(round((PEDESTAL_H - 0.2) / STEP_RISE))))
-        for s in range(steps):
-            top = PEDESTAL_H - s * STEP_RISE
-            cube(f"Hero_Step_{i}_{s + 1}", x,
-                 -2.4 - 0.14 - s * STEP_TREAD - STEP_TREAD / 2.0,
-                 top - STEP_RISE / 2.0,
-                 STEP_WIDTH, STEP_TREAD, STEP_RISE, stone)
+        # Steps descend from the plinth to the pavement; the lowest tread must land
+        # exactly on Z 0, never below it, so the flight meets the ground plane.
+        steps = max(3, min(steps, int(round(PEDESTAL_H / STEP_RISE))))
+        for st in range(steps):
+            top = PEDESTAL_H - st * STEP_RISE
+            height = top if st == steps - 1 else STEP_RISE
+            cube(f"Hero_Step_{i}_{st + 1}", x,
+                 plinth_front - 0.14 - st * STEP_TREAD - STEP_TREAD / 2.0 + 0.28,
+                 top - height / 2.0, STEP_WIDTH, STEP_TREAD, height, stone)
         note(f"Hero_PortalFlight_{i}", (PORTAL_W, STEP_TREAD * steps, PEDESTAL_H - 0.2),
              f"{steps} steps at {STEP_RISE:.2f} m rise / {STEP_TREAD:.2f} m tread "
              f"(assumption; photos show 4-5, the old notes said 8)")

Tools/ue_build_review_map.py

@@ -172,7 +172,11 @@ try:
         # targets the portal sill rather than the centre of the elevation.
         # Standing 25 m out at eye height frames the whole elevation, which is what
         # the portal detail needs: the portals are small against a 14.5 m façade.
-        ("hero-portals", unreal.Vector(hero_x + 150, -4000, 170), unreal.Vector(hero_x + 150, hero_y, 420)),
+        # On the pavement in front of the flight: a pedestrian's own eye line, the
+        # angle the photographs that established the portals were taken from.
+        # eye height at 8 m: fills the frame with the three doorways, the flights and
+        # the plinth, which is what "portal detail" means here.
+        ("hero-portals", unreal.Vector(hero_x + 100, -2250, 170), unreal.Vector(hero_x + 100, hero_y, 230)),
         # straight on from the north sidewalk; the building body spans Y -1443..+250
         ("hero-facade-front", unreal.Vector(hero_x + 200, -3200, 420), unreal.Vector(hero_x, hero_y + 400, 760)),
         # oblique from the north-west, reading the colonnade in depth