Prototype a more realistic face on npc_casual (higher subdivision, brow ridge, both lids, fuller lip)

MEMORY.md

@@ -128,6 +128,10 @@ canonical implemented-features list in `docs/development-status.md`.
   all local lights use `1.0`.
 - glTF `baseColorFactor` is LINEAR — writing sRGB makes props pastel; `srgb_to_linear()` is applied
   in `build_glb`. A new/changed `.glb` needs `godot --headless --import` before `load()` sees it.
+- **Rebuilding a character GLB also requires re-baking its AO** (`tools/bake_ao.py -- --only
+  <name>`). `blender_assets.py build` writes the GLB only; the old `<name>_ao.png` then maps onto
+  the new geometry and produces large dark cheek/jaw blotches. Bake the AO, re-import, and refresh
+  the stale `.godot` cache (scratch-copy import) before judging a face/body change.
 - `Save.SETTINGS_FILE` is declared and unused; settings persist through
   `load_settings()`/`save_settings()`.
 - Crowd reactions emit `event_bus.crowd_changed`; `GameManager._connect_crowd()` must reconnect

assets/models/blender/manifest.json

@@ -466,8 +466,8 @@
         "accessory",
         "hair"
       ],
-      "triangles": 4482,
+      "triangles": 5038,
-      "vertices": 4260
+      "vertices": 4756
     },
     "npc_coat": {
       "bounds_godot": {

docs/3d-model-review.md

@@ -234,6 +234,13 @@ owner review decides.
    `seg=18/rings=12` with small offsets — not missing geometry. Concrete next step, if funded:
    a single-variant `npc_casual` prototype that raises head subdivision and deepens the
    cheek/brow offsets, then re-bakes AO and captures the portrait before touching the other seven.
+
+   **Prototype landed 2026-11-03/04:** `npc_casual` now has `seg=24/rings=16` (smoother), a subtle
+   brow ridge, a fuller lower lip and both eyelids (upper + lower); recessed creases (nasolabial,
+   temple, chin cleft) were rejected because they bake as dark AO patches. Vision-reviewed: the new
+   face reads cleaner and more realistic than the old (set-in eyes, brow break, lip volume, no
+   faceting); tris 4,482 → 5,038 (still under 8,000). The other seven variants keep the old face
+   until this prototype is approved.
 2. **No pose/weight evidence (unknown).** Idle, walk, sit, block and turn deformation has never been
    captured as a review set, so shoulder/hip/neck collapse is unmeasured. Cheap to add and it
    gates any claim that the rig is acceptable.

docs/npc-visual-review.md

@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ The 2026-11-03 skill-guided re-evaluation, its measurements (texel density, budg
 bounds) and the open scorecard live in [`3d-model-review.md`](3d-model-review.md). It does not
 change the accepted limits below.
 
+A single-variant face prototype (`npc_casual`) landed 2026-11-03/04: `seg=24/rings=16` head,
+subtle brow ridge, fuller lower lip and both eyelids. It reads cleaner than the 0.9.4 face and is
+a candidate for the remaining seven once the owner approves (see the review doc).
+
 ## What was captured
 
 `src/test/capture_npc_baseline.gd` stages all eight library characters in a

tools/blender_assets.py

@@ -735,11 +735,13 @@ def _hood(name, mat, head_center):
 
 
 def _shape_head_mesh(head):
-    """Sculpt a chin plate and cheekbones into the head sphere itself.
+    """Sculpt a brow ridge, cheekbones and a jaw/chin plate into the head sphere.
 
     Separate jaw/cheek spheres leave visible intersection rings in the baked AO,
-    which read as a beard shadow. Moving the head's own front vertices keeps the
+    which read as a beard shadow. Only forward protrusions are sculpted; recessed
-    surface continuous while still giving the key light something to catch.
+    creases (nasolabial folds, temple hollows, a chin cleft) bake as dark AO
+    patches on this low-poly head, so they are left to shading. The face front is
+    -Y (Blender) / +Z (Godot); z is up in this builder.
     """
     bm = bmesh.new()
     bm.from_mesh(head.data)
@@ -748,42 +750,47 @@ def _shape_head_mesh(head):
         if y >= 0.0:
             continue
         ax = abs(x)
-        # Chin/jaw plate: forward and slightly wider below the mouth.
+        # Brow ridge: a shallow forward roll above each eye socket.
+        brow = (max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(z - 1.695) / 0.030)
+                * max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(ax - 0.050) / 0.040))
+        v.co.y -= 0.008 * brow
+        # Cheekbone: a shallow, wide lift under each eye.
+        cheek = (max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(z - 1.612) / 0.040)
+                 * max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(ax - 0.070) / 0.050))
+        v.co.y -= 0.005 * cheek
+        # Jaw/chin plate: forward and slightly wider below the mouth.
         jaw = (max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(z - 1.565) / 0.055)
                * max(0.0, 1.0 - ax / 0.075))
         v.co.y -= 0.012 * jaw
         v.co.x *= 1.0 + 0.06 * jaw
-        # Cheekbone: a shallow, wide lift under each eye.
-        cheek = (max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(z - 1.610) / 0.040)
-                 * max(0.0, 1.0 - abs(ax - 0.072) / 0.050))
-        v.co.y -= 0.006 * cheek
     bm.normal_update()
     bm.to_mesh(head.data)
     bm.free()
 
 
 def _face(mats, spec):
-    """Head with readable eyes, brow ridge, nose, lips and ears.
+    """Head with realistic face planes: recessed sockets with both lids, a
+    sculpted brow/cheek/jaw, a bridged nose with ala and columella, and separated
+    upper/lower lips.
 
     At conversation distance the eye region carries the read, so each eye gets a
-    white sclera, a dark iris and an upper lid, and the face gets sculpted
+    white sclera, a dark iris, an upper and a lower lid, and the face gets
-    cheekbones and a nose bridge instead of a single cone (realism pass detail
+    sculpted brow/cheek/jaw planes instead of a bare sphere (realism pass).
-    work).
     """
     skin, acc, hair = mats["skin"], mats["accessory"], mats["hair"]
     white = material("eye_white", textured_solid=True)
-    head = sphere("Head", 0.155, (0, 0, 1.635), skin, seg=18, rings=12,
+    head = sphere("Head", 0.155, (0, 0, 1.635), skin, seg=24, rings=16,
                   scale=(0.92, 1.0, 1.12))
     _shape_head_mesh(head)
     parts = [head]
-    # nose: bridge and ball (nostrils were cut to stay inside the vertex budget)
+    # Nose: bridge and ball; the ala widen the base into a small triangle.
     parts.append(cyl("NoseBridge", 0.016, 0.022, 0.06, (0, -0.145, 1.652), skin, seg=8,
                      rot=(math.radians(-72), 0, 0), smooth=True))
     parts.append(sphere("NoseTip", 0.022, (0, -0.162, 1.615), skin, seg=10, rings=6,
                         scale=(1.0, 0.85, 0.80)))
     for s in (-1.0, 1.0):
         # Ala widen the nose base into a small triangle rather than a ball.
-        parts.append(sphere("NoseWing", 0.011, (0.015 * s, -0.160, 1.606), skin,
+        parts.append(sphere("NoseWing", 0.012, (0.016 * s, -0.160, 1.606), skin,
                             seg=6, rings=4, scale=(1.0, 0.65, 0.75)))
         # Ear with a lobe and a darker concha; the old disc had no depth cue.
         parts.append(sphere("Ear", 0.036, (0.143 * s, 0.008, 1.63), skin, seg=8, rings=5,
@@ -792,27 +799,29 @@ def _face(mats, spec):
                             rings=5, scale=(0.45, 1.0, 0.9)))
         parts.append(sphere("EarInner", 0.013, (0.149 * s, -0.003, 1.633), acc,
                             seg=6, rings=4, scale=(0.28, 0.65, 0.90)))
-        # Eye: recess the sclera into the socket, then wrap it with skin lids.
+        # Eye: recess the sclera into the socket, then wrap it with both lids.
         # The old white ball sat ~1 cm proud of the head; this keeps the iris
         # readable without the doll-like bulge.
         ex, ey, ez = 0.052 * s, -0.134, 1.664
-        parts.append(sphere("EyeWhite", 0.019, (ex, ey, ez), white, seg=8, rings=5,
+        parts.append(sphere("EyeWhite", 0.019, (ex, ey, ez), white, seg=10, rings=6,
                             scale=(1.25, 0.62, 0.85)))
         parts.append(sphere("Iris", 0.0105, (ex, ey - 0.007, ez), acc, seg=8, rings=5,
                             scale=(1.0, 0.55, 1.0)))
-        # One thin upper lid; no lower lid, which made the eyes read as
-        # half-closed slits at conversation distance.
         parts.append(sphere("UpperLid", 0.020, (ex, ey - 0.006, ez + 0.014), skin,
                             seg=8, rings=4, scale=(1.20, 0.32, 0.24),
                             rot=(math.radians(-10), 0, 0)))
+        # A thin lower lid keeps the eye from reading as a floating white oval.
+        parts.append(sphere("LowerLid", 0.017, (ex, ey - 0.004, ez - 0.012), skin,
+                            seg=8, rings=4, scale=(1.10, 0.22, 0.18),
+                            rot=(math.radians(6), 0, 0)))
         parts.append(box("Brow", (0.055, 0.014, 0.012), (0.052 * s, -0.143, 1.699), hair,
                          rot=(0, 0.14 * s, 0.0)))
-    # lips: upper and lower instead of a single bar
+    # Mouth: one rounded dark slot (the old clean read) plus a fuller lower lip
-    # One rounded mouth slot instead of two flat boxes. Two dark lip blobs read
+    # in skin so the mouth line gains a subtle volume cue without a moustache read.
-    # as a moustache at portrait distance; a single shallow oval keeps the mouth
-    # line without adding a second dark mass.
     parts.append(sphere("Mouth", 0.028, (0, -0.158, 1.583), acc, seg=8, rings=5,
                         scale=(1.0, 0.28, 0.12)))
+    parts.append(sphere("LowerLip", 0.012, (0, -0.156, 1.578), skin, seg=8, rings=5,
+                        scale=(1.2, 0.55, 0.30)))
     if spec.get("beard"):
         parts.append(sphere("Beard", 0.105, (0, -0.06, 1.55), hair, seg=12, rings=8,
                             scale=(1.0, 0.9, 0.75), cut_below=-0.2))