Give the event banners a top-down night gradient so they read as lit cloth

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Semantic Versioning.
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- The red event banners are lit from the top down at night instead of reading as flat red cards.
 - Street lamps now throw a warm pool on the pavement instead of dimly washing the whole walkway.
 - The flashlight actually lights what it points at. It was tuned to a beam so weak it changed the
   frame by less than one 255th of a level; it now throws a visible pool on the door and the pavement

MEMORY.md

@@ -130,6 +130,10 @@ canonical implemented-features list in `docs/project/development-status.md`.
   gear library. The procedural library + MakeHuman head stay in the tree as the tested fallback
   (`build --source procedural`), not in the shipped roster. Silhouette variety is the known
   regression — three meshes for twelve roles — and the modular part library is the `0.9.10` fix.
+- **Emissive materials can carry a per-material night energy.** `set_night_mode` used to write one
+  multiplier into every `_marquee_emissive` entry, which flattens any gradient. It now reads
+  `mat.get_meta("night_energy", 2.0)`, so a multi-strip panel can keep its top-to-bottom ratio
+  (the event banners: 2.6 → 1.4).
 - **Venue lights must keep `omni_attenuation == 1.0`** — `test_world.test_venue_lights_use_physical_falloff`
   enforces physical falloff on every Omni/Spot in all three venues, so a "pool" cannot come from
   sharpening the curve. Use `omni_range` + energy instead: 10 m / energy 8 gives a brighter pool and

TODO.md

@@ -961,8 +961,10 @@ scorecard source, this milestone is the actionable list.
       20 m range and a 14° cone changed the frame by **0.1/255**. Now 10 energy, 45 m, 24°, tilted 5°
       down — the aimed region goes 13.5 → 29.7 and the near pavement 3.7 → 11.7 (0–255), and the
       committed `06-night-flashlight` shot shows the beam on the steps and the NPC in front.
-- [ ] Marquee/event-banner emissive read under the Compatibility renderer: measure the banner
-      luminance against the reference night board and adjust only if it still clips.
+- [x] **Event banners read as lit cloth.** Measured flat top-to-bottom (114 → 125/255) with no
+      clipping, so the problem was not brightness but the missing gradient: four stacked strips
+      with night energies 2.6/2.2/1.8/1.4 now run 135 → 84, carried per material via `night_energy`
+      metadata so `set_night_mode` keeps the ratio. Daylight is unchanged and nothing clips.
 - [x] **Street-lamp pools.** Added a `lamp_late` shot that frames a lamp, and made the lamps
       `StreetLamp_*` so they tune apart from the sconces. Attenuation must stay 1.0 (the venue test
       requires physical falloff), so the pool comes from range and energy: 16 m/2.2 → **10 m/8.0**

docs/assets/3d-model-review.md

@@ -334,7 +334,21 @@ and energy:
 Mean luminance 0–255. The shipped values brighten the pool past the old setting while darkening the
 gap between poles, which is what "pools, not a wash" means numerically.
 
-Still open from the milestone: marquee emissive under Compatibility.
+### Event banners read as lit cloth (2026-11-06)
+
+The banners were one flat emissive panel, so they measured the same luminance from the mounting bar
+to the hem (114/121/122/125 down the panel) and read as a painted red card rather than lit fabric.
+They are now four stacked strips with a night gradient (energies 2.6 / 2.2 / 1.8 / 1.4), carried per
+material through `night_energy` metadata so `set_night_mode` keeps the ratio instead of flattening it.
+
+| | Before | After |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Vertical profile down a banner | 114 → 125 (flat) | 135 → 84 |
+| Clipping (p99 / pixels ≥ 250) | 192 / 0.2 % | 192 / 0.2 % |
+| Daylight read | uniform | uniform (strips flush, no seam) |
+
+No clipping in either state, and the Compatibility renderer draws it with the same flat emissive
+material as before — the change is geometry plus per-material energy, not a new shader.
 
 ## Scorecard skeleton
 

src/game/world_builder.gd

@@ -1159,10 +1159,21 @@ func _add_masonic_banner(parent: Node3D, x: float, front: float, text: String) -
 	# The reference night photo keeps the event banners readable against the dark
 	# stone: a low warm self-light that the day/night cycle brightens (not a
 	# glowing neon box). Registered with `_marquee_emissive` in `set_night_mode`.
-	var cloth := _add_box(parent, Vector3(2.62, 5.55, 0.06), Vector3(x, 8.2, front + 0.73),
-		red, true, null, Vector2.ONE, "cloth")
-	cloth.material_override = Materials.emissive(red, 0.14)
-	_marquee_emissive.append(cloth.material_override)
+	# Four stacked strips so the banner is brightest at the top, where the mounting bar
+	# and the wash lights are, and falls off towards the hem. A single flat emissive
+	# panel measured the same luminance top to bottom and read as a painted card
+	# (measured: 114/121/122/125 down the panel before this).
+	var strips := 4
+	var strip_height := 5.55 / float(strips)
+	var night_energy := [2.6, 2.2, 1.8, 1.4]
+	for index in strips:
+		var centre_y := 8.2 + 5.55 * 0.5 - strip_height * (float(index) + 0.5)
+		var strip := _add_box(parent, Vector3(2.62, strip_height, 0.06),
+			Vector3(x, centre_y, front + 0.73), red, true, null, Vector2.ONE, "cloth")
+		var strip_mat := Materials.emissive(red, 0.14)
+		strip_mat.set_meta("night_energy", float(night_energy[index]))
+		strip.material_override = strip_mat
+		_marquee_emissive.append(strip_mat)
 	for y in [5.55, 10.85]:
 		_add_box(parent, Vector3(2.82, 0.10, 0.12), Vector3(x, y, front + 0.75),
 			Color(0.78, 0.62, 0.28), true, null, Vector2.ONE, "metal")
@@ -2394,7 +2405,10 @@ func set_night_mode(night: bool) -> void:
 	if _ovation_sign:
 		_ovation_sign.modulate = Color(0.90, 0.84, 0.70) if night else Color(0.16, 0.14, 0.12)
 	for mat in _marquee_emissive:
-		mat.emission_energy_multiplier = (2.0 if night else 0.2)
+		# Each marquee material can carry its own night energy: the event banners use a
+		# top-to-bottom gradient so they read as lit cloth instead of a red rectangle.
+		mat.emission_energy_multiplier = (float(mat.get_meta("night_energy", 2.0))
+			if night else 0.2)
 	# Light most, not all, of the windows: a fully lit grid reads as a light box
 	# instead of an occupied building.
 	for i in _window_mats.size():