Ship the 0.9.0 production-quality milestone

Add mixer/accessibility settings, caption/reduce-motion hooks, audio volume
clamping, a 24-NPC performance smoke and shortened coat/dress stride for hem
clipping. Record the explicit Godot 4.3-CI/4.7-local matrix and the 0.9
production scope. Headless 250/250, Python 94/94, 24-NPC budget smoke passes.

docs/architecture.md

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ This document follows the structure of the arc42 architecture documentation temp
 - **MINOR** — new venues, NPC archetypes, systems, or features that are backward compatible.
 - **PATCH** — bug fixes and small polish that do not change behavior.
 
-The single source of truth for the version is `config/version` in `project.godot` (currently `0.8.1`). Each release is tagged in git as `v<version>` (e.g. `v0.6.0`). The `0.x` series is pre-1.0, so MINOR bumps may introduce breaking changes while the prototype is still stabilizing. `tools/build_releases.sh` and `tools/publish_release.sh` read the version from `project.godot`, so bumping it there is the only required step before a release. The full bump checklist lives in [`RELEASING.md`](RELEASING.md).
+The single source of truth for the version is `config/version` in `project.godot` (currently `0.9.0`). Each release is tagged in git as `v<version>` (e.g. `v0.6.0`). The `0.x` series is pre-1.0, so MINOR bumps may introduce breaking changes while the prototype is still stabilizing. `tools/build_releases.sh` and `tools/publish_release.sh` read the version from `project.godot`, so bumping it there is the only required step before a release. The full bump checklist lives in [`RELEASING.md`](RELEASING.md).
 
 ## 3. Context and Scope
 
@@ -219,6 +219,7 @@ The release process is: bump the version, run the full test suite and `tools/che
 - **Asset provenance and AI usage:** AI-assisted images/concepts are development inputs only; validated outputs are committed, audited and loaded through the same runtime asset contracts. Generated content must not become an offline/CI dependency.
 - **Campaign and checkpoint state:** `Campaign` owns venue order/progression; settings, campaign, completed shift history and a versioned pause checkpoint are separate JSON documents. The checkpoint snapshots coordinator systems, scheduler RNG and NPC presentation/access state; it deliberately does not serialize the tutorial overlay or transient input state.
 - **Difficulty:** easy/normal/hard only scale spawn pacing, NPC compliance tolerance and report-credibility strictness; access/escalation rules and emergency rarity are invariant.
+- **Settings and accessibility:** volume/motion/caption settings persist through `settings.json`; Help is generated from the input-binding catalogue and the HUD log is the text caption surface. The supported engine matrix is explicit (CI/release 4.3, local 4.7.2) rather than an implicit version drift.
 - **Documentation ownership:** `PLAN.md` owns design intent; `docs/gameplay.md` owns playable mechanics; `docs/architecture.md` owns system boundaries, data flow, constraints and cross-cutting decisions; ADRs own decision history; `docs/development-status.md` owns the implemented/gap list; `TODO.md` owns the roadmap; `MEMORY.md` owns gotchas and open questions. Specialized docs link to these rather than becoming competing sources of truth.
 
 ## 9. Architecture Decisions

docs/development-status.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Implemented so far:
 - Godot 4.3 project scaffold, input map, procedural world builder
 - Venue-driven simulation core: `ShiftCoordinator`, `VenueScenario`, `EventScheduler`, `NPCController` + FSM, `AccessVerifier`, `EscalationManager`, `RadioSystem`, `IncidentRecorder`, `ReputationEvaluator`, `CrowdSystem`
 - Three authored scenarios (Hollywood Boulevard building, The Joke Shop, Late Night TV Studio) with access policies, NPC archetypes, and event pools
-- Headless unit tests: **249 passing** (access rules and venue-correct access loadout, escalation, radio cooldown/battery, NPC reaction determinism, door lock, flashlight perception, persistence round-trip, settings round-trip, input remaps, navmesh, step colliders, skyline alpha, scenario data, full-shift simulation, wand screening, responder dispatch, localization strings, focus cone, action wheel, session shell, PLAN verbs and incident recording, crowd presentation, emergency aftermath, body-camera timeline, NPC theater poses, audio, accessibility, authored scenario content, string formatting, `.tres` venue round-trip, surface materials and environment, focus ranking and outfit/gait helpers, generated prop models, web export preset, prop atlas material, player movement, NPC character layers/LOD/queue, input bindings)
+- Headless unit tests: **250 passing** (access rules and venue-correct access loadout, escalation, radio cooldown/battery, NPC reaction determinism, door lock, flashlight perception, persistence round-trip, settings round-trip, input remaps, navmesh, step colliders, skyline alpha, scenario data, full-shift simulation, wand screening, responder dispatch, localization strings, focus cone, action wheel, session shell, PLAN verbs and incident recording, crowd presentation, emergency aftermath, body-camera timeline, NPC theater poses, audio, accessibility, authored scenario content, string formatting, `.tres` venue round-trip, surface materials and environment, focus ranking and outfit/gait helpers, generated prop models, web export preset, prop atlas material, player movement, NPC character layers/LOD/queue, input bindings)
 - Simulation extras: protester archetype, CALL_SOMEONE reaction, door lock/secure mechanic (visual indicator), flashlight with night perception bonus, LATE shift phase reaching the violent-threat event
 - First-person prototype with interaction HUD, access inspection, wand screening, radio report form (incl. emergency hold-to-confirm), dispatched responder avatars, aim-free targeting, venue cycling between all three scenarios, color-coded escalation feedback, procedural audio cues, navigation-mesh NPC paths, JSON-backed localized strings, persisted shift history, debug overlay, and shift review
 - Control pass: focus cone on NPC heads with a billboarded blue circle in front of the face and name, action wheel (LMB/Space) with de-escalation-first slices, mouse-look freeze while a panel is open, acceleration-based walking, and named input actions (`action_menu`, `confirm`, `cancel`, `inspect`, `wand`)
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ Implemented so far:
 - Visual alignment: start/venue menu, pause, settings, shift review, radio, wand, inspection, timeline, HUD target chip/escalation bar, and radial menu now use or match their AI references in `assets/images/ui/`. The runtime art loader (`src/game/ui/art.gd`) falls back cleanly when a file is missing.
 - Realism adoption (post-v0.6.0): v2 per-phase skylines and surface tiles with normal maps, retuned sun/exposure/fog, wet asphalt, denser foliage, a visible additive flashlight beam, and refreshed staging captures. `tools/check_screenshots.sh` is the repeatable capture/compare gate; judge is clean of `diff` verdicts.
 - Input/reliability fixes: selecting a venue releases the start-menu input lock and recaptures the mouse; the body-camera overlay no longer covers the shift status. Mouse look now reads at `_input`, restores capture on window focus/click-back, and the HUD is mouse-transparent. Normal radio reports submit on click; emergency calls still require the hold-to-confirm path.
+- Production-quality pass (v0.9.0): mixer/accessibility settings, audio volume clamping, 24-NPC budget smoke, shortened coat/dress stride, and an explicit Godot 4.3-CI/4.7-local support matrix with documented upgrade/rollback requirements.
 - Campaign and first-hour pass (v0.8.0): campaign progression, checkpoint resume, difficulty presets, a searchable Help overlay, recovery events, contextual dialogue, policy/debrief lines and tutorial/replay/skip. Scripted QA bypasses the tutorial unless `--tutorial` is passed.
 - Tutorial pass (0.8.0 work): the eight-beat first shift is wired through a non-blocking prompt overlay, a safe compliant visitor, real wheel/inspection/warning/radio panels, persisted completion/skip and a Settings replay action. Scripted tests/captures bypass it unless `--tutorial` is passed; `smoke_tutorial.gd` covers the full flow.
 - Vision judge (v0.7.2): discovers the cheapest current OpenRouter image+JSON model, reports the model/fallbacks used, and clears the full screen-design judge (13/13 match, 0 diff).

docs/gameplay.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ The complete design rationale also lives in [`PLAN.md`](../PLAN.md); this page k
 
 ## Game Overview
 
-A typical shift lasts 10–15 minutes. The player:
+A typical shift lasts 10–15 minutes. The first-person camera stays at the gameplay height of 1.7 m; the concept frames use a lower ~1.55 m reference camera, but gameplay readability and body-camera framing take priority. The player:
 
 1. Watches the entrance, steps, queue, and surrounding sidewalk.
 2. Determines why each person is approaching.

docs/getting-started.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## Setup
 
-1. Download the Godot 4.3+ editor (official build) and put `godot` on your PATH. CI pins 4.3; local development is verified with 4.7.2.
+1. Download the Godot 4.3+ editor (official build) and put `godot` on your PATH. The supported policy is an explicit matrix: CI/release baseline 4.3, local development verified with 4.7.2. Engine upgrades require import, headless, screenshot and Desktop HQ smoke checks before changing the baseline.
 2. Open or run the project from this directory.
 
 ## Run and Test
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ godot --headless --path . --script res://src/test/smoke_plan_verbs.gd
 # Prop-collision smoke (windowed): guard stops at a bench, guest routes around it
 godot --path . --script res://src/test/smoke_props.gd
 
-# NPC budget smoke: 16 full-rig avatars against the documented frame budget
+# NPC budget smoke: 24 full-rig avatars against the documented frame budget
 godot --headless --path . --script res://src/test/smoke_npc_budget.gd
 
 # Movement smoke (windowed): steps, precision walk, footsteps and landing

docs/smoke-checklist.md

@@ -37,3 +37,6 @@
 35. Pausing saves a checkpoint: returning to the menu and choosing Continue resumes elapsed time, NPCs, incidents, door/flashlight state and campaign position.
 36. Settings difficulty changes spawn pacing/compliance/report strictness while escalation rules stay the same; Help filters controls and shows the venue policy.
 37. The F debug overlay lists the next eligible events; recovery events and recently played scripted events behave as authored.
+38. Master/SFX/ambience volume settings clamp at 0/1 and persist; Reduce motion disables head bob; the captions toggle persists.
+39. The 24-NPC budget smoke stays inside its frame budget; coats/dresses do not show obvious leg clipping in a normal walk.
+40. Help remains readable with the largest HUD font scale, and the engine matrix (4.3 CI / 4.7.2 local) is used for verification.