From 9fc80c38ebcd2b35901b3c8fd47875f4bdbfd547 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dejvino <dejvino@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:47:53 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Ride: roadside figures always visible, statue-scale, glowing

Forced actor slots on like the billboard (sparse setups hid them), figures normalized to landmark scale against houses, crew-like emissive so they read at night. They were present but effectively invisible: gated, unlit, person-scale at the frame edge.
---
 flow-state/src/venues/ride.js | 27 ++++++++++++++++++---------
 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js b/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
index 055daf1..09893d7 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
@@ -1105,17 +1105,21 @@ export const ride = {
             const dense = (arrangement % 2 === 1);
             const showUpTo = dense ? n : Math.max(3, Math.floor(n * 0.45));
             // A billboard shot with a hidden billboard is an empty road: the
-            // board's own slot is always on while it is the subject.
+            // board's own slot is always on while it is the subject. Actor
+            // figures likewise always show: they are the cast, not dressing,
+            // and at most two slots ever hold them.
             const forced = billboard ? billSlotIndex(instance) : -1;
             for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
-                instance.roadside.children[i].visible = opacity > 0.001 && (i < showUpTo || i === forced);
+                const kid = instance.roadside.children[i];
+                const isActor = !!kid.userData.actorSlot;
+                kid.visible = opacity > 0.001 && (i < showUpTo || i === forced || isActor);
             }
         }
         // Roadside actors: figures of the track's cast standing among the
         // props on some builds (seeded at build; static all video, so they
         // stream past with their slot and never pop). Grown here, on first
         // update, because identity only arrives via update — the crew pattern.
-        // They turn slowly to feel alive; analytic f(t), seek-stable.
+        // They glance around to feel alive; analytic f(t), seek-stable.
         if (instance.roadside && identity && actorSpec && actorSpec.form) {
             for (const g of instance.roadside.children) {
                 if (!g.userData.actorSlot) continue;
@@ -1133,20 +1137,24 @@ export const ride = {
                             const c = pal[pPal % pal.length] || pal[0];
                             m.material = new T.MeshStandardMaterial({
                                 color: new T.Color(c[0], c[1], c[2]),
+                                emissive: new T.Color(c[0] * 0.3, c[1] * 0.3, c[2] * 0.3),
+                                emissiveIntensity: 1.0,
                                 roughness: 0.5, metalness: 0.08,
                                 transparent: opacity < 0.999, opacity,
                             });
                             fig.add(m);
                         }
-                        // Feet on the ground, person-scale: normalize the form
-                        // to ~1.6 units tall (houses run 2-4) and plant the
-                        // lowest point at the roadside level regardless of
-                        // the form's own extent or origin. Local box
-                        // (unparented) over slot scale: exact.
+                        // Feet on the ground, landmark-scale: person-scale
+                        // figures are invisible from chase distance, so these
+                        // stand ~2.6 units against 2-4 unit houses — statues
+                        // of the cast among the props. Lowest point planted
+                        // at the roadside level regardless of the form's own
+                        // extent or origin. Local box (unparented) over slot
+                        // scale: exact.
                         if (fig.children.length) {
                             const _box = new T.Box3().setFromObject(fig);
                             const _h = _box.max.y - _box.min.y;
-                            const _s = _h > 1e-6 ? 1.6 / _h : 1;
+                            const _s = _h > 1e-6 ? 2.6 / _h : 1;
                             fig.scale.setScalar(_s);
                             fig.position.y = -1.15 / g.scale.x - _s * _box.min.y;
                         }
@@ -1168,6 +1176,7 @@ export const ride = {
                             ? actorSpec.paletteMap[pIdx % actorSpec.paletteMap.length] : pIdx;
                         const c = pal[pPal % pal.length] || pal[0];
                         m.material.color.setRGB(c[0], c[1], c[2]);
+                        m.material.emissive.setRGB(c[0] * 0.3, c[1] * 0.3, c[2] * 0.3);
                         m.material.opacity = opacity;
                         m.material.transparent = opacity < 0.999;
                         m.visible = opacity > 0.01;