diff --git a/flow-state/AGENTS.md b/flow-state/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a14dc08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flow-state/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# AGENTS.md — flow-state
+
+## Design decisions
+
+All load-bearing decisions live in [`DESIGN.md`](./DESIGN.md). Read it before
+changing behaviour. Changing a decision means updating `DESIGN.md` **and**
+the gate that enforces it. `PLAN.md` is the full design; `EPIC-*.md` are the
+epic designs.
+
+## Adding / fixing a scene
+
+Follow the `build-visualizer` skill (`.claude/skills/build-visualizer/`).
+Short version:
+
+```bash
+npm run new:scene -- "Name" --family=<flow|organic|minimal|structural|geometric|glitch> --traits=...
+# ... write the scene() body ...
+npm run lint:scenes
+# open http://localhost:5180/checks.html?scene=Name
+```
+
+Verify in order: `lint:scenes` (~1s) → per-scene gate in `checks.html` →
+`checks.html?slow=1` once before committing. Each rung is ~10× the cost of
+the previous.
+
+## Rules that have bitten before (all in DESIGN.md §3–4)
+
+- Anything multiplying `u_time` must be `rate: true` — and rate params are
+  never modulated (drift/reactive/lookahead skip them).
+- Discrete params (`int`/`bool`/`discrete: true`) hold per cue and are
+  never reactive: **actors and objects change only at camera cuts.**
+- No contract-uniform reuse, no hardcoded colours (use `pal()`), base
+  image under every `prev()`, honour every declared trait, feed `sigCamera`
+  into the image.
+- No `Math.random` / wall-clock in render-path code; motion is analytic
+  `f(t, seed)` so seek === playback and preview === export.
+
+## Checks
+
+```bash
+npm test             # audio pipeline + venue/model headless tests
+npm run lint:scenes  # determinism grep + schema/shader agreement
+```
diff --git a/flow-state/DESIGN.md b/flow-state/DESIGN.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f463fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/flow-state/DESIGN.md
@@ -0,0 +1,154 @@
+# flow-state — design decisions
+
+The decisions this project has taken, and why. New work must obey them;
+changing one means updating this file and the gate that enforces it.
+
+Doc map: `PLAN.md` is the full design, `EPIC-2/3/4/5-3D.md` are the epic
+designs, `HOWTO-visualizers.md` / `HOWTO-variety.md` are the scene-author
+references, `MIGRATION.md` is the shader→stage migration recipe.
+
+## 1. Determinism spine
+
+- The audio is fully analysed **before the first frame renders**, into a
+  frame-indexed `FeatureTrack` table. Nothing reads a live `AnalyserNode`.
+  Preview maps `currentTime → frameIndex`; export counts frames. Same rows,
+  same image.
+- No wall-clock (`performance.now`, `Date`) and no `Math.random` in
+  `engine/scenes/look/audio/params/actors/venues`. Seeded `Rng` only;
+  motion is analytic `f(t, seed)` — seek === playback, preview === export.
+- `dt` is constant (`1/fps`); dropped preview frames hitch, never diverge.
+- Feedback/ping-pong targets are explicitly cleared; shader programs are
+  primed (`Engine.prime`) before frame-exact rendering — unlinked programs
+  rendered the first ~10 frames wrong on the heaviest scene.
+- Scene math lives in normalized aspect-corrected coords (`uv`, `p`); only
+  `u_pixelScale` carries pixels, so 720p preview matches 4K export.
+- Guarantee is **per-machine** bit-identical; cross-machine is perceptual.
+  Same-machine allows max channel delta ≤ 1 (GPU load varies one LSB under
+  heavy shaders); real bugs score in the tens.
+- Seeks need **warm-up** (`log(0.001)/log(decay)` frames) whenever feedback
+  is on. Section boundaries are NOT exact for free — the compositor's
+  feedback buffer is global and carries across them. Clearing it per
+  boundary would flash every transition; warm-up is the better trade.
+
+## 2. Lookahead
+
+Offline analysis is what buys anticipation: `buildSlope` ramps through the
+bars before a higher-energy section, so visuals arrive at the drop already
+at tension. A causal analyser can never do this. The outgoing layer of a
+crossfade keeps its pre-boundary slope — feeding it the new section's
+features collapses its ramp in one frame (a visible pop at the edit).
+
+## 3. Scenes: shader + schema, nothing else
+
+- A scene is a fragment shader (or model build/update) plus a params block.
+  Uniform binding, UI sliders, seeded sampling, arc drift and phase gates
+  are all derived from the schema. No per-scene wiring.
+- Six families (`flow geometric organic structural minimal glitch`) chosen
+  by section kind — a breakdown never lands on a strobing glitch scene.
+- Personality traits (`shape camera space style`) are a **contract**: each
+  track is built on 1–2 traits and a scene honouring fewer is never cast.
+  The library intentionally shrinks per track. Declared traits need
+  machine-checked evidence (lint grep + render-delta gate); a dead camera
+  (`sigCamera` assigned, result ignored) shipped once and is now linted.
+- `rate: true` is mandatory for anything multiplying `u_time`. Phase is
+  `elapsed × rate`; modulating a rate jumps phase by `elapsed × Δrate` —
+  measured as 6 flashes/s, twice the WCAG 2.3.1 ceiling.
+- Whole-frame luminance never pulses on the beat (3-flashes/s ceiling).
+  Pulse something local; quantise glitches to the bar grid.
+- A scene reading `prev()` must paint a base image first (black first
+  frames, seek-fragile otherwise). `prev()` readers can never be grounds.
+- No contract-uniform collisions, no hardcoded saturated colours — the
+  look generator recolours through `pal()`/`palRamp()` only.
+- Loops need constant bounds with an early `break` on the deciding param
+  (`// lint: fixed-cost` opt-out for genuinely fixed work).
+
+## 4. Continuity: nothing disappears mid-shot
+
+Actors and objects change only at camera cuts:
+
+- **Discrete params** (`int`/`bool`, plus floats marked `discrete: true`
+  that drive loop bounds / instance counts) hold constant for the whole
+  cue. No drift, no lookahead ramp, no reactive modulation — those would
+  pop members in/out mid-shot. They still vary per section/variant sample,
+  so drops can be denser than intros; the change lands on a cut.
+- A discrete param MAY declare `slowAxis`: the driver steps its travel on
+  the section-held journey instead of sliding it.
+- Reactive on a discrete param and (unstated) drift of one are lint errors.
+- Venue furniture never hard-toggles on interpolated state: chamber junk
+  and stage pylons fade (ride-crew pattern); ride roadside density is
+  arrangement-only. Re-hangs happen only on story jumps, always under a
+  camera cut (`venueJumpAt`); the venue layer itself is persistent and
+  never dissolved (old-room/new-room ghosting read as a glitch).
+
+## 5. Time structure: cues, cuts, camera
+
+- The arc driver works in **cues** (one per shot): a shot cut and a section
+  change take the same code path, differing only in transition length.
+- Default transition is a slow dissolve (2 bars calm, 1 bar loud, capped
+  at 40% of the shot). Hard cuts only above the energy threshold — on calm
+  material a cut reads as a glitch. Even hard cuts are 2-frame ramps (a
+  1-frame swap of bright scenes is a flash).
+- Framing lives at the shot level (size constant per shot, gaze live);
+  the outgoing shot keeps travelling as it fades — freezing it stops the
+  old image dead before it disappears.
+- Sharp transitions cut colour instantly with the image and always reframe
+  (a bigger reframe than a dissolve earns).
+- Story variables are **staged, not ramped**: flat inside a section,
+  blended ~1 bar after boundaries. Moments (arrival/turn/climax/resolution)
+  are found in the audio; the story never overrides the song (bounded
+  bias terms). All scenes share one axis sign so the video travels one way.
+
+## 6. Colour and variety
+
+- Palettes in OKLCH; hue from **spectral tilt** (log treble/body ratio —
+  centroid and plain body-fraction both collapsed across masters); both
+  ways round the wheel; directors choose 1–4 palettes, blended in OKLCH
+  across dissolves.
+- Per-track **temperament** (intensity/pace/detail/extremity) moves every
+  param dial so one scene cast in two videos isn't the same footage twice.
+- **Overlays** on 5–55% of stacks, never `normal` blend, never above 0.6
+  opacity — occasionally layered, never permanently cluttered.
+- A scene varies when the SONG changes what's on screen: draw
+  `castMain`/`castChorus` (`form` in 3D), size via `stageScale()`, place
+  via `stageNode()`. No effect-knobs (glow/grain/chroma belong to post).
+- Grain is a per-track **treatment** (mode/cell/rate/mask/chroma, ~45% of
+  tracks get none); scene `texture: 0..2` scales only its share.
+- Absolute animation speed follows the song: motion bias is
+  tempo-dominated and every `rate: true` param scales by per-track
+  `rateScale` — slow songs got fast scenes before this.
+
+## 7. Grounds and composition
+
+- `surface` is measured (`metadata.json`), never declared — nine scenes
+  claimed `canvas` while painting under a third of the frame.
+- A ground fills the frame on average and never vanishes under any
+  identity (worst case counts, not the mean); hollow grounds are
+  flattened via `groundPersonalityFrom`.
+- Model layers share one `Compositor` perspective/depth rig; shader depth
+  stays faked. Venue rooms are furnished with the track's monolith body
+  so the room reads as this track's place.
+
+## 8. 3D on the same terms
+
+- `ActorSpec` is data, not scene graph (serialisable, hashable); geometry
+  via `actorToGeometry` from the same `Identity.form` the shaders march.
+- Model motion is analytic, instanced, seeded; kit deformation reuses the
+  song's silhouette params; `castSolid` impostors remain the fallback.
+- New actors are a file plus a registry entry, gated like scenes.
+
+## 9. Export and review
+
+- WebCodecs primary, frame-dump+ffmpeg fallback; title card, edge fades,
+  progress/cancel; A/V sync within one frame; survives a real upload test.
+- Preview is the primary surface: transport, section jump/loop, live param
+  edit, timeline strip, re-roll + locks, draft/full quality, 20s
+  segment test-renders. Never commit to a full render blind.
+- Every phase gate is measured; the battery (6 tracks ambient→hard EDM)
+  is watched end to end — monotony is invisible to automation.
+
+## 10. History
+
+- Forked from `party-stage`, then detached: zero cross-imports.
+- Corrections kept: boundary seeks need warm-up (not exact for free);
+  `layout` is blind on full-frame fields; aggregate ratios (e.g.
+  `separation`) swing run-to-run — steer by direct render comparisons.
diff --git a/flow-state/src/checks/phase11.js b/flow-state/src/checks/phase11.js
index 0c79a20..aa1665e 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/checks/phase11.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/checks/phase11.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import { shiftPalette, paletteContrast } from '../look/palette.js';
 import { ArcDriver } from '../look/ArcDriver.js';
 import { Engine } from '../engine/Engine.js';
 import { featureProviderFor } from '../audio/FeatureTrack.js';
-import { sampleValues, clampValue, canBackground } from '../params/schema.js';
+import { sampleValues, clampValue, canBackground, isDiscreteParam } from '../params/schema.js';
 import { Rng } from '../engine/rng.js';
 import { frameDistance, frameLuminance } from '../engine/hash.js';
 import { SHOT_SIZES, SHOT_SIZE_NAMES, describeFraming } from '../look/framing.js';
@@ -505,6 +505,23 @@ check(11, 'the slow axis is a journey rather than a cycle', () => {
         const end = at(t.duration * 0.95);
 
         for (const item of axis) {
+            // Discrete params step at cuts instead of travelling: held within
+            // the shot by construction (see schema.js isDiscreteParam), so the
+            // travel assertion below cannot apply. What is asserted instead is
+            // the hold itself — two samples inside one cue must agree exactly —
+            // while the travel magnitude is already covered structurally above.
+            if (isDiscreteParam(item.def)) {
+                const t0 = (cue.startFrame + 5) / 60;
+                const t1 = (cue.endFrame - 5) / 60;
+                if (t1 > t0) {
+                    const va = at(t0)[item.name], vb = at(t1)[item.name];
+                    if (va !== vb) {
+                        problems.push(`${spec.module.name}.${item.name}: ${va} → ${vb} ` +
+                            `mid-shot — discrete params change only at cuts`);
+                    }
+                }
+                continue;
+            }
             const [lo, hi] = item.def.range;
             const span = hi - lo;
             const a = start[item.name], m = mid[item.name], z = end[item.name];
diff --git a/flow-state/src/engine/Layer.js b/flow-state/src/engine/Layer.js
index af17ba5..58e860e 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/engine/Layer.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/engine/Layer.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
     SIGNATURE_UNIFORMS, IDENTITY_UNIFORMS, IDENTITY_ARRAY_UNIFORMS,
 } from './shader-contract.js';
 import { signatureUniforms, NEUTRAL_UNIFORMS } from '../look/Personality.js';
-import { clampValue } from '../params/schema.js';
+import { clampValue, isDiscreteParam } from '../params/schema.js';
 import { surfaceOf } from '../scenes/surface.js';
 import {
     CANVAS_BEAT_CAP,
@@ -208,6 +208,9 @@ export class Layer {
             // Rate params multiply absolute time; modulating them jumps the phase
             // by elapsed * delta. See params/schema.js RATE_FLAG.
             if (def.rate) continue;
+            // Continuity rule (see params/schema.js isDiscreteParam): a reactive
+            // count pops members on every beat. Discrete params hold per cue.
+            if (isDiscreteParam(def)) continue;
             const raw = features[r.feature];
             if (raw === undefined) continue;
 
diff --git a/flow-state/src/look/ArcDriver.js b/flow-state/src/look/ArcDriver.js
index 9e7dadc..317eeeb 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/look/ArcDriver.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/look/ArcDriver.js
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 import { createLayer } from '../engine/Layer.js';
 import { Rng } from '../engine/rng.js';
-import { clampValue } from '../params/schema.js';
+import { clampValue, isDiscreteParam } from '../params/schema.js';
 import { paletteShiftAt } from './paletteArc.js';
 import { shiftPalette, lerpPalettes } from './palette.js';
 import { frameShot, neutralFraming } from './framing.js';
 import { planGaze, gazeAt } from './Camera.js';
 import { planVenueShots, venueShotAt, describeVenueShot } from './venueShots.js';
-import { storyStateAt, NEUTRAL_STATE } from './Story.js';
+import { storyStateAt, storyForSection, NEUTRAL_STATE } from './Story.js';
 import { subjectIndexOf, isGround } from './stack.js';
 import { groundPersonalityFrom } from '../scenes/surface.js';
 import { derivePalettePlan, directorByName } from './directors.js';
@@ -383,6 +383,10 @@ export class ArcDriver {
         for (const [name, def] of Object.entries(spec.module.params || {})) {
             if (def.type === 'palette' || def.type === 'bool' || def.fixed) continue;
             if (def.noDrift || def.rate) continue;   // see schema.js RATE_FLAG
+            // Continuity rule (see schema.js isDiscreteParam): a drifting count
+            // pops members mid-shot. Discrete params hold for the whole cue and
+            // change only at cuts, via the per-section/variant sample.
+            if (isDiscreteParam(def)) continue;
             const [lo, hi] = def.range || [0, 1];
             plan.push({
                 name,
@@ -517,10 +521,28 @@ export class ArcDriver {
             const p = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, time / duration));
             journey = p * p * (3 - 2 * p);
         }
+        // Discrete params step their slow-axis travel at cuts instead of
+        // sliding it: the section-held journey moves only at section
+        // boundaries (which are always cuts), and without a story the cue's
+        // own start frame is the step. Either way nothing pops mid-shot.
+        // See params/schema.js isDiscreteParam.
+        let journeyStepped = null;
+        const steppedJourney = () => {
+            if (journeyStepped !== null) return journeyStepped;
+            if (this.look.story) {
+                journeyStepped = storyForSection(this.look.story, cue.sectionIndex).journey;
+            } else {
+                const duration = Math.max(1e-6, this.track.duration);
+                const pc = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, (cue.startFrame / this.track.fps) / duration));
+                journeyStepped = pc * pc * (3 - 2 * pc);
+            }
+            return journeyStepped;
+        };
         for (const item of this._slowAxisFor(spec.module)) {
             const base = out[item.name];
             if (typeof base !== 'number') continue;
-            out[item.name] = clampValue(item.def, base + item.travel * (journey - 0.5));
+            const j = isDiscreteParam(item.def) ? steppedJourney() : journey;
+            out[item.name] = clampValue(item.def, base + item.travel * (j - 0.5));
         }
 
         for (const item of this._driftPlan(cue.sectionIndex, cue.variant, slot)) {
@@ -545,6 +567,7 @@ export class ArcDriver {
                 const target = next.params;
                 for (const [name, def] of Object.entries(spec.module.params || {})) {
                     if (def.type === 'palette' || typeof out[name] !== 'number') continue;
+                    if (isDiscreteParam(def)) continue;
                     if (typeof target[name] !== 'number') continue;
                     out[name] = clampValue(def, out[name] + (target[name] - out[name]) * slope);
                 }
@@ -553,6 +576,7 @@ export class ArcDriver {
                 // of their range so the build still reads as a build.
                 for (const [name, def] of Object.entries(spec.module.params || {})) {
                     if (typeof out[name] !== 'number') continue;
+                    if (isDiscreteParam(def)) continue;
                     if (def.bias !== 'energy' && def.bias !== 'density') continue;
                     const hi = (def.range || [0, 1])[1];
                     out[name] = clampValue(def, out[name] + (hi - out[name]) * slope * 0.5);
diff --git a/flow-state/src/params/schema.js b/flow-state/src/params/schema.js
index b1a4e49..c19a4ea 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/params/schema.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/params/schema.js
@@ -42,6 +42,28 @@ export const RATE_FLAG = 'rate';
 // all.
 export const SLOW_AXIS_FLAG = 'slowAxis';
 
+/**
+ * CONTINUITY RULE: actors and objects can't just disappear during a scene,
+ * only during camera cuts.
+ *
+ * A discrete param is one whose change adds or removes things rather than
+ * moving them: every `int`/`bool`, plus any float used as a loop bound /
+ * instance count and marked `discrete: true` (e.g. a float `count` driving
+ * `if (float(i) >= u_count) break`). Ramping one mid-shot pops members in
+ * and out one frame to the next; holding it per cue moves the pop under the
+ * cut, where the venue arrangement salt already lives (see ArcDriver).
+ *
+ * Discrete params are therefore held constant for the whole cue: no drift,
+ * no slow-axis travel, no lookahead ramp, no reactive modulation. They still
+ * vary per section/variant sample, so a track's drops can be denser than its
+ * intros — the change just lands on a cut.
+ */
+export function isDiscreteParam(def) {
+    if (!def) return false;
+    if (def.type === 'int' || def.type === 'bool') return true;
+    return def.discrete === true;
+}
+
 /** Valid feature names a `reactive` entry may reference. Lint enforces this. */
 export const REACTIVE_FEATURES = [
     'loudness', 'rms',
@@ -364,6 +386,10 @@ export function validateModule(module) {
             if (def.type === 'palette' || def.type === 'bool' || def.fixed) {
                 errors.push(`${where}: \`slowAxis\` needs a numeric range to walk`);
             }
+            // Discrete params MAY declare slowAxis: the arc driver steps the
+            // travel at cuts (section-held journey) instead of sliding it, so
+            // the count still journeys across the video without popping
+            // mid-shot. See ArcDriver._paramsAt.
         }
     }
 
@@ -382,6 +408,10 @@ export function validateModule(module) {
             errors.push(`${where}: '${name}' is a rate param and cannot be reactive — ` +
                 `modulating it jumps phase by elapsed*delta (see RATE_FLAG)`);
         }
+        if (params[name] && isDiscreteParam(params[name])) {
+            errors.push(`${where}: '${name}' is discrete and cannot be reactive — ` +
+                `modulating it pops actors mid-shot; counts change only at cuts`);
+        }
     }
 
     return errors;
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/firefly-drift.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/firefly-drift.js
index 9175806..561525d 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/firefly-drift.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/firefly-drift.js
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export const fireflyDrift = {
     traits: ['camera', 'style'],
 
     params: {
-        count:    { type: 'float', range: [6, 48],   default: 22,   uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density'  },
+        count:    { type: 'float', range: [6, 48],   default: 22,   uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density', discrete: true  },
         speed:    { type: 'float', range: [0.05, 0.8], default: 0.3, uniform: 'u_speed', bias: 'motion', rate: true },
         jitter:   { type: 'float', range: [0, 0.4],  default: 0.12, uniform: 'u_jitter' },
         spread:   { type: 'float', range: [0.4, 1.3], default: 0.95, uniform: 'u_spread' },
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/flora.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/flora.js
index b28191a..f69426f 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/flora.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/flora.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export const flora = {
         // so worst case was 5 stalks x (12 stem + 6 petals + 6 blooms) = 120
         // SDF evals per pixel — measured ~12x its neighbours. Trimmed to
         // 4 x (8 + 4 + 4) = 64: same silhouette, half the cost.
-        count:   { type: 'float', range: [1, 4],    default: 3,   uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density' },
+        count:   { type: 'float', range: [1, 4],    default: 3,   uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density', discrete: true },
         height:  { type: 'float', range: [0.6, 2.0], default: 1.1, uniform: 'u_height', bias: 'energy' },
         stem:    { type: 'float', range: [0.008, 0.05], default: 0.02, uniform: 'u_stem' },
         sway:    { type: 'float', range: [0.05, 0.5], default: 0.2,   uniform: 'u_sway', bias: 'motion' },
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/gate-corridor.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/gate-corridor.js
index 0724f1d..dc2e32f 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/gate-corridor.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/gate-corridor.js
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export const gateCorridor = {
     traits: ['shape', 'camera', 'space', 'style'],
 
     params: {
-        gates:    { type: 'int',   range: [3, 14],     default: 8,    uniform: 'u_gates', bias: 'density' , slowAxis: true },
+        gates:    { type: 'int',   range: [3, 14],     default: 8,    uniform: 'u_gates', bias: 'density', slowAxis: true },
         aperture: { type: 'float', range: [0.15, 0.9], default: 0.45, uniform: 'u_aperture' },
         thickness:{ type: 'float', range: [0.02, 0.3], default: 0.09, uniform: 'u_thickness' },
         travel:   { type: 'float', range: [0.02, 0.7], default: 0.2,  uniform: 'u_travel', bias: 'motion', rate: true },
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/horizon-lines.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/horizon-lines.js
index d2cc0a2..b164906 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/horizon-lines.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/horizon-lines.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ export const horizonLines = {
     traits: ['space', 'camera', 'style'],
 
     params: {
-        count:     { type: 'float', range: [3, 40],    default: 14,  uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density' },
+        count:     { type: 'float', range: [3, 40],    default: 14,  uniform: 'u_count', bias: 'density', discrete: true },
         thickness: { type: 'float', range: [0.002, 0.03], default: 0.008, uniform: 'u_thickness' },
         bend:      { type: 'float', range: [0, 1.2],   default: 0.35, uniform: 'u_bend' },
         speed:     { type: 'float', range: [0.02, 0.4], default: 0.12, uniform: 'u_speed', bias: 'motion', rate: true },
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/stairwell-descent.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/stairwell-descent.js
index c6fbbef..ac1afc9 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/stairwell-descent.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/shader/stairwell-descent.js
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ export const stairwellDescent = {
 
     reactive: {
         lit:   { feature: 'bandHigh', amount: 0.3,  response: 'smooth' },
-        rails: { feature: 'bandMid',  amount: 0.15, response: 'smooth' },
     },
 
     shader: `
diff --git a/flow-state/src/scenes/stage/pylon-field-3d.js b/flow-state/src/scenes/stage/pylon-field-3d.js
index 002777e..8cf308f 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/scenes/stage/pylon-field-3d.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/scenes/stage/pylon-field-3d.js
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@ export const pylonField3D = {
     texture: 0.4,
 
     params: {
-        columns: { type: 'float', range: [3, 16], default: 8, uniform: 'u_columns', bias: 'density', slowAxis: true },
-        rows:    { type: 'float', range: [2, 10], default: 6, uniform: 'u_rows', bias: 'density' },
+        columns: { type: 'float', range: [3, 16], default: 8, uniform: 'u_columns', bias: 'density', slowAxis: true, discrete: true },
+        rows:    { type: 'float', range: [2, 10], default: 6, uniform: 'u_rows', bias: 'density', discrete: true },
         spread:  { type: 'float', range: [0.6, 1.6], default: 1.1, uniform: 'u_spread' },
         height:  { type: 'float', range: [0.3, 1.4], default: 0.85, uniform: 'u_height', bias: 'energy' },
         pulse:   { type: 'float', range: [0, 1.2], default: 0.5, uniform: 'u_pulse', bias: 'energy' },
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ export const pylonField3D = {
 
     reactive: {
         pulse: { feature: 'beat', amount: 0.4, response: 'smooth' },
-        rows:  { feature: 'bandLow', amount: 0.25 },
     },
 
     build({ scene, seed, params, actorSpec, THREE }) {
@@ -84,7 +83,6 @@ export const pylonField3D = {
         const t = timeline.time;
         const beat = features.beat || 0;
         const beatPhase = features.beatPhase || 0;
-        const bandLow = features.bandLow || 0;
 
         const identity = personality ? personality.identity : null;
         const pal = palette && palette.length ? palette : [[0.9, 0.9, 0.92], [0.7, 0.6, 0.8], [0.4, 0.6, 0.9], [0.9, 0.5, 0.4]];
@@ -129,7 +127,7 @@ export const pylonField3D = {
             scene.fog.color.setRGB(c[0] * (0.08 + wash * 0.15), c[1] * (0.08 + wash * 0.15), c[2] * (0.12 + wash * 0.18));
         }
 
-        const cols = Math.max(3, Math.min(16, Math.round(params.columns + bandLow * 0.1)));
+        const cols = Math.max(3, Math.min(16, Math.round(params.columns)));
         const rows = Math.max(2, Math.min(10, Math.round(params.rows)));
         const spread = Math.max(0.4, params.spread) * (0.7 + latticeSpread * 0.6) * (latticeKind === 'radial' ? 1.15 : latticeKind === 'scatter' ? 0.92 : 1);
         const height = Math.max(0.2, params.height);
diff --git a/flow-state/src/venues/chamber.js b/flow-state/src/venues/chamber.js
index 30875c0..7fd2799 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/venues/chamber.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/venues/chamber.js
@@ -727,18 +727,20 @@ export const chamber = {
             const idx = g.userData.index || 0;
             const isActor = g.userData.kind === 'actor';
             // Actors are the subject: always dressed. Junk thins out in
-            // sparse setups via popMul, as before.
-            if (isActor) {
-                g.visible = opacity > 0.01;
-            } else {
-                const popMul = vState ? vState.popMul : 1;
-                const showIndex = idx / Math.max(1, instance.popCount);
-                g.visible = opacity > 0.01 && (showIndex < (0.35 + popMul * 0.75));
-            }
+            // sparse setups via popMul — as a SMOOTH opacity fade, never a
+            // visible toggle: the interpolated venueState crosses thresholds
+            // at arbitrary mid-section moments, and hard cuts there read as
+            // random flashes (same pattern as the ride's crew). Actors take
+            // the first indices so the fade never touches them.
+            const popMul = vState ? vState.popMul : 1;
+            const showIndex = idx / Math.max(1, instance.popCount);
+            const fade = isActor ? 1
+                : Math.max(0, Math.min(1, ((0.35 + popMul * 0.75) - showIndex) / 0.12));
+            g.visible = opacity > 0.01 && fade > 0.01;
             g.traverse((mesh) => {
                 if (mesh.isMesh) {
-                    mesh.material.opacity = opacity;
-                    mesh.material.transparent = opacity < 0.999;
+                    mesh.material.opacity = opacity * fade;
+                    mesh.material.transparent = opacity * fade < 0.999;
                     // The room's population breathes with the story arc: dim in
                     // setup, bright at the climax. Pure f(venueState), no clock.
                     // Figures breathe brighter — they must read against their
diff --git a/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js b/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
index 5238898..89eed3c 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/venues/ride.js
@@ -764,7 +764,7 @@ export const ride = {
         // whole town; light/fog still arc within each.
         if (instance.roadside) {
             const n = instance.roadside.children.length;
-            const dense = (arrangement % 2 === 1) || (vState && vState.popMul > 0.8);
+            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.
diff --git a/flow-state/src/venues/stage.js b/flow-state/src/venues/stage.js
index 9c2241d..65848a7 100644
--- a/flow-state/src/venues/stage.js
+++ b/flow-state/src/venues/stage.js
@@ -301,20 +301,27 @@ export const stage = {
         for (const pylon of instance.pylonContainer.children) {
             const crown = pylon.userData.crown;
             const rung = pylon.userData.rung;
+            // Far rows thin out in sparse setups via popMul — as a SMOOTH
+            // opacity fade, never a visible toggle: the interpolated
+            // venueState crosses thresholds at arbitrary mid-section moments
+            // (same pattern as the ride's crew and the chamber's junk).
+            const popMul = vState ? vState.popMul : 1;
+            const fi = pylon.userData.f || 0; // far rows more sensitive
+            const fade = Math.max(0, Math.min(1, ((0.35 + popMul * 0.75) - fi) / 0.12));
+            pylon.visible = opacity > 0.01 && fade > 0.01;
             if (crown) {
                 const yaw = t*0.35 + crown.userData.yawSeed + shapeTilt*0.2;
                 crown.rotation.order='YXZ';
                 crown.rotation.set(0.12+Math.sin(t*0.28 + pylon.userData.f)*0.14, yaw, Math.sin(t*0.16)*0.08);
-                for (const m of crown.children) if(m.isMesh){ m.material.opacity=opacity; m.material.transparent=opacity<0.999; m.visible=opacity>0.01; }
+                for (const m of crown.children) if(m.isMesh){ m.material.opacity=opacity*fade; m.material.transparent=opacity*fade<0.999; m.visible=fade>0.01; }
             }
             if (rung) {
                 rung.rotation.order='YXZ';
                 rung.rotation.set(0, t*0.22 + rung.userData.yawSeed, 0);
-                rung.material.opacity=opacity*0.95;
-                rung.visible=opacity>0.01;
+                rung.material.opacity=opacity*0.95*fade;
+                rung.material.transparent=opacity*fade<0.999;
+                rung.visible=fade>0.01;
             }
-            { const popMul = vState ? vState.popMul : 1; const fi = pylon.userData.f || 0; // far rows more sensitive
-              pylon.visible = opacity>0.01 && (fi < (0.35 + popMul*0.75)); }
         }
         // Field drift
         instance.pylonContainer.position.x = Math.sin(t*camSwayRate)*camSway*0.5;