alchemist-accessibility/accessibility/docs/scratch.md

# SCRATCH — current working state

**Read this first on any handoff.** Living document: update it whenever state changes, before ending a turn.

Last updated: 2026-08-01 · Currently: **Phase 0 complete. Phase 1 next.**

---

## What this project is

Blind-accessibility mod for *Sulphur Memories: Alchemist* 0.4.2 (LÖVE 11.5, Lua/LuaJIT), extracted to
`D:\code\Sulphur Memories Alchemist 0.4.2 sanctified`. All mod code lives under `accessibility/`.
Design goal: **change as little game code as possible** so the mod re-applies cleanly to new versions.

Full research is in `accessibility/docs/` — read `README.md` there for the map.

---

## Confirmed decisions (do not relitigate)

| # | Decision |
|---|---|
| D1 | Dev uses system LÖVE at `C:\Program Files\LOVE\` (`lovec.exe` for console output). Distribution deferred. |
| D2 | Tracker hierarchy: category (`Ctrl+PgUp/Dn`) → kind (`PgUp/Dn`) → instance (`Shift+PgUp/Dn`), `Home` = distance+direction. |
| D3 | **Small explicit patches** to game files are allowed where they simplify things — but every state descriptor also carries a `probe` spec so we can flip to zero-edit `debug.getupvalue` mode if the game ships fused on Steam. `render` is shared by both backends. |
| D4 | Six tracker categories confirmed and coverage-verified: Creatures / Items / Exits / Interactables / Terrain features / Alchemy. |
| — | Screen reader: **NVDA**. Running the game via `lovec` during dev is approved. |
| — | User is blind — all verification must be describable in text; don't rely on screenshots. |

## Still-open questions (in `04-open-questions.md`)

Q3 verbosity (relay vs augment) · Q4 console auto-speak policy · Q5 wall-tone triggers ·
Q6 keybinding integration vs separate · Q8 full keyboard audit as deliverable?

None block Phase 0. Q4 lands in Phase 1, Q5 + verbosity in Phase 2.

---

## Key facts worth not rediscovering

- **`console.print(msg, colorTemplate)`** in `modules/console.lua` is the *single* chokepoint for all game log text. Repeated identical messages coalesce into `"msg (x3)"` via a `times` counter. Buffer entries expire after 3s — useless as history, so we keep our own.
- **`level.getCursorMessage()`** returns the description under the examine cursor (actor first, then top visible tile). The game already has a full arrow-key examine mode: `states/ingame_observe.lua`.
- **`cursorPopup.set(...)`** — patching `views/inventoryCursorPopup.lua` + `views/levelCursorPopup.lua` narrates focus in `inventory`, `craft`, `refine`, `trade`, `ingame_observe` at once.
- **All 28 states already implement `keypressed`.** The gap is narration, not reachability.
- **`modules/tile.lua:234`**: `tile.tryInteract = (self.loot or self.tryInteractFunction) and function...` — authoritative "player can do something here" flag. Basis of tracker classification.
- **Template counts:** 231 tiles, 40 actors, 344 items. Parent inheritance is *already flattened* by `modules/tile/preprocess.lua` during `love.load`, so read fields directly.
- **6 un-nameable mechanical templates to exclude:** `blank`, `throw_blocker`, `movement_blocker`, `fire_detector`, `wall_features_position_dummy`, `ladder_down_hidden`.
- **`debug.getupvalue` works** on this Lua build — verified reading `selectedOption` / `optionsList` from a state's `keypressed`.
- **Tolk constraint:** `ffi.load("Tolk")` uses the OS loader, so DLLs must sit next to `love.exe` — they can *never* live inside a `.love` archive.
- `tolk.lua` calls `Tolk_Load()` at require time with no error handling, and `Love2talk.lua` leaks `backend` as a global. Always `pcall` the require.

---

## Current status

### Done
- Full architecture research → `docs/01-architecture.md`
- Hooking strategy → `docs/02-hooking-strategy.md`
- Phased plan → `docs/03-implementation-plan.md`
- Open questions → `docs/04-open-questions.md`
- Decisions + category coverage proof → `docs/05-decisions.md`

### Done — Phase 0 (bootstrap) · commit `5c581ed`
- `git init`, pristine tree committed and tagged **`vanilla-0.4.2`** (commit `bbb70d0`,
  1838 files, `accessibility/` deliberately excluded so the tag is genuinely clean).
- love2talk vendored to `accessibility/vendor/love2talk/` — see `VENDORED.md` there
  for the five local modifications.
- **DLL elevation problem solved.** `Tolk.dll` etc. live in `accessibility/lib/` and
  are loaded by *absolute path* via `love.filesystem.getSource()`, with
  `SetDllDirectoryA` pointing at that folder so Tolk can find its own screen-reader
  clients. No admin rights, no copying into `Program Files`. Tracked in git via a
  `!accessibility/lib/*.dll` un-ignore.
- `accessibility/speech.lua` — pcall-guarded, frame-queued, `logToConsole = true`.
- `accessibility/init.lua` — patch registry + `states.switch` / `states.update` hooks
  + startup self-test.
- `accessibility/stateNames.lua` — spoken names for all 28 states.
- **One line added to `main.lua`.** Nothing else in the game touched.

**Verified working** via `lovec.exe .`:
```
[accessibility] TTS initialised
[accessibility] TTS: available
[accessibility] speech channel: yes
[speech]! Main menu
```

### Next — Phase 1: console history + review keys
Wrap `console.print`, keep our own unbounded history (the game's expires after 3s),
mirror its `(x3)` coalescing, add review keys. Needs Q4 answered (auto-speak policy)
but a sensible default can ship first.

---

## Invariants for all mod code

1. Every wrapper calls through to the original and returns its results verbatim (`return realFn(...)` — preserve multiple returns).
2. Speech must never throw. Missing DLL ⇒ silent no-op, game still runs.
3. No behaviour change for sighted players.
4. Never reveal information outside `FoV` / `rememberedFoV` — the tracker must not become a cheat.
5. Grid scans (`xMax × yMax`) happen on keypress or turn change, never per frame.
6. Our keys fall through to the game handler unless we own them.

---

## Modified game files (keep this list exhaustive)

| File | Change | Why |
|---|---|---|
| `main.lua` | +1 line: `require("accessibility").initialize()` after `console.prepare()` | Sole mod entry point. Placed there because templates, keybindings, `states.setup()` and the console canvas are all ready by then, and it's before the first `states.switch()`. |

Verify this list is exhaustive at any time with:
```
git diff --stat vanilla-0.4.2 -- . ':!accessibility' ':!.gitignore'
```
Currently: `main.lua | 1 +`.

### How to run
```
cd "D:/code/Sulphur Memories Alchemist 0.4.2 sanctified"
"C:/Program Files/LOVE/lovec.exe" .
```
`lovec` (not `love`) gives the console, where `[speech]` lines mirror every
utterance — speech is verifiable from the log, not only by ear. `!` after
`[speech]` means the utterance interrupted.

---

## Scratchpad / notes

- `.luacheckrc` uses `std = "min+alch"` with an explicit globals list — add mod globals there to keep lint clean.
- Upstream quirk (not ours to fix): `modules/tile/preprocess.lua` flattens parents in a single `pairs()` pass, so a grandchild may inherit from a not-yet-flattened parent depending on hash order.
- Tolk DLL sources on this machine: `D:\code\cafe`, `D:\code\dragonrpg-mapmaker`, `D:\code\DragonWarriorAccess`.