Weapon grip anchor: gizmo-authored WYSIWYG grip + operator's hand-tuned grip baked

WeaponGripAnchor under Hand_R in Player.prefab carries the actual axe
mesh as an EditorOnly preview (baker skips it; play-verified single axe)
so grip manipulation is the real model live in the prefab stage;
AttachMeleeWeapon reads the anchor (consts = seed/fallback). Includes
the operator's first gizmo-tuned grip (rebaked mesh matches expected
radius exactly). PlayerRigTools also carries the heavy-lock clip
re-speeds (1.0/0.85/0.88) consumed by the next commit.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

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Assets/_Project/Scripts/Editor/PlayerRigTools.cs

@@ -674,9 +674,9 @@ namespace ProjectM.EditorTools
             // window. Hit-start seconds measured off the pack takes (= the WindUp take length).
             var swaps = new (string state, string fbxSub, string clip, float speed)[]
             {
-                ("Swing1",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01A_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01A_Sword", 1.25f), // hit @0.33s -> ~0.27s (07-19 retime: 26-tick window)
+                ("Swing1",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01A_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01A_Sword", 1.0f),  // 07-21 heavy lock: TRUE contact 0.333s = 20t (matches MeleeContactTicks 20)
-                ("Swing2",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01B_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01B_Sword", 1.0f), // hit @0.17s natural speed
+                ("Swing2",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01B_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01B_Sword", 0.85f), // TRUE contact 0.196s = 12t (knob step2 = round(20*0.625) = 12)
-                ("Swing3",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01C_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01C_Sword", 1.1f), // finisher: hit @0.33s, heaviest of the chain
+                ("Swing3",      "Attack/LightCombo01/A_Attack_LightCombo01C_Sword", "A_Attack_LightCombo01C_Sword", 0.88f), // finisher: TRUE contact 0.417s = 25t (knob step3 = 25; 1 tick under CastFacingTicks)
                 ("SpecialSlam", "Attack/HeavyCombo01/A_Attack_HeavyCombo01A_Sword", "A_Attack_HeavyCombo01A_Slam_Sword", 1.5f), // custom take (skips ~2/3 of the windup); hit ~0.35s
                 ("Death",       "Death/A_Death_B_01_Sword",                         "A_Death_B_01_Sword",           1.0f), // backward collapse, holds last frame
             };
@@ -784,7 +784,22 @@ namespace ProjectM.EditorTools
                 // Rigid rest matrices (GraftSmr conventions: scale-stripped rest, feet-at-0 prefab space).
                 var hm = hand.localToWorldMatrix;
                 var handRigid = Matrix4x4.TRS((Vector3)hm.GetColumn(3), hm.rotation, Vector3.one);
-                var grip = Matrix4x4.TRS(WeaponGripPos, Quaternion.Euler(WeaponGripEuler), Vector3.one * WeaponScale); // uniform scale: normals keep their directions
+                // 07-20 designer flow: the WeaponGripAnchor child of Hand_R (EditorOnly, carries a live preview of
+                // the weapon mesh) is the AUTHORING source when present -- move/rotate/scale it with normal gizmos
+                // in the prefab stage, then re-run this tool to bake. The consts are the fallback/seed only.
+                Vector3 gripPos = WeaponGripPos;
+                Quaternion gripRot = Quaternion.Euler(WeaponGripEuler);
+                float gripScale = WeaponScale;
+                var gripAnchor = hand.Find("WeaponGripAnchor");
+                if (gripAnchor != null)
+                {
+                    gripPos = gripAnchor.localPosition;
+                    gripRot = gripAnchor.localRotation;
+                    gripScale = gripAnchor.localScale.x; // uniform: gizmo-scaled non-uniformly -> x wins
+                    if (Mathf.Abs(gripAnchor.localScale.y - gripScale) > 1e-3f || Mathf.Abs(gripAnchor.localScale.z - gripScale) > 1e-3f)
+                        Debug.LogWarning("[PlayerRigTools] WeaponGripAnchor scale is non-uniform; using X for the rigid bake.");
+                }
+                var grip = Matrix4x4.TRS(gripPos, gripRot, Vector3.one * gripScale); // uniform scale: normals keep their directions
                 var toWorld = handRigid * grip;
 
                 var verts = srcMesh.vertices;
@@ -838,8 +853,79 @@ namespace ProjectM.EditorTools
             }
             finally { PrefabUtility.UnloadPrefabContents(root); }
             AssetDatabase.SaveAssets();
-            Debug.Log($"[PlayerRigTools] Melee weapon attached to Hand_R ({srcMesh.vertexCount}v, grip pos {WeaponGripPos} euler {WeaponGripEuler}).");
+            Debug.Log($"[PlayerRigTools] Melee weapon attached to Hand_R ({srcMesh.vertexCount}v). Grip source: WeaponGripAnchor if present (gizmo-authored), else the consts. Re-run after moving the anchor.");
         }
 
+        /// <summary>07-20 designer grip flow: create (or refresh the preview on) the WeaponGripAnchor under
+        /// Hand_R in Player.prefab. The anchor CARRIES the actual weapon mesh as an edit-time preview (plain
+        /// MeshRenderer + a URP/Lit material with the pack atlas), so what you grab with the move/rotate/scale
+        /// gizmos in the prefab stage IS the axe at true size, live. Tagged <b>EditorOnly</b> -- the Entities
+        /// baker skips it, so it can never leak an un-animated duplicate into the game; the baked rigid-skinned
+        /// SMR stays the only runtime weapon. Until you re-run Attach Melee Weapon you'll see BOTH (preview at
+        /// the new grip, baked axe at the old) -- a free before/after ghost; when they coincide, you're baked.
+        /// Seeds from the consts ONLY on first creation; re-runs never stomp a hand-tuned anchor.</summary>
+        [MenuItem("ProjectM/Animation/Player - Create Weapon Grip Anchor (LANTERN)")]
+        public static void CreateWeaponGripAnchor()
+        {
+            const string weaponFbx = "Assets/Synty/PolygonDungeonRealms/Models/SM_Wep_Axe_Large_01.fbx";
+            const string atlasPath = "Assets/Synty/PolygonDungeonRealms/Textures/Dungeons_2_Texture_01_A.png";
+            const string previewMatPath = "Assets/_Project/Materials/M_Weapon_Preview.mat";
+            const string output = "Assets/_Project/Prefabs/Player.prefab";
+
+            var src = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<GameObject>(weaponFbx);
+            var srcMf = src != null ? src.GetComponentInChildren<MeshFilter>(true) : null;
+            if (srcMf == null || srcMf.sharedMesh == null) { Debug.LogError($"[PlayerRigTools] Weapon fbx/mesh missing: {weaponFbx}"); return; }
+
+            // Plain URP/Lit preview material (the runtime deformation shader won't render on a static MeshRenderer).
+            var mat = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<Material>(previewMatPath);
+            if (mat == null)
+            {
+                var lit = Shader.Find("Universal Render Pipeline/Lit");
+                if (lit == null) { Debug.LogError("[PlayerRigTools] URP/Lit shader not found."); return; }
+                mat = new Material(lit) { name = "M_Weapon_Preview" };
+                var atlas = AssetDatabase.LoadAssetAtPath<Texture>(atlasPath);
+                if (atlas != null && mat.HasProperty("_BaseMap")) mat.SetTexture("_BaseMap", atlas);
+                AssetDatabase.CreateAsset(mat, previewMatPath);
+            }
+
+            var root = PrefabUtility.LoadPrefabContents(output);
+            try
+            {
+                Transform hand = null;
+                foreach (var t in root.GetComponentsInChildren<Transform>(true)) if (t.name == "Hand_R") { hand = t; break; }
+                if (hand == null) { Debug.LogError("[PlayerRigTools] Hand_R not found on Player.prefab."); return; }
+
+                var anchor = hand.Find("WeaponGripAnchor");
+                bool fresh = anchor == null;
+                if (fresh)
+                {
+                    var go = new GameObject("WeaponGripAnchor");
+                    anchor = go.transform;
+                    anchor.SetParent(hand, false);
+                    // Seed exactly where the current bake sits, so the preview and the baked axe start coincident.
+                    anchor.localPosition = WeaponGripPos;
+                    anchor.localRotation = Quaternion.Euler(WeaponGripEuler);
+                    anchor.localScale = Vector3.one * WeaponScale;
+                }
+                anchor.gameObject.tag = "EditorOnly"; // the Entities baker SKIPS EditorOnly -- preview never reaches runtime
+
+                var mf = anchor.GetComponent<MeshFilter>();
+                if (mf == null) mf = anchor.gameObject.AddComponent<MeshFilter>();
+                mf.sharedMesh = srcMf.sharedMesh;
+                var mr = anchor.GetComponent<MeshRenderer>();
+                if (mr == null) mr = anchor.gameObject.AddComponent<MeshRenderer>();
+                mr.sharedMaterial = mat;
+                mr.shadowCastingMode = UnityEngine.Rendering.ShadowCastingMode.Off;
+
+                PrefabUtility.SaveAsPrefabAsset(root, output);
+            }
+            finally { PrefabUtility.UnloadPrefabContents(root); }
+            AssetDatabase.SaveAssets();
+            Debug.Log("[PlayerRigTools] WeaponGripAnchor ready under Hand_R (EditorOnly, live axe preview). "
+                + "Open Player.prefab, search 'WeaponGripAnchor', move/rotate/scale it with normal gizmos, then run "
+                + "'Player - Attach Melee Weapon' to bake. Preview + baked axe overlap = you're in sync.");
+        }
+
+
 }
 }