Phase 1 A/C/D: void room fixed, authored portal + spawn FX, verbs finally taught

SLICE A - rooms become places: ExpeditionBiome duplicated to sub-slot 1
(X+1500) - ground, 205 decor children, rim cliffs, ambience; collider ring +
3 landmark colliders duplicated in the subscene; NEW in-room cover at BOTH
slots (4 collidable rocks each: Environment-layer box colliders in the
subscene + matching Synty rock meshes in Game.unity, placed clear of the
landing point, portal spot, spawn ring and boss spawn). Half of all rooms
previously played on a literal void.

SLICE C - owned FX wired: VFXConfig gains Portal + EnemySpawn slots
(FX_Portal_Round_01 / FX_Dust_Big_01 from PolygonParticleFX); the portal
beacon prefers the authored effect (procedural pillar stays as fallback);
enemies get a spawn-emerge cue on the ghost add-edge (primed-scan guard
skips the connect flood).

SLICE D (teaching) - the two undiscoverable verbs are now taught: dash on
the Move step, class ability + attack on the Rooms step (scheme-aware
glyphs); How-to-Play Controls adds Class ability + Dash rows and fixes the
wrong RT glyph; Loop step 1 mentions class pick + prep; the stale '50
starting Ore' now interpolates Tuning.StartingOre.

456/456 EditMode.

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

Assets/Screenshots/iter_p1_slot1_room.png.meta

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Assets/_Project/Scripts/Client/Onboarding/OnboardingStepMath.cs

@@ -107,11 +107,11 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
             switch (step)
             {
                 case Welcome:    return "CLEAR 2 EXPEDITIONS to charge the Engine, then survive the FINAL SIEGE.    (Space to continue  ·  Esc → How to Play)";
-                case Move:       return move + "   —   Move";
+                case Move:       return move + "   —   Move      " + (gamepad ? "B" : "LShift") + "   —   Dash (brief invulnerability)";
-                case Build:      return build + "   —   open Build, place a Turret by your Core (your 50 starting Ore covers it)";
+                case Build:      return build + "   —   open Build, place a Turret by your Core (your " + ProjectM.Simulation.Tuning.StartingOre + " starting Ore covers it)";
                 case Fabricator: return "Build a Fabricator   —   turrets need Charge (Ore → ammo)";
                 case ReadyUp:    return "Press T (or click READY UP)   —   when everyone is ready, the party launches";
-                case Rooms:      return "Fight through the rooms   —   attack the glowing crystals to haul resources home";
+                case Rooms:      return (gamepad ? "X attack · LT class ability" : "LMB attack · RMB class ability") + "   —   clear the room; shoot the glowing crystals for your haul";
                 case Boon:       return "Clear the room   —   pick 1 of 3 BOONS, then choose your path on the map";
                 case Return:     return "Fell the ALPHA HUSK, then return home   —   your haul + the Engine charge (+1) come with you";
                 case Defend:     return "Defend the Core!   —   a completed run provokes a retaliation siege";

Assets/_Project/Scripts/Client/Presentation/CombatFeedbackSystem.cs

@@ -38,6 +38,8 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
         struct FxCache { public float Hp; public float MaxHp; public float3 Pos; public bool IsEnemy; public uint Windup; }
 
         readonly Dictionary<Entity, FxCache> _cache = new();
+        bool _scanPrimed;          // Phase 1: first health-scan completed -> new cache entries are true spawns, not the connect flood
+        GameObject _portalFx;      // Phase 1: authored portal effect (VFXConfig.Portal) replacing the procedural pillar when wired
         readonly HashSet<Entity> _seen = new();
         readonly List<Entity> _stale = new();
         readonly List<FloatingNumber> _numbers = new();
@@ -294,9 +296,19 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
                         PrototypeCameraRig.AddShake(isLocalPlayer ? FeelConfig.PlayerDeathShake : FeelConfig.RemotePlayerDeathShake);
                     }
                 }
+                else if (isEnemy && _scanPrimed && cur >= health.ValueRO.Max - 0.001f)
+                {
+                    // Phase 1 spawn-emerge cue: FIRST sighting of a fresh (full-HP) enemy ghost = its spawn
+                    // (rooms drip-spawn AFTER the player lands, so the add-edge IS the spawn moment). The primed
+                    // guard skips the initial-connect flood; a relevancy re-entry of an undamaged enemy may
+                    // rarely re-cue - accepted juice noise, never gameplay.
+                    Burst(_hitFx, cfg != null ? cfg.EnemySpawn : null, (Vector3)p + Vector3.up * 0.15f, 8);
+                    PlayClip(_telegraphClip, (Vector3)p, 0.25f);
+                }
 
                 _cache[entity] = new FxCache { Hp = cur, MaxHp = health.ValueRO.Max, Pos = p, IsEnemy = isEnemy, Windup = windup };
             }
+            _scanPrimed = true; // Phase 1: everything cached after the first scan; later add-edges are true spawns
 
             // Prune despawned ghosts. A Husk that vanished was killed -> death VFX at its last position.
             if (_cache.Count != _seen.Count)
@@ -1003,9 +1015,25 @@ void TriggerSlash(Vector3 pos, float2 facing, float range, float halfAngle, int
             if (!inExplore || !SystemAPI.TryGetSingleton<BaseAnchor>(out var anchor))
             {
                 if (_portalBeacon != null && _portalBeacon.activeSelf) _portalBeacon.SetActive(false);
+                if (_portalFx != null && _portalFx.activeSelf) _portalFx.SetActive(false);
                 return;
             }
             float3 pos = RegionMath.ExpeditionPortalPos(BaseGridMath.PlotCenter(anchor), (byte)(ri.CurrentRoom & 1));
+            // Phase 1: prefer the authored portal effect (VFXConfig.Portal, PolygonParticleFX) over the
+            // procedural pillar; the pillar remains the asset-free fallback.
+            var vfx = VFXConfig.Instance;
+            if (vfx != null && vfx.Portal != null)
+            {
+                if (_portalFx == null)
+                {
+                    _portalFx = Object.Instantiate(vfx.Portal, _fxRoot, false);
+                    _portalFx.name = "~RoomPortalFx";
+                }
+                _portalFx.transform.position = new Vector3(pos.x, 0f, pos.z); // terrain y=0 (pos.y is the capsule plane)
+                if (!_portalFx.activeSelf) _portalFx.SetActive(true);
+                if (_portalBeacon != null && _portalBeacon.activeSelf) _portalBeacon.SetActive(false);
+                return;
+            }
             if (_portalBeacon == null)
             {
                 _portalBeacon = GameObject.CreatePrimitive(PrimitiveType.Cylinder);

Assets/_Project/Scripts/Client/Presentation/VFXConfig.cs

@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
         public GameObject EnemyDeath;
         [Tooltip("Spawned when the local player drops to 0 HP (falls back to EnemyDeath if null).")]
         public GameObject PlayerDeath;
+        [Tooltip("Looping portal effect anchored at the room-exit during RoomExplore (falls back to the procedural pillar if null).")]
+        public GameObject Portal;
+        [Tooltip("One-shot at each enemy's spawn position (first sighting of a fresh ghost).")]
+        public GameObject EnemySpawn;
 
         void Awake()
         {

Assets/_Project/Scripts/Client/UI/HowToPlayPanel.cs

@@ -72,7 +72,9 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
                     Head(c, ranger ? "CLASS:  Ranger (ranged anchor)" : "CLASS:  Warrior (melee anchor)");
                     Body(c, "Move  —  WASD  /  Left Stick");
                     Body(c, "Aim  —  Mouse cursor  /  Right Stick");
-                    Body(c, "Attack  —  LMB  /  RT   (your primary verb)");
+                    Body(c, "Attack  —  LMB  /  X   (3-hit melee combo — the finisher hits hard)");
+                    Body(c, ranger ? "Class ability  —  RMB  /  LT   (aimed power shot)" : "Class ability  —  RMB  /  LT   (cone slam with knockback)");
+                    Body(c, "Dash  —  LShift  /  B   (brief invulnerability — dodge THROUGH attacks)");
                     Body(c, "Build menu  —  Tab  /  Y");
                     Body(c, "Place / Cancel (in build)  —  LMB / RMB   (A / B on gamepad)");
                     Body(c, "Deposit at base  —  G");
@@ -84,7 +86,7 @@ namespace ProjectM.Client
                     break;
                 case 1: // The Loop
                     Head(c, "THE LOOP  —  expedition RUNS are how you win");
-                    Body(c, "1.  BASE — build Turrets + a Fabricator around your Engine Core; spend Aether on PERMANENT class upgrades.");
+                    Body(c, "1.  BASE — pick your CLASS + buy PREP buffs (this run only); build Turrets + a Fabricator; spend Aether on PERMANENT class upgrades.");
                     Body(c, "2.  READY UP [T] — when everyone is ready, the party launches into a multi-room run together.");
                     Body(c, "3.  RUN — clear each room, pick 1 of 3 BOONS (this run only), choose your path on the map, mine the crystals.");
                     Body(c, "4.  BOSS — fell it and the party returns with the haul:  +1 on the Engine meter. A wipe banks nothing.");