hermes-workspace/memory/goals/2026-05-05-hermesworld-viral-sprint/handoff.md

HermesWorld Viral Sprint Handoff

Date: 2026-05-05 14:22 EDT Owner: Eric / Aurora Repo: /Users/aurora/hermes-workspace Status: local-only, uncommitted, handoff for next Opus session

What landed this session

1. HermesWorld landing was rebuilt into a standalone public surface

Routes in repo:

• /hermes-world
• /world

Key file:

• src/screens/playground/hermes-world-landing.tsx

Landing now has:

• world-first public launch structure
• hero, capability strip, launch-drop section, zones, agents, sigils, final CTA, footer
• GitHub / roadmap / feature-list links instead of local-only /playground public CTAs
• stronger HermesWorld-specific copy
• launch-day messaging like:
  • “Dropping HermesWorld today.”
  • landing page / roadmap / feature list / graphics sprint

2. HermesWorld landing now bypasses workspace chrome

The biggest source of confusion was root/app-shell leakage.

Fixed or partially fixed:

• /hermes-world and /world now bypass the WorkspaceShell and scroll like normal pages
• local-only workspace chrome removed from the landing route
• app splash skipped on HermesWorld landing routes
• route is intended to be document-scrollable, not app-pane scrollable

Touched:

• src/components/workspace-shell.tsx
• src/routes/__root.tsx

3. Multiple root-level overlays were traced and removed/gated

Found and addressed these root-level leak sources:

• UsageMeter
• SearchModal
• KeyboardShortcutsModal
• UpdateCenterNotifier
• MobilePromptTrigger
• OnboardingTour

Important note:

• Some of these were gated only for landing routes.
• Later, game surfaces like /playground also needed special treatment.

4. Bottom-right usage/session pill leak on HermesWorld/game surfaces was addressed

This SESSION | IN | OUT | CTX | COST widget was another workspace overlay leak.

Action taken:

• hid the global usage/session pill for game surfaces, not just the landing page

Touched:

• src/routes/__root.tsx

5. Sidebar overlap bugs in /playground were addressed

On 3002 with the left sidebar open, gameplay UI elements overlapped badly.

Fix direction implemented:

• made several game UI pieces sidebar-aware so they shift when the left sidebar is open

Touched:

• src/screens/playground/components/playground-hud.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-chat.tsx
• src/screens/playground/playground-screen.tsx

The intended fix was:

• use useWorkspaceStore((s) => s.sidebarCollapsed)
• shift HUD/chat/chips to 320px left offset when sidebar is open
• keep min(120px, 9vw) behavior when collapsed

6. HermesWorld landing hero was shifted back toward the old glowing-orb vibe

Eric preferred the older orb-based entry/startup vibe over the framed screenshot-heavy top fold.

Action taken:

• hero switched to use PlaygroundHeroCanvas
• kept new landing structure/copy, but moved the visual style back toward orb glow / portal / startup energy

Touched:

• src/screens/playground/hermes-world-landing.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-hero-canvas.tsx (used, not necessarily modified)

7. HermesWorld copy cleanup

Removed more workspace-local carryover text from the landing.

Examples changed:

• Hermes Workspace Experiment // Persistent Agent World → HermesWorld Preview // Persistent Agent World
• Hermes Workspace Connected → Live World Build

8. Local preview/dev process debugging happened repeatedly

Root cause for a lot of weirdness:

• multiple Vite dev servers were fighting over routeTree.gen.ts
• this caused reload thrash, aborted requests, and “stopping mid-turn” feelings during local preview

Key reality:

• 3002/3003 reliability was not just “the site is broken”, it was also local dev process instability
• detached/nohup relaunches were used at points to keep things alive longer

9. Character/graphics pipeline scaffolding started in code

This was the first real gameplay/visual upgrade setup work.

Added:

• src/screens/playground/lib/character-config.ts
• src/screens/playground/components/player-character.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/npc-character.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-glb-body.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-player-glb.tsx
• rewrote/normalized src/screens/playground/components/playground-npc-glb.tsx
• public/assets/hermesworld/characters/README.md

What this means:

• canonical asset path now exists for believable humanoid GLBs
• canonical path:
  • /public/assets/hermesworld/characters/<id>.glb
• legacy /avatars-3d/<id>.glb remains as fallback

10. Execution docs/specs were created

Created / updated:

• docs/hermesworld/landing-page-spec.md
• docs/hermesworld/graphics-usability-plan.md
• docs/hermesworld/agora-believable-checklist.md

These docs now encode the session’s design/implementation direction.

What was accomplished, distilled

This session did four big things:

1. Turned HermesWorld landing into a real standalone launch page instead of a workspace-fragment/app-pane.
2. Removed or traced most of the workspace chrome leaks that kept showing up in HermesWorld surfaces.
3. Stabilized the local direction around world-first marketing, GitHub/public links, and the glowing-orb entry vibe.
4. Started the real graphics/character pipeline so the next session can move from planning into visible world upgrades.

What still needs to be tackled for the redesign

A. Final HermesWorld landing cleanup

Still verify/fix:

• no remaining root overlay leaks on /hermes-world or /playground
• no bottom-right usage/session pill anywhere on HermesWorld/game surfaces
• no mobile-access prompt / other workspace popups on HermesWorld routes
• no sidebar overlap edge cases on /playground

B. Re-verify local previews cleanly

Need a fresh sanity pass on:

• http://127.0.0.1:3002/hermes-world
• http://127.0.0.1:3002/playground
• optional 3003 behavior if still used as redirect/entry

Need to ensure:

• landing looks correct
• game route has no overlapping HUD with sidebar open
• no stale cached bundle behavior

C. Continue the real graphics redesign

Next actual game-side work should be:

1. integrate character boundaries into playground-world-3d.tsx
2. mount first PlayerCharacter / NpcCharacter path in the live Agora scene
3. begin Agora Believable pass:
   • plaza composition
   • better central monument
   • stronger paths/ground
   • better lighting/fog
   • better NPC placement
4. start replacing toy-like placeholder figures with believable humanoid pipeline

D. Character asset pipeline needs real assets next

Need actual GLBs now, not just scaffolding.

Priority assets:

• player-adventurer.glb
• oracle-scholar.glb
• forge-blacksmith.glb
• guard-knight.glb
• merchant-villager.glb
• villager-common.glb

Recommended source path:

• Ready Player Me or similar base characters
• Mixamo for idle/walk/talk/use animations
• optimize to browser-safe GLB assets

E. HUD/readability pass still needs deeper work

The sidebar-aware offset work started, but the full usability pass is still ahead:

• objective widget
• minimap polish
• action bar clarity
• interaction prompts
• NPC labels
• less prototype noise

Most important next task for Opus

Do not restart from brand strategy. The next session should continue directly into:

Primary next task

Refactor playground-world-3d.tsx to mount the new character boundaries into Agora and start the first visible believable-character pass.

Immediate sub-steps

1. inspect current player/NPC rendering in playground-world-3d.tsx
2. swap one player and one or two NPC stand-ins to the new component boundaries
3. improve Agora composition around those characters
4. re-check HUD overlap and root overlays in real local preview

Files most likely to touch next

Landing / route chrome:

• src/screens/playground/hermes-world-landing.tsx
• src/components/workspace-shell.tsx
• src/routes/__root.tsx

Game / graphics:

• src/screens/playground/components/playground-world-3d.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-hud.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-chat.tsx
• src/screens/playground/playground-screen.tsx

Character pipeline:

• src/screens/playground/lib/character-config.ts
• src/screens/playground/components/player-character.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/npc-character.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-glb-body.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-player-glb.tsx
• src/screens/playground/components/playground-npc-glb.tsx
• public/assets/hermesworld/characters/*

Planning docs:

• docs/hermesworld/landing-page-spec.md
• docs/hermesworld/graphics-usability-plan.md
• docs/hermesworld/agora-believable-checklist.md

Local-state warning

This is still local-only and likely uncommitted. There are multiple in-progress modifications in the repo. Do not assume a clean branch. Be careful not to clobber unrelated local work while continuing.

One-line resume prompt

Resume the HermesWorld redesign from the current local-only state. First verify the landing/game surfaces are free of workspace overlay leaks, then continue the Agora Believable pass by wiring the new character pipeline into playground-world-3d.tsx and replacing placeholder figures with the first believable humanoid boundaries.