settled-reach/docs/atlas/hand-refine-log.md

Atlas Hand-Refine Log — Sprint 36

Tracks all hand-edits to markers.json files above the batch Gemma 2 pass (#833). Re-run python3 tooling/planet-gen/atlas_quality_analysis.py after each entry to verify metrics improved.

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Sprint 36 — Baseline City Collision Elimination (#838)

Date: 2026-04-19 Scope: All 273 inhabited bodies — city name cross-body collisions reduced to zero

Summary

Starting from the Forum Veritas / Jade Harbor / Fort Iron collision leaders identified during the #849 analysis pass, performed a systematic sweep across all city name collisions.

Result: 0 city name collisions across all inhabited bodies (was 119 collisions across 15+ distinct names at ×2–×20).

Approach

For each collision cluster: used world proper_name as the city name wherever unique. Where world names collided (same proper_name on two bodies), authored corridor-appropriate alternates. All edits paired with generate_atlas.py --body sync.

Collision names eliminated and replacement strategy

Collision name	Count	Corridor	Strategy
Forum Veritas	10	core	Unique Latin institutional names per body (Tributarium, Velabrum, Tabularium, etc.)
The Forum Veritas	2	core	The Mons Sacer, The Pomerium (mountain ranges)
Jade Harbor	19	east_reach	World-anchored names + corridor-appropriate alts
Fort Iron	10	deep_frontier	World-anchored Germanic/Portuguese names
Eisenstadt	7	west_reach	World-anchored names
Fjordheim	6	west_reach	World-anchored names
Fjordholm	6	west_reach/north_reach	World-anchored names
Eisenberg	5	west_reach	World-anchored names
Eisenfels	5	west_reach	World-anchored names
Hanseong	5	east_reach	World-anchored names (Korean/Vietnamese)
Ridge Marker	5	deep_frontier	World-anchored names
Mbanza	4	south_reach	World-anchored + Lukala for Mbanza-named world
Ridge Line	4	deep_frontier	World-anchored names
Rio Grande	4	south_reach	World-anchored names
Sakura Bay	4	east_reach	World-anchored names
Steinbruch	4	west_reach	World-anchored names
Zen Garden	4	east_reach	World-anchored names
Dry Creek Station	3	north_reach	World-anchored names
Dusty Creek	3	north_reach	World-anchored names
Dusty Gully	3	north_reach	World-anchored names
Ribeira Grande	3	south_reach	World-anchored names
Serra do Sol	3	south_reach	World-anchored names
Steinbach	3	west_reach	World-anchored names
+ 12 more ×2 pairs	2 each	mixed	World-anchored names

Remaining river/ocean collision issues (not fixed this sprint)

River and ocean collisions (Rio Grande ×23 rivers, Steinbruch ×19 rivers, Ridge Line ×19 rivers, etc.) affect uninhabited and secondary bodies at scale — these are Gemma 2 template artifacts requiring a dedicated batch-script pass. Not addressed here as #838 scope is inhabited bodies.

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Sprint 36 — Core-World Cohesion Pass (#849)

Analysis date: 2026-04-19 Analysis script: tooling/planet-gen/atlas_quality_analysis.py

Key findings from analysis

• Cross-body city collision leader: "Jade Harbor" on 20 bodies, "Fort Iron" on 10, "Forum Veritas" on 9
• Cross-body river collision leader: "Rio Grande" on 23 bodies, "Riverbend" on 19 (note: appeared on 18 other bodies from Vethis' perspective)
• Cross-body mountain collision leader: "Riverbend" (mountain!) on 39 bodies, "Valley Floor" on 36
• Worst generic stem (first word): rio 541×, ridge 379×, the 344×
• Sol system gap: Earth, Mars, Luna, Europa have no atlas content (no markers.json files exist) — requires separate sprint with heightmap authoring before atlas content can be placed
• Tau Ceti (GJ71): Pipeline over-Latinized with "The X" format — high collision rate; corrected below
• Ran (GJ144): Generic American-West names inappropriate for core corridor world; corrected below

Bodies touched

Body	System	Reason
GJ244Ad (Edict)	GJ 244A (Sirius)	"Westwall" collision ×3; hand-authored template otherwise good
GJ71c (Threshold)	GJ 71 (Tau Ceti)	Capital "Forum Veritas" collision ×8; "Capitolium" collision ×3
GJ71d (Arden)	GJ 71 (Tau Ceti)	Multiple "The X" format collisions; river/ocean/mountain fixes
GJ71d-1 (Verantis)	GJ 71 (Tau Ceti)	Nearly all Latin institutional names collided with other bodies
GJ144d (Kallast)	GJ 144 (Ran)	Capital city mismatch (tier1.toml says "Kallast", atlas said "Iron Creek"); generic American-West voice wrong for core corridor
GJ144e (Vethis)	GJ 144 (Ran)	"Riverbend" ×18 collision; "Timberline" ×14; "Flat Ground" ×6; all generic American-West

Changes

GJ244Ad (Edict, GJ 244A / Sirius):

• range_3 "Westwall" → "Sanction Ridge" (institutional-Anglo voice; on-theme for Edict's political character)

GJ71c (Threshold, GJ 71 / Tau Ceti):

• city_0 "Forum Veritas" → "Janua" (Latin: doorway/gate — reinforces world name "Threshold"; unique)
• range_2 "Capitolium" → "Firmamentum" (Latin: vault of heaven — unique)
• range_1 "Pantheon" → "Arcanum" (Latin: sacred/secret place — unique; reduced from ×1 collision)

GJ71d (Arden, GJ 71 / Tau Ceti):

• city_0 "Athenaeum" → "Palaestra" (Greek: place of learning — unique)
• river_0 "The Prefecture" → "The Rostrum" (Roman speaker's platform — unique)
• river_4 "Senate House" → "The Curia" (Roman senate house — unique)
• river_5 "The Tribunal" → "The Decumanus" (main Roman road — unique)
• water_0 "The Pantheon" → "The Augusteum" (unique)
• water_2 "The Lyceum" → "The Porticus" (Roman colonnade — unique)
• range_2 "The Foundation" → "The Substructures" (unique)
• range_3 "The Axiom" → "The Codicil" (legal addendum — unique)
• range_4 "The Citadel" → "The Oppidum" (Latin: fortified town — unique)

GJ71d-1 (Verantis, GJ 71 / Tau Ceti — moon):

• city_0 "The Capitolium" → "Praetorium" (Roman general's quarters — appropriate for outpost moon)
• range_0 "The Basilica" → "The Lateranum" (early Roman basilica site — unique)
• range_1 "The Senate Hall" → "The Curia Magna" (unique)
• range_2 "The Lyceum" → "The Exedra" (semicircular recess for discussion — unique)
• range_3 "The Collegium" → "The Aedes Sacra" (sacred precinct — unique)
• range_4 "The Forum" → "The Macellum" (Roman market — unique)
• range_6 "The Tribunal" → "The Comitium" (Roman popular assembly — unique)
• water_0 "The Pantheon" → "The Pronaos" (temple vestibule — unique)

GJ144d (Kallast, GJ 144 / Ran):

• city_0 "Iron Creek" → "Kallast" (matches tier1.toml kallast_agrosyndic settlement; critical consistency fix)
• city_1 "Willow Bend" → "Rán's Landing" (references the Norse sea goddess and system name)
• river_0 "Flatland Stream" → "Rán's Run" (Norse/system reference)
• river_1 "Gap Crossing" → "Aldren Pass" (invented Nordic-Anglo compound)
• river_2 "Ridge Fork" → "Scarp Fork" (less generic geological term)
• river_3 "Pine Gulch" → "Timber Keld" (Old Norse: keld = cold spring)
• river_4 "Valley View" → "Ranfall Beck" (system reference + Nordic 'beck' for stream)
• river_5 "Canyon Edge" → "Cliff Leat" (Anglo-Saxon: leat = watercourse)
• water_0 "West Pass" → "Rán Sea" (directional cardinal removed; named for system star)
• range_0 "Sierra Peak" → "Seterfjellet" (Norwegian: summer pasture mountain)
• range_1 "Prairie Bend" → "Kaldmoor Ridge" (Nordic: kald=cold, moor)
• range_2 "Delta Reach" → "Ranholm Escarpment" (Ran + holm = Norse island feature)

GJ144e (Vethis, GJ 144 / Ran):

• city_0 "Prairie View" → "Vethis Station" (world-anchored, appropriate for secondary colony)
• city_1 "Dusty Gulch" → "Ashvale" (Anglo, more dignified)
• city_2 "Stony Creek" → "Kelbridge" (Anglo: bridge over rocky stream)
• city_3 "Iron Pass" → "Irongate" (more distinguished; creates Irongate/Ironside narrative pair)
• river_0 "Riverbend" → "Greywash" (unique; removes ×18 collision — most impactful single fix)
• river_2 "Delta Flow" → "Veth Delta" (world-anchored)
• river_4 "Mesa Run" → "Ironside Run" (narrative hook: references Irongate city)
• water_0 "Canyon View" → "Dusthollow" (unique compound)
• water_1 "Flat Ground" → "The Morlands" (Anglo: moorlands — removes ×6 collision)
• water_2 "High Bluff" → "Ashbluff Sea" (narrative hook: Ashvale/Ashbluff pairing)
• range_0 "Timberline" → "Thorncrests" (removes ×14 collision — second most impactful)
• range_2 "Swift River" → "Strandford Heights" (removes ×2 collision)
• range_3 "Eastern Slope" → "Far Shore Spine" (removes cardinal direction)
• range_5 "Granite Ridge" → "Ashstone Ridge" (completes Ash* thematic cluster)

Open gaps flagged

• Sol system (GJ 0): Earth (8.5B), Mars (1.2B), Luna (350M), Europa (30M) have NO markers.json files and NO atlas DB rows. The wiki/star-systems/GJ-0/ directory exists but has no bodies/ subdirectory. Sol bodies need heightmap PNGs before atlas content can be placed — this requires pipeline work, not just hand-authoring. Flagged for a future sprint.
• "Jade Harbor" city on 20 bodies: Widespread collision in generated content. The Gemma batch used this as a fallback east_reach city name. Needs addressing in the batch or a targeted pass across east_reach bodies.
• "Rio Grande" river on 23 bodies: Portuguese fallback. Fix in the south_reach naming templates or targeted pass.

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Next refine pass: re-run atlas_quality_analysis.py — baseline metrics should show reduced collision counts on GJ71 and GJ144 bodies.