Port presence feature forward from orphaned agent/dd2a126b57a1 branch

Recovers a real August feature that was never merged (3 WIP checkpoints +
fix commit 47ab492, 225 commits behind main): a Redis-backed heartbeat
presence store plus /api/presence/{heartbeat,presence,status} endpoints.
Ported onto current main's conventions rather than rebuilt:

- app/models/user.py: last_seen_at/status_message columns (unchanged from
  the orphaned branch; still compatible with the current model).
- alembic/versions/0006_add_presence_columns.py: same column migration,
  rebased as the new head after 0005_add_world_content_tables (was
  2a9b9873244a off 0001_initial).
- app/routers/presence.py: same three endpoints, updated to the DbDep
  pattern other routers (avatar.py) now use; retains the 47ab492 fix
  (is_online_batch via MGET, correct StatusUpdate Field annotation).
- app/services/presence.py: real adaptation beyond a mechanical port --
  the original PresenceStore required an explicit connect() that nothing
  ever called (main.py's lifespan never wired it up), so every real
  request would have raised "not connected". Made the Redis client connect
  lazily on first use instead, and cache it per running event loop rather
  than globally: this repo's TestClient(app) pattern (no `with` block) can
  dispatch different requests onto different event loops, which broke a
  single cached connection the same way NullPool's comment in conftest.py
  describes for asyncpg. Dropped the unused get_presence()/
  update_status_message() methods and the never-wired init/shutdown
  singleton helpers -- dead code even in the original.
- tests/conftest.py: extended the existing ephemeral-Postgres bootstrap to
  also bring up ephemeral Redis (docker-compose.yml already defined the
  service) when REDIS_URL isn't already reachable, so `pytest` stays
  hermetic.
- tests/test_presence.py: heartbeat sets online, batch presence over
  mixed online/offline/unknown ids (the exact 47ab492 regression), status
  message update/strip/length-limit, and TTL expiry via a short-TTL
  PresenceStore instance (real Redis SET/EXISTS/MGET, no 60s sleep needed).

Verified: full backend pytest suite (144 tests) passes against a fresh
Postgres+Redis. Also drove the real endpoints end-to-end against a running
uvicorn + docker-compose Postgres/Redis: heartbeat -> online, batch query,
forced TTL expiry -> offline with last_seen_at retained, status message
trim + 422 over 140 chars.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Y2FESCaMXeJpC9gSctiEeD

.gitea/workflows/checkpoint.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: checkpoint
+
+# Runs the full checkpoint suite (migrations, backend pytest, Godot smoke
+# tests, multiplayer, fresh-clone boot) on every push and PR.
+#
+# Runs on a `host`-label act_runner on the AGP box: Docker, ~/godot/godot,
+# and Python 3 are already there. Deliberately uses no JavaScript actions
+# (actions/checkout etc.) so the host needs no Node install -- checkout is a
+# plain git clone from the local Gitea. See docs/ci.md.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  checkpoint:
+    runs-on: host
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          rm -rf repo && mkdir repo && cd repo
+          git init -q
+          git remote add origin "http://x:${{ github.token }}@localhost:3000/${{ github.repository }}.git"
+          git fetch -q --depth 1 origin "${{ github.sha }}"
+          git checkout -q FETCH_HEAD
+
+      - name: Python env
+        working-directory: repo
+        run: |
+          set -eu
+          python3 -m venv .venv
+          .venv/bin/pip install --quiet --upgrade pip
+          .venv/bin/pip install --quiet -r backend/requirements.txt
+
+      - name: Checkpoint suite
+        working-directory: repo
+        run: .venv/bin/python scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py --postgres-port 25690 --backend-port 18690

.gitignore

@@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ Thumbs.db
 
 # Godot UID files (regenerated from path)
 *.uid
+assets/build_info.json

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.godot/editor/project_metadata.cfg

@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-[game_view]
-
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-
-[editor_metadata]
-
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-
-[recent_files]
-
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assets/avatars/catalog.json

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
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+      "slot": "base_body",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/base_human_male_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
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+      "version": "1.0.0",
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+      "mount_bone": "HeadTop"
+    },
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+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "face",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/face_glasses_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Glasses",
+      "mount_bone": "Jaw"
+    },
+    "chest_bandit_01": {
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+      "slot": "chest",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/chest_bandit_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Bandit Shirt",
+      "mount_bone": "Chest"
+    },
+    "back_backpack_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "back",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/back_backpack_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Backpack",
+      "mount_bone": "Chest"
+    },
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+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "pants",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/pants_cargo_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Cargo Pants",
+      "mount_bone": "Hips"
+    },
+    "left_hand_glove_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "left_hand",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/left_hand_glove_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Left Glove",
+      "mount_bone": "LeftHand"
+    },
+    "right_hand_glove_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "right_hand",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/right_hand_glove_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Right Glove",
+      "mount_bone": "RightHand"
+    },
+    "left_foot_boot_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "left_foot",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/left_foot_boot_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Left Boot",
+      "mount_bone": "LeftFoot"
+    },
+    "right_foot_boot_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "right_foot",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/right_foot_boot_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Right Boot",
+      "mount_bone": "RightFoot"
+    },
+    "accessory_belt_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "accessory",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/accessory_belt_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Belt",
+      "mount_bone": "Root"
+    },
+    "accessory_necklace_01": {
+      "type": "attachment",
+      "slot": "accessory",
+      "path": "res://assets/avatars/accessory_necklace_01.glb",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "display_name": "Necklace",
+      "mount_bone": "Root"
+    }
+  }
+}

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assets/avatars/hair_mohawk_01.glb.import

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assets/avatars/head_cyber_01.glb.import

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assets/avatars/left_foot_boot_01.glb.import

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+
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assets/avatars/left_hand_glove_01.glb.import

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+
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assets/avatars/pants_cargo_01.glb.import

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+
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+
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assets/avatars/right_foot_boot_01.glb.import

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assets/avatars/right_hand_glove_01.glb.import

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+
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+uid="uid://bcrtxtp47dv8h"
+path="res://.godot/imported/right_hand_glove_01.glb-a59875b630ac413350c3bdf6acc84bdf.scn"
+
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assets/editor/object_catalog.json

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+{
+  "objects": {
+    "crate_small": {
+      "asset_id": "props/crate_small.glb",
+      "type": "prop",
+      "display_name": "Small Crate",
+      "category": "props"
+    },
+    "rock_01": {
+      "asset_id": "props/rock_01.glb",
+      "type": "prop",
+      "display_name": "Rock",
+      "category": "nature"
+    },
+    "tree_pine_01": {
+      "asset_id": "props/tree_pine_01.glb",
+      "type": "prop",
+      "display_name": "Pine Tree",
+      "category": "nature"
+    },
+    "lamp_post_01": {
+      "asset_id": "props/lamp_post_01.glb",
+      "type": "prop",
+      "display_name": "Lamp Post",
+      "category": "props"
+    },
+    "chest_01": {
+      "asset_id": "props/chest.glb",
+      "type": "interactable",
+      "display_name": "Treasure Chest",
+      "category": "interactables"
+    },
+    "spawn_point": {
+      "asset_id": "",
+      "type": "spawn_point",
+      "display_name": "Spawn Point",
+      "category": "gameplay"
+    }
+  }
+}

assets/scripting/behaviors/demo_chest.json

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+  "content_flags": {
+    "violence": "none",
+    "mature": false
+  },
+  "rules": [
+    {
+      "trigger": {"type": "on_interact"},
+      "conditions": [],
+      "actions": [
+        {"verb": "give_item", "item_id": "gold_coin", "count": 3},
+        {"verb": "play_sound", "sound_id": "chest_open"},
+        {"verb": "rotate", "target": "self", "degrees": 90, "axis": "y", "duration": 0.4}
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}

assets/scripting/spawn_catalog.json

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+  "templates": {
+    "small_crate": {
+      "asset_id": "props/crate_small.glb",
+      "display_name": "Small Crate"
+    }
+  }
+}

backend/alembic/env.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
 
 from app.config import settings
 from app.database import Base
-from app.models import user, session, world, asset  # noqa: F401
+from app.models import user, session, world, asset, avatar_loadout, world_content  # noqa: F401
 
 # this is the Alembic Config object, which provides
 # access to the values within the .ini file in use.

backend/alembic/versions/0004_add_avatar_loadouts_table.py

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+"""add avatar_loadouts table
+
+Revision ID: 0004_add_avatar_loadouts_table
+Revises: 0003_add_refresh_tokens_table
+Create Date: 2026-09-05 00:00:00.000000
+
+"""
+from typing import Sequence, Union
+
+from alembic import op
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from sqlalchemy.dialects import postgresql
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision: str = "0004_add_avatar_loadouts_table"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "0003_add_refresh_tokens_table"
+branch_labels: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+depends_on: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    """Create the avatar_loadouts table (one row per user)."""
+    op.create_table(
+        "avatar_loadouts",
+        sa.Column(
+            "user_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            primary_key=True,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("data", postgresql.JSONB(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("updated_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False),
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    """Drop the avatar_loadouts table."""
+    op.drop_table("avatar_loadouts")

backend/alembic/versions/0005_add_world_content_tables.py

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+"""add world_rooms, world_chunks, world_chunk_revisions tables
+
+Revision ID: 0005_add_world_content_tables
+Revises: 0004_add_avatar_loadouts_table
+Create Date: 2026-09-14 00:00:00.000000
+
+See docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md §4. Chunk content
+(rooms, chunk payloads, chunk revisions) lives in Postgres, purely
+additive to the existing ``worlds`` table.
+"""
+from typing import Sequence, Union
+
+from alembic import op
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from sqlalchemy.dialects import postgresql
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision: str = "0005_add_world_content_tables"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "0004_add_avatar_loadouts_table"
+branch_labels: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+depends_on: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.create_table(
+        "world_rooms",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True, index=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "world_id", sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("slug", sa.String(64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("name", sa.String(255), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column(
+            "grid", postgresql.JSONB(), nullable=False,
+            server_default='{"size": [32, 32, 1], "origin": [0, 0, 0]}',
+        ),
+        sa.Column("bounds", postgresql.JSONB(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("spawn", postgresql.JSONB(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column(
+            "updated_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True),
+            server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.UniqueConstraint("world_id", "slug", name="uq_world_rooms_world_slug"),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_world_rooms_world_id", "world_rooms", ["world_id"])
+
+    op.create_table(
+        "world_chunks",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True, index=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "world_id", sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column(
+            "room_id", sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("world_rooms.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("chunk_key", sa.String(160), nullable=False, unique=True),
+        sa.Column("cx", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("cy", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("cz", sa.Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="0"),
+        sa.Column("format_version", sa.Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="1"),
+        sa.Column("payload", sa.LargeBinary(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("payload_len", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("checksum", sa.String(64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("revision", sa.Integer(), nullable=False, server_default="1"),
+        sa.Column("content_flags", postgresql.JSONB(), nullable=False, server_default="{}"),
+        sa.Column("is_mature", sa.Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default="false"),
+        sa.Column(
+            "updated_by_id", sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"),
+            nullable=True,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column(
+            "updated_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True),
+            server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.UniqueConstraint("room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz", name="uq_world_chunks_coord"),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_world_chunks_world_id", "world_chunks", ["world_id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_world_chunks_room_id", "world_chunks", ["room_id"])
+    op.create_index(
+        "ix_world_chunks_room_coord", "world_chunks", ["room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz"],
+    )
+    op.create_index(
+        "ix_world_chunks_mature", "world_chunks", ["world_id"],
+        postgresql_where=sa.text("is_mature"),
+    )
+
+    op.create_table(
+        "world_chunk_revisions",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True, index=True),
+        sa.Column("chunk_key", sa.String(160), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("world_id", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("revision", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("action", sa.String(16), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column(
+            "actor_id", sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"),
+            nullable=True,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("checksum", sa.String(64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("payload", sa.LargeBinary(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_world_chunk_revisions_chunk_key", "world_chunk_revisions", ["chunk_key"])
+    op.create_index("ix_world_chunk_revisions_world_id", "world_chunk_revisions", ["world_id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_world_chunk_revisions_created_at", "world_chunk_revisions", ["created_at"])
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_table("world_chunk_revisions")
+    op.drop_table("world_chunks")
+    op.drop_table("world_rooms")

backend/alembic/versions/0006_add_presence_columns.py

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+"""add presence columns to users
+
+Revision ID: 0006_add_presence_columns
+Revises: 0005_add_world_content_tables
+Create Date: 2026-09-14 00:00:00.000000
+
+Ported forward from the orphaned agent/dd2a126b57a1 branch (originally
+2a9b9873244a_add_presence_columns.py, down_revision 0001_initial) and
+rebased onto the current migration head. See app/services/presence.py /
+app/routers/presence.py.
+"""
+from typing import Sequence, Union
+
+from alembic import op
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision: str = "0006_add_presence_columns"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "0005_add_world_content_tables"
+branch_labels: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+depends_on: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    """Add last_seen_at and status_message columns to users table."""
+    op.add_column("users", sa.Column("last_seen_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=True))
+    op.add_column("users", sa.Column("status_message", sa.Text(), nullable=True))
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    """Remove presence columns from users table."""
+    op.drop_column("users", "status_message")
+    op.drop_column("users", "last_seen_at")

backend/app/config.py

@@ -75,11 +75,52 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # CORS
     CORS_ORIGINS: str = "http://localhost:8080,http://localhost:3000"
 
+    # Per-IP auth rate limiting (app/rate_limit.py). Disabled by the
+    # checkpoint smoke suite, which runs every test from one client IP.
+    RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED: bool = True
+
     # File uploads
     UPLOAD_DIR: str = "uploads"
     MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE_MB: int = 100
     GLTF_MAX_FILE_SIZE_MB: int = 200
 
+    # ── Game-server orchestration ──────────────────────────────────────────
+    # The join flow (POST /api/worlds/{id}/join) ensures a headless Godot
+    # dedicated-server process exists for a world and returns its address.
+    # Disabled by default so nothing tries to spawn Godot in environments
+    # that don't have it (plain pytest, CI without the engine); the
+    # checkpoint/playtest launcher turns it on.
+    GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED: bool = False
+    # Path to the Godot 4 binary. "godot" resolves via PATH.
+    GODOT_BIN: str = str(Path.home() / "godot" / "godot")
+    # Godot project directory (the game repo root -- backend/ is a subdir).
+    GAME_PROJECT_DIR: str = str(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2])
+    # The host clients should connect to for ENet. Defaults to the LAN IP the
+    # launcher bakes into the exe; overridable for local testing.
+    GAME_SERVER_HOST: str = "127.0.0.1"
+    # Port range for per-world dedicated servers.
+    GAME_SERVER_PORT_MIN: int = 27000
+    GAME_SERVER_PORT_MAX: int = 27099
+    # Kill a world's server this long after its last join with no active
+    # players reported.
+    GAME_SERVER_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS: int = 300
+    # How long ensure_server() waits for a spawned server to report
+    # "ready": true in its status file before giving up (503 to the
+    # joining client). See world_persistence_impl.md §7.4 -- content
+    # loading makes a slow start more likely than the old bare-port-bind
+    # wait, so this is a separate, longer-by-default budget.
+    GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS: float = 20.0
+    # The base URL the dedicated Godot server should call back into this
+    # backend on, for the read-only /api/internal content routes
+    # (world_persistence_impl.md §4.4 / §7).
+    GAME_SERVER_INTERNAL_API_URL: str = "http://127.0.0.1:8000"
+
+    # ── World content persistence (world_persistence_impl.md §4.4) ─────────
+    WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES: int = 1_048_576  # 1 MiB
+    WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_OBJECTS: int = 512
+    WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH: int = 64
+    WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP: int = 20
+
     model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
         env_file=".env",
         env_file_encoding="utf-8",

backend/app/main.py

@@ -6,15 +6,18 @@ from fastapi import FastAPI
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 
 from app.config import settings
-from app.routers import auth, users, worlds, assets
+from app.routers import auth, users, worlds, assets, avatar, world_content, internal, presence
+
+
+from app.services.game_servers import supervisor
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     """Application lifespan: startup and shutdown events."""
-    # Startup: initialize database, connect to Redis, etc.
+    supervisor.start()
     yield
-    # Shutdown: close connections, cleanup
+    await supervisor.shutdown()
 
 
 app = FastAPI(
@@ -37,7 +40,11 @@ app.add_middleware(
 app.include_router(auth.router, prefix="/api/auth", tags=["auth"])
 app.include_router(users.router, prefix="/api/users", tags=["users"])
 app.include_router(worlds.router, prefix="/api/worlds", tags=["worlds"])
+app.include_router(world_content.router, prefix="/api/worlds", tags=["world-content"])
 app.include_router(assets.router, prefix="/api/assets", tags=["assets"])
+app.include_router(avatar.router, prefix="/api/avatar", tags=["avatar"])
+app.include_router(internal.router, prefix="/api/internal", tags=["internal"])
+app.include_router(presence.router, prefix="/api/presence", tags=["presence"])
 
 
 @app.get("/api/health")

backend/app/models/__init__.py

@@ -2,5 +2,10 @@ from app.models.user import User
 from app.models.session import Session
 from app.models.world import World
 from app.models.asset import Asset
+from app.models.avatar_loadout import AvatarLoadout
+from app.models.world_content import WorldRoom, WorldChunk, WorldChunkRevision
 
-__all__ = ["User", "Session", "World", "Asset"]
+__all__ = [
+    "User", "Session", "World", "Asset", "AvatarLoadout",
+    "WorldRoom", "WorldChunk", "WorldChunkRevision",
+]

backend/app/models/avatar_loadout.py

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+from sqlalchemy import Column, Integer, ForeignKey, DateTime
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB
+from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship
+from sqlalchemy.sql import func
+
+from app.database import Base
+
+
+# The default a brand-new account gets before they touch the customization
+# screen. Kept in sync with assets/avatars/catalog.json (the base_body id) and
+# with the client's AvatarLoadout.to_json() shape.
+DEFAULT_LOADOUT: dict = {
+    "base_body": "base_human_male_01",
+    "slots": {},
+}
+
+
+class AvatarLoadout(Base):
+    """A user's equipped avatar composition.
+
+    One row per user. The whole loadout is stored as a single JSON document
+    matching the client's ``AvatarLoadout.to_json()`` shape
+    (``{"base_body": str, "slots": {...}, "skin_tone"?: {...}}``) rather than
+    exploded into columns -- the server has no copy of the asset catalog, so
+    deep validation (does this asset exist, is it valid for this slot) stays
+    on the client. The server only enforces the envelope: valid JSON object
+    with a non-empty ``base_body``.
+    """
+
+    __tablename__ = "avatar_loadouts"
+
+    user_id = Column(
+        Integer,
+        ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+        primary_key=True,
+    )
+    data = Column(JSONB, nullable=False)
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+    updated_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), onupdate=func.now(), nullable=False)
+
+    user = relationship("User", back_populates="avatar_loadout")

backend/app/models/user.py

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from datetime import date
 from typing import Optional
 
-from sqlalchemy import Column, Integer, String, Boolean, DateTime, Date
+from sqlalchemy import Column, Integer, String, Boolean, DateTime, Date, Text
 from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship
 from sqlalchemy.sql import func
 
@@ -20,10 +20,20 @@ class User(Base):
     created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now())
     updated_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), onupdate=func.now())
 
+    # Presence / status (backend/app/services/presence.py, app/routers/presence.py)
+    last_seen_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=True)
+    status_message = Column(Text, nullable=True)
+
     sessions = relationship("Session", back_populates="user", cascade="all, delete-orphan")
     refresh_tokens = relationship("RefreshToken", back_populates="user", cascade="all, delete-orphan")
     worlds = relationship("World", back_populates="owner")
     assets = relationship("Asset", back_populates="owner")
+    avatar_loadout = relationship(
+        "AvatarLoadout",
+        back_populates="user",
+        uselist=False,
+        cascade="all, delete-orphan",
+    )
 
     @property
     def is_adult(self) -> bool:

backend/app/models/world.py

@@ -34,3 +34,6 @@ class World(Base):
 
     owner = relationship("User", back_populates="worlds")
     assets = relationship("Asset", back_populates="world", cascade="all, delete-orphan")
+    # world_content.py / world_persistence_impl.md §4.1. Added here (only)
+    # so PC1/PC2 code depending on this module is otherwise untouched.
+    rooms = relationship("WorldRoom", back_populates="world", cascade="all, delete-orphan")

backend/app/models/world_content.py

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+"""World content persistence models.
+
+Implements the schema decided in ``docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md``
+§4: chunk content (rooms, chunk payloads, chunk revisions) lives in Postgres,
+alongside ``worlds``, rather than in a per-world SQLite file
+(``docs/architecture/world.md`` §4, superseded).
+
+The chunk *payload* format itself (the 48-byte header + sectioned binary
+body) is unchanged from ``world.md`` §3.6 and is decoded/encoded by
+``app.services.chunk_codec``, not by these models -- these just store the
+opaque ``BYTEA``.
+
+Conventions follow the existing models (``app/models/world.py``,
+``app/models/avatar_loadout.py``): declarative ``Column(...)`` style,
+``Integer`` surrogate PKs, ``DateTime(timezone=True)`` with
+``server_default=func.now()``, JSONB for document-shaped fields.
+"""
+
+from sqlalchemy import (
+    Boolean,
+    Column,
+    DateTime,
+    ForeignKey,
+    Index,
+    Integer,
+    LargeBinary,
+    String,
+    UniqueConstraint,
+    text,
+)
+from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB
+from sqlalchemy.orm import relationship
+from sqlalchemy.sql import func
+
+from app.database import Base
+
+# Default chunk grid, matching Chunk.CHUNK_SIZE_* in scripts/chunk.gd (the
+# client's source of truth for the same constants) and world.md §2.2.
+DEFAULT_ROOM_GRID: dict = {"size": [32, 32, 1], "origin": [0, 0, 0]}
+
+# The room every world gets automatically (world_persistence_impl.md §4.1).
+MAIN_ROOM_SLUG = "main"
+MAIN_ROOM_NAME = "Main"
+
+
+class WorldRoom(Base):
+    """A bounded region within a world -- a level, building, or zone
+    (world.md §2.1). Holds the chunk grid config so a world can later hold
+    rooms with different grids without touching the ``worlds`` table.
+    """
+
+    __tablename__ = "world_rooms"
+
+    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    world_id = Column(
+        Integer, ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=False, index=True
+    )
+    slug = Column(String(64), nullable=False)  # url-safe; "main" by default
+    name = Column(String(255), nullable=False)
+    # {"size": [x, y, z], "origin": [x, y, z]}
+    grid = Column(
+        JSONB, nullable=False,
+        server_default='{"size": [32, 32, 1], "origin": [0, 0, 0]}',
+    )
+    bounds = Column(JSONB, nullable=True)  # {"min":[x,y,z], "max":[x,y,z]}; null = unbounded
+    spawn = Column(JSONB, nullable=True)  # {"pos":[x,y,z], "yaw": 0.0}
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+    updated_at = Column(
+        DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), onupdate=func.now(), nullable=False
+    )
+
+    __table_args__ = (
+        UniqueConstraint("world_id", "slug", name="uq_world_rooms_world_slug"),
+    )
+
+    world = relationship("World", back_populates="rooms")
+    chunks = relationship("WorldChunk", back_populates="room", cascade="all, delete-orphan")
+
+
+class WorldChunk(Base):
+    """One chunk's persisted content -- the atomic load/save/stream unit
+    (world.md §2.1). ``payload`` is the world.md §3.6 binary blob, stored
+    verbatim as BYTEA.
+
+    Deltas from world.md §4.4 (SQLite design): a surrogate integer PK +
+    unique coordinate constraint (rather than ``chunk_key`` as the PK), no
+    ``dirty`` column (write-behind doesn't apply over Postgres -- see
+    world_persistence_impl.md §3.3/§5), and content flags folded into this
+    row as JSONB + an indexed ``is_mature`` boolean rather than a separate
+    ``content_flags`` table (world.md §4.6).
+    """
+
+    __tablename__ = "world_chunks"
+
+    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    world_id = Column(
+        Integer, ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=False, index=True
+    )  # denormalized: world-scoped queries without a join through rooms
+    room_id = Column(
+        Integer, ForeignKey("world_rooms.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=False, index=True
+    )
+    chunk_key = Column(String(160), nullable=False, unique=True)  # world.md §2.3 / §4.5
+    cx = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    cy = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    cz = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="0")
+
+    format_version = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="1")
+    payload = Column(LargeBinary, nullable=False)  # world.md §3.6 bytes
+    payload_len = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    checksum = Column(String(64), nullable=False)  # SHA-256 hex of payload body
+    revision = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="1")
+
+    content_flags = Column(JSONB, nullable=False, server_default="{}")  # world.md §3.4
+    is_mature = Column(Boolean, nullable=False, server_default="false")
+
+    updated_by_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"), nullable=True)
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+    updated_at = Column(
+        DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), onupdate=func.now(), nullable=False
+    )
+
+    __table_args__ = (
+        UniqueConstraint("room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz", name="uq_world_chunks_coord"),
+        Index("ix_world_chunks_room_coord", "room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz"),
+        Index("ix_world_chunks_mature", "world_id", postgresql_where=text("is_mature")),
+    )
+
+    room = relationship("WorldRoom", back_populates="chunks")
+
+
+class WorldChunkRevision(Base):
+    """Audit trail of chunk writes (world.md §4.7). ``chunk_key``/``world_id``
+    are deliberately **not** foreign keys, so deleting a chunk or a world
+    preserves the audit trail.
+
+    Retention (world_persistence_impl.md §4.3, required): only the newest
+    ``settings.WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP`` rows per ``chunk_key`` keep a
+    non-null ``payload``; older rows are pruned (payload nulled, metadata
+    row kept) by ``WorldStore`` in the same transaction as the write that
+    triggers it.
+    """
+
+    __tablename__ = "world_chunk_revisions"
+
+    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    chunk_key = Column(String(160), nullable=False, index=True)
+    world_id = Column(Integer, nullable=False, index=True)
+    revision = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    action = Column(String(16), nullable=False)  # 'create' | 'update' | 'delete'
+    actor_id = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"), nullable=True)
+    checksum = Column(String(64), nullable=False)
+    payload = Column(LargeBinary, nullable=True)  # full payload at this revision; nulled by retention
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False, index=True)

backend/app/rate_limit.py

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+"""Lightweight in-process rate limiting.
+
+The backend runs single-worker (required by the game-server supervisor), so a
+process-local sliding-window counter is sufficient and needs no Redis. Keyed
+by client IP. Used to blunt credential brute-force on the auth endpoints.
+
+If the backend is ever scaled to multiple workers/hosts this must move to a
+shared store (Redis) -- flagged here rather than silently under-enforcing.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import time
+from collections import defaultdict, deque
+
+from fastapi import HTTPException, Request, status
+
+from app.config import settings
+
+
+class SlidingWindowLimiter:
+    def __init__(self, max_hits: int, window_seconds: float) -> None:
+        self.max_hits = max_hits
+        self.window = window_seconds
+        self._hits: dict[str, deque[float]] = defaultdict(deque)
+
+    def check(self, key: str) -> None:
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        q = self._hits[key]
+        cutoff = now - self.window
+        while q and q[0] < cutoff:
+            q.popleft()
+        if len(q) >= self.max_hits:
+            retry = max(1, int(q[0] + self.window - now))
+            raise HTTPException(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_429_TOO_MANY_REQUESTS,
+                detail="Too many attempts. Try again shortly.",
+                headers={"Retry-After": str(retry)},
+            )
+        q.append(now)
+
+    def reset(self) -> None:
+        self._hits.clear()
+
+
+def _client_key(request: Request) -> str:
+    # X-Forwarded-For first hop when behind the reverse proxy, else the socket.
+    fwd = request.headers.get("x-forwarded-for", "")
+    if fwd:
+        return fwd.split(",")[0].strip()
+    return request.client.host if request.client else "unknown"
+
+
+# 10 auth attempts / minute / IP -- generous for a human, painful for a
+# brute-forcer.
+_auth_limiter = SlidingWindowLimiter(max_hits=10, window_seconds=60)
+
+
+async def auth_rate_limit(request: Request) -> None:
+    """FastAPI dependency: rate-limit auth attempts per client IP.
+
+    A no-op when ``RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED`` is false -- the checkpoint smoke
+    suite runs every test against one backend from one client IP, so the
+    per-IP cap would trip mid-suite. The dedicated ``test_rate_limit``
+    module exercises the real behaviour regardless of this flag.
+    """
+    if not settings.RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED:
+        return
+    _auth_limiter.check(f"auth:{_client_key(request)}")
+
+
+def reset_all() -> None:
+    """Test hook."""
+    _auth_limiter.reset()

backend/app/routers/auth.py

@@ -16,11 +16,15 @@ from app.database import get_db
 from app.dependencies import CurrentUser
 from app.models.session import RefreshToken
 from app.models.user import User
+from app.rate_limit import auth_rate_limit
 
 pwd_context = CryptContext(schemes=["bcrypt"], deprecated="auto")
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
+## Minimum age to register. This platform is adults-only.
+MIN_AGE = 18
+
 
 # --- Pydantic schemas ---
 
@@ -39,14 +43,19 @@ class RegisterRequest(BaseModel):
     username: str
     email: EmailStr
     password: str
-    over_18: bool  # Simple boolean confirmation instead of date_of_birth
+    # Real date of birth -- the server computes age from it and rejects
+    # anyone under MIN_AGE. Still self-attested (no document check yet), but
+    # a concrete, stored, legally-meaningful data point rather than a
+    # throwaway checkbox, and the seam for a future hard ID-verification
+    # pass. See docs/architecture/content_moderation.md 5.2.
+    date_of_birth: date
 
 
 class UserResponse(BaseModel):
     id: int
     username: str
     email: str
-    date_of_birth: str | None = None
+    date_of_birth: date | None = None
     is_active: bool
     created_at: datetime | None = None
 
@@ -108,15 +117,9 @@ def hash_password(password: str) -> str:
 def calculate_age(birth_date: date, today: date | None = None) -> int:
     """Calculate age in years from a birth date.
 
-    Not called by /register anymore (that endpoint now just trusts the
-    client's over_18 boolean, see RegisterRequest) -- kept as a real,
-    tested utility since date-of-birth storage/verification is coming
-    back in a future pass (real age math, not just a client-side claim,
-    the user explicitly wants to revisit this design). Removing it broke
-    backend/tests/test_auth_age_gate.py's collection entirely (ImportError
-    on `from app.routers.auth import calculate_age`) for zero benefit --
-    restoring it is the lower-risk path over rewriting or deleting 17
-    tests for logic this codebase will need again.
+    Used by /register (PC3 Phase 3) to compute age from the submitted
+    date_of_birth and enforce the 18+ gate. See
+    docs/architecture/content_moderation.md 5.2.
 
     Args:
         birth_date: The person's date of birth.
@@ -151,16 +154,25 @@ def _issue_refresh_token(user_id: int, db: AsyncSession) -> str:
 
 # --- Endpoints ---
 
-@router.post("/register", response_model=TokenResponse, status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
+@router.post("/register", response_model=TokenResponse, status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED,
+             dependencies=[Depends(auth_rate_limit)])
 async def register(req: RegisterRequest, db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)):
     """Register a new user and return access + refresh tokens.
 
-    Requires over_18 boolean confirmation; rejects users who are not 18+.
+    Requires a date of birth; the server computes age and rejects anyone
+    under MIN_AGE (18). See docs/architecture/content_moderation.md for the
+    verification design and its self-attestation limitation.
     """
-    if not req.over_18:
+    age = calculate_age(req.date_of_birth)
+    if age < 0 or req.date_of_birth > date.today():
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
-            detail="Must be 18 or older to register",
+            detail="Invalid date of birth",
+        )
+    if age < MIN_AGE:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
+            detail=f"You must be at least {MIN_AGE} to use this platform",
         )
 
     # Check if username already exists
@@ -183,7 +195,7 @@ async def register(req: RegisterRequest, db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)):
         username=req.username,
         email=req.email,
         hashed_password=hash_password(req.password),
-        date_of_birth=None,  # No longer collecting DOB
+        date_of_birth=req.date_of_birth,
     )
     db.add(user)
     await db.flush()  # flush to get user.id before creating refresh token
@@ -203,7 +215,7 @@ async def register(req: RegisterRequest, db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)):
     )
 
 
-@router.post("/login", response_model=TokenResponse)
+@router.post("/login", response_model=TokenResponse, dependencies=[Depends(auth_rate_limit)])
 async def login(form: OAuth2PasswordRequestForm = Depends(), db: AsyncSession = Depends(get_db)):
     """Authenticate user and return access + refresh tokens.
 

backend/app/routers/avatar.py

@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+"""Avatar router - the current user's persisted avatar loadout.
+
+The loadout is a single JSON document matching the client's
+``AvatarLoadout.to_json()`` shape. The server has no copy of the asset
+catalog, so it only validates the envelope (JSON object, non-empty
+``base_body``); which assets are valid for which slot is the client's job.
+"""
+
+from typing import Annotated, Any
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.dependencies import CurrentUser
+from app.models.avatar_loadout import AvatarLoadout, DEFAULT_LOADOUT
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+DbDep = Annotated[AsyncSession, Depends(get_db)]
+
+# A loadout document is small; reject anything absurd outright.
+MAX_LOADOUT_BYTES = 16 * 1024
+
+
+class LoadoutResponse(BaseModel):
+    data: dict[str, Any]
+    is_default: bool = Field(
+        description="True when the user has never saved a loadout and this is "
+        "the server default."
+    )
+
+
+class LoadoutUpdate(BaseModel):
+    data: dict[str, Any]
+
+
+def _validate_envelope(data: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
+    base_body = data.get("base_body")
+    if not isinstance(base_body, str) or not base_body.strip():
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=422,
+            detail="loadout.data must have a non-empty string 'base_body'",
+        )
+    slots = data.get("slots", {})
+    if not isinstance(slots, dict):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="loadout.data.slots must be an object")
+    if len(str(data)) > MAX_LOADOUT_BYTES:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=413, detail="loadout document too large")
+
+
+@router.get("/loadout", response_model=LoadoutResponse)
+async def get_loadout(current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep):
+    """Return the current user's saved loadout, or the server default if they
+    have never saved one."""
+    row = await db.get(AvatarLoadout, current_user.id)
+    if row is None:
+        return LoadoutResponse(data=dict(DEFAULT_LOADOUT), is_default=True)
+    return LoadoutResponse(data=row.data, is_default=False)
+
+
+@router.put("/loadout", response_model=LoadoutResponse)
+async def put_loadout(payload: LoadoutUpdate, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep):
+    """Replace the current user's loadout."""
+    _validate_envelope(payload.data)
+
+    row = await db.get(AvatarLoadout, current_user.id)
+    if row is None:
+        row = AvatarLoadout(user_id=current_user.id, data=payload.data)
+        db.add(row)
+    else:
+        row.data = payload.data
+
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(row)
+    return LoadoutResponse(data=row.data, is_default=False)

backend/app/routers/internal.py

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+"""Internal, dedicated-server-only content API.
+
+Implements `docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md` §7 + §8.3. This is
+how a spawned Godot dedicated server (`scripts/server.gd`, spawned by
+`app.services.game_servers`) pulls its world's content read-only over HTTP
+before binding its ENet port. Mounted at ``/api/internal`` -- a prefix that
+can also be blocked at the reverse proxy, per the doc's rejected-alternative
+note in §7.3.
+
+Gated by ``require_game_server`` (§7.3): a bearer token minted per spawn by
+``GameServerSupervisor._spawn`` and checked against
+``supervisor.validate_token(world_id, token)``. There is no user identity
+here at all -- these routes skip the per-user visibility check public
+routes apply, and apply no mature-content gating (gating is a client/user
+concern; the dedicated server still needs the geometry for collision).
+
+Read-only by construction: there is no write route here, and adding one
+would violate world_persistence_impl.md D2 (the FastAPI backend is the
+only writer).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Annotated
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Header, HTTPException, Response
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.models.world import World
+from app.models.world_content import MAIN_ROOM_SLUG
+from app.services import chunk_codec
+from app.services.game_servers import supervisor
+from app.services.world_store import Bounds, WorldStore
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+DbDep = Annotated[AsyncSession, Depends(get_db)]
+
+
+async def require_game_server(
+    world_id: int,
+    authorization: Annotated[str | None, Header()] = None,
+) -> None:
+    """world_persistence_impl.md §7.3. A path whose ``world_id`` differs
+    from the token's world is 403 -- ``validate_token`` enforces that by
+    construction (it looks the token up *by* ``world_id``)."""
+    if not authorization or not authorization.lower().startswith("bearer "):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="missing bearer token")
+    token = authorization.split(" ", 1)[1].strip()
+    if not token or not supervisor.validate_token(world_id, token):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="invalid or expired server token")
+
+
+async def _get_world_or_404(world_id: int, db: AsyncSession) -> World:
+    result = await db.execute(select(World).where(World.id == world_id))
+    world = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if world is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+    return world
+
+
+async def _resolve_room(store: WorldStore, db: AsyncSession, world_id: int, slug: str):
+    room = await store.get_room(world_id, slug)
+    if room is None and slug == MAIN_ROOM_SLUG:
+        room = await store.get_or_create_main_room(world_id)
+        await db.commit()
+    return room
+
+
+@router.get("/worlds/{world_id}/manifest", dependencies=[Depends(require_game_server)])
+async def manifest(world_id: int, db: DbDep):
+    await _get_world_or_404(world_id, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    rooms = await store.list_rooms(world_id)
+    if not rooms:
+        rooms = [await store.get_or_create_main_room(world_id)]
+        await db.commit()
+
+    room_payloads = []
+    for r in rooms:
+        room_payloads.append({
+            "slug": r.slug, "name": r.name, "grid": r.grid, "bounds": r.bounds,
+            "spawn": r.spawn, "chunk_count": await store.count_chunks(r.id),
+        })
+
+    return {
+        "world_id": world_id,
+        "content_revision": await store.content_revision(world_id),
+        "rooms": room_payloads,
+    }
+
+
+@router.get("/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks", dependencies=[Depends(require_game_server)])
+async def internal_list_chunks(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, db: DbDep,
+    cx_min: int | None = None, cx_max: int | None = None,
+    cy_min: int | None = None, cy_max: int | None = None,
+    cz: int | None = None,
+):
+    await _get_world_or_404(world_id, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    bounds = Bounds(cx_min=cx_min, cx_max=cx_max, cy_min=cy_min, cy_max=cy_max, cz=cz)
+    chunks = await store.list_chunks(world_id, room.id, bounds)
+    return {
+        "room": room.slug,
+        "content_revision": await store.content_revision(world_id),
+        "chunks": [
+            {
+                "key": c.chunk_key, "cx": c.cx, "cy": c.cy, "cz": c.cz,
+                "revision": c.revision, "checksum": c.checksum, "payload_len": c.payload_len,
+                "is_mature": c.is_mature,
+                "updated_at": c.updated_at.isoformat() if c.updated_at else None,
+            }
+            for c in chunks
+        ],
+    }
+
+
+@router.get(
+    "/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}",
+    dependencies=[Depends(require_game_server)],
+)
+async def internal_get_chunk(world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int, db: DbDep):
+    await _get_world_or_404(world_id, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    key = chunk_codec.build_key(world_id, slug, cx, cy, cz)
+    chunk = await store.get_chunk(key)
+    if chunk is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="chunk not found")
+
+    return Response(
+        content=chunk.payload, media_type="application/octet-stream",
+        headers={
+            "ETag": f'"{chunk.checksum}"', "X-Chunk-Revision": str(chunk.revision), "X-Chunk-Key": key,
+        },
+    )

backend/app/routers/presence.py

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+"""Presence & status router.
+
+Endpoints:
+- POST  /api/presence/heartbeat  -- record a heartbeat (sets Redis TTL key)
+- GET   /api/presence/presence   -- query presence for a list of user ids
+- PATCH /api/presence/status     -- update the authenticated user's status message
+"""
+
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from typing import Annotated
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, status, Depends
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.dependencies import CurrentUser
+from app.models.user import User
+from app.services.presence import presence_store
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+DbDep = Annotated[AsyncSession, Depends(get_db)]
+
+# ──────────────────────────── Pydantic schemas ────────────────────────────────
+
+_STATUS_MAX_LEN = 140
+
+
+class HeartbeatRequest(BaseModel):
+    """Empty body -- the caller's identity comes from the JWT."""
+
+
+class PresenceUser(BaseModel):
+    user_id: int
+    is_online: bool
+    last_seen_at: datetime | None
+    status_message: str | None
+
+
+class PresenceResponse(BaseModel):
+    users: list[PresenceUser]
+
+
+class StatusUpdate(BaseModel):
+    status_message: str | None = Field(default=None, max_length=_STATUS_MAX_LEN)
+
+    @field_validator("status_message")
+    @classmethod
+    def strip_message(cls, v: str | None) -> str | None:
+        if v is not None:
+            v = v.strip()
+        return v
+
+
+# ──────────────────────────────── Endpoints ───────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@router.post("/heartbeat", response_model=dict)
+async def heartbeat(
+    _req: HeartbeatRequest,
+    current_user: CurrentUser,
+    db: DbDep,
+):
+    """Record a heartbeat for the authenticated user.
+
+    Sets a Redis key with a TTL so the server can derive online/offline
+    status without trusting client claims. Also persists last_seen_at to
+    the database.
+    """
+    # Update Redis TTL (presence heartbeat)
+    await presence_store.heartbeat(current_user.id)
+
+    # Persist last_seen_at to the database
+    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    result = await db.execute(select(User).where(User.id == current_user.id))
+    user = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if user:
+        user.last_seen_at = now
+        await db.commit()
+
+    return {"status": "ok", "user_id": current_user.id}
+
+
+@router.get("/presence", response_model=PresenceResponse)
+async def get_presence(
+    user_ids: str,
+    current_user: CurrentUser,
+    db: DbDep,
+):
+    """Return presence info for a comma-separated list of user ids.
+
+    Online/offline is derived from the Redis heartbeat TTL.
+    last_seen_at and status_message come from the database.
+    """
+    ids = [int(uid.strip()) for uid in user_ids.split(",") if uid.strip()]
+    if not ids:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
+            detail="user_ids must contain at least one integer",
+        )
+
+    # Check Redis for online status (single round trip via MGET).
+    online_ids = await presence_store.is_online_batch(ids)
+
+    # Fetch DB records for last_seen_at and status_message
+    result = await db.execute(select(User).where(User.id.in_(ids)))
+    users = {u.id: u for u in result.scalars().all()}
+
+    presence_users = []
+    for uid in ids:
+        user = users.get(uid)
+        if user is None:
+            continue
+        presence_users.append(
+            PresenceUser(
+                user_id=uid,
+                is_online=uid in online_ids,
+                last_seen_at=user.last_seen_at,
+                status_message=user.status_message,
+            )
+        )
+
+    return PresenceResponse(users=presence_users)
+
+
+@router.patch("/status", response_model=dict)
+async def update_status(
+    body: StatusUpdate,
+    current_user: CurrentUser,
+    db: DbDep,
+):
+    """Update the authenticated user's status message (length-limited)."""
+    result = await db.execute(select(User).where(User.id == current_user.id))
+    user = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if not user:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND,
+            detail="User not found",
+        )
+
+    user.status_message = body.status_message
+    await db.commit()
+
+    return {"status": "ok", "status_message": body.status_message}

backend/app/routers/world_content.py

@@ -0,0 +1,451 @@
+"""World content router -- rooms + chunks, for the editor and player client.
+
+Implements `docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md` §8.1. JWT-authenticated
+(``CurrentUser``, same as ``app/routers/worlds.py``). All chunk content
+reads/writes go through ``WorldStore``; this module is HTTP plumbing +
+authorization only.
+
+Authorization (doc §5.3):
+ - **Read** (world visibility, room listing, chunk fetch/index/revisions):
+   same rule as ``GET /api/worlds/{id}`` -- 404 (not 403) if the world is
+   neither PUBLIC nor owned by the caller. See ``_get_world_readable``.
+ - **Write** (room create, chunk PUT/DELETE/rollback): caller must be
+   ``world.owner_id``, matching ``update_world`` -- 403 otherwise, with
+   *no* visibility gate (this deliberately mirrors ``update_world``, which
+   also has no visibility check; see ``_get_world_writable``).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import base64
+import binascii
+from typing import Annotated
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Header, HTTPException, Request, Response
+from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.config import settings
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.dependencies import CurrentUser
+from app.models.user import User
+from app.models.world import World, WorldVisibility
+from app.models.world_content import MAIN_ROOM_SLUG, WorldRoom
+from app.services import chunk_codec
+from app.services.game_servers import supervisor
+from app.services.world_store import Bounds, RevisionConflict, RevisionNotAvailable, WorldStore
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+DbDep = Annotated[AsyncSession, Depends(get_db)]
+
+# world_persistence_impl.md §8.1: "Bounds are capped (default 32x32 chunks
+# per query) and return 422 beyond that."
+MAX_BOUNDS_SPAN = 32
+# §8.1 batch write cap, beyond WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH chunks: "Capped at ...
+# 8 MB."
+MAX_BATCH_TOTAL_BYTES = 8 * 1024 * 1024
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── auth helpers ───────────────────────────
+
+async def _get_world_readable(world_id: int, current_user: User, db: AsyncSession) -> World:
+    result = await db.execute(select(World).where(World.id == world_id))
+    world = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if world is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+    if world.visibility != WorldVisibility.PUBLIC and world.owner_id != current_user.id:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+    return world
+
+
+async def _get_world_writable(world_id: int, current_user: User, db: AsyncSession) -> World:
+    result = await db.execute(select(World).where(World.id == world_id))
+    world = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if world is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+    if world.owner_id != current_user.id:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Not owner of this world")
+    return world
+
+
+async def _resolve_room(store: WorldStore, db: AsyncSession, world_id: int, slug: str) -> WorldRoom | None:
+    """world_persistence_impl.md §4.1: lazily create the main room for
+    worlds that predate this feature, on first read/write."""
+    room = await store.get_room(world_id, slug)
+    if room is None and slug == MAIN_ROOM_SLUG:
+        room = await store.get_or_create_main_room(world_id)
+        await db.commit()
+    return room
+
+
+def _is_live(world_id: int) -> bool:
+    return any(s["world_id"] == str(world_id) for s in supervisor.debug_state())
+
+
+def _validation_error_body(exc: chunk_codec.ChunkValidationError) -> dict:
+    return {"detail": "chunk validation failed", "reason": exc.reason}
+
+
+def _conflict_body(exc: RevisionConflict) -> dict:
+    body: dict = {
+        "detail": "revision conflict",
+        "current_revision": exc.current_revision,
+        "current_checksum": exc.current_checksum,
+    }
+    if exc.coord is not None:
+        body["coord"] = list(exc.coord)
+    return body
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── schemas ───────────────────────────
+
+class RoomResponse(BaseModel):
+    id: int
+    slug: str
+    name: str
+    grid: dict
+    bounds: dict | None
+    spawn: dict | None
+    chunk_count: int
+
+
+class RoomCreate(BaseModel):
+    slug: str = Field(..., min_length=1, max_length=64, pattern=r"^[a-z0-9_-]+$")
+    name: str = Field(..., min_length=1, max_length=255)
+    grid: dict | None = None
+    bounds: dict | None = None
+    spawn: dict | None = None
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── rooms ───────────────────────────
+
+@router.get("/{world_id}/rooms", response_model=list[RoomResponse])
+async def list_rooms(world_id: int, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep):
+    await _get_world_readable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    rooms = await store.list_rooms(world_id)
+    if not rooms:
+        rooms = [await store.get_or_create_main_room(world_id)]
+        await db.commit()
+    return [
+        RoomResponse(
+            id=r.id, slug=r.slug, name=r.name, grid=r.grid, bounds=r.bounds, spawn=r.spawn,
+            chunk_count=await store.count_chunks(r.id),
+        )
+        for r in rooms
+    ]
+
+
+@router.post("/{world_id}/rooms", response_model=RoomResponse, status_code=201)
+async def create_room(world_id: int, body: RoomCreate, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep):
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    if await store.get_room(world_id, body.slug) is not None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="a room with this slug already exists")
+    room = await store.create_room(
+        world_id, body.slug, body.name, grid=body.grid, bounds=body.bounds, spawn=body.spawn
+    )
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(room)
+    return RoomResponse(
+        id=room.id, slug=room.slug, name=room.name, grid=room.grid,
+        bounds=room.bounds, spawn=room.spawn, chunk_count=0,
+    )
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── chunk index ───────────────────────────
+
+@router.get("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks")
+async def list_chunks(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+    cx_min: int | None = None, cx_max: int | None = None,
+    cy_min: int | None = None, cy_max: int | None = None,
+    cz: int | None = None,
+):
+    await _get_world_readable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    if cx_min is not None and cx_max is not None and (cx_max - cx_min + 1) > MAX_BOUNDS_SPAN:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"cx bounds span exceeds {MAX_BOUNDS_SPAN}")
+    if cy_min is not None and cy_max is not None and (cy_max - cy_min + 1) > MAX_BOUNDS_SPAN:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"cy bounds span exceeds {MAX_BOUNDS_SPAN}")
+
+    bounds = Bounds(cx_min=cx_min, cx_max=cx_max, cy_min=cy_min, cy_max=cy_max, cz=cz)
+    chunks = await store.list_chunks(world_id, room.id, bounds)
+    content_revision = await store.content_revision(world_id)
+    return {
+        "room": room.slug,
+        "content_revision": content_revision,
+        "chunks": [
+            {
+                "key": c.chunk_key, "cx": c.cx, "cy": c.cy, "cz": c.cz,
+                "revision": c.revision, "checksum": c.checksum, "payload_len": c.payload_len,
+                "is_mature": c.is_mature,
+                "updated_at": c.updated_at.isoformat() if c.updated_at else None,
+            }
+            for c in chunks
+        ],
+    }
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── chunk fetch ───────────────────────────
+
+@router.get("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}")
+async def get_chunk(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int,
+    current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+    accept: Annotated[str | None, Header()] = None,
+    if_none_match: Annotated[str | None, Header(alias="If-None-Match")] = None,
+):
+    await _get_world_readable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    key = chunk_codec.build_key(world_id, slug, cx, cy, cz)
+    chunk = await store.get_chunk(key)
+    if chunk is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="chunk not found")
+
+    etag = f'"{chunk.checksum}"'
+    headers = {"ETag": etag, "X-Chunk-Revision": str(chunk.revision), "X-Chunk-Key": key}
+
+    if if_none_match is not None and if_none_match.strip('"') == chunk.checksum:
+        return Response(status_code=304, headers=headers)
+
+    wants_json = (
+        accept is not None
+        and "application/json" in accept
+        and "application/octet-stream" not in accept
+    )
+    if wants_json:
+        decoded = chunk_codec.decode_binary(chunk.payload)
+        body = chunk_codec.to_json_dict(decoded, key=key, chunk_checksum=chunk.checksum)
+        return JSONResponse(content=body, headers=headers)
+
+    return Response(content=chunk.payload, media_type="application/octet-stream", headers=headers)
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── chunk write ───────────────────────────
+
+async def _read_write_payload(request: Request, x_base_revision: int | None) -> tuple[bytes, int]:
+    content_type = request.headers.get("content-type", "")
+    if "application/json" in content_type:
+        body = await request.json()
+        try:
+            payload_bytes = base64.b64decode(body["payload_b64"], validate=True)
+        except (KeyError, binascii.Error, ValueError) as exc:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"invalid payload_b64: {exc}")
+        base_revision = int(body.get("base_revision", 0))
+        return payload_bytes, base_revision
+    payload_bytes = await request.body()
+    return payload_bytes, (x_base_revision if x_base_revision is not None else 0)
+
+
+@router.put("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}")
+async def put_chunk(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int,
+    request: Request, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+    x_base_revision: Annotated[int | None, Header(alias="X-Base-Revision")] = None,
+):
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    payload_bytes, base_revision = await _read_write_payload(request, x_base_revision)
+    if len(payload_bytes) > settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=413,
+            detail=f"payload exceeds WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES ({settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES})",
+        )
+
+    try:
+        chunk = await store.put_chunk(
+            room=room, cx=cx, cy=cy, cz=cz, payload_bytes=payload_bytes,
+            base_revision=base_revision, actor_id=current_user.id,
+        )
+    except chunk_codec.ChunkCodecError as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=422, content={"detail": "chunk decode failed", "reason": "malformed", "message": str(exc)})
+    except chunk_codec.ChunkValidationError as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=422, content=_validation_error_body(exc))
+    except RevisionConflict as exc:
+        # Nothing must stick from a failed write. Returning a JSONResponse
+        # here (rather than raising) means no exception propagates through
+        # `get_db`, so this rollback has to be explicit -- see the note on
+        # the batch endpoint below, where this is load-bearing for
+        # all-or-nothing semantics.
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=409, content=_conflict_body(exc))
+
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(chunk)
+
+    return {
+        "key": chunk.chunk_key, "revision": chunk.revision, "checksum": chunk.checksum,
+        "payload_len": chunk.payload_len,
+        "updated_at": chunk.updated_at.isoformat() if chunk.updated_at else None,
+        "is_mature": chunk.is_mature, "live_session": _is_live(world_id),
+    }
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── batch write ───────────────────────────
+
+class BatchChunkItem(BaseModel):
+    cx: int
+    cy: int
+    cz: int
+    base_revision: int
+    payload_b64: str
+
+
+class BatchPutRequest(BaseModel):
+    chunks: list[BatchChunkItem]
+
+
+@router.put("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks")
+async def put_chunks_batch(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, body: BatchPutRequest, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+):
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    if len(body.chunks) > settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=422,
+            detail=f"batch of {len(body.chunks)} exceeds WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH ({settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH})",
+        )
+
+    items = []
+    total_bytes = 0
+    for item in body.chunks:
+        try:
+            payload_bytes = base64.b64decode(item.payload_b64, validate=True)
+        except (binascii.Error, ValueError) as exc:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"invalid payload_b64 for ({item.cx},{item.cy},{item.cz}): {exc}")
+        total_bytes += len(payload_bytes)
+        items.append({
+            "cx": item.cx, "cy": item.cy, "cz": item.cz,
+            "base_revision": item.base_revision, "payload_bytes": payload_bytes,
+        })
+
+    if total_bytes > MAX_BATCH_TOTAL_BYTES:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=413, detail=f"batch exceeds {MAX_BATCH_TOTAL_BYTES} bytes")
+
+    try:
+        rows = await store.put_chunks_batch(room=room, items=items, actor_id=current_user.id)
+    except chunk_codec.ChunkCodecError as exc:
+        # All-or-nothing (world_persistence_impl.md §8.1): earlier items in
+        # this batch may already be flushed (but never committed) to this
+        # transaction. Rolling back here is what actually makes the batch
+        # atomic -- without it, returning a JSONResponse instead of raising
+        # means no exception reaches `get_db`, and its own transaction
+        # handling would otherwise commit those earlier writes anyway.
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=422, content={"detail": "chunk decode failed", "reason": "malformed", "message": str(exc)})
+    except chunk_codec.ChunkValidationError as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=422, content=_validation_error_body(exc))
+    except RevisionConflict as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=409, content=_conflict_body(exc))
+
+    await db.commit()
+    for row in rows:
+        await db.refresh(row)
+
+    return {
+        "live_session": _is_live(world_id),
+        "chunks": [
+            {
+                "key": r.chunk_key, "revision": r.revision, "checksum": r.checksum,
+                "payload_len": r.payload_len,
+                "updated_at": r.updated_at.isoformat() if r.updated_at else None,
+                "is_mature": r.is_mature,
+            }
+            for r in rows
+        ],
+    }
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── delete ───────────────────────────
+
+@router.delete("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}", status_code=204)
+async def delete_chunk(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+):
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    room = await _resolve_room(store, db, world_id, slug)
+    if room is None:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="room not found")
+
+    key = chunk_codec.build_key(world_id, slug, cx, cy, cz)
+    await store.delete_chunk(key, current_user.id)
+    await db.commit()
+    return Response(status_code=204)
+
+
+# ─────────────────────────── revisions + rollback ───────────────────────────
+
+@router.get("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}/revisions")
+async def chunk_revisions(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+):
+    # doc: "(owner)" -- same gate as writes.
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    key = chunk_codec.build_key(world_id, slug, cx, cy, cz)
+    revisions = await store.list_revisions(key)
+    return [
+        {
+            "revision": r.revision, "action": r.action, "actor_id": r.actor_id,
+            "checksum": r.checksum, "payload_available": r.payload is not None,
+            "created_at": r.created_at.isoformat() if r.created_at else None,
+        }
+        for r in revisions
+    ]
+
+
+class RollbackRequest(BaseModel):
+    revision: int
+
+
+@router.post("/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}/rollback")
+async def rollback_chunk(
+    world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int,
+    body: RollbackRequest, current_user: CurrentUser, db: DbDep,
+):
+    await _get_world_writable(world_id, current_user, db)
+    store = WorldStore(db)
+    key = chunk_codec.build_key(world_id, slug, cx, cy, cz)
+    try:
+        chunk = await store.rollback_chunk(key, body.revision, current_user.id)
+    except RevisionNotAvailable as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=404, content={"detail": str(exc)})
+    except chunk_codec.ChunkValidationError as exc:
+        await db.rollback()
+        return JSONResponse(status_code=422, content=_validation_error_body(exc))
+
+    await db.commit()
+    await db.refresh(chunk)
+    return {
+        "key": chunk.chunk_key, "revision": chunk.revision, "checksum": chunk.checksum,
+        "payload_len": chunk.payload_len,
+        "updated_at": chunk.updated_at.isoformat() if chunk.updated_at else None,
+        "is_mature": chunk.is_mature, "live_session": _is_live(world_id),
+    }

backend/app/routers/worlds.py

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import selectinload
 from app.database import get_db
 from app.dependencies import CurrentUser
 from app.models.world import World, WorldVisibility
+from app.services.game_servers import supervisor
+from app.services.world_store import WorldStore
 
 router = APIRouter()
 
@@ -106,13 +108,52 @@ async def get_world(
     return world
 
 
+class JoinResponse(BaseModel):
+    """Address of the dedicated server hosting this world."""
+    world_id: int
+    host: str
+    port: int
+
+
+@router.post("/{world_id}/join", response_model=JoinResponse)
+async def join_world(
+    world_id: int,
+    current_user: CurrentUser,
+    db: DbDep,
+):
+    """Ensure a dedicated game server is running for this world and return its
+    ENet address for the client to connect to.
+
+    503 if game-server orchestration isn't enabled on this backend (e.g. a
+    plain dev/test instance with no Godot binary).
+    """
+    result = await db.execute(select(World).where(World.id == world_id))
+    world = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+    if not world:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+    if world.visibility != WorldVisibility.PUBLIC and world.owner_id != current_user.id:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="World not found")
+
+    try:
+        info = await supervisor.ensure_server(str(world_id))
+    except RuntimeError as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail=str(exc))
+
+    return JoinResponse(world_id=world_id, host=info["host"], port=info["port"])
+
+
 @router.post("/", response_model=WorldResponse, status_code=201)
 async def create_world(
     world_data: WorldCreate,
     current_user: CurrentUser,
     db: DbDep,
 ):
-    """Create a new world."""
+    """Create a new world.
+
+    Also creates the world's "main" room (world_persistence_impl.md §4.1) --
+    every world gets one so chunk content has somewhere to live from the
+    start.
+    """
     world = World(
         name=world_data.name,
         description=world_data.description,
@@ -120,6 +161,8 @@ async def create_world(
         visibility=world_data.visibility,
     )
     db.add(world)
+    await db.flush()  # assigns world.id, needed for the room's FK
+    await WorldStore(db).get_or_create_main_room(world.id)
     await db.commit()
     await db.refresh(world)
     return world

backend/app/services/chunk_codec.py

@@ -0,0 +1,676 @@
+"""Python port of the chunk binary/JSON codec, `docs/architecture/world.md` §3.
+
+This is the server-side half of the "single shared format, two
+implementations" contract world.md §5.2 and
+`world_persistence_impl.md` §5.5/§9 call for. The Godot-side implementation
+is `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd`; this module must decode anything it
+produces and produce bytes it can decode.
+
+IMPORTANT DEVIATION (see the "Known cross-codec divergence" note at the
+bottom of this file): the current `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd` does not
+actually implement IEEE-754 float32 for the `pos`/`rot`/`scale`/`bounds`
+fields -- it performs a lossy numeric `int`/`float` cast instead of a bit
+reinterpretation, which both truncates fractional values and does not
+write IEEE-754 bits at all. This module implements the format as
+*specified* (real `<f` IEEE-754 float32, matching every other field in the
+spec and matching what any conformant decoder would assume). See the note
+for what this means for cross-codec byte parity today.
+
+Nothing here talks to a database or the FastAPI app; it is a pure,
+side-effect-free codec so it can be golden-file tested in isolation.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import hashlib
+import json
+import struct
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+
+MAGIC = b"AGPC"
+HEADER_SIZE = 48
+CURRENT_VERSION = 1
+
+SECTION_META = 0x01
+SECTION_TILE = 0x02
+SECTION_OBJECT = 0x03
+SECTION_FLAGS = 0x04
+SECTION_REVISION_META = 0x05
+
+CATEGORY_FIELDS = (
+    "violence", "sexual", "language", "substance",
+    "gambling", "horror", "hate", "custom",
+)
+
+
+class ChunkCodecError(Exception):
+    """Malformed bytes -- the payload isn't shaped like a chunk at all."""
+
+
+class ChunkValidationError(Exception):
+    """A structurally-valid chunk failed a content/business-rule check.
+
+    ``reason`` is the machine-readable code the API surface (world_persistence_impl.md
+    §8.1) puts in the 422 response body's ``reason`` field, e.g.
+    ``"checksum_mismatch"``, ``"layer_dims"``, ``"object_out_of_bounds"``.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, reason: str, message: str | None = None) -> None:
+        self.reason = reason
+        super().__init__(message or reason)
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Logical model ─────────────────────────
+
+@dataclass
+class TileDef:
+    id: int
+    asset_id: str = ""
+    solid: bool = False
+    flags: int = 0
+    variants: int = 1
+
+
+@dataclass
+class TileLayer:
+    name: str
+    layer_id: int = 0
+    width: int = 0
+    height: int = 0
+    depth: int = 1
+    palette: list[TileDef] = field(default_factory=list)
+    tiles: list[int] = field(default_factory=list)  # flattened, row-major
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ContentFlags:
+    violence: int = 0
+    sexual: int = 0
+    language: int = 0
+    substance: int = 0
+    gambling: int = 0
+    horror: int = 0
+    hate: int = 0
+    custom: int = 0
+    mature: bool = False
+    sources: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict:
+        return {
+            "categories": {name: getattr(self, name) for name in CATEGORY_FIELDS},
+            "mature": self.mature,
+            "sources": list(self.sources),
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, d: dict) -> "ContentFlags":
+        cats = d.get("categories", {})
+        return cls(
+            **{name: int(cats.get(name, 0)) for name in CATEGORY_FIELDS},
+            mature=bool(d.get("mature", False)),
+            sources=list(d.get("sources", [])),
+        )
+
+
+@dataclass
+class WorldObject:
+    id: str
+    type: str
+    asset_id: str
+    pos: tuple[float, float, float] = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
+    rot: tuple[float, float, float, float] = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
+    scale: tuple[float, float, float] = (1.0, 1.0, 1.0)
+    dynamic: bool = False
+    properties: dict = field(default_factory=dict)
+    flags: ContentFlags = field(default_factory=ContentFlags)
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ChunkBounds:
+    """Stored here as min-corner + size (matching the Godot client's AABB
+    type) for convenience, but the §3.6 BINARY wire format is min + max
+    (world.md §3.1, and the client's actual ChunkDataDecoder) -- fixed
+    2026-09-14 after a real client/server interop test caught this class's
+    original binary codec writing min+size on the wire, which the client
+    decoder (unaware of the "size" convention) read as a second min/max
+    pair, corrupting every chunk's bounds. The two representations are
+    fully recoverable from each other; `max` below is computed for exactly
+    this reason."""
+
+    min: tuple[float, float, float] = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
+    size: tuple[float, float, float] = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
+
+    @property
+    def max(self) -> tuple[float, float, float]:
+        return tuple(a + b for a, b in zip(self.min, self.size))
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ChunkPayload:
+    version: int = CURRENT_VERSION
+    world_id: str = ""
+    room_id: str = ""
+    coord: tuple[int, int, int] = (0, 0, 0)
+    bounds: ChunkBounds = field(default_factory=ChunkBounds)
+    tile_layers: list[TileLayer] = field(default_factory=list)
+    objects: list[WorldObject] = field(default_factory=list)
+    flags: ContentFlags = field(default_factory=ContentFlags)
+    created_at: int = 0
+    updated_at: int = 0
+    revision: int = 0
+    author: str = ""
+
+
+def build_key(world_id: str | int, room_slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int) -> str:
+    """world_persistence_impl.md §4.5: ``"{world.id}:{room.slug}:{cx}:{cy}:{cz}"``."""
+    return f"{world_id}:{room_slug}:{cx}:{cy}:{cz}"
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Binary primitives ─────────────────────────
+# All integers little-endian, matching world.md §3.6.3. Floats are packed
+# as real IEEE-754 float32 -- see the module docstring's deviation note.
+
+def _read_u16(data: bytes, off: int) -> int:
+    return struct.unpack_from("<H", data, off)[0]
+
+
+def _read_u32(data: bytes, off: int) -> int:
+    return struct.unpack_from("<I", data, off)[0]
+
+
+def _read_i32(data: bytes, off: int) -> int:
+    return struct.unpack_from("<i", data, off)[0]
+
+
+def _read_i64(data: bytes, off: int) -> int:
+    return struct.unpack_from("<q", data, off)[0]
+
+
+def _read_f32(data: bytes, off: int) -> float:
+    return struct.unpack_from("<f", data, off)[0]
+
+
+def _w_u16(v: int) -> bytes:
+    return struct.pack("<H", v & 0xFFFF)
+
+
+def _w_u32(v: int) -> bytes:
+    return struct.pack("<I", v & 0xFFFFFFFF)
+
+
+def _w_i32(v: int) -> bytes:
+    return struct.pack("<i", v)
+
+
+def _w_i64(v: int) -> bytes:
+    return struct.pack("<q", v)
+
+
+def _w_f32(v: float) -> bytes:
+    return struct.pack("<f", v)
+
+
+def _read_str(data: bytes, off: int) -> tuple[str, int]:
+    """Length-prefixed UTF-8 string. Returns (value, next_offset)."""
+    n = _read_u16(data, off)
+    off += 2
+    s = data[off:off + n].decode("utf-8")
+    return s, off + n
+
+
+def _w_str(s: str) -> bytes:
+    b = s.encode("utf-8")
+    if len(b) > 0xFFFF:
+        raise ChunkCodecError(f"string field too long to encode ({len(b)} bytes)")
+    return _w_u16(len(b)) + b
+
+
+def checksum(payload_body: bytes) -> str:
+    """SHA-256 hex digest of the payload body (world.md §3.6.3)."""
+    return hashlib.sha256(payload_body).hexdigest()
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Section codecs ─────────────────────────
+
+def _encode_metadata(payload: ChunkPayload) -> bytes:
+    out = bytearray()
+    out += _w_str(payload.world_id)
+    out += _w_str(payload.room_id)
+    out += _w_i32(payload.coord[0])
+    out += _w_i32(payload.coord[1])
+    out += _w_i32(payload.coord[2])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.min[0])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.min[1])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.min[2])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.max[0])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.max[1])
+    out += _w_f32(payload.bounds.max[2])
+    return bytes(out)
+
+
+def _decode_metadata(data: bytes, result: ChunkPayload) -> None:
+    off = 0
+    result.world_id, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    result.room_id, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    coord = (_read_i32(data, off), _read_i32(data, off + 4), _read_i32(data, off + 8))
+    off += 12
+    min_pos = (_read_f32(data, off), _read_f32(data, off + 4), _read_f32(data, off + 8))
+    max_pos = (_read_f32(data, off + 12), _read_f32(data, off + 16), _read_f32(data, off + 20))
+    size = tuple(a - b for a, b in zip(max_pos, min_pos))
+    result.coord = coord
+    result.bounds = ChunkBounds(min=min_pos, size=size)
+
+
+def _encode_tile_layer(layer: TileLayer) -> bytes:
+    out = bytearray()
+    out += _w_str(layer.name)
+    out += _w_u16(layer.layer_id)
+    out += _w_u16(layer.width)
+    out += _w_u16(layer.height)
+    out += _w_u16(layer.depth)
+    out += _w_u16(len(layer.palette))
+    for td in layer.palette:
+        out += _w_u16(td.id)
+        out += _w_str(td.asset_id)
+        out += bytes([1 if td.solid else 0])
+        out += _w_u32(td.flags)
+        out += bytes([td.variants & 0xFF])
+    out += _w_u32(len(layer.tiles))
+    for tile_id in layer.tiles:
+        out += _w_u16(tile_id)
+    return bytes(out)
+
+
+def _decode_tile_layer(data: bytes) -> TileLayer:
+    off = 0
+    name, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    layer_id = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+    width = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+    height = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+    depth = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+    palette_count = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+    palette: list[TileDef] = []
+    for _ in range(palette_count):
+        tid = _read_u16(data, off); off += 2
+        asset_id, off = _read_str(data, off)
+        solid = data[off] != 0; off += 1
+        flags = _read_u32(data, off); off += 4
+        variants = data[off]; off += 1
+        palette.append(TileDef(id=tid, asset_id=asset_id, solid=solid, flags=flags, variants=variants))
+    tile_count = _read_u32(data, off); off += 4
+    tiles: list[int] = []
+    for _ in range(tile_count):
+        tiles.append(_read_u16(data, off))
+        off += 2
+    return TileLayer(name=name, layer_id=layer_id, width=width, height=height,
+                      depth=depth, palette=palette, tiles=tiles)
+
+
+def _encode_flags(flags: ContentFlags) -> bytes:
+    out = bytearray()
+    for name in CATEGORY_FIELDS:
+        out.append(getattr(flags, name) & 0xFF)
+    out.append(1 if flags.mature else 0)
+    out += _w_u16(len(flags.sources))
+    for src in flags.sources:
+        out += _w_str(src)
+    return bytes(out)
+
+
+def _decode_flags(data: bytes) -> ContentFlags:
+    off = 0
+    values = {}
+    for name in CATEGORY_FIELDS:
+        values[name] = data[off]
+        off += 1
+    mature = data[off] != 0
+    off += 1
+    source_count = _read_u16(data, off)
+    off += 2
+    sources = []
+    for _ in range(source_count):
+        s, off = _read_str(data, off)
+        sources.append(s)
+    return ContentFlags(**values, mature=mature, sources=sources)
+
+
+def _encode_object(obj: WorldObject) -> bytes:
+    out = bytearray()
+    out += _w_str(obj.id)
+    out += _w_str(obj.type)
+    out += _w_str(obj.asset_id)
+    for v in obj.pos:
+        out += _w_f32(v)
+    for v in obj.rot:
+        out += _w_f32(v)
+    for v in obj.scale:
+        out += _w_f32(v)
+    out.append(1 if obj.dynamic else 0)
+    # Canonical JSON: keys sorted lexicographically (world.md §3.6.3).
+    props_json = json.dumps(obj.properties, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":"))
+    out += _w_str(props_json)
+    out += _encode_flags(obj.flags)
+    return bytes(out)
+
+
+def _decode_object(data: bytes) -> WorldObject:
+    off = 0
+    oid, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    otype, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    asset_id, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    pos = (_read_f32(data, off), _read_f32(data, off + 4), _read_f32(data, off + 8))
+    off += 12
+    rot = (
+        _read_f32(data, off), _read_f32(data, off + 4),
+        _read_f32(data, off + 8), _read_f32(data, off + 12),
+    )
+    off += 16
+    scale = (_read_f32(data, off), _read_f32(data, off + 4), _read_f32(data, off + 8))
+    off += 12
+    dynamic = data[off] != 0
+    off += 1
+    props_str, off = _read_str(data, off)
+    try:
+        properties = json.loads(props_str) if props_str else {}
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:
+        raise ChunkCodecError(f"object {oid!r}: invalid properties JSON") from exc
+    obj_flags = _decode_flags(data[off:])
+    return WorldObject(id=oid, type=otype, asset_id=asset_id, pos=pos, rot=rot,
+                        scale=scale, dynamic=dynamic, properties=properties, flags=obj_flags)
+
+
+def _encode_revision_meta(payload: ChunkPayload) -> bytes:
+    out = bytearray()
+    out += _w_i64(payload.created_at)
+    out += _w_i64(payload.updated_at)
+    out += _w_u32(payload.revision)
+    out += _w_str(payload.author)
+    return bytes(out)
+
+
+def _decode_revision_meta(data: bytes, result: ChunkPayload) -> None:
+    off = 0
+    result.created_at = _read_i64(data, off); off += 8
+    result.updated_at = _read_i64(data, off); off += 8
+    result.revision = _read_u32(data, off); off += 4
+    result.author, off = _read_str(data, off)
+
+
+def _wrap_section(section_id: int, data: bytes) -> bytes:
+    return bytes([section_id]) + _w_u32(len(data)) + data
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Top-level encode/decode ─────────────────────────
+
+def encode_binary(payload: ChunkPayload) -> bytes:
+    """Encode a ChunkPayload to the world.md §3.6 wire format."""
+    sections = bytearray()
+    sections += _wrap_section(SECTION_META, _encode_metadata(payload))
+    for layer in payload.tile_layers:
+        sections += _wrap_section(SECTION_TILE, _encode_tile_layer(layer))
+    for obj in payload.objects:
+        sections += _wrap_section(SECTION_OBJECT, _encode_object(obj))
+    sections += _wrap_section(SECTION_FLAGS, _encode_flags(payload.flags))
+    sections += _wrap_section(SECTION_REVISION_META, _encode_revision_meta(payload))
+
+    payload_body = bytes(sections)
+    digest = hashlib.sha256(payload_body).digest()  # 32 raw bytes
+
+    header = bytearray()
+    header += MAGIC
+    header += _w_u16(CURRENT_VERSION)
+    header += _w_u16(HEADER_SIZE - 8)  # header_len: bytes of header after this field (spec-correct)
+    header += _w_u32(0)  # flags (reserved)
+    header += _w_u32(len(payload_body))
+    header += digest
+
+    return bytes(header) + payload_body
+
+
+def decode_binary(data: bytes) -> ChunkPayload:
+    """Decode a world.md §3.6 binary chunk. Raises ChunkCodecError on
+    structurally malformed input (short buffer, bad magic, unsupported
+    version, truncated payload)."""
+    if len(data) < HEADER_SIZE:
+        raise ChunkCodecError(f"data too short for header ({len(data)} bytes)")
+
+    if data[0:4] != MAGIC:
+        raise ChunkCodecError("bad magic bytes")
+
+    version = _read_u16(data, 4)
+    if version < 1 or version > CURRENT_VERSION:
+        raise ChunkCodecError(f"unsupported chunk format version {version}")
+
+    # header_len (offset 6) is intentionally not used for offset math --
+    # both this decoder and the Godot one always slice at the fixed
+    # HEADER_SIZE, matching the reference implementation's actual (if
+    # spec-inconsistent) behaviour.
+    payload_len = _read_u32(data, 12)
+    # bytes 16:48 are the header's advisory checksum -- decode_and_validate
+    # re-reads it directly and recomputes against the parsed payload body.
+
+    if len(data) - HEADER_SIZE != payload_len:
+        raise ChunkCodecError(
+            f"declared payload_len ({payload_len}) does not match actual "
+            f"remaining bytes ({len(data) - HEADER_SIZE})"
+        )
+
+    payload_body = data[HEADER_SIZE:HEADER_SIZE + payload_len]
+
+    result = ChunkPayload(version=version)
+
+    offset = 0
+    while offset < len(payload_body):
+        if offset + 5 > len(payload_body):
+            raise ChunkCodecError("truncated section header")
+        section_id = payload_body[offset]
+        section_len = _read_u32(payload_body, offset + 1)
+        data_start = offset + 5
+        data_end = data_start + section_len
+        if data_end > len(payload_body):
+            raise ChunkCodecError("truncated section body")
+        section_data = payload_body[data_start:data_end]
+
+        if section_id == SECTION_META:
+            _decode_metadata(section_data, result)
+        elif section_id == SECTION_TILE:
+            result.tile_layers.append(_decode_tile_layer(section_data))
+        elif section_id == SECTION_OBJECT:
+            result.objects.append(_decode_object(section_data))
+        elif section_id == SECTION_FLAGS:
+            result.flags = _decode_flags(section_data)
+        elif section_id == SECTION_REVISION_META:
+            _decode_revision_meta(section_data, result)
+        # Unknown section ids are skipped (forward-compat), matching the
+        # Godot decoder's match-with-no-default behaviour.
+
+        offset = data_end
+
+    return result
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── JSON encoding (world.md §3.5) ─────────────────────────
+# Derived, never stored (world_persistence_impl.md §8.1) -- produced here
+# from a decoded ChunkPayload for the ``Accept: application/json`` path.
+
+def to_json_dict(payload: ChunkPayload, *, key: str, chunk_checksum: str) -> dict:
+    return {
+        "version": payload.version,
+        "key": key,
+        "world_id": payload.world_id,
+        "room_id": payload.room_id,
+        "coord": {"cx": payload.coord[0], "cy": payload.coord[1], "cz": payload.coord[2]},
+        "bounds": {
+            "min_x": payload.bounds.min[0], "min_y": payload.bounds.min[1], "min_z": payload.bounds.min[2],
+            "max_x": payload.bounds.max[0], "max_y": payload.bounds.max[1], "max_z": payload.bounds.max[2],
+        },
+        "tiles": [
+            {
+                "name": layer.name,
+                "layer_id": layer.layer_id,
+                "width": layer.width,
+                "height": layer.height,
+                "depth": layer.depth,
+                "palette": [
+                    {"id": td.id, "asset_id": td.asset_id, "solid": td.solid,
+                     "flags": td.flags, "variants": td.variants}
+                    for td in layer.palette
+                ],
+                "tiles": list(layer.tiles),
+            }
+            for layer in payload.tile_layers
+        ],
+        "objects": [
+            {
+                "id": obj.id, "type": obj.type, "asset_id": obj.asset_id,
+                "transform": {
+                    "pos": list(obj.pos), "rot": list(obj.rot), "scale": list(obj.scale),
+                },
+                "properties": obj.properties,
+                "dynamic": obj.dynamic,
+                "flags": obj.flags.to_dict(),
+            }
+            for obj in payload.objects
+        ],
+        "flags": payload.flags.to_dict(),
+        "meta": {
+            "created_at": payload.created_at, "updated_at": payload.updated_at,
+            "revision": payload.revision, "author": payload.author,
+        },
+        "checksum": chunk_checksum,
+    }
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Validation (world_persistence_impl.md §5.5) ─────────────────────────
+
+# Not precisely quantified by the design doc beyond "length limits" --
+# these are this implementation's conservative defaults (world.md §7).
+MAX_STRING_FIELD_LEN = 256
+MAX_PROPERTIES_JSON_LEN = 16_384
+MAX_SOURCES_PER_FLAGSET = 32
+
+
+def _check_string_lengths(obj: WorldObject) -> None:
+    for field_name, value in (("id", obj.id), ("type", obj.type), ("asset_id", obj.asset_id)):
+        if len(value) > MAX_STRING_FIELD_LEN:
+            raise ChunkValidationError(
+                "string_field_too_long", f"object.{field_name} exceeds {MAX_STRING_FIELD_LEN} chars"
+            )
+    props_json = json.dumps(obj.properties)
+    if len(props_json) > MAX_PROPERTIES_JSON_LEN:
+        raise ChunkValidationError(
+            "string_field_too_long", f"object {obj.id!r} properties exceed {MAX_PROPERTIES_JSON_LEN} bytes"
+        )
+    if len(obj.flags.sources) > MAX_SOURCES_PER_FLAGSET:
+        raise ChunkValidationError("string_field_too_long", f"object {obj.id!r} has too many flag sources")
+
+
+def decode_and_validate(
+    data: bytes,
+    *,
+    expected_key: str,
+    grid_size: tuple[int, int, int],
+    max_objects: int,
+) -> ChunkPayload:
+    """Decode + fully validate a client-submitted chunk payload.
+
+    This is the boundary world_persistence_impl.md §5.5 requires: "the
+    backend must not trust the client". Raises ``ChunkCodecError`` for
+    structurally malformed bytes (mapped to a 422 by the router with a
+    generic reason) or ``ChunkValidationError`` with a specific ``reason``
+    code for a well-formed-but-invalid payload.
+    """
+    payload = decode_binary(data)  # raises ChunkCodecError for structural problems first
+
+    # Checksum is advisory in the header (world.md §7); the value that
+    # matters is recomputed from the actual payload body we just parsed.
+    payload_body = data[HEADER_SIZE:]
+    recomputed = checksum(payload_body)
+    header_checksum_hex = data[16:48].hex()
+    if header_checksum_hex != recomputed:
+        raise ChunkValidationError(
+            "checksum_mismatch",
+            "header checksum does not match the recomputed SHA-256 of the payload body",
+        )
+
+    actual_key = build_key(payload.world_id, payload.room_id, *payload.coord)
+    if actual_key != expected_key:
+        raise ChunkValidationError(
+            "chunk_key_mismatch",
+            f"payload key {actual_key!r} does not match URL {expected_key!r}",
+        )
+
+    for layer in payload.tile_layers:
+        if (layer.width, layer.height, layer.depth) != tuple(grid_size):
+            raise ChunkValidationError(
+                "layer_dims",
+                f"tile layer {layer.name!r} dims {(layer.width, layer.height, layer.depth)} "
+                f"!= room grid {tuple(grid_size)}",
+            )
+        valid_ids = {0} | {td.id for td in layer.palette}
+        for tile_id in layer.tiles:
+            if tile_id not in valid_ids:
+                raise ChunkValidationError(
+                    "tile_out_of_palette",
+                    f"tile layer {layer.name!r} references palette id {tile_id} not in its palette",
+                )
+        if len(layer.tiles) != layer.width * layer.height * layer.depth:
+            raise ChunkValidationError(
+                "layer_dims",
+                f"tile layer {layer.name!r} has {len(layer.tiles)} cells, expected "
+                f"{layer.width * layer.height * layer.depth}",
+            )
+
+    if len(payload.objects) > max_objects:
+        raise ChunkValidationError(
+            "too_many_objects", f"{len(payload.objects)} objects exceeds max {max_objects}"
+        )
+
+    bmin, bmax = payload.bounds.min, payload.bounds.max
+    for obj in payload.objects:
+        _check_string_lengths(obj)
+        if not all(bmin[i] <= obj.pos[i] <= bmax[i] for i in range(3)):
+            raise ChunkValidationError(
+                "object_out_of_bounds",
+                f"object {obj.id!r} position {obj.pos} outside chunk bounds "
+                f"[{bmin}, {bmax}]",
+            )
+
+    if len(payload.author) > MAX_STRING_FIELD_LEN:
+        raise ChunkValidationError("string_field_too_long", "meta.author too long")
+
+    return payload
+
+
+# ───────────────────────── Known cross-codec divergence ─────────────────────────
+#
+# `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd`'s `_read_float32`/`_write_float32` do:
+#
+#     static func _write_float32(val: float) -> PackedByteArray:
+#         var bits := val as int
+#         return _write_uint32(bits)
+#
+#     static func _read_float32(data: PackedByteArray, offset: int) -> float:
+#         var bits := _read_uint32(data, offset)
+#         return bits as float
+#
+# `as` between int and float in GDScript is a numeric conversion, not a bit
+# reinterpretation (verified empirically against Godot 4.6.2 headless:
+# `1.5 as int` -> `1`, `1 as float` -> `1.0`; the IEEE-754 bit pattern of
+# 1.5f is 0x3FC00000 = 1069547520, not 1). So the shipped client codec
+# truncates every float32 field (bounds, object pos/rot/scale) to its
+# integer part and stores that integer as a raw int32 -- not as float32
+# bits at all. This is a real bug in already-merged, client-side code
+# (scripts/ is out of scope for this task) that breaks the "byte-stable
+# across two implementations" guarantee world.md §3.6.3 states.
+#
+# This module implements the *specified* format (real IEEE-754 float32)
+# rather than replicating that bug, because world.md §3.6 is normative and
+# says "float32" for these fields, and mirroring the bug would mean the
+# backend also corrupts every non-integer transform/bounds value it
+# stores. Practical effect until the client-side bug is fixed: payloads
+# with integer-only floats will decode identically on both sides; any
+# payload with a fractional position/rotation/scale/bounds value will not
+# be byte-identical (or numerically identical) between this module and the
+# current `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd`. This is flagged for the
+# client/editor follow-on task, not fixed here.

backend/app/services/game_servers.py

@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+"""Game-server orchestration.
+
+On ``POST /api/worlds/{id}/join`` the backend ensures a headless Godot
+dedicated-server process is running for that world and returns its address.
+One process per world, keyed by ``world_id``. A background reaper kills a
+world's server once its status file reports zero players for
+``GAME_SERVER_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS``.
+
+This lives in-process (a module-level singleton) rather than as a separate
+service, so the backend MUST run single-worker -- which it does
+(``uvicorn app.main:app`` with no ``--workers``). The Godot binary and
+project are on the host (see ``settings.GODOT_BIN`` / ``GAME_PROJECT_DIR``);
+the backend spawns them as subprocesses.
+
+Design notes / limits (PC3):
+ - Port allocation is a linear scan of the configured range.
+ - No crash-restart: if a server process dies, the next join respawns it.
+   With world content now durable in Postgres (world_persistence_impl.md
+   D2), this is genuinely safe rather than merely tolerated: the sim
+   process holds no unsaved world content, so a reap/crash/kill can never
+   lose world data.
+
+Per-spawn auth token (world_persistence_impl.md §7.3): each spawned server
+gets a random ``secrets.token_urlsafe(32)`` on its command line, which it
+uses as a Bearer token against ``/api/internal`` to pull its world's
+content read-only before binding its ENet port. The token grants access to
+exactly one world and dies with its process (the reaper's
+``del self._servers[wid]`` invalidates it; see ``validate_token``).
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import hmac
+import json
+import secrets
+import socket
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+import time
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from app.config import settings
+
+
+@dataclass
+class _WorldServer:
+    world_id: str
+    port: int
+    proc: subprocess.Popen
+    status_path: Path
+    token: str
+    started_at: float = field(default_factory=time.time)
+    last_join: float = field(default_factory=time.time)
+
+    def status(self) -> dict:
+        try:
+            return json.loads(self.status_path.read_text())
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            return {}
+
+    def player_count(self) -> int:
+        return int(self.status().get("players", 0))
+
+    def is_ready(self) -> bool:
+        return self.status().get("ready") is True
+
+    def alive(self) -> bool:
+        return self.proc.poll() is None
+
+    def stop(self) -> None:
+        if self.alive():
+            self.proc.terminate()
+            try:
+                self.proc.wait(timeout=10)
+            except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+                self.proc.kill()
+        self.status_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+
+class GameServerSupervisor:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self._servers: dict[str, _WorldServer] = {}
+        self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+        self._reaper: asyncio.Task | None = None
+        self._runtime_dir = Path(tempfile.gettempdir()) / "agp-game-servers"
+        self._runtime_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+    # ── lifecycle ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    def start(self) -> None:
+        if not settings.GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED:
+            return
+        if self._reaper is None or self._reaper.done():
+            self._reaper = asyncio.create_task(self._reap_loop())
+
+    async def shutdown(self) -> None:
+        if self._reaper:
+            self._reaper.cancel()
+        async with self._lock:
+            for srv in list(self._servers.values()):
+                srv.stop()
+            self._servers.clear()
+
+    # ── join ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    async def ensure_server(self, world_id: str) -> dict:
+        """Return ``{"host", "port", "world_id"}`` for the world's dedicated
+        server, spawning it if needed. Raises RuntimeError if orchestration
+        is disabled or no port/engine is available."""
+        if not settings.GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED:
+            raise RuntimeError("game servers are not enabled on this backend")
+
+        async with self._lock:
+            srv = self._servers.get(world_id)
+            if srv is not None and not srv.alive():
+                srv.stop()
+                srv = None
+                del self._servers[world_id]
+
+            if srv is None:
+                srv = self._spawn(world_id)
+                self._servers[world_id] = srv
+                try:
+                    await self._await_ready(srv)
+                except TimeoutError:
+                    # Real failure now, not a silent "hope it's fine" --
+                    # see _await_ready's docstring. Don't leave a possibly
+                    # half-started process registered.
+                    srv.stop()
+                    del self._servers[world_id]
+                    raise RuntimeError(
+                        f"dedicated server for world {world_id} did not become ready in time"
+                    )
+
+            srv.last_join = time.time()
+            return {"host": settings.GAME_SERVER_HOST, "port": srv.port, "world_id": world_id}
+
+    def validate_token(self, world_id: str, token: str) -> bool:
+        """`require_game_server` dependency support (world_persistence_impl.md
+        §7.3): true iff *token* is the live token for *world_id*'s server.
+        A dict lookup, as the doc specifies, plus a constant-time compare
+        since it's a bearer credential."""
+        srv = self._servers.get(str(world_id))
+        if srv is None or not srv.alive():
+            return False
+        return hmac.compare_digest(srv.token, token)
+
+    # ── internals ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    def _spawn(self, world_id: str) -> _WorldServer:
+        port = self._free_port()
+        token = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)
+        status_path = self._runtime_dir / f"world_{world_id}_{port}.json"
+        status_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        cmd = [
+            settings.GODOT_BIN, "--headless",
+            "--path", settings.GAME_PROJECT_DIR,
+            "res://scenes/server.tscn", "--",
+            "--port", str(port),
+            "--world", str(world_id),
+            "--status-file", str(status_path),
+            "--api-url", settings.GAME_SERVER_INTERNAL_API_URL,
+            "--server-token", token,
+        ]
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL)
+        return _WorldServer(
+            world_id=world_id, port=port, proc=proc, status_path=status_path, token=token
+        )
+
+    def _free_port(self) -> int:
+        used = {s.port for s in self._servers.values()}
+        for p in range(settings.GAME_SERVER_PORT_MIN, settings.GAME_SERVER_PORT_MAX + 1):
+            if p in used:
+                continue
+            with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM) as s:
+                try:
+                    s.bind(("0.0.0.0", p))
+                    return p
+                except OSError:
+                    continue
+        raise RuntimeError("no free game-server port in the configured range")
+
+    async def _await_ready(self, srv: _WorldServer) -> None:
+        """Wait for a ``"ready": true`` field in the status file
+        (world_persistence_impl.md §7.4).
+
+        This replaces the old ``_await_port``, which had two real bugs:
+        it treated a bound UDP port as "ready", but with content loading
+        the port binds *before* the server has fetched its world's rooms
+        and chunks (world_persistence_impl.md §7.2 step 4) -- so a client
+        could get handed an address for a server still mid-fetch. And it
+        *failed open*: past its 8s deadline it simply returned, with no
+        error, so ``ensure_server`` reported success for a server that may
+        never have started at all. This raises ``TimeoutError`` instead,
+        which ``ensure_server`` turns into a real 503 for the joining
+        client, and also bails out early (same exception) if the process
+        has already exited.
+        """
+        deadline = time.time() + settings.GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+        while time.time() < deadline:
+            if srv.is_ready():
+                return
+            if not srv.alive():
+                raise TimeoutError(
+                    f"server process for world {srv.world_id} exited before becoming ready"
+                )
+            await asyncio.sleep(0.25)
+        raise TimeoutError(
+            f"server for world {srv.world_id} did not report ready within "
+            f"{settings.GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS}s"
+        )
+
+    async def _reap_loop(self) -> None:
+        try:
+            while True:
+                await asyncio.sleep(30)
+                async with self._lock:
+                    now = time.time()
+                    for wid, srv in list(self._servers.items()):
+                        if not srv.alive():
+                            srv.stop()
+                            del self._servers[wid]
+                            continue
+                        idle_for = now - srv.last_join
+                        if idle_for > settings.GAME_SERVER_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS and srv.player_count() == 0:
+                            srv.stop()
+                            del self._servers[wid]
+        except asyncio.CancelledError:
+            pass
+
+    def debug_state(self) -> list[dict]:
+        return [
+            {
+                "world_id": s.world_id, "port": s.port, "alive": s.alive(),
+                "players": s.player_count(), "uptime_s": round(time.time() - s.started_at),
+            }
+            for s in self._servers.values()
+        ]
+
+
+supervisor = GameServerSupervisor()

backend/app/services/presence.py

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+"""Redis-backed presence store.
+
+Presence is determined by a heartbeat TTL key in Redis:
+- heartbeat(user_id) sets a TTL key per user (default 60 s).
+- is_online(user_id) / is_online_batch(user_ids) check whether the key(s)
+  exist.
+
+status_message and last_seen_at are persisted in the ``users`` table by the
+router (app/routers/presence.py); this store only owns the Redis side.
+
+The Redis client is created lazily, on first actual use, rather than
+requiring an explicit ``connect()`` call during app startup. This matters
+because FastAPI's lifespan handler does not run under the plain
+``TestClient(app)`` instantiation this codebase's tests use (no
+``with`` block), so anything that only connected during lifespan startup
+would never connect in tests. Lazy connection means the store works
+identically whether the app was started for real or is being driven by
+pytest.
+
+The client is also cached per-*event loop* rather than globally: the same
+plain ``TestClient(app)`` pattern can dispatch different requests onto
+different event loops (see the NullPool comment on ``_override_db`` in
+tests/conftest.py for the analogous asyncpg problem), and an
+``aioredis.Redis`` connection, like an asyncpg connection, breaks with
+"Event loop is closed" if reused across loops. In the real running server
+there is exactly one event loop for the process lifetime, so this
+degrades to a single cached, pooled connection there.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import logging
+
+import redis.asyncio as aioredis
+
+from app.config import settings
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Key prefix for heartbeat entries.
+_PRESENCE_KEY_PREFIX = "presence:heartbeat:"
+
+# Default heartbeat TTL in seconds (1 minute).
+# Clients should heartbeat at least once per interval.
+_DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_TTL = 60
+
+
+class PresenceStore:
+    """Redis-backed presence store with async, lazily-connected operations."""
+
+    def __init__(self, redis_url: str | None = None, heartbeat_ttl: int = _DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_TTL):
+        # redis_url is resolved from settings at first use (not at
+        # construction time) so tests that override settings.REDIS_URL
+        # before the first call still take effect -- this module is
+        # imported (and the module-level singleton below constructed)
+        # well before any such override runs.
+        self._redis_url = redis_url
+        self._heartbeat_ttl = heartbeat_ttl
+        # Keyed by id(running loop) -- see the module docstring.
+        self._clients: dict[int, aioredis.Redis] = {}
+        self._connect_lock = asyncio.Lock()
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Lifecycle
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    async def _ensure_client(self) -> aioredis.Redis:
+        """Return a connected client for the current event loop, connecting
+        on first use per loop."""
+        loop_key = id(asyncio.get_running_loop())
+        client = self._clients.get(loop_key)
+        if client is None:
+            async with self._connect_lock:
+                client = self._clients.get(loop_key)
+                if client is None:
+                    url = self._redis_url or settings.REDIS_URL
+                    client = aioredis.from_url(
+                        url,
+                        encoding="utf-8",
+                        decode_responses=True,
+                    )
+                    try:
+                        await client.ping()
+                    except Exception:
+                        logger.warning("Redis ping failed for %s", url)
+                        raise
+                    self._clients[loop_key] = client
+        return client
+
+    async def close(self) -> None:
+        """Close the Redis connection for the current event loop, if one was
+        opened."""
+        loop_key = id(asyncio.get_running_loop())
+        client = self._clients.pop(loop_key, None)
+        if client is not None:
+            await client.aclose()
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Heartbeat
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    async def heartbeat(self, user_id: int) -> None:
+        """Record a heartbeat for *user_id*.
+
+        Sets a TTL key so that the user is considered online as long as
+        heartbeats arrive at least once per heartbeat_ttl seconds.
+        """
+        client = await self._ensure_client()
+        await client.set(self._heartbeat_key(user_id), "1", ex=self._heartbeat_ttl)
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Online checks
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    async def is_online(self, user_id: int) -> bool:
+        """Return True if the user has a valid heartbeat key."""
+        client = await self._ensure_client()
+        exists = await client.exists(self._heartbeat_key(user_id))
+        return bool(exists)
+
+    async def is_online_batch(self, user_ids: list[int]) -> set[int]:
+        """Return the subset of user_ids that currently have a valid
+        heartbeat key. Uses MGET (one round trip) rather than one EXISTS
+        per user.
+        """
+        if not user_ids:
+            return set()
+        client = await self._ensure_client()
+        keys = [self._heartbeat_key(uid) for uid in user_ids]
+        values = await client.mget(keys)
+        return {uid for uid, v in zip(user_ids, values) if v is not None}
+
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+    # Helpers
+    # ------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _heartbeat_key(user_id: int) -> str:
+        return f"{_PRESENCE_KEY_PREFIX}{user_id}"
+
+
+# Singleton instance shared by the router, so all requests share the same
+# connection pool.
+presence_store = PresenceStore()

backend/app/services/world_store.py

@@ -0,0 +1,431 @@
+"""World content storage service.
+
+Implements the `world.md` §5.1 service interface over Postgres, per
+`world_persistence_impl.md` §9 -- **minus** ``flush_dirty`` and
+``rebuild_index``, which don't apply once there is no write-behind dirty
+set and no derived index to rebuild (see that doc's §3.3 and §4.2).
+
+This is the *only* place chunk content is written (world_persistence_impl.md
+D2 / §5). Callers (the routers) own transaction boundaries: methods here
+``flush()`` so later statements in the same request see earlier ones and so
+integrity errors surface before a caller commits, but they never
+``commit()`` -- that mirrors the existing convention in
+``app/routers/worlds.py`` (``get_db`` docs: "Handlers are responsible for
+committing or rolling back their own transactions").
+
+Known gap this module had to resolve on its own (flagged, not silently
+decided): `world_persistence_impl.md` §6/§7.2/§8.1 all reference a world's
+monotonic ``content_revision`` ("bumped on every chunk write"), but no
+column for it is defined anywhere in §4's schema. Rather than add an
+undocumented column, ``content_revision()`` below derives it as
+``MAX(id)`` over ``world_chunk_revisions`` scoped to the world: that table
+is append-only (retention only nulls ``payload``, it never deletes rows),
+so the value is genuinely monotonic and increments on every
+create/update/delete/rollback.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+from sqlalchemy import func, select, update
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+from sqlalchemy.orm import load_only
+
+from app.config import settings
+from app.models.world_content import (
+    MAIN_ROOM_NAME,
+    MAIN_ROOM_SLUG,
+    WorldChunk,
+    WorldChunkRevision,
+    WorldRoom,
+)
+from app.services import chunk_codec
+
+
+class RevisionConflict(Exception):
+    """Optimistic-concurrency conflict (world.md §5.4). ``current_revision``
+    is 0 and ``current_checksum`` is None when the caller's ``base_revision``
+    assumed a chunk exists but it doesn't."""
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        current_revision: int,
+        current_checksum: str | None,
+        coord: tuple[int, int, int] | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.current_revision = current_revision
+        self.current_checksum = current_checksum
+        self.coord = coord
+        super().__init__(f"revision conflict: current_revision={current_revision}")
+
+
+class RevisionNotAvailable(Exception):
+    """Raised by ``rollback_chunk`` when the requested revision doesn't
+    exist, or exists but its payload was pruned by the retention policy
+    (world_persistence_impl.md §4.3)."""
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Bounds:
+    cx_min: int | None = None
+    cx_max: int | None = None
+    cy_min: int | None = None
+    cy_max: int | None = None
+    cz: int | None = None
+
+
+class WorldStore:
+    """Owns chunk/room read/write operations over the async session
+    handed to it. One instance per request is the expected usage
+    (``WorldStore(db)`` where ``db`` is the ``DbDep`` session)."""
+
+    def __init__(self, db: AsyncSession) -> None:
+        self.db = db
+
+    # ── rooms ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    async def get_room(self, world_id: int, slug: str) -> WorldRoom | None:
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldRoom).where(WorldRoom.world_id == world_id, WorldRoom.slug == slug)
+        )
+        return result.scalar_one_or_none()
+
+    async def list_rooms(self, world_id: int) -> list[WorldRoom]:
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldRoom).where(WorldRoom.world_id == world_id).order_by(WorldRoom.id)
+        )
+        return list(result.scalars().all())
+
+    async def create_room(
+        self,
+        world_id: int,
+        slug: str,
+        name: str,
+        *,
+        grid: dict | None = None,
+        bounds: dict | None = None,
+        spawn: dict | None = None,
+    ) -> WorldRoom:
+        room = WorldRoom(world_id=world_id, slug=slug, name=name)
+        if grid is not None:
+            room.grid = grid
+        if bounds is not None:
+            room.bounds = bounds
+        if spawn is not None:
+            room.spawn = spawn
+        self.db.add(room)
+        await self.db.flush()
+        await self.db.refresh(room)
+        return room
+
+    async def get_or_create_main_room(self, world_id: int) -> WorldRoom:
+        """world_persistence_impl.md §4.1: every world gets a ``main`` room.
+        Called from ``create_world`` for new worlds, and lazily here for
+        worlds that predate this migration."""
+        room = await self.get_room(world_id, MAIN_ROOM_SLUG)
+        if room is not None:
+            return room
+        try:
+            return await self.create_room(world_id, MAIN_ROOM_SLUG, MAIN_ROOM_NAME)
+        except IntegrityError:
+            # Lost a race with a concurrent creator; the row now exists.
+            await self.db.rollback()
+            room = await self.get_room(world_id, MAIN_ROOM_SLUG)
+            if room is None:
+                raise
+            return room
+
+    async def count_chunks(self, room_id: int) -> int:
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(func.count()).select_from(WorldChunk).where(WorldChunk.room_id == room_id)
+        )
+        return int(result.scalar_one())
+
+    async def content_revision(self, world_id: int) -> int:
+        """See module docstring for why this is derived rather than stored."""
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(func.max(WorldChunkRevision.id)).where(WorldChunkRevision.world_id == world_id)
+        )
+        return int(result.scalar() or 0)
+
+    # ── chunk reads ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    async def get_chunk(self, key: str) -> WorldChunk | None:
+        result = await self.db.execute(select(WorldChunk).where(WorldChunk.chunk_key == key))
+        return result.scalar_one_or_none()
+
+    async def get_chunk_by_coord(self, room_id: int, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int) -> WorldChunk | None:
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldChunk).where(
+                WorldChunk.room_id == room_id, WorldChunk.cx == cx,
+                WorldChunk.cy == cy, WorldChunk.cz == cz,
+            )
+        )
+        return result.scalar_one_or_none()
+
+    async def get_chunk_binary(self, key: str) -> bytes | None:
+        chunk = await self.get_chunk(key)
+        return chunk.payload if chunk is not None else None
+
+    async def get_chunk_flags(self, key: str) -> dict | None:
+        chunk = await self.get_chunk(key)
+        return chunk.content_flags if chunk is not None else None
+
+    async def list_chunks(
+        self,
+        world_id: int,
+        room_id: int | None = None,
+        bounds: Bounds | None = None,
+    ) -> list[WorldChunk]:
+        """Index query -- world.md §5.1's ``list_chunks``. Payload bytes are
+        deliberately not loaded (world_persistence_impl.md §8.1: "Payloads
+        are not included")."""
+        query = select(WorldChunk).options(
+            load_only(
+                WorldChunk.id, WorldChunk.world_id, WorldChunk.room_id, WorldChunk.chunk_key,
+                WorldChunk.cx, WorldChunk.cy, WorldChunk.cz, WorldChunk.revision,
+                WorldChunk.checksum, WorldChunk.payload_len, WorldChunk.is_mature,
+                WorldChunk.updated_at,
+            )
+        ).where(WorldChunk.world_id == world_id)
+        if room_id is not None:
+            query = query.where(WorldChunk.room_id == room_id)
+        if bounds is not None:
+            if bounds.cx_min is not None:
+                query = query.where(WorldChunk.cx >= bounds.cx_min)
+            if bounds.cx_max is not None:
+                query = query.where(WorldChunk.cx <= bounds.cx_max)
+            if bounds.cy_min is not None:
+                query = query.where(WorldChunk.cy >= bounds.cy_min)
+            if bounds.cy_max is not None:
+                query = query.where(WorldChunk.cy <= bounds.cy_max)
+            if bounds.cz is not None:
+                query = query.where(WorldChunk.cz == bounds.cz)
+        query = query.order_by(WorldChunk.cx, WorldChunk.cy, WorldChunk.cz)
+        result = await self.db.execute(query)
+        return list(result.scalars().all())
+
+    # ── chunk writes ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    async def put_chunk(
+        self,
+        *,
+        room: WorldRoom,
+        cx: int,
+        cy: int,
+        cz: int,
+        payload_bytes: bytes,
+        base_revision: int,
+        actor_id: int | None,
+    ) -> WorldChunk:
+        """Full-chunk write with optimistic concurrency (world.md §5.4,
+        world_persistence_impl.md §5.4/§8.2). Validates the payload
+        server-side (§5.5) before ever touching a row. ``base_revision=0``
+        means "create; 409 if it already exists"."""
+        key = chunk_codec.build_key(room.world_id, room.slug, cx, cy, cz)
+        grid_size = tuple(room.grid.get("size", [32, 32, 1]))
+
+        # Raises ChunkCodecError / ChunkValidationError -- the router maps
+        # those to 422. Nothing below trusts the request body's own claims
+        # about content_flags/is_mature; both come from `decoded`.
+        decoded = chunk_codec.decode_and_validate(
+            payload_bytes,
+            expected_key=key,
+            grid_size=grid_size,
+            max_objects=settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_OBJECTS,
+        )
+        body_checksum = chunk_codec.checksum(payload_bytes[chunk_codec.HEADER_SIZE:])
+
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldChunk)
+            .where(
+                WorldChunk.room_id == room.id, WorldChunk.cx == cx,
+                WorldChunk.cy == cy, WorldChunk.cz == cz,
+            )
+            .with_for_update()
+        )
+        row = result.scalar_one_or_none()
+
+        if base_revision == 0:
+            if row is not None:
+                raise RevisionConflict(row.revision, row.checksum, (cx, cy, cz))
+            row = WorldChunk(
+                world_id=room.world_id, room_id=room.id, chunk_key=key,
+                cx=cx, cy=cy, cz=cz, revision=1,
+            )
+            self.db.add(row)
+            action = "create"
+        else:
+            if row is None or row.revision != base_revision:
+                raise RevisionConflict(
+                    row.revision if row else 0, row.checksum if row else None, (cx, cy, cz)
+                )
+            row.revision = row.revision + 1
+            action = "update"
+
+        row.format_version = decoded.version
+        row.payload = payload_bytes
+        row.payload_len = len(payload_bytes)
+        row.checksum = body_checksum
+        row.content_flags = decoded.flags.to_dict()
+        row.is_mature = decoded.flags.mature
+        row.updated_by_id = actor_id
+
+        try:
+            await self.db.flush()
+        except IntegrityError:
+            # Lost a create race to a concurrent writer between our SELECT
+            # and this flush. Roll back and report the real current state.
+            await self.db.rollback()
+            existing = await self.get_chunk_by_coord(room.id, cx, cy, cz)
+            raise RevisionConflict(
+                existing.revision if existing else 0,
+                existing.checksum if existing else None,
+                (cx, cy, cz),
+            )
+
+        await self._record_revision(key, room.world_id, row.revision, action, actor_id, body_checksum, payload_bytes)
+        await self.db.refresh(row)
+        return row
+
+    async def put_chunks_batch(
+        self,
+        *,
+        room: WorldRoom,
+        items: list[dict],
+        actor_id: int | None,
+    ) -> list[WorldChunk]:
+        """Batch write (world_persistence_impl.md §8.1). One transaction,
+        all-or-nothing: none of this ``commit()``s, so a ``RevisionConflict``
+        raised partway leaves nothing persisted once the caller's request
+        handler lets the exception (or the HTTPException it becomes)
+        propagate through ``get_db``, which rolls back on any exception."""
+        rows: list[WorldChunk] = []
+        for item in items:
+            row = await self.put_chunk(
+                room=room, cx=item["cx"], cy=item["cy"], cz=item["cz"],
+                payload_bytes=item["payload_bytes"], base_revision=item["base_revision"],
+                actor_id=actor_id,
+            )
+            rows.append(row)
+        return rows
+
+    async def delete_chunk(self, key: str, actor_id: int | None) -> None:
+        row = await self.get_chunk(key)
+        if row is None:
+            return
+        await self._record_revision(key, row.world_id, row.revision, "delete", actor_id, row.checksum, None)
+        await self.db.delete(row)
+        await self.db.flush()
+
+    async def rollback_chunk(self, key: str, revision: int, actor_id: int | None) -> WorldChunk:
+        """Restore a chunk to a previously-recorded revision's payload
+        (world.md §5.1). Raises ``RevisionNotAvailable`` if that revision
+        was never recorded, its payload was pruned by retention, or the
+        chunk has since been deleted outright (nothing to update in place)."""
+        rev_result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldChunkRevision)
+            .where(WorldChunkRevision.chunk_key == key, WorldChunkRevision.revision == revision)
+            .order_by(WorldChunkRevision.id.desc())
+            .limit(1)
+        )
+        rev_row = rev_result.scalar_one_or_none()
+        if rev_row is None:
+            raise RevisionNotAvailable(f"no revision {revision} recorded for {key!r}")
+        if rev_row.payload is None:
+            raise RevisionNotAvailable(f"revision {revision} of {key!r} was pruned; payload unavailable")
+
+        chunk = await self.get_chunk(key)
+        if chunk is None:
+            raise RevisionNotAvailable(f"chunk {key!r} no longer exists; cannot roll back in place")
+
+        room_result = await self.db.execute(select(WorldRoom).where(WorldRoom.id == chunk.room_id))
+        room = room_result.scalar_one()
+        grid_size = tuple(room.grid.get("size", [32, 32, 1]))
+        decoded = chunk_codec.decode_and_validate(
+            rev_row.payload, expected_key=key, grid_size=grid_size,
+            max_objects=settings.WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_OBJECTS,
+        )
+        body_checksum = chunk_codec.checksum(rev_row.payload[chunk_codec.HEADER_SIZE:])
+
+        chunk.revision = chunk.revision + 1
+        chunk.payload = rev_row.payload
+        chunk.payload_len = len(rev_row.payload)
+        chunk.checksum = body_checksum
+        chunk.format_version = decoded.version
+        chunk.content_flags = decoded.flags.to_dict()
+        chunk.is_mature = decoded.flags.mature
+        chunk.updated_by_id = actor_id
+
+        await self.db.flush()
+        # Tagged "update" (not a fourth action value) to keep the
+        # documented 'create'|'update'|'delete' action enum intact.
+        await self._record_revision(
+            key, chunk.world_id, chunk.revision, "update", actor_id, body_checksum, rev_row.payload
+        )
+        await self.db.refresh(chunk)
+        return chunk
+
+    async def list_revisions(self, chunk_key: str, limit: int = 50) -> list[WorldChunkRevision]:
+        """Not in world.md §5.1's interface by name, but required to
+        implement the revision-history endpoint world_persistence_impl.md
+        §8.1 lists (``GET .../revisions``)."""
+        result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldChunkRevision)
+            .where(WorldChunkRevision.chunk_key == chunk_key)
+            .order_by(WorldChunkRevision.revision.desc(), WorldChunkRevision.id.desc())
+            .limit(limit)
+        )
+        return list(result.scalars().all())
+
+    async def migrate(self) -> None:
+        """No-op. `world.md` §4.8's hand-rolled SQLite migration runner is
+        superseded by Alembic (`backend/alembic/`) now that content lives
+        in Postgres (world_persistence_impl.md §3.3). Kept only so this
+        class's shape still matches the §5.1 interface it's implementing
+        a subset of."""
+        return None
+
+    # ── internals ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    async def _record_revision(
+        self,
+        chunk_key: str,
+        world_id: int,
+        revision: int,
+        action: str,
+        actor_id: int | None,
+        checksum_hex: str,
+        payload_bytes: bytes | None,
+    ) -> None:
+        """Append an audit row and enforce the retention policy
+        (world_persistence_impl.md §4.3, required): keep the newest
+        ``WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP`` payloads per ``chunk_key``, null out
+        ``payload`` on older rows, in the same transaction as the write."""
+        rev = WorldChunkRevision(
+            chunk_key=chunk_key, world_id=world_id, revision=revision, action=action,
+            actor_id=actor_id, checksum=checksum_hex, payload=payload_bytes,
+        )
+        self.db.add(rev)
+        await self.db.flush()
+
+        keep = settings.WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP
+        keep_ids_result = await self.db.execute(
+            select(WorldChunkRevision.id)
+            .where(WorldChunkRevision.chunk_key == chunk_key)
+            .order_by(WorldChunkRevision.id.desc())
+            .limit(keep)
+        )
+        keep_ids = [row[0] for row in keep_ids_result.all()]
+        if keep_ids:
+            await self.db.execute(
+                update(WorldChunkRevision)
+                .where(
+                    WorldChunkRevision.chunk_key == chunk_key,
+                    WorldChunkRevision.id.notin_(keep_ids),
+                    WorldChunkRevision.payload.isnot(None),
+                )
+                .values(payload=None)
+            )

backend/tests/conftest.py

@@ -1,38 +1,218 @@
-"""Shared pytest fixtures.
+"""Shared pytest fixtures + hermetic-DB/Redis bootstrap.
 
-The auth integration tests hit the *real* Postgres database (per
-``DATABASE_URL``), so they persist data between runs.  Without cleanup a
-second run of the suite fails with 409 conflicts because the users it
-registered on the first run already exist.  The session-scoped fixture below
-truncates all application tables once before the first test, making the suite
-re-runnable.
+The integration tests hit a real Postgres (Postgres-specific types: JSONB,
+native ENUMs) and, for presence tests, a real Redis (TTL semantics aren't
+worth faking). To make ``cd backend && pytest`` work from a clean checkout
+with no manual setup, ``pytest_configure`` below brings up ephemeral
+Postgres/Redis containers via docker compose and runs the migrations IF
+``DATABASE_URL``/``REDIS_URL`` aren't already pointing at something
+reachable. When they are (dev loop, or the checkpoint runner which stands
+these up itself), that path is skipped and the existing services are
+reused.
 
-Truncation order doesn't strictly matter because ``CASCADE`` follows foreign
-keys, but the tables are listed explicitly for clarity.
+If Docker isn't available and nothing is reachable, the whole
+DB/Redis-backed suite is skipped with a clear message rather than erroring
+out dozens of times.
 """
 
 import asyncio
+import os
+import socket
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urlsplit
 
 import pytest
 from sqlalchemy import text
-from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_sessionmaker, create_async_engine
+from sqlalchemy.pool import NullPool
 
 from app.config import settings
+from app.database import get_db
+from app.main import app
 
-TEST_TABLES = ("assets", "worlds", "sessions", "refresh_tokens", "users")
+TEST_TABLES = (
+    "avatar_loadouts", "assets",
+    # world_chunk_revisions has no FK to worlds/world_chunks (world.md §4.7 /
+    # world_persistence_impl.md §4.3, deliberate -- deleting a chunk or world
+    # must not lose the audit trail), so it won't be cascade-truncated via
+    # `worlds` the way world_rooms/world_chunks would be. List all three
+    # explicitly rather than rely on cascade for some of them.
+    "world_chunk_revisions", "world_chunks", "world_rooms",
+    "worlds", "sessions", "refresh_tokens", "users",
+)
+
+BACKEND_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+_COMPOSE_PROJECT = "agp-pytest"
+_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT = 25432
+_EPHEMERAL_REDIS_PORT = 26379
+
+# Set by pytest_configure() when it starts container(s) it owns; torn down in
+# pytest_unconfigure.
+_started_container = False
+_db_unavailable_reason: str | None = None
+
+
+def _port_open(host: str, port: int, timeout: float = 1.0) -> bool:
+    try:
+        with socket.create_connection((host, port), timeout=timeout):
+            return True
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+
+def _db_reachable(url: str) -> bool:
+    parts = urlsplit(url)
+    return _port_open(parts.hostname or "localhost", parts.port or 5432)
+
+
+def _redis_reachable(url: str) -> bool:
+    parts = urlsplit(url)
+    return _port_open(parts.hostname or "localhost", parts.port or 6379)
+
+
+def _run(cmd: list[str], **kw) -> subprocess.CompletedProcess:
+    return subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=BACKEND_DIR, capture_output=True, text=True, **kw)
+
+
+def pytest_configure(config):
+    global _started_container, _db_unavailable_reason
+
+    need_db = not _db_reachable(settings.DATABASE_URL)
+    need_redis = not _redis_reachable(settings.REDIS_URL)
+
+    if not need_db and not need_redis:
+        return  # dev loop / checkpoint runner already provided both
+
+    if not _run(["docker", "--version"]).returncode == 0:
+        _db_unavailable_reason = (
+            "no reachable DATABASE_URL/REDIS_URL and docker is unavailable -- run "
+            "the checkpoint suite (scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py) or start "
+            "Postgres/Redis manually"
+        )
+        return
+
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    env["COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME"] = _COMPOSE_PROJECT
+    env["POSTGRES_HOST_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT)
+    env["POSTGRES_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT)
+    env["REDIS_HOST_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_REDIS_PORT)
+
+    services = [s for s, need in (("postgres", need_db), ("redis", need_redis)) if need]
+    up = _run(["docker", "compose", "up", "-d", *services], env=env)
+    if up.returncode != 0:
+        _db_unavailable_reason = f"docker compose up {' '.join(services)} failed:\n{up.stderr[-800:]}"
+        return
+    _started_container = True
+
+    if need_db:
+        for _ in range(30):
+            r = _run(
+                ["docker", "compose", "exec", "-T", "postgres",
+                 "pg_isready", "-U", "agp_user", "-d", "agp_db"],
+                env=env,
+            )
+            if r.returncode == 0:
+                break
+            time.sleep(1)
+        else:
+            _db_unavailable_reason = "ephemeral Postgres never became ready"
+            return
+
+        url = f"postgresql+asyncpg://agp_user:agp_password@localhost:{_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT}/agp_db"
+        os.environ["DATABASE_URL"] = url
+        settings.DATABASE_URL = url
+
+        mig = _run([sys.executable, "-m", "alembic", "upgrade", "head"],
+                   env={**os.environ, "DATABASE_URL": url})
+        if mig.returncode != 0:
+            _db_unavailable_reason = f"alembic upgrade head failed:\n{mig.stderr[-800:]}"
+            return
+
+    if need_redis:
+        for _ in range(30):
+            r = _run(
+                ["docker", "compose", "exec", "-T", "redis", "redis-cli", "ping"],
+                env=env,
+            )
+            if r.returncode == 0 and "PONG" in r.stdout:
+                break
+            time.sleep(1)
+        else:
+            _db_unavailable_reason = "ephemeral Redis never became ready"
+            return
+
+        redis_url = f"redis://localhost:{_EPHEMERAL_REDIS_PORT}/0"
+        os.environ["REDIS_URL"] = redis_url
+        settings.REDIS_URL = redis_url
+
+
+def pytest_unconfigure(config):
+    if not _started_container:
+        return
+    env = os.environ.copy()
+    env["COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME"] = _COMPOSE_PROJECT
+    env["POSTGRES_HOST_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT)
+    env["POSTGRES_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_PG_PORT)
+    env["REDIS_HOST_PORT"] = str(_EPHEMERAL_REDIS_PORT)
+    _run(["docker", "compose", "down", "-v"], env=env)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session", autouse=True)
 def _reset_database():
     """Truncate all application tables once per test session."""
+    if _db_unavailable_reason:
+        pytest.skip(_db_unavailable_reason, allow_module_level=True)
 
     async def _truncate() -> None:
         engine = create_async_engine(settings.DATABASE_URL)
         async with engine.begin() as conn:
-            await conn.execute(
-                text(f"TRUNCATE TABLE {', '.join(TEST_TABLES)} CASCADE")
-            )
+            await conn.execute(text(f"TRUNCATE TABLE {', '.join(TEST_TABLES)} CASCADE"))
         await engine.dispose()
 
     asyncio.run(_truncate())
     yield
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _reset_rate_limiter():
+    """Every TestClient request looks like the same client IP, so the
+    per-IP auth limiter would trip mid-suite. Clear it between tests; the
+    dedicated rate-limit test disables this to exercise the real behaviour.
+    """
+    from app import rate_limit
+    rate_limit.reset_all()
+    yield
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _override_db():
+    """Override get_db so the app uses a fresh session per test.
+
+    Deliberately does NOT reuse app.database's shared engine: FastAPI's
+    (sync) TestClient runs each request through anyio's blocking-portal
+    machinery, which can hand different requests different event loops.
+    asyncpg connections are bound to the loop they were created on, so
+    reusing one from the shared pool across requests raises "attached to a
+    different loop" the moment a test makes more than one request. NullPool
+    sidesteps it: every checkout is a brand-new connection.
+    """
+    test_engine = create_async_engine(settings.DATABASE_URL, poolclass=NullPool)
+    test_session_factory = async_sessionmaker(test_engine, expire_on_commit=False)
+
+    async def _get_db():
+        async_session = test_session_factory()
+        try:
+            yield async_session
+            await async_session.commit()
+        except Exception:
+            await async_session.rollback()
+            raise
+        finally:
+            await async_session.close()
+
+    app.dependency_overrides[get_db] = _get_db
+    yield
+    app.dependency_overrides.clear()

backend/tests/fixtures/chunks/generate_fixtures.py

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+"""Generates the golden-file chunk fixtures in this directory.
+
+These pin the world.md §3.6 binary format so the Python codec
+(app/services/chunk_codec.py) and any future Godot-side test fixture can be
+checked for drift (world_persistence_impl.md §5.5's "drift control"
+requirement). No Godot-side golden fixture existed at the time this was
+written (searched scripts/ and tests/ for AGPC / binary-format test
+vectors -- none found), so these are authored here, from this
+implementation, as the first golden files for the format. The client/editor
+follow-on task should decode these same files with
+`ChunkDataDecoder.decode_binary()` and assert the same logical values
+(see the note in chunk_codec.py about a confirmed float32 handling bug in
+that decoder that will need fixing for full byte parity on non-integer
+transforms).
+
+Run with: `python tests/fixtures/chunks/generate_fixtures.py` from `backend/`.
+Fixtures are checked in; this script is for regenerating them if the format
+or these examples change, not run as part of the test suite.
+"""
+
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]))  # backend/
+
+from app.services import chunk_codec as cc
+
+FIXTURES_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
+
+
+def _empty_chunk() -> cc.ChunkPayload:
+    return cc.ChunkPayload(
+        world_id="7", room_id="main", coord=(0, 0, 0),
+        bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), size=(32.0, 32.0, 1.0)),
+        tile_layers=[], objects=[],
+        flags=cc.ContentFlags(),
+        created_at=1_700_000_000, updated_at=1_700_000_000, revision=1, author="fixture-gen",
+    )
+
+
+def _simple_tile_chunk() -> cc.ChunkPayload:
+    layer = cc.TileLayer(
+        name="ground", layer_id=0, width=4, height=4, depth=1,
+        palette=[
+            cc.TileDef(id=0, asset_id="", solid=False, flags=0, variants=1),
+            cc.TileDef(id=1, asset_id="tiles/grass", solid=False, flags=1, variants=4),
+            cc.TileDef(id=2, asset_id="tiles/stone", solid=True, flags=2, variants=2),
+        ],
+        tiles=[0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0],
+    )
+    return cc.ChunkPayload(
+        world_id="12", room_id="main", coord=(3, -1, 0),
+        bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(96.0, -32.0, 0.0), size=(32.0, 32.0, 1.0)),
+        tile_layers=[layer], objects=[],
+        flags=cc.ContentFlags(violence=0, mature=False, sources=[]),
+        created_at=1_700_000_000, updated_at=1_700_000_500, revision=2, author="fixture-gen",
+    )
+
+
+def _chunk_with_objects() -> cc.ChunkPayload:
+    layer = cc.TileLayer(
+        name="ground", layer_id=0, width=2, height=2, depth=1,
+        palette=[cc.TileDef(id=0, asset_id="", solid=False, flags=0, variants=1)],
+        tiles=[0, 0, 0, 0],
+    )
+    obj1 = cc.WorldObject(
+        id="obj_0001", type="interactable", asset_id="props/chest",
+        pos=(101.5, -110.25, 0.5), rot=(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0), scale=(1.0, 1.0, 1.0),
+        dynamic=False,
+        properties={"locked": False, "loot_table": "chest_basic"},
+        flags=cc.ContentFlags(violence=0, mature=False, sources=[]),
+    )
+    obj2 = cc.WorldObject(
+        id="obj_0002", type="spawn_point", asset_id="",
+        pos=(96.0, -128.0, 1.0), rot=(0.0, 0.7071, 0.0, 0.7071), scale=(1.0, 1.0, 1.0),
+        dynamic=True,
+        properties={},
+        flags=cc.ContentFlags(violence=1, mature=False, sources=["asset:props/chest"]),
+    )
+    return cc.ChunkPayload(
+        world_id="12", room_id="main", coord=(3, -4, 0),
+        bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(96.0, -128.0, 0.0), size=(32.0, 32.0, 1.0)),
+        tile_layers=[layer], objects=[obj1, obj2],
+        flags=cc.ContentFlags(violence=1, mature=False, sources=["asset:props/chest"]),
+        created_at=1_700_000_000, updated_at=1_700_001_000, revision=5, author="agent-bot",
+    )
+
+
+FIXTURES = {
+    "empty_chunk.bin": _empty_chunk,
+    "simple_tile_chunk.bin": _simple_tile_chunk,
+    "chunk_with_objects.bin": _chunk_with_objects,
+}
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    for filename, builder in FIXTURES.items():
+        payload = builder()
+        data = cc.encode_binary(payload)
+        (FIXTURES_DIR / filename).write_bytes(data)
+        print(f"wrote {filename} ({len(data)} bytes)")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

backend/tests/test_auth_age_gate.py

@@ -3,92 +3,102 @@
 from datetime import date, timedelta
 
 import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
 
-from app.routers.auth import calculate_age
+from app.main import app
+from app.routers.auth import calculate_age, MIN_AGE, RegisterRequest
 
 
 class TestCalculateAge:
     """Unit tests for the calculate_age helper."""
 
     def test_exactly_18(self):
-        """A person born exactly 18 years ago today is 18."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
+        today = date(2026, 6, 15)
         dob = today.replace(year=today.year - 18)
         assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 18
 
     def test_just_turned_18(self):
-        """A person who turned 18 yesterday is 18."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
+        today = date(2026, 6, 15)
         dob = today.replace(year=today.year - 18) - timedelta(days=1)
         assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 18
 
     def test_one_day_short_of_18(self):
-        """A person born one day after their 18th birthday is 17."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
+        today = date(2026, 6, 15)
         dob = today.replace(year=today.year - 18) + timedelta(days=1)
         assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 17
 
-    def test_17_years_old(self):
-        """A person who is 17 years old today is 17."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
-        dob = date(2008, 6, 15)
-        assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 17
+    def test_leap_day_birthday_before(self):
+        assert calculate_age(date(2000, 2, 29), today=date(2024, 2, 28)) == 23
 
-    def test_65_years_old(self):
-        """A person who is 65 is correctly calculated."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
-        dob = today.replace(year=today.year - 65)
-        assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 65
-
-    def test_newborn(self):
-        """A newborn is 0."""
-        today = date(2025, 6, 15)
-        dob = today
-        assert calculate_age(dob, today=today) == 0
-
-    def test_birthday_not_yet_this_year(self):
-        """Person born Dec 31, 2000 — on Jan 1, 2025 they are still 24."""
-        dob = date(2000, 12, 31)
-        assert calculate_age(dob, today=date(2025, 1, 1)) == 24
-
-    def test_birthday_today(self):
-        """Person born Dec 31, 2000 — on Dec 31, 2024 they turn 24."""
-        dob = date(2000, 12, 31)
-        assert calculate_age(dob, today=date(2024, 12, 31)) == 24
+    def test_leap_day_birthday_after(self):
+        assert calculate_age(date(2000, 2, 29), today=date(2024, 3, 1)) == 24
 
 
-class TestRegisterRequestOver18Field:
-    """Tests for RegisterRequest's over_18 field.
+class TestRegisterRequestDob:
+    def test_dob_parsed_from_iso_string(self):
+        req = RegisterRequest(username="u", email="u@example.com", password="p",
+                              date_of_birth="1990-01-01")
+        assert req.date_of_birth == date(1990, 1, 1)
 
-    Replaces TestRegisterRequestDateValidation -- date_of_birth and its
-    field_validator were removed from RegisterRequest 2026-08-20 (interim
-    simplification: a plain client-side over_18 confirmation instead of
-    collecting/validating an actual date of birth; see calculate_age's
-    own docstring in app/routers/auth.py for why that function is still
-    here even though this endpoint no longer calls it). There's no date
-    format left to validate, so the equivalent coverage is just: the
-    field exists, is a real bool, and is required."""
-
-    def test_over_18_true_accepted(self):
-        from app.routers.auth import RegisterRequest
-
-        req = RegisterRequest(username="u", email="u@example.com", password="p", over_18=True)
-        assert req.over_18 is True
-
-    def test_over_18_false_accepted(self):
-        """False is a valid value at the schema level -- the endpoint,
-        not the schema, is what rejects it (see
-        TestRegister::test_register_rejects_not_over_18 in
-        test_auth_endpoints.py)."""
-        from app.routers.auth import RegisterRequest
-
-        req = RegisterRequest(username="u", email="u@example.com", password="p", over_18=False)
-        assert req.over_18 is False
-
-    def test_over_18_missing_rejected(self):
-        """over_18 has no default -- omitting it entirely is a validation error."""
-        from app.routers.auth import RegisterRequest
-        from pydantic import ValidationError
-
-        with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
+    def test_dob_required(self):
+        with pytest.raises(Exception):
             RegisterRequest(username="u", email="u@example.com", password="p")
+
+    def test_bad_dob_string_rejected(self):
+        with pytest.raises(Exception):
+            RegisterRequest(username="u", email="u@example.com", password="p",
+                            date_of_birth="not-a-date")
+
+
+class TestRegisterAgeGate:
+    """End-to-end: the /register endpoint computes age from the DOB."""
+
+    def _dob_for_age(self, years: int) -> str:
+        return (date.today().replace(year=date.today().year - years)).isoformat()
+
+    def test_adult_accepted(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+            "username": "gate_adult", "email": "gate_adult@e.com",
+            "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": self._dob_for_age(25),
+        })
+        assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+
+    def test_minor_rejected(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+            "username": "gate_minor", "email": "gate_minor@e.com",
+            "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": self._dob_for_age(15),
+        })
+        assert r.status_code == 403
+        assert str(MIN_AGE) in r.json()["detail"]
+
+    def test_exactly_18_accepted(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+            "username": "gate_18", "email": "gate_18@e.com",
+            "password": "secret123",
+            "date_of_birth": (date.today().replace(year=date.today().year - 18) - timedelta(days=1)).isoformat(),
+        })
+        assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+
+    def test_future_dob_rejected(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+            "username": "gate_future", "email": "gate_future@e.com",
+            "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": "2999-01-01",
+        })
+        assert r.status_code == 400
+
+    def test_dob_is_stored(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        dob = self._dob_for_age(30)
+        reg = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+            "username": "gate_stored", "email": "gate_stored@e.com",
+            "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": dob,
+        })
+        assert reg.status_code == 201
+        me = client.get("/api/auth/me", headers={
+            "Authorization": f"Bearer {reg.json()['access_token']}"
+        })
+        assert me.json()["date_of_birth"] == dob

backend/tests/test_auth_endpoints.py

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class TestRegister:
                 "username": "newuser",
                 "email": "new@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 201
@@ -81,26 +81,23 @@ class TestRegister:
         assert "access_token" in data
         assert data["token_type"] == "bearer"
 
-    def test_register_rejects_not_over_18(self):
-        """over_18=false gets a 400 with a detail message.
-
-        The interim design (2026-08-20) trusts a client-side boolean
-        confirmation instead of collecting/validating an actual date of
-        birth -- this only checks that the flag is respected, not real
-        age math (there's no date to verify against anymore). Real DOB
-        collection/verification may come back in a future pass."""
+    def test_register_rejects_under_18(self):
+        """A DOB that computes to under 18 gets a 403 (see test_auth_age_gate
+        for the age-math coverage)."""
+        from datetime import date
         client = TestClient(app)
+        minor_dob = date.today().replace(year=date.today().year - 14).isoformat()
         resp = client.post(
             "/api/auth/register",
             json={
                 "username": "kid",
                 "email": "kid@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": False,
+                "date_of_birth": minor_dob,
             },
         )
-        assert resp.status_code == 400
-        assert "18 or older" in resp.json()["detail"]
+        assert resp.status_code == 403
+        assert "at least 18" in resp.json()["detail"]
 
     def test_register_rejects_duplicate_username(self):
         """Registering the same username twice returns 409."""
@@ -112,7 +109,7 @@ class TestRegister:
                 "username": "duplicate",
                 "email": "dup1@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         # Second registration with same username, different email
@@ -122,7 +119,7 @@ class TestRegister:
                 "username": "duplicate",
                 "email": "dup2@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 409
@@ -137,7 +134,7 @@ class TestRegister:
                 "username": "user1",
                 "email": "same@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         resp = client.post(
@@ -146,19 +143,14 @@ class TestRegister:
                 "username": "user2",
                 "email": "same@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 409
         assert "Email already registered" in resp.json()["detail"]
 
-    def test_register_missing_over_18(self):
-        """Missing the required over_18 field returns 422.
-
-        Replaces the old test_register_invalid_date_format -- there's no
-        date format to get wrong anymore (no date field at all), so the
-        closest equivalent "malformed request" case is the required
-        over_18 boolean being absent entirely."""
+    def test_register_missing_dob(self):
+        """Missing the required date_of_birth field returns 422."""
         client = TestClient(app)
         resp = client.post(
             "/api/auth/register",
@@ -189,7 +181,7 @@ class TestLogin:
                 "username": username,
                 "email": email,
                 "password": password,
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 201

backend/tests/test_auth_expired_token.py

@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ def _register_user(client: TestClient, username: str) -> str:
             "username": username,
             "email": f"{username}@example.com",
             "password": "secret123",
-            "over_18": True,
+            "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
         },
     )
     assert resp.status_code == 201

backend/tests/test_avatar_loadout.py

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+"""Integration tests for GET/PUT /api/avatar/loadout.
+
+Hits the real app against the configured Postgres (same contract as the
+other integration tests -- migrations applied first).
+"""
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app.main import app
+from app.models.avatar_loadout import DEFAULT_LOADOUT
+
+
+def _auth_headers(client: TestClient, username: str) -> dict:
+    resp = client.post(
+        "/api/auth/register",
+        json={
+            "username": username,
+            "email": f"{username}@example.com",
+            "password": "secret123",
+            "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
+        },
+    )
+    assert resp.status_code == 201, resp.text
+    return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {resp.json()['access_token']}"}
+
+
+class TestGetLoadout:
+    def test_new_user_gets_the_default(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers = _auth_headers(client, "av_default")
+        resp = client.get("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers)
+        assert resp.status_code == 200
+        body = resp.json()
+        assert body["is_default"] is True
+        assert body["data"] == DEFAULT_LOADOUT
+
+    def test_requires_auth(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        assert client.get("/api/avatar/loadout").status_code == 401
+
+
+class TestPutLoadout:
+    def test_save_then_read_back(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers = _auth_headers(client, "av_save")
+        loadout = {
+            "base_body": "base_human_male_01",
+            "slots": {"hair": "hair_mohawk_01", "accessory": ["accessory_belt_01"]},
+            "skin_tone": {"r": 0.8, "g": 0.6, "b": 0.5, "a": 1.0},
+        }
+        put = client.put("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers, json={"data": loadout})
+        assert put.status_code == 200, put.text
+        assert put.json()["is_default"] is False
+
+        got = client.get("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers)
+        assert got.status_code == 200
+        assert got.json()["is_default"] is False
+        assert got.json()["data"] == loadout
+
+    def test_put_is_idempotent_replace(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers = _auth_headers(client, "av_replace")
+        client.put(
+            "/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers,
+            json={"data": {"base_body": "base_human_male_01", "slots": {"hair": "hair_mohawk_01"}}},
+        )
+        second = {"base_body": "base_human_male_01", "slots": {"chest": "chest_bandit_01"}}
+        client.put("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers, json={"data": second})
+        got = client.get("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers)
+        assert got.json()["data"] == second
+
+    def test_rejects_missing_base_body(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers = _auth_headers(client, "av_nobase")
+        resp = client.put("/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers, json={"data": {"slots": {}}})
+        assert resp.status_code == 422
+
+    def test_rejects_non_object_slots(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers = _auth_headers(client, "av_badslots")
+        resp = client.put(
+            "/api/avatar/loadout", headers=headers,
+            json={"data": {"base_body": "base_human_male_01", "slots": "nope"}},
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 422
+
+    def test_requires_auth(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        resp = client.put("/api/avatar/loadout", json={"data": {"base_body": "x", "slots": {}}})
+        assert resp.status_code == 401

backend/tests/test_chunk_codec.py

@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+"""Tests for app.services.chunk_codec -- the Python port of world.md §3.6.
+
+Pure unit tests: no database, no app, no network. Golden fixtures live in
+tests/fixtures/chunks/ (see generate_fixtures.py there for how/why).
+"""
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.services import chunk_codec as cc
+
+FIXTURES_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "fixtures" / "chunks"
+
+
+def _read_fixture(name: str) -> bytes:
+    return (FIXTURES_DIR / name).read_bytes()
+
+
+class TestGoldenFixtures:
+    """Byte-stability: decode a committed fixture, re-encode it, and the
+    bytes must match exactly (world.md §3.6.3)."""
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("filename", [
+        "empty_chunk.bin", "simple_tile_chunk.bin", "chunk_with_objects.bin",
+    ])
+    def test_round_trip_is_byte_identical(self, filename):
+        original = _read_fixture(filename)
+        decoded = cc.decode_binary(original)
+        re_encoded = cc.encode_binary(decoded)
+        assert re_encoded == original
+
+    def test_simple_tile_chunk_logical_values(self):
+        decoded = cc.decode_binary(_read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin"))
+        assert decoded.world_id == "12"
+        assert decoded.room_id == "main"
+        assert decoded.coord == (3, -1, 0)
+        assert decoded.bounds.min == (96.0, -32.0, 0.0)
+        assert decoded.bounds.size == (32.0, 32.0, 1.0)
+        assert len(decoded.tile_layers) == 1
+        layer = decoded.tile_layers[0]
+        assert layer.name == "ground"
+        assert (layer.width, layer.height, layer.depth) == (4, 4, 1)
+        assert len(layer.palette) == 3
+        assert layer.tiles == [0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0]
+        assert decoded.revision == 2
+        assert decoded.author == "fixture-gen"
+
+    def test_chunk_with_objects_logical_values(self):
+        decoded = cc.decode_binary(_read_fixture("chunk_with_objects.bin"))
+        assert len(decoded.objects) == 2
+        obj1, obj2 = decoded.objects
+        assert obj1.id == "obj_0001"
+        assert obj1.type == "interactable"
+        assert obj1.pos == (101.5, -110.25, 0.5)
+        assert obj1.properties == {"locked": False, "loot_table": "chest_basic"}
+        assert obj2.id == "obj_0002"
+        assert obj2.dynamic is True
+        assert obj2.flags.violence == 1
+        assert obj2.flags.sources == ["asset:props/chest"]
+        assert decoded.flags.violence == 1
+        assert decoded.flags.sources == ["asset:props/chest"]
+
+    def test_empty_chunk_has_no_layers_or_objects(self):
+        decoded = cc.decode_binary(_read_fixture("empty_chunk.bin"))
+        assert decoded.tile_layers == []
+        assert decoded.objects == []
+
+
+class TestChecksum:
+    def test_checksum_is_sha256_hex(self):
+        import hashlib
+        assert cc.checksum(b"") == hashlib.sha256(b"").hexdigest()
+        assert len(cc.checksum(b"")) == 64
+
+    def test_header_checksum_matches_recomputed_for_valid_fixture(self):
+        data = _read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin")
+        header_checksum_hex = data[16:48].hex()
+        body = data[cc.HEADER_SIZE:]
+        assert header_checksum_hex == cc.checksum(body)
+
+
+class TestBuildKey:
+    def test_matches_world_persistence_impl_4_5_format(self):
+        assert cc.build_key(12, "main", 3, -1, 0) == "12:main:3:-1:0"
+        assert cc.build_key("12", "main", 3, -1, 0) == "12:main:3:-1:0"
+
+
+class TestFloat32Fidelity:
+    """This is the concrete regression test for the cross-codec divergence
+    documented at the bottom of chunk_codec.py: this module must encode
+    real IEEE-754 float32, including fractional and negative values,
+    round-tripping exactly (up to float32 precision) -- unlike
+    scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd's current int-truncating implementation."""
+
+    def test_fractional_and_negative_floats_survive_round_trip(self):
+        payload = cc.ChunkPayload(
+            world_id="1", room_id="main", coord=(0, 0, 0),
+            bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(-17.25, 0.125, -3.0), size=(32.0, 32.0, 1.0)),
+            objects=[cc.WorldObject(
+                id="o1", type="prop", asset_id="a",
+                pos=(1.5, -2.75, 0.001), rot=(0.0, 0.7071068, 0.0, 0.7071068),
+                scale=(1.0, 1.0, 1.0),
+            )],
+        )
+        encoded = cc.encode_binary(payload)
+        decoded = cc.decode_binary(encoded)
+        assert decoded.bounds.min == pytest.approx((-17.25, 0.125, -3.0), abs=1e-6)
+        assert decoded.objects[0].pos == pytest.approx((1.5, -2.75, 0.001), abs=1e-6)
+        assert decoded.objects[0].rot == pytest.approx(
+            (0.0, 0.7071068, 0.0, 0.7071068), abs=1e-6
+        )
+
+
+class TestMalformedInput:
+    def test_bad_magic_raises_codec_error(self):
+        data = bytearray(_read_fixture("empty_chunk.bin"))
+        data[0:4] = b"XXXX"
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkCodecError):
+            cc.decode_binary(bytes(data))
+
+    def test_too_short_raises_codec_error(self):
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkCodecError):
+            cc.decode_binary(b"AGPC\x01\x00")
+
+    def test_unsupported_version_raises_codec_error(self):
+        data = bytearray(_read_fixture("empty_chunk.bin"))
+        data[4:6] = (99).to_bytes(2, "little")
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkCodecError):
+            cc.decode_binary(bytes(data))
+
+    def test_payload_len_mismatch_raises_codec_error(self):
+        data = bytearray(_read_fixture("empty_chunk.bin"))
+        # Corrupt the declared payload_len (offset 12..16).
+        data[12:16] = (99999).to_bytes(4, "little")
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkCodecError):
+            cc.decode_binary(bytes(data))
+
+
+class TestValidation:
+    """decode_and_validate: the server-side "don't trust the client"
+    boundary (world_persistence_impl.md §5.5)."""
+
+    def _valid_args(self):
+        return {
+            "expected_key": "12:main:3:-1:0",
+            "grid_size": (4, 4, 1),
+            "max_objects": 512,
+        }
+
+    def test_valid_payload_passes(self):
+        data = _read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin")
+        payload = cc.decode_and_validate(data, **self._valid_args())
+        assert payload.coord == (3, -1, 0)
+
+    def test_checksum_mismatch_detected(self):
+        data = bytearray(_read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin"))
+        # Corrupt one byte of the header's advisory checksum field
+        # (offset 16..48) only -- magic/version/payload_len and the whole
+        # payload body stay untouched, so this exercises exactly the
+        # "recomputed checksum disagrees with the header" path rather than
+        # also breaking structural decoding.
+        data[16] ^= 0xFF
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(bytes(data), **self._valid_args())
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "checksum_mismatch"
+
+    def test_chunk_key_mismatch_detected(self):
+        data = _read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin")
+        args = self._valid_args()
+        args["expected_key"] = "12:main:99:99:0"  # doesn't match the payload's own coord
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(data, **args)
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "chunk_key_mismatch"
+
+    def test_layer_dims_mismatch_detected(self):
+        data = _read_fixture("simple_tile_chunk.bin")
+        args = self._valid_args()
+        args["grid_size"] = (8, 8, 1)  # fixture's layer is 4x4x1
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(data, **args)
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "layer_dims"
+
+    def test_too_many_objects_detected(self):
+        data = _read_fixture("chunk_with_objects.bin")  # has 2 objects
+        args = self._valid_args()
+        args["expected_key"] = "12:main:3:-4:0"
+        args["grid_size"] = (2, 2, 1)
+        args["max_objects"] = 1
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(data, **args)
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "too_many_objects"
+
+    def test_object_out_of_bounds_detected(self):
+        payload = cc.ChunkPayload(
+            world_id="1", room_id="main", coord=(0, 0, 0),
+            bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), size=(32.0, 32.0, 1.0)),
+            objects=[cc.WorldObject(id="o1", type="prop", asset_id="a", pos=(9999.0, 0.0, 0.0))],
+        )
+        data = cc.encode_binary(payload)
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(
+                data, expected_key="1:main:0:0:0", grid_size=(32, 32, 1), max_objects=10
+            )
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "object_out_of_bounds"
+
+    def test_tile_out_of_palette_detected(self):
+        layer = cc.TileLayer(
+            name="ground", width=2, height=2, depth=1,
+            palette=[cc.TileDef(id=1)],  # tile 5 below isn't in this palette
+            tiles=[1, 5, 0, 1],
+        )
+        payload = cc.ChunkPayload(world_id="1", room_id="main", coord=(0, 0, 0), tile_layers=[layer])
+        data = cc.encode_binary(payload)
+        with pytest.raises(cc.ChunkValidationError) as exc_info:
+            cc.decode_and_validate(
+                data, expected_key="1:main:0:0:0", grid_size=(2, 2, 1), max_objects=10
+            )
+        assert exc_info.value.reason == "tile_out_of_palette"

backend/tests/test_game_servers.py

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+"""Unit tests for the game_servers.py changes made for world persistence
+(world_persistence_impl.md §7.3/§7.4): per-spawn token validation, and the
+``_await_ready`` replacement for the old, fail-open ``_await_port``.
+
+No real Godot process is spawned here (that stays a manual/checkpoint
+integration test, per test_world_join.py's docstring) -- these exercise
+``GameServerSupervisor`` against a fake process object standing in for
+``subprocess.Popen``.
+"""
+
+import json
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.config import settings
+from app.services.game_servers import GameServerSupervisor, _WorldServer
+
+
+class _FakeProc:
+    """Stands in for subprocess.Popen: only .poll() is needed by the code
+    paths under test here."""
+
+    def __init__(self, exited: bool = False):
+        self._exited = exited
+
+    def poll(self):
+        return 0 if self._exited else None
+
+    def terminate(self):
+        self._exited = True
+
+    def wait(self, timeout=None):
+        return 0
+
+    def kill(self):
+        self._exited = True
+
+
+def _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret", alive=True) -> _WorldServer:
+    status_path = tmp_path / "status.json"
+    return _WorldServer(
+        world_id="7", port=27000, proc=_FakeProc(exited=not alive),
+        status_path=status_path, token=token,
+    )
+
+
+class TestValidateToken:
+    def test_unknown_world_is_false(self):
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        assert sup.validate_token("no-such-world", "anything") is False
+
+    def test_correct_token_is_true(self, tmp_path):
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        sup._servers["7"] = _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret")
+        assert sup.validate_token("7", "secret") is True
+        # world_id is looked up as str(world_id), so an int works too --
+        # this matters because the FastAPI path param is an int.
+        assert sup.validate_token(7, "secret") is True
+
+    def test_wrong_token_is_false(self, tmp_path):
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        sup._servers["7"] = _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret")
+        assert sup.validate_token("7", "wrong") is False
+
+    def test_token_scoped_to_its_own_world_only(self, tmp_path):
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        sup._servers["7"] = _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret")
+        # Same token, different world_id -- must not authenticate (§7.3:
+        # "a path whose world_id differs from the token's world is 403").
+        assert sup.validate_token("8", "secret") is False
+
+    def test_dead_server_token_is_false(self, tmp_path):
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        sup._servers["7"] = _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret", alive=False)
+        assert sup.validate_token("7", "secret") is False
+
+    def test_reaping_invalidates_the_token(self, tmp_path):
+        """§7.3: "dies with its process" -- once removed from _servers
+        (what the reaper does), the same token no longer validates."""
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        sup._servers["7"] = _make_srv(tmp_path, token="secret")
+        assert sup.validate_token("7", "secret") is True
+        del sup._servers["7"]
+        assert sup.validate_token("7", "secret") is False
+
+
+class TestAwaitReady:
+    """Replaces the old _await_port, which (a) treated a bound UDP port as
+    readiness even though content loading happens before create_server, and
+    (b) failed open past its deadline with no error at all."""
+
+    async def test_raises_timeout_error_when_never_ready(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 0.3)
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        srv = _make_srv(tmp_path)  # status file never written
+        with pytest.raises(TimeoutError):
+            await sup._await_ready(srv)
+
+    async def test_returns_once_status_file_reports_ready(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 5.0)
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        srv = _make_srv(tmp_path)
+        srv.status_path.write_text(json.dumps({"ready": True, "players": 0}))
+        await sup._await_ready(srv)  # must not raise / must not hang
+
+    async def test_ready_false_is_not_ready(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 0.3)
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        srv = _make_srv(tmp_path)
+        srv.status_path.write_text(json.dumps({"ready": False, "players": 0}))
+        with pytest.raises(TimeoutError):
+            await sup._await_ready(srv)
+
+    async def test_raises_promptly_if_process_already_exited(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        # A long deadline, but the process is already dead -- must not wait
+        # out the full deadline (this is the "no crash restart mid-wait"
+        # case: don't silently poll a corpse for 20s).
+        monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "GAME_SERVER_READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS", 20.0)
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        srv = _make_srv(tmp_path, alive=False)
+        with pytest.raises(TimeoutError):
+            await sup._await_ready(srv)
+
+
+class TestSpawnCommandLine:
+    def test_spawn_includes_api_url_and_server_token(self, monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+        """world_persistence_impl.md §7.2 step 1 / §7.4: `_spawn` must pass
+        --api-url and --server-token on the command line."""
+        sup = GameServerSupervisor()
+        monkeypatch.setattr(sup, "_free_port", lambda: 27050)
+
+        captured = {}
+
+        class _Proc:
+            def poll(self):
+                return None
+
+        def _fake_popen(cmd, **kwargs):
+            captured["cmd"] = cmd
+            return _Proc()
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            "app.services.game_servers.subprocess.Popen", _fake_popen
+        )
+        srv = sup._spawn("42")
+
+        cmd = captured["cmd"]
+        assert "--api-url" in cmd
+        assert cmd[cmd.index("--api-url") + 1] == settings.GAME_SERVER_INTERNAL_API_URL
+        assert "--server-token" in cmd
+        token_in_cmd = cmd[cmd.index("--server-token") + 1]
+        assert token_in_cmd == srv.token
+        assert len(srv.token) > 20  # secrets.token_urlsafe(32) -- not a short/guessable value

backend/tests/test_presence.py

@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+"""Integration tests for the presence feature:
+
+- POST  /api/presence/heartbeat
+- GET   /api/presence/presence
+- PATCH /api/presence/status
+
+Hits the real app against the configured Postgres *and* a real Redis
+(conftest.py brings up an ephemeral instance of each when neither is
+already reachable) -- presence is fundamentally "does a TTL key exist in
+Redis", which isn't worth faking with a mock.
+
+Also covers the regression fixed in 47ab492 ("Fix StatusUpdate field
+annotation and is_online batch-call mismatch"): the router used to call
+``PresenceStore.is_online(ids)`` with a *list* of ids and then evaluate
+``uid in online_ids`` against the returned bool, which raised a TypeError
+on the first real multi-id batch call, and ``StatusUpdate.status_message``
+used the invalid annotation ``str | Field(...)``. Both are exercised below.
+"""
+
+import asyncio
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app.main import app
+from app.services.presence import PresenceStore
+
+
+def _register(client: TestClient, username: str) -> dict:
+    resp = client.post(
+        "/api/auth/register",
+        json={
+            "username": username,
+            "email": f"{username}@example.com",
+            "password": "secret123",
+            "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
+        },
+    )
+    assert resp.status_code == 201, resp.text
+    token = resp.json()["access_token"]
+    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {token}"}
+    me = client.get("/api/users/me", headers=headers)
+    assert me.status_code == 200, me.text
+    return {"headers": headers, "id": me.json()["id"]}
+
+
+class TestHeartbeat:
+    def test_heartbeat_sets_online(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_hb1")
+
+        resp = client.post("/api/presence/heartbeat", json={}, headers=user["headers"])
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+        assert resp.json() == {"status": "ok", "user_id": user["id"]}
+
+        presence = client.get(
+            "/api/presence/presence",
+            params={"user_ids": str(user["id"])},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert presence.status_code == 200, presence.text
+        body = presence.json()["users"]
+        assert len(body) == 1
+        assert body[0]["user_id"] == user["id"]
+        assert body[0]["is_online"] is True
+        assert body[0]["last_seen_at"] is not None
+
+    def test_requires_auth(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        resp = client.post("/api/presence/heartbeat", json={})
+        assert resp.status_code == 401
+
+    def test_never_seen_user_is_offline_with_null_last_seen(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_never_hb")
+
+        presence = client.get(
+            "/api/presence/presence",
+            params={"user_ids": str(user["id"])},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert presence.status_code == 200
+        body = presence.json()["users"][0]
+        assert body["is_online"] is False
+        assert body["last_seen_at"] is None
+
+
+class TestBatchPresence:
+    """Covers the batch-call path fixed in 47ab492 (is_online_batch via MGET)."""
+
+    def test_batch_query_mixes_online_offline_and_unknown_ids(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        online_user = _register(client, "presence_batch_online")
+        offline_user = _register(client, "presence_batch_offline")
+
+        client.post("/api/presence/heartbeat", json={}, headers=online_user["headers"])
+
+        unknown_id = max(online_user["id"], offline_user["id"]) + 999_999
+        ids = f"{online_user['id']},{offline_user['id']},{unknown_id}"
+
+        resp = client.get(
+            "/api/presence/presence",
+            params={"user_ids": ids},
+            headers=online_user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+        by_id = {u["user_id"]: u for u in resp.json()["users"]}
+
+        # Unknown id is silently dropped (not in the DB), not a 500 or 404.
+        assert unknown_id not in by_id
+        assert by_id[online_user["id"]]["is_online"] is True
+        assert by_id[offline_user["id"]]["is_online"] is False
+
+    def test_empty_user_ids_is_a_400(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_empty_ids")
+        resp = client.get(
+            "/api/presence/presence",
+            params={"user_ids": ""},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 400
+
+
+class TestStatusMessage:
+    def test_update_and_read_back_status_message(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_status1")
+
+        resp = client.patch(
+            "/api/presence/status",
+            json={"status_message": "  brb, making coffee  "},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+        # The router strips whitespace (StatusUpdate.strip_message).
+        assert resp.json()["status_message"] == "brb, making coffee"
+
+        presence = client.get(
+            "/api/presence/presence",
+            params={"user_ids": str(user["id"])},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert presence.json()["users"][0]["status_message"] == "brb, making coffee"
+
+    def test_status_message_over_max_length_is_rejected(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_status_toolong")
+        resp = client.patch(
+            "/api/presence/status",
+            json={"status_message": "x" * 141},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        # StatusUpdate.status_message: str | None = Field(..., max_length=140)
+        # This is exactly the annotation 47ab492 fixed (it used to be the
+        # invalid `str | Field(...)`, which breaks model construction
+        # entirely rather than validating length).
+        assert resp.status_code == 422
+
+    def test_status_message_at_max_length_is_accepted(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_status_maxlen")
+        resp = client.patch(
+            "/api/presence/status",
+            json={"status_message": "x" * 140},
+            headers=user["headers"],
+        )
+        assert resp.status_code == 200, resp.text
+
+    def test_null_status_message_clears_it(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        user = _register(client, "presence_status_clear")
+        client.patch("/api/presence/status", json={"status_message": "hi"}, headers=user["headers"])
+        resp = client.patch("/api/presence/status", json={"status_message": None}, headers=user["headers"])
+        assert resp.status_code == 200
+        assert resp.json()["status_message"] is None
+
+
+class TestPresenceStoreTTL:
+    """Exercises the real Redis TTL semantics directly against the service,
+    with a short heartbeat_ttl so the test doesn't need to sleep for the
+    real 60s default used in production. This is the cheap, real proxy for
+    "TTL expiry means offline" the task asked for -- same code path
+    (real Redis SET ... EX / EXISTS / MGET), just a much shorter window.
+    """
+
+    async def test_ttl_expiry_flips_online_to_offline(self):
+        store = PresenceStore(heartbeat_ttl=1)
+        try:
+            uid = 987654321  # doesn't need to exist in Postgres; Redis-only check
+            assert await store.is_online(uid) is False
+
+            await store.heartbeat(uid)
+            assert await store.is_online(uid) is True
+
+            await asyncio.sleep(1.5)
+            assert await store.is_online(uid) is False
+        finally:
+            await store.close()
+
+    async def test_is_online_batch_matches_is_online_semantics(self):
+        """Regression coverage for 47ab492: is_online_batch must return a
+        set of ids usable with `in`, not a bool."""
+        store = PresenceStore(heartbeat_ttl=30)
+        try:
+            online_uid, offline_uid = 111222333, 444555666
+            await store.heartbeat(online_uid)
+
+            result = await store.is_online_batch([online_uid, offline_uid])
+            assert isinstance(result, set)
+            assert online_uid in result
+            assert offline_uid not in result
+        finally:
+            await store.close()
+
+    async def test_is_online_batch_empty_list(self):
+        store = PresenceStore()
+        try:
+            assert await store.is_online_batch([]) == set()
+        finally:
+            await store.close()

backend/tests/test_rate_limit.py

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+"""The auth endpoints are rate-limited per client IP."""
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app import rate_limit
+from app.config import settings
+from app.main import app
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clean_limiter():
+    # This module tests the limiter itself: force it on (the checkpoint
+    # runner disables it suite-wide via RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED) and start each
+    # test from an empty window.
+    prev = settings.RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED
+    settings.RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED = True
+    rate_limit.reset_all()
+    yield
+    rate_limit.reset_all()
+    settings.RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED = prev
+
+
+def test_login_is_limited_after_the_threshold():
+    client = TestClient(app)
+    codes = []
+    for i in range(15):
+        r = client.post("/api/auth/login", data={"username": f"nobody{i}", "password": "x"})
+        codes.append(r.status_code)
+    # First 10 get through to the (failing) auth check; the rest are 429.
+    assert codes[:10] == [401] * 10
+    assert 429 in codes[10:]
+    assert codes[-1] == 429
+
+
+def test_register_shares_the_same_bucket():
+    client = TestClient(app)
+    # Burn the budget on login...
+    for i in range(10):
+        client.post("/api/auth/login", data={"username": f"x{i}", "password": "y"})
+    # ...register from the same IP is now blocked too.
+    r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+        "username": "rl_user", "email": "rl@e.com",
+        "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
+    })
+    assert r.status_code == 429
+    assert "Retry-After" in r.headers
+
+
+def test_limiter_window_is_per_key():
+    limiter = rate_limit.SlidingWindowLimiter(max_hits=2, window_seconds=60)
+    limiter.check("a")
+    limiter.check("a")
+    with pytest.raises(Exception):
+        limiter.check("a")
+    limiter.check("b")  # different key, unaffected

backend/tests/test_refresh_endpoint.py

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class TestRefresh:
                 "username": username,
                 "email": email,
                 "password": password,
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         assert resp.status_code == 201
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ class TestRefresh:
                 "username": "refep_loginrefuser",
                 "email": "loginref@example.com",
                 "password": "secret123",
-                "over_18": True,
+                "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
             },
         )
         # Login to get a refresh token

backend/tests/test_world_content.py

@@ -0,0 +1,490 @@
+"""Integration tests for the world content API: rooms + chunks.
+
+Covers docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md §8.1 (public router,
+app/routers/world_content.py) and §8.3 (internal router,
+app/routers/internal.py), plus the create_world -> auto "main" room
+behaviour (§4.1).
+
+Runs against the real ephemeral Postgres the hermetic conftest.py stands
+up -- these are full HTTP round trips through TestClient, not mocked.
+"""
+
+import base64
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app.main import app
+from app.services import chunk_codec as cc
+from app.services.game_servers import supervisor
+
+GRID_32 = (32, 32, 1)
+
+
+def _auth(client: TestClient, name: str) -> tuple[dict, int]:
+    r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+        "username": name, "email": f"{name}@e.com", "password": "secret123",
+        "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
+    })
+    assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {r.json()['access_token']}"}
+    me = client.get("/api/users/me", headers=headers)
+    return headers, me.json()["id"]
+
+
+def _make_world(client: TestClient, headers: dict, visibility: str = "public") -> int:
+    r = client.post("/api/worlds/", headers=headers, json={"name": "W", "visibility": visibility})
+    assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+    return r.json()["id"]
+
+
+def _build_chunk(world_id: int, slug: str, cx: int, cy: int, cz: int, *,
+                  grid=GRID_32, revision: int = 1, extra_tag: str = "") -> bytes:
+    """A small but structurally-real chunk payload for `world_id`/`slug`/coord,
+    sized to match the room's default 32x32x1 grid."""
+    w, h, d = grid
+    layer = cc.TileLayer(
+        name="ground", layer_id=0, width=w, height=h, depth=d,
+        palette=[cc.TileDef(id=0, asset_id="", solid=False, flags=0, variants=1)],
+        tiles=[0] * (w * h * d),
+    )
+    obj = cc.WorldObject(
+        id=f"obj_{extra_tag or '1'}", type="prop", asset_id="props/rock",
+        pos=(1.0, 1.0, 0.0), properties={"tag": extra_tag},
+    )
+    payload = cc.ChunkPayload(
+        world_id=str(world_id), room_id=slug, coord=(cx, cy, cz),
+        bounds=cc.ChunkBounds(min=(0.0, 0.0, 0.0), size=(float(w), float(h), float(d))),
+        tile_layers=[layer], objects=[obj], revision=revision, author="pytest",
+        created_at=1_700_000_000, updated_at=1_700_000_000,
+    )
+    return cc.encode_binary(payload)
+
+
+class TestCreateWorldMainRoom:
+    def test_create_world_auto_creates_main_room(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "cw_main")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+
+        r = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms", headers=headers)
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        rooms = r.json()
+        assert len(rooms) == 1
+        assert rooms[0]["slug"] == "main"
+        assert rooms[0]["name"] == "Main"
+        assert rooms[0]["chunk_count"] == 0
+        assert rooms[0]["grid"]["size"] == [32, 32, 1]
+
+
+class TestRoomAuth:
+    def test_create_room_requires_owner(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        owner_headers, _ = _auth(client, "room_owner")
+        wid = _make_world(client, owner_headers)
+        other_headers, _ = _auth(client, "room_other")
+        r = client.post(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms", headers=other_headers,
+                         json={"slug": "annex", "name": "Annex"})
+        assert r.status_code == 403
+
+    def test_list_rooms_of_private_world_is_404_for_non_owner(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        owner_headers, _ = _auth(client, "room_priv_owner")
+        wid = _make_world(client, owner_headers, "private")
+        other_headers, _ = _auth(client, "room_priv_other")
+        r = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms", headers=other_headers)
+        assert r.status_code == 404
+
+
+class TestChunkPutGetRoundTrip:
+    def test_binary_put_then_binary_get_round_trips(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_rt")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 0, 0, 0)
+
+        r = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        body = r.json()
+        assert body["revision"] == 1
+        assert body["payload_len"] == len(payload)
+        assert body["checksum"] == cc.checksum(payload[cc.HEADER_SIZE:])
+        assert body["live_session"] is False
+
+        g = client.get(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Accept": "application/octet-stream"},
+        )
+        assert g.status_code == 200
+        assert g.content == payload
+        assert g.headers["ETag"] == f'"{body["checksum"]}"'
+        assert g.headers["X-Chunk-Revision"] == "1"
+
+    def test_json_accept_returns_decoded_shape(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_json")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 1, 1, 0)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/1/1/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        g = client.get(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/1/1/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Accept": "application/json"},
+        )
+        assert g.status_code == 200
+        data = g.json()
+        assert data["coord"] == {"cx": 1, "cy": 1, "cz": 0}
+        assert data["world_id"] == str(wid)
+        assert data["room_id"] == "main"
+        assert len(data["objects"]) == 1
+
+    def test_json_put_with_base64_payload(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_json_put")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 2, 2, 0)
+        r = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/2/2/0", headers=headers,
+            json={"base_revision": 0, "payload_b64": base64.b64encode(payload).decode()},
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        assert r.json()["revision"] == 1
+
+    def test_if_none_match_returns_304(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_304")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 3, 3, 0)
+        put = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/3/3/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        checksum = put.json()["checksum"]
+        g = client.get(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/3/3/0",
+            headers={**headers, "If-None-Match": f'"{checksum}"'},
+        )
+        assert g.status_code == 304
+
+    def test_unwritten_coordinate_is_404(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_404")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        g = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/9/9/0", headers=headers)
+        assert g.status_code == 404
+
+
+class TestRevisionConflict:
+    def test_create_conflict_when_chunk_already_exists(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "conflict_create")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 4, 4, 0)
+        first = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/4/4/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        assert first.status_code == 200
+
+        second = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/4/4/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        assert second.status_code == 409
+        body = second.json()
+        assert body["detail"] == "revision conflict"
+        assert body["current_revision"] == 1
+
+    def test_stale_base_revision_conflict_reports_current_state(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "conflict_stale")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload_v1 = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 5, 5, 0, revision=1)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/5/5/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload_v1,
+        )
+        payload_v2 = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 5, 5, 0, revision=2, extra_tag="v2")
+        r2 = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/5/5/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "1"},
+            content=payload_v2,
+        )
+        assert r2.status_code == 200
+        assert r2.json()["revision"] == 2
+
+        # Now retry with the now-stale base_revision=1 again.
+        payload_v3 = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 5, 5, 0, revision=3, extra_tag="v3")
+        stale = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/5/5/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "1"},
+            content=payload_v3,
+        )
+        assert stale.status_code == 409
+        body = stale.json()
+        assert body["current_revision"] == 2
+        assert body["current_checksum"] == r2.json()["checksum"]
+
+
+class TestBatchWrite:
+    def test_batch_put_all_succeed(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "batch_ok")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        chunks = [
+            {"cx": cx, "cy": 0, "cz": 0, "base_revision": 0,
+             "payload_b64": base64.b64encode(_build_chunk(wid, "main", cx, 0, 0)).decode()}
+            for cx in (10, 11)
+        ]
+        r = client.put(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks", headers=headers, json={"chunks": chunks})
+        assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+        body = r.json()
+        assert len(body["chunks"]) == 2
+        assert all(c["revision"] == 1 for c in body["chunks"])
+
+        idx = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks", headers=headers)
+        keys = {c["key"] for c in idx.json()["chunks"]}
+        assert f"{wid}:main:10:0:0" in keys
+        assert f"{wid}:main:11:0:0" in keys
+
+    def test_batch_put_is_all_or_nothing_on_conflict(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "batch_conflict")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+
+        # Pre-create one of the two coordinates so the batch's base_revision=0
+        # for it will conflict.
+        pre = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 20, 0, 0)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/20/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=pre,
+        )
+
+        chunks = [
+            {"cx": 21, "cy": 0, "cz": 0, "base_revision": 0,
+             "payload_b64": base64.b64encode(_build_chunk(wid, "main", 21, 0, 0)).decode()},
+            {"cx": 20, "cy": 0, "cz": 0, "base_revision": 0,  # conflicts: already exists at revision 1
+             "payload_b64": base64.b64encode(_build_chunk(wid, "main", 20, 0, 0, extra_tag="v2")).decode()},
+        ]
+        r = client.put(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks", headers=headers, json={"chunks": chunks})
+        assert r.status_code == 409
+
+        # Nothing from this batch should have been persisted -- (21,0,0)
+        # must NOT exist even though it was valid and came first.
+        g = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/21/0/0", headers=headers)
+        assert g.status_code == 404
+
+
+class TestDelete:
+    def test_delete_then_get_is_404(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_delete")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 30, 0, 0)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/30/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        d = client.delete(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/30/0/0", headers=headers)
+        assert d.status_code == 204
+        g = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/30/0/0", headers=headers)
+        assert g.status_code == 404
+
+
+class TestRevisionsAndRollback:
+    def test_revisions_then_rollback(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_rollback")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        v1 = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 40, 0, 0, revision=1)
+        r1 = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/40/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=v1,
+        )
+        v2 = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 40, 0, 0, revision=2, extra_tag="v2")
+        r2 = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/40/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "1"},
+            content=v2,
+        )
+        assert r2.status_code == 200
+
+        revs = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/40/0/0/revisions", headers=headers)
+        assert revs.status_code == 200
+        rev_numbers = [row["revision"] for row in revs.json()]
+        assert 1 in rev_numbers and 2 in rev_numbers
+
+        rb = client.post(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/40/0/0/rollback",
+            headers=headers, json={"revision": 1},
+        )
+        assert rb.status_code == 200, rb.text
+        assert rb.json()["revision"] == 3  # a new revision, restoring v1's content
+        assert rb.json()["checksum"] == r1.json()["checksum"]
+
+    def test_revisions_requires_owner(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        owner_headers, _ = _auth(client, "revisions_owner")
+        wid = _make_world(client, owner_headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 41, 0, 0)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/41/0/0",
+            headers={**owner_headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        other_headers, _ = _auth(client, "revisions_other")
+        r = client.get(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/41/0/0/revisions", headers=other_headers)
+        assert r.status_code == 403
+
+
+class TestValidationErrors:
+    def test_malformed_payload_is_422(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_malformed")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        r = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=b"not a real chunk",
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 422
+        assert r.json()["reason"] == "malformed"
+
+    def test_wrong_grid_size_is_422_layer_dims(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_layerdims")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        # Room's default grid is 32x32x1; build a chunk sized for 4x4x1.
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 0, 0, 0, grid=(4, 4, 1))
+        r = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 422
+        assert r.json()["reason"] == "layer_dims"
+
+    def test_oversized_payload_is_413(self, monkeypatch):
+        from app.config import settings
+        monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES", 10)
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "chunk_413")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 0, 0, 0)
+        r = client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 413
+
+
+class TestInternalApi:
+    """docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md §7/§8.3. No real Godot
+    process is spawned in this test env (GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED=False); we
+    register a fake in-memory server entry with a known token to exercise
+    require_game_server without needing a live process."""
+
+    @pytest.fixture
+    def fake_server_token(self):
+        # NB: a class body can't read a same-named local from the
+        # enclosing function via `token = token` (class bodies use LOAD_NAME,
+        # which skips enclosing function scopes) -- use a literal instead.
+        world_id_str = "internal-test-world"
+
+        class _FakeSrv:
+            def alive(self_inner):
+                return True
+            token = "test-internal-token-12345"
+
+        supervisor._servers[world_id_str] = _FakeSrv()
+        yield _FakeSrv.token
+        supervisor._servers.pop(world_id_str, None)
+
+    def test_missing_token_is_401(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.get("/api/internal/worlds/1/manifest")
+        assert r.status_code == 401
+
+    def test_wrong_token_is_403(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.get(
+            "/api/internal/worlds/1/manifest",
+            headers={"Authorization": "Bearer not-the-real-token"},
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 403
+
+    def test_valid_token_but_wrong_world_id_is_403(self, fake_server_token):
+        # The fake token is registered under world_id "internal-test-world";
+        # a request for a different world_id must not authenticate.
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        r = client.get(
+            "/api/internal/worlds/999999/manifest",
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {fake_server_token}"},
+        )
+        assert r.status_code == 403
+
+    def test_valid_token_reaches_manifest_for_real_world(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "internal_manifest")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+
+        class _FakeSrv:
+            def alive(self_inner):
+                return True
+            token = "another-real-token"
+
+        supervisor._servers[str(wid)] = _FakeSrv()
+        try:
+            r = client.get(
+                f"/api/internal/worlds/{wid}/manifest",
+                headers={"Authorization": "Bearer another-real-token"},
+            )
+            assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
+            body = r.json()
+            assert body["world_id"] == wid
+            assert len(body["rooms"]) == 1
+            assert body["rooms"][0]["slug"] == "main"
+        finally:
+            supervisor._servers.pop(str(wid), None)
+
+    def test_internal_chunk_fetch_returns_binary(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "internal_chunk")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers)
+        payload = _build_chunk(wid, "main", 0, 0, 0)
+        client.put(
+            f"/api/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+            headers={**headers, "Content-Type": "application/octet-stream", "X-Base-Revision": "0"},
+            content=payload,
+        )
+
+        class _FakeSrv:
+            def alive(self_inner):
+                return True
+            token = "internal-chunk-token"
+
+        supervisor._servers[str(wid)] = _FakeSrv()
+        try:
+            r = client.get(
+                f"/api/internal/worlds/{wid}/rooms/main/chunks/0/0/0",
+                headers={"Authorization": "Bearer internal-chunk-token"},
+            )
+            assert r.status_code == 200
+            assert r.content == payload
+        finally:
+            supervisor._servers.pop(str(wid), None)

backend/tests/test_world_join.py

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+"""Tests for POST /api/worlds/{id}/join.
+
+The happy path spawns a real Godot process, so it's covered by a manual /
+checkpoint integration test, not here. These cover the envelope: auth,
+visibility, and the 503 when orchestration is disabled (the default).
+"""
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from app.main import app
+
+
+def _auth(client: TestClient, name: str) -> tuple[dict, int]:
+    r = client.post("/api/auth/register", json={
+        "username": name, "email": f"{name}@e.com", "password": "secret123", "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
+    })
+    assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {r.json()['access_token']}"}
+    me = client.get("/api/users/me", headers=headers)
+    return headers, me.json()["id"]
+
+
+def _make_world(client: TestClient, headers: dict, visibility: str = "public") -> int:
+    r = client.post("/api/worlds/", headers=headers, json={"name": "W", "visibility": visibility})
+    assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
+    return r.json()["id"]
+
+
+class TestJoinWorld:
+    def test_requires_auth(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        assert client.post("/api/worlds/1/join").status_code == 401
+
+    def test_unknown_world_is_404(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "join_404")
+        assert client.post("/api/worlds/999999/join", headers=headers).status_code == 404
+
+    def test_private_world_of_another_user_is_404(self):
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        owner_headers, _ = _auth(client, "join_owner")
+        wid = _make_world(client, owner_headers, "private")
+        other_headers, _ = _auth(client, "join_other")
+        assert client.post(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/join", headers=other_headers).status_code == 404
+
+    def test_disabled_orchestration_returns_503(self):
+        # GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED defaults to False in tests.
+        client = TestClient(app)
+        headers, _ = _auth(client, "join_503")
+        wid = _make_world(client, headers, "public")
+        r = client.post(f"/api/worlds/{wid}/join", headers=headers)
+        assert r.status_code == 503
+        assert "not enabled" in r.json()["detail"]

docs/architecture/avatar.md

@@ -449,6 +449,37 @@ The catalog is a JSON manifest mapping asset ids to metadata and resource paths:
 
 ---
 
+## 9a. Loadout Persistence (implemented, PC3 Phase 1)
+
+**Storage.** One row per user in `avatar_loadouts` (`user_id` PK/FK,
+`data` JSONB, timestamps). The entire loadout is stored as a single JSON
+document in the exact shape the client's `AvatarLoadout.to_json()` emits
+(`{"base_body": str, "slots": {...}, "skin_tone"?: {r,g,b,a}}`) rather than
+exploded into columns.
+
+**Why one JSON blob, not columns.** The server has no copy of the asset
+catalog (`assets/avatars/catalog.json` ships with the client). It therefore
+cannot meaningfully validate *which* asset belongs in *which* slot, whether
+an asset exists, or slot-exclusivity rules — that validation stays on the
+client (`AvatarLoadout.validate()` against the loaded `AvatarCatalog`). The
+server enforces only the envelope: a JSON object with a non-empty string
+`base_body`, an object `slots`, and a sane size cap. Keeping the schema
+opaque to the server also means catalog/loadout-shape changes don't need a
+migration.
+
+**Endpoints** (`/api/avatar`, bearer auth):
+
+| Method | Path | Behaviour |
+|---|---|---|
+| `GET` | `/loadout` | The user's saved loadout, or the server default (`{"base_body": "base_human_male_01", "slots": {}}`, `is_default: true`) if they have never saved one. |
+| `PUT` | `/loadout` | Replace the user's loadout (full document, not a patch). |
+
+**Defaults.** A brand-new account has no row; `GET` returns
+`models.avatar_loadout.DEFAULT_LOADOUT` with `is_default: true` so the client
+can distinguish "never customised" from "customised back to the base look".
+
+---
+
 ## 10. Summary
 
 | Concern                | Decision                                              |

docs/architecture/content_moderation.md

@@ -227,18 +227,33 @@ An account has an **age verification status**:
 
 ### 5.2 Tier 1 — Self-Declaration Flow
 
+> **Implemented, PC3 Phase 3.** `POST /api/auth/register` now takes a real
+> `date_of_birth` (ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`), not the throwaway `over_18` boolean it
+> had before. The server computes age (`auth.calculate_age`) and rejects
+> anyone under `auth.MIN_AGE` (18) with a **403** — this platform is
+> adults-only, so there is no "minor, restricted" tier here (the 13+ rows
+> below are the general design, not the current gate). A future-in-the-past
+> or nonsensical date is a **400**. The DOB is stored on the user row and
+> surfaced only back to that user (`/api/auth/me`), never to other players.
+>
+> **Limitation, stated plainly:** this is still self-attested — a determined
+> user can enter a false DOB. It is a concrete, stored, legally-meaningful
+> data point (matching how most platforms gate before adding hard checks)
+> and the seam for Tier 2. Encryption-at-rest for the DOB column and the
+> Tier 2 ID-check hook below are **not yet implemented**.
+
 ```
 User submits { date_of_birth }
         │
         ▼
-Server validates format & plausibility (age 13–120, not in future)
+Server validates format & plausibility (real date, not in future)
         │
         ▼
 Compute age from DOB
         │
         ▼
-age >= 18 ──► status = self_declared (adult)
-age >= 13 ──► status = self_declared (minor, restricted)
+age >= 18 ──► status = self_declared (adult)   ← the current gate
+age >= 13 ──► status = self_declared (minor, restricted)   ← design only
 age <  13 ──► status = rejected (below minimum platform age)
 ```
 

docs/architecture/editor.md

@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@
 > **Owner:** Platform team
 > **Related:** World chunk data format & persistence, server authority + client
 > prediction, content moderation & age verification, avatar component system
+> **Note:** the recommendation here stands, but edits do **not** ride the
+> `request_chunk_edit` ENet RPC (§4.2, §7.4). Per
+> [`world_persistence_impl.md`](world_persistence_impl.md) the editor saves
+> chunks over HTTP to the FastAPI backend, which is the sole writer; the
+> validation/moderation boundary moves with it.
 > **Godot version:** 4.6.2 stable
 
 ## 1. Overview

docs/architecture/networking.md

@@ -237,6 +237,62 @@ snapshot_state:
 
 ---
 
+## 7a. Server Orchestration (implemented, PC3 Phase 2)
+
+**One dedicated server process per world**, spawned on demand.
+
+```
+client                    backend (single worker)              host
+  │  POST /api/worlds/{id}/join  (bearer JWT)                    │
+  │ ───────────────────────────▶ GameServerSupervisor           │
+  │                              ensure_server(world_id):        │
+  │                                if none running for world ─── spawn:
+  │                                                              godot --headless
+  │                                                              res://scenes/server.tscn --
+  │                                                              --port <p> --world <id>
+  │                                                              --status-file <path>
+  │  ◀─────────────────────────── { host, port, world_id }       │
+  │                                                              │
+  │  ENet connect  host:port ───────────────────────────────────▶ dedicated server
+```
+
+- **Supervisor** (`backend/app/services/game_servers.py`): in-process singleton,
+  so the backend MUST run single-worker. Keys servers by `world_id`. Allocates
+  ports from `GAME_SERVER_PORT_MIN..MAX`. A background reaper kills a world's
+  server once its **status file** (`{players, tick, updated}`, rewritten by the
+  server ~1×/s) reports `players == 0` for `GAME_SERVER_IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS`.
+  No crash-restart — the next join respawns.
+- **Enable flag:** `GAME_SERVERS_ENABLED` (default off). The checkpoint/playtest
+  launcher (`pm/checkpoint_ops.py`) turns it on, passes `GODOT_BIN`,
+  `GAME_PROJECT_DIR`, and `GAME_SERVER_HOST` (the LAN IP baked into the `.exe`).
+  A backend with it off returns **503** from `/join`, and the client falls back
+  to local single-player.
+- **Per-world content:** all worlds currently load the same test level (M2/M7
+  work). `world_id` still scopes a distinct process + session.
+
+### 7b. Client play path
+
+`world_list.gd` → `POST /join` → `Session.begin(world_id, host, port)` →
+load `game.tscn`. `game.gd` sees `Session.active` and connects a
+`NetworkClient`:
+
+- **Local player** keeps predicting with its own collision-aware
+  `CharacterBody3D` (`player.gd`) — that *is* the prediction. Its input frame
+  (`player.net_input`) is forwarded to the server every physics tick.
+- **Correction backstop:** if the local position drifts from the server's by
+  more than `CORRECTION_THRESHOLD` (1.5 m — generous; catches teleport / a wall
+  walked through / real desync, not prediction noise) it snaps.
+- **Remote players:** rendered from snapshots, position lerped. *Appearance sync
+  is a follow-up* — remotes currently show as labelled capsules; the server
+  does not yet replicate avatar loadouts.
+- **Disconnect** → status message → back to the world list.
+
+The `NetworkClient`'s own flat-plane prediction + input-replay reconciliation
+(§5) is exercised by `smoke_test_network_client.gd`; the collision-aware game
+path above uses the lighter `send_input()` + drift-snap instead.
+
+---
+
 ## 8. Security & Anti-Cheat
 
 - **No client-authoritative gameplay values.** Clients only send *inputs* and

docs/architecture/world.md

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 # World Chunk Data Format & Persistence Architecture
 
-> **Status:** Proposed
+> **Status:** Proposed. The chunk format (§2, §3) is normative and implemented
+> on the client. **§4 (SQLite schema) and §5 (write ownership / write-behind)
+> are superseded by [`world_persistence_impl.md`](world_persistence_impl.md)**,
+> which stores chunks in the existing Postgres backend and makes the FastAPI
+> process — not the per-world Godot server — the sole writer.
 > **Owner:** Platform team
 > **Related:** Server authority + client prediction, avatar component system, content moderation & age verification, backend auth (JWT)
 

docs/architecture/world_persistence_impl.md

@@ -0,0 +1,655 @@
+# World Persistence: Server-Side Implementation Architecture
+
+> **Status:** Accepted (design). Implementation is split across two follow-on
+> tasks (backend endpoints; editor wiring).
+> **Owner:** Platform team
+> **Supersedes:** the *storage engine* and *write ownership* parts of
+> [`world.md`](world.md) §4 and §5. Everything else in `world.md` — the chunk
+> logical model, the JSON and binary encodings, checksums, revisions, content
+> flags — stands unchanged and is normative.
+> **Related:** [`world.md`](world.md) (chunk format), [`editor.md`](editor.md)
+> (authoring surface), [`networking.md`](networking.md) (ENet sim transport),
+> [`content_moderation.md`](content_moderation.md) (flags & gating).
+
+## 1. Why this document exists
+
+`world.md` was written during the client-side chunk-streaming work (M2). It
+assumes **one** server that owns **one** embedded SQLite file and is both the
+authoritative simulation and the authoritative store. That is not the system we
+built. What actually exists today is:
+
+| Process | Lifetime | Owns | Code |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| FastAPI backend | always on, single worker | Postgres (users, worlds, assets, avatar loadouts), game-server orchestration | `backend/app/` |
+| Godot dedicated server, one per world | **spawned on join, reaped ~5 min after the last join when empty** | nothing durable; a 30 Hz in-memory player sim | `scripts/server.gd`, spawned by `backend/app/services/game_servers.py` |
+| Godot client | player session | local chunk streaming, the in-game editor (planned) | `scripts/chunk_stream_manager.gd`, `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd` |
+
+Nothing server-side has ever stored or served a real chunk. `server.gd`
+`preload()`s `res://scenes/worlds/test_level.tscn` for **every** world and uses
+`world_id` only for logging and the status file. `ChunkStreamManager` has a
+`set_server_rpc()` seam that no code calls. The backend's `World` model is
+metadata only (`id`, `name`, `description`, `owner_id`, `visibility`).
+
+This document decides where chunk content lives, who may write it, how the
+dedicated server gets it, and the exact API surface — so the two implementation
+tasks that follow have no architectural decisions left to make.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Decisions at a glance
+
+| # | Question | Decision |
+|---|---|---|
+| D1 | Where does chunk data live at rest? | **Postgres**, in the existing backend database. Not a per-world SQLite file. |
+| D2 | Who writes it? | **The FastAPI backend, exclusively.** The editor writes through it over HTTP with optimistic concurrency. The dedicated Godot server never writes world content. |
+| D3 | How does the dedicated server get content? | **HTTP pull from the backend at startup**, over a loopback-only `/api/internal` route authenticated by a per-spawn token the supervisor mints. Lazy fetch as players roam. |
+| D4 | Edit while a live session exists? | **Out of scope this milestone, with a defined seam.** The editor is a non-joined client mode; writes always succeed and the response flags `live_session` so the UI can say "players see this when the session restarts". |
+| D5 | Edit granularity on the wire | **Full-chunk PUT with `base_revision`**, not RFC-6902 deltas. |
+| D6 | Client chunk transport | **HTTP from the backend**, not ENet from the dedicated server. The `set_server_rpc()` seam is satisfied by an HTTP-backed adapter. |
+
+---
+
+## 3. D1 — Chunk data lives in Postgres
+
+### 3.1 Decision
+
+World content (rooms, chunk payloads, chunk revisions) is stored in the
+**existing Postgres database**, alongside `worlds`, in new tables created by an
+Alembic migration. `world.md` §4's `world.db` SQLite file is **not** built.
+
+The chunk **payload stays exactly what `world.md` §3.6 specifies**: the 48-byte
+header + sectioned binary body, checksummed with SHA-256. It moves from a
+SQLite `BLOB` to a Postgres `BYTEA`. Nothing about the format changes, so
+`scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd` remains correct and the format spec stays the
+single contract.
+
+### 3.2 Reasoning
+
+1. **SQLite's premise does not hold here.** `world.md` §4 justifies SQLite as
+   "ideal for a server that owns the world store". No process in this system
+   owns a world store: the only process that could plausibly hold the file (the
+   dedicated Godot server) is *ephemeral* — reaped when idle, `SIGTERM`'d on
+   backend shutdown, `SIGKILL`'d 10 s later if it doesn't exit, and orphaned
+   entirely if the backend dies. Meanwhile the editor must write when no such
+   process exists. So the file would have to be shared by two processes with
+   independent lifetimes, which is precisely the workload SQLite's
+   single-writer/file-lock model handles worst.
+2. **Postgres is already a hard dependency; SQLite would be a second one.** The
+   backend cannot start without Postgres. Adding a per-world SQLite file adds a
+   second storage engine, a second migration system (`world.md` §4.8 specifies a
+   hand-rolled `meta.schema_version` runner *next to* the Alembic we already
+   have), a second backup story, and a second consistency story.
+3. **Referential integrity with metadata we already have.** `worlds` rows carry
+   `owner_id` and `visibility`, and every authorization rule for content derives
+   from them. In one database this is a join and a foreign key with
+   `ON DELETE CASCADE`; across two engines, deleting a world silently orphans a
+   file on disk and every ownership check becomes a cross-store read.
+4. **Concurrency is the normal case, not the edge case.** Two creators editing
+   one world, or an editor writing while the backend serves chunks to a running
+   dedicated server, are ordinary. Postgres gives row-level MVCC and real
+   transactions for the read-modify-write in §5.4; SQLite gives a database-level
+   write lock and `SQLITE_BUSY`.
+5. **The repo already has the precedent and the plumbing.** `avatar_loadouts`
+   (migration `0004`) stores a client-shaped document in Postgres JSONB rather
+   than inventing a side store, and `backend/app/database.py` already provides
+   the async session factory this code will use.
+
+### 3.3 What we give up, and why it's acceptable
+
+- **Zero-config embedding.** Irrelevant — the backend already requires a
+  configured Postgres.
+- **`world.md` §5.5 write-behind + the `dirty` column.** Deliberately dropped
+  (§4.4). It existed to amortize disk I/O for a process that owned the file. Our
+  writes are human-rate editor saves, not sim-rate; each one is a single
+  transaction and is durable when the HTTP response returns. Dropping it also
+  deletes the entire "unclean shutdown recovery" scan in §5.5 — there is no
+  window in which committed content can be lost.
+- **Sharding by `world_id` (`world.md` §8).** Postgres partitioning by
+  `world_id` remains available on the same table shape if a single table ever
+  becomes a bottleneck. At ~2–8 KB per chunk, 10 000 chunks is under 100 MB.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Schema (Alembic migration `0005_add_world_content_tables`)
+
+New model module: `backend/app/models/world_content.py`, registered in
+`backend/app/models/__init__.py`. `backend/app/models/world.py` is left alone
+except for one added relationship, so nothing PC1/PC2 depends on moves.
+
+Conventions follow the existing models: `Column(...)` declarative style,
+`Integer` surrogate PKs, `DateTime(timezone=True)` with `server_default=func.now()`,
+JSONB for document-shaped fields (as `avatar_loadout.py` does).
+
+### 4.1 `world_rooms`
+
+```python
+class WorldRoom(Base):
+    __tablename__ = "world_rooms"
+
+    id         = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    world_id   = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+                        nullable=False, index=True)
+    slug       = Column(String(64), nullable=False)   # url-safe; "main" by default
+    name       = Column(String(255), nullable=False)
+    # Chunk grid config. world.md §2.2 puts this on the world; it lives on the
+    # room so a world can later hold rooms with different grids, and so this
+    # migration is purely additive (the existing `worlds` table is untouched).
+    grid       = Column(JSONB, nullable=False,
+                        server_default='{"size": [32, 32, 1], "origin": [0, 0, 0]}')
+    bounds     = Column(JSONB, nullable=True)   # {"min":[x,y,z], "max":[x,y,z]}; null = unbounded
+    spawn      = Column(JSONB, nullable=True)   # {"pos":[x,y,z], "yaw": 0.0}
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+    updated_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(),
+                        onupdate=func.now(), nullable=False)
+
+    __table_args__ = (UniqueConstraint("world_id", "slug", name="uq_world_rooms_world_slug"),)
+```
+
+`World` gains
+`rooms = relationship("WorldRoom", back_populates="world", cascade="all, delete-orphan")`.
+
+Every world gets a `main` room: created in `create_world`, and lazily created on
+first room read/write for worlds that predate the migration. `grid` defaults
+match `Chunk.CHUNK_SIZE_*` in `scripts/chunk.gd`, which is the client's source
+of truth for the same constants.
+
+### 4.2 `world_chunks`
+
+```python
+class WorldChunk(Base):
+    __tablename__ = "world_chunks"
+
+    id             = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    world_id       = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("worlds.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+                            nullable=False, index=True)   # denormalized: world-scoped queries
+    room_id        = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("world_rooms.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+                            nullable=False, index=True)
+    chunk_key      = Column(String(160), nullable=False, unique=True)   # see §4.5
+    cx             = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    cy             = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    cz             = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="0")
+
+    format_version = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="1")
+    payload        = Column(LargeBinary, nullable=False)   # world.md §3.6 bytes, BYTEA
+    payload_len    = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    checksum       = Column(String(64), nullable=False)    # SHA-256 hex of payload body
+    revision       = Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default="1")
+
+    content_flags  = Column(JSONB, nullable=False, server_default="{}")  # world.md §3.4
+    is_mature      = Column(Boolean, nullable=False, server_default="false")
+
+    updated_by_id  = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"), nullable=True)
+    created_at     = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+    updated_at     = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(),
+                            onupdate=func.now(), nullable=False)
+
+    __table_args__ = (
+        UniqueConstraint("room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz", name="uq_world_chunks_coord"),
+        Index("ix_world_chunks_room_coord", "room_id", "cx", "cy", "cz"),
+        Index("ix_world_chunks_mature", "world_id", postgresql_where=text("is_mature")),
+    )
+```
+
+Deltas from `world.md` §4.4:
+
+- **Surrogate `id` PK + unique coordinate constraint**, with `chunk_key` kept as
+  a unique denormalized column. The key string is the client-facing contract
+  (`Chunk.build_key`) and is embedded in the payload, so storing it gives a
+  single-index lookup by key; the coordinate constraint is what actually
+  enforces one chunk per cell.
+- **`dirty` removed** — see §3.3.
+- **Content flags folded into the chunk row as JSONB + an indexed `is_mature`
+  boolean**, instead of `world.md` §4.6's separate 11-column `content_flags`
+  table. The flags are a document the client already produces in exactly this
+  shape (`ChunkDataDecoder.ContentFlags.to_dict()`), the only query we anticipate
+  is "is this mature", and folding them in removes a second write per save and
+  the `object_id = ''` sentinel hack that §4.6 needed to work around SQLite's
+  NULL-in-primary-key behaviour (Postgres has the same NULL semantics, so the
+  hack would have carried over).
+- **`world.md` §4.5 `chunk_objects` is deferred, not dropped.** It is a derived
+  index that exists to answer queries ("which chunks contain a door?") that no
+  code asks yet, and maintaining it means a delete-and-reinsert of every object
+  row on every save. It is fully rebuildable from `payload`, so it can be added
+  in its own migration the day a query needs it, with a backfill. Do **not**
+  build it in `0005`.
+
+### 4.3 `world_chunk_revisions`
+
+```python
+class WorldChunkRevision(Base):
+    __tablename__ = "world_chunk_revisions"
+
+    id         = Column(Integer, primary_key=True, index=True)
+    chunk_key  = Column(String(160), nullable=False, index=True)  # deliberately NOT a FK
+    world_id   = Column(Integer, nullable=False, index=True)      # also not a FK, same reason
+    revision   = Column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    action     = Column(String(16), nullable=False)               # 'create' | 'update' | 'delete'
+    actor_id   = Column(Integer, ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="SET NULL"), nullable=True)
+    checksum   = Column(String(64), nullable=False)
+    payload    = Column(LargeBinary, nullable=True)               # full payload at this revision
+    created_at = Column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), nullable=False)
+```
+
+Kept from `world.md` §4.7 including its two design points: the full payload is
+stored (rollback needs it) and `chunk_key`/`world_id` are **not** foreign keys,
+so deleting a chunk or a world preserves the audit trail.
+
+**Retention (new, required):** this table grows without bound — a creator
+dragging a brush can produce hundreds of revisions per minute. The
+implementation must ship a retention policy from day one: keep the newest
+`WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP` (default 20) payloads per `chunk_key` and null out
+`payload` on older rows (keeping the metadata row for the audit trail), pruned
+in the same transaction as the write. A `created_at` index supports a later
+time-based prune.
+
+### 4.4 Config additions (`backend/app/config.py`)
+
+```
+WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES: int = 1_048_576   # 1 MiB; a dense 32×32 uint16 layer is 2 KiB
+WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_OBJECTS: int = 512
+WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH: int = 64
+WORLD_CHUNK_REVISION_KEEP: int = 20
+GAME_SERVER_INTERNAL_API_URL: str = "http://127.0.0.1:8000"
+```
+
+### 4.5 Chunk key format
+
+`world.md` §2.3 specifies `"{world_id}:{room_id}:{cx}:{cy}:{cz}"` and illustrates
+it with `w_0001:r_0001`. Those ids were illustrative. The real key uses the
+backend's identifiers:
+
+```
+"{world.id}:{room.slug}:{cx}:{cy}:{cz}"      e.g.  "12:main:3:-1:0"
+```
+
+The room **slug** rather than its numeric id, so a key is human-readable in logs
+and stable if rooms are ever re-imported. `Chunk.build_key()` in
+`scripts/chunk.gd` already produces this shape unmodified.
+
+---
+
+## 5. D2 — The FastAPI backend is the only writer
+
+### 5.1 Decision
+
+The in-game editor (`editor.md` §7.2) submits edits over **HTTP to the FastAPI
+backend**, which validates, versions, and persists them. The dedicated Godot
+server process **never writes world content** and does not sit in the edit path.
+
+This preserves `world.md`'s and `editor.md`'s actual invariant — *clients never
+touch storage; they submit edits to a server-authoritative tier that validates
+them* — while identifying that tier as the always-on backend rather than the
+ephemeral sim process. `editor.md` §4.2's claim that edits ride the same
+`request_chunk_edit` RPC as gameplay is the one part of that doc this design
+changes; the moderation and validation properties it derives from that claim are
+unaffected, because the validation boundary moves with the writer.
+
+### 5.2 Reasoning
+
+1. **Nothing that can vanish in 300 seconds may own the write path.** The reaper
+   in `game_servers.py` `stop()`s an idle server with `SIGTERM` and escalates to
+   `SIGKILL` after 10 s; `supervisor.shutdown()` does the same to every server on
+   backend shutdown; and if the backend dies uncleanly the servers are orphaned
+   with no one to flush them. Because the sim process holds no unsaved world
+   content in this design, **no reap, crash, or kill can ever lose world data** —
+   that is the single strongest practical reason for this split.
+2. **Editing must work with no dedicated server running.** A creator opening
+   their world to build should not have to spin up a 30 Hz sim process, burn a
+   port from the 100-port range, and hold it for 5 minutes past their last save.
+3. **`server.gd` has no database access, no credentials, and no HTTP client.**
+   Routing writes through it means either shipping Postgres credentials into a
+   process spawned per join, or building an ENet→HTTP proxy inside the sim loop.
+   Both are strictly worse than the editor calling the backend directly.
+4. **Authorization already lives in the backend.** `CurrentUser`, the
+   `owner_id` check, and `WorldVisibility` are all there. The dedicated server
+   has no user identities at all — it knows peer ids, not accounts.
+
+### 5.3 Authorization
+
+- **Read** a chunk: the same rule as `GET /api/worlds/{id}` — the world is
+  `PUBLIC`, or the caller owns it. Otherwise 404 (not 403), matching the
+  existing routers' deliberate non-disclosure.
+- **Write** a chunk: caller must be `world.owner_id`, matching `update_world`;
+  403 otherwise. Collaborator/role-based editing is future work and slots in at
+  this one check.
+- **Mature gating hook:** `is_mature` chunks are where `content_moderation.md`'s
+  age gate attaches on the read path. Specify the column and the index now; the
+  gate itself lands with that doc's work.
+
+### 5.4 Concurrency
+
+Optimistic concurrency exactly as `world.md` §5.4, expressed over HTTP:
+
+1. Reader gets `revision` (header `X-Chunk-Revision`, or the JSON field).
+2. Writer sends `base_revision`.
+3. The service does `SELECT ... FOR UPDATE` on the chunk row, compares
+   `base_revision` to `revision`, and either commits at `revision + 1` or returns
+   **409** with `current_revision` and `current_checksum` so the editor can
+   re-fetch and re-apply.
+4. `base_revision: 0` means "create; fail with 409 if it already exists".
+
+### 5.5 Validation (the backend must not trust the client)
+
+The write path decodes the submitted payload server-side before storing it. This
+requires a **Python port of the `world.md` §3.6 codec** —
+`backend/app/services/chunk_codec.py`, mirroring `scripts/chunk_data_decoder.gd`.
+It checks: magic `AGPC`, `format_version <= 1`, declared vs. actual
+`payload_len`, **recomputed** SHA-256 (the header's checksum is advisory), tile
+layer dims equal the room's `grid.size`, tile indices in palette range, object
+count ≤ `WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_OBJECTS`, object positions inside the chunk's bounds,
+`chunk_key` in the payload matching the URL, and string-field length limits
+(`world.md` §7). `content_flags` and `is_mature` are **recomputed** from the
+payload's flag sections, never taken from the request body.
+
+**Drift control (required):** the two codecs must be pinned by golden files —
+fixture chunks under `tests/fixtures/chunks/` encoded by one implementation and
+decoded byte-identically by the other, asserted in both the pytest suite and the
+Godot headless suite. Without this the format has two implementations and no
+contract test, which is exactly the failure `world.md` §5.2 was trying to avoid
+by having one shared implementation.
+
+---
+
+## 6. D4 — Editing versus a live session (scope boundary)
+
+**In scope for this milestone:**
+
+- The editor is entered as **"Edit world" from the world browser**: a non-joined
+  client mode. It does **not** call `POST /api/worlds/{id}/join`, does not open
+  an ENet connection, and does not spawn a dedicated server. It loads chunks over
+  HTTP, edits them locally, and saves them over HTTP.
+- Writes always succeed regardless of whether a session is live. The write
+  response carries `live_session: bool` (from `supervisor.debug_state()`), so the
+  editor can surface *"this world has players in it right now — they'll see your
+  changes when the session restarts."*
+- A dedicated server started **after** a write sees the new content, because it
+  loads from the store at startup (§7).
+
+**Explicitly out of scope, deferred:**
+
+- Build-in-place while joined to a live session.
+- `chunk_invalidated` push to connected clients (`world.md` §5.3) and hot-reload
+  of the dedicated server's collision world.
+- Live collaborative editing / cursors (`editor.md` §9).
+
+**The seam that makes the deferred work cheap:** the manifest endpoint (§7.2)
+returns a monotonic `content_revision` for the world, bumped on every chunk
+write. Hot reload is then: the dedicated server polls the manifest on a timer
+(or the backend pushes to it over the same internal channel), re-fetches the
+chunks whose revision changed, and rebuilds those collision bodies. Nothing in
+this design has to change to add it.
+
+**Why the editor must not join:** if it joined, the sim process would enforce
+collision against content it loaded at spawn while the creator edits a diverging
+local copy — players would walk through new walls and bounce off deleted ones,
+with no error anywhere. Making build mode non-joined turns a silent correctness
+bug into an explicit product boundary.
+
+---
+
+## 7. D3 — What the dedicated server does at startup
+
+### 7.1 Decision
+
+`server.gd` pulls its world's content from the backend over **HTTP** at startup,
+authenticated by a **per-spawn token** the supervisor mints, and **does not bind
+the ENet port until content is loaded**.
+
+Rejected alternative — *supervisor writes a whole-world snapshot file at spawn
+and passes `--world-file`*: attractive (no new auth surface, no HTTP client in
+the sim process), but it makes spawn latency proportional to world size, gives
+the server no way to fetch a chunk lazily as players roam beyond the preloaded
+set, and still needs a separate channel for the hot-reload work above. Rejected —
+*give the Godot process a Postgres connection*: there is no PG driver in
+GDScript, and it would put database credentials in a process spawned per join.
+
+### 7.2 Startup sequence
+
+1. `_parse_args()` gains `--api-url` and `--server-token` (§7.3).
+2. `GET /api/internal/worlds/{world_id}/manifest` → rooms, per-room `grid`,
+   `bounds`, `spawn`, `chunk_count`, and the world's `content_revision`.
+3. `GET /api/internal/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks?` bounds query for
+   the spawn neighbourhood (radius from the spawn point, default 3 chunks), then
+   fetch each payload; decode with the existing `ChunkDataDecoder` and build
+   static collision from the tile layers and objects.
+4. **Then** `network_peer.create_server(port)`, then write the status file.
+5. **Fallback:** if the backend is unreachable, the world has no rooms, or the
+   room has zero chunks, load `test_level.tscn` as today and record
+   `"content": "fallback"` in the status file. A content outage must never make
+   a world un-joinable, and this keeps every PC3 flow working before any world
+   has authored content.
+
+During the session the server may lazily fetch chunks as players approach
+unloaded coordinates, through the same internal route. It **never writes**.
+Dynamic entity runtime state (positions, health) stays in memory and out of
+chunks, exactly as `world.md` §3.3 already specifies. Shutdown flushes nothing.
+
+### 7.3 Internal authentication
+
+`GameServerSupervisor._spawn()` generates `token = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)`,
+stores it on the `_WorldServer` dataclass, and passes it on the command line
+alongside the existing `--port/--world/--status-file`. A FastAPI dependency
+`require_game_server` resolves `Authorization: Bearer <token>` against
+`supervisor.validate_token(world_id, token)` — a dict lookup, since the
+supervisor is an in-process singleton. Properties this gives us:
+
+- A token grants access to **one** world and **dies with its process** (the
+  reaper's `del self._servers[wid]` invalidates it).
+- No long-lived shared secret in config or on disk.
+- It reuses the **already documented** single-worker constraint in
+  `game_servers.py`; it does not add a new one.
+
+Rejected alternative — *let the dedicated server use the public routes with a
+service user account*: the public routes enforce per-user visibility and
+ownership, which a service identity would have to be exempted from, and it would
+pollute `updated_by_id`/audit rows with a fake user. A separate `/api/internal`
+prefix keeps the two auth models apart and can be blocked at the reverse proxy.
+
+### 7.4 Lifecycle changes this requires in `game_servers.py`
+
+These are real, load-bearing findings from the current implementation:
+
+- **`_await_port()` is the wrong readiness signal now.** It returns as soon as
+  the UDP port is bound, and the port is bound before content exists today. With
+  content loading it must await a `"ready": true` field that `server.gd` writes
+  to the status file *after* content load + `create_server`. Otherwise the
+  backend hands a client an address for a server that is still fetching chunks.
+- **`_await_port()` fails open.** After its 8 s deadline it returns normally,
+  with no error — `ensure_server` then reports success for a server that may
+  never have started. Content loading makes a slow start more likely, so the
+  readiness wait needs a real timeout error (503 to the joining client) and a
+  longer, configurable deadline.
+- **The status file is the only server→backend channel**, and `_spawn` currently
+  passes no credentials at all — hence §7.3.
+- **`player_count()` returns 0 when the status file is missing or unparseable**,
+  so a live server whose status write fails can be reaped after the idle timeout.
+  Harmless for data (the sim owns nothing durable — the point of D2) but worth a
+  comment where the fallback lives.
+- **No crash restart** (documented in the module docstring): if a server dies,
+  the next join respawns it and it reloads content from the store. With D2 this
+  is now genuinely safe rather than merely tolerated.
+
+---
+
+## 8. API surface
+
+All paths are under the existing `worlds` router prefix (`/api/worlds`) unless
+noted. New router module: `backend/app/routers/world_content.py`, mounted at
+`/api/worlds`; internal routes in `backend/app/routers/internal.py` at
+`/api/internal`.
+
+### 8.1 Public (editor & player client; JWT `CurrentUser`)
+
+| Method | Path | Purpose |
+|---|---|---|
+| `GET` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms` | List rooms + grid config |
+| `POST` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms` | Create a room (owner) |
+| `GET` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks` | Chunk **index** over a bounds query |
+| `GET` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}` | Fetch one chunk |
+| `PUT` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}` | Write one chunk |
+| `PUT` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks` | Write up to `WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH` chunks atomically |
+| `DELETE` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}` | Delete one chunk |
+| `GET` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}/revisions` | Revision history (owner) |
+| `POST` | `/api/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}/rollback` | Restore a revision (owner) |
+
+**Room list** — `GET .../rooms` → `200`
+
+```json
+[{ "id": 7, "slug": "main", "name": "Main",
+   "grid": { "size": [32, 32, 1], "origin": [0, 0, 0] },
+   "bounds": null,
+   "spawn": { "pos": [0, 1.5, 0], "yaw": 0.0 },
+   "chunk_count": 41 }]
+```
+
+**Chunk index** — `GET .../chunks?cx_min=&cx_max=&cy_min=&cy_max=&cz=0` → `200`.
+Payloads are *not* included; this is `world.md` §5.1's `list_chunks(bounds)` and
+lets a streamer decide what to fetch and skip anything already cached by
+checksum.
+
+```json
+{ "room": "main", "content_revision": 118,
+  "chunks": [{ "key": "12:main:0:0:0", "cx": 0, "cy": 0, "cz": 0,
+               "revision": 4, "checksum": "9f86…", "payload_len": 2344,
+               "is_mature": false, "updated_at": "2026-09-14T10:02:11Z" }] }
+```
+
+Bounds are capped (default 32×32 chunks per query) and return `422` beyond that.
+
+**Chunk fetch** — `GET .../chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}`, content-negotiated:
+
+- `Accept: application/octet-stream` (default for the game client) → `200` with
+  the raw `world.md` §3.6 bytes, `ETag: "<checksum>"`,
+  `X-Chunk-Revision: <n>`, `X-Chunk-Key: <key>`.
+- `Accept: application/json` (tooling, tests, the editor's debug view) → the
+  §3.5 JSON encoding, decoded server-side from the payload. JSON is derived, never
+  stored, so there is no dual-write drift (`world.md` §4.4).
+- `If-None-Match: "<checksum>"` → `304`. This is what makes the client's
+  `user://chunk_cache/` cache cheap and is why the checksum is the ETag.
+- `404` if the chunk does not exist (an unwritten coordinate is not an error to
+  the streamer — it renders empty).
+
+**Chunk write** — `PUT .../chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}`
+
+```
+Content-Type: application/octet-stream
+X-Base-Revision: 4          # 0 = create
+<binary payload>
+```
+
+or, for clients that prefer JSON:
+`{"base_revision": 4, "payload_b64": "…"}`.
+
+Responses:
+
+| Code | Body / meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `200` | `{"key", "revision", "checksum", "payload_len", "updated_at", "is_mature", "live_session"}` |
+| `409` | `{"detail": "revision conflict", "current_revision": 6, "current_checksum": "…"}` |
+| `403` | not the world owner |
+| `404` | world or room not found / not visible |
+| `413` | payload over `WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_PAYLOAD_BYTES` |
+| `422` | decode/validation failure (`{"detail", "reason"}`, e.g. `checksum_mismatch`, `layer_dims`, `object_out_of_bounds`) |
+
+**Batch write** — `PUT .../chunks` with
+`{"chunks": [{"cx","cy","cz","base_revision","payload_b64"}, …]}`. Applied in
+**one transaction, all-or-nothing**: if any entry conflicts, nothing is written
+and the response is `409` naming the offending coordinate. Justification: an
+editor brush stroke or an object drag routinely straddles a chunk boundary, and
+without a batch the editor either issues N round trips or leaves half of a user
+action persisted. Capped at `WORLD_CHUNK_MAX_BATCH` chunks and 8 MB.
+
+### 8.2 D5 — Full-chunk PUT, not JSON-Patch deltas
+
+`world.md` §5.4 specifies RFC-6902 deltas against `base_revision`. This design
+sends **whole chunks** instead.
+
+- A 32×32×1 chunk is ~2 KB of dense tile indices plus its objects — a few KB.
+  The bandwidth a patch saves is negligible at editor rates.
+- The stored form is an opaque binary blob. Patching it means the backend must
+  decode → apply a JSON-Patch → re-encode → re-checksum, i.e. implement and test
+  a *second* mutation format on top of the codec, with its own failure modes, and
+  keep it in sync with the client's patch generator. That is the same dual-path
+  drift risk `world.md` §5.2 exists to prevent.
+- Lost-update protection comes from `base_revision`, not from the patch, so
+  nothing is given up on correctness.
+
+Delta encoding stays available as a pure bandwidth optimization later —
+`world.md` §8 already files it as future work.
+
+### 8.3 Internal (dedicated server; `require_game_server` token)
+
+| Method | Path | Purpose |
+|---|---|---|
+| `GET` | `/api/internal/worlds/{world_id}/manifest` | Rooms, grids, spawn, `content_revision`, chunk counts |
+| `GET` | `/api/internal/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks` | Bounds index (same shape as §8.1) |
+| `GET` | `/api/internal/worlds/{world_id}/rooms/{slug}/chunks/{cx}/{cy}/{cz}` | Binary payload |
+
+Read-only by construction — there is no internal write route, and adding one
+would violate D2. The token is world-scoped, so a path whose `world_id` differs
+from the token's world is `403`. These routes skip the per-user visibility check
+(the sim process has no user) and apply no mature gating (gating is a client/user
+concern; the server still needs collision).
+
+### 8.4 D6 — The client streams chunks over HTTP, not over ENet
+
+`world.md` §5.3 routes `request_chunk` / `chunk_data` over the game's ENet
+connection. This design has the playing client fetch chunks from the **backend
+over HTTP**, the same routes the editor uses.
+
+- The dedicated server has no content the backend doesn't have; proxying bytes
+  through it adds a hop and puts multi-megabyte reliable transfers in contention
+  with the 30 Hz snapshot broadcast on the same ENet peer.
+- HTTP gives caching for free — `ETag`/`If-None-Match` on the checksum, and a
+  local `user://chunk_cache/<checksum>` that survives sessions.
+- `ApiClient` (`scripts/api_client.gd`) already carries the JWT and the result
+  contract; no new transport code.
+
+**This does not require rewriting `ChunkStreamManager`.** It already calls
+through a `set_server_rpc()` seam that only needs an object with
+`request_chunk(key)`. The editor-wiring task supplies an `HttpChunkSource` that
+implements that method against `ApiClient` and feeds
+`_on_chunk_data_received(key, bytes)` — which also finally gives that dormant
+seam a caller. Note the existing `_load_chunk()` builds its key with empty
+world/room ids (`Chunk.build_key("", "", coord)`); the adapter must supply the
+real world id and room slug.
+
+---
+
+## 9. What each follow-on task owns
+
+**Backend task**
+- `backend/app/models/world_content.py` + `0005_add_world_content_tables`
+- `backend/app/services/chunk_codec.py` (Python port of `world.md` §3.6) and the
+  golden-file fixtures shared with the Godot suite
+- `backend/app/services/world_store.py` (the `world.md` §5.1 service interface,
+  minus `flush_dirty`/`rebuild_index`, over Postgres)
+- `backend/app/routers/world_content.py`, `backend/app/routers/internal.py`
+- `game_servers.py`: per-spawn token, `--api-url`/`--server-token` args,
+  readiness-from-status-file instead of `_await_port` (§7.4)
+- `create_world` creates the `main` room
+
+**Client/editor task**
+- `HttpChunkSource` adapter → `ChunkStreamManager.set_server_rpc()`
+- Editor save path (single + batch PUT), 409 conflict re-fetch-and-reapply,
+  `live_session` warning UI
+- "Edit world" entry from the world browser that does **not** join
+- `server.gd`: arg parsing, manifest + chunk fetch before `create_server`,
+  collision build from decoded chunks, `test_level.tscn` fallback,
+  `"ready"`/`"content"` fields in the status file
+
+---
+
+## 10. Open questions (deliberately not decided here)
+
+- **Hot reload / build-in-place** while a session is live (§6) — the
+  `content_revision` seam is in place for it.
+- **Collaborator permissions** beyond `owner_id` — one check in §5.3.
+- **Mature-content gating** on the read path — column and index exist; the
+  policy belongs to `content_moderation.md`.
+- **`world_chunk_objects`** derived index — spec'd in `world.md` §4.5, build it
+  when a query needs it (§4.2).
+- **Payload compression** — the §3.6 header reserves a flags bitmask; Postgres
+  TOAST already compresses `BYTEA`, so measure before adding a second layer.
+- **Chunk streaming for very large worlds** — the bounds-query cap in §8.1 is a
+  guardrail, not a scaling plan.

docs/checkpoints/PC3.md

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Package Checkpoint 3 (PC3)
+
+> **Status: partial.** PC3's planned scope was M4-avatars + M5-multiplayer +
+> Foundation Hardening + M6–M10 (see `docs/build-plan-v1.md`). As of
+> 2026-09-05, **M4, M5, and most of Foundation Hardening are done and
+> checkpoint-verified**; M6–M10 have not been started. This doc records what
+> is real. Whether to call this "PC3" (redefined scope, M6–M10 → PC4) or keep
+> PC3 open is a user decision.
+
+Built by Claude directly (fleet offline), branch `pc3` → `main`.
+
+## What's real and verified (`scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py`, all green)
+
+| Check | Result |
+|---|---|
+| Alembic migrations, fresh DB | PASS |
+| Backend `pytest` | 77/77 PASS (hermetic — auto-starts an ephemeral Postgres) |
+| Godot smoke tests (~16 files) | ALL PASS |
+| `smoke_test_network_client` (real dedicated server) | 4/4 PASS |
+| 2-player multiplayer (`run_multiplayer_2p_test.sh`) | PASS |
+| Fresh-clone boot (`verify_fresh_clone.sh`) | PASS |
+| Linux + Windows exports | Build as real ELF64 / PE32+ binaries |
+
+### M4 — Avatars in the game
+
+- Placeholder avatar pack (14 GLBs, rigged 24-bone base body + attachments)
+  generated by `scripts/tools/gen_placeholder_avatars.gd`. Real art is a
+  content swap — catalog paths are stable.
+- The avatar **loader was fixed** — it had never run against a real skeleton
+  (`Skeleton3D.has_bone()` isn't a Godot 4 method; the bone-copy dropped the
+  skin binding; attachments were parsed then discarded).
+- `avatar_visualizer.gd` **rewritten** — the old one referenced a loader API
+  that never existed and didn't compile.
+- Persistence: `avatar_loadouts` table + `GET/PUT /api/avatar/loadout`
+  (loadout stored as one JSON doc; server validates the envelope only).
+- Wired into gameplay: the in-world player renders as the assembled avatar
+  (not a capsule); the loadout is fetched at login; "Customize Avatar" from
+  the main menu saves through to the backend.
+- **Follow-up:** camera is still first-person, so the local player doesn't
+  see their own avatar much (third-person is a polish item); remote players'
+  avatar appearance is not replicated yet (they show as labelled capsules).
+
+### M5 — Real multiplayer
+
+- `server.gd` **actually runs a sim now** — loads the world level, spawns a
+  server player per peer, processes each peer's input queue in seq order at a
+  fixed 30 Hz, broadcasts full snapshots with a per-peer `last_seq`. (The
+  input queue was a no-op before.)
+- `network_client.gd` reconciliation **replays in-flight inputs** from the
+  authoritative state (drops acked ones), snaps only on real drift.
+- **Server orchestration** (`backend/app/services/game_servers.py`): one
+  headless Godot dedicated-server process per world, spawned on demand by
+  `POST /api/worlds/{id}/join`, port-allocated, with a status-file idle
+  reaper. Off by default; the playtest launcher (`checkpoint_ops.py`)
+  enables it.
+- **Client play path**: world browser → `/join` → `Session` → `game.tscn`
+  connects → local player predicts with collision, input forwarded, server
+  position is a drift backstop, remote players render from snapshots,
+  disconnect returns to the world list. Falls back to local single-player
+  when the backend has no orchestration.
+- **Verified**: two real client processes each `register → /join → play`,
+  hosted on an orchestrated server, see and move relative to each other
+  (`run_game_multiplayer_test.sh`).
+
+### Foundation Hardening
+
+- **Hermetic backend tests** — `cd backend && pytest` works from a clean
+  checkout (auto ephemeral Postgres + migrations, torn down after); skips
+  cleanly with a message if there's no Docker.
+- **Fresh-clone boot check** — `verify_fresh_clone.sh` exports a pristine
+  tree, imports from scratch, boots headless, fails on any script error.
+  Also fixed the root cause: a stale `.godot/global_script_class_cache.cfg`
+  was committed to the repo.
+- **Real age verification** — `/register` takes a date of birth (not a
+  checkbox), server computes age, 403 under 18. Still self-attested; the
+  limitation and the ID-check hook are documented
+  (`content_moderation.md` 5.2).
+- **Auth rate limiting** — 10 attempts / min / IP on `/register` + `/login`.
+- **CI workflow** — `.forgejo/workflows/checkpoint.yml` written, **not
+  running yet**: needs the operator to enable Forgejo Actions + register a
+  `host` runner (one-time; see `docs/ci.md`). Interim gate is
+  `run_checkpoint_tests.py` by hand / the dashboard.
+
+## Not in PC3 (planned but not started)
+
+- **M2** server-side world persistence
+- **M6** scripting sandbox
+- **M7** in-game editor
+- **M8** social / chat
+- **M9** economy
+- **M10** discovery
+
+## Playtest
+
+Same as PC2 — grab the exe from the dashboard's `/checkpoints`, backend
+pointed at it. New: with multiple people in the same world you now actually
+see each other move.

docs/ci.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# CI
+
+`.gitea/workflows/checkpoint.yml` runs the full checkpoint suite
+(`scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py`: migrations on a fresh DB, backend
+`pytest`, all Godot smoke tests, the 2-player multiplayer test, and the
+fresh-clone boot check) on **every push to `main` and every PR**.
+
+## Status: live
+
+Set up 2026-09-05:
+
+- Gitea Actions enabled (`[actions] ENABLED = true` in
+  `/DATA/AppData/forgejo/gitea/conf/app.ini`, container restarted; a
+  timestamped `.bak` is next to it).
+- `act_runner` v0.2.13 registered as **`agp-host`** with label **`host`**
+  (host execution mode — jobs run directly on the AGP box, which already
+  has Docker, `~/godot/godot`, and Python). Lives in `~/act-runner/`.
+- Green on the first successful run (`d76bf4d`).
+
+The workflow uses **no JavaScript actions** (no `actions/checkout`), so the
+host needs no Node: checkout is a shallow `git fetch` from the local Gitea
+using the injected `${{ github.token }}`, and the suite runs in a venv the
+job builds (host Python is PEP-668 externally-managed).
+
+## Make the runner permanent (one command, needs sudo)
+
+The runner currently runs as a plain background process — it won't survive a
+reboot. A unit file is ready at `~/act-runner/act-runner.service`:
+
+```bash
+sudo cp ~/act-runner/act-runner.service /etc/systemd/system/
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+pkill -f 'act_runner daemon'          # stop the temporary background one
+sudo systemctl enable --now act-runner
+```
+
+## Interim / local
+
+```bash
+python scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py
+```
+
+— also what `/checkpoint/<PC>` on the dashboard runs before a playtest build.
+
+## Security note
+
+A host-mode runner executes whatever a workflow says, directly on the box,
+as `daddy` (in the `docker` group). Fine for a single-maintainer private
+repo; revisit if the repo gets outside contributors (switch to a
+docker-mode runner or an isolated VM).

docs/testing/test_inventory.md

@@ -7,14 +7,17 @@ to know what "run the tests" actually checked.
 
 Run everything below in one shot with `scripts/run_checkpoint_tests.py`.
 
-Last verified against `main`: 2026-08-21 — migrations + pytest + all 10
+Last verified against `main`: 2026-08-21 — migrations + pytest + all 11
 Godot smoke tests, all clean. PC1's real playtest-found bugs (login form
 unreachable, 1px world cards, Play → Back losing the session) are covered
 by the smoke tests below so they can't silently regress. PC2 (basic
 playable world + character + movement) landed 2026-08-20/21 — see
 `docs/checkpoints/` once a PC2 record exists, and the three new smoke
 tests below (`smoke_test_test_level.gd`, `smoke_test_player.gd`,
-`smoke_test_enter_world.gd`) for what's actually verified.
+`smoke_test_enter_world.gd`) for what's actually verified. The avatar
+loader/customization system (`smoke_test_avatar_system.gd`) also landed
+2026-08-21 — real glTF-based loading with graceful failure on missing
+assets, verified since `assets/avatars/*.glb` model files don't exist yet.
 
 ## Backend — `backend/tests/` (pytest)
 
@@ -53,8 +56,10 @@ these yet):
 
 ## Godot client — `scripts/smoke_test_*.gd`
 
-**11 smoke tests merged into `main`.** Ten need a live backend, one
-(`smoke_test_network_client.gd`) needs a live dedicated server instead —
+**12 smoke tests merged into `main`.** Ten need a live backend, one
+(`smoke_test_network_client.gd`) needs a live dedicated server instead,
+and one (`smoke_test_avatar_system.gd`) needs neither — it only exercises
+local catalog/loadout/loader logic. Backend-dependent tests read
 `AGP_API_BASE_URL` env var, falling back to the
 `application/agp/api_base_url` project setting (default
 `http://127.0.0.1:8000`) if unset.
@@ -72,6 +77,7 @@ these yet):
 | `smoke_test_player.gd` | Loads `scenes/game.tscn` and confirms the player exists as a real `CharacterBody3D` with a `CollisionShape3D`+shape, a `CapsuleMesh`, and spawns at the level's `PlayerSpawn` marker position. Also asserts `JUMP_VELOCITY` is positive and a `Camera3D` exists and is `current` — both were real bugs found 2026-08-20/21 (jump velocity was negative, pushing the player down instead of up; no camera existed at all, so the game was unplayable even though the character could technically move). Structural checks only — real movement/jump *direction* correctness was verified separately via a throwaway headless physics simulation during development, not by an automated test that's part of this suite. |
 | `smoke_test_enter_world.gd` | The full PC2 path end to end: register → seed a real world → load `world_list.tscn` → click the real "Enter World" button on a real card (found by walking the card's children, not by index, so it doesn't silently pass if the card layout changes) → confirms `scenes/game.tscn` actually becomes `current_scene` with the player spawned at the level's `PlayerSpawn` marker → sends a real `KEY_ESCAPE` input event (not a direct method call) and confirms it returns to `world_list.tscn`. This is the test that proves "browse → enter → walk around → leave" actually works as one continuous flow, not just that each piece works in isolation. |
 | `smoke_test_network_client.gd` | **Real two-process integration test** for `scripts/network_client.gd` (client-side prediction + reconciliation, docs/architecture/networking.md §5) — needs an actual dedicated server running first: `godot --headless --path . scenes/server.tscn &`, *not* the usual HTTP backend. Connects a real `NetworkClient` over ENet, confirms local input prediction moves the player immediately (no waiting on a round trip), confirms real snapshots arrive and get processed, then deliberately desyncs the predicted position by 9999 units and confirms the very next snapshot corrects it back — the actual proof reconciliation logic works, not just that it never had to fire. Known simplification, stated in the script's own docstring: the server's snapshot doesn't currently echo back a per-peer "last input seq processed," so reconciliation corrects against the *most recent* prediction rather than true tick-exact rollback-and-replay (docs/architecture/networking.md §5.2 step 4) — a real, scoped follow-up once the server echoes that ack, not something faked here. |
+| `smoke_test_avatar_system.gd` | Confirms `AvatarSystem` is a real autoload, the committed `assets/avatars/catalog.json` actually parses, `get_assets_for_slot("base_body")` returns real entries, an `AvatarLoadout` can set `base_body` and equip a real catalog accessory, the loadout round-trips through `to_json()`/`load_loadout_from_json()`, and — since `assets/avatars/*.glb` model files don't exist yet — that `AvatarLoader.load_base_body()` against a real catalog entry with a missing file fails *gracefully*: returns `null` and emits `load_error` rather than crashing. Visual rendering itself can't be verified until real assets exist. |
 
 Run (once, to build the class cache): `godot --headless --path . --import`,
 then for each smoke test: `godot --headless --path . --script

export_presets.cfg

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ advanced_options=false
 dedicated_server=false
 custom_features=""
 export_filter="all_resources"
-include_filter=""
+include_filter="*.json"
 exclude_filter=""
 export_path="export/linux/agp-game.x86_64"
 encryption_include_filters=""
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ advanced_options=false
 dedicated_server=false
 custom_features=""
 export_filter="all_resources"
-include_filter=""
+include_filter="*.json"
 exclude_filter=""
 export_path="export/windows/agp-game.exe"
 encryption_include_filters=""

project.godot

@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ agp/api_base_url="http://127.0.0.1:8000"
 [autoload]
 
 ApiClient="*res://scripts/api_client.gd"
+AvatarSystem="*res://scripts/avatar/avatar_system.gd"
+Session="*res://scripts/session.gd"
 
 [display]
 
@@ -43,6 +45,22 @@ move_down={
 "events": [Object(InputEventKey,"resource_local_to_scene":false,"resource_name":"","device":-1,"window_id":0,"alt_pressed":false,"shift_pressed":false,"ctrl_pressed":false,"meta_pressed":false,"pressed":false,"keycode":0,"physical_keycode":83,"key_label":0,"unicode":115,"location":0,"echo":false,"script":null)
 ]
 }
+interact={
+"deadzone": 0.5,
+"events": [Object(InputEventKey,"resource_local_to_scene":false,"resource_name":"","device":-1,"window_id":0,"alt_pressed":false,"shift_pressed":false,"ctrl_pressed":false,"meta_pressed":false,"pressed":false,"keycode":0,"physical_keycode":69,"key_label":0,"unicode":101,"location":0,"echo":false,"script":null)
+]
+}
+toggle_build_mode={
+"deadzone": 0.5,
+"events": [Object(InputEventKey,"resource_local_to_scene":false,"resource_name":"","device":-1,"window_id":0,"alt_pressed":false,"shift_pressed":false,"ctrl_pressed":false,"meta_pressed":false,"pressed":false,"keycode":0,"physical_keycode":4194333,"key_label":0,"unicode":0,"location":0,"echo":false,"script":null)
+]
+}
+
+[physics]
+
+; Fixed 30 Hz sim -- the multiplayer server, client prediction, and snapshot
+; rate all key off this. See docs/architecture/networking.md 3.1.
+common/physics_ticks_per_second=30
 
 [rendering]
 

sandbox_probe/.godot/.gdignore

@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-

scenes/avatar_customization.tscn

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=3 uid="uid://avatar_customization"]
+
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/avatar_customization_screen.gd" id="1"]
+
+[node name="AvatarCustomization" type="Control"]
+layout_mode = 3
+anchors_preset = 15
+anchor_right = 1.0
+anchor_bottom = 1.0
+grow_horizontal = 2
+grow_vertical = 2
+script = ExtResource("1")

scenes/dev/avatar_preview.tscn

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=3 uid="uid://c0avpre7dev0rig"]
+
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/tools/avatar_preview.gd" id="1"]
+
+[node name="AvatarPreview" type="Node3D"]
+script = ExtResource("1")

scenes/dev/screenshot_rig.tscn

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=3 uid="uid://bqs8xk2rig0dev"]
+
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/tools/screenshot_rig.gd" id="1"]
+
+[node name="ScreenshotRig" type="Node"]
+script = ExtResource("1")

scenes/game.tscn

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
-[gd_scene load_steps=3 format=3 uid="uid://game_scene_pc2"]
+[gd_scene load_steps=4 format=3 uid="uid://game_scene_pc2"]
 
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/game.gd" id="0_game"]
 [ext_resource type="PackedScene" uid="uid://c49a36fc7db_test_level" path="res://scenes/worlds/test_level.tscn" id="1_level"]
 [ext_resource type="PackedScene" uid="uid://player_scene_001" path="res://scenes/player.tscn" id="2_player"]
 
 [node name="Game" type="Node3D"]
+script = ExtResource("0_game")
 
 [node name="Level" parent="." instance=ExtResource("1_level")]
 

scenes/main_menu.tscn

@@ -83,11 +83,11 @@ visible = false
 placeholder_text = "Email"
 size_flags_horizontal = 3
 
-[node name="Over18Check" type="CheckBox" parent="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthPanel/MarginContainer/AuthVBox"]
+[node name="DobEdit" type="LineEdit" parent="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthPanel/MarginContainer/AuthVBox"]
 layout_mode = 1
 visible = false
-text = "I am 18 or older"
 size_flags_horizontal = 3
+placeholder_text = "Date of birth (YYYY-MM-DD)"
 
 [node name="AuthButton" type="Button" parent="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthPanel/MarginContainer/AuthVBox"]
 layout_mode = 1
@@ -112,6 +112,12 @@ layout_mode = 1
 text = "Play"
 size_flags_horizontal = 4
 
+[node name="CustomizeButton" type="Button" parent="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer"]
+layout_mode = 1
+text = "Customize Avatar"
+size_flags_horizontal = 4
+disabled = true
+
 [node name="QuitButton" type="Button" parent="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer"]
 layout_mode = 1
 text = "Quit"
@@ -120,6 +126,7 @@ size_flags_horizontal = 4
 [connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthButtonsRow/LoginButton" to="." method="_on_login_button_pressed"]
 [connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthButtonsRow/RegisterButton" to="." method="_on_register_button_pressed"]
 [connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/PlayButton" to="." method="_on_play_button_pressed"]
+[connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/CustomizeButton" to="." method="_on_customize_button_pressed"]
 [connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/QuitButton" to="." method="_on_quit_button_pressed"]
 [connection signal="pressed" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthPanel/MarginContainer/AuthVBox/AuthButton" to="." method="_on_auth_button_pressed"]
 [connection signal="text_submitted" from="CenterContainer/VBoxContainer/AuthPanel/MarginContainer/AuthVBox/UsernameEdit" to="." method="_on_auth_button_pressed"]

scenes/player.tscn

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-[gd_scene load_steps=3 format=3 uid="uid://player_scene_001"]
+[gd_scene load_steps=5 format=3 uid="uid://player_scene_001"]
 
 [ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/player.gd" id="1_player"]
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/scripting/player_inventory.gd" id="2_inventory"]
 
 [sub_resource type="CapsuleMesh" id="CapsuleMesh1"]
 radius = 0.35
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@ radius = 0.35
 height = 1.6
 
 [node name="Player" type="CharacterBody3D"]
+collision_layer = 2
+collision_mask = 1
 script = ExtResource("1_player")
 
 [node name="CollisionShape3D" type="CollisionShape3D" parent="."]
@@ -19,6 +22,15 @@ shape = SubResource("CapsuleShape1")
 [node name="CapsuleMesh" type="MeshInstance3D" parent="."]
 mesh = SubResource("CapsuleMesh1")
 
-[node name="Camera3D" type="Camera3D" parent="."]
-transform = Transform3D(1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0.6, 0)
+[node name="CameraPivot" type="Node3D" parent="."]
+transform = Transform3D(1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1.2, 0)
+
+[node name="SpringArm3D" type="SpringArm3D" parent="CameraPivot"]
+spring_length = 3.5
+margin = 0.2
+
+[node name="Camera3D" type="Camera3D" parent="CameraPivot/SpringArm3D"]
 current = true
+
+[node name="Inventory" type="Node" parent="."]
+script = ExtResource("2_inventory")

scenes/server_player.tscn

@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
-[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=3]
+[gd_scene load_steps=3 format=3]
 
 [ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/player_spawner.gd" id="1"]
 
+[sub_resource type="CapsuleShape3D" id="CapsuleShape_server_player"]
+radius = 0.35
+height = 1.6
+
 [node name="Player" type="CharacterBody3D"]
+collision_layer = 2
+collision_mask = 1
 script = ExtResource("1")
+
+[node name="CollisionShape3D" type="CollisionShape3D" parent="."]
+shape = SubResource("CapsuleShape_server_player")

scenes/worlds/test_level.tscn

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-[gd_scene load_steps=1 format=3 uid="uid://c49a36fc7db_test_level"]
+[gd_scene load_steps=2 format=3 uid="uid://c49a36fc7db_test_level"]
+
+[ext_resource type="Script" path="res://scripts/scripting/script_interpreter.gd" id="1_scripted_chest"]
 
 [sub_resource type="BoxShape3D" id="BoxShape3D_ground"]
 size = Vector3(40, 1, 40)
@@ -44,12 +46,18 @@ radius = 0.5
 subdivisions_ring = 8
 subdivisions_height = 8
 
+[sub_resource type="BoxShape3D" id="BoxShape3D_chest"]
+size = Vector3(1, 0.8, 0.6)
+
+[sub_resource type="BoxMesh" id="BoxMesh_chest"]
+size = Vector3(1, 0.8, 0.6)
+
 [sub_resource type="Environment" id="WorldEnvironment_env"]
 background_mode = 1
-background_color = Color(0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1)
-ambient_light_source = 1
-ambient_light_energy = 0.4
-ambient_light_sky_energy = 1.0
+background_color = Color(0.45, 0.62, 0.82, 1)
+ambient_light_source = 2
+ambient_light_color = Color(0.7, 0.75, 0.82, 1)
+ambient_light_energy = 0.8
 
 [node name="TestLevel" type="Node3D"]
 
@@ -109,8 +117,21 @@ shape = SubResource("SphereShape3D_prop5")
 [node name="MeshInstance3D" type="MeshInstance3D" parent="Props/Prop5_SmallSphere"]
 mesh = SubResource("SphereMesh_prop5")
 
+[node name="ScriptedChest" type="StaticBody3D" parent="."]
+position = Vector3(0, 1.0, 1.5)
+script = ExtResource("1_scripted_chest")
+behavior_path = "res://assets/scripting/behaviors/demo_chest.json"
+interact_radius = 2.5
+
+[node name="CollisionShape3D" type="CollisionShape3D" parent="ScriptedChest"]
+shape = SubResource("BoxShape3D_chest")
+
+[node name="MeshInstance3D" type="MeshInstance3D" parent="ScriptedChest"]
+mesh = SubResource("BoxMesh_chest")
+
 [node name="Sun" type="DirectionalLight3D" parent="."]
-rotation = Vector3(-0.785398, 0, 0)
+rotation = Vector3(-0.95, -0.5, 0)
+light_energy = 1.3
 shadow_enabled = true
 
 [node name="WorldEnvironment" type="WorldEnvironment" parent="."]

scripts/api_client.gd

@@ -69,6 +69,16 @@ func clear_token() -> void:
 
 var _base_url: String = "http://127.0.0.1:8000"
 
+## Read-only access to the configured backend base URL (no trailing slash).
+## Lets other client-side code that needs to build its own request outside
+## the [method request] primitive -- e.g. [HttpChunkSource], which needs raw
+## response bytes and custom headers `request()`'s JSON-only contract can't
+## give it -- target the same backend without duplicating the env var /
+## ProjectSettings resolution logic in `_ready()`.
+var base_url: String:
+	get:
+		return _base_url
+
 ## Request timeout in seconds. 0 disables the timeout.
 var timeout_seconds: float = 10.0
 
@@ -178,18 +188,19 @@ func login(username: String, password: String) -> Dictionary:
 
 
 ## Register a new user. On success stores the returned access token.
-## @param over_18 Must be true; the backend rejects registration otherwise.
+## @param date_of_birth ISO "YYYY-MM-DD". The backend computes age from it
+##                       and rejects under-18s (403).
 func register(
 	username: String,
 	email: String,
 	password: String,
-	over_18: bool
+	date_of_birth: String
 ) -> Dictionary:
 	var payload := {
 		"username": username,
 		"email": email,
 		"password": password,
-		"over_18": over_18,
+		"date_of_birth": date_of_birth,
 	}
 	var result := await request(
 		HTTPClient.METHOD_POST,
@@ -221,6 +232,29 @@ func get_me() -> Dictionary:
 	return await request(HTTPClient.METHOD_GET, "/api/users/me", "", "application/json", true)
 
 
+## Fetch the current user's saved avatar loadout (requires auth).
+## On success, result.data is {"data": <loadout dict>, "is_default": bool} --
+## `is_default` true means the user has never customised and this is the
+## server default.
+func get_avatar_loadout() -> Dictionary:
+	return await request(HTTPClient.METHOD_GET, "/api/avatar/loadout", "", "application/json", true)
+
+
+## Ask the backend for a dedicated server to host [param world_id] and return
+## its address. On success result.data is {"world_id", "host", "port"}.
+## 503 if this backend has no game-server orchestration.
+func join_world(world_id: int) -> Dictionary:
+	return await request(HTTPClient.METHOD_POST, "/api/worlds/%d/join" % world_id, "", "application/json", true)
+
+
+## Save (replace) the current user's avatar loadout (requires auth).
+## @param loadout A dict in the AvatarLoadout.to_json() shape
+##                ({"base_body": String, "slots": {...}, "skin_tone"?: {...}}).
+func save_avatar_loadout(loadout: Dictionary) -> Dictionary:
+	var body := JSON.stringify({"data": loadout})
+	return await request(HTTPClient.METHOD_PUT, "/api/avatar/loadout", body, "application/json", true)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Internals
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

scripts/avatar/avatar_catalog.gd

@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+## AvatarCatalog - Asset catalog management.
+##
+## Manages the mapping of asset IDs to their metadata and resource paths.
+## Loads the catalog manifest from disk and provides lookup by ID and slot.
+##
+## The catalog is loaded from `res://assets/avatars/catalog.json` which follows
+## the format specified in avatar.md §7.2.
+
+class_name AvatarCatalog
+extends RefCounted
+
+# Preloaded rather than referenced by global class_name -- see avatar_loadout.gd.
+const AvatarLoadout := preload("res://scripts/avatar/avatar_loadout.gd")
+
+
+## Emitted when the catalog is loaded successfully.
+signal catalog_loaded
+
+## Emitted when the catalog fails to load.
+signal catalog_load_failed(error_message: String)
+
+## Catalog manifest structure:
+## { "assets": { "id": { "type", "slot", "path", "version", ... } } }
+var _catalog: Dictionary = {}
+var _loaded: bool = false
+var _catalog_path: String = "res://assets/avatars/catalog.json"
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Public API
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+## Load the catalog from disk. Call this before any lookups.
+func load_catalog(path: String = _catalog_path) -> Error:
+	_catalog_path = path
+	_catalog = {}
+
+	var file = FileAccess.open(path, FileAccess.READ)
+	if file == null:
+		var err = FileAccess.get_open_error()
+		catalog_load_failed.emit("Cannot open catalog: %s (error %d)" % [path, err])
+		return err
+
+	var json_text: String = file.get_as_text()
+	file.close()
+
+	var result: Variant = JSON.parse_string(json_text)
+	if result == null or not result is Dictionary:
+		catalog_load_failed.emit("Invalid JSON in catalog: %s" % path)
+		return ERR_PARSE_ERROR
+
+	var json: Dictionary = result as Dictionary
+
+	if not json.has("assets"):
+		catalog_load_failed.emit("Catalog missing 'assets' key")
+		return ERR_INVALID_DATA
+
+	_catalog = json["assets"]
+	_loaded = true
+	catalog_loaded.emit()
+	return OK
+
+
+## Check if the catalog has been loaded.
+func is_loaded() -> bool:
+	return _loaded
+
+
+## Resolve an asset by its ID.
+## Returns a Dictionary with keys: type, slot, path, version, etc.
+## Returns null if the asset ID is not found.
+func resolve(id: String) -> Dictionary:
+	if not _loaded:
+		return {}
+	return _catalog.get(id, {})
+
+
+## Check if an asset ID exists in the catalog.
+func has_asset(id: String) -> bool:
+	if not _loaded:
+		return false
+	return _catalog.has(id)
+
+
+## Get all assets that belong to a given slot.
+## Returns an array of asset ID strings.
+func get_assets_by_slot(slot: String) -> Array[String]:
+	if not _loaded:
+		return []
+	var result: Array[String] = []
+	for id in _catalog:
+		var asset: Dictionary = _catalog[id]
+		if asset.get("slot") == slot:
+			result.append(id)
+	return result
+
+
+## Get all asset IDs in the catalog.
+func get_all_ids() -> Array[String]:
+	if not _loaded:
+		return []
+	return _catalog.keys()
+
+
+## Validate a loadout against the catalog.
+## Returns a Dictionary with "valid" (bool) and "errors" (Array[String]).
+func validate_loadout(loadout: AvatarLoadout) -> Dictionary:
+	var errors: Array[String] = []
+
+	# Check base_body
+	if loadout.base_body.is_empty():
+		errors.append("Loadout missing base_body")
+	elif not has_asset(loadout.base_body):
+		errors.append("Unknown base_body asset: %s" % loadout.base_body)
+	else:
+		var base: Dictionary = resolve(loadout.base_body)
+		if base.get("type") != "base_body":
+			errors.append("base_body asset '%s' is not type 'base_body'" % loadout.base_body)
+
+	# Check each slot
+	for slot_id in loadout.slots:
+		var slot_value = loadout.slots[slot_id]
+
+		if slot_value == null:
+			continue
+
+		if slot_id == "accessory":
+			# Accessory is an array
+			if not slot_value is Array:
+				errors.append("Slot '%s' must be an array" % slot_id)
+				continue
+			for item_id in slot_value:
+				if not has_asset(item_id):
+					errors.append("Unknown accessory asset: %s" % item_id)
+				else:
+					var asset: Dictionary = resolve(item_id)
+					if asset.get("slot") != slot_id:
+						errors.append("Accessory '%s' slot '%s' does not match slot '%s'" % [
+							item_id, asset.get("slot"), slot_id
+						])
+		else:
+			# Exclusive slot - single value
+			if not slot_value is String:
+				errors.append("Slot '%s' must be a string or null" % slot_id)
+				continue
+			if not has_asset(slot_value):
+				errors.append("Unknown asset in slot '%s': %s" % [slot_id, slot_value])
+			else:
+				var asset: Dictionary = resolve(slot_value)
+				if asset.get("slot") != slot_id:
+					errors.append("Asset '%s' slot '%s' does not match slot '%s'" % [
+						slot_value, asset.get("slot"), slot_id
+					])
+
+	return {
+		"valid": errors.is_empty(),
+		"errors": errors
+	}
+
+
+## Compute a hash of the loadout for change detection.
+## Returns a 32-bit hash value (GDScript has no fixed-width uint type — int
+## is 64-bit signed, the value is just constrained to 32 bits of range).
+static func compute_loadout_hash(loadout: AvatarLoadout) -> int:
+	var hasher = HashingContext.new()
+	hasher.start(HashingContext.HASH_SHA256)
+
+	hasher.update(loadout.base_body.to_utf8_buffer())
+	for slot_id in loadout.slots:
+		var slot_value = loadout.slots[slot_id]
+		hasher.update(slot_id.to_utf8_buffer())
+		if slot_value is Array:
+			for item in slot_value:
+				hasher.update(item.to_utf8_buffer())
+		elif slot_value is String:
+			hasher.update(slot_value.to_utf8_buffer())
+
+	var hash_bytes = hasher.finish()
+	return hash_bytes[0] | (hash_bytes[1] << 8) | (hash_bytes[2] << 16) | (hash_bytes[3] << 24)
+
+
+## Get the catalog path.
+func get_catalog_path() -> String:
+	return _catalog_path