Improve player and foliage shadow quality and stability

- ensure player transform sync is not gated by third-person so player shadow stays consistent

- hold shadow projection center during movement and snap once on stop to remove delayed catch-up

- smooth foliage caster transitions using blended phase-shifted UV samples

- tune foliage motion frequencies/amplitudes for less popping

- increase shadow map resolution to 2048 and retune terrain PCF texel scale

- increase global shadow strength from 0.62 to 0.68 for stronger, clearer shadows

assets/shaders/terrain.frag

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ float calcShadow() {
     vec3 lightDir = normalize(-uLightDir);
     float bias = max(0.005 * (1.0 - dot(norm, lightDir)), 0.001);
     // 5-tap PCF tuned for slightly sharper detail while keeping stability.
-    vec2 texel = vec2(1.0 / 1536.0);
+    vec2 texel = vec2(1.0 / 2048.0);
     float ref = proj.z - bias;
     vec2 off = texel * 0.7;
     float shadow = 0.0;

include/rendering/renderer.hpp

@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ private:
     void shutdownPostProcess();
 
     // Shadow mapping
-    static constexpr int SHADOW_MAP_SIZE = 1536;
+    static constexpr int SHADOW_MAP_SIZE = 2048;
     uint32_t shadowFBO = 0;
     uint32_t shadowDepthTex = 0;
     uint32_t shadowShaderProgram = 0;

src/rendering/character_renderer.cpp

@@ -1415,7 +1415,7 @@ void CharacterRenderer::render(const Camera& camera, const glm::mat4& view, cons
 
     // Shadows
     characterShader->setUniform("uShadowEnabled", shadowEnabled ? 1 : 0);
-    characterShader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.62f);
+    characterShader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.68f);
     characterShader->setUniform("uTexture0", 0);
     characterShader->setUniform("uAlphaTest", 0);
     characterShader->setUniform("uColorKeyBlack", 0);

src/rendering/m2_renderer.cpp

@@ -1872,7 +1872,7 @@ void M2Renderer::render(const Camera& camera, const glm::mat4& view, const glm::
     shader->setUniform("uFogEnd", fogEnd);
     bool useShadows = shadowEnabled;
     shader->setUniform("uShadowEnabled", useShadows ? 1 : 0);
-    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.62f);
+    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.68f);
     if (useShadows) {
         shader->setUniform("uLightSpaceMatrix", lightSpaceMatrix);
         glActiveTexture(GL_TEXTURE7);

src/rendering/renderer.cpp

@@ -1987,7 +1987,7 @@ void Renderer::update(float deltaTime) {
 
     // Sync character model position/rotation and animation with follow target
     auto charAnim1 = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
-    if (characterInstanceId > 0 && characterRenderer && cameraController && cameraController->isThirdPerson()) {
+    if (characterInstanceId > 0 && characterRenderer && cameraController) {
         if (meleeSwingCooldown > 0.0f) {
             meleeSwingCooldown = std::max(0.0f, meleeSwingCooldown - deltaTime);
         }

src/rendering/terrain_renderer.cpp

@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ void TerrainRenderer::render(const Camera& camera) {
 
     // Shadow map
     shader->setUniform("uShadowEnabled", shadowEnabled ? 1 : 0);
-    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.62f);
+    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.68f);
     if (shadowEnabled) {
         shader->setUniform("uLightSpaceMatrix", lightSpaceMatrix);
         glActiveTexture(GL_TEXTURE7);

src/rendering/wmo_renderer.cpp

@@ -1038,7 +1038,7 @@ void WMORenderer::render(const Camera& camera, const glm::mat4& view, const glm:
     shader->setUniform("uFogStart", fogStart);
     shader->setUniform("uFogEnd", fogEnd);
     shader->setUniform("uShadowEnabled", shadowEnabled ? 1 : 0);
-    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.62f);
+    shader->setUniform("uShadowStrength", 0.68f);
     if (shadowEnabled) {
         shader->setUniform("uLightSpaceMatrix", lightSpaceMatrix);
         glActiveTexture(GL_TEXTURE7);