ui,game,pipeline: player nameplates always-on, level-up ring effect, vanilla tile fallback, warden null guard

- Nameplates: player names always rendered regardless of V-key toggle;
  separate cull distance 40u (players/target) vs 20u (NPCs); cyan name
  color for other players; fade alpha scales with cull distance
- Level-up: add expanding golden ring burst (3 staggered waves, 420u
  max radius) + full-screen flash to renderDingEffect(); M2 LevelUp.m2
  is still attempted as a bonus on top
- Vanilla tile loading: add AssetManager::setBaseFallbackPath() so that
  when the primary manifest is an expansion-specific DBC-only subset
  (e.g. Data/expansions/vanilla/), world terrain files fall back to
  the base Data/ extraction; wired in Application::initialize()
- Warden: map a null guard page at address 0x0 in the Unicorn emulator
  so NULL-pointer reads in the module don't crash with UC_ERR_MAP;
  execution continues past the NULL read for better diagnostics

include/pipeline/asset_manager.hpp

@@ -59,6 +59,15 @@ public:
      */
     void setExpansionDataPath(const std::string& path);
 
+    /**
+     * Set a base data path to fall back to when the primary manifest
+     * does not contain a requested file.  Call this when the primary
+     * dataPath is an expansion-specific subset (e.g. Data/expansions/vanilla/)
+     * that only holds DBC overrides, not the full world asset set.
+     * @param basePath  Path to the base extraction (Data/) that has a manifest.json
+     */
+    void setBaseFallbackPath(const std::string& basePath);
+
     /**
      * Load a DBC file
      * @param name DBC file name (e.g., "Map.dbc")
@@ -144,6 +153,11 @@ private:
     AssetManifest manifest_;
     LooseFileReader looseReader_;
 
+    // Optional base-path fallback: used when manifest_ doesn't contain a file.
+    // Populated by setBaseFallbackPath(); ignored if baseFallbackDataPath_ is empty.
+    std::string    baseFallbackDataPath_;
+    AssetManifest  baseFallbackManifest_;
+
     /**
      * Resolve filesystem path: check override dir first, then base manifest.
      * Returns empty string if not found.

src/core/application.cpp

@@ -292,6 +292,11 @@ bool Application::initialize() {
             if (std::filesystem::exists(expansionManifest)) {
                 assetPath = profile->dataPath;
                 LOG_INFO("Using expansion-specific asset path: ", assetPath);
+                // Register base Data/ as fallback so world terrain files are found
+                // even when the expansion path only contains DBC overrides.
+                if (assetPath != dataPath) {
+                    assetManager->setBaseFallbackPath(dataPath);
+                }
             }
         }
     }

src/game/warden_emulator.cpp

@@ -121,6 +121,15 @@ bool WardenEmulator::initialize(const void* moduleCode, size_t moduleSize, uint3
         return false;
     }
 
+    // Map a null guard page at address 0 (read-only, zeroed) so that NULL-pointer
+    // dereferences in the module don't crash the emulator with UC_ERR_MAP.
+    // This allows execution to continue past NULL reads, making diagnostics easier.
+    err = uc_mem_map(uc_, 0x0, 0x1000, UC_PROT_READ);
+    if (err != UC_ERR_OK) {
+        // Non-fatal — just log it; the emulator will still function
+        std::cerr << "[WardenEmulator] Note: could not map null guard page: " << uc_strerror(err) << '\n';
+    }
+
     // Add hooks for debugging and invalid memory access
     uc_hook hh;
     uc_hook_add(uc_, &hh, UC_HOOK_MEM_INVALID, (void*)hookMemInvalid, this, 1, 0);

src/pipeline/asset_manager.cpp

@@ -137,8 +137,31 @@ std::string AssetManager::resolveFile(const std::string& normalizedPath) const {
             }
         }
     }
-    // Fall back to base manifest
+    // Primary manifest
-    return manifest_.resolveFilesystemPath(normalizedPath);
+    std::string primaryPath = manifest_.resolveFilesystemPath(normalizedPath);
+    if (!primaryPath.empty()) return primaryPath;
+
+    // If a base-path fallback is configured (expansion-specific primary that only
+    // holds DBC overrides), retry against the base extraction.
+    if (!baseFallbackDataPath_.empty()) {
+        return baseFallbackManifest_.resolveFilesystemPath(normalizedPath);
+    }
+    return {};
+}
+
+void AssetManager::setBaseFallbackPath(const std::string& basePath) {
+    if (basePath.empty() || basePath == dataPath) return;  // nothing to do
+    std::string manifestPath = basePath + "/manifest.json";
+    if (!std::filesystem::exists(manifestPath)) {
+        LOG_DEBUG("AssetManager: base fallback manifest not found at ", manifestPath,
+                  " — fallback disabled");
+        return;
+    }
+    if (baseFallbackManifest_.load(manifestPath)) {
+        baseFallbackDataPath_ = basePath;
+        LOG_INFO("AssetManager: base fallback path set to '", basePath,
+                 "' (", baseFallbackManifest_.getEntryCount(), " files)");
+    }
 }
 
 BLPImage AssetManager::loadTexture(const std::string& path) {

src/ui/game_screen.cpp

@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ void GameScreen::render(game::GameHandler& gameHandler) {
     renderCastBar(gameHandler);
     renderMirrorTimers(gameHandler);
     renderQuestObjectiveTracker(gameHandler);
-    if (showNameplates_) renderNameplates(gameHandler);
+    renderNameplates(gameHandler);  // player names always shown; NPC plates gated by showNameplates_
     renderBattlegroundScore(gameHandler);
     renderCombatText(gameHandler);
     renderPartyFrames(gameHandler);
@@ -4848,16 +4848,20 @@ void GameScreen::renderNameplates(game::GameHandler& gameHandler) {
         auto* unit = dynamic_cast<game::Unit*>(entityPtr.get());
         if (!unit || unit->getMaxHealth() == 0) continue;
 
+        bool isPlayer = (entityPtr->getType() == game::ObjectType::PLAYER);
         bool isTarget = (guid == targetGuid);
 
+        // Player nameplates are always shown; NPC nameplates respect the V-key toggle
+        if (!isPlayer && !showNameplates_) continue;
+
         // Convert canonical WoW position → render space, raise to head height
         glm::vec3 renderPos = core::coords::canonicalToRender(
             glm::vec3(unit->getX(), unit->getY(), unit->getZ()));
         renderPos.z += 2.3f;
 
-        // Cull distance: target up to 40 units; others up to 20 units
+        // Cull distance: target or other players up to 40 units; NPC others up to 20 units
         float dist = glm::length(renderPos - camPos);
-        float cullDist = isTarget ? 40.0f : 20.0f;
+        float cullDist = (isTarget || isPlayer) ? 40.0f : 20.0f;
         if (dist > cullDist) continue;
 
         // Project to clip space
@@ -4874,8 +4878,8 @@ void GameScreen::renderNameplates(game::GameHandler& gameHandler) {
         float sx = (ndc.x * 0.5f + 0.5f) * screenW;
         float sy = (ndc.y * 0.5f + 0.5f) * screenH;
 
-        // Fade out in the last 5 units of range
+        // Fade out in the last 5 units of cull range
-        float alpha = dist < 35.0f ? 1.0f : 1.0f - (dist - 35.0f) / 5.0f;
+        float alpha = dist < (cullDist - 5.0f) ? 1.0f : 1.0f - (dist - (cullDist - 5.0f)) / 5.0f;
         auto A = [&](int v) { return static_cast<int>(v * alpha); };
 
         // Bar colour by hostility
@@ -4920,10 +4924,12 @@ void GameScreen::renderNameplates(game::GameHandler& gameHandler) {
         ImVec2 textSize = ImGui::CalcTextSize(labelBuf);
         float nameX = sx - textSize.x * 0.5f;
         float nameY = sy - barH - 12.0f;
-        // Name color: hostile=red, non-hostile=yellow (WoW convention)
+        // Name color: other player=cyan, hostile=red, non-hostile=yellow (WoW convention)
-        ImU32 nameColor = unit->isHostile()
+        ImU32 nameColor = isPlayer
-            ? IM_COL32(220, 80,  80,  A(230))
+            ? IM_COL32( 80, 200, 255, A(230))   // cyan — other players
-            : IM_COL32(240, 200, 100, A(230));
+            : unit->isHostile()
+                ? IM_COL32(220,  80,  80, A(230))   // red  — hostile NPC
+                : IM_COL32(240, 200, 100, A(230));  // yellow — friendly NPC
         drawList->AddText(ImVec2(nameX + 1.0f, nameY + 1.0f), IM_COL32(0, 0, 0, A(160)), labelBuf);
         drawList->AddText(ImVec2(nameX,         nameY),         nameColor, labelBuf);
 
@@ -10242,6 +10248,7 @@ void GameScreen::renderDingEffect() {
     if (dingTimer_ < 0.0f) dingTimer_ = 0.0f;
 
     float alpha    = dingTimer_ < 0.8f ? (dingTimer_ / 0.8f) : 1.0f;  // fade out last 0.8s
+    float elapsed  = DING_DURATION - dingTimer_;   // 0 → DING_DURATION
 
     ImGuiIO& io = ImGui::GetIO();
     float cx = io.DisplaySize.x * 0.5f;
@@ -10249,6 +10256,37 @@ void GameScreen::renderDingEffect() {
 
     ImDrawList* draw = ImGui::GetForegroundDrawList();
 
+    // ---- Golden radial ring burst (3 waves staggered by 0.45s) ----
+    {
+        constexpr float kMaxRadius  = 420.0f;
+        constexpr float kRingWidth  = 18.0f;
+        constexpr float kWaveLen    = 1.4f;   // each wave lasts 1.4s
+        constexpr int   kNumWaves   = 3;
+        constexpr float kStagger    = 0.45f;  // seconds between waves
+
+        for (int w = 0; w < kNumWaves; ++w) {
+            float waveElapsed = elapsed - w * kStagger;
+            if (waveElapsed <= 0.0f || waveElapsed >= kWaveLen) continue;
+
+            float t = waveElapsed / kWaveLen;          // 0 → 1
+            float radius = t * kMaxRadius;
+            float ringAlpha = (1.0f - t) * alpha;      // fades as it expands
+
+            ImU32 outerCol = IM_COL32(255, 215,  60, (int)(ringAlpha * 200));
+            ImU32 innerCol = IM_COL32(255, 255, 150, (int)(ringAlpha * 120));
+
+            draw->AddCircle(ImVec2(cx, cy), radius,            outerCol, 64, kRingWidth);
+            draw->AddCircle(ImVec2(cx, cy), radius * 0.92f,    innerCol, 64, kRingWidth * 0.5f);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // ---- Full-screen golden flash on first frame ----
+    if (elapsed < 0.15f) {
+        float flashA = (1.0f - elapsed / 0.15f) * 0.45f;
+        draw->AddRectFilled(ImVec2(0, 0), io.DisplaySize,
+                            IM_COL32(255, 200, 50, (int)(flashA * 255)));
+    }
+
     // "LEVEL X!" text — visible for first 2.2s
     if (dingTimer_ > 0.8f) {
         ImFont* font = ImGui::GetFont();