fix(gameplay): stabilize run animation and clean ghost/death visuals

include/game/game_handler.hpp

@@ -3201,6 +3201,7 @@ private:
     bool releasedSpirit_ = false;
     uint32_t corpseMapId_ = 0;
     float corpseX_ = 0.0f, corpseY_ = 0.0f, corpseZ_ = 0.0f;
+    uint64_t corpseGuid_ = 0;
     // Death Knight runes (class 6): slots 0-1=Blood, 2-3=Unholy, 4-5=Frost initially
     std::array<RuneSlot, 6> playerRunes_ = [] {
         std::array<RuneSlot, 6> r{};

include/rendering/renderer.hpp

@@ -340,6 +340,10 @@ private:
     // Character animation state
     enum class CharAnimState { IDLE, WALK, RUN, JUMP_START, JUMP_MID, JUMP_END, SIT_DOWN, SITTING, EMOTE, SWIM_IDLE, SWIM, MELEE_SWING, MOUNT, CHARGE, COMBAT_IDLE };
     CharAnimState charAnimState = CharAnimState::IDLE;
+    float locomotionStopGraceTimer_ = 0.0f;
+    bool locomotionWasSprinting_ = false;
+    uint32_t lastPlayerAnimRequest_ = UINT32_MAX;
+    bool lastPlayerAnimLoopRequest_ = true;
     void updateCharacterAnimation();
     bool isFootstepAnimationState() const;
     bool shouldTriggerFootstepEvent(uint32_t animationId, float animationTimeMs, float animationDurationMs);

src/core/application.cpp

@@ -3081,9 +3081,11 @@ void Application::setupUICallbacks() {
         if (charInstId == 0) return;
         // WoW stand state → M2 animation ID mapping
         // 0=Stand→0, 1-6=Sit variants→27 (SitGround), 7=Dead→1, 8=Kneel→72
+        // Do not force Stand(0) here: locomotion state machine already owns standing/running.
+        // Forcing Stand on packet timing causes visible run-cycle hitching while steering.
         uint32_t animId = 0;
         if (standState == 0) {
-            animId = 0;   // Stand
+            return;
         } else if (standState >= 1 && standState <= 6) {
             animId = 27;  // SitGround (covers sit-chair too; correct visual differs by chair height)
         } else if (standState == 7) {

src/game/game_handler.cpp

@@ -8506,6 +8506,7 @@ void GameHandler::selectCharacter(uint64_t characterGuid) {
     castTimeTotal = 0.0f;
     playerDead_ = false;
     releasedSpirit_ = false;
+    corpseGuid_ = 0;
     targetGuid = 0;
     focusGuid = 0;
     lastTargetGuid = 0;
@@ -9963,6 +9964,7 @@ void GameHandler::forceClearTaxiAndMovementState() {
     resurrectRequestPending_ = false;
     playerDead_ = false;
     releasedSpirit_ = false;
+    corpseGuid_ = 0;
     repopPending_ = false;
     pendingSpiritHealerGuid_ = 0;
     resurrectCasterGuid_ = 0;
@@ -10580,11 +10582,13 @@ void GameHandler::handleUpdateObject(network::Packet& packet) {
                     uint64_t ownerGuid = (static_cast<uint64_t>(ownerHigh) << 32) | ownerLow;
                     if (ownerGuid == playerGuid || ownerLow == static_cast<uint32_t>(playerGuid)) {
                         // Server coords from movement block
+                        corpseGuid_  = block.guid;
                         corpseX_     = block.x;
                         corpseY_     = block.y;
                         corpseZ_     = block.z;
                         corpseMapId_ = currentMapId_;
-                        LOG_INFO("Corpse object detected: server=(", block.x, ", ", block.y, ", ", block.z,
+                        LOG_INFO("Corpse object detected: guid=0x", std::hex, corpseGuid_, std::dec,
+                                 " server=(", block.x, ", ", block.y, ", ", block.z,
                                  ") map=", corpseMapId_);
                     }
                 }
@@ -11136,6 +11140,7 @@ void GameHandler::handleUpdateObject(network::Packet& packet) {
                                     repopPending_ = false;
                                     resurrectPending_ = false;
                                     corpseMapId_ = 0;  // corpse reclaimed
+                                    corpseGuid_ = 0;
                                     LOG_INFO("Player resurrected (PLAYER_FLAGS ghost cleared)");
                                     if (ghostStateCallback_) ghostStateCallback_(false);
                                 }
@@ -12908,9 +12913,12 @@ bool GameHandler::canReclaimCorpse() const {
 
 void GameHandler::reclaimCorpse() {
     if (!canReclaimCorpse() || !socket) return;
-    auto packet = ReclaimCorpsePacket::build(playerGuid);
+    // Reclaim expects the corpse object guid when known; fallback to player guid.
+    uint64_t reclaimGuid = (corpseGuid_ != 0) ? corpseGuid_ : playerGuid;
+    auto packet = ReclaimCorpsePacket::build(reclaimGuid);
     socket->send(packet);
-    LOG_INFO("Sent CMSG_RECLAIM_CORPSE for guid=0x", std::hex, playerGuid, std::dec);
+    LOG_INFO("Sent CMSG_RECLAIM_CORPSE for guid=0x", std::hex, reclaimGuid, std::dec,
+             (corpseGuid_ == 0 ? " (fallback player guid)" : ""));
 }
 
 void GameHandler::activateSpiritHealer(uint64_t npcGuid) {
@@ -20420,6 +20428,7 @@ void GameHandler::handleNewWorld(network::Packet& packet) {
         pendingSpiritHealerGuid_ = 0;
         resurrectCasterGuid_    = 0;
         corpseMapId_            = 0;
+        corpseGuid_             = 0;
         hostileAttackers_.clear();
         stopAutoAttack();
         tabCycleStale = true;

src/rendering/renderer.cpp

@@ -1031,9 +1031,8 @@ void Renderer::beginFrame() {
 
     // FXAA resource management — FXAA can coexist with FSR1 and FSR3.
     // When both FXAA and FSR3 are enabled, FXAA runs as a post-FSR3 pass.
-    // Ghost mode also reuses this post pass for true grayscale when FXAA is
+    // Do not force this pass for ghost mode; keep AA quality strictly user-controlled.
-    // disabled in settings.
+    const bool useFXAAPostPass = fxaa_.enabled;
-    const bool useFXAAPostPass = (fxaa_.enabled || ghostMode_);
     if ((fxaa_.needsRecreate || !useFXAAPostPass) && fxaa_.sceneFramebuffer) {
         destroyFXAAResources();
         fxaa_.needsRecreate = false;
@@ -1250,7 +1249,7 @@ void Renderer::endFrame() {
         // FSR3+FXAA combined: re-point FXAA's descriptor to the FSR3 temporal output
         // so renderFXAAPass() applies spatial AA on the temporally-stabilized frame.
         // This must happen outside the render pass (descriptor updates are CPU-side).
-        if ((fxaa_.enabled || ghostMode_) && fxaa_.descSet && fxaa_.sceneSampler) {
+        if (fxaa_.enabled && fxaa_.descSet && fxaa_.sceneSampler) {
             VkImageView fsr3OutputView = VK_NULL_HANDLE;
             if (fsr2_.useAmdBackend) {
                 if (fsr2_.amdFsr3FramegenRuntimeActive && fsr2_.framegenOutput.image)
@@ -1309,7 +1308,7 @@ void Renderer::endFrame() {
         // of RCAS sharpening. FXAA descriptor is temporarily pointed to the FSR3
         // history buffer (which is already in SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL). This gives
         // FSR3 temporal stability + FXAA spatial edge smoothing ("ultra quality native").
-        if ((fxaa_.enabled || ghostMode_) && fxaa_.pipeline && fxaa_.descSet) {
+        if (fxaa_.enabled && fxaa_.pipeline && fxaa_.descSet) {
             renderFXAAPass();
         } else {
             // Draw RCAS sharpening from accumulated history buffer
@@ -1318,7 +1317,7 @@ void Renderer::endFrame() {
 
         // Restore FXAA descriptor to its normal scene color source so standalone
         // FXAA frames are not affected by the FSR3 history pointer set above.
-        if ((fxaa_.enabled || ghostMode_) && fxaa_.descSet && fxaa_.sceneSampler && fxaa_.sceneColor.imageView) {
+        if (fxaa_.enabled && fxaa_.descSet && fxaa_.sceneSampler && fxaa_.sceneColor.imageView) {
             VkDescriptorImageInfo restoreInfo{};
             restoreInfo.imageLayout = VK_IMAGE_LAYOUT_SHADER_READ_ONLY_OPTIMAL;
             restoreInfo.imageView   = fxaa_.sceneColor.imageView;
@@ -1342,7 +1341,7 @@ void Renderer::endFrame() {
         }
         fsr2_.frameIndex = (fsr2_.frameIndex + 1) % 256;  // Wrap to keep Halton values well-distributed
 
-    } else if ((fxaa_.enabled || ghostMode_) && fxaa_.sceneFramebuffer) {
+    } else if (fxaa_.enabled && fxaa_.sceneFramebuffer) {
         // End the off-screen scene render pass
         vkCmdEndRenderPass(currentCmd);
 
@@ -1857,7 +1856,18 @@ void Renderer::updateCharacterAnimation() {
 
     CharAnimState newState = charAnimState;
 
-    bool moving = cameraController->isMoving();
+    const bool rawMoving = cameraController->isMoving();
+    const bool rawSprinting = cameraController->isSprinting();
+    constexpr float kLocomotionStopGraceSec = 0.12f;
+    if (rawMoving) {
+        locomotionStopGraceTimer_ = kLocomotionStopGraceSec;
+        locomotionWasSprinting_ = rawSprinting;
+    } else {
+        locomotionStopGraceTimer_ = std::max(0.0f, locomotionStopGraceTimer_ - lastDeltaTime_);
+    }
+    // Debounce brief input/state dropouts (notably during both-mouse steering) so
+    // locomotion clips do not restart every few frames.
+    bool moving = rawMoving || locomotionStopGraceTimer_ > 0.0f;
     bool movingForward = cameraController->isMovingForward();
     bool movingBackward = cameraController->isMovingBackward();
     bool autoRunning = cameraController->isAutoRunning();
@@ -1870,7 +1880,7 @@ void Renderer::updateCharacterAnimation() {
     bool anyStrafeRight = strafeRight && !strafeLeft && pureStrafe;
     bool grounded = cameraController->isGrounded();
     bool jumping = cameraController->isJumping();
-    bool sprinting = cameraController->isSprinting();
+    bool sprinting = rawSprinting || (!rawMoving && moving && locomotionWasSprinting_);
     bool sitting = cameraController->isSitting();
     bool swim = cameraController->isSwimming();
     bool forceMelee = meleeSwingTimer > 0.0f && grounded && !swim;
@@ -2530,8 +2540,14 @@ void Renderer::updateCharacterAnimation() {
     float currentAnimTimeMs = 0.0f;
     float currentAnimDurationMs = 0.0f;
     bool haveState = characterRenderer->getAnimationState(characterInstanceId, currentAnimId, currentAnimTimeMs, currentAnimDurationMs);
-    if (!haveState || currentAnimId != animId) {
+    // Some frames may transiently fail getAnimationState() while resources/instance state churn.
+    // Avoid reissuing the same clip on those frames, which restarts locomotion and causes hitches.
+    const bool requestChanged = (lastPlayerAnimRequest_ != animId) || (lastPlayerAnimLoopRequest_ != loop);
+    const bool shouldPlay = (haveState && currentAnimId != animId) || (!haveState && requestChanged);
+    if (shouldPlay) {
         characterRenderer->playAnimation(characterInstanceId, animId, loop);
+        lastPlayerAnimRequest_ = animId;
+        lastPlayerAnimLoopRequest_ = loop;
     }
 }
 
@@ -5075,7 +5091,7 @@ void Renderer::renderFXAAPass() {
     vkCmdBindDescriptorSets(currentCmd, VK_PIPELINE_BIND_POINT_GRAPHICS,
                             fxaa_.pipelineLayout, 0, 1, &fxaa_.descSet, 0, nullptr);
 
-    // Pass rcpFrame + sharpness + desaturate (vec4, 16 bytes).
+    // Pass rcpFrame + sharpness + effect flag (vec4, 16 bytes).
     // When FSR2/FSR3 is active alongside FXAA, forward FSR2's sharpness so the
     // post-FXAA unsharp-mask step restores the crispness that FXAA's blur removes.
     float sharpness = fsr2_.enabled ? fsr2_.sharpness : 0.0f;
@@ -5083,7 +5099,7 @@ void Renderer::renderFXAAPass() {
         1.0f / static_cast<float>(ext.width),
         1.0f / static_cast<float>(ext.height),
         sharpness,
-        ghostMode_ ? 1.0f : 0.0f  // desaturate: 1=ghost grayscale, 0=normal
+        0.0f
     };
     vkCmdPushConstants(currentCmd, fxaa_.pipelineLayout,
                        VK_SHADER_STAGE_FRAGMENT_BIT, 0, 16, pc);
@@ -5273,12 +5289,6 @@ void Renderer::renderWorld(game::World* world, game::GameHandler* gameHandler) {
                     renderOverlay(tint, cmd);
                 }
             }
-            // Ghost mode desaturation overlay (non-FXAA path approximation).
-            // When FXAA is active the FXAA shader applies true per-pixel desaturation;
-            // otherwise a high-opacity gray overlay gives a similar washed-out effect.
-            if (ghostMode_ && overlayPipeline && !(fxaa_.enabled || fxaa_.sceneFramebuffer)) {
-                renderOverlay(glm::vec4(0.5f, 0.5f, 0.55f, 0.82f), cmd);
-            }
             if (minimap && minimap->isEnabled() && camera && window) {
                 glm::vec3 minimapCenter = camera->getPosition();
                 if (cameraController && cameraController->isThirdPerson())
@@ -5413,10 +5423,6 @@ void Renderer::renderWorld(game::World* world, game::GameHandler* gameHandler) {
                 renderOverlay(tint);
             }
         }
-        // Ghost mode desaturation overlay (non-FXAA path approximation).
-        if (ghostMode_ && overlayPipeline && !(fxaa_.enabled || fxaa_.sceneFramebuffer)) {
-            renderOverlay(glm::vec4(0.5f, 0.5f, 0.55f, 0.82f));
-        }
         if (minimap && minimap->isEnabled() && camera && window) {
             glm::vec3 minimapCenter = camera->getPosition();
             if (cameraController && cameraController->isThirdPerson())

src/ui/game_screen.cpp

@@ -845,7 +845,9 @@ void GameScreen::render(game::GameHandler& gameHandler) {
     // Update renderer face-target position and selection circle
     auto* renderer = core::Application::getInstance().getRenderer();
     if (renderer) {
-        renderer->setInCombat(gameHandler.isInCombat());
+        renderer->setInCombat(gameHandler.isInCombat() &&
+                              !gameHandler.isPlayerDead() &&
+                              !gameHandler.isPlayerGhost());
         static glm::vec3 targetGLPos;
         if (gameHandler.hasTarget()) {
             auto target = gameHandler.getTarget();