Drop-in ROM: first-run sidecar conversion, no Python (issue #6) (#84)

* Drop-in ROM: first-run sidecar conversion, no Python (issue #6, Part A + interim)

The release bundle now turns a dropped-in NTSC-U ROM into a playable game
with zero tooling: when data/pcmodels-* / data/pccg-* are missing at boot,
the engine spawns the frozen prepare-assets converter shipped in the bundle
(prepare-assets/ge007-convert[.exe], PyInstaller --onefile), waits for it,
and re-checks before continuing (port/src/romconvert.c, called from
romdataInit after ROM validation). Failure aborts boot with a message
instead of the later D179-class crash.

- prepare-assets.py: runs in-process via runpy when frozen (no user Python
  to exec); NTSC-U-only gate with a clear message for PAL/JP ROMs; d88's
  sibling import needs an explicit sys.path entry (run_path does not set
  one). Verified: frozen exe output byte-identical to the unfrozen path and
  to the shipped sidecars.
- CI (linux + windows): PyInstaller freeze step before bundling
  (ensurepip / --break-system-packages for MSYS2's pip-less python).
- bundle scripts: copy ge007-convert into prepare-assets/ (hard-fail if not
  frozen), size guard 60 -> 120 MB.
- Release notes: US-only drop-in instructions, no Python required.
- D258: PAL/JP filelist naming defects documented; multi-region deferred to
  the Part B follow-up.

* CI: install pip via pacman on Windows (MSYS2 ensurepip is disabled); regen findings index for D258

docs/dev/findings-index.csv

@@ -139,3 +139,4 @@ D254,FIXED,Linux crash handler destroyed its own logs:,FIXED — field-verified.
 D255,OPEN,"Facility firefight SIGSEGV on Steam Deck (v0.2.0-pre CI bundle, D253 fix confirmed working —","OPEN — case identified (NULL model on an active OBJ record; destroy-path ordering), reproducible on Deck in combat (Bunker + Frigate); fix pending rule-#2 sign-off."
 D256,FIXED,Saves (and config) silently failed to persist on Linux whenever the game was not launched from the directory containing data/ —,FIXED (path half) — save-flow detail still owed from the user.
 D257,FIXED,"New Game.AllUnlocked option (F10, default ON for this cut):",FIXED — verified by user playtest; PR open.
+D258,OPEN,PAL/JP asset conversion is broken at the source-data level —,"OPEN — repair path verified, not applied (out of v0.2.0 scope)."

docs/dev/findings.md

@@ -535,6 +535,7 @@ covers D24–D69; the log continues in §H (D32 procedure, D70–D121).
 | D255 | **Facility firefight SIGSEGV on Steam Deck (v0.2.0-pre CI bundle, D253 fix confirmed working — user got past the opening crouch tile).** Crash during gunplay; abort-unwind backtrace points at `sub_GAME_7F09BAC4` (`vtxstore.c:158`) ← `sub_GAME_7F09BBBC` (`:220`) ← `lvlManageMpGame` (`lv.c:1302`) ← `bossMainloop` (`boss.c:567`). Disassembling the exact CI binary at the fault PC (`0x200db135`) gives `mov 0x14(%rax),%edi; mov 0x10(%rdi),%rax`: the function walks the active PropRecord list keeping `type == 1` — which is **PROP_TYPE_OBJ, not CHR** (the decompiler cast to the union's first member and misnamed the field `ChrRecord.chrflags`; it is actually `ObjectRecord.model` at `0x14`) — then dereferences `model->obj`. Two port-relevant wrinkles: (a) the load is **32-bit zero-extended** because the decomp types the field through the `CHRFLAG` enum, so a model pointer ≥ 4 GB would truncate to garbage; (b) the loop skips records whose `model->obj` is NULL but *dereferences* `model` unconditionally, so an active object with a NULL/freed `model` faults — plausible in a firefight where destructibles (crates etc.) die. Not reproduced on WSL after equivalent play. **Register capture (D254 format, 2026-09-13):** two more Deck crashes — Bunker mid-firefight, then Frigate with ~3 NPCs alive; log: `SIGNAL: 11 / FAULT ADDR: 0x10 / Rax=0x701e5f54 Rdi=(nil) / PC 0x200db135`. `Rdi` = the record's model value = **exactly NULL** → case (b) confirmed: an active PROP_TYPE_OBJ record with a NULL `model`, dereferenced by the unconditional `mov 0x10(%rdi),%rax`; truncation (a) and stale/garbage pointers are ruled out. Faulting PC matches the recorded disassembly (`sub_GAME_7F09BAC4` = `vtxstore_fix_refs`). Grep-verified: nothing in game code ever writes NULL into `ObjectRecord.model` — `clear_model_obj()` nulls `model->obj` only, and `objInit`/spawn paths only activate a record once model ≠ NULL — so the NULL comes from either a fresh/uninitialized record slot being activated or a destroy-path ordering race (model freed/nulled while the record is still active this tick). **Fix constraint:** any guard lands in game code (`vtxstore.c`) → needs rule-#2 sign-off; `port/` cannot intercept this dereference. Next: (1) decision on whether a NULL-model skip in `vtxstore_fix_refs` qualifies as an ABI-class exception (semantics-preserving defensive guard, PD analogue check); (2) if yes, add it plus a `#ifdef PORT` trace at the deactivation/model-free sites to name the path that leaves the record model-less. | OPEN — case identified (NULL model on an active OBJ record; destroy-path ordering), reproducible on Deck in combat (Bunker + Frigate); fix pending rule-#2 sign-off. |
 | D256 | **Saves (and config) silently failed to persist on Linux whenever the game was not launched from the directory containing `data/` — reported as "saves do not work at all" on Steam Deck.** `romdataInit` finds the ROM in `$S/` (CWD `data/`) *or* `$E/` (exe dir) *or* `./`, but `sysResolvePath`'s POSIX `$S` branch (used by `ge007.eep` and `ge007.ini`) only ever produced a CWD-relative path — its "fallback" was `./data/`, identical to the primary. Launch from any other CWD (Steam non-steam-game shortcut, terminal in `~`): ROM loads via the exe-dir candidate, game runs, but every EEPROM/config write hits `fopen(..., "wb")` on a nonexistent `./data/` and fails with a stderr-only "cannot write" — saves never persist, and **every launch also starts with default settings** (F10 changes don't stick), which presents as "draw distance/LOD is low" on levels like Dam where the user had raised `Video.DrawDistance` on another machine. The Windows branch already did CWD-else-exedir; the POSIX branch now mirrors it (`readlink("/proc/self/exe")`) and creates the directory best-effort so first-run writes don't fail. **Verified on WSL:** with exe+`data/` in `/tmp/fb2` and CWD=`/`, config/eeprom/ROM all resolve into `/tmp/fb2/data/` and a 25 s run completes clean; the pre-fix binary in the same layout fails to find the ROM at all. **Caveat:** if the user's Deck launch *was* from the bundle dir (CWD had `data/`), this fix does not explain their save failure — need the save-flow detail (does the memory-card screen appear? slot confirm? "saved" message?) before closing the report. Side note found while testing: a `data/` without the generated sidecars (`pccg-*/`, `pcmodels-*/` from `tools_pc/d69_emit.py`/`d43_emit.py`) starts fine but faults in `load_bg_file` (`bg.c:865`) on level load — the reserve functions warn "stage loads will fault" and return 0; expected degraded mode, not a new bug. | FIXED (path half) — save-flow detail still owed from the user. |
 | D257 | **New `Game.AllUnlocked` option (F10, default ON for this cut): skip N64 progression entirely — all 21 solo levels selectable at every difficulty, 007 mode available, and the cheat menu fully populated. Port-layer only; no game-code edits.** Three mechanisms, all in `port/`: (1) `main.c` seeds the two live `LEFTOVERDEBUG` RAM flags after `configLoad()` — `debug_enable_all_levels_flag` (all levels) and `debug_007_unlock_flag` (007 mode; both in `src/game/debugmenu_handler.c`, same class as the existing `GE_UNLOCK_ALL` getenv hook in the getter); (2) the eep shim (`libultra.c geEepromPatchAllCheats`) patches the save block at read time — special-casing `fileValidateSaves`'s exact pattern (block 4, 5×96 bytes) — setting all 20 progression-gated cheat-unlock bits per slot (`unlocked_cheats_1/2/3`; the cheat menu row on mode-select only renders when ≥1 is set, `front.c interface_menu06_modesel`) **and** filling every *empty* stage/difficulty completion-time field with the max time 0x3FF (existing player times preserved); both are then CRC'd per slot with the game's own `fileGenerateCRC` or `fileValidateSaves` would wipe the slots. (3) `optionsoverlay.c` row so users can toggle OFF for faithful progression. **Why the completion-time half is required (found by user repro):** when ANY single-player cheat is active, `g_AppendCheatSinglePlayer` makes mission-select (`get_highest_unlocked_difficulty_for_level`, front.c) accept only levels with status `STAGESTATUS_COMPLETED (3)`, not merely `UNLOCKED (1)` — AllUnlocked's debug-flag path returns 1, so enabling a cheat locked every level ("could only do Silo"). Reading the save as a fully-completed campaign satisfies both branches. Time bit-math mirrors `fileGet/SetSaveStageDifficultyTime` verbatim (10-bit fields, difficulties 0–2; 007 times are virtual). **Pitfall hit during implementation:** the first mirror of `save_data` used `times[80]` instead of `(SP_LEVEL_MAX-1)*4 = 76`, making `sizeof` 100≠96 so the block-read size check silently never matched — now enforced by a compile-time `ge_save_slot_size_check`. **Semantics:** unlocked cheats/completions persist to `ge007.eep` on any subsequent save write (self-consistent; mirrors N64 where completing a level permanently unlocks its cheat). No *active* cheats are enabled (invincibility/all-guns stay OFF); weapons remain per-mission pickups. **Verified:** fresh eep — all 5 slots validate `stored==calc` under `GE_SAVELOG=1`; user playtest: all levels selectable at each difficulty, 007 mode present, cheat menu populated, cheats toggle and work (time-modifying cheats untested by user), mission select intact with all cheats ON. | FIXED — verified by user playtest; PR open. |
+| D258 | **PAL/JP asset conversion is broken at the source-data level — `scripts/filelist.e.csv` and `filelist.j.csv` carry naming defects, so `gen_romassets.py e/j` (and the d43/d69/d88 emitters' `find_row`) cannot resolve PAL/JP builds. v0.2.0's drop-in ROM feature therefore ships NTSC-U only.** Discovered while scoping issue #6 (drop-in ROM). **PAL:** 31 of the 512 model rows in `filelist.e.csv` have truncated/renamed basenames (an extraction artifact — e.g. `Pbridge_console` ×6 where the resource table says `Pbridge_console1aZ…3bZ`, `Pchrgrenadelauncher` for `PchrgrenadelaunchZ`). **JP:** one font row is mislabeled — `fontBankGothic_fontchartable.bin` @3044276 is named `fontZurichBold_fontchartable.bin` (a duplicate label). Both were proven without a PAL/JP ROM: (a) greedy two-pointer sequence alignment of the 512-row `file_resource_table.inc.c` model order against each CSV's model rows gives an exact 1:1 match (481 by-name + 31 positional for PAL), offsets strictly non-decreasing, and zero size anomalies vs US (all within [0.5×, 2×]); (b) JP font row proven by the contiguity invariant — Gothic kerning @3043600+676 = 3044276 exactly hits the mislabeled row, whose size (8716) equals the US Gothic chartable, while Zurich's own chain is contiguous one row later. **Consequence:** no PAL or JP PC exe has ever been buildable from this tree (latent — only NTSC was ever exercised); the CSV `file` column is a label only (emitters look up by basename, never read the path), so the repair is a pure data fix: rename the 31 PAL model rows + 1 JP font row to the exact table symbols. **Scope decision (v0.2.0):** ship drop-in ROM support for NTSC-U only — `prepare-assets.py`/the frozen `ge007-convert` gate non-US ROMs with a clear message after SHA-1 region detection; the CSV repair + multi-region matrix + per-region exes are deferred to the Part B follow-up. | OPEN — repair path verified, not applied (out of v0.2.0 scope). |
 
 Phase 2 replaced the Phase-1 demo loop with the real `mainproc()` on real OS
 threads, compiled GE's real `src/sched.c`, and brought in PD's fast3d software