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retroDE_ps2/docs/ch421_request_packet_boundary_prefit.md
thejayman77 ba74bbd5aa Snapshot: fog implementation + fidelity tooling baseline (pre bilinear-clamp fix)
Per-vertex GS fog end-to-end (gs_stub emit incl. persp_emit5, gs_prim_list_feeder
XYZ2->XYZF2 on PRIM.FGE, gs_make_sh3_scheduler_fixture.py F/FGE packing), new fog
TBs, fidelity attribution tooling. Functional baseline before removing the dead
bilinear lerp8 clamps (Codex: 161-node comb loop -> -0.042ns setup fail).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-07-20 19:56:46 -04:00

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# Ch421 — complete request-packet boundary (prefit)
## Trigger
Ch420 successfully removed the direct request-pointer-to-RAM-address family.
Its fit exposed ten paths from the wide request RAM's registered data output,
through scene-bit decode, into separate fragment/marker valid registers. The
worst was `-0.273 ns`; no address-stage path appeared in the violated top ten.
## Structural cut
`gs_lpddr_zc_emit` now captures all `PW` request bits, including the scene bit,
into one `req_stage_packet` register. A single `req_stage_valid` occupancy bit
is driven only by the already-registered `req_read_pending` control.
Fragment versus marker selection is decoded after that complete packet
boundary:
```
req_stage_frag_valid = req_stage_valid && !req_stage_packet.scene
req_stage_marker_valid = req_stage_valid && req_stage_packet.scene
```
Therefore no request RAM output bit feeds stage occupancy or two competing
valid-register D cones. The packet register intentionally has no reset;
`req_stage_valid=0` makes it unobservable until a complete read is captured.
Pop, pending, consume, marker ordering, and external latency are unchanged.
## Prefit verification
- async FIFO randomized CDC test: 3,284 writes/reads exact;
- Z/color emit: 1,500 fragments exact across three epochs;
- concurrent scanout/reload/probe: 16,384 pixels exact;
- full 283-epoch production-control replay: PASS;
- 1,177,489 fragments fed, 984,845 passed Z, zero drops/errors;
- final Z mismatch `0 / 307,200`, color mismatch `0 / 235,963`;
- framebuffer SHA-256 remains exactly
`a88f1f6c926dd0db2b72ae2873c399e7dc5666f8003190184c34d360b13a5f44`;
- relevant `git diff --check`: PASS.
## Owner fit gate
Ready for one owner-controlled Quartus 26.1 GUI compile. Acceptance requires:
- no request RAM output path to stage occupancy/fragment/marker valid state;
- any RAM-output-to-`req_stage_packet` data path is timing-clean;
- setup, hold, recovery, removal, and minimum pulse all close;
- request FIFO RAM inference remains intact at the existing device budget.
Do not deploy the Ch420 RBF. If Ch421 closes, deploy that RBF and execute the
already-verified 283-epoch board scene before accepting the chapter.
## Owner fit result — request path closed, design path exposed
The owner-controlled Quartus 26.1 GUI fit completed successfully. Ch421 did
close the intended 310 MHz EMIF/request family:
- EMIF setup WNS `+0.155 ns`, TNS `0`;
- EMIF hold slack `0.000 ns` and all other timing classes clean;
- no request FIFO path appeared in the violated setup paths;
- 38,332 ALMs (82%), 55,712 registers, 336/358 RAM blocks (94%), 160 DSPs.
The fit is nevertheless **not deployable** because placement exposed a separate
25 MHz design-clock failure: setup WNS `-1.993 ns`, TNS `-14.856 ns`. All ten
reported paths launch at `u_tex|g_bilinear.tap[0][8/9]` and terminate at
`raster_pixel_color_q[16/18]`. The worst path contains 30 logic levels and
41.955 ns of data delay: both bilinear interpolation stages plus TEX0 vertex
modulation were being evaluated in one cycle. That is an independent, real
combinational boundary defect, not a reason to undo the now-clean request
packet cut. Ch422 addresses it structurally.