# PREDICTED RATINGS · SPEED SABRE (X7, 28 Oct ~13:30, autonomous mode, per USER_TASTE.md §7 and §9)

## How it was judged
- **Renders:** every live speedsabre kill on 58k_sabre.html (30; none is on replace58 yet), rendered headless from the live files (one Chrome, render_slot), 0 page errors.
  - Each kill: a 10-frame strip from 0.3 s to the gore-5 final, plus the HIGH (g3) and LOW (g1) finals.
  - Then a level sheet per kill: the frame 1.5 s before the final and the final, at every gore level g5..g0.
  - Then 800 px close-ups of the doubtful frames: PINBALL, LIKE BUTTER, GILDED TOMB, SKULL CAP, DEALT, CURLING, TEN THOUSAND CUTS, UNDERFOOT.
- **Sheets:**
  - strips: `/Volumes/Workspace/Scratch/x7/pred/sabre/speedsabre.<key>.jpg`;
  - level sheets: `/Volumes/Workspace/Scratch/x7/pred/sabre/lv/<key>_lv.jpg`;
  - close-ups: `/Volumes/Workspace/Scratch/x7/pred/sabre/cl/c1.jpg`.
  - The weapon id is `speedsabre`; the page is 58k_sabre.html.
- **Maps** (K58.mapCheck, 17 dry maps): none is ≤ 8/17.
  - The lowest are WALL SPLIT at 13/17 (needs a wall: generic) and HEAVEN SPLITTER at 14/17.
  - All six mids skip rooftops (16/17).
  - MAELSTROM and TORN SAIL are The Deep's own kills (UNDERWATER), so they STAY.
- **A's item:** the PINBALL and UNDERFOOT name plates are normal now (confirmed on every frame).
- Judged on what the page shows NOW (faces off via K.FACES, zoom floor, wide finals). Hats are not flagged. The chip phrases are the exact 58k_rate.js QUICK phrases.

**Counts (30 rated): GOOD 11 · OK BUT 16 · REPLACE 3.**
- The sabre is an action weapon, built on the game's own dash-slash and the late cut, and it shows: the iai, the 30-pass rain cut, the air juggle, the head-on split of a flying tackle, the slab sliding out, the line left hanging in the rain.
- The REPLACEs are the three where the gag or a removed element IS the kill:
  - CURLING: a sport gag;
  - THE GILDED TOMB: a heart on a scale and a gold death mask;
  - TICKLED: died laughing.
- **Watch: decapitation is the default ending.** Eight kills end on a head lying beside the body: BRIGHT LINE, HOLD THIS, LAST WORD, SPLIT HAIRS, KNEELER, HATS OFF, TRIMMED, SKULL CAP. Turning some of those into the head explosion at XT also fixes the repetition (ANTI-TEMPLATE).

## Bugs and systemic issues (fix first, in the FIX step)
- **No gore ladder (§9), across almost the whole page.**
  - These kills end the SAME way at all six levels: VL and LOW still show a man halved, sliced to pieces or beheaded, and only the blood amount changes:
    - TEN THOUSAND CUTS, QUIET DRAW, PINBALL, TOTEM, WALL SPLIT, WAIST LINE, KNEELER, UNDERFOOT, BRIGHT LINE, HOLD THIS, LAST WORD, SPLIT HAIRS, SKULL CAP, THE OLD CUTS;
    - HATS OFF, RIPPED OFF, TRIMMED, DEALT, CURLING, FULL COMBO, GILDED TOMB;
    - DECKCHAIR, TICKLED.
  - Only LOOSE THREAD, LIKE BUTTER, CHINK, JUST A SCRATCH, TORN SAIL and MAELSTROM have real LOW/VL endings.
  - The central ladder does not land (the sabre runs its own late-cut gore), so every one of those needs its own ladder: XT head explosion, VH/H limbs and head, MED a limb, LOW a cut and a KO, VL alive. Each ending must land at the same payoff beat.
- **MAELSTROM, finals:** the camera holds on Faris and the red spiral; the pieces are off the bottom edge at XT, VH and H. At VL the victim is gone entirely (Faris alone).
- **TORN SAIL, finals:** at XT, VH, H and VL the victim is not in frame (Faris alone, the sail gone). Only MED and LOW show her.
- **HEAVEN SPLITTER, finals:** H to VL end on a far-wide castle shot with tiny figures (the split line across the moon). XT and VH are a close two-shot.
- **UNDERFOOT, final:** Faris straddles the two halves, and the halves sit on the bottom edge with the floor cut off.
- **QUIET DRAW, final:** the body sits at the very left edge and Faris at the right, with dead space between them.
- **PINBALL, final:** the caught head (cat ears) is held flat against Faris's chest and reads as an orange bib.
- **Victim colours:** cyan victims (KNEELER, HATS OFF, DECKCHAIR, HOLD THIS) and white victims (TOTEM, SPLIT HAIRS, CURLING) sit close to blue Faris.

| key | name | rating | note (exact chip phrases) | why (what I saw) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| speedsabre.ten-thousand-cuts | TEN THOUSAND CUTS | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level, the head explosion at XT) | The user's own example, done: thirty ghost-trail passes in the rain, Faris walks out and sheathes, the rain stops, red hairlines show all over her ("hhh..."), and she collapses into a heap of pieces. The standing wait (6-9.6 s) is long but it is the beat. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.heaven-splitter | HEAVEN SPLITTER | ok | confusing: the script is not understandable, can not tell what is happening (tiny figures, the line across the sky) · too zoomed at the end, zoom out (the H-VL finals are a far-wide castle) · head explosion needed | One rising air pass through him on the plank; the bright line runs on and splits a spiked ball, the moon and the tower, then the replay. The idea is huge, but the kill itself is a few pixels: most of the 14 s is the sky. 14/17. |
| speedsabre.quiet-draw | QUIET DRAW | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level, frame the final as a two-shot) | The iai, as the user described it: sheathed and waiting, the charge, one pass and Faris is past. The slow sheath with a hand insert, the click, two more steps, then SLICED! and the chest slides off. The final leaves the body at the far left edge. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.the-old-cuts | THE OLD CUTS (DEATH REALM) | ok | confusing: the script is not understandable, can not tell what is happening (small figures in a red haze) · head explosion needed | The cut tears open a red eye-slit and drags him into a red field of everyone the blade ever cut, grey figures with old hairlines. A wave of cuts rolls across and opens them all, and he can't outrun it. Strong concept, but the figures are tiny in a red murk. Home: cut pieces with a red line. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.pinball | PINBALL | good | (keep; small: hands or props make no sense (extra hand, prop popping or vanishing) (the caught head flat on Faris's chest) · the gore ladder per level) | Real air action: four dash-slashes from floor, plank and battlement juggle her higher (AIR COMBO), and at the apex she goes "x4 APART!" in a slow-mo burst. The pieces rain onto the battlements and her head drops into Faris's hand. 16/17 (retro skip). |
| speedsabre.maelstrom | MAELSTROM (The Deep) | good | (keep; small: camera movement bug (jumps, jitters, loses the action or frames the wrong thing) (the finals lose the pieces off the bottom edge)) | Underwater-only (stays). Six passes from six sides with Faris curling round him, the wakes join, the sea turns, the click, and his pieces ride a red spiral out like a galaxy. Striking. The finals frame Faris and empty water. |
| speedsabre.totem | TOTEM | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level) | A striking transformation: two passes, chest and thighs, then the middle slab slides out like a pulled block. Head and shoulders drop onto the knees (BUMP): a man a body shorter, wobbling, then toppling. White victim. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.wall-split | WALL SPLIT | ok | head explosion needed | He begs with his back to the tower; one pass goes through him and slams Faris into the stone (TCHANK, a white-hot gouge); a pommel tap, and his top half slides off. The two bodies overlap in a tight knot for the whole middle. He ends as standing legs with the top half on the stones. 13/17 (needs a wall). |
| speedsabre.the-bright-line | THE BRIGHT LINE | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level) | Clever and clear: he ducks the pass, the bright line stays hanging in the rain where his neck was, and he stands up laughing ("HA! MISSED") straight into it. The head rolls off the end of the line. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.underfoot | UNDERFOOT | good | (keep; small: too zoomed at the end, zoom out (the halves on the bottom edge) · the gore ladder per level) | Real action: the flying tackle (RRAAH), and Faris meets it head-on with an air pass down the whole length of the body (SPLIT!). The halves land either side of him, and he plants the blade between them. Plates normal (A). 17/17. |
| speedsabre.torn-sail | TORN SAIL (The Deep) | ok | camera movement bug (jumps, jitters, loses the action or frames the wrong thing) (the victim is not in the XT/VH/H/VL finals) · confusing: the script is not understandable, can not tell what is happening (the death happens behind the sail) | Underwater-only (stays). She hides behind the wreck's sail; Faris's passes slash it (THP), a red bloom spreads, and she falls behind the torn cloth. The death is hidden, and the finals show Faris alone. |
| speedsabre.skull-cap | SKULL CAP | ok | too much internal organ detail, use the simple explosion instead (the HIS BRAIN inset, the pink brain he touches) · head explosion needed | A leaping air pass skims the skull and lifts the top off like an egg (SLICED!). An inset labelled HIS BRAIN shows the open brain while he reaches up and touches it, then a gush and he falls. The organ gag is the payoff; the skull-top cut wants to become the head explosion. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.hold-this | HOLD THIS (2 victims) | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level, both are dead and beheaded at every level) | A clever two-victim payoff: one pass through both ("NEXT"), the first head flies into the partner's hands, he stares at it ("...amjad?"), then his own late cut lands (SLICED!) and his top half slides off with the head in his arms. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.last-word | LAST WORD | ok | head explosion needed | A word gag with a real cut: "COWARD!" in a big speech bubble, one pass at neck height through him and through the bubble, and his head and the top of the word drop together. The bubble halves stay lying on the stones as props. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.split-hairs | SPLIT HAIRS | ok | head explosion needed | A gag decapitation: a pass so fine that nothing happens ("HA! MISSED"), dust tickles his nose ("AH-CHOO!"), and the sneeze sends his head off to roll to Faris's boots. Clear, but another head on the floor. White victim. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.waist-line | WAIST LINE | ok | head explosion needed | One pass at the belt (BELT); the top half tips off ("...huh", SLICED!). The "legs walk on and kneel on their own chest" beat doesn't read: he just drops in a heap. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.kneeler | KNEELER | ok | head explosion needed | A low pass takes both shins (LOW); he drops onto his stumps and begs; a hop-dash back takes the head. The clasped-hands-in-prayer image never holds: he ends lying flat beside his head. Cyan victim. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-classic | HATS OFF | ok | head explosion needed | A rising pass flicks the cap off (FLICK, "NICE TRY"), takes the head on the way through (SNIP), and the cap comes down onto the neck stump ("fit."). A neat gag payoff, but the end is a body and a head on the stones. Cyan victim. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-taped | RIPPED OFF | ok | head explosion needed | The hilt tape unspools on the first pass (SNAG), and three passes wind him into a mummy (MMMPH). Faris rips it off like a bandage and he falls apart under the barrel. A clear themed skin; the head stays whole. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-camo | TRIMMED | good | (keep; small: the gore ladder per level) | A themed ambush done well (the GHILLIE family): he casts himself a bush and hides, two eyes peeking; Faris strolls past whistling, then one pass back through the hedge trims the top off, and his head rolls out at Faris's feet. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-cartoon | DEALT | ok | no facial expression needed (no eyes, no mouth) (the head blowing a party horn, PFWEEE) · head explosion needed | The cartoon skin: four passes, nothing, then he fans open like a hand of cards, springs shut (BOING), and a tap deals the slices out across the lawn. His legs are left standing. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-ice | CURLING | replace | confusing: the script is not understandable, can not tell what is happening · head explosion needed | A sport gag: the ice pass freezes the lawn into a curling sheet with painted rings, his top half slides like a stone while Faris sweeps ("HURRY HARD", "BUTTON."), and the joke IS the kill. A white victim on white ice: the ending reads as a white blob on the target. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-neon | FULL COMBO | ok | head explosion needed · too messy and cluttered (the rhythm-game HUD over the film) | The saloon turns into a club: four passes on four beats (PERFECT, x4 COMBO, a 1,000,000 score bar), the pieces hang pulsing, then the drop and everything falls. The theme is executed, but the HUD clutters, and the head lands whole. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.skin-gold | THE GILDED TOMB (DEATH REALM) | replace | too much internal organ detail, use the simple explosion instead (his beating heart on the gold scale) · no facial expression needed (no eyes, no mouth) (the gold-masked dead, the death mask sealed on his face) | 24 s. The saloon gilds into a tomb of gold-masked dead; the first pass sends his still-beating heart onto a scale against a feather; it sinks; the second pass halves him. Home, he lies with a green death mask with eye holes over his face. The heart and the mask ARE the concept. 17/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-loose-thread | LOOSE THREAD | good | (keep) | A striking transformation, one clear idea: the dash hooks the loose thread on her cuff, the pull spins her like a bobbin, and she unravels from the feet up into a ball of green yarn on the blade tip. It already has real LOW/VL endings. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-chink | CHINK IN THE ARMOUR | good | (keep; small: the head explosion at XT per §9) | One clear idea: full plate, TINK, TINK, he laughs and heaves the sword up, and the third pass goes in at the armpit. A tik inside, a beat, then red runs out of the joints and the empty-looking armour collapses. LOW pops him out of the armour, dazed. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-just-a-scratch | JUST A SCRATCH | ok | unwanted wound marks painted on the body (the black poison veins drawn over her) · head explosion needed | The poisoned blade: a green vial along the edge, one graze on the cheek ("a SCRATCH?"), then black veins race all over her and she drops, a blackened body with a vein pattern. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-like-butter | LIKE BUTTER | ok | bones are showing, remove them (the white skull in the puddle) | A clear transformation: "HARD AS NAILS", one pass, the blade glows white-hot, the line on his chest glows like a wire, and he goes soft and melts into a steaming pink puddle (SSSSS). A white skull sits in the puddle. LOW/VL differ. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-deckchair | DECKCHAIR | ok | head explosion needed | "Is that it?", arms folded; one low pass behind the knees, and he folds up shins, thighs and torso like a packed-away deckchair (CLACK). He ends as a folded cyan bundle, the head whole. Cyan victim. 16/17. |
| speedsabre.mid-tickled | TICKLED | replace | (gag with no action payoff) · head explosion needed | Died laughing: the passes skim his ribs, he giggles, doubles up ("HA HA"), and kicks on his back until he is still. No hit, no payoff, a flat gag mid (the TRAMPOLINE / THE TRAY family). 16/17. |