# TELEPORT DAGGER · PREDICTED RATINGS (X4, 28 Oct, per USER_TASTE.md §7)

## How it was judged
- **Renders:** all 28 live tpdagger kills on 58k_tpdagger.html, from the live files (plates awaited).
  - Each kill: a 10-frame strip at gore 5, the big XT final and the gore-3 final, 480 px.
  - Strips: `/Volumes/Workspace/Scratch/x4/pred/tpdagger/<key>.jpg`.
- **Not rated** (on 58k_replace58.js): MID-AIR (1/17, GAP), SEESAW (1/17, CREATURE + LIQUID), THE MISS (7/17, WALL).
- **Maps:**
  - THE SQUEEZE and GREEN BLOOD are The Deep's own (0/17 dry by design).
  - INSIDE THE HOUSE plays 14/17 (PLATFORM); NO HANG, BACK TO THE WALL and TRAIL GOES COLD 13/17; CROSSED BLADES and SHOULDER TO SHOULDER 12/17 (WALL).
- Gameplay identity hats are not flagged (NEWS 03:55).

**Counts (25 rated): GOOD 2 · OK BUT 16 · REPLACE 7.**

Three things recur across the dagger:
- **Cyan Amjad** is the victim in 9 kills. Most are nose-to-nose backstabs, where he merges with Faris: GRIP, ET TU, GOLDEN RULE, SHOULDER TO SHOULDER, DEATH GRIP, BACK TO THE WALL, ICEBREAKER, EXIT, INSIDE THE HOUSE.
- **White Chotu** is the victim in SWATTER and HANDS UP; his pieces read as bones.
- **Intact bodies at XT.** Most backstab films end with him standing, kneeling or face-down whole, so "head explosion needed" is the main OK BUT chip.

The REPLACEs are gags or concepts that cannot be fixed:
- a death realm of painted flats;
- a death hidden inside a box;
- a dialogue gag;
- a skeleton rot;
- a roof-edge double take with an off-screen fall;
- a paralysis concept built on the eyes;
- a zipper costume.

| key | name | rating | note | why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tpdagger.back-of-beyond | THE BACK OF BEYOND | REPLACE | confusing · body marks (her name stencilled on her back) · head explosion needed | a backstage death realm of person-shaped plywood flats; she becomes a painted cut-out of herself, whole; too many ideas, no action payoff |
| tpdagger.inside-the-house | INSIDE THE HOUSE | REPLACE | death hidden off-screen · zoomed at the end (the final loses Faris: only his name tag at the bottom) · map-tied (PLATFORM) | the kill happens inside a box of planks; we see flashes through gaps and a drip; the final frames the box and not Faris |
| tpdagger.janus | JANUS | OK BUT | explode limbs, body and head in the old game style, scaled to the gore level (full at extreme) · body marks (red cracks painted on the stone) | the double "ABOVE" backstab over two shields is clever and readable; it ends on a stone column with painted red veins, never exploding |
| tpdagger.squeeze | THE SQUEEZE | OK BUT | explode limbs, body and head in the old game style, scaled to the gore level (full at extreme) · confusing | The Deep's own: the cut air hose and the helmet squeeze is a real idea, but she vanishes into a brass helmet and the payoff is a helmet on the seabed |
| tpdagger.green-blood | GREEN BLOOD | OK BUT | bones (the drained husk shows jointed limbs like a skeleton) · head explosion needed · confusing | The Deep's own: the green-at-depth science is hard to read; she ends as a husk held by the collar |
| tpdagger.guess-who | GUESS WHO | REPLACE | gag with no action payoff · no facial expression needed (hands over the eyes) · non-gameplay costume (headphones) | a "guess who?" dialogue gag (Fida? Chotu? MUM?!); the stab is an afterthought; she kneels whole |
| tpdagger.swatter | SWATTER | OK BUT | rings (the white DEFLECT ring) · white victim's pieces read as bones (use a coloured victim) · gag (the kettle whistle) | three pan deflects, then inside the cooldown nose to nose: real game-rule action; the kettle-whistle tail is a gag |
| tpdagger.wait-him-out | WAIT HIM OUT | REPLACE | bones (rots to a skeleton) · gag · not realistic | refused blinks into a pipe, then Faris waits days on his belly while the man dies of thirst and rots; no action |
| tpdagger.look-out | THE LOOK-OUT | REPLACE | gag · death hidden off-screen (a fall) · zoomed at the end (the gore-3 final drops Faris) · white victim | a side-by-side double take at a roof edge; he steps off, and we see a small body far below |
| tpdagger.no-hang | NO HANG | GOOD | (keep; small: MEDIUM keeps a "ha." bubble over the body; H could pop the head) | clever and readable: the game's no-hang rule drops Faris in a heap, the boot on his back, the throw past the ankles, the stab mid-laugh; old-style burst, wide final |
| tpdagger.death-grip | DEATH GRIP | GOOD | (keep; small: swap cyan Amjad for a contrasting victim, he merges with Faris in the stab) | real hostage-rescue action: under the gate into the thigh, the stab through him, and she walks off wearing the dead arm; striking payoff, wide final |
| tpdagger.the-cord | THE CORD | REPLACE | concept built on eyes (only the eyes move; Faris closes them) | the payoff is a paralysed man whose eyes follow Faris; without the eyes nothing is left |
| tpdagger.back-to-the-wall | BACK TO THE WALL | OK BUT | head explosion needed · cyan victim merges with Faris · gag (the crooked lean) | the game putting Faris in front when there is no room behind is a good rule beat; he ends standing whole against the wall at XT |
| tpdagger.skin-classic | ET TU | OK BUT | no facial expression needed (the blood stain in the shape of a face) · non-gameplay costume (the long coat) · cyan victim | the betrayal is readable; the coat over the head and the face-shaped stain are the flaws |
| tpdagger.skin-taped | GRIP | OK BUT | head explosion needed · cyan victim merges with Faris (chest to chest the whole film) · bugs (A's audit: at LOW the victim is off frame and the crown cut) | the blade caught in both hands and slipping inch by inch is real and tense; he ends sagging whole |
| tpdagger.skin-camo | THE TRAIL GOES COLD | OK BUT | head explosion needed · body marks (camo spots painted on him) | the footprints idea reads (a blink leaves no prints); he ends face-down whole |
| tpdagger.skin-cartoon | UNZIPPED | REPLACE | gag · non-gameplay costume (the costume suit and head) · no gore (stuffing) | a zip down his spine, the stuffing, a deflated suit and a rolling costume head; a costume gag with no action |
| tpdagger.skin-ice | ICEBREAKER | OK BUT | head explosion needed · cyan victim | the frozen standoff and the crust cracked off front and back read; he topples whole |
| tpdagger.skin-neon | EXIT | OK BUT | too dark (the green wash hides both of them) · head explosion needed · cyan victim | the running-man pose matching the EXIT sign is a clever image, but the green-black frame is hard to read and the body stays whole |
| tpdagger.skin-gold | THE GOLDEN RULE | OK BUT | head explosion needed · cyan victim merges with Faris | the blade-mirror and over-the-shoulder flip read; both end kneeling, him whole |
| tpdagger.mid-talk-to-the-hand | TALK TO THE HAND | OK BUT | head explosion needed | a quick clean mid (the palm pinned to her chest); she kneels whole |
| tpdagger.mid-expecting-you | I'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU | OK BUT | head explosion needed | quick villain-chair mid; he slumps whole in the turning chair |
| tpdagger.mid-hands-up | HANDS UP | OK BUT | head explosion needed (XT keeps the body whole while MEDIUM explodes) · white victim's pieces read as bones | clever: the raised hand's flick is the throw; the dead man's last round into empty air |
| tpdagger.mid-crossed-blades | CROSSED BLADES | OK BUT | head explosion needed | a clean idea: the knives cross and his sticks where Faris's head was; he crouches whole at XT |
| tpdagger.mid-shoulder-to-shoulder | SHOULDER TO SHOULDER | OK BUT | cyan victim merges with Faris (they stand shoulder to shoulder) | a quick clean idea with an old-style burst; the cyan body and Faris read as one figure |

## REPLACE list (7)
back-of-beyond · inside-the-house · guess-who · wait-him-out · look-out · the-cord · skin-cartoon