@maccesar/titools 4.9.0 → 4.10.0

package/README.md

@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ The knowledge index is based on the latest Titanium SDK documentation. If your p
 | ti-expert    | Architecture and implementation     | Starting point for most tasks           |
 | purgetss     | Utility-first styling               | UI styling and animations               |
 | ti-ui        | UI/UX patterns                      | Complex layouts, ListViews, platform UI |
-| ti-game      | 2D games with the `ti.game` module  | Sprites, physics, collisions, raycasts, paths, text HUDs, particles, camera |
+| ti-game      | 2D games with the `ti.game` module  | Sprites, physics, collisions, raycasts, pathfinding, text HUDs, particles, camera |
 | ti-api       | Complete Titanium API reference     | Looking up properties, methods, events  |
 | ti-guides    | SDK fundamentals                    | tiapp.xml, Hyperloop, distribution, JDK/Xcode compatibility, release notes |
 | ti-howtos    | Native feature integration          | Location, push, media, platform APIs    |
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ When it activates:
 - Physics: gravity and velocity, solid platforms, one-way floors, bouncing, the arcade car model, Newtonian thrust
 - Collision groups, invisible trigger zones, enter/exit events, swept AABB for fast bullets, hitbox tuning
 - Raycasts for line of sight, ledge probes and hitscan shots
-- Native patrol paths (`followPath`) and animation chaining (`play(name, { then })`)
+- A* pathfinding (`findPath`) around tagged obstacles, feeding native patrol paths (`followPath`) and animation chaining (`play(name, { then })`)
 - Bitmap-font text sprites and screen-fixed HUDs inside the scene
 - Particle emitters, Verlet ropes, camera follow/zoom/shake/effects, `scrollFactor` parallax, low-latency sound
 - Game-clock timers that obey pause and slow motion
@@ -452,6 +452,7 @@ Example prompts:
 "Why does my game stutter when I move sprites from setInterval?"
 "Add a score HUD that stays put while the camera follows the player."
 "Make the guard walk a patrol route and turn around before the ledge."
+"Tap to walk, but the player should go around the tree instead of through it."
 ```
 
 Key rules:

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@maccesar/titools",
-  "version": "4.9.0",
+  "version": "4.10.0",
   "description": "Titanium SDK skills and agents for AI coding assistants (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI)",
   "main": "lib/index.js",
   "type": "module",

package/skills/ti-game/SKILL.md

@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 ---
 name: ti-game
-description: "Use when building or reviewing 2D games with the ti.game module for Titanium SDK (Android and iOS) — sprites, sprite sheets, animations, tweens, physics (gravity, solid platforms, carMode drifting, thrust), collision groups, trigger zones, swept AABB, raycast, paths, bitmap-font text, particles, Verlet ropes, camera follow/zoom/shake, parallax, sound, drag & drop, multitouch. AUTO-DETECT: if tiapp.xml declares ti.game or any file calls require('ti.game'), invoke BEFORE writing ANY game code. Also trigger on: game, juego, sprite, spritesheet, platformer, endless runner, top-down, shooter, racer, flappy, breakout, rhythm, cards, puzzle, collision, hitbox, raycast, line of sight, patrol, parallax, particles, HUD, score, game loop, 60 fps, GameView. ti.game is NOT Phaser, Godot or Box2D: you never write a game loop, never move a sprite from setInterval, and several familiar features (tilemap layer, sprite parenting, joystick, A* pathfinding) do not exist yet — check references/roadmap.md before inventing an API."
+description: "Use when building or reviewing 2D games with the ti.game module for Titanium SDK (Android and iOS) — sprites, sprite sheets, animations, tweens, physics (gravity, solids, carMode drifting, thrust), collision groups, trigger zones, swept AABB, raycast, paths, bitmap text, particles, ropes, camera follow/zoom/shake, parallax, sound, drag & drop, multitouch. AUTO-DETECT: if tiapp.xml declares ti.game or any file calls require('ti.game'), invoke BEFORE writing ANY game code. Also trigger on: game, juego, sprite, spritesheet, platformer, endless runner, top-down, shooter, racer, flappy, breakout, rhythm, cards, puzzle, collision, hitbox, raycast, line of sight, pathfinding, maze, patrol, parallax, particles, HUD, score, game loop, 60 fps, GameView. ti.game is NOT Phaser, Godot or Box2D: you never write a game loop, never move a sprite from setInterval, and several familiar features (tilemap layer, sprite parenting, joystick, word wrap) do not exist yet — check references/roadmap.md before inventing an API."
 argument-hint: "[genre or feature]"
 allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Edit, Write, Bash(node *)
 ---
 
 # ti.game — 2D game engine for Titanium SDK
 
-`ti.game` is a native OpenGL ES 2.0 sprite engine exposed to JavaScript, written and maintained by **Michael Gangolf (m1ga)** — upstream is https://github.com/m1ga/ti.game. This skill tracks upstream `main` as of **2026-08-19** — the manifest still reads `0.3.0`, but the text engine, `screenFixed`, `swept` collisions, `collisionend`, `followPath`, animation chaining, `raycast`, game-clock timers, `scrollFactor` parallax and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes all landed after it, so a version number alone will not tell you what a checkout has. When upstream and any fork disagree, upstream wins. Same JS API on Android and iOS — the iOS side is a class-per-class Obj-C twin of the Android engine.
+`ti.game` is a native OpenGL ES 2.0 sprite engine exposed to JavaScript, written and maintained by **Michael Gangolf (m1ga)** — upstream is https://github.com/m1ga/ti.game. This skill tracks upstream `main` as of **2026-08-20**, manifest **`0.4.0`** — that bump is the first in a long run of feature landings (the text engine, `screenFixed`, `swept` collisions, `collisionend`, `followPath`, animation chaining, `raycast`, `findPath`, game-clock timers, `scrollFactor` parallax and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes all shipped while it still said `0.3.0`), so anything still calling itself 0.3.0 has none of them. When upstream and any fork disagree, upstream wins. Same JS API on Android and iOS — the iOS side is a class-per-class Obj-C twin of the Android engine.
 
 Works in **both Classic and Alloy** projects. Nothing here depends on PurgeTSS.
 
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ The practical consequence, and the single biggest mistake to avoid:
 | An enemy on a fixed patrol route | chained `animate()` legs | `sprite.followPath(points, { loop })` |
 | Play an attack, then go back to idle | an `animationcomplete` handler | `play('attack', { then: 'idle' })` |
 | Line of sight, a ledge probe, a hitscan shot | an invisible probe sprite | `gameView.raycast(x0, y0, x1, y1, ['group'])` |
+| Walking around obstacles to a tapped point | your own A* in JS, or a straight line through the wall | `gameView.findPath(from, to, opts)` → `sprite.followPath(path)` |
 | A spawn wave or an AI tick that respects pause | `setInterval` | `gameView.every(ms, cb)` |
 | Smoke, sparks, explosions | pooled sprites in JS | `Game.createEmitter(...)` |
 | A swinging chain or cape | verlet solver in JS | `Game.createRope(...)` |
@@ -135,6 +136,8 @@ A fast mover can slip through a thin target between frames: it never overlaps on
 
 When the question is not "did we touch?" but "what is over there?", the answer is `gameView.raycast(x0, y0, x1, y1, ['group'])` — line of sight, a ledge probe ahead of a walker's feet, a hitscan shot. It returns `null` or the nearest hit (`{ x, y, distance, group, sprite, normal }`), needs nothing but a `collisionGroup` on the targets, and replaces the old trick of parking an invisible probe sprite where the ray would land. It is a discrete query: call it from a decision timer or a tap handler, never every frame.
 
+And when the question is "how do I get over there?", `gameView.findPath(from, to, { cellSize, groups, clearance, bounds })` runs grid A* around the same tagged sprites and hands back waypoints for `followPath` — tap-to-walk that rounds a tree, a hound re-routing to the player on an 800 ms timer. Also discrete: the walk itself runs natively between queries, so pathfind on taps and AI ticks, never per frame. Pass `clearance` of about half the walker's width, since the route is a line for the sprite's **center**.
+
 **A sprite with `width`/`height` but no `sheet` renders nothing and works as an invisible trigger.** Score zones, goals, checkpoints, ceilings, kill floors and walls are all built this way in the official demos. This is the idiomatic way to add logic to a scene without art.
 
 Tune fairness with `hitboxScale` (art rarely fills its frame; slightly small hitboxes feel better) and `hitboxShape: 'circle'` for balls and rocks — circles also resolve against solids along the contact normal, so they bounce off corners diagonally instead of like a box. Turn on `debug: true` per sprite, or on the GameView for everything, to see green collision AABBs, blue touch bounds and the orange anchor dot.
@@ -189,7 +192,7 @@ Read the one that matches the task instead of guessing — the API surface below
 | Need | Reference |
 | --- | --- |
 | Exact properties, methods, events, defaults for every object | [api.md](references/api.md) |
-| Working code per genre: flappy, platformer, top-down, racer, asteroids, endless runner, rhythm, cards, point & click, particles, ropes, camera — plus patrol paths, raycast probes, parallax and game-clock timers | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) |
+| Working code per genre: flappy, platformer, top-down, racer, asteroids, endless runner, rhythm, cards, point & click, particles, ropes, camera — plus patrol paths, raycast probes, pathfinding, parallax and game-clock timers | [recipes.md](references/recipes.md) |
 | Install the module, tiapp.xml, Alloy vs Classic wiring, assets, sprite sheets, atlases, lifecycle, testing | [project-setup.md](references/project-setup.md) |
 | What does NOT exist yet, what is coming, and how to work around it today | [roadmap.md](references/roadmap.md) |
 
@@ -205,4 +208,4 @@ Read the one that matches the task instead of guessing — the API surface below
 8. Is the HUD `Game.createText` with `screenFixed: true`, rather than a stack of overlaid labels?
 9. Does anything travel far enough per frame to tunnel? Give it `swept: true`.
 10. Does a timer drive game logic (spawn waves, AI ticks, respawns)? Move it to `gameView.every`/`after` so it obeys pause and slow motion.
-11. Are you using an API that actually exists? Anything involving tilemaps, sprite parenting, joysticks, A* pathfinding or word-wrapped text — check [roadmap.md](references/roadmap.md) first.
+11. Are you using an API that actually exists? Anything involving tilemaps, sprite parenting, joysticks, gamepads or word-wrapped text — check [roadmap.md](references/roadmap.md) first.

package/skills/ti-game/references/api.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # ti.game API reference
 
-Complete JS surface of `ti.game` as of upstream `main` on 2026-08-19, verified against the module source (`android/src/ti/game/*.java` and `engine/*.java`, mirrored by `ios/Classes/TG*`). Defaults come from the engine fields, not from prose. The manifest still reads `0.3.0`; the text engine (`createFont`/`createText`), `screenFixed`, `swept`, `collisionend`, `followPath`, animation chaining, `raycast`, the game-clock timers, `scrollFactor` and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes all landed after it and are not in any numbered release yet.
+Complete JS surface of `ti.game` as of upstream `main` on 2026-08-20, verified against the module source (`android/src/ti/game/*.java` and `engine/*.java`, mirrored by `ios/Classes/TG*`). Defaults come from the engine fields, not from prose. The manifest reads **`0.4.0`** since 2026-08-20, and that bump matters: the text engine (`createFont`/`createText`), `screenFixed`, `swept`, `collisionend`, `followPath`, animation chaining, `raycast`, `findPath`, the game-clock timers, `scrollFactor` and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes all landed while the manifest still said `0.3.0`, so a build calling itself 0.3.0 has none of them.
 
 Every property listed is **live**: reading returns the current native value, even mid-drag or mid-tween. Every property can also be passed to its `create*` factory. All durations crossing the JS boundary are **milliseconds** (the engine converts to seconds internally).
 
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ A normal Titanium view — add it to a window or any container, size it with the
 | `stopFollow()` | method | — | Stop following; the camera stays where it is |
 | `shake({ strength, duration })` | method | `12` px, `400` ms | Detuned-sine rumble on the projection only — follow, bounds and touch mapping are unaffected |
 | `raycast(x0, y0, x1, y1, groups)` | method | — | One-shot nearest-hit query along the segment against **visible, non-`screenFixed`** sprites carrying a `collisionGroup` in `groups` (omit for any tagged sprite). Returns `null` for a clear ray, else `{ x, y, distance, group, sprite, normal: { x, y } }`. Rect hitboxes are tested as their AABB, circle hitboxes exactly; a ray starting inside a hitbox reports it at distance 0 |
+| `findPath(from, to, options)` | method | — | Grid A\* from `from` to `to` (`{ x, y }` world points) around the same sprites `raycast` sees — **visible, non-`screenFixed`**, carrying a `collisionGroup` in `options.groups` (omit for any tagged sprite). Returns an array of `{ x, y }` waypoints ready for `sprite.followPath()`, or `null` when no route exists. Options below |
 | `after(ms, callback)` | method | — | Runs `callback` once after `ms` of **game time** — the delay stretches under `timeScale` slow motion, freezes at `0` and pauses with the render loop, unlike `setTimeout`. Returns an int id. The callback receives `{ id }` |
 | `every(ms, callback)` | method | — | Like `after()`, repeating until cancelled. Fires at most once per frame, and restarts its interval after a stall instead of bursting to catch up |
 | `cancelTimer(id)` | method | — | Cancels a timer from `after()` / `every()` |
@@ -85,6 +86,31 @@ Vertical follow is always on. **Horizontal follow is off until you pass `leftMar
 
 Each call **resets every option to its default** before applying what you passed. Calling `follow(sprite)` with no options after configuring it wipes the configuration.
 
+### `findPath(from, to, options)`
+
+| Option | Default | Effect |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `cellSize` | `32` | Grid resolution in px. Match it to the tile size on a tile map so the grid lines up with the walls; a coarser grid is faster and blockier |
+| `groups` | all tagged sprites | Array of `collisionGroup` names to treat as obstacles |
+| `clearance` | `0` | Extra obstacle inflation in px. About half the walker's width keeps it from scraping corners, since the path is a line for the sprite's **center** |
+| `bounds` | the whole surface | `{ minX, minY, maxX, maxY }` search rect — also the walkable area, so a floor clamp goes here |
+| `diagonals` | `true` | Octile moves. Diagonals never cut a blocked corner |
+| `simplify` | `true` | Line-of-sight string pulling: the cell chain collapses to the few corner waypoints `followPath` needs. `false` returns every grid cell (useful to visualize or debug the route) |
+
+Waypoints come back with the **exact** start and goal as first and last point, so the walk begins under the sprite's feet and ends on the tapped pixel. A blocked start or goal snaps outward to the nearest free cell (up to 4 rings), which is why tapping an obstacle walks to its edge instead of returning `null`. `null` means: no route, degenerate `bounds`, `cellSize <= 0`, or a grid over ~1M cells (a runaway `bounds`/`cellSize` combination fails the query rather than allocating).
+
+Everything is built per call on the calling thread — no persistent grid, no GL work. Like `raycast` it is a **discrete query**: run it on taps and AI timers (`gameView.every`), never per frame.
+
+```javascript
+const path = gameView.findPath(
+	{ x: player.x, y: player.y },
+	{ x: e.x, y: e.y },
+	{ cellSize: TILE, groups: ['wall'], clearance: player.width * 0.35, bounds: WALK_BOUNDS });
+if (path) {
+	player.followPath(path, { speed: 160 });
+}
+```
+
 ## SpriteSheet
 
 Create one sheet per texture and share it across every sprite that uses it — sprites sharing a sheet batch into a single draw call.
@@ -421,6 +447,9 @@ There is `collision` (enter) and `collisionend` (exit), but deliberately **no**
 - **`raycast` groups: pass an array, not varargs.** Android accepts both `raycast(x0, y0, x1, y1, ['enemy'])` and loose arguments; iOS reads only the array. Write the array and it works on both.
 - **`raycast` only sees `visible`, non-`screenFixed` sprites carrying a `collisionGroup`.** A hidden pooled sprite is invisible to the ray, which is usually what you want; an untagged wall is invisible too, which usually is not. HUD sprites are skipped by design, so a screen-fixed score never blocks a world-space line of sight.
 - **`raycast` is a discrete query, not a sensor.** Calling it from a game-clock timer or a tap handler is the intended use. Calling it every frame from JS puts exactly the bridge traffic in the loop that the whole engine exists to avoid.
+- **`findPath` walks the sprite's center, not its silhouette.** The waypoints are a line through free grid cells, so a body wider than a cell clips corners unless you pass `clearance` (roughly half the walker's width) or shrink `cellSize`. Obstacles are read from the **hitbox**, so `hitboxScale` and `hitboxShape: 'circle'` shape the walkable space too.
+- **`findPath` returning `null` is not always "no route".** Degenerate `bounds`, `cellSize <= 0` and a grid over ~1M cells all return `null` as well — a `bounds` rect of the whole world at `cellSize: 4` fails silently that way. Check the numbers before blaming the maze.
+- **A path of one or two points is the straight-line case, not a bug.** With nothing in the way `findPath` returns just `[start, goal]`; `path.length < 2` is the guard the demos use to detect a tap outside `bounds`.
 - **Game-clock timers are not `setTimeout`.** `after`/`every` freeze at `timeScale: 0` and pause with the render loop — which is why spawn waves belong there — but a pause menu that needs a real countdown still needs `setTimeout`.
 - **`screenFixed` beats `scrollFactor`.** Setting both leaves the sprite screen-fixed; the parallax offset is skipped entirely.
 - **Ghost lines along a frame's edge are a filtering artifact, not bad art.** A magnified `smoothing: true` sheet samples past the frame border — 1px seams, or the next row's heads at the bottom. Grid sheets have inset UVs upstream since 2026-08-19; an atlas needs padding and extrude at pack time, and an older module build needs either `smoothing: false` or a rebuild.

package/skills/ti-game/references/project-setup.md

@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ There is no registry and no `ti module install` command — Titanium modules are
 
 ```
 modules/
-├── android/ti.game/0.3.0/
-└── iphone/ti.game/0.3.0/
+├── android/ti.game/0.4.0/
+└── iphone/ti.game/0.4.0/
 ```
 
 Unzipping the module zip at the project root creates exactly that layout.
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ Then declare it in `tiapp.xml`. The iOS platform key is `iphone`, not `ios`:
 
 ```xml
 <modules>
-  <module platform="android" version="0.3.0">ti.game</module>
-  <module platform="iphone" version="0.3.0">ti.game</module>
+  <module platform="android" version="0.4.0">ti.game</module>
+  <module platform="iphone" version="0.4.0">ti.game</module>
 </modules>
 ```
 
 Pinning `version` is worth the extra attribute: with two module versions installed side by side, an unpinned entry silently picks the highest one.
 
-The version number lies right now: the manifest has read `0.3.0` through several feature landings. A zip built before 2026-08-18 has no `createText`, no `createFont`, no `screenFixed`, no `swept` and no `collisionend`; one built before 2026-08-19 also lacks `followPath`, `play(name, { then })`, `raycast`, `after`/`every`, `scrollFactor` and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes — all while still calling itself 0.3.0. A zip built before 2026-08-19 16:00 UTC+2 also bleeds at grid-frame edges on smoothed sheets. If a call that this skill documents is `undefined` at runtime, rebuild the module from upstream `main` rather than hunting for a typo.
+The manifest went `0.3.0` → **`0.4.0`** on 2026-08-20, after months of feature landings under the old number — so `0.4.0` is the first version string that actually means something: it carries everything this skill documents. `0.3.0` does not, and there are several different `0.3.0` builds in the wild. One built before 2026-08-18 has no `createText`, no `createFont`, no `screenFixed`, no `swept` and no `collisionend`; one built before 2026-08-19 also lacks `followPath`, `play(name, { then })`, `raycast`, `after`/`every`, `scrollFactor` and the `multiply`/`screen` blend modes; one built before 2026-08-19 16:00 UTC+2 additionally bleeds at grid-frame edges on smoothed sheets. `findPath` exists only in `0.4.0`. If a call that this skill documents is `undefined` at runtime, check the manifest version first and rebuild from upstream `main` rather than hunting for a typo.
 
 Building the module from source:
 

package/skills/ti-game/references/recipes.md

@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 # ti.game recipes by genre
 
-Working patterns distilled from the 24 official demos in `example/` and from a shipped Alloy game (Titanium Lander). Each recipe shows the part that is specific to the genre; the shared scaffolding is in [The scaffolding](#the-scaffolding) and is not repeated.
+Working patterns distilled from the 25 official demos in `example/` and from a shipped Alloy game (Titanium Lander). Each recipe shows the part that is specific to the genre; the shared scaffolding is in [The scaffolding](#the-scaffolding) and is not repeated.
 
-Every snippet uses only API that exists in upstream `main` as of 2026-08-19. Check [roadmap.md](roadmap.md) before reaching for anything not shown here.
+Every snippet uses only API that exists in upstream `main` as of 2026-08-20 (manifest `0.4.0`). Check [roadmap.md](roadmap.md) before reaching for anything not shown here.
 
 ## Contents
 
 - [The scaffolding](#the-scaffolding)
-- [Cross-cutting patterns](#cross-cutting-patterns) — pooling, parallax, multitouch controls, HUD text, invisible triggers, enter/exit zones, patrol routes, line of sight, game-clock timers, hit-stop
+- [Cross-cutting patterns](#cross-cutting-patterns) — pooling, parallax, multitouch controls, HUD text, invisible triggers, enter/exit zones, patrol routes, line of sight, pathfinding, game-clock timers, hit-stop
 - [Tap-to-flap](#tap-to-flap) (`flappy.js`)
 - [Platformer](#platformer) (`platformer.js`)
 - [Top-down / Zelda](#top-down--zelda) (`topdown.js`)
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Every snippet uses only API that exists in upstream `main` as of 2026-08-19. Che
 - [Rhythm game](#rhythm-game) (`rhythm.js`)
 - [Ball sports / breakout physics](#ball-sports--breakout-physics) (`volley.js`)
 - [Cards and board games](#cards-and-board-games) (`cards.js`, `puzzle.js`)
-- [Point & click adventure](#point--click-adventure) (`pointclick.js`)
+- [Point & click adventure](#point--click-adventure) (`pointclick.js`, `maze.js`)
 - [Particles](#particles) (`particles.js`)
 - [Ropes and chains](#ropes-and-chains) (`rope.js`)
 - [Camera work](#camera-work) (`camera.js`)
@@ -389,6 +389,68 @@ if (!gameView.raycast(probeX, walker.y, probeX, walker.y + W * 0.12, ['ground'])
 
 Run these from a coarse timer or a tap handler — the demo probes at 150 ms — never once per frame. A per-frame `raycast` from JS is exactly the bridge traffic the engine is built to avoid. Note that `raycast.js` drives its probes with `setInterval`: it was written two commits before game-clock timers existed, and `gameView.every` is the better home for an AI tick today.
 
+### Pathfinding around obstacles — `maze.js`, `pointclick.js`
+
+`gameView.findPath(from, to, options)` is grid A\* over the same sprites `raycast` sees: visible, tagged with a `collisionGroup`, nothing else to set up. It returns `{ x, y }` waypoints — or `null` — and those waypoints go straight into `followPath`, so the walk itself runs natively.
+
+```javascript
+gameView.addEventListener('tap', (e) => {
+	const path = gameView.findPath(
+		{ x: player.x, y: player.y },
+		{ x: e.x, y: e.y },
+		{ cellSize: TILE, groups: ['wall'], bounds: MAZE_BOUNDS });
+	if (!path || path.length < 2) {
+		return;                                   // tapped outside the walkable rect
+	}
+	player.scaleX = path[1].x < player.x ? -1 : 1;   // face the first leg
+	player.play('walk');
+	player.followPath(path, { speed: SPEED });
+});
+```
+
+`cellSize` is the one option that decides everything else. On a tile map, pass the tile size and the grid lines up with the walls exactly; on a free-form scene, something near the walker's width. Too coarse and doorways disappear, too fine and the query gets expensive (over ~1M cells it returns `null` rather than allocating).
+
+**The path is a line for the sprite's *center*.** A body wider than a cell scrapes corners unless you pass `clearance` — about half the walker's width:
+
+```javascript
+const path = gameView.findPath(from, to, {
+	cellSize: Math.round(W * 0.04),
+	groups: ['obstacle'],
+	clearance: PLAYER_W * 0.35,               // keep half a body off the trunk
+	bounds: WALK_BOUNDS                       // the walkable floor, in center coordinates
+});
+```
+
+`bounds` doubles as the walkable area, which is how the point-&-click floor clamp survives: `WALK_BOUNDS` is the old `WALK_TOP`/margin clamp expressed as a rect, in **sprite-center coordinates** (tap points are feet positions, so subtract half the sprite height before searching).
+
+**Obstacles do not have to be the art.** `pointclick.js` blocks only the oak's trunk with an invisible sprite — `opacity: 0`, `touchEnabled: false`, no collision wiring — because `findPath` reads the hitbox, not the pixels. The canopy stays walkable, so the player still passes behind the tree with `ySort` doing the depth:
+
+```javascript
+gameView.add(Game.createSprite({
+	sheet: treeSheet, opacity: 0, touchEnabled: false,
+	x: tree.x, y: groundY, width: TREE_W * 0.35, height: PLAYER_H * 0.8,
+	collisionGroup: 'obstacle'
+}));
+```
+
+A blocked goal snaps to the nearest free cell a few rings out, so tapping a wall walks to its edge instead of doing nothing. Tapping outside `bounds` is the case worth guarding — that is what `path.length < 2` catches.
+
+**Chasing AI is a timer, not a frame loop.** Re-path on a coarse game-clock tick and let `followPath` cover the gap:
+
+```javascript
+const chase = gameView.every(800, () => {
+	const path = gameView.findPath({ x: hound.x, y: hound.y }, { x: player.x, y: player.y }, PATH_OPTIONS);
+	if (path && path.length > 1) {
+		hound.followPath(path, { speed: TILE * 2.6 });
+	}
+});
+win.addEventListener('close', () => gameView.cancelTimer(chase));
+```
+
+`followPath(null)` cancels an in-flight route — `maze.js` uses it to yank the hound back to its den after it catches you.
+
+To *see* what A\* did, ask twice: `simplify: false` returns every grid cell it walked, `simplify: true` (the default) the line-of-sight-reduced corners the sprite actually gets. Dropping a dot on each is the whole route visualization in the maze demo.
+
 ### Timers on the game clock
 
 `gameView.after(ms, cb)` and `every(ms, cb)` run on the engine's clock: they stretch under `timeScale` slow motion, freeze at `0`, and pause with the render loop. Spawn waves, AI decision ticks and respawn delays belong here — a paused game that keeps spawning is the bug this fixes.
@@ -1135,31 +1197,37 @@ Because every handler is per sprite, this is multi-touch for free: each finger g
 
 ## Point & click adventure
 
-Tap-to-walk with a distance-sized tween gives constant walking speed regardless of distance:
+Tap-to-walk routes around the scenery with `findPath` and walks the waypoints natively:
 
 ```javascript
+const WALK_BOUNDS = {                                     // the floor, in sprite-CENTER coordinates
+	minX: W * 0.06, maxX: W * 0.94,
+	minY: WALK_TOP - PLAYER_H / 2, maxY: H * 0.95 - PLAYER_H / 2
+};
+
 function walkTo(x, y) {
-	const targetX = Math.min(Math.max(x, W * 0.06), W * 0.94);
-	const targetY = Math.min(Math.max(y, WALK_TOP), H * 0.95) - PLAYER_H / 2;
-	const distance = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(targetX - player.x, 2) + Math.pow(targetY - player.y, 2));
-	if (distance < 4) {
-		return;
+	const targetX = Math.min(Math.max(x, WALK_BOUNDS.minX), WALK_BOUNDS.maxX);
+	const targetY = Math.min(Math.max(y - PLAYER_H / 2, WALK_BOUNDS.minY), WALK_BOUNDS.maxY);
+	const path = gameView.findPath({ x: player.x, y: player.y }, { x: targetX, y: targetY }, {
+		cellSize: Math.round(W * 0.04),
+		groups: ['obstacle'],
+		clearance: PLAYER_W * 0.35,                       // keep half a body off the trunk
+		bounds: WALK_BOUNDS
+	});
+	if (!path || path.length < 2) {
+		return;                                           // tapped outside the floor
 	}
-	player.scaleX = targetX < player.x ? -1 : 1;
-	player.clearTweens();                                 // cancel a walk in progress
+	player.scaleX = path[1].x < player.x ? -1 : 1;        // face the first leg
 	player.play('walk');
-	player.animate({
-		x: targetX,
-		y: targetY,
-		duration: distance / WALK_SPEED * 1000,           // constant px/s
-		easing: Game.EASE_LINEAR                          // no ease on a walk
-	});
+	player.followPath(path, { speed: WALK_SPEED });       // constant px/s, cancels the previous route
 }
 
-player.addEventListener('complete', () => player.play('idle'));
+player.addEventListener('pathcomplete', () => player.play('idle'));
 ```
 
-The walkable floor is a clamp (`WALK_TOP`), not geometry — no collision needed for a classic adventure floor.
+The walkable floor is still a clamp, not geometry — but it is now expressed as the `bounds` rect the search runs in. Obstacles are separate: `pointclick.js` adds an invisible box over the oak's *trunk* only (`opacity: 0`, `touchEnabled: false`, `collisionGroup: 'obstacle'`), so the player circles the trunk and still walks behind the canopy with `ySort`. See [Pathfinding around obstacles](#pathfinding-around-obstacles--mazejs-pointclickjs) for the options.
+
+With nothing in the scene to route around, `findPath` returns `[start, goal]` and `followPath` walks the straight line — the same result as the distance-sized `animate()` tween this demo used before, with one less speed calculation to get wrong.
 
 **Hotspots and the tap conflict.** The GameView fires `tap` for *every* touch, including ones a sprite already handled, so a naive walk handler also walks when you click the bird. Hit-test the interactive sprites in JS and bail out:
 

package/skills/ti-game/references/roadmap.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # What does not exist yet — and what to do instead
 
-The most expensive mistake with `ti.game` is writing code against a feature that sounds like it should be there because Phaser, Godot or Cocos has it. This file is the guard rail: everything below is **absent from upstream `main` as of 2026-08-19**, with the workaround that is idiomatic today.
+The most expensive mistake with `ti.game` is writing code against a feature that sounds like it should be there because Phaser, Godot or Cocos has it. This file is the guard rail: everything below is **absent from upstream `main` as of 2026-08-20** (manifest `0.4.0`), with the workaround that is idiomatic today.
 
 Planned items come from the module's `TODO.md`. Planned is not shipped — when a game needs one of these, use the workaround and keep the code isolated enough to swap later.
 
@@ -8,10 +8,9 @@ Planned items come from the module's `TODO.md`. Planned is not shipped — when
 
 | You might reach for | Status | What to do now |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| A tilemap layer, Tiled JSON import, collision layer | Planned (priority 4) | One sprite per tile. Fine at 12×15, dead at 200×200. For large ground planes use a single `tileRepeat` sprite instead of a grid, and add sparse invisible solids for collision |
+| A tilemap layer, Tiled JSON import, collision layer | Planned (priority 4) | One sprite per tile. Fine at 12×15, dead at 200×200. For large ground planes use a single `tileRepeat` sprite instead of a grid, and add sparse invisible solids for collision. `findPath` already rasterizes those per-tile sprites, so a tile maze pathfinds today — the planned collision layer is meant to feed the same grid |
 | `sprite.parent`, attaching a turret to a tank, a hat to a hero, multi-part bosses | Planned (priority 7), the biggest structural item | Move the parts together from JS on the same coarse tick, or bake the combination into sheet frames. There is no transform inheritance |
 | `gameView.panTo(x, y, { duration, easing })` for a cutscene camera move | Planned (priority 1) | `follow()` an invisible sprite and tween that sprite, then `follow()` the player again |
-| `gameView.findPath(from, to)` A* over a collision grid | Planned (priority 4) | Hand-author the waypoint arrays and hand them to `followPath`. Straight-line walking is what the point-&-click and topdown demos do |
 | `maxWidth` word wrap on text sprites | Planned (priority 5) | Break the lines yourself with `\n`. Measure with the font's `charWidth` on a monospace grid font; a proportional font needs a per-glyph tally |
 | Ping-pong animation playback, a per-sprite animation speed multiplier, a random start offset | Planned (priority 9) | Author the ping-pong into the sheet as a longer animation. Desync a field of torches by giving each one its own `idleAnimation` timing, or start them from staggered timers |
 | Native virtual joystick or d-pad bound to a sprite | Planned (priority 6) | Overlaid Titanium views, one per button, writing `velocityX`/`steering`/`throttle` on `touchstart`/`touchend`. Sibling views get simultaneous pointers, so multitouch works |
@@ -57,7 +56,8 @@ Recent additions that are easy to miss and easy to reimplement badly in JS:
 - **Game-clock timers** (2026-08-19): `gameView.after(ms, cb)` / `every(ms, cb)` / `cancelTimer(id)` obey `timeScale` and pause with the render loop. Spawn waves and AI ticks belong here, not in `setTimeout`.
 - **`scrollFactor`** (2026-08-19): per-sprite parallax against camera travel. A background layer is one property, not a hand-scrolled pair of copies.
 - **`blend: 'multiply'` and `'screen'`** (2026-08-19) join `'normal'` and `'add'`, on sprites and emitters alike.
+- **`gameView.findPath(from, to, options)`** (2026-08-20): grid A* around the sprites carrying a `collisionGroup`, returning waypoints ready for `followPath` — the Godot `AStar2D` / GameMaker `mp_grid` equivalent. Tap-to-walk and chasing AI route around obstacles natively now; hand-authored waypoint arrays and straight-line walking are the old workaround. Discrete like `raycast`: taps and AI timers, not per frame.
 
 ## Checking the current state
 
-This file describes upstream `main` on 2026-08-19 — a moving target: eight items on this list shipped within three days of the skill being written, four of them in a single day, and the manifest version (`0.3.0`) did not change with any of them. Before relying on any "planned" item being still absent — or on a workaround still being necessary — read `TODO.md` and `README.md` at https://github.com/m1ga/ti.game, the module's upstream repo. `README.md` there is the canonical API documentation; the `documentation/` folder only points at it. The priorities quoted above are the maintainer's, not a roadmap this skill decides.
+This file describes upstream `main` on 2026-08-20 — a moving target: nine items on this list shipped within four days of the skill being written, four of them in a single day, and the manifest only caught up at the end (`0.3.0` → `0.4.0` on 2026-08-20, after all of them). Before relying on any "planned" item being still absent — or on a workaround still being necessary — read `TODO.md` and `README.md` at https://github.com/m1ga/ti.game, the module's upstream repo. `README.md` there is the canonical API documentation; the `documentation/` folder only points at it. The priorities quoted above are the maintainer's, not a roadmap this skill decides.