Complete 26.3 parity acceptance and dual-version release workflow

docs/MC263_PARITY_REVIEW.md

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+# 26.3 port parity and acceptance review
+
+Reviewed 2026-11-14 for 26.3.0.3 against the independently maintained 1.21.1
+implementation. This closes the port feature checklist, not every open bug or
+future enhancement. The dated development entries in MINECRAFT_26_3_PORT.md
+retain their original evidence and are superseded by later slices where stated.
+
+## Feature comparison
+
+| Area | 1.21.1 implementation | 26.3 counterpart / acceptance |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Page language | Ordered writing, registry-backed pages, modifiers, recovery and corrupted pages | PortAuthoredWriting, PortWritingRecovery, PortMaterialCompletion, PortRegistryPages and the shared symbol resources retain source writing, material pairing and diagnostics. Port slices received player sign-off. |
+| Ink Mixer | Paper/ink, additive modifiers, vial/bottle exchange and output reset | InkMixerMenu/Screen, InkModifierIngredients and InkVialExchange port the interaction and assets. One ink and paper per panel; additives reset on removal. The separate 1.21.1 correction remains a shared follow-up. |
+| Page storage | Notebook, folders, portfolios, sealed notebooks | NotebookMenu/Screen and the corresponding item components port sparse storage, selection/moving, held-slot protection and bulk import. Legacy glyph/page assets reused. |
+| Desk / Binder | Tab catalog, ink/paper copy transactions, collection input, named books and OP diagnostics | WritingDeskMenu/Screen, WritingDeskCatalog and PortBookBinderMenu/Screen with authoritative networking and existing textures/models. Input, output pickup and naming fixes passed in game. |
+| Link Modifier | Name, properties, seed and retirement | LinkModifierMenu/Screen and explicit edit payloads provide six property controls, title/seed edits and guarded retirement. Player-approved before this audit. |
+| Terrain and biomes | Standard/amplified/flat/cave/void/sky-island profiles and biome distributions | PortAgeTerrain, PortBiomePlan, native registry biome pools and first-party generators. Authored and random plans persist their own seeds. Version-specific terrain/biome follow-ups remain separate. |
+| Decorations and structures | Material features, vegetation, lakes, carvers, vanilla structures, libraries, crystals and fissures | Port terrain/vegetation/lake/carver/structure plans and generation passes implement these families, with modern structures and registry-backed materials. Family-specific terrain restrictions are retained; this audit does not claim every possible combination can generate. |
+| Time, sky and celestials | Authored/random bodies, number/color modifiers, time modes, eclipses and ambient lighting | PortDayCycle, PortAgeColors, PortCelestialDiscs and sky/light mixins; colors, multiple bodies, sizes, positions, frozen time and eclipse rendering received player checks. Static Sky with Reborn has known bug #116. |
+| Weather and seasons | Per-Age weather and optional Serene policies | PortWeatherMode, PortSeasonPolicies and Serene adapters preserve independent Age policy. Serene is optional; Ecliptic integration remains deferred on both lines. |
+| Instability | Writing and live material scores, provider plans, effects and operator controls | PortInstabilityData/Plan/Runtime, block profiling, status/decay/hazard/meteor/environment providers and operator commands. Scores remain OP-only. Accelerated ticks use bounded loaded-world budgets; machine parity work remains tracked separately. |
+| Travel | Handheld books, stands, receptacles, portals, footing/platform, modifiers and return links | Shared port destination/travel services, PortalTravelQueue and CrystalPortalNetwork keep book properties authoritative. Return links default disabled. Unsafe or unsynchronized travel leaves the player at source. |
+| Presentation | Legacy books/pages/models/sounds, dropped open books and preview renderers | Existing assets reused through 26.3 extracted render states and modern input. Live Reborn book/portal views and look-only exploration are implemented; right-click return/re-entry passed on 26.3.0.3. |
+| Discovery / guides | Libraries, loot, crafting, advancements, creative pages and JEI | Libraries/stands, sealed notebook discovery, progression and JEI guides ported. Random eligibility controls apply to new random choices/loot while existing authored pages remain usable. |
+| Backend lifecycle | Dynamic Dimensions AR plus catalog/travel behavior | Rivencraft-owned backend with atomic creation, seed persistence, catalog acknowledgement, unload/reseed/retire. #99/#101 and now #100 accepted. |
+
+## Deliberate platform differences
+
+- Java 21 / NeoForge 21.1.264 and Dynamic Dimensions AR + Bad Packets stay on
+  1.21.1. The tested 26.3 target uses Java 25 / NeoForge 26.3.0.99 and a first-party
+  Age backend. No optional integration is bundled or made mandatory.
+- 26.3 starts fresh saves. Importing 1.21.1 dimension/save internals is unsupported.
+  New chunk algorithms and random streams need not produce identical terrain.
+- Create/Ponder has no ported 26.3 integration. Built-in animation is always
+  available; Reborn 7.0.12 provides optional live book/crystal views and look-only
+  exploration. Seamless has the dimension bridge, not this Reborn rendering path.
+- Optional libraries, registry contents and vanilla generation APIs differ across
+  game versions. Changes to shared symbols/assets must be considered for both;
+  version-specific implementations and dependency requirements stay separate.
+- Shared requested enhancements in #105–#115 and renderer bug #116 are separate
+  work. Port closure does not close those issues or describe their work as done.
+
+## Regression evidence and limits
+
+Earlier recorded 1.21.1 client/dedicated/optional-mod sign-offs remain valid:
+its game code did not change during this work, so it was not retested merely
+because the 26.3 target changed. Both build targets were built during the workflow
+audit; only changed-target gameplay checks are required going forward.
+
+The expanded-catalog 26.3 test used two actual clients on one dedicated server.
+Runtime Age creation, catalog/environment delivery, normal-book travel,
+stale-ack rejection/recovery, occupied unload refusal, empty reload/reseed and
+retirement passed. On full restart both reconnected in the surviving Age with
+the saved seed/presentation; retired data stayed absent. The final return-book
+step stalled and was handed off without retry, per the user's instruction.
+
+The player then created and entered an Age on the current local dedicated server
+with the Dev optional stack, requested a full restart, reconnected, and returned
+to the Overworld by Linking Book. Server logs confirm restored Age
+rivencraft:age/random, seed -1985136355166262436, and the Overworld return.
+The player explicitly accepted #100. This final handoff used one player-operated
+client, not a new two-client automated pass. Logs are retained locally under
+build/verification; temporary worlds and server processes were removed.
+
+Production 26.3.0.3 builds and its book-window look/exit/re-entry received an
+in-game pass. Earlier slices record no-optional startup, generation, portal
+geometry/lifecycle and optional integration checks. This is cumulative evidence,
+not a claim that every historical test was rerun on the final JAR.
+
+## Release gate
+
+[DUAL_VERSION_RELEASE.md](DUAL_VERSION_RELEASE.md) defines changed-target builds,
+sequential temporary servers, stalled-test handoff, maintenance policy and upload
+identity checks. Offline tooling checks cover track selection, release naming,
+required dependencies, wrong-artifact/fixture rejection and server exclusion.
+Hosted workflow execution remains unverified; repeatable local commands provide
+the supported fallback. Release acceptance is recorded in Gitea after publication
+and artifact verification. The existing published 1.21.1 release is retained;
+unchanged code is not republished merely to adopt the new filename scheme.