v7.0.1: Owner hub pilot and gameplay repairs

The running room version is v7.0.1. The exact qualified kit is v7.0.1-dev9-difficulty-floor-repair, not an arbitrary earlier dev9 artifact. Installed code proof and fresh healthy worker status verified all four owner rooms on October 14, 2026. The qualified tester kit was published October 14 at 06:08 UTC (October 13 at 23:08 PDT).

• Four owner rooms are back online: Standard automatic, Standard fixed, Mania 7K and Mania 4K. Discord panels and website live links follow their current room IDs.
• State-preserving upgrades retain compatible authorization, room settings, prepared catalogs and historical feedback rather than reinstalling or resetting them.
• Independent operators use their own local credentials. The central hub provides authenticated enrollment, directory heartbeats, optional feedback exchange and verified snapshots; prepared signed catalogs are downloaded separately.
• Active diagnostics can inspect the running installation without competing for its hosting-account lock. Startup, account changes and recovery keep exclusive ownership protection.

• Restores native chat/referee integration, connection recovery and preserved owner configuration behavior through the pilot repair batches.
• Prevents a lone READY player who uses .start and then withdraws READY from consuming the upcoming map when the countdown expires. Initial explicit solo starts remain available.
• Fixes staff-list persistence and live reload while retaining existing identity and role checks. Admins inherit moderator access.
• Corrects explicit authorized shutdown so occupied rooms can close cleanly; ordinary automatic update safety is not permission to interrupt occupied rooms.
• Stops repeated easier votes from pushing a fixed or recalled difficulty window below zero. Its width is retained, one harder vote reverses immediately, and unapplied easier votes do not accumulate hidden debt.
• Private test hosting supports a chosen password and explicit Discord-panel visibility without publishing the password. Private visibility stays off unless requested.

Live map cover IDs and displayed lengths were restored using a separate public display index; selection catalogs and player credentials were not changed. An additive Community Lobbies section can show fresh consenting hosts without mixing them into the owner's four room cards or occupancy total. The homepage stylesheet compilation error was fixed on October 14.

Independent tester shared-vote gameplay, all-mode real gameplay acceptance and off-machine backup replication are not complete merely because the owner pilot is running. New dev10 operator settings/onboarding work remains in preparation, not part of this deployed dev9 release. A contribution acknowledgment is not proof that a verified shared snapshot is active for map weighting.

Earlier dev9 repair artifacts remain historical; operators must follow the maintainer's exact qualified upgrade instructions. The tester repository is private and is not a public download or an invitation to reuse the owner's credentials.

v7 foundation · Community hosting and feedback · Updates and recovery · Readiness · Difficulty votes