Team Polish

How to Delegate

Use the subagent workflow to spawn each team member as a subagent:

• custom agent: performance-analyst — Profiling, optimization, memory analysis
• custom agent: engine-programmer — Engine-level fixes for rendering, memory, resource loading
• custom agent: technical-artist — VFX polish, shader optimization, visual quality
• custom agent: sound-designer — Audio polish, mixing, ambient layers
• custom agent: tools-programmer — Content pipeline and editor tool verification
• custom agent: qa-tester — Edge case testing, regression testing, soak testing

Always provide full context in each agent's prompt (target feature/area, performance budgets, known issues). Launch independent agents in parallel where the pipeline allows it (e.g., Phases 3 and 4 can run simultaneously).

Pipeline

Phase 1: Assessment

Delegate to performance-analyst:

• Profile the target feature/area using $perf-profile
• Identify performance bottlenecks and frame budget violations
• Measure memory usage and check for leaks
• Benchmark against target hardware specs
• Output: performance report with prioritized optimization list

Phase 2: Optimization

Delegate to performance-analyst (with relevant programmers as needed):

• Fix performance hotspots identified in Phase 1
• Optimize draw calls, reduce overdraw
• Fix memory leaks and reduce allocation pressure
• Verify optimizations don't change gameplay behavior
• Output: optimized code with before/after metrics

If Phase 1 identified engine-level root causes (rendering pipeline, resource loading, memory allocator), delegate those fixes to engine-programmer in parallel:

• Optimize hot paths in engine systems
• Fix allocation pressure in core loops
• Output: engine-level fixes with profiler validation

Phase 3: Visual Polish (parallel with Phase 2)

Delegate to technical-artist:

• Review VFX for quality and consistency with art bible
• Optimize particle systems and shader effects
• Add screen shake, camera effects, and visual juice where appropriate
• Ensure effects degrade gracefully on lower settings
• Output: polished visual effects

Phase 4: Audio Polish (parallel with Phase 2)

Delegate to sound-designer:

• Review audio events for completeness (are any actions missing sound feedback?)
• Check audio mix levels — nothing too loud or too quiet relative to the mix
• Add ambient audio layers for atmosphere
• Verify audio plays correctly with spatial positioning
• Output: audio polish list and mixing notes

Phase 5: Hardening

Delegate to qa-tester:

• Test all edge cases: boundary conditions, rapid inputs, unusual sequences
• Soak test: run the feature for extended periods checking for degradation
• Stress test: maximum entities, worst-case scenarios
• Regression test: verify polish changes haven't broken existing functionality
• Test on minimum spec hardware (if available)
• Output: test results with any remaining issues

Phase 6: Sign-off

• Collect results from all team members
• Compare performance metrics against budgets
• Report: READY FOR RELEASE / NEEDS MORE WORK
• List any remaining issues with severity and recommendations

Error Recovery Protocol

If any spawned agent (as a subagent) returns BLOCKED, errors, or cannot complete:

1. Surface immediately: Report "[AgentName]: BLOCKED — [reason]" to the user before continuing to dependent phases
2. Assess dependencies: Check whether the blocked agent's output is required by subsequent phases. If yes, do not proceed past that dependency point without user input.
3. Offer options via a concise plain-text choice list with choices:
   • Skip this agent and note the gap in the final report
   • Retry with narrower scope
   • Stop here and resolve the blocker first
4. Always produce a partial report — output whatever was completed. Never discard work because one agent blocked.

Common blockers:

• Input file missing (story not found, GDD absent) → redirect to the skill that creates it
• ADR status is Proposed → do not implement; run $architecture-decision first
• Scope too large → split into two stories via $create-stories
• Conflicting instructions between ADR and story → surface the conflict, do not guess

File Write Protocol

All file writes (performance reports, test results, evidence docs) are delegated to sub-agents spawned as a subagent. Each sub-agent enforces the "May I write to [path]?" protocol. This orchestrator does not write files directly.

Output

A summary report covering: performance before/after metrics, visual polish changes, audio polish changes, test results, and release readiness assessment.

Next Steps

• If READY FOR RELEASE: run $release-checklist for the final pre-release validation.
• If NEEDS MORE WORK: schedule remaining issues in $sprint-plan update and re-run $team-polish after fixes.
• Run $gate-check for a formal phase gate verdict before handing off to release.