fixed

src/graphics/effects/SpaceWarp.cpp

@@ -105,10 +105,22 @@ void SpaceWarp::spawnComet() {
     float shade = randomRange(0.85f, 1.0f);
     Uint8 c = static_cast<Uint8>(std::clamp(220.0f + shade * 35.0f, 0.0f, 255.0f));
     comet.color = SDL_Color{c, Uint8(std::min(255.0f, c * 0.95f)), 255, 255};
-    comet.prevScreenX = centerX;
-    comet.prevScreenY = centerY;
-    comet.screenX = centerX;
-    comet.screenY = centerY;
+    // Initialize screen positions based on projection so the comet is not stuck at center
+    float sx = 0.0f, sy = 0.0f;
+    if (projectPoint(comet.x, comet.y, comet.z, sx, sy)) {
+        comet.screenX = sx;
+        comet.screenY = sy;
+        // Place prev slightly behind the head so the first frame shows motion/trail
+        float jitter = std::max(4.0f, comet.trailLength * 0.08f);
+        float ang = randomRange(0.0f, 6.28318530718f);
+        comet.prevScreenX = comet.screenX - std::cos(ang) * jitter;
+        comet.prevScreenY = comet.screenY - std::sin(ang) * jitter;
+    } else {
+        comet.prevScreenX = centerX;
+        comet.prevScreenY = centerY;
+        comet.screenX = centerX;
+        comet.screenY = centerY;
+    }
     comets.push_back(comet);
 }
 
@@ -135,10 +147,22 @@ void SpaceWarp::respawn(WarpStar& star, bool randomDepth) {
     static constexpr Uint8 GRAY_SHADES[] = {160, 180, 200, 220, 240};
     int idx = randomIntInclusive(rng, 0, int(std::size(GRAY_SHADES)) - 1);
     star.baseShade = GRAY_SHADES[idx];
-    star.prevScreenX = centerX;
-    star.prevScreenY = centerY;
-    star.screenX = centerX;
-    star.screenY = centerY;
+    // Compute initial projected screen position so newly spawned stars aren't frozen at center
+    float sx = 0.0f, sy = 0.0f;
+    if (projectPoint(star.x, star.y, star.z, sx, sy)) {
+        star.screenX = sx;
+        star.screenY = sy;
+        // give a small previous offset so trails and motion are visible immediately
+        float jitter = std::max(1.0f, settings.maxTrailLength * 0.06f);
+        float ang = randomRange(0.0f, 6.28318530718f);
+        star.prevScreenX = star.screenX - std::cos(ang) * jitter;
+        star.prevScreenY = star.screenY - std::sin(ang) * jitter;
+    } else {
+        star.prevScreenX = centerX;
+        star.prevScreenY = centerY;
+        star.screenX = centerX;
+        star.screenY = centerY;
+    }
 }
 
 bool SpaceWarp::project(const WarpStar& star, float& outX, float& outY) const {

src/states/MenuState.cpp

@@ -26,6 +26,77 @@
 #include "../graphics/renderers/GameRenderer.h"
 #include <SDL3_image/SDL_image.h>
 
+// Frosted tint helper: draw a safe, inexpensive frosted overlay for the panel area.
+// This avoids renderer readback / surface APIs which aren't portable across SDL3 builds.
+static void renderBackdropBlur(SDL_Renderer* renderer, const SDL_Rect& logicalVP, float logicalScale, float panelTop, float panelH, SDL_Texture* sceneTex, int sceneW, int sceneH) {
+    if (!renderer) return;
+    // If we don't have a captured scene texture, fall back to the frosted tint.
+    if (!sceneTex || sceneW <= 0 || sceneH <= 0) {
+        float viewportLogicalW = (float)logicalVP.w / logicalScale;
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 200, 210, 220, 48);
+        SDL_FRect base{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
+        SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &base);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 255, 255, 255, 24);
+        SDL_FRect highlight{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, std::max(2.0f, panelH * 0.06f) };
+        SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &highlight);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 16, 24, 32, 12);
+        SDL_FRect shadow{ 0.0f, panelTop + panelH - std::max(2.0f, panelH * 0.06f), viewportLogicalW, std::max(2.0f, panelH * 0.06f) };
+        SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &shadow);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_NONE);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Compute source rect in scene texture pixels for the panel area
+    int panelWinX = 0;
+    int panelWinY = static_cast<int>(std::floor(panelTop * logicalScale + logicalVP.y));
+    int panelWinW = sceneW; // full width of captured scene
+    int panelWinH = static_cast<int>(std::ceil(panelH * logicalScale));
+    if (panelWinW <= 0 || panelWinH <= 0) return;
+
+    // Downsample size (cheap Gaussian-ish blur via scale).
+    int blurW = std::max(8, panelWinW / 6);
+    int blurH = std::max(4, panelWinH / 6);
+
+    // Create a small render target to draw the downsampled region into
+    SDL_Texture* small = SDL_CreateTexture(renderer, SDL_PIXELFORMAT_RGBA8888, SDL_TEXTUREACCESS_TARGET, blurW, blurH);
+    if (!small) {
+        // Fall back to tint if we can't allocate
+        float viewportLogicalW = (float)logicalVP.w / logicalScale;
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 200, 210, 220, 48);
+        SDL_FRect base{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
+        SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &base);
+        SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_NONE);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Source rectangle in the scene texture (pixel coords) as floats
+    SDL_FRect srcRectF{ (float)panelWinX, (float)panelWinY, (float)panelWinW, (float)panelWinH };
+
+    // Render the sub-region of the scene into the small texture
+    SDL_SetRenderTarget(renderer, small);
+    SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 0, 0, 0, 0);
+    SDL_RenderClear(renderer);
+
+    SDL_FRect smallDst{ 0.0f, 0.0f, (float)blurW, (float)blurH };
+    SDL_RenderTexture(renderer, sceneTex, &srcRectF, &smallDst);
+
+    // Reset target
+    SDL_SetRenderTarget(renderer, nullptr);
+
+    // Render the small texture scaled up to the panel area with linear filtering
+    SDL_SetTextureBlendMode(small, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
+    SDL_SetTextureScaleMode(small, SDL_SCALEMODE_LINEAR);
+
+    float viewportLogicalW = (float)logicalVP.w / logicalScale;
+    SDL_FRect dst{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
+    SDL_RenderTexture(renderer, small, nullptr, &dst);
+
+    // Cleanup
+    SDL_DestroyTexture(small);
+}
+
 MenuState::MenuState(StateContext& ctx) : State(ctx) {}
 
 void MenuState::onEnter() {
@@ -72,6 +143,8 @@ void MenuState::renderMainButtonTop(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale,
 
     float spacing = isSmall ? btnW * 1.2f : btnW * 1.15f;
 
+    
+
     // Draw semi-transparent background panel behind the full button group (draw first so text sits on top)
     {
         float groupCenterX = btnX;
@@ -81,13 +154,13 @@ void MenuState::renderMainButtonTop(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale,
         float panelTop = btnY - btnH * 0.5f - 12.0f;
         float panelH = btnH + 24.0f;
         SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
+        // Backdrop blur pass before tint (use captured scene texture if available)
+        renderBackdropBlur(renderer, logicalVP, logicalScale, panelTop, panelH, ctx.sceneTex, ctx.sceneW, ctx.sceneH);
         // Brighter, less-opaque background to increase contrast
         SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 28, 36, 46, 180);
         // Fill full-width background so edges are covered in fullscreen
         float viewportLogicalW = (float)logicalVP.w / logicalScale;
-        float fullLeft = 0.0f;
-        float fullW = viewportLogicalW;
-        SDL_FRect fullPanel{ fullLeft, panelTop, fullW, panelH };
+        SDL_FRect fullPanel{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
         SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &fullPanel);
         // Also draw the central strip to keep visual center emphasis
         SDL_FRect panelRect{ panelLeft, panelTop, panelRight - panelLeft, panelH };
@@ -95,9 +168,7 @@ void MenuState::renderMainButtonTop(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale,
         // brighter full-width border
         SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 120, 140, 160, 200);
         // Expand border to cover full window width (use actual viewport)
-        float fullLeftTop = 0.0f;
-        float fullWTop = viewportLogicalW;
-        SDL_FRect borderFull{ fullLeftTop, panelTop, fullWTop, panelH };
+        SDL_FRect borderFull{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
         SDL_RenderRect(renderer, &borderFull);
     }
 
@@ -792,13 +863,13 @@ void MenuState::render(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale, SDL_Rect logi
                 float panelTop = btnY - btnH * 0.5f - 12.0f;
                 float panelH = btnH + 24.0f;
                 SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
+                // Backdrop blur pass before tint (use captured scene texture if available)
+                renderBackdropBlur(renderer, logicalVP, logicalScale, panelTop, panelH, ctx.sceneTex, ctx.sceneW, ctx.sceneH);
                 // Brighter, less-opaque background to increase contrast (match top path)
                 SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 28, 36, 46, 180);
                 // Fill full-width background so edges are covered in fullscreen
                 float viewportLogicalW = (float)logicalVP.w / logicalScale;
-                float fullLeft = 0.0f;
-                float fullW = viewportLogicalW;
-                SDL_FRect fullPanel{ fullLeft, panelTop, fullW, panelH };
+                SDL_FRect fullPanel{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
                 SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &fullPanel);
                 // Also draw the central strip to keep visual center emphasis
                 SDL_FRect panelRect{ panelLeft, panelTop, panelRight - panelLeft, panelH };
@@ -806,9 +877,7 @@ void MenuState::render(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale, SDL_Rect logi
                 // subtle border across full logical width
                 SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 120, 140, 160, 200);
                 // Expand border to cover full window width (use actual viewport)
-                float fullLeftNormal = 0.0f;
-                float fullWNormal = viewportLogicalW;
-                SDL_FRect borderFull{ fullLeftNormal, panelTop, fullWNormal, panelH };
+                SDL_FRect borderFull{ 0.0f, panelTop, viewportLogicalW, panelH };
                 SDL_RenderRect(renderer, &borderFull);
             }
             // Button 0 - PLAY
@@ -1048,7 +1117,9 @@ void MenuState::render(SDL_Renderer* renderer, float logicalScale, SDL_Rect logi
             SDL_FRect rc{ area.x + c * (cellW + gapX), area.y + r * (cellH + gapY), cellW, cellH };
             bool hovered = (levelSelected == i) || (levelHovered == i);
             bool selected = (ctx.startLevelSelection && *ctx.startLevelSelection == i);
-            SDL_Color fill = selected ? SDL_Color{255,140,40,160} : (hovered ? SDL_Color{60,80,100,120} : SDL_Color{30,40,60,110});
+            // Use the project's gold/yellow tone for selected level to match UI accents
+            SDL_Color selectedFill = SDL_Color{255,204,0,160};
+            SDL_Color fill = selected ? selectedFill : (hovered ? SDL_Color{60,80,100,120} : SDL_Color{30,40,60,110});
             SDL_SetRenderDrawBlendMode(renderer, SDL_BLENDMODE_BLEND);
             SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, fill.r, fill.g, fill.b, fill.a);
             SDL_RenderFillRect(renderer, &rc);

src/states/OptionsState.cpp

@@ -253,9 +253,12 @@ void OptionsState::toggleSmoothScroll() {
 }
 
 void OptionsState::exitToMenu() {
+    // Try a graceful fade transition if available, but always ensure we
+    // return to the Menu state so the UI is responsive to the user's action.
     if (ctx.requestFadeTransition) {
         ctx.requestFadeTransition(AppState::Menu);
-    } else if (ctx.stateManager) {
+    }
+    if (ctx.stateManager) {
         ctx.stateManager->setState(AppState::Menu);
     }
 }

src/states/State.h

@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ struct StateContext {
     SDL_Texture* mainScreenTex = nullptr;
     int mainScreenW = 0;
     int mainScreenH = 0;
+    // Captured full-scene texture (used by menu for backdrop blur effects)
+    SDL_Texture* sceneTex = nullptr;
+    int sceneW = 0;
+    int sceneH = 0;
 
     // Audio / SFX - forward declared types in main
     // Pointers to booleans/flags used by multiple states