docs(website): add illustrated launcher guide under Get started #709
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Type: docs · Risk: low · Tested on: Linux, Chromium 153; game-free checks · Needs: final approval; existing publication-check failures resolved before deployment
Why
Players need an illustrated guide to choosing a player, finding their save and using the launcher, accessible from Getting started. Add a Launcher section that explains the player picker, the three home screens, updates, saves, privacy controls and the Steam Deck flow.
See LongshotLauncher issue #68. Its screenshots are HTML mockups, not a released launcher. The guide uses direct player instructions and explanatory picture captions, with one short opening preview notice and links to the current installation and save guides. Ready for review following Jordan’s feedback; this PR is not a deployment request.
What changed
Added Get started → Launcher at
/launcher/, plus a Launcher card at the end of Install. The guide has a three-step navigation strip, an explanation of Kid / Normal / Advanced homes, and eight inline pictures beside the controls they explain. Each picture has descriptive alt text, a caption explaining the controls and a full-size link.docs/launcher.md: canonical source, including direct instructions for player selection, manual versus automatic updates, shared builds versus separate saves, privacy controls and useful help links.docs/getting-started.md,website/src/content-pages.ts,website/astro.config.ts: entry point, source registration and sidebar placement.website/src/styles/content.css: responsive flow cards, a grouped home-screen comparison and captioned figures, using existing theme tokens.docs/images/launcher-preview/: eight unchanged issue #68 mockups (player picker, three homes, saves, storage, telemetry and splash), with original attachment URLs, dimensions and SHA-256 hashes. The existing asset integration serves them locally; generated copies are ignored by Git.website/README.md: maintenance guidance and the requirement to verify a named launcher version before presenting this as a released-feature walkthrough.No new JavaScript, dependencies or game-derived assets. Mockups load lazily with reserved dimensions and retain their source attribution/provenance; they are separate from the released-UI screenshot manifest. Existing UI screenshots retain their version captions and provenance. This branch starts from current main independently of the earlier website PRs.
Screenshots
Current illustrated guide with player-facing wording, after this PR @
cb983fce. These website screenshots contain design mockups of the upcoming launcher.Current full-page guide: desktop light, desktop dark and mobile light
Getting started: before and after, same 1440 px viewport in light mode
Before: main @
e090cc48.After: this PR @
cb983fce.Measurements
Nothing to measure in gameplay: this is an illustrated documentation guide; website build, layout, accessibility and baseline test results are recorded under Testing.
Flags and settings
None. The page describes upcoming launcher controls; it changes no launcher or game setting.
Testing
Tested:
cb983fce: website build, publication check, website tests and game-free checks rerun with the same baseline results below. All eight original PNGs remain unchanged and load correctly. Layout checks cover 1440/768/390/320 in both themes; four accessibility audits report zero violations and zero incomplete checks. Refreshed full-page screenshots show the current wording.npm ci: pinned dependencies, zero reported vulnerabilities.npm run build: passes, 16 pages and Pagefind index generated.npm run check: blocked by existing progress-feed public-copy violations for Longshot issues #615 and #603. No route, asset, edit-link or anchor errors reported.node --test tests/*.test.ts: 75 pass, 1 fail, identical on a separate clean worktree at basee090cc48. The existing failure istests/graphics-settings.test.ts→ “HDR Native condition accepts current prose but remains required” (Missing expected exception).python -I -B tests/run_all.py: 510 pass, 13 fail, 70 skip, on both the untouched base and this branch. The same 13 failing files are:test_appimage_player_build.py,test_bake_portability.py,test_cpm_discovery.py,test_crash_dialog.py,test_env_on.py,test_lift_cleanup_error.py,test_linux_preflight.py,test_make_game_cache.py,test_pipeline_tour.py,test_readback_late.py,test_vk_pgo.py,test_vram_budget_row.py,test_walk_key.py. No new failures.scripts/check_guide_screenshots.py: existing screenshot asset integrity passes.--review-sources --launcher-source /tmp/longshot-launcher-ui-source-68reports 148 source-drift matches against Launcheraacfe1cand the current game headers, including four settings-source matches. These are unchanged existing assets; freshness was not asserted and hashes were not reset.agent-browser-linux-x64: inspected the built page at widths 1440, 768, 390 and 320 in light and dark. No horizontal overflow or broken in-page links. Axe 4.12.1 at 1440 and 390 in both themes: 0 violations, 0 incomplete.git diff --check: passes.Not tested: the upcoming launcher runtime, game behavior, Windows/Steam Deck execution, or Safari/Firefox. This is website documentation and does not implement the launcher proposal. No game was built or launched.
Must be tested:
Existing publication-check blockers must be resolved before deployment. No game or Test Farm run is needed for this documentation change.
Risks
What could break: readers could mistake a proposal for a shipped feature. The opening preview notice identifies the upcoming launcher and its design mockups, and the Install entry also notes its preview status. Practical guidance about saves, shared-build updates and PC-wide privacy controls remains explicit. Local picture files, their source manifest and the guide must stay in sync and be checked against the eventual launcher release; captions explain the controls shown.
Turning it off: revert this documentation change.
Compatibility: nothing changes for saves, options, caches, renderer ABI, launcher behavior or builder tools. Existing guide links and source ownership are preserved.
Issues
See MagicBeanDev/LongshotLauncher#68
Related implementation: MagicBeanDev/LongshotLauncher#55 and MagicBeanDev/LongshotLauncher#59. This documentation does not close the redesign issue or claim those features have shipped.
Checklist
Everyone
type(scope): description) of the status line's type.main(e090cc48, fetched again before committing).python -I -B tests/run_all.pypasses (any failure that also fails onmainis named above).third_party/untouched (a new folder with aPROVENANCE.mdinstead).When it applies
Assisted-by:/Co-Authored-By:trailers.First website preview for this draft. These are screenshots of the documentation page, not a running redesigned launcher. The guide links to the design mockups in Launcher issue #68.
After: this PR @

e230d576, Launcher overview, 1440 × 1000, light.Full-page desktop light and dark (1440 px), and mobile light (390 px), at the same PR commit:



Install page, same 1440 px viewport and light theme. The existing launcher screenshots remain version-captioned examples.


Before: main @
e090cc48.After: this PR @
e230d576, with the Launcher sidebar item and section.Added the first-attempt screenshots to the main description: desktop overview, full-page light/dark and mobile guide, plus the Install before/after comparison. Validation results and existing baseline failures are recorded there. Keeping this PR WIP as requested; the guide explicitly labels Launcher #68 as a proposed redesign.
Updated the guide itself with eight inline design mockups from Launcher issue #68. Each has descriptive alt text, a design-preview caption and a full-size link; all images are served locally and preserved unchanged with source URLs and SHA-256 provenance.
After: this PR @
40e5af86. These screenshots show the illustrated website guide, not a released launcher.Validation repeated: build passes; all eight images load from local assets and match their original hashes; no horizontal overflow at 1440/768/390/320 in either theme; four axe audits report zero violations. Keyboard full-size image navigation works. Existing baseline failures remain unchanged. Keeping this PR WIP.
Updated the main post for
40e5af86: the guide now contains eight captioned mockups with local full-size links, and the main-post screenshots show the illustrated version. Recorded repeated validation and retained the WIP status.Updated the guide with direct player instructions and captions that explain each screen. One opening preview notice identifies the upcoming launcher; save, update and privacy guidance remains explicit. The development-status section is now useful help links.
Current screenshots at
cb983fce(the launcher pictures are design mockups). These replace the earlier guide screenshots in the main post.Full-page exports and updated Install entry
Website build passes. Layout and accessibility checks pass; existing website and game-free test failures are unchanged from the base. This remains WIP.
WIP: docs(website): add launcher UI preview under Get startedto WIP: docs(website): add illustrated launcher guide under Get startedReviewed at
cb983fce: good to go in from my side. It merges cleanly with main and with #768, it's self-contained, and the opening notice says the pictures are mockups of the upcoming launcher. I'll approve once it's out of WIP.Review drafted with Claude Code and checked by Jordan.
Preparing this for final review following Jordan’s feedback. Normalised the description checker’s Measurements and Must be tested sections; the guide, screenshots and recorded validation are unchanged at
cb983fce. This does not request deployment.WIP: docs(website): add illustrated launcher guide under Get startedto docs(website): add illustrated launcher guide under Get startedReviewed at
cb983fceand still the same head: approved. Drafted with Claude Code and checked by Jordan.View command line instructions
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