| name | temporal-effects-engineering |
| description | Design, implement, and validate temporal DSP effects for LocusQ (delay/echo/feedback networks/looper/frippertronics-style layering) with realtime safety, deterministic behavior, and plugin-host automation fidelity. |
Title: Temporal Effects Engineering Skill
Document Type: Skill
Author: APC Codex
Created Date: 2026-03-01
Last Modified Date: 2026-03-01
Temporal Effects Engineering
Use this skill for time-domain effects such as delay, echo, loopers, feedback matrices, and frippertronics-style evolving layers.
Scope
- Delay/echo architectures (single, multi-tap, ping-pong, networked feedback).
- Looper and layered-repeat behavior with deterministic transport semantics.
- Frippertronics-style long feedback/evolution design with guardrails.
- Host automation, parameter smoothing, and recall-safe state contracts.
Workflow
- Lock temporal contract first.
- Define buffer ownership, max delay/loop length, and transport/tempo behavior.
- Design feedback safety model.
- Clamp gain, define saturation/protection, and set runaway prevention policy.
- Implement realtime-safe buffers and transitions.
- Preallocate memory and define zipper-free parameter transitions.
- Bind host/state semantics.
- Ensure deterministic automation behavior and session recall.
- Validate with stress and soak lanes.
- Verify latency, drift, runaway, click/zipper risk, and CPU bounds.
Realtime Rules
- No allocation, locks, or blocking I/O in
processBlock().
- All loop/delay writes and reads must be bounded and finite-safe.
- Feedback paths require explicit safety ceiling and deterministic fallback.
- Transport-dependent behavior must be deterministic for identical timeline input.
Cross-Skill Routing
- Pair with
spatial-audio-engineering when delay/loop behaviors interact with 3D routing paths.
- Pair with
skill_testing for harness-first evidence and replay-tier execution.
- Pair with
realtime-dimensional-visualization when visual feedback/loop state is a first-class UI output.
References
references/loop-feedback-contracts.mdreferences/qa-lanes.mdreferences/prompt-examples.md
Deliverables
- File-level change map with temporal-contract rationale.
- Validation status:
tested, partially tested, or not tested.
- Highest-risk unresolved behavior if any validation lane is skipped.
