fix(health): detect and close CENTRED panels — Chronicle blocked every template match

Bug 31 fixed the keypress that opened CHRONICLE but explicitly left the real
gap open: the panel guard matches only LeftPanel / RightPanel, and a centred
panel matches neither. Nothing closed it, and a centred panel blanks EVERY
later template search.

Recurred 2026-08-28 with the merc key never pressed at all
(resurrect_merc | skip | merc alive), so something else opened it and it simply
stayed. The error screenshot shows Chronicle filling the screen while the bot
hunted A5_RED_PORTAL for 66s:

    Traverse from a5_larzuk to a5_nihlathak_portal
    Wanted to select A5_RED_PORTAL, but could not find it
    random guess towards (96, -115)
    Wanted to select A5_RED_PORTAL, but could not find it

Why the existing guard missed it, measured on that frame: the Chronicle's close
button scores 1.000 against CLOSE_PANEL_2 at (952, 56). That x IS inside
right_panel_header (830,0,455,56) — but the ROI is 56px tall and the button's
centre sits exactly at y=56, so the match falls outside. Both header ROIs
scored 0.409 and 0.373.

Adds a center_panel_header ROI (400,0,620,92) and a CenterPanel ScreenObject,
and escapes it WITHOUT counting toward a chicken — a centred panel is
self-inflicted UI state like the waypoint panel, and chickening on it throws
away a healthy game. Bounded by the same _MAX_WP_PANEL_ESCAPES so one that
genuinely will not close still falls through.

Verified on the failure frame: CenterPanel True, LeftPanel False, RightPanel
False.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

config/game.ini

@@ -130,6 +130,13 @@ corpse=459,195,414,213
 chat_icon=7,555,43,41
 left_panel_header=0,0,455,56
 right_panel_header=830,0,455,56
+; A CENTRED panel (Chronicle, and anything else that opens mid-screen) puts its
+; close button outside both header ROIs above — the Chronicle's X sits at
+; (952, 56), inside right_panel_header's x-range but exactly at its 56px height
+; boundary, so the match centre falls out. Nothing then closes it, and a
+; centred panel blanks every later template search: measured as a 66s
+; click_red_portal failure on 2026-08-28 (Bug 31's residual).
+center_panel_header=400,0,620,92
 npc_dialogue=456,0,30,150
 bind_skill=516,619,251,29
 quest_skill_btn=284,455,710,121

src/health_manager.py

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ class HealthManager:
         self._last_chicken_screenshot = None
         self._count_panel_detects = 0
         self._count_wp_panel_detects = 0
+        self._count_center_panel_detects = 0
 
     def stop_monitor(self):
         self._do_monitor = False
@@ -202,6 +203,27 @@ class HealthManager:
                                     self._last_merc_heal = time.time()
                     
 # Close any open panels that might block detection
+                    # A CENTRED panel (Chronicle) matches neither header ROI, so
+                    # nothing ever closed it — and a centred panel blanks every
+                    # later template search. Measured 2026-08-28: Chronicle open,
+                    # A5_RED_PORTAL unfindable, 66s approach failure. It is not a
+                    # threat, so escape it without counting toward a chicken,
+                    # bounded the same way as the waypoint panel.
+                    if not self.get_panel_check_paused() and is_visible(ScreenObjects.CenterPanel, img):
+                        self._count_center_panel_detects = getattr(self, "_count_center_panel_detects", 0) + 1
+                        if self._count_center_panel_detects <= self._MAX_WP_PANEL_ESCAPES:
+                            Logger.debug(
+                                f"Centred panel open (blocks all template matching) — closing it "
+                                f"({self._count_center_panel_detects}/{self._MAX_WP_PANEL_ESCAPES})"
+                            )
+                            from input_layer import keyboard as kb
+                            kb.send("esc")
+                            wait(0.1, 0.2)
+                            fn_end = time.perf_counter()
+                            wait(max(0.01, (1/15 - (fn_end - fn_start)) * random.uniform(0.8, 1.2)))
+                            continue
+                        Logger.warning("Centred panel would not close — treating as a blocking panel")
+
                     if not self.get_panel_check_paused() and (is_visible(ScreenObjects.LeftPanel, img) or is_visible(ScreenObjects.RightPanel, img)):
                         # A waypoint panel is self-inflicted: the pather walked the char
                         # over the WP stone. That is a navigation problem, not a threat,
@@ -237,6 +259,7 @@ class HealthManager:
                     else:
                         # Screen is clear, so any waypoint panel we escaped did close.
                         self._count_wp_panel_detects = 0
+                        self._count_center_panel_detects = 0
 
                     fn_end = time.perf_counter()
                     # Target ~15 FPS polling with anti-cheat jitter

src/ui_manager.py

@@ -225,6 +225,12 @@ class ScreenObjects:
         threshold=0.8,
         use_grayscale=True
     )
+    CenterPanel=ScreenObject(
+        ref=["CLOSE_PANEL_2", "CLOSE_PANEL"],
+        roi="center_panel_header",
+        threshold=0.8,
+        use_grayscale=True
+    )
     NPCDialogue=ScreenObject(
         ref="NPC_DIALOGUE",
         roi="npc_dialogue",

test/test_center_panel.py

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"""A centred panel must be detected and closed.
+
+Bug 31 fixed the merc-panel keypress that opened CHRONICLE, but noted the real
+gap was never closed: the health manager's guard matches only LeftPanel /
+RightPanel, and a centred panel matches neither. Nothing closes it, and a
+centred panel blanks EVERY later template search.
+
+Measured 2026-08-28: Chronicle open, A5_RED_PORTAL unfindable, 66s
+click_red_portal failure. The Chronicle's close button scores 1.000 against
+CLOSE_PANEL_2 at (952, 56) — inside right_panel_header's x-range but exactly at
+its 56px height boundary, so the match centre falls outside the ROI.
+"""
+import inspect
+
+
+def test_center_panel_screenobject_exists():
+    from ui_manager import ScreenObjects
+
+    assert hasattr(ScreenObjects, "CenterPanel"), "no detection for a centred panel"
+
+
+def test_center_panel_roi_covers_the_chronicle_close_button():
+    from config import Config
+
+    x, y, w, h = Config().ui_roi["center_panel_header"]
+    cx, cy = 952, 56          # measured Chronicle X position
+    assert x <= cx <= x + w, "ROI does not span the Chronicle close button in x"
+    assert y <= cy <= y + h, (
+        "ROI does not span it in y — this is exactly how right_panel_header "
+        "missed it, its 56px height ending at the button's centre"
+    )
+
+
+def test_guard_checks_center_panel_before_chickening():
+    """It must be escaped, not counted as a threat.
+
+    A centred panel is self-inflicted UI state, like the waypoint panel.
+    Chickening on it throws away a healthy game.
+    """
+    from health_manager import HealthManager
+
+    src = inspect.getsource(HealthManager)
+    assert "ScreenObjects.CenterPanel" in src, "guard never checks for a centred panel"
+    center_at = src.index("ScreenObjects.CenterPanel")
+    chicken_at = src.index("Chickening to be safe")
+    assert center_at < chicken_at, "centred-panel escape must come before the chicken path"