Enhance world simulation and API functionality; implement clock management improvements, ensure proper handling of world states during updates, and refine data persistence methods to prevent resurrecting deleted worlds.

src/TheLivingWorld.Api/Endpoints/WorldEndpoints.cs

@@ -51,12 +51,13 @@ public static class WorldEndpoints
     private static async Task<IResult> CreateWorld(
         CreateWorldRequest request,
         WorldGenerationService generation,
+        WorldSimulationHost simulation,
         CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
         try
         {
             var summary = await generation.StartAsync(request, cancellationToken);
-            return Results.Created($"/api/worlds/{summary.Id}", summary with { LastTickedAt = null });
+            return Results.Created($"/api/worlds/{summary.Id}", simulation.Overlay(summary));
         }
         catch (ArgumentException ex)
         {

src/TheLivingWorld.Api/Simulation/WorldSimulation.cs

@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ namespace TheLivingWorld.Api.Simulation;
 /// </summary>
 public sealed class WorldSimulation : IDisposable
 {
-    private static readonly ClockSystem ClockSystem = new();
-
     private readonly object _gate = new();
     private readonly World _ecs;
     private readonly Entity _clockEntity;
@@ -85,10 +83,11 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulation : IDisposable
 
             if (realElapsed > TimeSpan.Zero)
             {
-                var before = SnapshotClockUnlocked();
+                // Compare raw ticks: this runs at 10 Hz per world, so snapshotting DTOs just to diff would
+                // allocate for nothing.
+                var before = _ecs.Get<GameClock>(_clockEntity).Ticks;
                 ClockSystem.Execute(_ecs, realElapsed);
-                var after = SnapshotClockUnlocked();
-                if (after.GameTime != before.GameTime) _dirty = true;
+                if (_ecs.Get<GameClock>(_clockEntity).Ticks != before) _dirty = true;
             }
 
             _lastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow;

src/TheLivingWorld.Api/Simulation/WorldSimulationHost.cs

@@ -24,14 +24,10 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
         ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(summary);
         if (summary.Status != WorldStatus.Ready) return;
 
-        _simulations.GetOrAdd(summary.Id, _ =>
-        {
-            var hydrated = EnsureClock(summary);
-            // Catch up only when we have a prior tick stamp (restart). Fresh Ready worlds start clean.
-            var catchUp = summary.Clock is not null && summary.LastTickedAt is not null;
+        // Catch up only when we have a prior tick stamp (restart). Fresh Ready worlds start clean.
+        var catchUp = summary.Clock is not null && summary.LastTickedAt is not null;
+        if (AttachCore(EnsureClock(summary), catchUp))
             logger.LogInformation("Attached simulation for world {Id}", summary.Id);
-            return WorldSimulation.Create(hydrated, catchUp);
-        });
     }
 
     /// <summary>Stops simulation for a world. Safe to call when the world was never attached.</summary>
@@ -47,6 +43,11 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
     public WorldClockDto? TryGetClock(string id) =>
         _simulations.TryGetValue(id, out var simulation) ? simulation.SnapshotClock() : null;
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The one projection from stored/in-flight state to what clients see: overlays the live clock when the
+    /// world is running and always drops <see cref="WorldSummaryDto.LastTickedAt"/>, which is storage-only.
+    /// Every endpoint that returns a summary must go through here.
+    /// </summary>
     public WorldSummaryDto Overlay(WorldSummaryDto summary) =>
         _simulations.TryGetValue(summary.Id, out var simulation)
             ? simulation.OverlayForApi(summary)
@@ -109,13 +110,22 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
 
     public override async Task StopAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
-        await PersistDirtyAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        // Let the tick loop finish first so the final write captures the very last game time, then persist
+        // with an uncancellable token: by the time shutdown reaches us the caller's token is usually already
+        // cancelled, and skipping this write would drop up to a full persist interval of play.
         await base.StopAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        await PersistDirtyAsync(CancellationToken.None, waitForGate: true).ConfigureAwait(false);
 
         foreach (var id in _simulations.Keys.ToArray())
             Detach(id);
+    }
 
+    // Not in StopAsync: a shutdown that hits its timeout returns from base.StopAsync with the tick loop still
+    // running, and disposing the gate underneath it would fault the service. The container disposes us last.
+    public override void Dispose()
+    {
         _persistGate.Dispose();
+        base.Dispose();
     }
 
     private async Task LoadReadyWorldsAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
@@ -160,11 +170,24 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
 
     private void AttachSeeded(WorldSummaryDto summary)
     {
-        _simulations.GetOrAdd(summary.Id, _ =>
-        {
+        if (AttachCore(summary, catchUp: false))
             logger.LogInformation("Attached simulation for world {Id} (hydrated, no catch-up)", summary.Id);
-            return WorldSimulation.Create(summary, catchUp: false);
-        });
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Registers a simulation for a world, returning false when one was already running. A losing racer must
+    /// be disposed explicitly: an Arch <c>World</c> lives in a static registry and is never reclaimed by the
+    /// GC, so dropping the instance would leak it for the lifetime of the process.
+    /// </summary>
+    private bool AttachCore(WorldSummaryDto summary, bool catchUp)
+    {
+        if (_simulations.ContainsKey(summary.Id)) return false;
+
+        var created = WorldSimulation.Create(summary, catchUp);
+        if (ReferenceEquals(_simulations.GetOrAdd(summary.Id, created), created)) return true;
+
+        created.Dispose();
+        return false;
     }
 
     private static WorldSummaryDto EnsureClock(WorldSummaryDto summary) =>
@@ -176,9 +199,15 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
                 LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
             };
 
-    private async Task PersistDirtyAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+    /// <param name="waitForGate">
+    /// False for the periodic pass - a persist already in flight is as good as ours. True on shutdown, where
+    /// the final write must not be skipped.
+    /// </param>
+    private async Task PersistDirtyAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken, bool waitForGate = false)
     {
-        if (!await _persistGate.WaitAsync(0, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false))
+        if (waitForGate)
+            await _persistGate.WaitAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+        else if (!await _persistGate.WaitAsync(0, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false))
             return;
 
         try
@@ -190,15 +219,24 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHost(
                 try
                 {
                     var existing = await store.GetSummaryAsync(simulation.WorldId, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
-                    if (existing is null || existing.Status != WorldStatus.Ready)
+                    if (existing is null)
+                    {
+                        // Deleted underneath us - stop burning ticks on a world that no longer exists.
+                        Detach(simulation.WorldId);
+                        continue;
+                    }
+
+                    if (existing.Status != WorldStatus.Ready)
                     {
                         simulation.ClearDirty();
                         continue;
                     }
 
                     var updated = simulation.ApplyTo(existing);
-                    await store.SaveSummaryAsync(updated, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
-                    simulation.ClearDirty();
+                    if (await store.TryUpdateSummaryAsync(updated, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false))
+                        simulation.ClearDirty();
+                    else
+                        Detach(simulation.WorldId);
                 }
                 catch (Exception ex)
                 {

src/TheLivingWorld.Api/Storage/WorldStore.cs

@@ -89,6 +89,28 @@ public sealed class WorldStore(IOptions<WorldStorageOptions> options, ILogger<Wo
         await WriteJsonAsync(Path.Combine(directory, StateFileName), summary, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Updates an existing world's state file without ever creating its folder. Returns false when the world
+    /// was deleted underneath the caller, so a background writer cannot resurrect it as a stateful husk with
+    /// no map behind it.
+    /// </summary>
+    public async Task<bool> TryUpdateSummaryAsync(
+        WorldSummaryDto summary,
+        CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+    {
+        var path = Path.Combine(WorldDirectory(summary.Id), StateFileName);
+
+        try
+        {
+            await WriteJsonAsync(path, summary, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (DirectoryNotFoundException)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     public async Task<WorldDto?> GetWorldAsync(string id, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
     {
         var path = Path.Combine(WorldDirectory(id), IndexFileName);
@@ -148,13 +170,33 @@ public sealed class WorldStore(IOptions<WorldStorageOptions> options, ILogger<Wo
 
     private static async Task WriteJsonAsync<T>(string path, T value, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
     {
-        // Write beside the target and swap, so a reader never sees a half-written file.
-        var temporary = path + ".tmp";
-        await using (var stream = File.Create(temporary))
-        {
-            await JsonSerializer.SerializeAsync(stream, value, MapJson.Options, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
-        }
+        // Write beside the target and swap, so a reader never sees a half-written file. The name carries
+        // entropy: state.json now has two writers (generation and the simulation host) that must not
+        // collide on a shared scratch file.
+        var temporary = $"{path}.{Guid.NewGuid():n}.tmp";
 
-        File.Move(temporary, path, overwrite: true);
+        try
+        {
+            await using (var stream = File.Create(temporary))
+            {
+                await JsonSerializer.SerializeAsync(stream, value, MapJson.Options, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);
+            }
+
+            File.Move(temporary, path, overwrite: true);
+        }
+        catch
+        {
+            // A unique name never gets reclaimed by the next write, so clean up after ourselves.
+            try
+            {
+                File.Delete(temporary);
+            }
+            catch (IOException)
+            {
+                // Best effort - the original failure is what matters.
+            }
+
+            throw;
+        }
     }
 }

src/TheLivingWorld.Core/Simulation/ClockSystem.cs

@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@ using TheLivingWorld.Core.Ecs;
 namespace TheLivingWorld.Core.Simulation;
 
 /// <summary>Advances every <see cref="GameClock"/> entity by wall-clock elapsed time.</summary>
-public sealed class ClockSystem
+public static class ClockSystem
 {
     private static readonly QueryDescription Clocks = new QueryDescription().WithAll<GameClock>();
 
-    public void Execute(World ecs, TimeSpan realElapsed)
+    public static void Execute(World ecs, TimeSpan realElapsed)
     {
         if (realElapsed <= TimeSpan.Zero) return;
 

src/TheLivingWorld.Core/Simulation/GameTime.cs

@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ public static class GameTime
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Advances a naive game calendar by wall-clock elapsed time. Returns <paramref name="current"/> unchanged
-    /// when paused or when elapsed is non-positive.
+    /// when paused or when elapsed is non-positive; saturates at <see cref="DateTime.MaxValue"/> rather than
+    /// throwing, so a world started near the end of the calendar cannot fault its tick loop.
     /// </summary>
     public static DateTime Advance(DateTime current, TimeSpan realElapsed, int timeScale, bool paused)
     {
@@ -22,7 +23,14 @@ public static class GameTime
         var scale = Math.Clamp(timeScale, MinTimeScale, MaxTimeScale);
         // 1 real second → 5 * scale game minutes. Multiply by 60 (minutes→seconds) in tick space,
         // keeping the product in range for multi-hour catch-up gaps.
-        var gameTicks = checked(realElapsed.Ticks * GameMinutesPerRealSecond * scale * 60);
+        var factor = (long)GameMinutesPerRealSecond * scale * 60;
+        var headroom = (DateTime.MaxValue - current).Ticks;
+
+        // Compare before multiplying: the product itself would overflow on an absurd gap.
+        var gameTicks = realElapsed.Ticks > headroom / factor
+            ? headroom
+            : realElapsed.Ticks * factor;
+
         return current.AddTicks(gameTicks);
     }
 

src/TheLivingWorld.Web/src/ui/gameTime.test.ts

@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@ describe('parseGameTime', () => {
     expect(parseGameTime('')).toBeNull();
     expect(parseGameTime('not-a-date')).toBeNull();
   });
+
+  it('rejects out-of-range components instead of rolling them over', () => {
+    expect(parseGameTime('2012-04-12T06:00:60')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseGameTime('2012-04-12T06:60:00')).toBeNull();
+    expect(parseGameTime('2012-02-30T06:00:00')).toBeNull();
+  });
 });
 
 describe('formatGameTime', () => {
@@ -65,6 +71,27 @@ describe('interpolateGameTime', () => {
     expect(date).not.toBeNull();
     expect(formatGameTime(date!)).toBe('12 April 2012 · 06:10');
   });
+
+  it('clamps timeScale the way the server does', () => {
+    const tooFast = interpolateGameTime(
+      { gameTime: '2012-04-12T06:00:00', timeScale: 99, paused: false },
+      1000,
+    );
+    expect(formatGameTime(tooFast!)).toBe('12 April 2012 · 06:20');
+
+    const tooSlow = interpolateGameTime(
+      { gameTime: '2012-04-12T06:00:00', timeScale: 0, paused: false },
+      1000,
+    );
+    expect(formatGameTime(tooSlow!)).toBe('12 April 2012 · 06:05');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('startGameTimeFromInput', () => {
+  it('rejects out-of-range components', () => {
+    expect(startGameTimeFromInput('2012-04-12T06:60')).toBeNull();
+    expect(startGameTimeFromInput('2012-04-12T06:00:60')).toBeNull();
+  });
 });
 
 describe('startGameTimeFromInput', () => {

src/TheLivingWorld.Web/src/ui/gameTime.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ import type { WorldClock } from '../api/types';
 /** Matches server GameTime: five game minutes per real second at x1. */
 export const GAME_MINUTES_PER_REAL_SECOND = 5;
 
+/** Mirrors GameTime.MinTimeScale / MaxTimeScale, which the server clamps to. */
+export const MIN_TIME_SCALE = 1;
+export const MAX_TIME_SCALE = 4;
+
 const MONTHS = [
   'January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June',
   'July', 'August', 'September', 'October', 'November', 'December',
@@ -30,6 +34,7 @@ export function parseGameTime(raw: string): Date | null {
     || date.getDate() !== day
     || date.getHours() !== hour
     || date.getMinutes() !== minute
+    || date.getSeconds() !== second
   ) {
     return null;
   }
@@ -64,7 +69,10 @@ export function interpolateGameTime(
   if (!base) return null;
   if (clock.paused || elapsedRealMs <= 0) return base;
 
-  const scale = Number.isFinite(clock.timeScale) ? clock.timeScale : 1;
+  // Clamp like the server does, so a contract drift cannot make the client draw a time nobody is simulating.
+  const scale = Number.isFinite(clock.timeScale)
+    ? Math.min(Math.max(clock.timeScale, MIN_TIME_SCALE), MAX_TIME_SCALE)
+    : MIN_TIME_SCALE;
   const gameMs = (elapsedRealMs / 1000) * GAME_MINUTES_PER_REAL_SECOND * scale * 60_000;
   return new Date(base.getTime() + gameMs);
 }
@@ -97,6 +105,7 @@ export function startGameTimeFromInput(raw: string): string | null {
     || date.getDate() !== day
     || date.getHours() !== hour
     || date.getMinutes() !== minute
+    || date.getSeconds() !== second
   ) {
     return null;
   }

tests/TheLivingWorld.Tests/GameTimeTests.cs

@@ -71,7 +71,31 @@ public sealed class GameTimeTests
     [Fact]
     public void ResolveStart_rejects_out_of_range_years()
     {
+        // Year 10000 cannot even be constructed, so this has to sit just past the accepted range to
+        // actually exercise ResolveStart.
         Assert.Throws<ArgumentOutOfRangeException>(() =>
-            GameTime.ResolveStart(new DateTime(10000, 1, 1)));
+            GameTime.ResolveStart(new DateTime(9999, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Unspecified)));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Advance_saturates_instead_of_running_off_the_end_of_the_calendar()
+    {
+        var nearTheEnd = new DateTime(9998, 12, 31, 23, 0, 0, DateTimeKind.Unspecified);
+
+        // A day of real time at x4 is roughly 16 game years - far past DateTime.MaxValue from here.
+        var next = GameTime.Advance(nearTheEnd, TimeSpan.FromDays(1), timeScale: 4, paused: false);
+
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MaxValue, next);
+        // Already saturated: the next tick must stay put rather than throw.
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MaxValue, GameTime.Advance(next, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1), 1, paused: false));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Advance_survives_an_absurd_wall_clock_gap()
+    {
+        // The naive product realElapsed.Ticks * 1200 overflows a long well before TimeSpan.MaxValue.
+        var next = GameTime.Advance(GameTime.DefaultStart, TimeSpan.MaxValue, timeScale: 4, paused: false);
+
+        Assert.Equal(DateTime.MaxValue, next);
     }
 }

tests/TheLivingWorld.Tests/WorldSimulationHostTests.cs

@@ -22,51 +22,69 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHostTests : IDisposable
     }
 
     [Fact]
-    public async Task Attach_hydrates_legacy_worlds_without_catch_up_from_created_at()
+    public async Task Startup_seeds_legacy_worlds_without_catching_up_from_created_at()
     {
-        var legacy = new WorldSummaryDto
+        var legacy = Summary("legacy-11111111", "Legacy") with
         {
-            Id = "legacy-11111111",
-            Name = "Legacy",
-            Latitude = 31.9,
-            Longitude = -100.5,
-            SizeMeters = 10_000,
-            Status = WorldStatus.Ready,
             CreatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow - TimeSpan.FromDays(30),
+            Clock = null,
+            LastTickedAt = null,
         };
         await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(legacy);
 
-        // Mimic host startup hydration for worlds that lack a clock.
-        var seeded = legacy with
+        await _host.StartAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+        try
         {
-            Clock = WorldSimulation.DefaultClock(),
-            LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
-        };
-        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(seeded);
-        _host.Attach(seeded with { LastTickedAt = null }); // Attach without prior tick → no catch-up
+            var clock = await WaitForClockAsync(legacy.Id);
 
-        // Force attach path used for legacy: Create with catchUp false via AttachSeeded behaviour —
-        // Attach with LastTickedAt null means catchUp is false.
-        var clock = _host.TryGetClock(legacy.Id);
+            // Thirty days of catch-up would be centuries of game time; the seed must start at the default
+            // morning and only drift by the handful of real seconds this test takes.
+            Assert.InRange(clock.GameTime, GameTime.DefaultStart, GameTime.DefaultStart.AddHours(1));
+
+            var stored = await _store.GetSummaryAsync(legacy.Id);
+            Assert.NotNull(stored?.Clock);
+            Assert.NotNull(stored.LastTickedAt);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            await _host.StopAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Concurrent_attach_registers_exactly_one_simulation()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("racy-44444444", "Racy");
+
+        // Every loser of the GetOrAdd race owns an Arch world that must be disposed, not dropped.
+        Parallel.For(0, 32, _ => _host.Attach(summary));
+
+        Assert.True(_host.IsAttached(summary.Id));
+
+        var clock = _host.TryGetClock(summary.Id);
         Assert.NotNull(clock);
-        Assert.Equal(GameTime.DefaultStart, clock.GameTime);
+        Assert.InRange(clock.GameTime, GameTime.DefaultStart, GameTime.DefaultStart.AddMinutes(5));
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Attach_keeps_the_running_clock_when_called_again_with_a_stale_summary()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("stale-55555555", "Stale");
+        _host.Attach(summary);
+        _host.UpdateClock(summary.Id, new UpdateClockRequest { TimeScale = 4, Paused = true });
+
+        _host.Attach(summary);
+
+        var clock = _host.TryGetClock(summary.Id);
+        Assert.NotNull(clock);
+        Assert.Equal(4, clock.TimeScale);
+        Assert.True(clock.Paused);
     }
 
     [Fact]
     public async Task UpdateClock_changes_pause_and_Detach_stops_simulation()
     {
-        var summary = new WorldSummaryDto
-        {
-            Id = "ready-22222222",
-            Name = "Ready",
-            Latitude = 31.9,
-            Longitude = -100.5,
-            SizeMeters = 10_000,
-            Status = WorldStatus.Ready,
-            CreatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
-            Clock = WorldSimulation.DefaultClock(),
-            LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
-        };
+        var summary = Summary("ready-22222222", "Ready");
         await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary);
         _host.Attach(summary);
 
@@ -85,18 +103,7 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHostTests : IDisposable
     [Fact]
     public void Overlay_strips_last_ticked_at_for_api()
     {
-        var summary = new WorldSummaryDto
-        {
-            Id = "ready-33333333",
-            Name = "Ready",
-            Latitude = 31.9,
-            Longitude = -100.5,
-            SizeMeters = 10_000,
-            Status = WorldStatus.Ready,
-            CreatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
-            Clock = WorldSimulation.DefaultClock(),
-            LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
-        };
+        var summary = Summary("ready-33333333", "Ready");
         _host.Attach(summary);
 
         var overlaid = _host.Overlay(summary);
@@ -104,9 +111,74 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationHostTests : IDisposable
         Assert.Null(overlaid.LastTickedAt);
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void Overlay_strips_last_ticked_at_for_worlds_that_are_not_running()
+    {
+        var overlaid = _host.Overlay(Summary("pending-66666666", "Pending") with
+        {
+            Status = WorldStatus.Pending,
+        });
+
+        Assert.Null(overlaid.LastTickedAt);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// The tick loop must not recreate the folder of a world deleted underneath it - that would leave a
+    /// state-only husk that lists as Ready but has no map behind it.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Persisting_a_deleted_world_does_not_resurrect_it()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("doomed-77777777", "Doomed");
+        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary);
+        _host.Attach(summary);
+
+        // Dirty the clock, then delete the world the way the endpoint does not: storage only, still attached.
+        _host.UpdateClock(summary.Id, new UpdateClockRequest { TimeScale = 2 });
+        Assert.True(_store.Delete(summary.Id));
+
+        await _host.StartAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+        await _host.StopAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+        Assert.Null(await _store.GetSummaryAsync(summary.Id));
+        Assert.False(Directory.Exists(Path.Combine(_root, summary.Id)));
+        Assert.False(_host.IsAttached(summary.Id));
+    }
+
+    private async Task<WorldClockDto> WaitForClockAsync(string id)
+    {
+        for (var attempt = 0; attempt < 100; attempt++)
+        {
+            if (_host.TryGetClock(id) is { } clock) return clock;
+            await Task.Delay(50);
+        }
+
+        throw new TimeoutException($"Simulation for world '{id}' never attached.");
+    }
+
+    private static WorldSummaryDto Summary(string id, string name) => new()
+    {
+        Id = id,
+        Name = name,
+        Latitude = 31.9,
+        Longitude = -100.5,
+        SizeMeters = 10_000,
+        Status = WorldStatus.Ready,
+        CreatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
+        Clock = WorldSimulation.DefaultClock(),
+        LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
+    };
+
     public void Dispose()
     {
-        foreach (var id in new[] { "legacy-11111111", "ready-22222222", "ready-33333333" })
+        // Detach is a no-op for ids this test never attached, so one list covers every case.
+        string[] ids =
+        [
+            "legacy-11111111", "ready-22222222", "ready-33333333",
+            "racy-44444444", "stale-55555555", "pending-66666666", "doomed-77777777",
+        ];
+
+        foreach (var id in ids)
             _host.Detach(id);
 
         if (Directory.Exists(_root)) Directory.Delete(_root, recursive: true);

tests/TheLivingWorld.Tests/WorldSimulationTests.cs

@@ -80,6 +80,25 @@ public sealed class WorldSimulationTests
             GameTime.DefaultStart.AddMinutes(17));
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void Catch_up_skips_a_world_that_was_paused_when_the_host_went_down()
+    {
+        var summary = ReadySummary() with
+        {
+            Clock = WorldSimulation.DefaultClock() with { Paused = true },
+            LastTickedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow - TimeSpan.FromHours(6),
+        };
+
+        using var simulation = WorldSimulation.Create(summary, catchUp: true);
+
+        Assert.Equal(GameTime.DefaultStart, simulation.SnapshotClock().GameTime);
+
+        // Unpausing must not replay the six hours spent paused offline either.
+        var resumed = simulation.Update(new UpdateClockRequest { Paused = false });
+        Assert.False(resumed.Paused);
+        Assert.InRange(resumed.GameTime, GameTime.DefaultStart, GameTime.DefaultStart.AddMinutes(5));
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void OverlayForApi_strips_last_ticked_at()
     {

tests/TheLivingWorld.Tests/WorldStoreTests.cs

@@ -47,6 +47,39 @@ public sealed class WorldStoreTests : IDisposable
         Assert.Equal(1, await _store.CountAsync());
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task TryUpdateSummaryAsync_writes_over_an_existing_state_file()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("alpha-11111111", "Alpha");
+        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary);
+
+        Assert.True(await _store.TryUpdateSummaryAsync(summary with { Name = "Renamed" }));
+        Assert.Equal("Renamed", (await _store.GetSummaryAsync(summary.Id))?.Name);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task TryUpdateSummaryAsync_refuses_to_recreate_a_deleted_world()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("alpha-11111111", "Alpha");
+        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary);
+        Assert.True(_store.Delete(summary.Id));
+
+        Assert.False(await _store.TryUpdateSummaryAsync(summary));
+        Assert.False(Directory.Exists(Path.Combine(_root, summary.Id)));
+        Assert.Equal(0, await _store.CountAsync());
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task SaveSummaryAsync_leaves_no_scratch_files_behind()
+    {
+        var summary = Summary("alpha-11111111", "Alpha");
+        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary);
+        await _store.SaveSummaryAsync(summary with { Name = "Alpha again" });
+
+        var files = Directory.GetFiles(Path.Combine(_root, summary.Id));
+        Assert.Equal(["state.json"], files.Select(static path => Path.GetFileName(path)).Order().ToArray()!);
+    }
+
     private static WorldSummaryDto Summary(string id, string name) => new()
     {
         Id = id,