2 files changed, 37 insertions, 50 deletions

diff --git a/CONTEXT.md b/CONTEXT.md
index bfb0d8e..5b96c33 100644
--- a/CONTEXT.md
+++ b/CONTEXT.md
@@ -294,31 +294,38 @@ vocabulary / decisions.
   alpha only. The through-wall pass uses `MATERIAL_VAR_IGNOREZ` (1 << 15)
   through `IMaterial::SetMaterialVarFlag` (slot 29); colours use
   `$color`/`$color2` (IMaterialVar slot 11, SetVecValue 3-float slot 11) and
-  `ColorModulate` (slot 28). Alpha uses `$alpha` (IMaterialVar slot 3,
-  SetFloatValue) and `MATERIAL_VAR_TRANSLUCENT` (1 << 21) when alpha < 255.
-  Shared materials are restored after each draw.
+  `ColorModulate` (slot 28). `$alpha` is set through IMaterialVar slot 3
+  (SetFloatValue). Shared materials are restored after each draw.
 - The GUI colour picker (`add_color_alpha`) has an alpha bar, checkerboard
   preview and `#RRGGBBAA` readout; plain `add_color` keeps the old opaque
   three-component behaviour. Chams colours are four ints (r, g, b, a).
-- Styles are built from `debug/debugtranslucentsinglecolor` (UnlitGeneric,
-  `$color`) and material flags:
-  0 Flat (solid + FLAT), 1 Wireframe (`debug/debugwireframe`), 2 Additive
-  (+ ADDITIVE), 3 Solid, 4 White (colour forced white), 5 Fullbright
-  (ADDITIVE|SELFILLUM, colour forced white so it reads as a white-hot glow
-  instead of matching Solid), 6 Glow outline
-  (solid plus a `debug/debugwireframe` contour pass drawn with ZNEARER
-  (1 << 10) and a brightened colour so the base cannot bury it).
+- **Alpha is stored but has no visual effect yet.** The usable model
+  materials are opaque: `debug/debugtranslucentsinglecolor` has no
+  `$translucent`, and toggling `MATERIAL_VAR_TRANSLUCENT` (1 << 21) or
+  rebuilding the state snapshot does not change the static shader combo.
+  `debug/debugtranslucentvertexcolor`/`debug/debughitbox` are translucent but
+  need vertex colours and render nothing on skinned models. A custom VMT with
+  `$model 1` + `$translucent 1` (or a white basetexture) is needed to make the
+  alpha control real.
+- Styles: 0 Flat (`debug/debugtranslucentsinglecolor` + FLAT), 1 Wireframe
+  (`debug/debugwireframe`), 2 Additive
+  (`debug/debugtranslucentmodelhulls`, whose VMT has `$additive 1` + `$color`;
+  the ADDITIVE flag on the solid material did nothing), 3 Solid, 4 White
+  (solid, colour forced white), 5 Fullbright (the additive material, colour
+  forced white, giving a white-hot glow), 6 Glow outline (solid plus a
+  `debug/debugwireframe` contour pass drawn with ZNEARER (1 << 10) and a
+  brightened colour so the base cannot bury it).
   `vgui/white` is vertex-colour based and has no `$model`/`$basetexture`, so it
   is never used for chams; `models/debug/debugwhite` is EP2-only and the old
   VGUI additive material was invisible on NPCs.
 - Style materials are preloaded from `outer_draw` (throttled) and cached; the
   render hook never calls FindMaterial itself. A missing style uses solid.
-- Viewmodels are collated by the engine as `RENDER_GROUP_VIEW_MODEL_OPAQUE`,
-  so an additive forced material can wash out against a bright sky or wall
-  (and the engine may not treat the draw as translucent). Additive styles on
-  the viewmodel therefore draw a faint translucent base (alpha/8) first, then
-  the additive pass, so the model keeps a silhouette on bright backgrounds
-  without becoming an opaque blob.
+  `FindMaterial` can return an unreferenced material, so each cached material
+  is addref'd (`IncrementReferenceCount`, IMaterial slot 12); without this the
+  engine warns "bad reference count 0 when being bound" and the material's
+  `$color`/`ColorModulate` changes are ignored.
+- Additive styles still wash out against a bright sky or wall (inherent to
+  additive blending).
 - Feature is off by default. Config sections: `[chams]` (active/bind),
   `[chams_hostile|neutral|friendly]` (`vis`, `vis_mat`, `vis_r/g/b/a`, `inv`,
   `inv_mat`, `inv_r/g/b/a`) and `[chams_vm]` (`on`, `mat`, `r/g/b/a`). The GUI
diff --git a/src/studio.cpp b/src/studio.cpp
index 086d213..cf145d1 100644
--- a/src/studio.cpp
+++ b/src/studio.cpp
@@ -199,20 +199,21 @@ ModelExecFn g_orig_model_exec = nullptr;
 ForceOverrideFn g_force_override = nullptr;
 void *g_style_mats[7] = {};
 
-void *viewmodel_material();
-
 const char *chams_material_name(int idx) {
   switch (idx) {
   case 1: return "debug/debugwireframe";
   case 2:
+  case 5: return "debug/debugtranslucentmodelhulls";
   case 3:
   case 4:
-  case 5:
   case 6:
   default: return "debug/debugtranslucentsinglecolor";
   }
 }
 
+// Never call FindMaterial here: this runs inside DrawModelExecute, where
+// loading a material can crash the material system. chams_preload fills the
+// cache from outer_draw instead.
 void *style_material(int idx) {
   if (idx < 0) idx = 0;
   if (idx > 6) idx = 6;
@@ -220,17 +221,7 @@ void *style_material(int idx) {
     return g_style_mats[idx];
   if (g_style_mats[3])
     return g_style_mats[3];
-  return viewmodel_material();
-}
-
-// Viewmodels need a model shader; vgui materials do not draw skinned models.
-void *viewmodel_material() {
-  if (g_style_mats[3])
-    return g_style_mats[3];
-  static void *mat = nullptr;
-  if (!mat)
-    mat = world_find_material("debug/debugtranslucentsinglecolor");
-  return mat;
+  return nullptr;
 }
 
 void chams_color(void *mat, float r, float g, float b) {
@@ -260,6 +251,7 @@ void chams_alpha(void *mat, float a) {
 void chams_apply(void *mat, bool ignorez, int style, bool force_white,
                  const int *rgb, bool znearer) {
   using FlagFn = void (*)(void *, int, bool);
+  bool additive = style == 2 || style == 5;
   float r = force_white ? 1.0f : (float)rgb[0] / 255.0f;
   float g = force_white ? 1.0f : (float)rgb[1] / 255.0f;
   float b = force_white ? 1.0f : (float)rgb[2] / 255.0f;
@@ -268,12 +260,12 @@ void chams_apply(void *mat, bool ignorez, int style, bool force_white,
   // 0 Flat, 1 Wireframe, 2 Additive, 3 Solid, 4 White, 5 Fullbright
   // (additive white glow), 6 Glow outline (solid base; the wireframe overlay
   // is a second draw with ZNEARER so its contour is not hidden by the base).
+  // Styles 2/5 use debug/debugtranslucentmodelhulls, whose VMT already has
+  // $additive; ADDITIVE on debugtranslucentsinglecolor did nothing.
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 15 /* IGNOREZ */, ignorez);
-  vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 21 /* TRANSLUCENT */, rgb[3] < 255);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 10 /* ZNEARER */, znearer);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 28 /* WIREFRAME */, style == 1);
-  vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 7 /* ADDITIVE */,
-                         style == 2 || style == 5);
+  vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 7 /* ADDITIVE */, additive);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 12 /* FLAT */, style == 0);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 6 /* SELFILLUM */, style == 5);
 }
@@ -281,7 +273,6 @@ void chams_apply(void *mat, bool ignorez, int style, bool force_white,
 void chams_reset(void *mat) {
   using FlagFn = void (*)(void *, int, bool);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 15, false);
-  vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 21, false);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 10, false);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 28, false);
   vfunc<FlagFn>(mat, 29)(mat, 1 << 7, false);
@@ -317,21 +308,6 @@ void hkdModelExecute(void *self, const void *state, const void *info,
             return false;
           bool white = style == 4 || style == 5;
           const int *use_rgb = rgb;
-          // Additive blending vanishes against bright backgrounds (sky,
-          // white walls, strong fog), which made the viewmodel disappear in
-          // some places. Lay down a faint translucent base so the first-person
-          // model keeps a silhouette on bright backgrounds without turning
-          // into an opaque blob; the additive pass still provides the glow.
-          if (is_vm && (style == 2 || style == 5) && rgb[3] > 0) {
-            int ba = rgb[3] / 8;
-            if (ba < 16)
-              ba = 16;
-            int drgb[4] = {rgb[0], rgb[1], rgb[2], ba};
-            chams_apply(mat, ignorez, 3, false, drgb, false);
-            g_force_override(self, mat, 0 /* OVERRIDE_NORMAL */);
-            g_orig_model_exec(self, state, info, bone);
-            chams_reset(mat);
-          }
           chams_apply(mat, ignorez, style, white, use_rgb, false);
           g_force_override(self, mat, 0 /* OVERRIDE_NORMAL */);
           g_orig_model_exec(self, state, info, bone);
@@ -391,6 +367,10 @@ void chams_preload() {
       continue;
     void *m = world_find_material(chams_material_name(i));
     if (m) {
+      // FindMaterial can hand back an unreferenced material; the engine warns
+      // ("bad reference count 0") and may reset its vars when it is bound.
+      using RefFn = void (*)(void *);
+      vfunc<RefFn>(m, 12)(m); // IMaterial::IncrementReferenceCount
       g_style_mats[i] = m;
       logf("chams: preloaded style %d %s = %p", i, chams_material_name(i), m);
     }