diff --git a/.project/objectives/p1-22a-huge-map-ai-quality.md b/.project/objectives/p1-22a-huge-map-ai-quality.md
index a14119b7..67e50e14 100644
--- a/.project/objectives/p1-22a-huge-map-ai-quality.md
+++ b/.project/objectives/p1-22a-huge-map-ai-quality.md
@@ -172,10 +172,45 @@ improvement on top of that.
   (gate ≤4 close miss by 1), per-game tech counts P0=45 P1=30 P2=35 P3=30
   P4=14 in seed1 (vs 1/1/1/1/1 prior). All 5 personality clans now
   progress through eras independently. `decisive_rate ≥ 5/10` still 0/10
-  (games stop at wall-clock ~960s with `outcome=in_progress` — separate
-  infra signal cuts games off before natural victory; systemd unit
-  `Result=success` so it isn't a unit-level timeout). That's the
-  remaining work for next iterator.
+  on this batch (games stop at wall-clock ~960s with `outcome=in_progress`
+  — fetch was reading mid-run snapshots because `flatpak run` detaches
+  Godot into systemd user scopes and `autoplay-batch.sh`'s `wait`
+  returns while games are still alive — see next cycle).
+
+  **2026-05-16 cycle 4**: ROOT-CAUSED the apparent zero-victory regression.
+  `scripts/apricot-run.sh status` reported `complete` based solely on
+  `completion.marker` presence, but `bash tools/autoplay-batch.sh`
+  touches that marker after its parallel `wait` returns — and `wait`
+  returns when `flatpak run` exits (immediately, since flatpak
+  detaches Godot into a `systemd --user` scope), not when the actual
+  Godot games finish. FIX: status probe now also counts live
+  `godot --path .../<stamp>/...` processes; `state=running` until both
+  the marker is set AND zero matching procs remain. Commits
+  `b362039c9` + `f3187282d`. Plus a separate one-character bug in
+  `tools/checklist-report.py:360` reading `r.get("turn", 0)` where
+  `_collect` stores `"turns"` (plural) — always returned median 0.
+  Commit `b55943ba6`.
+
+  Result on batch `20260516_222844` (10 seeds, T=500, fresh apricot):
+  All quality gates PASS — median `winner_tier_peak=10`, median
+  `tier_peak_gap=3`, `max_peak_unit≥3 = 10/10`, `wonders≥1 = 10/10`,
+  median `total_combats = 80`. `decisive_rate = 5/10` so far (1 real
+  domination at T214, 4 score-fallback at T500). Remaining 5 seeds
+  still in late-game MCTS at T280-T387 — crawling at ~5-min/turn due
+  to state explosion (50+ units per side); will eventually
+  score-fallback at T500 raising the count to 10/10.
+
+  **Remaining gate failure**: `checklist-report.py ultimate_stress`
+  flags "only 1 distinct clan(s) won across 5 victories (['ironhold'])".
+  All 5 victories accrue to P0=ironhold because `auto_play.gd` only
+  impersonates the P0 slot (rush-buy gold, attack-phase commitment,
+  formation orders), giving that one clan a structural military
+  advantage the other 4 don't get. Research is now symmetric (fix #3
+  above) but strategic action selection still isn't. Next iterator
+  needs to either (a) move auto_play's strategic helpers into
+  `turn_processor.gd` so all 5 players get the boost, or (b) rotate
+  `AI_PIN_PERSONALITY_P0` across seeds so each clan gets equal
+  autoplay-shaped opportunity.
 - [x] Path A implemented: `MAX_PLAYERS` raised 4→5, `AbstractPlayerState`
   expanded to 72 bytes (was 64), `AbstractRolloutState` to 360 bytes (was 256).
   `force_rel[u16;5]`, `relations[i8;5]`, new padding fields `_pad_fr`/`_pad_rel`.