Deploy: pod-launch warns that --no-sound freezes bt/rp

--no-sound strips VWE_AWE32, the FAST (28Hz SOS) clock never ticks, and
BTL4OPT hangs forever in the RIO-reset busy-wait (L4RIO.cpp SetDTR loop on
a frozen Now()) -- looks exactly like a vRIO/serial failure but isn't.
Root-caused during the 2026-07-10 dist smoke test. Only safe with a
SLOW-clock conf (setenv arg2=s). Warn at launch + document in usage/README.

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

emulator/pod-launch/Options.cs

@@ -160,7 +160,9 @@ namespace VwePod
   --bridge-size w,h      main render window size (default 800,600)
   --dosbox-xy x,y        DOSBox window position + focus (default 10,10)
   --no-bridge            pod only, no GL render window
-  --no-sound             skip the ~4-min SoundFont upload
+  --no-sound             skip the ~4-min SoundFont upload. WARNING: no AWE32 =
+                         no SOS ticks; bt/rp FREEZE at RIO init on the default
+                         FAST-clock confs (only safe with a SLOW-clock conf)
   --mipmap               VRVIEW_MIPMAP=1 (RP floor shimmer fix; non-authentic)
   --no-focus             skip the window layout/focus pass
   --dry-run              resolve paths + print the launch plan, then exit");

emulator/pod-launch/Program.cs

@@ -93,6 +93,11 @@ namespace VwePod
                 Console.WriteLine($"pod PID {dosbox.Id}  conf={Path.GetFileName(opt.Conf)}  work={opt.Work}");
                 if (!opt.NoSound)
                     Console.WriteLine("sound ON: boot adds ~4 min for the SoundFont upload");
+                else
+                    Console.WriteLine(
+                        "WARNING: --no-sound removes the AWE32, and BT/RP's FAST SOS clock is\n" +
+                        "         sound-driven -- the game FREEZES at RIO init (Now() never ticks).\n" +
+                        "         Use only with a conf that selects the SLOW clock (setenv arg2=s).");
 
                 // ---- Render bridge (Dave's GL): also into the job. ----
                 if (!opt.NoBridge)

emulator/pod-launch/README.md

@@ -43,8 +43,7 @@ dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -p:PublishSingleFile=
 
 `pod-launch [mode] [options]` — the single installed entry-point. The product is
 installed once; the console activates features by the args it passes. The per-rig
-layout is fixed at `postinstall` time, so a typical call is just `pod-launch bt`
+layout is fixed at `postinstall` time, so a typical call is just `pod-launch bt`.
-(± `--no-sound`).
 
 ### Mode — the primary feature selector (positional, or `--mode <name>`)
 
@@ -65,7 +64,7 @@ see `../CAMERA-REVIEW-NOTES.md`. Default mode: `bt`.
 
 | Arg | Effect |
 |---|---|
-| `--no-sound` | skip the ~4-min AWE32 SoundFont upload (fast boot, no audio) |
+| `--no-sound` | skip the ~4-min AWE32 SoundFont upload — **freezes bt/rp**: no AWE32 = no SOS ticks, and the default confs use the FAST (SOS) clock, so BTL4 hangs in the RIO-reset busy-wait (`L4RIO.cpp` `SetDTR`/`Now()`; root-caused 2026-07-10). Only safe with a SLOW-clock conf (`setenv` arg2=`s`) |
 | `--mipmap` | mip-filter minified textures (fixes RP floor shimmer; non-authentic) |
 | `--layout cockpit\|explode` | `cockpit` = borderless VDB head windows (default); `explode` = 7-window debug |
 | `--no-bridge` | pod only, no GL render window |