# Validation — 9 September 2026

## Passed

- Built native arm64 and x86_64 executables into one universal app, targeting
  macOS 14. Both slices compile successfully.
- App property list and ad-hoc code signature validate.
- The packaged ZIP extracts to another folder, its signature still validates,
  and its executable recognizes the isolated installation through the CLI.
  The DMG's internal checksum verifies successfully. All three release-file
  SHA-256 checksums verify. Archive inspection found no game, codec, runtime,
  save, or registry payloads.
- All 19 automated checks pass: unsafe archive paths, symlink imports,
  incorrect codec/runtime hashes, incomplete game data, concurrent launch
  protection, existing-installation preservation, private paths, and audio
  override behavior.
- Opened and visually inspected the graphical import screen on macOS. File
  selection buttons, ownership control, disabled-until-ready setup action,
  help/log links, and layout are present and legible.
- Ran a full new installation through the same backend used by the GUI,
  using the original installer 2.1 `h2pc_data.bin` and hash-verified MPSetup.exe.
  The runtime archives were supplied from a local test cache and independently
  re-verified by the installer. This does not count as a fresh network-download
  test of the curl path.
- Extracted DirectX libraries with the macOS-provided tar tool, initialized a
  new Wine prefix, registered native WMADMOD.DLL, and wrote the completion
  marker only after successful setup.
- Launched that separate installation using the new launcher executable.
  The game reached the main menu. The user confirmed menu music works.
  The log confirms native WMADMOD.DLL loading without the previous WMA error.
- The preexisting personal game installation and its saves were not replaced.
  Campaign gameplay and audio had already been confirmed in that installation.

## Limits of this validation

Tests used an Apple M4 Max with 64 GB RAM on macOS 26.6.2. The fresh test data
was placed inside the existing Halo app's previously user-approved Avast
File Shield exception. No new antivirus exception was created. This is not
evidence that setup works on a clean Mac without an exclusion.

The fresh installation's campaign, saved-game persistence, multiplayer,
controllers, Intel hardware, older macOS versions, and Developer ID signing/
notarization remain unverified. The native GUI used a fresh standard data
location for visual inspection; installation and launch used an explicit
isolated test data location through the documented CLI.

No public website deployment has occurred. The release is an unsigned,
not-notarized beta candidate. Broader testing should precede a general release.