chore(UI): signal leak epidemic — 114 connects vs 6 disconnects

[niyazmft]

Summary

A project-wide audit found 114 .connect() calls across .gd files and only 6 .disconnect() calls (all in EntityVisualProxy). Most UI nodes connect to signals in _ready() but never disconnect in _exit_tree(), causing dangling callbacks when nodes are freed.

Affected Files (non-autoload)

File	Connections	Disconnections
scripts/ui/settings_panel.gd	15+	0
scripts/ui/combat_hud.gd	2 (SafeZoneManager)	0
scripts/ui/remap_panel.gd	3	0
scripts/ui/settings_menu.gd	1	0
scripts/entities/burden_visuals.gd	1 (BurdenManager)	0

Autoloads (e.g., SafeZoneManager, ToastManager, BurdenShaderManager) are exempt — they live for the full session.

Impact

• Nodes removed from scene tree (menu transitions, room changes, pause/resume) leak signal callbacks
• If a connected autoload emits after the node is freed, Godot crashes (same class as bug(Godot): crash at shutdown due to dangling signal callback (TurnManager) #244)
• Memory bloat from accumulated dead connections

Suggested Fix

Add _exit_tree() to each affected file that disconnects its own signals. Use is_connected() guards:

func _exit_tree() -> void:
    if signal_name.is_connected(handler_name):
        signal_name.disconnect(handler_name)

Related

• bug(Godot): crash at shutdown due to dangling signal callback (TurnManager) #244 — same root cause (TurnManager signal leak causing CI crash)

Priority: P2 · Size: M · Status: Ready

[google-labs-jules]

Jules is on it. When finished, you will see another comment and be able to review a PR.

[google-labs-jules]

Ready for a review! A PR has been created.