diff --git a/ai_animation/src/config.ts b/ai_animation/src/config.ts
index 3ce42cd..b8125b7 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/config.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/config.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ export const config = {
   playbackSpeed: 500, 
   
   // Whether to enable debug mode (faster animations, more console logging)
-  isDebugMode: true,
+  isDebugMode: false,
   
   // Duration of unit movement animation in ms
   animationDuration: 1500,
diff --git a/ai_animation/src/logger.ts b/ai_animation/src/logger.ts
index 0c06810..faf2873 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/logger.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/logger.ts
@@ -9,14 +9,16 @@ class Logger {
     }
     return _panel
   }
+  
+  // Modified to only log to console without updating the info panel
   log = (msg: string) => {
     if (typeof msg !== "string") {
       throw new Error(`Logger messages must be strings, you passed a ${typeof msg}`)
     }
-    this.infoPanel.textContent = msg;
-
+    // Remove the update to infoPanel.textContent
     console.log(msg)
   }
+  
   // Updated function to update info panel with useful information and smooth transitions
   updateInfoPanel = () => {
     const totalPhases = gameState.gameData?.phases?.length || 0;
diff --git a/ai_animation/src/main.ts b/ai_animation/src/main.ts
index d43c28d..f472151 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/main.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/main.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,9 @@ function initScene() {
   // Load coordinate data, then build the map
   gameState.loadBoardState().then(() => {
     initMap(gameState.scene).then(() => {
+      // Update info panel with initial power information
+      logger.updateInfoPanel();
+      
       // Load default game file if in debug mode
       if (isDebugMode) {
         loadDefaultGameFile();
@@ -45,7 +48,8 @@ function initScene() {
     })
   }).catch(err => {
     console.error("Error loading coordinates:", err);
-    logger.log(`Error loading coords: ${err.message}`)
+    // Use console.error instead of logger.log to avoid updating the info panel
+    console.error(`Error loading coords: ${err.message}`);
   });
 
   // Handle resizing
@@ -55,7 +59,6 @@ function initScene() {
 
   // Initialize info panel
   logger.updateInfoPanel();
-
 }
 
 // --- ANIMATION LOOP ---
@@ -78,8 +81,12 @@ function animate() {
     );
 
     // If messages are done playing but we haven't started unit animations yet
+    // AND we're not currently speaking, create animations
     if (!gameState.messagesPlaying && !gameState.isSpeaking &&
       gameState.unitAnimations.length === 0 && gameState.isPlaying) {
+
+      console.log("Animation check: messages done, not speaking, no animations running");
+      
       if (gameState.gameData && gameState.gameData.phases) {
         // Get previous phase index
         const prevIndex = gameState.phaseIndex > 0 ?
@@ -197,10 +204,11 @@ function loadDefaultGameFile() {
     })
     .catch(error => {
       console.error("Error loading default game file:", error);
-      logger.log(`Error loading default game: ${error.message}`);
+      // Use console.error instead of logger.log to avoid updating the info panel
+      console.error(`Error loading default game: ${error.message}`);
 
-      // Fallback - tell user to drag & drop a file
-      logger.log('Please load a game file using the "Load Game" button.');
+      // Fallback - tell user to drag & drop a file but don't update the info panel
+      console.log('Please load a game file using the "Load Game" button.');
     });
 }
 
diff --git a/ai_animation/src/phase.ts b/ai_animation/src/phase.ts
index 0d6b688..ffd434d 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/phase.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/phase.ts
@@ -85,9 +85,11 @@ export function displayPhase(index, skipMessages = false) {
   const phaseBannerText = `Phase: ${currentPhase.name}`;
   addToNewsBanner(phaseBannerText);
   
-  // Update info panel with current phase details
+  // Log phase details to console only, don't update info panel with this
   const phaseInfo = `Phase: ${currentPhase.name}\nSCs: ${currentPhase.state?.centers ? JSON.stringify(currentPhase.state.centers) : 'None'}\nUnits: ${currentPhase.state?.units ? JSON.stringify(currentPhase.state.units) : 'None'}`;
-  logger.log(phaseInfo);
+  console.log(phaseInfo); // Use console.log instead of logger.log
+  
+  // Update info panel with power information
   logger.updateInfoPanel();
 
   // Show messages with animation or immediately based on skipMessages flag
@@ -129,6 +131,8 @@ export function displayPhaseWithAnimation(index) {
  * Handles speaking summaries and transitioning to the next phase
  */
 export function advanceToNextPhase() {
+  console.log("advanceToNextPhase called");
+  
   if (!gameState.gameData || !gameState.gameData.phases || gameState.phaseIndex < 0) {
     logger.log("Cannot advance phase: invalid game state");
     return;
@@ -140,6 +144,11 @@ export function advanceToNextPhase() {
   // Get current phase
   const currentPhase = gameState.gameData.phases[gameState.phaseIndex];
   
+  console.log(`Current phase: ${currentPhase.name}, Has summary: ${Boolean(currentPhase.summary)}`);
+  if (currentPhase.summary) {
+    console.log(`Summary preview: "${currentPhase.summary.substring(0, 50)}..."`);
+  }
+  
   if (config.isDebugMode) {
     console.log(`Processing phase transition for ${currentPhase.name}`);
   }
@@ -148,20 +157,24 @@ export function advanceToNextPhase() {
   if (currentPhase.summary && currentPhase.summary.trim() !== '') {
     // Update the news banner with full summary
     addToNewsBanner(`(${currentPhase.name}) ${currentPhase.summary}`);
+    console.log("Added summary to news banner, preparing to call speakSummary");
 
     // Speak the summary and advance after
     speakSummary(currentPhase.summary)
       .then(() => {
+        console.log("Speech completed successfully");
         if (gameState.isPlaying) {
           moveToNextPhase();
         }
       })
-      .catch(() => {
+      .catch((error) => {
+        console.error("Speech failed with error:", error);
         if (gameState.isPlaying) {
           moveToNextPhase();
         }
       });
   } else {
+    console.log("No summary available, skipping speech");
     // No summary to speak, advance immediately
     moveToNextPhase();
   }
diff --git a/ai_animation/src/speech.ts b/ai_animation/src/speech.ts
index 981b35f..4db2cbe 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/speech.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/speech.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,62 @@
 import { gameState } from "./gameState";
 
 // --- ElevenLabs Text-to-Speech configuration ---
-const ELEVENLABS_API_KEY = import.meta.env.VITE_ELEVENLABS_API_KEY || "";
+let ELEVENLABS_API_KEY = '';
+
+// Try to load from import.meta.env
+try {
+  // First check if we have the Vite-specific variable
+  if (import.meta.env.VITE_ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) {
+    ELEVENLABS_API_KEY = String(import.meta.env.VITE_ELEVENLABS_API_KEY).trim();
+    // Simplified logging
+  } 
+  // Fallback to the direct env variable (for dev environments)
+  else if (import.meta.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) {
+    ELEVENLABS_API_KEY = String(import.meta.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY).trim();
+  }
+
+
+  // Clean and validate the key
+  if (ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) {
+    // Remove any unexpected characters that might have been added
+    ELEVENLABS_API_KEY = ELEVENLABS_API_KEY.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_\-]/g, '');
+    console.log(`ElevenLabs API key: ${ELEVENLABS_API_KEY ? 'Valid' : 'Invalid'} (${ELEVENLABS_API_KEY.length} chars)`);
+  }
+} catch (err) {
+  console.error('Error loading API key:', err);
+}
+
 const VOICE_ID = "onwK4e9ZLuTAKqWW03F9";
 const MODEL_ID = "eleven_multilingual_v2";
 
+// Test the API key validity directly but don't log unless there's an issue
+testElevenLabsKey().catch(err => console.error("Key test failed:", err));
+
+async function testElevenLabsKey() {
+  if (!ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) {
+    console.warn("Cannot test API key - none provided");
+    return;
+  }
+  
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch('https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/voices', {
+      method: 'GET',
+      headers: {
+        'xi-api-key': ELEVENLABS_API_KEY
+      }
+    });
+    
+    if (response.ok) {
+      console.log("✅ ElevenLabs API key is valid and ready for TTS");
+    } else {
+      const errorText = await response.text().catch(() => 'No error details available');
+      console.error(`❌ ElevenLabs API key invalid: ${response.status}`);
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error("❌ ElevenLabs API connection error");
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Call ElevenLabs TTS to speak the summary out loud.
  * Returns a promise that resolves only after the audio finishes playing (or fails).
@@ -13,6 +65,27 @@ const MODEL_ID = "eleven_multilingual_v2";
  * @returns Promise that resolves when audio completes or rejects on error
  */
 export async function speakSummary(summaryText: string): Promise<void> {
+  if (!summaryText || summaryText.trim() === '') {
+    console.warn("No summary text provided to speakSummary function");
+    return;
+  }
+  
+  // Check if the summary is in JSON format and extract the actual summary text
+  let textToSpeak = summaryText;
+  try {
+    // Check if it starts with a JSON format indicator
+    if (summaryText.trim().startsWith('{') && summaryText.includes('"summary"')) {
+      const parsedSummary = JSON.parse(summaryText);
+      if (parsedSummary.summary) {
+        textToSpeak = parsedSummary.summary;
+        // clean text, drop /n
+        textToSpeak = textToSpeak.replace(/\n/g, ' ');
+      }
+    }
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.warn("Failed to parse summary as JSON");
+  }
+  
   if (!ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) {
     console.warn("No ElevenLabs API key found. Skipping TTS.");
     return;
@@ -23,29 +96,26 @@ export async function speakSummary(summaryText: string): Promise<void> {
 
   try {
     // Truncate text to first 100 characters for ElevenLabs
-    const truncatedText = summaryText.substring(0, 100);
-    if (truncatedText.length < summaryText.length) {
-      console.log(`TTS text truncated from ${summaryText.length} to 100 characters`);
-    }
-
+    const truncatedText = textToSpeak.substring(0, 100);
+    
     // Hit ElevenLabs TTS endpoint with the truncated text
+    const headers = {
+      "xi-api-key": ELEVENLABS_API_KEY,
+      "Content-Type": "application/json",
+      "Accept": "audio/mpeg"
+    };
+    
     const response = await fetch(`https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/${VOICE_ID}`, {
       method: "POST",
-      headers: {
-        "xi-api-key": ELEVENLABS_API_KEY,
-        "Content-Type": "application/json",
-        "Accept": "audio/mpeg"
-      },
+      headers: headers,
       body: JSON.stringify({
         text: truncatedText,
         model_id: MODEL_ID,
-        // Optional fine-tuning parameters
-        // voice_settings: { stability: 0.3, similarity_boost: 0.8 },
       })
     });
 
     if (!response.ok) {
-      throw new Error(`ElevenLabs TTS error: ${response.statusText}`);
+      throw new Error(`ElevenLabs TTS error: ${response.status}`);
     }
 
     // Convert response into a playable blob
@@ -62,7 +132,7 @@ export async function speakSummary(summaryText: string): Promise<void> {
           resolve();
         };
       }).catch(err => {
-        console.error("Audio playback error", err);
+        console.error("Audio playback error");
         // Make sure to clear the flag even if there's an error
         gameState.isSpeaking = false;
         reject(err);
@@ -70,7 +140,7 @@ export async function speakSummary(summaryText: string): Promise<void> {
     });
 
   } catch (err) {
-    console.error("Failed to generate TTS from ElevenLabs:", err);
+    console.error("Failed to generate TTS from ElevenLabs");
     // Make sure to clear the flag if there's any exception
     gameState.isSpeaking = false;
   }
diff --git a/ai_animation/src/types/gameState.ts b/ai_animation/src/types/gameState.ts
index 0398faf..98a126b 100644
--- a/ai_animation/src/types/gameState.ts
+++ b/ai_animation/src/types/gameState.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ const PhaseSchema = z.object({
     centers: z.record(PowerENUMSchema, z.array(ProvinceENUMSchema))
   }),
   year: z.number().optional(),
+  summary: z.string().optional(),
 });
 
 export const GameSchema = z.object({
diff --git a/ai_animation/vite.config.js b/ai_animation/vite.config.js
index 3cdc087..32355d9 100644
--- a/ai_animation/vite.config.js
+++ b/ai_animation/vite.config.js
@@ -1,9 +1,28 @@
 /** @type {import('vite').UserConfig} */
-export default {
-  "preview": {
-    "allowedHosts": ["diplomacy"]
-  },
-  "dev": {
-    "allowedHosts": ["diplomacy"]
-  }
-}
+import { defineConfig, loadEnv } from 'vite';
+
+export default defineConfig(({ mode }) => {
+  // Load environment variables
+  const env = loadEnv(mode, process.cwd(), '');
+  
+  console.log('Environment mode:', mode);
+  console.log('Environment variables loaded:', Object.keys(env).filter(key => key.startsWith('VITE_')));
+  
+  return {
+    // Define environment variables that should be available in the client
+    define: {
+      // Expose all VITE_ prefixed environment variables to the client
+      ...Object.keys(env).filter(key => key.startsWith('VITE_')).reduce((acc, key) => {
+        acc[`import.meta.env.${key}`] = JSON.stringify(env[key]);
+        return acc;
+      }, {})
+    },
+    // Server configuration
+    "preview": {
+      "allowedHosts": ["diplomacy"]
+    },
+    "dev": {
+      "allowedHosts": ["diplomacy"]
+    }
+  };
+});