- Kills grant the hostile type's own `xp` (the roster sets XP-per-threat;
the curve lives in data/progression.json, 100 x n^2, capped at level 80)
- Each crossed level fires one `levelup` event: +3 hull / +2 shields with
a full heal, cyan burst + a distinct voice, and a kill-feed line — the
placeholder toughness the skill layer will subscribe to later
- Combat bar gains an XP row below the orbs (level, live gold fill,
banked / next cost; hidden when the snapshot carries no xp, so the
range bar keeps its old face)
- Kills show a gold "+N" reward floater; the level-up's SFX is the new
8th combat event (solar_flare_01)
- XpManager is pure and tested headless (node dev/xp.test.mjs); the
ledger saves as { level, xp } and old saves load fresh at level 0
- dev hooks (xp/grantXp), sfxcheck (range seven, main eight), shot
captures, and README all follow along
- Add Fx.releaseCraft() to settle a craft's pending white tintFlash
immediately on kill/destroy, so sprites never die mid-flash
- Add exported settleCraftTint() helper that resets tint mode and tint
to identity; call it on revive (EnemyShip), respawn, and reuse seams
- Guard restore callbacks against destroyed sprites with try/catch so a
half-restored craft can't leak white state
- Update combat screenshots
- Replace dot tracers with elongated glowing bolts (trail band + core streak + head bloom)
and a directional muzzle flare in both the range and main-game contexts.
- Add enemy impact reads: core flash, directional sparks along the travel vector,
cyan arc ripple on shield hits vs orange shards on hull hits, white craft hit-flash,
and a polished damage-number pop.
- Add player shield-sphere strike effect: full-sphere outline + bright arc centered on
the laser's incoming bearing, radial ripple, spark burst, and a shield-collapse cue
when shields break to hull.
- Add subtle world-camera shake on player hits, enemy kills, and shield-break while
keeping the HUD/combat bar perfectly still via the fx-ui camera split.
- Expose new visual knobs (bolt size/trail, muzzle, arc span, shake intensity) in
data/combat.json; fix Fx.update destroying ships on tintFlash expiry.
- Waves.js: pure wave runner (rolling/fixed) + CombatSystem.startWaves
for quest-step combat; named scripts (probe/skirmish/raid) ship in
combat.json, driven from the console until the quest hook lands
- EnemyTypes.js: named hostiles (raider/bomber) deep-merged onto the
base craft, with per-type textures preloaded via enemySheetList()
- Hostiles now materialize off-screen (camera edge + game.spawnLead)
and fly in on their chase AI instead of popping into view mid-fight
- Wave ships are run-owned: no self-respawn, kills feed rolling
replacements, and the combat bar stays up through the lead and gaps
- New `combat.html` + `/combat` dev-server route + `index.html?combat`
boot a fixed arena where the player ship fights a pack of enemy craft;
all tuning lives in `data/combat.json` (thrust, hulls, shields, lance,
rams, respawns).
- Add `js/combat/` modules: CombatScene, EnemyShip (standoff-ring AI +
lance), Bullet, Fx, StarDrift, and pure rules in Combat.js (armor
damage, orbit step) exercised by the new `dev/combat.test.mjs`.
- Extract shared `awaitFonts` into `js/utils/Fonts.js` so both the game
and sandbox boots use one copy.
- Preload the enemy spritesheet in GameScene so the texture is ready when
combat ships in; add `ships-enemy.png` (+ `.psd`) art.
- Expose `window.__COMBAT__` (reset, spawnEnemy, player, kills) for
devtools tuning; R resets the range, P freezes it.
Brian Fertig
Brian Fertig