- 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
- Replace vertical gauges with draining hull/shield/energy orbs
(hull with overlapping shield on the left, energy on the right).
- Share the main game's CombatBar in the combat range and add
range energy tracking with optional regen.
- Make gauge hit flashes shape-aware: circle orbs get a soft bloom,
rects keep the legacy white pulse.
- Update combat data and assets for the new orb-strip storyboard.
A shared readability layer (js/combat/CombatHud.js) for both combat
contexts — the training range and the main game's ?combat:
- Target/lock indicator: rotating brackets on the current target (the
auto-fire target — one rule, one target, js/combat/Combat.js#pickTarget).
- Threat cues: pulsing markers above each live hostile.
- Off-screen arrows: edge arrows toward hostiles outside the camera
(zoom-aware via a context-supplied worldToScreen).
- Kill feed: newest-first fading entries, top-right.
- Gauge flash: the combat bar's shields/hull gauge flashes on the hit
it took (CombatBar.gaugeRect feeds the shared CombatHud.flash).
Pure rules stay in Combat.js (pickTarget, feedPush, offscreenArrow),
covered by dev/combat.test.mjs. The main game re-anchors the pack
around the ship once its start position settles (CombatSystem
.resyncAroundShip + a short settle window in GameScene), so the demo
pack sits in auto-fire range instead of kilometers off.
All combat rules tests pass (0 failures); CDP-verified in both
/combat and index.html?combat.
- Add CombatSystem: owns the hostile pack, tracers, player armor/energy,
auto-fire (nearest-in-range), swept-hit collisions, rams, respawn — all
driven by data/combat.json `game.*` / `energy` sections
- Add CombatBar (Diablo 4 style): vertical shields + hull gauges on the
left, energy gauge on the right, eight skill seats (keys 1–8) in the
middle; shown in place of the action deck while combat is live
- `?combat` now boots the normal game with the pack spawning when the
player starts (mouse steers, cannon auto-fires); the standalone WASD
range remains at `/combat` / `combat.html`
- GameScene wires the system into its update loop, solid constraints, and
click-through gate; exposes `window.__ORBIT_COMBAT__` for DevTools
- Extend combat tests to cover CombatSystem lifecycle (spawn, auto-fire,
hits, rams, armor, respawn, cast stub, destroy)
Brian Fertig
Brian Fertig