- Introduce a NEUTRAL-ONLY encounter path: when escorts are live with zero hostiles, the combat seam now carries a `neutral` flag so the scene can swap to a dedicated neutral hum instead of the combat shuffle.
- Fire two new pilot comms once per neutral encounter — `neutralScan` (pilot on screen) and `neutralScanComplete` (first pilot break-off) — via a new `onComm` seam in CombatSystem; hostile-only beats stay silent during neutral encounters.
- Add `neutral` music context to data/music.json with its own shuffle playlist, load it in GameScene, and resume the correct context on wake.
- Ship a `?neutral` dev boot (two pilots, 8 s escort window) for testing the full beat at home, plus tests covering the comm seam, mixed→neutral re-resolution, and data validation.
- Pass `wordWrap` as `{ width, useAdvancedWrap }` instead of a bare number; Phaser 4 ignores the Phaser 3 shape so description copy was running off the panel.
- Add dev-only CDP probe (`dev/jobboard-wrap-*`) that boots to the Job Board, selects a posting, and dumps text-object geometry + overflow vs the panel's right edge.
- Commit captured probe artifacts (`dev/shots/jb-wrap.{png,json}`) as a regression reference.
- Add neutral ally assets: music, attack/scan/scan-complete speech lines, and pilot video.
- Board postings now derive from (seed, system, world key) so two worlds in one system stand different boards; count range drops to 1–3 per world
- Posting ids gain a world segment (`sq-<sys>-<world>-<cat>-<slot>`); add `parseSideQuestId` and use it for scene lookups and claim reward reads
- `allSideQuestJobIds` now builds the job space from each system's surface worlds (planets + free-space stations) via `galaxy.ensureContent`; old per-system ids no longer stand, so in-flight contracts in pre-per-world saves drop on load (documented Path A trade)
- Surface scene passes its world name/isStation through to postings, accept, and activate; window copy updated to say "world" not "system"
- Tests updated for the new signature, per-world determinism, id parsing, and job-space guards
- Deck-locks the explore action until the 'Special Delivery' story quest is granted, reading the same shared QuestState ledger as the trade unlock so loaded saves see consistent state.
- Adds `_exploreUnlocked()` and `_syncExploreLock()` helpers; re-syncs on quest claim so granting the quest lifts the gate live.
- Refuses direct presses with a console note when the story gate is still closed.
- The last escort leaving the screen (encounter over without a kill) now calls `_setActive()`, which flips `active` to false and emits `onActiveChange`.
- Previously only kills triggered the flip, so GameScene's deck/soundtrack swap (`_setCombatBar`) never ran on a break-off ending.
- Add a test asserting the `true→false` active flip when the last escort is culled off-screen.
- New EncounterDirector (js/combat/Encounters.js): pure, data-driven clock that rolls pirate / neutral / mixed encounters in neutral non-home systems on a ~45–90s interval at 50–60% chance, one at a time with a 30–60s cooldown, never during a live wave run or on a downed player.
- Neutral ally ships (js/combat/NeutralShip.js) on spritesheet frames 20–27: escort the player for a per-ship 10–15s window, engage the nearest pirate in mixed fights, then break off and fly off-screen; player-safe by construction (never targeted or damaged by ally bolts/seekers).
- Pirate targeting generalized so hostiles can draw aggro onto escorts when the player is out of range; escort and pirate bolts/missiles collide with each other but not the player.
- Group size scales with combat level (1–2 low → 4–5 high, bands in data/combat.json); encounter hostiles are one-shots so the fight ends when the sky clears.
- New 'volley' weapon pattern (wide staggered-speed fan) and owner-tagged bolts/missiles for ally vs enemy routing in Weapons.js.
- Neutral roster config + encounters section added to data/combat.json; EnemyTypes gains neutralTypeConfig/Ids/SheetList.
- Tests: dev/encounters.test.mjs (cadence, gate, weights, size bands), dev/neutral.test.mjs (roster, escort AI, targeting, no friendly fire), plus combat/xp test updates; CDP probes and encounter-hud-check for in-browser HUD verification.
- Replace ships-enemy.png with revised artwork
- Update the corresponding Photoshop source (ships-enemy.psd)
- Add original reference image under assets/images/originals/
- Locked gates (neutral → faction, below minLevel) now render their
swirling center in the controlling faction's hue as an in-world
"that gate belongs to someone" tell, complementing the comm window's
grayed REQUEST JUMP and lock message.
- JumpGate.setFactionTint tints the active swirl (setTint) or recolors
the procedural fallback field discs; null clears back to the ordinary
swirl. Falsy-but-valid hues (e.g. 0x000000) are not treated as clear.
- GameScene.gateFactionTintFor resolves the destination faction's color;
_refreshGateFactionTints re-resolves all gates at build, once the XP
ledger exists (save may have already lifted the lock), and on each
level-up event to clear tints as the lock lifts.
- Test harness extended with setTint/setFillStyle mocks; new checks cover
tint apply/clear/falsy-hue on the sprite path and field-disc recolor
+ restore on the fallback path.
- New `factionGateLocked` pure rule in JumpTravel.js: a gate from a neutral system into a faction-controlled one is locked while the player's combat level is below `minLevel`; gates from faction space and neutral→neutral hops are never locked
- Config section `gates.jump.factionLock` (enabled switch, minLevel 5, panel message) in data/gates.json
- Gate comm window shows the lock message in place of the LINK line and grays out REQUEST JUMP; case widens to fit the two-line message
- `jumpThroughGate` adds a flat denial toast on top as defense in depth
- Tests cover the rule's branches (neutral/faction/unknown dest, missing level, enabled switch, custom minLevel) and assert the shipped galaxy has locked gates at level 0 that all open at level 5
- Raiders now roll an attack comm on-screen (50%) or on rolling-wave arrival (20%), and a defeat comm on kill (20%), driven by per-type config in combat.json
- New bounty-attack comm fires when the wanted leader's fight stands up in GameScene._fireBountyEngagements
- Ship 12 pirate speech clips, 3 enemy video clips, and register three new senders (pirate, pirate_defeat, pirate_bounty) in comms.json
- Wire onComm seam through CombatSystem so the scene can arm CommsHub triggers; rolls are no-ops when the seam is absent
- Add combat, bounty-hunt, and comms test coverage for the new roll logic, trigger arming, asset presence, and roster count
- Introduce `music.combat` playlist (same shuffled contract as `game`) with its own per-context volume override (`volumes.combat`).
- Add `GameScene.setCombatMusic(active)` wired to the `_setCombatBar` seam: combat live stops the deep-space shuffle and starts the combat one; combat over swaps back unless the scene is asleep on a world's surface.
- Track sleep/wake with `_asleep` so the wake handler resumes the correct context (combat if still active, otherwise deep-space).
- Generalize `startMusicShuffleOn` to take a `context` parameter for independent volume resolution.
- Update preload to queue combat tracks under their derived keys and extend tests for combat shuffle, context swap, re-fire, asleep behavior, and data contract.
- Include the quest's complete bit in the tracker row fingerprint so a later frame that only flips `complete` (with no check change) still triggers a repaint to READY.
- Update bounty-hunt and quest-tracker tests to pin the ordering: all legs checked while contract is still out, then COMPLETE landing on a subsequent frame with checks unchanged.
- Add station surface music tracks for spacestation variants 0 and 1 in data/music.json.
- Enable the `bounty` category in data/sidequests.json with level-2 gate,
Neutral-only contexts, encounter chain odds, and 20 written leader dossiers
- Add pure bounty model to SideQuests.js: plan derivation, wave scripts, XP,
sequential waypoint rule, and completion only via the mark's kill
- Extend combat seam (Waves/CombatSystem/EnemyShip) for a named elite unit
deployed with the opening group at scaled hull/damage, plus haltWaves() so
killing the mark stops deployments while survivors stay hostile
- Wire GameScene/SurfaceScene/JobBoardWindow for locked rows, dossier readout,
sequential check-ins, engagement chain, and single idempotent claim
- Add dev/bounty-hunts.test.mjs (591 checks) and in-browser probe with JSON/PNG
evidence; update patrol/sidequests tests for the new live category
- New hostiles frames 1–7 (bomber → warden) with distinct stats and
monotonic difficulty ramp in data/combat.json
- Shared js/combat/Weapons.js dispatch for lance, spray, burst, rapid,
ring, missile, and combo patterns used by both combat contexts
- New dodgeable heat-seeking Missile (capped turn-rate homing) plus pure
geometry helpers in Combat.js
- Rewire ?combat boot to startWaves('combat_demo'): 7 rolling waves, one
type each, 6 ships per wave, 3 concurrent, replacement per kill
- Add missile_fire SFX voice and extend tests/CDP demo checks for all
patterns and the full wave run
- Sidequest patrol contracts now pay an XP reward alongside credits, fixed at accept as the experience worth of defeated contacts (contacts × wave total × roster xp) and granted via XpManager with a 'sidequest' source tag on claim
- Cargo sales earn 1 XP per credit above each bay's recorded purchase cost; bays with no cost basis or sold at/below cost earn nothing, granted via the same pipe with a 'trade' source tag
- New CargoHold.costsFor() returns FIFO per-bay costs for the profit basis without mutating the hold
- Job board payout/claim lines and console toasts display both credits and XP when present; old saves without an xp field derive it from the encounters spec or fall back to 0
- Wire GameScene._questRefresh to arm the quest's own `payoffTrigger` on the once-per-quest READY moment, so Trestle's two-beat sign-off (job boards + level-5 hook) plays when 'Pirate Problems' becomes complete + unclaimed.
- Add trestle-q4-4/5 ack comms (data/comms.json) and declare `payoffTrigger: "trestleQ4Payoff"` on the quest (data/quests.json).
- Reorder stationVideos in data/landing.json to put ss-02 before ss-01.
- Extend dev/comms.test.mjs roster count and add payoff pair checks; add new dev/quest-payoff.test.mjs pinning the arming seam; extend dev/quests.test.mjs with payoff wiring checks.
- Stamp `c.lockAt` as elapsed beat time instead of an absolute scene-clock value, so `el >= c.lockAt` holds and the slots actually lock onto the final level during a live session (previously they kept cycling random digits)
- Add regression test 6 covering a marquee on a scene clock at 60s
- Refresh marquee dev screenshots
- Add trestle-q4-04/05 speech assets
- Split the shared `fire` event into `cannon_fire`, `cannon_hit`, and `fire` so each weapon gets its own distinct voice
- Add three new sound assets (combat-mass-cannon, combat-mass-cannon-hit, combat-laser) to data/sfx.json and load them in GameScene
- Remove the 0.45 volume multiplier on enemy fire; the laser now plays at full volume since it has its own voice
- Update CombatSfx event map, both combat contexts (CombatScene, CombatSystem), dev tests, and README to reflect the ten-event SFX set
- New js/ui/LevelUpMarquee.js: a self-contained full-screen beat (dim, old-level shatter, digit-by-digit decode, lock-in FX, neon shutter peel) driven by hand-stepped timeline with no tweens; coalesces multi-level grants into one "+N LEVELS" beat and buffers mid-beat level-ups so none are dropped
- GameScene wires the marquee to XpManager's 'levelup' event, gates ship/combat/research/build/discovery ticks on its active flag (same pause contract as comms ack), tears it down on shutdown, and exposes a ?combat dev `marquee(from,to)` preview hook
- Add headless Node test (dev/marquee.test.mjs) covering trigger/timeline/reap, coalesce, buffer, teardown, and the FIRMWARE-MAXED cap branch
- Add CDP screenshot harness (dev/marquee-shot.mjs) plus committed dev/shots/ evidence frames for each beat phase via a new debugSeek/debugRelease latch
- CargoHold gains a parallel `costs` ledger (credits/unit actually paid, or null when no cost is on file), kept aligned across add/remove/set/capacity/dropFirstNot and serialized via toJSON/fromJSON
- ShopView stamps each bought bay with the trade's unit price so the console can compare exit prices against what was really paid
- ShipScreenModel/ShipWindow surface per-bay costs, a total-cost hold meta line, and a "PAID" chip + reference line in the bay manifest; bays with no cost read "NO COST" instead of inventing one
- GameScene passes the bay's recorded cost into scoutGood() so exit profits re-baseline against the purchase (falling back to the catalog value when absent), and restore/quest-handoff paths load null costs cleanly for legacy saves
- Adds arid-shop-02 video asset and updates cargo/saves/ship-window/shop-ui tests to cover the new ledger
- Add arid-shop-01.mp4 video and arid-shop-02.png image assets
- Correct arid land 01/02 entries in landing.json to reference arid-shop instead of ice-shop
- Cargo deliveries set from the ship manifest or surface scout now read brown on the compass and in-world pulse; story-quest and manual picks keep the route's orange
- Add `destination.kind` ('manual' | 'cargo' | 'quest') to save/load so the mark survives a session
- Carve out held "Special Delivery" quest: a cargo pick that matches its home delivery flips to kind 'quest' so the story keeps orange
- Thread the resolved mark color through JumpGate/Planet/Station `setRouteTarget` and DiscoveryCompass entry recoloring
- Fix lava shop clip references in landing.json (ice-shop → lava-shop) and add arid-shop-01.png asset
- Extend dev probes: ship-cargo-compass checks brown/orange per kind, scout-dest asserts cargo kind, ship-shot gains a park shot for the off-screen route arrow
- Add `dev/ship-cargo-compass.{html,mjs}`: headless end-to-end flow of the SHIP console → CARGO HOLDS → bay exit → CONFIRM, then Phase A (route gate marked orange on the compass with suppressed ordinary entry), hop-by-hop jumps, Phase B (destination object marked orange with subdued pulse), and REACHED clearing.
- Add `assets/videos/lava-shop-01.mp4` video asset.
- Level 1 now costs 5 kills of the base craft instead of 10
- Total XP to reach level 80 drops from ~17.4M to ~8.7M
- Update XpManager default, progression data, tests, and README to match
- ShipWindow hosts a ConfirmOverlay (depth 30) so the SET DESTINATION dialog always paints above the console chrome
- Each remote exit row in the bay manifest becomes a hit-testable tap surface with hover state; local-system rows read HERE and stay inert
- Tapping a row opens the confirm dialog built from shipScreen.json templates; CONFIRM fires onSetDestination(systemId, objectId) through GameScene.setDestination, same seam as the map console
- ESC cancels the dialog before closing the console; closing the console cancels an open dialog to avoid orphan scrim
- Add dev/ship-cargo-dest.test.mjs covering hosting, row tappability, ask/confirm/cancel/close/repaint paths
- Update landing.json arid-land-03 shop reference from ice-shop-03 to arid-shop-03
- Add lava-shop-01.png and lava-shop-03.png assets
- Extend dev/ship-shot.mjs with ?tapExit / ?clickExit probes for headless verification
- Bump CLAIM REWARD plate from depth 31 to 65 so it renders above compass arrows, toasts, deck blocks, and the sub-bar while still staying below modals (70) and full-screen consoles (80).
- Update ship.mp4 asset.
- Void in-flight count-up tween when max changes so a late landing can't redraw against the old cap (250/250 → full after cap grew to 500)
- Add regression test for mid-count-up capacity restore voiding the stale tween
- Archive completed ship-screen goal and add ship.mp4 asset
- Wire the deck's SHIP slot to a full-screen ShipWindow (depth 80) following the Map/Quest window contract: bay-camera video panel with NO SIGNAL fallback, tab row, glitch/sweep dressing, ESC/scrim close, and exclusive open/close against research/map/quests/comms.
- Add data-driven Ship Status plate via pure js/ship/ShipScreenModel.js resolving every stat row from data/shipScreen.json (hull/shields live vs nominal, shield recharge, flight, fire rate/DPS, cargo/mineral holds) plus the combat level journey timeline that swaps to a CHOOSE YOUR CLASS door at level 5.
- Add Cargo Holds tab: bay grid with filled/empty/locked states, mineral aggregate bar, and a selected-bay manifest reusing TradeScout.scoutGood() for ranked exits in the buy/sell style.
- Register data/shipScreen.json in the manifest, preload ship.mp4 with skip-if-missing guard, and add dev test + screenshot harness (dev/ship-window.test.mjs, dev/ship-shot.{html,mjs}).
- Move the home-world destination from the capital departure to the Special Delivery bar vignette completion, matching the story trigger.
- Keep the capital departure only for story trail and post-sale comms, so later capital visits no longer override the player's destination.
- Show a destination-set console note in SurfaceScene, staggered behind the package-handoff note when it appears.
- Add missing title, subtitle, right-side, issuer, body, and payout text to the container
- Use a numeric wordWrap width for the detail body instead of an object
- A confirmed LOAD used to hand off to the main menu, relying on the
menu's New Game to apply the staged restore; that path resets run
state, so the load never carried the restore through.
- GameScene and SurfaceScene now add reloadRun(): close the save
panel and sub-bar, then restart (GameScene) or re-start (SurfaceScene)
the game scene so the fresh create() picks up the staged restore —
the ship lands back exactly where it was saved.
- saves-ui-test now asserts the in-place restore (ship back at the
saved position) and covers the Return to Main Menu path.
- New CDP probe/repro scripts in dev/ drive the real index.html in
headless Chrome to exercise the save/load user flow and diagnose
input and confirm-geometry issues.
- Patrol routes now carry 1–3 seeded enemy contacts placed evenly across waypoints.
- Arriving at a contact fires one rolling wave of six raiders, three at a time.
- Route completion and reward claiming require every waypoint and contact cleared.
- Contact specs are fixed on the route at accept for stable saves and deterministic replay.
- Job board, quest checklist, toasts, and map markers expose contact progress.
- 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 patrol category rules: target selection (own system or faction neighbor via jump gates), deterministic waypoint route builder inside tether regions with anchor clearance and separation constraints, completable fallback for degenerate fields
- Extend SideQuestState ledger with active slot, claimed marks, and per-contract route records (waypoints + visited indices); save/restore round-trips all new fields with invariant re-establishment
- Wire GameScene seams: acceptSideQuest establishes the patrol route on the ledger; setActiveSideQuest / claimSideQuest manage the active slot and pay out exactly once; updatePatrol checks in waypoints per frame and completes the contract; _drawPatrolMarkers paints in-world beacons; patrolCompassTarget drives the yellow off-screen compass arrow (waypoint or gate)
- JobBoardWindow walks the full door state machine: ACCEPT → SET PATROL ACTIVE → active plate → CLAIM REWARD → claimed plate, with destination and route-progress lines in the detail readout
- Quests console side tab is now live: accepted contracts appear in questSnapshot with waypoint checklist, progress, reward, and claimable from the same CLAIM REWARD / SET PRIORITY doors as story quests
- SurfaceScene exposes activateSurfaceJob / claimSurfaceJob and routes side ids through the existing claim/priority seams
- Add capital-neutral-shop video + image assets; update landing.json to reference them
- Update all headless tests (sidequests, jobboard, quests) to cover patrol target/route/ledger/scene-seam behavior
- Introduce js/quests/SideQuests.js: seeded posting generation (patrol/delivery/bounty/escort), placeholder resolution, reward scaling, and a SideQuestState ledger with save round-trip + job-space validation
- Wire the feature into SaveData capture/prepareLoad/resetRunState so accepted/completed contract ids ride saves while postings regenerate from the galaxy seed
- Replace JobBoardWindow placeholders with live AVAILABLE JOBS rows and JOB DETAILS readout (contract copy, payout, ACCEPT door) driven by scene seams; refresh() repaints list/detail/status off those seams
- Add GameScene.sideQuestPostings/acceptSideQuest and SurfaceScene.acceptSurfaceJob so the accept lands on the sleeping game scene's ledger with a surface console note
- Ship data/sidequests.json (category gates all OFFLINE, description pools split neutral vs faction, reward bands, UI copy) and register it in manifest.json
- Add dev/sidequests.test.mjs (gate, determinism, voice, rewards, ledger) and extend dev/jobboard.test.mjs with live postings/selection/accept/refresh coverage
- Introduce js/ui/JobBoardWindow.js: nearly full-screen (depth 80) build-console-style window with a muted looping 2:3 feed on the left, and AVAILABLE JOBS / JOB DETAILS placeholder sections on the right; open/close state machine, boot reveal, ambient glitch/sweep/cursor effects, ✕ close door
- Wire the Job Board slot through SurfaceScene: toggleJobBoard/leaveJobBoard, setServiceLocked (generalized from setBarLocked) so deck + drawer stand down while the board is up with the jobBoard slot kept live as a second door; pause/resume the surface clip under the console
- Preload assets/videos/jobboard.mp4 in GameScene via data/actionbar.json → surface.explore.video (2:3 aspect), adding a NO SIGNAL fallback when missing
- Update data/actionbar.json explore drawer with the jobBoard item (isHomeSystem:false, no labelActive) and the shared video block
- Add headless test dev/jobboard.test.mjs covering config, build, geometry, open/close, update ticks, and destroy; extend phaser-stub with setVisible/setDepth
- Add dev screenshot harness dev/jobboard-shot.{html,mjs} and reference shots for drawer/board/left stages
- The player's home system is safe space (no enemies), so no work should be posted on its board.
- worldContext now exposes isHomeSystem from GameScene; matchesWhere handles boolean values with list any-match.
- data/actionbar.json gives jobBoard a { isHomeSystem: false } clause instead of showing everywhere.
- explore.test.mjs covers home/non-home worlds, stations, and boolean-clause matching.
- Added the jobboard.mp4 bar clip asset; updated SurfaceScene/GameScene comments to reflect the new rule.
- Add inView() pure geometry helper to test if a craft's visual circle is at least partly within the camera's visible rect
- Gate enemy fire, auto-fire target selection, currentTarget lock, and bullet collision checks behind craftVisible() so off-screen hostiles hold lances, can't be engaged, and are immune to tracers until they fly into view
- Extend pickTarget() with an optional qualifies predicate to narrow the candidate pool (used for the on-screen rule)
- Document the rule in data/combat.json and CombatSystem class comments
- Add OAC "enemies detected" / "enemies defeated" visual comms with random voice pools, fired on CombatSystem active-flag flips
- Deny jumping or landing while a fight is live so the wave run can't be escaped or hidden on a surface
- Move the 'Pirate Problems' ambush trigger to the midpoint of the entry-gate → capital-world stretch, persisting lastJumpFrom through saves for a stable midpoint
- Prevent overlapping hit flashes from stacking, which captured the in-flash
state as the restore value and left crafts permanently white
- Track flashed crafts in a Set so the expiry path can always settle them
- Add purgeCraftTints(), called every ~250 ms from update(), that re-asserts
normal colors on any craft (tracked or roster) not holding a live flash
- Wire purgeRoster in both CombatScene and CombatSystem so the purge covers
the full player + enemy pack, not just Fx's own flashes
- Prune destroyed crafts from the tracking set to avoid leaked references
- Add tests covering overlap extension, kill-seam settle, periodic purge,
roster coverage, and dead-craft pruning
- 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.
- Remove the gate-to-capital midpoint origin logic (_pirateAmbushOrigin) and
the startWaves opts.origin seam; wave ships now materialize off-screen
around the player from a random direction, matching the ?combat pack.
- Update combat.json, comms.json, quests.json comments to reflect the new
spawn behavior (off-screen around player, streaming in on chase AI).
- While `this.combat.active` is true, call `compass.refresh([])` and
return early so edge arrows and name boxes step aside.
- Combat chrome (threat markers, off-screen hostile arrows, kill feed)
owns the screen edge while the player is shooting; nav chips would
only compete with it.
- The target set is recomputed every frame, so nothing is lost — a
mid-fight discovery still pings above, and the first non-combat frame
re-feeds the compass entries.
- New main-story quest granted after 'Special Delivery' is claimed AND its payoff comms are ACKed all the way through (unlocks.acked gate)
- Three-step checklist: speak with Trestle (trestleQ4 warning beats), defend from a rolling wave of six raiders at the gate-to-capital midpoint, return to the Neutral Capital World
- CombatSystem.startWaves gains an origin option so ambush enemies materialize in a ring around a specified point rather than off-screen around the ship
- CommsHub fires a new onAck hook before onEnd so the scene can record acknowledgments and run its grant pass in the same tick
- QuestState.isUnlockMet / grantUnlocked accept a gates.acked set; GameScene supplies it from the comms acked-ledger
- SaveData captures/restores comms.acked, combat.done, and story.capitalReturned; resetRunState clears all three on New Game
- Combat is now built for every scene (not just ?combat demo); the hostile pack spawns only in the sandbox boot
- Test suites updated: quest unlock gating, ambush wave shape, roster count 25→28, save round-trip of new ledgers