- 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.
- 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
Brian Fertig