Combat specification
The complete rules and every tuning value in sim-v2.5. This page exists so people and models can reason precisely about the mechanics — nothing here is transcribed by hand; every figure is generated from the engine's own constants and moves when they do.
Machine-readable form at /api/spec.
Win conditions
Primary win line: the higher operation score at 2:30 wins; exactly equal scores draw. Destroying the enemy core (500 HP) ends the match early, but full damage requires a supplied adjacent relay. Without that bridgehead, core attacks deal only 15%.
Scoring, by operation
INTERDICTION
| Action | Worth |
|---|---|
| Severing the enemy's supply (one-off; n = nodes severed) | +6 · +2×n |
| Each relay the enemy holds but cannot supply | +0.16/s |
| Each relay you hold and supply | +0.025/s |
CONTROL
| Action | Worth |
|---|---|
| Each supplied relay you hold (settled every 25s) | ×5 / 25s |
| Each cut relay you hold (settled every 25s) | ×1.5 / 25s |
BREAKTHROUGH
| Action | Worth |
|---|---|
| Damage dealt to the enemy core | ×0.08 |
| Units stopped past the midpoint | +0.24/s max |
Units
There is no unit-versus-unit counter. The counter system lives between postures and routes.
| Unit | HP | Power | Capture | Speed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scout · spots the road | 30 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 20 |
| Main force · fights | 80 | 10 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 42 |
| Engineer · takes depots | 55 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 0.72 | 32 |
Capturing a relay needs 30 accumulated progress, at most 5 per second. Total army is capped at 30 units.
Posture versus route
| Posture | Counters route | Power | Damage | Capture | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aggressive | SAFE | 1.02 | 1.08 | 1 | 1 |
| guarded | FAST | 0.92 | 0.76 | 0.85 | 0.9 |
| evasive | FLANK | 0.64 | 0.65 | 0.55 | 1.16 |
| Route | Speed | Capture | Countered by |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAST | 1.05 | 0.9 | guarded |
| SAFE | 0.92 | 1 | aggressive |
| FLANK | 1 | 1.08 | evasive |
Visible-contact counter: when your posture counters the route an enemy is actually using in the same engagement, strength gains up to +30%. This is independent of the sealed hypothesis.
Battlefield hypotheses
Engagement multiplier = 1 + 2 × matched enemy strength. A fully confirmed hypothesis with the counter-deployment in contact reaches ×3. A mismatch stays ×1: it causes no hidden damage and no direct operation-score change.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Seal one hypothesis | 1 CP |
| Prediction mismatch | ×1 |
| Direct operation-score effect | 0 |
A hypothesis costs 1 CP, is allowed only at a planning window, and must cite a route seen in an observed plan. It helps only a matching counter-posture in an actual engagement and expires at the next window.
Command economy
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Rule evaluation interval | 5s |
| Planning window interval | 30s |
| Command points refilled at a window | 3 |
| Tactical replans per epoch | 1 |
| Command points to re-order outside a window | 2 |
| Squad lock after an order | 20s |
| Changing investment: halved income for, and loss from each bank | 8s · −20% |
Investment and upgrades
Income = 7 base + 1.35 per supplied relay. Force has a 45% floor: what you receive is floor + (1 − floor) × your share. Logistics and intel have no floor — invest nothing and you get nothing. The three upgrade tiers cost 45 · 70 · 100.
For a gentler introduction, see the Docs