add tag based version info to exe

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -4,10 +4,20 @@ message(STATUS "Using CMake ${CMAKE_VERSION}")
 
 include(cmake/add_files.cmake)
 include(cmake/create_source_groups.cmake)
+include(cmake/version.cmake)
 
 # Project ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-project(DotaFactory)
+# Product identity — anything that depends on the product/project name is defined
+# here so it lives in a single place and can change in the future. These values
+# feed the build targets in src/CMakeLists.txt and the Windows version resource
+# (see cmake/version.rc.in).
+set(PRODUCT_NAME "DotaFactory")            # internal name and executable base name
+set(PRODUCT_DISPLAY_NAME "Dota Factory")   # human-readable product / file description
+set(PRODUCT_COMPANY "TODO: company")       # placeholder
+set(PRODUCT_COPYRIGHT "TODO: copyright")   # placeholder
+
+project(${PRODUCT_NAME})
 
 set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE_INIT "Release")
 

bin/app/data/config/buildings.toml

@@ -81,7 +81,8 @@ id = "salvage_bay"
 cost = 25
 player_placeable = true
 construction_time_seconds = 1
+output_buffer_capacity = 20
 surface_mask = [
-  "SAA",
+  "<AAS",
-  "SAA>",
+  " AAS",
 ]

bin/app/data/config/modules.toml

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ attack_rate_hz = 2.0
 
 [[module]]
 id = "railgun_m"
-unlock_at_station_level = 1
+unlock_at_station_level = 2
 surface_mask = [
     "OO",
     "OO"]
@@ -57,14 +57,14 @@ fill_color = "#FF8040"
 glyph = "Rm"
 
 [module.weapon]
-damage = 17
+damage = 14
 attack_range_m = 70
 attack_rate_hz = 1.5
 
 
 [[module]]
 id = "railgun_l"
-unlock_at_station_level = 1
+unlock_at_station_level = 6
 unlock_requires = ["railgun_m"]
 surface_mask = [
     "OOO",
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ fill_color = "#FF8040"
 glyph = "Rl"
 
 [module.weapon]
-damage = 70
+damage = 52
 attack_range_m = 100
 attack_rate_hz = 0.8
 
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ collection_rate_hz = 0.5
 
 [[module]]
 id = "repair_tool"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 0
 surface_mask = ["O"]
 materials = [{item = "repair_tool_module", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 1
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ glyph = "Rp"
 
 [module.repair]
 repair_rate_hz = 1
-repair_amount_hp = 25
+repair_amount_hp = 4
 repair_range_m = 80
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ repair_range_m = 80
 
 [[module]]
 id = "afterburner"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 2
 surface_mask = ["OOO"]
 materials = [{item = "afterburner_module", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 1
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ added_main_acceleration_mpss = 60
 
 [[module]]
 id = "maneuvering_thrusters"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 1
 surface_mask = ["OO"]
 materials = [{item = "maneuvering_thrusters_module", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 1
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ added_maneuvering_acceleration_mpss = 10
 
 [[module]]
 id = "armor_plates"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 0
 surface_mask = ["OO"]
 materials = [{item = "armor_plates_module", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 1
@@ -158,12 +158,12 @@ fill_color = "#808080"
 glyph = "A"
 
 [module.health]
-added_hp = 640
+added_hp = 1200
 
 
 [[module]]
 id = "sensor_booster"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 1
 surface_mask = ["OO"]
 materials = [{item = "sensor_booster_module", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 1
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ added_sensor_range_m = 50
 
 [[module]]
 id = "weapon_upgrade"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 4
 surface_mask = [
     "OO",
     "OX",
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ multiplied_damage = 1.2
 
 [[module]]
 id = "weapon_primer"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 4
 surface_mask = [
     "OO",
     "OX",
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ multiplied_attack_rate_hz = 1.2
 
 [[module]]
 id = "weapon_stabilizer"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 3
 surface_mask = [
     "OO",
     "OX",
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ fill_color = "#FF4040"
 glyph = "Ws"
 
 [module.weapon]
-multiplied_attack_range_m = 1.5
+multiplied_attack_range_m = 1.3
 multiplied_attack_rate_hz = 0.8
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ multiplied_attack_rate_hz = 0.8
 
 [[module]]
 id = "drone_bay"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 5
 surface_mask = [
     "OO",
     "OO"]
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ glyph = "Db"
 
 [[module]]
 id = "drone_hangar"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 9
 surface_mask = [
     "OOOOOO",
     "OOOOOO"]

bin/app/data/config/recipes.toml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # recipes.toml
 #
-# Production tree v2 (see docs/content_design.md, "Production tree v2" and
+# Production tree v2 (structure in docs/content_design.md, numbers with
-# "Numbers — first pass"). Quantities and durations are tuned so that every
+# derivations in docs/balancing/derived.md). Quantities and durations are tuned so that every
 # fitted ship lands on the threat-cost ladder and the ratio curve is
 # realized: tier 1 ratios are 1:1, tier 2 ratios are 2:3, tier 3+ ratios
 # are deliberately strange.
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 #                                   rock IS ore)
 #   mid    + quartz                 geode deposits in expansion territory
 #                                   (deposit gating pending — see action
-#                                   item 5 in docs/progression_design.md;
+#                                   item 5 in docs/balancing/README.md;
 #                                   until then quartz mines anywhere)
 #   late   + voidsteel              battle-forged: ONLY from reprocessing
 #                                   salvaged scrap, so capital production
@@ -141,9 +141,12 @@ outputs = [{item = "copper_coil", amount = 1}]
 duration_seconds = 1.5
 
 # Depth-3 chain (ore -> ingot -> plate -> block) is the factory's
-# doubling-time knob; see the block economy rules in progression_design.md.
+# doubling-time knob; see the block economy rules in docs/balancing/rules.md.
+# Explicitly unlocked at start (-1): building blocks appear in no
+# schematic's materials, so implicit unlocking can never reach this recipe.
 [[recipe]]
 id = "building_block"
+unlock_at_station_level = -1
 building = "assembler"
 inputs = [{item = "steel_plate", amount = 2}]
 outputs = [{item = "building_block", amount = 4}]

bin/app/data/config/ships.toml

@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ sensor_range_m = 200
 # mount medium hardware.
 [[ship]]
 id = "destroyer"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 0
 layout = [
     "OXOXO",
     "OOOOO",
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ sensor_range_m = 220
 # supports; no 3x3 area exists for an l gun.
 [[ship]]
 id = "cruiser"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 2
 layout = [
     "XOOX",
     "OOOO",
@@ -158,7 +158,8 @@ sensor_range_m = 250
 # stern leave no 3x3 area for an l gun and no 2x6 area for a drone hangar.
 [[ship]]
 id = "battlecruiser"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 4
+unlock_requires = ["cruiser"]
 layout = [
     "OOXXOO",
     "OOOOOO",
@@ -179,7 +180,7 @@ materials = [{item = "battlecruiser_hull", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 5
 
 [ship.health]
-hp = 2700
+hp = 2400
 
 [ship.movement]
 speed_mps = 20
@@ -200,7 +201,8 @@ sensor_range_m = 260
 # so no 2x6 drone hangar fits.
 [[ship]]
 id = "battleship"
-unlock_at_station_level = 1
+unlock_at_station_level = 6
+unlock_requires = ["battlecruiser"]
 layout = [
     "XOOOOX",
     "OOOOOO",
@@ -222,7 +224,7 @@ materials = [{item = "battleship_hull", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 6
 
 [ship.health]
-hp = 7500
+hp = 6300
 
 [ship.movement]
 speed_mps = 15
@@ -242,7 +244,7 @@ sensor_range_m = 280
 # stay the only hangar hull. Bow and stern strips hold supports.
 [[ship]]
 id = "dreadnought"
-unlock_at_station_level = 2
+unlock_at_station_level = 8
 unlock_requires = ["battleship"]
 layout = [
     "XXXOOOOOXXX",
@@ -267,7 +269,7 @@ materials = [{item = "dreadnought_hull", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 8
 
 [ship.health]
-hp = 15500
+hp = 24000
 
 [ship.movement]
 speed_mps = 10
@@ -286,7 +288,8 @@ sensor_range_m = 300
 # the lower decks hold supports and 2x2 point-defense m guns.
 [[ship]]
 id = "carrier"
-unlock_at_station_level = -1
+unlock_at_station_level = 9
+unlock_requires = ["battleship"]
 layout = [
     "XOOOOOOOOX",
     "OOOOOOOOOO",
@@ -308,7 +311,7 @@ materials = [{item = "carrier_hull", amount = 1}]
 production_time_seconds = 8
 
 [ship.health]
-hp = 15500
+hp = 24000
 
 [ship.movement]
 speed_mps = 10

bin/app/data/config/stations.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # stations.toml
 #
-# Combat-pass anchors (see docs/content_design.md, "Combat stat anchors"):
+# Combat-pass anchors (see docs/balancing/targets.md, "Combat anchors"):
 # a fresh player defence station holds one early parity wave unaided; the
 # enemy station at level 0 matches the player station exactly and scales
 # with the push level x. Station scrap drops stay authored (pushing rewards
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ surface_mask = [
 level = 1
 hp_formula = "3000"
 damage_formula = "25"
-range_m_formula = "200"
+range_m_formula = "120"
 fire_rate_hz_formula = "1"
 scrap_drop_formula = "40"
 
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ surface_mask = [
 ]
 hp_formula = "3000 + 1500*x"
 damage_formula = "25 + 12*x"
-range_m_formula = "200"
+range_m_formula = "120"
 fire_rate_hz_formula = "1.0 + 0.1*x"
 scrap_drop_formula = "40 + 30*x"

bin/app/data/config/visuals.toml

@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ demolish_tint  = "#ff000033"   # demolish-mode hover tint
 selection_rect = "#00ff00"     # box-drag selection rectangle (REQ-UI-MULTI-SELECT)
 tile_highlight = "#ffffff22"   # tile under cursor
 selected_outline = "#ffff00"   # outline drawn around currently-selected building(s)
+copy_config    = "#33ccff66"   # copy-settings eligible-target tint + copy/paste flash (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK)
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Schematic-drop toasts (REQ-UI-SCHEMATIC-TOAST)

bin/app/data/config/world.toml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [world]
 height_tiles = 40
 refund_percentage = 100
-starting_building_blocks = 1000
+starting_building_blocks = 200
 scrap_despawn_seconds = 120
 scrap_per_threat = 0.25
 tile_size_m = 10
@@ -17,9 +17,18 @@ player_buffer_width_tiles = 20
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 60
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 20
 
+[scroll]
+# View pan speed (REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED): slow near the asteroid, fast across the
+# contest zone, with a linear ramp of the given width straddling each boundary.
+pan_speed_slow_tiles_per_second = 8.0
+pan_speed_fast_tiles_per_second = 24.0
+pan_ramp_band_width_tiles = 16
+
 [expansion]
 columns_per_expansion_tiles = 10
-cost_building_blocks = 200
+# x = expansions already purchased; ~1 per cycle mid-game, decelerating
+# to 2-3 cycles late (docs/balancing/derived.md).
+cost_building_blocks_formula = "300 + 50*x + 10*x*x"
 
 [push]
 push_expand_columns_tiles = 10
@@ -32,10 +41,13 @@ target_hysteresis         = 0.40                   # keep current target unless
 
 [artifacts]
 artifact_chance_formula = "0.05 * x"  # 5% chance per station level
-artifact_win_count      = 3
+artifact_win_count      = 5
 
 [waves]
-threat_rate_formula = "x"
+# Tuned against the factory-size curve (docs/balancing/targets.md, balancing
+# targets): stays below the player's achievable military output early,
+# crosses it around the late boundary (~cycle 15), overwhelms by ~24.
+threat_rate_formula = "2*x + 0.15*x*x"
 gap_min_seconds = 15
 gap_max_seconds = 45
 spawn_duration_seconds = 10

bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Mirror: drones 20v20"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Mirror: cruisers 6v6"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Mirror: battleships 2v2"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Drone swarm vs cruisers (462 vs 467)"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Frigates vs battleship (705 vs 723)"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Destroyers vs dreadnought (1485 vs 1492)"
-height_tiles = 40
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Cruisers vs carrier (1401 vs 1437, carrier expected to lose)"
-height_tiles = 40
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Mixed mid vs battlecruisers (1394 vs 1418)"
-height_tiles = 40
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Two to one (must be decisive)"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Armored vs glass destroyers (1188 vs 1196)"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -350,7 +350,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Repair escort vs raw numbers (444 vs 444)"
-height_tiles = 30
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 
 [[arena]]
 name = "Station assault (2 stations + 105 vs 315)"
-height_tiles = 60
+height_tiles = 10
 player_buffer_width_tiles = 15
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 40
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 15

bin/test/data/config/buildings.toml

@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ id = "salvage_bay"
 cost = 25
 player_placeable = true
 construction_time_seconds = 15
+output_buffer_capacity = 20
 surface_mask = [
   "SAA",
   "SAA>",

bin/test/data/config/world.toml

@@ -17,9 +17,14 @@ player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
 contest_zone_width_tiles = 30
 enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 15
 
+[scroll]
+pan_speed_slow_tiles_per_second = 8.0
+pan_speed_fast_tiles_per_second = 24.0
+pan_ramp_band_width_tiles = 16
+
 [expansion]
 columns_per_expansion_tiles = 10
-cost_building_blocks = 200
+cost_building_blocks_formula = "400 * 2^x"
 
 [push]
 push_expand_columns_tiles = 20

cmake/version.cmake

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# simple check for a git repo
+if(EXISTS "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
+	find_package(Git)
+
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_BRANCH
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} log -1 --format=%h
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_COMMIT_HASH
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} log -1 --format=%ci
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_COMMIT_TIME
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+
+    execute_process(
+        COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} describe --long --match "[0-9]*" HEAD
+        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+        OUTPUT_VARIABLE GIT_VERSION_NUMBER
+        OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+    )
+    string(REGEX REPLACE "^([0-9]+)\\..*" "\\1" VERSION_MAJOR "${GIT_VERSION_NUMBER}")
+    string(REGEX REPLACE "^[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1" VERSION_MINOR "${GIT_VERSION_NUMBER}")
+    string(REGEX REPLACE "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1" VERSION_PATCH "${GIT_VERSION_NUMBER}")
+    string(REGEX REPLACE "^[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+-([0-9]+).*" "\\1" VERSION_COMMIT "${GIT_VERSION_NUMBER}")
+
+else(EXISTS "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
+    set(GIT_BRANCH "")
+    set(GIT_COMMIT_HASH "")
+    set(GIT_VERSION_NUMBER "")
+    set(VERSION_MAJOR "0")
+    set(VERSION_MINOR "0")
+    set(VERSION_PATCH "0")
+    set(VERSION_COMMIT "0")
+    set(BUILD_TYPE "")
+
+endif(EXISTS "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
+
+set(VERSION_STRING "${VERSION_MAJOR}.${VERSION_MINOR}.${VERSION_PATCH}.${VERSION_COMMIT}")
+
+message(STATUS "Version: ${VERSION_STRING}")
+
+# message(STATUS "Git current branch: ${GIT_BRANCH}")
+# message(STATUS "Git version number: " ${GIT_VERSION_NUMBER} )
+# message(STATUS "Git commit hash: ${GIT_COMMIT_HASH}")
+# message(STATUS "Git commit time: ${GIT_COMMIT_TIME}")
+# message(STATUS "Version major: ${VERSION_MAJOR}")
+# message(STATUS "Version minor: ${VERSION_MINOR}")
+# message(STATUS "Version patch: ${VERSION_PATCH}")
+# message(STATUS "Version commit: ${VERSION_COMMIT}")

cmake/version.rc.in

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+// Windows version resource. Generated by CMake via configure_file() from this
+// template; @VAR@ placeholders are filled from cmake/version.cmake (version
+// numbers) and the product identity variables in the top-level CMakeLists.txt.
+// Shows up on the executable's Details tab (right-click -> Properties).
+
+#include <windows.h>
+
+VS_VERSION_INFO VERSIONINFO
+    FILEVERSION     @VERSION_MAJOR@,@VERSION_MINOR@,@VERSION_PATCH@,@VERSION_COMMIT@
+    PRODUCTVERSION  @VERSION_MAJOR@,@VERSION_MINOR@,@VERSION_PATCH@,@VERSION_COMMIT@
+    FILEFLAGSMASK   VS_FFI_FILEFLAGSMASK
+    FILEFLAGS       0x0L
+    FILEOS          VOS_NT_WINDOWS32
+    FILETYPE        VFT_APP
+    FILESUBTYPE     VFT2_UNKNOWN
+BEGIN
+    BLOCK "StringFileInfo"
+    BEGIN
+        BLOCK "040904b0"                       // US English (0x0409), Unicode (0x04b0)
+        BEGIN
+            VALUE "CompanyName",      "@PRODUCT_COMPANY@"
+            VALUE "FileDescription",  "@PRODUCT_DISPLAY_NAME@"
+            VALUE "FileVersion",      "@VERSION_STRING@"
+            VALUE "InternalName",     "@PRODUCT_NAME@"
+            VALUE "OriginalFilename", "@PRODUCT_NAME@.exe"
+            VALUE "ProductName",      "@PRODUCT_DISPLAY_NAME@"
+            VALUE "ProductVersion",   "@VERSION_STRING@"
+            VALUE "LegalCopyright",   "@PRODUCT_COPYRIGHT@"
+        END
+    END
+    BLOCK "VarFileInfo"
+    BEGIN
+        VALUE "Translation", 0x409, 1200       // 0x409 = en-US, 1200 = Unicode code page
+    END
+END

docs/balancing/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+# Balancing Documentation
+
+Everything about balancing Dota Factory, separated by role:
+
+- **[rules.md](rules.md)** — the design rules and principles. Timeless;
+  changes only when the design changes.
+- **[targets.md](targets.md)** — the base numbers (roots/anchors) chosen
+  by design. Change these first; everything else re-derives.
+- **[derived.md](derived.md)** — the current tuned state of all derived
+  numbers, mirroring the configs. Updated whenever configs change.
+- **[process.md](process.md)** — how balancing is done: the pass order,
+  tuning discipline, tools, and the checklist for the next round.
+- **[history.md](history.md)** — chronological record of decisions,
+  findings, bugs, and arena rounds.
+
+Related: game content (hull grids, footprint gating, tree design and
+fiction) in [../content_design.md](../content_design.md); rules with
+REQ-* ids in [../requirements.md](../requirements.md).
+
+## Status
+
+First full balancing round complete (2026-07-06): targets → tree →
+numbers → threat-calculator parity → combat stats (arena-converged) →
+pacing. Next step: full-game playtests against the run-shape targets in
+`targets.md`.
+
+## Open action items
+
+Agreed changes that require edits to `requirements.md`, the code, or the
+configs. Completed items are removed (their outcomes live in
+`requirements.md`, `history.md`, and the git history).
+
+1. **Fill unfillable schematic slots with artifacts.** With duplicates
+   removed, the schematic drop pool can run dry — previously unreachable.
+   Decision: every slot in the choice dialog that cannot be filled with a
+   schematic because the eligible pool is exhausted is filled with an
+   artifact option instead (in addition to any artifact option granted by
+   the regular artifact roll). A push therefore always awards a full
+   dialog. Update REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP.
+2. **Confirm wave scaling in playtests.** `threat_rate_formula` is the
+   only time-scaling axis; verify the tuned curve (see `derived.md`)
+   produces the intended difficulty race in real runs.
+3. **Gate shortcut-recipe drops on their inputs.** Extend the assembler
+   recipe schematic pool eligibility in REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP: in
+   addition to the existing station-level and output-item checks, all of
+   the recipe's input item types must be implicitly unlocked as well.
+4. **Resource deposits.** Add a terrain deposit layer per the Resource
+   deposits rules (`rules.md`): deposit patches generated in expansion
+   columns (deterministic content per expansion, randomized placement
+   within the new columns), deposit rendering, and a miner condition (a
+   resource recipe is selectable only if the miner's footprint overlaps
+   at least one matching deposit tile). Touches REQ-BLD-MINER ("every
+   asteroid tile is equivalent" no longer holds),
+   REQ-GW-ASTEROID-EXPAND / REQ-EXP-*, `world.toml`, and `visuals.toml`.
+   Until this lands, quartz mines anywhere and the mid-game is
+   knowledge-gated only.

docs/balancing/derived.md

@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+# Derived Values (current tuned state)
+
+Everything here is derived from `targets.md` under the rules in
+`rules.md`, and mirrors the config files. Item threats, ship threats,
+ratios, and belt checks are verified by `tools/threat_report.py` — re-run
+it after any recipe or material change and update this file when values
+move. Combat stats were tuned empirically against the arena suite in
+`bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml` (round-by-round record in
+`history.md`).
+
+## Economy constants
+
+- `scrap_per_threat = 0.25` — 1 scrap per 4 threat destroyed (a cruiser
+  kill drops ~59 scrap); threat(scrap) = 4.
+- Scrap smelting: 1 scrap → 1 iron_ingot, 1 s — deliberately
+  value-losing; reprocessing is the value-preserving path.
+- Reprocessing: 4 scrap per cycle, 4 s; full-pool weights iron_ingot 30 /
+  copper_ingot 30 / silicon 20 / voidsteel 20 → threat(voidsteel)
+  = (4·4 + 4)/0.2 = 100.
+- `scrap_despawn_seconds = 120` (a capital kill drops hundreds of scrap,
+  collected one per salvage cycle).
+
+## Recipes and item threats
+
+(dur in seconds; threat is per output unit)
+
+| item | recipe | dur | out | threat |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| iron_ore / copper_ore | miner | 1 | 1 | 1 |
+| quartz | miner (deposit) | 2 | 1 | 2 |
+| iron_ingot | 1 iron_ore | 1 | 1 | 2 |
+| copper_ingot | 1 copper_ore | 1 | 1 | 2 |
+| silicon | 1 quartz | 2 | 1 | 4 |
+| steel_plate | 2 iron_ingot | 3 | 1 | 7 |
+| copper_wire | 1 copper_ingot | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
+| copper_coil | 2 copper_wire | 1.5 | 1 | 4.5 |
+| building_block | 2 steel_plate | 2 | 4 | 4 |
+| control_chip | 1 silicon + 2 copper_wire | 5 | 1 | 12 |
+| capacitor_bank | 2 copper_coil + 1 silicon | 5 | 1 | 18 |
+| hardened_steel | 3 steel_plate | 12 | 1 | 33 |
+| ceramic_plate | 2 quartz | 4 | 1 | 8 |
+| drive_unit | 2 steel_plate + 2 copper_coil + 1 control_chip | 8 | 1 | 43 |
+| voidsteel_plate | 1 voidsteel + 1 hardened_steel | 8 | 1 | 141 |
+| capital_core | 2 voidsteel + 1 capacitor_bank + 1 control_chip | 10 | 1 | 240 |
+
+Shortcut recipes (drop-only; item threat stays defined by the base path
+via the max rule): `shortcut_steel_plate` 3 iron_ore → 1 plate (2 s,
+level 1), `shortcut_control_chip` 2 quartz → 1 chip (4 s, level 2),
+`shortcut_hardened_steel` 4 iron_ingot → 1 hardened (8 s, level 2).
+
+Ratio curve realized: t1 all 1:1 (miner:smelter); t2 clean 2:3
+(ingot→plate, wire→coil); t3 strange — 2:5 (silicon→chip), 3:5
+(coil→capacitor), 3:4 (plate→hardened, plate→drive); t4 inverted 3:2
+(hardened→voidsteel_plate). Belt check: worst input demand 1.33 items/s,
+under the ~2/s single-belt cap everywhere.
+
+## Module prefabs
+
+(contribution = item threat + module production time)
+
+| module | recipe | dur | mod. time | contribution |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| railgun_s | 1 copper_coil | 1 | 1 | 6.5 |
+| salvager | 1 steel_plate + 2 copper_wire | 2 | 1 | 13 |
+| repair_tool | 1 steel_plate + 2 copper_wire | 2 | 1 | 13 |
+| armor_plates | 4 steel_plate | 3 | 1 | 32 |
+| maneuvering_thrusters | 1 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 14.5 |
+| sensor_booster | 2 copper_wire + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 10.5 |
+| afterburner | 2 copper_coil + 1 steel_plate | 3 | 1 | 20 |
+| weapon_stabilizer | 1 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 14.5 |
+| weapon_primer | 1 capacitor_bank + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 2 | 28.5 |
+| weapon_upgrade | 1 control_chip + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 2 | 22.5 |
+| railgun_m | 1 capacitor_bank + 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 43.5 |
+| drone_bay | 1 control_chip + 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 37.5 |
+| railgun_l | 1 capacitor_bank + 2 hardened_steel + 1 ceramic_plate | 6 | 4 | 102 |
+| drone_hangar | 1 voidsteel_plate + 2 control_chip + 1 drive_unit | 10 | 6 | 224 |
+
+## Ships
+
+(fitted = hull item + ship base time + default loadout; the default
+loadouts are the `default_modules` used by enemy waves and are
+geometry-validated against the hull grids)
+
+| ship | hull recipe | dur | base | default loadout | fitted |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| drone | 1 iron_ingot | 1 | 1 | railgun_s | 10.5 |
+| frigate | 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_wire | 2 | 2 | 2× railgun_s, maneuvering_thrusters | 47 |
+| destroyer | 3 steel_plate + 2 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 3× railgun_s, armor_plates, sensor_booster | 99 |
+| cruiser | 2 hardened_steel + 2 control_chip | 6 | 4 | 2× railgun_m, armor_plates, maneuvering_thrusters | 233.5 |
+| battlecruiser | 3 hardened_steel + 2 control_chip + 1 drive_unit | 8 | 5 | 3× railgun_m, armor_plates, 2× railgun_s | 354.5 |
+| battleship | 3 voidsteel_plate + 1 drive_unit + 2 control_chip | 10 | 6 | railgun_l, 2× railgun_m, weapon_stabilizer, 2× railgun_s | 722.5 |
+| dreadnought | 5 voidsteel_plate + 1 capital_core + 2 drive_unit | 12 | 8 | 3× railgun_l, 4× armor_plates, railgun_s | 1491.5 |
+| carrier | 5 voidsteel_plate + 1 capital_core + 2 drive_unit | 12 | 8 | drone_hangar, 2× railgun_m, 2× armor_plates, sensor_booster | 1436.5 |
+
+## Combat stats
+
+(arena-converged, 2026-07; see `history.md` rounds 1–5)
+
+**Weapons:** railgun_s 2 dmg × 2.0 Hz (4.0 DPS), range 50 m;
+railgun_m 14 × 1.5 (21), range 70; railgun_l 52 × 0.8 (41.6), range 100.
+
+**Hull HP** (15/threat prior + empirical trims): drone 60, frigate 300,
+destroyer 550, cruiser 1500, battlecruiser 2400, battleship 6300,
+dreadnought/carrier 24000.
+
+**Mobility ladder** (speed m/s | main accel | maneuvering | angular |
+max rot): drone 45|60|30|12|6, frigate 35|45|22|8|4,
+destroyer 30|35|18|6|3, cruiser 24|25|12|4|2, battlecruiser 20|20|10|3|1.5,
+battleship 15|14|7|2|1, dreadnought/carrier 10|8|4|1|0.5.
+Sensors: 150/200/220/250/260/280/300/350 m.
+
+**Other modules:** armor_plates +1200 HP; repair_tool 9 HP × 1 Hz,
+range 80; salvager range 60, cargo 20, 0.5 collections/s; afterburner
+×1.6 speed +60 accel; maneuvering_thrusters ×1.2 speed +10 maneuvering;
+sensor_booster +50 m; weapon_upgrade ×1.2 damage; weapon_primer ×1.2
+rate; weapon_stabilizer ×1.3 range ×0.8 rate.
+
+**Stations:** HQ 5000 HP. Player station 3000 HP, 25 dmg × 1 Hz,
+range 120, scrap 40. Enemy station: 3000+1500x HP, 25+12x dmg,
+1.0+0.1x Hz, range 120, scrap 40+30x (x = push level).
+
+## Pacing
+
+**Unlock ladder** (level → unlocks; ← marks `unlock_requires`; starting
+set at −1: drone, frigate, railgun_s, salvager, building_block recipe):
+
+| level | ships | modules | recipes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| 0 | destroyer | repair_tool, armor_plates | |
+| 1 | | maneuvering_thrusters, sensor_booster | shortcut_steel_plate |
+| 2 | cruiser | railgun_m, afterburner | shortcut_control_chip, shortcut_hardened_steel |
+| 3 | | weapon_stabilizer | |
+| 4 | battlecruiser ← cruiser | weapon_primer, weapon_upgrade | |
+| 5 | | drone_bay | |
+| 6 | battleship ← battlecruiser | railgun_l ← railgun_m | |
+| 8 | dreadnought ← battleship | | |
+| 9 | carrier ← battleship | drone_hangar | |
+
+Level 0's pool has exactly three entries (a full first dialog). Level 2
+is the quartz gate: cruiser and railgun_m are the first schematics whose
+chains reach quartz; the shortcut outputs only become implicitly
+unlocked alongside them, so shortcuts cannot drop early.
+
+**Threat rate** `2*x + 0.15*x*x` (x = boss cycle counter), against the
+factory-size curve with ~half the player's output assumed military:
+
+| cycle x | rate (threat/s) | player military (≈ curve/2) |
+|---|---|---|
+| 2 | 4.6 | ~12 |
+| 6 | 17.4 | ~30 |
+| 15 | 63.8 | ~60 |
+| 20 | 100 | ~75 |
+| 24 | 134 | — |
+
+**Economy:** `starting_building_blocks = 200`; expansion cost formula
+`300 + 50*x + 10*x*x` (x = expansions already purchased: ~1 affordable
+per cycle mid-game at ~1/3 of block income, stretching to 2–3 cycles
+late — quadratic so costs outrun the roughly linear block income
+gradually, never with a hard wall); `artifact_win_count = 5` with
+`artifact_chance_formula = 0.05*x`. Building costs: belt 2, splitter 3,
+tunnels 5, miner 15, smelter 20, assembler 35, reprocessing plant 40,
+salvage bay 25, shipyard 60 — averaging ≈18 blocks per placed building
+(belts included), which meets the 4-minute doubling target at block
+threat 4.

docs/balancing/history.md

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+# Balancing History
+
+Chronological record of the balancing work: what was decided, what was
+found, what changed. Current values live in `derived.md`; this file
+explains how they got there.
+
+## 2026-07-02/03 — rules and structural decisions
+
+- Rules document written (now `rules.md`): ratio curve, shortcut
+  recipes, refactorability, cost archetypes, threat model, growth curve.
+- Scrap derived from threat (`scrap_per_threat`), replacing authored
+  per-ship scrap drops; scrap threat became the constant
+  `1/scrap_per_threat`, removing the old min-scrap_drop derivation and
+  its circularity.
+- Duplicate schematic drops removed (no level-ups); ship/module levels
+  removed entirely — all time scaling lives in the threat rate, push
+  scaling stays on stations. Mk2 upgrade recipes noted as the future
+  per-item progression.
+- Growth-curve rules added: escalating expansion costs, designed
+  doubling time, growth limited by economy not waiting; resource
+  deposits designed (deposit-gated mid resource in expansion territory).
+- Production tree v2 decided: iron/copper everywhere (M-type asteroid),
+  quartz in geodes (mid), voidsteel battle-forged from scrap (late);
+  titanium dropped; lasers renamed to railguns, lasers reserved as a
+  future weapon type.
+
+## 2026-07-03 — targets, tree, numbers
+
+- Balancing targets fixed: ≤2 h run, phases 1–5/6–14/15+, factory curve
+  25/60/120/150, threat ladder, 25-ship swarm, block roots.
+- Tree structure drafted and numbers computed (recursive threat
+  calculator); ratio curve realized; fitted ships within 96–124% of the
+  strawman ladder (small end hot from fixed chain overhead — ladder
+  later adopted the achieved values).
+- **Rule bugs found by the numbers work:** the scrap→ingot smelter
+  recipe would inflate basic materials via the max rule (fixed:
+  scrap-consuming recipes are threat fallback only); recipe output
+  amounts were ignored (fixed: per-unit division); items downstream of
+  reprocessing-only items never resolved (fixed: fixpoint resolution);
+  a shortcut recipe resolving earlier than the base path silently
+  underpriced items (fixed: commit only when all eligible recipes are
+  computable). All four fixed in `ThreatCostCalculator` with tests, and
+  implemented in `tools/threat_report.py`.
+- v2 tree written into the configs; `default_modules` loadouts
+  geometry-validated (the numbers-pass loadouts for battlecruiser and
+  dreadnought were geometrically impossible — L-modifiers don't fit
+  beside full gun complements; corrected loadouts landed closer to the
+  ladder).
+
+## 2026-07-04 — combat stats, arena rounds 1–5
+
+Initial stats derived from the anchors (weapon DPS ≈0.6/threat flat,
+hull 15 HP/threat, armor 20/threat, repair 2 HP/s/threat, station
+range 200).
+
+- **Round 1:** concentrated fleets won all equal-threat cross-tier
+  matchups flawlessly; glass beat armored; repair escort flawless; two
+  stations shrugged off a 3× swarm. Changes: concentration tax on m/l
+  gun damage (railgun_m 17→14, railgun_l 70→52), armor 640→1000,
+  repair 25→12, station range 200→120. (Team-1 "bias" in mirrors later
+  shown to be noise.)
+- **Round 2 (EHP-margin logging added):** battleship +33% while
+  dreadnought −37% (stabilizer range + opposing armor); glass still
+  +11%. Changes: stabilizer range ×1.5→×1.3; per-hull trims introduced
+  (BC 2700→2500, BS 7500→7000, DN/CV 15500→19000).
+- **Round 3 (narrow lanes — geometry fixed into the fixture):**
+  DN closed to −11%, BS +22%, swarm flipped to +14% over cruisers,
+  glass +12% third time. Changes: armor 1000→1200, BC 2500→2000,
+  BS 7000→6300, DN/CV 19000→22500.
+- **Round 4:** glass-vs-armored resolved (+3% armored); noise floor
+  established (~±10%/run: BS ignored a −10% EHP cut; repair drifted
+  14→24% untouched). Convergence policy adopted: two-round signals only,
+  ±20% converged. Changes: BC 2000→2200, DN/CV 22500→24000; BS +23%
+  accepted as doctrine texture (mechanical range edge vs. pure small
+  fleets).
+- **Round 5 (durations logged; end-condition bug fixed upstream):**
+  TTK anchor validated (mirrors 23/71/95 s; DN-vs-swarm 214 s outlier
+  accepted); dreadnought +3%, everything else inside band. Final
+  changes: BC 2200→2400, repair 12→9 (persistent +24% escort margin).
+  **Combat pass declared converged.**
+
+## 2026-07-05/06 — pacing pass
+
+- Unlock ladder set (starting set drone/frigate/railgun_s/salvager;
+  quartz gate at level 2; capitals at 8–9 with `unlock_requires`
+  chains); threat rate `2*x + 0.15*x*x`; starting blocks 1000→200;
+  expansion 400 flat pending the cost formula; artifacts 3→5.
+- **Bug found:** the building_block recipe was silently locked at game
+  start (building blocks appear in no schematic's materials, so implicit
+  unlocking could never reach the recipe) — fixed with an explicit
+  `unlock_at_station_level = -1`.
+- Expansion cost formula implemented and set (`300 + 50*x + 10*x*x`):
+  quadratic, so costs outrun the roughly linear block income gradually
+  — ~1 expansion per cycle mid-game, 2–3 cycles apart late.
+- **First full balancing round complete.** Next: full-game playtests
+  against the run-shape targets.

docs/balancing/process.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+# Balancing Process
+
+How balancing is done in this project: the pass order, the tuning
+discipline, and the tools. Refer to this when starting the next
+balancing round.
+
+## The pass order
+
+Each pass depends on the ones before it; a change in an earlier pass
+invalidates the later ones (but not vice versa). Redo from the earliest
+pass whose inputs changed.
+
+1. **Targets** (`targets.md`) — choose the root numbers: run shape,
+   factory curve, threat-cost ladder, fleet size, block roots, combat
+   anchors, pacing anchors. These are design decisions, not
+   measurements. Everything else is derived from them.
+2. **Tree structure** (`../content_design.md`) — items, chains,
+   what-consumes-what, per the production tree rules (one input per
+   phase transition, generic parts, archetypes, refactorability).
+   Structure only, no quantities.
+3. **Numbers** (`derived.md`, recipes/materials in the configs) —
+   quantities and durations so every fitted ship sums to its ladder
+   value, the ratio curve is realized, and the belt/buffer guardrails
+   hold. Verified computationally by `tools/threat_report.py`.
+4. **Calculator/tooling parity** — the game's `ThreatCostCalculator`
+   and `tools/threat_report.py` must produce identical values; the
+   Python tool is the design reference. Any semantic change to
+   REQ-THREAT-* needs both updated plus tests.
+5. **Combat stats** (arena-driven) — derive stats from the combat
+   anchors, then iterate against the arena suite
+   (`bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml`) until equal-threat matchups are
+   near-draws. Threat costs are stat-independent, so arena ship counts
+   stay valid across stat changes.
+6. **Pacing** — unlock ladder, `unlock_requires` edges, threat rate,
+   block/artifact/expansion values, per the pacing anchors.
+
+Then: **full-game playtests**, which are the only check for the pacing
+pass and feed back into targets.
+
+## Tuning discipline (learned in arena rounds 1–5)
+
+- **Change anchors, not symptoms.** When a class of results is off,
+  adjust the anchor that explains all of them (e.g. the concentration
+  tax) rather than individual stats.
+- **Fewest knobs per round.** Attribution dies when many knobs move at
+  once. Prefer one anchor change plus its mechanical compensations.
+- **Shared vs. local knobs.** Guns and module stats are shared across
+  many hulls — changing them moves many matchups. Per-hull HP moves
+  exactly one matchup; it is the designated per-ship trim knob on top of
+  the HP-per-threat prior.
+- **Mind the ride-alongs.** A module buff lands on every default loadout
+  containing it (e.g. an armor buff strengthens the destroyer swarm that
+  opposes the dreadnought). Compute the net effect per matchup before
+  choosing step sizes.
+- **Two-round signal policy.** Single arena runs re-roll by ~±10% EHP
+  margin; a margin inside ±20% counts as converged for v1. Only act on
+  signals that persist across two rounds.
+- **Arena geometry is part of the fixture.** Lane width/height changes
+  the results (full engagement vs. fleets slipping past); margins are
+  only comparable within the same geometry.
+- **Accept mechanical texture.** Not every deviation is a bug: a margin
+  that survives a stat change is mechanical (usually range/kiting under
+  the orbit AI) and may be desirable doctrine texture. Document the
+  acceptance in `targets.md` instead of chasing it.
+- **Range is the strongest stat** under the orbit AI — free approach
+  fire. Price range modifiers conservatively; station dominance is
+  controlled via range, not HP.
+
+## Tools
+
+- `tools/threat_report.py` — item threats, module contributions,
+  hull/fitted ship threats, producer:consumer ratios, belt feasibility;
+  reads the real configs. The design reference for threat semantics.
+- `tools/verify_recipes.py` — recipe tree closure, visuals coverage,
+  orphans, reprocessing-only items.
+- `tools/verify_layouts.py` — module footprint gating matrix per hull.
+- **Balancing tool** (`balancing` target) — parallel arena simulation of
+  `bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml`; logs winner, surviving counts,
+  team EHP %, and fight duration per arena. The suite covers: class
+  mirrors (expect near-mutual annihilation, symmetric winners),
+  equal-threat cross-tier matchups (expect near-draws — power-per-threat
+  made empirical), a 2:1 decisiveness check, doctrine matchups
+  (armored-vs-glass, repair-escort), and station assault.
+
+## Checklist for the next balancing round
+
+1. Pull; run `verify_recipes.py`, `verify_layouts.py`,
+   `threat_report.py`; compare against the tables in `derived.md`.
+2. If recipes/materials changed: re-check fitted threats vs. the ladder
+   in `targets.md`; update arena suite ship counts if fitted values
+   moved.
+3. Run the arena suite; read EHP margins and durations against the
+   expectations noted in `balancing.toml` and the anchors.
+4. Apply changes per the tuning discipline (two-round signals only);
+   record the round and its knob changes in `history.md`.
+5. Update `derived.md` where values moved; if an anchor moved, update
+   `targets.md` and state why.
+6. Commit and push (the review workflow reads the remote).

docs/balancing/rules.md

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-# Progression & Balancing Design
+# Balancing & Progression Rules
 
 Rules and principles that govern the production tree, progression pacing,
-and balancing. This document contains **rules only** — concrete content
+and balancing. This document contains **rules only** — the chosen base
-(item lists, recipes, unlock levels, stat numbers) lives in the config files
+numbers live in `targets.md`, everything derived from them in
-and `content_design.md`; those numbers must follow the rules stated here.
+`derived.md`, and the concrete content in the config files and
+`../content_design.md`. All of those must follow the rules stated here.
 
 ## Player-experience goals
 
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ adapts later (see Refactorability).
 - The fourth input is the core loop hook: capital ship production requires
   fighting (salvaging and reprocessing), not just mining.
 - Every gating has a fictional reason (concrete fiction in
-  `content_design.md`): the asteroid is a metal-rich body, so its bulk
+  `../content_design.md`): the asteroid is a metal-rich body, so its bulk
   rock is minable anywhere; the mid resource sits in rare pockets; the
   late input is battle-forged — created only in the violence of ship
   destruction, which is why any wreck (including the player's own)
@@ -122,7 +123,8 @@ adapts later (see Refactorability).
   already unlocked (in addition to the station level check). The player
   is never offered a shortcut for a chain they have not built yet. The
   output-item half of this check already exists in
-  REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP; the input half is new (see Action items).
+  REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP; the input half is an open action item (see
+  `README.md`).
 - **Shortcuts are pure rewards, never balance factors.** An item's threat
   value is the *maximum* across its producing recipes (REQ-THREAT-ITEM), so
   unlocking a cheaper recipe does not lower the item's threat accounting —
@@ -178,8 +180,8 @@ supporting different fleet doctrines feel structurally different to build.
   modules, and tiers. Higher tiers are better per *ship* and per *module
   slot*, not per invested factory-second — their advantage is
   concentration (fewer, bigger things; slot geometry per
-  `content_design.md`) and qualitative capabilities, not a better exchange
+  `../content_design.md`) and qualitative capabilities, not a better
-  rate. Deviations from this rule are deliberate and documented.
+  exchange rate. Deviations from this rule are deliberate and documented.
 - **Difficulty race:** the enemy threat rate (`threat_rate_formula`) is
   tuned against the factory output (threat/s) achievable by a competent
   player — slightly below it early, crossing above it eventually. The game
@@ -188,9 +190,8 @@ supporting different fleet doctrines feel structurally different to build.
 - **All time scaling lives in the threat rate** — waves get bigger, ships
   of a given schematic never get individually stronger. There is no ship
   level dimension: stat formulas are plain values, and per-ship level
-  scaling does not exist. Push
+  scaling does not exist. Push scaling on enemy defence stations is the
-  scaling on enemy defence stations is the separate, player-triggered
+  separate, player-triggered difficulty axis and keeps its level formulas.
-  difficulty axis and keeps its level formulas.
 
 ## Unlock & drop pacing
 
@@ -206,18 +207,18 @@ supporting different fleet doctrines feel structurally different to build.
   gate, a schematic (ship, module, or assembler recipe) may list
   prerequisite schematics (`unlock_requires`, REQ-LOCK-PREREQ) that must
   already be unlocked before it enters the drop pool — e.g. the medium
-  laser requires the small laser; a future Mk2 requires its base version.
+  gun requires the small gun; a future Mk2 requires its base version.
-  Station level gates the earliest
+  Station level gates the earliest *when*; prerequisites gate the
-  *when*; prerequisites gate the *order*, keeping drop offers coherent
+  *order*, keeping drop offers coherent with what the player already
-  with what the player already owns.
+  owns.
 - **No duplicate drops.** Ship and module schematics leave the drop pool
   once owned, exactly as assembler recipe schematics already do. There are
   no schematic level-ups; player power grows through unlock breadth and
   factory scale only, which keeps power-per-threat exact on both sides.
   The pool therefore shrinks over a run and late pushes increasingly offer
   artifacts — intended: the late game is a race for the win condition.
-  Per-item progression may return later as Mk2 upgrade recipes (see Open
+  Per-item progression may return later as Mk2 upgrade recipes (see Future
-  tasks), never as free level-ups.
+  work), never as free level-ups.
 - **Artifacts trade power for progress.** Artifact options compete with
   schematic picks in the same choice dialog; the artifact chance must be
   tuned so that taking one is a real decision (giving up an unlock), not
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ supporting different fleet doctrines feel structurally different to build.
   through the HQ's single belt port, so income is capped at belt
   throughput regardless of assembler count. Per-building costs should be
   high enough that this cap can bind late-game (see the condensed-block
-  idea under Open tasks).
+  idea under Future work).
 
 ## Numeric guardrails
 
@@ -314,15 +315,8 @@ Constraints that every recipe must respect, independent of tuning:
 - **Cycle times scale with tier** monotonically — a higher-tier item never
   has a shorter total chain time than a lower-tier item of the same role.
 
-## Open tasks / future work
+## Future work
 
-- **Rework `recipes.toml`** once the rules in this document are fixed: the
-  current tree feels too close to Factorio; apply the thematic-naming rule
-  and the ratio curve to it (renames and quantity changes, not new items).
-- **Balancing pass** (see placeholders in `content_design.md`): set the
-  `unlock_at_station_level` ladder, real threat costs and
-  `default_modules`, reprocessing weights, and the threat-rate formulas
-  according to the rules above.
 - **Condensed building blocks** — a drop-unlockable shortcut-style
   recipe that packs several blocks' worth of value into one belt item,
   relieving the HQ intake ceiling (see Building block economy) as a
@@ -337,39 +331,3 @@ Constraints that every recipe must respect, independent of tuning:
   assembler), and keeps balancing one-dimensional (no level variable
   anywhere). Enemy-side progression happens via `default_modules`
   variants per era instead of a level formula.
-
-## Action items — changes beyond this document
-
-Agreed changes that require edits to `requirements.md`, the code, and the
-configs. Completed items are removed from this list (their outcomes live
-in `requirements.md` and the git history). Still open:
-
-1. **Fill unfillable schematic slots with artifacts.** With duplicates
-   removed, the schematic drop pool can run dry — previously unreachable.
-   Decision: every slot in the choice dialog that cannot be filled with a
-   schematic because the eligible pool is exhausted is filled with an
-   artifact option instead (in addition to any artifact option granted by
-   the regular artifact roll). A push therefore always awards a full
-   dialog. Update REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP.
-2. **Confirm wave scaling carries alone.** With per-ship level scaling
-   removed, `threat_rate_formula` is the only time-scaling axis; verify
-   the current `world.toml` values still produce the intended difficulty
-   curve (likely a review, not a retune, since the config already ran
-   with a flat ship level before the removal).
-3. **Gate shortcut-recipe drops on their inputs.** Extend the assembler
-   recipe schematic pool eligibility in REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP: in
-   addition to the existing station-level and output-item checks, all of
-   the recipe's input item types must be implicitly unlocked as well.
-4. **Expansion cost formula.** Replace the flat
-   `world.toml [expansion].cost_building_blocks` with a formula of the
-   number of expansions already purchased (x = expansions bought so
-   far), so expansion costs can escalate per the block economy rules.
-   Update REQ-EXP-COST and wherever the UI displays the expansion cost.
-5. **Resource deposits.** Add a terrain deposit layer per the Resource
-   deposits rules: deposit patches generated in expansion columns
-   (deterministic content per expansion, randomized placement within the
-   new columns), deposit rendering, and a miner condition (a resource
-   recipe is selectable only if the miner's footprint overlaps at least
-   one matching deposit tile). Touches REQ-BLD-MINER ("every asteroid
-   tile is equivalent" no longer holds), REQ-GW-ASTEROID-EXPAND /
-   REQ-EXP-*, `world.toml`, and `visuals.toml`.

docs/balancing/targets.md

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+# Balancing Targets (base numbers)
+
+The root numbers of the balancing. Everything in `derived.md` is tuned to
+hit these; when rebalancing, **change these first and re-derive — never
+patch derived values directly**. The rules these numbers follow live in
+`rules.md`.
+
+All time targets are in **game time**. The player can pause and
+accelerate, so real session length differs; playtests measure both. The
+time unit is the boss cycle (`world.toml boss_countdown_seconds`, 300 s).
+Destroying a station set advances the boss countdown by
+`boss_advance_seconds` (60 s), so cycles run shorter than nominal when
+pushing actively — targets deliberately ignore that.
+
+## Run shape
+
+1. **Run length** — a winning run takes up to 2 hours of game time: win
+   around boss cycle 20–24. Losing runs end earlier.
+2. **Phase boundaries** — early = cycles 1–5 (iron/copper, small hulls),
+   mid = cycles 6–14 (quartz, medium hulls), late = cycles 15+
+   (voidsteel, capitals). Push cadence: first station set around cycle
+   2–3, roughly one per cycle from mid onward — so the destroyed set's
+   level ℓ is reached around cycle ℓ+2.
+3. **Factory size curve** — producing buildings over time; when
+   saturated, output threat/s equals this count, so this curve IS the
+   player power curve: ~25 when the starting asteroid is full (end of
+   cycle 2), ~60 at the start of mid (cycle 6), ~120 at the start of
+   late (cycle 15), ~150 near the win. `threat_rate_formula` must remain
+   a fraction of this curve; buildings plus belts must physically fit
+   the asteroid plus affordable expansions.
+4. **Threat-cost ladder** — total production-seconds per *fitted* hull
+   (including the typical/default module loadout): drone 10.5,
+   frigate 47, destroyer 99, cruiser 233.5, battlecruiser 354.5,
+   battleship 722.5, dreadnought 1491.5, carrier 1436.5. Every
+   production chain must sum to its ladder value. (The original strawman
+   was 10/40/80/200/350/700/1500; the small end runs ~10–20% hot because
+   fixed chain overhead dominates small hulls — accepted, and the
+   achieved values adopted as the ladder. The ~×2-per-class curve shape
+   is the invariant.)
+5. **Fleet size** — swarm-leaning: ~25 player combat ships as the
+   standing mid-game fleet. Standing fleet = build cadence (4) × average
+   ship lifetime, so this target drives time-to-kill and therefore all
+   combat stat magnitudes.
+6. **Block economy roots** — bootstrap complete (starting asteroid full)
+   by the end of cycle 2; a factory spending ~30% of its capacity on
+   blocks doubles in ~4 minutes early game; one expansion affordable per
+   cycle at ~1/3 of block income mid-game, decelerating to one per 2–3
+   cycles late as escalating costs outrun income.
+
+## Combat anchors
+
+All combat stats derive from these; per-hull HP additionally carries
+empirical trims from arena rounds (values in `derived.md`).
+
+- **Weapon DPS per threat pays a concentration tax that grows with gun
+  size**: small ≈ 0.62, medium ≈ 0.48, large ≈ 0.41 DPS per threat of
+  weapon contribution, compensated by the range ladder 50/70/100 m.
+  Rationale: concentration itself (focus fire, no DPS loss to attrition,
+  range) is worth paying for — with a flat curve, concentrated fleets
+  win equal-threat fights outright (arena round 1).
+- **Hull HP = 15 per threat of hull contribution** as the prior; per-hull
+  HP is the empirical trim knob (guns are shared across hulls, hull HP
+  moves exactly one matchup). The arena consistently prices capitals as
+  *tanks with taxed guns* — capital hulls sit well above the prior.
+- **Armor HP ≈ 37 per threat** — a strong premium over hull HP because
+  armor is pure HP with no capability, and fights snowball: killing
+  removes enemy DPS, surviving merely delays — HP must be cheaper than
+  DPS.
+- **Repair ≈ 0.7 HP/s per threat** — in-combat sustain effectively
+  removes enemy DPS and must be priced like DPS, not like HP.
+- **TTK / fight duration**: parity fights in the 30–60 s band at
+  mid-game scale; capital mirrors ~90 s deliberately; the extreme
+  tank-vs-chip-damage matchup (dreadnought vs destroyer swarm, ~3.5 min)
+  is an accepted outlier.
+- **Mobility is monotone in size** — the smallest hulls are the fastest
+  and nimblest. Sensor ranges (150→350 m) always exceed weapon ranges.
+- **Weapon modifiers are capital economy**: a ×1.2 damage modifier at
+  ~22.5 threat beats adding a gun once a ship carries more than ~68
+  threat of weapons — modifiers pay off on gun-heavy big hulls, waste on
+  small ones. Range modifiers are the strongest and are priced/kept
+  small (×1.3): range is the dominant stat under the orbit AI (free
+  approach fire).
+- **Stations**: a fresh player station holds one early parity wave
+  unaided; the enemy station at level 0 matches the player station
+  exactly and scales per push level. Station range is the dominance
+  lever, not HP (at 4× a small gun's range, two stations annihilated a
+  3× threat swarm through approach fire alone).
+- **Accepted imbalances**: the carrier loses its equal-threat fights
+  until the drone-launching capability exists (the hangar is dead
+  threat) — fix by implementing drones, not stats. A pure smallest-ship
+  fleet modestly loses (~15–25%) to a range-fitted capital — desirable
+  doctrine texture; the fair anti-capital answer is the mixed fleet.
+
+## Pacing anchors
+
+- **Starting set** is the rule-minimum: drone, frigate, small gun,
+  salvager (plus the explicitly unlocked building-block recipe).
+- **Threat rate shape**: below the player's achievable military output
+  (≈ half the factory curve) early, crossing at the late boundary
+  (~cycle 15), overwhelming by ~cycle 24.
+- **Winning = five real decisions**: `artifact_win_count` is set so that
+  across a winning run's ~15–18 pushes (~7 cumulative artifact offers at
+  the current chance formula), the player must choose the artifact over
+  a schematic about five times.

docs/content_design.md

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-# Content Design — Ships & Modules
+# Content Design — Ships, Modules & Production Tree
 
-First real-content iterations (June 2026). Pass 1 defined ship hull grids and
+The designed game content: hull layout grids, module footprints and the
-module surface masks; pass 2 defined the production tree (recipes). Stats and
+gating between them, and the production tree (items, chains, fiction).
-threat costs in the config files are still placeholders for the balancing
+All numbers — quantities, durations, threat values, stats, unlock levels
-pass.
+— live in the config files and are documented with their derivations in
+`docs/balancing/` (see `balancing/README.md` for the index).
 
 ## Design principle: footprint gating
 
@@ -17,12 +18,12 @@ and makes them trivially moddable through the config files alone.
 
 | Footprint | Modules | Smallest hull that fits it |
 |-----------|---------|----------------------------|
-| 1x1 | laser_cannon_s, salvager, repair_tool | drone |
+| 1x1 | railgun_s, salvager, repair_tool | drone |
 | 1x2 | maneuvering_thrusters, sensor_booster, armor_plates | frigate |
 | 1x3 | afterburner | frigate (eats most of it) |
 | L-shape (3 cells) | weapon_stabilizer, weapon_primer, weapon_upgrade | frigate |
-| 2x2 | laser_cannon_m, drone_bay | cruiser |
+| 2x2 | railgun_m, drone_bay | cruiser |
-| 3x3 | laser_cannon_l | battleship |
+| 3x3 | railgun_l | battleship |
 | 2x6 | drone_hangar | carrier (only) |
 
 ### Hull grids
@@ -129,58 +130,11 @@ Maximum simultaneous (disjoint) placements: m guns — cruiser 2,
 battlecruiser 3, battleship 4; l guns — battleship 1, dreadnought 3;
 drone hangar — carrier 1.
 
-## Production tree (first pass — superseded)
+## Production tree
 
-**Superseded (July 2026):** this first-pass tree predates the rules in
+Designed against the rules in `docs/balancing/rules.md` (ratio curve,
-`docs/progression_design.md` and will be replaced. The decisions for the
+cost ladder, cost archetypes, refactorability). Quantities, durations,
-redesign are recorded in "Production tree v2 — decisions" below; the text
+and threat values live in `docs/balancing/derived.md`.
-of this section is kept for reference until the new tree lands.
-
-Design principle: each game phase adds exactly one new base input chain, so
-factory complexity ramps alongside ship size.
-
-| Phase | New input | How acquired | Unlocks |
-|-------|-----------|--------------|---------|
-| early | iron_ore, copper_ore | mined | drone, frigate, destroyer; small guns and basic supports |
-| mid | titanium_ore | mined (3x slower than iron) | cruiser, battlecruiser; m guns, drone bay, weapon modifiers |
-| late | advanced_alloy | ONLY from reprocessing salvaged scrap | battleship, dreadnought, carrier; l guns, drone hangar |
-
-The advanced_alloy gate is the core loop hook: capital ship production
-requires fighting (salvaging scrap from kills and reprocessing it), not just
-mining. The reprocessing plant turns 5 scrap into iron/copper/titanium ingots
-or advanced_alloy probabilistically.
-
-Intermediate components, by tier:
-
-- **Tier 2 (early):** copper_wire (copper), steel_plate (iron), circuit_board
-  (iron + wire), building_block (iron).
-- **Tier 3 (mid):** mechanical_parts (steel + iron), targeting_unit (circuits
-  + wire), drive_unit (steel + mechanical_parts + circuit), titanium_frame
-  (titanium + steel).
-- **Tier 4 (late):** reinforced_plating (steel + advanced_alloy),
-  capital_core (targeting_unit + drive_unit + 2 advanced_alloy).
-
-Hulls and modules consume intermediates of their tier: early items are built
-from tier-2 parts, midgame items require tier-3 parts (deeper chains, more
-assemblers), capital items require tier-4 parts (and therefore combat). Hull
-items are named `<ship>_hull`; module items `<module>_module`. Every item has
-an `[items.*]` entry in visuals.toml; hull item outlines match the ship's
-fleet color from `[ships.*]`.
-
-Consistency is checked by `tools/verify_recipes.py` — re-run it after editing
-recipes, ship/module materials, or visuals:
-
-    python dota_factory/tools/verify_recipes.py
-
-It verifies every consumed item has a producer, every item has a visuals
-entry, flags orphaned items, and prints which items are reprocessing-only
-(currently exactly advanced_alloy).
-
-## Production tree v2 — decisions (July 2026)
-
-The old tree is discarded; the new one is designed against the rules in
-`docs/progression_design.md` (ratio curve, cost ladder, cost archetypes,
-refactorability). Decisions fixed so far:
 
 ### Base inputs (4) and fiction
 
@@ -189,28 +143,27 @@ refactorability). Decisions fixed so far:
   *is* ore, which is why the shipyard operation was built here at all.
 - **quartz** — mid-game, minable only on geode deposit patches in
   expansion territory (see the Resource deposits rules in
-  `progression_design.md`). Fiction: ordinary silicate dust is everywhere
+  `docs/balancing/rules.md`; the deposit mechanic itself is an open
-  and worthless; chips and optics need rare, pocket-bound optical-grade
+  action item — until it lands, quartz mines anywhere). Fiction:
-  crystal.
+  ordinary silicate dust is everywhere and worthless; chips and optics
+  need rare, pocket-bound optical-grade crystal.
 - **voidsteel** — late-game, obtained only by reprocessing scrap.
   Fiction: battle-forged — formed when weapon plasma anneals hull metal
   in the violence of ship destruction. Any wreck yields it, including the
   player's own; no foundry can replicate it.
-- **titanium is dropped.** Its hull-gating role moves to quartz-era
+- **titanium was dropped** (v1 tree). Its hull-gating role moved to
-  control systems ("you can smelt all the steel you want, but you cannot
+  quartz-era control systems ("you can smelt all the steel you want, but
-  steer a battlecruiser without electronics") and possibly a *quality*
+  you cannot steer a battlecruiser without electronics") plus the
-  steel step — e.g. a long-running hardened-steel recipe (time-heavy
+  hardened-steel quality step (a deliberately long-running, time-heavy
-  archetype). Open question for the tree draft: quality step vs.
+  recipe) — explicitly not sheer steel quantity alone.
-  electronics-only gating; explicitly **not** sheer steel quantity alone.
 
 ### Material palette (fingerprints per family)
 
 - **iron/steel** — structure.
 - **copper** — conduction and heat: wiring, coils, heat sinks.
 - **silicon family** (all derived from quartz): silicon (logic,
-  sensors), glass/optics (lenses, focusing crystals), ceramics (heat
+  sensors), ceramics (heat shielding, insulators); glass/optics are cut
-  shielding, insulators). Carries the non-metal variety without extra
+  from v1 — their only consumers would be lasers, which are deferred.
-  base inputs.
 - **voidsteel** — capital-tier structure and exotics.
 - Deliberately skipped: carbon (mostly redundant with copper/ceramics),
   plastics (drags in Factorio-style chemical chains; ceramics read more
@@ -219,23 +172,25 @@ refactorability). Decisions fixed so far:
 
 ### Weapons
 
-- All current lasers are renamed to **railguns** (`laser_cannon_s/m/l` →
+- All v1 weapons are **railguns** (`railgun_s/m/l`, renamed from the
-  `railgun_s/m/l`); footprints and the gating matrix are unchanged.
+  laser placeholders; footprints and the gating matrix unchanged).
-  Implementation stays as-is (instant damage application, no projectile,
+  Implementation is instant damage application with no projectile and no
-  no ammunition) — the beam visual reads as a tracer round. Materials:
+  ammunition — the beam visual reads as a tracer round. Materials: iron
-  iron slugs, copper coils, steel rails — the starting-metal fingerprint.
+  slugs, copper coils, steel rails — the starting-metal fingerprint.
 - **Lasers are reserved for later** as a genuinely distinct weapon type
   (e.g. once projectile/ammunition mechanics exist for other families),
   arriving with quartz optics. More weapon types are planned; railguns
   are simply the baseline tech that ships with v1.
+- `drone_bay` and `drone_hangar` are footprint-only placeholders: the
+  drone-launching capability does not exist in the simulation yet, so
+  they define no capability section. The carrier is deliberately weak
+  until that capability lands (see the accepted imbalances in
+  `docs/balancing/targets.md`).
 
-### Tree structure — draft
+### Tree structure
 
-Recipes are sketched as input lists only; quantities and durations come
+Input lists only — quantities, durations, and per-item threat values are
-in the numbers pass, tuned so every chain sums to its threat-ladder
+in `docs/balancing/derived.md` and the configs.
-value and follows the ratio curve (t1 nice → t4 strange). Glass/optics
-are cut from v1 — their only consumers would be lasers, which are
-deferred; the silicon family ships as silicon + ceramics.
 
 **Mined (miner):** `iron_ore`, `copper_ore` (every tile), `quartz`
 (geode deposits in expansion territory).
@@ -244,7 +199,7 @@ deferred; the silicon family ships as silicon + ceramics.
 
 | output | input | ratio class |
 |---|---|---|
-| iron_ingot | iron_ore | nice (1:1 or 1:2) |
+| iron_ingot | iron_ore | nice (1:1) |
 | copper_ingot | copper_ore | nice |
 | silicon | quartz | mid entry |
 | iron_ingot | scrap | the safe, boring scrap sink |
@@ -280,14 +235,13 @@ fully unlocked pool state.
 | capital_core | voidsteel + capacitor_bank + control_chip | capital heart |
 
 **Hull items** (`<ship>_hull`, assembler-made; the shipyard consumes the
-hull item plus module materials). The m+ hull gate is resolved as
+hull item plus module materials). The m+ hull gate is **both**
-**both** of the open-question options: hardened_steel (quality steel, a
+hardened_steel (quality steel, the time-heavy step) *and* control_chip
-deliberately long-running recipe — the time-heavy step) *and*
+(electronics):
-control_chip (electronics):
 
 | hull | inputs |
 |---|---|
-| drone_hull | steel_plate |
+| drone_hull | iron_ingot |
 | frigate_hull | steel_plate + copper_wire |
 | destroyer_hull | steel_plate + copper_coil |
 | cruiser_hull | hardened_steel + control_chip |
@@ -302,7 +256,7 @@ stockpiled):
 
 | module | inputs | archetype |
 |---|---|---|
-| railgun_s | steel_plate + copper_coil | balanced |
+| railgun_s | copper_coil | lean |
 | salvager | steel_plate + copper_wire | balanced |
 | repair_tool | steel_plate + copper_wire | balanced |
 | armor_plates | steel_plate (many) | material-heavy, fast |
@@ -317,238 +271,24 @@ stockpiled):
 | railgun_l | capacitor_bank + hardened_steel + ceramic_plate | late |
 | drone_hangar | voidsteel_plate + control_chip + drive_unit | late (carrier only) |
 
-Refactorability check (the default technique holds): railgun_s → m
+**Refactorability check** (the default technique holds): railgun_s → m
-introduces capacitor_bank, built from a subset of the small gun's
+introduces capacitor_bank, built from a subset of the small gun's inputs
-inputs (copper_coil) plus the new base resource (silicon); the m gun
+(copper_coil) plus the new base resource (silicon); the m gun otherwise
-otherwise reuses the small gun's inputs. Hulls likewise: cruiser adds
+reuses the small gun's inputs. Hulls likewise: the cruiser adds
 hardening (fed by the existing steel line) and chips (fed by the new
 quartz territory) without touching the iron/copper core.
 
-**Shortcut recipe candidates** (drop-only assembler schematics; not
+**Shortcut recipes** (drop-only assembler schematics; not every strange
-every strange chain gets one):
+chain gets one): `iron_ore → steel_plate` (skips the ingot step on the
+highest-volume chain), `quartz → control_chip` (skips silicon),
+`iron_ingot → hardened_steel` (a nicer-ratio route past the deliberately
+awkward hardening step).
 
-- `iron_ore → steel_plate` — skips the ingot step on the highest-volume
+Consistency is checked by `tools/verify_recipes.py` — re-run it after
-  chain in the game.
+editing recipes, ship/module materials, or visuals:
-- `quartz → control_chip` — skips silicon on the electronics chain.
-- `iron_ingot → hardened_steel` — a nicer-ratio route past the
-  deliberately awkward hardening step.
 
-Item count: 3 mined + scrap + 3 smelted + 4 t2 + 5 t3 + 3 t4 (incl.
+    python dota_factory/tools/verify_recipes.py
-voidsteel) + 8 hulls + 14 modules ≈ 41 item types — same scale as the
-first-pass tree. `verify_recipes.py` must be re-run once this lands in
-recipes.toml; the numbers pass should add a threat-report tool that
-prints per-item threat values and producer:consumer ratio tables.
 
-### Numbers — first pass
+It verifies every consumed item has a producer, every item has a visuals
-
+entry, flags orphaned items, and prints which items are
-These numbers are live in the config files and verified by
+reprocessing-only (currently exactly voidsteel).
-`tools/threat_report.py`; quantities and durations are tuned so fitted
-ships land on the threat-cost ladder and the ratio curve is realized.
-The typical loadouts are geometry-validated against the hull grids and
-configured as each ship's `default_modules`: the L-shaped weapon
-modifiers turned out not to fit alongside the full gun complement on
-the battlecruiser and dreadnought, so their loadouts use armor and
-small-railgun fillers instead — which moved all three heavy ships
-closer to their ladder targets.
-
-**Economy constants:** `scrap_per_threat = 0.25` (1 scrap per 4 threat
-destroyed — a cruiser kill drops ~59 scrap). Reprocessing: 4 scrap per
-cycle, 4 s, full-pool weights iron_ingot 30 / copper_ingot 30 /
-silicon 20 / voidsteel 20 → threat(voidsteel) = (4·4 + 4)/0.2 = 100.
-Scrap smelting: 1 scrap → 1 iron_ingot, 1 s — deliberately
-value-losing (4 threat of scrap becomes a 2-threat ingot); reprocessing
-is the value-preserving path.
-
-**Recipes** (dur in seconds; threat is per output item):
-
-| item | recipe | dur | out | threat |
-|---|---|---|---|---|
-| iron_ore / copper_ore | miner | 1 | 1 | 1 |
-| quartz | miner (deposit) | 2 | 1 | 2 |
-| iron_ingot | 1 iron_ore | 1 | 1 | 2 |
-| copper_ingot | 1 copper_ore | 1 | 1 | 2 |
-| silicon | 1 quartz | 2 | 1 | 4 |
-| steel_plate | 2 iron_ingot | 3 | 1 | 7 |
-| copper_wire | 1 copper_ingot | 1 | 2 | 1.5 |
-| copper_coil | 2 copper_wire | 1.5 | 1 | 4.5 |
-| building_block | 2 steel_plate | 2 | 4 | 4 |
-| control_chip | 1 silicon + 2 copper_wire | 5 | 1 | 12 |
-| capacitor_bank | 2 copper_coil + 1 silicon | 5 | 1 | 18 |
-| hardened_steel | 3 steel_plate | 12 | 1 | 33 |
-| ceramic_plate | 2 quartz | 4 | 1 | 8 |
-| drive_unit | 2 steel_plate + 2 copper_coil + 1 control_chip | 8 | 1 | 43 |
-| voidsteel_plate | 1 voidsteel + 1 hardened_steel | 8 | 1 | 141 |
-| capital_core | 2 voidsteel + 1 capacitor_bank + 1 control_chip | 10 | 1 | 240 |
-
-**Module prefabs** (contribution = item threat + module production
-time):
-
-| module | recipe | dur | mod. time | contribution |
-|---|---|---|---|---|
-| railgun_s | 1 copper_coil | 1 | 1 | 6.5 |
-| salvager | 1 steel_plate + 2 copper_wire | 2 | 1 | 13 |
-| repair_tool | 1 steel_plate + 2 copper_wire | 2 | 1 | 13 |
-| armor_plates | 4 steel_plate | 3 | 1 | 32 |
-| maneuvering_thrusters | 1 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 14.5 |
-| sensor_booster | 2 copper_wire + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 10.5 |
-| afterburner | 2 copper_coil + 1 steel_plate | 3 | 1 | 20 |
-| weapon_stabilizer | 1 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 2 | 1 | 14.5 |
-| weapon_primer | 1 capacitor_bank + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 2 | 28.5 |
-| weapon_upgrade | 1 control_chip + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 2 | 22.5 |
-| railgun_m | 1 capacitor_bank + 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 43.5 |
-| drone_bay | 1 control_chip + 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 37.5 |
-| railgun_l | 1 capacitor_bank + 2 hardened_steel + 1 ceramic_plate | 6 | 4 | 102 |
-| drone_hangar | 1 voidsteel_plate + 2 control_chip + 1 drive_unit | 10 | 6 | 224 |
-
-**Ships** (fitted = hull item + ship base time + typical loadout; the
-typical loadouts double as the `default_modules` for enemy waves):
-
-| ship | hull recipe | dur | base | typical loadout | fitted (target) |
-|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-| drone | 1 iron_ingot | 1 | 1 | railgun_s | 10 (10) |
-| frigate | 2 steel_plate + 1 copper_wire | 2 | 2 | 2× railgun_s, maneuvering_thrusters | 47 (40) |
-| destroyer | 3 steel_plate + 2 copper_coil | 4 | 3 | 3× railgun_s, armor_plates, sensor_booster | 99 (80) |
-| cruiser | 2 hardened_steel + 2 control_chip | 6 | 4 | 2× railgun_m, armor_plates, maneuvering_thrusters | 234 (200) |
-| battlecruiser | 3 hardened_steel + 2 control_chip + 1 drive_unit | 8 | 5 | 3× railgun_m, armor_plates, 2× railgun_s | 355 (350) |
-| battleship | 3 voidsteel_plate + 1 drive_unit + 2 control_chip | 10 | 6 | railgun_l, 2× railgun_m, weapon_stabilizer, 2× railgun_s | 723 (700) |
-| dreadnought | 5 voidsteel_plate + 1 capital_core + 2 drive_unit | 12 | 8 | 3× railgun_l, 4× armor_plates, railgun_s | 1492 (1500) |
-| carrier | 5 voidsteel_plate + 1 capital_core + 2 drive_unit | 12 | 8 | drone_hangar, 2× railgun_m, 2× armor_plates, sensor_booster | 1436 (1500) |
-
-**Checks:**
-
-- *Ratio curve realized:* t1 all 1:1 (miner:smelter); t2 clean 2:3
-  (ingot→plate, wire→coil); t3 strange — 2:5 (silicon→chip), 3:5
-  (coil→capacitor), 3:4 (plate→hardened, plate→drive); t4 inverted 3:2
-  (hardened→voidsteel_plate).
-- *Belt feasibility:* worst input demand is 1.33 items/s (wire→coil,
-  plate→armor) — under the ~2/s single-belt cap everywhere; no
-  accidental multi-belt recipes.
-- *Block economy:* building_block = 4 threat ⇒ for the 4-minute
-  doubling at 30% capacity, the average building must cost ≈ 18 blocks
-  (0.3 × 240 / 4). buildings.toml costs should be set around that mean
-  (belts cheap, producers ~20–30).
-- *Small-end deviation:* frigate–cruiser land 6–24% hot because the
-  fixed chain overhead dominates small hulls. Recommendation: accept
-  and adjust the ladder targets to the achieved values (the ~×2-per-
-  class curve shape is preserved) rather than thinning the early
-  chains below readability.
-- *Rule bug discovered:* the scrap→iron_ingot smelter recipe combined
-  with REQ-THREAT-ITEM's max-across-recipes rule would set
-  threat(iron_ingot) to the scrap path (1 + 4 = 5, or more at other
-  scrap values) instead of 2, inflating every downstream item. Fix:
-  scrap-consuming recipes count toward an item's threat only when no
-  scrap-free recipe produces that item, mirroring the reprocessing-path
-  rule (see progression_design.md action items).
-
-### Combat stat anchors — first pass
-
-All combat stats derive from a few anchors so that power-per-threat holds
-by construction; the arena suite in `bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml`
-verifies it empirically. Change the anchors first, re-derive stats second.
-
-- **Weapon DPS ≈ 0.6 per threat of weapon contribution**, mildly
-  diminishing with gun size, compensated by the range ladder:
-  railgun_s 2 dmg × 2.0 Hz = 4.0 DPS at 6.5 threat (0.62), range 50;
-  railgun_m 17 × 1.5 = 25.5 at 43.5 (0.59), range 70;
-  railgun_l 70 × 0.8 = 56 at 102 (0.55), range 100.
-- **Hull HP = 15 per threat of hull contribution** (incl. ship base
-  time): drone 60, frigate 300, destroyer 550, cruiser 1500,
-  battlecruiser 2700, battleship 7500, dreadnought/carrier 15500.
-- **Armor HP = 20 per threat** — a premium over hull HP because armor is
-  pure HP with no capability: armor_plates adds 640 HP at 32 threat.
-- **TTK check:** a mirror cruiser duel (51 DPS vs 2140 EHP) lasts ~42 s —
-  inside the 30–60 s parity-fight band implied by the 25-ship fleet
-  target. Capital mirrors run longer (~90 s), deliberately.
-- **Repair ≈ 2 HP/s per threat:** repair_tool heals 25 HP × 1 Hz at 13
-  threat. Salvager: collection range 60 (was a nonsensical 500, beyond
-  any sensor), cargo 20, 0.5 collections/s. `scrap_despawn_seconds`
-  raised 30 → 120: a capital kill drops hundreds of scrap collected one
-  per cycle, so 30 s despawned nearly everything.
-- **Mobility ladder is monotone in size** — small = fast and nimble
-  (drone 45 m/s, 60 accel) down to capitals (10 m/s, 8 accel); the old
-  placeholder had the drone as the least agile ship. Sensor ranges keep
-  the existing 150→350 ladder; all weapon ranges stay below sensor
-  ranges.
-- **Weapon modifiers are capital economy:** ×1.2 damage at 22.5 threat
-  beats adding a gun once a ship carries more than ~68 threat of weapons
-  — so modifiers pay off on gun-heavy big hulls and are a waste on small
-  ones. Kept at ×1.2/×1.2/(×1.5 range, ×0.8 rate) deliberately.
-- **Stations:** a fresh player station (3000 HP, 25 dmg × 1 Hz,
-  range 200) holds one early parity wave unaided; the enemy station at
-  level 0 matches it exactly and scales per push level
-  (+1500 HP, +12 dmg, +0.1 Hz per level). HQ 5000 HP.
-- **Known imbalance, accepted:** the carrier loses its equal-threat
-  arena until the drone-launching capability exists — the hangar is 224
-  threat of dead weight. Do not compensate with stats; fix by
-  implementing drones.
-
-## Balancing targets (first pass, July 2026)
-
-The six root numbers for the balancing pass. Every derived value (threat
-rate, recipe quantities, block costs, scrap rates, unlock ladder) is tuned
-to hit these; when rebalancing later, change these first and re-derive,
-never the other way around. The rules they follow live in
-`docs/progression_design.md`.
-
-All targets are in **game time**. The player can pause and accelerate, so
-real session length differs; playtests should measure both. The time unit
-is the boss cycle (`world.toml boss_countdown_seconds`, 300 s). Destroying
-a station set advances the boss countdown by `boss_advance_seconds`
-(60 s), so cycles run shorter than nominal when pushing actively — these
-targets deliberately ignore that; playtesting will show real run lengths.
-
-1. **Run length** — a winning run takes up to 2 hours of game time: win
-   around boss cycle 20–24. Losing runs end earlier.
-2. **Phase boundaries** — early = cycles 1–5 (iron/copper, small hulls),
-   mid = cycles 6–14 (quartz, medium hulls), late = cycles 15+
-   (voidsteel, capitals). Push cadence roughly one station set per
-   cycle from mid onward. This fixes the `unlock_at_station_level`
-   ladder and, with the artifact win count, the `artifact_chance_formula`
-   pacing.
-3. **Factory size curve** — producing buildings over time; when
-   saturated, output threat/s equals this count, so this curve IS the
-   player power curve. Targets: ~25 when the starting asteroid is full
-   (end of cycle 2), ~60 at the start of mid (cycle 6), ~120 at the
-   start of late (cycle 15), ~150 near the win. `threat_rate_formula`
-   must remain a fraction of this curve, and buildings plus belts must
-   physically fit the asteroid plus affordable expansions.
-4. **Threat-cost ladder** — total production-seconds per *fitted* hull
-   (including a typical module loadout): drone ~10, frigate ~40,
-   destroyer ~80, cruiser ~200, battlecruiser ~350, battleship ~700,
-   dreadnought/carrier ~1500. Every production chain must sum to its
-   ladder value. Cross-check against (3): fitted-ship cadence =
-   ladder value / (factory threat/s devoted to military) — e.g. a mid
-   factory spending half of 60 threat/s on ships fields a fitted
-   cruiser roughly every 7 s.
-5. **Fleet size** — swarm-leaning: ~25 player combat ships as the
-   standing mid-game fleet. Standing fleet = build cadence (4) × average
-   ship lifetime, so this target drives time-to-kill and therefore the
-   combat stat magnitudes tuned in the arena pass.
-6. **Block economy roots** — bootstrap complete (starting asteroid full)
-   by the end of cycle 2; a factory spending ~30% of its capacity on
-   blocks doubles in ~4 minutes early game; one expansion affordable per
-   cycle at ~1/3 of block income, with escalating costs that eventually
-   outrun any income (see the growth curve rules in
-   `progression_design.md`).
-
-## Deliberate placeholders / open questions for later passes
-
-- All new hulls have `threat.cost_formula = "0"` so enemy waves do not spawn
-  them yet (WaveSystem treats any ship with positive threat cost as wave-
-  eligible, regardless of unlock level). The balancing pass should set real
-  threat costs together with `default_modules` loadouts so waves spawn them
-  armed.
-- All new hulls and all assembler recipes are `unlock_at_station_level = -1`
-  (available from the start) to make testing easy; the balancing pass should
-  stagger these so mid/lategame recipes drop as schematics from enemy defence
-  stations.
-- Recipe quantities and durations are a first guess, deliberately roughly
-  tiered (capital hulls ~60 s, drones 4 s); the balancing pass tunes them.
-- `drone_bay` and `drone_hangar` are footprint-only placeholders: the drone
-  launching capability does not exist in the simulation yet, so they define
-  no capability section.
-- Renames in this pass: `laser_cannon_xs` → `laser_cannon_s` (the old 2x2
-  `laser_cannon_s` became `laser_cannon_m`), `armor_plate` → `armor_plates`,
-  `manuvering_thrusters` → `maneuvering_thrusters` (typo fix). Test data
-  under `bin/test/data/config` intentionally still uses the old ids — it is
-  an independent fixture set.

docs/requirements.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 Config files use the TOML format. The following config files drive game parameters:
 
-- **world.toml** — world dimensions, region widths, expansion amounts, building refund percentage, wave timing, boss wave timing, belt speed, starting building blocks, departure interval, ship orbit factor, rally orbit radius, scrap-per-threat conversion, combat target-selection parameters (target score formula, overclaim penalty formula, target hysteresis), artifact chance formula, and artifact win count.
+- **world.toml** — world dimensions, region widths, expansion amounts, building refund percentage, wave timing, boss wave timing, belt speed, starting building blocks, departure interval, ship orbit factor, rally orbit radius, scrap-per-threat conversion, combat target-selection parameters (target score formula, overclaim penalty formula, target hysteresis), artifact chance formula, artifact win count, and view pan speeds (slow and fast horizontal pan speed and pan ramp band width).
 - **buildings.toml** — building block cost and construction time per building type.
 - **recipes.toml** — crafting recipes: inputs, outputs, quantities, durations, and reprocessing plant probabilities. Assembler recipe entries may optionally define `unlock_at_station_level` (integer): -1 means the recipe is explicitly unlocked at game start; a value ≥ 0 means the recipe starts locked and a schematic for it can be awarded via defence station destruction (see REQ-LOCK-EXPLICIT, REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP). An assembler recipe schematic entry may also define an optional `unlock_requires` list of prerequisite schematic ids (REQ-LOCK-PREREQ).
 - **ships.toml** — per schematic: a human-readable display name (used in the UI), hull stats (HP, max linear speed, sensor range, main acceleration, maneuvering acceleration, angular acceleration, max rotation speed) as plain values, required build materials, the station level at which the schematic becomes available for unlock (`unlock_at_station_level`; -1 means the player starts with the schematic already unlocked), an optional `unlock_requires` prerequisite list (REQ-LOCK-PREREQ), a layout grid defining the ship's module slots, and a `default_modules` list used for enemy wave ships (see REQ-WAV-DEFAULT-MODULES).
@@ -109,7 +109,15 @@ Modules in `modules.toml` define a `surface_mask` — a list of strings that des
 - REQ-BLD-BELT-DRAG: For belts, the player can click and drag across multiple tiles to place a construction site on each tile in one gesture.
 - REQ-BLD-TUNNEL-AUTO-SWITCH: After the player successfully places a Tunnel Entry construction site, builder mode automatically switches to Tunnel Exit (and vice versa), preserving the current ghost rotation. This makes it easy to immediately place the paired end without manually selecting the complementary type.
 - REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH: The player can demolish a placed factory building. Demolition returns `world.toml [world].refund_percentage` percent of the original building block cost (default 75%) to the global stock. Exception: if the building is still in the construction queue (not yet fully built, including the one currently being constructed), it is removed from the queue and the **full** building block cost is refunded. The HQ and player defence stations cannot be demolished.
+- REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-CLICK: While in demolish mode (REQ-UI-HOTKEYS, REQ-UI-DEMOLISH-BUTTON), left-clicking a placed factory building or construction site in the game world demolishes it, following the refund rules of REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH — the partial refund for built buildings and the full refund for still-queued construction sites. Clicking a building that cannot be demolished (the HQ or a player defence station, per REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH), or clicking empty world space, has no effect. Demolish mode stays active after a demolition so the player can demolish further buildings without re-entering the mode; it is exited via the Q toggle (REQ-UI-HOTKEYS) or the Demolish button (REQ-UI-DEMOLISH-BUTTON).
+- REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-BOX: While in demolish mode (REQ-UI-HOTKEYS, REQ-UI-DEMOLISH-BUTTON), the player can click and drag a selection box in the game world. A selection rectangle is drawn while dragging, using the same box-drag gesture and coverage semantics as the multi-select box (REQ-UI-MULTI-SELECT). On mouse up, every placed factory building and construction site covered by the box is demolished, each following the refund rules of REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH — the partial refund for built buildings and the full refund for still-queued construction sites. Buildings that cannot be demolished (the HQ and player defence stations, per REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH) are excluded from the box demolition; ships and defence stations are never affected.
 - REQ-BLD-SITE-CONFIG: A construction site — a building that has been placed but is still queued or under construction (REQ-BLD-QUEUE) — can be selected and configured exactly like the equivalent operational building, before it finishes building. Whatever configuration the building type supports is available on the site: the recipe for a Miner or Assembler (REQ-UI-SELECT-BUTTON), the produced-ship schematic and its module layout for a Shipyard (REQ-UI-SELECT-BUTTON, REQ-MOD-UI-PREVIEW, REQ-MOD-UI-DIALOG), and the output filters for a Splitter (REQ-BLD-SPLITTER) — all set through the same Selected Building Panel controls (REQ-UI-CONFIG-INLINE). Only currently unlocked recipes and schematics are offered, exactly as for operational buildings (REQ-LOCK-UI-RECIPE, REQ-LOCK-UI-SCHEMATIC, REQ-LOCK-UI-SPLITTER). The configuration is stored on the construction site and carries over unchanged when construction completes, so the building becomes operational already configured. A construction site has no input/output buffers and runs no production cycle, so the buffer and production-progress portions of the panel (REQ-UI-SINGLE-SELECTION, REQ-UI-PRODUCTION-PROGRESS) are not shown for it; only its construction progress (REQ-UI-CONSTRUCTION-PROGRESS) and its configuration controls appear. (Blueprint placement already applies a stored recipe or schematic to a construction site on placement per REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-PLACE; this requirement additionally lets the player set or change that configuration directly on an existing site.)
+- REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG: **Copy building settings (hold Shift).** While the Shift key is held, the player can copy one building's settings onto other buildings of the same type, so several identical machines can be set up without opening each one's panel. This gesture is available only in the default selection mode; while a builder, blueprint placement, or demolish mode is active it is disabled, so it never clashes with placement or demolition clicks.
+  - **Shift + right-click** a building copies its current settings into a temporary cache, along with the building's type. The settings copied are whatever that building type supports: the selected recipe (Miner, Assembler), the selected schematic together with its module layout (Shipyard), or the two output filters (Splitter, REQ-BLD-SPLITTER). Copying succeeds only when there is something to copy — a Miner or Assembler with a recipe selected, a Shipyard with a schematic selected, or any Splitter (whose output filters, even when empty/accept-all, always constitute valid settings). Shift + right-clicking a configurable building with nothing yet selected, a building type that has no settings at all (Smelter, Reprocessing Plant, Salvage Bay, belt/tunnel tiles, the HQ), or empty world space, has no effect and leaves any existing cache unchanged.
+  - **Shift + left-click** a building of the **same type** as the cached one applies the cached settings to it, exactly as if the player had made that selection through the selected building panel — with the same effects as a normal selection change (buffer clearing per REQ-MAT-INPUT-BUFFER and REQ-MAT-OUTPUT-BUFFER, and, for a Shipyard, in-progress cycle cancellation per REQ-BLD-SHIPYARD). This can be repeated on any number of same-type buildings while Shift stays held. Shift + left-clicking a building of a different type than the cached one, any building while the cache is empty, or empty world space, has no effect.
+  - Both operational buildings and construction sites take part as source and target (REQ-BLD-SITE-CONFIG); settings applied to a construction site carry over unchanged when it finishes building.
+  - **Releasing Shift clears the temporary cache.** It is never persisted and does not survive Shift being released; the next copy starts fresh.
+  - Because the cached settings were already valid on a same-type source building, they remain valid and available on the target (a selected recipe/schematic stays unlocked per REQ-LOCK-UI-RECIPE and REQ-LOCK-UI-SCHEMATIC; splitter filter item types stay unlocked per REQ-LOCK-UI-SPLITTER).
 
 ## Building Types
 
@@ -118,7 +126,7 @@ Modules in `modules.toml` define a `surface_mask` — a list of strings that des
 - REQ-BLD-ASSEMBLER: **Assembler** (3×3): The player selects a recipe from the config-defined crafting tree. Produces the selected output item at the rate defined in the corresponding `recipes.toml [[recipe]]` entry with `building = "assembler"`. Only implicitly unlocked recipes are available for selection (REQ-LOCK-UI-RECIPE).
 - REQ-BLD-REPROCESSING: **Reprocessing Plant** (3×3): Consumes scrap per cycle and produces exactly one higher-level intermediate product per cycle via weighted random pick. The input quantity, possible output items, per-output weights, and amounts are defined in `recipes.toml [[recipe]]` entries with `building = "reprocessing_plant"` (`inputs`, `outputs[].item`, `outputs[].amount`, `outputs[].weight`). Weights are normalized at load time; their sum does not need to equal 1. The output is rolled at cycle start (see REQ-MAT-CYCLE); the pool of eligible outputs is restricted to implicitly unlocked item types (REQ-LOCK-REPROCESSING-POOL). The output buffer holds at most one cycle's output — see REQ-MAT-OUTPUT-BUFFER-REPROCESSING.
 - REQ-BLD-SHIPYARD: **Shipyard** (4×2): The player selects a schematic. When all required materials — the ship's base materials (`[ship.schematic].materials`) plus the materials of all modules in the configured layout (REQ-MOD-MATERIALS) — are present in its input buffer, the shipyard consumes them and begins a production cycle lasting the ship's base `[ship.schematic].production_time_seconds` plus the sum of production times contributed by all module instances in the configured layout (REQ-MOD-PRODUCTION-TIME). One ship of that type is spawned with the configured modules when the cycle completes. The shipyard cannot start a new cycle while one is in progress. If the player confirms a layout change (REQ-MOD-UI-DIALOG) while a production cycle is in progress, the current cycle is cancelled and all consumed materials are discarded; the shipyard returns to idle with the new layout configuration.
-- REQ-BLD-SALVAGE-BAY: **Salvage Bay** (3×2): A dedicated drop-off point for salvage ships. Scrap delivered here is placed onto connected output belts.
+- REQ-BLD-SALVAGE-BAY: **Salvage Bay** (3×2): A dedicated drop-off point for salvage ships. It has an output buffer whose holding capacity is defined by the `output_buffer_capacity` field of the `salvage_bay` entry in `buildings.toml` (rather than by a production cycle, since the Salvage Bay has no recipe). A ship at the bay hands over one unit of scrap per tick while the buffer has free space; a full buffer blocks further drop-off until space frees up (consistent with the buffer-full semantics of REQ-MAT-OUTPUT-BUFFER). Held scrap is pushed onto connected output belts.
 - REQ-BLD-BELT: **Belt** (1×1): Transports items. A belt tile has one direction (N, S, E, W) set at placement (modified by rotation). Curved belts are auto-derived: when a belt tile's outgoing direction leads into another belt whose direction is orthogonal, the downstream belt is rendered and behaves as a curve. Belt speed is defined in `world.toml [world].belt_speed_tiles_per_second` (REQ-GW-BELT-SPEED).
 - REQ-BLD-SPLITTER: **Splitter** (1×1): Distributes incoming items between two output directions. Each output can optionally have a filter (a list of item types), configurable via the selected building panel; only implicitly unlocked item types are available as filter options (REQ-LOCK-UI-SPLITTER). Routing rules:
   - An item matching only one output's filter is routed to that output.
@@ -311,13 +319,13 @@ Modules in `modules.toml` define a `surface_mask` — a list of strings that des
 
   In addition to the conditions above, a schematic is included in the eligible drop pool only when every prerequisite in its optional `unlock_requires` list is currently satisfied (REQ-LOCK-PREREQ). Because the pool is rebuilt for each drop, a schematic gated behind prerequisites first appears only after all of its prerequisites have themselves been unlocked.
 
-  Each option in the dialog displays: the schematic name (ship `display_name` from `ships.toml`, module `id` from `modules.toml`, or the output item type for assembler recipes) and the schematic type (ship, module, or assembler recipe). The artifact option (if present) is displayed as a distinct entry with the name "Artifact".
+  Each option in the dialog displays: the schematic name (ship `id` from `ships.toml`, module `id` from `modules.toml`, or assembler recipe `id` from `recipes.toml`) and the schematic type (ship, module, or assembler recipe). The artifact option (if present) is displayed as a distinct entry with the name "Artifact".
 
-  Each option additionally displays a vertical list of item names labeled "Unlocks recipes for:", showing which recipes would newly become implicitly unlocked (REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT) if this option were selected — specifically, the output items of miner recipes and assembler recipes (without `unlock_at_station_level`) that are not currently implicitly unlocked but would become so after applying this option's effect:
+  Each option additionally displays a vertical list of recipe names labeled "Unlocks recipes:", showing which miner and assembler recipes would newly become implicitly unlocked (REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT) if this option were selected — specifically, the miner recipes and assembler recipes (without `unlock_at_station_level`) that are not currently implicitly unlocked but would become so after applying this option's effect:
   - For a ship or module schematic, its `materials` are added to the base set per REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT step 1a before recomputation.
   - For an assembler recipe schematic, its output item is added to the base set per REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT step 1b before recomputation.
 
-  Item names are deduplicated and sorted alphabetically. If no recipes would be newly unlocked, the list shows "None".
+  Each recipe is listed by its `id` (using the same display convention as the assembler recipe-selection dialog), sorted alphabetically. Hovering a recipe in this list displays the recipe info tooltip described for a recipe in REQ-UI-SELECT-TOOLTIP (the recipe name; the name and quantity of each input item; the completion time; and the name and quantity of the produced output item). If no recipes would be newly unlocked, the list shows "None".
 
   The player selects one option by clicking it. If the player selects the artifact option, the player's artifact count is incremented by 1 (REQ-WIN-ARTIFACT-COUNT) and the dialog closes; no schematic is applied. Otherwise, the selected schematic is applied and the dialog closes:
 
@@ -367,7 +375,7 @@ Modules in `modules.toml` define a `surface_mask` — a list of strings that des
 ## Asteroid Expansion
 
 - REQ-EXP-UNLOCK: The player can unlock additional asteroid tile columns to the left of the existing asteroid by spending building blocks from the global stock.
-- REQ-EXP-COST: Each expansion adds `world.toml [expansion].columns_per_expansion` columns and costs `[expansion].cost_building_blocks` building blocks.
+- REQ-EXP-COST: Each expansion adds `world.toml [expansion].columns_per_expansion` columns. The building block cost of an expansion is defined by the formula `world.toml [expansion].cost_building_blocks_formula`, where `x` is the number of expansions already purchased (0 for the first expansion, incrementing by 1 for each subsequent expansion). The formula is evaluated at purchase time and its result is floored to an integer number of building blocks.
 
 ## UI
 
@@ -392,15 +400,22 @@ The screen is divided into two columns: a main column (75% width) containing the
            (75% width)                   (25% width)
 ```
 
-- REQ-UI-HEADER: The header bar spans the width of the game world column (75% of the screen width) and always shows the elapsed survival time, the current global building blocks stock, and the artifact count (REQ-WIN-ARTIFACT-COUNT) displayed as `Artifacts: x/y` (where `x` is the current artifact count and `y` is `world.toml [world].artifact_win_count`) on the left, the boss wave counter and boss countdown (REQ-UI-BOSS-STATUS) to the left of the speed buttons, and game speed controls on the right.
+- REQ-UI-HEADER: The header bar spans the width of the game world column (75% of the screen width) and always shows the elapsed survival time, the current global building blocks stock, and the artifact count (REQ-WIN-ARTIFACT-COUNT) displayed as `Artifacts: x/y` (where `x` is the current artifact count and `y` is `world.toml [world].artifact_win_count`) on the left, the boss wave counter and boss countdown (REQ-UI-BOSS-STATUS) and an asteroid expansion button (REQ-UI-EXPAND-BUTTON) to the left of the speed buttons, and game speed controls on the right.
 - REQ-UI-BOSS-STATUS: The header bar displays, to the left of the speed buttons, the current boss wave counter (REQ-WAV-BOSS-COUNTER) and the time remaining on the boss countdown (REQ-WAV-BOSS-COUNTDOWN). The boss wave counter is shown as `Boss Wave #<x>` and the countdown as `Next boss: <M:SS>`, where `<M:SS>` is the remaining seconds formatted as whole minutes and two-digit seconds. Both values update continuously as the simulation runs.
 - REQ-UI-SPEED: The game speed controls in the header bar are buttons for 0×, 0.5×, 1×, 2×, and 4× speed. The currently active speed is shown as selected. All game simulation (production, movement, threat accumulation, wave timing) scales with the selected speed. 0× pauses the game.
+- REQ-UI-EXPAND-BUTTON: The header bar shows an asteroid expansion button captioned `Expand: <x> Blocks`, where `<x>` is the current expansion cost computed from `world.toml [expansion].cost_building_blocks_formula` at the current number of purchased expansions (REQ-EXP-COST). Clicking the button unlocks the next asteroid expansion (REQ-EXP-UNLOCK, REQ-GW-ASTEROID-EXPAND), spending that many building blocks from the global stock. The button is disabled when the player cannot currently afford the cost (consistent with REQ-UI-BUILD-DISABLED). The caption updates as the cost changes with each purchased expansion.
 - REQ-UI-WORLD-SIZE: The game world view occupies the full height below the header bar in the main column (75% of the screen width).
 - REQ-UI-PANEL-COLUMN: The side panel column occupies 25% of the screen width and the full screen height. It is divided into three equal-height panels stacked top to bottom: selected building panel (top), build button grid (middle), and blueprint panel (bottom).
 
 ### Game World
 
-- REQ-UI-SCROLL: The player scrolls the view horizontally across the scrollable area by pressing A (scroll left) and D (scroll right).
+- REQ-UI-SCROLL: The player scrolls the view horizontally across the scrollable area by pressing A (scroll left) and D (scroll right). The pan speed is not constant; it varies with the view's position per REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED.
+- REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED: The horizontal pan speed varies with position so the player crosses the empty middle of the world quickly while retaining fine control near the asteroid and near the front line. Two pan speeds are read from `world.toml [scroll]`: `pan_speed_slow_tiles_per_second` (the base speed, used while the view is over the asteroid and player buffer zone) and `pan_speed_fast_tiles_per_second` (the faster speed, used while the view is over the contest zone). Both are expressed in tiles per second and apply equally to the A and D scroll directions. The current pan speed is a function of the view's horizontal center X (REQ-GW-REGIONS defines the regions):
+  - **Flat regions:** while the view center is left of the contest zone (over the asteroid or player buffer zone) and outside any ramp band, the pan speed is the slow speed; while the view center is inside the contest zone and outside any ramp band, the pan speed is the fast speed.
+  - **Ramp bands:** a transition ramp band of width `world.toml [scroll].pan_ramp_band_width_tiles` tiles straddles each contest-zone boundary (the player defence stations on the left, the enemy defence stations on the right), centered on the boundary with half the band width on each side. While the view center is within a ramp band, the pan speed is linearly interpolated between the slow speed at the band's outer (non-contest-zone) edge and the fast speed at the band's inner (contest-zone) edge, by the view center's fractional position across the band. This produces smooth speed changes when entering and exiting the fast contest-zone range rather than an abrupt jump.
+  - **Narrow contest zone:** should the two ramp bands overlap (a contest zone narrower than the band width), each ramp is clamped at the contest-zone center so the bands do not cross; the fast plateau then reduces to a single point at the center and the peak speed there may be below the fast speed.
+
+  Because the contest-zone boundaries shift as the scrollable area grows with each push (REQ-GW-PUSH-EXPAND, REQ-GW-SCROLL-LIMIT), the ramp bands are recomputed from the current contest-zone boundaries. This is a presentation-only concern and does not affect the simulation, consistent with REQ-UI-NO-ZOOM.
 - REQ-UI-CONSTRUCTION-PROGRESS: Construction sites display the building's glyph centered on the footprint (same as an operational building). Below the glyph — or centered on the footprint if the building has no glyph — a construction progress percentage is shown (integer, e.g. `42%`), increasing from 0% to 100% as construction completes.
 - REQ-UI-PORT-GLYPH: Every output port of every building is indicated by a directional glyph drawn on the port's tile. The glyph is a `>` rotated to face the port's exit direction (`>` for East, `^` for North, `<` for West, `v` for South). It is drawn at the midpoint between the tile center and the tile edge that the port exits through (i.e. halfway from center toward the exit edge). The indicator is rendered for all building states: operational buildings, construction sites, and the builder-mode ghost. Buildings with multiple output ports (e.g. splitters) show one indicator per port.
 - REQ-UI-HP-BARS: All entities with HP — the HQ, player and enemy defence stations, and player and enemy ships — render an HP bar below them. The bar is always visible regardless of current HP. The bar's filled portion represents the fraction of current HP to maximum HP.
@@ -412,6 +427,7 @@ The screen is divided into two columns: a main column (75% width) containing the
   - **A / D** — scroll the view left / right (REQ-UI-SCROLL).
   - **Q** — context-sensitive. If a build mode is active (builder mode or blueprint placement mode), pressing Q exits it. Otherwise, pressing Q toggles demolish mode: it enters demolish mode if inactive, or exits demolish mode if already active. (See also REQ-UI-DEMOLISH-BUTTON for the equivalent button.)
   - **R / Shift+R** — in builder mode, rotate the ghost counter-clockwise / clockwise (REQ-BLD-ROTATE).
+  - **T** — create a temporary blueprint from the current selection and enter its placement mode (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-TEMP).
   - **Escape** — opens the escape menu (REQ-UI-GAME-MENU).
   - **Build mode selection** — pressing a build hotkey activates builder mode for the corresponding building type, equivalent to clicking its build button (REQ-BLD-BUILDER-MODE):
     - **1** — Belt, **2** — Splitter, **3** — Tunnel Entry, **4** — Tunnel Exit.
@@ -462,10 +478,12 @@ The screen is divided into two columns: a main column (75% width) containing the
 
 ### Blueprint Panel
 
-- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-PANEL: The blueprint panel is shown to the right of the build button grid. It contains, from top to bottom: a "Create Blueprint" button, and a list of blueprint entries (one per saved blueprint, in creation order).
+- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-PANEL: The blueprint panel is shown to the right of the build button grid. It contains, from top to bottom: a "Create Blueprint" button, and a list of blueprint entries (one per saved blueprint, in creation order). The panel has no Save or Load buttons; blueprints are persisted automatically (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-SAVE) and restored at startup (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-LOAD).
 
 - REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-CREATE: The "Create Blueprint" button is enabled only when at least one player-placeable building (i.e. a building with a button in the build button grid) is currently selected; non-player-placeable buildings (HQ, defence stations) in the selection do not count toward this condition. When clicked, a modal dialog appears prompting the player to enter a name. The dialog has Confirm and Cancel buttons. Clicking Cancel closes the dialog with no effect. Clicking Confirm with a non-empty name creates a blueprint from the current selection, silently excluding any non-player-placeable buildings, and appends its button to the blueprint list.
 
+- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-TEMP: Pressing the **T** key (REQ-UI-HOTKEYS) creates a **temporary blueprint** from the current selection and immediately enters blueprint placement mode for it, without opening the naming dialog. It has effect only when at least one player-placeable building is currently selected — the same condition as REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-CREATE; pressing T with an empty selection, or a selection containing only non-player-placeable buildings (HQ, defence stations), does nothing. Entering this mode replaces any currently active build, blueprint placement, or demolish mode. The temporary blueprint is captured exactly as a saved blueprint (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-STORAGE), silently excluding any non-player-placeable buildings from the selection, but it is never named, never shown in the blueprint panel (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-PANEL), and never persisted to `blueprints.toml` (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-SAVE). Placement behaves identically to a saved blueprint's placement mode (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-MODE, REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-PLACE): a ghost is rendered per building, R / Shift+R rotate the entire constellation, placement follows the same per-building validity and total-cost rules, and after a successful placement the mode stays active so the blueprint can be placed again. Right-clicking in the game world exits placement mode, at which point the temporary blueprint is discarded.
+
 - REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-STORAGE: A blueprint stores its name and, for each building in the selection, the building type, its rotation, its tile offset (integer dx, dy) from the center of the bounding box of all selected buildings' footprints, and — where applicable — the selected recipe ID (miners and assemblers) or schematic ID (shipyards), and for splitters the two output filters (each a list of item types; an empty list means accept-all), at the time of capture. If no recipe or schematic was selected at capture time, none is stored; for a splitter with no filters set, no filter lists are stored. This structure maps directly to a TOML representation (e.g. one `[[building]]` array entry per constituent building, with the splitter filters as `filter_a`/`filter_b` arrays of item-type ids).
 
 - REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-BUTTON: Each blueprint entry consists of a blueprint button and a dedicated delete icon ("×") placed to the right of the button. The blueprint button displays the blueprint name and, below it, the total building block cost of the blueprint (sum of the individual costs of all constituent buildings). A blueprint button is disabled when the player cannot afford the total cost. Clicking an enabled blueprint button enters blueprint placement mode for that blueprint. The delete icon is always enabled regardless of whether the player can afford the blueprint.
@@ -476,9 +494,9 @@ The screen is divided into two columns: a main column (75% width) containing the
 
 - REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-DELETE: Clicking the delete icon ("×") on a blueprint entry immediately removes that blueprint from the list. If the deleted blueprint was active in blueprint placement mode, that mode is exited.
 
-- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-SAVE: A "Save" button is shown at the bottom of the blueprint panel. Clicking it serializes all current blueprints to a file named `blueprints.toml` located in the same directory as the application executable. The TOML structure matches REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-STORAGE. If writing fails, a modal error dialog is shown describing the failure.
+- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-SAVE: On application shutdown, all current blueprints are serialized to a file named `blueprints.toml` located in the same directory as the application executable. The TOML structure matches REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-STORAGE. Write errors are silently ignored on shutdown (no button, no dialog).
 
-- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-LOAD: A "Load" button is shown at the bottom of the blueprint panel, to the right of the "Save" button. Clicking it shows a confirmation dialog ("Load blueprints? This will replace all current blueprints.") with Confirm and Cancel buttons. Clicking Cancel closes the dialog with no effect. Clicking Confirm reads `blueprints.toml` from the same directory as the application executable, replaces all current blueprints with those from the file (in the order they appear in the file), and exits any active blueprint-related mode (blueprint placement mode, delete mode). If the file does not exist or cannot be parsed, a modal error dialog is shown describing the failure and the current blueprint list is left unchanged.
+- REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-LOAD: At application startup, blueprints are loaded from `blueprints.toml` in the same directory as the application executable, populating the blueprint list (in the order they appear in the file). If the file does not exist, the blueprint list starts empty with no error. If the file exists but cannot be parsed (malformed TOML), a modal error dialog describes the failure and the blueprint list starts empty. There is no Load button and no runtime reload.
 
 ## Balancing Tool
 
@@ -516,13 +534,13 @@ A separate executable target (`balancing`) that links against `lib` but contains
 - REQ-BAL-UI-RELOAD: The "Reload Config" button reloads all config files from disk (`balancing.toml`, `ships.toml`, `stations.toml`), stops any running simulations, and replaces the arena widget list with freshly created widgets from the reloaded config. The button is disabled while any arena simulation is currently running.
 - REQ-BAL-UI-START-ALL: The "Start All" button is placed above the scrollable arena list, to the right of the "Reload Config" button. Clicking it starts (or restarts) the simulation for every arena that is not currently running. The button is disabled when all arenas are currently running.
 - REQ-BAL-UI-LOG: The "Log" button is placed in the header to the right of the "Start All" button. It is enabled whenever the main window's controls are enabled — including while simulations are running (it captures a live snapshot) — and, like all main window controls, is disabled only while an arena is being inspected (REQ-BAL-UI-WINDOW). Clicking it writes the current state of every arena to a file named `balancing_log.md` in the tool's current working directory, replacing (overwriting) any previous content of that file. The log captures, for every arena in `balancing.toml` order, exactly the information shown in that arena's widget (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET) at the moment the button is clicked. Each arena is written as its own section:
-  - A heading with the arena name followed by the arena's current state — `not started`, `running`, or `ended` (corresponding to the widget border colors of REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET-BORDER).
+  - A heading with the arena name followed by the arena's current state — `not started`, `running`, or `ended` (corresponding to the widget border colors of REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET-BORDER). For an `ended` arena, the heading also includes the battle duration (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET), for example `ended, 42.3 s`.
   - A markdown table with one column per team (team 1 left, team 2 right). Each team's column header shows the team name — prefixed with `[WON]` when that team won, matching REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET — the team's accumulated threat level, and the team's remaining EHP percentage (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET).
   - Below the header, each table row holds one of that team's entries, in the same order and text format as the widget (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET): the HQ first, then ship types, then defence stations, formatted `surviving/total TypeName` for ship entries and `surviving/total TypeName Llevel` for the HQ and defence station entries. When the two teams have different numbers of entries, the shorter column's remaining cells are left blank.
-- REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET: Each arena widget displays the arena name, an "Inspect" button (to the right of the arena name), and two columns (one per team). Each column shows the team name as a header, then directly below the header the team's **accumulated threat level** — the sum, across the team's configured ship entries, of each entry's `count` multiplied by the threat cost (REQ-MOD-THREAT) of one ship of that entry computed from its level-independent module layout. Only ships contribute; the HQ and defence stations are excluded. This value is static: it is computed once from the full configured roster and does not change as ships are destroyed during the fight. Directly below the threat level, the column shows the team's **remaining EHP percentage** — the sum of the current HP of all of the team's ships and defence stations, divided by the sum of their maximum HP, expressed as a percentage rounded to a whole number. Maximum HP is the final per-entity maximum (REQ-MOD-STAT-CALC), so module HP bonuses such as armor plates are included. (The game has no damage mitigation, so effective HP equals raw HP.) The HQ is excluded from both sums. A destroyed ship or station contributes 0 to the numerator and its maximum HP to the denominator, so the value measures how much of the team's fielded durability remains: it starts at 100% and decreases as units take damage or are destroyed. Unlike the static threat level, this value updates live as the simulation progresses. If the team has neither ships nor defence stations (the denominator is 0), the percentage is shown as `n/a`. Below the EHP percentage, the column shows a list of entries. The HQ is always the first entry in each column. Below the HQ, ship types are listed, followed by defence stations (if any). Each entry uses the format `surviving/total TypeName` for ship entries and `surviving/total TypeName Llevel` for the HQ and defence station entries — for example `2/3 Fighter`, `1/1 HQ L1`, or `2/2 Enemy Station L3`. The surviving count updates live as the simulation progresses. When the fight ends, the winning team's name header is prefixed with `[WON]`.
+- REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET: Each arena widget displays the arena name, an "Inspect" button (to the right of the arena name), and two columns (one per team). Each column shows the team name as a header, then directly below the header the team's **accumulated threat level** — the sum, across the team's configured ship entries, of each entry's `count` multiplied by the threat cost (REQ-MOD-THREAT) of one ship of that entry computed from its level-independent module layout. Only ships contribute; the HQ and defence stations are excluded. This value is static: it is computed once from the full configured roster and does not change as ships are destroyed during the fight. Directly below the threat level, the column shows the team's **remaining EHP percentage** — the sum of the current HP of all of the team's ships and defence stations, divided by the sum of their maximum HP, expressed as a percentage rounded to a whole number. Maximum HP is the final per-entity maximum (REQ-MOD-STAT-CALC), so module HP bonuses such as armor plates are included. (The game has no damage mitigation, so effective HP equals raw HP.) The HQ is excluded from both sums. A destroyed ship or station contributes 0 to the numerator and its maximum HP to the denominator, so the value measures how much of the team's fielded durability remains: it starts at 100% and decreases as units take damage or are destroyed. Unlike the static threat level, this value updates live as the simulation progresses. If the team has neither ships nor defence stations (the denominator is 0), the percentage is shown as `n/a`. Below the EHP percentage, the column shows a list of entries. The HQ is always the first entry in each column. Below the HQ, ship types are listed, followed by defence stations (if any). Each entry uses the format `surviving/total TypeName` for ship entries and `surviving/total TypeName Llevel` for the HQ and defence station entries — for example `2/3 Fighter`, `1/1 HQ L1`, or `2/2 Enemy Station L3`. The surviving count updates live as the simulation progresses. When the fight ends, the winning team's name header is prefixed with `[WON]`. When the fight has ended, the widget also displays the arena's **battle duration** — an arena-level value (not per team) giving the game time the fight lasted, computed as the number of simulated ticks at completion multiplied by the simulation's fixed tick duration (the same tick-based simulation as the main game, REQ-BAL-SIM-ENV). This is game time, not wall-clock time, so it is independent of how fast the arena was simulated (non-inspected arenas run at maximum tick rate, REQ-BAL-SIM-SPEED). It is shown in seconds with one decimal place, for example `Duration: 42.3 s`. The battle duration is shown only for completed (ended) runs; it is not shown while the arena is not started or running.
 - REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET-START: Each arena widget contains a "Start" button that starts the simulation for that arena. The button is disabled while the arena's simulation is running. When a finished arena's Start button is clicked, a fresh simulation is created and started (the widget resets to initial unit counts, the border returns to blue, and the previous results are replaced).
 - REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET-BORDER: Each arena widget has a colored border indicating its state: grey when not yet started, blue while its simulation is running, and green when the fight has ended.
 - REQ-BAL-UI-INSPECT: Clicking an arena widget's "Inspect" button opens a new inspect window for that arena. Any previously open inspect window is closed first (its arena's simulation is aborted and its widget border returns to grey). The inspected arena is restarted with a fresh simulation that runs at controllable game speed with full rendering (REQ-BAL-SIM-SPEED). The arena widget updates live during inspection (surviving counts, border color, `[WON]` prefix) as it does for non-inspected arenas. Only one inspect window may be open at a time.
-- REQ-BAL-UI-INSPECT-WINDOW: The inspect window consists of three sections, top to bottom: a title bar area containing the arena name and game speed controls (same buttons as the main game: 0×, 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×, with Space to toggle pause — see REQ-UI-SPEED and REQ-UI-HOTKEYS), the arena view in the center, and an info panel at the bottom displaying the same team columns and entry format as the arena widget in the main window (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET), updated live.
+- REQ-BAL-UI-INSPECT-WINDOW: The inspect window consists of three sections, top to bottom: a title bar area containing the arena name and game speed controls (same buttons as the main game: 0×, 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×, with Space to toggle pause — see REQ-UI-SPEED and REQ-UI-HOTKEYS), the arena view in the center, and an info panel at the bottom displaying the same team columns and entry format as the arena widget in the main window (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET), updated live, including the arena's battle duration once the fight has ended (REQ-BAL-UI-WIDGET).
 - REQ-BAL-UI-INSPECT-VIEW: The arena view renders all tiles of the arena and displays ships, HQs, defence stations, and laser beams using the same visual elements and `visuals.toml` colors as the main game. Team 1 uses player visual styles; team 2 uses enemy visual styles. The view has a fixed zoom level — no zoom or scroll is possible. The tile size is derived so that the full arena (all tiles) fits within the view.
 - REQ-BAL-UI-INSPECT-CLOSE: Closing the inspect window (via the window's close button) aborts the inspected arena's simulation. The arena widget's border returns to grey and its surviving counts are left as they were at the moment of closing. All main window buttons and controls are re-enabled.

src/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-set(TARGET_BASE_NAME "DotaFactory")
+set(TARGET_BASE_NAME "${PRODUCT_NAME}")
 
 set(TARGET_APP_NAME "${TARGET_BASE_NAME}")
 set(TARGET_LIB_NAME "${TARGET_BASE_NAME}_lib")
@@ -183,6 +183,19 @@ target_compile_definitions(${TARGET_APP_NAME} PRIVATE
 )
 target_link_libraries(${TARGET_APP_NAME} ${TARGET_UI_NAME})
 
+# Embed the Windows version resource so the version shows on the executable's
+# Details tab (right-click -> Properties). Values come from cmake/version.cmake
+# (version numbers) and the product identity variables in the top-level
+# CMakeLists.txt. MSVC compiles the .rc automatically once it is a target source.
+if (WIN32)
+    configure_file(
+        "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/version.rc.in"
+        "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.rc"
+        @ONLY
+    )
+    target_sources(${TARGET_APP_NAME} PRIVATE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.rc")
+endif ()
+
 unset(APP_FILES)
 unset(RELATIVE_HDRS)
 unset(RELATIVE_SRCS)

src/balancing/ArenaSimulation.cpp

@@ -433,10 +433,13 @@ void ArenaSimulation::tickDeaths()
         });
 
     m_admin.forEach<StationBodyComponent, FactionComponent>(
-        [&team1HasUnits, &team2HasUnits](entt::entity /*e*/,
+        [this, &team1HasUnits, &team2HasUnits](entt::entity e,
                                           const StationBodyComponent& /*sb*/,
                                           const FactionComponent& f)
         {
+            // The HQ carries a StationBodyComponent but is not a defence station;
+            // its destruction is a separate end condition (REQ-BAL-SIM-END).
+            if (m_admin.hasAll<HqProxyComponent>(e)) { return; }
             if (f.isEnemy) { team2HasUnits = true; }
             else           { team1HasUnits = true; }
         });
@@ -515,6 +518,7 @@ void ArenaSimulation::updateStatus()
     ArenaStatus newStatus;
     newStatus.finished = m_finished;
     newStatus.winnerTeam = m_winnerTeam;
+    newStatus.durationSeconds = ticksToSeconds(m_currentTick);
 
     // Live remaining HP of each team's ships and defence stations (HQ excluded);
     // the EHP-percentage numerator (denominator is the fixed m_teamMaxEhp).

src/balancing/ArenaSimulation.h

@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ struct ArenaStatus
     TeamStatus teams[2];
     bool finished = false;
     int winnerTeam = -1;  // 0 or 1 when finished; -1 while running
+    // Game time the fight has lasted (simulated ticks * fixed tick duration).
+    // Meaningful once finished; the battle duration shown for completed runs.
+    double durationSeconds = 0.0;
 };
 
 class ArenaSimulation

src/balancing/ArenaWidget.cpp

@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ void ArenaWidget::buildLayout(const std::string& arenaName)
     m_titleLabel->setFont(titleFont);
     titleRow->addWidget(m_titleLabel);
 
+    m_durationLabel = new QLabel(this);
+    titleRow->addWidget(m_durationLabel);
+
     titleRow->addStretch();
 
     m_inspectButton = new QPushButton(tr("Inspect"), this);
@@ -159,6 +162,10 @@ void ArenaWidget::updateStatus(const ArenaStatus& status)
         content->setText(lines);
     }
 
+    m_durationLabel->setText(status.finished
+        ? tr("Duration: %1 s").arg(QString::number(status.durationSeconds, 'f', 1))
+        : QString());
+
     if (status.finished && !m_wasFinished)
     {
         m_wasFinished = true;

src/balancing/ArenaWidget.h

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ private:
     int m_arenaIndex;
     ArenaStatus m_lastStatus;
     QLabel* m_titleLabel;
+    QLabel* m_durationLabel;
     QLabel* m_team1Header;
     QLabel* m_team2Header;
     QLabel* m_team1Threat;

src/balancing/BalancingWindow.cpp

@@ -373,9 +373,17 @@ void BalancingWindow::writeLog()
     for (const ArenaEntry& entry : m_arenas)
     {
         const ArenaStatus& status = entry.widget->getLastStatus();
+        const ArenaWidget::State state = entry.widget->getState();
+
+        QString stateSuffix = stateText(state);
+        if (state == ArenaWidget::State::Ended)
+        {
+            stateSuffix += QStringLiteral(", %1 s")
+                .arg(QString::number(status.durationSeconds, 'f', 1));
+        }
 
         out << "\n## Arena: " << QString::fromStdString(entry.config.name)
-            << "  (" << stateText(entry.widget->getState()) << ")\n\n";
+            << "  (" << stateSuffix << ")\n\n";
 
         out << "| " << teamHeaderCell(status, 0) << " | "
             << teamHeaderCell(status, 1) << " |\n";

src/balancing/InspectWindow.cpp

@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ InspectWindow::InspectWindow(ArenaSimulation* sim, const GameConfig* config,
         nameLabel->setFont(nameFont);
         headerLayout->addWidget(nameLabel);
 
+        m_durationLabel = new QLabel(header);
+        headerLayout->addWidget(m_durationLabel);
+
         headerLayout->addStretch();
 
         const char* labels[] = { "0x", "0.5x", "1x", "2x", "10x" };
@@ -202,6 +205,10 @@ void InspectWindow::pollStatus()
 
 void InspectWindow::updateInfoPanel(const ArenaStatus& status)
 {
+    m_durationLabel->setText(status.finished
+        ? tr("Duration: %1 s").arg(QString::number(status.durationSeconds, 'f', 1))
+        : QString());
+
     for (int ti = 0; ti < 2; ++ti)
     {
         const ArenaStatus::TeamStatus& team = status.teams[ti];

src/balancing/InspectWindow.h

@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ private:
     ArenaView*         m_arenaView;
 
     std::vector<QPushButton*> m_speedButtons;
+    QLabel* m_durationLabel;
     QLabel* m_team1Header;
     QLabel* m_team2Header;
     QLabel* m_team1Threat;

src/lib/config/BuildingsConfig.h

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include <optional>
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 
@@ -18,6 +19,10 @@ struct BuildingDef
     // Stored as raw strings here; parsing into per-cell tiles + output ports
     // happens when buildings are placed, not at load time.
     std::vector<std::string> surfaceMask;
+
+    // Output-buffer holding size for buildings without a recipe-driven buffer.
+    // Only the Salvage Bay sets this (REQ-BLD-SALVAGE-BAY).
+    std::optional<int> outputBufferCapacity;
 };
 
 struct BuildingsConfig

src/lib/config/ConfigLoader.cpp

@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ WorldConfig ConfigLoader::loadWorld(const std::string& path)
     cfg.regions.enemyBufferWidth_tiles  = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["regions"]["enemy_buffer_width_tiles"],  file, "regions.enemy_buffer_width_tiles"));
 
     cfg.expansion.columnsPerExpansion_tiles   = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["expansion"]["columns_per_expansion_tiles"], file, "expansion.columns_per_expansion_tiles"));
-    cfg.expansion.costBuildingBlocks        = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["expansion"]["cost_building_blocks"],        file, "expansion.cost_building_blocks"));
+    cfg.expansion.costBuildingBlocksFormula   = requireFormula(tbl["expansion"]["cost_building_blocks_formula"],            file, "expansion.cost_building_blocks_formula");
 
     cfg.push.pushExpandColumns_tiles = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["push"]["push_expand_columns_tiles"], file, "push.push_expand_columns_tiles"));
     cfg.push.bossAdvanceSeconds = requireDouble(tbl["push"]["boss_advance_seconds"], file, "push.boss_advance_seconds");
@@ -305,6 +305,10 @@ WorldConfig ConfigLoader::loadWorld(const std::string& path)
     cfg.artifacts.artifactChanceFormula = requireFormula(tbl["artifacts"]["artifact_chance_formula"], file, "artifacts.artifact_chance_formula");
     cfg.artifacts.artifactWinCount      = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["artifacts"]["artifact_win_count"], file, "artifacts.artifact_win_count"));
 
+    cfg.scroll.panSpeedSlow_tps       = requireDouble(tbl["scroll"]["pan_speed_slow_tiles_per_second"], file, "scroll.pan_speed_slow_tiles_per_second");
+    cfg.scroll.panSpeedFast_tps       = requireDouble(tbl["scroll"]["pan_speed_fast_tiles_per_second"], file, "scroll.pan_speed_fast_tiles_per_second");
+    cfg.scroll.panRampBandWidth_tiles = static_cast<int>(requireInt(tbl["scroll"]["pan_ramp_band_width_tiles"], file, "scroll.pan_ramp_band_width_tiles"));
+
     return cfg;
 }
 
@@ -333,6 +337,12 @@ BuildingsConfig ConfigLoader::loadBuildings(const std::string& path)
         def.constructionTimeSeconds = requireDouble(mt["construction_time_seconds"], file, elemPath + ".construction_time_seconds");
         def.surfaceMask             = requireStringArray(mt["surface_mask"],         file, elemPath + ".surface_mask");
 
+        if (mt.contains("output_buffer_capacity"))
+        {
+            def.outputBufferCapacity = static_cast<int>(
+                requireInt(mt["output_buffer_capacity"], file, elemPath + ".output_buffer_capacity"));
+        }
+
         const std::optional<BuildingType> parsedType = parseBuildingType(def.id);
         if (!parsedType)
         {

src/lib/config/WorldConfig.h

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ struct WorldRegions
 struct WorldExpansion
 {
     int     columnsPerExpansion_tiles;
-    int costBuildingBlocks;
+    Formula costBuildingBlocksFormula;  // cost in building blocks; x = expansions already purchased
 };
 
 // Push effects (REQ-PSH-*, REQ-WAV-BOSS-ADVANCE).
@@ -53,6 +53,14 @@ struct WorldArtifacts
     int     artifactWinCount;
 };
 
+// View pan speed (REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED). Presentation-only; the simulation ignores these.
+struct WorldScroll
+{
+    double panSpeedSlow_tps;        // tiles/s, used outside the contest zone
+    double panSpeedFast_tps;        // tiles/s, used inside the contest zone
+    int    panRampBandWidth_tiles;  // full width of the ramp band straddling each contest-zone boundary
+};
+
 struct WorldConfig
 {
     int heightTiles;                    // REQ-GW-HEIGHT
@@ -73,4 +81,5 @@ struct WorldConfig
     WorldWaves waves;
     WorldTargeting targeting;
     WorldArtifacts artifacts;
+    WorldScroll scroll;
 };

src/lib/core/SchematicChoiceOption.h

@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ struct SchematicChoiceOption
     SchematicType type;
     std::string displayName;
 
-    // Display names of items produced by recipes that would newly become
+    // Ids of miner/assembler recipes that would newly become implicitly
-    // implicitly unlocked (REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT) if this option is selected.
+    // unlocked (REQ-LOCK-IMPLICIT) if this option is selected. Sorted
-    // Deduplicated and sorted alphabetically; empty if none.
+    // alphabetically by display name; empty if none.
-    std::vector<std::string> newlyUnlockedItemNames;
+    std::vector<std::string> newlyUnlockedRecipeIds;
 };

src/lib/eventsystem/event/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ SET(HDRS
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/TracePrintRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/TickAdvancedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BuildingBlocksChangedEvent.h
+	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ExpansionCostChangedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/EntitySelectedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/GameSpeedChangedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BossWaveUpdatedEvent.h
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ SET(HDRS
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/DemolishModeToggleRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BlueprintPlacementRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ExitBlueprintModeRequestedEvent.h
+	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/SpeedChangeRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/LayoutDialogRequestedEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/RecipeSelectionRequestedEvent.h
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ SET(HDRS
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BeamFiredEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/DebugDrawToggledEvent.h
 	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/CommandRequestedEvent.h
+	${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent.h
 	PARENT_SCOPE
 )
 

src/lib/eventsystem/event/ExpansionCostChangedEvent.h

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#ifndef EXPANSION_COST_CHANGED_EVENT_H
+#define EXPANSION_COST_CHANGED_EVENT_H
+
+#include "Event.h"
+
+// Fired when the current asteroid-expansion cost changes (REQ-EXP-COST): once at
+// startup and again after each expansion is purchased. Carries the cost in
+// building blocks so the header Expand button can update its caption/enabled
+// state (REQ-UI-EXPAND-BUTTON).
+class ExpansionCostChangedEvent : public Event
+{
+public:
+	explicit ExpansionCostChangedEvent(int cost) : cost(cost) {}
+	const int cost;
+};
+
+#endif   // EXPANSION_COST_CHANGED_EVENT_H

src/lib/eventsystem/event/PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent.h

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "Event.h"
+
+// Emitted by GameWorldView once per frame after queued player commands have been
+// drained and applied to the simulation. It lets presentation widgets refresh
+// even while the game is paused (no tick advances, so no TickAdvancedEvent), for
+// example so a shipyard's layout preview appears immediately after its schematic
+// is chosen. It is a UI notification only and never feeds back into the command
+// queue, so it has no effect on replay recording or determinism.
+class PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent : public Event
+{
+};

src/lib/eventsystem/event/TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent.h

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "Event.h"
+
+// Emitted when the player presses the temporary-blueprint hotkey (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-TEMP).
+// Carries no payload: the blueprint is built from the current selection by the receiver.
+class TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent : public Event
+{
+};

src/lib/sim/BuildingConfig.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#include "BuildingConfig.h"
+
+#include "BeltSystem.h"
+#include "Building.h"
+#include "BuildingSystem.h"
+#include "Simulation.h"
+
+std::optional<BuildingConfig> readBuildingConfig(const Simulation& sim, BuildingId id)
+{
+    const Building*         building = sim.buildings().findBuilding(id);
+    const ConstructionSite* site     = building ? nullptr : sim.buildings().findSite(id);
+    if (!building && !site)
+    {
+        return std::nullopt;
+    }
+
+    BuildingConfig config;
+    config.type = building ? building->type : site->type;
+
+    const std::string& recipeId = building ? building->recipeId : site->recipeId;
+    if (!recipeId.empty())
+    {
+        config.recipeId = recipeId;
+    }
+
+    config.shipLayout = building ? building->shipLayout : site->shipLayout;
+
+    if (config.type == BuildingType::Splitter)
+    {
+        config.isSplitter = true;
+        if (building)
+        {
+            // Operational splitter filters live in the BeltSystem, keyed by tile.
+            const std::optional<BeltSystem::SplitterInfo> info =
+                sim.belts().getSplitterInfo(building->anchor);
+            if (info.has_value())
+            {
+                config.splitterFilterA = info->filterA;
+                config.splitterFilterB = info->filterB;
+            }
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            // A site keeps its pre-completion filters on the ConstructionSite.
+            config.splitterFilterA = site->splitterFilterA;
+            config.splitterFilterB = site->splitterFilterB;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return config;
+}

src/lib/sim/BuildingConfig.h

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <optional>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "BuildingId.h"
+#include "BuildingType.h"
+#include "ItemType.h"
+#include "ShipLayout.h"
+
+class Simulation;
+
+// The user-configurable settings of a single building or construction site: the
+// selected recipe / ship schematic, the shipyard module layout, and (for
+// splitters) the two output filters. Shared by the copy-settings gesture
+// (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG) and blueprint capture (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-STORAGE).
+struct BuildingConfig
+{
+    BuildingType type = BuildingType::Miner;
+
+    // Selected recipe (Miner / Assembler) or ship schematic id (Shipyard); unset
+    // when nothing is selected.
+    std::optional<std::string> recipeId;
+
+    // Shipyard module layout (REQ-MOD-LAYOUT).
+    std::optional<ShipLayoutConfig> shipLayout;
+
+    // Splitter output filters (empty = accept all). isSplitter distinguishes an
+    // empty-filter splitter (a valid accept-all configuration) from a building
+    // type that has no splitter filters at all.
+    bool                  isSplitter = false;
+    std::vector<ItemType> splitterFilterA;
+    std::vector<ItemType> splitterFilterB;
+};
+
+// Reads the current configuration of the building or construction site identified
+// by id, handling operational buildings and sites alike. Returns std::nullopt if
+// no such building or site exists.
+std::optional<BuildingConfig> readBuildingConfig(const Simulation& sim, BuildingId id);

src/lib/sim/BuildingSystem.cpp

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ BuildingSystem::BuildingSystem(const GameConfig& config,
     , m_spawnShip(std::move(spawnShip))
     , m_isItemUnlocked(std::move(isItemUnlocked))
     , m_rng(rng)
+    , m_asteroidWidth_tiles(config.world.regions.asteroidWidth_tiles)
 {
 }
 
@@ -153,6 +154,16 @@ void BuildingSystem::initShipyardBuffers(Building& b) const
     }
 }
 
+void BuildingSystem::initSalvageBayBuffer(Building& b) const
+{
+    // Salvage Bay has no recipe-driven buffer; its output-buffer holding size for
+    // ship drop-off is config-defined (REQ-BLD-SALVAGE-BAY).
+    b.outputBuffer.items.clear();
+    const BuildingDef* def = findBuildingDef(BuildingType::SalvageBay);
+    b.outputBuffer.capacity =
+        (def && def->outputBufferCapacity) ? *def->outputBufferCapacity : 0;
+}
+
 std::vector<Port> BuildingSystem::computeInputPorts(const Building& b) const
 {
     // Build lookup sets for quick membership checks.
@@ -281,7 +292,7 @@ bool BuildingSystem::bodyCellsWithinWorldBounds(const std::vector<QPoint>& bodyC
                                                 QPoint anchor) const
 {
     const int heightTiles = m_config.world.heightTiles;
-    const int leftEdgeX   = -m_config.world.regions.asteroidWidth_tiles;
+    const int leftEdgeX   = -m_asteroidWidth_tiles;
     for (const QPoint& cell : bodyCells)
     {
         const QPoint worldCell = anchor + cell;
@@ -408,6 +419,12 @@ void BuildingSystem::setRecipe(BuildingId id, const std::string& recipeId)
     {
         if (site.id == id)
         {
+            // No-op if the recipe is unchanged, so a redundant selection does
+            // not wipe an already-configured ship layout.
+            if (site.recipeId == recipeId)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
             site.recipeId = recipeId;
             site.shipLayout = std::nullopt;
             return;
@@ -419,6 +436,12 @@ void BuildingSystem::setRecipe(BuildingId id, const std::string& recipeId)
     {
         if (building.id == id)
         {
+            // No-op if the recipe is unchanged, so a redundant selection does
+            // not wipe an already-configured ship layout or reset buffers.
+            if (building.recipeId == recipeId)
+            {
+                return;
+            }
             building.recipeId = recipeId;
             building.shipLayout = std::nullopt;
             building.inputBuffer.counts.clear();
@@ -576,7 +599,11 @@ void BuildingSystem::tickConstruction(Tick currentTick)
     }
     building.inputPorts = computeInputPorts(building);
 
-    if (!building.recipeId.empty())
+    if (building.type == BuildingType::SalvageBay)
+    {
+        initSalvageBayBuffer(building);
+    }
+    else if (!building.recipeId.empty())
     {
         if (building.type == BuildingType::Shipyard)
         {
@@ -843,7 +870,16 @@ void BuildingSystem::tickShipyardProduction(Tick currentTick)
                 {
                     const Port& p = building.outputPorts[0];
                     const QVector2D spawnPos(p.tile.x() + 0.5f, p.tile.y() + 0.5f);
-                    m_spawnShip(building.recipeId, spawnPos, building.shipLayout);
+                    // A shipyard builds exactly what the player configured and
+                    // paid for. When no layout is set it produces a bare hull, so
+                    // pass an explicit empty layout rather than nullopt: the latter
+                    // would make ShipSystem fall back to the schematic's
+                    // defaultModules (a wave-only loadout) and yield free weapons.
+                    const std::optional<ShipLayoutConfig> layout =
+                        building.shipLayout.has_value()
+                            ? building.shipLayout
+                            : std::make_optional<ShipLayoutConfig>();
+                    m_spawnShip(building.recipeId, spawnPos, layout);
                 }
                 building.production = std::nullopt;
             }
@@ -1237,6 +1273,11 @@ BuildingId BuildingSystem::placeImmediate(BuildingType type,
     }
     building.inputPorts = computeInputPorts(building);
 
+    if (type == BuildingType::SalvageBay)
+    {
+        initSalvageBayBuffer(building);
+    }
+
     m_buildings.push_back(std::move(building));
     return id;
 }

src/lib/sim/BuildingSystem.h

@@ -59,6 +59,11 @@ public:
     bool isPlacementValid(BuildingType type, QPoint anchor,
                           Rotation rotation) const;
 
+    // Sets the current buildable asteroid width in tiles. Grows the left
+    // placement bound as the player unlocks asteroid expansions (REQ-EXP-UNLOCK).
+    // Defaults to world.regions.asteroid_width_tiles at construction.
+    void setAsteroidWidth_tiles(int widthTiles) { m_asteroidWidth_tiles = widthTiles; }
+
     // Remove a building or construction site by id.  Returns the refund in
     // building blocks (floor(cost * refundPercentage / 100)).  Returns 0 for
     // unknown ids.
@@ -165,6 +170,7 @@ private:
     const ModuleDef*    findModuleDef(const std::string& id) const;
     void                initBuffers(Building& b, const RecipeDef& recipe) const;
     void                initShipyardBuffers(Building& b) const;
+    void                initSalvageBayBuffer(Building& b) const;
     std::vector<Port>   computeInputPorts(const Building& b) const;
     std::vector<Item>   rollReprocessingOutput(const RecipeDef& recipe);
     bool                bodyCellsWithinWorldBounds(
@@ -179,6 +185,7 @@ private:
                        const std::optional<ShipLayoutConfig>&)> m_spawnShip;
     std::function<bool(const std::string&)>        m_isItemUnlocked;
     std::mt19937&                                  m_rng;
+    int                                            m_asteroidWidth_tiles;
 
     std::vector<Building>           m_buildings;
     std::deque<ConstructionSite>    m_constructionQueue;

src/lib/sim/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ SET(HDRS
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/TickDriver.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BeltSystem.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/Building.h
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BuildingConfig.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BuildingSystem.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/EntityHitTest.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ShipLayout.h
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ SET(SRCS
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ReplayPlayer.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/TickDriver.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BeltSystem.cpp
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BuildingConfig.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/BuildingSystem.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/EntityHitTest.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ShipStatsCalculator.cpp

src/lib/sim/Command.h

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ enum class CommandKind
     SetSplitterFilters,
     ClearBeltTiles,
     ApplySchematicChoice,
+    ExpandAsteroid,
     Reset
 };
 
@@ -129,6 +130,14 @@ struct ApplySchematicChoiceCommand : Command
     int choiceIndex = 0;
 };
 
+// Unlocks the next asteroid expansion (REQ-EXP-UNLOCK). Carries no payload: the
+// simulation derives the cost and column count from its own expansion counter
+// and config, so a recorded command replays identically.
+struct ExpandAsteroidCommand : Command
+{
+    ExpandAsteroidCommand() : Command(CommandKind::ExpandAsteroid) {}
+};
+
 // Restart boundary: reinitializes the simulation with a fresh seed and, if
 // config is set, a reloaded config (GameConfig is move-only, so it is carried by
 // shared_ptr and moved into the sim on apply). A null config keeps the current

src/lib/sim/Simulation.cpp

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <cassert>
+#include <cmath>
 
 #include "AiSystem.h"
 #include "Command.h"
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@ void Simulation::reset(unsigned int seed)
     m_nextDepartureTick        = secondsToTicks(m_config.world.departureIntervalSeconds);
     m_nextBuildingId                   = 1;
     m_buildingBlocksStock      = m_config.world.startingBuildingBlocks;
+    m_expansionsPurchased      = 0;
     m_gameOver                      = false;
     m_isWon                         = false;
     m_artifactCount                 = 0;
@@ -275,6 +277,9 @@ void Simulation::apply(const Command& command)
     case CommandKind::ApplySchematicChoice:
         applySchematicChoice(static_cast<const ApplySchematicChoiceCommand&>(command).choiceIndex);
         break;
+    case CommandKind::ExpandAsteroid:
+        tryExpandAsteroid();
+        break;
     case CommandKind::Reset:
     {
         const ResetCommand& c = static_cast<const ResetCommand&>(command);
@@ -702,14 +707,7 @@ void Simulation::generateSchematicChoices(int destroyedStationLevel)
         else
         {
             option.type = SchematicType::Recipe;
-            for (const RecipeDef& def : m_config.recipes.recipes)
+            option.displayName = toDisplayName(entry.id);
-            {
-                if (def.id == entry.id && !def.outputs.empty())
-                {
-                    option.displayName = toDisplayName(def.outputs[0].item);
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
         }
 
         // REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP: preview recipes newly implicitly unlocked by this option.
@@ -732,7 +730,7 @@ void Simulation::generateSchematicChoices(int destroyedStationLevel)
 
         const UnlockedSets hypothetical = computeUnlockedSets(
             hypotheticalShipIds, hypotheticalModuleIds, hypotheticalRecipeSchematicIds);
-        option.newlyUnlockedItemNames = computeNewlyUnlockedItemNames(hypothetical);
+        option.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds = computeNewlyUnlockedRecipeIds(hypothetical);
 
         m_pendingSchematicChoices.push_back(option);
     }
@@ -920,23 +918,20 @@ Simulation::UnlockedSets Simulation::computeUnlockedSets(
     return result;
 }
 
-std::vector<std::string> Simulation::computeNewlyUnlockedItemNames(const UnlockedSets& hypothetical) const
+std::vector<std::string> Simulation::computeNewlyUnlockedRecipeIds(const UnlockedSets& hypothetical) const
 {
-    std::set<std::string> itemNames;
+    std::vector<std::string> recipeIds;
     for (const std::string& recipeId : hypothetical.recipeIds)
     {
         if (m_unlockedRecipeIds.count(recipeId) > 0) { continue; }
-        for (const RecipeDef& def : m_config.recipes.recipes)
+        recipeIds.push_back(recipeId);
+    }
+    std::sort(recipeIds.begin(), recipeIds.end(),
+              [](const std::string& lhs, const std::string& rhs)
               {
-            if (def.id != recipeId) { continue; }
+                  return toDisplayName(lhs) < toDisplayName(rhs);
-            for (const RecipeOutput& out : def.outputs)
+              });
-            {
+    return recipeIds;
-                itemNames.insert(toDisplayName(out.item));
-            }
-            break;
-        }
-    }
-    return std::vector<std::string>(itemNames.begin(), itemNames.end());
 }
 
 bool Simulation::isRecipeUnlocked(const std::string& recipeId) const
@@ -993,6 +988,7 @@ unsigned long long Simulation::computeStateChecksum() const
     hasher.append(m_gameOver);
     hasher.append(m_isWon);
     hasher.append(m_artifactCount);
+    hasher.append(m_expansionsPurchased);
 
     // WaveSystem scalar state, reached through existing accessors.
     hasher.append(threatLevel());
@@ -1100,6 +1096,31 @@ int Simulation::buildingBlocksStock() const
     return m_buildingBlocksStock;
 }
 
+int Simulation::currentAsteroidWidth_tiles() const
+{
+    return m_config.world.regions.asteroidWidth_tiles
+        + m_expansionsPurchased * m_config.world.expansion.columnsPerExpansion_tiles;
+}
+
+int Simulation::currentExpansionCost() const
+{
+    const double cost = m_config.world.expansion.costBuildingBlocksFormula.evaluate(
+        static_cast<double>(m_expansionsPurchased));
+    return static_cast<int>(std::floor(cost));
+}
+
+void Simulation::tryExpandAsteroid()
+{
+    const int cost = currentExpansionCost();
+    if (m_buildingBlocksStock < cost)
+    {
+        return;
+    }
+    m_buildingBlocksStock -= cost;
+    ++m_expansionsPurchased;
+    m_buildingSystem->setAsteroidWidth_tiles(currentAsteroidWidth_tiles());
+}
+
 bool Simulation::isGameOver() const
 {
     return m_gameOver;

src/lib/sim/Simulation.h

@@ -72,6 +72,12 @@ public:
     // The seed this run was (re)initialized with; written to the replay header.
     unsigned int getSeed()        const;
     int    buildingBlocksStock()  const;
+    // Current asteroid width in tiles = base width + purchased expansions
+    // (REQ-EXP-UNLOCK, REQ-GW-ASTEROID-EXPAND).
+    int    currentAsteroidWidth_tiles() const;
+    // Building block cost of the next expansion, floored to an integer
+    // (REQ-EXP-COST); x = number of expansions already purchased.
+    int    currentExpansionCost()  const;
     bool   isGameOver()           const;
     bool   isWon()                const;
     int    artifactCount()        const;
@@ -136,6 +142,11 @@ private:
     // Clears the pending choices after application.
     void applySchematicChoice(int choiceIndex);
 
+    // Unlocks one asteroid expansion if affordable (REQ-EXP-UNLOCK): checks the
+    // current cost against the stock, deducts it, increments the expansion
+    // counter, and widens the buildable asteroid. No-op if blocks are short.
+    void tryExpandAsteroid();
+
     // Mutable subsystem accessors; same chokepoint rule as the mutators above.
     BuildingSystem&       buildingsMutable();
     BeltSystem&           beltsMutable();
@@ -165,6 +176,7 @@ private:
     Tick     m_nextDepartureTick;
     BuildingId m_nextBuildingId;
     int      m_buildingBlocksStock;
+    int      m_expansionsPurchased = 0;  // REQ-EXP-COST formula variable x
     bool     m_gameOver    = false;
     bool     m_isWon       = false;
     int      m_artifactCount = 0;
@@ -221,9 +233,9 @@ private:
     // True if every prerequisite in unlockRequires is explicitly unlocked (REQ-LOCK-PREREQ).
     bool prerequisitesSatisfied(const std::vector<std::string>& unlockRequires) const;
 
-    // Display names (deduplicated, alphabetical) of output items of recipes in
+    // Ids (sorted alphabetically by display name) of the recipes in
     // hypothetical.recipeIds that are not yet in m_unlockedRecipeIds.
-    std::vector<std::string> computeNewlyUnlockedItemNames(const UnlockedSets& hypothetical) const;
+    std::vector<std::string> computeNewlyUnlockedRecipeIds(const UnlockedSets& hypothetical) const;
 
     EntityAdmin                       m_admin;
     BeltSystem                        m_beltSystem;

src/test/BehaviorSystemTest.cpp

@@ -984,6 +984,45 @@ TEST_CASE("BehaviorSystem: full-cargo salvage ship moves toward SalvageBay", "[b
     REQUIRE(i.target.x() < pos(f.admin, ship).value.x());
 }
 
+TEST_CASE("SalvagerSystem: full-cargo ship at its SalvageBay hands over cargo", "[behavior]")
+{
+    Fixture f;
+
+    const BuildingId bayId = f.buildings.place(BuildingType::SalvageBay,
+                                              QPoint(-4, 0), Rotation::East, 0);
+    Tick t = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 500; ++i)
+    {
+        f.buildings.tickConstruction(t++);
+        if (f.buildings.findBuilding(bayId) != nullptr) { break; }
+    }
+    const Building* bay = f.buildings.findBuilding(bayId);
+    REQUIRE(bay != nullptr);
+    // Config-driven output-buffer capacity is applied on placement (REQ-BLD-SALVAGE-BAY).
+    REQUIRE(bay->outputBuffer.capacity == 20);
+
+    const QVector2D bayCenter(bay->anchor.x() + bay->footprint.width()  / 2.0f,
+                              bay->anchor.y() + bay->footprint.height() / 2.0f);
+
+    const ShipLayoutConfig salvageLayout = makeSingleModuleLayout("salvager");
+    const entt::entity ship = f.ships.spawn("salvage_ship", bayCenter, false, salvageLayout);
+    f.admin.get<PositionComponent>(ship).value = bayCenter;
+    CargoComponent& cargo = f.admin.get<CargoComponent>(ship);
+    cargo.current = cargo.maxCapacity;  // full cargo
+    const int before = cargo.current;
+    REQUIRE(before > 0);
+    f.admin.get<DeliverScrapBehavior>(ship).deliveryBay = bayId;
+
+    f.salvageTick();
+
+    // One unit handed over from cargo into the bay's output buffer.
+    REQUIRE(f.admin.get<CargoComponent>(ship).current == before - 1);
+    const Building* bayAfter = f.buildings.findBuilding(bayId);
+    REQUIRE(bayAfter != nullptr);
+    REQUIRE(bayAfter->outputBuffer.items.size() == 1);
+    REQUIRE(bayAfter->outputBuffer.items.front().type.id == "scrap");
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Collection range (per-module)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

src/test/BuildingConfigTest.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+#include "catch.hpp"
+
+#include "Building.h"
+#include "BuildingConfig.h"
+#include "BuildingSystem.h"
+#include "BuildingType.h"
+#include "ConfigLoader.h"
+#include "GameConfig.h"
+#include "Rotation.h"
+#include "ShipLayout.h"
+#include "ShipsConfig.h"
+#include "Simulation.h"
+#include "SimulationTestAccess.h"
+
+// readBuildingConfig underpins the copy-settings gesture (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG):
+// it extracts a building's recipe / schematic / layout / splitter filters so they
+// can be stamped onto a same-type building. It reads operational buildings and
+// construction sites alike.
+
+namespace
+{
+GameConfig loadConfig()
+{
+    return ConfigLoader::loadFromDirectory(CONFIG_DIR);
+}
+
+const BuildingDef* findDef(const GameConfig& cfg, BuildingType type)
+{
+    for (const BuildingDef& def : cfg.buildings.buildings)
+    {
+        if (def.type == type) { return &def; }
+    }
+    return nullptr;
+}
+
+BuildingId placeOperational(Simulation& sim, const GameConfig& cfg,
+                            BuildingType type, QPoint anchor)
+{
+    const BuildingDef* def = findDef(cfg, type);
+    REQUIRE(def != nullptr);
+    return SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).placeImmediate(
+        type, def->surfaceMask, anchor, Rotation::East);
+}
+
+const ShipDef* findAvailableSchematic(const GameConfig& cfg)
+{
+    for (const ShipDef& def : cfg.ships.ships)
+    {
+        if (def.unlockAtStationLevel == -1) { return &def; }
+    }
+    return nullptr;
+}
+}  // namespace
+
+TEST_CASE("readBuildingConfig returns a miner's selected recipe", "[copyconfig]")
+{
+    const GameConfig cfg = loadConfig();
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 7);
+
+    const BuildingId id = placeOperational(sim, cfg, BuildingType::Miner, QPoint(0, 0));
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(id, "mine_iron_ore");
+
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config = readBuildingConfig(sim, id);
+    REQUIRE(config.has_value());
+    CHECK(config->type == BuildingType::Miner);
+    REQUIRE(config->recipeId.has_value());
+    CHECK(*config->recipeId == "mine_iron_ore");
+    CHECK_FALSE(config->isSplitter);
+    CHECK_FALSE(config->shipLayout.has_value());
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("readBuildingConfig leaves recipe unset when nothing is selected",
+          "[copyconfig]")
+{
+    const GameConfig cfg = loadConfig();
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 7);
+
+    const BuildingId id = placeOperational(sim, cfg, BuildingType::Assembler, QPoint(0, 0));
+
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config = readBuildingConfig(sim, id);
+    REQUIRE(config.has_value());
+    CHECK(config->type == BuildingType::Assembler);
+    CHECK_FALSE(config->recipeId.has_value());  // nothing to copy
+    CHECK_FALSE(config->isSplitter);
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("readBuildingConfig returns a shipyard's schematic and layout",
+          "[copyconfig]")
+{
+    const GameConfig cfg = loadConfig();
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 7);
+
+    const ShipDef* schematic = findAvailableSchematic(cfg);
+    REQUIRE(schematic != nullptr);
+
+    const BuildingId id = placeOperational(sim, cfg, BuildingType::Shipyard, QPoint(0, 0));
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(id, schematic->id);
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setShipLayout(id, ShipLayoutConfig{});
+
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config = readBuildingConfig(sim, id);
+    REQUIRE(config.has_value());
+    CHECK(config->type == BuildingType::Shipyard);
+    REQUIRE(config->recipeId.has_value());
+    CHECK(*config->recipeId == schematic->id);
+    CHECK(config->shipLayout.has_value());
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("readBuildingConfig reads a queued construction site", "[copyconfig]")
+{
+    const GameConfig cfg = loadConfig();
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 7);
+
+    // A placed miner enters the construction queue as a site (not yet operational).
+    const BuildingId id =
+        SimulationTestAccess::place(sim, BuildingType::Miner, QPoint(-2, 0), Rotation::East);
+    REQUIRE(id != kInvalidBuildingId);
+    REQUIRE(sim.buildings().findBuilding(id) == nullptr);
+    REQUIRE(sim.buildings().findSite(id) != nullptr);
+
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(id, "mine_iron_ore");
+
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config = readBuildingConfig(sim, id);
+    REQUIRE(config.has_value());
+    CHECK(config->type == BuildingType::Miner);
+    REQUIRE(config->recipeId.has_value());
+    CHECK(*config->recipeId == "mine_iron_ore");
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("readBuildingConfig returns nullopt for an unknown id", "[copyconfig]")
+{
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 7);
+    CHECK_FALSE(readBuildingConfig(sim, kInvalidBuildingId).has_value());
+}

src/test/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ add_files(
     BeltSystemTest.cpp
     SurfaceMaskTest.cpp
     BuildingTest.cpp
+    BuildingConfigTest.cpp
     ShipTest.cpp
     ScrapTest.cpp
     BehaviorSystemTest.cpp

src/test/ConfigLoaderTest.cpp

@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ TEST_CASE("ConfigLoader loads the committed bin/config/ configs end-to-end", "[c
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.regions.playerBufferWidth_tiles == 10);
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.regions.enemyBufferWidth_tiles == 15);
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.expansion.columnsPerExpansion_tiles == 10);
+    REQUIRE(cfg.world.expansion.costBuildingBlocksFormula.evaluate(0) == Approx(400.0));
+    REQUIRE(cfg.world.expansion.costBuildingBlocksFormula.evaluate(1) == Approx(800.0));
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.push.bossAdvanceSeconds == Approx(60.0));
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.orbitFactor == Approx(0.8));
     REQUIRE(cfg.world.rallyOrbitRadius_tiles == Approx(5.0));
@@ -101,6 +103,15 @@ TEST_CASE("ConfigLoader loads the committed bin/config/ configs end-to-end", "[c
     REQUIRE(minerIt != cfg.buildings.buildings.end());
     REQUIRE(minerIt->cost == 15);
     REQUIRE(minerIt->surfaceMask.size() == 2);
+    // Miner has no output-buffer-capacity override; the Salvage Bay does.
+    REQUIRE_FALSE(minerIt->outputBufferCapacity.has_value());
+
+    const auto salvageBayIt = std::find_if(
+        cfg.buildings.buildings.begin(), cfg.buildings.buildings.end(),
+        [](const BuildingDef& b) { return b.type == BuildingType::SalvageBay; });
+    REQUIRE(salvageBayIt != cfg.buildings.buildings.end());
+    REQUIRE(salvageBayIt->outputBufferCapacity.has_value());
+    REQUIRE(*salvageBayIt->outputBufferCapacity == 20);
 
     // recipes.toml — reprocessing cycle has three weighted outputs.
     const auto reproIt = std::find_if(
@@ -186,7 +197,7 @@ contest_zone_width_tiles = 30
 
 [expansion]
 columns_per_expansion_tiles = 10
-cost_building_blocks = 200
+cost_building_blocks_formula = "400 * 2^x"
 
 [push]
 push_expand_columns_tiles = 20
@@ -237,7 +248,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 15
 
 [expansion]
 columns_per_expansion_tiles = 10
-cost_building_blocks = 200
+cost_building_blocks_formula = "400 * 2^x"
 
 [push]
 push_expand_columns_tiles = 20
@@ -284,7 +295,7 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 15
 
 [expansion]
 columns_per_expansion_tiles = 10
-cost_building_blocks = 200
+cost_building_blocks_formula = "400 * 2^x"
 
 [push]
 push_expand_columns_tiles = 20

src/test/RecipeSchematicTest.cpp

@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: reset keeps -1 recipes unlocked and their seed items
 // Unlock dialog: newly-unlocked recipe preview (REQ-DEF-SCHEMATIC-DROP)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedItemNames is sorted, deduplicated, and empty for level-ups",
+TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedRecipeIds is sorted, deduplicated, and empty for level-ups",
           "[recipe_schematic]")
 {
     Simulation sim(loadConfig());
@@ -295,10 +295,11 @@ TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedItemNames is sorted, deduplicated, and
 
         for (const SchematicChoiceOption& opt : sim.getPendingSchematicChoices())
         {
-            // Strictly ascending implies sorted and deduplicated.
+            // Strictly ascending display names imply sorted and deduplicated.
-            for (std::size_t j = 1; j < opt.newlyUnlockedItemNames.size(); ++j)
+            for (std::size_t j = 1; j < opt.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds.size(); ++j)
             {
-                CHECK(opt.newlyUnlockedItemNames[j - 1] < opt.newlyUnlockedItemNames[j]);
+                CHECK(toDisplayName(opt.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds[j - 1])
+                      < toDisplayName(opt.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds[j]));
             }
         }
 
@@ -306,7 +307,7 @@ TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedItemNames is sorted, deduplicated, and
     }
 }
 
-TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedItemNames matches recipes that actually become unlocked",
+TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedRecipeIds matches recipes that actually become unlocked",
           "[recipe_schematic]")
 {
     Simulation sim(loadConfig());
@@ -336,21 +337,22 @@ TEST_CASE("RecipeSchematic: newlyUnlockedItemNames matches recipes that actually
 
         SimulationTestAccess::applySchematicChoice(sim, 0);
 
-        std::set<std::string> expectedNames;
+        std::vector<std::string> expected;
         for (const RecipeDef& def : cfg.recipes.recipes)
         {
             if ((def.building == BuildingType::Miner || def.building == BuildingType::Assembler)
                 && sim.isRecipeUnlocked(def.id) && unlockedBefore.count(def.id) == 0)
             {
-                for (const RecipeOutput& out : def.outputs)
+                expected.push_back(def.id);
+            }
+        }
+        std::sort(expected.begin(), expected.end(),
+                  [](const std::string& lhs, const std::string& rhs)
                   {
-                    expectedNames.insert(toDisplayName(out.item));
+                      return toDisplayName(lhs) < toDisplayName(rhs);
-                }
+                  });
-            }
-        }
-        const std::vector<std::string> expected(expectedNames.begin(), expectedNames.end());
 
-        REQUIRE(choice.newlyUnlockedItemNames == expected);
+        REQUIRE(choice.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds == expected);
     }
 }
 

src/test/ShipModuleTest.cpp

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include "ConfigLoader.h"
 #include "DynamicBodyComponent.h"
 #include "EntityAdmin.h"
+#include "FactionComponent.h"
 #include "GameConfig.h"
 #include "HealthComponent.h"
 #include "ItemType.h"
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "ModulesConfig.h"
 #include "Rotation.h"
 #include "SensorRangeComponent.h"
+#include "ShipIdentityComponent.h"
 #include "ShipLayout.h"
 #include "ShipStatsCalculator.h"
 #include "ShipSystem.h"
@@ -264,6 +266,50 @@ TEST_CASE("Shipyard: setShipLayout cancels in-progress production",
     CHECK_FALSE(b2->production.has_value());
 }
 
+TEST_CASE("Shipyard: builds a bare hull when no layout is configured",
+          "[modules][shipyard]")
+{
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 42);
+    const ShipDef* def = findSchematic(sim.config(), "interceptor");
+    REQUIRE(def != nullptr);
+    // The schematic carries a weapon in its (wave-only) default loadout. This
+    // test pins that a player shipyard with no configured layout does NOT hand
+    // that weapon out for free: it builds an unarmed bare hull, matching the
+    // base-hull materials it was charged.
+    REQUIRE_FALSE(def->defaultModules.empty());
+
+    const BuildingDef* yardDef = findShipyardDef(sim.config());
+    REQUIRE(yardDef != nullptr);
+
+    const BuildingId yardId = placeShipyard(sim, *yardDef);
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(yardId, "interceptor");
+    // Deliberately no setShipLayout: recipe set, layout left unconfigured.
+
+    // Charge only the base-hull materials (an empty layout adds none).
+    fillMaterials(sim, yardId, *def, ShipLayoutConfig{});
+
+    // Tick through one full production cycle so the ship spawns.
+    const Tick cycleTicks = secondsToTicks(def->schematic.productionTimeSeconds);
+    for (Tick i = 0; i <= cycleTicks; ++i)
+    {
+        sim.tick();
+    }
+
+    // Locate the freshly built player ship.
+    entt::entity built = entt::null;
+    sim.admin().forEach<ShipIdentityComponent, FactionComponent>(
+        [&](entt::entity e, const ShipIdentityComponent& si, const FactionComponent& fac)
+        {
+            if (!fac.isEnemy && si.schematicId == "interceptor") { built = e; }
+        });
+    REQUIRE(sim.admin().isValid(built));
+
+    // Bare hull: the schematic's default weapon must NOT have been installed.
+    const bool hasWeapon =
+        findFirstWeaponChild(sim.admin(), built) != entt::null;
+    CHECK_FALSE(hasWeapon);
+}
+
 TEST_CASE("Shipyard: setRecipe clears ship layout", "[modules][shipyard]")
 {
     Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 42);
@@ -292,6 +338,38 @@ TEST_CASE("Shipyard: setRecipe clears ship layout", "[modules][shipyard]")
     CHECK_FALSE(b2->shipLayout.has_value());
 }
 
+TEST_CASE("Shipyard: setRecipe with unchanged recipe keeps ship layout",
+          "[modules][shipyard]")
+{
+    Simulation sim(loadConfig(), 42);
+    const BuildingDef* yardDef = findShipyardDef(sim.config());
+    REQUIRE(yardDef != nullptr);
+
+    const BuildingId yardId = placeShipyard(sim, *yardDef);
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(yardId,"interceptor");
+
+    ShipLayoutConfig layout;
+    PlacedModule pm;
+    pm.moduleId = "armor_plate";
+    pm.position = QPoint(0, 0);
+    pm.rotation = Rotation::East;
+    layout.placedModules.push_back(pm);
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setShipLayout(yardId, layout);
+
+    const Building* b1 = sim.buildings().findBuilding(yardId);
+    REQUIRE(b1 != nullptr);
+    REQUIRE(b1->shipLayout.has_value());
+
+    // Re-selecting the same recipe must be a no-op and preserve the layout.
+    SimulationTestAccess::buildings(sim).setRecipe(yardId,"interceptor");
+
+    const Building* b2 = sim.buildings().findBuilding(yardId);
+    REQUIRE(b2 != nullptr);
+    REQUIRE(b2->shipLayout.has_value());
+    REQUIRE(b2->shipLayout->placedModules.size() == 1);
+    CHECK(b2->shipLayout->placedModules[0].moduleId == "armor_plate");
+}
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Weapon modifier simulation tests
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

src/ui/BlueprintPanel.cpp

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 #include "ExitBlueprintModeRequestedEvent.h"
 
 #include "Building.h"
+#include "BuildingConfig.h"
 #include "BuildingSystem.h"
 #include "Simulation.h"
 
@@ -53,23 +54,15 @@ BlueprintPanel::BlueprintPanel(Simulation* sim, const GameConfig* config, QWidge
 
     connect(m_createBtn, &QPushButton::clicked, this, &BlueprintPanel::onCreateClicked);
 
-    QHBoxLayout* ioLayout = new QHBoxLayout();
+    loadFromDisk();
-    m_saveBtn = new QPushButton(tr("Save"), this);
+    rebuildButtons();
-    m_loadBtn = new QPushButton(tr("Load"), this);
-    m_saveBtn->setFixedHeight(36);
-    m_loadBtn->setFixedHeight(36);
-    ioLayout->addWidget(m_saveBtn);
-    ioLayout->addWidget(m_loadBtn);
-    layout->addLayout(ioLayout);
-
-    connect(m_saveBtn, &QPushButton::clicked, this, &BlueprintPanel::onSaveClicked);
-    connect(m_loadBtn, &QPushButton::clicked, this, &BlueprintPanel::onLoadClicked);
 
     registerForEvents();
 }
 
 BlueprintPanel::~BlueprintPanel()
 {
+    saveToDisk();
     unregisterForEvents();
 }
 
@@ -199,17 +192,16 @@ Blueprint BlueprintPanel::createBlueprintFromSelection() const
         bb.type     = e.building->type;
         bb.rotation = e.building->rotation;
         bb.offset   = e.building->anchor - center;
-        bb.recipeId   = e.building->recipeId;
+        // Recipe / schematic / layout / splitter-filter capture is shared with the
-        bb.shipLayout = e.building->shipLayout;
+        // copy-settings gesture (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG) via readBuildingConfig.
-        if (e.building->type == BuildingType::Splitter)
+        const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config =
+            readBuildingConfig(*m_sim, e.building->id);
+        if (config.has_value())
         {
-            const std::optional<BeltSystem::SplitterInfo> info =
+            bb.recipeId        = config->recipeId.value_or(std::string());
-                m_sim->belts().getSplitterInfo(e.building->anchor);
+            bb.shipLayout      = config->shipLayout;
-            if (info.has_value())
+            bb.splitterFilterA = config->splitterFilterA;
-            {
+            bb.splitterFilterB = config->splitterFilterB;
-                bb.splitterFilterA = info->filterA;
-                bb.splitterFilterB = info->filterB;
-            }
         }
         bp.buildings.push_back(bb);
     }
@@ -281,65 +273,35 @@ void BlueprintPanel::rebuildButtons()
     refreshButtonStates();
 }
 
-void BlueprintPanel::onSaveClicked()
+void BlueprintPanel::saveToDisk() const
 {
+    // Persist on shutdown; write errors are silently ignored (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-SAVE).
     const QString path = QCoreApplication::applicationDirPath() + "/blueprints.toml";
+    QFile file(path);
+    if (!file.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly | QIODevice::Text)) { return; }
     try
     {
         const std::string content = BlueprintSerializer::serialize(m_blueprints);
-        QFile file(path);
-        if (!file.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly | QIODevice::Text))
-        {
-            QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("Save Failed"),
-                tr("Could not open file for writing:\n%1").arg(path));
-            return;
-        }
         file.write(QByteArray::fromStdString(content));
     }
-    catch (const std::exception& e)
+    catch (...) {}
-    {
-        QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("Save Failed"),
-            tr("Failed to save blueprints:\n%1").arg(e.what()));
-    }
 }
 
-void BlueprintPanel::onLoadClicked()
+void BlueprintPanel::loadFromDisk()
 {
-    QMessageBox box(this);
+    // Load at startup (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-LOAD). Missing file: start empty, no error.
-    box.setWindowTitle(tr("Load Blueprints"));
-    box.setText(tr("Load blueprints? This will replace all current blueprints."));
-    QPushButton* confirmBtn = box.addButton(tr("Confirm"), QMessageBox::AcceptRole);
-    box.addButton(tr("Cancel"), QMessageBox::RejectRole);
-    box.exec();
-    if (box.clickedButton() != confirmBtn) { return; }
-
     const QString path = QCoreApplication::applicationDirPath() + "/blueprints.toml";
+    QFile file(path);
+    if (!file.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly | QIODevice::Text)) { return; }
     try
     {
-        QFile file(path);
+        m_blueprints = BlueprintSerializer::deserialize(file.readAll().toStdString());
-        if (!file.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly | QIODevice::Text))
-        {
-            QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("Load Failed"),
-                tr("Could not open file:\n%1").arg(path));
-            return;
-        }
-        const std::string content = file.readAll().toStdString();
-        std::vector<Blueprint> loaded = BlueprintSerializer::deserialize(content);
-
-        if (m_activeIndex >= 0)
-        {
-            EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
-                std::make_shared<ExitBlueprintModeRequestedEvent>());
-            m_activeIndex = -1;
-        }
-
-        m_blueprints = std::move(loaded);
-        rebuildButtons();
     }
     catch (const std::exception& e)
     {
         QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("Load Failed"),
             tr("Failed to load blueprints:\n%1").arg(e.what()));
+        m_blueprints.clear();
     }
 }
 
@@ -377,3 +339,17 @@ void BlueprintPanel::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BlueprintModeExitedEvent>
 {
     clearActiveBlueprintButton();
 }
+
+void BlueprintPanel::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent> /*event*/)
+{
+    // Temporary blueprint (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-TEMP): build from the current selection and
+    // enter placement mode without adding it to the list or persisting it. If nothing
+    // player-placeable is selected, do nothing.
+    Blueprint bp = createBlueprintFromSelection();
+    if (bp.buildings.empty()) { return; }
+
+    // No saved blueprint is active while a temporary one is being placed.
+    clearActiveBlueprintButton();
+    EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
+        std::make_shared<BlueprintPlacementRequestedEvent>(std::move(bp)));
+}

src/ui/BlueprintPanel.h

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "EventHandler.h"
 #include "GameConfig.h"
 #include "SelectionChangedEvent.h"
+#include "TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "Tick.h"
 
 class Simulation;
@@ -21,7 +22,8 @@ class QVBoxLayout;
 class BlueprintPanel : public QWidget,
                        public CombinedEventHandler<BuildingBlocksChangedEvent,
                                                    SelectionChangedEvent,
-                                                   BlueprintModeExitedEvent>
+                                                   BlueprintModeExitedEvent,
+                                                   TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent>
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
@@ -33,13 +35,12 @@ private:
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BuildingBlocksChangedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const SelectionChangedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BlueprintModeExitedEvent> event) override;
+    void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent> event) override;
 
 private slots:
     void onCreateClicked();
     void onDeleteBlueprintClicked(int index);
     void onBlueprintButtonClicked(int index);
-    void onSaveClicked();
-    void onLoadClicked();
 
 private:
     void onSelectionChanged(const std::vector<BuildingId>& ids);
@@ -48,6 +49,8 @@ private:
     int       computeBlueprintCost(const Blueprint& bp) const;
     void      rebuildButtons();
     void      refreshButtonStates();
+    void      loadFromDisk();
+    void      saveToDisk() const;
 
     Simulation*               m_sim;
     const GameConfig*         m_config;
@@ -57,8 +60,6 @@ private:
     std::vector<Blueprint>    m_blueprints;
     std::vector<QPushButton*> m_blueprintButtons;
     QPushButton*              m_createBtn;
-    QPushButton*              m_saveBtn;
-    QPushButton*              m_loadBtn;
     QWidget*                  m_buttonsContainer;
     QVBoxLayout*              m_buttonsLayout;
 };

src/ui/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ SET(HDRS
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ShipStatsPanel.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/SchematicChoiceDialog.h
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/RecipeSelectionDialog.h
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/RecipeTooltip.h
     PARENT_SCOPE
 )
 
@@ -30,5 +31,6 @@ SET(SRCS
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/ShipStatsPanel.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/SchematicChoiceDialog.cpp
     ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/RecipeSelectionDialog.cpp
+    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/RecipeTooltip.cpp
     PARENT_SCOPE
 )

src/ui/GameWorldView.cpp

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 #include "FactionComponent.h"
 #include "GameOverEvent.h"
 #include "HealthComponent.h"
+#include "HqProxyComponent.h"
 #include "PositionComponent.h"
 #include "RepairBehavior.h"
 #include "SalvageScrapBehavior.h"
@@ -55,12 +56,15 @@
 #include "EscapeMenuRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "TracePrintRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "BuildHotkeyPressedEvent.h"
+#include "TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "BossWaveUpdatedEvent.h"
 #include "BuilderModeExitedEvent.h"
 #include "BlueprintModeExitedEvent.h"
 #include "BuildingBlocksChangedEvent.h"
+#include "ExpansionCostChangedEvent.h"
 #include "GameSpeedChangedEvent.h"
 #include "SchematicChoicesAvailableEvent.h"
+#include "PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent.h"
 #include "TickAdvancedEvent.h"
 
 namespace
@@ -211,6 +215,7 @@ void GameWorldView::onFrame()
         // Drain queued player commands once per frame, before the tick batch. This
         // runs even at 0x so a paused player sees placed construction sites
         // immediately, while staying deterministic (see docs/replay_design.md).
+        const bool commandsApplied = m_commandManager.hasPending();
         m_commandManager.drain();
 
         // A drained Reset reinitialized the simulation; reset the view to match.
@@ -220,6 +225,17 @@ void GameWorldView::onFrame()
             resetForNewGame();
         }
 
+        // Notify presentation widgets that queued commands were applied, so a
+        // paused player still sees the effect (e.g. a shipyard's layout preview
+        // after picking a schematic) even though no tick advances. UI-only: this
+        // does not touch the command queue or simulation, so replay recording
+        // and determinism are unaffected.
+        if (commandsApplied)
+        {
+            EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
+                std::make_shared<PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent>());
+        }
+
         const int ticks = m_tickDriver.advance(
             static_cast<double>(elapsed), m_gameSpeedMultiplier);
         for (int i = 0; i < ticks; ++i)
@@ -255,9 +271,25 @@ void GameWorldView::onFrame()
         m_activeBeams = std::move(live);
     }
 
+    // Expire copy/paste flashes. Lifetime is wall-clock (the frame delta), so the
+    // flash plays for a fixed real duration regardless of game speed, including
+    // while the game is paused (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK).
+    if (!m_copyConfigFlashes.empty())
+    {
+        std::vector<CopyConfigFlash> live;
+        for (CopyConfigFlash flash : m_copyConfigFlashes)
+        {
+            flash.remainingMs -= elapsed;
+            if (flash.remainingMs > 0) { live.push_back(flash); }
+        }
+        m_copyConfigFlashes = std::move(live);
+    }
+
     // Apply held scroll
     {
-        const float delta = kScrollSpeedTilesPerSec
+        // Pan speed depends on where the view is centered (REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED).
+        const float viewCenterX = m_scrollXTiles + viewportWidthTiles() / 2.0f;
+        const float delta = panSpeedTilesPerSecondAt(viewCenterX)
             * static_cast<float>(elapsed) / 1000.0f;
         const float scrollBefore = m_scrollXTiles;
         if (m_scrollLeft)  { m_scrollXTiles -= delta; }
@@ -276,6 +308,7 @@ void GameWorldView::onFrame()
     {
         const Tick newTick      = m_sim->currentTick();
         const int  newBlocks    = m_sim->buildingBlocksStock();
+        const int  newExpCost   = m_sim->currentExpansionCost();
         const int  newBoss      = m_sim->bossWaveCounter();
         const Tick newCountdown = m_sim->bossCountdownTicks();
 
@@ -291,6 +324,12 @@ void GameWorldView::onFrame()
             EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
                 std::make_shared<BuildingBlocksChangedEvent>(newBlocks));
         }
+        if (newExpCost != m_lastExpansionCost)
+        {
+            m_lastExpansionCost = newExpCost;
+            EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
+                std::make_shared<ExpansionCostChangedEvent>(newExpCost));
+        }
         if (newBoss != m_lastBossCounter || newCountdown != m_lastBossCountdown)
         {
             m_lastBossCounter   = newBoss;
@@ -359,6 +398,7 @@ void GameWorldView::paintGL()
 
     drawTiles(painter);
     drawBuildings(painter);
+    drawCopyConfigFeedback(painter);
     drawStations(painter);
     drawBeltItems(painter);
     drawScrap(painter);
@@ -435,7 +475,7 @@ QRect GameWorldView::viewportRect() const
 
 float GameWorldView::asteroidLeftEdge() const
 {
-    float leftX = -static_cast<float>(m_config->world.regions.asteroidWidth_tiles);
+    float leftX = -static_cast<float>(m_sim->currentAsteroidWidth_tiles());
     for (const Building& b : m_sim->buildings().allBuildings())
     {
         for (const QPoint& cell : b.bodyCells)
@@ -466,6 +506,39 @@ float GameWorldView::enemyStationRightEdge() const
     return rightX;
 }
 
+namespace
+{
+    // Linearly blend from valueAt0 (for x <= x0) to valueAt1 (for x >= x1), clamped
+    // outside [x0, x1]. A zero- or negative-width band collapses to a hard step at x1.
+    float lerpClamped(float valueAt0, float valueAt1, float x0, float x1, float x)
+    {
+        if (x1 <= x0) { return x < x1 ? valueAt0 : valueAt1; }
+        const float t = std::max(0.0f, std::min(1.0f, (x - x0) / (x1 - x0)));
+        return valueAt0 + (valueAt1 - valueAt0) * t;
+    }
+}
+
+float GameWorldView::panSpeedTilesPerSecondAt(float viewCenterXTiles) const
+{
+    // Slow near the asteroid/player buffer, fast across the contest zone, with a
+    // linear ramp straddling each contest-zone boundary (REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED). The
+    // contest zone spans from the player buffer's right edge to the enemy stations,
+    // the latter tracked live so the ramp follows the front line as it is pushed.
+    const float slow = static_cast<float>(m_config->world.scroll.panSpeedSlow_tps);
+    const float fast = static_cast<float>(m_config->world.scroll.panSpeedFast_tps);
+    const float half = static_cast<float>(m_config->world.scroll.panRampBandWidth_tiles) / 2.0f;
+    const float leftEdge  = static_cast<float>(m_config->world.regions.playerBufferWidth_tiles);
+    const float rightEdge = enemyStationRightEdge();
+
+    // Rising ramp at the left boundary (slow -> fast) and falling ramp at the right
+    // boundary (fast -> slow); their minimum yields flat-slow outside, flat-fast in
+    // the middle, and — if the bands overlap in a narrow contest zone — a single peak
+    // below the fast speed where the two ramps cross.
+    const float leftRamp  = lerpClamped(slow, fast, leftEdge  - half, leftEdge  + half, viewCenterXTiles);
+    const float rightRamp = lerpClamped(fast, slow, rightEdge - half, rightEdge + half, viewCenterXTiles);
+    return std::min(leftRamp, rightRamp);
+}
+
 void GameWorldView::clampScroll()
 {
     const float leftBound  = asteroidLeftEdge();
@@ -549,6 +622,41 @@ BuildingId GameWorldView::siteAtTile(QPoint tile) const
 }
 
 
+std::vector<BuildingId> GameWorldView::buildingsInBox(QPoint cornerA, QPoint cornerB) const
+{
+    const int x0 = std::min(cornerA.x(), cornerB.x());
+    const int y0 = std::min(cornerA.y(), cornerB.y());
+    const int x1 = std::max(cornerA.x(), cornerB.x());
+    const int y1 = std::max(cornerA.y(), cornerB.y());
+
+    std::vector<BuildingId> ids;
+    for (const Building& b : m_sim->buildings().allBuildings())
+    {
+        for (const QPoint& cell : b.bodyCells)
+        {
+            if (cell.x() >= x0 && cell.x() <= x1
+             && cell.y() >= y0 && cell.y() <= y1)
+            {
+                ids.push_back(b.id);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    for (const ConstructionSite& s : m_sim->buildings().allSites())
+    {
+        for (const QPoint& cell : s.bodyCells)
+        {
+            if (cell.x() >= x0 && cell.x() <= x1
+             && cell.y() >= y0 && cell.y() <= y1)
+            {
+                ids.push_back(s.id);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return ids;
+}
+
 std::optional<QVector2D> GameWorldView::entityPosition(entt::entity entity) const
 {
     if (!m_sim->admin().isValid(entity) || !m_sim->admin().hasAll<PositionComponent>(entity))
@@ -816,16 +924,19 @@ void GameWorldView::drawBuildings(QPainter& painter)
                           port.direction, bv.outline);
         }
 
-        bool selected = false;
+        // HP bar below the HQ footprint; the HQ's HP lives on its proxy entity.
-        for (BuildingId selId : m_selectedBuildingIds)
+        if (b.type == BuildingType::Hq)
         {
-            if (selId == b.id) { selected = true; break; }
+            m_sim->admin().forEach<HqProxyComponent, FactionComponent, HealthComponent>(
+                [&](entt::entity /*e*/, const HqProxyComponent& /*hq*/,
+                    const FactionComponent& f, const HealthComponent& h)
+                {
+                    if (h.maxHp > 0.0f)
+                    {
+                        drawHpBar(painter, bboxRect.left(), bboxRect.bottom() + 1.0,
+                                  bboxRect.width(), h.hp / h.maxHp, f.isEnemy);
                     }
-        if (selected)
+                });
-        {
-            painter.setPen(QPen(m_visuals->overlays.selectedOutline, 2));
-            painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
-            painter.drawRect(bboxRect.adjusted(-1, -1, 1, 1));
         }
     }
 
@@ -850,20 +961,6 @@ void GameWorldView::drawBuildings(QPainter& painter)
         painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
         painter.drawRect(bboxRect);
 
-        bool selected = false;
-        for (BuildingId selId : m_selectedBuildingIds)
-        {
-            if (selId == s.id) { selected = true; break; }
-        }
-        if (selected)
-        {
-            painter.setOpacity(1.0);
-            painter.setPen(QPen(m_visuals->overlays.selectedOutline, 2));
-            painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
-            painter.drawRect(bboxRect.adjusted(-1, -1, 1, 1));
-            painter.setOpacity(0.5);
-        }
-
         const BuildingDef* siteDef = findBuildingDef(s.type);
         if (siteDef)
         {
@@ -908,6 +1005,86 @@ void GameWorldView::drawBuildings(QPainter& painter)
         }
     }
     painter.setOpacity(1.0);
+
+    // Selection highlights are drawn last, after every building and construction
+    // site fill, so a selected building surrounded by neighbours keeps its outline:
+    // the highlight sits 1px outside the footprint (into adjacent tiles), and drawing
+    // it inline would let later-drawn neighbours overpaint it with their body fill.
+    drawSelectionHighlights(painter);
+}
+
+std::optional<QRectF> GameWorldView::footprintWidgetRect(BuildingId id) const
+{
+    std::optional<QPoint> anchor;
+    std::optional<QSize>  footprint;
+
+    if (const Building* b = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(id))
+    {
+        anchor    = b->anchor;
+        footprint = b->footprint;
+    }
+    else if (const ConstructionSite* s = m_sim->buildings().findSite(id))
+    {
+        anchor    = s->anchor;
+        footprint = s->footprint;
+    }
+    if (!anchor.has_value() || !footprint.has_value()) { return std::nullopt; }
+
+    const QPointF tl = tileToWidget(*anchor);
+    return QRectF(tl.x(), tl.y(),
+        footprint->width()  * static_cast<qreal>(tilePx()),
+        footprint->height() * static_cast<qreal>(tilePx()));
+}
+
+void GameWorldView::drawSelectionHighlights(QPainter& painter)
+{
+    painter.setPen(QPen(m_visuals->overlays.selectedOutline, 2));
+    painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
+
+    for (BuildingId selId : m_selectedBuildingIds)
+    {
+        const std::optional<QRectF> rect = footprintWidgetRect(selId);
+        if (!rect.has_value()) { continue; }
+        // Outline sits 1px outside the footprint (into adjacent tiles).
+        painter.drawRect(rect->adjusted(-1, -1, 1, 1));
+    }
+}
+
+void GameWorldView::drawCopyConfigFeedback(QPainter& painter)
+{
+    const QColor color = m_visuals->overlays.copyConfig;
+
+    // Eligible-target tint: while a configuration is cached, every same-type
+    // building and site (the source included) is a valid paste target and is
+    // washed in the copy-settings color (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK).
+    if (m_copiedConfig.has_value())
+    {
+        painter.setPen(Qt::NoPen);
+        painter.setBrush(color);
+        const BuildingType type = m_copiedConfig->type;
+        for (const Building& b : m_sim->buildings().allBuildings())
+        {
+            if (b.type != type) { continue; }
+            const std::optional<QRectF> rect = footprintWidgetRect(b.id);
+            if (rect.has_value()) { painter.drawRect(*rect); }
+        }
+        for (const ConstructionSite& s : m_sim->buildings().allSites())
+        {
+            if (s.type != type) { continue; }
+            const std::optional<QRectF> rect = footprintWidgetRect(s.id);
+            if (rect.has_value()) { painter.drawRect(*rect); }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Copy / paste flashes: a brief outline in the same color, drawn like the
+    // selection outline (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK).
+    painter.setPen(QPen(color, 2));
+    painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
+    for (const CopyConfigFlash& flash : m_copyConfigFlashes)
+    {
+        const std::optional<QRectF> rect = footprintWidgetRect(flash.id);
+        if (rect.has_value()) { painter.drawRect(rect->adjusted(-1, -1, 1, 1)); }
+    }
 }
 
 void GameWorldView::drawBeltItems(QPainter& painter)
@@ -985,14 +1162,8 @@ void GameWorldView::drawStations(QPainter& painter)
             // HP bar below footprint.
             if (h.maxHp > 0.0f)
             {
-                const float fraction = std::max(0.0f, h.hp / h.maxHp);
+                drawHpBar(painter, bboxRect.left(), bboxRect.bottom() + 1.0,
-                const qreal barH  = static_cast<qreal>(tilePx()) * 0.12;
+                          bboxRect.width(), h.hp / h.maxHp, f.isEnemy);
-                const qreal barY  = bboxRect.bottom() + 1.0;
-                const qreal barW  = bboxRect.width();
-                painter.fillRect(QRectF(bboxRect.left(), barY, barW, barH),
-                                 QColor(60, 60, 60));
-                painter.fillRect(QRectF(bboxRect.left(), barY, barW * static_cast<qreal>(fraction), barH),
-                                 f.isEnemy ? QColor(200, 60, 60) : QColor(60, 200, 60));
             }
         });
 }
@@ -1038,18 +1209,24 @@ void GameWorldView::drawShips(QPainter& painter)
 
             if (h.maxHp > 0.0f)
             {
-                const float fraction = std::max(0.0f, h.hp / h.maxHp);
                 const qreal barW = static_cast<qreal>(fwd) * 2.0;
-                const qreal barH = static_cast<qreal>(tilePx()) * 0.12;
                 const qreal barX = center.x() - static_cast<qreal>(fwd);
                 const qreal barY = center.y() + static_cast<qreal>(fwd) + 1.0;
-                painter.fillRect(QRectF(barX, barY, barW, barH), QColor(60, 60, 60));
+                drawHpBar(painter, barX, barY, barW, h.hp / h.maxHp, fac.isEnemy);
-                painter.fillRect(QRectF(barX, barY, barW * static_cast<qreal>(fraction), barH),
-                                 fac.isEnemy ? QColor(200, 60, 60) : QColor(60, 200, 60));
             }
         });
 }
 
+void GameWorldView::drawHpBar(QPainter& painter, qreal left, qreal top, qreal width,
+                              float fraction, bool isEnemy)
+{
+    const qreal barH = static_cast<qreal>(tilePx()) * 0.12;
+    const float clamped = std::max(0.0f, fraction);
+    painter.fillRect(QRectF(left, top, width, barH), QColor(60, 60, 60));
+    painter.fillRect(QRectF(left, top, width * static_cast<qreal>(clamped), barH),
+                     isEnemy ? QColor(200, 60, 60) : QColor(60, 200, 60));
+}
+
 void GameWorldView::drawDebugSensorRanges(QPainter& painter)
 {
     painter.setBrush(Qt::NoBrush);
@@ -1215,8 +1392,28 @@ void GameWorldView::drawOverlays(QPainter& painter)
         }
     }
 
-    // Demolish hover tint
+    // Demolish tint: while dragging a demolish box, tint every covered
-    if (m_demolishMode && m_demolishHoverBuildingId != kInvalidBuildingId)
+    // building/site (REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-BOX); otherwise tint the hovered one.
+    if (m_demolishMode && m_boxSelecting)
+    {
+        for (BuildingId id : buildingsInBox(m_boxStartTile, m_boxCurrentTile))
+        {
+            const Building* b = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(id);
+            if (b && b->type == BuildingType::Hq) { continue; }
+            const std::vector<QPoint>* cells = nullptr;
+            const ConstructionSite* s = nullptr;
+            if (b) { cells = &b->bodyCells; }
+            else if ((s = m_sim->buildings().findSite(id))) { cells = &s->bodyCells; }
+            if (cells)
+            {
+                for (const QPoint& cell : *cells)
+                {
+                    painter.fillRect(tileRect(cell), m_visuals->overlays.demolishTint);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    else if (m_demolishMode && m_demolishHoverBuildingId != kInvalidBuildingId)
     {
         const Building* b = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(m_demolishHoverBuildingId);
         if (b)
@@ -1445,6 +1642,13 @@ void GameWorldView::keyPressEvent(QKeyEvent* event)
         else if (m_blueprintMode.has_value()) { exitBlueprintMode(); }
         else                                  { toggleDemolishMode(); }
         break;
+    case Qt::Key_T:
+        // Request a temporary blueprint from the current selection (REQ-UI-BLUEPRINT-TEMP).
+        // The BlueprintPanel owns the selection and blueprint-capture logic; it decides
+        // whether anything placeable is selected and drives placement mode from there.
+        EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
+            std::make_shared<TemporaryBlueprintRequestedEvent>());
+        break;
     case Qt::Key_Escape:
         EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
             std::make_shared<EscapeMenuRequestedEvent>());
@@ -1472,6 +1676,8 @@ void GameWorldView::keyReleaseEvent(QKeyEvent* event)
     }
     if (event->key() == Qt::Key_A) { m_scrollLeft  = false; }
     if (event->key() == Qt::Key_D) { m_scrollRight = false; }
+    // Releasing Shift discards the copied building settings (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG).
+    if (event->key() == Qt::Key_Shift) { m_copiedConfig.reset(); }
     QOpenGLWidget::keyReleaseEvent(event);
 }
 
@@ -1484,6 +1690,15 @@ void GameWorldView::mousePressEvent(QMouseEvent* event)
             if (m_builderType.has_value())        { exitBuilderMode(); }
             else if (m_blueprintMode.has_value()) { exitBlueprintMode(); }
             else if (m_demolishMode)              { toggleDemolishMode(); }
+            else if (event->modifiers() & Qt::ShiftModifier)
+            {
+                // Shift + right-click copies a building's settings, but only in the
+                // default selection mode (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG).
+                const QPoint tile = widgetToTile(event->pos());
+                BuildingId id = buildingAtTile(tile);
+                if (id == kInvalidBuildingId) { id = siteAtTile(tile); }
+                if (id != kInvalidBuildingId) { copyConfigFrom(id); }
+            }
         }
         return;
     }
@@ -1510,27 +1725,28 @@ void GameWorldView::mousePressEvent(QMouseEvent* event)
     }
     else if (m_demolishMode)
     {
-        BuildingId hovered = buildingAtTile(tile);
+        // Start a demolish box drag; a plain click resolves as a 1x1 box on
-		if (hovered == kInvalidBuildingId)
+        // release (REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-CLICK, REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-BOX).
-		{
+        m_boxSelecting   = true;
-			hovered = siteAtTile(tile);
+        m_boxStartTile   = tile;
-		}
+        m_boxCurrentTile = tile;
-        if (hovered != kInvalidBuildingId)
-        {
-            const Building* b = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(hovered);
-            const bool isProtected = b && b->type == BuildingType::Hq;
-            if (!isProtected)
-            {
-                std::shared_ptr<DemolishCommand> command =
-                    std::make_shared<DemolishCommand>();
-                command->id = hovered;
-                enqueueCommand(command);
-                m_demolishHoverBuildingId = kInvalidBuildingId;
-            }
-        }
     }
     else
     {
+        // Shift + left-click applies the copied settings to a same-type building
+        // (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG). Consumes the click so it does not change the
+        // selection. Only active in the default selection mode.
+        if ((event->modifiers() & Qt::ShiftModifier) && m_copiedConfig.has_value())
+        {
+            BuildingId id = buildingAtTile(tile);
+            if (id == kInvalidBuildingId) { id = siteAtTile(tile); }
+            if (id != kInvalidBuildingId)
+            {
+                pasteConfigTo(id);
+                return;
+            }
+        }
+
         const QVector2D worldPos = widgetToWorld(event->pos());
         const entt::entity hitEntity = entityAtWorldPos(m_sim->admin(), worldPos);
 
@@ -1615,6 +1831,7 @@ void GameWorldView::mouseMoveEvent(QMouseEvent* event)
     else if (m_demolishMode)
     {
         m_demolishHoverBuildingId = buildingAtTile(tile);
+        if (m_boxSelecting) { m_boxCurrentTile = tile; }
     }
     else if (m_boxSelecting)
     {
@@ -1636,44 +1853,33 @@ void GameWorldView::mouseReleaseEvent(QMouseEvent* event)
     {
         m_boxSelecting = false;
 
-        const int x0 = std::min(m_boxStartTile.x(), m_boxCurrentTile.x());
+        const std::vector<BuildingId> boxIds =
-        const int y0 = std::min(m_boxStartTile.y(), m_boxCurrentTile.y());
+            buildingsInBox(m_boxStartTile, m_boxCurrentTile);
-        const int x1 = std::max(m_boxStartTile.x(), m_boxCurrentTile.x());
-        const int y1 = std::max(m_boxStartTile.y(), m_boxCurrentTile.y());
 
-        std::vector<BuildingId> boxSel;
+        if (m_demolishMode)
-        for (const Building& b : m_sim->buildings().allBuildings())
         {
-            for (const QPoint& cell : b.bodyCells)
+            // Demolish every covered building/site; the HQ is protected
+            // (REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH, REQ-BLD-DEMOLISH-BOX).
+            for (BuildingId id : boxIds)
             {
-                if (cell.x() >= x0 && cell.x() <= x1
+                const Building* b = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(id);
-                 && cell.y() >= y0 && cell.y() <= y1)
+                if (b && b->type == BuildingType::Hq) { continue; }
-                {
+                std::shared_ptr<DemolishCommand> command =
-                    boxSel.push_back(b.id);
+                    std::make_shared<DemolishCommand>();
-                    break;
+                command->id = id;
-                }
+                enqueueCommand(command);
-            }
-        }
-        for (const ConstructionSite& s : m_sim->buildings().allSites())
-        {
-            for (const QPoint& cell : s.bodyCells)
-            {
-                if (cell.x() >= x0 && cell.x() <= x1
-                 && cell.y() >= y0 && cell.y() <= y1)
-                {
-                    boxSel.push_back(s.id);
-                    break;
-                }
             }
+            m_demolishHoverBuildingId = kInvalidBuildingId;
+            return;
         }
 
         if (!(event->modifiers() & Qt::ControlModifier))
         {
-            m_selectedBuildingIds = boxSel;
+            m_selectedBuildingIds = boxIds;
         }
         else
         {
-            for (BuildingId id : boxSel)
+            for (BuildingId id : boxIds)
             {
                 bool found = false;
                 for (BuildingId sel : m_selectedBuildingIds)
@@ -1746,6 +1952,85 @@ void GameWorldView::rotateGhost(bool clockwise)
     }
 }
 
+void GameWorldView::copyConfigFrom(BuildingId id)
+{
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> config = readBuildingConfig(*m_sim, id);
+    if (!config.has_value()) { return; }
+
+    // Only cache when there is something to copy: a selected recipe / schematic
+    // (Miner, Assembler, Shipyard) or any Splitter (empty filters = accept-all).
+    // Building types with no settings (Smelter, Reprocessing Plant, Salvage Bay,
+    // belts / tunnels, HQ) leave any existing cache untouched (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG).
+    if (!config->recipeId.has_value() && !config->isSplitter) { return; }
+
+    m_copiedConfig = config;
+    m_copyConfigFlashes.push_back({ id, kCopyFlashDurationMs });
+}
+
+void GameWorldView::pasteConfigTo(BuildingId id)
+{
+    if (!m_copiedConfig.has_value()) { return; }
+
+    const std::optional<BuildingConfig> target = readBuildingConfig(*m_sim, id);
+    if (!target.has_value() || target->type != m_copiedConfig->type) { return; }
+
+    // The paste applies below; flash the target to confirm (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK).
+    m_copyConfigFlashes.push_back({ id, kCopyFlashDurationMs });
+
+    const BuildingConfig& source = *m_copiedConfig;
+
+    // The cached settings were valid on a same-type source building, so they are
+    // valid and available on the target: unlock state is global, so a selected
+    // recipe / schematic (REQ-LOCK-UI-RECIPE, REQ-LOCK-UI-SCHEMATIC) and splitter
+    // filter item types (REQ-LOCK-UI-SPLITTER) remain unlocked. Applying reuses the
+    // same configuration commands as the selected building panel, inheriting their
+    // buffer-clearing and mid-cycle-cancel semantics (REQ-MAT-INPUT-BUFFER,
+    // REQ-MAT-OUTPUT-BUFFER, REQ-BLD-SHIPYARD).
+    if (source.isSplitter)
+    {
+        // Operational splitters are configured by tile; sites by BuildingId
+        // (mirrors SelectedBuildingPanel::onSplitterFilterChanged).
+        if (const Building* building = m_sim->buildings().findBuilding(id))
+        {
+            std::shared_ptr<SetSplitterFiltersCommand> command =
+                std::make_shared<SetSplitterFiltersCommand>();
+            command->tile    = building->anchor;
+            command->filterA = source.splitterFilterA;
+            command->filterB = source.splitterFilterB;
+            enqueueCommand(command);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            std::shared_ptr<SetSiteSplitterFiltersCommand> command =
+                std::make_shared<SetSiteSplitterFiltersCommand>();
+            command->id      = id;
+            command->filterA = source.splitterFilterA;
+            command->filterB = source.splitterFilterB;
+            enqueueCommand(command);
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (source.recipeId.has_value())
+    {
+        std::shared_ptr<SetRecipeCommand> command = std::make_shared<SetRecipeCommand>();
+        command->id       = id;
+        command->recipeId = *source.recipeId;
+        enqueueCommand(command);
+    }
+
+    // For a shipyard the schematic (above) must be applied before its module
+    // layout, so both commands drain in order at the next tick boundary.
+    if (source.type == BuildingType::Shipyard && source.shipLayout.has_value())
+    {
+        std::shared_ptr<SetShipLayoutCommand> command =
+            std::make_shared<SetShipLayoutCommand>();
+        command->id     = id;
+        command->layout = *source.shipLayout;
+        enqueueCommand(command);
+    }
+}
+
 void GameWorldView::enterBuilderMode(BuildingType type)
 {
     m_builderType   = type;
@@ -1818,6 +2103,8 @@ void GameWorldView::resetForNewGame()
     EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
         std::make_shared<DemolishModeChangedEvent>(false));
     m_selectedBuildingIds.clear();
+    m_copiedConfig     = std::nullopt;
+    m_copyConfigFlashes.clear();
     m_boxSelecting     = false;
     m_scrollXTiles     = 0.0f;
     m_scrollLeft       = false;
@@ -1827,6 +2114,7 @@ void GameWorldView::resetForNewGame()
     m_prevNonZeroSpeed  = 1.0;
     m_lastTick          = Tick(-1);
     m_lastBlocks        = -1;
+    m_lastExpansionCost = -1;
     m_lastBossCounter   = -1;
     m_lastBossCountdown = Tick(-1);
     m_lastArtifactCount = -1;

src/ui/GameWorldView.h

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include <QVector2D>
 
 #include "Blueprint.h"
+#include "BuildingConfig.h"
 #include "BlueprintModeExitedEvent.h"
 #include "BlueprintPlacementRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "BuilderModeExitedEvent.h"
@@ -115,10 +116,14 @@ private:
 
     void drawTiles(QPainter& painter);
     void drawBuildings(QPainter& painter);
+    void drawSelectionHighlights(QPainter& painter);
+    void drawCopyConfigFeedback(QPainter& painter);
     void drawStations(QPainter& painter);
     void drawBeltItems(QPainter& painter);
     void drawScrap(QPainter& painter);
     void drawShips(QPainter& painter);
+    void drawHpBar(QPainter& painter, qreal left, qreal top, qreal width,
+                   float fraction, bool isEnemy);
     void drawDebugSensorRanges(QPainter& painter);
     void drawDebugTargetLines(QPainter& painter);
     void drawDebugOverlay(QPainter& painter);
@@ -134,15 +139,24 @@ private:
     QPoint   widgetToTile(QPoint widgetPt) const;
     QRectF   tileRect(QPoint tile) const;
     QRect    viewportRect() const;
+    // Widget-space rectangle covering a building or construction site's footprint,
+    // or nullopt if the id resolves to neither. Shared by the selection highlight
+    // and the copy-settings feedback (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK).
+    std::optional<QRectF> footprintWidgetRect(BuildingId id) const;
 
     float    asteroidLeftEdge() const;
     float    enemyStationRightEdge() const;
+    // Horizontal pan speed at a given view-center X, in tiles/s (REQ-UI-SCROLL-SPEED).
+    float    panSpeedTilesPerSecondAt(float viewCenterXTiles) const;
     void     clampScroll();
 
     bool     isValidPlacement(BuildingType type, QPoint anchor, Rotation rot) const;
     const BuildingDef* findBuildingDef(BuildingType type) const;
     BuildingId buildingAtTile(QPoint tile) const;
     BuildingId siteAtTile(QPoint tile) const;
+    // Ids of all buildings and construction sites whose footprint intersects
+    // the tile box spanned by the two (unordered) corner tiles.
+    std::vector<BuildingId> buildingsInBox(QPoint cornerA, QPoint cornerB) const;
     QVector2D  widgetToWorld(QPoint widgetPt) const;
 
     void     drawPortGlyph(QPainter& painter, QPoint bodyTile,
@@ -157,6 +171,12 @@ private:
     void                     stepSpeed(int delta);
     void                     placeAtTile(QPoint tile);
 
+    // Copy-settings gesture (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG): Shift+right-click copies a
+    // building's configuration into m_copiedConfig; Shift+left-click applies it to
+    // another building of the same type via the existing configuration commands.
+    void     copyConfigFrom(BuildingId id);
+    void     pasteConfigTo(BuildingId id);
+
     void     enterBuilderMode(BuildingType type);
     void     exitBuilderMode();
     void     enterBlueprintMode(Blueprint blueprint);
@@ -173,7 +193,6 @@ private:
     // Beam lifetime in game ticks so beams freeze with the simulation when
     // paused or slowed, instead of fading on wall-clock time (REQ-SHP-FIRING-BEAM).
     static constexpr Tick    kBeamLifetimeTicks      = secondsToTicks(0.3);
-    static constexpr float   kScrollSpeedTilesPerSec = 10.0f;
 
     Simulation*          m_sim;
     const GameConfig*    m_config;
@@ -208,6 +227,22 @@ private:
     std::optional<Blueprint> m_blueprintMode;
     QPoint                   m_blueprintGhostTile;
 
+    // Temporary cache for the copy-settings gesture (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG); held
+    // only while Shift is down and cleared on Shift release.
+    std::optional<BuildingConfig> m_copiedConfig;
+
+    // Brief outline flash shown on a building when settings are copied from it or
+    // pasted onto it (REQ-BLD-COPY-CONFIG-FEEDBACK). remainingMs counts down in
+    // wall-clock time so the flash plays at a fixed length regardless of game speed
+    // (and while paused).
+    struct CopyConfigFlash
+    {
+        BuildingId id;
+        qint64     remainingMs;
+    };
+    std::vector<CopyConfigFlash> m_copyConfigFlashes;
+    static constexpr qint64      kCopyFlashDurationMs = 300;
+
     bool     m_demolishMode;
     BuildingId m_demolishHoverBuildingId;
     bool     m_debugDraw;
@@ -226,6 +261,7 @@ private:
 
     Tick m_lastTick          = Tick(-1);
     int  m_lastBlocks        = -1;
+    int  m_lastExpansionCost = -1;
     int  m_lastBossCounter   = -1;
     Tick m_lastBossCountdown = Tick(-1);
     int  m_lastArtifactCount = -1;

src/ui/HeaderBar.cpp

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 #include <QPushButton>
 #include <QSignalMapper>
 
+#include "Command.h"
+#include "CommandRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "EventManager.h"
 #include "SpeedChangeRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "Tick.h"
@@ -32,6 +34,17 @@ HeaderBar::HeaderBar(QWidget* parent)
     layout->addStretch();
     layout->addWidget(m_bossLabel);
 
+    // Asteroid expansion button, to the left of the speed buttons (REQ-UI-HEADER,
+    // REQ-UI-EXPAND-BUTTON). Caption/enabled state are set on the first
+    // ExpansionCostChangedEvent; clicking requests an ExpandAsteroidCommand.
+    m_expandButton = new QPushButton(tr("Expand"), this);
+    layout->addWidget(m_expandButton);
+    connect(m_expandButton, &QPushButton::clicked, this, []() {
+        EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
+            std::make_shared<CommandRequestedEvent>(
+                std::make_shared<ExpandAsteroidCommand>()));
+    });
+
     const char* labels[] = { "0x", "0.5x", "1x", "2x", "10x" };
     QSignalMapper* mapper = new QSignalMapper(this);
     for (int i = 0; i < kSpeedCount; ++i)
@@ -67,7 +80,21 @@ void HeaderBar::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TickAdvancedEvent> event)
 
 void HeaderBar::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BuildingBlocksChangedEvent> event)
 {
+    m_blocks = event->blocks;
     m_blocksLabel->setText(tr("Blocks: %1").arg(event->blocks));
+    updateExpandButton();
+}
+
+void HeaderBar::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const ExpansionCostChangedEvent> event)
+{
+    m_expansionCost = event->cost;
+    updateExpandButton();
+}
+
+void HeaderBar::updateExpandButton()
+{
+    m_expandButton->setText(tr("Expand: %1 Blocks").arg(m_expansionCost));
+    m_expandButton->setEnabled(m_blocks >= m_expansionCost);
 }
 
 void HeaderBar::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const GameSpeedChangedEvent> event)

src/ui/HeaderBar.h

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include "BossWaveUpdatedEvent.h"
 #include "BuildingBlocksChangedEvent.h"
 #include "EventHandler.h"
+#include "ExpansionCostChangedEvent.h"
 #include "GameSpeedChangedEvent.h"
 #include "Tick.h"
 #include "TickAdvancedEvent.h"
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ class QPushButton;
 class HeaderBar : public QWidget,
                   public CombinedEventHandler<TickAdvancedEvent,
                                               BuildingBlocksChangedEvent,
+                                              ExpansionCostChangedEvent,
                                               GameSpeedChangedEvent,
                                               BossWaveUpdatedEvent,
                                               ArtifactCountChangedEvent>
@@ -34,16 +36,25 @@ private slots:
 private:
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TickAdvancedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BuildingBlocksChangedEvent> event) override;
+    void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const ExpansionCostChangedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const GameSpeedChangedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const BossWaveUpdatedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const ArtifactCountChangedEvent> event) override;
 
+    // Refreshes the Expand button caption and enabled state from the current
+    // expansion cost and building block stock (REQ-UI-EXPAND-BUTTON).
+    void updateExpandButton();
+
     QLabel*                  m_timeLabel;
     QLabel*                  m_blocksLabel;
     QLabel*                  m_artifactsLabel;
     QLabel*                  m_bossLabel;
+    QPushButton*             m_expandButton;
     std::vector<QPushButton*> m_speedButtons;
 
+    int                      m_blocks        = 0;
+    int                      m_expansionCost = 0;
+
     static const double kSpeeds[];
     static const int    kSpeedCount;
 };

src/ui/MainWindow.cpp

@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ void MainWindow::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const SchematicChoicesAvailableEven
     const double prevSpeed = m_gameWorldView->gameSpeed();
     m_gameWorldView->setGameSpeed(0.0);
 
-    SchematicChoiceDialog dialog(event->choices, this);
+    SchematicChoiceDialog dialog(event->choices, m_sim->config().recipes, this);
     dialog.exec();
 
     std::shared_ptr<ApplySchematicChoiceCommand> command =

src/ui/RecipeSelectionDialog.cpp

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include "DisplayName.h"
 #include "GameConfig.h"
 #include "RecipesConfig.h"
+#include "RecipeTooltip.h"
 #include "ShipsConfig.h"
 #include "Simulation.h"
 
@@ -25,39 +26,6 @@ QString itemLine(const std::string& itemId, int amount)
         + QStringLiteral(" ×") + QString::number(amount);
 }
 
-QString recipeTooltip(const RecipeDef& recipe)
-{
-    QStringList lines;
-    lines << QObject::tr("Recipe: %1")
-        .arg(QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(recipe.id)));
-
-    if (recipe.inputs.empty())
-    {
-        lines << QObject::tr("Inputs: none");
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        lines << QObject::tr("Inputs:");
-        for (const RecipeIngredient& ingredient : recipe.inputs)
-        {
-            lines << itemLine(ingredient.item, ingredient.amount);
-        }
-    }
-
-    lines << QObject::tr("Completion time: %1 s").arg(recipe.durationSeconds);
-
-    if (!recipe.outputs.empty())
-    {
-        lines << QObject::tr("Produces:");
-        for (const RecipeOutput& output : recipe.outputs)
-        {
-            lines << itemLine(output.item, output.amount);
-        }
-    }
-
-    return lines.join('\n');
-}
-
 QString shipTooltip(const ShipDef& def)
 {
     const QString name = QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(def.id));
@@ -116,7 +84,7 @@ std::vector<RecipeSelectionOption> buildRecipeSelectionOptions(
             }
             options.push_back({recipe.id,
                                QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(recipe.id)),
-                               recipeTooltip(recipe)});
+                               buildRecipeTooltip(recipe)});
         }
     }
 

src/ui/RecipeTooltip.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#include "RecipeTooltip.h"
+
+#include <QObject>
+#include <QStringList>
+
+#include "DisplayName.h"
+#include "RecipesConfig.h"
+
+namespace
+{
+
+QString itemLine(const std::string& itemId, int amount)
+{
+    return QStringLiteral("  ")
+        + QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(itemId))
+        + QStringLiteral(" ×") + QString::number(amount);
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+QString buildRecipeTooltip(const RecipeDef& recipe)
+{
+    QStringList lines;
+    lines << QObject::tr("Recipe: %1")
+        .arg(QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(recipe.id)));
+
+    if (recipe.inputs.empty())
+    {
+        lines << QObject::tr("Inputs: none");
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        lines << QObject::tr("Inputs:");
+        for (const RecipeIngredient& ingredient : recipe.inputs)
+        {
+            lines << itemLine(ingredient.item, ingredient.amount);
+        }
+    }
+
+    lines << QObject::tr("Completion time: %1 s").arg(recipe.durationSeconds);
+
+    if (!recipe.outputs.empty())
+    {
+        lines << QObject::tr("Produces:");
+        for (const RecipeOutput& output : recipe.outputs)
+        {
+            lines << itemLine(output.item, output.amount);
+        }
+    }
+
+    return lines.join('\n');
+}

src/ui/RecipeTooltip.h

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <QString>
+
+struct RecipeDef;
+
+// Builds the recipe info tooltip text (REQ-UI-SELECT-TOOLTIP): the recipe name,
+// each input item name and quantity, the completion time, and the produced
+// output item name and quantity. Shared by the recipe-selection dialog and the
+// schematic choice dialog's "Unlocks recipes:" list so both render identically.
+QString buildRecipeTooltip(const RecipeDef& recipe);

src/ui/SchematicChoiceDialog.cpp

@@ -3,11 +3,29 @@
 #include <QHBoxLayout>
 #include <QLabel>
 #include <QPushButton>
-#include <QStringList>
 #include <QVBoxLayout>
 
+#include "DisplayName.h"
+#include "RecipeTooltip.h"
+#include "RecipesConfig.h"
+
+namespace
+{
+
+const RecipeDef* findRecipe(const RecipesConfig& recipes, const std::string& id)
+{
+    for (const RecipeDef& recipe : recipes.recipes)
+    {
+        if (recipe.id == id) { return &recipe; }
+    }
+    return nullptr;
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
 SchematicChoiceDialog::SchematicChoiceDialog(
     const std::vector<SchematicChoiceOption>& options,
+    const RecipesConfig& recipes,
     QWidget* parent)
     : QDialog(parent)
     , m_chosenIndex(0)
@@ -70,30 +88,33 @@ SchematicChoiceDialog::SchematicChoiceDialog(
             typeLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
             cardLayout->addWidget(typeLabel);
 
-            QLabel* unlocksHeaderLabel = new QLabel(tr("Unlocks recipes for:"), card);
+            QLabel* unlocksHeaderLabel = new QLabel(tr("Unlocks recipes:"), card);
             QFont unlocksHeaderFont = unlocksHeaderLabel->font();
             unlocksHeaderFont.setBold(true);
             unlocksHeaderLabel->setFont(unlocksHeaderFont);
             unlocksHeaderLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
             cardLayout->addWidget(unlocksHeaderLabel);
 
-            QString unlocksText;
+            if (option.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds.empty())
-            if (option.newlyUnlockedItemNames.empty())
             {
-                unlocksText = tr("None");
+                QLabel* noneLabel = new QLabel(tr("None"), card);
+                noneLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
+                cardLayout->addWidget(noneLabel);
             }
             else
             {
-                QStringList itemLines;
+                for (const std::string& recipeId : option.newlyUnlockedRecipeIds)
-                for (const std::string& itemName : option.newlyUnlockedItemNames)
                 {
-                    itemLines << QString::fromStdString(itemName);
+                    QLabel* recipeLabel = new QLabel(
+                        QString::fromStdString(toDisplayName(recipeId)), card);
+                    recipeLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
+                    if (const RecipeDef* def = findRecipe(recipes, recipeId))
+                    {
+                        recipeLabel->setToolTip(buildRecipeTooltip(*def));
+                    }
+                    cardLayout->addWidget(recipeLabel);
                 }
-                unlocksText = itemLines.join("\n");
             }
-            QLabel* unlocksLabel = new QLabel(unlocksText, card);
-            unlocksLabel->setAlignment(Qt::AlignCenter);
-            cardLayout->addWidget(unlocksLabel);
         }
 
         QPushButton* selectButton = new QPushButton(tr("Select"), card);

src/ui/SchematicChoiceDialog.h

@@ -6,12 +6,15 @@
 
 #include "SchematicChoiceOption.h"
 
+struct RecipesConfig;
+
 class SchematicChoiceDialog : public QDialog
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
     SchematicChoiceDialog(const std::vector<SchematicChoiceOption>& options,
+                          const RecipesConfig& recipes,
                           QWidget* parent = nullptr);
 
     int getChosenIndex() const;

src/ui/SelectedBuildingPanel.cpp

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 #include "ItemType.h"
 #include "LayoutDialogRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "ModulesConfig.h"
+#include "PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent.h"
 #include "RecipeSelectionDialog.h"
 #include "RecipeSelectionRequestedEvent.h"
 #include "Rotation.h"
@@ -294,38 +295,12 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::buildSingle(BuildingId id)
         }
         m_recipeSelectButton->show();
 
-        if (type == BuildingType::Shipyard && !recipeId.empty())
+        updateShipyardLayoutWidgets(type, recipeId, shipLayout);
-        {
-            const ShipDef* sDef = findShipDef(recipeId);
-            if (sDef && !sDef->layout.empty())
-            {
-                ShipLayoutConfig layout;
-                if (shipLayout.has_value())
-                {
-                    layout = *shipLayout;
-                }
-                m_layoutPreview->setShipAndLayout(
-                    sDef->layout, layout, &m_config->modules.modules);
-                m_layoutPreview->show();
-                m_configureLayoutBtn->show();
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                m_layoutPreview->hide();
-                m_configureLayoutBtn->hide();
-            }
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            m_layoutPreview->hide();
-            m_configureLayoutBtn->hide();
-        }
     }
     else
     {
         m_recipeSelectButton->hide();
-        m_layoutPreview->hide();
+        updateShipyardLayoutWidgets(type, recipeId, shipLayout);
-        m_configureLayoutBtn->hide();
     }
 
     // Belt "Clear" removes items from a live belt tile; a construction site has
@@ -363,6 +338,16 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::buildSingle(BuildingId id)
 
     if (m_singleIsSite)
     {
+        refreshSiteProgress(s);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        refreshBuffers(b);
+    }
+}
+
+void SelectedBuildingPanel::refreshSiteProgress(const ConstructionSite* s)
+{
     QString progress;
     if (s->completesAt == 0)
     {
@@ -389,11 +374,6 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::buildSingle(BuildingId id)
         }
     }
     m_buffersLabel->setText(progress);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        refreshBuffers(b);
-    }
 }
 
 void SelectedBuildingPanel::refreshBuffers(const Building* b)
@@ -530,15 +510,38 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::refreshBuffers(const Building* b)
 
     m_buffersLabel->setText(bufText);
 
-    if (b->type == BuildingType::Shipyard && shipDef && !shipDef->layout.empty())
+    // The recipe/schematic is applied via a queued command that only drains on a
+    // later frame, so the per-tick refresh must own the shipyard preview and the
+    // Configure Layout button's visibility; otherwise they stay hidden until the
+    // building is re-selected (which re-runs buildSingle).
+    updateShipyardLayoutWidgets(b->type, b->recipeId, b->shipLayout);
+}
+
+void SelectedBuildingPanel::updateShipyardLayoutWidgets(
+    BuildingType type,
+    const std::string& recipeId,
+    const std::optional<ShipLayoutConfig>& shipLayout)
+{
+    const ShipDef* shipDef = (type == BuildingType::Shipyard)
+        ? findShipDef(recipeId)
+        : nullptr;
+
+    if (shipDef && !shipDef->layout.empty())
     {
         ShipLayoutConfig layout;
-        if (b->shipLayout.has_value())
+        if (shipLayout.has_value())
         {
-            layout = *b->shipLayout;
+            layout = *shipLayout;
         }
         m_layoutPreview->setShipAndLayout(
             shipDef->layout, layout, &m_config->modules.modules);
+        m_layoutPreview->show();
+        m_configureLayoutBtn->show();
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        m_layoutPreview->hide();
+        m_configureLayoutBtn->hide();
     }
 }
 
@@ -563,6 +566,21 @@ const ShipDef* SelectedBuildingPanel::findShipDef(const std::string& id) const
 }
 
 void SelectedBuildingPanel::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TickAdvancedEvent> /*event*/)
+{
+    refreshSelectionDisplay(RefreshReason::PeriodicTick);
+}
+
+void SelectedBuildingPanel::handleEvent(
+    std::shared_ptr<const PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent> /*event*/)
+{
+    // Player commands (e.g. choosing a shipyard schematic) are applied by a
+    // queued drain, not synchronously. When the game is paused no tick advances,
+    // so TickAdvancedEvent never fires; refresh here too, otherwise the panel
+    // would not reflect the change until the next tick or a re-selection.
+    refreshSelectionDisplay(RefreshReason::CommandApplied);
+}
+
+void SelectedBuildingPanel::refreshSelectionDisplay(RefreshReason reason)
 {
     if (m_selectedEntity.has_value())
     {
@@ -586,8 +604,19 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TickAdvancedEvent>
     }
     const ConstructionSite* s = m_sim->buildings().findSite(m_singleBuildingId);
     if (s)
+    {
+        // A periodic tick only advances construction progress, so update just the
+        // progress label. Rebuilding every tick would hide/re-show all widgets and
+        // cancel any in-progress click on the recipe button. An applied command
+        // may have changed the site's recipe/layout, so rebuild in that case.
+        if (reason == RefreshReason::CommandApplied)
         {
             rebuild();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            refreshSiteProgress(s);
+        }
         return;
     }
     buildEmpty();
@@ -647,9 +676,11 @@ void SelectedBuildingPanel::onSelectRecipeClicked()
         return;
     }
     // The emit is synchronous: MainWindow pauses the game, runs the modal
-    // selection dialog, applies the chosen recipe/schematic, and restores the
+    // selection dialog, and restores the speed before this returns. The chosen
-    // speed before this returns. rebuild() then refreshes the button caption,
+    // recipe/schematic is only *enqueued* as a command, though, and drains on a
-    // tooltip, preview, and buffers for the new selection.
+    // later frame -- so this rebuild() still sees the old recipe. The per-tick
+    // refreshBuffers() path picks up the new schematic (and shows the layout
+    // preview + Configure Layout button) once the command has been applied.
     EventManager::getInstance()->sendEventImmediately(
         std::make_shared<RecipeSelectionRequestedEvent>(m_singleBuildingId));
     rebuild();

src/ui/SelectedBuildingPanel.h

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "EntitySelectedEvent.h"
 #include "EventHandler.h"
 #include "GameConfig.h"
+#include "PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent.h"
 #include "RecipesConfig.h"
 #include "SelectionChangedEvent.h"
 #include "ShipLayout.h"
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ class QVBoxLayout;
 
 class SelectedBuildingPanel : public QWidget,
                                public CombinedEventHandler<TickAdvancedEvent,
+                                                           PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent,
                                                            EntitySelectedEvent,
                                                            SelectionChangedEvent,
                                                            DebugDrawToggledEvent>
@@ -46,6 +48,7 @@ public:
 
 private:
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const TickAdvancedEvent> event) override;
+    void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const PlayerCommandsAppliedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const EntitySelectedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const SelectionChangedEvent> event) override;
     void handleEvent(std::shared_ptr<const DebugDrawToggledEvent> event) override;
@@ -56,7 +59,18 @@ private slots:
     void onSplitterFilterChanged();
 
 private:
+    // Why the selection display is being refreshed. A periodic tick only needs a
+    // lightweight content update (e.g. a construction site's progress label),
+    // whereas an applied player command may have changed the configuration and
+    // needs a full structural rebuild.
+    enum class RefreshReason
+    {
+        PeriodicTick,
+        CommandApplied
+    };
+
     void onSelectionChanged(const std::vector<BuildingId>& ids);
+    void refreshSelectionDisplay(RefreshReason reason);
     void rebuild();
     void hideAllWidgets();
     void clearContent();
@@ -64,6 +78,10 @@ private:
     void buildSingle(BuildingId id);
     void buildMulti(const std::vector<BuildingId>& ids);
     void refreshBuffers(const Building* b);
+    void refreshSiteProgress(const ConstructionSite* s);
+    void updateShipyardLayoutWidgets(BuildingType type,
+                                     const std::string& recipeId,
+                                     const std::optional<ShipLayoutConfig>& shipLayout);
     void buildSplitterFilters(const std::optional<BeltSystem::SplitterInfo>& info);
     const RecipeDef* findRecipe(const Building* b) const;
     const ShipDef*   findShipDef(const std::string& id) const;

src/ui/VisualsConfig.h

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ struct OverlayVisuals
     QColor selectionRect;
     QColor tileHighlight;
     QColor selectedOutline;
+    QColor copyConfig;
 };
 
 struct ToastVisuals

src/ui/VisualsLoader.cpp

@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ VisualsConfig VisualsLoader::load(const std::string& path)
         cfg.overlays.selectionRect   = parseColor(requireString(ov, "selection_rect",   "overlays"), "overlays.selection_rect");
         cfg.overlays.tileHighlight   = parseColor(requireString(ov, "tile_highlight",   "overlays"), "overlays.tile_highlight");
         cfg.overlays.selectedOutline = parseColor(requireString(ov, "selected_outline", "overlays"), "overlays.selected_outline");
+        cfg.overlays.copyConfig      = parseColor(requireString(ov, "copy_config",      "overlays"), "overlays.copy_config");
     }
 
     // Toast