Restructure balancing docs into docs/balancing/

bin/app/data/config/modules.toml

@@ -56,12 +56,9 @@ production_time_seconds = 3
 fill_color = "#FF8040"
 glyph = "Rm"
 
-# damage 14 keeps a 60 HP drone at 5 hits — 15+ crosses a breakpoint that
-# silently adds ~25% effective DPS vs drones (docs/balancing/history.md,
-# round 6).
 [module.weapon]
 damage = 14
-attack_range_m = 80
+attack_range_m = 70
 attack_rate_hz = 1.5
 
 
@@ -78,12 +75,9 @@ production_time_seconds = 4
 fill_color = "#FF8040"
 glyph = "Rl"
 
-# attack_range_m 130 deliberately exceeds the station range of 120
-# (stations.toml) — the l gun is the only weapon that can besiege stations
-# without tanking their fire (docs/balancing/history.md, playtest 1).
 [module.weapon]
 damage = 52
-attack_range_m = 130
+attack_range_m = 100
 attack_rate_hz = 0.8
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -116,7 +110,7 @@ glyph = "Rp"
 
 [module.repair]
 repair_rate_hz = 1
-repair_amount_hp = 4
+repair_amount_hp = 9
 repair_range_m = 80
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

bin/balancing/data/balancing.toml

@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@
 # using the verified fitted threat values from tools/threat_report.py:
 #   drone 10.5, frigate 47, destroyer 99, cruiser 233.5,
 #   battlecruiser 354.5, battleship 722.5, dreadnought 1491.5,
-#   carrier 1436.5, glass destroyer (8 small guns) 92, repair drone 17,
+#   carrier 1436.5, glass destroyer (8 small guns) 92, repair drone 17.
-#   railgun_s-spam cruiser (12 small guns) 178.
 # Module arrays mirror the ships' default_modules loadouts unless a
 # doctrine variant is the point of the arena.
 #
@@ -349,50 +348,6 @@ enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
       {type = "railgun_s", x = 4, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
     ]
 
-[[arena]]
-name = "Railgun_s-spam cruisers vs default cruisers (1424 vs 1401)"
-# Tracks the playtest-1 meta: cruiser hulls filled with 12 small guns
-# (max DPS/threat, no armor, range 50) against the default m-gun fit.
-# The concentration tax means the spam side SHOULD win a brawl somewhat;
-# this arena bounds its margin — a blowout here means the small-gun
-# premium or the m-gun range edge needs retuning.
-height_tiles = 10
-player_buffer_width_tiles = 10
-contest_zone_width_tiles = 50
-enemy_buffer_width_tiles = 10
-
-  [[arena.team]]
-  name = "Spam"
-    [[arena.team.ship]]
-    schematic = "cruiser"
-    count = 8
-    modules = [
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 1, y = 0, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 2, y = 0, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 0, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 1, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 2, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 3, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 0, y = 2, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 1, y = 2, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 2, y = 2, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 3, y = 2, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 1, y = 3, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_s", x = 2, y = 3, rotation = "east"},
-    ]
-
-  [[arena.team]]
-  name = "Default"
-    [[arena.team.ship]]
-    schematic = "cruiser"
-    count = 6
-    modules = [
-      {type = "railgun_m", x = 0, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "railgun_m", x = 2, y = 1, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "armor_plates", x = 1, y = 0, rotation = "east"},
-      {type = "maneuvering_thrusters", x = 1, y = 3, rotation = "east"},
-    ]
-
 [[arena]]
 name = "Repair escort vs raw numbers (444 vs 444)"
 height_tiles = 10

docs/balancing/README.md

@@ -21,12 +21,8 @@ REQ-* ids in [../requirements.md](../requirements.md).
 
 First full balancing round complete (2026-07-06): targets → tree →
 numbers → threat-calculator parity → combat stats (arena-converged) →
-pacing. Playtesting in progress: playtest 1 (two full ~40-min wins,
+pacing. Next step: full-game playtests against the run-shape targets in
-cruisers only) found the railgun_s-spam-cruiser meta, confirmed repair
+`targets.md`.
-as overpowered, and exposed a 2.5–3× run-length gap; combat stats
-adjusted and re-checked in arena round 6 (see `history.md`). Next:
-playtest 2 with the new stats — pacing knobs (station scaling, threat
-rate, win pacing) wait for its result.
 
 ## Open action items
 

docs/balancing/derived.md

@@ -94,16 +94,10 @@ geometry-validated against the hull grids)
 
 ## Combat stats
 
-(arena-converged 2026-07, rounds 1–5; playtest-1 adjustments 2026-07-06 —
+(arena-converged, 2026-07; see `history.md` rounds 1–5)
-see `history.md`)
 
 **Weapons:** railgun_s 2 dmg × 2.0 Hz (4.0 DPS), range 50 m;
-railgun_m 14 × 1.5 (21), range 80; railgun_l 52 × 0.8 (41.6), range 130.
+railgun_m 14 × 1.5 (21), range 70; railgun_l 52 × 0.8 (41.6), range 100.
-DPS per threat: s 0.62, m 0.48, l 0.41 — the concentration tax stands;
-reach is the bigger guns' compensation (ranges raised after playtest 1,
-which alone priced out the small-gun-spam meta). railgun_l deliberately
-outranges stations (120 m) to buy the siege role. railgun_m damage is
-breakpoint-sensitive: 15+ drops a 60 HP drone from 5 hits to 4.
 
 **Hull HP** (15/threat prior + empirical trims): drone 60, frigate 300,
 destroyer 550, cruiser 1500, battlecruiser 2400, battleship 6300,
@@ -115,9 +109,8 @@ 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 4 HP × 1 Hz,
+**Other modules:** armor_plates +1200 HP; repair_tool 9 HP × 1 Hz,
-range 80 (halved after playtest 1 — free between-wave top-offs were never
+range 80; salvager range 60, cargo 20, 0.5 collections/s; afterburner
-priced by the arena escort test); 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.

docs/balancing/history.md

@@ -94,68 +94,3 @@ range 200).
   — ~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.
-
-## 2026-07-06 — playtest 1 (two full playthroughs)
-
-Two complete runs, WON in ~40 min each with cruiser fleets only — never
-needing capitals. (Initially misread as "two pushes in 40 min, pacing on
-target"; corrected in round 6.) That is roughly cycle 8 against the
-win-cycle target of 20–24: a 2.5–3× pacing gap. Pacing knobs deliberately
-untouched this round — the runs rode 9 HP/s repair and stations nothing
-outranged, both nerfed below; playtest 2 measures the remaining gap.
-
-- **Meta finding: cruisers filled with 12× railgun_s dominate.** Predicted
-  by the numbers in hindsight: the concentration tax makes railgun_s the
-  best DPS/threat (0.62 vs m 0.48, l 0.41), range is the big guns' only
-  mechanical edge (armor is added HP, not damage reduction — no anti-swarm
-  mechanic), repair sustain covers the closing distance, and stations
-  outranged every ship gun (120 vs railgun_l's 100), so even capitals had
-  to tank-and-brawl. The cruiser compounds it: first hull with a large
-  1×1 canvas (12 cells) and a nearly quartz-free chain.
-- **Repair tool confirmed overpowered** (second signal after the
-  persistent +24% arena escort margin): the arena only prices in-fight
-  sustain; real runs add free full top-offs in every 15–45 s wave gap
-  across the whole swarm. The 0.7 HP/s-per-threat prior is wrong for
-  wave defence.
-- **Changes:** repair_tool 9→4 HP/s; railgun_l range 100→130 (now
-  outranges stations — buys the siege role the capital ladder promises);
-  railgun_m 14→16 dmg and range 70→80 (tax softened: m sits at 0.55
-  DPS/threat, between s and l). Module threats unchanged (costs
-  untouched), so no ladder recalculation needed.
-- New tracked arena added: railgun_s-spam cruisers (8× 178) vs default
-  cruisers (6× 233.5) — the spam side should win a brawl somewhat, but a
-  blowout means the small-gun premium needs retuning.
-- **Open:** re-run the arena suite to check the range/damage changes
-  against the round 1–5 results; next playtest should verify big guns now
-  feel worth climbing to and repair is merely good.
-
-## 2026-07-06 — arena round 6 (checking the playtest-1 adjustments)
-
-Mirrors healthy (5–8% margins, durations 24/66/91 s). Results:
-
-- **Spam-cruiser arena: default cruisers +9% — the meta is priced out**,
-  and the range buff alone did the work.
-- **Regression: drone swarm vs cruisers +47% for cruisers** (was +14%
-  swarm in round 3). Besides the wider range gap, the damage buff crossed
-  a breakpoint: 14 dmg kills a 60 HP drone in 5 hits, 16 in 4 — a hidden
-  ~25% effective-DPS gain vs drones. Change: **railgun_m damage 16→14**
-  (range stays 80); the tax stands, reach is the compensation.
-- Battleship +30% and dreadnought +29% vs pure railgun_s fleets:
-  **accepted as reach-doctrine texture** (BS was already accepted at
-  +23%) — the l gun's 130 m standoff is exactly what the range buff
-  bought; the counter is your own reach or 2:1 numbers, not equal-threat
-  small guns. Watch, don't tune.
-- Repair escort flipped to raw +16%: **kept at 4 HP/s deliberately** —
-  the arena cannot price the free between-wave top-offs, so slightly
-  below par in-fight is the correct price for a module whose run-value
-  includes them. Playtest 2 decides; 6 is the fallback if repair feels
-  dead.
-- Station assault: the 3× swarm cracked the fortified position keeping
-  45% EHP. No knob this round touched it; together with playtest 1's
-  trivially easy pushes it flags **station strength as the first pacing
-  lever** for the next pass.
-
-**Pacing deferred:** playtest 1's 40-min wins predate the repair nerf
-and the l-gun siege range. If playtest 2 still wins by ~cycle 10, the
-levers are enemy station scaling (`3000 + 1500*x` likely too shallow),
-the threat rate, and possibly `artifact_win_count`.