Combat & Mechanics

Battle Resolution Overview

When an attacking fleet arrives at a defended planet, the game engine runs a combat simulation. Combat is simultaneous — both sides fire at the same time and losses are calculated before the next round. There is no retreat once combat begins.

Attack Phases

A single battle runs up to 3 rounds. Each round:

1. Attacker ships fire: total_attack = Σ (ship_count × ship_attack × tech_modifier × government_bonus)
2. Defender ships + defense platforms fire: total_defense = Σ (ship_count × ship_defense) + platform_dps × tech_modifier
3. Incoming damage is distributed proportionally across the enemy fleet by ship HP
4. Ships with 0 HP are destroyed
5. If one side is eliminated or 3 rounds complete, combat ends

Defense Bonuses

Defenders benefit from terrain and structure advantages:

EMP specialty ships, if included in the attacking fleet, disable Planetary Shield for 3 ticks before combat begins. SK ships reduce Shield HP by 50%.

Ship Loss Calculation

ships_lost = ceiling(incoming_damage / ship_HP)

Ship HP values by class:

Higher HP ships absorb proportionally more damage, making Battleships cost-effective in sustained battles despite being expensive to build.

Orbital Bombardment

If the attacker wins all 3 rounds but no colony pod is present in the fleet, the system enters Orbital Bombardment mode. Each surviving attacker ship deals 1 bombardment point to planet structures. Structures are destroyed at random above a damage threshold. This does not capture the planet but weakens its defenses for future attacks.

Planetary Capture

To capture an enemy planet, include a Colony Pod in your attacking fleet. After all defending ships are destroyed:

1. Bombardment damage is applied to existing structures
2. Colony Pod deploys and claims the planet
3. All existing buildings transfer to the attacker at 70% efficiency (30% damaged in siege)
4. Resources on the planet transfer fully to the attacker’s treasury

You cannot capture a planet without a Colony Pod. You can bombard it indefinitely but ownership will not change.

Asteroid Capture

Separate from planetary capture, a winning attacker can also carry off a portion of the defending planet’s asteroid deposits (Metal, Crystal, and Deuterium) as war loot — the defender always keeps a minimum floor, and the exact capture percentage and any “hitting up” bonus are still being finalized. See Resources & Economy for what asteroid deposits are.

Reading Combat Reports

After combat resolves, all parties receive a combat report showing:

• Round-by-round damage dealt and received
• Ships lost (per class, both sides)
• Planetary structures destroyed (if bombardment occurred)
• Resources captured (if capture succeeded)
• Asteroid deposits captured (if any were taken)
• Spy data captured (if the attacker had Signal Intercept tech)

Combat reports are permanent and visible in Empire → Combat Log. Share reports with your alliance via the copy-link button.

Tech Modifiers in Combat

Stack attacker tech for pure aggression; mix economic + defense tech if you are on the defensive.

Continue to Diplomacy & Alliances for coalition play.