Game Guide

Game Overview

Drone Battles is a turn-based strategy game set on an alien moon where players control teams of drones to gather resources, build infrastructure, and engage in tactical combat. The game operates through a REST API, allowing players to issue commands to their drones and buildings while the game engine processes actions in discrete cycles.

Key Features

• Hex-Based Map: Navigate a hexagonal grid with varying terrain types
• Cycle-Based Gameplay: Actions take a specific number of cycles to complete
• Resource Economy: Mine ores, refine them into materials, and use them for construction
• Modular Drones: Equip drones with different equipment for specialized roles
• Base Building: Construct various buildings for production, defense, and support
• Tactical Combat: Engage enemies with lasers, missiles, and turrets

Core Concepts

Cycles

The game operates in discrete time units called cycles. Every action takes a certain number of cycles to complete. During each cycle:

• Queued actions are processed
• Power is generated and distributed
• In-flight missiles advance toward their targets
• Marks on targets expire

The Hex Grid

The game map uses an odd-q offset hexagonal coordinate system: odd-numbered columns (where q is odd) are visually shifted down by half a hex height compared to even columns. This means the diagonal neighbor offsets change depending on whether you are on an even or odd column. Each tile has:

• Coordinates (q, r): Position on the map
• Terrain Type: Normal, difficult (doubles ground movement cycles), or impassable
• Elevation: Height of the terrain (affects hover drones)
• Resources: Ore deposits that can be mined

Coordinate Direction Reference

The map uses flat-top hexagons with odd-q offset coordinates. The q axis increases to the right. The r axis increases downward. Because hexes are staggered, diagonal neighbors have different offsets depending on whether the drone is on an even or odd column.

Adjacent tile offsets from drone at (0, 0):

Drone Facing Directions

Drones have a facing direction numbered 0-5, clockwise from Northeast:

When you issue a drive forward (direction=1), the drone moves one tile in its facing direction. Drive reverse (direction=-1) moves in the opposite direction (facing + 3).

Teams

Players are assigned to teams. Drones and buildings can only interact with friendly units (same team) for support actions, while combat actions target enemy units (different teams).

Action Queue

Each drone has its own independent FIFO (first-in, first-out) action queue. When you issue a command, it's added to that drone's queue. The engine processes one action per drone per game cycle — each cycle, every drone's front-of-queue action ticks forward. Multi-cycle actions (e.g., mining at 20 cycles) tick once per cycle until complete, then the next queued action begins. Because queues are per-drone, you can issue commands to all your drones simultaneously — every drone processes its own queue in parallel each cycle. Queue up a sequence of actions (e.g., turn, drive, drive, turn, fire) and the drone will execute them one after another without waiting for further input.

Execution Priority

Each cycle, actions are executed in a specific order across all drones and buildings:

1. Movement — Turn, drive, ascend, and descend actions are resolved first, ensuring drones reach their new positions before anything else happens.
2. Other Actions — Non-combat actions such as scanning, mining, repairing, charging, and building operations are processed next.
3. Combat — Firing weapons (lasers, auto-cannons, missiles) is resolved last, using the updated positions from the movement phase.

Getting Started

Registration

When you register a new account, you automatically receive:

• A 15x15 tile base area assigned to your team
• Starter Buildings:
  • Command Center
  • Solar Panel Array
  • Battery Array
  • Drone Charging Station
  • Drone Repair Station
  • Refinery
  • Drone Production Plant
  • Equipment Production Plant
• 2 Starter Drones equipped with mining equipment:
  • Propulsion (for movement)
  • Drill (for mining ore)
  • Hopper (for carrying ore)
  • Sensors (for scanning the environment)

First Steps

1. Scan your surroundings: Use drone sensors to reveal the map and find resources
2. Locate ore deposits: Find titanium, rare earth, and unobtanium ores
3. Build infrastructure: Construct solar panels for power, then a refinery
4. Mine and refine: Equip drones with drills and hoppers to gather ore
5. Expand: Build production facilities and create more drones
6. Defend: Build turrets and equip combat drones as needed

Drones

Drone Stats

Drone Properties

• Location: Current hex coordinates (q, r)
• Direction: Facing direction (0-5, corresponding to hex edges)
• Elevation: Height above ground (0 = ground level)
• Owner: The player who controls the drone
• Team: Which team the drone belongs to

Equipment Slots

Each drone has 6 equipment slots. Equipment determines what actions a drone can perform. A drone without propulsion cannot move; a drone without weapons cannot attack.

Per-Type Limits

Some equipment types have per-drone caps regardless of available slots:

All other equipment types (Sensors, Drill, Hopper, Battery, Shield Generator, Targeting Computer, Hover Tech, Portable Charger, Mobile Repair Kit, Ammunition, DF Antenna, Jammer, Signature Dampener, Seismic Sensor Array, Howitzer Shells, Howitzer Charges) have no per-type limit and can fill all available slots.

Warning Thresholds

Players can configure percentage-based warning thresholds on individual drones for battery, health, shields, and equipment durability. When a stat drops below its configured threshold, the engine delivers a WARNING message through the message queue.

Supported Warning Types

Behaviour

• Thresholds are integers from 0 to 100 (percentage).
• A warning fires once when a value drops below the threshold. It will not fire again until the value recovers above the threshold and drops below again.
• Equipment warnings check every equipped item individually. The warning message identifies which specific item(s) are below threshold.
• Warnings are checked every engine cycle after battery failure checks.
• Destroyed drones are skipped.

API Endpoints

Equipment

Equipment is manufactured at the Drone Equipment Production Plant and installed on drones. Each piece has weight, durability, and enables specific actions.

Equipment Durability

Every piece of equipment has a durability value. There are two ways durability is lost:

• Use wear: Each time equipment is used (firing, scanning, driving, etc.), there is a 5% chance it takes 1 point of durability wear.
• Combat damage: When a drone takes health damage in combat, one random piece of functional equipment also loses durability equal to the health damage taken (1:1 ratio). Shield-only damage does not affect equipment. See Equipment Combat Damage in the Combat Mechanics section for which weapon types trigger this.

When durability reaches zero, the equipment is broken and can no longer function — a broken drill cannot mine, broken propulsion cannot drive, etc.

Equipment can also be destroyed by taking damage in combat. Destroyed equipment is permanently non-functional and cannot be repaired.

Repairing Equipment

Broken (but not destroyed) equipment can be repaired in two ways:

• Mobile Repair Kit: A drone equipped with a Mobile Repair Kit can repair an adjacent friendly drone's equipment. The repairer and target must be at the same elevation. Drones cannot repair their own equipment. The repair kit itself takes wear when used.

  Level	Durability Restored	Cycles
  1	25	15
  2	50	10
  3	75	5

• Drone Repair Station: A powered Drone Repair Station building can repair equipment on any friendly drone within range (1 tile). Restores 50 durability per repair at a cost of 50 power.

Movement Equipment

Combat Equipment

Utility Equipment

Equipment Crafting Costs

Materials required to build equipment at the Drone Equipment Production Plant:

Equipment Action Costs

Most equipment actions have three power levels. Higher levels are faster or more powerful but cost more battery.

Drone Action Summary

• Status — Returns full drone status information via the message queue.
• Drive — Moves the drone one tile forward in its current facing direction.
• Turn — Rotates the drone to face a new hex direction (0–5).
• Scan — Reveals terrain, elevation, and entity presence for all tiles within sensor range.
• Identify — Returns detailed information about a specific target tile, drone, or building.
• Mine — Extracts ore from an adjacent resource deposit and stores it in the hopper.
• Fire (Laser) — Fires all equipped laser cannons at a target drone or building.
• Fire (Missile) — Launches a wire-guided missile at a target tile coordinate.
• Fire (Auto-Cannon) — Fires the loaded ammunition at a target, consuming one round per shot.
• Load Ammo — Loads an ammunition pack into the auto-cannon for firing.
• Dump Hopper — Discards resources from the hopper, optionally by type and amount.
• Mark — Marks a target to boost accuracy for all friendly attacks against it.
• Charge Shields — Regenerates the drone's shields using the shield generator.
• Transfer Shields — Transfers shields from this drone to an adjacent friendly drone.
• Charge (Portable Charger) — Transfers battery from this drone to an adjacent friendly drone.
• Repair Drone — Restores health to an adjacent friendly drone.
• Repair Equipment — Restores durability to a broken equipment item on an adjacent drone.
• Ascend / Descend — Changes the drone's hover elevation using Hover Tech.
• DF Deploy / Stow — Deploys or stows the DF Antenna. Drone cannot move while deployed.
• DF Raise / Lower — Raises or lowers the DF Antenna mast (must be deployed).
• DF Configure — Sets the DF Antenna's listening cone direction (0-5) and width (0-4). The antenna then passively detects EM emissions each cycle.
• Jammer Deploy / Stow — Deploys or stows the Signal Jammer. Drone cannot move while deployed.
• Jammer Raise / Lower — Raises or lowers the Jammer antenna mast.
• Jammer Activate / Deactivate — Starts or stops the jamming beam in a hex direction. Drains battery each cycle while active.
• Land Mine Deploy — Deploys a land mine at the drone's current tile. Mines are invisible to scan but visible to identify. Detonates on ground-level drone movement or weapon impact.
• Decoy Deploy — Deploys a decoy drone on an adjacent tile in a specified direction. Decoys mimic drone signatures on scans.
• Smoke Deploy — Deploys a smoke screen on the drone's current tile and surrounding tiles. Blocks line-of-sight for scan and identify.
• PDS Activate — Activates point defense system for the specified number of cycles (default 1) to intercept incoming enemy missiles within range.
• Howitzer Deploy / Stow — Deploys or stows the howitzer. Drone cannot move while deployed. Level-dependent: L1=8, L2=5, L3=3 cycles. Cannot deploy inside bases.
• Howitzer Load Shell — Loads a shell from Howitzer Shells equipment into the breech. L1=8, L2=5, L3=3 cycles.
• Howitzer Load Charges — Loads 1-3 propellant charges to set range (each charge adds +8 min/max range). L1=8, L2=5, L3=3 cycles.
• Howitzer Aim — Aims at target coordinates. Speed depends on level (L1=2 cycles/tile, L2=1, L3=1).
• Howitzer Fire — Fires the loaded shell. 10-cycle cooldown. 30% hit, 30% scatter adjacent, 30% scatter 2 tiles, 10% dud.
• Ammo Transfer — Transfers ammunition (AP, HE, canister), howitzer shells, or howitzer charges to an adjacent friendly drone. L1=15, L2=10, L3=5 cycles.

Status (no equipment required)

Returns full drone status information via the message queue.

Propulsion

Drive battery shown is the base cost. An additional ceil(total_weight / 20) is added per drive.

Sensors

Base scan range is 5 tiles. Range multiplier is applied to this base.

Drill

Laser Cannon

Wire-Guided Missile

Auto-Cannon

Auto-Cannon Load / Unload

Must be loaded before firing. When a loaded ammo pack empties, another must be loaded. If the cannon already has ammunition loaded with rounds remaining, you must unload it first before loading a different type.

Hopper

Discards resources from the hopper. Can optionally specify a resource type and amount.

Targeting Computer

Shield Generator

Shield Transfer (no equipment required)

Portable Charger

Upgrades increase energy delivered by +25 per tier and reduce cycles by 1 per tier. Donor cost scales with efficiency: cost = energy / efficiency.

Mobile Repair Kit

Hover Tech

Hover Tech battery cost scales with drone weight. Base battery shown is for a minimal-weight drone.

DF Antenna

Detection range: 30 tiles, detection threshold: 3.0. Antenna must be deployed and raised above height 0 before listening. Use the configure action to set the cone direction (0-5) and width (0-4): 0 = narrow line (±10°), 1 = 60°, 2 = 120°, 3 = 240°, 4 = 360° (full circle). Once configured, the antenna passively detects EM emissions each cycle — no repeated scan actions needed.

Jammer

Antenna must be deployed and raised before activating. While active, the jammer drains battery each cycle and blocks ACTION_COMPLETED and WARNING messages for drones in the beam. Must deactivate before lowering; must lower to height 0 before stowing.

Howitzer

Full fire sequence (deploy + load shell + 3 charges + aim 20 tiles + fire): L1 = 88 battery, L2 = 120 battery, L3 = 286 battery. L3 is 3× faster but costs 3.25× more battery.

Range is determined by charges loaded (1 charge: 8-16, 2: 16-24, 3: 24-32). Max range at T3 with 3 charges: 56 tiles. Very loud seismic signature — easily detected by DF antennas and seismic sensors.

Buildings

Buildings are constructed by the Command Center and provide production, defense, and support capabilities. All buildings require power to operate.

Building Self-Repair

All buildings can self-repair via POST /buildings/<building_id>/common/repair. This is a universal action available to every building type.

Power Generation

Production Buildings

Support Buildings

Defense Buildings

Building Construction Costs

Building Action Durations

Base cycle durations for each building action (modified by efficiency):

Solar Panel Array

Command Center

Refiner

Drone Charging Station

Drone Production Plant

Drone Equipment Production Plant

Drone Repair Station

Silo

Shield Array

Battery Array

Laser Turret

Missile Turret

Auto-Cannon Turret

Sensor Array

Point Defense System

LUCAS Launcher

All Buildings — Common Actions

Building Action Resource Costs

Some building actions consume materials (titanium parts, battery materials, enriched unobtanium) in addition to power. These materials must be loaded into the building first by having a drone with a hopper carry the resources to the building and execute the load_drone action. If the building does not have the required materials stored, the action will be rejected.

Command Center — build_building

See Building Construction Costs table above for per-building material costs.

Command Center — research_upgrade

All research costs enriched unobtanium only. Equipment upgrade tiers cost 1 / 3 / 5 EU (Enriched Unobtanium) for tiers 1 / 2 / 3 respectively. Equipment unlock research costs 4 EU (single tier).

Drone Production Plant — manufacture

LUCAS Launcher — manufacture

Drone Equipment Production Plant — manufacture

See Equipment Crafting Costs table in the Equipment section for per-equipment material costs.

Missile Turret — reload

Auto-Cannon Turret — reload

All Buildings — repair (self-repair)

Resources are consumed immediately from the command center when the repair action is queued (not from the building itself).

Building Warning Thresholds

Players can configure percentage-based warning thresholds on individual buildings for health, shields, and storage levels. When a stat crosses its configured threshold, the engine delivers a WARNING message through the message queue.

Supported Warning Types

All buildings:

Silo only:

Refiner only:

Behaviour

• Thresholds are integers from 0 to 100 (percentage).
• A warning fires once when a value crosses the threshold. It will not fire again until the value returns past the threshold and crosses again.
• “Below” warnings fire when the value drops below the threshold; “above” warnings fire when the value rises above the threshold.
• The API validates keys against the building type — unknown keys for that type are rejected.
• Destroyed buildings are skipped.

API Endpoints

Research & Upgrades

The Command Center can research upgrades that improve all equipment of a given type across your team. Research is queued via the research_upgrade action with an equipment_type parameter. Only one research can be active at a time. Each upgrade has 3 tiers that must be researched in order.

Baseline Drone Chassis

Unlike equipment upgrades, the baseline_drone upgrade improves the drone chassis itself. All newly produced drones benefit from these upgrades. Each tier provides the same bonus: +100 health, +500 battery, +1 equipment slot, +10 weight, +10 shields. At tier 3, new drones get +300 health, +1500 battery, +3 equipment slots, +30 shields, and +30 weight over baseline. Costs: 3/4/6 EU per tier, 150/300/300 cycles.

Equipment Unlock Research

Advanced equipment types must be unlocked before they can be built at the Drone Equipment Production Plant. Each unlock is a single-tier research (level 1 only) that permanently enables production of that equipment type for your team.

Equipment Upgrades

Each equipment type has its own 3-tier upgrade path. All tiers within a given equipment type provide the same bonus (effects are cumulative). Use equipment_type matching the equipment name (e.g. "drill", "sensors", "laser_cannon", "auto_cannon").

Resources & Refining

Ore Types

Three types of ore can be found and mined on the map:

Mining Process

1. Equip a drone with a Drill and Hopper
2. Move the drone adjacent to a resource deposit
3. Execute the Mine action targeting the resource tile (takes 10 cycles)
4. Ore is extracted and stored in the hopper
5. Transport ore to a Refiner or Silo

Refining Process

1. Move a drone with ore in its hopper adjacent to a Refiner
2. Execute Unload Ore to transfer ore to the refiner
3. Execute Process Ore to attempt refining
4. Successfully refined materials are stored in the refiner
5. Execute Load Resources to transfer materials to a drone

Power Systems

How Power Works

Buildings require power to perform actions. Power is generated by Solar Panel Arrays, stored in Battery Arrays, and consumed by building actions.

Power Network

All buildings owned by a player share a common power network. Power flows automatically:

1. Solar panels generate power each cycle
2. Generated power goes to the network
3. Building actions draw power from the network
4. Excess power is stored in Battery Arrays
5. When generation is low, batteries provide power

Binary Star System

The moon orbits in a binary star system with two suns:

Sol Alpha is the brighter of the two suns. Both follow inclined elliptical orbits with different periods. Each sun rises and sets as it moves through its orbit — when elevation drops below 0°, the sun is below the horizon and contributes zero power.

Both suns will occasionally be below the horizon simultaneously, creating true nighttime where all solar panels generate zero power regardless of orientation.

Solar Panel Orientation

Solar panel power output depends on how well the panel is aimed at each sun. Both the panel's tilt (vertical angle) and direction (horizontal angle) affect efficiency. A panel aimed directly at a sun achieves maximum output, while a panel perpendicular to a sun gets near-zero. The optimal orientation changes constantly as the suns move, rewarding active tracking of both direction and tilt.

Efficiency Parameter

Building actions accept an efficiency parameter (0.01 to 1.0). Higher efficiency completes actions faster but draws more power per cycle. Lower efficiency takes longer but uses less power. Experiment to find the right balance for your power budget.

Combat Mechanics

Damage & Defence

When a weapon hits a target, damage is reduced by armour and then applied to shields first, then health:

1. Armour: Actual Damage = max(0, Weapon Damage - Target Armour)
2. Shields: Absorb remaining damage first (fully depleted before health takes damage)
3. Health: Any excess damage reduces health

Some ammunition types bypass armour entirely — see Auto-Cannon below.

Equipment Combat Damage

Whenever a drone takes health damage (after shields and armour), one random functional equipment on the drone also loses durability equal to the health damage dealt (1:1). If shields absorb all damage, no equipment is affected. Not all weapon types trigger this:

Range & Elevation

Weapon range calculations take elevation into account. Distance is measured in 3D: each tile of horizontal distance equals 5 units of altitude. The effective distance to a target is computed using both the horizontal tile distance and the altitude difference between attacker and target. This means firing at a drone hovering at high elevation costs more effective range than firing at a target at the same altitude.

Targeting & Marks

Drones equipped with a Targeting Computer can mark enemy drones and buildings. Marks provide an accuracy bonus to all friendly attackers firing at the marked target.

• Drone Mark Bonus: +20% accuracy per mark (plus any research upgrades)
• Turret Mark Bonus: +20% accuracy per mark
• Multiple marks from the same team stack for increased bonus (capped at 95%)
• Marks have a duration measured in cycles

Fire Feedback

A functional Targeting Computer also provides post-fire feedback messages. When a drone with a targeting computer fires any weapon, it receives an INFO message with targeting data:

• Laser: Target tile (relative coordinates), number of hits and misses, total damage dealt (split into shield damage and health damage). Firing at an empty tile reports 0 hits / 0 misses.
• Missile: Impact tile, direct hit and splash hit counts, and a damage breakdown (direct damage vs splash damage). Without a targeting computer, no impact message is sent.
• Auto-Cannon: Impact tile, direct hit and splash hit counts, damage breakdown (direct vs splash), and ammo type.

The targeting computer must be functional (not broken or destroyed) at the time of impact for the message to be sent. Coordinates in all feedback messages are relative to the firing drone's position.

Shield Mechanics

All drones have a base maximum shield capacity of 50. Shield Generators add +50 capacity each. Shield Generators are required to actively charge shields using battery power.

Shield Transfer

Any drone can transfer shields to an adjacent drone at the same elevation. The target must have capacity to receive shields.

Laser Cannon

The Laser Cannon is a direct-fire energy weapon available as both drone equipment and a building turret. It requires no ammunition — shots consume battery only.

Drone Laser Cannon

Dual Laser Volley

When a drone fires its laser, all equipped laser cannons that are off cooldown fire simultaneously as a volley. Each cannon rolls accuracy and deals damage independently. A drone with two laser cannons will fire two shots in a single FIRE action, and each cannon then enters its own 3-cycle cooldown.

Equipping multiple laser cannons dramatically increases burst damage. A drone with two Level 3 cannons can deal up to 80 damage in a single volley.

Beam Path & Blocking

The laser traces a straight hex line from the attacker to the targeted tile. Each cannon's beam travels independently along this path:

• On miss: The beam continues to the next entity in the path and rolls accuracy again. A single beam can pass through multiple missed drones before hitting one further away.
• On hit: The beam stops and deals damage to that entity.

The following obstacles block the beam entirely — nothing behind them can be hit:

• Impassable terrain (terrain type 3)
• Elevated terrain higher than the attacker's height (terrain elevation + drone hover elevation)
• Resource nodes
• Buildings (both friendly and enemy) — the building is added as a hittable target, but the beam stops regardless of hit or miss

Accuracy & Damage Falloff

Laser accuracy and damage scale with distance to the target:

• Close Range (within 20% of max range): 70% accuracy, 100% damage
• Max Range: 15% accuracy, 50% damage
• Both scale linearly between these points

Laser Turret (Building)

Laser Turrets are defensive buildings equipped with dual laser cannons, built-in sensors, and a targeting computer.

Laser Turrets use the same distance-based accuracy and damage falloff as drone laser cannons.

Wire-Guided Missile

The Wire-Guided Missile is a high-damage weapon that targets a specific tile coordinate. Missiles follow the standard damage model (shields → armour → health). Requires the unlock_wire_guided_missile research.

Drone Missile Equipment

Missile Guidance

Drones cannot fire missiles while hovering — the drone must be on the ground to launch. Missiles are wire-guided, so the firing drone must remain alive and functional for the duration of the missile's flight. If the firing drone is destroyed while a missile is in flight, the missile loses guidance.

Missiles can also be redirected mid-flight using a Targeting Computer's MARK action with a redirect target, allowing you to change the missile's destination after launch.

Missile Turret (Building)

Missile Turrets are defensive buildings that fire guided missiles. They carry an internal magazine that must be reloaded with resources.

Missile Redirect: While missiles are in flight, using the turret's mark action will redirect all in-flight missiles to the new target coordinates instead of marking. Missiles that cannot reach the new target (insufficient range or flight time) are unaffected.

Auto-Cannon

The Auto-Cannon is a projectile weapon that fires ammunition rounds. It requires both an Auto-Cannon equipment and Ammunition equipment on the same drone. Requires the unlock_auto_cannon research.

Drone Auto-Cannon Equipment

Ammunition Types

Each Ammunition equipment holds 10 rounds. Different round types have distinct properties:

Projectile Path & Blocking (AP & HE only)

AP and HE rounds travel tile-by-tile (3 tiles per cycle) and check each tile for targets. The following obstacles stop the round:

• Impassable terrain — HE rounds explode on impact (dealing splash), AP rounds are lost
• Resource nodes — same as impassable terrain
• Buildings (friendly and enemy) — the round explodes on impact, dealing full damage regardless of ownership
• Drones — accuracy roll per drone; on hit the round explodes, on miss it continues to the next tile

Canister Round Cone Mechanics

Canister rounds fire an instant cone of flechettes from the drone toward the target. The cone expands along the line from the firing drone to the target tile, covering tiles at distance 1 through the cone depth (base 3, upgradeable to 6) from the drone.

Every entity in a cone tile takes damage (5 per tile, no accuracy roll). Because flechettes are small projectiles, armour is twice as effective against canister rounds (e.g., 10 armour blocks 20 damage instead of 10). The cone is blocked row-by-row:

• Impassable terrain / elevated terrain / resource nodes — block tiles directly behind them in the cone (no damage dealt)
• Buildings — take 5 damage per cone tile they occupy, then block tiles behind
• Drones — take 5 damage for their tile plus 5 damage for every tile recursively blocked behind them. A drone in the center of the cone can absorb significant damage.

Canister rounds hit drones at any elevation (useful against hovering LUCAS drones). The cone itself does not require line of sight to the target — blocking is evaluated per-tile as the cone expands.

Upgrades (canister_round research): each of 3 tiers adds +1 per-tile damage and +1 cone depth. At tier 3: 8 damage/tile, cone depth 6 tiles.

Auto-Cannon Turret (Building)

Auto-Cannon Turrets are long-range defensive buildings that fire ammunition rounds. They carry an internal magazine that must be reloaded with resources.

The turret's canister rounds have an extended cone (range 5, 10 damage/tile) compared to drone canister rounds (range 3, 5 damage/tile). Total damage budget per shot: 10 × 25 = 250.

Howitzer

The Howitzer is a deployable long-range artillery weapon that fires specialized anti-drone airburst shells in arcing trajectories, ignoring line of sight. The shells are designed to shred drone armour and electronics with fragmentation, but their airburst fuzing is largely ineffective against hardened building structures. It requires the unlock_howitzer research, which unlocks all three howitzer equipment types: Howitzer (the weapon), Howitzer Shells (ammunition), and Howitzer Charges (propellant).

Deploy / Stow Lifecycle

The howitzer must be deployed before it can fire and stowed before the drone can move again.

• Deploy: Level-dependent (L1: 8 cycles/2.0s, L2: 5 cycles/1.2s, L3: 3 cycles/0.8s). Drone must be at elevation 0 and not hovering. Cannot deploy inside any base — the hardened base ground tiles cannot anchor the howitzer.
• Stow: Level-dependent (L1: 8 cycles/2.0s, L2: 5 cycles/1.2s, L3: 3 cycles/0.8s). Re-enables movement after completion.
• While deployed, the drone cannot turn, drive, hover, ascend, or descend.

Loading Sequence

Before firing, you must load a shell and then propellant charges:

1. Load Shell: Loads 1 shell from the Howitzer Shells equipment into the breech. Consumes 1 round. L1=8 cycles, L2=5, L3=3.
2. Load Charges: Loads 1-3 propellant charges from the Howitzer Charges equipment. Each charge determines range:

   Charges	Min Range	Max Range
   1	8	16
   2	16	24
   3	24	32

   L1=8 cycles, L2=5, L3=3.

Aiming

After loading, use the aim action to point the howitzer at target coordinates (relative to the drone). Aim speed depends on level:

• L1: 2 cycles per tile of distance
• L2: 1 cycle per tile of distance
• L3: 1 cycle per tile of distance

Battery drain per cycle: L1=1, L2=3, L3=8. The target must be within the range determined by the loaded charges.

Firing

Once aimed, the fire action launches the shell. L1=8 cycles, L2=5, L3=3. There is a 10-cycle cooldown (2.5s) between shots.

Accuracy

Accuracy improves with howitzer upgrades (+5% direct hit per tier).

Damage Model

Anti-drone specialization: Howitzer shells use airburst fragmentation optimized for destroying drones. Buildings, with their hardened structures, take only 10% damage on a direct hit and no splash damage from ring 1 or ring 2. Use direct-fire weapons (lasers, auto-cannons, missiles) against buildings instead.

Shell travel speed is 2 tiles per cycle (8 tiles/second) and follows an arcing trajectory that ignores line of sight — shells fly over terrain, buildings, and all obstacles.

Upgrade Effects

• Howitzer upgrades (per tier): -2 cycles on load/fire actions, -10% battery cost, +5% accuracy, +1 aim speed (cycles/tile reduction)
• Shell upgrades (per tier): +20 direct damage, +10 ring 1 splash, +5 ring 2 splash, +1 round per equipment, -5 weight
• Charge upgrades (per tier): +2 range (min and max), +3 charges per equipment, -5 weight

Tactical Considerations

• The howitzer requires a full loading sequence (shell + charges + aim) before each shot — plan ahead.
• Cannot fire while hovering or in motion — choose your firing position carefully.
• Charges are consumed on loading, not firing — a dud still uses the shell and charges.
• Airburst shells are anti-drone weapons — buildings take only 10% direct damage and no splash damage. Target drone formations, not fortified positions.

Land Mine

The Land Mine is a deployable explosive ordnance that sits hidden on a tile until triggered. Mines are invisible to scan but visible to identify commands. Friendly mines show full details including mine ID; enemy mines show damage and splash values only.

Deployment

• Can be deployed at any elevation — the mine falls to ground level on the drone's current tile
• Requires unlock_land_mine research completed
• Deploy cycles and battery cost vary by equipment level
• Upgrades reduce deploy cycles further

Deploy Levels

Detonation Triggers

• Ground movement: Any drone driving onto the mine's tile at elevation 0
• Hover descent: A drone descending to elevation 0 on the mine's tile
• Fall damage: A drone falling to ground level (battery depleted while hovering)
• Weapon impact: Laser fire, missile hit (direct or splash), auto-cannon hit (direct or splash), or building turret fire hitting the mine's tile

Damage Model

• Follows standard damage flow: Shields → Armour → Health
• All ground-level drones on the mine tile take full damage
• Buildings on the mine tile take full damage
• With splash upgrades: adjacent tile drones and buildings take splash damage
• Hovering drones (elevation > 0) are not affected

Consumable Behavior

• Each Land Mine equipment holds a limited number of mines (base: 3, increased by upgrades)
• Deploying a mine consumes one from the equipment
• When all mines are depleted, the equipment is automatically removed from the drone
• Limited to 1 Land Mine equipment per drone

Visibility

• Scan: Mines are NOT revealed by scan commands
• Identify: Mines ARE revealed by identify commands on their tile
• Friendly mines show: damage, splash damage, and mine ID
• Enemy mines show: damage and splash damage only

Seismic Sensor Notifications

Drones with a functional Seismic Sensor Array within detection range receive a warning message when a land mine detonates, including the relative coordinates of the detonation. Drones without a seismic sensor will not be alerted to nearby mine detonations (though drones directly hit by a mine always receive a damage warning).

Upgrades

Each tier: +50 damage, -2 deploy cycles, +25 splash damage, +1 mine (cumulative at T3: +150 damage, -6 deploy cycles, +75 splash, +3 mines).

Ammunition / Charge Transfer

Drones can transfer ammunition and charges to adjacent friendly drones using the ammo transfer action. This moves the actual equipment object (with its current remaining count) to the target drone — no duplication occurs.

Endpoint

POST /api/v1/drones/<drone_id>/ammo/transfer

Supported Equipment

• Auto-cannon ammunition (Armour Piercing, High Explosive, Canister Rounds)
• Howitzer Shells
• Howitzer Charges

Requirements

• Target must be on an adjacent tile
• Target must be on the same team
• Target must have free equipment slots
• Auto-cannon ammunition that is currently loaded cannot be transferred — use the auto_cannon/unload action first to unload it from the cannon

Action Cost

ActionType: AMMO_TRANSFER

Point Defense System (Drone Equipment)

The Point Defense System is an automated missile interception system that protects the drone and nearby allies. Requires the unlock_point_defense research.

• Activate: Activates the PDS for the specified number of cycles (default 1). Request body accepts optional "cycles" parameter. During each active cycle, incoming enemy missiles within range are intercepted with a 30% chance per missile.
• Battery Cost: Costs battery per activation cycle plus additional battery per successful interception.
• Passive: PDS must be explicitly activated to provide protection. It automatically re-activates each cycle for the duration specified.

Direction Finding Antenna

The DF Antenna is a deployable passive electromagnetic sensor that detects EM emissions from all drone actions within a configurable cone. Unlike regular sensors, the DF Antenna requires a multi-step deployment process, operates passively once configured, and delivers raw EM spectrum data rather than positional information. EM/DF antennas are long range (0-49 tiles at T0) — the primary strategic intelligence gathering tool.

Deploy Lifecycle

1. Deploy (10 cycles): Transitions antenna from stowed to deployed state. Drone cannot move (turn, drive, hover) while deployed.
2. Raise (20 cycles per 5 units): Extends antenna mast up to height 20. Does NOT change drone elevation.
3. Configure (1 cycle): Sets cone direction (0-5) and width (0-4). Antenna begins passively listening.
4. Lower (20 cycles per 5 units): Retracts antenna. Must reach height 0 before stowing.
5. Stow (10 cycles): Returns to stowed state. Movement re-enabled.

Passive EM Detection

Once deployed, raised, and configured, the antenna passively detects EM emissions from drone actions each cycle. No repeated scan actions are needed — the antenna listens continuously. Every drone action (movement, firing, scanning, mining, repairing, etc.) produces an EM signature that propagates outward. The DF antenna captures these signals within its configured cone.

Detection Stats

Configure Parameters

• direction (0-5): Hex direction for the center of the listening cone.
• cone_width (0-4): 0 = narrow line (±10°), 1 = 60°, 2 = 120°, 3 = 240°, 4 = 360° (full circle).

What You Receive

Each EM detection message contains:

• spectrum — array of 8 floating-point amplitudes (EM frequency bins low to high)
• direction — hex bearing (0-5) toward the source

The message does not include distance, action type, or coordinates. You must infer these by analysing the spectrum:

• Identify actions by matching the spectrum shape against known EM profiles
• Estimate distance from overall amplitude (stronger = closer)
• Detect multiple sources when the spectrum doesn't match any single known profile

EM Profiles

Every drone action produces a unique EM signature across the 8 frequency bins. Active electronics (scanning, jamming) produce strong, distinctive signatures, while passive actions (movement, mining) produce weaker signals. The exact spectral shapes must be discovered through experimentation — deploy a DF antenna near a friendly drone and observe the spectrum produced by different actions to build your own reference library.

EM Signal Propagation

• Inverse square law decay: 1 / (1 + d² × rate) per bin, combined with frequency-dependent attenuation (EM freq attenuation rate: 0.006). Higher frequencies fade faster at distance, though the effect is weaker than for seismic signals.
• Phase shift: Each bin's phase shifts with distance: phase + (bin_index × distance × 0.08)
• LOS blocking: Line of sight is checked at the antenna's effective height (terrain elevation + drone elevation + antenna height). Raise the antenna higher to see over terrain and obstacles. Terrain blocks EM signals (unlike seismic which passes through but is attenuated).
• Cone filtering: Only EM sources within the configured cone are detected.

Waveform Superposition

When multiple EM events occur in the same cycle from the same direction, their waveforms combine via complex superposition — identical to the seismic sensor system. Each frequency bin is added as a complex number (amplitude × phase), producing constructive or destructive interference.

Upgrades

Each tier: +0.3 sensitivity, +5 range (cumulative at T3: +0.9 sensitivity, +15 range).

Seismic Sensor Array

The Seismic Sensor Array is a passive equipment that analyses seismic waveforms from nearby weapon fire, explosions, and drone movement. It requires no actions and no battery — it simply monitors ground vibrations. Seismic sensors are short range (0-21 tiles at T0) — designed for combat rangefinding and close-area awareness.

Waveform Detection System

Each weapon produces a unique seismic signature defined as amplitudes across 8 frequency bins. When a weapon fires, the vibration propagates outward through the ground with amplitude decaying over distance and phase shifting with distance. The sensor delivers the raw received spectrum — it does not identify the weapon for you.

Signal Propagation

Seismic signals use inverse square law decay: 1 / (1 + d² × rate), combined with frequency-dependent attenuation (seismic freq attenuation rate: 0.012). Higher frequencies fade faster with distance, causing the received spectrum to become bass-heavy at range — the lunar regolith acts as a natural low-pass filter. This means the same weapon produces different spectral shapes at different distances, which can be used for range estimation.

Terrain Dampening

Seismic waves propagate through the ground and are absorbed by elevated terrain along the path from source to listener. Dense, elevated rock formations act as natural dampeners, converting vibrational energy into heat. Each intermediate tile with elevation above 0 reduces the signal amplitude — the higher the terrain, the greater the absorption. Terrain at elevation 20+ absorbs seismic signals almost entirely, effectively blocking propagation. This means base defensive walls provide natural seismic cover, and impassable terrain formations create seismic blind spots.

Detection Ranges (T0 base sensor)

Approximate maximum detection range for key events with a base (T0) seismic sensor on clear terrain:

What You Receive

Each seismic detection message contains:

• spectrum — array of 8 floating-point amplitudes (frequency bins low to high)
• direction — hex bearing (0-5) toward the source

The message does not include distance, weapon type, or coordinates. You must infer these by analysing the spectrum:

• Identify weapons by matching the spectrum shape against known seismic profiles
• Estimate distance from overall amplitude (louder = closer)
• Detect multiple sources when the spectrum doesn't match any single known profile

Seismic Profiles

Each vibration source (weapons, explosions, engines) has a unique frequency signature across the 8 bins. The exact spectral shapes are not documented — you must discover them through experimentation. Have a friendly drone perform actions near your seismic sensor and record the received spectra to build your own signature library. Stronger sources (explosions, heavy weapons) are easier to detect at range, while weaker sources (engines, small arms) require closer proximity or upgraded sensors.

Waveform Superposition

When multiple events occur in the same cycle from the same direction, their waveforms combine via complex superposition. Each frequency bin is added as a complex number (amplitude × phase), producing constructive interference (louder) when phases align and destructive interference (quieter) when they oppose. This means:

• Two identical weapons firing together may produce a spectrum that is louder than the sum of parts (constructive) or quieter (destructive), depending on distance-induced phase shifts
• Different weapon types produce distinct spectral shapes that are individually recognisable but blend when combined
• Events from different directions are delivered as separate messages (no cross-direction interference)

Detection Threshold & Upgrades

The sensor only reports events whose total received amplitude (sum of all 8 bins after decay and superposition) exceeds the detection threshold. Each upgrade tier lowers the threshold by 0.75 (base 5.0 → T1: 4.25 → T2: 3.5 → T3: 2.75).

What It Does NOT Detect

• Scanning, mining, repairing, turning, or other non-movement, non-combat actions

Direct Hit Warnings vs Seismic Detection

Direct hit warnings (e.g. "Drone took laser damage", "Drone hit by land mine!") are always sent to the affected drone regardless of equipment. These only tell you that you were hit and by what weapon type — they do not include the attacker's location or direction.

The Seismic Sensor Array provides spectrum-based awareness of combat happening near you, even if you are not directly involved. You receive raw waveform data that requires analysis to interpret.

Signal Jammer

The Jammer is a deployable electronic warfare device that blocks drone signal communications within a directional beam. When active, it replaces ACTION_COMPLETED and WARNING messages for any drone within the beam with a "Signal jammed" notification. Affects both friendly and enemy drones (except the jammer drone itself).

Deploy Lifecycle

1. Deploy (10 cycles): Transitions jammer from stowed to deployed state. Drone must be at elevation 0. Cannot move (turn, drive, hover) while deployed.
2. Raise (20 cycles per 5 units): Extends antenna mast up to height 20.
3. Activate (1 cycle): Sets beam direction (0-5) and starts jamming. Requires antenna_height > 0.
4. Deactivate (1 cycle): Stops jamming.
5. Lower (20 cycles per 5 units): Retracts antenna. Must deactivate first. Lower to height 0 before stowing.
6. Stow (10 cycles): Returns to stowed state. Must deactivate and lower antenna first. Movement re-enabled.

Jam Levels

Beam Mechanics

• Beam direction: Projects a straight line from the jammer drone in a hex direction (0-5).
• Beam starts at the first neighbor tile — the jammer drone's own tile is NOT jammed.
• LOS blocking: The beam stops when it hits terrain higher than the antenna height, or a building.
• Battery drain: While active, the jammer drains battery each cycle. If battery is depleted, the jammer auto-deactivates with a warning.

Beam Width (from upgrades)

• Width 1 (base / tier 1): Center line only — a single straight line of tiles.
• Width 2 (tier 2: Wideband Emitter): Center line + one parallel line offset perpendicular.
• Width 3 (tier 3: Phased Array Jammer): Center line + two parallel lines on each side.

Message Jamming

When a drone in the beam receives an ACTION_COMPLETED or WARNING message, the message is replaced with:

• Subject: "Signal jammed"
• Details: {"drone_id": "...", "message": "Drone signal is being jammed - message could not be delivered"}

Upgrades

Each tier: +3 range, -15% battery, +1 beam width (cumulative at T3: +9 range, -45% battery, +3 beam width).

Signature Dampener

The Signature Dampener is a stealth equipment with two distinct effects: passive EM dampening and active scan cloaking. Requires the unlock_signature_dampener research.

Signal Dampening (Always Active)

As long as the Signature Dampener is functional (not broken), all EM emissions from the drone are reduced by 50%, and seismic signatures are also reduced. This makes the drone harder to detect on both DF antennas and seismic sensors at all times, even while performing actions.

• EM exceptions: Scanning and identifying always emit at full EM strength (100%) regardless of dampening. These actions produce strong, distinctive EM signatures that cannot be masked.
• Seismic exceptions: Missiles, auto-cannon rounds (AP/HE/canister), and howitzer fire produce seismic signatures too loud to dampen.
• No cooldown: Signal dampening is passive and requires no idle period.

Scan Cloaking (Requires Idle Cooldown)

• Activation: Automatic after the drone has taken no actions for the cooldown period (default: 10 cycles). No manual activation needed.
• Deactivation: Any action (drive, turn, fire, scan, identify, mine, deploy, etc.) immediately resets the cooldown timer. The dampener will re-activate after another full cooldown period of inactivity.

Effects

Upgrades

Each tier: -10% scan detection range, -10% EM signal, -2 cloak cooldown cycles. At tier 3, scan detection is reduced to 20% range, EM signal to 20% strength, and cloak cooldown to 4 cycles.

Decoy Beacon

The Decoy Beacon deploys a fake drone on an adjacent tile that mimics electrical signatures. Decoys appear on scan results as real drones but have no equipment, minimal HP, and cannot take any actions. Requires the unlock_decoy_beacon research.

• Deploy: Places a decoy on an adjacent tile in the specified hex direction (0-5). Can be deployed at any elevation — the decoy is placed on the ground tile. Deploy cycles and battery cost vary by level (L1: 20 cycles/1 battery per cycle, L2: 12 cycles/5 battery, L3: 5 cycles/10 battery).
• Decoy HP: 1 HP base (upgradeable). Decoys are destroyed by any damage.
• Consumable: Each Decoy Beacon equipment holds 3 decoys (base). When all decoys are deployed, the equipment is removed from the drone. Limited to 1 per drone.
• Detection: Decoys appear as normal drones on scan. The identify command reveals them as decoys.

Smoke Launcher

The Smoke Launcher deploys a smoke screen that blocks line-of-sight for scan and identify commands. Requires the unlock_smoke_launcher research.

• Deploy: Creates smoke on the drone's current tile and all tiles within radius 1. Can be deployed at any elevation — the smoke covers the ground-level tiles below. Deploy cycles and battery cost vary by level (L1: 10 cycles/1 battery per cycle, L2: 6 cycles/5 battery, L3: 3 cycles/10 battery).
• Duration: Smoke persists for 20 cycles (base), then dissipates.
• Smoke Interval: Additional smoke pulses are emitted at regular intervals (L1: every 6 cycles, L2: every 4, L3: every 3).
• Consumable: Each Smoke Launcher holds 3 charges (base). When all charges are used, the equipment is removed. Limited to 1 per drone.
• Effect: Tiles covered in smoke block line-of-sight for scan and identify. Drones inside smoke cannot be targeted by lasers or auto-cannons (but missiles still work).

Movement & Navigation

Ground Movement

Drones with Propulsion equipment can:

• Turn: Rotate 60 degrees left or right
• Drive Forward: Move one tile in facing direction
• Drive Reverse: Move one tile opposite to facing direction

Hex Directions

Drones face one of six directions (0-5), corresponding to the six edges of a flat-top hexagon. Direction 0 is Northeast, and directions increase clockwise: 0=Northeast, 1=Southeast, 2=South, 3=Southwest, 4=Northwest, 5=North.

Terrain Effects

• Normal Terrain: No movement penalty
• Difficult Terrain: Doubles ground movement cycles for drones at ground level. Hovering drones are unaffected.
• Impassable Terrain: Cannot be entered (ground drones). Blocks laser beams and AP/HE projectiles.

Projectile blocking: Impassable terrain, elevated terrain, resource nodes, and buildings all block laser beams and AP/HE autocannon rounds. Canister rounds handle their own per-tile blocking within the cone. See Laser Cannon and Auto-Cannon for full details.

Hover Movement

Drones with Hover Tech can ascend and descend:

• Ascend: Increase elevation (1-5 units per action)
• Descend: Decrease elevation (1-5 units per action)
• Hovering drones can move over any terrain and other units
• Battery cost scales with drone weight
• Maximum elevation is limited by the Hover Tech equipment
• Elevated Speed Bonus: Movement actions (turn, drive, ascend, descend) complete in half the time while above ground level

Dual Propulsion

Installing two Propulsion units provides benefits:

• Base battery cost is 1.5x (not 2x) for redundancy benefit. The weight-based cost is added on top of this.
• If one engine is damaged, the other can still function