View source for Version 1.3.6

A territory-and-travel release: system conquest becomes a '''two-phase Territory Siege''', alliances can stitch space together with '''Warp Gate hops''', and '''Support Vessels''' finally repair hull mid-fight — plus smarter energy recovery when a colony goes dark, tougher (and clearer) pirate bosses, and richer pirate scout intel.<blockquote>New to sieges? See the full Territory Siege guide, or open '''Settings → Quick Guides''' in-game. Alliance territory basics are in Alliances. Boss fights are covered in Pirate Bosses.</blockquote>

== New Features ==

=== Territory Siege (Being tested) ===

* Capturing a Division is no longer a single FCS snap. Attackers must '''Contest''' first, wait a '''random Contested timer''', then win a '''Takeover''' inside a short '''Vulnerable''' window before ownership changes.
* '''Contest''' (Phase 1): win an FCS at the system center → system becomes Contested. Ownership does '''not''' transfer; NPC garrison and alliance buildings stay.
* '''Contested timer:''' random '''20–28 hours''' (nobody picks it — no defender “Defense Hour”).
* '''Vulnerable''' (Phase 2): exactly '''2 hours'''. Only the '''contester''' alliance can finish Takeover with a second FCS win. Fail, miss the window, or hit a gate → defenders keep it + cooldown.
* '''Headquarters cannot be sieged.'''
* While Contested or Vulnerable, that system’s '''daily pool''', '''Harvest''', and '''Survey''' yields are cut to '''×0.5'''.
* Siege ship losses use the '''Ship Graveyard''' with softer debris: Contest ~'''85%''' buyback / ~'''15%''' debris; Takeover ~'''70%''' / ~'''30%'''.
* PvP Takeover of a held Division applies a '''−3 level''' building penalty (buildings drop below level 4 are removed). Retaking a system you held within '''7 days''' waives the penalty.
* Caps: '''5''' open Contests per alliance; '''24h''' re-contest cooldown after fail / expire / cancel. NAP / Ally blocks Contest; a mid-siege protective treaty '''cancels''' the siege.
* Map and Alliance UI show Contested (amber) / Vulnerable (red) borders, live countdowns, and threat badges. Siege mails fire for Contest, Vulnerable, defended, expired, and cancelled outcomes.

=== Alliance Warp Gates & fleet hops ===

* Alliances can build a '''Warp Gate''' on controlled system centers. Member fleets launch from a personal '''moon Warp Gate''', exit through the best available own or alliance gate, then fly the short remaining leg.
* Fleet send can '''Use nearest warp gate'''; ETA includes a '''warp readiness''' delay ('''180s''' at Warp Technology 8, '''−8s''' per level above that, floor '''60s''') plus the short hop flight.
* Gates only help when the exit is meaningfully closer than a direct flight; stale routes refresh before send.

=== Support Vessel field repairs ===

* Surviving '''Support Vessels''' restore combat ships '''each round''' after damage — field-repair capacity scales with vessel count, research, and monuments.
* Repair efficiency ramps from '''80%''' early in the fight to '''100%''' on the final round; restored losses are capped per round (also '''80→100%''').
* Battle reports, the combat simulator, and unit stats show '''field repair''' and ships repaired for both sides.
* The '''Halo Ring''' Core monument now grants '''<code>shipRepairSpeedPct</code> (+15%)''' toward support-vessel repair capacity (stacks with Fleet Preservation and related boosts).

=== Pirate boss combat research ===

* Mid-Bosses and Bosses now fight with a full '''combat-research profile''' (weapons, shields, defense doctrines, and more), applied consistently in battle and on scout reports.
* '''Faction flavor:''' Raider / Fortress / Tech bosses get '''+2''' on their signature techs above the shared base (currently base level '''1''' for both tiers — tuned for gradual rollout).
* Scout reports on pirate strongholds and outposts now include '''strength''', '''faction''', and '''boss tier''' intel when applicable.

== Improvements ==

* '''Negative energy''' on a colony now '''pauses ship and defense production''' until energy recovers (same pause/resume pattern as vacation). Resource mines can still be throttled via Production Rate to claw energy back.
* While energy is negative, you can still upgrade '''energy providers''' (Solar Plant, Fusion Reactor, Elerium Reactor). Other queued building upgrades on that colony are cancelled so recovery isn’t blocked.
* '''Moon defense yards''' contribute '''75%''' of their level toward empire tonnage capacity (configurable), so moon yards still help — but less than planet yards.
* Trade offer UI and fleet overlays call out hop routes, readiness, and energy-stressed colonies more clearly.

== Balance ==

* Pirate boss combat research landed soft (base '''1''', faction '''+2''') after higher initial drafts — bosses are stronger than a naked stronghold, without jumping straight to late-game research walls.
* Support Vessel repair math favors bringing them to long FCS fights (bosses, sieges, prolonged PvP) rather than pure alpha fleets.

== Bug Fixes ==

* Fixed ship/defense queues that could stick paused or lose completion timers after negative-energy pause/resume.
* Energy-provider upgrades no longer get wiped from the queue just because the colony is already in energy debt.
* Warp hop selection rejects mismatched or obsolete exit gates instead of launching on a bad route.
* Various siege mail, scout pirate-intel, and battle-report repair display edge cases cleaned up alongside the features above.