RustRaptor/docs/iron-coast-retune.md

Iron Coast pacing and presentation update

The 14 Iron Coast missions now use difficulty-scaled attack groups, clearer weapon feedback and distinct enemy/boss patterns. Original campaigns and their content definitions are unchanged.

Wave schedules

Enabled scheduled enemies, including required targets and bosses:

Mission	Training	Rookie	Veteran	Elite
I 1 — Breakwater	25	34	43	52
I 2 — Tidal Relay	29	40	51	62
I 3 — Saltworks Convoy	32	45	58	71
I 4 — Stormwall	35	50	65	84
I 5 — Cinder Docks	45	64	83	107
I 6 — Iron Crown	64	92	120	145
II 1 — Nightbreak Inlet	30	43	55	67
II 2 — Undertow Run	31	44	60	76
II 3 — Stormglass Refinery	42	50	62	78
II 4 — Floodgate Zero	42	50	62	78
II 5 — Skybreaker Arsenal	45	53	65	81
II 6 — Emberwake Shipyards	46	54	66	82
II 7 — Siege of the Iron Fleet	57	65	77	93
II 8 — Black Tide	61	69	81	97

Counts are not simultaneous enemies or difficulty quotas. The 27 original missions have median scheduled totals of 139 / 139 / 228 / 313, but their lengths, target durability and attacks differ. Iron Coast now introduces flank groups and classic aircraft between objectives, with recovery space before bosses. Required targets remain reachable; aircraft leaving the playfield do not grant kills or complete objectives.

Comparison method

The baseline covers all 27 original missions and all 14 Iron Coast missions at all four difficulties. Controlled pressure observations use the same firing and movement policy, with replenished shields to observe the complete schedule. Those measurements describe activity, not ordinary-player survival. Separate paid routes use actual inventory, shop transactions and carried shield charge.

Median mean-visible enemies during the controlled observations:

Difficulty	Original missions	Stage I before → after	Stage II before → after
Training	0.65	0.28 → 0.52	0.22 → 0.42
Rookie	0.67	0.29 → 0.86	0.22 → 0.50
Veteran	1.30	0.31 → 1.26	0.25 → 0.59
Elite	1.98	0.31 → 1.52	0.25 → 0.68

The final Elite Iron Crown schedule removes ten extra reinforcements to leave recovery space before the Fleet. Its 145 scheduled enemies remain above Veteran’s 120. All lower-difficulty schedules are unchanged by that correction.

The final paired Stage I routes complete all six missions at all four settings, with 96 full pilot/script-state/RNG save/load checks across baseline and revised routes. The Elite finale completes at tick 2,649 with 47 shield using the actual loaned Ion Lance and three purchased Field Repairs costing 37,500 credits. The same controller’s earlier runs without those purchases died before the Fleet; those failures remain recorded. This is one demonstrated paid strategy, not a promise that every loadout or movement policy survives.

Stage II completes all eight missions and a finale replay at all four settings using carried inventory, paid supplies and normal damage. The lowest observed shield is 12 on Elite. Late-miss checks separately verify all mandatory targets remain reachable and objectives can finish; those observer checks replenish shields and are not survival results.

The final package metadata passes actual 45-mod resource validation and exact save-pin roundtrips at every difficulty. Gameplay measurements use the frozen runtime definitions/scripts; the final version-number, README and blank-line whitespace corrections do not change gameplay tokens.

Enemy silhouettes and attacks

Scouts and interceptors retain 24×24 logical bodies; turrets and siege units remain 32×32, and skimmers remain 32×24. Those footprints fit their original game roles; the update changes movement and firing rather than enlarging every enemy. Scouts now enter, attack and break away. Interceptors make a faster lateral pass and reversing exit. Ground units retain reachable firing lanes.

Aim locks at the start of each short salvo. Difficulty adjusts warning time, shot speed, salvo length and recovery. Ordinary muzzle feedback uses compact cues instead of explosion blooms. Enemy projectile artwork is 6–7 logical pixels wide. Its visible size does not change the engine’s existing hostile projectile collision threshold.

The first six bosses now have different patrols, dives, health phases and warning/recovery sequences. Definition health is 240 / 280 / 320 / 360 / 400 / 420, within the range of comparable original bosses; normal difficulty scaling applies. The first three use 84×56 bodies, the next two 96×64 and Iron Crown 108×72. Stage II bosses retain their existing distinct bodies, health, damage and rewards, with revised attack timing.

Weapons and feedback

Pulse Cannon, Seeker Swarm, Ion Lance, Railburst Cannon and Depth Charge retain their damage, targeting, cooldowns, effective ranges and prices. Pulse, rail and depth-charge shots use more compact artwork; brief hit arcs replace oversized explosions. Seeker artwork stays larger because the smaller trial lost readability. Audio is gated to actual attacks and hits, reducing sustained overlapping noise.

Weapon	Price	Role
Pulse Cannon	185,000	Primary weapon augmentation
Seeker Swarm	285,000	Selectable homing missiles
Ion Lance	425,000	Selectable penetrating beam
Railburst Cannon	685,000	Selectable piercing rail shot
Depth Charge	525,000	Selectable ground attack

Controlled damage comparisons cover 125 cases; 30 complete gameplay-state comparisons preserve damage, trajectories, RNG, collision, cooldowns and health while allowing cosmetic effects/audio to differ. SD/HD enemy and boss captures also check silhouettes, warning periods and firing feedback. Those bounded checks do not establish every loadout’s balance or hardware audio quality.

Using the update

Enable Iron Coast — Complete Campaign or Iron Coast II — Black Tide in Mods and apply at the main menu. Dependencies select automatically. Existing pilots may receive the normal changed-mod warning; accepting it preserves saved equipment and progression. Use Ctrl to fire, Alt/Shift to cycle equipment, Z for Special and Space for owned bombs. Select mission-provided repairs before using Special; they consume actual items. Mission 6 lends an Ion Lance when inventory space permits—select it and hold Fire.

Package-local acceptance files describe their recorded versions. Retained pre-retune 1.0 results are historical; they are not new-version playthrough claims.