▸ CHANGELOG / VERSION HISTORY

📜 Changelog

A complete history of all updates to The Dyson Swarm.

v0.38.0🔑 Admin Dashboard Login Fix2026-07-16

FixThe Analytics, Players, and Reset tabs in the admin Statistics Dashboard could return "Unauthorized" even with a correct admin token, if that token contained URL-reserved characters — the affected requests now properly URL-encode the token.

v0.37.0🎨 Visual Redesign — Token System & Switchable UI Styles2026-07-08

New FeatureComplete visual overhaul — the old Tailwind-gray chrome is replaced by a token-driven design language, giving every screen a cohesive holographic command-console look.
New FeatureThree switchable UI styles selectable from the Commander Panel — Telemetry, Holochart, and Command — each restyling panels, navigation, buttons, and progress bars while keeping all game logic identical.
FeatureFaction-driven theming — the active faction now sets the accent color and mood across the whole interface (Terran, AI Core, Void-Born), no longer just isolated highlights.
FeatureAnimated space background rebuilt in pure CSS — layered starfield, warp streaks, nebula glow, and grid overlay. Stars and grid can be toggled independently in the Commander Panel.
FeatureDisplay density and style preferences persist across sessions via localStorage.
UIChrome refresh — redesigned navigation bar, Stats Bar, and Commander Panel dropdown with a new style switcher.
UIMigrated screens to the token system — Dashboard, Power Grid (buildings, research and tier cards), Highscore, Achievements, Story, and the Faction Selection modal.
UINew typography — game fonts refreshed for better readability and a more distinct sci-fi identity.
ArchitectureIntroduced a central ThemeContext (style / density / stars / grid) and shared UI primitives (Panel, Eyebrow, IconTile, FactionGlyph); removed the legacy --ft-* faction system and its temporary compatibility shim.

v0.36.0🧩 Puzzle Leaderboards & Quality-of-Life Polish2026-05-07

New FeaturePuzzle solve-time highscores — six separate leaderboards (Phase 1/2/3 × Ancient Cipher / Manual Calibration). Only your personal best per phase × puzzle is kept.
New FeatureHighscore page now has a 🧩 Puzzles tab with a sub-menu to switch between phases and the two puzzle types.
FeatureCancel button on Ancient Cipher and Manual Calibration modals — skip the puzzle without spending plasma, accept the −50% production penalty for 5 minutes.
UICipher boost (+×4) and Cipher penalty (−50%) now appear as live entries in the active events badge with countdown so you can see how much time is left on the buff/debuff.
UIManual Calibration readability — brighter target zone fill (32% → 55% alpha), white-cored pointer with double glow that always stands out, brighter SYNC bar background, brighter legend and inactive frequency dots.
UIAncient Cipher readability — lighter card background, stronger 2px border, brighter labels and helper text, brighter slot placeholder ?, brighter Plasma-Shortcut header.
UIEvent notification popup — brighter background, stronger 2px border, larger and bolder event name (white), readable description and effect badge with proper border.
Bug FixOffline earnings popup now appears reliably after hard shutdowns (power loss, OS reboot, browser crash). A 10-second heartbeat keeps a fresh "last alive" timestamp in localStorage so the popup works even when pagehide/beforeunload never fired.
Bug FixOffline earnings — `unlocked_achievements` was never read from the database, so the Neural Overdrive (omega_protocol) +4h offline-cap extension never activated. Now correctly reads achievements via array_key_exists and returns the actual cap to the client.
Bug FixOffline earnings popup label is now dynamic (capped at 2h or 6h depending on Neural Overdrive) instead of hardcoded "2h".
Bug FixGalactic News popups no longer appear while logged out — useNews skips polling entirely without an active commander.
Bug FixDashboard reset button now performs a full wipe (clears all achievements, completedFactions, factionRunTimes, lifetimeAsteroidClicks). Post-victory "Reboot System" still keeps Phase-3 cross-run perks.
Bug FixAfter completing all three factions you can now start a new mission with the full faction roster again — no more soft-lock on the Dashboard.
ImprovementAncient Cipher and Manual Calibration measure solve time and submit it to the puzzle leaderboard on win.
ArchitectureAdded `savePuzzleHighscore` to GameContext and exposed it to the puzzle modals via Layout.

v0.35.0📡 Interactive Events — Manual Calibration2026-04-04

FeatureNew INTERACTIVE event type — Manual Calibration. Appears in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 as a random event.
FeatureMoving-bar rhythm puzzle — click when the oscillating frequency pointer enters the highlighted sweet zone.
FeaturePhase 1 config: 1 channel (RED), 90-second timer, 3 attempts per bar.
FeaturePhase 2 config: 2 channels (RED → GREEN), 120-second timer, 3 attempts per bar.
FeaturePhase 3 config: 3 channels (RED → GREEN → BLUE), 150-second timer, 3 attempts per bar.
MechanicThe sweet zone shrinks and the pointer speeds up with each successive channel in a multi-bar run.
MechanicSame availability window and penalty/reward as Ancient Cipher — 1-minute window to start, ×4 production for 5 min on success, 50% throttle for 5 min on failure.

v0.34.0🔐 Interactive Events — Ancient Cipher2026-04-01

FeatureNew INTERACTIVE event type — Ancient Cipher. Appears in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 as a random event.
FeatureMastermind-style puzzle — guess the secret crystal sequence within the attempt limit before the timer runs out.
FeaturePhase 1 config: 4 slots, 4 crystal types, 8 attempts, 90-second timer.
FeaturePhase 2 config: 6 slots, 6 crystal types, 10 attempts, 120-second timer.
FeaturePhase 3 config: 6 slots, 8 crystal types, 12 attempts, 150-second timer.
MechanicWhen the event appears, it stays active for 1 minute. If not started in time it disappears and triggers the penalty.
MechanicFailing the puzzle or letting the window expire throttles global production to 50% for 5 minutes (Cipher Interference).
FeatureSolving the cipher grants ×4 global production for 5 minutes (Ancient Cipher Boost).
FeatureInteractive events play an ascending A-major arpeggio sound cue when the notification appears.
FeatureStart Now button in event notification and active events badge dismisses the event card and opens the puzzle modal.

v0.33.2⚖️ Auto-Clicker Balancing & Bug Fixes2026-03-30

BalancingQuantum Fingerprints (manual_5000) click value reduced from 50% → 8% of production/s per click. Auto-clicker at max rate now gives +80% bonus instead of +500%, keeping phase timing close to intended targets.
BalancingPhase 2 energy threshold reduced from 50T → 40T to improve timing toward the 16h target.
BalancingPhobos Station cost multiplier reduced from 1.30 → 1.27, easing late Phase 1 progression.
BalancingSpace Elevator discount for Phase 3 buildings capped at 50% (down from 90%) to prevent Phase 3 from completing in hours instead of ~32h.
FixPlasma charges consumed by Plasma Surge are now tracked separately (spentPlasmaCharges) from asteroid breach losses (lostPlasmaCharges). The Commander Panel no longer incorrectly labels intentional Surge usage as "lost to asteroid breaches".
FixresetGame() now uses functional setState(prev => ...) to guarantee completedFactions and factionRunTimes are read from the latest state, preventing stale-closure bugs that caused completed factions to reappear in faction selection after a victory reset.
FixOrbital building badge in Power Grid now correctly shows "(max -50%)" for Phase 3 buildings, matching the actual discount cap.

v0.33.1👤 Unique Commander Names2026-03-29

FeatureCommander names are now unique across all players. The name field checks availability in real time as you type (debounced, 400 ms).
UIColor-coded border and status line below the input — green checkmark when available, red ✗ when taken, spinner while checking.
UIThe "Launch Mission" button stays disabled until the name is confirmed as available, preventing duplicate names from being submitted.
FixEvent notifications were silently dropped once the Mission Log reached its 50-entry cap. The detection now tracks the newest log entry by ID instead of by count, so it works regardless of log length.
FixStale closure bug removed — the effect dependency has been corrected from `state.logs.length` to the ID of the top log entry, eliminating the risk of a stale comparison value.

v0.33.0🏅 Faction Locking & All-Factions Highscore2026-03-29

FeatureAfter completing the game with a faction, that faction is locked out of future runs — you must play the remaining factions in order.
FeatureAfter completing 2 factions, the 3rd faction starts automatically with no selection modal.
FeatureNew "All Factions" leaderboard tab in the Hall of Fame — tracks total combined playtime across all 3 faction runs.
SystemPer-faction run times are tracked persistently and submitted to the backend once all 3 factions are completed.
DatabaseNew table `all_factions_highscores` with corresponding migration script.
FixAll-Factions leaderboard endpoint now returns an empty list gracefully when the DB table has not been migrated yet — no more error banner on dev or fresh deployments.
FixSave endpoint for all-factions scores silently acknowledges requests when the migration is pending, preventing frontend errors on first completion.

v0.32.0🌍 Full German (DE) / English (EN) Localisation2026-03-27

FeatureComplete bilingual DE/EN support added across the entire frontend — language toggle is available in the Commander Panel.
FeatureAbout page fully localised — Story tab (all three faction narratives: Terran, AI Core, Scavengers), default story paragraphs, How-to-Play guide (all 9 steps with descriptions and strategy tips), Tech Tree, and Support section.
FeatureComms page (Mission Log & Universe News) — all UI labels, tab names, status texts, and empty-state messages translated.
FeatureLegal pages (Imprint / Privacy Policy) fully bilingual — all four sections of the Privacy Policy and all Impressum entries adapt to the active language.
FeatureFaction story content translated — each faction's role, narrative paragraphs, and in-game quote are now available in German.
FeatureDashboard, Power Grid, Highscore, Achievements, Changelog, and all navigation elements were already translated; remaining gaps closed.
FixRemoved stale/corrupt content left over from previous partial-translation attempts in Imprint.tsx and Privacy.tsx.

v0.31.0🛡️ Server-Side Anti-Cheat & Highscore Integrity2026-03-25

FeatureSome Anti Cheat shenanigans.

v0.30.0🛡️ Shield Rebalance, Clickable Broadcast Links & Admin Reset Tools2026-03-20

BalancingIonospheric Aegis shield damage absorption reworked — Phase 2 asteroids deal 20% impact to the shield, Phase 3 asteroids deal full 100% impact, making the Aegis a meaningful strategic decision in the late game.
FeatureURLs included in Admin System Broadcasts are now rendered as clickable links in both the Galactic Feed popup and the Universe News tab in Comms.

v0.29.7⚡ Ionospheric Aegis & Plasma Charge System2026-03-23

FeatureMagnetospheric Collector — new Phase 1 orbital building. Low energy production, but each unit generates 1 Plasma Charge (base), consumed by the Plasma Surge ability in Phase 3.
FeaturePlasma Condensation research chain (I–X, Phase 1) — each tier adds +0.1 charge density per Magnetospheric Collector (max 2.0 charges/Collector at tier X). Collectors and their condensation researches persist through Phase 1 prestige resets.
FeatureIonospheric Aegis — new Phase 2 orbital building. Acts as a rechargeable energy shield that absorbs asteroid impacts. Each unit purchased pre-charges 10% of its base capacity. Aegis buildings and Harmonic Tuning researches persist through Phase 2 prestige resets.
FeatureAegis Charge Slider in the Commander Panel — redirect 0–100% of current production per second into the shield. Energy is always deducted from income (even when full), making shield upkeep a real strategic trade-off.
FeatureHarmonic Frequency Tuning research chain (I–X, Phase 2) — each tier adds +2.5% to total Aegis capacity (up to +25% at tier X).
FeatureGalactic Harmonic Tuning research chain (Phase 3) — extends Aegis capacity further at galactic scale.
FeaturePlasma Surge (Phase 3) — consume 1 Plasma Charge to activate a ×6 production multiplier for 5 minutes.
MechanicAsteroid miss penalty — from Phase 2 onwards, a missed asteroid (no shield or empty shield) depletes 1 Plasma Charge. Phase 1 misses have no penalty.
UIShield status and Plasma Charge panel in the Commander Panel — shows charge %, stored/max energy, slider control, charge count, and Surge button.

v0.29.6🎖️ Faction Victory Achievements & UI Overhaul2026-03-19

FeatureThree new permanent Faction Victory Achievements — one per faction, unlocked by completing Phase 3 with that faction.
Achievement"Legacy of the Blue Marble" (Terran) — CO2 Scrubbers & Gaia Networks permanently 20% cheaper in all future runs, +2% global production regardless of faction.
Achievement"The Omega Protocol" (AI Core) — Base click value permanently +50% in all future runs; offline progress cap extended from 2h to 6h.
Achievement"Lord of the Infinite Wreckage" (Scavengers) — All Orbital buildings have a 10% chance to be fully refunded upon purchase in all future runs.
UIEvent, Achievement, and Asteroid reward popups redesigned to match the Galactic Feed style.
FixGalactic Feed volume slider now takes effect immediately on the next popup (previously only applied on first initialisation).

v0.29.5.1🔊 Galactic Feed Volume Control2026-03-19

FeatureVolume slider for the Galactic Feed notification sound — adjustable from 0% to 100% in the Commander Panel.
SystemVolume preference is saved in localStorage and restored automatically on reload.

v0.29.5🌌 Faction End Screens, True Ending & Post-Victory Polish2026-03-18

FeatureThe victory screen now displays a unique faction-specific illustration — Terran Loyalists, Rogue AI Core, or Void-Born Scavengers — based on the winning commander's chosen faction.
FeatureCompleting Phase 3 with all three factions unlocks a special epilogue illustration on the final victory screen.
SystemFaction completion history is tracked persistently across new-game resets so the all-factions unlock carries over correctly.
FeatureAfter completing Phase 3 and starting a new run, the commander name is preserved and pre-filled in the faction selection modal.
UIThe name field is read-only in the post-victory faction modal — commanders keep their identity across runs.
UIThe faction selection modal auto-opens immediately after a post-victory reset.
FeatureNews feed notification now plays a sound when a new Galactic Feed popup appears.

v0.29.4🏭 Power Grid Phase Filter2026-03-17

FeaturePhase filter pills added below the Buildings / Research tabs on the Power Grid — filter by Phase 1, 2, or 3 to reduce visual clutter in late game.
UIFilter pills only appear from Phase 2 onward (Phase 1 has fewer items and no need for filtering).
UI"X shown" counter in the Buildings tab updates dynamically based on the active phase filter.
UIEmpty state message displayed when no items match the selected phase filter.

v0.29.3📣 Admin Broadcasts2026-03-17

FeatureAdmin messages appear in red, pinned at the top of every player's Universe News feed for 48 hours, and are not counted toward the 15-message limit.
FeatureAdmin broadcasts also trigger a red "System Broadcast" popup notification in the Galactic Feed widget.

v0.29.2⚖️ Phase 3 Cost Rebalance & Achievement Fix2026-03-17

BalancingAll Phase 3 building base costs increased by factor 30 (e.g. Star Igniter 100B → 3T, Reality Anchor 5T → 150T).
BalancingAll Phase 3 research costs increased by factor 30 (e.g. Transcendence Protocol 500B → 15T, Cosmic Ascension 50T → 1.5Q).
FixAsteroid Hunter achievement moved from category GLOBAL to MANUAL — now correctly appears on the Manual Interactions tab.
RemovedENERGY_MILESTONE event type removed from the Galactic Feed entirely — production milestones generated too much noise.
Building milestones remain active, starting at 200 buildings of the same type, then doubling (400, 800, ...).

v0.29.1📡 Galactic Feed — Milestone Fixes2026-03-17

FixEnergy Milestone news now tracks production rate (Energy/sec) instead of total accumulated energy, preventing hundreds of spam entries.
BalancingProduction milestones now use doubling thresholds starting at 200K Energy/sec (200K, 400K, 800K, 1.6M, ...).
BalancingBuilding milestones now use doubling thresholds starting at 200 buildings (200, 400, 800, 1600, ...).
UI"Comms" tab in navigation replaces "Mission Log" — contains Mission Log and new Universe News tab showing the last 15 global events.

v0.29.0📡 Galactic Feed — Live Commander Activity2026-03-17

FeatureReal-time global news feed — see other commanders' achievements, prestige milestones, phase advances, new players joining, and victories as they happen.
UIHolographic popup in the bottom-right corner with CRT scanlines, grid overlay, cyan glow border, and a flicker animation for a sci-fi feel.
FeatureFaction badge shown on each news item with the respective faction color (emerald/violet/orange).
FeatureNotifications queue automatically — multiple events are shown one after another with a short gap.
FeatureOwn events are filtered out of the feed so you only see other commanders' activity.
FeatureREDACTED achievements are never broadcast to preserve their secret nature.
ArchitecturePublisher hook detects local state changes and posts to backend; subscriber hook polls every 60 seconds using a localStorage timestamp cursor.

v0.28.3🧲 Magnetic Maw Toggle & Highscore Fairness2026-03-17

FeatureMagnetic Maw can now be toggled on/off in the Commander Panel (same location as Auto-Struction), using the Scavengers orange color scheme.
FeatureWhen Magnetic Maw is disabled, asteroids fly by normally and can be clicked manually. Manual clicks count toward the Asteroid Hunter highscore as usual.
FixAuto-collected asteroids (Magnetic Maw active) no longer count toward the Asteroid Hunter highscore or the 100-click achievement, only manual clicks are tracked.
FixAuto-collected asteroids still grant full energy rewards regardless of toggle state.

v0.28.2🪨 Magnetic Maw Auto-Collect Fixes & 🛸 Space Elevator Cost Fix2026-03-17

FixMagnetic Maw auto-collected asteroids (main and Celestial Harvest) now show the reward notification popup in the top-right corner.
FixMagnetic Maw auto-collected asteroids now correctly increment the asteroid click counter and are counted toward the Asteroid Hunter highscore and achievement.
FixSpace Elevator orbital cost discount was hardcoded to always 90% in Buy Max and Auto-Buyer — now correctly applies 5% per owned elevator (capped at 90%), matching the single-buy calculation.
FixBuy Max button for orbital buildings (e.g. Phobos Mining Station) no longer appears active before the single Buy button, resolving the inconsistency caused by the wrong discount formula.

v0.28.1🏆 Smaller bug fixes2026-03-16

FixResource display issue in the Dashboard.
FixFix sync problem with version number

v0.28.0🏆 Faction Achievements — Prestige Rewards per Faction2026-03-16

Feature9 new faction-specific achievements — 3 per faction (Terran Loyalist, Rogue AI Core, Void-Born Scavengers), unlocked by reaching specific Phase/Prestige milestones.
FeatureTerran — Green Thumb (P1/P2): CO2 Scrubber +10%. Earth's Eternal Guardian (P1/P4): Gaia Network bonus 5%→7% per node. Planetary Shield (P2/P2): Orbital cost penalty +20%→+15%.
FeatureAI Core — Overclocked Silicon (P1/P2): Manual click value +25%. Architect of the Singularity (P2/P2): Overclock duration 30s→45s. Digital Immortality (P2/P4): Galactic Core +20%.
FeatureScavengers — Belt Miner (P1/P2): Asteroid Hook +15%. King of the Junkyard (P2/P2): Debris Recycler 25%/20%→33%/30%. Gravity Defiance (P2/P4): Surface cost penalty +30%→+20%.
FeatureAchievement cards use faction color schemes (emerald for Terran, violet for AI Core, orange for Scavengers).
FeatureWrong-faction achievements shown as faded with a faction requirement hint on the locked card.
FixStatsBar now fully responds to the day/night toggle — proper light/dark mode classes applied.
ImprovementFaction details on the Dashboard are always expanded, no toggle required.

v0.27.0🎨 Faction Themes, Unique Research & Visual Fixes2026-03-16

FeatureFaction-specific color themes — each faction now colors the entire UI with its own palette: Eden-Industrial green/gold (Terran), Singularity-Violet purple/cyan (AI Core), Scrap-Hazard orange/steel (Scavengers). Affects page background, buttons, card accents, progress bars, and tab indicators.
FeatureFaction image displayed as a banner on the Dashboard welcome card.
FeatureThree exclusive Phase 2 researches — Planetary Harmony Protocol (Terran: +1% Phase 1 ground production per Phase 2 building owned), Sub-Routine Overclocking (AI Core: +25% to a building type for 30 s on each purchase, stackable), Magnetic Maw (Scavengers: auto-collects all asteroids and Celestial Harvest rain).
FeatureCelestial Harvest event extended to Phase 2 and Phase 3 (previously Phase 1 only).
FeatureFaction research flavour quotes shown in the faction selection modal below advantages/disadvantages.
FeatureAbout page Story tab shows faction-specific mission text, title, and quote when a faction is active.
ImprovementHow to Play updated — new Faction step, Faction Tech research category added, asteroid tip updated.
ImprovementTech Tree shows faction badges on all faction-exclusive buildings and Phase 2 research.
FixCelestial Harvest asteroids no longer instantly disappear when the event timer expires — existing asteroids finish their flight animation naturally.
FixMagnetic Maw auto-collect delay increased from 0.4 s to 3 s so asteroids are visibly pulled in before disappearing.

v0.26.0⚔️ Faction System — Choose Your Path2026-03-16

FeatureThree playable factions — The Terran Loyalist, The Rogue AI Core, and The Void-Born Scavengers — each with unique cost modifiers, production bonuses, and an exclusive building.
FeatureFaction selection screen shown at game start after entering your Commander name, with faction images, descriptions, advantages, and disadvantages.
FeatureUnique faction buildings — Gaia Network (Terran), Neural Singularity Hub (AI Core), Debris Recycler (Scavengers) — each replacing a standard building with a special mechanic.
MigrationExisting players without a faction are prompted to choose one via an amber banner on the Dashboard and a guard in the Power Grid.
UIPower Grid now hidden from the navigation bar and mobile menu until a player has started a game.
UIDashboard redesigned — new mission launch hero for new players, faction badge displayed on the welcome card.
UIPhase visualization (PhaseVis) removed from the Dashboard.
FeatureFaction shown in the Phase 1–3 Highscore leaderboards with a colored badge.
Backend: faction column added to the highscores table; migration script provided.
FixEvents targeting buildings replaced by a faction's unique building are now filtered out for that faction.

v0.25.7⚡ Offline Earnings System & ⏱️ Timer Adjustments: Health Check & Events2026-03-16

FeatureOffline earnings popup — when returning to the tab after ≥ 60 seconds, the game calculates and grants the energy produced while away (capped at 2 hours).
UILoading overlay with spinner while fetching earnings from backend, then result card with energy amount, time away, and 4-second auto-close progress bar.
ImprovementMinimum 60-second threshold prevents the popup from triggering on brief tab switches.
ImprovementHealth check interval reduced from 5 minutes to 1 minute for faster version update detection.
BalancingRandom event interval reduced from ~60 minutes to ~20 minutes (± 3 min) in production for more frequent dynamic gameplay.

⭐ Balancing: Prestige Thresholds & Phase Advancement2026-06-13

BalancingPrestige thresholds reduced across all 8 levels — new values: 2% / 8% / 12% / 16% / 24% / 28% / 32% / 40% of the phase energy goal. Previous thresholds were too steep for regular play.
FeaturePhase transitions are now manual. Reaching the energy threshold shows a confirmation banner on the Power Grid — players choose when to advance, allowing strategic prestige runs before entering the next phase.
ImprovementNew phase starts with Prestige Level 0 for that phase; all prior phase prestige levels are preserved.

v0.25.4🪐 UI Polish & Asteroid Sync Fixes2026-03-13

BalancingPhase 2 building and research costs increased by factor 4 to extend mid-game to approximately 24 hours.
FixAsteroid Hunter highscore now uses the historically highest recorded click count per player instead of the most recent snapshot, preventing stale data from overwriting better scores.
FixAsteroid highscore table now auto-refreshes every 2 minutes and immediately after asteroid clicks are synced to the backend.
FeatureAsteroid reward notification redesigned — replaced the old center-screen overlay with a slide-in popup in the top-right corner matching the Achievement notification style, including a countdown timer bar.
ImprovementAchievement and Asteroid notifications repositioned from top-center to top-right below the Stats Bar to reduce content obstruction.
ImprovementMission Log unread badge restyled to match the Orbital building badge — pill shape, amber color, inline next to the link text.
CleanupRemoved unused debug and alternative backend files.

v0.25.3🏆 Achievement System & Prestige Display2026-03-13

FeatureNew REDACTED achievement tab with hidden secret achievements.
FeatureThree new REDACTED achievements — The Man Behind the Curtain, Fueling the Coffee Machine, and Patience is a Virtue.
FeatureAchievement unlock popup — every achievement now shows an animated notification with icon, title, description, and flavor text upon unlock.
FeatureOptional flavor text field on achievements — displayed in italics below the unlock description.
FixGlobal achievement progress counter now only counts achievements currently defined in the config, preventing stale localStorage keys from inflating the number.
ImprovementOverall achievement tab renamed to Global for clarity.

v0.25.2🪨 Asteroid Polish & Highscore Fixes2026-03-12

Bug FixAsteroid click count can no longer be overwritten by a stale second browser tab — the auto-save now preserves the highest cumulative value, and active tabs sync via the Storage API.
Bug FixHighscore prestige level now always displayed — entries completed at Prestige 0 show a "⭐ 0" badge instead of an empty field.
FeatureAsteroid now spawns at a random size between 50 % and 150 % of its base size for visual variety.
ImprovementAsteroid clickable area reduced back to a tight touch margin now that the double-click detection bug is resolved.

v0.25.0🏗️ Animated Building Icons & Statistics Quality2026-03-12

FeatureAnimated SVG icons for all 10 Phase 1 buildings on the Power Grid page.
FeatureBuilding icons have 4 visual tiers based on owned count (0–9, 10–49, 50–99, 100+) — colors brighten, animations speed up and extra effects appear as you scale up.
FixAnonymous entries in statistics are eliminated — playerUUID is now only generated when a player sets their name on first click.
FeatureNew backend cleanup cronjob (cleanup.php) that keeps only the latest 15 statistics entries per player to prevent database bloat.
FeatureHighscore page auto-refreshes after every health check — no manual page reload needed to see new entries.
SecurityCronjob secret token moved out of source code into the git-ignored config files.

v0.24.0⚖️ Phase Rebalance, Asteroid Fix & Version Consolidation2026-03-11

BalancingPhase 2 building production increased 5x for a more meaningful mid-game grind.
BalancingPhase 3 building costs increased 10x and production increased 100x for a distinct late-game.
BalancingPhase 2 research costs increased 3x, Phase 3 research costs increased 10x.
BalancingPhase 2 threshold raised to 50 trillion, Phase 3 milestone to 50 quadrillion, final victory at 500 quadrillion.
Bug FixAsteroid click now always registers on first hit — hover CSS transform was overriding the flight animation causing the element to jump.
Bug FixAsteroid highscore now reflects latest snapshot per player instead of summing all historical entries.
Bug FixVersion update popup no longer triggers incorrectly — version check uses GET to version.php as single source of truth.
Architecturebetter version check.
UIRemoved raw energy numbers from the Dashboard phase progress bar.

v0.23.1🪨 Asteroid Hunter Highscore & Top 10 Limit2026-03-10

New FeatureAdded Asteroid Hunter highscore (top 10 players with most asteroid clicks).
UI Update: Highscore page now includes "Asteroid Hunter" tab.
BalancingAll highscores now show only the top 10 entries (was 50).
SQL Update: All highscore queries use LIMIT 10 for performance and fairness.

v0.23.0🏥 Combined Health Check & Statistics System2026-03-10

Architecture Simplification: Merged version check and statistics into single health check.
Reduced Frequency: Health checks every 5 minutes (was 60 seconds for version check).
Event Statistics Removed: No more inline statistics on event triggers (simpler code).
Regular Snapshots: Statistics now saved every 5 minutes regardless of events.
Better Analytics: Consistent snapshots instead of event-dependent data.
PerformanceSingle API call instead of multiple event-based calls.
Game State Provider: Health check system has direct access to current game state.
CleanupRemoved complex IIFE async statistics code from GameContext.
Developer Experience: Simpler debugging with predictable 5-minute intervals.

v0.22.9🔄 Backend-Driven Version Management2026-03-10

Architecture Change: Version management moved from frontend to backend.
Health Check System: Frontend checks backend version every 60 seconds.
Reliable Updates: Old code can now detect when new version is available.
Previous Problem: Frontend could only know its own version (chicken-egg issue).
Solution: Backend always knows the truth about what's deployed.
Auto-Detection: Update dialog appears within 60 seconds of new deployment.
RemovedAsteroid-based version checks (replaced with periodic backend checks).
Developer Experience: Update version in ONE place: backend/api/version.php
Deployment Flow: 1) Update version.php 2) Deploy code 3) Users auto-notified
localStorage Tracking: Saves last seen backend version to prevent popup spam.
Smart Popup Logic: Only shows update dialog when backend version CHANGES.
User Experience: Dialog appears once per new version, dismissible without spam.
CORS Fix: Added Cache-Control header support for version checks.

v0.22.8🐛 Statistics Closure Fix2026-03-09

Critical FixStatistics were still not being sent due to closure/scope issues.
Root Cause: sendEventStatistics function was defined outside useEffect but called inside setState callback.
JavaScript Closure Problem: Function lost access to currentState when async execution happened.
Solution: Moved statistics sending code INLINE as IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression).
Direct State Access: Statistics code now has direct access to currentState without parameter passing.
Async Execution: Code runs asynchronously without blocking the game loop.
Removed Dead Code: Deleted unused sendEventStatistics helper function.
Verified: Statistics should now reliably be sent on every event trigger.

v0.22.7🪨 Asteroid Click Improvements2026-03-09

Z-Index Fix: Increased asteroid z-index from 9999 to 99999 to ensure it's always on top.
Render Order: Moved Asteroid component to render last in DOM for proper layering.
Pointer Events: Explicitly set pointer-events: auto to prevent click blocking.
Debug Logging: Added console logs to track asteroid clicks and detect issues.
Click Detection: Logs show exact click position, dimensions, and reward amount.
Duplicate Click Protection: Better logging when duplicate clicks are ignored.
PerformanceNo changes to clickbox size (60px padding already optimal).

v0.22.6🐛 Statistics Bugfix2026-03-09

Fixed Critical Bug: Statistics were not being sent to backend when events triggered.
Root Cause: sendEventStatistics used old state reference instead of current state from game loop.
Solution: Pass currentState as parameter to sendEventStatistics function.
Added Debug Logging: Console now shows when statistics are being sent and whether successful.
Improved Error Messages: More descriptive warnings when statistics fail to save.
Verified: Statistics now correctly capture player state on every event trigger.

v0.22.5🏆 Achievements Visibility Update2026-03-09

All Achievements Visible: Locked achievements are now shown on the Achievements page (previously hidden).
Grayed Out Design: Locked achievements appear with reduced opacity and grayscale filter for clear visual distinction.
Unlock Hints: Blue info box shows exact requirements to unlock each locked achievement.
Lock Icon: Locked achievements display 🔒 icon instead of the actual achievement emoji.
Bonus Preview: Production bonuses are visible even for locked achievements (but grayed out).
Better Progression: Players can now see all available achievements and plan their strategy accordingly.
Improved UX: Clear visual hierarchy between locked and unlocked achievements.

v0.22.3🔄 Version Management & Auto-Update2026-03-08

Version Tracking: Game version now stored in localStorage with every save.
Runtime Update Detection: Version check runs when asteroids spawn (every 1-2 minutes) for real-time updates.
Live Notifications: Players get notified of new versions even during active gameplay sessions.
Event-Driven Architecture: Custom event system for version mismatch detection.
Update Dialog: Beautiful popup notification when version mismatch is detected.
One-Click Reload: "Reload Now" button for instant update to latest version.
Progress Safety: All progress is preserved during version updates.
Initial Check: Version checked on app load AND during gameplay for maximum coverage.
Developer Console: Version mismatch logged to console for debugging.
Dismiss Option: Users can dismiss and will be reminded on next asteroid spawn.
Migration Safe: Existing saves automatically get current version assigned on load.
No Session Persistence: Dialog can appear multiple times until user updates (better UX).

v0.22.2📊 Statistics & Analytics System2026-03-08

Statistics Tracking: New system captures complete player state when events trigger for advanced analytics.
Player UUID: Each player gets a unique UUID (persisted in localStorage) for multi-session tracking.
Database Integration: New `statistics` table stores snapshots with player progression, achievements, buildings, research, and mission log.
Event Analytics: Every event start captures: Phase, Prestige levels, Energy, Production/sec, Click counts, Unlocked achievements, Buildings/Research state.
Session Tracking: Total manual clicks and session duration tracked for behavioral analysis.
Privacy-Friendly: UUID is generated client-side and never linked to personal data - purely for progression tracking.
API Endpoint: New `/api/save-statistics.php` endpoint with validation and error handling.
Non-Intrusive: Statistics are sent asynchronously and failures don't interrupt gameplay.
Developer Tools: Console logging shows when statistics snapshots are successfully saved.
Migration-Safe: Existing saves automatically get a UUID assigned on load.

v0.22.1🪨 Asteroid & Event System Polish2026-03-08

Asteroid Reward Rebalance: Changed from fixed energy (1000/2000/3000) to percentage of current production (150%/200%/300% based on phase).
Asteroid Achievement Boost: Asteroid Hunter achievement now grants 2x multiplier instead of 3x (total: 300%/400%/600% of production).
Asteroid Spawn Fix: Fixed bug where asteroids spawned in pairs - now correctly appears once every 60-120 seconds.
Event System Timing: Adjusted dev mode interval from 2 minutes to 15 minutes for more realistic testing.
Event Log Enhancement: Events now log both start AND end with duration information in Mission Log.
Event Log Styling: Event logs display with green (positive) or red (negative) gradient backgrounds for instant visual feedback.
Mission Log Limit: Limited to 50 most recent entries to prevent performance issues and clutter.
Event End Spam Fix: Fixed critical bug where event end messages spammed Mission Log infinitely.
Migration Message Fix: Prestige update message now appears only once and never duplicates.
Auto-Struction Mobile Fix: Toggle switch now stays within bounds on mobile devices.
Dialog Scroll Fix: Prestige and Name dialogs now scroll properly on mobile when content exceeds viewport height.

v0.22.0⚡ Random Event System - Dynamic Gameplay2026-03-08

Random Event System: Events trigger automatically every ~60 minutes in production (± 10 min), ~15 minutes in dev mode for easier testing.
Dev Mode Countdown: Console logs show time remaining until next event every 30 seconds during development.
One Event at a Time: Only one event can be active simultaneously. New events replace existing ones to maintain game balance.
Phase 1 Events (6 Total): Deep Crust Discovery, Orbital Alignment, He-3 Purity Peak, Kessler Syndrome, Martian Dust Storm, Tectonic Instability.
Event Types: Global production multipliers (+25%), building-specific bonuses (Fusion 2x), tag-based penalties (Orbital -20%, Mars -50%), instant energy rewards (+5%).
Event Notifications: Animated popup banners appear on screen for 8 seconds with color-coded backgrounds (green for positive, red for negative).
Event Badge: Navbar displays "⚡ Active Event" badge with pulsing red indicator. Click to see event details and countdown timer.
Event Details Panel: Dropdown shows event name, description, effect, and live countdown (e.g., "5:30 remaining").
Production Breakdown Integration: Active events shown separately in Power Grid with specific descriptions (e.g., "He-3 Purity Peak +100% Lunar Fusion Reactor").
Color-Coded Event Display: Positive events in purple, negative events in red for instant visual feedback.
Dashboard Integration: Event effects fully integrated into Dashboard production calculations and ETA predictions.
Event Log Integration: All events automatically logged to Mission Log with timestamps and [DEV] prefix for dev-triggered events.
Event Start & End Logging: Mission Log shows when events start AND when they end with duration information.
Mission Log Limit: Log entries limited to 50 most recent messages to prevent performance issues and clutter.
Dev Tools: Console command window.triggerRandomEvent() to manually test events in development mode (npm run dev).
Event Persistence: Active events survive page reloads and continue their countdown from localStorage.
Smart Event Filtering: Expired events automatically removed from UI and calculations every second.
Event Freshness Check: Popup notifications only appear for events created within the last 10 seconds (prevents old events from showing on reload).
Navbar Optimization: Reduced navbar height (64px → 48px), smaller logo (40px → 32px), removed API status badge for cleaner UI.
Compact Energy Display: Reduced font sizes and progress bar height for more space-efficient navbar.
Event-Aware Total Production: Production breakdown now accurately reflects all event bonuses in real-time.

v0.21.0🎯 UI/UX Polish & Production Balance2026-03-08

Achievement Balance: Reduced production bonus from +10% to +5% per achievement for better game balance.
React Router v7 Preparation: Activated future flag for v7_relativeSplatPath to ensure smooth upgrade path.
Asteroid Easter Egg Enhancement: Replaced CSS asteroid with realistic PNG image (243 Ida asteroid texture).
Asteroid Click Area: Increased clickable radius with 60px invisible padding for easier interaction (220×220px total).
Asteroid Reward Popup: Added asteroid image icon to energy bonus notification for visual consistency.
Production Calculation Fix: Dashboard now uses identical production logic as Power Grid (previously showed different values).
UI Optimization: Removed redundant "Total Energy" display from Power Grid (already shown in navbar).
Production Breakdown Optimization: Moved prestige/achievement percentages inline (+30%, +20%) for compact display.
UI Space Optimization: Removed large "Generate Energy" button, integrated smaller manual click button into Production Breakdown box.
Progress Bar Cleanup: Removed redundant "Next Phase Progress" bar from Power Grid (info available in navbar and Dashboard).
Timer Display Enhancement: Production/Prestige timers now integrated into Production Breakdown box (visible with ?time=yes).
Dashboard Progress Card: Added large, detailed phase progress overview with current energy, production rate, ETA, and stats grid.
Victory State Display: Special "VICTORY ACHIEVED!" card shown on Dashboard when reaching 100 billion energy goal.
Navigation Cleanup: Improved consistency between navbar progress bar and Dashboard phase progress card.
Footer Link Rename: Changed "System Logs" to "Changelog" for clearer navigation consistency.
New Achievement: "Asteroid Hunter" - Click 100 asteroids to unlock 3x asteroid bonus rewards (OVERALL achievement).
Achievement Reward: "Planetary Architect" now grants 10 Geothermal Drills on every Phase 1 prestige for a head start.
New Achievement: "The Invisible Hand" - Unlock by completing all Phase 1 achievements. Unlocks Auto-Struction protocol.
Auto-Buyer Feature: Auto-Struction automatically purchases the most expensive affordable building to maximize progression (toggleable on Power Grid).
Unit Test Suite: Added 35+ unit tests for game mechanics (production, costs, achievements, prestige, events) using Vitest.

v0.20.0🌟 Prestige System & Meta-Progression2026-03-08

Prestige System: Reset phase progress to gain permanent production bonuses (8 levels per phase).
Prestige Thresholds: Unlock at 0.5%, 2%, 6%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% of phase energy goal.
Progressive Bonuses: Each prestige level grants +10% production & research effectiveness (up to +80%).
Phase-Specific Reset: Only current phase buildings/research reset, previous phases remain intact.
Strategic Meta-Game: Early prestige accelerates long-term progression dramatically.
Prestige Notification: Animated banner alerts when new prestige level becomes available.
Confirmation Dialog: Detailed breakdown of bonuses gained and progress lost before reset.
Highscore Integration: Prestige level displayed on leaderboard with ⭐ badge.
Visual Indicators: Prestige bonus shown on building/research cards (+X% badge).
Production Bonus Display: Real-time calculation shows prestige multiplier on Power Grid.
System Log Entry: PRESTIGE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED message appears in Mission Log.
About Page Update: New "Prestige System" section in How to Play guide.
Tech Tree Info: Prestige mechanics explained in Tech Tree overview.
Database Migration: Added prestige_level column to highscores table.
Development Tools: Time-to-Prestige countdown in debug mode (development only).
Bonus Calculation: Prestige affects both building production AND research effectiveness.
Dashboard Visualization Overhaul: Added dedicated animated scenes for planetary, stellar, and galactic phases.
Animation Stability Fix: Phase visuals now use persistent render state and smooth requestAnimationFrame loops without stutter or orbital resets.
Legal Pages Localization Fix: Footer labels, Legal Notice, and Privacy Policy pages were translated to US English for UI consistency.
Power Grid Ordering Fix: Buildings are now sorted by base cost for fixed, consistent ordering that never changes.
Badge Classification Fix: Mars Colony Base and Lunar Fusion Reactor no longer appear with an orbital badge.
Research Effectiveness Fix: Prestige now correctly boosts click-based and cost-reduction research effects for the active phase.
Labeling Clarification: Space Elevator description now explicitly states it affects Orbital-tagged structures.
Debug Timer Query Parameter: Added ?time=yes or ?debug=true URL parameter to enable production/prestige timers on Power Grid page.
Build Max Button: Added "Buy Max" button to purchase maximum affordable buildings at once, calculating exponential cost increases automatically.
Achievement System: New dedicated Achievements page with phase-based tabs (Phase 1/2/3 + Overall) for organized progression tracking.
Production Achievements: 5 achievements for Phase 1 unlockable at 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000 Energy/sec thresholds + Prestige Level 1.
Achievement Production Bonus: Each production achievement grants +5% global production bonus - stack them for significant power gains!
Production Breakdown Display: New detailed stats on Power Grid showing separate contributions from Buildings, Prestige, and Achievements.
Achievement Tabs: Organize achievements by civilization phase with individual progress bars and empty state placeholders for future content.
Dashboard Progress Overview: Large phase progress card on Dashboard showing current energy, production rate, and ETA to next phase.
Easter Egg Asteroid: Random clickable asteroid (☄️) flies across screen every 1-2 minutes - click for 150%/200%/300% of current production (phase-based, 2x with achievement)!
Navigation Restructure: Moved "System Logs" and "About" to footer, added "Achievements" to main navigation for cleaner UX.

v0.19.03-Phase System & Major Overhaul2026-03-08

3-Phase Civilization System: Planetary (10B) → Stellar (50B) → Galactic (100B).
Expanded Content: 26 buildings and 23 research projects across all phases.
Phase-Locked Progression: Buildings and research unlock as you advance through phases.
Commander Name System: Enter your name on first click, displayed throughout the game.
Automatic Highscore Saving: Scores saved automatically when completing each phase.
Personalized Messages: Victory screen and phase transitions address you by name.
Highscore Highlighting: Your entries are highlighted with a blue badge in leaderboards.
Phase-Based Leaderboards: Separate Top 50 rankings for each civilization phase.
Tech Tree Overhaul: Complete building/research tree organized by phase on About page.
UI Consistency: Mobile menu order now matches desktop navigation.
Phase Progress Bar: Real-time visualization of progress toward next phase.
Commander Badge: Your name displayed prominently in navigation bar and dashboard.
Database Schema: Extended with phase tracking and version filtering.
Centralized DB Config: New backend/config/database.php for easy production deployment.

v0.18.1About Page & UX Improvements2026-03-07

About Page: New comprehensive guide with 3 tabs (Story, How to Play, Tech Tree).
Interactive Tech Tree: Visual graph showing all research-building synergies and affected buildings.
Mission Tutorial: Step-by-step guide for new players with gameplay tips and strategies.
UI Polish: Total Output now always visible on building cards to prevent layout shifts.
Timer Improvement: Mission timer now starts on first manual click instead of immediately after reset.
Navigation Update: Reordered menu for better UX (Dashboard → Power Grid → Highscore → Mission Log → System Logs → About).
Story Context: Added background lore about year 2089 energy crisis and Dyson Initiative.

v0.18.0Highscore System & Major UI Improvements2026-03-06

Highscore System: Top 50 leaderboard with completion times. Save your best run to the global database!
Victory Screen: Enter your name and save your completion time when reaching 100 billion energy.
Full English Translation: All UI text, buildings, research, and system logs now in US English.
Dyson Sphere Visualization: Complete 3D redesign with rotating satellites, pulsating sun, and dynamic coverage meter.
Research Reorganization: Sorted by cost, added new researches (Atmospheric Ionization, Deep Core Tech, Quantum Efficiency).
Building Cards Enhanced: Active bonus display, corrected production values with all multipliers, total output per building type.
Research Categories: Visual badges (Click Upgrade, Global Boost, Building Boost) with affected buildings list.
Production Display: Strikethrough base value only shows for building-specific bonuses, not global multipliers.

v0.17.0Endgame & UI Polish Update2026-03-05

Victory Protocol: Once the energy goal is reached, the mission is marked as complete and the simulation stops.
"Danger Zone": Complete system wipe with safety confirmation (resets all progress).
Mission Log overhauled: clearer priorities (System, Research, Milestones) + better readability in Light/Dark mode.
Mission Timer: Total time is logged to compare efficiency runs.
Unread Indicator: New system messages are highlighted until acknowledged.
Dyson Visualization: Sun + Dyson Sphere react dynamically to construction progress.

v0.16.0Research & Expansion Update2026-03-05

Core Loop activated: continuous energy production + building construction as main progression.
Building Categories: stationary infrastructure vs. orbital constructs (different scaling and roles).
Research System: Techs unlock global multipliers, click bonuses, building bonuses, and cost reductions.
Orbital Economy: Orbital buildings become drastically cheaper through key infrastructure (e.g., Elevator).
Milestone Protocol: Increasing output triggers system messages and marks stability levels.
Power Grid Interface: Quick switching between buildings and research, including goal/progress feedback.

v0.15.0Initial System Launch2026-03-05

Initial system startup: Mission briefing + basic simulation booted.
First resource flow: Manual energy generation as emergency mode until production chains are established.
Basic UI navigation: Control center, logs, grid views, and status displays.
Light/Dark operation mode: Display adapts to environmental conditions.
CRT/Terminal look for logs: System communication appears like an onboard terminal.