Enemy kills earn score which is spent in the Hangar between missions.
| System | Base Cost | Effect Per Level |
|---|---|---|
| Turbine Engine | 1,000 | +10% speed & afterburner |
| Nano-Composite (Hull) | 1,500 | +10% health & handling |
| Missile Systems (Weapon) | 2,000 | +10% damage, -5% reload |
| Avionics Suite (Radar) | 1,200 | +10% radar range |
Cost formula: baseCost × nextLevel. Engine level 1→2 costs 2,000.
| System | Lvl 1 Cost | Lvl 2 Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PDS Defense | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Dual Drones | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Quasar Wave | 25,000 | 50,000 |
| Missile Engineering | 25,000 | 50,000 |
Procedurally generated 9×7 skill tree (63 nodes) accessed from the Hangar. All node properties, edges, and costs derived from seed 0x5B455254 via FNV-1a hashing.
ZeroTree Apache 2.0
Earned on mission completion: 3 base + 1 per level number. Spent to unlock nodes. Full respec available with 30% tax.
| Stat | Effect | Range Per Node |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | +N% maxSpeed / afterburner | 1-8% |
| Damage | +N% weapon damage | 1-10% |
| Health | +N% max health | 2-12% |
| Handling | +N% turn rate | 1-6% |
| Reload | -N% reload time | 1-5% |
| Armor | Flat damage reduction | 1-8 |
Bonuses stack multiplicatively with Hangar upgrade levels.
Defeated enemies may spawn persistent nemesis pilots (15% chance) that return in future missions with escalating power and escort squads.
| Tier | Title | HP Mult | DMG Mult | Escorts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROOKIE | 1.5x | 1.2x | 1 drone |
| 2 | VETERAN | 2.0x | 1.5x | 2 fighters |
| 3 | ACE | 3.0x | 2.0x | 2 fighters + 1 bomber |
| 4 | ELITE ACE | 4.0x | 2.5x | 3 fighters + 1 bomber |
| 5 | NEMESIS | 5.0x | 3.0x | Full wing |
Max 4 active nemeses. On player death the highest-tier nemesis is promoted. Callsigns and dialogue derived from seed via ZeroBytes.
| Source | Score |
|---|---|
| FIGHTER kill | 500 |
| BOMBER kill | 1,000 |
| ACE kill | 2,000 |
| Time bonus (per second remaining) | 100 |
Accessed from the Hangar menu via the INBOX button. A branching narrative with 5 characters, 4 binary choices, and 16 possible endings. New story threads unlock every 5 levels (levels 5, 10, 15, 20, 25). Choices persist to IndexedDB immediately — progress survives app close and restart.
See Missions & Game Modes for the full INBOX breakdown.
| Data | Storage | Saved When |
|---|---|---|
| Player Score | IndexedDB | Upgrade purchase, level complete |
| Upgrade Levels (8 systems) | IndexedDB | Purchase, level complete |
| Current Level | IndexedDB | Level complete |
| Nemesis Records (up to 4) | IndexedDB | Level complete, player death |
| ZeroTree Bitmask | IndexedDB | Skill tree changes |
| Skill Points | IndexedDB | Level complete |
| Narrative Choices | IndexedDB | Immediately on each choice |
| Quest Gates Unlocked | IndexedDB | Level complete (every 5 levels) |
| Game Settings | localStorage | Any setting change |