What’s new in Empire Hex v2.2.2
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.2.2
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
COVER REDESIGN
- Replace the catalog cover with one continuous portrait hex-map landscape.
- Give Empire Hex a larger, clearer title and a restrained text hierarchy.
- Remove duplicated scenery, the feature-box collage, tiny slogans, and the
outdated version badge.
- Keep the catalog cover at the specified 600 x 900 portrait dimensions.
- Credit the new AI-assisted promotional artwork and update release labels.
COMPATIBILITY
The v2.2.1 terrain renderer and v2.2.0 terrain rules remain unchanged.
Current-location centering, map controls, the left information sidebar,
right command panel, production, combat, and AI retain their existing behavior.
No new gameplay cover screen or launch step is added.
Retain the empire-hex Solo identity, save format 1.0, tronsoft_empire_hex
namespace, five manual save slots, and empire-scenario-1.0 compatibility.
Existing campaigns and scenarios need no reset or conversion. Earlier patch
files and cumulative history are preserved.
VALIDATION
Current cover, document, and package checks and their scope are recorded
in the tests directory. Prior terrain and complete-match evidence
remain historical records; this cover release does not claim a new full-match
run. Confirm the installed cover and normal Play launch after publishing to
the Game Portal. No live portal installation or publication is asserted.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.2.1
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
TERRAIN ARTWORK
- Replace oversized outlined terrain symbols with detailed textured landforms.
- Add layered forests, shaded mountain ridges, rolling hills, vegetation,
dunes, and wetlands.
- Add coastlines and shallow-water detail to distinguish land and sea edges.
- Use smaller road graphics so routes sit within the terrain artwork.
- Show actual terrain thumbnails in the expandable terrain guide.
- Update current documentation and package version labels to v2.2.1.
RULES AND COMPATIBILITY
All v2.2.0 terrain movement costs, ground-defense modifiers, sight effects,
roads, terrain generation, and current-location centering rules are retained.
Coastline and shallow-water artwork does not introduce a new terrain type or
change movement access. The six landforms remain Plains, Forest, Hills,
Mountains, Marsh, and Desert.
Retain the empire-hex Solo identity, three-column layout, save format 1.0,
tronsoft_empire_hex namespace, manual save slots, legacy Plains fallback,
and empire-scenario-1.0 import/export compatibility. Existing campaigns and
scenarios keep their terrain data while using the refreshed renderer.
Earlier release notes and patch history are preserved.
VALIDATION
Local package, document, visual, and browser checks and their scope are
recorded in the tests directory. Confirm the installed version and normal
Play launch after publishing to the Game Portal. This is not a Website
Updater package or an online multiplayer edition.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.2.0
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
MAP CENTERING AND INFORMATION
- Add Center Map (C) without changing the current zoom level.
- Center on the selected living player unit, selected owned city, last
inspected explored location, then an owned city or unit as a fallback.
- Follow the current position when the inspected focus tracks a living player
unit; retain Fit Map (0) for the separate whole-map overview.
- Add a left-panel terrain inspector and expandable legend; show terrain
effects in hover information alongside route and combat previews.
- Preserve the left information, center map, and right controls layout.
TERRAIN RULES
- Keep base terrain land/water and add six optional landforms on land.
- Plains: 1 MP entry; +10% ground defense; unchanged ground sight.
- Forest: 2 MP; +35% ground defense; -1 sight, minimum radius one.
- Hills: 2 MP; +25% ground defense; +1 sight.
- Mountains: 3 MP; +50% ground defense; +2 sight.
- Marsh: 3 MP; -10% ground defense; unchanged sight.
- Desert: 1 MP; no ground defense bonus or sight change.
- Cap a ground entry cost at its full movement allowance for the current turn,
not its remaining movement. One-MP ground units can enter rough terrain for
their full allowance; partially spent units cannot bypass the entry cost.
- Roads cost 1 MP to enter and retain the +1 movement bonus for ground units
starting their turn on a road. Existing supply and weather rules continue.
- Air and sea keep 1-MP entry and no landform defense/sight effects; cities
retain two-hex sight. Terrain sight modifies radius, not line-of-sight blocking.
- Generate seeded clusters of landforms on fresh maps.
SAVES AND SCENARIOS
- Preserve existing Empire Hex identity, namespace, and compatible saves.
- Treat missing landforms in legacy saves/scenarios as Plains without repainting
the map or relocating cities and units.
- Preserve landform, road, and current-location focus data with campaign saves.
- Add landform painting to the scenario editor and keep landform/road fields
in scenario exports under the existing empire-scenario-1.0 schema.
- Retain patch history and update the manual, tutorial, scenario reference,
README, description, and credits for the new controls and terrain rules.
ACCEPTANCE
Local package and browser checks, including their scope and limits, are recorded
in the package's tests directory. Portal installation and routing must still be
confirmed on the deployed site. This is the Solo Game update; no online edition,
multiplayer backend, or Website Updater code is included.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.1.8
Release date: October 22, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
INFORMATION AND CONTROLS
- Add a dedicated left sidebar for the game title/version, turn/status,
empire standings, selected-unit details, selected-city information, and log.
- Keep the battlefield in the center and commands/production on the right.
- Split selected-city information from its production controls; both update
together when the queue, specialization, repeat setting, or selection changes.
- Use independent sidebar scrolling and fixed column widths so selections
and production lists do not push or resize the battlefield.
- Stack map, information, and controls on screens 960 pixels wide or narrower.
- Update the manual, tutorial, screenshots, release metadata, and checksums.
COMPATIBILITY
Retain the same empire-hex game identity, Solo edition, save format 1.0,
local-storage namespace, save-slot migration, and gameplay rules from v2.1.7.
No online edition or website code is included. Install this ZIP as a normal
update to the existing Empire Hex record in the Game Portal.
VALIDATION
Current focused layout and interaction checks are recorded in
tests/acceptance-record.json. The prior complete-match/runtime acceptance
record remains in tests/acceptance-v2.1.7.json with its original version and
scope, rather than being relabeled as a new test run.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.1.7
Release date: October 22, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
PACKAGE AND EDITION
- Declare Solo Game: exactly one human commander against one to three AI empires.
- Retain the existing empire-hex ID, slug, installation identity, and version history.
- Route this edition to the Game Portal through game_type: solo.
- Add authoritative capabilities, save profile, difficulty, map, turn, display,
accessibility, and lifecycle metadata describing the implemented behavior.
- Remove deprecated document/asset/capability aliases and invalid permission keys.
- Point patch_notes to this release file and changelog to the cumulative history.
- Include the creation brief, declarative package tests, local validation evidence,
and a SHA-256 inventory of the final package payload.
SAVES AND COMPATIBILITY
- Write the stable tronsoft_empire_hex_save autosave/manual-save key.
- Read compatible legacy versioned Empire Hex saves without deleting source data.
- Load older named slots that were previously displayed but could not be opened.
- Handle unavailable or full browser storage without locking gameplay or falsely
reporting a successful save; preserve valid saves when another record is corrupt.
- Retain five named save slots and the Hall of Fame in the Empire Hex namespace.
- Identify the game version and save format separately in saved data.
- Retain a completed-campaign marker so preserved older saves do not reappear
as an unfinished campaign after victory or defeat.
RUNTIME AND INTERFACE
- Show Empire Hex v2.1.7 and the Solo Game identity in setup and play.
- Provide Open Here / Open New Tab choices for the manual and tutorial.
- Make scenario dialogs visible above setup and keep controls scrollable on
smaller screens; add usable focus outlines and setup labels.
- Move executable inline HTML handlers into local JavaScript.
- Supply local WAV cues and a local sound module with safe audio fallback.
- Respect reduced-motion and AI speed settings; remove the ineffective UI-scale
selector while retaining ordinary browser zoom.
- Exclude friendly-occupied movement destinations while retaining legal transport
boarding; protect completed matches from duplicate results and stale AI timers.
- Correct naval specialization and let damaged ships recover up to two strength
beside their own Repair Yard at the start of their faction's turn.
- Place the bundled scenario ships on valid, unoccupied water hexes.
DOCUMENTATION AND ASSETS
- Replace the outdated manual and tutorial with current rules, ten unit types,
win/loss conditions, controls, saves, scenarios, and installation guidance.
- Update the README, description, and credits to this edition and release.
- Refresh all four screenshots from actual v2.1.7 gameplay.
- Preserve existing cover, icon, banner, logo, loading art, and earlier patch files.
COMPATIBILITY NOTES
See docs/upgrade-notes.txt for save migration and rollback limits.
This HTML game package does not install website routing or online services.
Live portal installation, catalog routing, and publication remain portal checks.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.6 — August 12, 2026
PACKAGE / PORTAL
- Updated manifest.json to Tronsoft Games Package Specification schema v1.5.
- Added v1.5 discovery, player-count, play-time, controls, requirements, structured asset/document, launch, storage, and installation-news metadata.
- Added portal prompt metadata for current-window or new-window launch choices for the game and documentation.
- Standardized browser storage keys to the tronsoft_empire_hex namespace while retaining migration from prior campaign, Hall of Fame, and save-slot keys.
- Installed the new Empire Hex storefront cover in the recommended 600 × 900 format.
- Preserved v2.1.5 gameplay and movement-flow behavior.
COMPATIBILITY
- Minimum portal version remains Tronsoft Games Portal v6.12.
- Existing legacy campaign saves remain readable through the migration chain.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.5 — August 11, 2026
- Refined automatic unit flow: a unit remains selected after a normal move while it still has movement points.
- Automatic next-unit selection now occurs when the current unit's activation actually ends.
- Renamed the sidebar control to Done / Next Unit (N); using it ends the selected unit's remaining movement and advances immediately.
- Fixed combat city capture so a victorious land attacker advances into the captured city and ends its movement there.
- Corrected the tutorial's input-hotfix heading to v2.1.3 and updated movement-flow documentation.
- Updated the save-resume message and migrated autosaves to the v2.1.5 key with v2.1.4 and earlier compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.4 — August 11, 2026
- Added automatic next-unit selection after a player unit moves, attacks, bombards, embarks, or captures a city.
- The next eligible unit is centered and highlighted immediately, with legal movement/attack destinations rendered automatically.
- Automatic cycling skips destroyed units, units with no movement remaining, Sentry/automated-order units, and Strategic Reserve units.
- If the moved unit is the only unit still awaiting manual orders, it remains available after the cycle wraps.
- Fixed the end-turn warning grammar so multiple threatened cities display as “cities,” not “cityies.”
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.4 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1.3 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.3 — August 11, 2026
- Fixed Army and friendly-unit selection on the SVG battlefield.
- Map panning now starts only after a 5-pixel drag threshold instead of capturing every normal click.
- Normal unit/hex clicks are no longer retargeted to the SVG container by immediate pointer capture.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.3 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1.2 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.2 — August 11, 2026
- Corrected strategic reserve supply scoring to use the actual In Supply and Low Supply state names.
- Player-facing Roads Built statistics now count only roads constructed by Player 0 Engineers.
- Player-facing Bombardments statistics now count only bombardments performed by Player 0 units.
- Updated save metadata to v2.1.2 while retaining v1.1-v2.1.1 migration compatibility.
- Updated package metadata and documentation for the v2.1.2 stabilization release.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.1 — August 11, 2026
- Fixed AI Engineer road construction by removing the human-only restriction from the shared Build Road action.
- AI city production now preserves existing queues and appends new strategic requirements instead of replacing the queue every turn.
- Improved strategic reserve selection to favor healthy, experienced, mobile, supplied Armies.
- Added a Refit role for badly damaged AI Armies so they return toward friendly cities instead of being misclassified as reserve formations.
- Added planner safeguards for empty reserve candidate sets and missing nearby friendly-city targets.
- Updated package metadata and documentation for the v2.1.1 corrective release.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.1 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.0 — August 11, 2026
- Corrected the portal/display title from Empire to Empire Hex.
- Added a dedicated strategic AI planner module (js/ai-planner.js), beginning the codebase modularization recommended after v2.0.
- AI now builds theater-level defensive and offensive fronts before individual units move.
- Offensive fronts receive staging areas, estimated force requirements, and objective priorities.
- AI assigns land formations to defensive, staging, offensive, or reserve roles.
- AI preserves a strategic Army reserve when the situation is stable and releases it when a nearby friendly city faces an emergency.
- Headquarters and Artillery are preferentially assigned to fronts that require command/support assets; Engineers receive extra weight on offensive theaters.
- AI movement scoring now rewards progress toward each formation's assigned operational objective instead of relying only on nearest-target behavior.
- Legacy Fronts overlay compatibility is preserved through planner-generated aiFronts data.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1 key while retaining v1.1-v2.0 compatibility.
EMPIRE — PATCH NOTES
====================
v2.0.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added road infrastructure. Engineers can build roads on land hexes; roads improve land movement and extend local supply reach.
- Added Engineers, Artillery, Bombers, and Cruisers to production and the Scenario Editor.
- Added artillery and cruiser ranged bombardment against enemy units within two hexes.
- Added combined-arms bonuses for coordinated Army, Artillery, Headquarters, and nearby air support.
- Added entrenchment for stationary land formations, increasing defensive power over consecutive turns.
- Added strategic reserve status for land formations; reserve units trade immediate mobility for protected operational depth.
- Added operational planning: select a formation, choose Plan Operation, then click an objective to route nearby land forces toward it.
- Added dynamic weather (Clear, Rain, Storm, Snow) with movement and combat effects, including reduced air effectiveness in severe weather.
- Added a Roads strategic overlay and road information in map hover details.
- Expanded supply calculations to account for road-supported formations.
- Expanded AI production and behavior to build/use Artillery, Engineers, Bombers, Cruisers, and Headquarters.
- Expanded after-action reporting with roads built, bombardments, final weather, and existing campaign statistics.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.0 key while retaining v1.1-v1.9 compatibility.
EMPIRE — PATCH NOTES
====================
v1.9.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added enemy land-unit Zones of Control (ZOC); entering an enemy ZOC ends further movement for that action.
- Added adjacent-unit combat support with up to two supporting formations.
- Added Headquarters units that extend command/supply influence and provide nearby combat support.
- Added combat retreat behavior for surviving defeated defenders and advance-after-combat for compatible attackers.
- Added encirclement detection; heavily surrounded formations suffer severe supply and movement penalties.
- Added sustained isolation/encirclement attrition after two consecutive affected turns.
- Added Fronts map overlay to highlight contested sectors where opposing operational influence meets.
- Expanded combat preview with estimated odds ratio and attacker/defender support modifiers.
- Expanded AI planning to value friendly support, HQ command radius, ZOC exposure, and HQ production.
- Expanded campaign statistics with battles won/lost and richer turn briefing summaries.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.9 key while retaining v1.1-v1.8 compatibility.
EMPIRE — CHANGELOG
==================
v1.8.0 — August 11, 2026
- Expanded movement hover preview with movement cost, remaining movement, route length, supply state, and capture information.
- Expanded combat preview with estimated attacker share and defender terrain/city multiplier.
- Improved fog-of-war intelligence with aging last-known contact uncertainty rings that expand and fade over time.
- Added coordinated Task Force Move Formation orders with relative formation spacing where possible.
- Added direct production queue reordering and removal controls.
- Added unit status readout for damage, supply, and task-force membership.
- Added richer end-turn warnings for idle units, isolation, threatened cities, and blocked deployments.
- Added live scenario-objective progress to the turn-status panel.
- Added AI strategic fronts so computer players concentrate forces around threatened cities and high-value offensive objectives.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.8 key while retaining v1.1-v1.7 compatibility.
v1.7.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added distinct blue movement destinations and red attack target hexes.
- Added pulsing red target rings for attackable enemy units and hostile cities.
- Added persistent selected-unit halo for clearer command feedback.
- Added compact on-map battle result notifications with attack/defense values.
- Added live turn-status counters for ready units, threatened cities, damaged units, and isolated units.
- Added Scenario Editor validation for invalid cities, unit placement, duplicate occupancy, objectives, and missing sides.
- Scenario export now preserves objectives.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.7 save key while retaining v1.1-v1.6 compatibility.
v1.6.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added Empire Scenario Format 1.0 and packaged sample scenarios.
- Added Scenario Library, JSON import/export, and first-pass Scenario Editor.
- Added terrain/city/force/objective editing tools.
- Added last-known contacts with intelligence aging.
- Added structured battle reports and Turn Briefing.
- Expanded task forces to adjacent group creation and group roles/orders.
- Added Fighter Recon and Patrol orders.
- Repair Yards accelerate naval recovery.
- Added local Hall of Fame.
- Added v1.1-v1.5 save migration to the v1.6 scenario model.
v1.5.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added functional supply and logistics movement effects.
- Added task-force management, Production Manager, and Intelligence screens.
- Added functional city specialization and city upgrades.
- Added ports, airfields, fortifications, and repair yards.
- Added seeded map generation with four map presets.
- Added five manual save slots and expanded settings.
- Added v1.1-v1.4 save migration to the v1.5 command model.
v1.4.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added named formations and per-unit operational histories.
- Added Sentry, Return to Base, Move Route, and Wake/Manual unit orders.
- Added persistent multi-turn routes and automatic ordered movement.
- Added city rally points and production specialization states.
- Added Ownership, Threat, and Supply strategic map overlays.
- Added Strategic Overview for forces, production, objectives, and recent events.
- Added simple naval task forces with destroyer escort behavior.
- Hard/Expert AI amphibious forces prefer escorted invasion approaches.
- Added v1.1/v1.2/v1.3 save migration to the v1.4 operational model.
v1.3.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added persistent unit strength/damage and friendly-city recovery.
- Added veteran experience levels and combat bonuses.
- Added terrain and fortified city defensive modifiers.
- Added city production queues, repeat production, and queue controls.
- Added automatic turn-boundary campaign saving.
- Added Conquest, Domination, and Turn-limit Score victory conditions.
- Added Balanced, Aggressive, Defensive, Naval, and Expansionist AI personalities.
- AI can withdraw critically damaged units and adapts production to personality.
- Added synthesized movement/combat/production/capture/victory/defeat sound effects.
- Added combat visual feedback and richer unit/city information.
- Added v1.1.0/v1.2.0 save migration to the v1.3.0 rules model.
v1.2.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added movement path preview and destination movement-cost information.
- Added combat estimates when hovering reachable enemy destinations.
- Added strategic minimap with viewport indicator and click-to-recenter.
- Added Next Unit (N) cycling and Center Unit controls.
- Added Easy, Normal, Hard, and Expert AI difficulty settings.
- Improved AI threatened-city production, fighter range choices, and transport invasions.
- Added city production turn estimates.
- Added persistent campaign activity history to save data.
- Expanded victory/defeat summary with exploration, cities lost, score, and difficulty.
- Added final-map inspection after victory or defeat.
- Added compatibility with v1.1.0 browser saves.
v1.1.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added save/resume campaign support.
- Added contextual unit, city, and terrain hover information.
- Fixed blocked production consuming production points.
- Added campaign statistics and end-turn confirmation.
- Improved pan/zoom controls and pointer/touch compatibility.
- Added Manual/Tutorial controls.
- Improved AI production and city-targeting priorities.
v1.0.3 — July 13, 2026
- Embedded changelog and patch-note text in manifest.json for portal validation.
v1.0.2 — July 13, 2026
- Added manual compatibility fields to manifest.json.
v1.0.1 — July 13, 2026
- Added manual_path for portal publishing validation.
v1.0.0 — July 13, 2026
- Initial Tronsoft Games release.
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
COVER REDESIGN
- Replace the catalog cover with one continuous portrait hex-map landscape.
- Give Empire Hex a larger, clearer title and a restrained text hierarchy.
- Remove duplicated scenery, the feature-box collage, tiny slogans, and the
outdated version badge.
- Keep the catalog cover at the specified 600 x 900 portrait dimensions.
- Credit the new AI-assisted promotional artwork and update release labels.
COMPATIBILITY
The v2.2.1 terrain renderer and v2.2.0 terrain rules remain unchanged.
Current-location centering, map controls, the left information sidebar,
right command panel, production, combat, and AI retain their existing behavior.
No new gameplay cover screen or launch step is added.
Retain the empire-hex Solo identity, save format 1.0, tronsoft_empire_hex
namespace, five manual save slots, and empire-scenario-1.0 compatibility.
Existing campaigns and scenarios need no reset or conversion. Earlier patch
files and cumulative history are preserved.
VALIDATION
Current cover, document, and package checks and their scope are recorded
in the tests directory. Prior terrain and complete-match evidence
remain historical records; this cover release does not claim a new full-match
run. Confirm the installed cover and normal Play launch after publishing to
the Game Portal. No live portal installation or publication is asserted.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.2.1
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
TERRAIN ARTWORK
- Replace oversized outlined terrain symbols with detailed textured landforms.
- Add layered forests, shaded mountain ridges, rolling hills, vegetation,
dunes, and wetlands.
- Add coastlines and shallow-water detail to distinguish land and sea edges.
- Use smaller road graphics so routes sit within the terrain artwork.
- Show actual terrain thumbnails in the expandable terrain guide.
- Update current documentation and package version labels to v2.2.1.
RULES AND COMPATIBILITY
All v2.2.0 terrain movement costs, ground-defense modifiers, sight effects,
roads, terrain generation, and current-location centering rules are retained.
Coastline and shallow-water artwork does not introduce a new terrain type or
change movement access. The six landforms remain Plains, Forest, Hills,
Mountains, Marsh, and Desert.
Retain the empire-hex Solo identity, three-column layout, save format 1.0,
tronsoft_empire_hex namespace, manual save slots, legacy Plains fallback,
and empire-scenario-1.0 import/export compatibility. Existing campaigns and
scenarios keep their terrain data while using the refreshed renderer.
Earlier release notes and patch history are preserved.
VALIDATION
Local package, document, visual, and browser checks and their scope are
recorded in the tests directory. Confirm the installed version and normal
Play launch after publishing to the Game Portal. This is not a Website
Updater package or an online multiplayer edition.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.2.0
Release date: October 23, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
MAP CENTERING AND INFORMATION
- Add Center Map (C) without changing the current zoom level.
- Center on the selected living player unit, selected owned city, last
inspected explored location, then an owned city or unit as a fallback.
- Follow the current position when the inspected focus tracks a living player
unit; retain Fit Map (0) for the separate whole-map overview.
- Add a left-panel terrain inspector and expandable legend; show terrain
effects in hover information alongside route and combat previews.
- Preserve the left information, center map, and right controls layout.
TERRAIN RULES
- Keep base terrain land/water and add six optional landforms on land.
- Plains: 1 MP entry; +10% ground defense; unchanged ground sight.
- Forest: 2 MP; +35% ground defense; -1 sight, minimum radius one.
- Hills: 2 MP; +25% ground defense; +1 sight.
- Mountains: 3 MP; +50% ground defense; +2 sight.
- Marsh: 3 MP; -10% ground defense; unchanged sight.
- Desert: 1 MP; no ground defense bonus or sight change.
- Cap a ground entry cost at its full movement allowance for the current turn,
not its remaining movement. One-MP ground units can enter rough terrain for
their full allowance; partially spent units cannot bypass the entry cost.
- Roads cost 1 MP to enter and retain the +1 movement bonus for ground units
starting their turn on a road. Existing supply and weather rules continue.
- Air and sea keep 1-MP entry and no landform defense/sight effects; cities
retain two-hex sight. Terrain sight modifies radius, not line-of-sight blocking.
- Generate seeded clusters of landforms on fresh maps.
SAVES AND SCENARIOS
- Preserve existing Empire Hex identity, namespace, and compatible saves.
- Treat missing landforms in legacy saves/scenarios as Plains without repainting
the map or relocating cities and units.
- Preserve landform, road, and current-location focus data with campaign saves.
- Add landform painting to the scenario editor and keep landform/road fields
in scenario exports under the existing empire-scenario-1.0 schema.
- Retain patch history and update the manual, tutorial, scenario reference,
README, description, and credits for the new controls and terrain rules.
ACCEPTANCE
Local package and browser checks, including their scope and limits, are recorded
in the package's tests directory. Portal installation and routing must still be
confirmed on the deployed site. This is the Solo Game update; no online edition,
multiplayer backend, or Website Updater code is included.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.1.8
Release date: October 22, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
INFORMATION AND CONTROLS
- Add a dedicated left sidebar for the game title/version, turn/status,
empire standings, selected-unit details, selected-city information, and log.
- Keep the battlefield in the center and commands/production on the right.
- Split selected-city information from its production controls; both update
together when the queue, specialization, repeat setting, or selection changes.
- Use independent sidebar scrolling and fixed column widths so selections
and production lists do not push or resize the battlefield.
- Stack map, information, and controls on screens 960 pixels wide or narrower.
- Update the manual, tutorial, screenshots, release metadata, and checksums.
COMPATIBILITY
Retain the same empire-hex game identity, Solo edition, save format 1.0,
local-storage namespace, save-slot migration, and gameplay rules from v2.1.7.
No online edition or website code is included. Install this ZIP as a normal
update to the existing Empire Hex record in the Game Portal.
VALIDATION
Current focused layout and interaction checks are recorded in
tests/acceptance-record.json. The prior complete-match/runtime acceptance
record remains in tests/acceptance-v2.1.7.json with its original version and
scope, rather than being relabeled as a new test run.
EMPIRE HEX - VERSION 2.1.7
Release date: October 22, 2026
Package specification: Tronsoft Games Package Specification v1.6.7
Manifest schema family: 1.6
Edition: Solo Game
PACKAGE AND EDITION
- Declare Solo Game: exactly one human commander against one to three AI empires.
- Retain the existing empire-hex ID, slug, installation identity, and version history.
- Route this edition to the Game Portal through game_type: solo.
- Add authoritative capabilities, save profile, difficulty, map, turn, display,
accessibility, and lifecycle metadata describing the implemented behavior.
- Remove deprecated document/asset/capability aliases and invalid permission keys.
- Point patch_notes to this release file and changelog to the cumulative history.
- Include the creation brief, declarative package tests, local validation evidence,
and a SHA-256 inventory of the final package payload.
SAVES AND COMPATIBILITY
- Write the stable tronsoft_empire_hex_save autosave/manual-save key.
- Read compatible legacy versioned Empire Hex saves without deleting source data.
- Load older named slots that were previously displayed but could not be opened.
- Handle unavailable or full browser storage without locking gameplay or falsely
reporting a successful save; preserve valid saves when another record is corrupt.
- Retain five named save slots and the Hall of Fame in the Empire Hex namespace.
- Identify the game version and save format separately in saved data.
- Retain a completed-campaign marker so preserved older saves do not reappear
as an unfinished campaign after victory or defeat.
RUNTIME AND INTERFACE
- Show Empire Hex v2.1.7 and the Solo Game identity in setup and play.
- Provide Open Here / Open New Tab choices for the manual and tutorial.
- Make scenario dialogs visible above setup and keep controls scrollable on
smaller screens; add usable focus outlines and setup labels.
- Move executable inline HTML handlers into local JavaScript.
- Supply local WAV cues and a local sound module with safe audio fallback.
- Respect reduced-motion and AI speed settings; remove the ineffective UI-scale
selector while retaining ordinary browser zoom.
- Exclude friendly-occupied movement destinations while retaining legal transport
boarding; protect completed matches from duplicate results and stale AI timers.
- Correct naval specialization and let damaged ships recover up to two strength
beside their own Repair Yard at the start of their faction's turn.
- Place the bundled scenario ships on valid, unoccupied water hexes.
DOCUMENTATION AND ASSETS
- Replace the outdated manual and tutorial with current rules, ten unit types,
win/loss conditions, controls, saves, scenarios, and installation guidance.
- Update the README, description, and credits to this edition and release.
- Refresh all four screenshots from actual v2.1.7 gameplay.
- Preserve existing cover, icon, banner, logo, loading art, and earlier patch files.
COMPATIBILITY NOTES
See docs/upgrade-notes.txt for save migration and rollback limits.
This HTML game package does not install website routing or online services.
Live portal installation, catalog routing, and publication remain portal checks.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.6 — August 12, 2026
PACKAGE / PORTAL
- Updated manifest.json to Tronsoft Games Package Specification schema v1.5.
- Added v1.5 discovery, player-count, play-time, controls, requirements, structured asset/document, launch, storage, and installation-news metadata.
- Added portal prompt metadata for current-window or new-window launch choices for the game and documentation.
- Standardized browser storage keys to the tronsoft_empire_hex namespace while retaining migration from prior campaign, Hall of Fame, and save-slot keys.
- Installed the new Empire Hex storefront cover in the recommended 600 × 900 format.
- Preserved v2.1.5 gameplay and movement-flow behavior.
COMPATIBILITY
- Minimum portal version remains Tronsoft Games Portal v6.12.
- Existing legacy campaign saves remain readable through the migration chain.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.5 — August 11, 2026
- Refined automatic unit flow: a unit remains selected after a normal move while it still has movement points.
- Automatic next-unit selection now occurs when the current unit's activation actually ends.
- Renamed the sidebar control to Done / Next Unit (N); using it ends the selected unit's remaining movement and advances immediately.
- Fixed combat city capture so a victorious land attacker advances into the captured city and ends its movement there.
- Corrected the tutorial's input-hotfix heading to v2.1.3 and updated movement-flow documentation.
- Updated the save-resume message and migrated autosaves to the v2.1.5 key with v2.1.4 and earlier compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.4 — August 11, 2026
- Added automatic next-unit selection after a player unit moves, attacks, bombards, embarks, or captures a city.
- The next eligible unit is centered and highlighted immediately, with legal movement/attack destinations rendered automatically.
- Automatic cycling skips destroyed units, units with no movement remaining, Sentry/automated-order units, and Strategic Reserve units.
- If the moved unit is the only unit still awaiting manual orders, it remains available after the cycle wraps.
- Fixed the end-turn warning grammar so multiple threatened cities display as “cities,” not “cityies.”
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.4 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1.3 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.3 — August 11, 2026
- Fixed Army and friendly-unit selection on the SVG battlefield.
- Map panning now starts only after a 5-pixel drag threshold instead of capturing every normal click.
- Normal unit/hex clicks are no longer retargeted to the SVG container by immediate pointer capture.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.3 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1.2 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.2 — August 11, 2026
- Corrected strategic reserve supply scoring to use the actual In Supply and Low Supply state names.
- Player-facing Roads Built statistics now count only roads constructed by Player 0 Engineers.
- Player-facing Bombardments statistics now count only bombardments performed by Player 0 units.
- Updated save metadata to v2.1.2 while retaining v1.1-v2.1.1 migration compatibility.
- Updated package metadata and documentation for the v2.1.2 stabilization release.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.1 — August 11, 2026
- Fixed AI Engineer road construction by removing the human-only restriction from the shared Build Road action.
- AI city production now preserves existing queues and appends new strategic requirements instead of replacing the queue every turn.
- Improved strategic reserve selection to favor healthy, experienced, mobile, supplied Armies.
- Added a Refit role for badly damaged AI Armies so they return toward friendly cities instead of being misclassified as reserve formations.
- Added planner safeguards for empty reserve candidate sets and missing nearby friendly-city targets.
- Updated package metadata and documentation for the v2.1.1 corrective release.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1.1 key while retaining v1.1-v2.1 compatibility.
EMPIRE HEX — PATCH NOTES
========================
v2.1.0 — August 11, 2026
- Corrected the portal/display title from Empire to Empire Hex.
- Added a dedicated strategic AI planner module (js/ai-planner.js), beginning the codebase modularization recommended after v2.0.
- AI now builds theater-level defensive and offensive fronts before individual units move.
- Offensive fronts receive staging areas, estimated force requirements, and objective priorities.
- AI assigns land formations to defensive, staging, offensive, or reserve roles.
- AI preserves a strategic Army reserve when the situation is stable and releases it when a nearby friendly city faces an emergency.
- Headquarters and Artillery are preferentially assigned to fronts that require command/support assets; Engineers receive extra weight on offensive theaters.
- AI movement scoring now rewards progress toward each formation's assigned operational objective instead of relying only on nearest-target behavior.
- Legacy Fronts overlay compatibility is preserved through planner-generated aiFronts data.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.1 key while retaining v1.1-v2.0 compatibility.
EMPIRE — PATCH NOTES
====================
v2.0.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added road infrastructure. Engineers can build roads on land hexes; roads improve land movement and extend local supply reach.
- Added Engineers, Artillery, Bombers, and Cruisers to production and the Scenario Editor.
- Added artillery and cruiser ranged bombardment against enemy units within two hexes.
- Added combined-arms bonuses for coordinated Army, Artillery, Headquarters, and nearby air support.
- Added entrenchment for stationary land formations, increasing defensive power over consecutive turns.
- Added strategic reserve status for land formations; reserve units trade immediate mobility for protected operational depth.
- Added operational planning: select a formation, choose Plan Operation, then click an objective to route nearby land forces toward it.
- Added dynamic weather (Clear, Rain, Storm, Snow) with movement and combat effects, including reduced air effectiveness in severe weather.
- Added a Roads strategic overlay and road information in map hover details.
- Expanded supply calculations to account for road-supported formations.
- Expanded AI production and behavior to build/use Artillery, Engineers, Bombers, Cruisers, and Headquarters.
- Expanded after-action reporting with roads built, bombardments, final weather, and existing campaign statistics.
- Migrated autosaves to the v2.0 key while retaining v1.1-v1.9 compatibility.
EMPIRE — PATCH NOTES
====================
v1.9.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added enemy land-unit Zones of Control (ZOC); entering an enemy ZOC ends further movement for that action.
- Added adjacent-unit combat support with up to two supporting formations.
- Added Headquarters units that extend command/supply influence and provide nearby combat support.
- Added combat retreat behavior for surviving defeated defenders and advance-after-combat for compatible attackers.
- Added encirclement detection; heavily surrounded formations suffer severe supply and movement penalties.
- Added sustained isolation/encirclement attrition after two consecutive affected turns.
- Added Fronts map overlay to highlight contested sectors where opposing operational influence meets.
- Expanded combat preview with estimated odds ratio and attacker/defender support modifiers.
- Expanded AI planning to value friendly support, HQ command radius, ZOC exposure, and HQ production.
- Expanded campaign statistics with battles won/lost and richer turn briefing summaries.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.9 key while retaining v1.1-v1.8 compatibility.
EMPIRE — CHANGELOG
==================
v1.8.0 — August 11, 2026
- Expanded movement hover preview with movement cost, remaining movement, route length, supply state, and capture information.
- Expanded combat preview with estimated attacker share and defender terrain/city multiplier.
- Improved fog-of-war intelligence with aging last-known contact uncertainty rings that expand and fade over time.
- Added coordinated Task Force Move Formation orders with relative formation spacing where possible.
- Added direct production queue reordering and removal controls.
- Added unit status readout for damage, supply, and task-force membership.
- Added richer end-turn warnings for idle units, isolation, threatened cities, and blocked deployments.
- Added live scenario-objective progress to the turn-status panel.
- Added AI strategic fronts so computer players concentrate forces around threatened cities and high-value offensive objectives.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.8 key while retaining v1.1-v1.7 compatibility.
v1.7.0 — August 11, 2026
- Added distinct blue movement destinations and red attack target hexes.
- Added pulsing red target rings for attackable enemy units and hostile cities.
- Added persistent selected-unit halo for clearer command feedback.
- Added compact on-map battle result notifications with attack/defense values.
- Added live turn-status counters for ready units, threatened cities, damaged units, and isolated units.
- Added Scenario Editor validation for invalid cities, unit placement, duplicate occupancy, objectives, and missing sides.
- Scenario export now preserves objectives.
- Migrated autosaves to the v1.7 save key while retaining v1.1-v1.6 compatibility.
v1.6.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added Empire Scenario Format 1.0 and packaged sample scenarios.
- Added Scenario Library, JSON import/export, and first-pass Scenario Editor.
- Added terrain/city/force/objective editing tools.
- Added last-known contacts with intelligence aging.
- Added structured battle reports and Turn Briefing.
- Expanded task forces to adjacent group creation and group roles/orders.
- Added Fighter Recon and Patrol orders.
- Repair Yards accelerate naval recovery.
- Added local Hall of Fame.
- Added v1.1-v1.5 save migration to the v1.6 scenario model.
v1.5.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added functional supply and logistics movement effects.
- Added task-force management, Production Manager, and Intelligence screens.
- Added functional city specialization and city upgrades.
- Added ports, airfields, fortifications, and repair yards.
- Added seeded map generation with four map presets.
- Added five manual save slots and expanded settings.
- Added v1.1-v1.4 save migration to the v1.5 command model.
v1.4.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added named formations and per-unit operational histories.
- Added Sentry, Return to Base, Move Route, and Wake/Manual unit orders.
- Added persistent multi-turn routes and automatic ordered movement.
- Added city rally points and production specialization states.
- Added Ownership, Threat, and Supply strategic map overlays.
- Added Strategic Overview for forces, production, objectives, and recent events.
- Added simple naval task forces with destroyer escort behavior.
- Hard/Expert AI amphibious forces prefer escorted invasion approaches.
- Added v1.1/v1.2/v1.3 save migration to the v1.4 operational model.
v1.3.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added persistent unit strength/damage and friendly-city recovery.
- Added veteran experience levels and combat bonuses.
- Added terrain and fortified city defensive modifiers.
- Added city production queues, repeat production, and queue controls.
- Added automatic turn-boundary campaign saving.
- Added Conquest, Domination, and Turn-limit Score victory conditions.
- Added Balanced, Aggressive, Defensive, Naval, and Expansionist AI personalities.
- AI can withdraw critically damaged units and adapts production to personality.
- Added synthesized movement/combat/production/capture/victory/defeat sound effects.
- Added combat visual feedback and richer unit/city information.
- Added v1.1.0/v1.2.0 save migration to the v1.3.0 rules model.
v1.2.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added movement path preview and destination movement-cost information.
- Added combat estimates when hovering reachable enemy destinations.
- Added strategic minimap with viewport indicator and click-to-recenter.
- Added Next Unit (N) cycling and Center Unit controls.
- Added Easy, Normal, Hard, and Expert AI difficulty settings.
- Improved AI threatened-city production, fighter range choices, and transport invasions.
- Added city production turn estimates.
- Added persistent campaign activity history to save data.
- Expanded victory/defeat summary with exploration, cities lost, score, and difficulty.
- Added final-map inspection after victory or defeat.
- Added compatibility with v1.1.0 browser saves.
v1.1.0 — August 10, 2026
- Added save/resume campaign support.
- Added contextual unit, city, and terrain hover information.
- Fixed blocked production consuming production points.
- Added campaign statistics and end-turn confirmation.
- Improved pan/zoom controls and pointer/touch compatibility.
- Added Manual/Tutorial controls.
- Improved AI production and city-targeting priorities.
v1.0.3 — July 13, 2026
- Embedded changelog and patch-note text in manifest.json for portal validation.
v1.0.2 — July 13, 2026
- Added manual compatibility fields to manifest.json.
v1.0.1 — July 13, 2026
- Added manual_path for portal publishing validation.
v1.0.0 — July 13, 2026
- Initial Tronsoft Games release.
- Genre
- Strategy
- Developer
- Tronsoft Games
- Engine
- Standard
- Version
- 2.2.2
