Phase Progression Comeback Rule Alignment - Omega War

Review page for a proposed behind-player command-structure upgrade rule. Created 2026-06-23 as an approval gate before canonical rules are written.

review rules proposal phase progression approval required

Decision needed: approve, revise, defer, or reject a comeback rule where the player who is meaningfully behind receives one automatic free command-structure upgrade when the match advances to the next Phase.

This page does not write the canonical game rules. It captures the intended design, unresolved score model, anti-gaming guardrails, and downstream file changes for approval.

Source Record

This proposal is based on the current working battle-mode framing from the user request plus the existing phase, facility, and decklist rules in the project.

Source	Relevant contract
User request, 2026-06-23	Add a behind-player benefit: if a player is behind by a meaningful score threshold, they receive a free command-structure upgrade automatically upon Phase progression. Current working battle types are Conquest, Assault, and Raid.
`alignment/decklist-rules-alignment-omega-war.html`	Prior successful working-document style; phase labels; command-post/facility gating; approval-before-canonical-update pattern.
`docs/decklist-rules-alignment.md`	Command-post/facility surfaces gate availability; Phase A/B/C remains the stored phase model; exact values and balance stay provisional.
`research/unthinkable/tactical-vertical-slice-spec.md`	Existing tactical vertical-slice contract and command-post loop context.
`design/unthinkable/deployment-plan-state-model.md`	State-model context for phase changes, build queues, and command-structure progression.

Rule Proposal

must Award the benefit only at Phase progression

When the match advances from one Phase to the next, the system checks whether one player is behind by the approved threshold. If exactly one player qualifies, that player receives one automatic free command-structure upgrade.

The rule runs on Phase A to Phase B and Phase B to Phase C transitions unless a later phase model adds more transitions.
The benefit is not a recurring trickle, income bonus, or manual comeback button.
The benefit is not granted during ordinary score ticks, base damage events, or objective captures.

must Require a meaningful behind threshold

The player must be behind by more than a marginal amount. The current placeholder is a normalized score-pressure gap rather than a final number because the score model is not approved yet.

Placeholder threshold: behind by at least 20% of the mode's victory target or approved equivalent pressure score.
Alternative threshold to review later: behind by at least 25% of victory target or two full objective intervals.
The exact number remains a tuning value, but the canonical rule should require a non-trivial gap.
The threshold must be high enough that players cannot reliably farm the upgrade by staying one point, one tick, or one minor objective behind.

must Upgrade command structure, not the whole economy

The free benefit applies to the next eligible command-structure upgrade only. It does not grant free units, free facilities, extra deck cards, score, or a broad resource windfall.

Eligible upgrade examples: command-post tier, command-link node, forward command capacity, or equivalent structure-level unlock.
Ineligible examples: direct tank purchase, aircraft call-in, wonder unit, requisition-point increase, or objective score.
If no eligible command-structure upgrade exists, the benefit should expire or convert only to a specifically approved fallback.

should Surface it as pressure relief, not rubber-banding

The rule should help a losing player keep strategic options open without erasing the leader's earned advantage.

Player-facing copy should be terse, such as Emergency command upgrade granted.
Do not frame the leader as punished; the leader keeps score, map position, army state, and any earned upgrades.
The free upgrade should unlock choices, not directly swing combat on its own.

Battle Types And Score Pressure

The current working battle modes need a shared way to answer who is meaningfully behind, even though their victory conditions differ.

Battle type	Working win condition	Behind measurement proposal	Open question
Conquest	Secure points on the map to gain score. First to the victory score wins.	Use direct score delta against victory target. Example: if the target is 500, a placeholder 20% threshold means 100 points behind.	Confirm final victory score and score tick cadence.
Assault	Destroy all enemy base structures, using a StarCraft-like elimination rule.	Use normalized base-integrity and tech-pressure score: structure losses, command structure damage, and objective progress produce a hidden or visible pressure score.	Decide whether Assault needs an explicit score readout or an internal pressure score only for comeback logic.
Raid	Play the map-specific objective, inspired by Heroes of the Storm objectives without MOBA base-destruction as the required endpoint.	Use objective progress delta: payload distance, capture progress, event charges, convoy health, resource stolen, or map-specific objective score converted to a normalized pressure score.	Define the minimum common objective-score interface all Raid maps must expose.

Anti-Gaming Guardrails

must Snapshot before phase advance

The behind check should use the score-pressure state at the moment Phase progression is triggered, or a short pre-transition snapshot window. It must not be possible to trigger the phase, inspect the benefit, and then manipulate the result.

should Add hysteresis for repeated transitions

If later modes have many phase-like transitions, the player should not receive repeated free upgrades from oscillating around the threshold.

Recommended future rule: one comeback upgrade per player per match unless a later design explicitly allows more.
Current three-phase model naturally caps the opportunity to at most two transition checks.

defer Keep exact score math provisional

The scoring system is not settled yet. This alignment page should approve the design shape, not final numeric balance.

Conquest can use direct victory-score percentage first.
Assault and Raid need a normalized pressure-score contract before implementation.
Final thresholds should be tested with bots and player telemetry before becoming release balance.

Implementation Checklist

If approved, agents writing the rules or implementation should check these items.

Canonical rules state that the benefit triggers only on Phase progression.
Rules define a meaningful threshold, with exact values marked provisional until score tuning.
Conquest uses direct score gap against victory target.
Assault defines a pressure-score adapter instead of pretending base elimination already has score.
Raid maps expose a normalized objective-progress score or equivalent adapter.
Only one player can receive the benefit per transition.
No benefit is granted if the score gap is below threshold.
No benefit is granted if both sides qualify due to malformed scoring.
The upgrade applies to command structure only.
The benefit cannot purchase units, wonders, or direct combat effects.
Player-facing copy stays terse and does not explain exploitable score math.
Telemetry or debug output records phase, score-pressure gap, threshold, and awarded upgrade.
Tests cover marginally behind, exactly at threshold, above threshold, tied, and no eligible upgrade cases.

Approval Gates

Use these gates after reviewing the proposal above to approve the design direction before writing canonical rules or implementation tasks.

1. Comeback Rule Direction

Approve one automatic free command-structure upgrade for the player who is meaningfully behind at Phase progression?

2. Behind Threshold Model

Approve a score-delta threshold large enough to prevent intentionally hovering slightly behind for the benefit?

3. Battle Mode Coverage

Approve using a normalized match-score pressure model across Conquest, Assault, and Raid?

4. Automatic Application

Approve applying the upgrade automatically on phase advance, without adding a new player choice popup?

5. Downstream Rule Writing

After approval, should agents update canonical rules docs with this rule and leave numeric score thresholds provisional?