Co-op is now a real challenge, and an asteroid can no longer block a sector.
Co-op turns up the incoming fire instead of just enemy hull. Previously, enemies in co-op only got 1.5× hull. Measured with the dodging bot (Pilot, 5 runs each with fixed random numbers), co-op was clearly easier than solo: 10–25 % fewer projectiles around each ship, the guardian fell after 24 instead of 34 s, and in sector 12 a run cost 0 instead of 0.33 lives. Two ships split the fire, and salvaging caught almost every loss. Now, per difficulty:
| Fire rate | Volley density | Enemy hull | Hit damage | Wreck timer | Salvage time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadet | ×1.15 | ×1.1 | ×1.6 | ×1.1 | 15 s | 2.5 s |
| Pilot | ×1.3 | ×1.2 | ×1.8 | ×1.2 | 12 s | 3 s |
| Veteran | ×1.4 | ×1.25 | ×1.9 | ×1.3 | 9 s | 3 s |
| Legend | ×1.5 | ×1.3 | ×2.0 | ×1.4 | 7 s | 3.5 s |
Fire rate and volley density make dodging the main task; hull is tuned so a fight lasts about as long as solo.
Measured after the change (Pilot, per player): sector 6 — 5.4 instead of 4.7 projectiles around the ship (solo 4.9). Sector 9 — 7.0 instead of 4.3 (solo 5.7). Guardian — falls after 31 instead of 24 s (solo 34). The bot never deliberately salvages its partner, so lives lost in co-op are measured on the high side.
Fixed: a sector could get stuck on an asteroid. Ramming an asteroid bounced it upward, but enemies were only removed when they left the bottom of the screen. The chunk drifted above the screen forever, and since a sector only ends without enemies, the game couldn’t continue. Asteroids now also disappear at the top and the sides.