STATUS LINE REFERENCE

A field-by-field guide to the combat status line that the bot writes at the end of every combat / cockpit post in Cockpit Combat.

Full mechanical specification lives in cockpit_combat_design.txt section 11 and lorebooks/28_status_line_format.json. This document is the human-readable reference.

OVERVIEW

The status line is the canonical record of combat state. The bot writes it at the end of every combat post. The player reads it to know what they're flying into next turn. Every mechanic in the system feeds into one of its fields.

The line is organized into seven blocks separated by line breaks (or | pipes if the renderer doesn't preserve breaks). Block 3 (vacuum-only) appears only when REG:VAC; the corresponding atmospheric fields in Block 1 are dropped.

Atmospheric example

⎗
✓
[REG:ATM | TM:CBT | MD:FTR | M:0.8↑ | ALT:6.1k↓ | G:+4.2 | AoA:14° | RSP:CRSP | TRM:OK
| EN:62↓ | HT:71↑ | HUL:✓ | GN:✓ | SEN:✓ ACT | LA:✓ | RA:◐ | LG:✓ | CKP:✓ | FIRE:-
| GP:140/200 | MSL:H×3 L×2 | MEL:BS | CHF:1/1
| LK-OUT:-- | LK-IN:SPIKE | RWR:1 BAND-4o'c | COM:CLR
| PLT:STDY | G-TOL:GREY | O2:98% | MASK:OK | SUIT:OK | CKP-T:31°C | INJ:-
| ATT:2/2 | EV:CLOUD-BRK]

Vacuum example

⎗
✓
[REG:VAC | TM:CBT | MD:GRW | V:2.1km/s | VEC:040°/+12° | ROT:STBL | RSP:CRSP
| EN:48↓ | HT:84↑↑ | HUL:◐ | GN:✓ | SEN:✓ PASS | LA:✓ | RA:✓ | LG:◐ | CKP:✓ | FIRE:-
| RXM:34%↓ | RAD:◐ DEP | Δv:LOW
| GP:80/200 | MSL:H×1 L×0 | MEL:BS | CHF:0/1
| LK-OUT:LOCK↑ | LK-IN:WARN | COM:JAM
| PLT:RATTLED | G-TOL:GREEN | O2:91% | MASK:OK | SUIT:SLD | CKP-T:38°C | INJ:MINOR
| ATT:1/2 | EV:DEBRIS]

Trend arrows

↑ ↓ ↑↑ ↓↓ appear on values that moved meaningfully this turn. They are how the player feels the spiral. The bot uses them when a value moved, not whenever a value isn't at baseline.

BLOCK 1: REGIME AND FLIGHT ENVELOPE

Where you are, what physics apply, how the mech is flying.

REG (Regime)

ATM — atmospheric. Stick, throttle, lift, drag, stalls.
VAC — vacuum. RCS thrusters, reaction mass, no aerodynamics.

TM (Tempo)

TAC — tactical. Cruise, transit, pre-engagement.
CBT — combat. Active engagement.
DEF — defensive. Post-engagement, contested but not actively shooting.

MD (Mode) — Variable Fighter mode

FTR — Fighter. Jet form. Top speed, BVR missile platform, energy fighting. Terrible turn radius, can't hover.
GRW — GERWALK. Hybrid form. Hover, pivot fast, jack-of-all-trades. Flak magnet, no top speed.
BAT — Battroid. Humanoid form. Gunpod precision, melee, can use cover. Sluggish in atmosphere, falls if engines fail.

M (Mach number) — atmospheric only

Speed expressed in Mach. Below 0.3 control surfaces are mushy. Above transonic without thrust, drag dominates.

V (Velocity) — vacuum only

Linear velocity in km/s. Doesn't bleed off without burn — what you have is what you keep.

ALT (Altitude) — atmospheric only

Feet, e.g. 8.0k. Higher = thinner air. Below 1k is treetop level.

VEC (Vector) — vacuum only

Bearing/elevation, e.g. 040°/+12°. Where you're going, separate from where you're pointing. Can use the readable form OUTBND / INBND / DRIFT / LATERAL+OUTBND.

G (G-load) — atmospheric only

Signed G value. Sustained +7G or higher degrades G-TOL. Negative G is uncomfortable and can red-out the pilot.

AoA (Angle of Attack) — atmospheric only

Degrees. High AoA = bleeding energy, near-stall in Fighter mode. Above ~25° in Fighter is departing controlled flight.

ROT (Rotation State) — vacuum only

STBL — stable.
TUMBLE — uncontrolled spin.
COUNTER — counter-burning to arrest a rotation.

RSP (Response)

CRSP — crisp.
HVY — heavy at overspeed.
MSHY — mushy near stall.
DEPT — departing controlled flight.

TRM (Trim) — atmospheric only

OK — trimmed.
NOSE-HVY — nose-heavy.
NOSE-LT — nose-light.
Drift state if untouched. Out-of-trim aircraft fights the pilot's hand.

BLOCK 2: MECH SYSTEMS

Health and resource state of the machine.

EN (Energy) — 0-100%

Fuels boosters, dodges, transformations, energy weapons. Slow regen between exchanges. Generator damage halves regen. Transformations cost flat percentage; sustained boost burns continuously.

HT (Heat) — 0-100

0-60 Nominal — no effect.
61-80 Warm — cooling fans audibly working; narrative cue only.
81-95 Critical — beam weapons unreliable; one-turn warning before lockout.
96-100 Redline — weapons systems shut down; risk of generator damage.

In vacuum, heat is the long-term killer. Only relief is deployed radiators.

HUL (Hull Integrity)

✓ Intact — no structural concern.
◐ Compromised — visible damage; airframe tolerates lower G; warning at 7G+.
✗ Failing — near collapse; structural fatigue ticks faster; transformations risky.
RED Catastrophic — next impact or maneuver may break the airframe.
— Destroyed — game over for the mech; pilot must have ejected.

Subsystem Icons (used for GN/SEN/LA/RA/LG/CKP)

✓ healthy.
◐ damaged.
✗ destroyed.
RED critical/cascading.

GN (Generator)

Damaged: EN regen halved, boosts cost more. Destroyed: EN cap drops, energy weapons offline.

SEN (Sensors)

Damaged: lock range halved, mode-switching slow. Destroyed: no BVR locks, visual range only. The mode tag (ACT / PASS / IR / MIX) follows the status icon.

LA / RA (Left Arm / Right Arm)

Damaged: held weapon fires erratically. Destroyed: that arm's weapon offline.

LG (Legs / Thrusters)

Damaged: mobility halved, transformation risky. Destroyed: transformation locked, landing impossible.

CKP (Cockpit)

Damaged: pilot wounded, Cool degrades faster. Destroyed: cockpit breach, pilot exposed to vacuum or altitude.

FIRE

- no fire.
active fire on board. Demands a Cockpit-slot action to handle (extinguisher, vent, depressurize); ignored, it spreads.

BLOCK 3: VACUUM-ONLY

Present only when REG:VAC. The panic numbers in vacuum.

RXM (Reaction Mass) — 0-100%

Propellant reserve. Below 20% is panic — can't burn home, can't dodge, can't arrest a tumble.

RAD (Radiator)

STO — stowed.
DEP — deployed (cooling but visible on radar).
◐ — damaged (reduced cooling).
✗ — destroyed.

Radiators are fragile and mounted high on the airframe. Deploying them is the only way to dump heat in vacuum, but they paint a large radar return.

Δv (Delta-v Budget)

PLENTY — plenty of fuel for remaining sortie.
OK — comfortable.
LOW — limited maneuvering room left.
CRIT — critical; can't burn back to carrier without more fuel.

BLOCK 4: WEAPONS

What you can shoot with and how much you have left.

GP (Gunpod)

Format GP:remaining/total, e.g. GP:140/200. Conventional ammunition, high RoF. Effective to ~1km in atmosphere; tracking past that is hopeful. Range extends in vacuum but lead calculation is harder.

MSL (Missiles)

Format MSL:H×n L×n for Heavy (BVR) and Light (WVR) counts.

Heavy / BVR — long-range AMRAAM-class, anti-ship. Need solid lock and Rmin/Rmax window.
Light / WVR — heat-seeking, dogfight short-range. Want a hot tailpipe; front-aspect shots are bad shots.

MEL (Melee)

Identifies the melee weapon and ready state. Common: BS = beam saber. Battroid mode primarily.

CHF (Chaff)

Format CHF:remaining/total, e.g. CHF:1/1. The chaff dispenser is a finite countermeasure store, not refilled mid-sortie. Starting load is set by tier:

Tier 1 / Tier 2: CHF:1/1 (1 dispense per sortie).
Tier 3 / Tier 4: CHF:2/2 (2 dispenses per sortie).
Tier 5: CHF:3/3 (3 dispenses per sortie).

A chaff break consumes one dispense. When CHF:0/N, the dispenser is empty for the remainder of the sortie — any chaff break the pilot calls produces no cloud (the breech clicks dry) and missile defeat becomes a flight-path-and-terrain problem only. Chaff defeats radar-guided missiles and confuses radar-mode sensor locks; it does nothing against IR-guided weapons (flares would, but flares are handled separately and are not currently tracked on the status line).

BLOCK 5: THREAT PICTURE

What you can lock, what's locking you, what your sensors hear.

LK-OUT (Your lock on a target)

-- no lock.
TRACK following but no fire control yet.
LOCK↑ solution acquired.
FOX-1 missile away (radar).
FOX-2 missile away (IR).
FOX-3 missile away (AMRAAM-class long-range).

LK-IN (Their lock on you)

-- clear.
WARN being painted.
SPIKE solid lock.
LAUNCH missile in the air at you. Seconds remain — chaff, flare, break, terrain, or eat it.

RWR (Radar Warning Receiver)

CLR clear.
Count + bearings, e.g. 1 BAND-4o'c (one bandit at four o'clock).

COM (Communications)

CLR clear, comms working.
JAM jammed, degraded or lost.
EMCON pilot has gone silent intentionally — no transmissions.

BLOCK 6: PILOT

The body in the chair. The pilot is fragile and tracked independently from the airframe.

PLT (Pilot composure / fatigue)

STDY steady.
RATTLED shaken; Cool penalty.
WOUNDED injured; stat penalty.
REDLINE running on adrenaline; sustained engagement impossible.
SPENT exhausted; mistakes incoming.

G-TOL (G-tolerance)

GREEN normal vision, full color.
GREY peripheral vision narrows; color drains. Cool penalty; Read at -1.
BLACK vision tunnels to a pinprick. Cannot fire; Cool at -2; one more turn and GLOC.
GLOC unconscious. 1-3 turns of no input; airframe does whatever physics dictates; recovery roll on Cool.

O2 — 0-100%

Oxygen supply. Critical in vacuum or above 40k ft. Hypoxia onset is euphoric, which is what makes it dangerous.

MASK

OK mask seal good.
LEAK leak — O2 falls 5x faster.
OFF pilot is breathing cockpit air; hypoxia at altitude.

SUIT (Pressure Suit)

OK standard.
SLD sealed — for vacuum operations or anticipated cockpit breach.
BREACH suit itself compromised.

CKP-T (Cockpit Temperature)

Celsius. Normal ~22°C. Above 35°C Cool degrades faster. Above 45°C is heatstroke territory.

INJ (Injury)

- none.
MINOR Cool penalty, narrative cue.
SERIOUS stat penalty across the board.
CRIT pilot at risk of unconsciousness; ejection becomes urgent.

BLOCK 7: SITUATION

Attention budget and environmental conditions.

ATT (Attention Slots) — n/2

0/2 clear.
1/2 one thing absorbing attention.
2/2 saturated. A third thing comes at a Cool penalty. A fourth fails outright.

Damaged mechs eat attention. Storms, low altitude, departing controlled flight all eat attention. Flying the aircraft itself counts as an attention slot when conditions are bad.

EV (Environment)

Free-text environmental descriptor — CLR, CLOUD-BRK, DEBRIS, STORM, CITY-OVERFLY, ASTEROID-FIELD, etc.

WHEN THE STATUS LINE IS WRITTEN

At the end of every combat or cockpit post.
When transitioning from tactical situation to combat (TM:TAC → TM:CBT).
When the regime changes (e.g., atmospheric reentry shifts REG:VAC to REG:ATM and swaps the relevant Block 1 fields).

The line is not written during pure social scenes — court receptions, shore leave, debriefs. Out-of-cockpit body damage uses the separate body status header (see lorebooks/19_human_body_wounds.json).

FIELD COUNT

The full status line has ~40 fields. If the bot drops or corrupts fields over long sessions, the recommended fallback is to drop precision (remove AoA, TRM, exact CKP-T) rather than removing categories. Pilot block, weapons, threat picture, and core systems are the load-bearing categories. CHF must not be dropped — it is the only record of remaining chaff and without it the pilot will burn through the limit invisibly.