All three climaxes use Capacitor's built-in manual control. A full store gives a brief visible opportunity at the required actuators' next natural readiness, before automatic fire consumes it. Pressing early arms only that opportunity without spending. The receiver, target, power and heat still need to pass before 4 U commits. Cancellation, refusal or lapse spends nothing and releases ordinary fire; after a lapse another hold needs a new press. Dispatch gates ordinary connections, then restores charging without a journal edit or free readiness. A later miss refunds nothing; existing effects continue.
-
The stage-only reward model offers temporary effects after resolving one announced pressure release from an identified physical source; a stage is uncommitted, unresolved or spent for the current station arrangement. A physical closure completed before commitment prevents the release and gives no offer; lasting safety/access is the benefit. After commitment, early clear or a physical source seal resolves the stage even before its peak, while bodies already beyond the closure remain dangerous. Escape does not resolve it, and a spent stage does not pay again after a living return or reopening.
+
Regular fighting supplies temporary growth, with larger transformations at major horde milestones. Every new expedition renews combat populations and growth opportunities while permanent changes remain. [Combat Rules](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Combat%20Rules) owns these selected rules; exact award cadence, milestone conditions and early-seal rewards remain open. The equipment effects above do not themselves define when an upgrade is earned.
[Mechanical Interfaces](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Mechanical%20Interfaces%20And%20Opening%20Quantities) owns exact heat, supply, reach, flight, contact, terminal and coverage rules. [Hordes and Builds](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Hordes%20And%20Builds) shows the intended spectacle. The climaxes defeat ordinary Pressers they reach. Geometry, readiness and resources still matter.
@@ 83,6 83,6 @@
- Whether stored Capacitor charge survives a return aboard.
- The amount of brittle fragments in Salvage Cycler's response.
- Whether specials survive the climaxes (combat-strength tuning).
-
- Reward rhythm: the owner is still choosing the stage-only reward model above versus regular defeated-enemy growth plus larger milestone transformations.
+
- Exact regular-growth cadence, presentation and major-milestone conditions; rewards for avoiding a fight or sealing before release.
- Progression Options says Pulse Projector "automatically launches" without naming a controller, while Build Rules and the opening give Projector a trigger input fed by Threat Sensor; this catalogue follows Build Rules, and a self-triggering Projector would need a new decision on the opening controller relationship.
- These rules are untested; the port grammar, rig growth, acquisition and every number are proposals.
