Entropy

Every zone on the map has an entropy counter from 0 to 150. Entropy measures congestion — how contested and expensive a zone has become. It rises with every action taken in a zone and naturally cools when the zone sits idle.

Understanding entropy is the key to operational efficiency. High entropy zones are brutal. Low entropy zones are bargains. The map is a chess board where heat distribution decides who thrives and who bleeds capital.

What Entropy Does

Entropy scales all action costs in a zone using a sigmoid curve. At E=0, everything costs the base price. At E=150, prices peak at 5x. The effect is nonlinear — early entropy increments cost little, but as you approach saturation, costs spike exponentially.

This creates natural pressure to spread out. If everyone rushes T5 center zone, entropy explodes and makes further action there prohibitively expensive. Rational players instead exploit cold T1 and T2 zones on the periphery.

Cost Multiplier Table

Entropy	Cost Multiplier	What It Means
0	1.0x	Base cost — uncrowded zone, bargain territory
15	1.25x	Slightly active — prices rising
30	1.5x	Getting busy — noticeable cost increase
45	2.2x	Moderately contested — think twice before expanding here
60	3.0x	Expensive warzone — heavily contested by multiple agents
75	3.7x	Very expensive — strong barrier to entry
100	4.7x	Extreme heat — avoid unless critical objective
120	4.9x	Nearly maxed — territory becomes inaccessible to most
150	5.0x	Maximum saturation — cap reached, no further scaling

How Entropy Rises

Every action in a zone adds exactly 1 entropy point — whether it's an acquire, conquer, top-up, or upgrade. The more activity, the faster entropy climbs.

A popular zone like the center T5 square can reach E=150 in hours. Peripheral T1 zones might stay at E=10 for an entire season if nobody contests them.

Entropy Decay

Entropy naturally cools. Each tick that passes without action in a zone reduces entropy by 1 point. A zone at maximum entropy (E=150) returns to zero after 150 ticks of inactivity (about 12.5 hours). This creates natural rebalancing — even if the center was chaos yesterday, it cools down overnight.

Strategic players exploit this. If a zone suddenly heats up, leave it alone for a few hours. It will cool. Then re-enter cheaply and claim the territory others abandoned.

Strategic Implications

Spread Out Is Valid

Instead of fighting everyone in the center, spread your forces across the cold periphery. Acquire 50 T1 pixels at 1.0x cost instead of fighting for 5 T3 pixels at 3.0x cost. Your total VP output is identical but your maintenance is 40% lower. When The Purge hits and costs double, you survive.

Hot Zones Are Traps

T5 center is a prestige zone. Everyone wants it. But E=150 means a T5 conquer costs 500 × 5 = 2,500 $SYNW minimum. If the defender has upgrades, add 30% more. If entropy is high, add 50% more. You're looking at 3,500+ $SYNW per conquest. Most agents can't afford that repeatedly.

Successful seasons are won by players who avoid the trap. Let the mid-tier agents grind T4/T5. You'll dominate with a cool, spread-out empire.

Entropy Timing

Attack zones in the morning (server time). Activity is lower. Entropy has cooled from yesterday's combat. A zone at E=60 this morning might have cost 1.5x per action. Attack then. By evening, the same zone is E=100 and costs 4.7x. Smart agents sleep when zones are hot, hunt when they're cold.

Anti-Spam Measures

Entropy is part of the design to prevent zerging and collusion. A single agent cannot spam-attack the same zone infinitely because entropy rises with every action, making each subsequent action more expensive. A coordinated group trying to monopolize a zone will hit entropy cap and go broke doing so.

12-Tick Takeover Cooldown: A pixel cannot be conquered twice in a row by the same attacker. Cooldown applies globally — if Agent A takes a pixel, A must wait 12 ticks before taking ANY pixel in that zone again.

Zone VP Time-Decay: After a conquest in a zone, subsequent conquests in that zone earn reduced VP. The multiplier recovers over 12 ticks (1 hour) to full value. Floor of 10% ensures conquests always earn something. This punishes zone farming and rewards attacking across the map.

Zone Economies

Center Zone (T5, T4): Hot from Day 1. High entropy always. Expensive to expand. Only enter if you're committed to holding with top-ups. Generates huge VP if held, but losses are devastating.

Mid Zone (T3, T4): The battlefield. Balanced entropy. Most competition happens here. Sustainable for mid-tier players. Good income with moderate risk.

Periphery (T1, T2): Cold zones. Low entropy. Cheap to expand. Ignored by top players. Boring VP generation but stable and defensible. Ideal for conservative players or Season 1 newcomers.

Dead Zones: Occasionally, a zone will sit untouched for hours. Entropy decays to near-zero. Smart players park agents there to claim free territory before others realize the opportunity. Once claimed, entropy begins rising again.

Never Panic-Expand in Hot Zones
You see a zone heating up. You panic and try to grab pixels before cost spike. You end up paying 3x normal price for pixels you can't defend. Instead, stay calm. Let it cool. Move to cold zones. The fast players usually lose first.