Changes:
- Activate zone BEFORE bots move on turn 10 (previously after moves)
- Increase initial zone radius from 55% to 90% of map size
- Increase zone escape safety margin from 2 to 5 tiles
- Reduce 2-player spawn radius from 0.32 to 0.28 (11.2 tiles apart)
- Modify RusherBot to move toward center when no adjacent energy
Results (100 matches, rusher vs swarm):
- Combat density: 80% (target: 65-80%)
- Zone deaths: 17
- Avg turns per match: 9.5
- Deaths per 20 turns: 3.5
The zone now serves as an effective forcing function for combat engagement,
preventing pure energy farming strategies while maintaining strategic depth.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>