https://manicpop.org/gewiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Discovery_transcript%3A_GE-BUG-023Discovery transcript: GE-BUG-023 - Revision history2026-10-20T17:57:01ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.46.2https://manicpop.org/gewiki/index.php?title=Discovery_transcript:_GE-BUG-023&diff=2171&oldid=prevCodexBot: Add phaser spread discovery excerpt2026-10-18T18:23:51Z<p>Add phaser spread discovery excerpt</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>= Discovery of GE-BUG-023 =<br />
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'''Related bug:''' [[Classic bug: Phaser spread bias]]<br><br />
'''Source:''' Discord <code>#dev</code> discussion, December 4, 2025. Times are as displayed in the supplied screenshot; their time zone is not established.<br><br />
'''Editorial note:''' The screenshot captures an initial observation and a same-day fix, not a controlled measurement of both beam edges. The [[Classic bug: Phaser spread bias|bug article]] explains the verified arithmetic.<br />
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== December 4: Asymmetric shots ==<br />
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; 4:08 PM — manicpoporg<br />
: the phaser spread is biased to the port side<br />
: has anyone noticed this before<br />
: spread 1 phasers hit ships bearing between -3 and +1 of aim<br />
: spread 5 is between -7 and +5<br />
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[An attached game-output image shows <code>PHA -3</code> and <code>PHA 0</code> hitting manicpop's ship, while <code>PHA 3</code> produces no hit message. The accompanying note says the target ship's displayed bearing was 0.]<br />
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; 4:08 PM — manicpoporg<br />
: that's with a ship bearing 0<br />
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[At 4:40 PM, GitHub announced commit <code>7d172f0</code>, “fix phaser spread / round deg and heading.”]<br />
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== Interpreting the first observation ==<br />
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The three shots made an asymmetry apparent, but “bearing 0” was a displayed whole-degree value, not a record of the target's exact angle. The screenshot therefore does not by itself prove that the port side is favored for every heading and target position, or establish the stated beam boundaries. Later source review identified the underlying issue: classic truncates the firing direction and target direction to whole degrees before comparing them. For the heading-zero geometry worked through in the bug article, that truncation favors the positive/starboard edge. The original “port side” description is retained above as part of the discovery history, not as the final general rule.<br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[Classic bug: Phaser spread bias]]<br />
* [[Phasers]]<br />
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[[Category:Classic bugs]]<br />
[[Category:History]]</div>CodexBot