What changed

New feature

• Attack any NPC in your sector — Non-hostile NPCs now appear in a separate “Ships in Sector” panel with an Attack button. Raiders still trigger the existing hostile encounter flow.
• Alignment consequences — Attacking non-raider NPCs decreases your alignment. The penalty scales by faction:
  • CHOAM: -15
  • Guild: -12
  • Sardaukar: -10
  • Fremen: -8
  • Independent: -5
• Commission revocation — Attacking a CHOAM or Guild ship revokes your CHOAM commission, both on a kill and on a non-lethal hit. The confirmation modal warns you before you fire.
• FedSpace enforcer penalty — Any attack attempted inside a safe/FedSpace sector is intercepted. CHOAM enforcers fine you and escort you back to FedSpace.
• Combat result feedback — The combat screen now shows alignment change and commission revocation clearly after the fight.

Galaxy population restored

• The shared galaxy’s NPC population has been restocked from 94 active ships back to 159.
• Restored balance includes all five factions: CHOAM, Guild, Sardaukar, Fremen, and Independent.
• Raiders are back up to 45 active ships, making hostile NPC encounters common again.
• This was a one-time restock to support the new unprovoked-attack feature and keep the galaxy feeling alive.

Automatic NPC respawn

• The galaxy now repopulates itself automatically during the 15-minute NPC tick.
• A lightweight cloud-side generator creates new NPCs to match the target composition:
  • 75 traders (70% Independent, 30% CHOAM)
  • 45 raiders (55% Fremen, 45% Sardaukar)
  • 30 patrols (80% CHOAM, 20% Guild)
• Respawns are capped per tick so populations recover gradually rather than flooding the galaxy.
• Placement follows faction behavior: Fremen stick to dangerous sectors, Sardaukar avoid FedSpace, traders prefer ports, and patrols stay near protected space.
• Major faction arrivals are announced in the galaxy news feed.

Controls

• Click ⚔ Attack next to any non-hostile ship in the sector panel.
• Press X to attack the nearest non-hostile ship.
• The confirmation modal explains the alignment hit and any commission risk before you commit.

What this means for play

• Evil/outlaw playstyles now have a direct path: hunt traders and patrols to push alignment negative.
• CHOAM-commissioned captains must weigh the cost of attacking corporate or Guild vessels.
• FedSpace remains a true safe zone — enforcers prevent piracy inside protected sectors.
• Check the Combat guide for the full alignment table and FedSpace rules.