diff --git a/SNNBot_garage/src/SNNBot.nim b/SNNBot_garage/src/SNNBot.nim
index 9d32085..3525ead 100644
--- a/SNNBot_garage/src/SNNBot.nim
+++ b/SNNBot_garage/src/SNNBot.nim
@@ -72,8 +72,8 @@ const
   NOISE_AMP = 0.3        # exploration noise amplitude
   # ponytail: uniform exploration noise; upgrade to annealed Gaussian if convergence needs tuning
   ENERGY_GUARD  = 5.0    # keep buffer; Walls hits us while we shoot
-  FIRE_POWER    = 3.0    # fixed fire power
-  BULLET_SPEED  = 11.0   # 20 - 3 * FIRE_POWER
+  FIRE_POWER    = 2.0    # fixed fire power
+  BULLET_SPEED  = 14.0   # 20 - 3 * FIRE_POWER
   COLD_K        = 3      # exemplars needed before leaving cold start
   PATIENCE_TICKS = 5     # ticks before first fire allowed
 
@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ type
     bulletsFired:     int                # count of bullets fired this round
     bulletsHit:       int                # count of bullets that hit this round
     hitRateEMA:       float              # exponential moving average of hit rate
+    gridHasData:      bool               # false during cold-start (forward returned -999)
 
 # ── aimTo helper ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -313,6 +314,7 @@ method onRoundStarted*(bot: SNNBot, e: RoundStartedEvent) =
   bot.bulletsFired      = 0
   bot.bulletsHit        = 0
   bot.hitRateEMA        = 0.5   # optimistic start
+  bot.gridHasData  = false
   bot.lastEnemyX   = 0.0
   bot.lastEnemyY   = 0.0
   bot.lastAbsBearing = 0.0
@@ -376,6 +378,7 @@ method run*(bot: SNNBot) =
         bot.lastDecideGunDir = gunDir
         bot.lastAbsBearing   = absBearing
         let rate = if bot.bulletsFired > 0: float(bot.bulletsHit) / float(bot.bulletsFired) * 100.0 else: 0.0
+        bot.gridHasData = gridOffset > -999.0
         if gridOffset <= -999.0:
           bot.targetAngle = absBearing
           echo "RES tick=" & $bot.tick & " hitEMA=" & formatFloat(bot.hitRateEMA * 100.0, ffDecimal, 0) & "% cold-start aim=" & formatFloat(absBearing, ffDecimal, 1) & " fired=" & $bot.bulletsFired & " hit=" & $bot.bulletsHit & " rate=" & formatFloat(rate, ffDecimal, 1) & "% energy=" & formatFloat(getEnergy(), ffDecimal, 0) & " cells=" & $bot.res.totalCount
@@ -422,7 +425,7 @@ method run*(bot: SNNBot) =
       let leadOffset = normalizeRelativeAngle(bot.targetAngle - bot.lastAbsBearing)
       appendLog(aimDebugLog, fmt"TICK t={bot.roundTick} err={err:.2f} offset={leadOffset:.2f} vPerp={bot.lastVPerp:.2f} dist={bot.enemyDist:.1f}")
 
-      let readyToFire = err < 2.0 and energy >= ENERGY_GUARD and bot.roundTick >= PATIENCE_TICKS
+      let readyToFire = err < 1.0 and energy >= ENERGY_GUARD and bot.roundTick >= PATIENCE_TICKS and bot.gridHasData
       if readyToFire:
         discard setFire(FIRE_POWER)
         bot.phase = EVALUATE