bias = hop * step + hop^2 * BOT_HOP_GROW_MILLIS
Bumps hop_step 3000->2000, adds BOT_HOP_GROW_MILLIS=400, raises cap
15000->50000 and TTL 75000->95000. Forces re-default of hop_step on
existing bots via BOT_PREFS_VERSION 5->6.
Gap between adjacent hops now grows with hop count (3200ms at hop 1
all the way to 8000ms at hop 8), so a far bot reliably has time to
hear a near bot's reply through the mesh before its own scheduled
fire time -- previous linear bias kept the gap constant at 3000ms,
which wasn't enough at 6+ hops where reply propagation takes ~5-10s.
Bumps base/jitter/hop_step/cap/TTL ~25% for more reliable token
suppression at the multi-hop edge. Bumps BOT_PREFS_VERSION 4 -> 5 to
force re-default of hop_step_ms on existing bots. Test bumped
many_hops.path_hash_count 10 -> 20 so the cap-check still trips with
the new 15000ms cap.
- BOT_HOP_STEP_MILLIS_DEFAULT 1500 -> 2500
- BOT_HOP_BIAS_MAX_MILLIS 8000 -> 12000
- BOT_RESPONSE_PENDING_TTL_MILLIS 45000 -> 60000
- BOT_PREFS_VERSION 3 -> 4 (forces re-default of hop_step_ms on existing
bots that saved the old 1500 value)
- writeAckResponse + executeTest: drop the literal "ack " prefix so test
responses now start with "@[sender] ..."
Field test showed two bots with token-matching `[1865]` responses both
firing because the far bot scheduled its reply before the near bot's
reply could propagate back through the mesh. New hop step gives ~5-8 s
of margin at the 4-hop boundary.
The auto-discovery of known bots via the suffix only fed DM suppression,
which is moot since DMs are encrypted to one recipient. Channel
coordination now lands via patch 7's request token mechanism, which
doesn't need the suffix. Removes the marker, writeBotAdvertName,
isBotAdvertName, autoLearnKnownBotAdvert, and getAdvertNodeName; reverts
all four advert sites to use _prefs.node_name directly. Removes the
test_bot_advert_marker host test. Manual 'bot known add' from CLI still
works for explicit DM suppression.
Bundles in-progress utility commands (TIME, LORA, ID, NEIGHBORS), neighbor
tracking, received_at_timestamp / personalized acks, and per-hop response
delay coordination. Tunes the coordinator so multi-hop senders actually get
responses: hop step 5s→1.5s, hop bias capped at 8s, pending TTL 15s→45s.
Verified on Heltec V3 bench bot: responds to #bot at 2, 4, and 6 hops.
BOT_PREFS_VERSION bumped 2→3, so existing bots will reset bot prefs (channel
names, known bots) to defaults on first boot of this firmware.
