Skotiq 8.1.1

This update addresses problems found during overnight imaging: an Imaging screen freeze, incomplete recovery after a meridian flip, repeated catalog timeouts, and inaccurate session restore settings.

Fixes

• Opening Imaging during a sequence no longer performs a quadratic search through Science frame selections that could freeze the interface.
• A completed physical meridian flip no longer counts as successful recovery until centering and guiding finish. Exhausted recovery follows the configured failure policy, independently of the frame-quality stop setting.
• Post-flip centering can retry with longer exposures through luminance, then use a bounded field probe and verified return to the target. Recovery holds exclusive capture ownership and restores the original filter through retries and cancellation.
• Frames with unverified pointing after a flip no longer teach a permanent obstruction to the learned horizon.
• Probe recovery honors short custom retry schedules by repeating the final configured delay; empty schedules fail before equipment commands.
• APASS lookups try the official IDIA VizieR mirror when the primary server is unavailable. Unavailable servers have a five-minute retry cooldown, and invalid responses are not cached as empty catalogs. Offline settings and bundled-catalog fallback are preserved.
• Session restore settings follow the most recent saved exposure instead of retaining the unrelated manual capture preset. Individual frame records continue to describe each exposure in a mixed session.
• First Light logs distinguish shallow or missing templates from unvalidated subtraction, and include reported PSF, registration and flux-scale rejection counts. Detection and confirmation thresholds are unchanged.
• The API discovery catalog now advertises existing Science bundle and calibration backlog routes. Flat Wizard navigation checks match its current location.
• Desktop, mobile and installer version metadata agree on 8.1.1 (build 31 for desktop/mobile).

Validation notes

Regression tests exercise the reported failure paths. Deployment checks confirm the installed files, startup and saved state. The new recovery behavior still needs an actual overnight meridian flip; simulated recovery tests do not substitute for that observation.

External catalog servers can remain unavailable. Installing this update does not repair historical session snapshots, Science records or atlas contributions. Calibrated linear masters can retain sky gradients; this update does not flatten their backgrounds or alter calibration pixels.

Changes since 8.1.0

• 197502f9a — API discovery and Flat Wizard navigation contract.
• ac3dc80ec — Imaging freeze from quadratic Science frame selection.
• 1a5d0e814 — Verified post-flip/probe recovery and capture ownership.
• This release — catalog retry handling, capture-derived session snapshots, First Light diagnostics and version metadata.