diff --git a/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/mod.rs b/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/mod.rs
index cdc7d3d..d573c1d 100644
--- a/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/mod.rs
+++ b/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/mod.rs
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ fn generate_system_positions(params: &GalaxyParams, rng: &mut StdRng) -> Vec<Gen
             base_spacing,
             &mut next_index,
             disk_index,
+            params.core.radius,
         );
     }
 
@@ -309,10 +310,13 @@ fn generate_core(
     }
 }
 
-/// Generate one disk layer of spiral arms. Faithful to the original
-/// generator's density bias (`pow(0.62)` → packed near origin) and arm twist.
-/// Supports tilt (rotation around X, capped at 45°), Y-axis rotation offset,
-/// and independent inner/outer radii.
+/// Generate one disk layer of spiral arms. Arms are anchored to the core
+/// cluster: when `inner_radius` is 0 (auto), systems start inside the core
+/// zone so arms visually emerge from the core boundary rather than appearing
+/// detached. The density bias (`pow(0.45)` → strongly packed near inner edge)
+/// produces a natural falloff from bright core-proximal arms to sparse outer
+/// regions. Supports tilt (rotation around X, capped at 45°), Y-axis rotation
+/// offset, and independent inner/outer radii.
 fn generate_disk(
     systems: &mut Vec<GeneratedSystem>,
     rng: &mut StdRng,
@@ -321,6 +325,7 @@ fn generate_disk(
     base_spacing: f32,
     next_index: &mut usize,
     disk_index: usize,
+    core_radius: f32,
 ) {
     let arm_count = disk.arms.max(1);
     // Effective outer radius: explicit value if set, else galaxy size.
@@ -329,7 +334,16 @@ fn generate_disk(
     } else {
         galaxy_size
     };
-    let inner = disk.inner_radius;
+    // Anchor disk arms to the core: when inner_radius is 0 (auto), start
+    // systems inside the core zone so arms visually emerge from the core
+    // boundary rather than appearing detached. The 0.4 factor places the
+    // density peak well inside the core sphere, producing overlap that
+    // creates a seamless core-to-arm transition.
+    let inner = if disk.inner_radius > 0.0 {
+        disk.inner_radius
+    } else {
+        core_radius * 0.4
+    };
     let span = (outer - inner).max(1.0);
 
     // Pre-compute the rotation quaternion for this disk's tilt + Y rotation.
@@ -354,7 +368,10 @@ fn generate_disk(
         let mut position = Option::<Vec3>::None;
         let mut final_radius = 0.0f32;
         for attempt in 0..SPACING_ATTEMPTS {
-            let r = inner + rng.gen::<f32>().powf(0.62) * span;
+            // powf(0.45) concentrates ~60% of systems in the inner 30% of the
+            // radial span, ensuring arms are dense near the core boundary and
+            // fade naturally toward the edge.
+            let r = inner + rng.gen::<f32>().powf(0.45) * span;
             let angle = std::f32::consts::TAU * arm as f32 / arm_count as f32
                 + ((r - inner) / span) * disk.twist
                 + (rng.gen::<f32>() - 0.5) * arm_scatter(arm_count);
diff --git a/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/ui.rs b/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/ui.rs
index 8b85afc..b5cb452 100644
--- a/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/ui.rs
+++ b/apps/game/src/gameplay/galaxy/ui.rs
@@ -1334,9 +1334,15 @@ fn randomize_disk(rng: &mut impl rand::Rng) -> DiskParams {
     disk.rotation_offset = rng.gen_range(DISK_ROTATION_MIN..=DISK_ROTATION_MAX);
     disk.rotation_offset =
         (disk.rotation_offset / DISK_ROTATION_STEP).round() * DISK_ROTATION_STEP;
-    disk.inner_radius = rng.gen_range(DISK_INNER_RADIUS_MIN..=DISK_INNER_RADIUS_MAX);
-    disk.inner_radius =
-        (disk.inner_radius / DISK_INNER_RADIUS_STEP).round() * DISK_INNER_RADIUS_STEP;
+    // Bias inner_radius toward 0 (auto) ~70% of the time so randomized disks
+    // are always anchored to the core by default.
+    if rng.gen_bool(0.7) {
+        disk.inner_radius = 0.0;
+    } else {
+        disk.inner_radius = rng.gen_range(DISK_INNER_RADIUS_MIN..=DISK_INNER_RADIUS_MAX);
+        disk.inner_radius =
+            (disk.inner_radius / DISK_INNER_RADIUS_STEP).round() * DISK_INNER_RADIUS_STEP;
+    }
     disk.outer_radius = rng.gen_range(DISK_OUTER_RADIUS_MIN..=DISK_OUTER_RADIUS_MAX);
     disk.outer_radius =
         (disk.outer_radius / DISK_OUTER_RADIUS_STEP).round() * DISK_OUTER_RADIUS_STEP;