Messages

Worst run ever, not even a single evolution I am going to just go hang my head in shame.

Knew I shouldn't have played while I'm sick...

Hover can work really well, it's just often harder to find the parts since fewer robots use them, unless you enjoy confronting Programmers . Producing your own at fabricators might be a better alternative. I've enjoyed the times I was able to hover effectively, but I don't usually aim to do it--it's more a result of opportunistic looting of Programmers when I don't have enough left anyway.

If you're trying to go light then you do want to spend less time in a given area. Other players also tend to use ECM as well (there was a stockpile at the beginning of this seed), and run circuits to throw off pursuers.

I must have missed that ECM cache, I may replay this seed a couple times because I know there were a lot of opportunities for good gear. I think I just didn't think this run through very well.

Thanks for the welcome!

vi is life. vi is love. It makes using keyboard mode even faster!

I have some notes on a few other glitches I've observed--it I can repro them consistently I'll post them too. It's cool that you managed to make vi keys work so well on set a dense control surface!

Can't stand vi, vim for lyfe.

Seriously though I don't know if I'm just really bad with vi, or if it's buggy on freeBSD. I've never used it thoroughly in any other *nix environments.

You weren't trying to fly/hover the whole time, were you? (Or was that just a backup plan?) Looks like an unusual slot distribution for a flier--on the heavy side.

WAS VERY HEAVY! I couldn't get anything else that was decent.

After I thought on it for a while I realized my problem was probably spending too much time hanging around or trying to fight when I could have easily ran. I was expecting some better gear; I was really hoping to go hover. Should have shed some weight and GTFO'd

Edit: For more context, my build was lighter at first, but I ended up drawing way too much attention. That lead to loading a bunch of armor/heat sinks and large weapons. In the end I was losing resources too quickly to sustain myself. I got lucky at one point and killed everything off and got to run away, but ran head first into a defender and then reinforcements arrived. It was a sad day.

Yup, useful tips are useful . Certainly I've used this thing for a very long time for so many parts of game development, accumulating a number of good habits in the process.

By the way, is there any color that serves as a transparent background for the .png image export? At least I found out that it is easy to open the .png in another program (i.e. GIMP) select the empty black background and delete it.

Unfortunately, no. Even if I did set a color that could do this, I'm not really sure about adding transparency to a .png image, to be honest. For now I'd just say... use a supplementary program as you are :/. I'll add that to a list of things to look at at some point, but there are quite a few higher-priority items on that list already. (Technically we could just say that the hot pink transparency color on layer 0 becomes transparent in the final image, so we wouldn't need a second color.)

Are you using SDL functions to save the images? Image formats aren't too terrible to write manually. Not that you have time for that, but just in case anyone else was interested.

Welp I'm not back up to snuff, but this run went better than my first two after updating to Alpha 2c.

Spoiler

Cogmind - Alpha 2c

Name: ironpotato

---[ CORE DESTROYED ]---

Performance
-------------
Evolutions (3)             1500
Robots Destroyed (53)      265
Value Destroyed (1649)     1649
Prototype IDs (1)          20
Alien Tech Identified (0)  0
Bonus (0)                  0
              TOTAL SCORE: 3434

Cogmind
---------
Core Integrity             0/700
Matter                     225/300
Energy                     300/300
System Corruption          6%
Temperature                Warm (159)
Location                   -7/Factory

Parts
-------
Power (3)
  Improved Deuterium Engine
  Light Nuclear Core
Propulsion (4)
  Gravmag System
Utility (3)
Weapon (3)
  Remote Datajack
  Shock Rifle

Inventory
-----------
Flight Unit
Advanced Terrain Scanner

Peak State
------------
Power
  Deuterium Engine
  Deuterium Engine
  Light Angular Momentum Engine
Propulsion
  Flight Unit
  Flight Unit
  Flight Unit
Utility
  Improved Heat Sink
  Improved Heat Sink
  Decoy Generator
Weapon
  EM Pulse Cannon
  Flak Cannon
  Remote Datajack
[Rating: 34]

Favorites
-----------
Power                      Deuterium Engine
  Engine                   Deuterium Engine
  Power Core               Light Nuclear Core
Propulsion                 Flight Unit
  Leg                      Aluminum Leg
  Hover Unit               Gravmag System
  Flight Unit              Flight Unit
Utility                    Improved Heat Sink
  Device                   Improved Heat Sink
  Processor                Improved Scan Processor
  Hackware                 Decoy Generator
  Protection               Hardened Light Armor Plating
Weapon                     Shock Rifle
  Energy Gun               Shock Rifle
  Energy Cannon            EM Pulse Cannon
  Ballistic Gun            Heavy Assault Rifle
  Ballistic Cannon         Flak Cannon
  Special Weapon           Remote Datajack

Stats
-------
Classes Destroyed          8
  Worker                   1
  Builder                  1
  Recycler                 3
  Operator                 1
  Swarmer                  19
  Grunt                    15
  Sentry                   9
  Programmer               4
NPCs Destroyed             0
Best Kill Streak           25
  Combat Bots Only         22
Matter Collected           1711
  Salvage Created          1946
Parts Attached             78
  Power                    21
  Propulsion               17
  Utility                  9
  Weapon                   31
Parts Lost                 52
  Power                    11
  Propulsion               11
  Utility                  8
  Weapon                   22
Average Slot Usage (%)     74
  Naked Turns              3
Spaces Moved               2178
  Fastest Speed (%)        400
  Slowest Speed (%)        20
  Overloaded Moves         0
  Propulsion Burnouts      0
  Targets Rammed           2
  Cave-ins Triggered       0
  Teleports                0
Heaviest Build             44
  Greatest Overweight (x)  11
  Average Overweight (x)   2
Largest Inventory          4
  Most Items Carried       4
Core Damage Taken          1095
Volleys Fired              177
  Largest                  3
  Hottest                  196
Shots Fired                366
  Gun                      258
  Cannon                   82
  Launcher                 0
  Special                  26
  Kinetic                  187
  Thermal                  46
  Explosive                0
  Electromagnetic          107
Overload Shots             0
  Energy Bleed             0
  Heat Surge               0
  Short Circuit            0
  Meltdown                 0
Melee Attacks              0
  Impact                   0
  Slashing                 0
  Piercing                 0
Damage Inflicted           3310
  Projectiles              3310
  Explosions               0
  Melee                    0
  Ramming                  0
Highest Temperature        490
  Average Temperature      103
  Shutdowns                2
  Energy Bleed             2
  Interference             0
  Matter Decay             1
  Short Circuit            1
  Damage (minor)           0
  Damage (major)           0
  Damage (core)            0
Highest Corruption         6
  Message Errors           4
  Parts Rejected           4
  Data loss (map)          4
  Data loss (database)     3
  Misfires                 1
  Misdirections            1
  Targeting Errors         4
  Weapon Failures          1
Haulers Intercepted        0
Robots Corrupted           2
Tactical Retreats          12
Communications Jammed      0
Parts Field Recycled       0
  Retrieved Matter         0
Parts Merge Repaired       0
Drone Launches             0
  Drone Recoveries         0
Derelicts Assembled        0
Machine Familiarity        8
  Terminals                8
  Fabricators              0
  Repair Stations          0
  Recycling Units          0
  Scanalyzers              0
Machines Hacked            8
  Terminals                8
  Fabricators              0
  Repair Stations          0
  Recycling Units          0
  Scanalyzers              0
Total Hacks                29
  Successful               9
  Failed                   20
  Catastrophic             3
  Database Lockouts        0
  Manual                   4
  Terminals                29
  Fabricators              0
  Repair Stations          0
  Recycling Units          0
  Scanalyzers              0
Terminal Hacks             9
  Record                   0
  Part Schematic           0
  Robot Schematic          1
  Robot Analysis           1
  Prototype ID Bank        0
  Open Door                0
  Level Access Points      0
  Branch Access Points     0
  Emergency Access Points  0
  Machine Index            0
  Terminal Index           0
  Fabricator Index         0
  Repair Station Index     0
  Recycling Unit Index     0
  Scanalyzer Index         0
  Alert Level              1
  Unreport Threat          0
  Dispatch Records         1
  Maintenance Status       0
  Security Status          1
  Surveillance Status      0
  Patrol Status            1
  Transport Status         0
  Investigation Status     0
  Extermination Status     0
  Reinforcement Status     0
  Assault Status           0
  Recall Investigation     1
  Recall Extermination     0
  Recall Reinforcements    1
  Recall Assault           0
  Hauler Manifests         0
  Registered Components    0
  Registered Prototypes    0
  Zone Layout              0
  Sector Layout            0
  Machine Controls         1
Hacking Detections         7
  Full Trace Events        0
  Feedback Events          0
  Feedback Corruption      0
  Feedback Part Disabled   0
  Feedback Blocked         0
Robot Schematics Acquired  1
  Robots Built             0
  Robot Fabrication Matter 0
  Robot Fabrication Time   0
Part Schematics Acquired   0
  Parts Built              0
  Part Fabrication Matter  0
  Part Fabrication Time    0
Parts Repaired             0
  Part Repair Time         0
Parts Recycled             0
  Recycled Matter          0
  Retrieved Matter         0
Parts Scanalyzed           0
  Part Schematics Acquired 0
  Parts Damaged            0
Robot Analysis Total       1
Robots Rewired             0
Robots Hacked              1
  Non-combat               0
  Combat                   5
  Parse                    0
  Link                     1
  Rebooted                 2
  Overloaded               1
  Assimilated              0
  Manual                   0
  Secondary                1
Robot Hack Failures        3
Allies Hacked              0
Hacks Repelled             0
Total Allies               0
  Largest Group            0
  Highest-Rated Group      0
  Highest-Rated Ally       0
Total Orders               0
  STAY                     0
  GOTO                     0
  ROAM                     0
  FOLLOW                   0
  GUARD                    0
  AID                      0
  BUILD                    0
  TUNNEL                   0
  DROP                     0
  PICKUP                   0
  COLLECT                  0
  EXPLORE                  0
  RETURN                   0
Terraforming Orders        0
  Walls Built              0
  Walls Tunneled           0
Ally Attacks               0
  Total Damage             0
  Kills                    0
Peak Influence             264
  Average Influence        90
Maximum Alert Level        1
  Low Security (%)         84
  Level 1                  15
  Level 2                  0
  Level 3                  0
  Level 4                  0
  Level 5                  0
Squads Dispatched          7
  Investigation            0
  Extermination            4
  Reinforcement            3
  Assault                  0
Exploration Rate (%)       28
  Regions Visited          5
Turns Passed               3279
  Depth 11                 24
  Depth 10                 170
  Depth 9                  600
  Depth 8                  1041
  Depth 7                  1444
  Scrapyard                24
  Materials                1811
  Factory                  1444

Prototype IDs
---------------
High-powered Electrolaser

Alien Tech Recovered
----------------------
None

Game
------
Seed: ConsiderPhlebas
^Manual?: 1
Play Time: 32 min
Sessions: 5
Mod: N/A
Game No.: 5
ASCII: 1
Keyboard: 0
Font: 12/Cogmind
Map View: 84x54


X=9738512089335105292195596270
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243297966565612232224620206462
954220979402920294452224476502
910154142441632260052792975243
599499701472976342271151142145
051532142137251564154141930032
234102541151147941249951145724
261067142121252151142141242101
244141242101142142941151242141
241151142151446104242261241151
142141241151142141203041216256
545019164913520963492420044295
734295165929000621245009250365
14090902

[close]

That turned out to be a really cool seed though. I don't know where I went wrong. I guess an engineer saw me and sounded the signal. It was all down hill from there

And nope, I don't use OBS but Camtasia studio! I just downloaded OBS this afternoon out of curiosity so I see what you mean with these settings. The major problem with camtasia is that it doesn't capture ... full screen applications >_< It is really easy to record then to cut and make something watchable in minutes but that is a major issue. So I record my entire screen with it (windowed mode set to my resolution) but it's far from perfect.

EDIT : After writing this, I tested Cogmind recorded in fullscreen with camtasia, and it seems to work... So forget about the previous paragraph. I don't know why it works...

Just for future reference, the reason camtasia doesn't record full screen probably has to do with hardware rendering (ie. rendering on the gpu) in opengl/directx applications. Whereas Cogmind is written in SDL which is all software rendered, so that's probably why Cogmind works.

Anywho, love watching Cogmind runs, I'll have to check out your videos

Just wanted to say, finally updated to the new version, erased all my old files. It took me a while to realize I was playing tiled. It didn't dawn on me until I was watching an enemy go by and was like "I don't recognize it." After that I realized how good a job you guys did with keeping tile mode with the theme of the game. It's easy to distinguish tiles and the colors are fitting.

That said, I'm now back in ASCII mode, but I'll have to spend more time with tiles once I get back into the swing of the game.

Notes are the reason I play on linux! Multiple workspaces. It's nice to just ctrl+alt+left arrow key, jot down a note in a different workspace and ctrl+alt+left arrow to get back to playing.

Anywho, I'm just saying I wouldn't really use in game notes. Things change way too fast for that to even matter generally.

Man I was just going to make something to view the game files but it looks like yours already works for it So much for that.

Good job on this though, very well done. I was considering making the viewer in javascript myself xD

From the technical standpoint this is all you have to do. I'm not sure about legal one though.

I see. I'll have to look into it later.

@campfly: If what you refer to is a native Mac version, that would be quite difficult from an engine standpoint due to the large number of interconnected projects and libraries, many containing VS/windows-specific code.

It would be really nice to enable a hassle free solution for Mac users. At the same time, I wonder if it's easy to make literally one distribution that would work nicely across all OSX systems. If not, then it seems like providing clear guidance/support for Mac users to use any of multiple options that work best for them might be the better route. I'm not at all familiar with Mac development so perhaps you guys could suggest whether we could use a single method of distribution that "just works."

Honestly it runs fine in wine for linux out of the box, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Second, you used SDL right? So ports should be fairly easy. And third, Apple has rescinded their needing a license to develop on your own hardware! (That's mostly for iPhone devs, but I'm still really excited about it and had to share)

That's one of the big reasons I only use flight units. I'm a mouse user and collisions are bull.

It sounds like its being fixed though so that shouldn't be an issue for long.

I'm really bad at using flight units, then losing them and switching to something else and I forget that I now slam into other bots instead of jumping over them. Sometimes I'll do it twice in a row like 10 seconds apart from each other and I swear at myself.

I'd think of it more like catching someone out of the corner of your eye exiting a room. Kind of a motion trail sort of thing. You didn't see well enough to distinguish, but you could tell if it was hostile or not just from that kind of glance. I don't think it hurts anything at all in a believability sense.

Excitement ensues

What's the problem about using the F keys? They should be available on every keyboard.
I personally wouldn't mind using numbers and F keys combined if that is your point. That's a very small price to pay for being able to more easily manage large inventories.
In case someone doesn't want this behavior, you could add a switch to the options to limit the inventory display to 10 items.

I have to hit Fn + [Function key] to use function keys I hate it.

That guy in back could have also come through a secret door. But I agree movement is damn near impossible to get a bead on at this point. Hopefully movement trails happen and make this less of an issue.

Maybe that's why I did that

And stop trying to spoil yourself!

And now I know what I need to be spending my time breaking!

Deus Ex: HR's soundtrack is also a great focus soundtrack.

Absolutely! That one fits well, too, and I used it quite a lot during development last year. If you like that, there's also a great remix by OC Remix.

Ooh I'm going to have to check that out! Thanks for the link

For the last month or so of pre-alpha development, and all my own playtesting, I was listening to the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon OST again and again and again...

I've never played the game, but that soundtrack is some awesome retro sci-fi. In fact, while listening I was thinking it's not really suitable for Cogmind, but I might want something like it for the future X@COM reincarnation OST.

Deus Ex: HR's soundtrack is also a great focus soundtrack. And the soundtrack to "The Social Network" is one I hit up when coding every once in a while.

Edit: also can't forget https://soundcloud.com/absurdistabsurdist

I know there are a couple Cogmind players hanging out in #cogmind on freenode. Kamilion made a channel there and is online quite a lot.

Note for anyone who doesn't have or doesn't want to install an IRC client: You can also use quakenet's web-based client.

mibbit.com works okay too.

I guess I'll be firing up irssi tonight

Nah, usually a basic description is accurate enough . Reproduceability is only absolutely necessary if there was no obvious explainable cause and no crash log (in the case of a crash).

What you describe here is all part of the same bug--the view doesn't recenter until FOV is calculated. It finally snapped back into place because some other factor triggered a recalculation.

Honestly I knew about this issue before release, but didn't anticipate players endlessly ramming bots because it sure as hell is bad for you! Obviously I was wrong . This'll be fixed together with the other issue, thanks!

When you're out of items, low on health, and swarmed. It's your last chance to flee to safety. It almost never ends well though.

My personal take is that micromanagement is too difficult since combat AIs are mostly autonomous once they engage.

They're probably best used for targeted strikes against some hardened target, to defend against or ambush a known incoming assault force, or as decoys while you do something else. That said, I'm sure you guys will get creative and figure out other interesting tactics.

Allies will also be more powerful and more plentiful in the future.

Yeah, I had this problem with my Slayers earlier. They engaged an enemy, destroyed it's weapons then took off after it and I lost them. Then ended up running into the largest group of enemies I've ever seen in my life. I took some out then died immediately. Naked and alone.

If you get an opportunity, could you try and scan some of those unique enemies that show up when you cause too much trouble? I'm sure you've seen the Protectors and Saboteurs by now, and probably even something new I'm not aware of. If you get an Adv. Scan Processor, that is. I'll pay good karma for screenshots!

Gah I ran into those earlier and was running for my life to the stairs! I had a regular scan processor at the time too... I'm still in the same run, got my slayers. Going to see what kind of havoc can be wreaked. I'm just going with 4-6 and having them follow my for protection, so we'll see what happens.

For avoiding the mines, I set auto-climb stairs on. If its a branch you won't go up automatically so you know you've got the wrong stairs. It makes life a lot easier.

Thank you for posting ironpotato! That's a bug/cheat and I'm going to fix that now. Mwuahaha

You monster!

I'm starting to check all the boards/posts now that I have a little more time. Before I could only address the bare minimum posts (support/bugs), but I'm now making it everywhere else as well!

That's good to hear! Hopefully enjoying a little less craziness for the time being?

Fortunately the enemy AI is flexible about reacting to what you're up to, so even with these OP allies you're still in for a fight

But yeah this stuff needs to be tweaked. The hacking system went through minimal testing because I wanted to see what you guys would do with it at this stage before making changes.

Getting Slayers out of a tier 1 Fabricator is pretty OP. Commandos, sure, Slayers I will probably have to do something about

I literally spawned next to a fabricator and terminal in my current run. First try I got a slayer schematic xD Have not had a chance to build because I don't have enough matter, and I'm currently in the mines fighting for my life... But none the less, I'm looking forward to my OP allies.