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I have one of those high dpi screens and my browser scales.

Just drag-copy the size you want to your desktop and open it in an image browser to see it at its native resolution (unless your OS will scale that, too?!).

Thanks. GIMP to the rescue. I like XIIB. I'm not sure if XII would be more or less readable during gameplay, but XIIB certainly fits the aesthetic more.

On the topic of readable fonts, I've joked about making a roguelike with Comic Sans edited to monospace as the tileset for "hell mode". You should release that as an April Fools build next year when we've all forgotten about this post(except me, because I've wanted to do it for years).

It'll be hard to tell how improved these are until I get to see them in-game. I have one of those high dpi screens and my browser scales.

You can be sure I'll give you my opinion on them when I get them though. Whether you want it or not.

I've just had a thought about "heat signatures" if we were to have them as an item in the game as opposed to being an option that can be toggled.

Rather than have them as an individual item they could potentially be rolled into the kit of a Watcher.  For example, it could be that instead of a Watcher just having a Light Ion Engine they have an Augmented Light Ion Engine that allows them to see heat signatures.  This makes sense to me as something they would have and is thematic to the game.

Thoughts?

That's not the feature of an engine. I don't think it fits.

you already have sensors to detect movement outside your sight line though...

Last I checked sensors detected location, not movement. Direction is a big deal with swarmers and watchers.

As far as I'm concerned, not many things are worth a utility slot. The game is an amalgam of not-good enough parts and a couple god-tier parts.
So the not being worth a slot thing doesn't convince me.

Aside from that, heat trails give a valuable piece of information that sensors don't, and that's the direction a robot is moving in. Sensors don't do a good job of showing what's moving where, and that can be insanely helpful in predicting swarmer/eye patrols. It would also pair well with longer distance opticals.

Would it be better than a sensor? Generally not. Would it be better than nothing, and could it be given energy/heat/mass that might make it more useful as a fill in for certain builds? Absolutely.

If you have it as an option whats the point of having it as a utility, when you can just turn it on whenever?

One is a convenient way of displaying movement in your line of sight. The other is a powerful tool for detecting movement outside your line of sight.

Any others want to provide input on which they prefer? A utility-based benefit with turn-based trail fading, or an option-based effect with real-time fade that only shows trails for robots in view?

I totally agree on the escaping bit, which is why I was against the smoke screen.

I think corrosive gas and the electric boogaloo version could be handled well. I also don't think they should be viewed exclusively as player handled weapons. They could be environmental hazards or machines limited to various branches.

A gas based-weapon wouldn't be able to be stacked. Every other non-melee weapon in the game can be, including launchers.
You wouldn't be immune to the gasses, meaning picking up scrap before things clear would come with a large set of downsides.
Enemies shouldn't factor it into their movement/targeting, meaning it wouldn't assist in escape.


The conversation that sparked this was about the limited number of mid-combat decisions you have to make. Combat right now boils down to fight or flight. Area of effect and persistent environment conditions would add to potential considerations. Be they weapons, terrain, traps, or whatever.

[I can't have that]

Yo Arseface, I don't mean to be rude but you said you wanted to be the first victory on Alpha 1b and I can't have that.

Score Sheet

I hope you step on a lego. With bare feet.

Having a single good tread works well as backup propulsion.

It's usually enough to carry you when all your other bits get shot off and you'd be otherwise forced to drop important utilities.

The system will continue to improve. The next update is to add an option that will require you to double click to confirm you actually want to ram an adjacent robot, in order to catch all cases including non-combat movement.

I don't think I've ever accidentally rammed something while a combat unit was in view, so I wasn't aware it was an issue then.

It's always those ****ing rs and as when I'm roaming. I'll definitely be using that double click to ram option.

I'm in favor of things like this. I don't think it will solve all my issues with Cogmind's current combat, but it would certainly help.

Incoming nitpicks.

Running away is already too easy. Making it easier with smoke trails would be devastating.
Poison gas should be corrosive since poison implies some sort of biological shenanigans.
Electric gas could easily be called a field, or a cloud, or something non-gaseous. Electric gas sounds... weird.

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 believe he's referring only to this situation:

...then walk around a corner so they are out of your line of sight...

Ah, I missed that. Probably because I wouldn't call out of sight things green and run on sentences are hard to read.

It's a valid point then. Should examining be enabled for floor items out of sight or should this just be a tiles perk?

in ASCII mode they are all green

Legs are the only green propulsion system. Wheels are yellow, treads are red, hover units are purple, and flight units are blue.

I must have mixed up the Maneuvering Thrusters and the inherent bonuses. Thanks for clearing that up.

I used to have a flight unit equipped and do it that way, but later on switched to just using inherent thruster bits since I thought they worked. Guess I have to switch back.

Legs and treads are where its at for combat runs. Legs keep the decent movespeed, treads... well, everything moves seventy billion times every move you make, but you only need like three to carry the world. No balancing necessary. If I can make it to -1 on legs, so can you

I actually do something really neat for combat runs. I turn off my propulsion while fighting.

You get a dodge bonus for hovering or flying, and your base movement is hover. Since your move speed isn't used when firing weapons, my 6,000,000 movement time doesn't matter. If I'm going to move, I turn on my treads.

Yea I made a similar comment about flight in another thread, saying that you should be able to beat the game with treads, wheels, or legs. If flight is the best way to go, than whats the point of the other options.

I'm generally alone in this regard, but I don't think singleplayer games need to be balanced. To an extent I look at multiplayer the same way, but that's a lot more muddy.

Things are allowed to just be better. ESPECIALLY in a roguelike, where you will be forced to take the less optimal choice from time to time. If something is too good, or not fun, just don't use it.

I'd go more in depth but I've already stretched the limits of "off-topic" for this thread.

I enjoy the ability to use allies like in other roguelikes, but I'm not really a fan of depending upon them in later levels in order to have an easier time progressing, the lone wolf approach is more fun for me personally, which is why I love roguelikes. You can play how you want. I,m just saying I think it would be good if this didn't become a, "Well your not gunna get past level "x" unless you have "this or that" on your side." The ability to play how you want really appeals to me.

I know you dont HAVE to use allies now, I just dont want them to make the game so easy that "your doing it wrong" if you're not using them.

Having said all that, its your game and I'll love it either way I'm sure.
Just my thoughts. 

Army(buckets o allies) is hard mode. You'll hit Alert 5 within a floor or two and the game becomes hell. I'm not complaining, wading through hell makes you feel like a badass. But still, it's certainly not easy mode.

Allies(4 or less) are useful, but like any other part you pick up they're disposable. Rely on them too much without the availability of spares or backup and it will kill you.

If you want an easy mode to gripe about look at flight units. Or nudity.

Recently a movie came out on youtube for free called Kung Fury, that soundtrack is perfect as well.

I've been waiting for that movie for a while now. It totally lived up to my expectations.

SS2 is pretty good, though it sounds a little dated, or maybe just because it was extremely specific to augmenting the atmosphere of that particular game. That's the thing about game music--the best will always reflect and become a part of the mood of the game and only that game. Annoys the heck out of me when composers try take the feel of one game's OST and jam it into another sometimes completely unrelated game--ruins the feel for me.

I find it really odd that there are games that I like their soundtracks, but I use them in other games instead of the one they're intended for. Like in Ys or Castlevania I tend to listen to AC/DC or some metal Touhou arranges. But I totally use tracks from those while playing other games.

Speaking of Ys, the Origin version of Termination is amazing. I might turn it on loop next time I make it to Access. The sounds themselves might not seem like they fit, but the scale and pacing should really suit the tension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6yLoUNzqmQ

I never have an issue differentiating between enemies and items in either tileset. They're not only larger icons typically, but they move and shoot things at me. I do have issues differentiating between weapon types and some other similar looking items. That seems to be the difference between the groups who prefer one or the other.

I leave oceans of parts in my runs. One time I left storage with the entire main hallway covered in parts. Being able to sift through them before the s's do is important.

I have my thoughts on how hacking could be changed to be a lot more fun to use, but I'm saving that till the command schemes are more finalized.

The schematic/analysis issue needs to be addressed first.

I like the look of the tiles and I'll flick over to them to check out new enemies/items, but I'm far more used to the ASCII (I personally find the tiles difficult to parse).  I don't believe this has anything to do with the art itself and more to do with the difference in colouring.  I know that the varied colouring is useful in giving a visual queue as to an item's rating, but it would be interesting to know if the tiles would be easier to parse if they retained the ASCII colouring.

For reference I'm playing on a 1920x1080 monitor.

I did a shoddy mock-up. See for yourself.

http://www.gridsagegames.com/forums/index.php?topic=131.msg952#msg952

How do someone cheat at cogmind? I've seen screenshots with 2000 core/2000 energy/2000 matter, so I assume there is some secret combination to press to get there? I am asking for a friend.

I'm guessing they memory hacked. I should try after I win to see if that's what they did.

I'd turn off score uploads when I did it though. It's poor form hacking in ladders.

Dunno, 2017? Never? Don't mark your calendars...

Just go with "Before Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter III: Starting From Scratch" is finished.

It looks like I'm in the minority then.

I'll be sticking to the mode where I can see properly. You guys can do the same I guess.