GDFKTT over on r/Cogmind
shared their first win, which I'm copying here so the writeup isn't so easily lost on Reddit
Pre-Note: This is an overview of my third Beta 5 run ever, my 1st ever win, and my first real attempt at a complete pacifist run. Credit to u/zxc223 for the first 2 minutes of one of his pacifist speed runs that showed my how to use propulsion part coverage correctly without dropping core speed. First two attempts with no guidance were complete failures. Also I've watched Kyzrati do early parts of a couple beta 4 runs on Twitch - this was lots of help understanding some of the game mechanics.SPOILER WARNING: This post contains some spoilers. Read on at your own risk.<Start Transmission>Greetings fellow Cog Minds! No, you're not receiving this transmission in error. I bring you an epic tale of hope, despair, pursuit, and flight, from the world above! Behold!
I awoke for the third time in a scrap heap, collected myself and immediately equipped up on legs and guns in the correct configuration to protect myself without engaging them, and then hovered into Materials where I quickly encountered the repeated bane of my young existence as a pacifist... Pests. Thankfully luck and a new higher speed were with me, and after quickly finding a couple flights of stairs in sequence I ended up in Storage somewhat shot up, but with an evolution under my belt and some gear laying around that gave me some room to start my first real powered hover build.
As I was already discovering, the most nagging part of this entire escape was the lack of inventory storage. I never equipped an expansion slot into utility during the early game for fear of slowing down, and then when I gained the capability to risk higher mass allocation I never found the storage module I needed...
I also had the good fortune of finding two shiny core shielding units lingering in a dusty corner, and although I agonized heavily over giving up an extra leg, I finally relented and tucked them into my tiny body and sped away... It was to be a critical and fateful decision that would later save my bacon... By the time I exited storage Materials 8 I took me a total of 92 turns, so about as quick as the last two areas, and I sped into Factory 7 starting to feel confident and with one of those core shields now deployed around my small but growing frame of propulsors.
And then came the factory patrols... oh god they were everywhere, and the earlier luck I had encountered with finding exits was gone... My frame took a crippling amount of punishment, little charred bits of hydraulics and limbs littered my wake. That must be how I was followed so easily by the growing swarm of defenders. Factory 7 took me longer than all of the earlier levels combined, and by the time I climbed into factory 6, I was hurting for healthy modules. So it was great when first door I opened led to a nice bot who locked down his terminal and calmly alerted the authorities to my presence...
At some point, as the mad chase resumed the first core shield failed and the backup got slotted in, and then shortly after I received a crippling hit to one of my main flight engines and power source at the same time. Feeling cornered and left in a vulnerable slow configuration, I tore frantically ripped pieces off myself (with some more violent help from my purusers) until I was tiny once again, and zoomed onward through the level searching desperately for the stairs. Core health dipped below 30% but that critical core shielding, partially melted and glowing a fiery red continued to mitigate damage like a champ! And then a bright light appeared in front of me... and I flew through it without a moment's hesitation into...
Darkness. Safety. Evolution. More propulsion and utility please and thank you.
The hatch into Factory 5 closed behind me with a sharp hiss of compressed air and scanning the area I found... desertion. It appeared that all the commotion on the lower floors of the factory had drawn away many of the squads assigned to this portion of the facility, but there also wasn't much lying around to rebuild myself with, so when I was again blessed with an exit ahead, I immediately took it. Factory 4 was similarly sleepy, and similarly devoid of useful things, except for a drone bay, which immediately gave a great return on a small matter investment. Frustrated with my slow rate of recuperation and final loss of the last of my critical core shielding I sped into the first set of stairs my tiny dronelets found, hoping to head into research and fresh piles of matter and powerful equipment.
But no sooner had the entry hatch clanged shut and I began to take in the darkness, echoes, and the drip drip of water falling from a high ceiling did my frustration turn to dread... god damned caves crawling with patrols... Crawling as in - there were four mercenaries just lounging around the entrance. The chase was already on! But suddenly in the moment before their optical sensors locked onto me, I had a vision... I saw myself or another of my kind from above and heard the confident voice of God Kyzrati saying to him/me "In the caves, you want to go East!". And as the vision faded I acted on instinct and did just that. Dashing from wall to wall, fleeing the sound of grinding treads and armored legs that characterized my pursuers, until somehow, finally, after 3 sets more of stairs I found something that I could never have imagined existed... The resistance!
The warlord's stronghold was fast, and well stocked with new and powerful equipment. I was to to be only able to take a mere fraction of it with me for the challenges ahead. It was hear that I learned more about the all powerful entity controlling the facility - the arch villain who seemed dedicated to making my tiny existence a living hell. Yet the warlord had a plan, and risky though it was, it appeared as good as any I could come up with. So taking my leave as the villainous horde closed in yet again, I wished him and his "One god army" the very best, and escaped out of the secret emergency exit, back into the caves, westward bound with an ever growing host at my heels, yet happy and confident in my larger self and my fresh supply of powerful equipment.
Research 3 was exactly the abundant source of goodies I had hoped for, yet came with fresh terrors that tempered my enthusiasm. By the time I climbed into Research 2 I was again starting to wonder about the length of my future. Turned out I need not have been considered, for no sooner had I started my fresh explorations of the new area than the entire level melted down into a chaotic sea of desperately defending facility guards, and a small but determined contingent of fighters led by none other than the Warlord! The one god army delivered such exacting justice it made the Human God's fabled wrath look like a child's temper tantrum.
The sharp contrast from the bright purple of Research and the lime green of Testing should have been a clue that my luck was changing again. Dogged by new powerful prototype defenders firing all kinds of fancy slugs and thermal weapons, but augmented by strong and numerous propulsion units to evade, the race upwards resumed in earnest. The measure of things was determined simply by the number of spares lying around that I could take every time something else on my hull got slagged. Also, I had some extremely horrible luck with finding the exit that dragged things on longer than they should have and put me in a worse state than I might have otherwise been when I finally jetted up up up into: Access.
Finding the big door took literally seconds. But I instantly knew what it meant.. OUT. I CAN GET OUT! Finding the way through it, was an absolutely ardorous task. Despite multiple hacking units, my attempts to open by the terminal ended in complete failure. I pounded by biometal legs on the terminal in frustration but knew there had to be another way through. The blast door was too thick, I couldn't dent it with any weapon I knew of. More running and exploring to the sides gave me the answer I sought.. Forcefield guarded by to Colossi... that had to be it! Thus ensued a temporary circling circus as I searched for a weapon that could breach the field, chased by one of the two massive defenders and a swarm of it's smaller brethren, and starting to take serious punishment to my protective screen of legs and treads covering my fragile nuclear and quantum propulsors. Finally, a single nova cannon! Equipped, I sped back to the field and began my last stand and blasted away at the field. A HIT! Oh shoot there's another layer! Again and again I fired until there was one barrier left, and I decided to make a break for the hole before making my final shot.... WHAMM!
The slug from the Colossus took out my power source, and my already depleted energy reserves from firing the cannon and keeping my engines hot for the dash to safety left me dangerously vulnerable. I could not move, I could not install my fresh backup power source. I sat, waiting as the Colossus cycled his weapon systems and fired point blank. BLAMMM! My Nova Cannon -the most critical piece of equipment I needed to escape- went from green to red. Finally, my batteries recharged and my backup power slot came online as the second Colossus came back around the corner, and then both of them gave me another point blank volley. BLLLAAAAMMMMMMMMM! Treads and legs were torn away but somehow they missed the giant Nova Cannon! With a surge of electrons I reactivated my quantumn engines and zoomed into the hole in the forcefields, stopping briefly to fire off one more volley with the cannon that breached the final barrier in front of me.... "Freeeedommmm!", I yelled as I dashed onto the stairs, laughing at the frustrated bleeps and blats of the two Colossi robbed of their prey!
And now... I'm not just free... I'm Free Fallin'!.. On my way to... well..that information is classified, just incase HE'S got spies listening in...
So anyway take heart in my success. I wish you the best in your own future attempts and hope you'll escape join me out...errr...here. Wherever HERE is... you'll figure it out if you visit "Electrical Engineering".
TOTAL SCORE: 33510
Damage Taken: 15167
Turns Passed: 4735
Play Time: 185 min
Seed: SurveybotGatlingMembrane
Signing off,
Cog Mind
<End Transmission>TOTAL SCORE: 33510
