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[Kyzrati]

Use this thread for general feedback and discussion about the most recent release, if you want to talk about something that you don't feel warrants a dedicated thread.

This is the open spoiler version, for discussions where you plan to talk about spoilery content and don't want to bother with spoiler tagging. Do not read this thread if you want to avoid spoilers! For non-spoiler discussion, feel free to use the non-spoiler discussion thread here.

Alpha 10 release notes and changelog.

[zxc]

Went for a lore run. 68 record hacks! Never even had hackware until the end. Entered Zhirov for the first time and that was really cool. Starting to really get into this lore.

Got completed wrecked in -4 and was naked for a good long while. Completely rebuilt from scratch with the derpiest Cogmind build you've ever seen: https://i.imgur.com/bf1FmyB.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Found neat items.
https://i.imgur.com/FQu8fQv.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Found this kick-ass power prototype. Magnificent creature! Later found out that this is my item!
https://i.imgur.com/jnxFSoB.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Finally in Access with an awesome build, and finally got some sensors. Too bad all my items are going to get obliterated by the end.
https://i.imgur.com/nMW9aD1.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is hell!
https://i.imgur.com/DmbLz3w.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

After finding the exit and failing to hack it, I had to trek across the entire map to destroy a cycler.
https://i.imgur.com/zPc07BN.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

All that was left at the end!
https://i.imgur.com/VJUTmfi.png

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

Cogmind - Alpha 10

Name: zzxc

---[ ESCAPED! ]---

 Performance
-------------
Evolutions (9)             4500
Robots Destroyed (52)      260
Value Destroyed (1689)     1689
Prototype IDs (25)         500
Alien Tech Recovered (2)   400
Bonus (4460)               4460
              TOTAL SCORE: 11809

 Cogmind
---------
Core Integrity             669/1600
Matter                     295/300
Energy                     48/50
System Corruption          13%
Temperature                Cool (2)
Location                   Surface

 Parts
-------
Power (3)
  (None)
Propulsion (7)
  (None)
Utility (13)
  Spectral Analyzer
  Advanced Terrain Scan Processor
  Experimental Melee Analysis Suite
  Improved Hacking Suite
Weapon (2)
  (None)
Inventory (4)
  Advanced Force Field
  Nova Cannon

 Peak State
------------
Power
  Singularity Reactor
Propulsion
  Xenon Bombardment Thruster
  Field Propulsion Array
  Impulse Thruster Array
  Impulse Thruster Array
Utility
  Spectral Analyzer
  Advanced Signal Interpreter
  Advanced Terrain Scanner
  Advanced Terrain Scan Processor
  Experimental Melee Analysis Suite
  Advanced Armor Integrity Analyzer
  Advanced Transmission Jammer
  Advanced Reaction Control System
  Advanced Cloaking Device
  Improved Propulsion Shielding
  Centrium Heavy Armor Plating
  Advanced Force Field
Weapon
  Mini Grenade Launcher
  Lance
Inventory
  Particle Reactor
  Light Quantum Reactor
  Quarantine Testbed
[Rating: 175]

 Favorites
-----------
Power                      Light Ion Engine
  Engine                   Light Ion Engine
  Power Core               Light Nuclear Core
  Reactor                  Singularity Reactor
Propulsion                 Flight Unit
  Treads                   Durable Medium Treads
  Leg                      Aluminum Leg
  Hover Unit               Backup Propulsion I
  Flight Unit              Flight Unit
Utility                    Improved Signal Interpreter
  Device                   Advanced Sensor Array
  Processor                Improved Signal Interpreter
  Hackware                 Improved System Shield
  Protection               Improved Utility Shielding
Weapon                     Mini Grenade Launcher
  Energy Gun               EM Pulse Gun
  Energy Cannon            Disruptor Cannon
  Ballistic Gun            Heavy Assault Rifle
  Ballistic Cannon         Light Cannon
  Launcher                 Mini Grenade Launcher
  Impact Weapon            Mace
  Slashing Weapon          Chainsword
  Piercing Weapon          Lance

 Stats
-------
Bonus Breakdown            4460
  Met Zhirov               300
  Win                      3000
  Fast Win                 1160
Classes Destroyed          10
  Worker                   4
  Builder                  2
  Hauler                   4
  Recycler                 2
  Operator                 1
  Watcher                  7
  Swarmer                  13
  Grunt                    10
  Sentry                   4
  Programmer               5
NPCs Destroyed             0
Best Kill Streak           5
  Combat Bots Only         5
Matter Collected           1921
  Salvage Created          2002
Parts Attached             157
  Power                    24
  Propulsion               37
  Utility                  70
  Weapon                   26
Parts Lost                 57
  Power                    10
  Propulsion               15
  Utility                  24
  Weapon                   8
Average Slot Usage (%)     78
  Naked Turns              2
Spaces Moved               9879
  Fastest Speed (%)        357
  Average Speed (%)        293
  Slowest Speed (%)        50
  Overloaded Moves         0
  Propulsion Burnouts      0
  Targets Rammed           0
  Cave-ins Triggered       0
  Teleports                1
Heaviest Build             89
  Greatest Support         92
  Greatest Overweight (x)  19
  Average Overweight (x)   0
Largest Inventory          4
  Average Capacity         4
  Most Items Carried       4
  Average Items Carried    3
  Final Capacity           4
  Final Carried            2
Core Damage Taken          2607
Average Core Remaining (%) 76
  Depth 11 Exit            100
  Depth 10 Exit            74
  Depth 9 Exit             59
  Depth 8 Exit             91
  Depth 7 Exit             100
  Depth 6 Exit             98
  Depth 5 Exit             91
  Depth 4 Exit             13
  Depth 3 Exit             74
  Depth 2 Exit             96
  Depth 1 Exit             41
Volleys Fired              115
  Largest                  2
  Hottest                  113
Shots Fired                186
  Gun                      147
  Cannon                   17
  Launcher                 22
  Special                  0
  Kinetic                  39
  Thermal                  77
  Explosive                22
  Electromagnetic          48
  Entropic                 0
Shots Hit Robots           168
  Core Hits                82
Overload Shots             0
  Energy Bleed             0
  Heat Surge               0
  Short Circuit            0
  Meltdown                 0
Melee Attacks              103
  Impact                   23
  Slashing                 23
  Piercing                 57
Damage Inflicted           4664
  Projectiles              1292
  Explosions               760
  Melee                    2612
  Ramming                  0
  Kinetic                  381
  Thermal                  611
  Explosive                607
  Electromagnetic          453
  Impact                   245
  Slashing                 698
  Piercing                 1669
  Entropic                 0
Self-Inflicted Damage      214
  Shots                    7
  Rammed                   0
Highest Temperature        427
  Average Temperature      47
  Shutdowns                1
  Energy Bleed             0
  Interference             0
  Matter Decay             0
  Short Circuit            0
  Damage (minor)           0
  Damage (major)           0
  Damage (core)            0
Highest Corruption         13
  Average Corruption       3
  Message Errors           4
  Parts Rejected           7
  Data loss (map)          7
  Data loss (database)     3
  Misfires                 1
  Misdirections            12
  Targeting Errors         5
  Weapon Failures          0
  Depth 4 End              1
  Depth 3 End              3
  Depth 2 End              4
  Depth 1 End              13
Haulers Intercepted        4
Robots Corrupted           0
Robots Melted              0
Power Chain Reactions      3
Tactical Retreats          45
Communications Jammed      397
Parts Field Recycled       0
  Retrieved Matter         0
Parts Merge Repaired       0
Drone Launches             0
  Drone Recoveries         0
Derelicts Assembled        0
Traps Triggered            24
  Indirectly               0
Trap Hack Attempts         0
  Triggered                0
  Disarmed                 0
  Reprogrammed             0
  Reused                   1451
Machines Disabled          4
Data Cores Recovered       1
  Used                     1
Machines Hacked            71
  Terminals                43
  Fabricators              5
  Repair Stations          2
  Recycling Units          3
  Scanalyzers              3
  Garrison Access          6
Total Hacks                235
  Successful               118
  Failed                   108
  Catastrophic             27
  Database Lockouts        0
  Manual                   19
  Unauthorized             13
  Terminals                130
  Fabricators              15
  Repair Stations          4
  Recycling Units          7
  Scanalyzers              9
  Garrison Access          14
Terminal Hacks             142
  Record                   68
  Part Schematic           5
  Robot Schematic          0
  Robot Analysis           4
  Prototype ID Bank        5
  Open Door                0
  Level Access Points      0
  Branch Access Points     1
  Emergency Access Points  1
  Machine Index            0
  Terminal Index           0
  Fabricator Index         0
  Repair Station Index     0
  Recycling Unit Index     0
  Scanalyzer Index         0
  Garrison Index           0
  Alert Level              2
  Unreport Threat          1
  Locate Traps             3
  Disarm Traps             0
  Reprogram Traps          1
  Dispatch Records         2
  Maintenance Status       0
  Security Status          0
  Surveillance Status      0
  Patrol Status            0
  Transport Status         0
  Investigation Status     0
  Extermination Status     0
  Reinforcement Status     0
  Assault Status           0
  Garrison Status          0
  Intercept Status         0
  Recall Investigation     0
  Recall Extermination     0
  Recall Reinforcements    0
  Recall Assault           0
  Hauler Manifests         0
  Registered Components    1
  Registered Prototypes    0
  Zone Layout              1
  Sector Layout            0
  Machine Controls         0
Hacking Detections         52
  Full Trace Events        7
  Feedback Events          0
  Feedback Corruption      0
  Feedback Part Disabled   0
  Feedback Blocked         0
Trojans Installed          0
  Terminals                0
  Fabricators              0
  Repair Stations          0
  Recycling Units          0
  Scanalyzers              0
  Garrison Access          0
Fabricators Overloaded     0
Garrisons Disabled         2
Garrisons Compromised      0
Fab Network Shutdowns      1
Robot Schematics Acquired  0
  Robots Built             0
  Total Robot Build Rating 0
  Robot Fabrication Matter 0
  Robot Fabrication Time   0
Part Schematics Acquired   7
  Parts Built              3
  Total Part Build Rating  9
  Part Fabrication Matter  438
  Part Fabrication Time    145
Parts Repaired             1
  Part Repair Time         26
Parts Recycled             0
  Recycled Matter          0
  Retrieved Matter         0
  Retrieved Components     2
Parts Scanalyzed           3
  Part Schematics Acquired 2
  Parts Damaged            0
Robot Analysis Total       4
Robots Rewired             0
Robots Hacked              0
  Non-combat               0
  Combat                   0
  Parse                    0
  Link                     0
  Rebooted                 0
  Overloaded               0
  Assimilated              0
  Manual                   0
  Secondary                0
Robot Hack Failures        0
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
Allies Corrupted           0
Allies Melted              0
Peak Influence             500
  Average Influence        107
  Final Influence          0
Maximum Alert Level        2
  Low Security (%)         78
  Level 1                  19
  Level 2                  2
  Level 3                  0
  Level 4                  0
  Level 5                  0
Squads Dispatched          28
  Investigation            9
  Extermination            5
  Reinforcement            11
  Assault                  0
  Garrison                 3
  Intercept                0
Derelict Logs Recovered    2
Exploration Rate (%)       29
  Regions Visited          15
  Pre-discovered Areas     4
Garrisons Visited          0
  Relays Disabled          0
  Generators Disabled      0
Network Hubs Disabled      0
Actions Taken              13351
Turns Passed               7767
  Depth 11                 42
  Depth 10                 506
  Depth 9                  586
  Depth 8                  91
  Depth 7                  456
  Depth 6                  572
  Depth 5                  2486
  Depth 4                  579
  Depth 3                  913
  Depth 2                  594
  Depth 1                  942
  Scrapyard                42
  Materials                1183
  Factory                  1572
  Research                 1507
  Access                   942
  Upper Caves              2166
  Proximity Caves          246
  Zhirov                   109

 Prototype IDs
---------------
F-Cell Engine
Fusion Reactor
Singularity Reactor
Improved Gravmag System
Biomechanical Wings
Advanced Power Amplifier
Experimental Heat Sink
Improved Matter Compressor
Experimental Optical Array
Spectral Analyzer
Advanced Salvage Targeting Computer
Experimental Melee Analysis Suite
Precision Energy Filter
Particle Accelerator
Centrium Heavy Armor Plating
Beam Splitter
Quarantine Testbed
Experimental Reclamation Unit
Assault Drone Bay
Advanced Beam Cannon
Compact Ion Cannon
Proton Burst Cannon
Anti-matter Cannon
Vibroblade

 Fabricated
------------
1x Adv. Sensor Array (-7/Factory)
1x Adv. Sensor Array (-4/Factory)
1x Adv. Sensor Array (-1/Access)

 Alien Tech Recovered
----------------------
Transdimensional Reconstructor
Integrated Reactor

 Route
-------
-11/Scrapyard
-10/Materials (discovered 3 exits: *Mat x2 / [*Min])
-9/Materials
-8/Materials
-7/Factory
-6/Factory
-5/Factory
-5/Upper Caves
-5/Upper Caves
-5/Zhirov
-4/Proximity Caves
-4/Factory
-3/Research (discovered 4 exits: *Res / Arm / Tes x2)
-2/Research
-1/Access
Surface

 Game
------
Seed: 1470926729
^Manual?: 0
Play Time: 177 min
Sessions: 1
Mod: N/A
Game No.: 137
ASCII: 1
Keyboard: 1
Movement: Numpad
Fullscreen: 1
Font: 18/Terminus
Map View: 76x50
FOV Handling: Instant


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[Kyzrati]

Congratulations on the first Alpha 10 win, zxc!

That is one hell of a scary hell you were in there...

And I know that in the past you've always been in it for the speedy straight shot to the surface, though it's funny you've just now visited Zhirov's hideout--think of the other lore and fun stuff out there still to check out

Singularity Reactors are extremely rare. In fact, I just checked and it looks like this is probably only the second time anyone has ever found one!

[Decker]

Just played my first Alpha 10 game. I like the changes so far.

This was a weird game where I went naked about 5 times. Armory helped me restock. It's a tight map filled with wonders...
* Particle accelerator. This one has low enough coverage that it's actually useful.
* Spectral analyzer. +8 sight at no cost! And it stacks. At +16 sight, it maps fast.
* All the enhanced Nova cannons and launchers you can dream of, more than you can carry!
* Plus allies you can activate.

I didn't linger too long in Armory, but I liked it.

I started the game as a combat bot, and I finished it as a stealth bot equipped with launchers. I mapped more than half of Access before I hacked the exit from a L3 terminal using the advanced hackware I found. None of the 3 L1 terminals in Command would pip out the exit despite me having a hacking suite. I was running blind since sensors were cursed this run. Either completely guarded by nasties or destroyed right when I equipped them. Conversely, my two flight units with 1 red bar survived through most of Access. The RNG gives, the RNG takes back.

The lore being recorded automatically is quite nice. I can finally erase my big list compiled manually.

The password UI could use a little work. It shows you the hack choices using letters (first is A), but typing A (and enter?) doesn't select the hack. It's misleading and you lose a hack attempt.

"Datadump.". Hah. Curiosity is sometimes a curse... Cogmind doesn't have copy&paste. Given your characterization of programmers in game, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're evil that way.

[Kyzrati]

Welcome back, Decker, and it looks like you're the first to have discovered Armory--it is definitely your kind of map

Glad you're liking Alpha 10 so far!

* Spectral analyzer. +8 sight at no cost! And it stacks. At +16 sight, it maps fast.

Sight-affecting utilities don't stack. They only take the maximum benefit (hence the lack of a <stacks> tag in their effect description). They do give you the maximum possible sight range in the game though, 24, which allows you to see to the edge of the map view if there is enough open space.

The password UI could use a little work. It shows you the hack choices using letters (first is A), but typing A (and enter?) doesn't select the hack. It's misleading and you lose a hack attempt.

That behavior is intentional. As described in the release notes (and you can see the demo image in the preview), if you are a pure keyboard player you have to first press \\ and then the window focus will switch to the code menu and the letters start glowing to indicate you can press those instead. (But apparently you know that by now ) Otherwise there is no way to differentiate when you want to type a real letter 'a' or the first option in the menu! I thought of using a modifier key, like Ctrl/Alt, but that is worse unless it's also written out in the menu itself, and that looks bad.

What I could do is make the reference letters not appear at all until you type \\, which you'll have to do since you won't see the letters there. The only annoyance with that, and the reason I chose not to, is it will leave more black space out in the left area of the menu--looks bad! (With a lot more work the window could have a different width depending on whether you're in keyboard or mouse mode, but it's already taken a ton of time to do what's there, and having the letters conforms to the design of most windows.) I still prefer to leave it as is, because in cases where you don't know, you'll learn how it works really quickly, and it's unlikely to mess you up, anyway.

[Decker]

Sight-affecting utilities don't stack. They only take the maximum benefit (hence the lack of a <stacks> tag in their effect description). They do give you the maximum possible sight range in the game though, 24, which allows you to see to the edge of the map view if there is enough open space.

Eeep! I didn't notice that. The second analyzer I equipped got destroyed in about 20 turns.

Otherwise there is no way to differentiate when you want to type a real letter 'a' or the first option in the menu!

How about the use of the 1-10 digits, and disallowing those characters in the passwords? No more ambiguity, all convenience.

[Kyzrati]

That's a good approach, but for two issues:

It's not only about passwords--you can type anything you want in the manual entry.

That drops our maximum code limit to 10 (we're much more likely to hit that) rather than 26, which would require scrolling. And scrolling sucks (plus we'd need an elegant and good-looking way to ensure it's apparent how to scroll purely via keyboard)

[Decker]

Let the UI (almost) as is, but when the player types 1, figure out it's a password menu reference. No limit to the number you can type, so it's not limited to only 10 codes.

[Enno]

set special weapons also to force melee ctrl+shift ?
or is there a special reason oO ??

...would be nice if it's possible.
and i dont played alpha 8 & 9 and heard the atmobackground in the
caves for the first time..great moods^^ dont want to get out of there.

[Kyzrati]

Hey Enno--glad you noticed the cave ambience. Added that several releases ago and no one really brought it up

Regarding special weapons, none of them require that you be adjacent to your target, plus they can be used in volleys rather than solo like the melee requirement, so they should follow the volley rules for consistency.

As you're playing pure keyboard, if targeting a robot a simply f+f will repeat attack, and if you're attacking environmental objects it's just f+cursor shift, so it shouldn't be too big a deal unless you are perhaps digging through a thick wall and being chased by a hostile in view at the same time and therefore have to move the targeting reticule away from a previous target? (I can only guess why you are making this request since you didn't specify!)

[Enno]

sry, i mean targeting walls...
with mining laser, wieding torch ...special weapon.
for example:
i could wield mining laser and assault rifle and dont have
to turn off assault rifle in front of a wall when i would to use
the mining laser and then on when im ready.
 i could simply press ctrl+shift and cogmind
use only mining laser. so it is with normal melee weapon too.
it woult practical for all special weapon also data jacks imo.

...ah and good lore-hunting now with this funny lore-diary on 9

[Kyzrati]

Datajacks already work that way, because they are melee weapons. You can just bump the target to hack, as you do in standard melee (no need to force-melee).

The problem with the handful of other semi-applicable special weapons (really just Mining Lasers, Welding Torches, etc.) is that, as a category, you can fire them at targets that aren't adjacent to you, so they still have to follow the projectile rules. What I could possibly do instead is change that one weapon to belong to the same "special melee" category that Datajacks do, basically making them like Mining Claws and they would then follow all melee rules, including 1) adjacent attacks only and 2) bump to attack (or in the case of walls--force attack to attack).

In fact, Mining Lasers would probably belong to this category if the special melee type existed when they were developed, but that came later

[Enno]

basically making them like Mining Claws

great how you pointed out what i want with my special english

[Kyzrati]

Hehe, gotcha

I'll look into it for Alpha 11.

[Decker]

I intentionally triggered a cycler(?) explosion in the Hub, using a launcher, halfway through to the factory exit. I thought I had some time before the guards showed up (given the announcement), but it's actually instant. I was surrounded by about 6 guards. They strip real fast with their EM weapon.

I feel the risk >> the reward here.
- It's the fifth area that you reach upon ascending, so the core integrity is bound to be low right on entry (and especially so if you took an early branch).
- The guards have high firepower, numbers, and speed.
- The guards spawn right from the exit that you may be trying to escape to.
- 5% detection reduction isn't much to rejoice about.

So perhaps the risk/reward gambit should be tweaked a little?

[Kyzrati]

Yep, agreed. Although the benefit isn't 5%, it's 10%. That was changed back in Alpha 9. And it's already been set to 15% for Alpha 11.

That said, there are several different strategies that make the Hub a lot easier, so it's designed with those in mind. Also, note that the benefit has no cap--if you can find a way to destroy multiple hubs you become virtually untraceable for the rest of your journey. For now, though, I decided to raise the benefit to 15% since the average player will probably only destroy one at most.

We'll see how it works out, but so far not many people venture there (or even know what it does) so there aren't as many opportunities to see how it plays into a larger strategy.

...THAT said, your post had me checking more of the Hub_04(d)-related variables just now (which compared to other maps I haven't done much of precisely because it's rarely visited ), and noticed that its defenses are set rather high for a map of that size. I'll be halving its number of garrisons for Alpha 11, and also changing Lightning behavior so that they'll no longer spawn from regular access points unless there are no garrisons available.

Something else that helps survival in the Hub which might take some effort to otherwise figure out: The Lightning squads are not after you when they're dispatched--they only arrive to guard the remaining networks if one has been disabled

[Decker]

Yep, agreed. Although the benefit isn't 5%, it's 10%. That was changed back in Alpha 9. And it's already been set to 15% for Alpha 11.

ALERT: Network intrusion management efficiency reduced by 5%.
  Dispatching hub defense squads. All non-combat units evacuate.

That message above is from Alpha 10. Be sure to update the message too in Alpha 11

Something else that helps survival in the Hub which might take some effort to otherwise figure out: The Lightning squads are not after you when they're dispatched--they only arrive to guard the remaining networks if one has been disabled

Aha! That'll make dealing with them a lot easier. Evidently, the ones I met thought that a good offense is a good defense

And yes, it's hard for the player to figure that out since (to my knowledge) there are no other hostiles that behave that way (except a hint about Researchers in Xion).

[Kyzrati]

That message above is from Alpha 10. Be sure to update the message too in Alpha 11

Ah good catch, thanks! That was hardcoded into the message when it should've been based on the variable xD (That type of alert message with an actual value in it goes against my normal practice, but I made an exception there because it needed to be more obvious after the original message was considered too vague when the Hub was first introduced.)

It does, however, report the correct value in the status window when you're hacking after that point.