I escaped. AMA

[biomatter]

LOCATION: SURFACE

Score File

[Kyzrati]

Congratulations biomatter. Well done .

I get first question! What did you think of the final animation?

I think it's pretty neat, but it's only part of what will be a longer animated sequence later on when I get to working on the game's multiple endings.

[biomatter]

It was beautiful. When that screen hit I literally started tearing up. I've been recording all my runs - they were all silent, save some music I was playing in the background, but I'm thinking about commentating over it and uploading it. I don't know if anyone would find it interesting, honestly. I have 7 GBs of footage, actually.

Speaking of runs, that was my 58^th. That's how many times it took me to beat the game. Heh, it would've been nice to get that under 50, but I did a bunch of suicide runs for research lol.

Also Kyzrati I sent you a PM on reddit. Pls respond senpai ;_;

[Kyzrati]

Responded right away

I'm happy the animation had that effect--took a couple days to get it right. Fun to reach the current ending when you're so used to switching depths (or dying) and having a very different kind of animation play out there.

58 is pretty good considering all your data collection, though some of that research no doubt contributed to your success!

Wow, 7 GB. It would be interesting to hear commentary over a run; that's pretty uncommon as far as videos go. It night be even more interesting if you waited until have even more experience--not sure, maybe having it fresh in mind in this case would be good, too.

[biomatter]

I attribute most of my success to reading the manual. I did that last night and I came out a changed person.

Eh, I only mention doing 'commentary' because I know most LP'ers talk while they are playing, but my videos unedited are just pure gameplay and music and that might be boring. Honestly though, I'm more impressed by some of my runs that ended in death - there were times I got really far even though I had had all my parts wiped multiple times. Persistence, dedication, never giving up, blah blah all that good stuff can actually be true sometimes.

Is it alright if I upload a copy of my scoresheet?

[Arseface]

Am I right in assuming this is the first win?

[Kyzrati]

Biomatter will go down in history as the very first Cogmind to win, yep.

I attribute most of my success to reading the manual. I did that last night and I came out a changed person.

*everyone goes to read the manual*

there were times I got really far even though I had had all my parts wiped multiple times. Persistence, dedication, never giving up, blah blah all that good stuff can actually be true sometimes.

That's the beauty of the design, I think. Comebacks are commonplace, and you can go from being scrap to a death machine in very short order.

Is it alright if I upload a copy of my scoresheet?

Absolutely! Show everyone here the stats behind the win.

[jimmijamjams]

I've said it elsewhere, but if it's here it's official:

Congratulations!

I would be fine to see just some straight game play if you can be bothered to upload it (it takes ages with a crummy connection).  But even the log sheet would be enough for me

In fact, I almost don't want to see someone else do it, I want to be the one responsible when I see that final screen

[biomatter]

Score sheet is in the main post! Has been for a while, actually

I'm thinking about having the video get glitchy towards the end, to the point the final sequence can't be seen. I'm thinking about a lot of things. We'll see what I actually do lol. Kyzrati has asked me not to spoil the end, but it's not really the meat of the broadcast, is it?

Ninja edit: Oh, and I saw your tweets asking how I did it. Take a look at my peak build on the paste. I did two things and two things only: SEE REALLY GOOD and GO REALLY FAST. I made a comment about it months ago when I had my first decent run - the unsung hero is the 'Enh. Visual Array' which extends your sight by 6. That, some prototype flight units to get my speed down to 10 and enough power and coolant to keep moving are what carried me to the end. No joke, there were points where I just said 'no risk no gain!' and dove into groups of Swarmers, Goblins, and Programmers, only taking a single volley from each, and then I was beyond sight. It was exhilarating. I didn't even get the Adv. ECM until really late in the game. It helped, but even without it I was usually across the map by the time enemies even began to think about chasing me.

[jpka]

Congratz man, it is no small achievement.

I would definitely love to see that footage. With commentary is best for me (I kinda get lost or bored without it), but without would also be awesome.

[jimmijamjams]

1000% move speed!!!

No wonder they only got one volley off!

I also noticed you took out two Behemoths, very nicely done!  Ahh, I remember when I took out my first one (only one), very satisfying to say the least.  I also like the look of that Decoy Generator, don't tell me what it does, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough

[biomatter]

What?! How could you have NOT seen one? It's just a piece of hackware you find everywhere, nothing special lol.

[Kyzrati]

Remember, jjj is busy blowing everything up with his 7 rocket launchers. He probably roasted them all.

[jimmijamjams]

What?! How could you have NOT seen one? It's just a piece of hackware you find everywhere, nothing special lol.

What?! Hackware!? I can't hear you over all the explosions!

[ironpotato]

Yay Biomatter! Congrats! I was wondering when this moment would hit. Had a feeling it would be you or jimmi. I'm still a long ways from winning, but my mid-game is getting much stronger. I like to shoot my way through everything, then run like a bitch if I'm taking too much damage. Rocket launchers == the best part of the game.

[Kyzrati]

Rocket launchers == the best part of the game

== easiest way to get self killed == still best part of the game

Seriously though, using them at the right time is the key to staying alive with a combat build, so don't be too afraid to use them. (Not that you or jimmi have that problem, ironpotato =p)

[Phuket]

Congrats bio!  What kinda approach did you take? Did you go guns blazing or did you try and speed through the levels?

[ironpotato]

Rocket launchers == the best part of the game

== easiest way to get self killed == still best part of the game

Seriously though, using them at the right time is the key to staying alive with a combat build, so don't be too afraid to use them. (Not that you or jimmi have that problem, ironpotato =p)

More like quickest way to starve yourself of materials, buuuut they do get me out of pinches.

[biomatter]

I never use Rocket or 'Nade Launchers unless I'm forced. I hate how they destroy all the salvage. If I have to use AoE weapons, I'll go with an EM bomb of some sort.

Fun facts: On my winning stealth run, it took me an hour to get to Research (-3), and then another hour to get through it to -1. Research is a real pain!
On my first real run-n-gun attempt, it took me two hours to get TO Research.

[biomatter]

I escaped again. AMA

Score sheet

I've been doing combat runs for the last week and they really drain the energy out of me. It's so disheartening to have no respite from combat, to have all your parts wiped again and again in a single run - it's like, if I have to rebuild myself from scratch, why didn't I just run naked through the game to this point? Oh, right, score. I keep forgetting.

Anyways, so new version comes out and I do another combat run and get a score of 8700~ but only make it to -4. Our good friend Arseface makes three mistakes: he says out loud he wants to be the first to win this version, he says it in front of me, and then he goes to sleep. I am a cruel and spiteful demon, and so I decide my next run will be a speedrun. I won literally the first try - that is, my second run on this version. I had a feeling I could have won a dozen times in the last week if I wasn't trying to master combat, and I think this confirms my suspicion.

This run I hacked a ton of lore logs too, so I'll be updating the wiki shortly with some REALLY cool info. I would have been happy with this run even if I died just because of the lore I gathered. There was a moment at the end of this run where I thought it was game over but then something magical happened and I was able to make a break for the staircase. Kyzrati, you dirty trickster you! If I'd known about that last time, haha...

When you guys (read: everyone else) figure out the secret to floor -1 everyone is going to realize just how fuckin' easy a speedrun of Cogmind is. The 'speed' stat in Cogmind is ridiculously OP and Arseface and I could rant for an hour on the topic. This run only took me less than 2000 turns and an hour and a half of my time. I'm sure a dedicated individual could get it below an hour with a small dose of luck and intense concentration.

Anyways, I seem to enjoy the sound of my own voice too much, so I'll shut up and stop bragging. It's back to the fuckin' grindstone with combat runs... As soon as I succeed I'll write up another huge gripe post because until then I don't know how valid my complaints are, but you can bet I have plenty.

[CormacMccarthy91]

I'm not sure how I feel about it being easier to just speed your way through everything rather than use a heavy combat build. It's kind of a turn off for me since I love the action feel you can get from the game.

[Kyzrati]

Don't be. Speeding through the game is intended to be "easy mode." (Though not always easy, per se, it is without a doubt easier than trashing everything you see.) You can read more about my opinion on this here.

Fighting it out will also become an increasingly viable strategy as the game is expanded.