Alpha Challenge 2015 (September 8-22)

[Kyzrati]

Of note: Waste is not a "branch," per se. It behaves very differently in a number of ways. (I imagine you know this, but will call it such for lack of an alternative term.) The future world map will make the differences between Waste and branches more apparent.

[Xenocide]

Great tournament! Can't wait for next one.

[biomatter]

Congratulations to everyone that participated, and especially to zxc and his absolutely insane 30k+ scoring run! You achieved my dream, man.

[zxc]

Congratulations to everyone that participated, and especially to zxc and his absolutely insane 30k+ scoring run! You achieved my dream, man.

Thanks biomatter

I was a little disappointed that you weren't around for the event - I think I was just getting into Cogmind right around when you took a break. Hope you can rejoin us soon

[biomatter]

Heh. Thank you for the kind words. Frankly, I'm not sure if I'll ever be back - I think the game just stresses me out too much!

I know that sounds dumb and it absolutely is a character flaw, but I lost my mind getting those first two wins, haha. Uh, Kyzrati can attest to that fact... Part loss just kills me inside and makes me feel helpless. In no other roguelike is managing inventory so life-sustaining and important (and this is an interesting thing, not a bad thing). I just take it too personally for some dumb reason.

When I first started I really wanted to compete hard with everyone, but it ended up consuming my time and mental health trying to stay ahead. I am in college now and just can't afford to get back into that state. I am glad I did not pit myself against you, zxc, haha! Gosh. I would've been miserable. I read a few of your threads and you seem to have a much better grasp of the game. Kudos on that.

I just dipped into the forums to congratulate the winners. Cogmind is an absolutely amazing roguelike but I am not sure anymore if it is for me.

Hey now, I just thought of something - if you want to do me a favor... Keep working on the wiki! So little work has been done on it since our initial burst. For example, nobody has updated the Lore page since I put in a ton of work in June! This is absolutely criminal and must be rectified immediately. Since the tourney is over surely someone can afford to spend a run or two adding to this, eh? Heh.

[zxc]

That's a fascinating piece of psychology there, as much as it is sad.

It really sucks when a game you normally enjoy becomes stressful enough to no longer be a positive experience. It's happened to me before with a few games: Frozen Synapse, correspondence chess, regular chess, competitive EU3 mp - mostly slower, competitive multiplayer games. I've also pretty much stopped playing DCSS because I'm in the middle of a long streak of wins and don't want to screw it up.

Regarding part loss in Cogmind: I feel it. When I was trying to get a combat win during the event, I felt like I was running against a brick wall over and over. These two posts I made were probably the height of my frustration. I think the only reason I kept going was because Happylisk and Agroesch were getting so close to their own victories.

Losing items in DCSS back when item destruction was around really sucked, but it's so much worse in Cogmind. I agree that the game largely revolves around inventory management, which is actually something I really hate in other games, but I don't mind it too much in Cogmind. There are always better parts around the corner.

What about those stealth/speed wins you did? I imagine you didn't lose many parts with that approach. Watchers are an endless supply of good utilities for that sort of build, and the only other critical items are flight units.

I've never been a big wiki contributor in other games, but the Cogmind wiki does need some love. I'd add to the Lore page if I had half a clue what the lore was about! I am slightly ashamed to admit I haven't read any of the story-related text in Cogmind, nor have I pondered too deeply Cogmind's existence and how he came to be - in the scrapyard. All of my focus has been on the game's mechanics. I certainly plan on catching up on the lore however.

[Kyzrati]

Sorry to hear that biomatter, though I completely understand, especially after seeing what it was doing to you for those weeks of intense play!

Certainly the mechanics will really rub some types of players the wrong way, though at the same time (as you know) those are the elements that make it truly unique.

Maybe you could reconsider once we hit 1.0 and the game will offer a greater variety of experiences with the vast expansion of the world and completion of the lore, though I wouldn't want you to, for example, feel obligated to then tackle the high-difficulty endings (you might not survive, let alone Cogmind )

In any case, I imagine you'll one day be able to answer your burning questions by reading the rest of the lore in the wiki

I really appreciate everything you've done so far!

[biomatter]

What about those stealth/speed wins you did? I imagine you didn't lose many parts with that approach. Watchers are an endless supply of good utilities for that sort of build, and the only other critical items are flight units.

You're right, I didn't lose as many parts that way, but as a cruel twist the parts I did have became more valuable. I think I mentioned this in some of my older posts, but I got to the point where literally the only parts I cared about were prototype flight units and vision enhancements. 'Shedding' other parts just became a hollow-feeling 'well at least I didn't lose my eyes'. Maybe the game has changed enough to where I would need to be more well-rounded, but IMO that's all you need - scanners and ECM are just icing, but not the substance to my playstyle. I guess you could say my strategy was born around giving myself as little to stress over as possible.

There is a hardcore shard in me that also doesn't quite respect the speed/stealth victory. As Kyzrati has said, it's kind of the game's easy-mode. Winning in combat became my holy grail, but unlike you I did not make it through the brick wall

Maybe you could reconsider once we hit 1.0 and the game will offer a greater variety of experiences with the vast expansion of the world and completion of the lore, though I wouldn't want you to, for example, feel obligated to then tackle the high-difficulty endings (you might not survive, let alone Cogmind )

I don't think I can part with Cogmind forever, don't you worry! At the very least, it has a unique aesthetic and setting that I absolutely adore. My higher-level thoughts tell me that this is supposed to be a more arcade-y roguelike and I shouldn't stress over an individual run so much, but I never really found a way to make that click, haha. I will be back for more when the game is (closer to) finished! Perhaps then I won't feel so pressured to achieve because I'm sure there will be at least several 'Ancients' who have mastered the game

GEEZ you guys are keeping me rambling! For reals though, thank you guys so much for understanding. I know this all seems silly... but it means a lot to me. Thank you all, and good luck zxc, and especially you Kyzrati.

PEACE

[Kyzrati]

There is a hardcore shard in me that also doesn't quite respect the speed/stealth victory. As Kyzrati has said, it's kind of the game's easy-mode. Winning in combat became my holy grail, but unlike you I did not make it through the brick wall

Later players have also had an easier time than you on that front, since Programmer frequency and squad sizes were both tuned down in later versions, along with integrity boosts for combat-important parts and benefits like no recoil with treads. Not that this would resolve the core issue of losing parts--there's still plenty of that--but the combat approach is more feasible than it ever was before.

Spoiler

And for ultimate late-game combat builds Happylisk discovered how OP EM weapons are, first suggested by yourself back in the day

[close]

For all: Stats from the tournament are coming shortly.

[Kyzrati]

The analysis of the tournament data has been posted, a mega post with dozens of graphs.

[zxc]

The analysis of the tournament data has been posted, a mega post with dozens of graphs.

That was a great read. It's obvious a ton of work was put into that post.

One thing I find curious is the min/max slots by type graph showing the same min and max for the floors -2 through 0. Is that some kind of strange coincidence?

[Kyzrati]

One thing I find curious is the min/max slots by type graph showing the same min and max for the floors -2 through 0. Is that some kind of strange coincidence?

Yes, it turns out that the very few people who reached those areas were using the same setup. The ranges are much wider if I include all runs, but that data started to look more meaningless so (twice) I switched it back to the way it is now to reflect only best/high scores.

[Agroesch]

I am slightly ashamed to admit I haven't read any of the story-related text in Cogmind, nor have I pondered too deeply Cogmind's existence and how he came to be - in the scrapyard.

I'm in love with the lore. It's how I got "Librarian" for the tournament

I've got a whole list written up of the different queries I've already read. There are still a few that elude me and many unanswered questions.

[Happylisk]

I know what cogmind is and why the complex exists and every day I want to spoil the (incredibly awesome) story but I keep it to myself...

[Kyzrati]

Glad the lore is a hit so far. The branches will continue to flesh it out and add new parts you can't learn via regular terminals, and every day I want to spoil the story and reveal awesome stuff, but have to keep it to myself