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[biomatter]

Just pooled a bunch of screenshots and wrote in the story on imgur - check out this run. I made it all the way to -1

17 Scattered Screenshots http://imgur.com/a/FAxBU#0

Minor note - how the heck does this forum code work? I can't figure out how to embed that link in the text because I'm dumb.
Also, obligatory 'First'.

[ThKaspar]

That's a really nice build there. The best part was where you wrote about charging through a few rooms just to have to recharge and cool down after a moment, also you were super sick fast. :O

Did you fight a lot or tried to avoid and ran away?

[jimmijamjams]

I figured you would be posting here pretty soon

I'm finding that the speedy-stealth method is about the only way to get through.  My blunder-around-walking-into-any-old-mess method only seems to get me as far as -5 on a regular basis.  It was great to see some of the higher tier weapons, can't wait to see them in action

[biomatter]

Did you fight a lot or tried to avoid and ran away?

I ran from EVERYTHING. According to my log I apparently killed a few swarmers (fuck swarmers!), but I think that was early on before I got the tech that enabled me to run, e.g. hover mods.

I figured you would be posting here pretty soon

I'm finding that the speedy-stealth method is about the only way to get through.  My blunder-around-walking-into-any-old-mess method only seems to get me as far as -5 on a regular basis.  It was great to see some of the higher tier weapons, can't wait to see them in action

Heehee, I can't decide whether to post on reddit or the forums, so why not both? It's odd.

Yeah, stealth is really the way to go, until I can find some way to deal with parts bleeding. I'm wondering if it would work to start out sneaky, collect a bunch of parts, and then make the switch to full combat? I dunno. You'd have to have a lot of armor parts... My beef with getting in fights is that there is no guarantee you'll be able to replace what you lose. What happens when you lose your plating or Your force field? Your best reactor? The rocket launcher? You get fucked, that's what. There's no such thing as a small fight, either. Legs, wheels, and treads are the only prop mods that can support a combat fit, and with those you move slower than pretty much everything else. It sucks having them constantly get kicked out from under you.

That's why it seems like the best strategy is not to lose parts in the first place. More than I few times I was forced into a confrontation, but with enough speed and maneuvering thrusters/cloaking devices, you can slip by relatively undamaged. Honestly, what gave me the most trouble was the layout of the maps - it's a fucking nightmare trying to find the right staircase! The higher up you go, the larger those levels become, holy cow. I think next time I might actually grab some terrain scanners. I was wishing I had one when I was digging with the rocket launcher too

pls notice me senpai

[Draxis]

How did you manage to get into a stealth setup?  I can't seem to make it through the first few levels without getting in a lot of fights, and so have to keep taking a lot of combat parts to make it through.

[biomatter]

How did you manage to get into a stealth setup?  I can't seem to make it through the first few levels without getting in a lot of fights, and so have to keep taking a lot of combat parts to make it through.

Good question! The screenshots only started at level -6 and the entire run took over 4 hours so to be brutally honest - I don't remember! However, like I said earlier - I did kill a fair number of Pests in the very early game... It's giving me vague recollections of killing them and hording Flight Units and Light Ion Engines. I'm going to try this again, and that's gonna be my strategy - kill nothing except for a few pests, then hightail it out of everything ever.

In the early game, you'll probably want to evolve more engine and prop slots. Utilities don't become useful until the midgame when you have the lift and energy to support them - but then all of a sudden you'll want seven million slots. At least, that's how it felt for me. I think I went overkill on prop mods. At the end of the game when I was at peak performance, flight units were getting so good that I had to turn some off because they were redundant. It was at those times that I wish I had grabbed more power and utility slots.

Edit: just got mauled following my own advice. Running into Pests in the early game is like saying goodbye to every single part you have. Freakin' things, even point blank I only have a 30%~ chance to hit them. Groan! I would've been fine but then the Recyclers put salt on the wound by scooping all the flight units. I don't mind the theory behind Recyclers, but in the early game you just don't have the speed or firepower to take parts back from them. Maybe they can scale up in frequency as you progress further?

Double edit: Fucking... pests! Jesus if it wasn't bad enough that they move at the speed of light and can dodge so fast it's borderline time travel, they just nailed me to death from over a dozen tiles a way. I wish I could hit things at the edge of sight range, let alone point blank!

[Kyzrati]

Wow, that is a pretty impressive run.

Did you fight a lot or tried to avoid and ran away?

I ran from EVERYTHING. According to my log I apparently killed a few swarmers (fuck swarmers!), but I think that was early on before I got the tech that enabled me to run, e.g. hover mods.

He's not joking. I was looking at those final stats and a "Peak Influence" of 85 is nothing! That number reflects how much attention you drew to yourself by influencing the world around you. It would usually be in the hundreds easily, if not the thousands.

Evolving with no weapon slots is pretty ballsy, but I guess you were planning to go all out stealth, anyway, in which case you only need a couple weapons occasionally.

About stasis beams, they can hold robots in place. Higher strength makes it harder for a robot to overcome the beam and move anyway. More massive robots are more likely to overcome a beam, while light little fliers (like yourself there!) would have a lot more trouble getting away if stuck in one. Strength is just a relative value, 1-3.

Heehee, I can't decide whether to post on reddit or the forums, so why not both? It's odd.

It is odd, though a number of people prefer only one or the other, and here at the forums we have a bit more permanence and control over things. The advantage of Reddit is that more people might just happen by. Also while we're on the topic, something like your run here would be great to drop into /r/roguelikes, which gets a lot of general traffic, to attract more players (maybe not this week, because we already had the major--and wildly successful--launch post, but later).

Excellent job documenting the whole thing

Flight is finally viable now compared to the 7DRL when it was worthless, but as you say it takes a bit more micromanagement since going full blast will force you to stop for a bit after reaching cover. Kinda interesting, I've played that way before . It was nice reading that you really enjoyed that part! There are some specific prototypes that might make continual fast flight possible, but they're not too common.

[biomatter]

Update on my stealth run progress - this is just a copy paste from my subreddit comment.

Another spoilerific album for you freaks who like that kind of thing. http://imgur.com/a/MUgRU#0

This run was really good, actually. I am a fuckin' god of stealth movement. I made it to -1 relying on three things - insane speed, a vision enhancer, and ECM. I found ONE - just ONE Sensor Array - and it was the first part I lost the next time I got shot. I carry those fucking Signal Interpreters for hours, and this is my reward?!

Finding up-stairs is SUCH A HUGE FUCKIN' PAIN IN THE ASS though. Starting with the Factory, the levels become ENORMOUS. You can seriously wander for miles. On one of the Research floors, I got stuck in a loop. There were no ways out. After meticulously looking for secret doors while programmer's dogged my ECM-ridden ass, I found a door that opened up straight into a room full of Goblins. FML.

I spent over an hour on -1. I had a friend watching me for a good portion of it, but even he got bored and walked away after watching me wander non-aimlessly for over 40 minutes. It's just a matter of time before a fuckin' Guardian gets a lucky shot on me and destroys something critical before everything goes to hell.

So how the fuck do I find up stairs?! What is the general strategy?

...But I think the cruelest thing of all is knowing that -1 probably isn't even the final level, even though numerically it makes sense. I bet I wasn't even close. I probably had to spend another hour on 0 just to have a chance.

[Karlito]

So how the fuck do I find up stairs?! What is the general strategy?

Well, that's really the question, isn't it? I mean, the point of the whole game is to find the up-stairs to heal, and advance and escape, and all your deadly weapons or hacking skills are only there in support of that.

[Kyzrati]

So how the fuck do I find up stairs?! What is the general strategy?

Well, that's really the question, isn't it? I mean, the point of the whole game is to find the up-stairs to heal, and advance and escape, and all your deadly weapons or hacking skills are only there in support of that.

This is why in terms of design I had to be really careful to make it not too easy to find the up stairs. Obviously now you know that hacking is one possibility (though it can be a tough hack), but other than that once you guys start learning map layout patterns you might have a slightly easier time of it. Still, the idea is to search the map somewhat methodically, paying special attention to where you figure exits might be (based on experience). Seriously, ask jimmijamjams. I watched him in videos before correctly guessing that there would be an exit around a specific corner!!!

[jimmijamjams]

So how the fuck do I find up stairs?! What is the general strategy?

Well, that's really the question, isn't it? I mean, the point of the whole game is to find the up-stairs to heal, and advance and escape, and all your deadly weapons or hacking skills are only there in support of that.

This is why in terms of design I had to be really careful to make it not too easy to find the up stairs. Obviously now you know that hacking is one possibility (though it can be a tough hack), but other than that once you guys start learning map layout patterns you might have a slightly easier time of it. Still, the idea is to search the map somewhat methodically, paying special attention to where you figure exits might be (based on experience). Seriously, ask jimmijamjams. I watched him in videos before correctly guessing that there would be an exit around a specific corner!!!

I'm still getting there when in comes to instinctively knowing the map layouts for the Alpha.


I thought I was getting the hang of it for the Materials levels, but sometimes I come to a dead end where I think some stairs should be... but they're not

[Kyzrati]

I thought I was getting the hang of it for the Materials levels, but sometimes I come to a dead end where I think some stairs should be... but they're not

Well, it's not quite as easy as it was in the 7DRL