Topic: Weekly Seed #2 [Alpha 2b] [Seed: AlwaysRun] (Read 16804 times)

jimmijamjams · « **on:** July 20, 2015, 11:46:01 PM »

At the time of this post there's only an hour left for last week's seed, but here goes!

This week's seed: AlwaysRun

Note: There is a new build. Make sure you are running Alpha 2b!

The Weekly Seed is open to anyone. High scores are not the only feature of the runs and the main reason for putting this together is to share our experiences, stories, and tactics over the course of your run. Some super secret achievements will be selected with some RNG at the end of each week from my steadily growing list. Please leave suggestions for the naming of next seed or other achievements to include to my list once you have finished your run!

Rules are as follows:

The Weekly Seed begins from the date this thread is posted and lasts exactly seven days.
Make sure you are running the correct version of Cogmind (see thread subject).
Enter the seed and abort your current game to initiate the seed (more details are below).
Verify you are not running the tutorial and that the screenshot below of the Scrapyard and Level -10 matches your seed (note: [Manual seed applied: AlwaysRun] should display in the log window).
Play through the game once. This is a friendly competition, we are all honest people.
When finished post your scoresheet here (it should be the newest file in /scores) and any other screenshots/stories/strategies you wish to share with the community.
Due to the spoilerific nature of this thread do not read the comments if you are intending to participate and haven't played your run!
Any scoresheets submitted after seven days will not be included.
Good luck!

HOW TO ENTER A SEED

Press F1 to go to the MENU, select OPTIONS, select Seed, and enter this week's seed:

Select GAME, select ABORT:

If you have followed the steps [Manual seed applied: AlwaysRun] should display in the log window.

Congratulations on entering the seed, queue explosions!

~~---+--------------------------------------------------+---~~

Previous week's seed [WeeklySeedRuns]:

Kyzrati: 10708
jimmijamjams: 5797
SquigglyJ: 5696
biomatter: 2256
Phuket: 211
AlanWithTea: 193

Previous week's super secret achievement winners:

"Who needs weapons?"
Most targets rammed
SquigglyJ

"Under the radar"
Lowest average Influence
Phuket

Shobalk · « **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2015, 10:42:50 AM »

Yeah, I suck

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

sve9 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2015, 04:10:56 PM »

This is the best I've ever done! I hope that the seed generated properly though, as my game crashed(I think it was a wine problem) and my settings reset in the beginning of the run.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

SquigglyJ · « **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2015, 06:48:50 PM »

Summary

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Log

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

sve9 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2015, 07:25:29 PM »

Oh, so you didn't have something interesting happen to you in the mines? I also had some problems with large crowds, even though I was on a low alert level. I went into storage as well, and suffered some severe equipment loss, but luckily I managed to find the stairs and make it out.

Kasaris · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2015, 08:31:45 PM »

Ok, this time I'in, fo' real! Just have to take the time...

EDIT : Ok, I sucked really hard, I don't know why but I rapidly got swarmed by -10, great beginning. Then I desperately ran for the stairs and it was the Mines. 2 more grunts spawned just by the stairs et I got again swarmed by pest/mercenaries... and wrecked. I don't think I made anything but run :'/

As I'm being super honest/do not cheat, here is my score :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I really shouldn't have begun the seed at 4am...
Now I'm just waiting for next week fo' revenge

sve9 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2015, 09:00:26 PM »

Yeah, it was a really difficult seed in the beginning for me as well.

Kasaris · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2015, 09:08:41 PM »

Quote from: sve9 on July 21, 2015, 09:00:26 PM

Yeah, it was a really difficult seed in the beginning for me as well.

I'm sad now

sve9 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2015, 09:11:05 PM »

jimmijamjams · « **Reply #9 on:** July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM »

Here's the run-down:

Level -10:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -9:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -8:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -7:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -6:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -5:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -4:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -3:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -2:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Level -1:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kyzrati · « **Reply #10 on:** July 25, 2015, 01:56:08 AM »

Made it further than last time (half-way through -3/Research), but got a somewhat lower score because I skipped past a couple Factory floors really quickly.

000 - -10 was uneventful, skipping past the two Mine entrances and heading up to -9 with random parts. My Lgt. Cannon was perfect for taking everything out, then not long into -9 (in the pictured room after taking out a Sentry) I found a Rocket Launcher to save for "backup." This run I again decided to go with an assault build on legs, if anything for the POINTS

. (And in another attempt to show it's possible to get quite far that way!)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

001 - Nasty start on -8! A Watcher almost waiting right there to alert a Sentry and Hunter. I immediately pulled into the neighboring room and waited for the onslaught, before which the Hunter just blew the freaking door open

. I realized here that the Shotgun "nerf" seems to have made Hunters even more deadly with all those projectiles... a single one blew off all my armor and treads.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

002 - About to head into the Factory after taking out half the level and finding a Force Field and stash of Titanium Legs not far from the exit. Getting somewhat worried since I didn't access any Terminals on this floor to purge threat records... It's okay, I have plenty of matter and explosives! For slots I'd like to attach another leg about now, and another utility.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

003 - Found exit really quick on -7 (one I thought might've been an exit to Storage, but wasn't), but no such luck on -6. Got stuck fighting a long range battle between a Programmer and Grunt squad. Ended up winning by pulling out the explosives, but not before losing all my power and most utilities. Still Plenty of inventory and scrap to rebuild from. Pretty much crushed everything after that, and starting shifting from a ballistic to an energy build, because that's what I had. Even used the opportunity to attach some parts I normally don't bother with, like the Imp. Integration Mediator. Also been liking Target Analyzers combined with a volley of critical-capable guns. I think that's been helping plow through guys. I've also been doing this run entirely without sensors--makes me a little less certain about my route, but it's nice to have the free utility slots.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

004 - Walked into a hall to grab a big stash of weapons I spotted, only to be shot in the back by a Behemoth as soon as I entered. I escaped back down the corridor to the left where he couldn't follow, but then while picking up stuff in the neighboring room, he came looking for me, spotted me through a hole in the wall he blasted open when one of his shots missed earlier, fired at me through the hole, and MADE THE HOLE BIG ENOUGH TO CHASE ME THROUGH. Aaaaaagh get me away from this guy. This image is me running for my life. This whole thing wouldn't have happened if I was using sensors

. You'll also notice I'm running low on guns--most were blown off in a recent battle with a Sentry, who I had to axe to death. (I saw that coming and intentionally stood on an Axe ready to pick it up when he shot off my weapons--ended up picking it up and killing him in one epic hit =p).

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

005 - -5 is turning out to be quite a death trap for me. I'm more or less having to rely on my Mini Grenade Launcher since I lost my main weapons, and it's not leaving much in the way of weapons to scrap :/. At least I'm insanely heavily armored... The good news: After that battle I'd blow up so many walls that it revealed an exit!!!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

006 - I searched around for more weapons first, because I'm not going into Factory -4 underpowered, and found a large stockpile of energy weapons three rooms over. Ran into a pair of Programmers sitting on the exit by the time I got back. It's nice to have so many heat sinks that I can fire all those energy weapons at once, overloaded even. Got a bunch of EM weapons out of the deal. Left the floor with 12 guns, ha!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

007 - I found the exit on -4 very quickly (total luck there--I'd explored like 5% of the floor), but stuck around to take out a squad of Grunts rather than absorb their volleys in a dash for the stairs. Entering Research, at least you can say I won't overheat

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

008 - Wasn't long before about five Programmers were called down onto my position, and I lost my treads but took all their hover units as payment. I'll probably try to stick with hover the rest of this run, as long as it lasts, because this is getting to be pretty dangerous territory. I won't be hovering for long unless I can find some armor, though.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

009 - Me pulling out my explosives to make a last stand, trapped in a room. Took them all out mwuahaha... Afterwards: Oh my I have no parts left--scrap time!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

010 - Then before I'm done rebuilding another 6 robots show up :/. I beat those, too, and was left with 195 core integrity and only a single part, my last weapon. It's a good thing that room was full of weapons to begin with! I didn't have to waste time moving because I let the Brawler smack me backwards over three Mass Drivers and picked them up in turn, then blasted everyone away with them. Those things are deadly.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

011 - While fleeing the scene, two Programmers showed up and I got amazingly lucky when I turned on them and shut the first one down with my first Hvy. Tesla Rifle shot, blocking the corridor! His friend left to take another route, and I rewired the other one! Aw yeah, fully functional Sage on my side... now I have to find some freaking parts and get out of here because my core is about to go.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

012 - The awesome thing about that Programmer is he kept hacking for me--two Watchers walked in and he rebooted both of them

. Then a third Watcher walked in with FOUR more Programmers and that's where I went down. I took out two of them with the help of my friend, and there was so much scrap lying around! But I didn't have enough time to pick it up

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

013 - The End.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'll be checking out everyone else's runs a little later; doing this one already took me over two hours!

jimmijamjams · « **Reply #11 on:** July 25, 2015, 03:59:04 AM »

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 01:56:08 AM

My Lgt. Cannon was perfect for taking everything out, then not long into -9 (in the pictured room after taking out a Sentry)

I think I found that same weapon! It helped a lot early on until I started equipping weapons from the Sentries. I got swamped by Swarmers and almost died on that first level. I think they got a few lucky, weapon destroying shots in and it was time to run.

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 01:56:08 AM

-5 is turning out to be quite a death trap for me.

Level -5 absolutely crushed me. I never had an opportunity to effectively use my Missile Launcher because if I did I would have had 10+ hostiles shooting me instead of just the two. When I lost my Large Storage Unit the Missile Launchers dropped too far behind the enemy and I just had to bail (I was already ramming everything out of the way at that point (I really like the new warning for ramming)).

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 01:56:08 AM

Aw yeah, fully functional Sage on my side...

This is something I would love to happen to me! My only friend was a low level Grunt I rewired who died almost immediately. Sages sound like great allies!

jimmijamjams · « **Reply #12 on:** July 25, 2015, 05:36:11 AM »

Quote from: Shobalk on July 21, 2015, 10:42:50 AM

Yeah, I suck

I think I'll add "most improved" to my super secret achievements list

Quote from: Kasaris on July 21, 2015, 08:31:45 PM

Ok, this time I'in, fo' real! Just have to take the time...

EDIT : Ok, I sucked really hard, I don't know why but I rapidly got swarmed by -10, great beginning. Then I desperately ran for the stairs and it was the Mines. 2 more grunts spawned just by the stairs et I got again swarmed by pest/mercenaries... and wrecked. I don't think I made anything but run :'/

I got absolutely smashed by the Swarmers early on too! The key difference was that I had an inkling that the the stairs you possibly ended up taking were going to be the Mines. I couldn't afford to risk it with only 21 Core Health left so I explored a little more and found a set of stairs that looked more promising. You get a feel for where the 'real' stairs are after a while. If they seem too close to where you started it's often the Mines.

Quote from: sve9 on July 21, 2015, 04:10:56 PM

This is the best I've ever done! I hope that the seed generated properly though, as my game crashed(I think it was a wine problem) and my settings reset in the beginning of the run.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Cogmind - Alpha 2b

Name: Anonymous676210531

---[ CORE DESTROYED ]---

Performance
-------------
Evolutions (9) 4500
Robots Destroyed (14) 70
Value Destroyed (473) 473
Prototype IDs (3) 60
Alien Tech Identified (0) 0
Bonus (0) 0
TOTAL SCORE: 5103

Cogmind
---------
Core Integrity 0/1600
Matter 255/300
Energy 50/50
System Corruption 0%
Temperature Cool (0)
Location -1/Access

Parts
-------
Power (6)
Propulsion (7)
Utility (6)
Weapon (6)

Inventory
-----------
Anti-Grav Array

Peak State
------------
Power
Fission Core
Micro Nuclear Core
Propulsion
Experimental Cesium-ion Thruster
Experimental Cesium-ion Thruster
Nuclear Pulse Array
Diametric Drive
Utility
Improved Heat Sink
Weapon
High-powered Shotgun
[Rating: 44]

Favorites
-----------
Power Light Nuclear Core
Engine Improved Deuterium Engine
Power Core Light Nuclear Core
Propulsion Experimental Cesium-ion Thruster
Wheel Compact Wheel
Leg Aluminum Leg
Hover Unit Airjet
Flight Unit Experimental Cesium-ion Thruster
Utility Seismic Analyzer
Device Improved Terrain Scanner
Processor Seismic Analyzer
Hackware Deep Network Scanner
Weapon Shotgun
Energy Gun Medium Laser
Energy Cannon Improved EM Pulse Cannon
Ballistic Gun Shotgun
Ballistic Cannon Light Cannon
Slashing Weapon Katana

Stats
-------
Classes Destroyed 5
Tunneler 1
Recycler 1
Grunt 10
Brawler 1
Sentry 1
NPCs Destroyed 0
Best Kill Streak 14
Combat Bots Only 12
Matter Collected 789
Salvage Created 562
Parts Attached 57
Power 8
Propulsion 21
Utility 11
Weapon 17
Parts Lost 41
Power 7
Propulsion 14
Utility 8
Weapon 12
Average Slot Usage (%) 40
Naked Turns 257
Spaces Moved 5988
Fastest Speed (%) 1250
Slowest Speed (%) 50
Overloaded Moves 267
Propulsion Burnouts 0
Targets Rammed 0
Cave-ins Triggered 0
Teleports 0
Heaviest Build 30
Greatest Overweight (x) 3
Average Overweight (x) 0
Largest Inventory 4
Most Items Carried 4
Core Damage Taken 3883
Volleys Fired 78
Largest 3
Hottest 142
Shots Fired 120
Gun 74
Cannon 46
Launcher 0
Special 0
Kinetic 70
Thermal 44
Explosive 0
Electromagnetic 6
Overload Shots 0
Energy Bleed 0
Heat Surge 0
Short Circuit 0
Meltdown 0
Melee Attacks 1
Impact 0
Slashing 1
Piercing 0
Damage Inflicted 1377
Projectiles 1334
Explosions 0
Melee 43
Ramming 0
Highest Temperature 299
Average Temperature 80
Shutdowns 0
Energy Bleed 0
Interference 0
Matter Decay 0
Short Circuit 0
Damage (minor) 0
Damage (major) 0
Damage (core) 0
Highest Corruption 5
Message Errors 0
Parts Rejected 0
Data loss (map) 0
Data loss (database) 1
Misfires 0
Misdirections 2
Targeting Errors 0
Weapon Failures 0
Haulers Intercepted 0
Robots Corrupted 2
Tactical Retreats 26
Communications Jammed 0
Parts Field Recycled 0
Retrieved Matter 0
Parts Merge Repaired 0
Drone Launches 2
Drone Recoveries 0
Derelicts Assembled 0
Machine Familiarity 5
Terminals 5
Fabricators 0
Repair Stations 0
Recycling Units 0
Scanalyzers 0
Machines Hacked 5
Terminals 5
Fabricators 0
Repair Stations 0
Recycling Units 0
Scanalyzers 0
Total Hacks 15
Successful 6
Failed 9
Catastrophic 1
Database Lockouts 0
Manual 0
Terminals 15
Fabricators 0
Repair Stations 0
Recycling Units 0
Scanalyzers 0
Terminal Hacks 6
Record 2
Part Schematic 0
Robot Schematic 0
Robot Analysis 0
Prototype ID Bank 0
Open Door 0
Level Access Points 0
Branch Access Points 0
Emergency Access Points 2
Machine Index 0
Terminal Index 0
Fabricator Index 0
Repair Station Index 0
Recycling Unit Index 0
Scanalyzer Index 0
Alert Level 1
Unreport Threat 0
Dispatch Records 1
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
Recall Investigation 0
Recall Extermination 0
Recall Reinforcements 0
Recall Assault 0
Hauler Manifests 0
Registered Components 0
Registered Prototypes 0
Zone Layout 0
Sector Layout 0
Machine Controls 0
Hacking Detections 5
Full Trace Events 1
Feedback Events 0
Feedback Corruption 0
Feedback Part Disabled 0
Feedback Blocked 0
Robot Schematics Acquired 0
Robots Built 0
Robot Fabrication Matter 0
Robot Fabrication Time 0
Part Schematics Acquired 0
Parts Built 0
Part Fabrication Matter 0
Part Fabrication Time 0
Parts Repaired 0
Part Repair Time 0
Parts Recycled 0
Recycled Matter 0
Retrieved Matter 0
Parts Scanalyzed 0
Part Schematics Acquired 0
Parts Damaged 0
Robot Analysis Total 0
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 2
Largest Group 2
Highest-Rated Group 10
Highest-Rated Ally 5
Total Orders 2
STAY 0
GOTO 0
ROAM 0
FOLLOW 0
GUARD 0
AID 0
BUILD 0
TUNNEL 0
DROP 0
PICKUP 0
COLLECT 0
EXPLORE 2
RETURN 0
Terraforming Orders 0
Walls Built 0
Walls Tunneled 0
Ally Attacks 0
Total Damage 0
Kills 0
Peak Influence 144
Average Influence 20
Maximum Alert Level 0
Low Security (%) 100
Level 1 0
Level 2 0
Level 3 0
Level 4 0
Level 5 0
Squads Dispatched 8
Investigation 1
Extermination 4
Reinforcement 3
Assault 0
Exploration Rate (%) 21
Regions Visited 12
Turns Passed 2942
Depth 11 121
Depth 10 345
Depth 9 447
Depth 8 57
Depth 7 611
Depth 6 202
Depth 5 106
Depth 4 120
Depth 3 100
Depth 2 493
Depth 1 340
Scrapyard 121
Materials 599
Factory 1039
Research 593
Access 340
Mines 250

Prototype IDs
---------------
Experimental Cesium-ion Thruster
Improved Q-Thruster
Cooled Particle Cannon

Alien Tech Recovered
----------------------
None

Game
------
Seed: AlwaysRun
^Manual?: 1
Play Time: 58 min
Sessions: 15
Mod: N/A
Game No.: 7
ASCII: 0
Keyboard: 1
Font: 12/Cogmind
Map View: 76x56

X=9667352688232215124659429566
455695395931266664146364164255
366545666415569954444446494266
251255224444512549642942555266
225656216666656349936635234994
266991665659666666446464356453
969342226666426666564646266652
166662465566621566664552466456
466126664666226646646466466626
664666666645426666466666664626
666646666666426666222652666636
666662466666635926646626263616
166493622422212424244639129926
556144126214669426946629232316
424562463252959625641645564455
1512

Woah! You were going seriously fast for that whole run! Not much time spent on any of the levels!

Did you just find the exits really quickly or were you going so fast no-one could spot you?

Quote from: Kasaris on July 21, 2015, 09:08:41 PM

Quote from: sve9 on July 21, 2015, 09:00:26 PM
Yeah, it was a really difficult seed in the beginning for me as well.

I'm sad now

Cheer up, Kasaris

There's always next week!

shinygerbil · « **Reply #13 on:** July 25, 2015, 08:31:28 AM »

Hey all, first-time poster here on the forums

I've just finished watching all of jimmijamjams' runs on Youtube and it actually gave me a good idea of how to not lose horribly, so I thought I'd try my luck at this week's seed!

Brief report:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Stats: (I love how the Temperature: Cool is accompanied by the

smiley

)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kyzrati · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM »

Quote from: sve9 on July 21, 2015, 04:10:56 PM

This is the best I've ever done! I hope that the seed generated properly though, as my game crashed(I think it was a wine problem) and my settings reset in the beginning of the run.

That is a really straight run, amazingly fast all the way to Access!

Your seed generated fine--it's recorded there at the bottom of the score sheet. And even if you restart, the same seed stays until you remove or change it.

The current release should be 100% stable, so the crash was likely to have been an environment issue, although I'd be interested to know if it happens again since no one's reported anything like that in Wine before (something else you were running at the time?).

Quote from: SquigglyJ on July 21, 2015, 06:48:50 PM

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
By -8 I was severely hurting, limping to each exit as soon as I could find it and occasionally tucking into a room with heavy weapons and blasting some iron.
Took some optional branch level 8 and seemed like there was a huge crowd around every corner, tried to outrun them but it was too late.

Ah you ended up in Storage like sve9.

On first entering Storage is always tougher than same-depth areas, but if you equip local gear quickly enough you'll be in good shape since that's where all the really good stuff is

Quote from: Kasaris on July 21, 2015, 08:31:45 PM

I really shouldn't have begun the seed at 4am...
Now I'm just waiting for next week fo' revenge

Last week I was doing really well and got careless because I played past 1 AM as I "had to finish it." This week I decided to head to bed before 1 and finish the next day, but ended up with a slightly lower score =p. Actually, it woulda been higher because I performed a lot better through to the end, but I passed up some Factory levels too quickly and missed some potential points.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM

- [PURE EPIC] -

Oh my, that is a hell of a run. So far this is quite likely the best Cogmind combat run ever.

And to think it almost ended on the first floor! Kinda surprised at that. Maybe I was lucky in my route, but I didn't even have anything to say about -10 it was so boring. I did take out maybe 15 robots there, but most fell without issue. That Lgt. Cannon (same one you found, no doubt) just blew everything away. I love those things.

Interesting that you had the same troubles I did on -5. Was the hardest floor until Research. Your backup plan was a good one.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM

(I was purposely not using Manual Command this run to explore some of the other options).

I was doing the same thing! As you noticed security levels aren't nearly as serious in this build, which frees you up to safely do other things.

I did a few purges "just in case," but spent more time using direct hacks to have a higher chance of getting a few of those extra benefits--thing is I didn't find very many Terminals in general, and a few of those I did were reached by Operators first.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM

I worked out I was in the lower left corner of the map so I deduced that I needed to head to top right if was to find an exit to the level. After several engages with Grunts and Programmers I was forced further into lower left corner of the map and there was the exit! My assumption that I needed to go top right was wrong and it turned out to be a fairly easy level.

FYI, I tried to design the map generator so that any such "assumption" you make is just as likely to be wrong

You can make assumptions about where an unidentified exit might lead, and even sometimes what local layout might indicate a nearby exit (as I've seen you correctly predict before), but where they are located on the floor as a whole is less clear without the best hacks.

And you found the same exit I did on -4! I even found it with the shorter route (through the first N-S corridor) and couldn't believe it was so close. I even assumed at first that it should've been a locked branch exit.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM

I had a back-up Improved Signal Interpreter, but at this stage I was already at 7% Corruption and was expecting to get lots of false reads on the radar. This didn't seem to be the case and I have a funny feeling that even though the Advanced Signal Interpreter was non-functional it was still providing the buff that stopped the radar glitches.

As mentioned in the bugs thread, the Improved version also provides that benefit

. The Adv. description explicitly states that effect, suggesting it might be exclusive to that level, but so does the Imp. version.

While I agree and believe it would be more logical if only the Adv. one provided that ability, I didn't want to make it too difficult to overcome the effect since you almost always have some corruption for the latter half of the game. The effect might not be that terrible, though, so maybe the Imp. shouldn't be capable of that?

You certainly encountered a lot of Behemoths. I didn't run into any, but only made it part way through -3. Of course, when choosing my routes I also almost always avoid larger halls (when possible) since that's where Behemoths hang out.

I backtrack even when I think there might be a Behemoth nearby. And to think I used to fight those guys in the 7DRL. I need to get a little braver, because as you discovered in -1, killing a Behemoth is a good way to "become the Behemoth" when they drop all that gear. Good way to put it

That is a sick build you walked away with. Massive armor. And hail to those dual Hvy. Fusion Cannons you took it down with

. But yeah that build eats matter at a super fast rate, and doesn't leave much after battles. Could've perhaps offset that with a good salvage computer if you saw one.

One of the parts I carried this run that I almost never do is a nice matter storage unit. It was really nice being able to scavenge literally hundreds of extra matter and not worry as much about the occasional battle where there's nothing left.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 25, 2015, 03:59:04 AM

This is something I would love to happen to me! My only friend was a low level Grunt I rewired who died almost immediately. Sages sound like great allies!

Sages are the best. With a couple more of those at my back I'd probably unstoppable for a while. My biggest worry there was that the newly arrived Sages would reprogram their former ally and then I'd be screwed over even more quickly

One of these days I want to try some alternative hacking-related strategies like building an army, which should become an increasingly viable long-term strategy in future releases. The thing with allies is they're generally squishy so you have to be able to protect them with shields, or try to aggro hostiles before they do.

Quote from: shinygerbil on July 25, 2015, 08:31:28 AM

Hey all, first-time poster here on the forums I've just finished watching all of jimmijamjams' runs on Youtube and it actually gave me a good idea of how to not lose horribly, so I thought I'd try my luck at this week's seed!

Welcome shinygerbil!

That's a really nice run for having just started. The Factory is where the difficulty really starts to ramp up, so practice getting there in good shape and you'll be in a better position to explore more efficient ways of escape despite the locked branches. I want to start opening Factory branches probably in Alpha 4~5.

Quote from: shinygerbil on July 25, 2015, 08:31:28 AM

Stats: (I love how the Temperature: Cool is accompanied by the smiley )

I noticed that while parsing the thread earlier, too, and thought that was awesome

jimmijamjams · « **Reply #15 on:** July 25, 2015, 10:58:25 PM »

Quote from: shinygerbil on July 25, 2015, 08:31:28 AM

Hey all, first-time poster here on the forums I've just finished watching all of jimmijamjams' runs on Youtube and it actually gave me a good idea of how to not lose horribly, so I thought I'd try my luck at this week's seed!

Welcome! I'm glad I could help

Your score is very impressive for the level you made it to! I can see from your scores sheet that you went hard on taking out as many hostiles as possible, excellent form!

The main thing I don't think my videos don't do well is show all the different styles that people use to approach the game. I definitely go for a more combat-heavy approach which may not be the easiest/best way to win (I've not finished the game yet!).

Happy to have more people participating in the Seed. Good luck for next week!

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM
(I was purposely not using Manual Command this run to explore some of the other options).
I was doing the same thing! As you noticed security levels aren't nearly as serious in this build, which frees you up to safely do other things.

I did a few purges "just in case," but spent more time using direct hacks to have a higher chance of getting a few of those extra benefits--thing is I didn't find very many Terminals in general, and a few of those I did were reached by Operators first.

I'm really liking the tweaks to how the Security Rating is accrued. Of course, I'm not sure exactly what you've done, but it seems a lot easier than it used to.

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM
I had a back-up Improved Signal Interpreter, but at this stage I was already at 7% Corruption and was expecting to get lots of false reads on the radar. This didn't seem to be the case and I have a funny feeling that even though the Advanced Signal Interpreter was non-functional it was still providing the buff that stopped the radar glitches.
As mentioned in the bugs thread, the Improved version also provides that benefit . The Adv. description explicitly states that effect, suggesting it might be exclusive to that level, but so does the Imp. version.

While I agree and believe it would be more logical if only the Adv. one provided that ability, I didn't want to make it too difficult to overcome the effect since you almost always have some corruption for the latter half of the game. The effect might not be that terrible, though, so maybe the Imp. shouldn't be capable of that?

I kind of like the paranoid feeling that false positives on the radar bring up. If it's possible somehow to make it so that the Imp. version only stops 60% of the false positives that could be interesting. Just a thought

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM

You certainly encountered a lot of Behemoths. I didn't run into any, but only made it part way through -3. Of course, when choosing my routes I also almost always avoid larger halls (when possible) since that's where Behemoths hang out.

I backtrack even when I think there might be a Behemoth nearby. And to think I used to fight those guys in the 7DRL. I need to get a little braver, because as you discovered in -1, killing a Behemoth is a good way to "become the Behemoth" when they drop all that gear. Good way to put it

Get in there! They're not that scary

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM

That is a sick build you walked away with. Massive armor. And hail to those dual Hvy. Fusion Cannons you took it down with . But yeah that build eats matter at a super fast rate, and doesn't leave much after battles. Could've perhaps offset that with a good salvage computer if you saw one.

One of the parts I carried this run that I almost never do is a nice matter storage unit. It was really nice being able to scavenge literally hundreds of extra matter and not worry as much about the occasional battle where there's nothing left.

Behemoths are amazing for the potential items, but even I had never taken on a top tier one before. I think I was just sick of running into them and every time I did it was not at all where I would normally expect them. That said, I've not spent a lot of time on research so my familiarity with those levels is pretty low.

Kyzrati · « **Reply #16 on:** July 25, 2015, 11:26:33 PM »

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 25, 2015, 10:58:25 PM

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 25, 2015, 10:21:00 AM
Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM
I had a back-up Improved Signal Interpreter, but at this stage I was already at 7% Corruption and was expecting to get lots of false reads on the radar. This didn't seem to be the case and I have a funny feeling that even though the Advanced Signal Interpreter was non-functional it was still providing the buff that stopped the radar glitches.
As mentioned in the bugs thread, the Improved version also provides that benefit . The Adv. description explicitly states that effect, suggesting it might be exclusive to that level, but so does the Imp. version.

While I agree and believe it would be more logical if only the Adv. one provided that ability, I didn't want to make it too difficult to overcome the effect since you almost always have some corruption for the latter half of the game. The effect might not be that terrible, though, so maybe the Imp. shouldn't be capable of that?

I kind of like the paranoid feeling that false positives on the radar bring up. If it's possible somehow to make it so that the Imp. version only stops 60% of the false positives that could be interesting. Just a thought

I like that possibility! Though now that I think of it the reason I didn't do it that way is apparent: It's easy at the basic level to just throw up random question marks, but once you get Imp. the signals are already size and class-specific, meaning it would also have to generate random classes, which would be even easier to ignore than random '?' since they're always changing and teleporting around...

I'll still consider what it might look like in action.

zxc · « **Reply #17 on:** July 26, 2015, 06:35:06 AM »

My run is finished. I took a few dozen screenshots and I've uploaded 16 into an imgur album. I wrote about the run in the descriptions in the album but if someone can't view imgur for some reason I can paste it here.

http://imgur.com/a/jcnw1

Morgue:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 24, 2015, 09:36:39 AM

Here's the run-down:

Level -10:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
This level was tough! I don't know how everyone else dealt with it, but right from the start I bumped into several squads of Swarmers. I found a few exits along the way that I suspected were the Mines (due to location/layout) and my core was down to only 21 from the early (almost catastrophic) encounters. I managed to gear up after taking out some more Swarmers and flew around until I found a likely exit to Level -9.

Ugh, reading this I now recognise this writeup from your other thread. I thought that thread was about the first weekly seed. Fortunately I wasn't aware of this and I pretty much completely forgot any details about that game by the time I began this.

Kyzrati · « **Reply #18 on:** July 26, 2015, 07:21:43 AM »

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 06:35:06 AM

My run is finished.

Summary:

*starts out saying wants a combat run*

*finds cache of favorite prototype propulsion*

*proceeds to build highly efficient fast hacker and win yet again*

That's quite a nice strategy with the low-level prototypes + weight redistribution. You can get up to 2~3 times faster with better propulsion, but it's tougher to maintain, and a speed of 10 is already quite good.

Lots of hacking gear at the end there--you would've been really jamming if you'd been able to obtain better Hacking Suites by that point, which combined with a single datajack could own almost anything you met.

Still, really amazing end-game build.

Happylisk · « **Reply #19 on:** July 26, 2015, 07:30:12 AM »

First post hooray!

The morgue below

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Pretty weak run, just got to -7. As I always do, I went pure blaster. There was a shining moment when I had a gausse cannon, 2 plasma cannons, plenty of heat utilities, and armor, and was one shotting fools throughout the factory. Unfortunately, my shenanigans raised the alert level in the factory pretty bad, and after plowing my way through a horde of commandos the stairs....were to the caverns, shiny and red, and locked. Backtracking resulted in an army being dropped on my head after reaching Alert level 3. RIP blaster cogmind, you were too shooty for this world.

jimmijamjams · « **Reply #20 on:** July 26, 2015, 07:40:09 AM »

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 06:35:06 AM

My run is finished. I took a few dozen screenshots and I've uploaded 16 into an imgur album. I wrote about the run in the descriptions in the album but if someone can't view imgur for some reason I can paste it here.

http://imgur.com/a/jcnw1

ô¿ô
O

I never knew how good those flight units were! I picked them up early and had them as back-up for later, but I never picked up quite the right gear to go full stealth. My tendency is still to attack rather than run and I believe I lost them in some fire-fight somewhere along the way.

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 06:35:06 AM

Ugh, reading this I now recognise this writeup from your other thread. I thought that thread was about the first weekly seed. Fortunately I wasn't aware of this and I pretty much completely forgot any details about that game by the time I began this.

Yeah, apologies about that

It was pretty thoughtless of me to post it in Stories before the run was over. I didn't even think it would be an issue until you mentioned it, thanks for pointing it out.

EDIT: I've edited the Story post to better convey that it was this week's seed (I didn't even realise that I listed it as last week's seed $:-\$ aaaaarrgh).

zxc · « **Reply #21 on:** July 26, 2015, 08:25:40 AM »

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 26, 2015, 07:21:43 AM

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 06:35:06 AM
My run is finished.
Summary:

*starts out saying wants a combat run*

*finds cache of favorite prototype propulsion*

*proceeds to build highly efficient fast hacker and win yet again*

I know, I know. But I adapt to what I find, and those flight units are amazing for something you can find that early. Plus, as I care more about winning than I care about score, this suited me just fine. I now think that this setup is a highly reliable way of winning the current build. The hacking equipment is optional, but they are massless so they are often the only items you can equip with flight.

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 26, 2015, 07:21:43 AM

That's quite a nice strategy with the low-level prototypes + weight redistribution. You can get up to 2~3 times faster with better propulsion, but it's tougher to maintain, and a speed of 10 is already quite good.

Lots of hacking gear at the end there--you would've been really jamming if you'd been able to obtain better Hacking Suites by that point, which combined with a single datajack could own almost anything you met.

Still, really amazing end-game build.

3 times faster would be 3 move delay or less! I certainly haven't seen anything faster than 10, but I haven't really found any high-end flight prototypes in my games so far. Without an ECM suite, I relied primarily on the time-tested tactic of running long laps of circuitous paths with programmers and hunters chasing me far behind.

Re: hacking, I didn't rely on hacking at all, it was just useful like in my last win. The core of my build was flight units + sensor/interpreter combo, and whatever power/utility necessary to sustain that. I often found exits and just flew right past them if I wasn't in any trouble, since exploring for items is good. Signal jammers showing their worth again. I found watchers with signal jammers rather dangerous in fact, but looking back at it, they are a good way of actually getting one yourself if need be. I did hack the -1 exit location early on, but as it turns out, I couldn't win so quickly. I equipped a ton of hacking equipment at the end there because I was trying to employ fabricators to make something I needed... but it didn't really work out, and I ended up finding what I wanted after a long while.

I thought about datajacks but I never really made my mind up about grabbing one. The melee weapon worked just fine. On -1 I ran out of matter due to various circumstances but I was able to ram a repair robot to get some matter in order to equip my matter storage unit in order to then switch out all my other gear.

Quote from: jimmijamjams on July 26, 2015, 07:40:09 AM

I never knew how good those flight units were! I picked them up early and had them as back-up for later, but I never picked up quite the right gear to go full stealth. My tendency is still to attack rather than run and I believe I lost them in some fire-fight somewhere along the way.

You can see in my third screenshot the items I had after equipping the flight units. Really, it wasn't a stealth build at that point, lacking good sensors and such. Also I never found an ECM suite. It didn't matter however, since speed is really important. Mostly the main issue early on is energy upkeep, and with flight units you'll generally find that you're net negative on move. Adding sensors into the mix hurts that energy upkeep even further, but when you can see where the enemies are you can make your way between safe zones and rest to restore your energy. Watchers are a good source of sensors, interpreters, jammers and sneaky stuff in general.

Kyzrati · « **Reply #22 on:** July 26, 2015, 09:23:44 AM »

Quote from: Happylisk on July 26, 2015, 07:30:12 AM

First post hooray!

Pretty weak run, just got to -7. As I always do, I went pure blaster. There was a shining moment when I had a gausse cannon, 2 plasma cannons, plenty of heat utilities, and armor, and was one shotting fools throughout the factory. Unfortunately, my shenanigans raised the alert level in the factory pretty bad, and after plowing my way through a horde of commandos the stairs....were to the caverns, shiny and red, and locked. Backtracking resulted in an army being dropped on my head after reaching Alert level 3. RIP blaster cogmind, you were too shooty for this world.

Welcome Happylisk!

You managed to get the alert level all the way up to 3?! And only by -7... definitely on the trigger happy side

. You would've really had your hands full if you'd made it to -5; that's where jimmi and I ran into some serious opposition, even without high alert!

Well, as discussed over on SA, Alpha 3 will come with some more nice features for tanks

.

Caves will be one of the first new branches to be added, and good thing, too, since there are quite a few entrances from the Factory.

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 08:25:40 AM

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 26, 2015, 07:21:43 AM
That's quite a nice strategy with the low-level prototypes + weight redistribution. You can get up to 2~3 times faster with better propulsion, but it's tougher to maintain, and a speed of 10 is already quite good.
3 times faster would be 3 move delay or less!

Exactly! By the the stats the absolute fastest you can move is 3, which is crazy. To my knowledge no one's managed it yet, but I've seen a 5 before, and I personally reached 7 a couple weeks ago on a playtesting run.

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 08:25:40 AM

Without an ECM suite, I relied primarily on the time-tested tactic of running long laps of circuitous paths with programmers and hunters chasing me far behind.

Yep, that'll work even without an ECM, just need big enough laps, and scanners to make sure you don't encounter unwanted company

Nice description of your strategy--it's unsurprising that the one who won a copy of Cogmind through a competition about taking on unbeaten roguelikes is now very quickly becoming a master of its systems

zxc · « **Reply #23 on:** July 26, 2015, 12:49:02 PM »

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 26, 2015, 09:23:44 AM

Nice description of your strategy--it's unsurprising that the one who won a copy of Cogmind through a competition about taking on unbeaten roguelikes is now very quickly becoming a master of its systems

I'm happy to learn such a cool new game

I wonder what the other winners have been up to. Haven't spotted them on the forums just yet.

Is there any good reason for propulsion to have both upkeep costs per move and per turn as well? Whenever you rest a turn it's optimal to toggle off all your propulsion for that little bit of extra energy / heat dissipation, and as it's a bit of tedious optimal play I'm thinking it could be changed. Usually I don't bother turning them off and just wait some extra turns, but in energy critical situations like in one of my screenshots, squeezing a little bit more energy regen out is worth the micromanagement.

Kyzrati · « **Reply #24 on:** July 26, 2015, 08:41:10 PM »

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 12:49:02 PM

Quote from: Kyzrati on July 26, 2015, 09:23:44 AM
Nice description of your strategy--it's unsurprising that the one who won a copy of Cogmind through a competition about taking on unbeaten roguelikes is now very quickly becoming a master of its systems

I'm happy to learn such a cool new game

I wonder what the other winners have been up to. Haven't spotted them on the forums just yet.

biomatter has been taking a break because he Cogminded himself out over the first month.

One of the other winners, KY, doesn't hang out on the forums but I talk to him via Twitter.

So far the only wins managed are the speed variety, but I'm sure we'll have some combat wins before too long. Certainly after the next release where I'll be giving another boost to tank-ish Cogminds.

Quote from: zxc on July 26, 2015, 12:49:02 PM

Is there any good reason for propulsion to have both upkeep costs per move and per turn as well? Whenever you rest a turn it's optimal to toggle off all your propulsion for that little bit of extra energy / heat dissipation, and as it's a bit of tedious optimal play I'm thinking it could be changed. Usually I don't bother turning them off and just wait some extra turns, but in energy critical situations like in one of my screenshots, squeezing a little bit more energy regen out is worth the micromanagement.

I guess it started with the idea that it's "logical" for hover/flight to consume energy even while you're stationary.

I know what you mean--when I play and energy gets tight I do occasionally disable them all, but that doesn't quite apply to all situations. Technically those modes give you an advantage while active, even if you're just sitting around on defense (or during a volley/firefight), because you have a bonus to dodge while flying, and active propulsion can work in tandem with certain utilities like Maneuvering Thrusters for further benefits.

I imagined doing something like assuming no upkeep for those as long as you're out of combat, but being "out of combat" is not always so obvious since you may not be aware of a hostile about to open fire, as with Hunters tracking you through the walls, for example.

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Author Topic: Weekly Seed #2 [Alpha 2b] [Seed: AlwaysRun] (Read 16804 times)