I think from now on it might be a good idea to have two separate discussion threads for a new release, one that is clearly marked SPOILERS and we don't have to bother using tags in there, and another for anything obviously non-spoilery that anyone can read. Would make commenting and reading a bit easier!
(Actually, I'm going to do this right now and split this conversation.)I assume, in the end, you get only one slot evolution instead of two when you ascend into access/-1. Ok. Back to alien artifacts. Are they all core expanders? Will we find any in the main complex?
The Core Expander is only one type among many, but it's the only one in the game right now. Others will be found in other parts of the world, including mostly MAIN.C-controlled areas, but pretty much always in branches.
You actually get all the normal evolution slots, even through Access. Notice that 7 + 9*2 = 25, and A~Z is 26, so this is how you can fill that extra slot
.
Derelict terminals: They seem to open doors. That's all I got. I did find a new item behind one of those doors. Tactical Co-ordination Suite.
Ooh, you found one of those. Nice.
There are other terminals out there; you'll find them. They're not incredibly common yet, though; they'll be used a lot more in other cave areas.
The terminal records were interesting. I suppose this is how we learn about recycling codes and such? I don't think those outposts are worth taking on if they don't give us any other advantage.
Yeah there is a lot of lore in there, though what's accessible in Alpha 7 is just a bit of fluff, while much much more that is going into Alpha 8 as hints and tips, to be found not in outposts but in other areas you'll find. That will be one method of learning the Recycling code. The currently available method is actually in a special location--you'll see what I mean.
Outposts are mostly dangerous, yes, although there are other reasons taking them on can be advantageous. (And of course sometimes they're there simply to be annoying if you're spotted and they're alerted when you'd rather just slip by.)
Caves difficulty : Caves does feel a bit like mines. So, not exactly easy mode all the time. The achilles heel for a combat cogmind seems to be propulsion. I don't usually carry a lot of backup propulsion. So, if you run out of those and if your salvage is going to self-destruct...that could be a problem. On other hand, the reason I got so much trouble was I just wouldn't leave until I had explored the entire place. I was always able to find the exit with ease. I am going to wait until alpha 8 before I form an opinion on this. It's really hard to judge as it is. I still love the self-destructing loot idea .
Part of the purpose behind the caves is that they lead further away to other areas, even though you can find an exit back to the main complex sooner, so eventually you'll want to travel further into the caves for the benefits. That will change the calculus. (Remember that one of these areas exists already!)
Hunters are back to being scary. I think I am going to start running purely thermal/em builds from now on. Fighting against hunters with kinetics is just hopeless and I have lost a lot of good runs to them.
Those guys are hard to balance. They were far too easy in Alpha 6, and now I probably made them a bit too difficult again xD. It's tough because I really want them to be scary, but doing so means they can be downright game-stopping if you're unlucky! I'll have to see for myself how they're faring in Alpha 7.
There is a weird bug(?) in the score sheet. It adds a extra zero after the last entry in Turns passed section. Right above prototype ids.
Huh, I'll look into it, thanks. Always something going wrong with the score sheet...
Extension: Is there a critical mass of allies to which the AI just responds by going nuts? My first alpha 7 run ended when I freed all the allies in the extension branch and the AI just sent demolishers and marksmen after me. My alert level wasn't that high and that kind of response was surprising. There is just no good way to protect your allies against demolishers and I just lost all of them. Poor 07.
There is one good way to protect allies from Demolishers, but it involves using both shields and point defense, which is too big of an investment right now. I imagine it will become more viable later once you can more easily get (and maintain) allies. We'll see!
If you have many allies and the AI is responding with an assault squad, it may be accompanied by a Demolisher. What they respond with depends partially on what's happening
. Alert level rises pretty quickly when you have allies shooting up everything.
As it stands, I think there is little chance that an experienced player will actually die here. If you shed all of your equipment, it's pretty easy to use the cave layout to avoid your would be attackers. You'll just die when you get back to factory 
Hehe, that's part of the design, yes
. By taking branches, you will be under somewhat less pressure than the main complex, but it's possible you'll end up in a worse situation by the time you return, and then you have to attempt a comeback.
The caves are somewhat random, though, as you're both finding. Sometimes you can be ambushed right away, or run into other types of dangerous situations. And sometimes you'll just get a lucky cake walk, albeit possibly without many benefits to show for it by the time you leave.
The balance will continue to shift around as I add new encounters. There are plenty more to come!
Yeah, I hate these guys. I had a run where I was deck(er)ed out with 7-8 slots of high quality armor and kinetic weapons. An arc of these guys unloaded on me (-2) and just tore me to sheds. And that was before the buff!
Hunters might be balanced just about right for their frequency in the mid-game, but I'm guessing end-game Terminators are probably
really nasty again. I'll see how we all fare against them
