Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[aj_]

From what I have read, there is a lot of customization in Cogmind, but no classes. How quickly can one attain his preferred style of play for any given run, and how feasible is it to maintain it until the end of the run? For example, I dislike Brogue because I can't always play the way I want; I have to play with what the game gives me, which has its own merits but is not what I look for in a roguelike.

Thank you.

[Widmo]

Could you broadly describe your preferred playstyles? Not everything works equally well constantly.

My current favorite build is a slow tankbot causing as much property damage as possible. This loadout is viable from turn zero (you start in the scrapyard where you are guaranteed three weapons plus two treads among other free things) and can be maintained until the very end. It is a kind of hard mode though because it pisses off the AI big time.

I recommend you take a brief look at stories board where zxc managed to pull off a pacifist run. That also works from beginning to end.

Theoretically every loadout could be possible from midgame where you can get many types of parts produced by machines present there provided you supply the blueprint and "convince" it to start the build.

[aj_]

Thank you for your reply.

I like many styles of play, but if I'm in the mood for playing a certain way, I want to be able to do just that. Is it not always possible to build the bot you want until midgame?

[Widmo]

Ah, I now understand where you are coming from with this. Yes, there are specialized builds where you might get screwed by bad luck several times in a row in early game, without any fault on your side. Nowhere as common as Brogue has it but definitely possible. Also keep in mind prolonged enemy fire destroys your equipped parts and you may need to replace them.

To elaborate have a look at attached screenshot. This is an example of Cogmind's starting location - Scrapyard. You get free choice of several kinds of parts and there are unarmed robots which you can destroy to broaden your options. On the first floor you can get almost anything if you aim to get that. Want flight units? Down some swarmers. Need hover? Fry a watcher. Both enemy bots are available on first real floor. Once I was looking for launchers but did not find any on first true floor. Second had plenty though.

However if you are trying for something fancy you need some effort. For example to become a very effective hacking bot it is best to get some Hacking Suites or System Shields. Early on it is possible to go without those and still be successful because machines are mostly low securty. They improve the odds significantly though. To get those two item kinds you need to nail Operators, an uncommon robot class. You will surely find at least some of them but it is possible to have the suites and shields get destroyed in combat each time if you are very unlucky. It happened once to me. To put this in context Cogmind score sheet says I played 65 games so far.

Scrapyard is at depth -11, early game (Materials) is floors -10 to -8 and at -7 you can already manufacture parts. From this point onwards I view not having desired loadout to be entirely my fault. You win by reaching depth 0.

edit: Screenshot removed because it is a wrong one. I overwrote the proper thing somehow.

[Kyzrati]

Nice screenshot, Widmo

@aj_: Widmo's pretty much covered it, though to add my own input: Because there are no classes it's true you'll have to spent some amount of time working towards your intended play style, but it is not nearly as extreme as Brogue in that regard.

In Cogmind floors are much larger, with a lot more items lying around, and more importantly, you can find all the basic gear you need on the robots that use that stuff. Hunting specific bots for salvage is a useful tactic.

Another system included in Cogmind specifically to help round out a build is fabrication, whereby you can obtain schematics to build pretty much any part you want and do that at a fabricator. Basically, if there's something you really want and cannot find, just plan to build it. (At present that is mostly a route for bots with hacking capabilities, but I'm planning to make it a little easier for non-hackers to access as well. Some players have built dozens of their own parts by the end of the game.) Fabrication isn't accessible until the mid-game, however (that said, you can get to the mid-game pretty quickly compared to the length of a full run--each floor tends to play slower than the last).

At the same time, as Widmo mentioned, even once you have your build you may have trouble maintaining it indefinitely if and when your parts are destroyed, which some potential players will find very discouraging.

[aj_]

Thank you so much for the detailed responses and honesty.

I do understand the positives in your design, and scavenging for parts is very intriguing, but as I've said, it's just not what I'm after. I'll keep checking back though, because the game is very innovative and I'm very interested in seeing how it progresses.

[Widmo]

Got rid of the screenshot above. Attached the wrong one and the original is no more. Cannot make a new one either since I entered manual seed to participate in weekly run. Sorry!

[Kyzrati]

But it was a cool screenshot regardless!

Thank you so much for the detailed responses and honesty.

I do understand the positives in your design, and scavenging for parts is very intriguing, but as I've said, it's just not what I'm after. I'll keep checking back though, because the game is very innovative and I'm very interested in seeing how it progresses.

No problem! It certainly doesn't appeal to a certain segment of players, so I'm happy when prospective players put in the effort to actually check and make sure it's something they'll enjoy

If you're looking for some sci-fi roguelike action focused on character customization, you should check out Caves of Qud if you haven't already!

[aj_]

If you're looking for some sci-fi roguelike action focused on character customization, you should check out Caves of Qud if you haven't already!

Thanks. I've been playing it for a couple of weeks and I think it's really promising. Us fans of roguelikes are spoiled these days.

[Happylisk]

Aj_, I would consider giving the game a shot.  Although it's not like ADOM or Qud, where you can always play the class you want to play, it's not quite like games such as Brogue or The Ground Gives Way.  There are two broad ways to play cogmind (combat vs. speed/stealth), and within those two main categories there are dozens of ways to play (a combat build focused on thermal weapons, a melee build, a hybrid combat build with a bit of hacking, etc).  When I fire up a game and say "this is how I want to play this run," I usually have the basics of my desired build off the ground within the first three levels.  Granted, I've been playing for awhile but the learning curve of this game is not brutal.

Just my two cents.  I personally only want to play combat builds, and the game is more than happy to oblige.   

[zxc]

Aj_, I would consider giving the game a shot.  Although it's not like ADOM or Qud, where you can always play the class you want to play, it's not quite like games such as Brogue or The Ground Gives Way.  There are two broad ways to play cogmind (combat vs. speed/stealth), and within those two main categories there are dozens of ways to play (a combat build focused on thermal weapons, a melee build, a hybrid combat build with a bit of hacking, etc).  When I fire up a game and say "this is how I want to play this run," I usually have the basics of my desired build off the ground within the first three levels.  Granted, I've been playing for awhile but the learning curve of this game is not brutal.

Just my two cents.  I personally only want to play combat builds, and the game is more than happy to oblige.

+1, also I mainly play speed builds, and tend to just vary things up within that framework.