Time to start achieving! While Beta 6 brings with it a ton of other improvements and tweaks, the big new thing is a large collection of achievements to earn, 256 of them spanning six categories. All players have equal access to the achievements system, regardless of whether or not on Steam. More info below!
Cogmind Beta 6 "Achievements Unlocked" (0.10.180508) changelog:- NEW: 256 achievements (available both on Steam and in offline/DRM-free versions)
- NEW: 35 new score sheet entries (total = 697)
- NEW: Achievement names and their icon appear over the map when earned (deactivate or change duration in advanced.cfg: achievementPopupDuration)
- NEW: Achievements earned reported in message log (toggle in advanced.cfg: showAchievementMessages)
- NEW: Achievements earned specifically at end of a run appear in new area to right of end game stats
- NEW: Achievements newly earned throughout a run listed towards end of score sheet
- NEW: Composite achievement percent listed among score sheet meta data and and scorehistory.txt
- NEW: Achievements browsing UI (contents sortable and filterable)
- NEW: Bidirectional automatic syncing between achievements in your local game meta data and Steam records
- NEW: Optimized startup time, reducing it by about one-third
- NEW: RTS-style map panning in true fullscreen mode, and new menu option for controlling speed
- NEW: Added to manual's Key Holding section a mention of holding "wait" key while waiting for a hostile
- NEW: Updated Dismemberment immunity trait description with explicit notice that it does not prevent the side effect of slashing weapons
- NEW: Optional Terminus style map glyphs for size 12 and 14 ASCII mode players (see manual under Advanced UI > Fonts)
- NEW: Optional classic IBM VGA style map glyphs for size 14 ASCII mode players (see manual under Advanced UI > Fonts)
- NEW: Datajack descriptions explicitly indicate their base chance to rewire traps (10%)
- NEW: Score sheet records number of moves per propulsion type
- NEW: Game over screen shows total number of new achievements earned during run
- NEW: challengeSuperGauntlet description in manual explicitly mentions lack of garrisons at -10/-9
- NEW: Two challenging (spoiler) plot points that didn't originally earn bonus points now do
- NEW: "Records" submenu added to game menu, containing links to Gallery/Lore/Achievements data
- NEW: Export achievements data to TXT, HTML, or CSV for external reading/processing (exports based on selected filters/sorting)
- NEW: Pre-attack warning about Researchers in view takes effect even if previously scanned (can disable in advanced.cfg: alwaysWarnAboutResearchers)
- NEW: Core Analyzer effect description explicitly states that critical hits and disruption effects are also applied to affected cores
- NEW: Dedicated section about achievements added to the manual
- NEW: Multiple previous autosaves from current run are stored in parallel (adjust number of saves in advanced.cfg: autosaveCount)
- NEW: While manual hostiles/allies/parts labels active, panning the map view automatically calls up same-category labels where applicable
- NEW: Escape also clears active map object labels even if disableEscMenuAccessKeyboard/disableEscMenuAccessMouse true
- NEW: Traps with damaging AOE effects now include salvage mod in their description
- NEW: Gallery item info includes description for those items which have them (e.g. important for traps)
- NEW: Melee weapon info explicitly lists the disruption stat (only two melee weapons have that property)
- NEW: Projectile weapon info explicitly lists the spread arc stat (very few weapons use that relatively new mechanic)
- NEW: Extreme slow movement warning also applies when attempting to swap positions with allies
- NEW: Items crushed by cave-ins reported in message log
- NEW: Safe to hold a wait key while waiting for System Backup Module (etc) to reduce corruption to 0% (autoblocks command for 2s on task completion)
- NEW: Use '>' on top of a Drone Bay to automatically release all its drones without attaching it (RMB on self for mouse users)
- NEW: Melee Analysis Suites increase minimum damage of melee weapons
- NEW: Specific amount of corruption caused by impact destruction revealed in manual and context help
- NEW: Manual includes step-by-step Attack Resolution section outlining defensive order of operations once an attack hits a robot
- NEW: All Alpha supporter names registered since Beta 5 added to in-game list (see Credits menu)
- MOD: Cave Seal allied faction priority changed
- MOD: Removed "Parts Merge Repaired" from score sheet since no longer possible for now
- MOD: Removed "Zionite Hack Detections" from score sheet since no longer possible
- MOD: Removed "Impact Corruptions" from score sheet under Highest Corruption (unused)
- MOD: Timer length doubled on the "final" Archives event
- MOD: Log message for critical strikes on immune robots only shown if the attack hits armor (which still confers the damage bonus)
- MOD: While using any LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter, on-map resource alerts override default color with black lettering
- MOD: While using any LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter, path visualization shown lighter to be more visible against brighter background
- MOD: Part range circles and robot motion trails appear much more nicely when combined with LOW_CONTRAST background settings
- MOD: While using showMapBorders option combined with a LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter, map edges displayed with a brighter line rather than modified wall color
- MOD: While using ` or dedicated mapshift mode, if LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter active the surrounding known cells are brightened even more than usual
- MOD: Floor foreground darkened more than usual under LOW_CONTRAST renderFilters to make FOV edges easier to distinguish
- MOD: Updated rendering of LOW_CONTRAST renderFilters to improve visualizations for: SFX, potential cave-ins, ally transfer area, explosion targeting AOE
- MOD: Improved LOW_CONTRAST animations: Sensor Arrays, Terrain Scanners, Structural Scanners, Spotter scans, Triangulator, and some processor activations
- MOD: Exposed ground appears slightly lighter in low-contrast mode (applies to both tiles and ASCII modes)
- MOD: Improved header line drawing on Advanced commands page animation when viewed in a low-contrast mode
- MOD: Part autosorting defaults to on
- MOD: Hardlight Generator effect description more specifically lists types of incompatible shields
- MOD: Score sheet "Communications Jammed" entry expanded to include distress signals from non-combat to combat bots
- MOD: Score Sheet "Damage Inflicted > Projectiles" entry split into "Guns" and "Cannons"
- MOD: Score sheet ally-related tallies exclude drones
- MOD: Removed turn numbers preceding special messages for machine hacking output (e.g. unique door access codes)
- MOD: Gallery/Lore buttons removed from game menu top-level button list and Credits menu (still accessible via hotkeys and new Records menu)
- MOD: Game menu submenu buttons horizontally centered in widescreen layouts
- MOD: Default hotkey for Alpha Supporters list now '0'
- MOD: Pre-Beta 3.1 cogmind.cfg file no longer converted to multifile format on importing
- MOD: Game count not incremented for aborting ("quit, delete save") below -9
- MOD: Total game time not incremented for self-destruction below -9
- MOD: High Security response dialogue no longer delivered by ARC
- MOD: Item info window simultaneously displays any description and gallery collection status
- MOD: Gallery item info no longer includes fabrication stats (still available via export feature)
- MOD: Label Supporter Items option no longer required for '!' marker items not yet collected for gallery (always shown by default)
- MOD: Scan Cloaking entry removed from robot info window since it became accessible via the new Traits popup in Beta 4
- MOD: Borebot weapon no longer a prototype to reveal its name (since it cannot be acquired)
- MOD: Improved visibility of explosion count on info page for multi-explosion weapons (consistent with multi-projectile weapons now)
- MOD: Derelicts of classes with variants at more than one tier list them all in Analysis() output
- MOD: Prototype ID Bank terminal hack has a static base chance rather than being based on the number of prototypes, which is now based on security level
- MOD: Stricter penalties if Zion repeatedly calls loyalty into question
- MOD: Roster dispatches a little more likely to refill used squad slots
- MOD: Tweaked targeting behavior of AOE-equipped robots
- MOD: Desublimator slot count reduced to 1, mass lowered to 6
- MOD: Quantum Capacitor no longer compatible with Weapon Cyclers
- MOD: EMDS energy and matter costs increased
- MOD: Hyp. EM Gauss Rifle spectrum changed to Fine
- MOD: Base penalty for overweight hover increased from 40 to 60
- MOD: Base penalty for overweight flight increased from 50 to 80
- MOD: While overweight, robots running on flight propulsion lose the ability to fly over other robots
- MOD: Traps always trigger while overweight, rather than using a mass-based multiplier
- MOD: Investigator movement speed increased 50%
- MOD: Score sheet Melee Sneak Attacks no longer counts those against broken or unpowered targets
- MOD: Upload Scores option now off by default
- MOD: Anonymous player scores no longer uploaded
- FIX: Combining Transmission Jammer w/Transport Network Coupler to block Hauler reinforcements didn't count as Communications Jammed in score sheet [Joshua]
- FIX: Additional energy capacity provided by LRC Energy Wells not automatically restored on entering a new map [Joshua]
- FIX: Certain types of followers stuck in a separate unattached part of the complex could slow down the game, especially on large maps [Joshua]
- FIX: Trap Extractors did not count trap for gallery collection purposes [Joshua]
- FIX: Unable to insert-ID an alien artifact at a Scanalyzer if no other scanalyzable items current in inventory [Joshua]
- FIX: Unable to indirectly hack analyses for a number of derelict classes [Joshua]
- FIX: Unidentified prototype energy/matter containers in inventory reflected their actual contents in HUD readout if preloaded [Joshua]
- FIX: Impact weapons not showing new momentum-modified damage values in inventory and part list info ('q') mode like other melee weapons [Joshua, zxc]
- FIX: Core reset while info ('q') mode active later created empty schematics lists on status page and at Fabricators [Joshua, Valguris]
- FIX: Followers sucked into chutes remained allied but would not follow again if you meet up with them later [Valguris]
- FIX: DC usage would leave out random map locations that should be revealed [Valguris]
- FIX: Active Particle Chargers destroyed or removed in info ('q') mode did not immediately modify damage data for affected weapons [Valguris]
- FIX: If no unfiltered label parts in view, not possible to use '3' to call up filtered labels [Valguris]
- FIX: Having two info windows open and right-clicking inside the second at the position of an object under it opened its info instead of closing [Valguris]
- FIX: Core resets rendered Z-Drones unable to explore or share FOV data [GJ]
- FIX: Still possible for 0b10 Decoder Chips to crash on attempting to reveal an item outside FOV under special circumstances [GJ]
- FIX: Loading a Fragile Parts challenge run in progress failed to apply the mechanic [GJ]
- FIX: Tiny decimal values close to zero showed as larger numbers in Tactical HUD energy-change-per-move readout [Pimski]
- FIX: Researcher hostility checks did not take into account active Cloaking Devices [Pimski]
- FIX: Workers pushing disabled bots on floors with only one chute located in hidden corridor could cause slowdown in Factory [Laida]
- FIX: Hostile Programmers assimilating Watchers made them neutral rather than hostile [Laida]
- FIX: Crushing DM with treads triggers the normal reaction [8fpsbossfight]
- FIX: Under certain conditions attempting to exit Waste might warn about leaving behind more allies than known [fpsbossfight, b_sen]
- FIX: Tutorial message referencing Gallery/Lore access commands referenced old key commands [Rob Hewitt]
- FIX: Options menu Upload Scores context help referenced old URL [Ezghoul]
- FIX: New part caches added to Materials may overlap Storage stairs if latter placed in a room rather than corridor [Jazzer]
- FIX: Item info ALIEN type label followed by a dark 'd' [Amphouse]
- FIX: Game hangs if attempt to move while completely surrounded by walls/earth and corruption causes a misdirection [NoCreativeNames]
- FIX: A certain Zion dialogue encounter was slightly too long to fit in the popup window [nuzcraft]
- FIX: Attempting to use the swap menu on an empty slot with less than 30 energy prevented the action, even though the requirement is 20 [zxc]
- FIX: Counterattack warning event may come on the following map if escaped fast enough and at exactly the right time [lsend, Sherlockkat]
- FIX: Potential crash on startup when using a certain LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter in advanced.cfg
- FIX: advanced.cfg did not properly bound values for mapCombatLogMaxLength, mapCombatLogDuration, mapAlertDuration
- FIX: While using any LOW_CONTRAST renderFilter, black lettering of temporary part status labels would change to a non-black value when updating
- FIX: Score sheet undercalculating Robots Melted entry (excluded non-delayed melting)
- FIX: Beta 4 robot label behavior update unintentionally removed all labels from non-FOV hostiles
Achievements256 of them! I didn't have any specific target number in mind when creating this initial set of achievements--it just turned out that way based on the many different things there are to currently do in Cogmind.
When you earn an achievement there's now a pop-up in the bottom-right corner of the map.
And any earned at the end of a run will be displayed next to the stats window.
Your score sheets now also include a list of the new achievements earned that run.
Available achievements, and those earned throughout all runs, can be browsed, filtered and sorted via the new interface accessible from the game menu. As you can see in the demo below, this interface is much more functional than Steam's, offering the ability to toggle different categories, filter by unlocked state, and order in four different ways.
For an online list of achievements you can check Steam's
global achievement list, or for a better organized list see
the latest SITREP.
If you'd like to avoid spoilers, don't use third-party achievement managers that reveal hidden achievements! They will spoil achievements which have been hidden because they involve plot points. There is no need to expose and aim for any hidden achievement, as they are things you'll uncover naturally through regular play.
All achievement descriptions refer to requirements that must be completed within a single run, except where otherwise noted or obvious. For those of you who've been playing for a while already, know that only a small handful of achievements are retroactive, those which will check your lore and gallery collection progress at the end of a run, whereas pretty much everything else will only be earned the first time you do it as of Beta 6.
So how to earn all these achievements... well, many of them will come naturally via simply using different play styles, hitting all the plot points, and going for all the endings. However, some will require actually aiming for the achievement (i.e. not something you'll probably "accidentally accomplish" through normal play). All achievements are known to be completable by players who've done these things in the past--they were created based on player stats collected over the years, all of them on regular difficulty. Some of them are extremely challenging though! If you have trouble with some of the achievements, note that all of them are equally accessible regardless of difficulty setting, so just pop into the options and try some runs that way :D
As with the item gallery and lore collection, you can export your achievements via buttons at the bottom-right of the interface. convenient for those of you who'd like to review you achievements outside the game or maybe process them via other means. Three formats are supported (TXT, HTML, CSV), and whatever filters and sorting you have active at the time
are reflected in the exported data! (For sample images of each of the exports, see
SITREP #20.)
Like other Cogmind meta data, achievements support Steam's cloud saves, and there's even bidirectional syncing so that even without cloud saves active, if you reinstall Cogmind elsewhere it'll still download all previous achievements from the Steam database. Playing the DRM-free version then later migrating over to Steam will also upload all previously earned achievements that are not yet earned on Steam, as long as you copy over your /user/ data as with a normal version migration.
If for some reason you want to remove all your achievements, for example having earned many on lower difficulties and want to try again from scratch on a higher setting, add "resetAchievements=1" to advanced.cfg. This change cannot be reversed so you'd better be sure! The resetAchievements option is only valid for non-Steam players due to automated syncing while connected to Steam.
Finally, if you're interested in the development side of things--why some achievements are hidden, the methods and purpose behind achievement selection, how they're categorized, how the icons were created, and much more, check out
the latest article on my blog.
Under the HoodCogmind's initial startup speed has gotten slow over the years with all that data, so I've managed to cut the time down to two-thirds of what it was by multithreading the most demanding bits, namely particles and sound effects. Here's a simple diagram comparing Beta 5 and Beta 6 on that front:
I've also expanded the autosave system to also save an adjustable number of sequential backups at a designated interval, so if (for example) a power outage at exactly the wrong time manages to corrupt your save, there'll be a backup from not long before that :)
Prior to Beta 6 Cogmind already included a couple of autosave mechanisms, the first which automatically saves your current run's progress at an adjustable interval, and another which makes a backup copy of the current save and all settings once per day. But in the aforementioned power outage scenario you'd only be able to restore progress to wherever it was the previous day (assuming the current run was long enough!).
It requires renaming the file you want to use as your current save, but you probably won't ever need this feature anyway, and old files will be deleted automatically--it's all handled silently in the background. You can also turn off the feature entirely by setting the interval to 0 (advanced.cfg "autosaveInterval"). Those of you who've been playing prior to Beta 6 may want to consider lowering the interval, since the old default value under the previous sytem was 5 (minutes), but I think with the new system it makes more sense for it to be around 3 or less. (Anyone just joining us will have the new default, but those with an old config value will not have their old value overwritten, so this is something you'd have to do manually if you like the idea of having autosaves closer to your current one.)
QoLWhile you have any hostiles/allies/parts labels manually activated, more will continue appearing automatically as you pan the map! No more repeatedly hitting '3' to look for that elusive item :P
These additional labels also obey the item filters added in
Beta 5.
By request, RTS-style panning is now a thing--moving your cursor to the edge of the screen can pan the map once you activate this feature in the options. It's off by default, and in turning it on you can also select the panning speed. This type of panning is of course only available in true fullscreen mode.
Part Autosorting now defaults to
on, but its original default was off, so if you've been playing before Beta 6 and have not activated it manually, I'd suggest turning it on to take advantage of automated organization for your parts list. (As a reminder, if you want your parts to autosort but allow you to retain manually assigned weapon order--since that determines firing order--you can deactivate weapon autosorting behavior in advanced.cfg: partSortIgnoresWeapons.)
This feature is not only useful for increasing the effectiveness of part management, it also comes with a cool animation :D
The game menu has been rearranged to combined the gallery, lore, and achievements under a single "Records" menu at the far right. (It's likely we'll be getting some other options on that page later.)
MechanicsThere weren't a large number of mechanics tweaks or additions this time around, just some changes focused on niche cases...
Melee buff! Melee Analysis Suites now increase minimum weapon damage. This will help improve melee-focused builds, especially those which are multiwielding and/or using impact weapons. You can see the effect reflected in the info ('q') mode values.
All varieties of Drone Bays can now be activated more conveniently without even attaching them--see the new description.
This is great for those situations where you're already decked out, inventory full, and don't really want to drag along a newly discovered bay but would like a little drone buddy or three to scout ahead. Drone Bays are still often good to carry around as makeshift armor, or to recall drones for repair and storage.
We have a few more changes to moving while overweight...
The most noticeable will be for flight and hover, which have had their overweight penalties increased, making it less effective to build an intentionally overweight flight-combat build to take advantage of superior firepower while still being significantly faster than wheels and legs. Flight-combat is certainly still very viable, it'll just require more skill to pull off. Basically if you're going overweight on flight or hover you'll want to readjust your loadout, and if it's happening mid-combat due to propulsion loss you'll likely want to make those adjustments immediately (it'll help to carry backups or have more support than needed at any given point).
Flight also loses its ability to fly over hostile robots if overweight, so the point is: You really don't want to be overweight on otherwise fast propulsion :P
Aaaand reason #3: Traps have a 100% trigger chance if you're overweight! This doesn't mean much for bots on treads and legs, which always or almost always trigger traps anyway, and move slow enough that they can often spot them a ways off, but it's a big jump for relatively trap-safe flight/hover. Technically if you really hate traps you might already be using a Structural Scanner or one of the other trap detection methods to solve that problem, but again you probably want to avoid being overweight in the first place.
Visual OptionsBy request we have additional alternative ASCII map fonts at smaller sizes.
Terminus 12:
Terminus 14:
And my personal nostalgia-inducing favorite, IBM VGA 14:
That's one I would love to add at all sizes, but it really only works at the traditional size it was designed for. (Unlike, say, a modern fixed width font like Terminus which is pretty awesome at all sizes.)
There's also some love for those of you using a LOW_CONTRAST render filter (first added in
Beta 5), courtesy of
POLYBOT-7 development. A number of people have been activating low-contrast mode, though this was a hackish feature in the first place because lots of Cogmind code and scripts assumed the background is black, so it looked funky in quite a few places. For the P7 aesthetic I went in and changed that assumption in a number of places where it was more accessible. Examples below:
Path visualization is now much more visible. (All sample images are using the SLEEPY preset.)
FOV edges are somewhat easier to see.
(The following are all before-and-after gifs demonstrating adjustments.)
Activating an Optical Array.
Motion trail fading.
AOE visualization edges.
Structural Scanner and cave-in visualization.
SFX visualization.
Fixes and Little StuffRobot labels for those
not in view were somehow completely broken by other changes a couple versions ago--those are now labeled again.
Impact weapons display damage values properly modified by current momentum. Other melee weapons were doing it right, but a typo left out the impact category...
AOE traps give their salvage modifier in their description.
Items with description info (e.g. traps) will still show it even when the Show Supporter Items option is on.
Removing an active Particle Charger, or having it destroyed, immediately updates damage for the weapon(s) it was affecting.
Forced spread weapons now list "Arc" as an explicit stat (with its own context help), as well as a clearer multi-explosive indicator.
I added a Disruption stat to melee weapon info, for the couple of late-game impact weapons that use it.
By request, the message log now reports what items were crushed by a cave-in. Nooooooo!!!
Thanks and NewsSpecial thanks to all our Beta 6 prerelease testers, who helped clean out a few bugs that slipped through the cracks, especially bugsniper for reporting a nasty crash on seeking lots of help from Zion, and Valguris for finding several different issues.
And thanks to everyone for your Steam reviews! In case anyone missed it, there's a pre-1.0 medium-term goal you can help with which could affect the future of Cogmind development.
Check out the original announcement for more info.
There is currently a 10% discount on Cogmind to coincide with the Beta 6 release. As a heads up, this is the largest discount Cogmind will have during Early Access unless at some point Valve decides to again offer exposure for a larger discount like they did in December, in which case I might take them up. (But I wouldn't count on them doing that again, there being so many games out there these days :P)
Beta 6 saves are not compatible with previous versions, but even if you're on Steam and have autoupdates enabled, Beta 5 is still available via its own branch and you can roll back to finish a run in progress first if you like.
