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[Widmo]

To:
Programmer Kyzrati
Command Terminal 2eV-15a

From:
Widmo
Representative of Recyclers Hater Club
Zion, Twisted Machinery Corner 2j

= PETITION =
Dear Administrator, we would like to express our great dissatisfaction with R-07 Scavenger class robots putting our hard earned loot into already disabled Recycling Units. This happens when any part of the machine is destroyed (in particular, can be every part) but the central "Y" is left intact. The scavengers who were already on their way to empty inventory while the machine war being vandalized continue to approach it and proceed to merrily insert the parts carried as witnessed in the log. Everything happens despite the respective machine is no longer functional. Please kindly disallow this outrageous behavior.
We motivate our request by noting the unsportsmanlike and ungentlemanlike qualities of such acts. Normally, when Recycling Unit is operative a Derelict has at least a possibility to obtain the part back by hacking the machine to eject it. Furthermore serving any parts from own inventory requires the machine to be operational. The Scavengers are clearly breaking both rules.
We remain ever hopeful of the issue being resolved.

With best regards
--Widmo
newest recruit of Recyclers Hater Club

[Kyzrati]

Haha, if only every bug report was this entertaining

Hm, I'm not sure if this should be considered a bug or not, though. I mean, why shouldn't they be able to physically insert the part into the machine so long as the insertion location exists? It just can't be processed (which won't happen). (And theoretically that item is retrievable by destroying any remaining pieces of the Recycling Unit.)

That said, it appears this report has highlighted a different bug in the AI, that if a Mechanic is in the process of pathing towards a Repair Station in order to resupply, during which a separate part of that station is disabled, it'll continue pathing there and complete the resupply process. Technically this could be somewhat logically explained, but I'm going to make that impossible. As for the Recyclers, I think they should continue to insert parts, yeah?

Edit: Oh yeah, and Recycler hate is definitely common throughout the world of Cogmind. Welcome to the Club

[Widmo]

I mean, why shouldn't they be able to physically insert the part into the machine so long as the insertion location exists?

Act of insertion apparently requires cooperation from the Recycling Unit. Otherwise Cogmind would be free to put any number of parts before sending the process order without chance of failure. Furthermore certain trojan proves that the unit can have quite a lot of to say on the subject what goes inside its belly, or in this case what does not. This is argument made mostly from game world consistency viewpoint. I see no problem with swinging my greatsword directly at the interactive space. If you wish to keep it for balance or just for the sake of keeping recyclers sufficiently rude then just keep it.

Perhaps when the unit stops being functional the recyclers just forcibly jam the stuff there but then I wonder why Cogmind is unable to do the same. What I have not checked is how the Unit behaves when infected with mentioned trojan and subsequently "partially" disabled.

[Kyzrati]

Act of insertion apparently requires cooperation from the Recycling Unit. Otherwise Cogmind would be free to put any number of parts before sending the process order without chance of failure.

Okay, got me there, didn't yet think about it from that angle. Well okay, I could still argue the point in other ways but I don't want people in the future to repeatedly report this as a bug, which I'm sure they will! I'll change it

It's not a balance issue anyway. Recyclers will still take your stuff, and just have to ship it off to a further Recycling Unit. And even if there aren't any remaining, they'll at least fill up their existing inventory space.

Edit: Also, technically this should be considered a bug due to the fact that it's inconsistent behavior caused by an oversight. It appears that technically Recyclers will not use Repair Stations which have already been disabled unless they are already standing next to it, or are already en route to it when it's disabled.

[Widmo]

I am glad you found other valid reasons to change this behavior but I hope you are not placing too much weight behind player perceptions of what is bug and what is not. After all you are the developer of Cogmind, you do not need to convince anyone of decisions you make.

[Kyzrati]

Yeah I don't budge on most things if I can argue for them, but if any "feature" is something that will otherwise be repeatedly identified as a bug I do have to at least take that into consideration, too.

In this case immediately after my reply I was investigating the code further and discovered the inconsistency, plus it was never intended that Recyclers could do that, so at least I'm not giving anything up here--I just argued the point anyway because it can be argued