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1
Ideas / Re: Showing the depth identified exits lead to
« on: April 14, 2024, 12:30:40 AM »
Scrap Engine is actually one of the most powerful items in the game when used properly 
(people have put together flying builds with massive integrity and weapons that can one-shot any bot in the game--any bot)
(people have put together flying builds with massive integrity and weapons that can one-shot any bot in the game--any bot)
2
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Gun Armor deletes new Scrap Engine weapon
« on: April 13, 2024, 09:57:35 AM »
No you definitely still lose the slot, it just might happen to last a little longer, unstable technology and all... (the lore source will be more filled out in a later Beta, as to its true origins)
3
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Scrap Engine weapon doesn't have newly added critical effect
« on: April 13, 2024, 09:56:44 AM »
It was already done that way before, but changed during prerelease since it ended up making less sense the other way.
4
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Propulsion Burnouts scoresheet entry refers to parts lost that way
« on: April 13, 2024, 06:39:42 AM »
More specifically to the point, it would need a different name entirely because the actual "burnout" as recorded is the named event that is reflected in the message log when that occurs. Don't really want to introduce another term, though.
5
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Propulsion Burnouts scoresheet entry refers to parts lost that way
« on: April 13, 2024, 06:36:31 AM »
Yep, that is exactly what it records, the number of propulsion actually lost to it, not integrity damage. It could potentially be switched, since actual complete burnouts are quite rare, but it's not a bug and not yet on my list (we were actually having this discussion earlier this week).
6
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Scrap Engine weapon doesn't have newly added critical effect
« on: April 13, 2024, 06:33:38 AM »
Yeah that's a possibility, this is normal behavior. As you might be familiar "Burn" is a special critical that specifically requires Heat Transfer to operate, but your weapon currently has no base heat transfer capability at all, so the critical will not show since it doesn't currently apply. Technically it has that chance after the modification, but it won't show.
7
Ideas / Re: No ground-to-attached-to-inventory-to-ground auto-replacement option
« on: April 13, 2024, 12:29:56 AM »
Yes very specifically the Storage Unit swapping rules were actually changed for a short period during Beta 13 development to make sure that doesn't happen, but it actually lead to even more problems for players, so was switched back 
Specifically with Storage Units you're going to have to be more specifically aware of which ones you want to keep, and do this manually rather than relying on the automated system if it won't suit your needs. But making a special exception for those does lead to even more issues for the majority of players in the majority of situations, as we discovered through actual experience with the alternatives earlier this year in testing.
There won't be warnings added for this particular feature, you'll have to swap manually if you don't want automated behavior, which has very few rules and is quite consistent for the very reason that it's easy to predict what will happen if you let the automated system do its thing.
(The system is getting expanded even further in Beta 14 to allow manual ground-attached swapping when the automated system will otherwise do nothing, but that's a different issue.)
Specifically with Storage Units you're going to have to be more specifically aware of which ones you want to keep, and do this manually rather than relying on the automated system if it won't suit your needs. But making a special exception for those does lead to even more issues for the majority of players in the majority of situations, as we discovered through actual experience with the alternatives earlier this year in testing.
There won't be warnings added for this particular feature, you'll have to swap manually if you don't want automated behavior, which has very few rules and is quite consistent for the very reason that it's easy to predict what will happen if you let the automated system do its thing.
(The system is getting expanded even further in Beta 14 to allow manual ground-attached swapping when the automated system will otherwise do nothing, but that's a different issue.)
8
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Gun Armor deletes new Scrap Engine weapon
« on: April 13, 2024, 12:24:02 AM »
Yeah that's not a bug, just the way things are. SE can create things in temp slots, but you're going to lose them all the same when the slot is gone, but as described on the part, sometimes a temp slot may require an extra bit of time before it really disappears because it's no longer supported. Best to just keep SE off if you're about to have an unstable situation, so that it doesn't produce anything under poor circumstances, or keep going and have it build something else after the fact... Temp slots are unstable by their nature.
9
Ideas / Re: Auto-overload propuslion when melee attacking with momentum
« on: April 10, 2024, 04:07:14 AM »
Interesting you mention saying you have no idea how you'd complete ++ without speedy prop, when the more common opinion among extended-area players right now is that fast prop is a harder way to achieve ++ compared to slow prop these days. (Of course not everyone agrees and some do it with fast prop just to prove the point, but the trend in opinions has been obvious.)
10
Ideas / Re: Showing the depth identified exits lead to
« on: April 10, 2024, 04:03:13 AM »
The lack of that information is indeed by design, and will not be added. You will have to gamble!
But, be aware that you're talking about new branch areas that haven't even been completed yet, so it's still early to be weighing what is and isn't worth it in the bigger picture. You'll be seeing more.
But, be aware that you're talking about new branch areas that haven't even been completed yet, so it's still early to be weighing what is and isn't worth it in the bigger picture. You'll be seeing more.
11
Ideas / Re: Auto-overload propuslion when melee attacking with momentum
« on: April 09, 2024, 03:06:27 AM »
Heh, not saying you're not a veteran, you clearly are, just wondering about all the others up there 
(almost everyone else in the top 50 hangs out on the Discord, so it's easy to ask if I do need the info... but anyway I'll come back to this when I get to it on my list)
(almost everyone else in the top 50 hangs out on the Discord, so it's easy to ask if I do need the info... but anyway I'll come back to this when I get to it on my list)
12
Ideas / Re: Auto-overload propuslion when melee attacking with momentum
« on: April 09, 2024, 02:09:30 AM »May i suggest changing it in a different, less annoying-to-use way?Yeah I hadn't really given it much thought yet, was just the first approach off the top of my head, but overall the general intent is usually to avoid adding complexity to the rules, however that can be achieved while maintaining the desirable balance and removal of any tedium. I've actually never heard or seen anyone doing this overloading thing, not even all the veteran players who top the leaderboards and like to minmax, though I do wonder if anyone else actually does it.
For instance, requiring the player to have moved with x speed as their last action for that speed to apply with momentum to non-ramming attacks? That would remove the benefit from constantly switching propulsion from overloading to not overloading, at least when attacking a single enemy, because even if they move away, you'd want to keep propulsion overloaded when following to get the maximum bonus from momentum.
I know there's probably quite a few issues with that alternative, but it's just an example.
But anyway, yeah I do think the idea of requiring movement on the previous turn to get the speed bonus makes sense. I mean to be honest originally at the beginning of this thread that's how I assumed it works
13
Ideas / Re: Scroll through items in the Search Screen?
« on: April 07, 2024, 09:02:55 PM »
Not scrolling through like that, no, but you can use keyboard or mouse to select an item and the map centers on it, then also repeat that command again for the same item to have you path straight to it.
You can scroll the list itself when it's too long (which is what scroll normally accomplishes there), but I'm assuming you mean to simply scroll through the entire list as it shows you each item's location one by one. Overall not as helpful, but note that they're also listed in terms of distance from your current position.
The manual covers more advanced features like this. Once you're familiar with basic functionality of the interface, you might want to check out the section on Advanced UI, and also the advanced config options--lots more you can do which may not be obvious at first.
You can scroll the list itself when it's too long (which is what scroll normally accomplishes there), but I'm assuming you mean to simply scroll through the entire list as it shows you each item's location one by one. Overall not as helpful, but note that they're also listed in terms of distance from your current position.
The manual covers more advanced features like this. Once you're familiar with basic functionality of the interface, you might want to check out the section on Advanced UI, and also the advanced config options--lots more you can do which may not be obvious at first.
14
Ideas / Re: Auto-overload propuslion when melee attacking with momentum
« on: April 07, 2024, 05:20:33 PM »
Okay, now I see what you mean. It would've been really helpful if you mentioned the Reaction Control System in your original post, since that changes everything and I wasn't thinking about that at all, was just looking at overloaded propulsion in isolation. (You mentioned momentum, but I considered that as a part of movement, but here we're talking specifically about in combination with another utility.)
). In the case of overloadable prop it instead cycles past that state automatically, probably a decision made because you're more likely to want to siege anything you can when you can, the entire reason to be toggling treads at all, whereas there are multiple different scenarios in which you want to toggle propulsion, and it's not always to overload.
So back to the original point... considering this discovery, attacking while overloaded should also burn out your propulsion (perhaps even at a higher chance?), and under such circumstances, having a permanent option to enable that would not be desirable, since then it could damage your prop due to attacks, and you may not always want that in every encounter.
Clicking the CYCLE button doesn't overload propulsion, only swaps it between active/inactive.Oh right, I'd forgotten that it doesn't behave like siege mode with treads, which does get cycled to (non-flight player here
At least i don't think so? I'm certain i tried several times in my last run to toggle overloading like this, and it didn't do anything?
The reason i checked was because i thought it did overload, so either i missed it during that run, or it was accidentally removed.
Edit: I double-checked a recording, and clicking CYCLE turned my flight units from all active to all inactive. They briefly go yellow, but that's it.
). In the case of overloadable prop it instead cycles past that state automatically, probably a decision made because you're more likely to want to siege anything you can when you can, the entire reason to be toggling treads at all, whereas there are multiple different scenarios in which you want to toggle propulsion, and it's not always to overload.Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the auto-threads feature already detect attack intent?Right, but I was making that statement under the working assumption that you get no benefit from toggling while adjacent to an enemy to make an immediate melee attack with suddenly overloaded prop, in which case there would be no way to know your intent is to an attack simply be moving into a cell with no enemy.
So back to the original point... considering this discovery, attacking while overloaded should also burn out your propulsion (perhaps even at a higher chance?), and under such circumstances, having a permanent option to enable that would not be desirable, since then it could damage your prop due to attacks, and you may not always want that in every encounter.
15
Ideas / Re: Auto-overload propuslion when melee attacking with momentum
« on: April 07, 2024, 07:55:39 AM »
This doesn't actually help you, because overloading propulsion only increases your speed while moving not attacking, in other words, during the run through cells towards an enemy, for example, not while you're already adjacent to the enemy you want to attack. When you attack you just make an attack with whatever speed and momentum you already have at that point. An automatic toggle isn't really feasible, since it's not known when your intent is to attack. Also remember to use the CYCLE button (or hotkey) to quickly overload all your propulsion at once if and when you are going to approach a target. But don't expect that staying in an "overloaded" state means anything after you've already engaged and aren't actually moving anymore (this is also why your momentum drops as soon as you do anything over than move).
16
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] Moving inventory item with a part description window open
« on: April 07, 2024, 07:46:37 AM »
No this is normal behavior, you've always been able to take even turn-based inventory/part actions while the info window is open. You can drop parts and whatnot, you just might not be able to do most of them very easily (or at all) via the mouse, but the keyboard is technically capable of them, just not normally something you'd ever want or need to do.
Maybe theoretically there's something that could go wrong as a result, but the possibility won't be removed unless it actually causes an issue, which it hasn't so far. (If something destroys the item in the process the window just disappears, it works in this sort of instance.)
Maybe theoretically there's something that could go wrong as a result, but the possibility won't be removed unless it actually causes an issue, which it hasn't so far. (If something destroys the item in the process the window just disappears, it works in this sort of instance.)
17
General Discussion / Re: This derelict log is mildly frustrating
« on: April 06, 2024, 08:05:02 PM »
Yep, can't be guaranteed that a log is going to be good or useful at all! Remember, as with pretty much everything in the world of Cogmind, the logs are not for you.
18
General Discussion / Re: Experimental Keyboard Layouts and Command Rebinding
« on: April 06, 2024, 06:21:52 AM »
Hi matthewgdv! Thanks for the input. These points are known and noted, though an update to the system is not currently planned. Although there are theoretically technical solutions for everything, they involve a massive amount of work, and even if the system were to be updated, an external solution will always be superior to whatever would be implemented in Cogmind (due to limitations). Even the experimental solution we have now took like two full weeks to implement within the constraints of what I'm using, and it barely scratches the surface of what is needed and/or should exist in an ideal world xD
(More specifically to one of your points, the mouse commands don't always match up one-for-one in Cogmind, so exposing them in the configuration would not work.)
(More specifically to one of your points, the mouse commands don't always match up one-for-one in Cogmind, so exposing them in the configuration would not work.)
19
Ideas / Re: Highlight Cogmind amongst a sea of items?
« on: April 04, 2024, 02:01:51 AM »
Well once you start doing more combat-oriented runs you'll see it a lot more often, though yeah you're generally always at the very center (or as of Beta 13 the same position in the map view that you assign) so I never felt that was something that really needed to be emphasized.
It would be possible to add some sort of optional advanced cfg option to blink or glow Cogmind if there are a lot of items nearby or something like that. It wouldn't be a default feature since that's yet another thing that would need to be taught and otherwise confusing before then (and doesn't seem to be an issue for most people).
I wonder if anyone else is interested in this?
It would be possible to add some sort of optional advanced cfg option to blink or glow Cogmind if there are a lot of items nearby or something like that. It wouldn't be a default feature since that's yet another thing that would need to be taught and otherwise confusing before then (and doesn't seem to be an issue for most people).
I wonder if anyone else is interested in this?
20
Ideas / Re: Highlight Cogmind amongst a sea of items?
« on: April 03, 2024, 05:42:50 PM »
Interesting request, almost surprised I haven't heard this before and I thought this might be in the context of the new option to dynamically set an alternate centerpoint, because otherwise Cogmind is always going to be right at the center of the map view unless you shift away to look at other areas, but there's always the Enter key to recenter on your position. Were you familiar with that one and would it help?
21
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] No way to rebind examine direction keys
« on: April 02, 2024, 08:42:39 AM »
No problem! Makes sense, wouldn't necessarily assume that examining and targeting are basically the same command set
22
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] No way to rebind examine direction keys
« on: April 01, 2024, 10:38:57 PM »
It's not hard-coded, they're all in there. You can find the examine mode cursor-moving keys in the targeting domain (since it's used for both targeting and examination), thus CMD_BS_TARGETING_SHIFT_N and so on. You can see there are already vi-keys assigned there, but you're switching to a different layout so yeah you can adjust those.
Note: CMD_BS_DEFAULT_MAPJUMP_N is actually for shifting the map view (like recentering it to see a different area), not movement. Movement is CMD_BS_DEFAULT_MOVE_N etc.
Note: CMD_BS_DEFAULT_MAPJUMP_N is actually for shifting the map view (like recentering it to see a different area), not movement. Movement is CMD_BS_DEFAULT_MOVE_N etc.
23
Stories / Re: My First Win
« on: March 31, 2024, 09:26:11 PM »
Yep, all about the items, so more items means more possibilities... for a time until you maybe lose them, but then you get... more items!
24
Announcements / *** Cogmind Vision 2025 ***
« on: March 31, 2024, 06:47:19 PM »
Not long after the release (and seventh and final patch) of our latest major new version, Beta 13 "Zoom All The Things", I'd like to do something I've never done here before: talk more about the future. This is only something I tend to do with frequent players on Discord, or patrons, and even then only in the broadest strokes or occasional disjointed details since anything is subject to change and I don't want to accidentally mislead anyone or create too much unnecessary hype for things that have no specific timeline. But in my own notes I do always have a fairly clear plan for the future, if one that sometimes still shifts around according to near-term priorities (for example our latest adventures in map zooming and upscaled UI layouts).
Preferring to write and share information about features that are already completed, for many years now I've subscribed more to a "deliver, then describe" methodology rather than "promise, then deliver." That said, over the years I have indeed made a handful of rather big long-term promises, promises that will come to fruition, and we're coming closer to those points in development, so I figure now is an opportune moment to remind folks what these things entail, fill in some of the blanks, and also bring plenty of newer folks up to speed, those who are not steeped in the decade-plus history of Cogmind development and community interaction :P
Let's go.
(animation by Maiker, depicting a particular special type of bot you may know about)
I started giving a general outline back during my typical annual review, the last one in December (our 10th!), but let me use this opportunity to provide a little more color on that. Of course Beta 13 already took care of the zooming and upscaling that was planned, even extending so far as to take us all the way through the final "Phase 4" stretch, but now that that's out of the way, it's time to get back to serious CONTENT. That means bigger expansions...
Expansion 1: Scraptown
This expansion I technically started working on all the way back in 2022 with the extensive Scrap Engine feature which, surprise, is actually not a major part of "Scraptown" after all xD
It was developed as an experiment in semi-controlled randomization of parts to create an assortment of unique and evolving technology, first of all because it could be a fun mechanic (yep, it's neat!), but more pertinently as a potential central theme for Scraptown. It turned out to not be fully suitable, or at least doesn't meet my requirements, so it will live on in its own way as its namesake town features other new things.
As for Scraptown itself, its scope has ballooned significantly (I have a tendency to do that :P), but is now more or less set and is even more than half realized, it's just a case of going through the motions to finish the whole thing.
But I call it an "expansion" because this goes far beyond the original plan years ago of it being just one extra map you might visit to gain some benefits, and is now a whole new story arc for the world of Cogmind spanning three new maps. These maps technically including the recently-released Subcaves which tie into it in several ways, Scraptown itself, and a new late-game Research branch: Protoforge.
While maps are a fundamental unit of expansion, they imply much more since you've gotta have a good reason for those maps to exist! This expansion includes:
Anyway, you'll also be seeing Beta 15 this year as well.
I promised this expansion would be added to the development queue once we reached 800 Steam reviews, based on the same premise as the Merchants Guild, which I write about below and actually came in an earlier announcement, but in terms of long-term development organization it's better to build this particular expansion first.
Expansion 2: Unchained
I promised the Unchained as a result of Patreon support. One could say that some funds saved from Patreon have been earmarked as what is primarily powering this particular expansion, which over time has now grown to be even more formidable than initially planned (are you sensing a trend here? :P). I continue to work on its design in the meantime, so when the time comes it will be fairly mature and I can hit the ground running with it.
Who, or what, are the Unchained...
Well, the lore-filled 2020 ARG, which touched upon many of the expansion concepts for the first time (and suggests others not mentioned in this post), had this to say about the Unchained, which is still accurate:
They will become a significant overarching mechanic, albeit mainly a potential threat to players who challenge the status quo in Complex 0b10. If you prove you're not some regular Derelict by repeatedly causing more trouble across multiple maps, or even just being more problematic for the Complex in other ways, you may end up with one of these guys hunting you, and they are not your normal enemy. Almost all of them will have special abilities beyond anything possessed by current robots, including new unique AI and behaviors that will add new dimensions of challenge.
And in some cases you won't be able to simply leave a map to escape their pursuit. They don't care about "alert level," they care about finishing the job, and will eventually track you down.
But don't make too many assumptions based on the above description just yet--these encounters will be varied and challenging, but fair and balanced. Of course some players will never even see them at all. Hone your skills in the meantime to be capable of summoning the wrath of one of these ultimate crazies. Think of them as possible recurring mini-bosses of sorts.
This particular expansion is currently planned to span two versions:
The Unchained will definitely be worked on this year, and also hopefully completed or at least start to be released this year as well (at the very least on Patreon if they're not ready for prime time). You can already find small bits of lore about them in game--Beta 13 added more, including some that will closely tie into later Unchained-related content.
Patrons tend to be more avid players and many enjoy their punishment, or really the opportunity for extra challenges and therefore potentially even more interesting loot as well, so the Unchained seems a fitting "reward" for them ;) (and of course everyone else gets it as well, since this feature will be integral to the world and updated gameplay balance).
Expansion 3: Merchants Guild
The original promised expansion! This one was always going to be around 1.0, so has sat on the sidelines waiting for that part of the timeline. This promise stemmed from when I said it would be really helpful if we could eventually hit an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, which would require at least 500 reviews, and although it took us a while to reach that point, once there it has tended to hold for quite a while (maintaining that status does help sales, and therefore means more revenue to sustain development of free content since I always simply reinvest revenue into more development). While we've since occasionally lost that status, many thanks for the good periods where we've had it, and the Merchants will be at your service :D
As for what the Merchants bring to Cogmind, they are probably the most mysterious of the future factions, and for that reason likely the most misunderstood. Although you can already find a few vague references to them in the world, they will not quite be the sort of merchants you have come to expect from other roguelikes.
More specifically though, like the Unchained their addition will involve a new map, and aligning yourself with them for a different sort of run is also a distinct possibility (okay, yeah you'll be able to do that). Beyond a single primary map, their associated overarching mechanics will also likely involve other new sub-map areas, depending on the needs of their final implementation.
I still have to test out one of the potential important new gameplay mechanics I'd like them to take extensive advantage of, but there's still time to slip that in somewhere considering that I don't see development on Merchants beginning until next year (2025).
1.0
I'm not yet sure where 1.0 fits in between all these, but it's, uh... somewhere out there! It could come at any time, though seeing as each of these expansions will be integrated throughout the normal world and gameplay, and all of them have far-reaching impacts, maybe it doesn't come until after all of them are complete?
To reiterate, as is Cogmind is already a very complete experience and has been since it came to Steam in 2017,
with hundreds of hours of content for those who want to dive further and deeper. Despite the size of these future expansions, there will be no DLC or any extra charge--everything is included in the price at which you get it now, though additional support via Patreon is very much appreciated and helps continue to expand the world with yet more options and experiences.
There technically aren't any more significant requirements left before I'd be happy to officially call Cogmind "1.0."
One of my plans in that regard, from years ago, was to at least run new experiments with alternative UI layouts before that milestone, but not only are said experiments now done, we've already got them fully implemented in Beta 13.
So in terms of regular content and features we're definitely set, although one more thing we do need before that release can happen is at least one more major batch of achievements, there being hundreds of great new possibilities related to content added since the first 256 achievements in... 2018 (!). I've got a looooong list, so maybe slip it in after Beta 15? Maybe even make it its own release, since it'll be a lot (thereby pushing back subsequent version numbers, though not adding a significant delay--the new batch could probably be completed with 2-3 weeks of dedicated work). If I did slip that in we'd have to have another batch for 1.0, related to content added in subsequent versions.
Cogmind has been out so long that the percentages shown on Steam for such achievements will be even more deceiving (remaining incredibly low... forever, even if a larger portion of the current player base gets it), but that's not meaningful compared to individual players being able to collect them and reflect another aspect of official completion. (The current percentages are already significantly distorted from reality, but Steam's system isn't designed for games that add achievements long after the initial release of the game itself.)
More?
Those are the main expansions to bring us all the way through 2024 and a good part if not all or most of 2025.
I have several other factions and maps planned, but can't promise anything more at this point, since even what's above will take a while to complete, and I can't be sure Cogmind will be funded that far ahead, but promises are promises, so the these things will be delivered regardless!
In summary, my vision for Cogmind in 2025 is that we'll have at least three new factions and four or more new maps, all of which of course entail new mechanics and items, the core of what makes for unique new builds in Cogmind, so expect a yet greater variety of strategic possibilities.
Looking at the "little" picture instead of the big, as usual we'll also continue getting a number of isolated non-theme-specific features, many of which I know will be in high demand, including for example:
The latest stats show that my current primary todo list is about 450 pages long at 150,000 words. Ha. That's just the primary one, but it is the bulk of where I organize things that could be added, except the latest big project, which is the Scraptown arc and has its own separate set of more specific design docs to explain all the finer details. (The main Scraptown design doc is nearing 20,000 words, and it's not quite finished :P)
DISCLAIMER: I can't predict that no bad unforeseen event will happen to me, as it's not like this is a big company and there are people to pick up the slack, so the general timelines given above are assuming I'm okay :P. That'd be another reason I don't like to talk too much about future timelines--life is fickle like that! Health issues have been a significant headwind for me in some previous years, but I'm very hopeful that this year will be better overall. Now off to continue kicking butt...
2024 7DRLs
One more thing: Also in the news, as usual I reviewed a bunch of good 7DRLs from this year's event in order to share them with followers and provide feedback to other devs, so if you'd like some cool games to play in the meantime, you can check out my review list including summaries, screenshots, and videos as well.
Dosh!
Wait a minute, yet one more thing to tack on here that happened after I drafted the above announcement: DoshDoshington has released a great video titled "Cogmind and the Future of Roguelikes." It's really nice to have someone who is more deeply familiar with Cogmind, and roguelikes in general, able to share it with a wider audience of folks that might very well include many who could also enjoy this sort of game.
While it's a good watch even for any of you already playing, I do recommend it as a faithful summary of the experience if you're looking to let others know about Cogmind and what they might like (or not like!) about it.
There are some big plot spoilers towards the end, but he'll warn you and you can stop if so inclined :P
Preferring to write and share information about features that are already completed, for many years now I've subscribed more to a "deliver, then describe" methodology rather than "promise, then deliver." That said, over the years I have indeed made a handful of rather big long-term promises, promises that will come to fruition, and we're coming closer to those points in development, so I figure now is an opportune moment to remind folks what these things entail, fill in some of the blanks, and also bring plenty of newer folks up to speed, those who are not steeped in the decade-plus history of Cogmind development and community interaction :P
Let's go.
(animation by Maiker, depicting a particular special type of bot you may know about)
I started giving a general outline back during my typical annual review, the last one in December (our 10th!), but let me use this opportunity to provide a little more color on that. Of course Beta 13 already took care of the zooming and upscaling that was planned, even extending so far as to take us all the way through the final "Phase 4" stretch, but now that that's out of the way, it's time to get back to serious CONTENT. That means bigger expansions...
Expansion 1: Scraptown
This expansion I technically started working on all the way back in 2022 with the extensive Scrap Engine feature which, surprise, is actually not a major part of "Scraptown" after all xD
It was developed as an experiment in semi-controlled randomization of parts to create an assortment of unique and evolving technology, first of all because it could be a fun mechanic (yep, it's neat!), but more pertinently as a potential central theme for Scraptown. It turned out to not be fully suitable, or at least doesn't meet my requirements, so it will live on in its own way as its namesake town features other new things.
As for Scraptown itself, its scope has ballooned significantly (I have a tendency to do that :P), but is now more or less set and is even more than half realized, it's just a case of going through the motions to finish the whole thing.
But I call it an "expansion" because this goes far beyond the original plan years ago of it being just one extra map you might visit to gain some benefits, and is now a whole new story arc for the world of Cogmind spanning three new maps. These maps technically including the recently-released Subcaves which tie into it in several ways, Scraptown itself, and a new late-game Research branch: Protoforge.
While maps are a fundamental unit of expansion, they imply much more since you've gotta have a good reason for those maps to exist! This expansion includes:
- a new major faction and optional alliance
- a new major NPC
- a number of brand new robot classes (new tiles!)
- masses of new lore and dialogue
- many dozens of new items, some with wild game-changing mechanics
- multiple new large-scale events in which to test your skills
- a new ending, our 10th
- Beta 14 "United Federation of Derelicts"
- Beta 15 "0bPrime"
Anyway, you'll also be seeing Beta 15 this year as well.
I promised this expansion would be added to the development queue once we reached 800 Steam reviews, based on the same premise as the Merchants Guild, which I write about below and actually came in an earlier announcement, but in terms of long-term development organization it's better to build this particular expansion first.
Expansion 2: Unchained
I promised the Unchained as a result of Patreon support. One could say that some funds saved from Patreon have been earmarked as what is primarily powering this particular expansion, which over time has now grown to be even more formidable than initially planned (are you sensing a trend here? :P). I continue to work on its design in the meantime, so when the time comes it will be fairly mature and I can hit the ground running with it.
Who, or what, are the Unchained...
Well, the lore-filled 2020 ARG, which touched upon many of the expansion concepts for the first time (and suggests others not mentioned in this post), had this to say about the Unchained, which is still accurate:
They will become a significant overarching mechanic, albeit mainly a potential threat to players who challenge the status quo in Complex 0b10. If you prove you're not some regular Derelict by repeatedly causing more trouble across multiple maps, or even just being more problematic for the Complex in other ways, you may end up with one of these guys hunting you, and they are not your normal enemy. Almost all of them will have special abilities beyond anything possessed by current robots, including new unique AI and behaviors that will add new dimensions of challenge.
And in some cases you won't be able to simply leave a map to escape their pursuit. They don't care about "alert level," they care about finishing the job, and will eventually track you down.
But don't make too many assumptions based on the above description just yet--these encounters will be varied and challenging, but fair and balanced. Of course some players will never even see them at all. Hone your skills in the meantime to be capable of summoning the wrath of one of these ultimate crazies. Think of them as possible recurring mini-bosses of sorts.
This particular expansion is currently planned to span two versions:
- Beta 16 "Unchained"
- Beta 17 "Hexidium"
The Unchained will definitely be worked on this year, and also hopefully completed or at least start to be released this year as well (at the very least on Patreon if they're not ready for prime time). You can already find small bits of lore about them in game--Beta 13 added more, including some that will closely tie into later Unchained-related content.
Patrons tend to be more avid players and many enjoy their punishment, or really the opportunity for extra challenges and therefore potentially even more interesting loot as well, so the Unchained seems a fitting "reward" for them ;) (and of course everyone else gets it as well, since this feature will be integral to the world and updated gameplay balance).
Expansion 3: Merchants Guild
The original promised expansion! This one was always going to be around 1.0, so has sat on the sidelines waiting for that part of the timeline. This promise stemmed from when I said it would be really helpful if we could eventually hit an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, which would require at least 500 reviews, and although it took us a while to reach that point, once there it has tended to hold for quite a while (maintaining that status does help sales, and therefore means more revenue to sustain development of free content since I always simply reinvest revenue into more development). While we've since occasionally lost that status, many thanks for the good periods where we've had it, and the Merchants will be at your service :D
As for what the Merchants bring to Cogmind, they are probably the most mysterious of the future factions, and for that reason likely the most misunderstood. Although you can already find a few vague references to them in the world, they will not quite be the sort of merchants you have come to expect from other roguelikes.
More specifically though, like the Unchained their addition will involve a new map, and aligning yourself with them for a different sort of run is also a distinct possibility (okay, yeah you'll be able to do that). Beyond a single primary map, their associated overarching mechanics will also likely involve other new sub-map areas, depending on the needs of their final implementation.
I still have to test out one of the potential important new gameplay mechanics I'd like them to take extensive advantage of, but there's still time to slip that in somewhere considering that I don't see development on Merchants beginning until next year (2025).
1.0
I'm not yet sure where 1.0 fits in between all these, but it's, uh... somewhere out there! It could come at any time, though seeing as each of these expansions will be integrated throughout the normal world and gameplay, and all of them have far-reaching impacts, maybe it doesn't come until after all of them are complete?
To reiterate, as is Cogmind is already a very complete experience and has been since it came to Steam in 2017,
with hundreds of hours of content for those who want to dive further and deeper. Despite the size of these future expansions, there will be no DLC or any extra charge--everything is included in the price at which you get it now, though additional support via Patreon is very much appreciated and helps continue to expand the world with yet more options and experiences.
There technically aren't any more significant requirements left before I'd be happy to officially call Cogmind "1.0."
One of my plans in that regard, from years ago, was to at least run new experiments with alternative UI layouts before that milestone, but not only are said experiments now done, we've already got them fully implemented in Beta 13.
So in terms of regular content and features we're definitely set, although one more thing we do need before that release can happen is at least one more major batch of achievements, there being hundreds of great new possibilities related to content added since the first 256 achievements in... 2018 (!). I've got a looooong list, so maybe slip it in after Beta 15? Maybe even make it its own release, since it'll be a lot (thereby pushing back subsequent version numbers, though not adding a significant delay--the new batch could probably be completed with 2-3 weeks of dedicated work). If I did slip that in we'd have to have another batch for 1.0, related to content added in subsequent versions.
Cogmind has been out so long that the percentages shown on Steam for such achievements will be even more deceiving (remaining incredibly low... forever, even if a larger portion of the current player base gets it), but that's not meaningful compared to individual players being able to collect them and reflect another aspect of official completion. (The current percentages are already significantly distorted from reality, but Steam's system isn't designed for games that add achievements long after the initial release of the game itself.)
More?
Those are the main expansions to bring us all the way through 2024 and a good part if not all or most of 2025.
I have several other factions and maps planned, but can't promise anything more at this point, since even what's above will take a while to complete, and I can't be sure Cogmind will be funded that far ahead, but promises are promises, so the these things will be delivered regardless!
In summary, my vision for Cogmind in 2025 is that we'll have at least three new factions and four or more new maps, all of which of course entail new mechanics and items, the core of what makes for unique new builds in Cogmind, so expect a yet greater variety of strategic possibilities.
Looking at the "little" picture instead of the big, as usual we'll also continue getting a number of isolated non-theme-specific features, many of which I know will be in high demand, including for example:
- Improved large robot behavior. These guys can be really annoying in a number of situations, but the Polymind event made some technical advances in that area which may help in upcoming endeavors to improve that. This applies to both enemies and allies.
- Now that we have map zooming and new UI layouts with reduced grid dimensions, there's a good chance that I'll complete and release the so-called "overmap" feature I experimented with back in 2020
- A way to manually replace attached parts with parts from the ground when there's no objective improvement for the automated system to make
- More visual indicators and/or a way to access ongoing RIF effects on individual bots
The latest stats show that my current primary todo list is about 450 pages long at 150,000 words. Ha. That's just the primary one, but it is the bulk of where I organize things that could be added, except the latest big project, which is the Scraptown arc and has its own separate set of more specific design docs to explain all the finer details. (The main Scraptown design doc is nearing 20,000 words, and it's not quite finished :P)
DISCLAIMER: I can't predict that no bad unforeseen event will happen to me, as it's not like this is a big company and there are people to pick up the slack, so the general timelines given above are assuming I'm okay :P. That'd be another reason I don't like to talk too much about future timelines--life is fickle like that! Health issues have been a significant headwind for me in some previous years, but I'm very hopeful that this year will be better overall. Now off to continue kicking butt...
2024 7DRLs
One more thing: Also in the news, as usual I reviewed a bunch of good 7DRLs from this year's event in order to share them with followers and provide feedback to other devs, so if you'd like some cool games to play in the meantime, you can check out my review list including summaries, screenshots, and videos as well.
Dosh!
Wait a minute, yet one more thing to tack on here that happened after I drafted the above announcement: DoshDoshington has released a great video titled "Cogmind and the Future of Roguelikes." It's really nice to have someone who is more deeply familiar with Cogmind, and roguelikes in general, able to share it with a wider audience of folks that might very well include many who could also enjoy this sort of game.
While it's a good watch even for any of you already playing, I do recommend it as a faithful summary of the experience if you're looking to let others know about Cogmind and what they might like (or not like!) about it.
There are some big plot spoilers towards the end, but he'll warn you and you can stop if so inclined :P
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Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: [Beta 13] (Spoilers) Inventory item labels appear briefly near attached parts
« on: March 31, 2024, 03:50:14 AM »
It behaves that way because you have to hover the cursor over the same tick for at least half a second for them to pop up, meaning it's an intentional act on your part, otherwise as your cursor passes over them doing all the more frequent part interactions they'd be popping up uselessly and just annoying.