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Messages - Sherlockkat

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 6
1
Ideas / Re: Balance Overhaul
« on: October 10, 2020, 10:06:00 PM »
Long time since I posted here:

I had been following this discussion silently and thought I would toss my 2 cents in.

Re storage nerf: I am in favor of no_stack. From what I understand, the other nerf involves tweaking storage mass/capacity and my opposition to that is that ppl are either going to find out that they can get away with stacking storage anyway and find out that the weaker version of their original builds are sufficient. That is undesirable if the goal is to move away from the large storage meta. It just results in the build being slighly unfun but viable anyways. If it turns out that large storage builds are no longer viable, the nerf would just be an uninteresting verison of the no_stack version.

Other suggestions/modifications:

I haven't been active in the game, so feel free to ignore this. I have always felt that there are too many lower/upper cave maps and they should be compressed to a single (hopefully more challenging floor). I think one interesting verison would be to spawn the player in the middle of a larger map and have the complex exit in one end and the caves exit in another and have that be random.
 


2
Ideas / Re: Robot Hack ideas
« on: August 16, 2018, 06:02:58 PM »
Wow!! That robot hacking blog is hype-inducing. Especially the NC hacks and wipe_record hack. I could see alternative flight builds that rely on robot-hacking as a navigational tool rather than sensors. I guess from a balance perspective, all the non-combat hacks require RIF and probably have to sacrifice Zion forcing extended wins to rely on T and Q.

Question: Are the couplers fabricable? Are garrisons the only source of couplers?

Some hack suggestions (though K is already probably done with everything):

One cool idea would be to have a "virus" hack. Basically something like a hack that installs a virus that can spread to another robot that is within x tiles and confer a minor debuff (something like -5% to targeting or 10% corruption or even something like bot emits random distress signals. God that would be funny if there is a contagious hack that causes bots to emit distress signals randomly), you can install it in a watcher and let it wreck havoc.



Here are some simpler fun hacks:
dump_energy: Sets stored energy to 0. bye-bye force fields.
break_insulation: reduce TH resist by 10%. (This is a niche I think existing hacks don't address. Hacker builds could act like stat/resource manipulating wizards)
core_surge: Destroy all processors. (This has [REDACTED] viability and is a good tool for hacker-combat builds fighting prototypes)
reveal_origin: This one is weird. But a hack that dispatches combat progs on you can have some value if you have the right tools to obtain their loot/assimilate them without going through the whole DC/getting scanned insanity.
reveal_core: Doubles core disruption chance (basically sets the core disruption chance = weapon disruption chance. Currently, core disruption chance is half of that).
decouple_weapon: Drops the weapon with the highest rating (lul).

That's it for now!!! Nice release Kyzrati.

3
Ideas / Re: Part type targeting
« on: December 13, 2017, 05:44:54 AM »
Quote
Now you find for example, lets call it a Targeting Scope, it allows you to target a specific part on the unit at the cost of increased time to fire and a penalty to hit, you are fighting a commando and attempt to target his gauss cannon, reduce your accuracy by the size of the part you are targeting, the total mass of the machine compared to the part, movement effects, ect. i think finding the right balance would be an ongoing process but it definitely could have a function, and small parts that have very little mass would be very difficult to target without significantly focusing on a sniper build.

This is actually..how targeting works by default. The probability that you land on a shot on your desired part is (targeting stat/100 * coverage% (which is between 0 and 1)). Coverage% captures the idea of "size" and hey..you don't even get a penalty on your time to fire. Adding a utility which lets you select parts would have to be better than what you proposed (as it is strictly worse than what is already there).

To be constructive, a part targeting utility would do something like "add +10 to coverage for <X type> slots" or something along those lines.

4
I dislike being corrupted, even a little bit. Mostly because I always feel uncomfortable when I don't have full control of my char. That being said, corruption consequences (not effects) are very black and white. It's complete non-issue everywhere except in research branches. Then, the consequences are fairly drastic (oh, misfire? here, have another food clock)

I also dislike most of the corruption purge utils. They are somewhat grindy. They are pretty slow (except maybe the really high end that I never seem to find) that their only real utility is in caves (or chutes, if you are GJ). That might be the design intention, to have a hard to remove status effect. In which, the high end corruption utils (sys backup modules are fine due to their caves utility) can be rebalanced to be more interesting. Corruption based robot hacking capabilities might be interesting. Interfacing with a corrupted system should be detrimental in some sense, right?

5
General Discussion / Re: Cogmind beta 3 [SPOILER] thread
« on: November 13, 2017, 08:50:28 PM »
Quote
There are reliable ways to enter. Destroying the walls/door doesn't piss anyone off. There's also another reliable way.

I think Kyzrati nerfed the wall destruction strategy where you open the door using Zh code and carve out a path along the walls avoiding the scanners. But Lab is currently borked in that just opening the door results in getting scanned 100% of the time, so best to avoid that place.

As far as I know there is only one way to get in without getting detected if you discount the wall strat.

6
Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #100 [Beta 3] [Seed: ThunderRocketVortex]
« on: November 11, 2017, 11:17:31 AM »
I have been experimenting with wastes recently trying to farm that damper plating. The most success that I have had was with stacking high crit weapons (basically weapons with hyp. tag). They are not crit-immune and most of their coverage is attributed to the damper plating and their weapons (roughly 20%, I think). So, if you stack like 3 hyp. gauss and keep spamming, you are bound to get some good crits in which will either straight up kill them or atleast destroy their weapon.

Double launchers also work but they destroy all salvage. One thing I am yet to try is to see whether I can disrupt the damper and see whether the compactors are vulnerable to the regular EMP flush.

7
Strategies / Re: Theorycrafting for specific items
« on: November 02, 2017, 09:44:43 PM »
QC is an excellent item. One of the best really. It singlehandedly enables low weapon slot combat builds. You can also combine it with weapon cyclers. At best, you can be sustain fire some of the best late game cannons (backed up by particle accelerator and whatnot) at 50 time units!!!

8
General Discussion / Re: Cogmind beta 3 [SPOILER] thread
« on: November 02, 2017, 09:38:27 PM »
Hey happylisk, welcome back!!!!!

Dimensional Node Initializer doesn't do anything on its own. You need to combine it with another space-wacey timey-wimey artifact. Sure you know what that is!!!

9
Wastes is a great escape route for fliers. You will get corrupted a bit, but its worth resetting the floor so that you have a second shot at utilizing the machines. Though, It's better to chute premptively if you feel the situation is getting out of hand rather than as a last resort.

10
Quote
Experienced flight players: how do you manage the energy to support ratio?

You ask a very tricky question, sir.

2 power and 5 (or 4) propulsion is a good ratio. Another decent slot distribution for early-mid game flight is 1 power, 3 propulsion slots but you need to run a very processor heavy build. You do need to get good at running on an energy deficit. The only solution for energy issues is to migrate to better cores and learn to identify the better early game cores. Some of the best early game cores are lgt nuclear core and cld. ion. Lgt nuclear has really good generation/weight ratio and cld. ion increases your storage by 180 which lets you run on an energy deficit for a long time. Some good mid-game prototypes are F-cell (+400 to storage!!) and enh. nuclear core (200 to storage). Your capacity to support later power cores also goes up as you find better flight units. Batteries/Energy wells are also great if you happen to have a spare util slot.

As far as carry capacity goes, propulsion arrays are your best bet. Propulsion arrays provide good support, are energy efficient, but slow you down (2 slots for the same speed modifier). Mid-game flight units are somewhat lackluster when it comes to support and the end game units are energy expensive (and fast) and can be difficult to support (from heat/energy perspective) if you fill up all your slots with them. So, the usual late game flight propulsion is a healthy mix of propulsion arrays backed up by good late game flight units to maintain your speed. You can also go all arrays and carry tons of stuff and some players do that at the expense of sacrificing speed. Hope that answers your question.

Quote
In the ruckus, I spotted a chute trap and my ridiculous brain thought, "I'll just drop through the chute trap and out run the crushers to get a fresh start at this level nbd." I leapt for the trap, taking heavy fire as more enemies swarmed in. 2 tiles to go. 1 tile to go. I got it! And nothing happened.

You can hit '>' while standing on a trap to manually trigger it.

11
Strategies / Re: Proposed in-manual list of "survival tips"
« on: September 19, 2017, 06:49:41 PM »
You can mention that killing haulers is a high risk/high reward strategy and then transition into saying that civilians would call for help under certain conditions. (I mean, they will learn this before long when they attack engineers). I think the hauler loot would help a lot of beginners. The time-to-kill goes down significantly when you get your hands on some of those weapons. The imp. shotgun, especially.

Lot of beginner deaths are a due to bad items/poor positioning so telling them how to get better items would be useful. Positioning takes a while to learn. There are micro-details about the AI that you won't actually learn until you watch it happen over sensors. For instance, all enemies actually behave like watchers (i.e alert nearby enemies) on top of being able to DPS. That isn't obvious and you would be puzzled for a while wondering why a simple fight with a sentry snowballed into something horrendous.

12
Strategies / Re: Proposed in-manual list of "survival tips"
« on: September 19, 2017, 06:33:31 PM »
@Shadowfury333 : Partial traces have no impact on squad dispatches. The only time they dispatch squads w.r.t terminal interactions is when you allow the trace to complete and lock the terminal out.

The tips seem solid. Maybe mention that you can get out of depth loot by killing haulers? Getting your hands on stuff like imp. EM shotguns, adv. beam cannons and imp. assault rifle almost trivializes Materials when combined with the choke strategy.

13
Stories / Re: First win
« on: September 09, 2017, 08:18:15 PM »
Nice win!!

Yeah, like Kyzrati said, melee is the preferred weapon of choice for wall busting. The early game katana can chop through pretty much all of the factory walls and it only gets better from there. The only melee weapons that don't help with wall busting are the hammer and the maul (I think).

Hacking/Fabrication is exceptionally strong. There are tons of utilities that can be fabricated that would let you stealth more effectively. Stuff like good terrain scanners/processors and transmission jammers are really strong. If you visit the data miner in the lower caves branch, you don't even need to hack the schematics of those utilities, he gives it to you for free!!

You also don't need to rely on trojan(track). Exp. sig interpreters will let you see all the hunters.

Access is hard if your stealth build is more stealthy but not hacky enough. If you have enough hacking (say +40~60 to offense), you can index(terminals), and that just gives you significant floor control via access to Zion hacks, more access(main) opportunities, more recall opportunities etc etc. You can also layout(zone) to plan your paths more effectively. Without hacking, you probably need a powerful terrain scanner/processor combo along with sensors just so that you can navigate more effectively. By access, you also should have enough slots to stack some armor which buys a lot more time.

Some of the stuff from Quarantine nearly guarantees escape, like the ones that you used. Matter drive is also really good.

"I am beginning to appreciate the strategic depth involved in early-mid game decisions. Waiting around on -10 and -9 until you find what you want for your build is usually worth it if you can avoid aggroing too many enemies."

My favorite thing to do in materials is to kill haulers, get the transport network coupler and stack 3 lrg storage units and build up for flight transition in factory. It lets you see all the haulers in the map. It almost guarantees that you will end up solid flight units before factory rather than relying on swarmer crap.

14
Ideas / Re: Challenge Modes
« on: June 08, 2017, 05:36:28 PM »
Some possibly hard to implement challenges:

Golem: Play as a Golem. Every evolution, you get to pick from the list of golem parts that will generate. You cannot attach any of the complex parts.
Pursued: Instead of the regular extermination, you are tracked by a lone prototype programmer (or hunter) which has infinite tracking and will disengage at 50% core health by warping away and will restart the pursuit after healing. It evolves alongside the cogmind and gains new abilities every floor.
Berserk: Corruption doesn't heal across ascension. Weapons do +5 damage per corruption point.

 

15
General Discussion / Re: Build Classifications
« on: May 20, 2017, 07:38:45 PM »
Quote
Regarding the tracker count aspect of triangulators, it was because it's not a particularly useful effect (you learn the timings anyway and you can see enemies stop following you with sensors, which all stealth builds will have). Regarding the LOS detecting aspect of triangulators, the motivation was that I don't quite find it useful enough for a single slot. One major limitation is that it doesn't help you detect what distance enemies can see when you are around a corner with the enemy out of your LOS. Finally, the distances are learnable AFAIK, and while the triangulator would help learn these distances, its long-term usefulness isn't very high. I'd rather have another slab of armour or piece of hackware instead of a triangulator. No one else has commented on this - I guess I'm the only one doing pure stealth right now?

I agree with zxc on this. The LOS information from visible enemies is not very useful. As such, if I am equipping the triangulator, it is only to check whether I am being chased by anyone which is a useful effect. I think the traingulator is a fine item, but it is the energy cost that doesn't make sense to me. It consumes 10 energy per turn. So, basically you would use it the same way you would use ECM. Blip it on and off when you need it. This mechanic makes sense for the ECM because you should pay a long-term energy penalty for getting spotted by enemies. ECM is an active utility which does things for you, so the upkeep makes sense.

Triangulator is not an active utilty. It is an infowar utility. The LOS effect is not impactful enough to pay 10 energy. I mean, that info it provides doesn't hold a candle to the data you get from equipping an adv. sensor array which is far more energy efficient. So, it is going to be turned off at all times, except when you spot an enemy, you would blip it on for a turn and see the LOS, decide on a course of action and turn it off. Triangulator's tracking ability is far more interesting. Again, this information can be somewhat inferred from the more versatile sensor array. So, I don't see a use case for using triangulators over sensor array. Admittedly, it lets you know whether you are being tracked by anyone anywhere in the map. But for stealth play, your immediate surroundings matter a lot more than if a exterm is after you. I mean, the tracking information is not even directional, so I don't even know where they are coming from.

16
"I'd be surprised if you wouldn't, and your cave-in sadness was the main reason I decided to make this optionally available before next week!"
Perfect. Trying it out now!!
"(And what happened to you "waiting for 1.2" over that?--you were already playing again yesterday :P)"
Game too addicting. Plz nerf the dev.

17
I would like to get in on this 1.2 business too. Where is my link??

18
General Discussion / Re: Build Classifications
« on: May 12, 2017, 08:56:57 PM »
All right. FORUM TIME!!! Let's start with least problematic builds listed by zxc.

Gunslingers: In general, gunslingers feel strong once the kills start flowing and the volley redirection makes it even more satisfying. Volley redirection is probably the most fun change made to combat.

*Target analyzers are great, but I think core analyzers can use a flat buff to offset their relative rarity. Target analyzers are readily available from programmers.
*Gunslingers are heavily proc based, which is why target analyzers + pen weapons are such a great combinations. They kill via procs rather than raw damage. This does mean thermal weapons are not that great. One thing that could be done is to add utils/processors which increase the amount of heat transferred by thermal weapons which gives reasons to stack them. Basically think of weapons as carriers for procs rather than damage dealers.

Cannoneers: Don't have a lot of opinions here. GJ seems to do well with them. I think, the only source of powerful cannons are the R branches. It would be nice to have an alternate source. The zionite resupply hacks, for instance, could be a potential source. Maybe they could deliver prototype cannons developed by the imprinter (much later into the game, like in R or A). Clearly, they have to be slightly weaker to offset the fact that you don't have to risk wading into the research branches. Another option would be to make them just as strong but they would only be available much later, like in access or something.

Melee builds: How about some kind of reflect/deflect utility that lets you deflect incoming fire when a slashing melee weapon in equipped. (I am sure someone suggested this in discord, can't remember who did).

Ninja Build: I absolutely love zxc's suggestion for letting ECM work on exterms. That would be great.

All right. Onward to hackers....

Ally build: I am in favor of removing assimilation as I cannot think of any way to balance it. In fact, I think hacking shouldn't be a direct way to generate allies at all. The current consensus among spoiler chat is to use the datajacks as a "oh shit, I fucked up, let me datajack to get out of jail for free", but that playstyle is not conducive to maintaing/recycling allies. The regular complex bots are pretty trash tier. They only played a large role in combat hacking, because they were an infinite resource. I would not want to build a true ally build around them. As far as using datajacks as a "get out of jail" free tool, I think that's too much slot investment (and a bit too grindy) for something that is a corrective action rather than a preventive measure.

The ideas I like the most are easier fabrication of allies and drone bays that reconstruct drones. There should be a core set of mechanics that allow us to generate/maintain allies. Assimilation was that method, but without a hard cap, snowball problems occur. I think easier ally fabrication and drone bays can address this problem. I would definitely like the fab time for allies to go down as they are not as durable as items. YOu cannot protect them in any way.

Another thing would be to add zionite allies that specialize in assimilation. So, you can snowball by proxy if you protect the assimilators well, if not, well tough. We also need strong/unique allies that can stand up to late game prototypes (how about some kind of zionite heros?? They don't need to SW, but they can be cool/good). I think it also fits in theme with the Imprinter being all about robot gene pool manipulation. This could be one realization of the permenant buff idea that zxc and I were discussing in discord. Unique heros. The original combat hackers compensated for quality by quantity, but if that is not an option, we need better allies.

Commando build: Hacking should be completely reworked so that commando build is THE hacking build. The goal should, be as zxc said, cause large scale chaos via use of trojans and datajacks. Gameplay wise, this would be the warlocky debuff build.

One option would be to restrict assimilation (instead of completely remove it as suggested above) to unarmed robots and add more utility to assimilating watchers and operators. Operators are in a good place, but watchers could be more useful. Make them send false distress signals. Get them to block transmission and unblock watcher jam signals. There was also discussion of virus implants in discord. Add trojans that can reprogram a fab to build a allied "drone" every 50 turns which can explore the map (it doesn't have to share vision). I guess that could achieved with regenerating drone bays. The idea would be to create constant background "noise" in the floor so that the enemies are always occupied with one thing or another. Introduce trojans that creates weakness in the garrison network that allows assembled to invade. The balance would be an alert level increase based on the number of trojans installed and the number of allied operators/watchers you control.

zxc suggested plenty of robot hacks, so here are some other trojan suggestions:
trojan(format) in garrisons: Basically, something like a 20% chance that any squad that spawns is discorded.
trojan(block) in terminals: The next assault, exterm, reinforcement or investigation cannot spawn from an exit
trojan(network) in terminals: Distribute all active trojans across appropriate machines in a random fashion. (You could do reprogram, redirect, format in a single garrison and then trojan(network) to create a floor wide effect).

Clearly, these are powerful effects and the hack chance should be quite high for it succeed. The complex can have appropriate defenses, where trojans are cleaned out in a periodic fashion and need to be reinstalled (oh trojan(mask), protects a random trojan from being discovered).

So...those are my thoughts. THere you go, the forum is saved :D.


19
Ideas / Re: Dealing with the Hackware Snowball Effect
« on: February 23, 2017, 01:18:29 AM »
Quote
the static chance for each programmer within range to remotely defend allies against hacking effects (from 25% to 50%).

50% is something we can handle, but makes it unfun. I already avoid them as it is. So, they function well as a deterrent. There aren't a lot of tools to deal with them tbh.

Re allies: I don't maintain a standing army either. Allies are just bullet sponges, I assimilate when needed but mostly operate alone. I have noticed that programmers trade a little too efficiently against the other complex robots which already makes them hard to handle in groups and you need to get lucky to break through their hacking defenses and get anything done. The flat hacking defense irrespective of what you have is already somewhat un-counterable.

20
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 13 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: February 03, 2017, 07:35:11 PM »
Quote
Again, I don't want to nerf it into the ground, but "follow steps xyz (or zxc :P) for a sure win" doesn't seem like a great situation to have.

I think hacking is fine right now. It is somewhat "follow steps to win" ish. But, that sounds okay to me. There should be a reliable way to win as long as the steps aren't too simplistic to execute (with the hacking build, I don't think they are). It is hard for me (and zxc too, I think) to objectively evaluate how easy they are given that we have been doing it for a while. The mid game is still requires some amount of care to navigate. The process of setting the build up is somewhat involved and you need to gain control of enough fabs. You might get lucky and find some unguarded fab that lets you fab like 4 adv. hacking suites. In my experience, that doesn't happen often in the mid-game. It happens once you reach critical mass, but at that point it doesn't matter that you can do that. There is also a part of the mid-game where fabricating additional hackware is purely a investment as it doesn't do anything immediately. Either you don't have enough slots, or the increase in hack% doesn't do much. For instance, a jump from +50 to +60 is not a big deal. It's not enough to hack robots consistently and +50 is more often than enough to do whatever hacks you want to do at any machine.

From a viability perspective, I think these builds are always on the verge of being unviable (or worse, boring), because they are very reliant on a single mechanic. For instance, I think any further reduction to hackware numbers would make this build really dull (I already think it's a bit dull after the hackware nerf).

All that being said, I would rather wait until someone beats command in a different way before deciding whether it is overpowered or not.

21
Ideas / Re: Dealing with the Hackware Snowball Effect
« on: January 08, 2017, 10:53:03 AM »
Lot of good suggestions in this thread!!

If I had to pick a couple of changes from Kyzrati's list to implement in alpha 13. It would be

i) Increase mid/high-tier hackware ratings, thereby raising the depths at which they can be fabricated (fabrication being the most common way to obtain hackware). *I would also suggest increasing the rating of the adv. remote datajack*
ii) Add at least one more higher difficulty tier for robot hacking. (<-already planned for Alpha 13)

I am not a big fan of nerfing the reliability of the combat hacker once it has reached its final form, even though I suggested some of the changes in that list (prototype "unhackability" and assimilation hard caps). Partly cause you need that reliability, otherwise that build has nothing going for it when you hit command. It is sufficient for access, but you can clear access easily with less extreme build.
So, in my mind, the way to nerf the combat hacker is to control when it comes online. Right now, it is ideal for the player due to the fact you can get it running before you hit research branch. The way to delay the build would be to increase the number of fabrication targets: Currently in my runs, the fab targets are
a) hackware (early/mid factory)
b) flight units (Situational, depends on what you find)
c) datajacks (-4 and -3 due to schematic restrictions, you can get lucky in -5 and download it or find it lying around in factory or a chute)
d) other situational items (sensors for e.g)

Increasing hackware rating will shift a) from early/mid factory to mid/late factory which will slow the build down significantly. Flight units are getting nerfed, so that will probably have an impact on fab meta game. Increasing the datajack rating will definitely affect how quickly the build comes online. Sure, you can get lucky and take down a sage or find it lying around. But that's true for any item in the game. The situational items that you want to fab are also key. It is somewhat hard to operate without sensors, even for a combat hacker.

Adding one more tier to robot difficulty also has a significant impact as it pressures you to get more hackware which will make things even more tighter at the factory stage where you are fabricating things. In order to counterbalance this a little bit, I would suggest that some of the factory branches contain reliable hackware. The hub_04(d) (and maybe even the arhcives) is a good branch for that. Warlord's stash and Zhirov maybe. There is already a way to get late-game hackware from DM, but that's a bit rng.

22
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 12 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: December 14, 2016, 06:37:05 PM »
After several recon runs to alpha 12's main object of interest, the command, I finally had a couple of killer runs where I absolutely laid waste to the MAIN.C's final bastion.

The build: zxc and I have been experimenting with hackware builds that snowball super early (-7 and -6). I strongly believe this is probably one of the strongest build template ever. Basically, get your hands on hacking suites at MAT, scanalyze and start fabbing in early factory. This can get out of control quickly, especially if you find chute traps in these floors. The second stage of this build are the late-factory branches. You want to hit either Zhirov and Armory, or just Zhirov for the AA buffs. This alleviates some of the usual "tightness" of a flight build, especially with recent processor buff. If you can break into the armory secret map and get the Gui. Remote Datajack, the game is practically over :). If not, I have found that a Adv. Remote Datajack is good enough too. You also construct a buffer of backup items via fabrication.

The point is that the research branches are infested with extremely powerful prototype bots that are very vulnerable to hacking. You either assimilate them and cause chaos in some sections of that map while you freely loot the other half, or just overload and kill them irrespective of their loadouts. It also takes care of all the pesky prototype bots guarding the AAs. Plus, you retain all the natural advantages that you get from being a fast hacker (free exits, ability to outrun everything, trojans etc). By the time you exit research, all your power and heat issues should be solved, thanks to all the AAs. You will also have access to some fairly OP lategame tools. The most important of which, I believe, is the Sigix Broadsword...for reasons.

Then comes command. Command, as it stands, might be a bit too easy due to the alert level nerf. There are 2 exits out. The first exit is somewhat evil. I have died multiple times trying to get out that way. Exit#2 is real easy provided you have the right tools. Oh and btw, neither of them are easy if you are going pure combat. All of this is from the perspective of a combat hacker.

Spoiler: MEGA SPOILERS (click to show/hide)

Enough talk, screenshot time (compiled across multiple runs, very spoilery ofc):
Spoiler: This guy again!! (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Yo dawg, cover me!! (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: That's right. Woww.. (click to show/hide)



23
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 12 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: November 23, 2016, 12:09:33 AM »
Just had one of the most fun Cogmind runs in a while :). It scored poorly, but made up for it in entertainment value. I ended up with a very lopsided flier who was good at flying but absolutely nothing else. Some general thoughts:

i) The trap digging machinists in the caves are really good addition for launcher-less non-combat builds to navigate caves. They basically drop all the traps that they have collected for you to loot and use. Many a swarmer squad met an early demise thanks to dirty bombs and fire traps. I took a trap extractor with me to the main complex, but didn't have a datajack. In general, I am starting to see the value in reprogramming traps.

ii) For a late-game branch, I feel like testing is a bit too plain, atleast from a flier's perspective. I guess it's a branch more aimed towards combat players. Oh well, there is always the lovely Q place for us.

iii) The cld. vtol units were great. They had a base speed of 35(!!) and you can find them in materials. I think I have been making a huge mistake not attacking haulers in materials. They carry all kinds of good stuff.

v) The processer buff definitely freed up a lot of the build space and I went through mid-game as melee character with micro-actuators. Ninjaing watchers was quite cathartic. They still do not drop their signal interpreter. Jackasses.

vi) The launcher buffs seem to be working. I am having a easier time against swarmer squads. Not sure whether it is placebo.

viii) The flight meta has definitely shifted in order to meet the late-game. Go super heavy on propulsion (like 8~10 slots), get storage units and stack up on Quarantine goodies.

ix) Survived command :). Can definitely see applications for a certain launcher if you are visiting that place ;).

Some random screenshots: no command spoilers.


Spoiler: Superbehemoth (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: The final frontier (click to show/hide)




Scoresheet:
Code: [Select]
Cogmind - Alpha 12

Name: Sherlockkat

---[ ESCAPED! ]---

 Performance
-------------
Evolutions (9)             4500
Robots Destroyed (67)      335
Value Destroyed (1123)     1123
Prototype IDs (13)         260
Alien Tech Recovered (0)   0
Bonus (12759)              12759
              TOTAL SCORE: 18977

 Cogmind
---------
Core Integrity             1487/1600
Matter                     300/300
Energy                     364/440
System Corruption          0%
Temperature                Cool (79)
Location                   Surface

 Parts
-------
Power (3)
  Quantum Reactor
  Light Quantum Reactor
Propulsion (9)
  Cooled Nuclear Pulse Thruster
  Q-thruster
  Q-thruster
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Impulse Thruster Array
Utility (11)
  Advanced Heat Sink
  Large Storage Unit
  Advanced Visual Processing Unit
  Advanced Transmission Jammer
  Layered Light Armor Plating
  Layered Light Armor Plating
  Improved Focal Shield
  Hacking Suite
  Experimental Hacking Suite
  Advanced System Shield
Weapon (2)
  Advanced Datajack
Inventory (10)
  Micro Fission Core
  Light Antimatter Reactor
  Quantum Reactor
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Impulse Thruster Array
  Advanced Force Field
  Micro-nuke Launcher
  Advanced Micro-nuke Launcher
  Chainsword

 Peak State
------------
Power
  Quantum Reactor
  Light Quantum Reactor
  Light Quantum Reactor
Propulsion
  Cooled Nuclear Pulse Thruster
  Field Propulsion Array
  Q-thruster
  Q-thruster
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Impulse Thruster Array
Utility
  Advanced Heat Sink
  Advanced Heat Sink
  Large Storage Unit
  Advanced Visual Processing Unit
  Improved Stasis Canceller
  Advanced Transmission Jammer
  Layered Light Armor Plating
  Improved Focal Shield
  Hacking Suite
  Experimental Hacking Suite
  Advanced System Shield
Weapon
  Enhanced Nova Cannon
  Scythe
Inventory
  Light Deuterium Engine
  Micro Fission Core
  Light Antimatter Reactor
  Quantum Reactor
  Improved Diametric Drive
  Impulse Thruster Array
  Micro-nuke Launcher
  Advanced Micro-nuke Launcher
  Chainsword
[Rating: 172]

 Favorites
-----------
Power                      Micro Nuclear Core
  Engine                   Light Ion Engine
  Power Core               Micro Nuclear Core
  Reactor                  Light Antimatter Reactor
Propulsion                 Cooled VTOL Module
  Leg                      Aluminum Leg
  Hover Unit               Antigrav System
  Flight Unit              Cooled VTOL Module
Utility                    Microactuators
  Device                   Microactuators
  Storage                  Large Storage Unit
  Processor                Advanced Signal Interpreter
  Hackware                 Hacking Suite
  Protection               Improved Medium Armor Plating
Weapon                     Scythe
  Energy Cannon            Enhanced Nova Cannon
  Ballistic Gun            Light Assault Rifle
  Launcher                 Mini Grenade Launcher
  Impact Weapon            Mace
  Slashing Weapon          Scythe
  Piercing Weapon          Makeshift Spear
  Special Melee Weapon     Advanced Datajack

 Stats
-------
Bonus Breakdown            12759
  Met Warlord at Base      500
  Met Warlord at Research  2000
  Win                      3000
  Win Speed                7259
Classes Destroyed          11
  Worker                   3
  Builder                  1
  Tunneler                 3
  Hauler                   5
  Recycler                 4
  Minesweeper              5
  Operator                 1
  Watcher                  9
  Swarmer                  30
  Grunt                    3
  Demented                 3
NPCs Destroyed             0
Best Kill Streak           5
  Combat Bots Only         5
Matter Collected           1804
  Salvage Created          1890
Parts Attached             133
  Power                    20
  Propulsion               41
  Utility                  49
  Weapon                   23
Parts Lost                 34
  Power                    5
  Propulsion               12
  Utility                  10
  Weapon                   7
Average Slot Usage (%)     89
  Naked Turns              3
Spaces Moved               14289
  Fastest Speed (%)        714
  Average Speed (%)        391
  Slowest Speed (%)        52
  Overloaded Moves         107
  Propulsion Burnouts      0
  Targets Rammed           0
  Cave-ins Triggered       1
Heaviest Build             95
  Greatest Support         118
  Greatest Overweight (x)  3
  Average Overweight (x)   0
Largest Inventory          10
  Average Capacity         8
  Most Carried             10
  Average Carried          7
  Final Capacity           10
  Final Carried            10
Core Damage Taken          582
Average Core Remaining (%) 92
  Depth 11 Exit            100
  Depth 10 Exit            69
  Depth 9 Exit             100
  Depth 8 Exit             94
  Depth 7 Exit             80
  Depth 6 Exit             99
  Depth 5 Exit             86
  Depth 4 Exit             100
  Depth 3 Exit             94
  Depth 2 Exit             100
  Depth 1 Exit             92
Volleys Fired              131
  Largest                  2
  Hottest                  120
Shots Fired                202
  Gun                      180
  Cannon                   5
  Launcher                 17
  Special                  0
  Kinetic                  180
  Thermal                  5
  Explosive                16
  Electromagnetic          1
Shots Hit Robots           200
  Core Hits                100
Critical Hits              43
  Kills                    18
  Parts Destroyed          18
Overload Shots             0
  Energy Bleed             0
  Heat Surge               0
  Short Circuit            0
  Meltdown                 0
Melee Attacks              233
  Impact                   54
  Slashing                 140
  Piercing                 37
Damage Inflicted           6747
  Projectiles              922
  Explosions               1466
  Melee                    4359
  Ramming                  0
  Kinetic                  922
  Thermal                  0
  Explosive                1338
  Electromagnetic          128
  Impact                   1133
  Slashing                 2619
  Piercing                 607
Overflow Damage            41
  Projectiles              14
  Explosions               20
  Melee                    7
Self-Inflicted Damage      134
  Shots                    4
  Rammed                   0
Highest Temperature        359
  Average Temperature      54
  Received Heat Transfer   489
  Shutdowns                2
  Energy Bleed             1
  Interference             0
  Matter Decay             0
  Short Circuit            1
  Damage (minor)           0
  Damage (major)           0
  Damage (core)            0
Highest Corruption         4
  Average Corruption       1
  Message Errors           4
  Matter Fused             1
  Heat Flow Error          1
  Energy Discharge         0
  Parts Rejected           2
  Data loss (map)          0
  Data loss (database)     2
  Misfires                 0
  Misdirections            6
  Targeting Errors         0
  Weapon Failures          0
  Depth 4 End              2
  Depth 3 End              4
  Depth 2 End              1
Haulers Intercepted        5
Robots Corrupted           0
  Parts Fried              0
Robots Melted              0
  Parts Melted             0
  Heat Transferred         0
Parts Self-Destructed      76
  Prevented                2
Power Chain Reactions      0
Tactical Retreats          23
Communications Jammed      523
Parts Field Recycled       0
  Retrieved Matter         0
Parts Merge Repaired       0
Drone Launches             4
  Drone Recoveries         1
Derelicts Assembled        0
Traps Triggered            8
  Indirectly               0
Trap Hack Attempts         13
  Triggered                0
  Disarmed                 0
  Reprogrammed             5
  Reused                   10
Traps Extracted            50
  Installed                8
  Triggered                12
Machines Disabled          3
Data Cores Recovered       1
  Used                     0
Machines Hacked            39
  Terminals                27
  Fabricators              1
  Repair Stations          1
  Recycling Units          4
  Scanalyzers              1
  Garrison Access          1
Total Hacks                88
  Successful               48
  Failed                   36
  Catastrophic             13
  Database Lockouts        0
  Manual                   14
  Unauthorized             4
  Terminals                60
  Fabricators              1
  Repair Stations          5
  Recycling Units          8
  Scanalyzers              5
  Garrison Access          1
Terminal Hacks             34
  Record                   1
  Prototype ID Bank        1
  Open Door                3
  Level Access Points      3
  Terminal Index           1
  Locate Traps             5
  Patrol Status            1
  Assault Status           1
  Recall Investigation     2
  Hauler Manifests         4
  Registered Components    2
  Zone Layout              5
  Disengage Seal           1
Hacking Detections         26
  Full Trace Events        7
  Feedback Events          1
  Feedback Corruption      1
  Feedback Part Disabled   0
  Feedback Blocked         0
Trojans Installed          4
  Terminals                4
  Fabricators              0
  Repair Stations          0
  Recycling Units          0
  Scanalyzers              0
  Garrison Access          0
Fabricators Overloaded     0
Garrisons Disabled         1
Garrisons Compromised      0
Fab Network Shutdowns      0
Robot Schematics Acquired  0
  Robots Built             0
  Total Robot Build Rating 0
  Robot Fabrication Matter 0
  Robot Fabrication Time   0
Part Schematics Acquired   2
  Parts Built              0
  Total Part Build Rating  0
  Part Fabrication Matter  0
  Part Fabrication Time    0
Parts Repaired             0
  Part Repair Time         0
Parts Recycled             1
  Recycled Matter          46
  Retrieved Matter         46
  Retrieved Components     3
Parts Scanalyzed           3
  Part Schematics Acquired 2
  Parts Damaged            2
Robot Analysis Total       0
Robots Rewired             0
Robots Hacked              1
  Non-combat               1
  Combat                   0
  Rebooted                 1
Robot Hack Failures        0
Allies Hacked              0
Hacks Repelled             0
Total Allies               8
  Largest Group            1
  Highest-Rated Group      32
  Highest-Rated Ally       32
Total Orders               5
  GOTO                     3
  EXPLORE                  2
Terraforming Orders        0
  Walls Built              0
  Walls Tunneled           0
Ally Attacks               0
  Total Damage             0
  Kills                    0
Allies Corrupted           0
Allies Melted              0
Peak Influence             280
  Average Influence        27
  Final Influence          260
Maximum Alert Level        1
  Low Security (%)         99
  Level 1                  0
  Level 2                  0
  Level 3                  0
  Level 4                  0
  Level 5                  0
Squads Dispatched          15
  Investigation            8
  Extermination            1
  Reinforcement            6
  Assault                  0
  Garrison                 0
  Intercept                0
Derelict Logs Recovered    6
Exploration Rate (%)       27
  Regions Visited          28
  Pre-discovered Areas     2
Garrisons Visited          0
  Relays Disabled          0
  Generators Disabled      0
Network Hubs Disabled      0
Actions Taken              16611
Turns Passed               6887
  Depth 11                 62
  Depth 10                 683
  Depth 9                  202
  Depth 8                  306
  Depth 7                  1139
  Depth 6                  466
  Depth 5                  1522
  Depth 4                  1534
  Depth 3                  391
  Depth 2                  244
  Depth 1                  338
  Scrapyard                62
  Materials                1146
  Factory                  1597
  Research                 429
  Access                   118
  Mines                    45
  Waste                    251
  Lower Caves              415
  Upper Caves              687
  Proximity Caves          973
  Zion                     241
  Warlord                  497
  Testing                  206
  Command                  220

 Prototype IDs
---------------
Improved VTOL Module
Improved Cesium-ion Thruster
Cooled VTOL Module
Cooled Nuclear Pulse Thruster
Electron Diverter
Improved Diametric Drive
Experimental Power Amplifier
Experimental Signal Interpreter
Experimental Melee Analysis Suite
Experimental Hacking Suite
Cooled Plasma Cannon
Heavy Proton Missile Launcher

 Fabricated
------------
Nothing

 Alien Tech Recovered
----------------------
None

 Route
-------
-11/Scrapyard
-10/Materials
-9/Materials (discovered 3 exits: *Mat / [*Min] / [*Sto])
-9/Mines
-8/Materials (discovered 3 exits: *Fac x3)
-7/Factory (discovered 2 exits: *Fac / [*Low])
-7/Lower Caves
-7/Lower Caves
-7/Zion
-6/Proximity Caves
-6/Factory
-5/Factory
-5/Waste
-5/Factory
-5/Upper Caves
-5/Upper Caves
-5/Warlord
-4/Proximity Caves
-4/Factory
-4/Waste
-4/Factory
-4/Upper Caves
-4/Upper Caves
-3/Research
-3/Testing
-2/Research (discovered 3 exits: *Acc x3)
-1/Access
-1/Command
Surface

 Game
------
Seed: 1479869971
^Manual?: 0
Play Time: 149 min
Sessions: 1
Mod: N/A
Game No.: 100
Lore%: 59
Gallery%: 52
ASCII: 1
Keyboard: 1
Movement: Numpad
Fullscreen: 2
Font: 18/SmallcapsGlow
Map View: 76x50
FOV Handling: Fade In


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182493


24
Yeah, I have been trying to hunt that missing piece. No luck yet :(.
But, I pretty much agree with what zxc had posted. One thing that did surprise me was that rev17 seemed to be separate from the Data Miner. I thought there was some evidence connecting those two. One thing was the rev17 was pulled out of the Cetus Mainframe by someone. Also, he has sleeper commands which tells him to focus like 07 and some of the derelicts in Zion do. That's why I made the DM connection. Interesting...

It could also be that 'o' series of programmers are a faction onto themselves. I am basing on that on a piece of dialogue when I was visiting warlord.

25
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Zhirov power boost gone
« on: November 01, 2016, 11:52:04 PM »
It was actually a combined discovery. Decker did the run. I piggybacked off it and told zxc what caused my death. He made the discovery due to him knowing stuff that I don't know :D. I also found some other lore stuff in this "run". A theory is being formulated. Admittedly not a very good theory, but still..

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