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26
General Discussion / Re: Is this a bug, or am I missing something on movement speed?
« on: August 02, 2015, 09:50:47 PM »
That does rather invalidate the meaning of the term 'max cap', certainly.
27
Ideas / Re: When pressing "f", have cursor default to last robot targeted
« on: August 02, 2015, 09:43:39 PM »
I dunno, I can't see myself giving up the right-click-to-view or inventory juggling with the mouse any time soon, even if I'm using keyboard commands to [a]quire vs [g]et, etc.
Then again, that's mostly all I use the mouse for to start with, handy as it is.
Then again, that's mostly all I use the mouse for to start with, handy as it is.
28
Ideas / Re: Scoring Factors, a Discussion
« on: July 28, 2015, 04:13:36 PM »
I don't know. Assassin-bots shouldn't be penalised for wrecking things and then sneaking off and cooling off the clock with a little hacking.
That said, if it's diminishing returns on each level, that could be a different proposition entirely.
I think I prefer the 'sudden and violent response' variety better, though. Especially if, ha, getting caught is what makes the Purge command lose power... so once you've been snapped, even if you do manage to flee to the exit, your alert-hacking is permanently impeded a bit. Which means to keep it up, you'd need to do more hacks... oh, wait.
That said, if it's diminishing returns on each level, that could be a different proposition entirely.
I think I prefer the 'sudden and violent response' variety better, though. Especially if, ha, getting caught is what makes the Purge command lose power... so once you've been snapped, even if you do manage to flee to the exit, your alert-hacking is permanently impeded a bit. Which means to keep it up, you'd need to do more hacks... oh, wait.
29
Ideas / Re: Scoring Factors, a Discussion
« on: July 27, 2015, 09:17:23 PM »Solution 2, give level wide consequences to the destruction of things like reactors. Currently, the player cares about terminals, scanalyzers, repair stations, etc. The player doesn't really care about reactors or the like, except to the extent that you want to take care to no get caught in their blast radius, and sometimes want to blow them up from afar to take out enemies. But surely those neutriono reactors, etc are serving some purpose for the complex. What if destroying certain structures had a chance to make nearby Terminals and so forth shut down? the flavor explanation is that the terminal is depowered without the reactor. If there was no guarantee that there would be a functioning terminal around for a purge, that would thoroughly disincentivize blowing the crap out of everything.
This. It could also add to the verisimilitude of the whole setup; wonton destruction results in harming the base in meaningful ways. Of course, the more critical the component, the more valuable the score...
Alternative: Purging alerts is also tracked. Too many, too reguarly (aka dozens of times on a single level, a key to farming in relative safety) starts risking triggering a 'sysadmin' response from [EXPUNGED]. This response is not gentle. The difference between getting caught by automatic security systems, and something going "Wait, that activity looks a little funny... OH CRAP I've been hacked for the past three hours BURN EVERYTHING"
30
Support / Re: 2 Person $20 Deal
« on: July 27, 2015, 09:07:40 PM »
Perhaps the key point to get across: It's a social deal, not an officially orchestrated one; identical to splitting a 4-pack of a co-op game bought on Steam with a couple mates.
31
Strategies / Re: God bless grenade launchers
« on: July 21, 2015, 04:14:09 PM »
Speaking of, are there any non-annoying places to get flight units? Shooting Swarmers is downright painful, while blowing up Swarmers en masse with explosives damages the loot 
32
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Small (not even bug really) typo.
« on: July 16, 2015, 03:38:14 PM »
... wait, you can rearrange your parts in each category? Or are you burning mass for the sake of tidiness?
33
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Energy keeps going up despite negative net value
« on: July 16, 2015, 03:35:30 PM »
Is there any way to instead see the resting energy consumption? I mean, I get that moving will drain my batteries, and I get that shooting twelve ion cannons simultaneously might just put a lie to that "+2" in the top corner... what's harder to tell is whether I'm going to go flat sitting quietly in the parking lot because I've got too many Utilities running simultaneously.
That's the number I thought the figure in the top corner meant until I read this thread.
That's the number I thought the figure in the top corner meant until I read this thread.
34
General Discussion / Re: Tiles Mode
« on: July 15, 2015, 06:10:30 PM »
For what it's worth, the tiles are incredibly informative in their own way - I don't need to memorise the letters, I know a robot when I see it. The excavators I identified without ever needing to ID them; there's a big drill on the nose! And if you want legs or hover units instead of wheels, it's immediately obvious which robots you want to go murder.
I also like the way they make debris 'fade out' from the foreground. It's a small thing, but it's nice.
I also like the way they make debris 'fade out' from the foreground. It's a small thing, but it's nice.
35
General & Off-Topic / Re: IRC?
« on: July 13, 2015, 06:16:54 PM »
While apparently much too late to the party, I do happen to help admin an IRC network, in case folks tire of freenode: irc.nightstar.net
That said, I've no intention of trying to change peoples minds if there's already an established standard. I'll have to fire up another server connection some time.
That said, I've no intention of trying to change peoples minds if there's already an established standard. I'll have to fire up another server connection some time.
36
Ideas / Re: Comparison View - a second data window
« on: July 12, 2015, 08:13:28 PM »
For what it's worth, my anticipated use case (Mouse-driven, I grant) was: Right-click to bring up an items stats. Mouseover provides the comparison sidebar for whatever the mouse is hovering over, allowing you to compare multiple items against the current one (be it equipped, on the ground, whatever) quickly. If you then found an item of interest, you'd right-click that and get the detail view there, thus letting you mouseover more stuff as you went... essentially keeping a 'most interesting item to date' item on screen, and hunting for better.
A complication: The item you're examining probably wants some way of being highlighted, so once you've decided that nope, the first thing you clicked is best, you can find which one it was.
For keyboard, you'd presumably need to 'lock' the window pane and then select second items individually to compare, and then escape out again. This is much less intuitive, but... hm.
Button -> Examine.
Escape -> Closes the Examine window.
This is the current use case, as I understand it. (If I've missed something, I've been wasting keypresses...)
New:
Button -> Examine.
Next 'item selection' button -> Compare.
Escape -> Examine.
You can then go to a Next 'item selection' button as you see fit, or escape out as normal. So the normal use case (which I repeat, I've potentially misunderstood - reading the manual is on the to-do list because I am a very naughty person
) remains the same, but you can do more stuff while there, too.
I don't know, it's just a passing thought. The mouse use-case seems pretty solid, though.
biomatter - how insane would this drive you?
A complication: The item you're examining probably wants some way of being highlighted, so once you've decided that nope, the first thing you clicked is best, you can find which one it was.
For keyboard, you'd presumably need to 'lock' the window pane and then select second items individually to compare, and then escape out again. This is much less intuitive, but... hm.
Button -> Examine.
Escape -> Closes the Examine window.
This is the current use case, as I understand it. (If I've missed something, I've been wasting keypresses...)
New:
Button -> Examine.
Next 'item selection' button -> Compare.
Escape -> Examine.
You can then go to a Next 'item selection' button as you see fit, or escape out as normal. So the normal use case (which I repeat, I've potentially misunderstood - reading the manual is on the to-do list because I am a very naughty person
) remains the same, but you can do more stuff while there, too.I don't know, it's just a passing thought. The mouse use-case seems pretty solid, though.
biomatter - how insane would this drive you?
37
Support / Re: Running on Linux with Wine seems to work fine
« on: July 09, 2015, 05:19:07 PM »
... oh, yeah. I've been using the PlayOnLinux wine wrapper for Cogmind exclusively. I should probably have pointed that out at some point.
The main problems I've had are WINE itself, which sucks at, eg, tabbing between windows. Cogmind has been behaving nicely, though.
The main problems I've had are WINE itself, which sucks at, eg, tabbing between windows. Cogmind has been behaving nicely, though.
38
Ideas / Re: Comparison View - a second data window
« on: July 09, 2015, 05:17:11 PM »
I'd love it if you right-clicked the primary item, then simply mouseover the others. That way you can flick between a bunch of items without excessive clicking.
39
General & Off-Topic / Re: Forum medals
« on: July 07, 2015, 08:37:10 PM »
Brilliant Idea (that takes far too much work for infinitesimal benefit, of course!): When you win, you're given a badge code... thingy... that lets you get a forum medal for having reached the surface.
A great incentive for joining us on the forums, if nothing else.
A great incentive for joining us on the forums, if nothing else.
40
Ideas / Re: Right-click info, newbie signalling
« on: July 07, 2015, 08:22:37 PM »
Ah, a mod-key. I'll be glad to know it, and then probably never use it I guess (If I'm reaching for shift, I may as well reach for 'a'. They're right beside each other, after all. )
Level 0 is at maximum tutorial density already? Huh. I'll have to actually pay closer attention to what's being said in the tips dialogue. I know I learned about F3 with such a message on one of the later levels... still, I bow to your expertise on that one just fine.
And it's good to know that's how they work - I'd not gotten that far in to really check. And no, the digging claw taking a couple goes is fine - if it's not draining as much power and making heat, you can just keep bumping your way through the dirt anyway, right? (And if it's high damage, does this make it a decent melee weapon anyway? That could be handy. I had all my shotguns blown off by a bot with Flak.)
(If I'm reaching for shift, I may as well reach for 'a'. They're right beside each other, after all. )Level 0 is at maximum tutorial density already? Huh. I'll have to actually pay closer attention to what's being said in the tips dialogue. I know I learned about F3 with such a message on one of the later levels... still, I bow to your expertise on that one just fine.
And it's good to know that's how they work - I'd not gotten that far in to really check. And no, the digging claw taking a couple goes is fine - if it's not draining as much power and making heat, you can just keep bumping your way through the dirt anyway, right? (And if it's high damage, does this make it a decent melee weapon anyway? That could be handy. I had all my shotguns blown off by a bot with Flak.
)
41
Ideas / Re: Right-click info, newbie signalling
« on: July 07, 2015, 05:04:34 PM »
1 & 2: Excellent! Just wanted to make sure it was clear.
Actually, while I'm here - is there a mouse-equivalent of [a]quire? I learned that kb shortcut specifically because I tend to run around with a full inventory, and shuffling everything via the mouse was maddening enough to look it up.
3: What I mean is what you've noticed - the average newbie has enough going on that they don't notice that it's affecting their speed, when it's technically detrimental to equip the first items you stumble upon. That said, the parts are always in the area, and it's a relatively safe spot - it might make an excellent opportunity to have a text hint pop up explaining how to learn about part attachment and speed, if not describing the mechanics then-and-there, perhaps? Getting distracted at that point is less fatal, after all.
"Equipping propulsion lets you carry more, but can affect your speed. [Instructions on how to find info] to learn more.", or the like, is all I'm suggesting?
4: A single-line "Mining" keyword at the bottom of the descriptor might suffice. I'm assuming they have a special bonus to be so good at it (If I weren't at work, I'd check haha). Why are they less good at digging, incidentally? Lack of a heat or energy penalty in doing so?
Actually, while I'm here - is there a mouse-equivalent of [a]quire? I learned that kb shortcut specifically because I tend to run around with a full inventory, and shuffling everything via the mouse was maddening enough to look it up.
3: What I mean is what you've noticed - the average newbie has enough going on that they don't notice that it's affecting their speed, when it's technically detrimental to equip the first items you stumble upon. That said, the parts are always in the area, and it's a relatively safe spot - it might make an excellent opportunity to have a text hint pop up explaining how to learn about part attachment and speed, if not describing the mechanics then-and-there, perhaps? Getting distracted at that point is less fatal, after all.
"Equipping propulsion lets you carry more, but can affect your speed. [Instructions on how to find info] to learn more.", or the like, is all I'm suggesting?
4: A single-line "Mining" keyword at the bottom of the descriptor might suffice. I'm assuming they have a special bonus to be so good at it (If I weren't at work, I'd check haha). Why are they less good at digging, incidentally? Lack of a heat or energy penalty in doing so?
42
General & Off-Topic / Re: New Emoticons
« on: July 06, 2015, 10:03:16 PM »
Make them all little Cogmind 'C's! Some with a grin, some with a sad, etc.
That you only have one eye might be tricky for the wink, though...
That you only have one eye might be tricky for the wink, though...
43
General & Off-Topic / Re: Introduce Yourself!
« on: July 06, 2015, 10:01:25 PM »
And now your son shall relive the same experience... by bossing his dad around, instead of hammering at obsolete equipment!
(Insert snarky quip about the poor sleep-deprived dad being obsolete equipment here)
(Insert snarky quip about the poor sleep-deprived dad being obsolete equipment here)
44
General & Off-Topic / Re: Introduce Yourself!
« on: July 06, 2015, 07:32:10 PM »
Hahaha! Yes, that is pretty much precisely the response that led to it earning half a million in pledges - "Welp, I guess that's a game I'm buying then..." from every programmer parent, ever.
It wouldn't hurt to wait on it, honestly - it'll sit nicely on the shelf until he's even more thoroughly into board games (and possibly over his turtle hate) in a few more months. How much programming history do you know to get the title, by the way? It's not a coincidence.
In hindsight, this should probably be an entirely different thread. Oops. Oh well! Either way, I should probably stop spending your hard-earned alpha sales for you. (Of course, if you ever want more suggestions, well, you know where to find me too.)
It wouldn't hurt to wait on it, honestly - it'll sit nicely on the shelf until he's even more thoroughly into board games (and possibly over his turtle hate) in a few more months.
How much programming history do you know to get the title, by the way? It's not a coincidence.In hindsight, this should probably be an entirely different thread. Oops. Oh well! Either way, I should probably stop spending your hard-earned alpha sales for you.
(Of course, if you ever want more suggestions, well, you know where to find me too.)
45
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Local keyboard layout ignored
« on: July 06, 2015, 06:20:09 PM »
Inability to deal with alternative keyboard layouts is a classic hallmark of shonky software, yes
That, if nothing else, is probably reason enough to bother - professional pride.
That, if nothing else, is probably reason enough to bother - professional pride.
46
Ideas / Right-click info, newbie signalling
« on: July 06, 2015, 06:12:35 PM »
Sooo, now that I've played through to my first few levels, I feel I can probably comment on what I've found to be painful on the first impressions.
To establish, I run kb+mouse combo; I steer the Cogmind with the keyboard for precisions sake, and use the odd shortcut as it's convinient (especially grab and aquire!), but tend to run the rest of the menus, firing weapons, and identifying objects and robots via mouse. I have to say, it's worked extremely well so far. That said, I'm finding a couple extra mouse-clicks more than strictly needed.
As a newbie, the right-click button is mighty handy for learning what each robot is and (even more important) what the heck each part does. Using it, however, has tripped up a few bits of polish:
1) When you click on a line item to learn what it means, you can't then click away until you've clicked the text box itself. 'clicking away' is pretty common in UI language, so its absence can be mildly aggrivating.
2) The right click menu is just as guilty - you need to click that again to make things clear as well. Especially frustrating when what you really wanted to do was right-click one robot to see what it was, then right-click another robot in quick succession... like, say, when a patrol shows up and you're working out what each robot is all about. It'd be ideal if you could keep right-clicking stuff and have the sidebar just refocus on the new item as you go; likewise it'd be nice if clicking/moving 'elsewhere' simply closed the information panel.
Is there a reason to leave it up until explicitly click-to-close? As far as I can tell, I can't actually do anything until I've closed it again, but this could be a rookie mistake.
3) (I figure the very first level is safe from spoiler alerts, but anyhoo: spoiler alert!) The first level has you chat to a friendly NPC, then wander through until you find propulsion - your first opportunity to learn how attaching stuff works. Obviously you want to attach stuff, right? ... yeah, actually putting on those legs or wheels and activating them will slow you down. While I get the idea for it (It'll be to your benefit soon enough once you start grabbing other junk), and I also get why the naked cogmind should be speedy if weight-vulnerable... the combination is somewhat tricky to actually implement.
4) Do mining claws let you dig through dirt? Mining lasers do, as I determined via experimentation, but I may have missed a line in their descriptor that explicitly identifies the two items as being excellent at dirtbusting? If there isn't, should there be?
To establish, I run kb+mouse combo; I steer the Cogmind with the keyboard for precisions sake, and use the odd shortcut as it's convinient (especially grab and aquire!), but tend to run the rest of the menus, firing weapons, and identifying objects and robots via mouse. I have to say, it's worked extremely well so far. That said, I'm finding a couple extra mouse-clicks more than strictly needed.
As a newbie, the right-click button is mighty handy for learning what each robot is and (even more important) what the heck each part does. Using it, however, has tripped up a few bits of polish:
1) When you click on a line item to learn what it means, you can't then click away until you've clicked the text box itself. 'clicking away' is pretty common in UI language, so its absence can be mildly aggrivating.
2) The right click menu is just as guilty - you need to click that again to make things clear as well. Especially frustrating when what you really wanted to do was right-click one robot to see what it was, then right-click another robot in quick succession... like, say, when a patrol shows up and you're working out what each robot is all about. It'd be ideal if you could keep right-clicking stuff and have the sidebar just refocus on the new item as you go; likewise it'd be nice if clicking/moving 'elsewhere' simply closed the information panel.
Is there a reason to leave it up until explicitly click-to-close? As far as I can tell, I can't actually do anything until I've closed it again, but this could be a rookie mistake.
3) (I figure the very first level is safe from spoiler alerts, but anyhoo: spoiler alert!) The first level has you chat to a friendly NPC, then wander through until you find propulsion - your first opportunity to learn how attaching stuff works. Obviously you want to attach stuff, right? ... yeah, actually putting on those legs or wheels and activating them will slow you down. While I get the idea for it (It'll be to your benefit soon enough once you start grabbing other junk), and I also get why the naked cogmind should be speedy if weight-vulnerable... the combination is somewhat tricky to actually implement.
4) Do mining claws let you dig through dirt? Mining lasers do, as I determined via experimentation, but I may have missed a line in their descriptor that explicitly identifies the two items as being excellent at dirtbusting? If there isn't, should there be?
47
General & Off-Topic / Re: Introduce Yourself!
« on: July 06, 2015, 05:56:13 PM »
... oh, your kid's three? And you're a Programmer(tm)?
I'll just leave this wee link to Robot Turtles here.
Yes, I own this one, too. Starts teaching spatial reasoning, ends teaching friggin' function calls, and scales to player age in between, including multiple ages at once.
Also has a hilarious backstory to it - when it was Kickstarted the funding went a tad bezerk (half a million for a $25k goal, anyone?), and queries flooded in whether the designer planned to go professional. The answer boiled down to "Uh, thanks but no thanks, I work for Google. I just wanted a game for my kids."
I'll just leave this wee link to Robot Turtles here.
Yes, I own this one, too.
Starts teaching spatial reasoning, ends teaching friggin' function calls, and scales to player age in between, including multiple ages at once.Also has a hilarious backstory to it - when it was Kickstarted the funding went a tad bezerk (half a million for a $25k goal, anyone?), and queries flooded in whether the designer planned to go professional. The answer boiled down to "Uh, thanks but no thanks, I work for Google. I just wanted a game for my kids."
48
Ideas / Re: A lot of ideas...
« on: July 06, 2015, 05:27:14 PM »
Quick query: Would a burst weapon still do extra damage at close range to 'bigger' robots? Shotguns are infamous not only for their ability to hit annoying little targets at moderate range, but for their stopping power at point blank.
I was a little... surprised... when I gleefully switched in shotguns one messy corridor fight, and it all went horribly wrong.
I was a little... surprised... when I gleefully switched in shotguns one messy corridor fight, and it all went horribly wrong.
49
General Discussion / Re: Giving away 3 keys of "Cogmind"!
« on: July 05, 2015, 09:33:24 PM »
Good luck!
I avoid commenting on youtube videos (my account broke and I've never quite fixed it, in fact!), but here's hoping you get a bucketful of likes for your trouble.
I avoid commenting on youtube videos (my account broke and I've never quite fixed it, in fact!), but here's hoping you get a bucketful of likes for your trouble.
50
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Local keyboard layout ignored
« on: July 05, 2015, 09:29:13 PM »
FWIW, I'm a Dvorak user, too.
I've just been switching my keyboard layout back to ASCII to run the game. It's not ideal, but I'm pretty used to doing it with shonky software. (Yes, I'm kidding.)
I've just been switching my keyboard layout back to ASCII to run the game. It's not ideal, but I'm pretty used to doing it with shonky software.
(Yes, I'm kidding.)