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2751
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: May 29, 2016, 03:21:39 AM »
I skipped your first point because it felt like the most minor thing on the list, which incidentally is already planned. It's one of those tiny QoL features that requires a disproportionately large amount of work to full implement and test.
I'll see about adding another map panning mode (we already have three panning methods...), though Alt-Shift already does that, and adding a new method wouldn't solve the Windows Alt problem in all its other forms, so it's still always going to be safest to hit Alt and or Alt-Shift when Alt-Tabbing back to be safe anyway.
A minimap I was thinking about just yesterday, because I'd love to have it if possible, but the only implementation possibilities for that given the technical limitations of the display aren't going to be useful in all cases due to the large size of some maps. I might try to play with the idea some more, but the layout wouldn't be able to show more than a 100x100 area at a time (so only a quarter of a Factory), and there would be zero detail whatsoever--pure layout info in a solid color. Not that great...
I'll see about adding another map panning mode (we already have three panning methods...), though Alt-Shift already does that, and adding a new method wouldn't solve the Windows Alt problem in all its other forms, so it's still always going to be safest to hit Alt and or Alt-Shift when Alt-Tabbing back to be safe anyway.
A minimap I was thinking about just yesterday, because I'd love to have it if possible, but the only implementation possibilities for that given the technical limitations of the display aren't going to be useful in all cases due to the large size of some maps. I might try to play with the idea some more, but the layout wouldn't be able to show more than a 100x100 area at a time (so only a quarter of a Factory), and there would be zero detail whatsoever--pure layout info in a solid color. Not that great...
2752
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: May 28, 2016, 11:42:54 PM »
Thanks for the feedback! Having a list of little stuff to do is good for those extra days shortly before release when I'm mostly in the testing phase so no big features can be added. But the Little Stuff list is already quite long 
Here we go
).
. But then, as a speed runner you'd be trying to avoid those situations...
According to the algorithms and part counts, the chance of an item being a cooling item by floor is... -5: 1.3%, -4: 0.6%, -3: 0.2%, -2: 0%, -1: 0%.
. I can think of one situation where that's possible--sometimes guarding units will permanently relocate themselves if they leave their original position for some reason and come back to find it blocked.
Here we go
* After discovering a secret hack through lore like trojans, maybe list that hack in all terminals with that player profile afterwards.This is planned, though not in this way. It will be a separate console you open. It's just low priority right now because the current system works and this will be a lot of work.
* Operators can be abused quite thoroughly (see https://youtu.be/SzLc5l15RpA?t=719) but maybe this is OK as it's tactical and not always possible.Yeah, I wouldn't worry about that yet.
* Running using shift probably shouldn't keep going through doors (and ideally should stop at 45 degrees to doorways, machines and wall edges to allow for diagonal movement, and also should stop at items if it doesn't already).Run movement isn't fully implemented yet, though it got pushed down rather far on the list after the initial implementation. Thanks for bringing it up, since I hadn't yet collected any opinions on what players want it to do (all it said in my notes is to collect opinions
).* I can't help but think that there ought to be another way to get to exits with sentries camping on them without fighting them and without doing a weird dance to get them to notice you and walk off the exit.I can think of about 4-5 other methods that already exist
* The best flight units are still an early-game prototype!Huh, we'll definitely be fixing that before long then, especially now that fabrication is coming up! It's tough to balance them into the movement system with everything else--not enough room for common vs. prototype flexibility with respect to flying :/
* I swear heat sinks and coolers don't spawn often enough late-game, but it could be the result of a really small sample size.Right. That would be the item distribution trends which involve more and more items as you get closer to the surface, meaning a relative reduction in the chance of finding dissipation-related parts. In the latter half of the game the best way to acquire them is to fight, since as you know most combat robots carry them and tend to drop them by the dozen
. But then, as a speed runner you'd be trying to avoid those situations...According to the algorithms and part counts, the chance of an item being a cooling item by floor is... -5: 1.3%, -4: 0.6%, -3: 0.2%, -2: 0%, -1: 0%.
* I found a weird sentry which was camping beside an exit instead of on top of it (see https://youtu.be/SzLc5l15RpA?t=6501).Did it worry you?
. I can think of one situation where that's possible--sometimes guarding units will permanently relocate themselves if they leave their original position for some reason and come back to find it blocked.* Still getting a noticeable pause when making my first move on a new floor in Factory onwards.I noticed that a lot in my most recent runs, too! It was definitely gone for a while after I optimized it, and now it's more or less back to what it was. Damn :/. I'll have to look into that again and see what's up... The last optimization isn't guaranteed to always resolve the issue, but it generally helped a lot more frequently than what we're seeing now.
* Recycling machine hacks seem overly difficult for the reward.Maybe. The idea there was that only dedicated hacking builds should be able to benefit from them, and a 30% hacking bonus at a tier 1 Recycling Unit pretty much guarantees that you'll be able to get all the parts inside (50% chance per hack), which isn't too bad. But seeing as you can't control what they are, and they're likely messed up anyway, yeah I'll up the base chances.
2753
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussions [SPOILER VERSION]
« on: May 28, 2016, 07:14:40 PM »The adv signal interpeter got nerfed. You need the exp signal interpreter to see the late game hunters. It's the reason I find myself relying on optical arrays more and more.It wasn't technically a nerf--all the Hunters just got a boost to their sensor cloaking ability, and I added the Experimental version of the interpreter as a way to still detect the late-game Hunters. This was to put all of the Hunters slightly ahead of the interpreter curve, and more importantly make late-game Hunters require a more rare interpreter, one that you can't get from Watchers. The aim was to make the late game a little tougher for speed runners who can otherwise avoid most everything by simply acquiring interpreters from Watchers. Now you can't be so sure
Oh, and I was uploading the scores today and noticed zxc was back for a win; nice job
2754
Everything REXPaint / Re: Show off your REXPAINT creations
« on: May 28, 2016, 07:01:53 PM »
Not actual music, but there was a harmony-based roguelike this year, The Prancing Bard, where your actions need to match up with streaming (turn-based) musical notes to have the intended/best effects. (I learned about it because the dev used REXPaint )
Haven't heard of anything like what you describe. Music and sound are relatively rare in roguelikes to begin with, and Crypt was the first one to really make it a part of the mechanics.
)Haven't heard of anything like what you describe. Music and sound are relatively rare in roguelikes to begin with, and Crypt was the first one to really make it a part of the mechanics.
2755
General & Off-Topic / Re: This instantly made think of XcomRL
« on: May 28, 2016, 06:52:42 PM »
Hah, wow that is super cool. And I can see how it would get you thinking in that direction
Regarding the geoscape, I was planning to go with a flat map since it's both easier from a strategic observation point of view, and also won't result in coding nightmares. (Though we would lose the nice "Earth is actually a spheroid" effect...)
Neat find!
Regarding the geoscape, I was planning to go with a flat map since it's both easier from a strategic observation point of view, and also won't result in coding nightmares
. (Though we would lose the nice "Earth is actually a spheroid" effect...)Spoiler: Good old mockups (click to show/hide)
Neat find!
2756
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussion/Feedback (spoiler-free)
« on: May 28, 2016, 09:35:58 AM »Edit: Oops, just noticed this is specifically a 'spoiler-free' thread, and there is a more interesting spoilery one right next door. If I need to axe any of this post please let me know!I was going to suggest you spoiler tag that entire post, actually
. Keep an eye on the thread title--this is the one where we can talk about mechanics, meta stuff, obvious/common things everyone knows about, etc.We used to have only one thread, but at times every single post was getting tagged, so I started splitting them so the experts who've seen it all could talk about whatever without worrying about the tags. I know a number of people who like to read the forums but don't want to be spoiled, so it's good to respect that
2757
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Crash on shooting garrison
« on: May 28, 2016, 07:42:15 AM »
No problem, it appears to be a one-time fluke in the UI, so a save wouldn't help here. Thanks for the extra details though, just in case!
As you say, with the seed (and your new directions) I can recreate the same spot in the same world to test if necessary. From what I've seen it's pretty inexplicable, so I'll just have to compare notes when it happens again... Overloaded weapons have been in there for the past year, but this is the first such report.
As you say, with the seed (and your new directions) I can recreate the same spot in the same world to test if necessary. From what I've seen it's pretty inexplicable, so I'll just have to compare notes when it happens again... Overloaded weapons have been in there for the past year, but this is the first such report.
2758
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Crash on shooting garrison
« on: May 28, 2016, 03:47:24 AM »
Hm, despite knowing where it crashed, I can still find no explanation for the behavior. Turns out it's not a spacial out-of-bounds error, but something having to do with a temporary console that has no font set, but that is theoretically impossible :/.
I just sat around for a while firing tons of huge overloaded weapons everywhere and under various screen layouts and I cannot reproduce this, either. I guess I'll have to keep waiting and cross reference this with any similar reports in the future. Hate to leave a bug in there, though...
It seems to be extremely rare, in any case. I don't imagine you've ever had this happen before, eh?
I just sat around for a while firing tons of huge overloaded weapons everywhere and under various screen layouts and I cannot reproduce this, either. I guess I'll have to keep waiting and cross reference this with any similar reports in the future. Hate to leave a bug in there, though...
It seems to be extremely rare, in any case. I don't imagine you've ever had this happen before, eh?
2759
Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #42 [Alpha 8] [Seed: Shotty Mayhem]
« on: May 28, 2016, 01:56:25 AM »
Leave it to Decker to come up with a new and extreme strategy.
I think you're going to have a really hard time stopping up all four garrisons, but I'm sure you'll try. I also think you'll end up having to seal them, since units can dispatch over each other to a range you're almost certainly incapable of realistically blocking.
I had a tumble with the special guards in the Hub. Their EM gun is crappy when you wield it, but it's potent in enemy hands.I think you're underestimating it, at least if you're expecting to use it against the Lightning squads.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
I think you're going to have a really hard time stopping up all four garrisons, but I'm sure you'll try
. I also think you'll end up having to seal them, since units can dispatch over each other to a range you're almost certainly incapable of realistically blocking.Decker rammed him, which counts as an attack rather than a standard move, so when he stopped in the target location it didn't know to trigger the conduit link (which happens on a regular move). That's something I need to fix, so that it always works on ramming, too. In the current build, if you ram the Miner you may have to step away and back again for it to link up. (But sometimes it does work now, even via ramming, because he's up against a wall and ramming him may fail to push into his location, so he flees while you're still standing in front rather than on that location. Anyway, I'll get it to work in all scenarios.)QuoteI made a detour to visit Data Miner. Sherlockkat had mentioned that you could access the data stream by standing in Data Miner's spot. I bumped into him to shoo him away, then I stood two turns in his spot. Nothing happened. Then the guards shot the machinery. Drat. They nearly got me, too. I only had 57 HP upon entering the proximity caves. I survived with flight units.
That's weird. I have done it several times and it has always worked for me. The only difference that I can spot is that I always use a weapon against the data-miner. Usually a melee weapon so that I don't damage the machinery by accident.
2760
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussion/Feedback (spoiler-free)
« on: May 28, 2016, 01:49:28 AM »
Yeah, I get the connection idea, it's something that Cogmind lacks to begin with, compared to a common RPG or roguelike. Most of the design revolves around the idea that you are playing a set character, even though it will evolve as you decide along the way.
There's a part of the lore where I think this idea of a name for your Cogmind could be very applicable, though, and if added it would probably be worked into that. Can't say more without serious spoilers
There's a part of the lore where I think this idea of a name for your Cogmind could be very applicable, though, and if added it would probably be worked into that. Can't say more without serious spoilers
2761
General Discussion / Re: Alpha 8 Discussion/Feedback (spoiler-free)
« on: May 28, 2016, 01:02:33 AM »
Nice, Sherlockkat! Quite a high-scoring and impressive speed run.
So you'll be out one souvenir
(warning: on my own winning seed run last week I hacked through the door but for some reason the shell didn't automatically react for me... I have no idea why it didn't trigger, so apparently it's sometimes, um, "broken" )
. But he's only recently rejoined us after missing all the lore branch expansions, so there's a lot to learn that he hasn't seen before.
(edit: Hmm.I must have been spotted coz the score-sheet says I exited with 99% of my core. Funny thing is that I don't remember getting shot at by anything.).Maybe you weren't hit--still haven't figured out what causes that percentage to sometimes spike over 100, and maybe if it can go over 100 it can also be off in other ways. That's a strange one, but I'll be overhauling the score sheet system eventually anyway, so I'll solve that one later.
A suggestion : Cogmind runs can feel very impersonal as the build is always in flux. Allowing us to assign a name to our LRC-V3s separate from our player tags might be nice.For what purpose are you thinking? Just to show up on your score sheet or what? And the leaderboards would use what name? The player name, no? (Side note: Your suggestion has given me an interesting idea that could tie into parts of the lore you haven't seen yet...)
ii) Mini drone bays!! A single slot utility with a mass of 4 and can store up to 4 drones. I love this utility. Too bad K is nerfing it in the next release. @Kyzrati : I hope you rethink the decision to keep the drone bays attached in order for it to function. I think just reducing the drone count is sufficient. So much of their utility is derived from a well-timed drone launch. They don't carry you to victory.Well, all I'm doing to it is dropping the Mini bay from 4 to 3 drones. That's the only drone-related change. I was only thinking about going further than that, but we'll first see what happens once players can build them more easily...
So you'll be out one souvenir
iv) @Kyzrati : The new access shell behavior is a welcome change. It felt nice knowing that I don't have to worry about finding weapons that can bust through the shell.
(warning: on my own winning seed run last week I hacked through the door but for some reason the shell didn't automatically react for me... I have no idea why it didn't trigger, so apparently it's sometimes, um, "broken" )I've tried using 'explore', but they really don't seem to make intelligent choices... They double back into firefights all the time.Their algorithm simply takes them to the absolute nearest unknown destination, which is defined at a single cell level, so if/once they hit dead end rooms or corridors they'll naturally double back to take another path to next nearest destination--basically the same way you yourself have to explore if you want to reveal everything, only they'll do it for you
Re Lore: Aaah. A fellow lore nerd.biomatter is the one entering all the lore into the wiki
. But he's only recently rejoined us after missing all the lore branch expansions, so there's a lot to learn that he hasn't seen before.
2762
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Crash on shooting garrison
« on: May 27, 2016, 07:50:07 PM »
Okay, found it. Apparently it's possible under special circumstances for the effect to try to extract characters from the root console that are out of bounds in order to modify them. The bounding code looks right but it must not quite work for all resolutions/layouts, so I'll have to find out what those are and resolve.
I don't think I'll release a hot fix for this one since it's fairly rare, though. The fix will come with the next release.
Thanks again!
I don't think I'll release a hot fix for this one since it's fairly rare, though. The fix will come with the next release.
Thanks again!
2763
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Crash on shooting garrison
« on: May 27, 2016, 07:35:54 PM »
Thanks for the report. Apparently it's some issue with the UI special effect associated with overloaded attacks (so it doesn't have to do with garrisons in particular, just FYI).
I'll take care of it!
I'll take care of it!
2764
Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Teleporting Grunt
« on: May 27, 2016, 06:21:44 PM »
Yeah, I'm not describing how it should work in an ideal situation, just how it does work, based on the code.
The Grunt doesn't even have a path through the matter, so that's not up for consideration with regards to where it will stop. Everyone can move diagonally, so the direct path it planned out to approach you is Recycler -> You -> Your previous position. When it checks that path, the first available position is where you were standing--it doesn't path around looking for other possibilities, because under the current system those checks can become complicated. Not in this case, no, but a generalized solution will fail in other scenarios, causing stranger behavior elsewhere.
We were talking about this on the stream yesterday, whether behavior should be changed to make them smarter here, and the general consensus was No. That rules out some of the better solutions to this issue.
What I can do initially is simply prevent combat bots from jumping your position. However, Swarmers can technically still do it, because you get to do that to others when flying
The Grunt doesn't even have a path through the matter, so that's not up for consideration with regards to where it will stop. Everyone can move diagonally, so the direct path it planned out to approach you is Recycler -> You -> Your previous position. When it checks that path, the first available position is where you were standing--it doesn't path around looking for other possibilities, because under the current system those checks can become complicated. Not in this case, no, but a generalized solution will fail in other scenarios, causing stranger behavior elsewhere.
We were talking about this on the stream yesterday, whether behavior should be changed to make them smarter here, and the general consensus was No. That rules out some of the better solutions to this issue.
What I can do initially is simply prevent combat bots from jumping your position. However, Swarmers can technically still do it, because you get to do that to others when flying
2765
Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #42 [Alpha 8] [Seed: Shotty Mayhem]
« on: May 27, 2016, 01:30:51 AM »
I streamed this one (VOD)--made it close to the surface but it came to a terrible end when I was surrounded in Research and had my launcher blown off before I could start using it. Still got to Access, but couldn't rebuild 
It was a pretty straight shot to the end, though I did stop by the Data Miner.
Used a hybrid hacker-combat build.
It was a pretty straight shot to the end, though I did stop by the Data Miner.
Used a hybrid hacker-combat build.
Spoiler: Score: 14,781 (click to show/hide)
2766
Support / Re: [Windows10] Cogmind wont launch
« on: May 26, 2016, 07:19:06 PM »
Argh, bad news then...
A spinning cursor and a Windows Explorer hang means it's likely something to do with your Windows setup (damn Win 10 :/). Cogmind itself is actually quite simple from a technical standpoint, and if there are no log files, then the game didn't actually even start... so my hands are tied on that end.
The best I can do in this case is help search for generic causes, since it looks like some people have been having similar trouble with various games and software in Win 10. (I don't use Win 10 myself--currently avoiding it like the plague, but I will no doubt have to get it one day...)
Just spent an hour Googling for possibilities, and the best I've come up with so far is that sometimes games can be run in windowed mode to start up properly when they won't otherwise. I'm skeptical of this solution with regards Cogmind, since it should have at least created a log file before getting to the fullscreen initialization point (unless you're not running as an admin, but you are). Worth a shot, though. Take the attached .cfg file and put it in your [Cogmind]/user/ directory. That should start it up in windowed mode (assuming it can start up at all).
Another possibility: It's got to be something on the Windows end, so maybe the necessary Windows DLLs were corrupted? Unlikely since you already attempted to install the redistributable and I imagine it checks for corruption on existing files, but this is the only other possibility I've found so far.
Probably unrelated: If you perchance have a High-DPI monitor, Cogmind still doesn't support those natively and requires a settings change, but that shouldn't cause it to fail startup, just cause it to not fit the screen (which can be resolved via Windows settings). So I doubt that's it.
Note: If you have no other computer to run it on, and this ends up not being solvable, I'm happy to refund your purchase!
Thanks for the help so far in being as clear as possible about what's going on
(Sorry for the non-rapid replies on this--you're active when I'm asleep on this side of the world)
A spinning cursor and a Windows Explorer hang means it's likely something to do with your Windows setup (damn Win 10 :/). Cogmind itself is actually quite simple from a technical standpoint, and if there are no log files, then the game didn't actually even start... so my hands are tied on that end.
The best I can do in this case is help search for generic causes, since it looks like some people have been having similar trouble with various games and software in Win 10. (I don't use Win 10 myself--currently avoiding it like the plague, but I will no doubt have to get it one day...)
Just spent an hour Googling for possibilities, and the best I've come up with so far is that sometimes games can be run in windowed mode to start up properly when they won't otherwise. I'm skeptical of this solution with regards Cogmind, since it should have at least created a log file before getting to the fullscreen initialization point (unless you're not running as an admin, but you are). Worth a shot, though. Take the attached .cfg file and put it in your [Cogmind]/user/ directory. That should start it up in windowed mode (assuming it can start up at all).
Another possibility: It's got to be something on the Windows end, so maybe the necessary Windows DLLs were corrupted? Unlikely since you already attempted to install the redistributable and I imagine it checks for corruption on existing files, but this is the only other possibility I've found so far.
Quote from: Microsoft website
Dynamic-link library files have a file extension of .dll. These are collections of routines that are stored until a program uses them. If these files are corrupt or out of date, they can cause problems with your computer. To fix this problem, re-register the .dll files by:
Follow this Official Microsoft Fix It Tool link
Click Run in the File Download dialog box
Follow the steps in the wizard
Note: This wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.
Probably unrelated: If you perchance have a High-DPI monitor, Cogmind still doesn't support those natively and requires a settings change, but that shouldn't cause it to fail startup, just cause it to not fit the screen (which can be resolved via Windows settings). So I doubt that's it.
Note: If you have no other computer to run it on, and this ends up not being solvable, I'm happy to refund your purchase!
Thanks for the help so far in being as clear as possible about what's going on
(Sorry for the non-rapid replies on this--you're active when I'm asleep on this side of the world
)
2767
Support / Re: [Windows10] Cogmind wont launch
« on: May 25, 2016, 07:03:44 PM »
Welcome and sorry you're having this issue--you're actually the first one, so darn it's not a common report or something I can immediately give you a solution for :/
However, it's possible that you're running Cogmind from a directory path that contains non-ASCII characters (unicode, like a foreign language). As indicated in the install guide, that will prevent it from launching. Unfortunately the entire path and directory name must be English, so make sure that's the case here as well.
Failing that, after attempting to run the game it should have produced a run.log and/or crash.log text file in its main directory, and that might indicate any errors that it encountered on startup. You can attach that/those files here and I'll take a look at it to investigate.
And thanks for giving a list of what you've tried so far, as that's a good starting point in the search for a solution!
However, it's possible that you're running Cogmind from a directory path that contains non-ASCII characters (unicode, like a foreign language). As indicated in the install guide, that will prevent it from launching. Unfortunately the entire path and directory name must be English, so make sure that's the case here as well.
Failing that, after attempting to run the game it should have produced a run.log and/or crash.log text file in its main directory, and that might indicate any errors that it encountered on startup. You can attach that/those files here and I'll take a look at it to investigate.
And thanks for giving a list of what you've tried so far, as that's a good starting point in the search for a solution!
2768
Stories / Re: I did a run for the first time in ~8 months
« on: May 24, 2016, 11:25:48 PM »Ah, the mystery is solved. I wasn't able to figure out what you could've done at that point in your story. Wow, that's cheapWow, nice comeback build. Currently underpowered for a combat run, though, with only two weapon slots. Did you take the first Extension detour to build yourself up? Where'd you get all that stuff?All from Transporters carrying stuff back and forth, plus a couple other miscellaneous bots. =D I spent a looooong time (EDIT: ~800 turns) just camping there and killing passerby. I had a transmission jammer to stop the Watchers or anyone else from calling for help. MUHAHAHA
(okay, clever)Nice and eventful run! Sucks to die so close, and honestly your post got me thinking of something I forgot there at the end: The shell should automatically retract regardless of which side you enter from, including the blast door side, but as is I only have it triggering from the locked side. I'll make sure it triggers from all sides. (My assumption--which obviously doesn't always hold true--was that if you're coming through the guarded blast door side you'll have the firepower to easily punch through the shell.)
Pretty low security level you enjoyed throughout that run despite engaging in some combat.
Cogmind. Causing shaky hands since 2015.
Actually K, one very minor thing I'd suggest is for the scoresheet to be wider so that information could be shown with fewer lines. I'm thinking of the DCSS scoresheet for instance (example: https://crawl.project357.org/morgue/zzxc/morgue-zzxc-20160408-120639.txt)Yep, it's planned!
The 7DRL just started with a list of stats, and it kept growing, and growing, and growing... and now there are zillions of them. I talked some about the possibilities at the end of my Morgue Files article.
I don't believe that post specifically mentions the most important aspect, though, that the entire score sheet will be reorganized to allow for tables and more condensed data in general. The current simple implementation requires one line per value, partially because that's the format my parser also reads to compile the scores, and it's much easier to read data that's organized that way. So what I want to do is instead store score data in a separate format for easy parsing, regardless of its form, and output a text file for players that can look like whatever I want because it doesn't need to be parsed. I have to put this off until closer to 1.0, to make sure the new system will cover all the needs, since the score system is still expanding. It'll be a pretty big project to convert the whole system, but it's important to me (and no doubt more of you
)
2769
Stories / Re: I did a run for the first time in ~8 months
« on: May 24, 2016, 09:17:59 PM »I'd like it if you paused for 1 full regular turn unless something 'happened' (like an enemy coming into view) before that full turn has passed. So if the time is 0, you wait a full turn to 1, then an arc shows up on 1.2, the second wait stops at 1.2. No roguelike has this afaik but I think it would be immensely useful.Ah yeah, we talked about that before as "tactical overwatch." It's been on the list for a long time, just pretty far down and I haven't gotten to it. Thanks for bringing it up--I've merged my notes and moved it up.
The main difficulty here is the amount of internal processing required to handle this feature. I'm not sure it's feasible yet.
2770
Stories / Re: I did a run for the first time in ~8 months
« on: May 24, 2016, 09:07:12 PM »- Hey, new personal best score! Has the scoring system been adjusted, by any chance? Scores seem to be able to get higher now than the once did. (EDIT: I got 4k more score than my winning run in less than 2/3s as many turns, while evolving one less time and not getting the 2k bonus from winning)Congratulations
. There are some ways to get bonus points now, which you can see listed towards the beginning of the score sheet, but in general the scoring system wasn't changed, no. You just caused a lot of mayhem is all (Unrelated note) It would be nice to reduce the pause delay to something shorter (from 100 to 50 maybe). Currently there's no way to safely wait for an ARC (speed 80 IIRC) to turn a corner to one-shot it with EM. It might move twice before you do.That's an interesting idea, to just shorten the wait time to half a turn. Or maybe reduce it even further to a quarter turn, but require a command modifier (Shift-KP5, for example) to do a partial-turn wait instead of a full turn. This would also likely require showing the current turn number as a decimal value...
In general I don't want it to become a game where you're trying to micromanage subturn times too frequently for optimal play, though.
They spawn less frequently when you destroy garrisons. Every time you destroy a garrison, they spawn 25% less frequently. If I understand correctly, that means that destroying two garrisons should reduce the spawn rate by 0.75*0.75. Correct?While it does stack, it's not a percentage change, just a flat increase in the delay. So technically that results in diminishing returns, a 30% increase for the first, 23% increase for the second, etc.
I think you have a problem with salvage due to what you're using against your targets. Fighting Hunters can be such an easy way to get targeting computers that I always have as many as I want.They get me most of the time. You were spoiled with your utility loadout though. If I find one advanced targeting computer I consider myself lucky.
I meant to put a note in my post regarding ARC speed, but I forgot. Those guys move faster than I anticipated when I first started playing again. I assume they're on treads? (I always forget to look, and I haven't had any success trying to kill one) What's up with they're speed? I don't know if their speed is 80, but I'm pretty sure it's <120.Yep, wheels. They were always intended to be fast (since the idea is that they can also deliver legged and tracked robots to a target more quickly than along).
Not-EDIT: according to the wiki, they use wheels and have a speed of 95, but that is likely pre-propulsion rebalance. Wheels got a speed buff in the propulsion rebalance, right? Maybe that's why they're so fast now.
Their speed only increased by 4% from the propulsion rebalance.
Another thing: has anyone actually had success trying to one-shot ARCs before they dump units on your face?*raises hand*
But yeah, it's hard. I mentioned doing that in my last seed run report, towards the end of the game with nice targeting gear, core analyzers, and kinetic weapons--basically critical strikes on their core are your best bet from my experience.Oh, and possibly a built-in Visual Processing Unit, because they can see farther than any other robot, and I really hope their scanner doesn't extend that far!Nah, Hunters only have a sight range equal to your own unmodified range. They can shoot through walls though, yup. They're aggressive like that, but you can sometimes use it against them.
I heard that the break faster the more overweight you are? I was trapped for another 18 turns or so, with the Swarmers hot on my tail... lets try it.Oops, you remembered the opposite
. You want to be less overweight--the more "surplus" propulsion you have the more force you can muster and the faster you'll escape. So technically in a hurry you'd need to do things like drop parts, stash stuff in inventory, equip any extra support-boosting utilities, overload any flight units that support it, etc. (Or if you have a Stasis Canceller you'd have less to worry about!) (Or you could shoot yourself with a launcher and blast the trap out of the ground )Annnnnd that's where I am now. Any help, guys? xD This run has been absolutely hilarious and I've love to keep it going. Is past the Behemoths the only way out? I've attached a screenshot of my current status.Wow, nice comeback build. Currently underpowered for a combat run, though, with only two weapon slots. Did you take the first Extension detour to build yourself up? Where'd you get all that stuff?
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Everything REXPaint / Re: Optional meta-data saved with .xp files
« on: May 24, 2016, 07:43:15 PM »
I guess you've already got your chain set up, though my first thought in your situation would be to consider storing any meta data you need in a separate file with the same name but different extension.
I've thought about adding a meta data section to the format itself before. Part of the problem is backwards compatibility--suddenly every single library out there is broken :/. It would've been nice to have this from the beginning, but it was just a tool for myself that I never expected would start getting rather big and have all these other users and libraries come along
A couple times I've wanted to add things to the format, but in the end always decide that I like it as simple as possible, and could/would use separate files to solve any other needs.
Anyway, it's now on the list of features to consider.
One approach to preserve compatibility: What if the config file could be used to specify a separate format, and all your files would be manipulated in that alternate format instead. That could accommodate any additional format requests, like meta data, without complexifying the main format. It adds a little complexity on the REXPaint side, but maybe it's doable without too much of a headache...
I've thought about adding a meta data section to the format itself before. Part of the problem is backwards compatibility--suddenly every single library out there is broken :/. It would've been nice to have this from the beginning, but it was just a tool for myself that I never expected would start getting rather big and have all these other users and libraries come along
A couple times I've wanted to add things to the format, but in the end always decide that I like it as simple as possible, and could/would use separate files to solve any other needs.
Anyway, it's now on the list of features to consider.
One approach to preserve compatibility: What if the config file could be used to specify a separate format, and all your files would be manipulated in that alternate format instead. That could accommodate any additional format requests, like meta data, without complexifying the main format. It adds a little complexity on the REXPaint side, but maybe it's doable without too much of a headache...
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Fixed Bugs & Non-Bugs / Re: Teleporting Grunt
« on: May 24, 2016, 06:56:39 PM »
Yeah, I'm aware of this behavior, which is simply a result of the same rule you mention. (It's intended and not a bug, but it could be addressed--I'll get to that.)
The robots are tracking you down, and they have a path to your position, and as you're aware when out of sight they are allowed to edge past their allies to the next unoccupied spot, regardless of where that spot is located. This is to prevent the many possible bottleneck situations that can cause big swarms of robots to form. In this case that Grunt was out of sight and its intended path passed through the Recycler and your current position to end at your old position, and once you moved out of that old position, it's allowed to jump both the Recycler and you.
Honestly the solution here might be more deadly than you like--what if doorways no longer worked as bottlenecks? Instead, attacking squads will properly squeeze their way into a room and surround you, which is the obvious logical thing for them to do, but allowing this is likely to make the game that much more difficult since there will be even fewer defensible positions.
The robots are tracking you down, and they have a path to your position, and as you're aware when out of sight they are allowed to edge past their allies to the next unoccupied spot, regardless of where that spot is located. This is to prevent the many possible bottleneck situations that can cause big swarms of robots to form. In this case that Grunt was out of sight and its intended path passed through the Recycler and your current position to end at your old position, and once you moved out of that old position, it's allowed to jump both the Recycler and you.
Honestly the solution here might be more deadly than you like--what if doorways no longer worked as bottlenecks? Instead, attacking squads will properly squeeze their way into a room and surround you, which is the obvious logical thing for them to do, but allowing this is likely to make the game that much more difficult since there will be even fewer defensible positions.
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Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #40 [Alpha 8] [Seed: Hauler Hunter]
« on: May 24, 2016, 07:26:36 AM »Conversely, it's frustrating when a robot shoots at you and you can't shoot back. From the player's perspective, it looks like a UI quirk. There's no way to tell in advance whether you'll be able to shoot at a robot that's coming around the corner.Yeah, part of the reason would be that not all robots occupy the same amount of space within their cell. It's also due to the way valid line-of-fire origins and targets are positioned. The world is more detailed than what you're shown, so it's not possible to perfectly reconcile what the player sees and what's actually there, since the grid is coarser than reality.
Behemoths could use a buff, especially the ones in Access. I think one of the best buff you could give them is to make the targetting LOS symmetrical. Currently, it's too easy to shoot at a behemoth that can't shoot back at you.I might be able to deal with this, though. I'll have to explore it more, but my guess is they're defaulting to firing from the closest part of themselves to you, which might be blocked while another part of themselves is not. In the end, though, given the right terrain it will probably still be possible to get shots in without much worry, part of the problem with a giant robot in confined spaces :/
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Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #40 [Alpha 8] [Seed: Hauler Hunter]
« on: May 24, 2016, 01:07:51 AM »
True that they might feel weaker because they're often alone. And then there's the issue zxc's brought up that getting caught in a stasis trap with a Behemoth staring down your zippy stealth build is no laughing matter.
My first thought was to just boost their core integrity, since they're so easy to hit that even though they have the toughest core, it still falls apart pretty quickly, which makes them seem a lot less threatening. Or we could lower their core exposure (which I already did a bit once before), which might be an overall better approach that has the same effect. (Doing that would also make Armor Integrity Analyzers even more valuable against them.)
Note: The combat drone bay is a prototype only available through special means (schematic), not a regular part.
My first thought was to just boost their core integrity, since they're so easy to hit that even though they have the toughest core, it still falls apart pretty quickly, which makes them seem a lot less threatening. Or we could lower their core exposure (which I already did a bit once before), which might be an overall better approach that has the same effect. (Doing that would also make Armor Integrity Analyzers even more valuable against them.)
Note: The combat drone bay is a prototype only available through special means (schematic), not a regular part.
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Competitions / Re: Weekly Seed #40 [Alpha 8] [Seed: Hauler Hunter]
« on: May 23, 2016, 09:15:27 PM »
Decker and his consistently ridiculously high scores
Hunters really are tougher than Behemoths. I think once again Behemoths need a buff to make them scarier. They aren't too common anyway, are always stationary guards, are too big to follow through narrow doors and corridors... and they're freaking four times as large as a regular bot. They need to be deadlier. What thinks everyone?
(Note there are scarier robots you haven't met yet, but still, as far as the main line robots go, Behemoths should probably feel more at the top than they do?)
Hunters really are tougher than Behemoths. I think once again Behemoths need a buff to make them scarier. They aren't too common anyway, are always stationary guards, are too big to follow through narrow doors and corridors... and they're freaking four times as large as a regular bot. They need to be deadlier. What thinks everyone?
(Note there are scarier robots you haven't met yet, but still, as far as the main line robots go, Behemoths should probably feel more at the top than they do?)