1B-0RG, his Assimilator, and You (Patreon)

One of the Unchained clearly watched too much Star Trek.

The good news is that 16.1 did not result in any major issues! There were many quick little patches, to be sure, but that's fine, nothing very time-consuming, meaning I did decide to go ahead and add a fourth Unchained for 16.1 as I'd originally wanted. To me the need for a fourth felt even more pronounced given the fact that the new CY-PHR is a special expansive beast of their own that exists almost entirely outside the normal Unchained system, so doesn't even help expand the dispatch pool on top of what was available in Beta 16.

In the interest of getting a public release out there sooner I considered picking one of the "simpler" Unchained to be the fourth, one that is more... self-contained, but no, I was already leaning towards 1B-0RG, so had them more on my mind and went with them. Now that was time-consuming xD

Borg!

I actually started the design for this concept purely from a player-first perspective, as I hope that runs can theoretically gain access to interesting tech from Unchained themselves, and the same from other avenues in the future! If I'm going to be putting as much time as I am into unique mechanics, letting them also form the backbone of fun times and cool strategies on the player side would make it all that much more worth it, after all.

1B-0RG is a very good example of this, even more so than two of the other Unchained new in 16.1 (but both of which do offer some interesting possibilities of their own). Their main part is the Assimilator, used to create new Borg, and which I demoed a fair bit while testing it out last week. With proper use it can last an entire run and indeed serve as the core of whole new play styles :D

In short, create powerful new allies from almost anything you can get next to. As a source of new bots, naturally we'd prefer if they're not purely composed of the same old parts. I mean, hey, they're the Borg, it's only right that they get some new tech! (this is where the time-consuming part comes in :P)

So part of this comes out of desire, but that's not the whole story, as some new parts would also be necessary for the concept to work at all. Why? If you have read the Scraptown record for 1B-0RG, you'll know that bots which join the "Collective" gain new functionality.

From a technical standpoint, how do we accomplish this...

Sfc.

My worries were rooted in the question of how we really modify existing bots to give them new functionality when they already have their own balanced builds? Obstacles were two-fold: 1) slot count limits, and 2) resources (energy/heat/support).

I didn't have a solution to the first until relatively recently it was discovered (as some pitchfork fans might be aware) that AI-controlled robots generally don't actually care about their slot counts! That is more of a Cogmind/player limitation, and one that for other robots I just enforce myself "by design." (On that note, I don't usually specify slot counts in most cases to begin with, they are simply calculated automatically based on what's required to support each loadout, which is where the real design happens. Though there are cases where manually setting a slot limit is desirable for special reasons.)

So yay, we can just add new parts to a robot and exceed their slots if necessary. Solved.

As for the resources problem, to avoid unbalancing the wide variety of existing Borg-applicable targets, let's just say... all these new parts are resource neutral. Every single one is massless, energy-neutral, heat-neutral... let's call them "Self-contained" :)

New prefix alert! There are 22 new Sfc. parts in all, a little less than half being weapons, and some of the others introducing new mechanics to mix things up. 1B-0RG himself also uses a range of Sfc. parts, but they are more about expanding their Collective than front-line fighting.

1B-0RG's Assimilator

In this latest prerelease, found below, you can now face off against 1B-0RG and take on their ever-growing Borg army, stealing the Assimilator for yourself. Or... just pick it up off the ground! Specifically so that you folks can test it before it goes to public release, I'm giving it away for free as soon as you enter Factory (regardless of depth).

Further adjustments are likely because it's probably way too good now for dedicated use, but we'll see what you do with it. The main OP aspect at present is that created Borg are actually both controllable (blue) and share vision with you. I mean it's in theme, and cool, so I started with that, but it would make a lot more balance sense if they were purple, perhaps some hanging around with you and others forming groups to strike off on their own. Anyway, we'll start with the OP version since it'll be fun anyway ;)

Changelog

NEW: 1 more Unchained

NEW: 23 new items

NEW: 2 new achievements

NEW: CY-PHR states now reflected in history log

NEW: With FarCom access, Exiles automatically identify adjacent dangerous Research branch exits

MOD: Smartbomb Launcher now a prototype, removed delay

MOD: Electrostorm Shotgun arc reduced from 120 to 90

FIX: Using part swap menu option 'Y' with no autopair available removed part instead of ignoring input [N.W.L.]

FIX: Allied former-0b10 robots were renamed if followed Cogmind into Waste

FIX: ID Mask effect broken by a previous change in 16.1

FIX: Saw weapons SFX playing at higher volume than intended

Some special notes beyond the proper changelog...

Continuing from previous 16.1 prereleases, for now the chance of meeting new Unchained is weighted much higher, including even more so 1B-0RG.

I removed the Scrapyard Botcube. If you want a free toy to play with go to Factory :D

Again any runs in this version are technically still considered official runs for the leaderboards. Beta 16.1 is actually now mostly complete, aside from changes that come out of playtesting this build.

Get Beta 16.1 (260120)

On Steam, Beta 16.1 (260120) is located on the new beta branch "beta_16.1_260120" accessible with the code "ResistanceIsFutile", or if you don't have Steam and bought through FastSpring and would like to try the DRM-free version, send me an email at gridsagegames@gmail.com to be added to the Beta 16 cycle notification list. (Note: 16.1 is using the same list as 16.)

Saves are not compatible with previous releases, including the 16.1 builds that came out prior to this one.

Additional hotfixes may come for this release, unannounced except to append a notice here and via an announcement in the #patron Discord channel. It's not uncommon due to the experimental nature of these releases, and if saves are compatible then the same branch is simply updated, otherwise a new branch is created and listed here.

Update 260121a

NEW: [Temporary] Simply entering -8/Garrison forces random Unchained to appear at some point later in run

MOD: Collective size capped at 8, reflected in part label

MOD: Martial strikes and deflection no longer apply to Datajacks

MOD: Tunnelers/Explorers given base terrain scan processing density of 10/50

FIX: Using Field Lobotomy Kit on certain targets during civil war could cause more Cogmind allies to spawn upon death [MolePlayingNice]

FIX: Crash with an active Assimilator during martial strike

FIX: Crash on using Assimilator against non-robot target

FIX: Borg Programmers were always assimilating targets

FIX: Borg using Scrap Suit could in some cases pick up infinite weapons

FIX: Certain bots transformed into Borg during civil war could cause Cogmind allies to spawn upon death

FIX: INTERDICT marker was showing in HUD for non-applicable reasons

Update 260130a

Bigger update! This one continues to maintain save compatibility, but due to one of the changes, if you continue a run in progress from earlier builds, some older log messages will appear in incorrect colors if you look back through the message history (no impact on anything else).

NEW: [Temporary] 1B-0RG's Assimilator always found in Subcaves lab

NEW: [Temporary] Optional Blink Core to take in Scrapyard

NEW: Destroyed Borg allies have their own intel marker

MOD: Assimilator no longer available in Factory

MOD: Assimilator use is a three-turn action instead of one

MOD: Assimilator integrity increased to 200, now fragile

MOD: Assimilator regeneration rate halved

MOD: Cogmind takes core damage when allied Borg destroyed

MOD: If Assimilator lost, allied Borg leave to form their own group

MOD: Allied Borg alert range reduced from 15 to 8

MOD: Hostile Borg alert range reduced from 15 to 12

MOD: Hostile NPCs speaking to Cogmind also become immediately aware and therefore not susceptible to sneak attacks regardless of speed

MOD: Transfer Station activity halved if 1B-0RG chasing

MOD: Golem, Assembler considered Special class, not Derelict

MOD: Increased Tracker rating

FIX: Assimilator was still regenerating even without Borg allies

FIX: Assimilator action time in Volley window showed regular melee cost rather

FIX: Autominer could destroy indestructible walls

The Assimilator and Borg mechanics have reached what should be their Final Form, still quite effective and fun but hopefully not too cheesable :)

I'll probably write a bit more later on progress and recent developments, but in short (as described on Discord), this version is essentially ready for public release, too, but since I'm out of the country through this and next week I'll be waiting until I get back to release it, and in the meantime be adding some art and starting work on post-16.1 content.

Also I want to do some real playtesting of my own on this build, which aside from the Borg includes a new prerelease testing opportunity for you as well: the Blink Core! You don't have to take it, and it's not realistic to have it so early (if at all), but we may as well play around with the tech and see what it's capable of--you'll have it right from the start...

You can also still play with the Assimilator without actually fighting 1B-0RG for it, though it has been moved from the Factory to Subcaves, where you will always find it on the floor in the guaranteed lab. It will remain there for the public 16.1 release as well! I think it should be a bit more accessible for now since it constitutes a decent chunk of the new 16.1 content, offering a whole new play style, though that access method will be removed in the subsequent version.

The forced Unchained trigger I implemented for entering the -8/Garrison is also still temporarily available (will of course be removed once the version goes public).

Update 260209a

The final updates are in, and the build is now patched all the way to actual release candidate state. This means temporary prerelease content is no longer available, and the current build should match what goes out to the default branch next Tuesday (barring any more last-minute hotfixes, but we're down to the last day here and I need to write the release notes :P).

NEW: 22 pieces of art for all older special parts that cannot be salvaged

NEW: Special parts that cannot be salvaged from robots display new INTEGRATED state, with context help

MOD: Full RIF runs trigger fewer Unchained than before

MOD: Removed temporary prerelease weighting for new Unchained

MOD: Removed temporary prerelease Unchained force trigger in -8/Garrison

MOD: Removed temporary prerelease Blink Core access from Scrapyard

FIX: Skim results could include unintended access to special extended map type [Hermelin]

FIX: Swapping in corrupted storage unit while simultaneously depleting Corruption Screen immediately dropped all but 5 items [Hermelin, CapatinWinky]

FIX: "What Happened At The End There" achievement still earned if first leader defeated indirectly via NPC event [spider]

FIX: 1B-0RG's Assimilator effect description too long to fit in non-modal UI layout

Saves continue to remain compatible with the latest patches, and will also be compatible going forward, so if you're on the latest prerelease branch (_260120) you'll be automatically switched over the public one once that's available.

I was going to do another post about the finalized Borg mechanics from the previous patch, and use that opportunity to show some art, but in case I don't, here's a collection from Beta 16 :D