X0-1V1.1 (Patreon)

Xom-point-one, much like Xom-point-zero but more refined, and with new tricks up that extradimensional sleeve!

Beta 17.1 is ready to play, and as with 16.1 it is being released early to patrons despite not being a partially-completed experimental build. There could be more changes before public release, but unless necessary or desirable depending on the results of playtesting, this might just be it.

Runs in this build/version will indeed be included in the regular leaderboards, and before long it'll go public as well, hopefully without requiring that saves be broken so I'll be able to seamlessly switch you over to the public branch if you're on Steam. (A new build will be required regardless, so that I can at least change the internal backup branch name, but in theory we should be able to stick to the same save format unless some serious issue is uncovered.)

More Chaos is Inevitable

17.1 is mainly aimed at rounding out X0-1V1's design, having seen how our new friend plays out on a larger scale, and a new version enables greater changes and additions than patches would allow--there were quite a few patches following X0-1V1's release, but bigger stuff like whole new acts requires breaking saves, hence waiting for a new version number.

Of course X0-1V1 has a handful of interesting new ways to mess with your journey, while also taking notice of certain additional entertaining situations. Basically X0-1V1 is yet more X0-1V1-like.

Also included is a way to teach players about X0-1V1 mechanics, content that ideally would have been ready for Beta 17 itself, but there wasn't enough time.

More Delay is Inevitable

It's finally happened. For years I've only imagined doing it, but recent player discussion surrounding the weapon "delay" stat had me once again looking more seriously into adjusting how it operates in multiweapon volleys.

(Update: Additional patches have since changed this mechanic again a few times--see further below for more info. Leaving original notes here for reference.)

In Cogmind's earliest versions, smaller volleys were more likely, firing costs higher overall, and delay stats were generally pretty small. Over time I wanted to trend towards encouraging some builds with larger volleys, and alongside the also decreasing default time cost of firing ever-larger volleys, many weapon and utility mechanics succeeded in doing this. At the same time, some newer, better weapons started getting crazy delay stats, which combined with all the other new content meant the ability to achieve ridiculously quick volley times that defied all logic.

For the longest time I left it as a game-y relic of the past, entrenched in some rare Cogmind builds that I didn't want to take away (after all, there can be an inherent difficulty in pulling off such builds, anyway). But on reexamining the full list of relevant items, and considering the possible solutions and what they would mean, I figured it was finally time to take action, or at least test out the results of nerfing this weird behavior.

Trivia: The "Delay " stat was originally created to be used as a positive value, to make some weapons slower to fire, with the original source comments suggesting it could "theoretically" be applied in the negative if doing so seemed interesting for a given weapon xD

The solution, for now, comes in two parts:

Delay stats are averaged across the entire volley, rather than added together.

Weapons with extreme delays (>=100 or <=-100) now must be fired alone, primarily to avoid too easily averaging down time costs. Weapons with delays at these extremes are quite special, anyway.

Naturally some weapon stats have been updated to account for the changes, with possibly more to come, we'll see.

Changelog

NEW: 5 new items

NEW: 1 new robot

NEW: 5 new X0-1V1 acts

NEW: 1 new major event [CaptainWinky, Kyzrati]

NEW: 3 new achievements: "Statue Heist", "Greater Chaos", "Fight Me IRL"

NEW: More sources of X0-1V1 entertainment

NEW: Uncommon location containing lore-based explanation for core X0-1V1 mechanics

NEW: Altar Unit has additional optional interaction (hidden)

NEW: Temporary slots becoming permanent while hitting max slot count during evolution explicitly reported in message and history logs

NEW: Option to remind when moving off of resource containers that were not empty when previously dropped (advanced.cfg: remindOnLeavingDroppedContainer)

NEW: Contextual tutorial message indicating faulty parts cannot be repaired, or fixed via Recalibrator

NEW: Contextual tutorial message further describing robot analysis effect when acquired

NEW: New player tutorial message to suggest opening the status info page, and for what purposes

NEW: Bonus points for spooking CY-PHR

NEW: Scoresheet records Average Entertainment for X0-1V1

NEW: Robot data CSV export includes innate heat dissipation values

MOD: Sfc. Transmogrifier test item removed from Subcaves lab (now available from two other intended sources)

MOD: D.C.S.S. Altar Unit now indestructible

MOD: X0-1V1 Relay Coupler enhancement effect limited to once per map, can only affect attached couplers, and includes even multi-class targeting types

MOD: X0-1V1 temporary weapon slots reversion also recorded in history log

MOD: Removed X0-1V1 piety drift

MOD: Ranged volleys now average all weapon Delay stats, rather than additive modification

MOD: Ranged weapons with absolute Delay greater than or equal to 100 cannot be fired with other weapons in a single volley

MOD: Attacking temporary allies via Splice Drone no longer triggers Zion loyalty check

MOD: LC kills now attributed to Cogmind for purposes of scoring records

FIX: Coolant Injectors triggered at instead of above 200 heat [aoemica]

FIX: Ablative armor highlighted parts list integrity indicator even if cooling effect below damage threshold [aoemica]

FIX: Since maximizing stored energy for Cogmind during map transition, other bots could increase energy beyond capacity during turn updates [aoemica]

FIX: Typo [aoemica]

FIX: X0-1V1 power source chain reaction effect generally allowed another act to occur as well [R-26 Lightspeed, aoemica]

FIX: Manual "Achievements" section still referenced challenge mode-specific achievements [R-26 Lightspeed]

FIX: Crash on killing more than 99 hostiles without having done any damage via Specialist achievement weapon type sources the entire run so far [Darby]

FIX: Possible to indirectly earn Specialist achievements through majority kill damage via ramming [Darby]

FIX: Multiwielding Ripteeth with other melee weapons could show double '%' on follow-up chance when changing active weapon [nathlebg]

FIX: Beta 16 robot immunities list update included Hacking immunity for several Derelict bots that did not have it [nathlebg]

FIX: Specialized drone bays with added drone-specific information no longer displayed it since addition of drone repair mechanics [Abstinent Turtle]

FIX: Allied Researcher would flash '!' along with hostile Researchers if attack warning shown for latter [Ms Vella, CaptainWinky]

FIX: LC attacks could leave salvage [Infomantis]

FIX: Potential crash during startup due to automated font change process [Dzuchun]

FIX: Offscreen markers for robot signals decoded via Imp. Signal Interpreter showed specific variant rather than general class [Mathewnd]

Additional changelog notes:

You can earn the new achievements locally, but if you're playing via Steam, they won't upload to that platform until the version is public.

If you've got wizard mode, check the manual which has been updated with a new "b" command as of this version (Addendum 6).

Get Beta 17.1

On Steam, Beta 17.1 is located on the new beta branch "beta_17.1_260816" accessible with the code "EnjoyXomPointOne", 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 17 cycle notification list. (As a surprise release, 17.0 had no prerelease, so we don't even have a Beta 17 list to continue yet :P)

Saves are not compatible with previous releases.

Additional hotfixes may come for this release, unannounced except to append a notice here and via a notice 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 260818a

There have actually been several quick hotfixes in the couple days since the initial release, though not worth detailing here. What I will point out is that after spending time looking into alternative systems regarding how to handle -delay weapon stacking, I have now patched in a simpler system that retains more of the original build possibilities without the complexity. (That particular feature had been hastily added shortly before the prerelease build, and only now with more time did I go in and do the necessary math...)

The new system is a simple cap on the total contributions allowed by -delay weapons, no greater than -100 in a single volley:

Update 260822a

This is probably the final patch that will just be rolled over to public 17.1 next week. The majority of adjustments here were making the X0-1V1 "visage" effect somewhat more... user-friendly :) (yes it's still pretty bad, but it's also a lot more lenient in quite a few ways due to changes based on various action reports--rarer, shorter, and tends to avoid some situations where it will compound problems, whether caused by X0-1V1 or not).

Also X0-1V1 bugs off post-MC to let you loot in peace.

10th Annual RoguelikeDev Tutorial

Over on r/RoguelikeDev we're running the annual tutorial/code-along event, where everyone from complete beginners to seasoned devs make a new roguelike over a couple months.

It started last week, but it's fairly slow-paced so even joining up now wouldn't be too late if you're interested. There are many experienced devs around to help, available on the sub or (more readily) on our Discord server.

Good community overall :)

Life Goes On

On the personal issues front, progress has been less than ideal, but... it could be worse? :P

Fortunately no one is eager to buy the place we're renting so far (it's not exactly an enticing target), so while we're not being rushed out the door just yet, we do have to (and continue to) make progress on our own plans for where to go.

It's looking like October for the move, despite my original belief this would have all been behind us by about now xD

Instead, as of this week I have Covid, which isn't helping! Got super run down recently and couldn't figure out why I wasn't bouncing back, then started to get sick, and thought it was just regular sick, but wife suggested I test real quick and sure enough it was a little worse than that xD

Was looking forward to getting back to streaming more Sunlorn, the new open-world fantasy (ASCII) roguelike I recently started playing in order to give feedback to the dev, but not sure when that'll happen now...

Sunlorn was already in a decent place despite being a WIP project, and the dev has put out a couple new versions since then, incorporating feedback in the form of new QoL features. (I did another writeup about part of a recent run here, if interested in written format instead of videos.)

Anyway, at least I can code and type well enough to put out 17.1 :P