Beta 9.3 "RPGLIKE" Early Prerelease (X1)

Certainly later than I'd want it, but it's finally ready. Sorta :P

This is definitely an X1 rather than a "this is pretty much what's going public" prerelease like I did for 9.1 and 9.2.

Unfortunately with the deadline approaching and me already crunching on everything related to this release, I don't have time to do an in-depth write-up here going over all the details in advance, though I can say there will eventually be a blog post (after 9.3 releases), and of course by release day (Tuesday) I'll have the release notes ready for everyone, too.

Overview

Really if you just start playing everything will be pretty self-explanatory, but here's the new mode in words, as summarized by the changelog intro itself:

• Cogmind does not evolve, instead uses leveling mechanics with an XP system enabling free-form assignment of permanent upgrades
• Gain XP by exploring and/or raising the alert level
• Start with much higher core integrity, but only one of each slot type (can upgrade immediately in Scrapyard)
• 90% of incoming damage to parts instead transferred to core, thus losing parts is relatively rare
• Use Protomatter to restore integrity of core and parts
• Storage units do not exist and Cogmind starts with no base inventory, optionally expand capacity with level upgrades
• Dynamic build type analysis always shown above parts list, even before activating showBuildType advanced.cfg option
• Fewer Relay Couplers spawn, but all that do have double their normal value
• Extra "RPGLIKE" section in scoresheet containing mode-specific stats

Here's a quick demo of the upgrade UI from yesterday when it had finally become functional:

I was worried it would be a crazy amount of work to balance this thing, but six runs later I think it's starting to work out pretty well! (I even won the last run today, barely :D)

There are a lot of numbers involved, with balancing around leveling rates, XP sources, Protomatter spawning and effects, and upgrade costs, and it's further complicated by the fact that the majority of your potential upgrade effects overlap with parts and therefore slot usage.

There are two things in particular worth pointing out:

• I will almost certainly be changing how Protomatter is used. Right now you actively use it like other ground-based items, but because for balance reasons it can take a while to be fully applied if you need a lot/all of it, you might suddenly pass too many turns and all sorts of hell breaks loose. Be careful of that, you'll see :P. It's generally avoidable, but not desirable behavior, and will likely be changed to instead work by waiting while standing on it, and you'll gradually have integrity restored each turn you wait there until it's gone (or there's no more integrity to restore).
• It's not likely at this point, but I also kinda like the idea of having the actual percentage of damage transfer instead depend on the number of slots you have, rather than being static (90%). Less damage to core and more to parts if you have more slots. Not coverage based, just raw occupied slot numbers, and it would still be a majority of damage going to the core, just tweaking the percentage so that build slot count has that extra meaning, and armor (and part coverage) has a bit more meaning, too, without taking away one of the main features of this mode (emphasis on the core).

Feedback is appreciated, although since it's kinda later than planned we're certainly not making any sweeping changes here xD

Either way, if you've got the time, test it out and see how it plays for you.

What else?

Beta 9.3 is not all just the special mode, either. There's also quite a bit of other stuff in this release--it's more like a smaller major release than a minor release, but it's not Beta 10, so 9.3 it is :)

You can check out the full details in the attached changelog.

Note that although mostly complete, there are still a few things missing that I know I'll be working on over the next day or two. We'll have at least one more prerelease update before this goes live, if not two! (To avoid spamming, at most only the final prerelease will be a separate post on Patreon, others will just be left as edits to this one and announced on Discord in the #cogmind-patron channel.)

9.3 still needs:

• Mechanical tweaks as mentioned above
• Definitely some sfx for the new menu and leveling/upgrade-related features
• Maybe some minor QoL things I'd like to do for the RPGLIKE mode interface, but might take too much time to be worth it
• A few more 9.2 bug fixes if I have time

Get 9.3

On Steam, Beta 9.3 X1 is located on the new beta branch "beta93" accessible with the code "CogmindLikeRpg," or if you don't have Steam and would like to try the DRM-free version, send me an email at gridsagegames@gmail.com.

Beta 9.3 saves are not compatible with previous releases, so consider first finishing up any in-progress run, or keeping a separate copy of your save while you play this one in the meantime. 

It's likely you'll want to try the new RPGLIKE mode rather than just the regular 9.3, so in order to do that (because it's a timed event), you'll need to force it to activate. For that there's a new command line argument: "-forceMode:Winter2019" (or "-forceMode:RPGLIKE"). (Within Steam this is handled by going to Cogmind > Properties > Set Launch Options.)

Keep news of this release under wraps for now--patrons only, since it's still in flux and it'd be more fun as a surprise for the wider community anyway.

Edit: X2 is out now, and makes more adjustments and additions.