Beta 11 X6 Prerelease - Fun and Death (Patreon)

Each of these prereleases makes significant enough changes to be a whole release of its own, and this one is not holding back in that regard (imagine what people are going to think when they're hit with the full Beta 10~11 transition all at once xD).

Technically the changelog for X6 isn't especially long since a lot of the biggest features are merged into a few short entries as they're new and would require more space to introduce than a changelog can provide. Besides, it's always nice to discover a thing or two ;)

X6 is primarily focused on new content rather than modifying (we'll be getting back to that soon), and while the changelog is mostly self-explanatory there is one thing I wanted to cover real quick: Your user/game.bin file is changing to "meta.bin" (also covered by Steam cloud if you have it on), since I've done a complete rewrite of that data format in order to make it more stable across versions. It turns out the old format could actually get messed up going between certain versions and cause problems, and the new one is much better and very future proof.

You shouldn't have to do anything related to this change--Cogmind should be able to read the old game.bin just fine and update you to the new format for X6 and beyond, though just in case something goes wrong, Cogmind's user file backup system will have a copy of your old data anyway and we'll be able to restore it that way. Of course I've already tested it and everything seems to both convert over and continue working seamlessly.

This will hopefully mean fewer/no returning players asking why they're getting a black screen on startup.

Another important notice: "Desire paths" have not been added to prefabs yet (aside from the Exiles test I showed earlier), so using the Active Sensor Suite in non corridor-style maps (e.g. stuff outside 0b10) won't show you any for now. Those will be added after X6 once the mechanics are confirmed (so likely for X7).

Changelog

The full changelog included within has been updated as usual, but for convenience here's a list of the changes since X5:

• NEW: 1 new common 0b10 combat bot (multiple variants) and related mechanics
• NEW: 6 new parts
• NEW: 3 new lore entries
• NEW: Assign custom names to controllable allies (see button/command in info window)
• NEW: Warning on attempting to attach a corrupted part
• NEW: Researcher witness pre-attack warning is reset on moving to new location in case of rapid repositioning and attack
• NEW: Input blocked on game over screen for 2 seconds to prevent accidental presses after a sudden death
• NEW: Adjustable visualization timing for Active Sensor Suite activity paths (advanced.cfg: activeSensorPathNewDuration/activeSensorPathsDuration)
• NEW: Adjustable active sensor encounter pause time (advanced.cfg: pauseMoveDurationHeavySensor)
• NEW: Adjustable active sensor warning reset range (advanced.cfg: activeSensorWarningBufferRange)
• NEW: Option to warn on exiting current map with corrupted parts in inventory (advanced.cfg: remindCorruptedInventoryOnExit)
• MOD: Cargo dispatches split into two phases so they're much less likely to ambush you from an exit all at once
• MOD: Tweaked manifest of some convoys
• MOD: Tweaked stick behavior
• MOD: Focal Cannon coverage restored
• MOD: Increased range of Hvy. Quantum Rifle
• MOD: Increased mass of Z-Drone Bay
• MOD: Increased Behemoth core integrity
• MOD: user/game.bin file renamed meta.bin
• MOD: Updated Microsoft DLL download links in README.txt
• FIX: Using mouse close button to cancel log note or item tagging mode required second press
• FIX: Ruler overlay could overlap parts of an open info window
• FIX: Keybind file misalignment caused by earlier prerelease
• FIX: Vectis' module shouldn't be missing in Zion anymore

Warning: Heavy Inside

Many of you might have heard of something called a "Heavy," news of which has mainly been provided only in vague bits and pieces here and there, as early as last year's ARG.

If you participated in the ARG, or read my subsequent walkthrough, you would have seen the Level 2 lore reward:

Even I didn't have many details about them until the past couple weeks when I was actually working on the related mechanics (thus the ARG info above isn't entirely accurate, either!). I knew they'd probably be added eventually, but to me Heavies were mainly an abstract concept for one of the new directions I wanted to take the Complex 0b10 defenses.

We're getting a new bot, and no it's not some rare prototype or a challenge you might only occasionally encounter in a few select locations, these menaces are scattered throughout a majority of 0b10 areas.

Yeah it's huge. (Not the bot size, mind you--it's actually just Large class, like some of the Sentries they're replacing.)

Meet the Shepherd, Marshal, and Overseer:

Most recently Heavies brought about the Active Sensor Suite I introduced earlier, an integral part of their function in the complex. These heavy security bots have a strong focus on area control, and will be far more effective at it than a regular Sentry. They call in investigation squads to check out persistent signals within their sensor range, summon reinforcements on coming under attack, and are loaded with offensive power including new types of kinetic cannons and a range of support utilities.

Naturally this also makes them decent sources of loot...

Regular sensors also aren't enough to get a complete picture of the defensive situation around each Heavy since they mask nearby allies, making it harder to safely navigate those areas without first destroying the Heavy itself or using an alternative source of intel like your own Active Sensor Suite, a corresponding RIF ability, FarCom, etc.

Stop hiding your friends!

As per the A.S.S. mechanics, Heavies do give away their own location even if you don't have sensors, so it's at least fairly easy to recognize where these danger areas are centered, and because it's so important there is also QoL for that. Stepping into their detection radius immediately blocks you from moving for a moment (stops running/pathing) and highlights it on the map. Several aspects of this QoL are adjustable via advanced.cfg options.

Danger ahead!

If you like RIF, you'll also be happy to know that yes, as a technically non-prototype bot there's a coupler for that ;) (it's not especially common, similar to Behemoths in this regard).

Get Beta 11 X6

On Steam, Beta 11 X6 is located on the new beta branch "beta_11_x6" accessible with the code "HeavyMetalDeath", 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 11 cycle notification list. (Anyone already on the list will receive an email with a new link.)

Saves are not compatible with previous releases.

There's always the chance of another one or two small updates in the near term (for example if something goes wrong), which will be otherwise unannounced except to append a notice to this announcement on Patreon, and via an announcement on 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 announced here.

Update 210717: There have been a couple of quick fixes put out, one a couple hours after the release, and another just now 15 hours after the initial release. Saves compatible and no version number change since they were very quick things, but super important because they broke some major mechanics xD