Beta 11 X8 Prerelease - Fab the Planet (Patreon)

First of all a big thanks to all the extra supporters who've been joining up lately! I'm reminded of the random internet person a couple years back who claimed it was a waste of time to start doing this since indie game devs just end up putting time into extra updates but don't really make much to show for the effort, like tiny amounts on the order of $50 at best, but no this is actually really helpful <3

Second of all: Prepare yourselves for a big new prerelease!

X8 is here, and with it a pretty big system change, new parts and mechanics to support it, and even more stuff which I'm actually leaving out of the changelog for now so people can discover it dynamically ;)

I wrote a couple times before about the new fabrication system, and it has now been implemented more or less as discussed then (in the final iteration). This was supposed to be a purely experimental release that only included the fabrication update to test if that works and consider rolling back the changes if not, to try something else, and that was going to actually take just a week to complete... but clearly it's been longer than that :P

Well, indeed I did finish the fabrication rework itself in less than a week, but as I worked through that I changed my mind about it being "experimental" at all--it's here to stay, and of course I couldn't just let it sit at a basic fab rework so I started adding some other tangentially related features, which ended up taking me further and further down some different rabbit holes. You'll see.

In fact, X8 was actually going to take even longer to complete, another week or more, but since it's already been a while since our last update and the main content is there I decided to release it this week and will likely follow up with another X8 release including an additional set of encounters I have planned for it.

Changelog

The full changelog included within has been updated as usual, but for convenience here's a list of the changes since X7 (minus some rather large things you'll just have to discover for yourself--pretty hard to miss...):

• NEW: ???
• NEW: 13 new items
• NEW: 11 new sfx
• NEW: 4 new encounters
• NEW: 11 more lore entries
• NEW: 1 new type of build class modifier
• NEW: Heavy class also responds to generate_anomaly
• NEW: Additional method to build schematics at Fabricators, via Authchips
• NEW: Hacking UI lists active/inactive Authchip counts on connection when relevant
• NEW: Schematics list accessed via Fabricator includes alternative color and text indicators when applicable Authchips available
• NEW: Sudden special encounters including some scene descriptions and derelicts "emerging from shadows" temporarily block movement/pathing and waiting
• NEW: Additional level of damage heat transfer "Deadly"
• NEW: Garrisons have unique sfx for successful unlock/seal hacks
• NEW: Scoresheet Fabrication records include Authchip use indicator where applicable
• NEW: Fabricators have sound effect on completing a build
• NEW: Automated map comments appear in a different color
• MOD: Removed explicit central matter system for part fabrication
• MOD: Complex 0b10 use of Fabricators follows same build process utilized by players rather than random sudden spawns
• MOD: Complex 0b10 use of Fabricators to produce parts no longer follows stockpile rules, instead producing extra amounts of single item type
• MOD: Fabricator Network(Status) hack given different functionality under new fabrication system
• MOD: Fabricator Trojans reworked for new fabrication system
• MOD: Data Miner schematics now mostly randomized
• MOD: Lowered all Hardlight Generator coverage
• MOD: Reduced treads/legs overweight penalty by 20/10
• MOD: Ally transfers between maps give additional priority to those carrying items in inventory
• MOD: Increased area within which active drones and controllable allies will follow to a new map
• MOD: Mostly removed hard caps on number of allies that can follow to a new map
• MOD: Allies following to new maps will not always start as close as possible
• MOD: Recolored Data Core tiles/ASCII to reflect the variety of categories
• FIX: Sentries did not respond to generate_anomaly [Heavyrisk]
• FIX: Initial hypermatrix ping reinforcements always available regardless of map type [aoemica]
• FIX: Randomized prefab loot in some areas may have not always included all intended categories of parts
• FIX: Cargo convoy update blocked faulty prototypes from all Haulers
• FIX: Weapon arc data missing from gallery export

The big new thing (which actually took a good bit longer than the fab rework :P) has actually been in Cogmind lore since Alpha 1, but not actually in the game. However, it's not anything that anyone would actually guess (none of those cool derelict rumors, i.e. nothing that makes people immediately go "I want this" xD), so you can stop guessing right now.

Ally intermap transfers have been redone! The radius is larger, and in most cases everyone will arrive at the destination (though will sometimes be spread out a bit more). This change is pertinent to this release, because it's quite possible you could start more effectively building larger armies with help from Authchips--RIF, regular hacking, or just lucking into allies won't be the only ways to do that now.

The tread/leg overweight penalties have been reduced a bit, making that situation less painful if you're forced to deal with it, but still won't likely be something most treads/legs builds want to do if they can avoid it. We'll have to wait and see if/what effects that really has on builds, though.

Among the prerelease fixes "Cargo convoy update blocked faulty prototypes from all Haulers" was one I was glad to catch by random chance last week, since for a while now technically anyone playing these prereleases has been enjoying faulty-free parts from Haulers ;)

Fabrication 2.0

As per the notes I shared before, there is now a way to guarantee a schematic load and build if you have the proper "Authchip" attached. They're divided into nine categories for different types of builds, but can authorize a single fabrication process without any consequences whatsoever, so getting the schematics you want is key.

Say goodbye to the central matter system. No more lockouts--basically unlimited fabrication if you've got the chips.

If you don't have any chips, the normal hack-to-fab system works as before, except that it can only be used once per Fabricator (which gets locked as a result) and summons a guaranteed investigation to the area.

The nice thing here is that new strategies and tradeoffs will appear now that technically any build has access to guaranteed fabs assuming they can acquire Authchips, at least any build willing to temporarily sacrifice inventory for the promise of being able to eventually build something neat later (there are no rating limits on what can be built at any Fabricator, so it really is all about what schematics you can get your grabby things on).

There are a number of sources for Authchips. Look around :)

Here's an example of using an Authchip to immediately start building something that would otherwise be pretty tough in that situation (notice the special color and indicator in the schematics list):

And another demo using an Authchip to start a preloaded schematic:

Another big internal change as a result of the fabrication rework is that Complex 0b10's own use of fabricators relies on the normal processes. Earlier Fabricators could suddenly pop stuff out whenever they wanted to, from parts to robots, because obviously that was much easier to do at the time :P. But with a rework comes more time to focus on the system and a greater desire to expand and perfect it, so 0b10 will now preload schematics for what it's planning to build and actually put in the time required to do so.

Part of the impetus behind that expansion was to repurpose the Network(Status) command/hack, which used to report on matter, but now tells you what each Fabricator across the map is doing at that moment (doing this naturally requires having a real process to report on!).

Here it is in action:

What you're also seeing there is already a new purpose for the map comments feature: automated comments! It wouldn't make much sense to give all this network status info if there wasn't an easy way to reference it :)

You can edit and remove these map comments as normal during comment editing. The system is also smart enough to automatically remove/update existing Fabricator comments if things have changed by the next time you run that hack.

One of the Fabricator Trojans has also been replaced with a new function, which also makes use of automated map comments to report on fabrication processes in real time (ignore the details in this gif if you have not yet learned Fabricator Trojans and want to find them in game first).

As you can see above, automated map comments appear in a different color to differentiate them from those you've added on your own (the first gif was recorded before that change was made).

(There is one other Trojan which is no longer applicable and will eventually be replaced with something, but for now just tells you to not do that :P)

Scoresheets have also been updated to include Authchip indicators:

Get fabbing :D

Get Beta 11 X8

On Steam, Beta 11 X8 is located on the new beta branch "beta_11_x8" accessible with the code "PlanetFabbing", 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.

The Ground Gives Way

Recently on stream I've been taking a break from Cogmind to share with everyone a favorite roguelike of mine, TGGW, which I hadn't played for ages and it has a lot of new content and systems to play around with.

I suggest you check it out if you (hopefully? xD) enjoy the type of "manage a build with what you find" sort of play that Cogmind encourages. It's ASCII-only, but it can look really pretty if you spice up your terminal colors/font, and is fairly easy to get into given its simple controls and presentation, as well as a complete tutorial to teach you the mechanics one at a time.

See my first stream for more info. I won my latest TGGW run yesterday, so perfect timing in order to get to stream some X8 next week at the regular time!