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[Kyzrati]

A World of Robots
[Cross-posted from the devblog here--follow link for better formatting and light-on-dark style.]

In the previous post we discussed many of the traditional vs. unique characteristics of Cogmind, but one area was just too big to not cover on its own: the makeup of the world itself. For over a year on this blog we've demonstrated individual mechanics and features, along with how those fit into a bigger picture. Here for the first time I'd like to look at the biggest picture possible with an introduction to the world of Cogmind from a macro perspective.


Setting
If you played and remember the Cogmind prototype (7DRL), you probably don't remember the story.

We can't fault your memory, because there wasn't much of a story to remember--a single sentence in your message log towards the beginning indicates you've "escaped from the scrapyard," and from there it's just fleeing and shooting robots. If you manage to beat the prototype there is a tiny bit more text, but other than that no greater setting or actors are provided to flesh out the backstory. The website and manual offered slightly more in the form of a paragraph of generic sci-fi material, which still falls into the "excuse to throw some mechanics together" category occupied by many story-light roguelikes.

Things are very different now.

The final version will contain a complete world with NPCs to meet, lore to discover, and secrets to uncover, all while enabling you to become a part of unfolding events and help shape their outcome (if you wish to). A future post will be dedicated to exploring the story of aspect of the game, which in the alpha version initially only exists as in-game lore--the semi-interactive parts will be coming later.

This post focuses on the world in which that story takes place, though only in a general sense because gradually learning the details through play is part of the fun.

For now I'll say the story of Cogmind takes place in our galaxy (though not on Earth), a couple centuries in the future. Your part of the story is played out underground on a single planet, but the whos, whats, and whys are for you to figure out.


Layout
As in the prototype, you start at the bottom of a subterranean complex and are attempting to reach the surface. However, we now have multiple crisscrossing routes leading to that destination.

In terms of both content and play experience, the world can be divided into two distinct types of areas: main zones and branches. The main zones link together to form a straight shot from start to finish, while it's also possible to move between those and outlying branches wherever you find the right access points.

A simplified breakdown of Cogmind's subterranean world. (Note: The first alpha version includes the entire main complex and two early branches; the many remaining branches are still under construction, to be added over the next 5-6 months. Thus it currently includes much of the "core game," while the planned additional content will turn it into the epic adventure prescribed by the design doc.)

So why bother taking branches if you can go straight to the end? After all, Cogmind has no XP system so the need to seek out additional areas in which to grind, a common impetus for travel and exploration in RPGs, does not apply.

The route you take will actually depend on a rather large number of factors.

You can in fact take the direct path straight to the end--the straight run is a perfectly valid way to win, and usually the fastest. For an experienced player, the biggest advantage there is a more predictable environment, an idea you'll better understand with the two next posts introducing the central AI and examining the anatomy of individual floors.

While branches are completely optional, there are numerous reasons you may end up visiting them, primarily to:

• Escape pursuit
• Explore the story
• Acquire better/special components and allies
• Challenge yourself

By design, there is a somewhat greater chance that you'll discover exits leading to branches before those that enable you to ascend to the next depth. Thus you may sometimes decide (or be forced) to take these exits first in order to evade dangerous pursuers, possible because pursuers will not chase you to other areas--there is an implied "you made it into inter-zone tunnel networks and lost them."

In turning the prototype into a full game, to provide more room for content I expanded the world horizontally rather than vertically. This is seen with both the addition of branches, and the fact that many main complex maps are much larger than before. Last year I showed an image which appropriately demonstrates the evolution:

A sample main complex factory floor, 2012 vs. 2014.

The significant increase in scale means it is now more difficult to reach or happen across normal map exits (though there are now additional means of getting your bearings via hacking etc.), and therefore a greater chance that due to poor choices (or just bad luck), you may at various points find yourself in a bind and end up taking advantage of alternative routes offered by branches.

Branches are useful as more than simple escape routes though, especially if you discover their entrances early enough to warrant intentionally taking a detour. From a mechanical standpoint, some branches give access to special parts not found elsewhere--all the best components in the game are only available via branches. In the same way, some branches might also be a source of allies, help of the kind you'll rarely encounter in the main complex.

In both cases it will take practice and experience to figure out what's out there, how to get it, and whether it's worth going out of your way to get. I can say that some of the additional branches will provide helpful means for tackling the late game, most importantly the alternate endings.

Said alternate endings themselves are in fact only accessible outside the main complex, and in this we see another important aspect of the branches: story elements. Pretty much all of the story, aside from lore you can access via terminals, is told throughout the branches. While you'll be able to learn about what's going on during your travels through the main complex, that area is more similar to the traditional mechanics-focused roguelike experience. The vast majority of opportunities to engage and affect the story exist off the main path.

As such, branch areas are built differently than the main complex, designed with a possibility for interesting semi-random (and therefore less predictable) events. I'll talk more about this in the next post.

Regardless of part-, ally- or story-related benefits, visiting more branches is also an optional way to challenge yourself, and will help achieve a higher final score.

As you can see, branches have a lot to offer. That said, you won't be able to completely avoid the main complex. Branches will eventually force you back into the main complex at some point, and you'll have to find another branch exit to leave again.

For a demonstration of a rather long path through the world, see the image below:

A sample path through the world of Cogmind (remember, you start from the bottom and move upward).

Note that this is just a mockup--the world map is one of the final remaining UI elements to implement, so there's no way to access it in game yet. It will look something like that, and include animation.

The map is only revealed gradually as you traverse it, with question marks standing in for names of areas you haven't officially identified. You as a player will learn to rely on meta knowledge to know where you are, but in game the names of local and neighboring regions are only discovered via hacking. For the mockup above I've made the three main complex areas known, "Materials," "Factory," and "Research," as these are unchanged from the prototype.

Have fun discovering the other maps! There are plenty more not shown, though again the alpha will initially only include two early-game branch types. This is both to demonstrate what branches will be like, and to ensure there is enough interesting early-game content for those of you who, um, spend a lot of time in the early game . Other maps are coming, though you'll have your hands full with the existing large mid/late-game main complex maps since for now they're balanced on the hard side until we get more alternative routes in there.


Access Points
Access to different maps/areas is via one of two types of exits: "stair exits" take you up to the next depth (and by extension the next main complex map), while "door exits" lead to branches. Collectively these are simply called "access points."

In ASCII, exits to main complex areas are depicted using the traditional '<', while exits to branches use '>'. In tiles mode, the two are represented by stairs and a special door, respectively.

Cogmind map exit type representations (known).

The destination of a given exit, as demonstrated above with their labels showing, is only shown if you've already used hacking to discover where they lead, otherwise both types appear as stair exits and you can't differentiate the two (labels will simply read ""). So taking an unidentified exit could lead you on an unintended detour, a risk you can either accept or avoid by hacking terminals to figure out which direction is which.

There are sometimes other clues that enable experienced players to discern where an exit leads without hacking. Certain branch exits may appear with a unique recognizable layout.

You can't fool me with those stairs, it's all too obvious this leads to the mines.

Progression
A key design element I've yet to explain here, one without which might leave you confused, is that there is no backtracking in Cogmind. You can't simply step back through a door and return to the previous area--advancing to a new map is a permanent move.

You are technically being pursued through hostile territory, and by the time you leave an area your presence there has been noted and retracing your steps would be too dangerous. That and the idea is you've covered quite some ground between leaving the previous map and entering the new one, which is why you're suddenly a good bit safer after coming out the other side of an exit.

Earlier I mentioned the game's emphasis of horizontal over vertical depth. Regarding layout, we can see that the quickest path through the game traverses only ten maps, while taking branches could easily lengthen the game to twice that or more. Combine this with the lack of backtracking and you'll find that it's impossible to visit every location in a single play. This provides us with greater replayability, though that is not the purpose here--we get plenty of replayability via procedurally generated content! Instead it forces an experienced player to make decisions that give up one potential benefit for another, sort of like choosing which of many parts to carry along, only on a much larger scale.

Another reason worth designing away excess vertical progression is that we assume each new depth should provide us with increasingly powerful components and robots to avoid seeming too repetitive. While the game does in fact use this kind of progression, the level range is small enough that each can introduce truly unique content rather than an endless supply of rehashed items with modifiers (+1, +2, +5, +10, +25, +50...+1000...). Cogmind focuses on mechanical differences and only a mild power curve--it's linear and by the numbers indicates that the average late-game components are in a lot of cases only three to four times as effective as those found at the beginning. With a little luck an early-game robot could even fairly quickly take down a mid-game robot.

The design does not migrate completely away from vertical progression (of item stats) because there is something to be said for that "I found another cool, better thing!" feeling, though as a compromise said progression is often combined with some extra meaningful benefit.

So we've established that you will likely end up taking some branches to either side of the main complex, either by choice or by force, but at the same time the game does a lot to push you upward. This is accomplished by the strictest limitation of all: Cogmind's core integrity. Damage to the core cannot be repaired, and is only restored each time you evolve when moving closer to the surface. (The reason for this is part of the story.) Some players didn't like that about the 7DRL version and insisted on a way to repair yourself, but this is really a core feature of the game, without which much of the design falls apart. Depending on strategy and performance, in some cases you won't have the endurance or loadout to travel through branches at a given depth before you have to ascend towards the surface in order to evolve (very important when the alternative is permadeath!). For the same reason, you also can't spend too much time on a single map since you'll lose the war of attrition against a relentless enemy war machine. Read more about this and Cogmind's other "food clock"-like mechanics here.


Evolution
In Cogmind you don't have a lot of your own stats to increase over time, nor do you need many. There is no character generation process through which the player can say "this is my character." Most capabilities are instead bestowed directly by the components you choose to attach, and personal (if temporary) differentiation happens at play time.

Those few base stats you do possess increase automatically each time you evolve on ascending to a new depth, and they do so at the same rate each game (i.e. they are not randomized). Core integrity and heat dissipation rise in small amounts, while the only other, and certainly most important, "stat" is the number of slots of each type to add during evolution.

Thus even if you take an unidentified stairway out of an area, it will be obvious if you are actually ascending to another depth (and therefore a main complex map), since it will allow you to select your new slots instead of going straight into a new area (branch).

Slot type selection interface during inter-depth evolution.

Combat Optional
Overall the route you take each game will largely be a factor of chance and strategy, both at the macro level (is the ultimate goal a high score? a certain ending? a specific achievement?) and the micro level (i.e. your preferred build and what components you find or manage to steal).

Without a need to grind to advance, you really are just looking for the exit(s) on each floor. As you'd assume the best way to achieve this is to be as sneaky as possible (except when you can't :D).

Personally I believe Cogmind's mechanics offer the best roguelike integration of stealth into a game that can just as well be about all-out open combat. This is important because the most successful strategies will likely be a stealth-combat hybrid, which in turn affects your route through the world. For example, after failure to avoid being spotted in a particularly dangerous area, you may decide that that fighting your way through an approaching army to get to a better exit is not worth the risk compared to taking a less desirable but unguarded exit you passed earlier.

It can also take a little while to acquire proper stealth gear (and is easier to lose it to intense firefights), so runs will often fluctuate between death-mobile and ninja-bot, simply by necessity and circumstance.

[Kyzrati]

The Living Dungeon
[Cross-posted from the devblog here--follow link for better formatting and light-on-dark style.]

Having introduced the world of Cogmind from a macro perspective, we now zoom in on the anatomy of individual floors.

In a majority of roguelikes, the content of a given dungeon map is unchanging, and individual encounters on that map play out in relative isolation. When you arrive there are X number of enemies in the area, you encounter an enemy and fight, then another somewhere else, or maybe flee and end up fighting two different enemies together. The overall dungeon experience can be described as a series of encounters where the frequency of enemies (or loot) determines the pacing, and in-between periods are used for resting up or dispatching minor "filler" enemies. Moreover, these enemies might simply wait around for the player to arrive, or perhaps wander around with no particular goal. This is a pretty lifeless world, but is perhaps an apt description of what we could call "pure roguelikes," which reduce the roguelike formula to its tactical decision-making core. It's little surprise that pure roguelikes have no need for story elements, as the role-playing emerges entirely from events that play out as a result of player decisions on exploration, leveling, and combat. Yet the consequences of your actions don't last beyond the effects on your character or equipment.

Why not make dungeons a bit more dynamic? What if the contents of a map could change depending on your actions there? What if your actions there could lead to changes on other maps? Doing these things leads to deeper gameplay without sacrificing anything that defines a roguelike.

Cogmind does these things.


It's Alive!
As suggested before, Cogmind's world is composed of areas which are "more than just a dungeon" (see bottom of this post for some background). Cogmind is not a sandbox game by any measure, but it does handle map content very differently from other non-sandbox roguelikes. Instead of random enemies just sitting/wandering around waiting for the player to come fight them, each robot has a place in a simplified but meaningful ecosystem.

They are actually dynamic parts of a larger community in which each each individual has their own purpose and job. Not only does seeing them carrying out their tasks make the world feel more alive, you can even "become a part of their job" in many ways. Obviously combat robots will attack you when you're deemed a threat, but you'll also be sharing the corridors with many robots that aren't out to do you harm, instead reacting to your actions indirectly as per their routine.

Engineers rebuild floors, walls and doors destroyed by yourself or other robots.

 

Workers clean up debris, here from a destroyed machine

 

Recyclers collect damaged and surplus components for breakdown.

 

Tunneler digging out a new room, and engineers adding walls, floors, and a door on the way out. (They apparently decided not to finish a bit of the south wall...)

This is one of the more immediately obvious unique aspects of Cogmind maps, seeing lots of these green robots going about their business. Some might annoy you, but a resourceful Cogmind will find multiple ways that these non-combat robots can be of use under the right circumstances!

There are additional types of non-combat robots in the game--those listed above happen to be some examples which were already introduced in the public prototype (though all have since undergone some behavioral and capability upgrades). You can discover the rest in game.


Reverse Dungeon Keeper
Cogmind is kind of like Dungeon Keeper in reverse. That almost makes it sound like a normal roguelike, but there's more to the analogy than that.

We have both the "robot ecosystem" outlined above, as well as an actual overarching AI controlling the community's reaction to your presence and actions on a larger scale. You not only have to think about your interactions (combat or otherwise) on an individual robot-to-robot level, but in many cases must also consider the repercussions of your decisions further down the road.

Depending on the circumstances, your unauthorized or hostile actions will be reported, and you will be hunted, or cause enough mayhem and invite a robot army to converge on your position. Thus a particular map's inhabitants are not entirely static. Robots will come and go, and you can even hijack this system via hacking to instruct certain robots to leave the map, or perhaps ask for a shipment of goodies to your location :D.

Completionists might be annoyed that "clearing" a map is next to impossible. The central AI will continue to dispatch units for various purposes, be they maintenance bots necessary to keep the zone running within parameters, or combat-capable bots to deal with troublemakers.

That said, there are areas outside the central AI's sphere of influence, which is the difference between the main complex and some of the branches as distinguished in the previous post about the world layout. We'll talk about the gameplay implications further down.

Rules Access
An important question with regard to these "hidden mechanics" is how the player learns about them. Cogmind is not a black box, which would make for poor roguelike design given that the average player cares about details and having enough knowledge necessary to make informed decisions. There are secrets, for sure, but those belong to the realm of content rather than mechanics.

Basic mechanics are explained via the in-game manual and context help, but there is no such direct system for learning about the central AI. That is accomplished as part of a separate learning process for which there are multiple channels to obtain information contributing to an overall understanding of how it works.

At the simplest level there are a handful of intercepted log messages (global "alerts") that indicate when the central AI is doing something significant.

Probably the most dreaded message you'd see in your log while playing the prototype. There are now worse messages, so stay on your toes .

Learning about the AI also ties into information warfare (also here) in several ways, as sensors will enable you to observe enemy movements from afar, and terminals can be hacked for a large amount of relevant information or even control over the system. The most important terminal hack for figuring out the state of the central AI would be "Alert(Check)," which retrieves the current alert level for the local area.

Retrieving the current alert level, which can range from “low security” to 1 to 5.

If the alert level is on the rise, you might want to think twice before starting a firefight around a large array of explosive reactors--those chain reactions can really piss them off!

For those hidden mechanics difficult to figure out purely through observation, non-immersion-breaking NPCs found in certain areas will provide hints or direct advice. (Those areas have not yet been added to the game.)

[JobLeonard]

Dammit man, this game is rich. So many interacting systems!

[Kyzrati]

And here I was hoping one day I'd finish the thing!

Well, I have a very clear goal for what it will be, but I can imagine once people start playing and piling on the suggestions... going to have to exert some awesome self control here in the coming months

[JobLeonard]

- Make it moddable
- Adapt some mods as official

?

[Kyzrati]

That will be the goal for X@COM's future incarnation, but Cogmind's architecture is not entirely moddable, and for now my thoughts are to make its internal workings and content fairly secret to promote it as more of an exploration and discovery game, rather than making everything about it easily accessible. (Not that this will prevent dedicated individuals from figuring stuff out and/or posting everything on the net, but it's something...)

I actually made the 7DRL version moddable and despite strong interest in the game and a large number of suggestions, only one person actually did any modding (a small amount) and no one that I'm aware of actually played it... I don't think it would be worth it for a game like this.

[Kyzrati]

Map Composition
[Cross-posted from the devblog here--follow link for better formatting and light-on-dark style.]

Much of the "living dungeon" concept described previously applies to the main complex, and some branches. Roguelikes of significant scope tend to use a combination of map generation techniques, necessary to fill the game world with unique maps appropriate for their respective areas. Different map types are also likely to require different algorithms to populate them with content including inhabitants, objects, events, etc. Thus Cogmind utilizes a network of systems to produce the wide range of maps needed for the world.

Cogmind map type composition, where thicker arrows represent a heavier relative emphasis on a given system as an input.

In total there are about two dozen types of maps (six of which will be included in the first alpha version). Those belonging to the main complex are generated by the tunneling algorithm, which may draw on a small amount of handmade content in the form of prefabs and encounters. A number of branches are created in the same manner, but a second category of branches, those described earlier as being outside the central AI's area of direct influence, use an alternative method. As you can see in the diagram above, branches require more work (more inputs).

An explanation of usage scenarios for each of the four primary sources of map generation will help demonstrate how each plays a role in creating individual maps.


Tunneling Algorithm
This is Cogmind's primary map generator, which I introduced in an in-depth post back before it was complete.

A single algorithm is capable of producing a broad range of unique layouts by adjusting dozens of parameters.

Some example maps generated for main complex areas (click for full size).

In some cases the differences are subtle when viewed like this, but in play will lead to different experiences (even when we overlook the fact that content will vary between the maps as well). In general it would be out of theme to use wildly different parameters since after all these maps are a part of the same complex.

Shown above is the first stage of map creation, the basic layout as passed from the procedural map generator to the game for content insertion. During the first-stage mapgen process, data about every junction, door, room, and open area is recorded for reference, along with analysis results like a relative seclusion heatmap (see the dungeon metrics post for some related images and explanations). The first stage map generator also comes with a range of visualization tools to examine different aspects of a map's layout for parameter tweaking--changes can be made to a text file, then press a key and immediately regenerate a map based on new parameters. It takes a while to reach a preferable style, but is still much more efficient than try to tweak in the game itself, where there is a lot more to map generation than just the layout!

Tunneler-generated maps are furnished and populated in game based on a system that weighs random content according to depth and/or map type. This applies to machines and stockpiles (see here and here for methods and diagrams), as well as robots.

These maps make up the bulk of the game world, and are the ones in which the living dungeon really shines.


Cellular Automata
A portion of the branches require a layout very different from what a corridor-and-room tunneling algorithm can provide. For that purpose we also have a modified cellular automata algorithm (see the algorithm's in-depth introduction for more info and images). Like the tunneling algorithm, it is driven by a variety of parameters capable of producing maps in different styles, though for now there is only one usage found in game: the mines.

A fully revealed mine (click for full size).

Because these maps have a fairly different structure compared to tunneler-generated maps (more linear, less branching and looping), they cannot feasibly use the same content distribution system. They are instead populated entirely by so-called "encounters," which are described in more detail below.


Encounters
Encounters are an additional mechanism through which to add content to tunneler-generated maps, and the only way to add content to automata-generated maps. A single "encounter" can be as simple as a local patrol or stockpile of parts, or something more complex like a story event.

Regardless of map type, the most useful feature of encounters is the ease with which they can be used to add handmade content. Encounters can make use of both pre-drawn map pieces and the powerful scripting system originally developed for X@COM. Thus there are now practically unlimited possibilities for unique map content.

However, taking full advantage of this "anything is possible" scope in the main complex is both unnecessary and would interfere with the living dungeon mechanics, while also making much of the game unpredictable and therefore unreasonably difficult. Instead, the more interesting/unusual encounters are concentrated in branch maps, making those optional areas of the game a playground for the most experienced, curious, or lost players .

Encounters have their own weighted distribution scheme, with the option to randomize their content (within parameter bounds) for additional variation. To aid in tweaking encounter frequency values, the system comes with a debugging visualization tool that shows where encounters are placed on a given map in game.

A mine with distributed encounter types marked with their associated category color (click for full size).

Encounters are divided into four categories to help visualize how a map could play out:

• Fluff: Provide atmosphere rather than a mechanical effect on gameplay. A common example would be an area filled with debris.
  
• Rewards: Unprotected "free" rewards that can take many forms, components or allies being the most common.
  
• Risk vs. Reward: Like rewards, only you'll probably have to overcome some obstacle to gain that reward.
  
• Danger: Outright dangerous encounter with no explicitly defined rewards (though you could theoretically still benefit from salvage). Most often these are simply hostile robots, but the power of encounters can create other interesting situations...
  

The way in which some of the encounters are implemented might break the otherwise consistent realism that defines the living dungeon, for example a robot could suddenly "emerge from the shadows" in a dark area, though I believe this is a worthwhile sacrifice to enable more interesting and unexpected encounters. Said encounters may be found in some branches to liven up the experience--you won't see this behavior in the main complex, again reinforcing the idea that the core world areas offer a more traditional roguelike experience while outlying regions contain experimental and less predictable content.

Though not required for content that can dynamically fit any space, encounters may also specify a "prefab" when applicable.


Prefabs
Last year I described how handmade map pieces are drawn in REXPaint and integrated into the map generation process. That was back when the prefab system was first developed, and not yet put to use in game. Those prefabs are now used for two things: encounters and special entrances/exits. The latter are integrated directly into both map generation algorithms, while encounter prefabs can be dropped into an existing room or "cave" (a single room-area in an automata-generated map).

One of many storage area layouts (shown in both ASCII and tiles versions).
Now that is a room you want access to! (Then you'll want to figure out a way to simultaneously equip 12 grenade launchers =p)

Like encounters, prefabs can randomly change their orientation and shift their position (it's often even necessary to face and link to a door!).

As you can see, all sources of map data are procedural in nature, or support randomization in terms of where and what is injected into the maps. Every run is sure to be unique.

[Kyzrati]

Cogmind is launched!

! Website! Buy Page! Super busy!

[JobLeonard]

 

I'll order tonight - going to measure chest size first (I've been bitten by American/European disagreement on what is an M, L or XL sized shirt before)

[Kyzrati]

Haha, the shirt form is filled out separately whenever you want to, anyway. This is a shirt by American Apparel, so you can guess where the sizes come from =p

[happymonster]

Congrats!

[Kyzrati]

Thank you, it still feels weird. It's a really big end, and a really big beginning, all at the same time.

[RujiK]

Dang, build yourself with scrap parts sounds really cool. I Also like how there actually things that don't try to kill you in a roguelike.

[TheWing]

Damn awesome work man, will throw my monies at the screen! (and after that, into the web so you can have them)

Really happy to see projects launched :3

[tedsta]

Awesome work! I love the graphics. I love the music. It's amazing that you did all this alone.

[Kyzrati]

Dang, build yourself with scrap parts sounds really cool. I Also like how there actually things that don't try to kill you in a roguelike.

I drove pretty far off the beaten path. It was tough, but well worth it . I can't yet say that it will definitely be a financial success, but at least the current players are loving it!

Awesome work! I love the graphics. I love the music. It's amazing that you did all this alone.

Well except for the tileset which I outsource to Kacper Wozniak, a new freelancer from Poland. He's great. (But he has no website so I can't link to it...)

Damn awesome work man, will throw my monies at the screen! (and after that, into the web so you can have them)

Really happy to see projects launched :3

Thanks TheWing, and also thanks for weighing in when we were looking at tilesets earlier!

Took so long to get here, and now we tread along the long and seemingly lengthening road to 1.0... so many more cool things to add!

This still feels really surreal, though that might be attributed to the complete lack of sleep--about 20 hours over five days. Launching a game by yourself is crazy hard work.

[JobLeonard]

Ok, I have a bug. It's oversized, with weird scaling artifacts. I have a suspicion what might be the reason: I have set everything to 150% size (Windows 8.1). I think your application scales along. I'll try changing those settings to 100% and see if that fixes it.

EDIT: Yep, that was the problem. I think that's something that can be fixed on your end, although I'm not sure how it works.

Also, I'll try Wine later today - I use Ubuntu as my default OS.

[JobLeonard]

Ok, the Interaction Designer in me is going to overtly critical here. Before I start nitpicking, just a reminder: I love the game so far, I love the design of it, the ambiance, everything. But being a professional interaction designer means I have high standards, and dammit, this game deserves perfection.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a bug, or a "not yet implemented" kind of thing. Either way, currently the way pop-up windows open and close is inconsistent, and not as efficient as it can be.

Right now, opening a /DATA/ window disables interacting with most or all other screen elements, depending on whether it is a right-click on an item/robot on the map, or on a part in the inventory. This is clunky.

Say that I right click on a part or robot on the map, then click on an item in the list of the /DATA/ window. I first have to click on the mini-pop up to close it, then click on the X or right-click on the /DATA/ window to close that. What's doubly confusing is that highlighting of other elements on the screen still works, communicating that they can be interacted with - even though they can't until I close the window.

/DATA/ windows for carried/equipped parts are a bit better - I  can directly switch /DATA/ windows by (right)clicking on them. I cannot, however, directly switch to analysing an item on the map.

Either way, left-clicking on the map is disabled until the /DATA/-window is dismissed.

If I click anywhere outside of a /DATA/ window, I communicate a certain intent to the interface, and I expect something to happen. For example, clicking outside pop-ups could communicate that I want to dismiss them. Or perhaps I want the data window to remain open until I right click anywhere, but left-clicking lets me move while keeping the window open (so I can follow detailed stats of an enemy during combat, for example).

If I right-click on a part to open it's data window, then right-click on a different part of the map (or on a part in my inventory), I want to directly switch between them.

/end nitpicky rant. Now back to playing.

[JobLeonard]

Also, because of the scaling bug, the first time I loaded the game the intro was borked, and now I don't get to see it when restarting. Any way to force it?

[JobLeonard]

Drag-and-drop nitpick: dragging a part from the inventory to a slot that already has a part equipped should swap the parts.

I know, I'm being annoying. But it's the little things like that are the difference between a good and great interface.