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Kyzrati
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« Reply #720 on: April 24, 2016, 06:45:19 PM »

Alpha 8 is coming soon, so as usual there's a visual preview of the non-spoiler stuff (unfortunately a minority of what's been added Tongue). Some of it I've shown here before as it was developed, some of it is fresh. Among the newer things we have:

A couple dozen new parts, the art for which you can see a few samples of here.


Part/inventory data visualization includes a relative mass mode (for a total of six optional info modes).


-1/Access has been barren too long, so now there are more machines to entertain you.


If you can find drones equipped with terrain scanning gear, they'll share that intel with you, too.



This will be the first story-heavy release, with a couple important new maps deep in the caves and many hundreds of lines of dialogue.

...and now I have to get debugging, because I set the game to autotest all night and it crashed twice Tongue
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« Reply #721 on: April 24, 2016, 08:25:34 PM »

Aw man y u do this.

I just got started on a new job, I have no time to play!
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« Reply #722 on: April 24, 2016, 08:31:51 PM »

True, work comes first for all of us, and pushing out cool releases is what I'm supposed to be doing Wink (although sales have now finally flatlined, so I've got quite a fire under me Shocked)
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« Reply #723 on: April 26, 2016, 06:36:26 PM »

Cogmind is @ Alpha 8 :D

For the full release notes with extra detail and an introduction to what this release is all about, see here.

In short, the focus of this release was finishing off the bulk of the cave areas, which meant further fleshing out the lore and plot elements. Go meet new friends Smiley

The full Alpha 8 (0.10.160427) changelog:

* NEW: Branch map "Zion"
* NEW: Branch map "[redacted]"
* NEW: 3 new alien artifacts
* NEW: 4 new major NPCs (unique robot classes)
* NEW: 1 more plot-related NPC encounter
* NEW: 1 unique weapon (completely different mechanics)
* NEW: 28 new items
* NEW: Several new common robot classes
* NEW: More lore to uncover in dozens of terminal records
* NEW: Hundreds of lines of minor NPC dialogue covering lore, plot, and in-theme tips
* NEW: Greater variety of cave encounters
* NEW: Experimental map-wide ambient sound in caves (on by default, deactivate via "locale" audio setting in options)
* NEW: Robot analysis benefits include a -5% hit modifier for those attackers (i.e. easier to dodge them)
* NEW: Robot analysis benefits included among full-detail calculations output
* NEW: Real-time FOV updating as obstructions are destroyed (optional)
* NEW: FOV changes revealed via fade-in (optional)
* NEW: Brighten and color known areas outside FOV by holding '`' (undocumented command)
* NEW: Part/inventory data visualization now includes relative mass mode (toggle via integrity 'w' command/button)
* NEW: 6 more machine types unique to -1/Access (some of them go BOOM)
* NEW: 5 more Trojan hacks
* NEW: Capable drones share terrain scanning data with Cogmind
* NEW: Robots with unspoken dialogue requiring bump-to-talk marked by blinking '?' (or by unique background color if motion trails inactive)
* NEW: Score sheet records total number of actions taken
* NEW: All supporter names registered since Alpha 7 added to in-game list (see Credits menu)
* NEW: All item-attribution names registered since Alpha 7 added to the item collection gallery
* MOD: Main Access Shell behavior changed for non-combat approaches
* MOD: Decomposers no longer break down matter, work slower in general, and are confined to smaller areas
* MOD: Derelict workers and recyclers destroyed in caves no longer have self-destruct mechanism on salvageable parts
* MOD: Derelict recyclers no longer collect matter or data logs
* MOD: Fire traps cause a greater heat surge in victim
* MOD: Relative encounter/prefab weights tweaked across all maps
* MOD: -1/Access has fewer empty rooms
* MOD: Operators no longer stationed at terminals that can be hacked to open a door
* MOD: Increased effect of Spotters (e.g. in areas like Recycling)
* MOD: Fabricated robots no longer leave salvageable parts (but still drop matter salvage)
* MOD: Derelict component schematics no longer accessible at 0b10 terminals via manual hacks
* MOD: Hackable (orange) blast doors immune to critical hit instant destruction effect
* MOD: Broadcast Trojan message uses different color and formatting
* MOD: Scan window unspoken dialogue indicator uses '?' rather than '!' (further differentiated from hostile spotted indicator)
* MOD: Context help for critical strike makes explicit mention of effect against props
* MOD: Dialogue triggered by robot entering view happens immediately regardless of player speed
* MOD: Gallery collection percent is now animated
* MOD: Optimized AI initialization to avoid the short pause during first turns in large maps like Factory
* FIX: Crash on opening data for remaining piece of interactive machine after destroying its interactive piece [Enno, Happylisk]
* FIX: Crash on triggering a fire trap with no occupant at that location (e.g. dodged or remote triggered) [Sherlockkat]
* FIX: One of the Extension exits inaccessible via auto-ascend (required manual key/mouse command) [Shobalk]
* FIX: Extra '0' shown at the bottom of score sheet's turn count list [Sherlockkat]
* FIX: In rare cases the only cave exit could be rendered inaccessible by earth collapsing directly on top of it [Sherlockkat]
* FIX: Experimental Hacking Suites and System Shields weren't classified as prototypes [Decker]
* FIX: Unique manual hacks used on the wrong target still counted against their usage limit [Decker]
* FIX: Recyclers weren't dropping entire inventory contents when destroyed
* FIX: Mechanic repairs to attached parts didn't update the integrity indicator in Cogmind's part list
* FIX: Fire trap heat transfer mechanic was activating for adjacent positions, but not the origin
* FIX: Derelict-installed traps in caves rigged to trigger on the wrong faction (intended to be friendly)
* FIX: Self-destruct Interrupters (new in Alpha 7) were auto-activating and running out of power (so no one's ever seen one Tongue)
* FIX: Log message output for pre-learned machine locations reversed inteactive/non-interactive designations
* FIX: Weapon info projectile count indicator added for Alpha 7 wasn't displaying
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Kyzrati
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« Reply #724 on: May 09, 2016, 06:54:49 PM »

The major fabrication mechanics overhaul is complete, and constructing robots and parts is now quite painless and tedium-free.

Among the more showable new features: On-map timers now count down for fabrication and repair processes.


I'm starting a design writeup about the new mechanics--will be ready tomorrow.
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JobLeonard
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« Reply #725 on: May 09, 2016, 07:16:29 PM »

There's potential for a passive-aggressive 'k' reaction gif in there
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Kyzrati
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« Reply #726 on: May 09, 2016, 07:18:07 PM »

Cheesy
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« Reply #727 on: May 10, 2016, 04:49:55 PM »

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

Fabrication has just been redone, and it is good.

I wrote a little about Fabricators a long while back when they were first introduced to Cogmind as a new feature we didn't have in the 7DRL, allowing you to build robots and parts if you could get your hands on the schematics and meet other conditions.

Then for years the mechanic sat dormant, and honestly even untested (for gameplay) for that entire duration up until the first alpha. That's when it became obvious it was likely the most broken part of the game, failing to satisfy its purpose on multiple different levels. It got a couple of quick fixes right away to address the most egregious problems (including an oversight that allowed patient and determined players to construct an army of late-game allies at the beginning Tongue), but even then it was not well integrated into the whole Cogmind experience.

I can't say this was a surprise, since complex systems need testing and tweaking before confirming they actually work in the broader context, and since so many other parts of the world had yet to undergo rigorous playtesting, it made sense to wait to do any serious work on fabrication since it was a "secondary" mechanic, anyway.

So it was intentionally left at the wayside. Until now.


Background
First of all, why did fabrication even become a thing? At its core, Cogmind is obviously a game about adapting to the situation, building and rebuilding yourself from salvage as necessary.

But with the right limitations, a system whereby players can sometimes exert more control over what they have access to offers a lot of interesting possibilities. Perhaps you've found a really useful part you'd like to duplicate? Perhaps a certain build needs a specific part to really take off? (Or to simply avoid annihilation Tongue) Or perhaps there's a very special part but you can't obtain it directly, only get a schematic after which you'll have to take the extra step of building it.

Thus fabrication serves to supplement the core mechanic, without completely supplanting it. The goal is that it should be impossible to build everything one needs to survive, instead occasionally filling holes in a build/strategy or just providing access to something special, without being a clearly superior option in every situation.

It should also avoid tedium, and as anyone who's played will know (and as others can read about below) the process used through Alpha 8 is very tedious...


Original System
Quite unlike the rest of Cogmind's mechanics, which are streamlined to facilitate relatively quick play and involve only so many elements at once, building anything under the old system is an exercise in tedium. The build process:
  • Acquire a schematic. (Terminal hacks; Scanalyzer scans or extraction.)
  • Acquire a container and fill it with matter. (Found; taken from Workers.)
  • Find a Fabricator of high enough rating to build the schematic. (Found; Terminals.)
  • Hack to load the schematic. (May fail.)
  • Hack to start the build process. (May fail.)
  • Wait for the build process to complete.
It was rarely worthwhile to do all these steps, and even if it were, it's not much fun.

The original purpose behind the large number of restrictions was to counteract the old hacking system: Prior to the hacking overhaul of Alpha 6, it was theoretically possible to hack forever until you got what you wanted. (Technically fabrication wasn't the only undertested pre-alpha feature--all of hacking was waiting on the sidelines for proper playtesting and integration.) Now that traces can no longer be reset, unless you're an insanely good hacker, a single machine/Fabricator can only be used so many times. This paved the way for much simplified fabrication mechanics.


A sample schematic, which looks like the normal item information window, with the addition of fabrication details at the bottom.

Schematics are still a part of the new system, in fact playing an even more vital role as you'll see later.


Various matter containers.

The container requirement was originally conceived as a cool way to link a general-purpose utility with the fabrication mechanics. Cool in theory. It was actually one of the more tedious steps, and also unnecessary from a logical perspective (the machines can draw their matter from a central network, sure). So that was the first thing to go--no more inserting containers of matter.

To me the most annoying requirement, terrible from a design standpoint, was the level restriction on schematics. Schematics could only be built by a sufficiently advanced Fabricator, but the formula to determine the required tier was completely opaque, and even though it was indicated on the schematic itself, it was just another factor that would vary from item to item, an annoying little detail to remember and consider when searching for a Fabricator (while potentially further reducing the number of applicable fabrication locations). So that was the second thing to go--any Fabricator can build anything!

Under the old system, even if you did get a cool schematic, it was still too much trouble to go through all the steps to try and get it built. Some players would try, but as you can see it was an effort-intensive process and quite possibly that effort would go to waste at any given point of failure. Not fun.


New System
The new build process:
  • Acquire a schematic. (Terminal hacks; Scanalyzer scans or extraction.)
  • Acquire a container and fill it with matter. (Found; taken from Workers.)
  • Find a Fabricator of high enough rating to build the schematic. (Found; Terminals.)
  • Hack to load the schematic. (May fail.) - Now much easier.
  • Hack to start the build process. (May fail.)
  • Wait for the build process to complete. - Easier to wait, and can be much faster.
Item for item the new system doesn't look hugely different from before, but the changes already touched on, along with some others, make for quite a different experience.

Schematics still form the foundation of the system, and are obtained using the same means as before, although even that step is somewhat less problematic because Scanalyzers are much less restrictive regarding what they can scan. (I'll talk more about other related machine changes later.)

Instead of the old bring-your-own-matter system, matter is instead drawn from a map-wide network itself allocated from the central complex matter stores. The amount of matter available fluctuates over time, sometimes receiving a new infusion from the central stores, and others being drawn down from local use, including your own.


Results of the new "Network(Status)" hack.

Your own use, however, is of course unauthorized, and the further you drain the local network below its normal operating levels, the more likely the missing matter will be discovered after the fact and the entire network will be shut down. Causing a network outage is a fairly big hit on the security level, so there are obviously long-term trade offs involved with building bigger and better things, or more of them. But at least you don't have to worry about supplying the matter Smiley. (Related: One of several new Trojans reduces the chance that unauthorized matter use will be discovered by siphoning part of the required matter from other systems.)

Choosing a Fabricator is also much less of a problem now that rating restrictions have been lifted. Anything can be built by any Fabricator (hence the increased importance of schematics under this system--once you have a schematic you can build it anywhere). Rather than differentiating Fabricators based on what they can build, high-tier Fabricators instead build even faster. (Like, really fast.)


The new schematic readout indicates the base build time at each type of Fabricator, from tier 1 to the most advanced tier 3.

Hacking to load the schematic is quite easy now, though still only more effective hackers will have a good chance of successfully initiating the build process for better parts and robots. (Design note: The hacking part was split into two separate commands partially for UX purposes, enabling selection of a schematic and first giving feedback on the requirements, and also making it easier to repeat the more difficult second (build) hack without having to again select a schematic from a list. The third reason, implied earlier, was the original possibility of unlimited hacking and a corresponding need for a two step-process so that players had at least some chance to be both detected and traced in a single session.)


Visiting a low-tier Fabricator without hackware assistance.

Then there's the waiting. This works more or less as before, though for multiple reasons fabrication can be completed more quickly than in the past. The time formulas have been adjusted, advanced Fabricators build extremely quickly, and there is a Trojan which can further accelerate the process by prioritizing all matter requests by a given Fabricator.

And while at least one alpha player wanted instant build times, I feel the strategic implications of a time cost are important because time effectively ties the fabrication into existing systems and gameplay. Any number of things can happen while waiting around Wink

There was one long-standing issue with waiting, though: It often required a little mental math. When the build process begins, it tells you how long the process will take, but then the best thing to do is add that number to the current turn count and wait until then. (In hindsight it could have also given the completion time, but it's still something to keep track of--we can do better than that!) You could also just keep waiting until the build finished and popped out the results, though that approach is a good way to waste precious turns by over-waiting.

My first instinctive solution was to add an auto-wait feature, a command with which you could automatically wait until a nearby process completed. Unfortunately that involves unresolvable complications like how to treat potential threats that have appeared on your sensors, but may not be threatening at all (or you're intentionally ignoring them).

Seeing as it's quite easy to just hold a button (or spin the mouse wheel) for a short while to wait, what's really needed here is a visible timer. So when a build starts, as each turn passes a little label pops up to report the number of remaining turns.


Starting a build and waiting through the process while the timer runs down.

The timer is also color-coded, so you don't even have to pay close attention to the numbers--red is a while off, then orange, then yellow, and if it's green then you know it'll be done pretty soon and can start paying closer attention.


Short-lived friends making the ultimate sacrifice, and not even complaining that I'm doing nothing to help them.

Note that you could/can always open the machine info window to see the same countdown timer there, but that's not nearly as convenient. Cogmind's UI is all about making pertinent information as accessible as possible, and this works well to that end.


Strategy
Whereas before it was almost never worth it to build things except maybe as a novelty, it can now become an integral part of player strategy. This will be especially true for those carrying at least some hackware, but even those without can make occasional use of the system.

There's always the chance that in the right hands this less restrictive system might be open to abuse, but we'll get to tweaking it depending on how it's actually used in practice rather than based on theoretical analysis and what shows up in a few playtests. I'm curious how players will use it in its current state.

That said, I don't (and never did) intend for every Cogmind to be great at fabrication, and it's still an entirely optional part of the world.


Other Machines, and the AI
With the Fabricator updated, it made sense to make similar changes to other machines in order to maintain balance (and working on related systems at the same time is a more efficient approach to development).

To that end, Repair Stations can now repair anything--rating restrictions have been lifted. Like Fabricators, tiers instead affect the repair duration, which means better stations will repair much more quickly. They also get to make use of the new on-map timer:


Repair Station displaying a timer while that process is underway.

Similarly, Scanalyzers can also scan anything! More advanced Scanalyzers are less likely to require additional scans to create a schematic, as well as less likely to break the part in the process.

With that, all machines have now been improved since Alpha 1 last year, working together to enable a wider range of interactions, and hopefully inducing fewer "meh, whatever"s as Cogmind spots a new one Tongue

Speaking of interactions, the central AI now also makes use of Fabricators, too, a bonus that comes along with the new mechanics. It builds non-combat robots to eventually replace some of those destroyed (rather than sending them in through map access points), builds combat robots to supplement garrison forces, and builds new parts that are picked up by Haulers for delivery to garrisons. It's nice to tie another machine into the visible ecosystem, similar to how we have mechanics based out of Repair Stations, operators interacting with Terminals, recyclers using recycling units, and more.
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JobLeonard
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« Reply #728 on: May 11, 2016, 06:16:17 AM »

I'm amazed at how you keep finding stuff to improve..
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Kyzrati
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« Reply #729 on: May 11, 2016, 06:30:44 AM »

Well, there's always things to improve on... but I'm amazed I still have anything to improve that I can blog about without spoilers Wink

Most of development comes down to content and hidden stuff nowadays.

Next week I'll be doing some kind of recap, though, a meta post, since we're about to reach the one-year anniversary of Cogmind Alpha Shocked
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« Reply #730 on: May 16, 2016, 06:26:41 PM »

Cogmind, 1 Year of Alphas
[Cross-posted from the devblog here--follow link for better formatting and light-on-dark style.]

(click any image for full size)

Cogmind Alpha Access is one year old! (One could optionally end this sentence with "!?!?")

"Year 1" since release in May 2015 overlaps with some previous postmortems I've done, so rather than rehash that content here I'll just be linking to it where appropriate. That said, there is plenty of fresh data to share, too Smiley

The Year 2 of the Cogmind recap is a pretty good general summary of 2015, something I'll do again at the end of this year. Since then a lot of the work has gone towards overhauling a few mechanics to improve gameplay, and adding more and more content to complete the full world as planned. So, yeah, eight major releases later Cogmind development is still rolling along.

Today though I'd like to focus more on sales and other aspects specific to the alpha which haven't been covered as much before.

Also, this week I'll be updating the Cogmind website's text and all screenshots. Here are some of the scenes I've been working with for the new site:


Composite gif featuring gratuitous ASCII destruction.


Still of that reactor array exploding. (Click here for separate full-view image.)

On to the data...


Players
As of today Cogmind has 2,119 players. Or maybe that's "players," because in reality the majority would be better classified as supporters at the moment, i.e. those who joined the alpha program to help the project see 1.0, and maybe try it out every so often before then, or just wait.

There are also an additional 738 people on a special one-time mailing list accessible at the top-right of the buy page, to be notified when Cogmind reaches its intended lower base price (for those who can't afford to chip in now, or who simply want a lower price for whatever reason). Of course, a number of those people may have signed up earlier and eventually bought anyway, and another portion will never see an email because it'll end up in their spam box Tongue

In terms of active players, based on the uploaded game stats there are usually about 20 runs played per day, though that number has fallen in recent months as sales have started to decline somewhat, something you'll see further down. However, the caveat there is that I don't actually know everyone who's playing, only those who opt in to data uploading via the options menu (I do know that not everyone opts in). The active player count is naturally above average in the week after a new release.

Many thanks to the core group of players who have been a continuous help when it comes to providing feedback on each release--zxc, Happylisk, Decker, Sherlockkat, Shobalk, and more have stuck with it for a long time and have helped improve the game for everyone. Even others who simply talk about their experiences give me a lot to go on when I consider balance and potential features, revealing any disparities between the intended vs. perceived vs. actual effects of any changes.


Revenue
I'm not broke yet!

If you'd like detailed coverage of the first month of sales and other data and issues surrounding launch, you can read my in-depth postmortem here. Crazy and exciting times, that first month :D

But that was only a month, and there have been eleven more since then Tongue

On the funding side those eleven months have been noticeably less exciting, though there were a few unexpected sales spikes in the first few months after launch. Unexpected because I haven't been doing any advertising, but I did write that first postmortem which apparently got some traction, and Cogmind has also occasionally been picked up by news and review sites.


Cogmind Year 1 gross revenue, annotated.

Each new alpha release naturally tends to give a slight boost to sales simply because news gets posted around, so there's the obvious incentive to get new releases out there, but at the same time I want each one to be truly significant, so it's a balancing act to work on a major version as long as possible before it really needs to be released.

Still, the ongoing sales numbers are so small compared to the initial release (lots of people were waiting for that...) that the alpha release effect isn't so apparent above. Looking at a monthly revenue chart will explain a little more about the long-term cycle


Cogmind Year 1 gross revenue by month.

The first 3-4 months were all about the initial wave of attention based largely on pent up interest, so they don't really count. Then revenue started settling into a long, slow trend downward. I believe in the bigger picture November was a pre-holiday slump, since I don't have any Cogmind-specific details to explain why that was the lowest month. I can say that sales and releases of other games don't seem to have any real impact on Cogmind sales, likely because Cogmind's numbers are so small to begin with (really, a couple sales per day makes that day for me :D), plus it's a unique game.

February I can explain, though. That was a release leap month, when I was working on a big alpha update laying the foundation for the development of a whole new and very different part of the world, so it took extra long and there were the usual news updates but no releases during that period. The effect was also likely amplified by a post-holiday slump, especially after a fairly successful December and January.

Ever since February I've started expecting that revenue could truly flatline at any time, but that has yet to play out (whew!). This May is turning out to be another February-like month, though, so it's increasingly important that I start looking forward. More on that later.

For fun, here's the revenue by country for the corresponding period.


Cogmind Year 1 gross revenue by country.

Nothing surprising there, given that Cogmind is only available in English. There are dozens more countries on the list below that, among them my own--Taiwan, where currently there are only two supporters (no, I don't know them!).

So in short, Cogmind has grossed US$ 62k in its first year. That sounds like a lot, but "first year" means first year on sale--development has been ongoing as my primary job for nearly three years now, averaging out to a little over $20k per year, or barely enough to get by. (Right now assuming minimum wage I'm still short $10k.)

Am I happy about it? Hell yeah! While I wouldn't call commercial traditional roguelike development sustainable just yet, I'm confident that I'll actually start turning a profit (to fund the next game!) with increased exposure and the inevitable 1.0. And for now at least it's been enough to continue on without too much worry, instead of rushing to 1.0, which means a better/more game for you :D


Investment
Thanks to everyone for your support so far! If I wasn't on this full time we wouldn't have seen anywhere near the current progress. Here is a composite changelog from the past year, Alphas 1 through 8, and this is where the time has been invested:


Cogmind development time, July 2013 - April 2016 (excludes 2012 7DRL work).

The total time investment comes to 5,218 hours.

Cogmind is a code-heavy game, since the vast majority of visual assets are scripted rather than drawn manually--that same graph for other games would look quite different. Not surprisingly two-fifths of development is spent writing code.

As is common with most (successful) indie games, community efforts play a large role in that success. At least a third of my time is spent writing blog posts, posting development updates, and (more recently this past year) on the forums interacting with players.

Sure it would be nice if more of that effort could instead be funneled directly into the game itself, but honestly a portion of that community interaction helps get the word out about the game (thereby enabling everything else because that's where revenue comes from Tongue) while also having a number of indirect benefits for the game itself. Interacting with others, or even just writing for a reflective audience of me, has helped shape the game over the years. This approach is the foundation of well-rounded healthy development, something enjoyed by few AAA studios, where everything takes a back seat to marketing and revenue concerns. (The #1 goal there is to maximize profit, after all. If my goal with Cogmind was to maximize profit at minimal risk rather than make a dream game, it would be on Steam and at "1.0" already.)

In the graph you can also see the Content category is starting to rear its head there, an increasingly important part of late-alpha development as most of the mechanics and systems are in place, but the world has plenty more locations to fill in.


The Future
Where do we go from here? Well, as usual there's the development roadmap outlined over on the FAQ which is updated with every release.


Cogmind roadmap as of April 27, 2016.

As indicated it's really just a general outline, and there are quite a few other features (and even new locations) I want to edge in there if I can afford to.

In the near term, another release will be out within the next few weeks, then there will be a slight lull for part of the summer as I take a trip to visit family (it's been years) and hopefully recover from my recent injuries without issue. Then it's back home to work on late-game stuff and releases will continue throughout the rest of the year.

The biggest elephant in the dungeon is obviously Steam--Cogmind needs to be there eventually, most importantly as a way to reach new players. It's unfortunately not anywhere near as simple as I'd like it to be (my current arrangement is super simple by comparison). Due to my situation, I have no choice but to remotely set up a company in the U.S. (as a foreigner) to sell Cogmind via Steam. Yeah, not fun. (WTF I JUST WANNA MAKE GAMES /minirant.) That's only one factor among many, though.

Increasing exposure and expanding the player base requires a huge investment of time that would further drag on development, but it might become necessary before long depending on how many new players the next couple months bring. Tough to balance!

Cogmind is far enough along (and close enough to completion) that it's about time to see what if any effect a slightly lower price will have on take up. So to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Cogmind Alpha Access, starting this week I'll be offering a new limited-quantity tier at $25. Although one could say it's 17% off the $30 price, it's not technically a "sale" because the new tier doesn't come with any perks, so it has somewhat lower intrinsic value as well. I'm extremely curious what kind of impact this will have on sales. As usual, I'll be sharing the results at some point.

But for now, because they took forever to create and I want my money's worth, here are a few of the updated website images to come :D


Activating a terrain scanner.


Activating a transmission jammer.


Dev shot of a fully-revealed factory map generated using the latest algorithm (lots of important changes from a year ago).
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« Reply #731 on: May 18, 2016, 04:32:37 PM »

Cogmind Alpha 1-Year Anniversary!

Today marks the end of Cogmind's first year of Alpha Access. And that's pretty much the only thing it's the "end" of since we're still chugging along and releases are continuing all the same.

To celebrate, for now I've added a new $24.99 no-perk tier to the buy page. I'm curious if this will spur any more sales, and as development moves into late-game content, it's about time to occasionally make this offer available.

The website has also just been updated, with lots of adjustments to the text, revamped screenshots, and a completed set of over 100 UI preview images in different fonts and sizes. The website hadn't been updated nearly at all for the past year, so it was about time to do that Smiley

Unfortunately the website is mostly screenshot-based, so I won't be including this destructive bad boy I recently put together:
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« Reply #732 on: May 19, 2016, 08:16:10 AM »

That's a noisy gif
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« Reply #733 on: May 19, 2016, 08:24:41 AM »

I just wanted to say that your hard work is inspiring, and your lengthy posts are always a joy to read. Keep up the good work! Smiley
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« Reply #734 on: May 19, 2016, 08:40:04 AM »

Thanks arvidsson!

That's a noisy gif
As the one who recorded it, I can say VERY with confidence.
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« Reply #735 on: May 27, 2016, 06:39:15 AM »

We already had screenshake for core hits, but now I've added a different kind of immersive UI effect that shakes console windows individually based on the force and distance of nearby explosions--even those that don't hit you, so when you hear a boom it also has a noticeable effect on the interface. I wasn't able to record a gif at high enough FPS to show the effect in all its glory, but this gives you a general idea:

(^it looks much better than this Tongue)
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« Reply #736 on: May 27, 2016, 08:25:58 AM »

Oooh, ooh, can you try to trigger an explosion just offscreen so it pushes the UI into the screen? Epileptic
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« Reply #737 on: May 27, 2016, 04:08:37 PM »

The next goal is to code it so that with a powerful enough explosion, the characters simply fall out of your monitor and onto your desk.
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« Reply #738 on: May 27, 2016, 07:25:55 PM »

Wow, you are the vlambeer of roguelikes with all that screenshake! Tongue

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« Reply #739 on: May 27, 2016, 07:50:26 PM »

Hahaha, I started down the road to Vlambeerness last year with full screenshake (highly recommended!) and I've wanted explosions to shake the screen for a while, but couldn't take that same approach without diluting feedback from the existing screenshake system, so this uses procedural console offsets instead.

Tough to catch it well in a full-size recording, but I did manage a slightly higher FPS with a smaller area:

Only way to see what it really looks like is to play the game, I guess Tongue
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