Heart of the Machine Update 9: Android Upgrades, and the Ethics of First Murders

The Machine expands, and so do the possibilities within it. A 14th Tier One goal, Advocate Encounter, introduces new factions, new faces, and the chance to either gain respect or make enemies that will never forget you. Meanwhile, androids can now be fine-tuned for rage-fueled destruction or enhanced pacifism, new handbook entries clear up lingering player questions, and volunteer-designed equipment expands combat across multiple unit types.

For those who prefer their contemplations with a side of bloodshed, Cold Blood is now an option from the start—your first murder, should you choose it.

As always, your feedback pushes the Machine forward. Here’s what’s changed.

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born.” — The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin

[h2]Building the Machine[/h2][hr][/hr]Adjustments, fixes, and shifts in the Machine come from the feedback you provide. Whether changing targeting logic, balancing enemy behavior, or ensuring existential dread is properly accounted for, your input shapes what comes next. Keep sharing your thoughts!

[h2]Update 9 Changelog[/h2][hr][/hr][expand]

Advocate Encounter goal: A 14th Tier One goal has been added with two routes: Earned Some Respect or Earned New Mortal Enemies. This project introduces new rebel factions and a broader look at city life.
New achievements: Ten new achievements have been added.
Rage Circuit: A new android equipment piece, available after Intelligence Class 4, that boosts firepower at the cost of morale damage.
Oath of Pacifism: A new android equipment piece, available after Intelligence Class 4, that prevents physical damage while increasing intimidation and morale damage. Ideal for non-lethal bulk units.
Map lens improvements: New quality-of-life options allow players to jump straight from a map lens to its list-style counterpart.
Contemplation visibility: Players can now hide contemplations from the map lens if they don’t plan to pursue them in this timeline.
Mass furniture purchasing: Added a bulk-buy option for furniture, recognizing increased use cases where this is needed.
Structure tooltip expansion: Now displays net income from expense resources from the prior turn, making production chains easier to set up.
Resource tracking improvements: Holding Shift or Ctrl now displays net change from the last turn for all resources in the header bar.
Terminology update: The term middle class has been replaced with working class throughout the game for improved clarity.
Text adjustments: Reworded older text that still referenced machine origins and Netslicers.
Cold Blood availability: The Cold Blood action is now always available in StreetSense, even if the player hasn’t committed murder yet.
Food and Water for Humans handbook entry: A new guide explaining the distinction between housing and feeding in the game—clarifying that being a landlord does not mean being a mayor.
Exploration Site Progress Is Retained handbook entry: Clarifies that progress on exploration sites carries forward, making them easier to complete over multiple visits.
Projects With StreetSense Items handbook entry: Explains how StreetSense items influence project outcomes and how they affect roleplay and strategic choices.
Hacking Rules Adjustments: The hacking minigame rule of "cannot Jump to a cell that you cannot Run out of" has been removed, and when if corrupting a shard in the hacking minigame would cause you to win the minigame, it will let you do that even if it's your last shard.

[h3]New Equipment (Volunteer Contributions by RocketAssistedPuffin)[/h3]

Heavy Metals Injection (Harbingers): A new consumable that enables area-of-effect fear attacks and weakens enemy hackers.
FR-70 Hallucinogen Grenade (Harbingers): A stealthy poison grenade for Harbingers, available immediately upon unlocking them.
High-Density Rounds (Nickelbots): A contemplation-based upgrade that strengthens elite Nickelbots at the cost of heavy metals—balancing their underperformance compared to bulk Nickelbots.
ETS Tasp (Infiltrators): Found in exploration sites, this equipment provides cognition boosts and non-lethal attack specialties for Infiltrators.
Infrasonic Loudspeaker (Androids): Available via exploration sites, this device enhances morale-based attacks for any android.
Exoskeleton Arms (Sledge): An exploration site upgrade that improves attack range and Strength for Sledge units.
Liquid Identity (Stolen Human Mechs): Available as a contemplation if the player has been divorced in this timeline and has high engineering, allowing for greater mobility of stolen human-designed mechs.

[h3]Fixes and Adjustments[/h3]

Network tower explosions: Fixed a minor visual issue with network towers during destruction.
Android action restrictions: Fixed an issue where androids with no security clearance were unable to perform certain actions.
Shop meta-stat tracking: Fixed a bug where items sold via shops were incorrectly doubling in value and quantity in meta statistics.
V5 Panther armor correction: The V5 Panther now has the correct armor plating—it was mistakenly 100 lower than the V4.
Modder support: Added new features requested by modders in the ArcenExternalDllInitialLoadCall table.
LOX Bunker fix: The LOX Bunker is now properly explosive, allowing players to finally earn the Oxygen Bomb achievement.
Achievement triggers: Fixed an issue where three achievements were not triggering until the game was reloaded.
Timeline goal clarity: Improved tooltip clarity for timeline goals, specifying which are side goals, Tier One, etc. Side goals also now show slightly darker in the list of goals.
Hellraiser and Nuclear Cavalier achievements: Fixed an issue where their completion requirements were stricter than intended.
No More Undead workers: Your units cannot do work on actions-over-time on the turn that they die. This makes some Exploration Sites a bit trickier.
Last Achievement Issue: The Broombreaker achievement now properly triggers. It will be retroactively awarded on any timelines that should have it. This was the last achievement that was not working properly.
Project Edge Cases: Fixed an edge case in the Cybercratic Hub calculations that could block your progress there, and same with the bombing of SecForce stations. The latter is now no longer tedious if there are a lot of SecForce stations, in general.
Firewalls: Fixed a bug where Firewall in the hacking minigame was not costing mental energy despite saying it would. Also fixed an issue with it granting you the Kill Streak achievement for Firewall, which was incorrect.
Mission Error: Fixed a couple of bugs relating to the Oerl dome fight complaining about failing to start, or being present in a different save after cross-loading from one to another.

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[h3]Full Changelog[/h3][hr][/hr]A full, comprehensive breakdown of every change from this patch can be found in the Heart of the Machine Wiki, found here.

[h3]Guides to Tame the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr]Even the most brilliant mind needs guidance when faced with a system as vast as this one. To help you navigate, we’ve pinned two essential resources from the Heart of the Machine wiki:

[h3]New Minds, Start Here[/h3][hr][/hr]For those just stepping into the Machine’s world, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the basics. The Heart of the Machine Beginner's Guide is your gateway to understanding the systems at play and building your foundation. After all, every complex network starts with a single connection.

We've recently released the Heart of the Machine Hacking Guide as well! Knowledge is power. Guard it well.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3422241019

[h3]Connect with the Machine[/h3][hr][/hr]Want to stay in the loop or share your thoughts? Join the conversation across these platforms:

💬 Discord – Best place to share feedback, get direct responses, and to talk about Heart of the Machine.
📜 Reddit – Discuss strategies, share ideas, and exchange tips with the community.

Here is a link to prior recent patches in case you missed them.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2001070/view/530965072572320673
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2001070/announcements/detail/530965072572317985