Cogmind News

With map zooming and lots of other work already complete and ready for the upcoming Beta 13 release, early last month I began building the optional new UI layout to make everything larger! I first shared the specifications last year, and more recently have been writing about them as relevant architectural work got underway in earnest.

That series began with the new year, where you can read in Part 1 about the history and theory behind Cogmind's UI layout, where it's been and where it's going.



The current layout will continue to exist as an option, generally being the most efficient way to play, but we'll be getting a new default layout that increases the size of everything across the board by 33%. In other words, for example those of you using size 18 fonts and tiles (the majority of players), will instead be using size 24 under the new layout.

Here is a sample screenshot of the 1080p 45-row terminal layout:



And the intro image at the opening of this post can be opened to full size for a side-by-side comparison of the 1080p resolution appearance before and after the changes.

More on this project further below, but first...



First of all a quick update for those who might be interested in the separate map zooming feature and haven't been following the blog: it is now fully implemented and works great. (This is different from the UI upscaling, which applies to the entire interface--the map can be further zoomed in addition to that.) I've documented the work behind that process in a series of articles on the blog--lots of engine work, testing, and new feature development.

The coolest part is all the related QoL that helps mitigate the drawbacks of a zoomed map view so that it's actually decently playable, which I'll be sharing in more detail later this month (the blog is kinda overflowing with content lately :P). I already demoed a lot of it in that earlier video, but it wasn't a concentrated demo, and when that info comes out in article form you'll be able to browse all the features more easily, with many samples.

However, what I'm actually working on now could in many cases make it so that you will not even need or want to to zoom the map :)



A couple times before, including most recently as part of my Year 10 of the Cogmind update, I shared this diagram (to scale) of my UI layout plans:



To summarize, Phase 2 is complete, and I've been making very good progress on Phase 3. As I work on it, I'm also starting to lean towards going all the way to Phase 4 with this right now, if only because it will probably be more playable overall than Phase 3, though doing so will of course take longer. It's going to happen eventually, so may as well do it now while the UI iron is hot, yeah?

Phase 1/3/4 would each represent different UI options, with Phase 2 work representing map zooming, a feature technically available regardless of layout.

If you'd like to read more about the implementation details, I've been sharing it across several articles so far:

Full UI Upscaling, Part 1: History and Theory: Background and summary of the intent and plans behind building Cogmind's fully upscaled semi-modal interface layout.

Full UI Upscaling, Part 2: Holy Mockups!: Revisiting many of Cogmind's windows to make adjustments enabling everything to fit into fewer rows for the semi-modal UI layout.


Full UI Upscaling, Part 3: Dynamic Terminal Swapping: Figuring out how to get Cogmind's many 60-row ending animations to play nicely with a 45-row terminal layout.


There's no specific timeline for completion of this project (I don't want to offer up any dates because my preference is to prioritize the addition of even more unexpected features when opportunities present themselves rather than striving to hit particular deadlines), but I will say that I hope to get this out there as soon as possible since it's already delayed what I was originally working on (the expansion proper), not to mention the last Beta release was a while ago. Unfortunately the sheer scope of this UI project has had a lot of architectural repercussions, requiring a lengthy testing process to ensure the stability and quality Cogmind is known for, as well as eventual knock-on effects like requiring me to finally redo a significant portion of Cogmind's media screenshots and info prior its release.

Anyway, quite an undertaking, and I really look forward to getting back to the Scraptown/UFD expansion when this is done some time in the next couple months. Oops, I said a date.

In the meantime, more info will be coming to the blog and elsewhere, as usual :)



That's not all! You want details! I haven't recorded absolutely all the new stuff in action, but below you can see some highlights. The first 1080p screenshot I shared above was before the inventory becomes modal, which doesn't occur until you've evolved enough slots to need that space for your parts list (this isn't generally until you reach -5/Factory). Here's another scene after the inventory has switched to its modal form, accessed via that button down there at the bottom:



(All of the following images were recorded using a 1080p interface, so open them to see at their true size if necessary, and of course if you actually play using a resolution even greater than that, everything will be scaled up accordingly in use, as usual.)

Once modal, adding an item to your inventory, whether from the ground or detaching it, has a new indicator to show it went there:



Drag-dropping works normally, and you can even drag attached parts directly onto the inventory button to send them there without opening it:



We have related QoL, like situations where the inventory is automatically opened and closed for you, for example when using corresponding relevant functions of the modal 'p' part management menu:



In the above example, hitting 'p' to activate the part management menu, then 'a' for attach, automatically opens the inventory, from which '2' is selected for the Transmission Jammer, attaching it then automatically closing the inventory again. For other keyboard input options, besides toggling the inventory with 'i', simply using any key for inventory sorting or scrolling will also automatically open it.

Of course the regular old swap menu also works just fine, even when the inventory is modal, meaning opening the inventory is often not even necessary:



The inventory-first keyboard swap system has also been modified to remain compatible with a modal inventory, with automated opening/closing if necessary:



Once you've evolved enough slots, in order to keep the inventory visible for as long as possible the parts headers will also be removed to condense the list into a new format. The sidebars are clickable just like the regular CYCLE buttons, so that mouse users can retain access to that functionality if they need it:



Secondary UI windows that were in most cases designed for at least 50 rows (and to fit in the map view area, like when hacking machines), now occupy the entire height of the program, and were adjusted to fit into 45 rows as necessary. Like for items the best solution was to move their art off to the side:



Likewise, item searching has to cover the entire HUD, as well as reduce its help text area, but there's still enough room down there to show the essentials (huh, Imgur seems to have messed up the final frame of this gif xD):



The added height pressure meant that in a handful of rare cases it might be possible for robot info to not fit in 45 rows, though in all such cases the info fits if we apply the "More" button to resistances (functionality originally added to support longer descriptions for items in Beta 13):



Multiple changes were required across the content of game menu pages, which in most cases turned out as described in the earlier mockups I shared. Here's a demo of the new basic commands/button layout, and two-page access to advanced commands:



All three types of collection UIs (gallery/lore/achievements) were reworked specifically for this layout, for example achievements:



Although in the new layout those windows occupy the entire screen, they don't normally extend to all edges in the full/original layout, nor do the supporter/patron lists do so in any layout, so I've finally taken the opportunity to rework the archirtecture such that the background can be darkened while these modal windows are open (something I've wanted to do for years):



As with other secondary windows, in this layout the world map view also occupies the entire program height, and was somewhat condensed in order to fit within the limitations, but the good news (for everyone!) is that I also took this opportunity to do something else that I've wanted to do for years: speed it up. Although I started with this fun vision of a map animating the route you took to get where you are, while not too problematic in Cogmind's early years, the continued addition of new areas and potential for lengthier routes could make it a bit of a slot to view the full map in the late game, so I've rebuilt it to appear in its entirety almost instantly :D



As described in Part 3 of my series on terminal swapping, here's a demo of the new 45-row layout temporarily switching to 60 rows for the end game sequence and final screen (which would include any win animations)--the corresponding font goes from size 16 Terminus to size 12 Terminus, which I've recorded in a 720p window (though of course further shrunk here for display--open for full size):



This new "semi-modal" layout for Cogmind will likely become the new default, and can be changed in the options menu (though taking effect requires a restart):



There's a good chance that I'll be taking this development all the way to "Phase 4" right away, the even more modal layout hiding the top-side consoles as well in order to restore much more of the map view. That would become a third optional setting.



If you want to check out these features live, and ask questions, listen to dev talk, or just hang out with other players, I'll be playtesting this layout on stream next Monday (Feb. 5) starting around 7:30 PM EST for likely a few hours.

After that you'll be able to find it archived here.

UPDATE 240205: I was about to stream at the announced time today and suddenly discovered that I'm locked out of my Twitch account for about the next week xD

I tried to see if it could be resolved quickly, but no go. And I was all ready to do that stream, too :/

I'll have to reschedule the demo stream, maybe for the same time next week, but we'll see (it'll be announced separately in the forums and elsewhere...).

UPDATE 240212: Alright, as of now I'm back into my account and will schedule this upscaled stream for the same time this week, so in about 12 hours: Monday (Feb. 12) starting around 7:30 PM EST!

The results of the stream are now archived here:

https://youtu.be/nf4pS_sph2Q



Wiki links now instead to lead to this new front page with lots of links to useful information, including a separate community wiki database and tools that people have been redirected to for a while now anyway:



Beta 13 is on the way! Probably won't be more than one SITREP before then, if any, though I may put one out to highlight some of the map zooming QoL, just to once again drive home what's coming so that folks are aware :D. Oh right, Phase 4 would likely be something worth sharing in advance as well... I'm super curious what ratio of players will end up wanting to use the new layout(s), and will be eager to examine and share those stats with you all when the time comes.

Well then, we're well into Cogmind's 10th year now xD

As is tradition I've put up an annual review over on the dev blog, looking back over this year's milestones and also giving a heads up about what's to come. Check that out for more details about larger fonts, map zooming, the Scraptown expansion and more.

Worth extracting here is the video from my stream this week, in which I do the first real playtest of map zooming and related features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4NV3UzyaY

(Unannounced impromptu stream, and I was playing in the dev build, so in that sense not quite a typical stream, or even typical play since I was just fooling around, but... still didn't die despite doing a bunch of random stuff and wasting turns demonstrating features or causing chaos, was fun :P)

In the last SITREP (Another Big Bang) I already gave a general intro to the expansions coming to Cogmind, including Subcaves, Scraptown, the improved combat log, and lots and lots of new tech embodied in more than 100 items to come. Since then I've been working on implementing more of that stuff, specifically having completed over 100 of those new items, some of them incredibly involved--there's definitely something in there for everyone :)

Over on the dev blog I've been picking out a select few mechanics to write about and tide you over until all the new toys are in your hands, so I thought I'd offer a quick summary of those progress updates here to let you know. (Also there's a surprise at the end :D)



This article introduces the series with info about where Cogmind item development goes from here, a review of balancing levers, and a new lever in the form of "chargeable" items.



More art samples from among the newer (and crazier) items I've put together since last time:



I just like looking at latent energy:



Also reasons :)



Teleportation Mechanics is kinda spoilery, but yeah there are several ways to teleport in Cogmind, and more are coming.



If you have yet to be blessed by NEM, you're in for a treat one day.





The ID Mask will no doubt be a hot item if you can get your hands on one. Plus talk about using special modes as design test beds.



You can do that?





Read all about the Botcube. Have no friends? Do the HoZ hate your guts? Well you'll just have to make your own. You want the Botcube.



o_O





Who said projectiles must go straight? Guided projectiles already tell us that's not necessary, and the new projectile deflection mechanic adds a bit of chaos to the mix. It's only a matter of time before Cogmind has you swatting away projectiles with your energy blade. Even better is swatting them into nearby enemies ;)



Missile go thataway...





I've always wanted to experiment with optional scaled interface designs. and although the plan was to do this sort of thing more around 1.0 (an arbitrary designation at this point :P), most recently I've put content development on pause to run some of these experiments to see where they lead.

Check out map zoom toggling in action:



Doubling the map size is the only option there, since it must still obey all the rules of the terminal architecture. That sample is using the base size 12 font, so is only a 720p window, while most people are playing at a higher resolution than that (not that resolution actually matters in Cogmind anyway--the point is each map tile occupies four times its original screen area).

Here's a crisp version of the cover image scene, also from a 16:9 720p window. (And a link to the demo gif above.)

Results are promising so far and I'm hopeful this will be an optional feature for the next release.

Perhaps even more unexpected, I'm thinking of fast tracking the longer-term concept of full UI scaling with a new layout design, offering the option of sacrificing some data and convenience for size. However, trying to build and release these features sooner than originally planned will delay much of the new content, since we've got these 100+ items and dozens of new robots ready to go, but their homes have yet to be fully constructed!

Anyway, more info on this design direction will be coming to the dev blog soon.

The world is expanding, again! Beta 13 is adding more maps, and that means... more lore, NPCS, and lots (LOTS) more tech. Nearly 100 new items are coming, together with multiple new bots, new AI behaviors, dozens of new encounters... all the sorts of things one needs to keep new maps interesting and replayable.

I'm glad at the decision to have released Beta 12 as a standalone when it happened (Scrap Engine, Garrisons, ECA, etc). Even though some of it was technically not yet fully integrated into the lore, it would otherwise have been quite a long wait for all this stuff without much in between to keep it fresh, except perhaps the possibility of special events, but I'm avoiding such detours for now in order to be able to focus on this sizeable expansion, Cogmind's largest to date.

Consider it a major post-1.0 expansion (with its own complete arc), just without the 1.0 part ;)

Today I'm here to share with you a little mid-cycle update to give you an idea of what's up. I've streamed the first major prerelease version of Beta 13, but other patrons have been doing that much more frequently in recent months, over on the Roguelikes/Cogmind Discord server. (Other than making an exception that one time, due to health reasons I've not been able to keep streaming for a while now, but I'll get back to it eventually.) Anyone interested in the latest news can find me hanging out with the Cogmind community every day over there, and I also post some updates on Patreon regarding upcoming features, but checking out other streams or player reports is another good way to see how new features are taking shape.



The first new map has been mostly completed, found right at the first depth and essentially offering an alternative start that skips some early floors, but can also be quite dangerous.

It was when I put out that prerelease that I did a one-off stream to fool around there and see how it plays:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP9NKqVwNgM

To avoid spoiling the explorers among you I won't be detailing what you'll find within, but for those interested in more information, the video above visits a couple times as an introduction, naturally along with commentary.

I will say it's a fairly large map, and rather different from other caves in a number of ways, most importantly featuring several new types of inhabitants.

A debug shot showing encounter classifications as distributed across a particular procedurally generated Subcaves map (connections between encounter areas not visible):





As a common request by patrons during past feature voting, Beta 13 includes a revamped combat log. I was considering writing a blog article about it, but never got around to doing that beyond what was posted to Patreon, so since I can't point you to the blog, I guess I should at least run down a summary of main points here.

The combat log update is a decent one, but I wouldn't call it a 2.0 because this isn't a major overhaul, per se. The format is essentially the same as before, just lots more info is being added, alongside an important new functionality. I admit the results are growing on me, despite not being a "combat log user" myself, but no, this will not get me to start taking it seriously as part of my own play :P. The main goal is still to not require use of the combat log, just maintain it purely as a tool for those who want to more deeply analyze some specific encounter or setup, or just really like poring over ever more log data.

For quite a while I wavered back and forth between expanding the existing combat log content or completely rewriting the architecture from scratch to possibly support new features, even starting some work on the latter idea which showed promise since it would theoretically result in something easier to debug and modify, not to mention allow some even more special functionality, but I noticed it would encounter some of its own unique roadblocks so gave up on that approach and decided to just deck out the existing combat log with most of the relevant data people would like to see there. It's looking nice.

The combat log still supports the original five different detail levels, though this update is mostly for players who prefer the "Full" detail setting, so I'll be focusing on that here.

Of course, with all that extra potential information to display, we're ideally going to have a new way to view it, more than the mere 6 lines of log space we normally have (a limitation that made me less eager to greatly expand it in the first place). What I did to facilitate searching back through longer sections of intense combat is have the main/normal combat log itself serves as a scrollbar for an expanded view that appears when and only when the combat log is manually scrolled back.



You'll still have access to the expanded and configurable automatic on-map version of the combat log, as the action is playing out, though this new feature is more for further exploration of details after the fact, which is clearly what you're after if you're scrolling back through the log anyway. Scrolling to the bottom of the combat log, or performing any other action, automatically hides that view again so you can get back to playing.

(By the way, I also renamed that top-center multiconsole mode from "CALC" to "COMBAT," to reflect the fact that it really is a combat log these days--it's original purpose, when added by request, was simply to allow players to see all the factors included in hit calculations! A bit of Cogmind dev history there from, oh, a decade ago...)

As for the contents of the combat log, when set to Full it should be a good bit easier to follow the entire flow of a battle as you know it, details and all. I won't claim that it's perfect, an unrealistic goal in part because you don't always have perfect information anyway, and how to display such situations in an understandable manner gets incredibly complex.

Here's a sample expanded combat log pointing out some of the new data:



First of all you'll probably notice that separate turns are easier to differentiate due to how only new turns are marked with a number (though I did not extend this feature to other logs or standard combat log presentation, just this one).

Drilling down into the details, the rest should be pretty self-explanatory. All critical effects are now indicated where applicable, as are disruption, penetration, heat-triggered meltdowns, and more.

Melee combat is also more detailed, explicitly indicating sneak attacks and follow-ups.



Also terrain destruction!

As you can see, for combat purposes there is much less need to mentally merge the regular log and combat log to get a clear picture of what happened during an encounter. The combat log was originally designed purely as a supplement, providing additional information not present in the main message log to avoid doubling up between the two and thereby keeping the combat log short, but now that there are ways to see more of it at once, pretty much the entire process can be followed in the combat log when desired. In the interest of keeping the main log self-sufficient for those who don't want to bother with a combat log, there is indeed now duplicate messaging in some cases (although sometimes appearing in a different form).

The updated combat log also actually does multiprojectile weapons properly, and in a nice format, giving you a tally of the portion of shots that hit followed by what is hit:



In the past multiprojectile weapons were not even compatible with the combat log at all, with additional projectiles past the first just appearing scattered in between later messages, since it wasn't originally built to support them.

Another new addition to the combat log: programmer hacking.



Overall Beta 13 has a lot of nice QoL updates, the combat log just being one of the more expansive projects in that category.



There are so many new toys in Beta 13, toys that enable whole new types of builds, or support existing ones.

As usual I'll be leaving the details to your discovery, but sharing the art for some of them couldn't hurt ;)



71 new items have already been added, with plenty more on the way. Of course the majority of these exist because new enemies and friends alike need them to operate, meaning you'll be finding new bots to salvage for material, perhaps whether they want you to or not :P

For example the new Multitool that Artisans use to build and reconfigure their creations, in your hands can also be used to repair damaged machines and restore them to functionality, among other capabilities:



On that note, a handful of item abilities are a bit more extensive and need more space for a complete description, so that's handled by the QoL department which has inserted a convenient new button to access it if necessary:



After Beta 11 did a good job of finalizing the core parts, I've again taken to using the helpful spreadsheets put together during that period to continue balancing in the same vein, like with this propulsion data I was using to add several new types:





I'm currently working on a major new faction, one mostly concentrated in a new map of their own, but with the potential for significant reverberations throughout the world. The United Federation of Derelicts might like to meet you. Or not, depending on what kind of Cogmind you are :)

Depending on how long Scraptown and all the other related features take, there's a good chance I may end up deciding to release this expansion before its full story arc is complete, since it will require a third new map (a new Research branch) and that would of course extend the production time. We'll see just long it takes.

That's all content to come, though. In the here and now, note that the leaderboards now more explicitly indicate the location of each win (as originally reflected in the scoresheet) instead of showing all wins as simply "Ascended."





It's been a while since they came out, but there were no other announcements in which to mention them since, so some of you might not be aware that earlier this year after Beta 12 released I did the regular survey of select stats from the previous version, Beta 11. As usual there are tons of charts, graphs, and data to pore over, things that were relevant to look at after that transition. It was a particularly interesting one considering the rebalancing that occurred in that release.



Thanks for all your support! It's been great to hang out with all the wonderful folks in the community, really keeps me going and looking forward to introducing the UFD in all their derelict glory :D

I hope the scrap gods are treating you well, or the garrison encounter gods, whichever the case may be! In the week since the latest major Beta 12 release went out, I've been working on some adjustments on the side. Saves are compatible, hence no new minor version number, just a new build number...

Cogmind Beta 12 (230310) changelog:

• MOD: DSFs now remain accessible even after emerging from a Garrison
  
• MOD: Encrypted Comm Array explicitly fries itself in more plot situations
  
• MOD: Weapon constructs take projectile count into account when setting or updating critical strike values
  
• MOD: Weapon constructs lose Burn critical effect if heatTransfer negated through some other means
  
• MOD: Spotters only care about armed hostiles
  
• MOD: Cargo Storage integrity increased from 700 to 1000
  
• FIX: Zionite tip regarding Spotter behavior still gave Recycling map location despite Beta 12 rewrite [lyra]
  
• FIX: One Relay Coupler-related lore source needed adjusting due to coupler changes [lyra]
  
• FIX: Potential crash on entering a Garrison during a certain rare event [Finestep]
  
• FIX: Any Encrypted Comm update's reported force multiplier remaining unchanged since previous report always displayed current value of 1.00 [ktur]
  
• FIX: Modified propulsion constructs could seemingly retain siege or burnout capabilities after switching to incompatible type [Terminus]
  
• FIX: Entering a new map did not reset robot momentum [Luigi]
  
• FIX: Typos [Cracklepappy]