Cogmind News

Early this month I introduced Cogmind's first new upscaled layout option, then immediately followed up with development of our second new option! While the other option (to become the new player default) is "Semi-modal," we'll now have a third and even more extreme "Modal" layout which, as you can see in the sample above, hides away the top-side consoles in order to reclaim more of the map view.

That sample screenshot happens to be taken with optional map zoom activated as well--although I think the upscaled grid size across the board means modal layout players are less likely to need or want to zoom the map, the function is of course available and the new zoom-related QoL will come in especially useful.

With the top-side consoles hidden, message/combat logs can be opened and read in full as usual, but for convenience they'll also show temporarily over the map (adjustable count and duration), as seen here with two columns of message log data:



A mix of message log (left) and combat log (right):



Above the map are the familiar buttons for interacting with what is normally visible in those consoles:



See below for some additional sample screenshots from the Modal UI layout (open images to full size if necessary).

Early game (zoomed, 1080p):



Late game (not zoomed, 1080p):



The same scene as above, but in 1440p and using one of several new fonts added to Beta 13 (Tamsyn):



If you want to see the Modal layout in action, earlier this week I streamed a run making use of it, actually the conclusion to my last stream that began with the other/Semi-modal layout:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XolIIvhIta0

All three UI layout options are available right from the top of the Options menu (requires a restart to take effect):



More information, as well as a summary of the Semi-modal layout, can be found on the dev blog in Part 5 of the the "Full UI Upscaling" series, "Completion and Demos."


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If you're itching to try these new layouts yourself, the good news is... they're coming next week! The results of testing have been very positive, and Beta 13 release is now scheduled for February 27th :D

I recently finished my Adventures in Map Zooming series over on the dev blog, and the most recent and final part covers what is from a player perspective the most important zooming-related topic: QoL!

You can read the full article for every detail, but this being a set of vital new features I figure it's worth providing a quick summary here in announcement form as well.



Before we get to that, another important notice: Since last week's introduction of a new fully-upscaled UI layout, I also had the opportunity to stream that layout and demonstrate it in action while talking about its various features:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf4pS_sph2Q

Work on modal layouts has continued this week, including the addition of our third even more modal variant I know some you have been looking forward to as well. Yep, the "Phase 4" UI is already on the way... I'll be featuring that one in my next stream.



Spinning the mouse wheel is normally a convenient way to wait for turns to pass, and we wouldn't want to take that away, but many folks are already using the mouse to pan the map view around while holding Shift, and Shift-Wheel is not taken, so provides us a natural alternative for toggling zoom state rather than always requiring usage of the ZOOM button or 'z' key.



That’s low-hanging fruit, though. We’re going to need much more powerful QoL...

Beginning in Beta 13, you'll be able to manually adjust the map centerpoint to keep more focused in a particular direction of interest (important while zoomed in because the visible map area is smaller):



Non-mouse players can similarly set a manual centerpoint via keyboard, which is still fairly fast if you're familiar with jumping the examine cursor:



Keyboard players can also take advantage of several types of algorithms for automatically adjusting their centerpoint while zoomed, trying to shift the view without any manual input in order to keep interesting features visible (it seems weird and takes some getting used to, but at least in the non-modal UI layout it works as a pretty nice supplementary feature):





Once you’re zoomed in on only a quarter of the normal map area, it’s literally impossible to always see everything you might need to see in every situation. We need new indicators for important objects outside the current map view, especially those which are still within FOV (and probably even attack range!).

While manually panning the map or designating a centerpoint to keep an eye on a particular direction is useful, and temporarily zooming out to get a general idea of the surroundings is another option, to save time there are a variety of new markers that can appear at the edges of the map view to denote objects in that direction. You’ll see markers for offscreen hostiles, non-hostiles (both neutral and friendly), new items, and sensor data. Each marker category uses its own unique background color, and in the case of sensor data is also darker and blinks in and out to reflect the fact that it is not a directly visible object like the others. Items are only marked until automatically labeled for the first time after entering view.

A demo of flashing offscreen zoom markers for visible robots (I have some drones out here to help demonstrate):



Threats appear on a dark red background, while non-hostile robots use dark-green. As usual, the colors used are different if colorblind mode is active.

Flashing offscreen zoom markers for new items, which use a dark gray background:



Dark offscreen sensor data markers with a low-frequency blink out effect:



Indicators are great, but still not quite enough. After all, what do you generally want to do when a new threat comes into view? A quick visual check! What exactly are they, what’s their status, do they have company, what’s the surrounding environment like... These can be important questions to answer before making your next decision, and by default Cogmind already pauses for a moment in these situations in order to let the player have a moment to take it in (and avoid accidentally wasting valuable turns), so why not also use that opportunity to automatically shift the view over to spot the threat?

Automatically shifting the view a bit more to the left as soon as a Sentry is spotted down at the end of a corridor:



Another autoshifting example, in this case simultaneously spotting enemies down two different corridors and shifting to put them all in view:



The full article has other samples, such as shifting the map view to highlight a Watcher reporting a threat to nearby allies, or entering a Heavy's potential sensor range. Automated shifting can also be applied to useful situations such as machine pings (RIF Installer discovery, Zion Terminals...).

whether zoomed or not, another new feature that became more desirable with the advent of zooming is the new HOSTILES button that can appear above the map. This serves as a reminder that there are enemies in view, and is also clickable to center on said enemies (or back on oneself):



There you have it, anyone planning to stick with the original 60-row UI layout and combining that with map zooming will likely be making heavy use of many of these features, which will also come in handy even when not zoomed in if using a new modal layout.

Progress has been so good that unless there are too many unexpected discoveries during ongoing testing, Beta 13 might just release a lot sooner than later... this month even? (I do hope that we can get some more reviews going--been a slow... years in that regard :P)

Again I'll soon be streaming further playtesting of the modal layouts, including the newest one I have yet to properly introduce. Sharing that will probably be a good opportunity to finish my other run, the melee-crab-turned-flier :)

Aside: While there's no Community section to today's announcement, I feel it's worth pointing to a recent masterpiece by u/dogawesome. They've been posting a lot of memes to r/Cogmind lately, and recently concluded with a video meme compilation that summarizes a lot of Cogmind experiences in a pretty funny way. While one could say it contains a lot of spoiler references, they're almost all so esoteric and indicated by acronyms such that you only know if you know, so maybe not really that spoilery after all. In any case, consider checking it out here for some laughs :)

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.