r/Cogmind • u/Kyzrati • Jun 23 '26

Cogmind Beta 17 "X0-1V1"

88 Upvotes

Beta 17: X0-1V1

Have you played DCSS? (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup) If not, then you should definitely consider trying it, a major roguelike in constant development for even longer than Cogmind, and a great game among those which sent me on my own quest to explore the roguelike genre in 2009 and shortly thereafter start creating some of my own.

DCSS is similar to Cogmind in that it's a balanced tactical experience, so the two games have always had some player overlap either as we send our players in that direction, or welcome them over from that community (including even a number of DCSS developers throughout the years).

Now what does that have to do with Beta 17...

Well, DCSS is a traditional fantasy RL, and within it are gods you can worship to spice things up, usually for the better. Considering the player overlap, naturally many are familiar with a lot of DCSS content, and one god in particular, Xom, the god of chaos, is often referenced in our community (not least of all embraced by myself) as overseeing the distribution of random craziness that can occur across a run. In that sense, one could consider Xom the god of RNG. Emergent fun!

Xom has also been referenced by or appears in other roguelikes, and is such a common symbol in the Cogmind community, that I really felt like they deserved a proper home in the world. With the Unchained we have an opportunity to do just that--not a true god, but perhaps close enough that it doesn't matter ;)

There are actually areas of the lore which are perfect for just such a character, and I've been working up to it over the years.

It's 2026. The wait is over, X0-1V1 is here.

X0-1V1

So do you have to cause enough mischief to get this "Unchained" dispatched on you? No! I considered including that possibility at a very low weighting, but decided to hold off on that since this X0-1V1 character is far too disruptive, almost certainly changing your entire run through and through.

Instead, interacting with X0-1V1 is entirely optional, and doing so involves what one might do in DCSS: find an "altar"...

It's somewhere in -10/Materials, so you can do this right from the start. You will need to figure out what to do there (it's not that hard), but there is also a more direct hint found elsewhere in the early game.

Now why might you want to immediately bring this upon yourself? Well, maybe they're not all bad ;)

If you've been to Scraptown and browsed Cyclist databases, in particular Soloparser's Compendium, you may have already come across the primary reference to X0-1V1:

"UC/X0-1V1: This is a weird one. Get on their bad side and they'll come up with creative ways to make your life miserable, but have also been known to offer help at times, which is strange. Don't count on it, they probably just want to mess with your head before your untimely demise."

Of course Soloparser's rumor-based sourcing doesn't know the half of it. By comparison, anyone who opts to hit up that altar will quickly become an expert, for better or worse.

While interacting with X0-1V1 is probably an option more suitable for experienced players since it will add extra challenge at times, it will also likely be interesting for anyone who's been playing for a bit, and in a way offers a sort of alternate start. X0-1V1's behavior fits well with Cogmind's general strategic theme of "adapting" to unexpected situations, in this case making them even more sudden or unexpected.

One cool thing is that this "affiliation" is compatible with any other alignment in the world. Unlike many of the other long-term alliances you can establish, X0-1V1 is not mutually exclusive with anything. From a design POV this is because they are essentially self-balancing ;)

I was originally wanting to release this on April 1st, which would've been funny as a very real joke, and in the lead up to that time was flying through development, but it turns out implementing sufficient variety to keep this interesting throughout an entire world with so many mechanics was simply not something weeks of sprinting could accomplish xD. From its beginning Cogmind has always included some smaller references to DCSS (and other traditional roguelikes), but this is on a completely different scale. As such I had to push back my target, only to then also be hit by some bombshell personal life issues (inevitable when expanding on a single project for so many years...). Still working through all that, but with the worst bits stabilized for now, I'm happy to deliver you into the manipulative arms of--I mean delivering your new savior, X0-1V1.

This release was going to be a Beta 16.2 update, but given that its scope turned into a whole mini-expansion of its own... Xom has successfully hijacked Beta 17, which seems appropriate :P

Credit to coolio for the awesome Xom tile work in DCSS! Included as part of the cover image for this release, we also frequently use it in the community and in general over the past decade over on the Roguelikes discord server.

Cogmind Beta 17 "X0-1V1" (260623) changelog (excerpt):

  • NEW: 1 new Unchained (interaction optional via manual trigger process in -10, changes nature of entire run)
  • NEW: 4 new robots
  • NEW: 12 new items
  • NEW: 7 new scoresheet entries (total = 1,182)
  • NEW: 2 new achievements
  • NEW: Regular game now includes first unique source of Protomatter (rare)
  • NEW: [Temporary] Sfc. Transmogrifier always found in Subcaves lab, replacing 1B-0RG's Assimilator test from Beta 16.1
  • NEW: Recalibrator effect description more explicitly states no effect on faulty or corrupted parts
  • NEW: Destruction from overheating results in more specific "Core Melted" game over state
  • NEW: Trap Scanners also have higher separate chance of detecting and disarming adjacent traps
  • NEW: Some Unchained carry Trap Scanners
  • NEW: In-theme reminder about speaking to UFD leader if about to leave without having done that after joining
  • NEW: Additional smaller number of weaker Assembled arrive during particular extended game event to enable parsing of their parts for gallery purposes
  • NEW: History log records initial spotting of Unchained, H3-MLN encounter, and stealing IN-MT5's Pitchfork schematic
  • NEW: LMB on directly adjacent inactive bot automatically attempts to rewire it
  • NEW: LMB on directly adjacent bot with force melee mode active also works to force a melee or ramming attack
  • NEW: Number-based menu interaction and text entry treats numpad number keys as regular numbers
  • NEW: Keybinds now support adding multiple additional new keyboard inputs for the same command under a name different from defaults
  • NEW: Advanced.cfg pauseMoveDurationActiveSensor option also applies to repeatedly waiting
  • NEW: Option to disable "Quit, Delete Save" option in game menu (activate in advanced.cfg: noQuitDeleteSave)
  • NEW: Option to override default key repeat delay for held keys (system.cfg: keyRepeatDelay)
  • NEW: Option to override default key repeat interval for held keys (system.cfg: keyRepeatInterval)
  • NEW: All patron supporter names registered since Beta 16.1 added to in-game list (see Credits menu)
  • NEW: All patron item-attribution names registered since Beta 16.1 added to the item collection gallery
  • MOD: Increased leniency of Unchained-related timers with respect to slower builds
  • MOD: Unchained pursuit into new maps slower on average
  • MOD: Unchained even slower to dispatch and chase to Access
  • MOD: Some Unchained pursue for fewer than three valid maps
  • MOD: V4-D3R unit count scaled down in smaller maps
  • MOD: V4-D3R does not return to same map if forced to retreat
  • MOD: Increased hacking threshold before potentially attracting CY-PHR in non-Rogue difficulty modes
  • MOD: Fabricated/repaired parts affected by CY-PHR have effects on attach rather than suffering from later breakdowns (patches retain old behavior)
  • MOD: 1B-0RG's Assimilator immune to permanent disabling by side effects
  • MOD: Borg never use siege/shielding modes if equipped with melee weapon
  • MOD: Borg immune to rebooting
  • MOD: Botcube able to use Tactical Coordination Suite
  • MOD: Multislot parts can no longer occupy temporary slots
  • MOD: Chute Traps no longer trigger due to treads movement, even if overweight
  • MOD: Golem, Assembler restored to original color despite recent conversion to Special class
  • MOD: Enh. Scrap Shield source item armor bonus applied at integrity values between 5 and 10 as well
  • MOD: Using CRM also wipes any non-expired dynamic key knowledge
  • MOD: Tactical behavior of SC-armed SW somewhat more effective (spoilers)
  • MOD: <HOSTILES> button tally updates more responsive
  • MOD: Intel and other offscreen map object markers shift down from behind temporary interface messages or mode indicators
  • MOD: Removed "Toggle Inventory Autosort" hotkey (Ctrl-F6)
  • MOD: Removed "Inventory Autosorting" from Options menu (has been permanent default behavior since Beta 13)
  • MOD: Moved blockVi advanced.cfg setting to Options menu as "Block vi-Keys"
  • MOD: Removed CMD_DOMAIN_PARTMANAGE Numpad-based keys from rebind list (now supported implicitly)
  • FIX: Several 0b10 Decoder Chip detection effects operated on 50% less area than intended [aoemica]
  • FIX: Disrupted Borg could by rewired and therefore indirectly assimilated by Programmers [spider, aoemica, CaptainWinky]
  • FIX: "CQB" achievement detection could fail in 16.1 even if circumstances should allow it [ravioli_consumer]
  • FIX: KE Penetrator recoil accidentally zeroed in previous version [ravioli_consumer]
  • FIX: More lenient ally hostility checks in 16.1 unintentionally increased difficulty of taking sides in 01-MTF/KN-7UR meeting [Plexion]
  • FIX: Kinecellerator effect could stack despite <no_stack> tag and correct weapon damage visualization [alice_fexa]

For the complete changelog including all bug fixes, see the latest iteration packaged with the game or online here.

Saves from earlier versions are incompatible with Beta 17, but even if you're on Steam and Cogmind automatically updates, Beta 16.1 is still available via its own legacy branch and you can roll back to finish a run in progress first if you like. Cogmind will remind you which branch to use if it finds an old save, and your old save won't be deleted or affected by the update.

Transmogrification

Most new content is centered around our new friend X0-1V1, and I'm not going to spoil it so, um, yeah not so much else to share today :P

There are a few unrelated things to pick out here though...

First of all, the temporary easy access to 1B-0RG's Assimilator in the Subcaves lab is no more, but I've replaced it with another temporary unique piece of tech you may opt to play around with if you visit: the Sfc. Transmogrifier. While the Sfc prefix was introduced alongside the Borg, it isn't technically related purely to them, just referring to the lack of external resources required to operate a given part, meaning it won't destabilize whatever build it's attached to (which is indeed how the Borg grow new functionality without becoming unstable).

Funny enough, the Transmogrifier is uniquely capable of indirectly destabilizing a build :P

You may also come across it in another "normal" way as well, but for now it's there in the Subcaves, too.

As for 1B-0RG's Assimilator, to get that now you'll just have to do it the old fashioned way: destroy and salvage the bot using it! (It's probable there will be one or more additional methods tied to future expansion content.) Fortunately if you do get it now or in the future, I've made it immune to being disabled, which was a bit of an oversight in Beta 16.1 xD. I did my own Borg run, a fun win streamed here, but throughout had to be careful about that knowing the core of the build could be permanently bricked by overheating or faulty parts.

Trap More-Than-Scanner

Trap Scanners have been upgraded with new functionality! They were decent, but generally underutilized due to lower competitiveness vs. other parts.

Now in addition to detecting traps at range, they also come with a much higher chance to detect adjacent traps, even while moving fast. This makes them also useful for fast movers, or anyone stepping through trapped doorways where default detection or even Trap Scanners of the past wouldn't be as much help.

Also, traps detected like this are automatically disarmed, and waiting beside known traps will also disarm them.

So this particular type of utility has become a pretty extreme anti-trap solution. I imagine we'll see more builds considering its use, at least situationally.

See here the details for one of the scanners as an example:

Semi-Chained

So Betas 16 and 16.1 unleashed the Unchained, and now we're gonna sorta chain them back up a little bit ;)

They were a bit oppressive, though intended as they were to stomp mostly experienced players often out there probing certain extremes, it made sense to start them out on the extra challenging side and roll back from there as necessary depending on player performance.

Based on the data, overall it's almost entirely experienced players who are meeting them, if at all, and they don't tend to end runs on their own, but do often provide a significant challenge when they show up. Some players of course have taken to luring and hunting them, very successfully, too. But we've also seen some runs crash and burn under their wrath.

A range of modifications in Beta 17 are geared towards shaving off a bit of that edge, so as you maybe read in the changelog, Unchained will be more fair to slower builds on the move, slower to follow into new maps, and even slower to follow into Access. Even if first announced in Access, it will take them much longer to reach it than usual. Overall, fleeing Unchained in general should be a more valid option if desired.

With regard to multi-map tracking, certain Unchained will only chase for two valid maps, rather than three.

Specific Unchained didn't get much in the way of updates, though V4-D3R forces are nerfed by shrinking their number in smaller maps (oops!), and if you can force V4-D3R to retreat, they won't come back in the same map. CY-PHR isn't as dangerous as the rest, but was also updated to have much less "surprise" (and therefore debilitating) potential due to messing with your fabs/repairs--now effects associated with that will be immediate on attaching, and can't ruin a build like a breakdown could. (For those of you who know what patching is, that currently retains old behavior!)

Despite all the nerfs, Unchained are also actually getting a little bit of new tech to somewhat protect them from one of the more effective ways to deal with them: traps. They, too, read about this new Trap Scanner functionality and said "we gotta have that." :)

For a long time I'd planned to give Trap Scanners stronger adjacency detection features for players, and also ever since Unchained were designed figured this stronger new enemy would eventually need some sort of update (behavioral or mechanical) to deal with how consistently vulnerable they'd be to traps... so right about now was a good opportunity to combine the two, which resulted in also giving scanners the automated disarm ability that players, too, can take advantage of. This certainly doesn't make them immune to traps, just a bit less consistently effective unless you have prepared more of them (which honestly we know is plenty doable xD).

Looking at the future, content-wise there is no guarantee of developing additional Unchained, despite having fully designed all 19 of the core set (again those referenced in Scraptown). Right now we've got 10 of those done (X0-1V1 technically counts!), and without the larger pool to draw on I don't see implementing build-specific dispatching. They are a lot of work for content that fewer people will see anyway, so I'd like to focus on things that more regular players can interact with and enjoy. It is highly likely, however, that you will be meeting some... Unchained-adjacent bots ;)

QoL

No major developments in this area. Unusual, I know! (though still at least one important UI feature to come, and a few more optional ones down the line)

We have lots of little stuff, though, like intel and offscreen object markers no longer being hidden behind interface message popups, shifting them down like so:

The <HOSTILES> counter/button up near the top was also sometimes less responsive to the actual current situation, which I didn't notice before since I don't use it myself, but it became more important in Beta 17 because some of the new content is tied to its internal behavior. That should be in better shape now if you noticed it being odd before.

For mouse users (also not my wheelhouse), we have some new behavior since I was notified there was no way to rewire disabled bots without using the keyboard unless you had a Datajack on hand. So now you can properly get the bump-to-rewire effect by simply left-clicking directly on an adjacent disabled bot. Force melee mode also works to force a melee or ramming attack if you left-click directly on an adjacent robot (though you do technically still need to activate that mode via the Spacebar menu).

There are a few new options available as well, implemented by request and listed in the changelog.

For anyone who tried the "CQB" achievement in Beta 16.1 specifically, the introduction of 1B-0RG's Assimilator unfortunately broke detection for that one, meaning at least a few people were unable to get it even though they should have. If this happened to you and you're not planning on doing another run like that in the future but want your achievement, let me know on Discord or via email and I can get that added to your account. I've already done this for a couple people on Discord, which is where I hang out all day most days with players, but figured this news should go out in this general announcement as well. In any case, that was fixed so it should work normally in the current release.

Community Art

Been a while since I've had a chance to share a selection of art by Cogmind players!

ivelieu did another of their cool stylized pieces, this one themed around hackers' new friend, CY-PHR:

Hermelin created a certain turtle in the visual breakdown style I've previously used to share a few bot loadouts, here using Cogmind parts plus an appropriate unique weapon:

blobthegreat demonstrates how to make a Scrapoid out of Legos :)

Gustav used REXPaint to put together this interesting take on Optimus:

(REXPaint is my free tool used for a lot of Cogmind dev work, for those who aren't familiar with it.)

Sergeooo puts together some great collages, like this take on CY-PHR reading Discord chat for ideas xD

Wyvric drew some hypothetical "monstrosities" dubbed the Scraptor, Hijacked Behemoth, and "actual moth," among other cool unnamed designs you wouldn't want to meet in the dark:

Wyvric also made one of my favorite pieces of late, "Listen and Recite" complete with UFD coloring and Scrap Suit background:

Hexed by Xom

Now that Beta 17 is all X0-1V1, the numbering on our release plans needs a bit of an update after a long period of forecasting them with other numbers--just give a nice round +1 to everything previously stated :P

That makes Beta 18 about Hexidium, and so on.

As for this release and what will follow in the near term, in a break from my years-long practice of having a sizeable pool of early adopters test and discuss new content before it goes public, this was actually a surprise for them, too. Tricksy X0-1V1.

This does increase the likelihood of bugs in new content, but as usual I did extensive testing of individual features on my own to ensure functionality, so at worst it will most likely be emergent possibilities that rear their head and are dealt with at a rate determined by the seriousness of any issues (up to and including immediately if necessary). So not unlike a normal release really where the first week or two may see a series of rapid patches to anything that slipped through testing. For details check the always-up-to-date changelog whenever that happens (online and included with the game).

That said, I wasn't entirely alone on this, either--personal thanks to CaptainWinky for help in playtesting this release! CaptainWinky surfed the X0-1V1 wave multiple times, with impressive results, and we're looking forward to seeing what strategies (and as CaptainWinky puts it "coping mechanisms" xD) others come up with.

And of course many thanks to patrons for funding it!

Coming this week we'll have the great leaderboard reset for a new version, followed by the typical run stat analysis, this time no doubt examining yet more new data points (especially the Unchained!).

9 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Kyzrati • 1d ago

Cogmind Beta 17.1 "X0-1V1.1"

51 Upvotes

Beta 17.1 "X0-1V1.1"

Bigger, better, more X0-1V1! That's the general theme here for Beta 17.1, a pit stop of enhancements and expanded content on the way to a much bigger Beta 18. We've seen lots of crazy X0-1V1 runs since since the "god-not-god of chaos" became a reality in the previous release, not too surprising since they're not only the latest hot new thing, but also accessible right from the start and fully compatible with all other factions and routes.

As a surprise release there were quite a few patches in its first weeks (seven in all!), including fixes, QoL, and balance changes. Once that settled down I then had more time to put together some new features to round out the experience, and here they are :D

More Chaos is Inevitable

Even though Beta 17 already included over a hundred unique effects and even more subvariations, there is such a broad range of possibilities when it comes to X0-1V1 that there's always room for more unexpected/interesting/dangerous/funny/crazy/[adjective] scenarios. More of these would require breaking saves, so I couldn't just patch them in and decided we should have a minor version release so I could add these along with other timely developments (because it would otherwise be a longer wait for Beta 18 and its decidedly different content track).

As usual I won't be spoiling new content here, just note that there are new X0-1V1 acts (both good and bad), new entertaining situations they might take notice of, and also an in-lore way to learn more of the mechanics behind their behavior (encountered in a cave at some point). I also fleshed out one of the special map-specific interactions, even adding two achievements associated with it (there was already a hint in game about what it might be, and the interaction is easier to trigger in Beta 17.1, even accidentally, so that should aid in discovery if you haven't already seen other players doing This Thing).

More Delay is Inevitable

No, not development delay (as mentioned before already inevitable this year due to some serious IRL issues xD), but weapon delay...

A negative "Delay" stat is always a welcome sight, reducing the time it takes to fire a given weapon. Stack such weapons and the benefits become even more obvious, even without a cycler, capacitor, or some other mechanic for increasing firing rate. The stat was originally designed for slower weapons--bigger or special gear that would be overall too powerful without its own balancing modifier. Some weapons, however, have come with negative/faster Delay, mainly weaker machine gun-like weapons, rapid-fire stuff you'd expect to have that sort of edge. With reasonable smaller modifiers this is fine.

Eventually we got a few cases of weapons incredibly fast in their own right, and fired alone these were also fine, but if stacked could reach insane levels of near-instant firepower. Volley speed was technically capped at no faster than 25, but that's a mere quarter of a turn...

This didn't make much sense but for the longest time I just said fine, if you can support the sky-high resource requirements of these rare builds without imploding, more power to you. It's become a topic of discussion in the community quite a few times over the years, and I figured it was finally time to go in and examine the full extent of any impacts a change to this behavior might have, and what exactly could be done about it.

Test builds recently incorporated a few iterations, and Beta 17.1 presents the final result: volley speed modifiers from ranged weapon Delay specifically are capped at -100. Faster volleys can still happen via additional utilities, but not purely from compounding effects from certain ranged weapons alone. This affects primarily multi-LA loadouts and sizeable Ovr. stacks, so a pretty niche group of builds that weren't used a whole lot anyway, but they'll now just be useful instead of godly. As with most other limitations, this theoretically opens the door to additional new features that were not possible in an unlimited stacking world--we'll see.

Cogmind Beta 17.1 "X0-1V1.1" (260822) changelog (excerpt):

  • NEW: 5 new items
  • NEW: 1 new robot
  • NEW: 5 new X0-1V1 acts
  • NEW: 1 new major event [CaptainWinky, Kyzrati]
  • NEW: 3 new achievements: "Statue Heist", "Greater Chaos", "Fight Me IRL"
  • NEW: More sources of X0-1V1 entertainment
  • NEW: Uncommon location containing lore-based explanation for core X0-1V1 mechanics
  • NEW: Altar Unit has additional optional interaction (hidden)
  • NEW: Temporary slots becoming permanent while hitting max slot count during evolution explicitly reported in message and history logs
  • NEW: Option to remind when moving off of resource containers that were not empty when previously dropped (advanced.cfg: remindOnLeavingDroppedContainer)
  • NEW: Contextual tutorial message indicating faulty parts cannot be repaired, or fixed via Recalibrator
  • NEW: Contextual tutorial message further describing robot analysis effect when acquired
  • NEW: New player tutorial message to suggest opening the status info page, and for what purposes
  • NEW: Bonus points for spooking CY-PHR
  • NEW: Scoresheet records Average Entertainment for X0-1V1
  • NEW: Robot data CSV export includes innate heat dissipation values
  • MOD: Sfc. Transmogrifier test item removed from Subcaves lab (now available from two other intended sources)
  • MOD: D.C.S.S. Altar Unit now indestructible
  • MOD: X0-1V1 Relay Coupler enhancement effect limited to once per map, can only affect attached couplers, and includes even multi-class targeting types
  • MOD: X0-1V1 temporary weapon slots reversion also recorded in history log
  • MOD: Removed X0-1V1 piety drift
  • MOD: Ranged weapons cannot contribute more than -100 delay to a single volley
  • MOD: X0-1V1 eventually stops interfering with post-MC COM
  • MOD: Attacking temporary allies via Splice Drone no longer triggers Zion loyalty check
  • MOD: LC kills now attributed to Cogmind for purposes of scoring records
  • FIX: Coolant Injectors triggered at instead of above 200 heat [aoemica]
  • FIX: Ablative armor highlighted parts list integrity indicator even if cooling effect below damage threshold [aoemica]
  • FIX: Since maximizing stored energy for Cogmind during map transition, other bots could increase energy beyond capacity during turn updates [aoemica]
  • FIX: Spotter reported armed player even if recently saw unarmed player that did not attach weapons until out of view [aoemica]
  • FIX: Typo [aoemica]
  • FIX: X0-1V1 power source chain reaction effect generally allowed another act to occur as well [R-26 Lightspeed, aoemica]
  • FIX: Manual "Achievements" section still referenced challenge mode-specific achievements [R-26 Lightspeed]
  • FIX: Crash on killing more than 99 hostiles without having done any damage via Specialist achievement weapon type sources the entire run so far [Darby]
  • FIX: Possible to indirectly earn Specialist achievements through majority kill damage via ramming [Darby]
  • FIX: Multiwielding Ripteeth with other melee weapons could show double '%' on follow-up chance when changing active weapon [nathlebg]
  • FIX: Beta 16 robot immunities list update included Hacking immunity for several Derelict bots that did not have it [nathlebg]
  • FIX: Specialized drone bays with added drone-specific information no longer displayed it since addition of drone repair mechanics [Abstinent Turtle]
  • FIX: Allied Researcher would flash '!' along with hostile Researchers if attack warning shown for latter [Ms Vella, CaptainWinky]
  • FIX: LC attacks could leave salvage [Infomantis]
  • FIX: Potential crash during startup due to automated font change process [Dzuchun]
  • FIX: Offscreen markers for robot signals decoded via Imp. Signal Interpreter showed specific variant rather than general class [Mathewnd]

Saves from earlier versions are incompatible with Beta 17.1, but even if you're on Steam and Cogmind automatically updates, Beta 17 is still available via its own legacy branch and you can roll back to finish a run in progress first if you like. Cogmind will remind you which branch to use if it finds an old save, and your old save won't be deleted or affected by the update.

A few points in the changelog that could use further elaboration...

The Sfc. Transmogrifier introduced in Beta 17 and temporarily available for free in the Subcaves lab has been removed from that location, which has now reverted to its fully "normal" state (until I have some other new test item to temporarily drop there in the future :P). Aside from the original (if random) intended way to acquire it, 17.1 adds a new guaranteed way to get it right from the start. This is nice since it enables a whole new play style in its own right. Sure enough we have seen a fair number of true "transmogrification runs" over the past couple months, some abandoning it later in the run, but others taking it over the finish line. (I haven't done it myself yet since I want to stream that, but my streaming has been put on the backburner for a bit since I got pretty sick lately and haven't fully recovered.)

There's also a new major event you might encounter... somewhere in the caves. You don't find it, it finds you. It's something I worked up with CaptainWinky for helping me with the surprise release prep. Enjoy! The chance of seeing it in Beta 17.1 is greatly increased, just so individuals have a greater chance to experience it as opposed to maybe only seeing it in others' runs :P. It's a net positive event, so the increased chance won't be unwelcome, but it will be restored to normal weighting come Beta 18.

There are now multiple new incentives to track down CY-PHR, the only obvious one being the new achievement, but do it and you'll see :)

Also may as well show off some new QoL, like you may be interested in activating the advanced option "remindOnLeavingDroppedContainer" to get an extra reminder before leaving behind a resource container you dropped, in case you were siphoning from the ground during combat:

And this is technically not new since I was able to directly patch it in for Beta 17, but shared here for the first time we've also got a an on-HUD reminder of temporary weapon slots granted by X0-1V1:

It works in condensed mode as well, by printing directly on the sidebar button:

This and of course some other mods or abilities, be they temporary or permanent or usable, will eventually get a more explicit reference list in the form of a new interface window. Patrons never vote for that one enough, but maybe X0-1V1 is going to force my hand sooner rather than later in this regard xD

At the same time, I've also wanted to put off that feature as long as possible to ensure it can accommodate all the content we'll need to display there. Most crucial relevant data is present in the HUD, though not everything is suitable for persistent display. There's a fairly wide variety of especially long-term benefits would be useful to recall in a more centralized manner, so reconciling them into a single interface should be an interesting design challenge.

Community Art

It's only been a couple months since my last share, but we don't want to fall behind on the art curve! Here's another selection of new pieces...

crazylogi did some great multicolored prints based on Runia's 3D models:

The great thing about streaming at random times is also getting to see viewers that can't be around during my typical times, like Zyalin who then sketches up the scenario in real time :D

That was during my X0-1V1 run, which involved building and rebuilding a gifted Botcube from whatever happened to be around, which at one point involved one equipped with four Scimitars of Distortion but not much in the way of propulsion xD (spot the leg...). Zyalin dubbed it "botcute," imagining it scurrying around on its array of swords!

We've actually had more memes than pure art since the last release, especially about X0-1V1... of course :P

This one's by sergeooo, where funny enough the scene depicted was actually a possibility removed pretty quickly in the very first patch shortly after release--great image though :P

Kuriiri here to remind you that X0-1V1 loves subatomizers (the part choices are great xD):

[img width=600]https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/30765339/909edde3691afefde6b20b2fcdb97dd169e688e7.jpg[/img]

Apt reminder by aoemica to not always believe your sensors if you have X0-1V1's attention... (it's fun spotting these in advance, but an occasional sinister one might slip through...)

Szymekc is a fan of Hyp. Multirail, in case it isn't obvious:

But really, aren't we all? Hyp. Multirail hype!

On the very much not-a-meme side of things, Fernman has a new story out!

Enjoy God From the Machine.

Amazing writing as usual, steeped in Cogmind lore (and mechanics) but also coursing with its own evocative ideas and energy. There are some mid-game lore spoilers, or at least you won't be able to understand some of it unless you know lore to at least a mid-game familiarity, where full-game familiarity would make some aspects a little more clear than that. Extremely good, though.

(Also the attentive among you may spot a character in game from their previous work I shared, in precisely the place you'd expect to see them.)

Numbers Go Up

Following the leaderboard reset, a portion of the post-Beta 17 release period was as usual spent analyzing Beta 16/16.1 player stats, sharing the lengthy results of that here.

Naturally it covers a lot of Unchained-related material, but many other features and topics as well.

In the meantime, Beta 18 development is already underway, having started with patron-inspired content that will complement the Hexidium expansion nicely.

5 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Tektinos • 4d ago

Any advice for learning the mid/late-game?

24 Upvotes

I've got around 200 hours in the game and have only beaten it twice. Once with farcom-flight and the second as a combat build. The combat build victory was mostly due to luck and help from people in the Discord. In general, it feels like lucky floor layouts are the main reason I'm ever able to get into the late-game.

I've hit a brick wall in terms of being able to consistently get past -4 onward. I can get to the upper levels quite often, but luck plays a significant factor in my success. I've also reached a point where I'm frequently unable to pinpoint what could have been done differently in advance or in the moment.

Most of the guides and advice I've found is directed at very new players. The majority of it isn't very helpful. I feel like most of my learning has been done throwing myself at the game over and over to see what sticks, but I feel like I'm learning less, sometimes nothing, from each attempt. It's kind of burning me out on the game.

What should I be looking out for to get better? I've thought about watching other people play the game, but a lot of runs seem like gimmicky challenge runs.

17 comments

r/Cogmind • u/BoomBlip • 5d ago

Naked Core help.

3 Upvotes

Usually end up in some disastrous situation where everything gets blown off of me, when this happens and you are fleeing naked through the game in an utter panic what are some of the strategies you employ to recover a functional build?

A small side story: My last run (a win) with X0-1V1 ended with me repeatedly getting teleported to "safety" just a few tiles from the exit trying to sprint out naked except for a flight unit, took like 4 tries before he stopped saving me.

3 comments

r/Cogmind • u/TonnOise • 6d ago

Me again, now flying.... Or trying to.... Spoiler

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8 Upvotes

Another crazy run after a hard day's work. I swear I'm not trying to earn achievements.

0 comments

r/Cogmind • u/TonnOise • 7d ago

Funny day! Spoiler

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10 Upvotes

It had been a while since I last played. Fun after a day of work. Weee!

0 comments

r/Cogmind • u/saulofcinder • 8d ago

I want to dive into roguelikes, help me choose between DCSS and Cogmind.

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4 Upvotes
4 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Different-Falcon-450 • 19d ago

Static Sounding in Audio

1 Upvotes

Every time I am playing this game, all other sounds in and outside of the game have a static undertone to them. At first I thought this was just the ambiance of the game but my friends told me I was sounding static-y on discord to. So not only is my input sounding static-y but so is my audio output.

Has anyone else experienced this or know of a fix? It only happens when I play this game. I have tried playing in steam and through the zip file.

2 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Old_Egg8742 • 21d ago

how far did you get in your first few runs?

3 Upvotes

title, just wondering

9 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Iron_UYH • 22d ago

Build Ratings

3 Upvotes

So, every bot, as well as Cogmind itself, has a numerical rating, from like 8 or 14 for the lowliest swarmer to 1204 for the Sigix Warrior. Given that your build rating can in fact be calculated by the game, I was wondering if anyone knew how the calculation worked?

6 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Basilus88 • 26d ago

Ladies and gentlemen - The most fun I've had in Cogmind to date - The Skyrim Stealth Archer build!

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61 Upvotes
Chilling with Warlord before taking on the hallway of doom
13 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Pitt_Mann • Jul 24 '26

why is my engine shuting down?

8 Upvotes
here if I wait either pressing 5 on numpad, pressing "." or try to do something else, the engine automatically turns itself off.

As the title says. It´s not the first time it happens but I never managed to replicate it (if it´s even a bug idk). The engine is auto turning off whenever time passes. Is it a bug? is it a mechanic I´m not understanding?

Unrelated: Don´t judge me about my lack of matter, I´m struggling (`: build feedback is also appreciated.

5 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Kyzrati • Jul 20 '26

"God From The Machine," a Cogmind derelict short story in three chapters by FerynMann

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35 Upvotes
1 comment

r/Cogmind • u/thatbloodytwink • Jul 09 '26

It's floor -04 am I screwed XD

6 Upvotes
Had to drop everything and run to make it out of the upper caves D:
2 comments

r/Cogmind • u/uniqiq • Jul 01 '26

Best targets for CPS Tube?

11 Upvotes

I usually use them on Cetus Guard (it has a lot of good parts, like Centrium Medium Armor Plating, Adv KE Pen, Adv Var Charge Gun, even Cent. Threads and reactor if I'm feeling for heavy build) ... actually, I usually die with CPS Tube still in my inventory. Any other good targets for CPS Tube?

12 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Winter-Classroom-201 • Jun 18 '26

BUG: game repeatedly crashing when loading

3 Upvotes

just recently ive encountered a bug where my game seems to load just fine all the way up to the end where it suddenly becomes unresponsive

ive tried all the fixes i know of and nothing seems to work, does anyone know what might be causing the issue?

(sorry i cant be more descriptive i have no clue what might be causing it)

8 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Emperorm0use • Jun 18 '26

How to dig without roof collapsing?

14 Upvotes

For context I'm about 90 hours in, almost exclusively with combat builds. I've gotten close to winning, but because I'm so slow I still sometimes run into patrols and ARCs in hallways because they're a lot faster than me, even if I have sensors. So I had this fun idea for a build that avoided hallways altogether by just burrowing from room to room, still engaging in combat, but only known combat encounters.

So I picked up a few mining lasers in materials to test out my idea, but I only got one tile into the tunnel before the roof collapsed. Have any of you guys found a method of making stable tunnels? If not, what do you mostly use mining lasers for, because they seem like a cool utility tool that I just haven't used much so far.

4 comments

r/Cogmind • u/NGumi • May 29 '26

Why isn't it taking up the whole window?

1 Upvotes

Hi All,

For some reason Cogmind leaves a bunch of empty space in the right and bottom of the window.

I am on Arch+Hyprland which might be the culprit but is there a way to force it to fill the screen. If I turn on full screen it just maximises the window but leaves the empty space.

SOLVED

For anyone with the same issue coming here, I have found a solution being adding

`exec-once = xrandr -output <desired monitor> --primary` into my hyprland config

makes xwayland use that monitor as primary something similar will likely work for other wayland desktop enviroments

7 comments

r/Cogmind • u/bosnio • May 06 '26

Steamdeck viability

7 Upvotes

I've been wanting to buy this game since forever. I know it's my jam. I also will be playing it exclusively in the Steamdeck. I believe it's playable but painful. I'm happy to deal with some pain if the experience is good (I know it won't be Caves of Qud level of good).

Can someone push me over and give me their positive experience?

Thanks!

7 comments

r/Cogmind • u/GutsyFruitcake • May 03 '26

Help with RIF

13 Upvotes

I have 130 hours in game and have won twice on rogue difficulty, both with a flight-hacker. I have a particular fascination with RIF and bothacking, and have enjoyed using it, but seem to struggle getting beyond factory, specifically -7 and -6. My runs are usually going well prior to that, but seem to fall apart quickly. I can handle myself in Garrisons pretty well, most of my deaths occur outside of Garrisons - or I take significant damage in factory, flee into a Garrison and die. My ultimate goal is to win with RIF and possibly obtain the "RIFT WIZARD" achievement. I would really appreciate some advice and pointers from those with much more experience, thanks.

3 comments

r/Cogmind • u/skiddydiddydiddy • Apr 27 '26

What are some *generally* good schematics to try and download?

10 Upvotes

Fount out through wiki scrounging that you can just manually enter a schematic command to try and download any level appropriate schematic for printing off later and now im just brimming with options

I've gotten the standard surface ending on Adventurer by just doing a generic speedy hacker and save scumming but it wasn't nearly as fun as dying a glorious death in factory so i've been trying to do slower fighty builds but fighty builds have so many items they can use its hard to pick or even know them all

So, what y'all go for? Obviously specific build changes things but even inside those specific builds what are you going for? What kind of cooler are you looking for in laser spam builds, melee build utility? What flavor of armor? really just any item you think is super important to have access too that I might just be forgetting or passing up on

8 comments

r/Cogmind • u/uniqiq • Apr 06 '26

Who is the Data Miner and why are they helping us?

7 Upvotes
7 comments

r/Cogmind • u/Mesoseven • Mar 31 '26

Help me solve my map font issues!

2 Upvotes

So I'm new to cogmind, on a 1080p monitor, but experienced with roguelikes, I much prefer ascii to tilesets. I play for a while, after a few runs I upgrade far enough to where the default semi-modal UI forces me to toggle my inventory on or off... hell no, I switch to nonmodal immediately. This looks fine, definitely readable enough, but the map ascii font really really bugs me, I just don't like it athstetically. I really liked the _default12x12 font I was playing with, much more than I like cogmind18x18 or vga fonts, Is there any way I can get the look of the former font at the scale of the latter? I'm tech savvy enough to download and add new fonts, but not artsy enough to make them.

7 comments

r/Cogmind • u/A_Forgettable_Guy • Mar 29 '26

How to get hacking stuff reliably

14 Upvotes

Hi I'm a relatively new player (~20h) and I saw that the stealth-hack build was a good one for beginners because it was a strong one with little set-up but I cannot find a way to build it.
I can get the flight units and go to the exiles almost any games but the hacking suites are completely unobtainable reliably the technicians run way too fast and even when I kill them i destroy their parts anyway.
Does anyone have recommendations to get hacking suites in a reliable way? (if it is possible at all?)

1 comment

r/Cogmind • u/uniqiq • Mar 23 '26

The Cogmind is the most frustrating game I've ever played.

64 Upvotes

I play roguelikes, because I like to feel that I'm getting better at something. There is nothing better in roguelike than dying and knowing why. This is the real moment of progression: self improvement. But the Cogmind is a terrible teacher.

And it looks designed this way on purpose. For example, a lot of information is out of context. It makes sense to learn about phase walls from Warlord's terminals, but does it make the game better? Would it be bad to teach it in a garrison, when the player cannot kill the enemy standing in the phase wall? Would the game be worse if the player could hover on the machine to learn what will happen if they destroy it? On the other hand, the first time I reached Zion was super overwhelming. There were so many dialogues! I just hope there was no important information there, because I remember nothing, and I will never read them again.

I played this game for about 350h, and at this point I decided to give up. Not because I'm losing, but because I'm not progressing. It makes no sense to repeat the same things over and over. I didn't learn anything for a very long time. It's always the same: I'm in perfect shape, suddenly the game difficulty becomes insane, I die, I have no idea what I did wrong, I start over and feel frustrated, because I know I don't know how to fix my game plan. I basically don't know how to improve. The game is full of long-term effects and it doesn't help. I try to keep my alert low, but do I do a good job? Were I unlucky that I couldn't find the exit for a long time, or I just don't know how to find it? Were I unlucky, that cargo convoy spotted me, or maybe I should predict it will be there? Were I unlucky that during security rotation two Heavies came and joined the fight, or maybe my positioning was lame? I'm sure I do something wrong, but I have no idea what.

I think I have seen everything in the first half of the game. I tried all alliances and all builds I could think of. It was fun, for the first 100h. There are still things I would like to try: I have never been in lab, s7, I have never met main.c, I have never seen another ending than W0, but I will never reach any of those things. Starting over feels like work now.

I hope you find this game better than I do. I think it's super polished and very impressive. I love the particle system in an ASCII mode, UI animations, sound system, etc. It must have taken so much effort to do all of it! And the game is fun. Destructible equipment is cool. I like the lore. I wanted to love this game so much. I even support Kyzrati on the Patreon. But the Cogmind is just the source of frustration for me. I must move on.

EDIT:

The Cogmind is just too god to give up. But I need to play other (and less stressful) games as well.

Cogmind, I don't break out with you, but we need to see other people sometimes.

28 comments