One other fruitful 12 months is coming to a detailed! It’s as soon as once more time for our annual assessment to replicate on the 12 months’s milestones and look forward with renewed focus on the months to return. By way of each technical achievements and content material enlargement, 2024 was an enormous 12 months for Cogmind… however first, the standard opening collage, a fast visible abstract of the 12 months:
Collection of photos from the previous 12 months of Cogmind-related improvement as posted on this weblog, boards, and social media (bigger measurement right here).
Improvement Time
As traditional, the top of the 12 months is after I perform the ultimate compilation of all my monetary and improvement information, particularly the latter being recorded intimately every day. Though I control normal short-term developments in dev work all through the weeks and months, the most important revelations usually don’t come till 12 months’s finish when seen in combination, and within the context of earlier years, as soon as every part is built-in into the numerous graphs I exploit to observe long-term progress/work.
As repeated in my Yr 10 assessment, I’ve wished to proceed the current a number of years’ pattern of a better ratio of recreation vs. non-game work, implying a decrease relative quantity of community-facing work, e.g. writing articles, streaming, hanging out discussing mechanics, and many others. (these are the extra versatile parts of non-game work, in contrast to internet upkeep, enterprise stuff, and so forth). Undoubtedly hit that mark…
Cogmind work hour distribution in 2024: recreation improvement vs. group efforts (excludes hours devoted to neither, as in different required non-game work).
Amongst my graphs this 12 months, this information level stood out probably the most, as a result of not solely did I once more preserve the specified ratio, however each classes blew all current years out of the water. In truth, game-specific work in 2024 reached the best stage of any prior 12 months in Cogmind’s historical past! That was fairly surprising, beating out even 2015 when Cogmind was first launched, however then the 2 main releases this 12 months had been fairly vital on each the UI and content material facet, in spite of everything.
I’ve gotta say that robust Patreon help has performed an enormous position right here, since I’ve been in a position to extra confidently focus work on the sport itself quite than ensuring to allocate quite a lot of time to writing and spreading articles and updates far and wide, which is basically promoting and has all the time helped usher in new gamers up to now, but additionally detracts from progress if there’s an excessive amount of of it. After all there are all the time the different clear advantages of writing, streaming, and discussions, however I really feel much less compelled to do any of this for promoting functions, which is extra liberating.
Humorous sufficient, group time was additionally up this 12 months xD. A part of this may be attributed to the truth that current years had been a bit stricken by well being points, which stored me from streaming as usually (in 2023 alone I needed to cease streaming Cogmind runs for like half a 12 months). This 12 months I’ve been very a lot again. Plus there was quite a lot of writing early within the 12 months surrounding all the brand new interface work to stroll everybody by means of that.
Total a very good 12 months, with the outcomes to point out for it!
Releases
This 12 months there was not one however two main releases.
Beta 13 “Zoom All The Issues” was each a technical and QoL win, including map zooming and a number of UI layouts which elevated accessibility for extra gamers, nice since many extra people lately are taking part in on laptops than when Cogmind was first designed over a decade in the past.
Zoom all of the issues!
On the finish of Yr 10’s annual assessment I declared my intention to replace the UI in a number of phases all through this 12 months, then… simply went forward and mixed all the phases into one replace 😛 (this additionally contributed to 2024’s increased workload, however the problem was as invigorating because it was price overcoming upon realizing it might truly efficiently tackle a long-standing problem)
On the finish of the Beta 13 play cycle I compiled stats for that model, analyzing participant use of the brand new UI options which you’ll examine right here.
Cogmind Beta 13 UI participant preferences
Most individuals use the brand new layouts. Success! (The identical ratios are discovered even amongst long-time gamers who beforehand solely had the unique structure and had been already accustomed to it.)
What Beta 13 was to QoL, Beta 14 was to content material—“United Federation of Derelicts” started the UFD story arc with a bang, introducing a complete new faction and tons of recent objects, mechanics, robots, and a sizeable quantity of associated lore to discover. (Okay I additionally spent weeks optimizing the info storage and loading routines to make each startup and map loading nearly instantaneous, I suppose one other mark for QoL!)
The UFD has arrived.
Sadly I didn’t get to complete the second half of the UFD enlargement by the top of the 12 months, however that’s as a result of it received even greater… extra on that additional beneath.
Group
Amongst this 12 months’s best group contributions was the well-known video from DoshDoshington, a significant shot within the arm and at simply the fitting time, too, attracting many new gamers with comparable pursuits round when Cogmind received its interface accessibility replace 😀
As a talented participant Dosh has been a worthwhile member of the group on the whole, particularly educated within the methods of bothacking!
Can also’t overlook Teenager’s introduction to Beta 13, which was posted in varied locations together with r/Roguelikes, a enjoyable option to let these possible already accustomed to Cogmind find out about such an vital new characteristic as bigger UI layouts.
One other spotlight of the 12 months, Plexion’s Botcube Brawl was an thrilling and hilarious problem, streaming a bracket competitors between player-designed robots. If I’m not going to run any particular occasions of my very own, the group clearly has their very own concepts 🙂 (for this specific occasion I did take a bit out of dev time to construct a customized mode for an improved competitors expertise, which turned out fairly properly)
An enormous because of these of you serving to put out such nice content material.
Together with artwork! Many new artistic and provoking works have handed by means of the group this 12 months…
MrMesh painted two new superior items, I simply have to incorporate them each. (Most artwork on this web page could be opened in a bigger measurement.)
“Discovering a Garrison,” by MrMesh.
“The Crusher,” by MrMesh, in reminiscence of the primary time he was sucked down a trash chute.
Wyvric, who holds the present Beta 14 excessive rating report (Dataminer web page) with a Scrap Engine run, additionally drew their construct. They’re actually a grasp of the type, and knowledgeable at maximizing its insane potential for resilience and destruction.
Wyvric’s SE construct on this piece titled “Important Disruption.” Additional description by Wyvric: “Linear-Surge Biometal-Centrium Kitchen Sink Exoskeleton 40-speed-treads abomination operating amok in -1. +400 warmth per shot Assemble/C included. Bonus recreation: see what number of Utilities you’ll be able to determine (there are 9 on the Cogmind).”
CaptainWinky has been placing out entire new robotic and merchandise designs with their very own ASCII artwork and built-in lore, discovered right here (additionally unique discussion board thread). There you’ll be able to learn dozens of well-though-out entries suitable with Cogmind’s personal lore, including Gremlins, Impalers, Pulsars, R4-LPH, Chungus and the Hvy. Slug Cannon, the H-44 Whirlwind and its Anti-Materiel Rifle, and plenty of extra. Plus you’ll be able to can try all their stats, too!
The C-40 Developer and their Fight Logger, by CaptainWinky.
Zyalin hasn’t been as lively this 12 months, however did grace us with some construct sketches throughout streams by a few of Cogmind’s prime gamers.
High: MTF glass cannon assault drone construct. Center: aoemica tunneling to last victory throughout his treads-only straight shot problem run. Backside: MTF Scrapsphere UFD run with Scrapoid help.
I’ve been streaming a bunch of runs myself, among the extra thematic builds this 12 months being flightbrick (b13), bicycle RIF (b13), UFD golem (b14), the treads straight shot problem (b14), and a comedian sans UFD run that veers right into a wardrone win (b14). In preparation for our subsequent main launch I additionally did a Beta 15 run testing new options together with primarily non-tracking exterminations/assaults, but additionally profiting from new leg mechanics as one other melee-focused fight possibility.
Proper now I’m in the midst of a “Serflord” run, taking part in that audio-based story mod by Theyflower which requires you to observe a particular route in a seeded run to finish all of the story factors (though technically you don’t know what these factors are till you hit every level for the primary time).
2025
And the approaching 12 months can be yet one more huge one! I’ve already previewed what’s to return in my Cogmind Imaginative and prescient 2025 announcement earlier this 12 months and there’s actually no amendments to make to that, we’re on monitor and the thrust of every upcoming launch is as summarized therein. It’s only a matter of time…
Personally I did at first hope to have the UFD arc accomplished by the top of 2024, however that was based mostly on my unique plans for its scope, which received a bit of greater, and in additional methods than one.
- For the primary time since beginning the doc a decade in the past, I went by means of the whole lot of my core non-compulsory TODO/notes file, all 450 pages of it. I’ve filtered and arranged each final entry, concurrently pulling out good options that I wished to implement instantly for Beta 15, a good bit of labor however nearly the fitting time to do it. I wrote about that course of and shared some samples from the ends in a put up on Patreon you’ll be able to learn right here.
- After that I additionally applied about two of the patron-voted options for Beta 15 (relying on the way you depend it is likely to be one and a half, however undoubtedly multiple xD).
- And most lately I as soon as once more considerably expanded Cogmind’s merchandise depend. Already 73 objects have been added for the upcoming Beta 15, with at the least a number of extra nonetheless to return. I wasn’t initially planning so as to add this many since I used to be hyperfocused on the Protoforge’s worth to the plot and a few of its particular challenges, none of which actually required new objects, however as traditional determined it wasn’t sufficient, we gotta have much more nice new causes to go there! Again in Yr 10 I shared these graphs of annual Cogmind merchandise depend improve, and that huge ol’ spike is about to take care of its new stage in 2025 as properly.
In order it stands, Beta 15 is already fairly a big launch with quite a lot of new options, however I do need to wait till the complete UFD story is full to place it on the market. I don’t like splitting content material, which was already carried out as soon as now because of the sheer measurement of the UFD faction, the place leaving the UFD half-complete and Scraptown itself in a short lived state of concord might give folks the mistaken thought about some features of its gameplay. That is very true for individuals who have by no means learn earlier statements about it being a piece in progress and that the expertise will find yourself seeing some… very noticeable adjustments! (Most significantly in that regard: A piece of the brand new objects have been inaccessible until you provoke hostilities, however that’s not supposed to be the case as soon as the city is full. Additionally there are some extra people who can assist you discover and attain it within the first place as the situation turns into extra absolutely built-in into the world.)
My first step subsequent 12 months can be to launch the whole UFD story, concluding it with a brand new ending (Cogmind’s tenth completely different ending!). Then as deliberate comes the Unchained enlargement and naturally another cool accompanying options 😀
Onward!
An NPC parade, by Darby. Relying on how a lot exploring you’ve carried out up to now, you would possibly acknowledge these high quality fellows 😉
