[1.0](WIP) What The Hack?! - Mechanoid hacking

[Roolo]

Update, fixed most issues on the current issues list on the OP.

- Added: skill gain from hacking (both intellectual and crafting). Failed hacks still give half the skill gain, and harder to hack mechanoids (see next point) give more skill gain (for the initial hack).
- Added: Combat power of a mech influences the hacking difficulty. This is capped at a 50% difficulty increase for mechs with 1000 combat power (no such mechs exist in vanilla), and scales linearly with combat power.
- Changed: Repair and regenerate were deactivated for platform by default, are now activated by default.
- Fixed: It's not possible to drop goods from the inventory of mechs. Should only be impossible for weapons.
- Fixed: Mechanoids getting treated with normal medicines during world map travel, which didn't actually heal them but caused errors when they return to their platform.
- Fixed: Error in split caravan dialog resulting in mechanoids not being shown there.
- Fixed: Due to an issue in the last update it's possible to perform the more advanced hacks before basic hacking is done.
- Fixed: It's possible to perform multiple of the same hacks on a mech (also accidentally introduced in one of the last updates).
- Fixed: Only uninstalled portable platforms are counted as valid charging platforms in the caravan reform dialog.

Just hope to find more mech varierty as well one of these days. 

Don't worry, there are some really nice mechanoid adding mods for B18, and the authors of some of those mods already mentioned they are going to update them when the final 1.0 version hits. I also hope that the What the Hack mod encourages other modders to create more mechanoids.

[rawrfisher]

I wonder if the polars mechs would be compatable.  Those things are EVIL!!!

[Roolo]

I wonder if the polars mechs would be compatable.  Those things are EVIL!!!

If they're not, I'll make sure they are At least when that mod is updated to 1.0

[rawrfisher]

Just make sure you have a specal platform for the giant death machine they add.
Thing is the size of 4 platforms and has the power to destroy a base in a single attack

[Roolo]

Just make sure you have a specal platform for the giant death machine they add.
Thing is the size of 4 platforms and has the power to destroy a base in a single attack

I might, but adding another platform for just one type of mech added by another mod, just to make it look nicer is a lot of work for little gain. Sprite drawing is something that's really time consuming for me, so if someone else provides a nice sprite I'd be much more willing to create a specific platform for the Bastion.

[rawrfisher]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1467211785
Should be a screenshot showing a minor issue

Wasnt able to confirm till now but Could you take some time to gloss over the portable charging stations?

[Roolo]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1467211785
Should be a screenshot showing a minor issue

Wasnt able to confirm till now but Could you take some time to gloss over the portable charging stations?

Ok so your mech died because a part started regenerating. Shouldn't happen. I hoped I fixed it when I implemented that only 1 part regenerates at a time.  Apparently in vanilla a heavily damaged part contributes more to a pawns total damage than a completely missing part, which is counterintuitive IMO.

Wasnt able to confirm till now but Could you take some time to gloss over the portable charging stations?

Could you specify what you mean with this? Is anything wrong with them? Or aren't you aware they were already added? In the last case, please take a look at the research tab .

[malistaticy]

Just finished a B18 game with this mod, had so much fun with it
Some feedback:
Early-game I always felt low on parts, but by the mid-lategame i was swimming in parts, and I never even touched the advanced parts (Maybe a way to break down advanced mechanoid parts into normal ones + increasing scarcity of standard part drops would help even things out on both fronts?)
A way to assign weapons for mechanoids to use would be nice
Mechanoid belt works okay, but it seems like the whole concept is rough around the edges, I could never get much use out of it
Colonist mechanoids seem underpowered, a small tribal raid can make short work out of a 3-4 mechanoid squad, partially due to the aformentioned lack of being able to supply new charge lances, this makes them more of a diversionary asset more than an actual combat aid (could be used for baiting perfect mortar strikes I suppose)
A way to improve and augment mechanoids (reinforced armor, faster motors, improved aiming, etc) to add more depth would be great

those are just some ideas I had while playing, I was also using combat extended in this playthrough (I won't be upgrading to 1.0 until CE updates, hehe) and I felt that it could have more interaction between the two once CE updates. Maybe an upgrade that allows mechanoids to act as a replacement for the binoculars? I always found it a pain to pull out the designated "spotter colonist" to sit out in the open for 3 in game hours to refresh the binocular target.

Great mod, can't wait to see what's becoming of it once i upgrade to 1.0.

Also, here's a new hacking bench sprite since i saw that you were asking for new sprites, I didn't make a side or back view because I don't know if you'd like to use it. If you would, feel free to ask, I'd be happy to improve this one and make the rest of them

[Roolo]

Just finished a B18 game with this mod, had so much fun with it
Some feedback:
Early-game I always felt low on parts, but by the mid-lategame i was swimming in parts, and I never even touched the advanced parts (Maybe a way to break down advanced mechanoid parts into normal ones + increasing scarcity of standard part drops would help even things out on both fronts?)
A way to assign weapons for mechanoids to use would be nice
Mechanoid belt works okay, but it seems like the whole concept is rough around the edges, I could never get much use out of it
Colonist mechanoids seem underpowered, a small tribal raid can make short work out of a 3-4 mechanoid squad, partially due to the aformentioned lack of being able to supply new charge lances, this makes them more of a diversionary asset more than an actual combat aid (could be used for baiting perfect mortar strikes I suppose)
A way to improve and augment mechanoids (reinforced armor, faster motors, improved aiming, etc) to add more depth would be great

those are just some ideas I had while playing, I was also using combat extended in this playthrough (I won't be upgrading to 1.0 until CE updates, hehe) and I felt that it could have more interaction between the two once CE updates. Maybe an upgrade that allows mechanoids to act as a replacement for the binoculars? I always found it a pain to pull out the designated "spotter colonist" to sit out in the open for 3 in game hours to refresh the binocular target.

Great mod, can't wait to see what's becoming of it once i upgrade to 1.0.

Also, here's a new hacking bench sprite since i saw that you were asking for new sprites, I didn't make a side or back view because I don't know if you'd like to use it. If you would, feel free to ask, I'd be happy to improve this one and make the rest of them

Thanks for your really helpful feedback! A lot of re-balance has been done in the 1.0 version of the mod, so some of your points may have been fixed already.

Early-game I always felt low on parts, but by the mid-lategame i was swimming in parts, and I never even touched the advanced parts (Maybe a way to break down advanced mechanoid parts into normal ones + increasing scarcity of standard part drops would help even things out on both fronts?)

I experienced the same as you get so I toned down the drop rate, and made exotic goods traders sell them too in the 1.0 version, now it's much better I think (I'd still love to hear feedback about this from someone playing the 1.0 version). I do think it would make sense if the advanced chips would be used for part regeneration, making them more important, but then I'd have to figure out a way to have two types of fuel in the platform. I'll look into that at least. Adding a bill for breaking down part is a good idea I think, I might add that.

A way to assign weapons for mechanoids to use would be nice

Yeah, this is definitely something I'd like to add.

Mechanoid belt works okay, but it seems like the whole concept is rough around the edges, I could never get much use out of it

Could you specify a bit what you experienced as rough? Any suggestions to improve it? Personally for me it's a good way to make my colonists that are incapable of violence more useful.

Colonist mechanoids seem underpowered, a small tribal raid can make short work out of a 3-4 mechanoid squad, partially due to the aformentioned lack of being able to supply new charge lances, this makes them more of a diversionary asset more than an actual combat aid (could be used for baiting perfect mortar strikes I suppose)

The 1.0 version adds weapon regeneration, solving the problem of losing charge lances. Also, mechanoids were changed and buffed quite a bit in Rimworld 1.0, so I don't think they're that weak anymore.

A way to improve and augment mechanoids (reinforced armor, faster motors, improved aiming, etc) to add more depth would be great

Yeah, this is a nice next big step for the mod, and I plan to do something like that in the future. Maybe as a separate addon, I still have to think about it.

those are just some ideas I had while playing, I was also using combat extended in this playthrough (I won't be upgrading to 1.0 until CE updates, hehe) and I felt that it could have more interaction between the two once CE updates. Maybe an upgrade that allows mechanoids to act as a replacement for the binoculars? I always found it a pain to pull out the designated "spotter colonist" to sit out in the open for 3 in game hours to refresh the binocular target.

Adding CE specific things is a lot of work which will only help a minority of the players, I won't go into that.

Also, here's a new hacking bench sprite since i saw that you were asking for new sprites, I didn't make a side or back view because I don't know if you'd like to use it. If you would, feel free to ask, I'd be happy to improve this one and make the rest of them

I love it! Fits the Rimworld style much better than the current sprite. Ireally like how you took the ideas from the original sprite, and made a much more polished version based on it. Great work! I'd love to see a side and back view and I'll definitely incorporate them into the mod. If you happen to have time to also give the basic mechanoid parts your magic touch, it would be much appreciated (don't feel pressured though;) ). Of course you'll be credited in the mod's description. 

[malistaticy]

Thanks for the response
I'm sure I'll love the 1.0 version once I get around to installing it and my must-have mods are all updated

While I agree that the mechanoid belt is a good way to make non-violent pawns useful in combat, the mechanoids I try to place behind cover with it tend to walk to the cover and then just change courses completely, often behind less effective cover. I assume this is the main reason the AI core modification is an option, but I have yet to use that

I'll definitely draw up a couple more sprites!

[Roolo]

Thanks for the response
I'm sure I'll love the 1.0 version once I get around to installing it and my must-have mods are all updated

While I agree that the mechanoid belt is a good way to make non-violent pawns useful in combat, the mechanoids I try to place behind cover with it tend to walk to the cover and then just change courses completely, often behind less effective cover. I assume this is the main reason the AI core modification is an option, but I have yet to use that

I'll definitely draw up a couple more sprites!

Ok, so that's the problem. Luckily that's solved in the 1.0 version. Mechs retain their position when drafted there. Good luck with the sprites, and thanks a lot for your help!

[rawrfisher]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1467211785
Should be a screenshot showing a minor issue

Wasnt able to confirm till now but Could you take some time to gloss over the portable charging stations?

Ok so your mech died because a part started regenerating. Shouldn't happen. I hoped I fixed it when I implemented that only 1 part regenerates at a time.  Apparently in vanilla a heavily damaged part contributes more to a pawns total damage than a completely missing part, which is counterintuitive IMO.

Wasnt able to confirm till now but Could you take some time to gloss over the portable charging stations?

Could you specify what you mean with this? Is anything wrong with them? Or aren't you aware they were already added? In the last case, please take a look at the research tab .

They dont seem to work in caravans for me.  No error logs or anything just not charging the mechs.   

As for the missing parts.  They do not contribute at all unless they are bleeding.  I have noticed this time and time again during heated battles where I have only a few pawns vrs a giant zerg raid

[Roolo]

They dont seem to work in caravans for me.  No error logs or anything just not charging the mechs.

For me it works fine.

1. Did you load chemfuel in the caravan? In the top right of the caravan dialog you see: days of fuel (mechanoids), was that more than 0 when your caravan departed? You should also get a warning when you leave with a caravan without fuel.
2. Did you bring a portable platform for each mech?

[rawrfisher]

They dont seem to work in caravans for me.  No error logs or anything just not charging the mechs.

For me it works fine.

1. Did you load chemfuel in the caravan? In the top right of the caravan dialog you see: days of fuel (mechanoids), was that more than 0 when your caravan departed? You should also get a warning when you leave with a caravan without fuel.
2. Did you bring a portable platform for each mech?

Yes.  I tried it with 2 mechs departing with 4 platforms and 3000 chemfuel
https://git.io/fN1gU output log for reference to modlist

[Roolo]

They dont seem to work in caravans for me.  No error logs or anything just not charging the mechs.

For me it works fine.

1. Did you load chemfuel in the caravan? In the top right of the caravan dialog you see: days of fuel (mechanoids), was that more than 0 when your caravan departed? You should also get a warning when you leave with a caravan without fuel.
2. Did you bring a portable platform for each mech?

Yes.  I tried it with 2 mechs departing with 4 platforms and 3000 chemfuel
https://git.io/fN1gU output log for reference to modlist

What does the "days of fuel (mechanoids)" section say in the caravan dialog, and on the world map with your caravan? If it's 0, can you show me what popup description is shown when you hover your mouse over it?