[1.0] What the Hack?! v1.2 - last update: May 30, 2019

[Madman666]

Leave it be, man. Roolo was asked many times to let us craft mechanoids (i asked as well btw) - he said no. He doesn't want them to be craftable and he doesn't even owe us explanation really. Mod's options let you fiddle with balance a LOT to compensate. Vanilla game also leaves several top tier items beyond the scope of craftability.

[Roolo]

While I respect that the idea itself is not in your interest, I disagree that the issues you outlined are really issues.

[...]

Sure, many of the complaints I have can be solved, but the real problem is that they require me to put in a lot of effort. Not necessary implementation effort, but mostly balancing effort. The main problem I have it that it has a large impact on the mod's balance, while the extra "fun" you'll get out of it is pretty limited. I'd just rather spend my time on features where the fun outweighs the effort I'll have to put in.

There's no need to become aggressive, fair gameplay is one of my biggest concerns with mods. No weapon is overpowered as long as your enemy potentially has access to the same technology.

I'm sorry if my words came across as being aggressive, this really wasn't my intention and in hindsight I should have worded it differently. I just wanted to point out that there are options to tweak the balance and to turn off the maintenance mechanic.

>More options to get the parts will be added in the near future.
What do you mean by this?

I'm currently working on an update that adds more ways to get mechanoid parts which I'll finish soon. So my point was that this'll help you if you want to invest a lot in getting a large group of mechanoids and maintaining them.

[Canute]

Or lock the crafting process behind many 10k research process.
So it might be a true endgame solution,when you don't have to research anymore left.
Not to speak about a good chance that your crafted ones form a hive mind and turn into real mechanoids ! :-)

No we don't need craftable mechanoids.

[Jiro]

Leave it be, man. Roolo was asked many times to let us craft mechanoids (i asked as well btw) - he said no. He doesn't want them to be craftable and he doesn't even owe us explanation really. Mod's options let you fiddle with balance a LOT to compensate. Vanilla game also leaves several top tier items beyond the scope of craftability.

Like I said, I'm not trying to push anyone to do anything. I don't think that my idea is right and that Roolo is wrong, or the other way around, or anything like that. I'm making a case for a possible demand for craftable mechanoids by taking a logical approach to the game, and nothing more. Not asking anyone to do anything for me, maybe I will make the extension myself even.

Sure, many of the complaints I have can be solved, but the real problem is that they require me to put in a lot of effort. Not necessary implementation effort, but mostly balancing effort. The main problem I have it that it has a large impact on the mod's balance, while the extra "fun" you'll get out of it is pretty limited. I'd just rather spend my time on features where the fun outweighs the effort I'll have to put in.

You're not wrong. I guess if you are playing the game normally, then it is a useless feature. Maybe would be interesting if you had a story that you want to tell from the beginning.

I'm sorry if my words came across as being aggressive, this really wasn't my intention and in hindsight I should have worded it differently. I just wanted to point out that there are options to tweak the balance and to turn off the maintenance mechanic.

Hey, no problem. That's what I was thinking might've happened, anyway. I think the maintenance mechanic is great and makes sense for hacked mechs, but isn't economical long-term and may be overall cheaper for a colony to build one from scratch if they plan to keep the mech around for a time. You know what I mean?

Or lock the crafting process behind many 10k research process.
So it might be a true endgame solution,when you don't have to research anymore left.
Not to speak about a good chance that your crafted ones form a hive mind and turn into real mechanoids ! :-)

Sounds like a good idea, might do that myself if I ever get around to it.

No we don't need craftable mechanoids.

This is modding video game, we don't "need" anything. Just "want", and that is different from person to person :-P

[Roolo]

[...]

Thanks for you understanding.

Hey, no problem. That's what I was thinking might've happened, anyway. I think the maintenance mechanic is great and makes sense for hacked mechs, but isn't economical long-term and may be overall cheaper for a colony to build one from scratch if they plan to keep the mech around for a time. You know what I mean?

I understand. I do want to point out that there's also a mod option where you can decrease/increase the maintenance cost in the mod settings. So if you feel it's a bit too steep, you can tweak it. Getting the a "right number" for the cost of maintenance is already difficult for me when balancing for vanilla gameplay given that there are many difficulty levels and story tellers, and there is no better way to test it than to play the game a lot. But if you throw in other mods in the mix, it's actually impossible for me to get the balance right, since many mods impact how many parts you'll get by mechanoid raids (for instance, if you add in more non-mechanoid factions, you'll get more non-mechanoid raids). Then there's also a great variety in playstyles, and some people just want things to be more difficult than others, which makes it even more impossible for me to get the number right. So don't feel bad about not using the defaults. 

But yeah, if you want to craft mechs for story reasons, the best thing to do is create an expansion yourself. If you need help with that, just send me a PM.

[Jiro]

Wow, thank you! :-D

[Roolo]

Hi there fellow hackers. I've just released v1.1, a Huge update for What the Hack?!

Main additions
- A Rogue AI. This advanced AI based on mechanoid technology can be built if you've gathered enough hive data. More on this AI and about hive data below.
- A hiveship hacking facility. The Rogue AI, always craving for data, can use this facility to hack a ship from the mechanoid hive orbiting the planet. With the knowledge it found on such ships, the AI can develop a consciousness, after which it can learn powerful hacking-related abilities!
- Hacking a hiveship takes multiple days, and will draw a lot of unwanted attention from mechanoids.
- You can level up your Rogue AI after it developed a consciousness by feeding it with data. By doing so, it will become more powerful and learn new powerful abilities. Abilities it can also use against you if its in a bad mood.
- A rogue AI with a consciousness has a personality of its own. It will shower you with wisdom, change its appearance corresponding to its mood, and look at you.. 
- The long range mineral scanners can now be tuned to find sites on the world with a high concentration of mechanoid parts (with the appropriate research done). Of course these parts won't just be lying around. When looking for malicious data, these sites are often a good place to visit.
- A random world quest "roaming mechanoids" is added. Doing it is a nice way to get some extra mechanoid parts.
- You can extract human brain data from live human brains as an additional way to feed your Rogue AI. Smarter colonists yield more data. The downside of this is that doing it will completely destroy the brain of the patient.

This is happens when the Rogue AI goes rogue:


I'd like to thank Madman666 for creating all the sprites featured in this updated, for making suggestions, and for being a huge help in general!!

Small additions and tweaks
- Crashed ship parts will now yield a small amount of hive data.
- Hive data can be bought at exotic goods dealers.
- Lowered power drain of mounted turrets.
- Lowered some research costs.
- Modified mech part drop rate.
- Increased mass capacity of centipedes. 
- Added russian translations (by Paladin)
- Updated several translations.
- Many more fixes and tweaks I forgot to mention.

Liking the update? Please consider buying me a coffee to support more updates like these! Buy me a coffee

The next update will focus on adding more upgrade modules.

[Ruisuki]

I want to try this so bad! I should have waited a couple days to start a 1.0 save now im regretting b19 x(

do you get a mood malus for taking brain data?

[bigheadzach]

I imagine the brains have to come from live donors and not the recently deceased? So basically you get them from [un]willing donors?

Imagine all of your enemies packed into the equivalent of Hell's phonebooth.

[Ruisuki]

what does the rogue ai actually do though? Is it mostly a way to attract mechanoids and thus get their parts? Wasnt there already a 'luring' research or is this separate from that?

[Madman666]

Yes you do get a harsh mood penalty for experimentin on live humans. And AI core can utilize various abilities, such as being able to direct your turret's fire, hack enemy mechanoids, control your own ones and etc. You might wanna keep it happy though. Its hilarious in its rage mode.

[Torann]

Just had to say I love the references you've added from Space Odyssey 2001 and Cylons from BSG, very nice touch.

[Roolo]

Thanks everyone

what does the rogue ai actually do though? Is it mostly a way to attract mechanoids and thus get their parts? Wasnt there already a 'luring' research or is this separate from that?

Why would it do that? I didn't want to spoil too much, but ok here you go, the rogue AI can:

- Output unimaginable wisdom.
- Manage your power network to prevent zzzts.
- Temporarily take direct control over some of your mechanoids.
- Temporarily take direct control over some of your turrets. Allowing you to manually aim them.
- Temporary hack enemy mechs from a distance.

All these abilities drain mood, and they can, and will be used against you if you don't keep your Rogue AI satisfied.
Edit: I just saw madman already answered your question, sorry for repeating what he said

[Canute]

Rogue AI :"Feed ME!!!" :-)

[Skynert]

Woow. Nice.  Can we name rouge AI?