What a launch week! Thanks for your continued support, and welcome to all our new players!

Our leaderboards are now packed with over 700 unique Cogminds fighting their way to the surface. We've got lots more players and data than that, but note that you have to set your name in the game options menu in order to appear. (Even if you weren't aware of that, this week I changed the leaderboards code to retroactively associate you with your old anonymous scores if you do choose to name/rename yourself.)

With help from streamers, some articles, and no doubt the launch discount, Cogmind lingered at or near the top of a number of Top Sellers charts, even making the Steam front page for a little while. Gonna have to save that screenshot for history :)


Cogmind was pretty prominent in the Early Access category, and even did very well in the Indie and Strategy categories alongside mostly no-EA games. For the first week Cogmind also sat on the first page of popular games tagged "rogue-like" (along with a very nice lineup of... roguelites xD)


I was occasionally taking screenshots and recording performance data, which I hope to later use to write some kind of article on the process, but honestly I didn't have much time to really follow that stuff closely. Throughout the first ten days of release I was completely buried in emails, various forums, and social media, responding to players and others with questions or wishes.


Cogmind has been recently played by a number of LPers, among them:

• quill18 streamed some Cogmind and has been uploading it to YouTube
  
• Aavak has an ongoing LP series
  
• Nookrium does as well

Some of Cogmind's regular players have been uploading videos, too, which you may find helpful:

• Shobalk recently uploaded a Getting Started Tutorial
  
• nuzcraft (who records all our weekly seeds, too :P) also shared some quick Survival Tips
  
• zxc, one of Cogmind's best players, recorded a full combat win with Beta 3
  
• I'll hopefully be streaming next week--I always play combat (and currently hold #5 on the leaderboards, so I'm not terrible :P)

On the publication front, there haven't been too many pieces yet, although a number of websites are planning to do something in the coming months, and Cogmind will even appear in a major gaming print magazine in Europe next month.

• PC Gamer at least announced the news (coincidentally they also had a timely and favorable article not long before release)
  
• @scii-curious
  
• Samurai and Video Games
  
• Mad Welshman
  
• The Indie Critic

I did an AMA on r/gamedev last week if you want to check that out.


There's still more to do in the transition from non-Steam to Steam development, so progress will be a little slow for a bit here, but there is a ton of game in there for everyone to explore, and it's been through years of expansion and polish so that should keep you occupied for a while ;)

As one would expect with exposure to any sizeable new group of players, the top priority is to address any little accessibility needs as possible, so that's primarily what the first update will entail. (Fortunately there aren't too many of those!)

For those of you who haven't previously been following my work, know that I had a serious head injury about half a year ago and it has been an obstacle ever since. That's the reason Cogmind came to Steam a little later than planned, but I wouldn't have released on Steam if I wasn't already on the mend. While still not back to normal, I have at least finally found treatments that are working (and most importantly enable me to work at all! :D). I have no idea how much longer it'll take--brains are weird like that, but for now I still have to spend about 10 hours per week in the hospital and that eats into potential dev time. I've still been managing a good 45 hours or more per week, and that's enough to keep things humming along.

This week dev time has been spent organizing plans for content and features for the earliest updates based on feedback so far. That's in addition to the already extensive plans I had already prepared xD.

Now that we're on Steam, because it's not too hard to implement and I presume a number of players want it, the first thing to see to is Steam cloud support.

One cloud prerequisite is that I split Cogmind's configuration file into at least two parts, so I did that yesterday. In fact, it's now three files.


Two of these, system.cfg and options.cfg, are comprised of automated settings or those controlled from the in-game options menu. Advanced.cfg is the one that contains special toggles or tweaks only modifiable via that file. With the next release I'll also be including descriptions of what each of those advanced options actually does :) (quite a few have been accumulated over the past couple years, mostly used by players who've been around for a long time, or asked for them in the first place)

Anyway, it's all the same stuff we have now, just stored in different files to facilitate user-friendly cloud saving.

I'll be updating you with informative SITREPs at this time each week--see you around :D

What a launch week! Thanks for your continued support, and welcome to all our new players!

Our leaderboards are now packed with over 700 unique Cogminds fighting their way to the surface. We've got lots more players and data than that, but note that you have to set your name in the game options menu in order to appear. (Even if you weren't aware of that, this week I changed the leaderboards code to retroactively associate you with your old anonymous scores if you do choose to name/rename yourself.)

With help from streamers, some articles, and no doubt the launch discount, Cogmind lingered at or near the top of a number of Top Sellers charts, even making the Steam front page for a little while. Gonna have to save that screenshot for history :)


Cogmind was pretty prominent in the Early Access category, and even did very well in the Indie and Strategy categories alongside mostly no-EA games. For the first week Cogmind also sat on the first page of popular games tagged "rogue-like" (along with a very nice lineup of... roguelites xD)


I was occasionally taking screenshots and recording performance data, which I hope to later use to write some kind of article on the process, but honestly I didn't have much time to really follow that stuff closely. Throughout the first ten days of release I was completely buried in emails, various forums, and social media, responding to players and others with questions or wishes.


Cogmind has been recently played by a number of LPers, among them:

• quill18 streamed some Cogmind and has been uploading it to YouTube
  
• Aavak has an ongoing LP series
  
• Nookrium does as well

Some of Cogmind's regular players have been uploading videos, too, which you may find helpful:

• Shobalk recently uploaded a Getting Started Tutorial
  
• nuzcraft (who records all our weekly seeds, too :P) also shared some quick Survival Tips
  
• zxc, one of Cogmind's best players, recorded a full combat win with Beta 3
  
• I'll hopefully be streaming next week--I always play combat (and currently hold #5 on the leaderboards, so I'm not terrible :P)

On the publication front, there haven't been too many pieces yet, although a number of websites are planning to do something in the coming months, and Cogmind will even appear in a major gaming print magazine in Europe next month.

• PC Gamer at least announced the news (coincidentally they also had a timely and favorable article not long before release)
  
• @scii-curious
  
• Samurai and Video Games
  
• Mad Welshman
  
• The Indie Critic

I did an AMA on r/gamedev last week if you want to check that out.


There's still more to do in the transition from non-Steam to Steam development, so progress will be a little slow for a bit here, but there is a ton of game in there for everyone to explore, and it's been through years of expansion and polish so that should keep you occupied for a while ;)

As one would expect with exposure to any sizeable new group of players, the top priority is to address any little accessibility needs as possible, so that's primarily what the first update will entail. (Fortunately there aren't too many of those!)

For those of you who haven't previously been following my work, know that I had a serious head injury about half a year ago and it has been an obstacle ever since. That's the reason Cogmind came to Steam a little later than planned, but I wouldn't have released on Steam if I wasn't already on the mend. While still not back to normal, I have at least finally found treatments that are working (and most importantly enable me to work at all! :D). I have no idea how much longer it'll take--brains are weird like that, but for now I still have to spend about 10 hours per week in the hospital and that eats into potential dev time. I've still been managing a good 45 hours or more per week, and that's enough to keep things humming along.

This week dev time has been spent organizing plans for content and features for the earliest updates based on feedback so far. That's in addition to the already extensive plans I had already prepared xD.

Now that we're on Steam, because it's not too hard to implement and I presume a number of players want it, the first thing to see to is Steam cloud support.

One cloud prerequisite is that I split Cogmind's configuration file into at least two parts, so I did that yesterday. In fact, it's now three files.


Two of these, system.cfg and options.cfg, are comprised of automated settings or those controlled from the in-game options menu. Advanced.cfg is the one that contains special toggles or tweaks only modifiable via that file. With the next release I'll also be including descriptions of what each of those advanced options actually does :) (quite a few have been accumulated over the past couple years, mostly used by players who've been around for a long time, or asked for them in the first place)

Anyway, it's all the same stuff we have now, just stored in different files to facilitate user-friendly cloud saving.

I'll be updating you with informative SITREPs at this time each week--see you around :D

It's finally happened. After over four years and more than 8,000 hours of work, Cogmind has just been released on Steam :D

"Released" but Early Access. Some say that as soon as you release on Steam, EA or not, that's it--you only really get one launch and the "full release" won't make as big a splash later. That's fine, since Cogmind is a very complete experience and it's time for anyone who's been waiting for this opportunity to jump in.

There are of course a lot of people who don't have much faith in Early Access games, but as long as they're interested in the concept of Cogmind I don't think it'll be too hard to win them over while we spend the coming months adding optional features and content, especially considering the amount of development already allocated to ensuring maximum polish.


Break out the fireworks! (Or missiles, depending on how you look at them :P)

Thanks to everyone who's helped make this possible! Cogmind has come way beyond what it would have been without as much support as everyone's provided over the years, be it financial, spreading the word, or offering feedback and suggestions. A few months back I shared a lengthy rundown of features that didn't have to happen but have certainly made Cogmind better for it, features that you all made possible.


A logo image recently put together while preparing for Steam.

Cogmind feature highlights, as it launches into the wild on Steam:

• Build and modify a unique robot from nearly 1,000 parts, whether found or salvaged from other bots
  
• Highly dynamic character development without XP/grinding
  
• Dozens of robot classes, each with unique behavior within the ecosystem
  
• Mechanics and environments that enable one of the most compelling stealth experiences in a roguelike
  
• Extensive hacking systems--nearly 100 machine hacks so far
  
• Procedurally generated world, including dozens of map types into which hundreds of hand-made areas are mixed
  
• Hundreds of NPC encounters and thousands of lines of dialogue form a rich story
  
• Seven different animated endings to discover
  
• Fully destructible environment
  
• Nearly 1,000 pieces of ASCII art
  
• Huge range of particle effects like never seen in a terminal (except my other project :P)
  
• Everything has sounds--more SFX than any roguelike, ever
  
• Advanced terminal interface, with numerous built-in input options and tons of information at your fingertips

Composite demo of various Cogmind features.

Other interesting points regarding design and development:

• Cogmind is all about atmosphere--there isn't even a main menu, the player is dropped right into the game world
  
• Cogmind was designed entirely in CP437, with aesthetics conforming to limitations imposed by a two-colors-per-cell grid-based display (nothing breaks that rule)
  
• There is a tileset available by default (since approximately 75% of players prefer to use it!), but even that was designed to mimic the ASCII aesthetic so as to not ruin the style
  
• Despite the limitations, Cogmind's UI explores many features never before seen in traditional roguelikes
  
• To help build Cogmind I created REXPaint, a free editor now in use by a large number of artists and gamedevs

Cogmind inventory management demo with bonus ASCII destruction and repair :)


I've sent out emails to alpha supporters who bought back when a Steam key was promised as part of those tiers. So check your inboxes (and spam, just in case) and email me at gridsagegames@gmail.com if you were supposed to receive a key but did not. Note that my response time might be a little slower than usual due to a much higher volume of activity around release time.

Those of you migrating from DRM-free to Steam can import your settings and metadata as usual. After installing via Steam, open the Steam-installed local files and copy over your old Cogmind /user/ directory into the new one. That's it. It will automatically update from then on for subsequent versions.

A little Beta 3 was put out last week to coincide with this Steam launch, so anyone not on Steam will want to update manually. See the announcement for notes on that.

For those of you who bought ages ago just to support development and are only now being reminded you own the game but never registered your copy, therefore your name doesn't appear in the supporters list (or more importantly the art gallery if you bought that early), go back to your original download email and use the linked form to register. There are still quite a few unclaimed items in the gallery, mostly because a lot of you probably didn't notice the form link (just a couple quick fields to fill out, otherwise I don't know what name you want to use!). After some time on Steam I'm going to have to reallocate remaining unclaimed items to other players!


Although Cogmind is now available here on Steam, it will also always be available for sale from my website, and the DRM-free version will continue to receive the same updates (though technically the two versions are slightly different packages).

In the near term, however, as has been indicated on the buy page for a little while now, direct purchases will NOT include a Steam key.

A big part of the reason is to encourage purchases from Steam to help push up the overall review score. Everyone playing Cogmind on Steam please take some time to leave reviews! They're vital for encouraging more sales, and more sales is how we're going to get more features!

Further down the line this key policy could change, but it depends on a lot of factors and we'll have to see how things play out. So if you haven't bought Cogmind yet and are interested in doing so to play on Steam, buy from Steam. For a DRM-free non-Steam version instead buy direct here.

GOG I'm not sure about, because despite proactively expressing interest in Cogmind they haven't responded to my later emails, so for now I've decided to shelve that route.


There hasn't yet been a whole lot of advance press coverage about Cogmind's Steam release, partially because I requested that most influencers hold off on their coverage until on or after the actual release date, though I'm still not sure what kind of reception we'll see since Cogmind is pretty niche, after all. Some pre-release happenings:

• Purely coincidentally, leading up to this release PC Gamer published an article full of praise for Cogmind, and despite his short time with it the author did a great job of understanding and conveying the essence of the game.
  
• Well-known roguelike let's player Aavak has started a Cogmind series which has been pretty popular.
  
• Two Credits has a quick summary of the launch news, but otherwise there's not much out there just yet.

Gonna have to rely on word of mouth and continued updates to get attention! :D

If you have any favorite LPers/streamers you'd like to see try Cogmind, or a reviewer who's opinion you'd like to read, let them know! I've already written to several, but I can't possibly find them all (and I imagine lots probably won't notice my email anyway, but if some of their fans let them know that can be even more powerful than me self-promoting my way into their inbox).


Cogmind combat demo with particle effects.

It's finally happened. After over four years and more than 8,000 hours of work, Cogmind has just been released on Steam :D

"Released" but Early Access. Some say that as soon as you release on Steam, EA or not, that's it--you only really get one launch and the "full release" won't make as big a splash later. That's fine, since Cogmind is a very complete experience and it's time for anyone who's been waiting for this opportunity to jump in.

There are of course a lot of people who don't have much faith in Early Access games, but as long as they're interested in the concept of Cogmind I don't think it'll be too hard to win them over while we spend the coming months adding optional features and content, especially considering the amount of development already allocated to ensuring maximum polish.


Break out the fireworks! (Or missiles, depending on how you look at them :P)

Thanks to everyone who's helped make this possible! Cogmind has come way beyond what it would have been without as much support as everyone's provided over the years, be it financial, spreading the word, or offering feedback and suggestions. A few months back I shared a lengthy rundown of features that didn't have to happen but have certainly made Cogmind better for it, features that you all made possible.


A logo image recently put together while preparing for Steam.

Cogmind feature highlights, as it launches into the wild on Steam:

• Build and modify a unique robot from nearly 1,000 parts, whether found or salvaged from other bots
  
• Highly dynamic character development without XP/grinding
  
• Dozens of robot classes, each with unique behavior within the ecosystem
  
• Mechanics and environments that enable one of the most compelling stealth experiences in a roguelike
  
• Extensive hacking systems--nearly 100 machine hacks so far
  
• Procedurally generated world, including dozens of map types into which hundreds of hand-made areas are mixed
  
• Hundreds of NPC encounters and thousands of lines of dialogue form a rich story
  
• Seven different animated endings to discover
  
• Fully destructible environment
  
• Nearly 1,000 pieces of ASCII art
  
• Huge range of particle effects like never seen in a terminal (except my other project :P)
  
• Everything has sounds--more SFX than any roguelike, ever
  
• Advanced terminal interface, with numerous built-in input options and tons of information at your fingertips

Composite demo of various Cogmind features.

Other interesting points regarding design and development:

• Cogmind is all about atmosphere--there isn't even a main menu, the player is dropped right into the game world
  
• Cogmind was designed entirely in CP437, with aesthetics conforming to limitations imposed by a two-colors-per-cell grid-based display (nothing breaks that rule)
  
• There is a tileset available by default (since approximately 75% of players prefer to use it!), but even that was designed to mimic the ASCII aesthetic so as to not ruin the style
  
• Despite the limitations, Cogmind's UI explores many features never before seen in traditional roguelikes
  
• To help build Cogmind I created REXPaint, a free editor now in use by a large number of artists and gamedevs

Cogmind inventory management demo with bonus ASCII destruction and repair :)


I've sent out emails to alpha supporters who bought back when a Steam key was promised as part of those tiers. So check your inboxes (and spam, just in case) and email me at gridsagegames@gmail.com if you were supposed to receive a key but did not. Note that my response time might be a little slower than usual due to a much higher volume of activity around release time.

Those of you migrating from DRM-free to Steam can import your settings and metadata as usual. After installing via Steam, open the Steam-installed local files and copy over your old Cogmind /user/ directory into the new one. That's it. It will automatically update from then on for subsequent versions.

A little Beta 3 was put out last week to coincide with this Steam launch, so anyone not on Steam will want to update manually. See the announcement for notes on that.

For those of you who bought ages ago just to support development and are only now being reminded you own the game but never registered your copy, therefore your name doesn't appear in the supporters list (or more importantly the art gallery if you bought that early), go back to your original download email and use the linked form to register. There are still quite a few unclaimed items in the gallery, mostly because a lot of you probably didn't notice the form link (just a couple quick fields to fill out, otherwise I don't know what name you want to use!). After some time on Steam I'm going to have to reallocate remaining unclaimed items to other players!


Although Cogmind is now available here on Steam, it will also always be available for sale from my website, and the DRM-free version will continue to receive the same updates (though technically the two versions are slightly different packages).

In the near term, however, as has been indicated on the buy page for a little while now, direct purchases will NOT include a Steam key.

A big part of the reason is to encourage purchases from Steam to help push up the overall review score. Everyone playing Cogmind on Steam please take some time to leave reviews! They're vital for encouraging more sales, and more sales is how we're going to get more features!

Further down the line this key policy could change, but it depends on a lot of factors and we'll have to see how things play out. So if you haven't bought Cogmind yet and are interested in doing so to play on Steam, buy from Steam. For a DRM-free non-Steam version instead buy direct here.

GOG I'm not sure about, because despite proactively expressing interest in Cogmind they haven't responded to my later emails, so for now I've decided to shelve that route.


There hasn't yet been a whole lot of advance press coverage about Cogmind's Steam release, partially because I requested that most influencers hold off on their coverage until on or after the actual release date, though I'm still not sure what kind of reception we'll see since Cogmind is pretty niche, after all. Some pre-release happenings:

• Purely coincidentally, leading up to this release PC Gamer published an article full of praise for Cogmind, and despite his short time with it the author did a great job of understanding and conveying the essence of the game.
  
• Well-known roguelike let's player Aavak has started a Cogmind series which has been pretty popular.
  
• Two Credits has a quick summary of the launch news, but otherwise there's not much out there just yet.

Gonna have to rely on word of mouth and continued updates to get attention! :D

If you have any favorite LPers/streamers you'd like to see try Cogmind, or a reviewer who's opinion you'd like to read, let them know! I've already written to several, but I can't possibly find them all (and I imagine lots probably won't notice my email anyway, but if some of their fans let them know that can be even more powerful than me self-promoting my way into their inbox).


Cogmind combat demo with particle effects.

Cogmind itself is good to go for the next big phase :D


Pre-release testing is done, and it was pretty funny how simple and clear-cut the Steam players country graph was for a while there :P


Last week we had the store page approved, and this week was the second and final step, build approval:


Over on the dev blog I shared details about the entire preparation process, so check that out if you're interested in what goes on behind the scenes before a game can be released on Steam.

All that's left is notifying reviewers/LPers/streamers and writing all the announcements and other boring stuff. Now that's a short sentence beginning with "all that's left," but trust me this stuff is extremely time-consuming xD

For current and near-future players, DDarkRay has written up a useful new strategy guide on positioning, super important stuff for any players focusing on combat to consider. A lot of the other guides are relatively old so some of their information may be out of date, but the new Strategy Tips included with the game are enough to get you pretty far if you're having trouble. I'm sure we'll be seeing new guides now that the core content is complete and we have an influx of new Cogminds :D

This will likely be the last update before... you know :). I'm off to continue preparations!

Cogmind itself is good to go for the next big phase :D


Pre-release testing is done, and it was pretty funny how simple and clear-cut the Steam players country graph was for a while there :P


Last week we had the store page approved, and this week was the second and final step, build approval:


Over on the dev blog I shared details about the entire preparation process, so check that out if you're interested in what goes on behind the scenes before a game can be released on Steam.

All that's left is notifying reviewers/LPers/streamers and writing all the announcements and other boring stuff. Now that's a short sentence beginning with "all that's left," but trust me this stuff is extremely time-consuming xD

For current and near-future players, DDarkRay has written up a useful new strategy guide on positioning, super important stuff for any players focusing on combat to consider. A lot of the other guides are relatively old so some of their information may be out of date, but the new Strategy Tips included with the game are enough to get you pretty far if you're having trouble. I'm sure we'll be seeing new guides now that the core content is complete and we have an influx of new Cogminds :D

This will likely be the last update before... you know :). I'm off to continue preparations!

What perfect timing... here Cogmind is coming to Steam in less than two weeks and PC Gamer gives me a rather nice article to share :D
http://www.pcgamer.com/these-3-roguelikes-are-pushing-the-genres-boundaries-while-remaining-true-to-its-roots/

It's great to see a reviewer who really "gets" the game (along with both Caves of Qud and Unexplored, two other well-done games you should check out).

Though the screenshots could be far better, I admit Cogmind is not exactly easy to screenshot well. But GIFs? We can do GIFs :D


I'm guessing we'll be seeing some more pieces before too long since over the next week I'll be proactively contacting reviewers for once.

Cogmind has certainly been noticed by major publications before (especially in a number of "top games of the year" lists <3), but for the past years I've just been focused on development and sharing progress rather than seeking media attention. Since Cogmind still had a ways to go, and I wasn't handing out review keys, there really hasn't been much in terms of complete reviews.

Time to dive into that contact list I've been building up! If you have any appropriate reviewers/LPers/streamers to recommend, I'm all ears.

What perfect timing... here Cogmind is coming to Steam in less than two weeks and PC Gamer gives me a rather nice article to share :D
http://www.pcgamer.com/these-3-roguelikes-are-pushing-the-genres-boundaries-while-remaining-true-to-its-roots/

It's great to see a reviewer who really "gets" the game (along with both Caves of Qud and Unexplored, two other well-done games you should check out).

Though the screenshots could be far better, I admit Cogmind is not exactly easy to screenshot well. But GIFs? We can do GIFs :D


I'm guessing we'll be seeing some more pieces before too long since over the next week I'll be proactively contacting reviewers for once.

Cogmind has certainly been noticed by major publications before (especially in a number of "top games of the year" lists <3), but for the past years I've just been focused on development and sharing progress rather than seeking media attention. Since Cogmind still had a ways to go, and I wasn't handing out review keys, there really hasn't been much in terms of complete reviews.

Time to dive into that contact list I've been building up! If you have any appropriate reviewers/LPers/streamers to recommend, I'm all ears.