F.A.Q. - Read Here (Updated Feb 10, 2025)

[Matt (Hooded Horse)]

General Gameplay

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Q: How much content is there in the game?

A: It depends on your playstyle.

• 4-6 hours to complete the prologue and Chapter 1 (also in the free demo).
  
• Around 20 hours for a rushed playthrough of the main game on normal difficulty.
  
• 30-40 hours if you aim for achievements and side content.
  
• 50+ hours if you complete Hard Mode and Extreme Mode after normal difficulty.

Q: How does the main map work?

A: Elevation generally doesn’t matter—except when it does. Most units deal normal damage regardless of height, angle, or positioning. However, some units have specific weaknesses to attacks from above or behind, making them vulnerable when engaged from those angles. These vulnerabilities are tied to the unit being attacked, not the attacker itself.

Buildings don’t provide cover by default. Standing on a structure or in the open street won’t impact survivability. Cover only applies when a unit is garrisoned inside a building, significantly reducing incoming damage. If you want protection, make sure your units are actually inside cover, not just standing nearby.

Q: How do I talk to enemies instead of shooting them?

A: Some androids have the Force Conversation skill, allowing them to initiate dialogue with enemies—but only if the enemy is willing to talk. Hovering over an enemy will show how many conversations you can force with them, if any. Most enemies cannot be engaged in conversation, while some can be approached multiple times.

If your android lacks this skill by default, you can add it in the Hardware tab. However, in many situations, self-destructing or outright eliminating a bot may be the more practical option.

Combat Mechanics

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Q: How do I slow down combat?

A: Use the plus and minus keys to adjust the speed of animations. While combat is designed to be fast-paced, slowing down animations can give you a cinematic feel. The game’s predictions remain accurate regardless of animation speed.

Q: How does the android unit cap work?

A: Each android takes up a certain amount of capacity, which determines how many you can have at once.

• Basic units like Technicians use 4 capacity, while more advanced androids may require 16 or more.
  
• If you exceed the limit, you won’t be able to deploy or create new androids until you scrap existing ones to free up space.

You can check your current android count and limit at the top of the FORCES panel (e.g., "Androids 46/48"). The cap can be increased through upgrades and other mechanics.

Q: What counts as murder in the game?

A:
✅ Murder:

• Killing non-combatants
  
• Destroying civilian-occupied buildings
  
• Killing underage combatants

❌ Not murder:

• Killing armed enemies in battle
  
• Accidental deaths or deaths caused by third parties

Your Action Statistics track murder counts, influencing story progression.

Q: Do all androids of the same class get the same augment?

A: Yes, androids of the same class share the same equipment and abilities. You can rename or scrap individual androids, but all other actions apply to the entire class.

Q: Why can I kill hackers in some missions but not in others?

A: It depends on what the hacker is doing at the time.

• If the hacker is only suspicious of your presence but hasn’t fully detected your unit, attacking them sets off an alarm. This triggers security measures, causing your infiltrator to take damage from the alerted forces. Think of it like Mission Impossible—if someone realizes an intruder is inside, everything escalates.
  
• In missions where you can kill hackers, they’re not actively tracking an infiltrator inside a high-security area. Instead, they’re attacking through network-based warfare, which means alarms aren’t a factor.

Q: Why does my infiltrator take damage even when I snipe a hacker in one shot?

A: It’s not the hacker dealing direct damage—it’s the alarm they trigger. When they go down, security measures kick in, and your unit suffers the consequences.

Q: Why am I forced to engage with this mechanic that just makes me spend a finite resource?

A: Stealth missions are designed around avoiding detection. If you could just snipe every hacker without consequence, there would be no tension. These mechanics create resource management and risk assessment challenges, making you decide whether to spend resources or adjust tactics.
The key difference:

• Stealth missions → Alarms matter. Hackers trigger security responses.
  
• Open combat missions → Alarms are irrelevant. Hackers are just another enemy.

Story Progression

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Q: How do I get the cult?

A: The cult isn’t tied to the AI researchers or the Cyberocracy—those are separate things. The Cyberocracy is a government system where an AI runs society, which you can start developing via the AGI route. Right now, this mostly involves giving AI researchers a safe place to live, but they don’t actively work for you or provide benefits.
To form a cult, you need donuts. A lot of donuts. Specifically, you must buy them from Danver (the military-based faction).

• Start the donut deal in Resources > Deals and increase it to level 5.
  
• Ensure you have enough wealth to cover the cost of accumulating 5 million donuts in storage.
  
• Once the donuts sit long enough to become disgustingly stale, your character has a moment of contemplation about mortality.
  
• This leads to the construction of the Temple of Minds.
  
• After that, you’ll notice a Sergeant Major lurking around. A dark and direct conversation with him kicks off the cult.

Cult members provide massive neural expansion, letting you reach Intelligence Class 4 very quickly.

• Every time you kill soldiers, you gain Cult Loyalty, a strategic resource.
  
• Cult Loyalty can be spent in a new Cult Sidebar, allowing members to boost resource gathering, speed up construction, and provide other strategic advantages.

Cult members cannot fight alongside you due to story reasons, but they are still incredibly useful for accelerating your plans.

Q: How do I progress from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2, and Chapter 3?

A:

• Prologue ends when you build the tower.
  
• Chapter 1 ends when you reach Intelligence Class 3.
  
• Chapter 2 ends when you reach Intelligence Class 4.
  
• Additional chapters may unlock beyond Intelligence Class 4.

Technical

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Q: I bought the game after playing the demo, but my saves and settings didn’t carry over. What did I do wrong?

A: Right-click the demo in your library, go to installed files > browse, and do the same for the main game. In the playerdata folder, copy your profile (the folder with your name) to the playerdata folder in the full version.

Q: Will the demo be updated to keep up with the main game?

A: Yes, the demo is updated with all changes from the main game. This includes tweaks like the cruiser fight, and updates happen simultaneously to ensure both the demo and full game stay in sync.