So- Kinak is on an UPDATE EXTRAVAGANZA this month. Whoo!
July 31st, 2013 - Added some more paths through the Southside Lab, rebalanced the existing paths, and possibly made it a little clearer what's going on.
Figured I'd collect up what we know so far, or at least speculate on:
- New item: Southside Lab Notes, which gives more intriguing hints at what's going on in secret there.
- Pre-OMEGA:
- New encounter: 2 Midgard Scientists. Seems to show up at low alert (and other conditions* ?), and seems to raise the alert by 1 no matter what you do (fight or run away)
- Cell Block encounter has slightly different text according to the wiki, but might have just been mis-wikied to begin with given the context. No other changes observed.
- New encounter: Insane Bum, after you have released it from the cells.
- Running away from or losing to the Mutated Bum and Insane Bum gives a new message "With you out of the picture, the former prisoner runs off to cause more mayhem." Presumably this was how it worked before for the Mutated Bum but was not explicitly stated.
- Midgard Special Officer gives a new message if you run away from him twice, and now drops an MSPSSP key.
- The Surveillance Room doesn't seem to give keys anymore, and the three or four security guards that I fought didn't seem to either. Considering that the trashed Southside Lab Office is once-only once you unlock it with the key, I'd bet you can only get one key now as well, from Thrivaldi. Seems Midgard has toughened up their security a bit. EDIT: But can still get them post-omega. I wonder if that's intentional?
- Post-OMEGA:
- New encounter: Cabled Hall (non-etheric)/Hanging Wires (etheric)
- Changes to the Southside Lab Corpsepile: now gives lab notes, covers you in gore, and is helpful to have an air filter.
- Southside Lab Office gives 5 stacks of Southside Lab Notes instead of the Southside Lab Documentation. Crypto says that this encounter stops showing up after that, and that is intentional.
* Data: I got the two scientists on my very first turn in the Buried Lab this run. I was etheric at the time. I had previously fought the two guards in the van pickup, which I initially thought might raise alert but doesn't really make a lot of sense now that I think about it. I don't seem to be getting this encounter anymore, possibly because I am now sober or because I released a bunch of prisoners and the scientists took cover. EDIT: Just got this again, sober this time. I got it right after using a lab radio so I think they only show up when the alert is less than high (and possibly only when alert is more than zero?).
Questions:
- Is it still possible to get the documentation anymore? Yes, via hacking at least.
- Any changes to the Surveillance Room? In ~15 tries I didn't get any ss lab notes or a mspssp key.
- I have a vague feeling that the game now tracks the number of prisoners you've released, and once you kill them they are gone til you release more. (Largely based on the mutated bum not showing up for ~15 turns after I killed it… which is not a huge sample. Will need to test more tomorrow.)
- Kinak says new PATHS, plural. presumably the notes are a new path, but are there other ways? Or just counting the notes pre-/post-omega as two paths.
- Anything special for coming across the Midgard Scientists in doctor's gear Got the normal combat.