LuaQuest · published
Wiresprawl version 0.0.9 is coming in the next test build. It is the biggest update since the hacking terminal: a new way to attack, defenses that grow with you, and something to spend your credits on in the late game.
A new research in the Intrusion branch. Once unlocked, a successful breach against an AI network can keep going: with its firewall down, you hack its nodes one by one along its cables, against the clock. Target a specific node, pivot to an isolated island, and walk away with credits, research and coins.
The AIs can return the favor. Their botnet breaks your firewall, your dome dissolves and glitches red, and the countdown to the loss begins. Re-secure your nodes, unplug the threatened cables, or counter-hack the botnet to get everything back.
Safeguards to keep it fair:
a raid never takes more than a quarter of your network;
your Vault, Console and Link are protected;
half of what is destroyed is refunded;
you keep your money, your research and your level;
a one-hour shield follows every raid;
never raided on Zen or Calm threat, and never before you take the research.
A “Rebuild” button then puts your lost nodes back in place.
Type fw in the terminal: the enemy firewall's HP, the damage per second you need, yours, and a clear verdict like “Not enough: you are 8 damage/s short”. During the attack, the firewall melts live. Afterwards, a report tells you what was missing and what to do.
The game explains how it works: the help command, a “How to break in” diagram in the Learn more sheet, and a tip from Mira the first time. Cracking ports gives a bonus; it is your node chain's damage that breaks the firewall.
Firewall: Armor and Regeneration.
IDS Probe: Early detection and Counter-trace.
Honeypot: Bait and Intel theft.
When a botnet attacks you, the Security screen keeps a real defense report: damage taken, the role of each defense, and the margin you had left. And a Target's Damage inputs now accept two cables.
Upgrading one Uploader no longer upgrades them all: each node has its own levels, bought on its card, and removing a node refunds its upgrades. Your saves are converted without losing anything. The Processor is now shared too: its frequency is split between every node plugged into it. Put too much on one CPU and everything slows down. Frequency and Cores are bought on its card.
Billions of billions of credits and nothing left to buy? Four endless projects are waiting:
Optical backbone: faster Links, and extra Links.
Data center: bigger buffers, more offline time counted, more turbo.
Supercomputer: faster Processors and GPU Clusters.
Sprawl archives: more research, and skill points.
Every completed stage is yours to keep after a sector jump, and there is always a next stage to aim for.
Five-minute graphs: Miner coins, Processor load, Link bandwidth, Uploader revenue…
Icons on the cards: cores, frequency, CPU share received, processing time.
Text that stays readable when you zoom out.
No more “inf/s”: a full output says it is “blocked”, with its real rate.
The breach command was silently lost when your node chain was already attacking the Target.
The game no longer freezes or shows infinite values with a gigantic setup.
The “Receives X Hz of Y Hz needed” message is replaced with clear indicators.
Multiplayer is still in the works, and node raids will come to it too. Thank you for your feedback: it shaped this whole version. Add Wiresprawl to your wishlist to be notified when it launches!