Aphid
Fiery horticulturalists with strong opinions on monoculture to a fascist degree, Aphids utilize tar and their former flammable pesticides to slow and torch any bot daring to approach, at risk of an explosive overheat, but that is a sacrifice they're willing to make.
FLAMETHROWER: Simple as they come, the Flamethrower allows Aphid to expunge flames that build in both pressure and output as time goes on, allowing an extreme level of damage output and rocket-like mobility unparalleled by any bot currently built. Although this comes at a heavy cost as flames uniquely affect Aphid by Overheating it, limiting the length of time it must fire before cooling. Failure to do so and critically overheating will lead to an explosion.
- Aphids close to overheat can sear any enemy they touch, killing them.
TAR: Aphid opens up the fuel trap to cover the floor in a slowing and incredibly flammable substance. Firing the Flamethrower while the Tar trap is open will instantly Overheat Aphid, causing it to self-destruct.
Upgrades
| Tier | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common |  Overpressure |
+10% flamethrower output, -50% ignition time | Premature conflagration. | 10 |
 Exhaust Feedback |
+25% flame pressure buildup, +10% heat buildup | Turbocharged | 10 | |
 Laminar Outflow |
-20% heat buildup | Ask your mechanic about "explosive reflux" today. | 10 | |
 Overclocked Cooling |
+40% cooling rate | Entropy is your Friendtropy. | 3 | |
 Distended Spigot |
+30% tar lifetime, +60% tar burn time | Probably not reversible... | 4 | |
 Quadrupedal Optimization |
+10% movement speed, +20% traction while firing | Rooted like a weed. | 5 | |
| Tier | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
| Radical |  Aerated Fuel Tanks |
Increases post-mortem explosion power, Power increases further after 10 seconds in host | What could go wrong? | 2 |
| Tier | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
| Breakthrough |  Internal Combustion |
+100% flame range, -50% flame spread, +25% flamethrower recoil, +40% heat buildup (precludes:  Ultrasonic Nozzle) |
Handheld rocket engine. | 1 |
 Ultrasonic Nozzle |
Flames are replaced with gas clouds that explode after you stop firing (precludes:  Internal Combustion) |
WARNING: Thermobaric blast rated visor mandatory. | 1 | |
 Alternative Coolant |
Instantly vent all heat when not firing Create a self-damaging explosion based on amount of heat vented. |
Liquid, conductive, and readily available... | 1 |
Skins
| Name | Image | Description | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default |  |
"The green thumb." | Allways Unlocked |
| Magnesium |  |
"Burning Bright." | Complete a run getting 100 kills using Aphid |
| Carbon |  |
"Well Done." | Gain 30,000 points in a single loop |
| Krypton |  |
"Smells like grilled leek..." | Complete Advanced RAMming (AD) |
AI
Main article: Enemy AI
Aphid AI Aphids have six unique states. Only four are implemented.
Priority
- Within range and overheat <50%:
- Approach for Attack (100% / 80%)
- Rushing:
- Flee and Leave Tar (0% / 20%)
Not seen in the priority list are Attack and Boost into Attack, which are transitioned to by other states.
Flee and Leave Tar
Upon entering: The Aphid tries to pick a point between 50 and 150 units behind it, away from the player. If the farthest it can reach is less than 50 units or there is no straight line between it and the point, it will choose a different state according to the priority. Otherwise, it sets a 2-3 second timer and a 1.5 second tar timer.
While in this state: The Aphid rotates its target point, relative to the player. The rotation direction has a 50% chance of being clockwise or counterclockwise. While the tar timer is counting, it will try to emit tar. Once the 2-3 second timer expires or something gets in the Aphids way, it will choose a different state according to the priority.
Approach for Attack
Upon entering: The Aphid picks a point in a 180° semicircle pointing at the player and sets a one second timer. If no point has line of sight with the player, the Aphid will check if it can already hit the player, and transition to Attack if it can, or Navigate to close range if it can't.
While in this state: The Aphid navigates towards its point. If it reaches the point and the player is within flamethrower range, the Aphid transitions to the Attack state. Once the timer expires, it has a 50% chance of transitioning to Attack if the player is within range, or re-entering this state to navigate again. If the AI level is 1 or more and the Aphid has less than 20% heat buildup, it will enter the Boost into Attack state.
Boost into Attack
This state cannot currently be seen in-game as no enemy has an AI level above 0.
Upon entering: The Aphid picks a point in a 180° semicircle pointing at the player. If no point has line of sight with the player, the Aphid will choose a different state according to the priority. If the Aphid doesn't have line of sight with the point, it will check if it can already hit the player, and transition to Attack if it can, or Navigate to close range if it can't. Then, it begins firing its flamethrower.
While in this state: The Aphid moves towards the player while facing away, causing it to boost. Once it's within 30 units of the target point or if it has too much heat but can hit the player, it will transition to Attack. If the Aphid's heat is over 90% it will choose a different state according to the priority.
Attack
The Aphid's target point is locked relative to the player, and it constantly aims at the player while attacking. While the player is in its allowed area, it walks towards the target point. If the player is out of range for more than one second, the Aphid will choose a different state according to the priority with a half-second delay. If the Aphid's heat is above 90%, it will immediately enter Flee and Leave Tar.
Elites
Enemy Aphids can be spawned with one or more upgrades, with their skin being determined by the upgrade. These Elites will award extra fitness points when defeated, and will retain their upgrade when swapped into(usually stacking its effect with upgrades already possessed). In the case that an Elite is spawned with multiple of these upgrades, the skin closer to the top of the table will take priority.
| Skin | Image | Upgrade | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnesium | |
Aerated Fuel Tanks |
Self-Destruct explosion is significantly larger. |
| Krypton | |
Distended Spigot |
Increases the lifetime and burn duration of tar. |
| Carbon | |
Laminar Outflow |
Heat builds up more slowly when firing. |
Trivia
- The Indev name for Aphid was Flamebot.
- The original moveset for Aphid was very different, the original moveset did not have the overheat mechanic, rocket thrust mechanic, tar, or pan-sear, its secondary attack was a limited form of the self-destruct, and its flamethrower decreased in output with time.
- The “Carbon” Elite Aphid does not appear in-game as of version 0.4.2 due to a programming error, which checks for “Self-laminar outflow” instead of “
Laminar Outflow”. - The "Krypton" Aphid Skin is a reference to Hatsune Miku.
Concept Art
| Bots | |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | |
| Bosses | |