I haven't added a journal lately and I figured it was about time I added something. So, maybe add something probably worthwhile to read as well?
Rack 2 has been in development for a while. As of now, the focus has apparently been on multiplayer development. Unfortunately, that has been taking much longer than expected. So, we are stuck with version 2.12 for quite some time now.
While we are, in fact, stuck on this version, this version of Rack 2 is actually quite playable. Animations aren't all polished and there's still plenty of balance problems to work out, however, the more recent versions are actually quite playable. So, how do you make decent progress in the game if you aren't playing free play mode? Gradually picking away at it. Now, here are some tips to help you get through the whole game without utilizing the free play mode (which gets you a bunch of starting cash and chemicals) to get there.
The first tip is getting a reasonable rate of each of the chemicals. You need all of them if you are going to unlock the various research challenges. To get these, you need to look closely at the client's preferences for the most part.
Canidine (Red): Familiarity. Look for client's general preferences. If they like men, be a male scientist. If they like handjobs, give them handjobs. This is probably the easiest one to figure out.
Felinium (orange): Curiosity. When looking at clients preferences, look for entries that are noted as either "secret" or "latent" and give those clients that experience. Throughout the game, you'll probably either get Canidine or Felinium quickly depending on the client and experience you give them.
Scalium (Green): This is probably the hardest to get in-game. If you're going to start harvesting this chemical, do this with either a client that is volunteering or a client you pay for. Look for things in the client's preferences they don't like. If they don't like men, be a male scientist for instance. When you interact with a client after, if they are a volunteer, try to pair their lack of preference for your gender with something they enjoy so they don't quit on you. If they don't like men, but like handjobs, be a male scientist and give them a handjob. You might not get the greatest review, but you'll get to collect on scalium that will help you unlock more things while researching. Alternatively, just get a client who enjoys pain if this is enabled in your preferences.
Avium (Purple): For some players, this is the hardest to figure out. Simply look for clients who enjoy partner satisfaction. Then, you can just give yourself an org*sm using that test subject. Sometimes, for players, this just randomly pops up as something you are getting. If a client doesn't enjoy partner satisfaction, you won't be harvesting any. You either get this or you don't.
Lapinine (Yellow): Give your client an org*sm quickly. This is the easiest to harvest.
Equimine (Blue): The opposite of Lapinine. Edge your clients and draw out the act. It takes a little longer to collect, but you can very easily collect a lot if you regularly edge your clients. Sometimes, you can edge your clients enough to achieve multiple org*sms.
Research: Research is where you unlock everything. If you are using the Rack re-invented patch, there are more things to unlock. What you get to unlock is generally random, but the more you unlock, the faster you can have whatever is left over available for you to unlock (there seems to be a limited supply of available unlockables at one time in the research bay.
To switch between compounds available to you, use numbers 1-6 on your keyboard. Generally, you'll want to complete your research one compound at a time, though, because you might find yourself covering up your work with other compounds in the process.
Think of the research as reverse minesweeper where you are trying to click on the mines. The numbers indicate how many places you are away from uncovering a tile you want to uncover with a chemical. The fewer hints you need, the better. Since the playing field wraps around you, remember that far away numbers (such as 13) can actually give you a hint even with one that is a 4. This helps with the process of elimination.
I like to look at compounds as "offense" vs. "defense". So, for instance, if you are constantly collecting lapinine, try to start with that chemical as often as possible. There is no overlap with the tiles that have a particular correct answer. So, if you find 16 correct tiles for lapinine, that is 16 less tiles the rest can be. In this case, lapinine is your starting "offense" chemical.
Next, find the second most common chemical you often find. An example might be canidine. Run through and find everything with that chemical next. If you get, say, 12 correct tiles, that is 12 more the rest of the chemicals not on the board for a total of 28 tiles you've eliminated.
By the time you get to the last two chemicals (especially with a board that has lots of answers), you'll probably frequently find yourself in 50/50 situations. These are far greater odds than a 1 in 6 for instance. Because of this increase in odds, you tend to use fewer of your remaining compounds. You can "defend" your precious units of chemicals in the process.
Another tip is to use the repeatable research as much as possible. If you are constantly low on scalium, keep repeating the scalium research as much as possible. Don't be afraid to try and snag a few other slightly rare compounds. While the names of this is generically called "chemical research", look at the color of the center of these. This corresponds with the color. If you need a further hint, the compound you are researching for will always be "0" for answers in the board.
Finally, the answer tiles tend to "cluster" around each other. So, if you uncover a 10 hint, look in one direction on the board to see if there are answer tiles already uncovered. If there aren't any close by, look the other direction. If there are two answer tiles (even if another chemical), try clicking on the spaces touching them if the number corresponds to it. Most of the time, you'll either be correct or close. This helps preserve your chemical units. This will probably make sense as you solve a few boards.
The biggest bottleneck in the game is the device that processes the chemicals. This processor stops while in your research bay, but not if you simply pause the game. So, simply pause the game if you have a lot of specimen to process and come back in a few minutes (I don't know if alt-tabbing freezes this process too as I never tested it). You'll free up some space. There is nothing you can buy at this point to speed this process up.
Two or three small specimen storage devices will make this game more playable. More after only increases various time windows. The main goal of these is to make it possible to complete a whole session with a client without needing to run outside and restarting the processor (if a client is angry, leaving for a moment can cause them to rage quit on you). Ideally, you'll want to have the processor running the entire time you are with a client so it can process while you collect more.
When you quit a game, try to do so with about 10 or 15 units of specimen in the processor. This way, when you start another round in this game, you can set up a client, get your inventory sorted, and start the processor before heading in to the client. You should be able to figure out how to make them org*sm before the processor runs out of specimen, keeping this running the entire session. It's not a lot of time, but if you have limited storage capacity, sometimes, the risk is worth it to get the maximum specimen out of the next client before hitting your storage limit.
CPIN: To switch between chemicals, hold down the number the CPIN is assigned to. For instance, if it's on "5", hold down "5" to switch chemicals. This is not that clear in the game.
Complete the Side objectives: If it doesn't annoy paying clients, try to complete the side objectives as much as possible. This is sometimes the fastest way to get the chemicals you need to complete research challenges.
I hope these tips help if you play the game - especially if you are playing without the free play bonuses.
