The Director's Cut ARG was an ARG (Alternate Reality Game) event for the v1.7.0 Director's Cuts update. This update included a Boardbot Department revamp, which visually updated or replaced the existing eight Boardbot Employees. This event greatly increased Boardbot spawns and, when enough Boardbots were defeated globally, would reward players with new information about the upcoming hires on cogs.ink. By February 23rd, 2024, all eight revamped Boardbot employees had been discovered.
The ARG was first teased through a social media post showing an image of an unknown Cog placing a notice letter on a desk. This announced that a "department audit" was soon to come and the Chairman had an action plan. This event started on February 16th, 2024 12:00 PM EST, and ended on March 10th, 2024 at 11:15 AM EDT. The v1.7.0 update released on March 8th, 2024 at 4:00 PM EST. A teaser video was uploaded showing all the new Boardbot Cogs.
Introduction
On February 16th, 2024, a Blog Post was released written by Winn Dos. In this Blog Post, she announces that she has seen an influx of Boardbots roaming Toontown, with one having dropped a paper stating:
TO ALL [Middlemen] STATIONED WITHIN COG NATION:
AS OF THE DATE OF THIS MEMO, COGS INCORPORATED HAS BEGUN PREPARATIONS FOR MANDATORY RENOVATIONS WITHIN YOUR DEPARTMENT. WITH THIS RENOVATION, YOUR SERVICES WILL NO LONGER BE REQUESTED, AND YOUR CONTRACT WILL BE TERMINATED AS A RESULT OF DISSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE. NEW INDIVIDUALS WILL TAKE HOLD OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COGS INCORPORATED IN YOUR STEAD. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.
Along with the Blog Post was the v1.6.8 update. This update announced that Boardbots would be "working overtime" to prove their worth and retain their jobs. Therefore, Boardbots would spawn much more frequently throughout Toontown during this time, invading areas they would not normally affect, such as in C.O.G.S. Boss fights. Toons would have to team up and take down the overwhelming amount of Boardbots coming in!
All information regarding the ARG was from the cogs.ink website and the game itself. The information couldn't be easily obtained by looking up on Jennifer's account, as it was locked. The error message for attempting to log in stated, "Your account is locked due to suspicious activity on your account, or your subordinate's account (if applicable). An IT Specialist has been dispatched to your office to verify your identity." Jennifer's account was unlocked after the final milestone had been reached on February 23, 2024, though any information obtained from this ARG cannot be directly viewed from her account.
Boardbot Invasion
A Boardbot Department invasion on a street
Note: Safe Districts were not affected by any of the following information.
During this event, Boardbots would spawn more frequently in other Department Cog Buildings and be present in Cog Boss battles. Other departments would not spawn in Boardbot buildings. However, these Boardbots would NOT spawn in Cog Facilities, the Facility exterior areas of Sellbot Headquarters and Lawbot Headquarters, and any Kudos Manager fights where they do not spawn naturally. Boardbots would not spawn as Virtual Skelecogs in the C.L.O./O.C.L.O. battle nor would they be present during the cannon and final round of the fight. The spawn rates of Boardbots were not changed in the feeding round of the Chief Executive Officer battle either.
Boardbot Cog Invasions would appear far more frequently throughout this event. Some of these were entire Boardbot Department invasions, invading every Neighborhood except Toontown Central. Like all other invasions, they also did not affect Cog Headquarters.
Milestones
The Toon Resistance had set up milestones to help encourage Toons to defeat Boardbots as well as track the amount of Boardbots invading. Toons could type in chat /milestone progress (or use the shortcut /ms p) to see the current amount of Boardbots defeated. Once a milestone had been completed, more information would be revealed, allowing the ARG to progress. The first indicated milestone was to defeat 50,000 Boardbots. Toons defeating Cogs in groups would count as a defeat for every Toon involved, making it the most efficient way to quickly reach the milestones. Each milestone rewarded players with a login to cogs.ink, revealing a new or revamped Boardbot Employee Cog. These profiles can be seen here, or by logging into cogs.ink yourself. The final milestone was reached on February 23rd, 2024, one week after the event started. The game would continue to track Boardbots defeated until the game went down for the v1.7.0 update.
| Milestone
|
Date Unlocked (EST)
|
Boardbot
|
Username
|
Password
|
| 50,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/16/24 3:05 PM
|
Bagholder
|
bagholder
|
_gimmiex2_
|
| 150,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/16/24 11:00 PM
|
Circuit Breaker
|
circuitbreaker
|
!!3L3CTR1FY1NG!!
|
| 250,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/17/24 5:53 PM
|
Deadlock
|
deadlock
|
D[]=EADK[]=EY
|
| 350,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/18/24 11:59 AM
|
Paper Hands
|
paperhands
|
EIgHTpoInTFIvEbyELEvEn
|
| 500,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/19/24 1:49 PM
|
Shark Watcher
|
sharkwatcher
|
/IgotMy_eyes_Onyou\
|
| 650,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/20/24 6:22 PM
|
Magnate
|
magnate
|
81rd3_0f_a_f3aTh3r
|
| 800,000 Boardbots defeated
|
2/21/24 11:23 PM
|
Head Honcho
|
headhoncho
|
H3adOFF@th3_pA33
|
| 1,000,000 Boardbots defeated (FINAL)
|
2/23/24 8:00 PM
|
Insider
|
insider
|
tr1ck3dy0u
|
Revealed Boardbots
These were the Cogs revealed in order of when they were unlocked.
There were a few hints given prior to official confirmation of the upcoming Boardbot's tiers.
- The cogs.ink "Report workplace injury" form had the Boardbots listed in tier order.
- In the teaser video for The Director's Cuts the Boardbots sit down in tier order.
- The Head Honcho's cogs.ink profile mentions he is "above the other applicants" and he may be "head of the company one day" implying his high tier.
- The Magnate's cogs.ink profile mentions a promotion, hinting to his change from Tier 6 to Tier 7.
Letters Details
With each revealed letter, a username and password were given out that belonged to one of the replaced/revamped Boardbot Cogs. Each letter was provided by a certain current Boardbot Cog, usually giving some kind of item to an unknown informant in order to receive this information. Throughout these letters, different pronouns were used throughout, hiding the identity of the informant. Additionally, each letter had a unique attribute that matched the delivering Cog.
- In the first letter, the Big Fish's intel was persuaded by carbonated oil. The unknown individual uses they pronouns within this letter. This letter has visible water damage.
- In the second letter, the Toxic Manager's intel was persuaded by a cup of Cogfee. The unknown individual uses she pronouns within this letter. This letter has a corner of it burnt off from toxic waste.
- In the third letter, the Middleman's intel was persuaded by a plate of Crude Oil Cookies. The unknown individual uses he pronouns within this letter. This letter has been typed with the text center-aligned.
- In the fourth letter, the Middleman's intel was persuaded by a free box of notepads. The unknown individual uses they pronouns within this letter. This letter has its text center-aligned again, like the third letter.
- In the fifth letter, the Swindler's intel was persuaded by a set of brand new pens. The unknown individual uses no pronouns within this letter. This letter has a crumpled appearance.
- In the sixth letter, the Toxic Manager has revealed that two of the current Boardbot employees will be maintained, one of which was revealed to be the Magnate. Acidic waste has burned multiple holes in the paper.
- In the seventh letter, the Con Artist confirmed the previous letters conclusion. This letter has various colorful markings/symbols drawn on it.
With the eighth and presumed final letter, the informant is revealed to be the Insider, one of the new hires. Their strategy was to trick the current Boardbot Cogs into revealing private information, which is against company rules, resulting in a guaranteed loss of their jobs. This Cog uses Mx./Mr./Ms. honorifics, explaining the various pronouns used throughout the letters. Their letter was well-kept with the exception of a Cogfee stain.
A ninth letter would eventually be revealed without a milestone incentive, written by the Magnate. He states great sadness over the layoffs of his former employees, and is willing to have another go with them before they are officially fired. This letter is well kept, with a golden lining layered on the left side of the paper.
Fourth milestone letter by a Middleman
Sixth milestone letter by a Toxic Manager
Eighth and final milestone letter by an Insider
The post-milestone letter by an Magnate
The MEGA Invasion!
Note: Safe Districts were not affected by any of the following information.
On March 7th, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST, Boardbots began SWARMING the entirety of Toontown. There was a 100% chance for Boardbots to appear in (almost) EVERY single area in Toontown, including areas that are not affected by Invasions.
This meant all Cogs in the Cog Boss fights were replaced with Boardbots (excluding Virtual Skelecogs). Additionally, the percentages for each Cog Department were changed to be 100% for Boardbots on all streets. The MEGA Invasion lasted until March 8th, 2024 at 2:00 PM EST, when the game went down for the v1.7.0 update.
Boardbots could invade:
- Toontown Central
- All Trolley Games with Cogs in them
- All Cog Headquarters, including their respective exteriors and their Facilities.
- The Facilities can give out Boardbot Suit parts, but note that this has been classified as a bug and any progress will be reverted when the v1.7.0 update drops.
- A part will only be given if a Boardbot Cog is spoken to first during the last fight.
- These Facilities will also still reward the intended Merits.
- The 19.exe Big Cheese in the C.E.O. feeding round is replaced with a Head Honcho.
- The cannon/megaphone round of the C.L.O.
- The Operations Analysts flying around defending the C.L.O. are replaced by Big Fish, so they follow a singular health pool instead of multiple.
- The Field Specialists throwing papers in the air are replaced by Magnates.
- Some Manager fights that don't normally spawn in Boardbots (such as the Chainsaw Consultant).
- This includes niche instances such as:
- The Flunky and Yesman in the Chainsaw Consultant's cutscenes. They are replaced by a Con Artist and Swindler, respectively.
- Major Player's Mr. Hollywood Quartet is replaced by Head Honchos.
- A random Head Honcho will have a unique line of dialogue saying "The things I do for my job..."
- The Cogs featured in the Rainmaker's Monsoon are replaced with Boardbots.
- The Cogs appear to be either Head Honchos or Magnates. It is also possible for the Magnates to replace one of the level 14s, becoming overleveled in the process.
What Boardbots did NOT invade:
- Non-Boardbot Cog Buildings (they have a chance to spawn in, but it is not 100%).
- Autocaddies in Cog Golf Courses.
- Cog Boss cutscenes, such as the Sellbots being promoted in the V.P. battle's first cutscene.
- They do not replace Managers themselves, whether that would be a Facility, a Regional, or a normal Manager.
- A small portion of some other Regional Manager fights, such as:
- Virtual Skelecogs in the C.L.O/O.C.L.O. battles.
- The Main Menu
Post v1.7.0 Boardbot Invasion
The new Boardbots invading Mezzo Melodyland
With the release of v1.7.0, a Blog Post was released stating that the Chairman had arranged for one last Boardbot Department Invasion. This invasion lasted until March 10th, 2024, 11:15 AM EST. This gave players a greater chance of encountering the new Boardbot Cogs. This invasion functioned as a standard Cog Invasion, meaning they would not invade Cog Boss fights, Cog Headquarters, Facilities, etc.
Additionally, Boardbots would appear on the Main Menu along with a screen giving supplementary information on the update. Players could access this information by clicking the Update Info button at the bottom left of the Pick-A-Toon screen. Unique music would play while on this screen. This screen lasted til v1.8.0.
Trivia
- At the one-hour mark, roughly 11,000 Boardbots had been defeated.
- Executive Boardbot Skelecogs can be fought much more frequently during this event, due to the presence of Skelecog-only rounds in bosses.
- Boardbots can appear as waiters in the Chief Executive Officer battle. Currently, this is the only way to fight non-Bossbot white suit waiters.
- Note that this does not apply to the Executive waiters, as they can spawn in the Plutocrat battle.
- Each Boardbot Cog being fired provided a letter to their co-workers, except for Connoisseur.
- However, the Middleman and Toxic Manager sent two letters.
- During the MEGA-Invasion, cogs.ink showed that only Boardbots were deployed.
- There was a bug during the MEGA-Invasion that allowed players to gain Boardbot disguise parts by completing Facilities (excluding Cog Golf Courses). Any Boardbot suit parts gained were reverted with the launch of v1.7.0.
- This happened due to the disguise part given out correlating to the Department of the first Cog in the final battle (Whichever Cog says the face-off taunt is considered the 'first' Cog in that battle). This is why Cog Golf Courses were unable to give Boardbot disguise parts, as only the Club President and Autocaddies are present.
- The last count of Boardbots defeated before the server going down for v1.7.0 was 2,313,734 Boardbots.
Gallery
A Boardbot Department invasion
The Map during a Boardbot Department Invasion
A group of Boardbots in the V.P. fight
An Executive Boardbot in the V.P. fight
A Boardbot in the C.F.O. fight
Boardbot Skelecogs in the C.F.O. fight
A Boardbot in the C.L.O. fight
A group of Boardbots serving as waiters in the C.E.O. fight
A Magnate in the C.E.O. fight
A Big Fish in the C.E.O. fight
A Head Honcho in the C.E.O. fight
An Executive Boardbot waiter
The in-game announcements regarding the milestones
The Main Menu during the release of v1.7.0
The main menu detailing information about the update.
The video teaser for the Director's Cuts update
Boardbots invading every district with No ETA)
Streets showing 100% Boardbot rate
The Boardbots invading Toontown Central
Boardbots in the Race Game
Cog Disguise page showing a completed Boardbot Suit (due to a bug)
Boardbots in the C.L.O. cannon round
Boardbots defending the C.L.O.
Magnates acting as Field Specialists in the O.C.L.O.
The C.E.O. Banquet round filled with Boardbots
Boardbots invading the Chainsaw Consultant's fight
The Con Artist in the Chainsaw Consultant's fight
The Swindler in the Chainsaw Consultant's fight
Boardbots flooding the Major Player's fight
The Mr. Hollywood's in the Major Player's fight being replaced with Head Honchos
Boardbots in the Witch Hunter fight
Boardbots in the Rainmaker's Monsoon
The Alert announcing the Mega-Invasion
