User blog comment:Willbachbakal/Singleplayer Enemies: Security Bot/@comment-1330314-20100815164222

@Roygbiv You've made quite a point there, so I'm gonna split it up a bit and answer each part:

About being able to buy Bots: After reading your post, I agree that you should be able to buy invent and buy Bots (albeit at a very high price, say $200 on an unhacked CoV or lots of different U-Invent components, including rare ones). However, I don't think you should be able to buy the upgrades along with it, otherwise you'd get stuck on one model and wouldn't want to try out other paths. That, and you'd only have to upgrade your Bot once and you'd never have to invent another Bot part again. However, you'll be able to find Bot bodies or weaponized Bots and, in some rare cases, partially or fully upgraded Bots throughout the maps.

On being able to control your Bots: Lack of control seems to be the main thing that bugs you concerning Bots. Imo, Security Command should grant you the control you need. In the case of a possible sequel, throwing it at a location (including at your feet) should cause your Bots to drop everything and go there. If you froze a hostile machine and wanted to hack it, you'd simply have to cast Security Command at another room or away from the machine, giving you time.

Control over your Bots in combat should also be a bit more intuitive. Like in BioShock 2, Bots will try to take hits for you without getting in front of your weapons. However, they could also try to cooperate (if there are two Bots) and use certain strategies like flanking, or luring the target into a hazard.

Also, their upgrades and weapons will change their behavior. Shotgun Bots will try to circle around the enemy, for instance, while Sniper Bots will stay a bit behind you and pick off enemies. If you give a Bot an armor-related upgrade, it'll become more defensive and frequently stay around you to block enemy shots. If you improve the Bot's weapon, they'll become a bit more independent and will spend more time engaging enemies in direct combat. That way, you can decide how you want your Bot to behave by picking the right weapons and upgrades. If you want the best personal bodyguard, you could take the Shotgun Bot with the Blunderbuss and Armor Plating upgrades. For extreme crowd control, take the Flamethrower Bot with the Crippling Fire and Napalm Trail upgrades.