I was just about to ask exactly the same question.
Nowadays of course itās āno problemā. At least itās already reality. But Iād say that is nothing to discuss about. Itās s game.
And there arenāt just bi-pedal (hunter, tank) and ball-balancing (lynx) units. There are 4-legged machines (harvester, wolf, runner) as well as flying machines (seeker, firebird).
This is Motor Claw.
ā¦heās allright! 
Hereās a photo of me and him waiting for the next island DLC, and maybe Half Life 3 while weāre at it. 
With stories there are always a myriad of opinions. But I guess, with a nimble mind like you have, you should still be able to follow the general path of the story even if there are some information gaps.
We know that the Resistance has seized the opportunity to utilize secret materials scattered over Ćstertƶrn. They are using these materials to construct a machine that can block FNIXās radio signals and have it implemented with a new Resistance protocol to help in the fight.
Although the Resistance has discovered information about Project āBlue Paw,ā many details remain unknown. Nevertheless, the Resistance now understands that the machines are controlled and coordinated through radio signals. By jamming these signals, they can prevent FNIX from sending machines to perform unprogrammed tasks. The next crucial step may involve completely disabling the machines, but that piece of the story we have yet to findā¦
I suspect, they are not controlled, but work independently via a programmed protocol. We know that this went horribly wrong (maybe due to foul play from the side of Bolshakov) when the Soviet machines attacked humans, which was not what they were programmed to do. They were there to fight the FNIXās machines only. The Information about malfunctioning of Soviet machines has real-gameworld consequences, since many a player understandably concluded that the Soviets were hostilely invading Ćstertƶrn.
Thanks, @Gysbert , that was interesting and informative. Seems like the story remains intact. Iām still curious how the āpupā is controlled though, as it appears to have a personality.
Without the radio signal it uses the scavenged HD you have to seek out for itās instructions. So Iād have to say itās got an AIā¦ hopefully better then the ones the Soviet bots are running or our companions may have a similar issue later onā¦
I donāt think that itās controlled at least not remotely, but it most likely has an advanced protocol running. It can only do certain things. For instance it does not know it could easily jump over a 60 cm stone wall. It still has a long way to go. 
Edit: Maybe itās get imprinted to the person who builds it and does the configuration.
But we found a Blank Disk Drive. There were no instructions on that. Thatās why I assumed that the Resistance wrote a set of instruction for Goo-D bo1 to follow, themselves.
Yes. That was my understanding of it is we the player installed the ai but Iām not sure of the ai origin but thus far humans arenāt the target enemy.
Yes, I agree with you.
Btw the same goes for the hacking dartā¦ Which seems to be a somehow improved version of the hacking device in the storyā¦ But is available within the first hour if you have the dlcā¦
They really should think about including their content in better (storywise) ways than just throwing them in as early as possible (because one who buys a dlc could complain that he/she canāt use everything immediatly).
"As you may know, weāre working to nail down the root cause of the crashes some players are experiencing after the Companion Update. Weāve come up with a solution, but would love your help to test this out just to confirm everything is working as intended. Specifically, we want to make sure you donāt experience any issues in multiplayer, so youāll need to grab some friends or other folks in the server for this.
To access this test build, youāll just opt in to the gz_test build. On Steam go to Generation Zero > Properties > Betas Paste Wipt3E2f1c41 into the box and click Check Code From the dropdown pick gz_test
IMPORTANT: You will need to copy your save file from the default version into a new folder. The easiest way is to launch the game, quit after you see it save, copy the save file, and then launch again.
The team will be monitoring the ā gz-discussion channel and the Generation Zero forum so please post your feedback in either of those places. Once weāve verified this fix, weāll get it pushed out to the main build as quickly as possible so everyone can get back into the game. Thank you so much for your help!"
Good that they let the community participate and ask for feedback.
On the other hand it seems to prove, that they donāt have the own capabilities to run sufficient tests.
Sadly, once again, itās just pc users that are asked to help. Ok, there may be technical limitations (or something else) for consoles that donāt allow a fast way to provide a testing instance, but on the end those customers just seem to be 2nd class customers.
The second point about repair, is an assumption for now. Can you confirm or deny?
I gave my companion an armor immediatly.
I wasnāt able to repair him yet, because he still has armor. But he lost health.
Iād say itās a bug.
Or itās Like @Zilem said; there are two huds for the Companion, one without armor (plus sign) and one with armor (shield). So maybe itās the armor losing health, and when the armor is broken we can repair the runner again. So we canāt repair until the armor is broken. But this need to be tested. I forget to notice while I am playing. 
What I find amazing is the weight of the companion, which is just 1 kilo, but can carry 30-32 times that, I also noticed that I canāt use the companion if it is assigned to a slot in the weapon wheel, at least for me.
You can, but you have to get sure to be on even ground and to look at a spot where itās useable.
Yes, he lost armor health. Eventually, it will loose that armor. Your companionās hud will change from Shield to Plus sign.
I going to see later, and get some pics and document what happens. Normally I am running around and donāt notice the exact moment when it loses itās armor, and when it changes to Plus hud, if itās health then starts at 100%. I assume it does.
I have not Bought that DLC pack yet, I do like the idea of the Remote ticks ^.^
But not so much the Hacking Dartā¦ as it just by passes the need of the Hacking Specialization to Hijack Machinesā¦ <.<
even though you can hijack 2 with Hacking Specialization (1 by Dart and another by Binocularās tech mode)
It just seems to weaken the Hacking Specialization, if you ask me
as a Dart seems to have a 100% Success to Hijack a machine for 60sec
However Binocular hacking is a chance: Tick (100%), Runner (80%), Hunter, (60%) Harvester, (40%) Tank (20%) and a 60sec cooldown on Fail or Success
and makes it Friendly for 30 sec
If i recall rightā¦ Iāve not tested with Soviet Machinesā¦ <.<;
Good that they let the community participate and ask for feedback.
On the other hand it seems to prove, that they donāt have the own capabilities to run sufficient tests.
They did mention that their staff were going on Summer Holiday, which also would explain ask the Community assistance is more due to that, this time at least.
Many aā Times PC have been seen as the Test Platform.
As for some Games as weāve gotten things earlier, but also with Bugs and issues, which then gets patched before it gets Ported to Consoles.
(Sometimes we get terrible Console Ports, sadly it happens both ways)
Even though Playstation and Xbox now aādays Pretty much are specialized Pre-build PCsā¦
But see your Point about feeling left out. <.<;
I gave my companion an armor immediatly.
I wasnāt able to repair him yet, because he still has armor. But he lost health.Iād say itās a bug.
Itās not a Bug.
But not now how i though they would have Implemented it Either.
The Armor is working like a Absorption shield, absorbing all damage till it breaks
Itās not like Regular Armor where Damage is split between Health and Armor
or reduction to Damage taken, like our Apparel Upgrades and Skill traits.
The First time My Runners Armor broke Broke for me i though my Runner were Wreaked
But then noticed it was up again instantly o.0
I saw a Downed runner icon, but then it got replaced and with a Full Health Barā¦
and i Wondering if it had spent one of the āRepair kitsā it had in itās inventory.
But then i noticed it took more damage from before and when it was down again it didnāt come up again so i repaired and noticed it still had the same amount of āRepair kitā it started with plus the once i added on top, it still had 10.
So i was a bit confused to what happenedā¦
I think the Hud showed me the Downed Runner icon for a split second and I noticed it, before it switched were to the āRunner Health Iconā instead.
When i had enough points to unlock the first Armor Upgrade to Uncommon / 2 Crowns.
I went to the Companion Station, i noticed the Armor slot was Emptyā¦ <.<
But when i equipped it with the new Armor i noticed The icon now Looked differently with a Shield, so i went back into my Screenshots and noticed 2 Different Hud Icons for the Runner, as mentioned and showed above with Screenshots
But those were aābit later when i were Testing the Superior (3 Crowns) Basaltic against several groups of Machines in the Industrial complex in South East Farmlands
The Toughness of the Armor seems to Double for Each Tier
(But also be Twice as Tough as the Default Armor)
and now with Epic (4 Crowns) Ballistic Armor very Durable, but without it would just be fragile and you canāt Re-fit a new Armor in the field even if you Carry an Extra or your Companion Runner doesā¦ <.<
Iām not too sure about this Designs choiceā¦
As it seems like when it have Good or Great Armor and when itās Breaks itās time to run and pick up the Dog0 and dispear and Fast-travel to a Companion Station and re-fit it a new Armor <.<
as what may only be about 4 Damage to a Epic (4 crown) Ballistic Armor, will be about 100 Health damage when the armor is broken <.<;
and yesā¦ i have sprinted and dived into a rockets barrage to pick up my Dog0, to save it as itās Armor had broken only to see gray, as my health got wreaked to single a digit instead.
as i donāt have Extra health nor Vanguard. as most of my defense in from avoidance by sprint speed.
BTW when you equip Armor to your Companion Runner, it also resets the Health Bar to Full in additional to Armor Bar.
My first companion (1st world) is a spotter.
I took my 2nd character and went into my 2nd world.
I did the mission to unlock the companion again.
I didnāt attach the armor immediatly.
I gave him the medic module and transfered some first aid kits.
I configured a name and its look.
We went into some proto machines, I got hurt, the companion got damaged.
I was able to select to repair him.
He didnāt heal me.
Then I attached armor on him and his icon changed and his health bar went to 100%.
One more thing besides the companionā¦
Did you realize that they changed for example Saltholmen church? Iām pretty sure the stairs in front of it werenāt there before, the truck is new, the parking slots changed, the interior of the church changedā¦
And when running towards each mission location I had the feeling that my weapons were much stronger. Maybe itās because my 2nd world is quite youngā¦ But my lvl31 2nd character blew the proto tank and harvester next to this church away in seconds with my exp pvgā¦ About 5 shots each.
My exp AG4 ran through runners like through butter. Just a few hits in general.
In my 1st world with my 1st character it takes more shots to destroy them.
And yes, itās both set on skirmish.
