Hello all,
I used to watch my friend play TFTD on Windows 95 when I was super young. That game terrified me! Then in high school another friend let me start on his saved campaign for UFO defense on easy. Frankly, I didn't know what I was doing, but I played for like a year IRL before I finally went to Cydonia. He already had the avenger when he first gave me the save file. I was quite the noob.
Then in 2012 I replayed TFTD on veteran start to finish after I had just quit my job. I didn't do anything for about 2.5 weeks. It was so great. It would've been faster but I had a stint where I had to play almost 20 full base defense missions against lobster men and bio-drones while I waited for the bombardment shield to finish. That was just awful. Truly awful. I don't deserve the win anyway because I save scummed my way through the whole game. I'm not proud of it. How else could I finish the defense missions?
A few months ago I randomly decided to look up the OST on youtube because I thought it would be fun to hear the music again. I noticed a few LPs and then realized what was going on. I can't tell you how exciting it was to see that there has been this lively community of Xcom fans developing the game and modding it. I finally bought a new gaming laptop and I am super anxious to get started. No save scumming this time! I promise!
First things first: where do I go to donate money to the people who host this forum? I already gave $40 USD to the Openxcom.org post that is currently on the front page. Maybe somebody could tell me who the most deserving modder is? Please be objective. I am not an idiot who wants to toss away money. I truly value the work everyone is doing here, and I think it's only fair that I contribute in exchange for the hours and hours of enjoyment I would get from openxcom.
So, I am still a little lost. Since I am not up-to-date on news, etc. could somebody please tell me where I can find the latest and most stable version of UFO Defense? I think I would also like the final mod pack, which looks like it includes tons of additional content. Basically, I know very little about programming, so I am hoping to just install the game as if I bought it off the shelf with not much digging into the inner workings. I am patient, though, so if I have to tweak some things I will learn how to do it.
Thanks a lot, everyone! And shout out to Meridian for his TFTD and Openxcom FMP Let's Plays!