Re: The X-Com Files - 3.3: Mysteries Ancient And New

[psavola]

That would indeed be preferable 

[Alex_D]

Yes, those missions (ski resort) are complicated. I believe I used a smoke grenade (or similar), and play exclusively during the night.
I believe there are some spots for hiding inside the winter cabin. I usually wait for the enemy to get closer, then knife him or shot him with a crossbow, and grab his weapon. I only send soldiers with large HP, else they might not survive the encounter.

[Fiskun1]

Why are dossiers needed?

[psavola]

Why are dossiers needed?

I suppose they are there for immersion and inside jokes. From gameplay perspective they introduce randomness to interrogation so that you sometimes get just points, not information that progresses anything. You'll want to research the dossiers with lowest-cost prisoners you have.

[Alex_D]

And I believe, some dossiers may lead into "side quests" missions, with some special items or tech rewards.

[psavola]

Indeed, I should have said that as well. For what its worth, here's the list which dossiers are also mission script triggers (some of those are also very important):

Spoiler:

      STR_DOSSIER_AGENT_WILHEARD: true
      STR_DOSSIER_DAVID_VINCENT: true
      STR_DOSSIER_DR_ALPHA: true
      STR_DOSSIER_DR_HADRIEX: true
      STR_DOSSIER_GERTRUDE_ELLISON: true
      STR_DOSSIER_LO_WO: true
      STR_DOSSIER_MERIDIAN_HUNTER: true
      STR_DOSSIER_NATASHA_MOROZOVA: true

[Solarius Scorch]

Why is the mod needed? It's not, actually. Nor is X-Com. Nor video games in general. Or human culture. As a species, we could function perfectly well without these things.

If by that you meant "what function do dossiers perform within the context of XCF", then Psavola and Alex already raised some answers. I would also add that they make research lists longer, therefore statistically delaying certain topics.

[Fiskun1]

I'm understood, thank you.
I thought it would work in a more complex way... for example, I would meet these people, and such meetings would move the plot...
I also read that enemies and friends on the Council are the sponsors of the mod. So, they are also no longer involved in the game? Is this just for fun?
I remembered Natasha Morozova - there was a dossier on her, and I met her in the game. Perhaps this is the only such case in my memory. I also received her rifle.

[Solarius Scorch]

I thought it would work in a more complex way... for example, I would meet these people, and such meetings would move the plot...

To a small degree, this is true; but most of them do not have any substantial impact on the game.

I also read that enemies and friends on the Council are the sponsors of the mod. So, they are also no longer involved in the game? Is this just for fun?

Friends on the Council is merely a thank you article, mentioning people who either gave me a tip or helped with the mod in some other way. They are not meant to play any specific role in the setting.

I remembered Natasha Morozova - there was a dossier on her, and I met her in the game. Perhaps this is the only such case in my memory. I also received her rifle.

There are several others as well.

[Fiskun1]

I really like this mod, especially the first part before the alien invasion. I would love to extend it for another couple of years...
From time to time I return to the game, and sometimes I look at some things with a different perspective.
I understand that you have a lot of work to do, but perhaps someday you will want to give these dossiers more meaning, because this is a very good start to something more significant.

[Solarius Scorch]

I really like this mod, especially the first part before the alien invasion. I would love to extend it for another couple of years...
From time to time I return to the game, and sometimes I look at some things with a different perspective.
I understand that you have a lot of work to do, but perhaps someday you will want to give these dossiers more meaning, because this is a very good start to something more significant.

Thank you for the insight. Yes, I have a few more sort of planned.

In the meantime, here's a peek at a new mission.

[mercy]

Thank you for the insight. Yes, I have a few more sort of planned.

In the meantime, here's a peek at a new mission.

Here is some lore for hybrid factory:
Millions of hybrids are being manufactured in deep alien bases in hollow Earth. Aliens store hybrids in cryotubes in deep hybernation = 1 heartbeat per hour. For later repopulation of Earth - with these hybrids -, when / after the current 8bil humans are replaced / exterminated.

As you can see in the picture, human public "science" propagated on the surface is total BS propaganda. Hollow Earth is full with such cities.

'Deep Earth Alien bases' also have a direct connection to 'The Alien Dimension', where most of aliens live. In these bases the portals, -  "Montauk-style" [star]gates - lead to a myriad of different worlds.

Similar 'dimensional rifts' exist on the surface, where like laylines, the natural borders of our "dimension" is weakened and just like 'ozone holes', the thinned "realm border" is naturally lined with (temporary) rifts /  "cheese-holes", where you can walk through. A'la Skinwalker ranch, where the owner sees such a dimensional portal literally hovering at some height in the air (probably reachable via ladder) and Gorman sees through the opening a completely different planet with bright orange/violet skies.

Many such "continental-extensions" exist, reachable  through these rifts/portals/Under-Earth / Under-Sea deep alien base gates.  Latter tidbit for an extended expansion of "The X-Files II" in the future.

Hybrids are usually pre-programmed with a strong alien version of the Greenbaum process, while still in their Hollow Earth base location. Earlier these programmings could fail resulting in the 'hybrid sent for a mission' to not become evil.
But usually the selected hybrid is memory wiped and sent up to the surface to influence what-ever age (Sumeric, ancient proto-Chinese or nowadays ""modern"") human civilization happen to exist here at any given era. The hybrid then performs nefarious alien goals - 'Alien Infiltration'-style - according to its thorough subconscious programming.
Of course the memory-wipe ensures that the hybrid does NOT remember the super-advanced alien base with the "stargate-portal" down there.

Imagine a large hybrid genetic vats factory with large halls filled with hibernation tubes (hybrids sleeping) in storage there.

Many Under-Earth societies exist in Hollow Earth using Large Chambers with artificial "sun" lighting achieved via alien tech called "Magnetic Resonance".

All under-Earth societies are much more advanced than the poor unfortunates living on the surface. For understandable reasons of (surface) 'Slave Control & Management'.

Lack of sunlight compensated with bone-strengthening machines, which also do general-tissue regeneration and provides any nutrients (vitamin D "from sunlight", etc..) necessary to maintain life down there.

Because of the missing extremely harmful thus life shortening sunlight radiation, the various under-Earth human & alien pocket civilizations live much longer down there with considerably extended lifespan: 300-1200 years on average.

Species: human, lizard various (Upright Drachomonoid humanlike /  Atlantic Aquatic, winged "Red Demonic"), and totally alien species with their bases / own territories + differing cultures some "good-guys" / some evil.

Traditionally, various surface civilizations:  Inca, Celts, WW2 occult Nazis (Neuschwabenland), etc.. have been  directed to travel down there and have been assimilated there.

Military might: advanced saucers, then cigar shaped crafts with lots of various probes-types (cyberdiscs, DOOM-style floating orbs / Skinwalker ranch-style strong_light-emitting-orbs) are down there.
'Boots on the ground':
Their usually extremely muscular troops consists of usually Extra-Dimensional  "cannonfodder" mercenaries: myriad of strong and agile Bigfoot types, tall insectoid soldiers, plus any kind of species found on Earth, but extended and improved = Large red fox-like creatures (super-muscular / bodybuilder-style) almost as big as a horse, large hound-wolf mix models, strong werewolf-types = already in (XPiratez). Extradimensional means any dino-type & or earlier Giant warriors / small faerie-gremlin types.  Plus the Xenomorph: varying in body-design, Drider-design, plant-based monsters, large gigantic spiders and the well inspired ones from the movie The Mist (2007) = from those smallish spider-monsters to larger tentacloid creeps, then the gigantic walkers from which smaller monsters "fall-off" and attack like cow-sized 'ticks or flea'..

Any such dimensional portal / gate may be entrance to as big as continental-size extra-dimensional extensions or to entirely new planets, which obviously mean  invasion danger "DOOM: Hell on Earth"-style, from there, in the literally Open-XCOM universe.

See attached pic

[varajo411]

I really like this mod, especially the first part before the alien invasion. I would love to extend it for another couple of years...
From time to time I return to the game, and sometimes I look at some things with a different perspective.
I understand that you have a lot of work to do, but perhaps someday you will want to give these dossiers more meaning, because this is a very good start to something more significant.

you can get natasha morozova sub mod for xcom files, that way you are given some hero units to your game that has some special abilities. the hero units are from the dossier