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X-Com Files Mod The Hardest by Fomka (Superman, Ironman, Handicaps)

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Fomka:
Hello! I was inspired by tarkalak's Ironmanish X-Com Files Mod playthrough and decided to publish some notes and screenshots about my own play through that mod.

The main goal is to see how many years I will strand as the Commander of X-COM on the hardest setting. The nearest goal is to achieve Promotion III ingame as fast as I can. I want to see for myself how cults work after their boost in 2.3 version (2.3: Rise of The Cultists).

The settings and handicaps
I'm playing on Superman difficulty, in Ironman mode (no manual saves), with some handicaps. The mod version is 2.4.

Firstly, I will apply neither for Machine Guns License nor for Explosives License. I imagine that X-Com enemies in the Council would use the possession of such licenses as a strong foundation to achieve a closure of the project: "Look, this task force should be clandestine, but with that licenses it can stash explosives and will surely make too much noise in every corner of the globe"
Any machineguns and explosives acquired without license will be OK to use. We will distract any checking committee visiting our bases' stores with something.

Secondly, I want to nerf down awards for injuries: nullify bonuses awarded for being Battle-scared or Patient from all agents. It can be surely done via save fiddling. I will give more disadvantages for higher level of that medals, starting from the 3rd bronze pin level. Explanation? I just don't like the approach when someone was heavily injured, spent 20 days in clinic and then is able to run and shoot as usual (with even increased Health). Real fatal wounds are more serious than that.

Thirdly, I will use only the following Transformations: Bio-Enhancement, Combat Pilot and Martial Arts Training, Gun Kata, Eat the Cake. Do not like the idea of transhumanization (Install TNI) or zombiefication (Protean Revival), even for just cause.

The start
It is the 22nd of May 1997. I have 2 bases with 3 hangars each. There are 20 agents and 4 dogs, 5 scientists and 1 engineer. Church of Dagon Network is being researched. I'm ready to research two of four recruitments needed for Promotion II. See the attached savefile. The play will start later.

What do you think about all that? Does anyone know how to nerf bonuses from Patient commendation automatically?

Vakrug:
Can you, please, tell us about your experience with this mod?
And what about Dagonization?
Nullifying bonuses from being injured by hand looks nightmarish.
Good luck.

Fomka:

--- Quote from: Vakrug on May 30, 2022, 06:27:52 pm ---Can you, please, tell us about your experience with this mod?
--- End quote ---
With pleasure. I never finished the mod, in spite of playing with it since version 1.2, started on March, 2020. The mod is just huge. The latest and the greatest attempt began on November 2020 on Veteran difficulty and is still fresh despite of mod upgrades from 1.6d to 2.4.

Its maximum progress is "all the globe is covered with Hyper-wave decoders at 8 bases, 10 Thunderstorms are nullifying all medium-sized UFOs, 160 agents clad in Assault suits and Cyber Armor can travel in 7 Skymarshalls and the first Firestorm has been constructed, the pinnacle of technology that would have been soon be obsolete through efforts of 100 scientists and 200 engineers". I have some alien commanders captured there and one Ethereal Leader too (this being just has reluctantly explained plasma micro-particle acceleration thingy).

I've also picked up a later game save published at the mod's forum and successfully completed Lunar colony main part, using a lot of Multi-Blaster Launchers (always wanted to obliterate something at a large scale since X-COM 1). So, in short, I'm experienced with X-Com Files, I presume.


--- Quote from: Vakrug ---And what about Dagonization?
--- End quote ---
Will never utilize it, it is inhuman!


--- Quote from: Vakrug ---Nullifying bonuses from being injured by hand looks nightmarish.
Good luck.

--- End quote ---
Thanks!


So, the playthrough begins
Good luck immediately shined upon my agents during the first and easy mission: X-COM van with top5 agents and two dogs against apprehension of four supporters of Dagon somewhere in Africa. I didn't cover one corner and a cultist on the 1st enemy's turn was able to step in and shoot Dylan Morris right into the back of his head with a shotgun from about 3-5 tiles. Luckily Dylan survived (thanks to kevlar vest on his chest and to the game mechanics that allows vests to protect heads) but was left with 14 hp and 7(!) fatal wounds.

"Evacuate!" was my first thought, but then some cultist-biting and agent-patching was done and small map size allowed to finish the mission positively.

This case turned out to be not so bad. The patcher Roman even got +10 Bravery (the headwound was a nightmare but he made it, he told us later). Dylan became a recognized Battle-scarred Patient for the first time (HP+1, Stun recovery+1 and 26 days in hospital) and he is very angry and personal against Dagonites now. Teammates call him BeanHead though, jokingly claiming that the cultist's shotgun was loaded with you know what.

Another one case of good luck happened immediately after that. The second mission has spawned right near another van that was send from China to patrol deserts of Australia. And it is what I'm attempting to resolve right now - a first Alien Party of this game.

Vakrug:

--- Quote from: Fomka on June 01, 2022, 02:02:38 am ---"all the globe is covered with Hyper-wave decoders at 8 bases, 10 Thunderstorms are nullifying all medium-sized UFOs, 160 agents clad in Assault suits and Cyber Armor can travel in 7 Skymarshalls and the first Firestorm has been constructed, the pinnacle of technology that would have been soon be obsolete through efforts of 100 scientists and 200 engineers".

--- End quote ---
Yeah, this is when you declare yourself a winner and get slightly annoyed that game does not recognize that...

I forgot to ask, do you think that machine guns and explosives are overpowered and that is why you will not buy them? I heard earlier, that every problem in XCOM can be solved with sufficient amount of explosives, but I personally don't understand how. If you use C4 like a normal grenade often, then your agents will blow up also often, I think. Especially if you prime them in advance.

Fomka:

--- Quote from: Vakrug on June 02, 2022, 06:12:08 pm ---I forgot to ask, do you think that machine guns and explosives are overpowered and that is why you will not buy them?
--- End quote ---

I feel that X-COM Files are balanced and have no ultimate weapons, taking into account game progress. I avoid the research of MGs and EXPs because of their high research cost. The wish is to finish the game sooner and therefore I forbid myself researches that can be omitted.

Aside from the research I use MGs and EXPs (taken from cultists) without hesitation. EXPs more than MGs, the latter are somewhat unconvincing (didn't try HMG, though).

C4 (High Explosive) friendly fire is somehow uncommon to me.

As for every problem in XCOM that can be solved with sufficient amount of explosives — it was the case for the original, but it doesn't work this way in X-COM Files. Even Blaster Launcher, the Thermo-Nuclear weapon of mass destruction on battlescape, can't take out some enemies out in one-two strikes. I talk about Sectopods and Ethereals.

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