Messages

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Released Mods / Re: [UFO] [TFTD] [SOLDIERS] Celebrate Anonymity (Anonym and Timmynym 0.9)

« on: February 20, 2018, 05:13:21 am »

In some Armed Forces and elsewhere  for not a few of their training courses, trainees, cadets, prisoners or whatever would be given a designation of  a letter followed by a number i.e. Y-100 through Y-150 (more or less depending on class /  company  size)

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IDT Modding Hub / Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod

« on: January 14, 2018, 07:03:16 pm »

On superhuman difficulty they will be forced to spawn in, but they will all group up around one spawn node if there aren't enough. If you get enough of the larger buildings, you can easily have extra spawn points. But it is not uncommon that a terror site gives you very few spawn points. On forest, jungle, desert, or arctic it was nearly guaranteed. 

Thanks for the explanation about testing and spawning, Reaver. 

Here is my takeaway:
1--all units will spawn if  not blocked by objects or other units; else they cannot spawn. there may be a limit as to how far they can spawn from a crowded spawnpoint.
2--If more units than spawnpoints, units will multispawn around said spawnpoints creating clusters (said clusters should disperse as the AI begins to control the units on subsequent turns).
3--more spawnpoints better disperse the units and reduce inappropriately placed or possible no show spawns

It seems to be a couple of factors at work that you introduced:
3--Units will spawn without equipment if designated as terrorists
4--Increased numbers of large units especially will have problems spawning correctly if not enough room around the spawnpoints

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Help / Re: Can I make HWPs able to accept more than one ammo type?

« on: December 24, 2017, 11:59:08 pm »

You could mod the tank to carry two different types of weapons, HWP tractors does that as well as the mod I learned it from :
      HWP tractors
      https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,5691.0.html
      [UFO]S.A.R. HWP/AI Mod V.0.60 (XCE+ needed)
      https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,5643.0.html

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IDT Modding Hub / Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod

« on: December 24, 2017, 11:34:22 pm »

The Reaver of Darkness==>>>This will make a big difference in higher difficulties especially, as it was previously very common to have aliens fail to spawn on large UFOs or terror missions.

I thought all the actors spawned, in experiments on terror maps I added like 30 civilians  for experimental purposes and they all seemed to appear;
.. its interesting to know they all apparently do not spawn.

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OXCE Suggestions DONE / Re: Hunter-killer

« on: October 15, 2017, 10:18:19 pm »

Should it REALLY involve the ship not being gotten back if it lands intact?   ..........    I just don't think it should be a total loss, thats a lot of potential money being blown up even if you save it.

Yes I gather that is part of the point of having HunterKillar,
--you  lose all your men together with your craft on this event once triggered.
--the reason is, to make the game somewhat more unpredictable in regards to an occasional catastrophic loss sustained to the player.

Something like this was discussed on another thread, introducing some type of event to kick the player so its not such an easy ride to the finish line

HOWEVER

--include some type of player input / control that has the potential to diminish the HunterKiller (HC)  result:
---you somehow elude HC and nothing else happens
Some measurement of bad things happening if you are hit
you lose only a percentage of your
------ men,
------equipment
------and  (yes, your suggestion) salvage some materials from your craft or even repair it.

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The X-Com Files / Re: A mission idea from news

« on: October 03, 2017, 05:59:17 pm »

Actually steam, I was thinking just a copy of how piratez did it, with different types of enemies armed or unarmed, with some giving positive points for killing (alliens) and some giving a NEGATIVE point value for killing (little kids charging you with knives, or mothers with shotguns).  It actually works pretty well, you need to carefully plan out reaction fire, and calculate who to shoot, who to hesitate on, and when to risk non fatal take downs.

THAT is pretty good idea and I agree with what you suggest
 and since it already exists in another mod, it might not be to difficult to implement here

7

OXCE Suggestions DONE / Re: Hunter-killer

« on: October 03, 2017, 05:52:39 pm »

"use anomaly" ?
"ransom from hostile locals on mission abort" ?

I am speechless...

Should I also implement ground staff, so that you can order them to clean toilets?
And maybe also a pizza baking simulator mini-game... to improve soldier morale.
And sex-chat! Every good game needs a built-in sex-chat...

 

My description in the previous post  is probably a bit more complex than it needs to be.

The goal I gather is to have an UHK (Unidentified Hunter killer) interception
--The UHK is superior to XCOM craft
--it is an unwinnable encounter inasmuch as the XCOM craft goes

The game already has a "dogfight" interface that faces off XCOM craft against a UFO.

Typically, the player uses the buttons to hammer the UFO until its shot down or presses another button that  breaks off  contact if damage to the XCOM craft is too much.

I gather, we want to take some form of that dogfight interface so the UHK faces off against the XCOM craft.

Typically, with that similar dogfight interface, the player now  uses the buttons to try and instead escape the UHK (because it is superior) until that escape is successful or the XCOM craft is shot down. 

Escape means the XCOM craft has successfully eluded the UHK .

The details of what the buttons might actually do are suggested in the earlier post , however game / programming limitations will of course determine what can be done with them to effect the escape of the XCOM craft or no.

And if a tactical mission results from getting shot down, (maybe 25% of the time) the combat mission map would be displayed with any leftover Xcom survivors.  As earlier described, no aliens, just hostile scavenging locals.  If you win, you carry out your stuff and whatever can be recovered from such defeated locals (ak 47's etc). If you lose, yes you lose all.
 IF you ABORT  for one reason or another:
 -- ransom offer from locals for return of your soldiers: game determines how much  and if you pay  the soldiers  show up some time later at a base
 --or not pay ransom, and you never see them again.
 not sure how ordering Pizza or cleaning toilets could be used in this context,
 however SEXCHAT brings up another possibility...
 ....yes, instead of that; NEGOTIATIONS with locals to get your guys back:
 this is not a minigame but just another option after you click ABORT:
 
 Abort button (in tactical) clicked goes to another screen with the following options
 >cancel (returns to tactical)
 >Pay ransom to locals [$$game displays dollar amount$$$](if selected and if enough money deducted and return to Geoscape, otherwise message appears NOT ENOUGH FUNDS) soldiers(not gear) return to base.
 >Negotiate (if selected game displays $$$ amount which can be as little as half the amount or as much as triple the amount of original ransom)
 >>YES pay Negotiated ransom (if selected and if enough money deducted and return to Geoscape)
 >>NO do not pay negotiated ransom(return to Geoscape)
 >abandon soldiers (return to geoscape)

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OXCE Suggestions DONE / Re: Hunter-killer

« on: September 25, 2017, 07:11:40 pm »

Always should be some chance for escape once hunter/killer on the trail

When "escape" is used, it does not necessarily mean speed XCOMcraft vs speed of enemy but added into that whatever "tricks" can be employed, chaff, electronic counter measures (ECM), decoy missiles, particular pilot skill, evasive tactics  even   ie using terrain features such as clouds or "Hollywood improbabilities" such as unexpected intervention of another air force or an occasional feature anomalies (oh Iron Mountain, fly by that and the UFO compasses go wacko). 

How this might work is in the dogfight phase instead of the usual range UI engagement buttons the player clicks one of the following buttons:
1 use pilot skill (you evade the UFO and no damage, but encounter continues/ you evade the UFO and it cannot find you, encounter ends, you fail to evade, and UFO  encounter continues, you screw up double damage from UFO next strike )
2 use ecm  (you evade the UFO and no damage,  / you evade the UFO and it cannot find you, encounter ends, you fail to evade encounter continues. whoops, double damage from UFO next strike )
3 use defensive gunnery (you fire back, and UFO is driven off encounter ends, UFO takes a hit, encounter continues, you miss encounter continues, UFO takes hit but double damage from UFO's next strike(note the UFO can never be destroyed, just driven off)),
4 use acceleration (if simply faster you escape encounter ends, if not encounter continues, you mess up and double damage from UFO's next strike)
5 Use anomaly  (becomes randomly available if at all after a certain amount of time, when clicked on a message displays the type of anomaly you took advantage of  (ie "your MAYDAY has alerted a local airforce interceptor wing which chases away the UFO," encounter ends).  If you mess up TRIPLE damage from UFO next strike against you.

"Encounter continues" means UFO hunter Killer is following attacking you and depending upon its firepower and your craft type is how long it will take before you are downed.   Options that result in "no damage" mean your actions interrupted the normal attack rhythm of the hunter killer for a few seconds.    Options that result in the hunter killer doing double or triple damage could be game scaled to mean 25% or more damage than usual against your craft.

You continue to select any available option until
you escape,
the hunter killer is driven off
or you are downed
(NOTE there is a recharge period for an option after selection and developing technology will give higher chances of certain options suceeding).

FYI
Since the dogfight UI is arranged for range the encounter alternately, depending on success of options would increase/ decrease range  as follows
--encounter continues at current range
--distance between Hunter killer and XCOM craft decreases (increasing chance of UFO to strike, using all its weapons)
--distance between  Hunter killer and XCOM craft increases (decreasing chances of UFO to strike, its short range weapons cannot be used)
--distance increases off the scale and XCOM craft escapes hunter killer, encounter ends

Also consider XCOM craft is equipped with "chaff"  and /or  "ECM console" etc  is at the expense of carrying something else, but gives those respective options to use for escape in the event of an occasional  hunter killer attack.

I assume over ocean, everyone dies.

Higher percentage of death, as per Countdown, rafts etc can save people /equipment

Does this actually spawn a mission or is it just a touch-and-go crash site? 
A. If it spawns a mission, who will be the enemy?

No aliens, as they consider their job done in removing the immediate threat;  just opportunistic human "scavengers," local milita, gangs etc; and missions not always 100% spawned so you are not "grinding" against scavengers and  abortable so you can just pay a ransom to get your soldiers back.  Sprites that can be used for hostile  human scavengers are already well represented in some mods.

And should the survivors spawn as xcom and fight as well?

Yes as per above.
 

Or should they spawn as civilians you need to save?

No

Or should they not spawn at all and just be recovered at the end?

  variable mission generation is perhaps 25%, the rest of the time persons and a percentage of materials recovered showing up at the base in a few days / weeks later.

Or killed if you lose/abort.

Mission Abort gives chance to ransom survivors from hostile locals

B. If it doesn't spawn a mission, can we just simplify it that survivors come back home by public transport after certain amount of days?

  yes

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OXCE Suggestions DONE / Re: Hunter-killer

« on: September 24, 2017, 07:48:31 pm »

This seems good.
      I gather it goes like this
      Hunter killer randomly, unexpectedly, jumps XCOM craft:
      (since it is already decided the hunter killer is SUPERIOR to the XCOM craft then the next possibilities occur:

      1- XCOM craft is eliminated
      2- XCOM craft somehow escapes damaged or otherwise; and is forced to abort mission returns to base, this percentage chance of escape increases if the XCOM craft is carrying external armaments

   
   if 1
   then  (to expound upon Solarius Scorch's idea)
     --Percentage chance of injuries and/or death (higher rank has greater survivability for RPG purposes).
    -- Delay in return. the "transfer" time is hidden, so you never know if the person was saved or not.
    --Percentage chance of losing each item on board.
    (whether the XCOM craft destroyed or crash lands is irrelevant, for game purposes it is unavailable for further XCOM missions)
    Yes, LIGHTNINGS and more advanced craft would have more equipment and personnel recovered and/or greater chance of escape.

  As for the delay in return and suspense of who survived or not, the game is 1990's and communications were still uncertain compared to 2017, especially in in remote areas.  Even in more modern territories the Xcom survivors might be keeping a low profile among the population so news of their fate would be delayed as opposed to a routine ground mission where communications are continuously established. 

An XCOM mission might develop where XCOM crash survivors are trying to get from one end of the map to the next with their stuff,  battling hostile locals (that have nothing to do with aliens) that are simply regional armed drug militias, gangs, looters or whatever.  A win might get some AK 47's but not enough to be considered "farming,"  or that mission optionally aborted and the survivors ransomed back.

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The X-Com Files / Re: A mission idea from news

« on: September 24, 2017, 06:29:12 pm »

Exactly. And again, xcom starts as an INVESTIGATIVE BUREAU, yet they very much perform like a hit squad for swat or something.  Even with farmers, you can light up every person with a hail of lead, and face minimal consequences.....snip .....and if this is xcom killing off everyone, this will look very bad.

Yes, if the game engine allows it, more of these  sorts of things to consider, I do not know if terror missions can have greater point loss per civilian killed by Xcom  specifically without increasing that point loss by those killed by aliens.  The Idea that if civilians are a high point loss if kiled by XCOM, on those types of missions the rocket tank, for example might better be left at the house and different tactics employed.

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Open Feedback / Re: Rebalanced?

« on: September 16, 2017, 07:28:54 pm »

Yep, that mission I told you about, got smeared by floaters and their froglike dino critters,
embarrassing

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XPiratez / Re: [MAIN] XPiratez - 0.99H - 31 Aug - Long Live The Queen

« on: September 12, 2017, 07:06:37 pm »

(paraphrased) ...is it possible to mod the mod to remove all the images I do not like  from ufopaedia?

 

Yes, for one reason or another we do not like some of the pictures and want alternate images

This goes basically for any mod that has extra sprites / pictures or whatever.
its EASY PEASY if you are just replacing, forget about .rul editing.

the short of it is just REPLACE the graphics by direct overwrite with YOUR altered files.

Longer explanation:

If you want a direct replacement of some of the graphics/pictures, locate where they are at,
on most mods just find  the particular file usually in  .png, .gif. format somewhere usually in the resource folder or maybe subdivided further resources/ufopedia ;

the point is find those picture(s) and note location.

One you've done that, open it up in an image editor to verify size etc, then do a "save as" into a DIFFERENT folder you want to edit from.  Or you can just copy over the files you want to change.

Save as THE SAME EXACT NAME as the original file.

Three things to keep in mind
--the NAME and FILETYPE cannot change from the original
--the PIXEL DIMENSIONS cannot change from the original
--If there is an area designated for text, usually a blank, black area where the illustration does not continue, try to keep the modified graphic in that orientation, else-wise the mod's text may become unreadable against the background illustration.

Once you edited the files, keep them in your edit folder, but drag a copy of them into the  mod folder where the mod's originals are  and OVERWRITE.

When you run the game, because your modified files are exact name, format and size of the originals, your modified graphics will appear instead.

(keep track and place in bank vault this 'edit folder" where your altered files are at because you will need to copy them when/if the mod updates)

If the mod should update, install, as usual,
Check the mod's picture/graphic folder to  see what changes there  are and how they differ from the earlier version.
--if no or minimal changes, not just drag a copy of your modified files into the mod's graphic /picture folder and OVERWRITE.
--if there are changes, you may have to edit your modified picture files or the mod's graphic  files in some way  to accommodate the mod update to reflect the changes you want.

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Work In Progress / Re: Servitors (wip)

« on: September 12, 2017, 02:16:19 am »

change weapon type from melee to firearm with 1-square range (and choose proper sounds for it or find new ones, and ,possibly, this is too hard for me) and balance it, and balance overall mk1's stats, it need some buffing...

Just use the code  from my hwp tractors mod and change the range from 2 to 1. You can also use the code from the POWERGLOVE mod but no sound/ hit animation  has been provisioned  into it The sounds and animations of the first generation tractor reflect a blunt object hit with AP ammunition strike .

Thes servitors in my mind at least might work better as an alien mockery, stealing humans, modifying and using them as terrorist units in a town raid.  those BAZTARDS!

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Suggestions / Re: Suggestions for the website and community resources

« on: September 11, 2017, 08:10:31 pm »

. I mean, even the term "Nightlies" isn't 100% clear to those not familiar with open source projects.

yes, Some Mount and Blade Warband mods use the term "nightly" to mean an incremental update to an already installed version.
Nightly here means a complete install where the previous version is  irrelevant.

Untill I read the instructions more carefully I was Installing nightlies into the 1.0 folder.

The game ran , however I was getting some odd results if I tried to mod anything, that is until I deleted 1.0 and installed the nightlys separately into their own folder when a new version came out

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Open Feedback / Re: Rebalanced?

« on: September 11, 2017, 07:32:48 pm »

In my first game of beginner-level Open X-Com, I got a large UFO on day 1. Day 2 - terror mission. I responded to the terror mission, and my 8 man crew got obliterated by (at least) 4 cyberdiscs.

You just have to learn to throw in the towel.  On an early mission, I too  only to lost all my men, though after the 4th and certainly 5th I should have gotten a clue and headed back to the house.  With that being said, yes there seems to be less of a build-up to difficulty and more random  among the very  first missions, UNTENABLE, compared to  what I remember back in the olden days.  4 cyberdisks on beginner though, HOLY COW.