Messages

1

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: December 13, 2019, 08:25:20 pm »

Extended reaction fire was never added to OpenXcom Extended and has not been developed for more than two years now.

Cheers,

~ M ~

2

XPiratez / Re: A thread for little questions

« on: June 11, 2019, 05:35:32 pm »

I'm experiencing the bug where I can't recruit/research gnomes as soldiers. Is there an edit I can make to a savefile that will fix this?

Yes, delete the "needItem: true" from STR_SOLDIER_TYPE_GNOME in Piratez.rul and you're good to go.

[Spoiler]

3

XPiratez / Re: A thread for little questions

« on: May 27, 2019, 08:51:16 pm »

How do I enable the bug hunt mode or debug a map, cause I'm lost on this map, 40 turns in, still haven't found last zombie in crypt of the necromancer. Dunno if he's in a wall or something.

You probably missed

Spoiler:

the zombie upstairs in the technomancer’s hideout, as you need to destroy some walls to get to it

4

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 17, 2017, 05:59:40 pm »

I merged the "plus" version to the Extended Reaction Fire. The link to ERF-plus no longer works: use the link in the first post.

Cheers,

~M~

5

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 17, 2017, 01:18:41 am »

Hi, another plus version is up! I reworked the previously introduced ability to exclude fire modes from reaction fire. Instead of toggling an "exclusive selection", I opted for the more flexible – and now that I think of it, more obvious  – route of allowing the player to individually toggle any reaction fire mode as excluded or included. Simply middle click the corresponding reserve TUs button and voilà!

It is now possible e.g. to set auto fire as the preferred reaction fire mode and exclude snap shot, leaving aimed shot as the alternative to auto shot. If the target is too far for reasonably accurate auto fire, the unit will take an aimed shot. This can be quite useful for weapons where snap shots are not considerably more accurate than auto shots at long distances.

If all fire modes are excluded, only melee is left for reactions. (If you wish to not react at all, the Expend All TUs button is your friend.) I would like to add the possibility of excluding melee, but I am confronted with the limits of the system: there is no reserve TUs for melee button (duh!). Since the Don't Reserve TUs button has no function in the current exclusion system I use, it is technically possible to make it the "exclude melee" button. But there's no way that is going to be intuitive.

If anyone has thoughts on this, let me know – maybe I'll just make it so, and then at least anyone reading these posts would know how to exclude melee reactions. Another option is to start tweaking the buttons, but I wouldn't like to do so in fear of losing compatibility with other mods and versions (and because I suck at drawing).

As always, the Extended Reaction Fire Plus can be found here: https://github.com/Morrandir-X/OpenXcom/tree/oxce3.5-plus-proto-ERF-plus

Cheers,

~M~

6

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 15, 2017, 12:32:26 am »

New plus version is up. It's now possible to exclusively select a reaction fire mode by middle-clicking the reserve TUs button.

On click, the button's figure turns golden to show the selection and the figure in the other types disappears to show their exclusion from reaction fire.

The unit will then ONLY fire using that mode and it will therefore NOT fire at all if the conditions for that reaction fire type are not met. That is, if you exclusively select auto fire, the unit will not react if the target is beyond the distance for minimum reaction fire accuracy. Note that if the unit does not have TUs for the selected fire mode, it will not use another. This option is meant for very specific and granular control of the unit's reactions – if the consequences are not desired, use the normal right click instead.

I also added some fixes to how melee components of firearms are used in reactions, especially how to choose between a real melee weapon and a melee component of a firearm in dual wielding situations. There were other smaller fixes too.

These features have been added to the "plus" version that is still experimental and can be downloaded here: https://github.com/Morrandir-X/OpenXcom/tree/oxce3.5-plus-proto-ERF-plus

After I finish some more testing, I will update the standard Extended Reaction Fire mod with all these features.

Cheers,

~M~

7

OpenXcom Extended / Re: [OXCE] OpenXcom Extended

« on: June 12, 2017, 01:49:52 pm »

Bug with guns that have melee components: trying to hit with the melee component when the gun is out of ammo results in "NO AMMUNITION LOADED".

8

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 10, 2017, 11:54:34 am »

As for the TU you would have - simple, the ammount you had left at the end of turn.

As you know, in X-Com you don't get to use all your remaining TUs when you react: you get one snapshot and have to win initiative again to shoot the next one. So for consistency and balance, you would have to set some limit to the TUs you can use for moving, shooting, whatever.

9

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 09, 2017, 11:07:54 pm »

One more update, for Friday's sake: it is now impossible to select an unsupported fire mode for reactions. It can be unsupported because the weapon does not have that fire mode or because it has been specifically excluded from reaction fire. (Especially the latter is useful, as the player might not be aware of which reaction modes a weapon supports, if any.) If the user tries to select an unsupported fire mode, a pop up warning will appear and the selection is not made.

This is currently available only in the experimental version of Extended Reaction Fire, i.e. here: https://github.com/Morrandir-X/OpenXcom/tree/oxce3.5-plus-proto-ERF-plus

I think this mod idea is highly commendable.

Thanks, Dioxine, I'm happy to hear that – if one day it were to find its way into the official X-Piratez build, I would not have to update my own build every time there are updates 

Cheers,

~M~

10

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 09, 2017, 07:40:48 pm »

I really liked how reactions were handled in jagged alliance 2. You just get to control the soldier that was able to interrupt enemy turn and you can whatever you want with the remaining action points.

That's how it was in Laser Squad, X-Com's predecessor. But the one in X-Com seems more accurate actually, since soldiers can only shoot at units which they win initiative against.

Anyway, I'm excited about this, Morrandir. It looks competent.

There are certainly some good aspects to that system – it would for instance be really cool to be able to shoot or hide depending on what kind of target you see. Quite often I would prefer a, errm, tactical retreat when a cyberdisc comes around the corner rather than agitate it with whatever pea shooter I happen to have. The initiative aspect is indeed important, however, and even IF one could program in some sort of option to retreat, one question is, how many TUs would one get for it and how to tweak the interface to accommodate it.**

Thanks, Solarius, I hope to hear your thoughts on it soon. In the name of control over your units, I'm planning to add a middle click to the reserve TUs buttons for choosing only one reaction type and disabling others for the unit. That way one could e.g. hold fire until opposing units come to accurate auto fire range

Cheers,

~M~

** I wonder if it would be possible to have a pop up appear when a unit is allowed to react, halting the game (like death notifications do), with an option to shoot or hide. Hiding could be done automatically (let computer control the unit) by allowing the user to, say, choose a hiding spot before end of the turn. Clicking on "TACTICAL RETREAT" would automate the unit's movement to that location, whereas "GIVE 'EM HELL" would initiate normal reaction fire. Sounds do-able...? Then again, might be a bit of a chore setting up escape routes...

11

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 09, 2017, 05:45:42 pm »

Updates abound! Apart from completely reworking the function to determine reaction type (I made it iterative over a for-loop – it's nicer and allows for easier expansion of allowed reaction types), I also fixed an oversight in the current system: reactions with gun butt! Now one can melee react with guns that have a swing function – previously the weapon would only shoot, and if it had no ammo, do nothing. (E.g. X-Piratez's Shotgun Fist would never function for melee reactions.)

Note that as reactions system prioritises melee, a weapon with a swing function WILL use it over shooting in close quarters (particularly nice with the new CQC system that makes point blank auto fire often... pointless). You can override this however by making a manual choice of fire mode.

As the new function is a bit experimental and requires further testing (although I cannot get it to crash or fail), I have not yet updated the main ERF linked above. For those who want gun butt reactions, get it here:
https://github.com/Morrandir-X/OpenXcom/tree/oxce3.5-plus-proto-ERF-plus

For both versions I also fixed some bugs. (One known issue is that right-clicking the Expend All TUs button will colour it golden. I'll fix it soon.)

Test it out! I can say that this mod has some pretty exciting fire fights with amazingly destructive auto fire from both sides – those assault grenade launchers have never been so much fun!

Cheers,

~M~

12

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: June 04, 2017, 11:11:38 pm »

I added new functionality to Extended Reaction Fire. It is now possible to select an individual reaction fire choice for each unit separately: by right clicking the Reserve TUs button in battlescape one can set the unit to react with auto/snap/aimed as long as it has TUs and the target is within minimum reaction range. Otherwise the mod reverts to automatic choice based on distance. This choice can be made separately for each unit and in conjunction with the normal/standard choice of reserving TUs (which, as you know, does not effect reaction fire, just reserves TUs for the selected shot). The choice can be seen by the golden figure in the selected Reserve TUs button.

It is now possible e.g. to:
- Set up an over watching unit with an assault rifle that always reacts with auto fire, regardless of distance (except below minimum hitting chance, usually something like 2%)
- Set up an over watching unit with an assault rifle that will always react with an aimed shot, for extra security.
- Have a unit with a BIG BOOM BOOM GUN always react with snap shot (or auto) instead of an aimed shot, even from a long distance, if you prefer many inaccurate shots over one accurate one, which may well be the case since precision is not important for a BIG BOOM BOOM GUN.
- Specifically avoid that a unit shoots auto shots even at close range – perhaps to avoid friendly fire.
- Make a unit prefer two snap shots of 25% over one auto shot of 50% TUs, or whatever special requirements you might have.

As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome!

Link to build in the first post.

Cheers,

~M~

13

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: May 30, 2017, 09:41:04 pm »

The Extended Reaction Fire mod is now fully functional. It is built on OpenXCom+, v. 3.5. I will look into making it compatible with OpenXCom vanilla.

ERF can be enabled from advanced settings under extended. It is disabled by default.

ERF includes four new flags for items (see RuleItem.cpp and .h): canReactAimed, canReactAuto, canReactSnap, canReactMelee. Each are set to true on default so that a weapon can use any of the attack modes it has for reaction fire. Setting any of them to false disables that reaction type for the weapon, leaving others (if any) enabled.

When ERF is enabled, the reaction score calculation depends on the weapon the acting unit reacts with (the target's weapon is irrelevant), as explained above. When it is disabled, the standard calculation is used.

I would be grateful for any feedback and suggestions you might have. Thanks!

14

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: May 25, 2017, 01:03:51 pm »

The second part of this feature (reaction score calculation) is already possible to mod at will using Yankes' scripts (since version 3.0).

Actually, you have made changes on the master branch, which is equal to vanilla.
If you want to make changes for the Extended version, you should use branch "oxce3.5-plus-proto".

EDIT: actually, it's some kind of mix?? The source code doesn't even compile (I tried compiling from branch master, commit 7cc33f6). And I can't see what you have changed, diff between ac69cb7 and 7cc33f6 is too big and has definitely more than just your changes.

Damn, you are right, I accidentally forked the wrong version. I deleted it and forked 3.5, it SHOULD work now – I tested it and it does compile just fine on my machine. I'll edit my post.

15

OXCE Suggestions Abandoned / Re: Extended reaction fire

« on: May 22, 2017, 06:19:22 pm »

I browsed your post and while I can't really estimate how well it works in reality, the way you presented your idea seems solid and encouraging.

One question I have: since the TUs used to determine reactions are lower by half the firing cost, it means they are effectively much lower. Doesn't it make reaction fire very slow?

Thanks – in my tests this worked very well, and balancing it should be easy. I think the only thing to keep in mind would be that a poor accuracy auto fire volley from a unit can be potentially very devastating to your own troops. So one would have to adjust one's game strategy accordingly.

The reaction stat is calculated using the formula: Reactions * (Current TU's / TU's). In my suggestion the change would be only Firing TU's / 2TU's, which is then subtracted from the Current TUs. That is not particularly much to begin with (since a typical shot is about 25% of TU's, the change in the reactions modifier is about 12,5%). But I also set 25% of TU's as a standard, meaning that in that case the modification is zero. (I wanted to avoid making all reaction stats lower: now the old reaction stat is simply the standard reaction stat.) What it means in practice is that for slow weapons the reaction score is 10% less for every 20% over the 25%, which is to say that the unit can move 10% further before the shot is taken.

Here are some examples of how it works (number is for the reaction stat) for someone with 50 reactions and 100 TUs, compared with the current formula that gives 50:

FORMULA: Reactions * (Current TUs - (WTU - 0.25*TUs)) / TUs, where WTU is the firing cost in TUs.

WTU 10: 54
WTU 20: 51.5
WTU 25: 50 (default case, i.e. as it is now)
WTU 30: 49
WTU 50: 44
WTU 75: 37.5
WTU 90: 34
WTU 100: 31.5

What this means is this: if the target has 50 reactions and 50/50 TUs, the reaction score is 50 (shot would be fired immediately on action). With WTU 50, compared to how it is now, the target would have to use 12% more of its TUs for the shot to be taken, i.e. 6. With WTU 75 that's 25%, i.e. 13 TUs. If the target has 100 reactions instead, as it is now the shot would be taken at 50% = 25 TUs. With the modified calculations, given WTU 50 the target needs to move 3 more TUs (6%, or 12% more of remaining TUs), given WTU 75, 7 more TUs. Notice, then, that the 10% for every 20% over 25% rule I mentioned above pertains to the remaining TUs: if the target's reaction score is much higher than the actor's, when reacting becomes possible to begin with, the change is even smaller. The main factor is, then, still the reaction stat.

In any case, the formula could well be tweaked for balance. The main thing for me is to allow for auto and aimed shot reactions, and the rest of the changes support making that feasible.

Thanks, and cheers!