TotalBiscuit's review for XCom 2 is out. His reviews are usually pretty comprehensive. No major story spoilers are in the review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1dLGihV0No
He at one point outright said that if you liked the 2012 remake, then you will like XCom 2. Overall, he really liked it, but he liked the 2012 reboot as well. Some other takeaways. Needs optimization and is still pretty buggy. Nothing new there. The geoscape seems much improved in that there is more freedom and less forced missions, but base building has been further dumb down. I didn't even think that was possible given how simplistic the 2012 base building was. Tactical Combat is basically like the 2012, but more polished and faster paced. Also there are still soldier classes. Still only three tiers of weapons, but lots of upgrades and misc equipment to add more variety. Did not see a single HWP. Guess those are gone completely except for the support class's drone. There is going to be a lot of mod support out of the box. I think there are already people modding it and the game isn't even out yet.
In summary, if you hated XCom 2012, then skip XCom 2 since it is basically XCom 2012 with more polish.
I have two more half finished TFTD mods rotting on my harddrive right now. I need to get these things out so I plan gradually release these beta mods on this thread over the next several months. I have finally managed to move these two into beta.
2 Mods Currently up for beta Carcharodons Race Those who have peeked into my Xeno Operations mod have noticed a strange race of alien sharkmen. Those were originally intended for TFTD. Well here they finally are in beta form for TFTD. A few notes They are a mid game enemy. They should show up in around a few months of play. Stats wise, they are not overwhelmingly tough, but they are hardy. They are also resistant to starting weapons so you will need gauss or sonics to deal with them. I am still open to balance suggestions. The polyp sprite may get an overhaul down the road.
Ion Weapons The plasma weapons for Xeno Operations were actually originally designed for TFTD as well. This mod adds a final weapon tier to the game called Ion Weapons. These weapons deal sonic damage, but have a much higher rate of fire than alien Sonic weapons at the cost of some accuracy. Default damage is below those of alien sonic weapons, but much higher than gauss. There are more expensive alternate ammo types that make Ion weapons damage equal to alien sonic.
I've noticed that a list order cannot be applied when selecting an armor for a soldier in both the craft screen and the soldier screen. It also moves any armor with storeItem: STR_NONE to the top of the list by default. It would be awesome for us modders (ie probably only me ) if we could apply a list order to our armor sets for the equip screen.
I know it's only been a week in beta, but I think its safe to move it on out to final.
This mod expands the Gauss weapons for Terror from the Deep to include more gauss weapons and clips. This mod should increase the viability of Gauss weapons without altering any alien stats.
New Weapons Added Small Gauss Pistol Heavy Gauss Pistol Gauss Assaulter (short range automatic weapon) Gauss Shard Rifle (fires a spread effect like a shotgun) Gauss Sniper Rifle Gauss Suppressor (Rapid fire suppression weapon) Gauss Grenade
New Clips for all Gauss Guns Aqua Plastic Tipped (APT) clips for all Gauss weapons Zrbite Core (ZC) clips for all Gauss weapons
Installation instructions: Place in the OpenXCom mods folder just like a normal XCom mod. Change gametype to Terror from the Deep.
Future Plans: None except fixing bugs and adjusting stats if enough people feel they need to be adjusted.
Modders may borrow any part of this mod they wish so long as I am credited.
Updated mod. Added Russian translation. Thanks vwtrotsky. Also added in en-GB strings which I forgot for some reason.
I love the gauss weapons from TFTD. They look so cool. They are also worthless on the higher difficulty settings and pretty much useless mid game onward. This mod addresses this somewhat by adding new Gauss weapons to the game as well as adding clips that increase firepower to deal with mid game foes.
This mod expands the Gauss weapons for Terror from the Deep to include more weapons and clips. This mod should increase the viability of Gauss weapons without altering any alien stats.
This mod adds the following weapons in addition to the normal Gauss weapons:
Small Gauss Pistol
Heavy Gauss Pistol
Gauss Assaulter (basically an SMG)
Gauss Shard Rifle (basically a shotgun)
Gauss Sniper Rifle
Gauss Supressor (basically a LMG)
Gauss Grenade (don't think too hard about the science of that one)
Aqua plastic tipped clips for all Gauss weapons
Zrbite Core clips for all Gauss weapons
Installation instructions: Place in the OpenXCom mods folder just like a normal XCom mod. Change gametype to Terror from the Deep.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Note to modders: there is an UFO version of the graphics set to the UFO defense battlescape colors.
Edit: Updated to v0.6 to fix shard rifle bug Edit: Updated to v0.7 with new sounds, projectiles, and more damage for the gauss grenade Edit: Updated to v0.8 to fix a sound crash Edit: Updated to v0.9 as I had some sounds mismatched. Also adjusted volume of sounds.
Finally getting around to sharing some of my templates I use for spriting. All are layered photoshop files CS5. Don't know how useful they will be to others, but they are a handy reference to me. All are not in the proper indexed color mode so that will have to be done manually (since it kills the layers). Also included is a copy of the palettes, but they were thrown together quickly so they may not all be there. I will try to update this every so often if I come up with any more useful templates.
List of attached files HandOBTemplatePhotoshop: Hand objects. Useful for zeroing in where the weapon should be held for handOB. UFOpediaTemplates: The UFOpedia templates I used for my mod. More just here so others can learn how I reworked the UFOpedia. Also to see how nice they would be if XCom didn't hate colors with a passion. UnitTemplates: A 8 frame wide unit template with Iso boxes and indicators for orientation and frames all for XCom_0.pck. Palettes: Several palettes both default and the ones I use. Note that one battlescape palette has the last 16 colors removed was done intentionally since photoshop likes to replace grays with the slightly blue grays that the base inventory screen hates.
What is this mod? Xeno Operations is a large expansion mod that verges on a total conversion. It adds new weapons, armor, aliens, and maps. It also reworks much of the spritework such as overhauling the artwork for the UFOs and Alien Base. With all of the new content, the tech tree has also been extended in order to give the player enough time to play with all of the new toys.
Compatibility Issues XENO OPERATIONS IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 1.0. You must update to the latest nightly in order to play this mod. The nightlies are here: https://openxcom.org/git-builds/ For help on installing the nightlies see here: https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Installation_FAQ_%28OpenXcom%29 This mod will not likely play well with other mods, especially ones that are similar in size and scope. As such, I consider this a standalone mod for the most part. I cannot offer much support in the case of mod conflicts.
Highly Recommended Settings Alien weapon self-destruction: YES. The game is balanced with this option in mind. Playing without self-destructing alien weapons will not be game breaking, but it makes it far easier and makes alien weapons far more abundant to the player which renders much of the human weapons redundant. UFO Extender accuracy: YES. The mod does take this into account and this option greatly diversifies weapons. Playing without this option renders many of the weapons redundant.
Known Issues This mod is a beta. Expect things to change. I am really bad for gutting systems on a whim and redoing large swaths of the mod if I find them lacking. There is also a lot of areas that I want to fix, but just haven't gotten around to. However, there are a few notable issues that will be addressed in the upcoming versions. -Clicking on the UAV's camera icon freezes the game. Right clicking fixes this. The camera icon is just for show. It doesn't do anything. It is necessary since I can't have an HWP without a weapon for some reason. -Much of the UFOpaedia is missing. This will be gradually updated as I go along. Most critical information should be there, like how to win the game. -Alien weapons are not usable for now. Flavor text will be updated when I get the chance in order to reflect this. If you research plasma weapons and find you are unable to use them, don't panic. That is by design. Updated: They are usable after certain techs have been discovered, but not buildable. -Pacing is a mess. I can only fix this after feedback. -Item prices are all over the place. This will be gradually fixed. -Research times are erratic. In addition, some research items may be cut as I update. -There isn't much variety in terms of air combat, especially with weapons. -Weapon balance still needs work. -List orders are a mess. -Much of the final end game content is missing. It's not that big of a deal. Most of it is utterly broken in terms of balance. -The battlescape sprite for the nerve suit is missing. Only the paperdolls are finished. -Sectopod corpse and UFOPaedia entries don't match the battlescale sprite. I'll fix this eventually.
Tips These are spoiler free
Spoiler:
- The Minigun is very useful for base defense since it is basically an area of effect weapon without an explosion. Park a soldier with a minigun at the end of a choke point and laugh. Otherwise it is very difficult to use and probably the worst weapon to bring to a terror site. - Xeno Operations armor is great for rookies. Even though it is very weak, it is a cheap armor that boosts shooting. When the rookie's stats improve, they can graduate to heavier armor. - It is extremely important that troops don't bunch up. The aliens have a few new area of effect weapons that are very devastating. - First Aid Kits are a starting medikit. They are heavy though and are more costly in TUs to use. - Use armor colors for quick identification of soldier roles. For example, dress all snipers in blue or put the best troops in black. This allows for soldier identification at a quick glanced. - Security stations make base defense much easier. In fact I am a bit worried it is a bit of a game breaker in that area. - Corridors are awesome for decreasing build times as they are a cheap facility to connect other facilities. Use them to quickly flesh out a base and then take them apart when you don't need them anymore. - Keep a diverse arsenal and make sure to take a wide variety of weapons with you on every mission. You never know when you might encounter an alien that is immune to certain kinds of weapons. - Never pass up a codex recovery mission. Ever! - Codex fragments can be found in nearly all UFO components. - Alien supplies are super useful to salvage. They have lots of a nice stuff so don't sell them.
Xeno Operations Loot Guide Click on the spoiler to know what's useful and what isn't.
Spoiler:
Useful -Most recovered UFO components -Power Source -UFO Computer -UFO Sensor -UFO Life Support -Codex Fragment -Alien Entertainment -Alien Supplies (very useful) -Alien weapons are usable, but they are not buildable so use them sparingly.
Currently useless -All Alien Gear
Help I'm stuck! Click on the spoiler for help if you are completely lost. Warning, spoilers.
Spoiler:
Beating the game requires advancing along two separate tech trees. The first tech tree advances like thus Any Alien autopsy>Xeno Physiology and UFO Life Support>Alien Containment Then you must capture aliens for interrogation. You will need, in rough order... Soldier, Navigator, Leader or Commander, Another Leader or Commander, a Commander, and an Ethereal Commander or Muton Warlord The other tech tree requires you to research a codex fragment and then build a Codex. Building or upgrading a Codex is expensive, but required to win the game. The Codex must be built through all six stages in order to win the game, though you only have to research each stage once if you wish. You must also find two Codex Keys to complete the last stage of the codex. These can only be found during Codex Recovery missions. There should be at least two of these missions pop up in the first year (they occur randomly in place of terror missions). During the recovery mission, you must destroy the uplink device and grab the Codex Key. Do not use explosives to destroy the uplink device, or the explosion will destroy the key too. Once you acquire two Codex Keys and upgrade the Codex to its completed stage, the Completed Codex is used as a component to build the most powerful craft in the game. This is the only craft that can go to Mars.
Codex Mechanics Each Codex stage has a number of technologies it grants randomly upon being researched. It can be researched multiple times per stage and each stage has a unique set of technologies exclusive to that stage. Upgrading to the next stage replaces those technologies with a new set of more advanced technologies. Each stage takes longer to research than the last, but the technologies it yields are far more powerful and far more expensive to produce. In summary: The higher the stage, the longer the research times, but the more advanced technologies the Codex grants. Upgrading a Codex is fairly simple assuming you have the resources and engineers for it. Each stage gets progressively more expensive in money, time, alloys, fragments, and elerium. The balancing act of Xeno Operations is the choice of whether to allocate resources to upgrading the Codex or using those resources to build advanced weapons, armor, and craft. Wait too long to upgrade the Codex and you may find yourself out paced technologically by the advancing alien threat. Upgrade your Codex beyond your current infrastructure and you may find extracting technologies takes to long and the costs of those weapons too high to build. There is not enough resources or time to build everything, at least not in the early to mid game.
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) if we could apply a list order to our armor sets for the equip screen.
