Topics

1

XPiratez / Defensive layout strategies

« on: September 05, 2018, 02:18:07 am »

I recently had a base defense mission where I realized my 'defensive' layout was about as horrible as I could have possibly created. After thinking about it for a bit I can't really come up with a reasonable way to make any reasonable defensive layout.

First off, it turns out the fire-trap doesn't grate sewers and isn't very lethal to invaders, it just keeps you separated from your enemies for a while. Worse dirt is also sewer accessible. Apparently corridors are the only way to avoid fighting in sewers. Sewers are very slow to traverse and fighting there is definitely not my idea of a fun afternoon.

Beast dens are the only facility that blocks roof passage. Thus the only way to force enemies to fight you in an accessible focal point would be to surround your access and hangers with a layer of corridors, surrounded by a layer of dirt?

Thoughts? It looks like the 'defensive' layouts on Piratez-ufopedia are for early versions. I heard your bases get assaulted monthly after a while, and I'd like to know how to keep those defense missions down to a few hours each, or even 30 mins. No sewer treks.

2

OXCE Suggestions Archive / [Suggestion] Allow the inventory slot to be restricted to supported items only

« on: August 25, 2018, 11:25:34 pm »

Currently OXCE+ allows items to be restricted to a list of supported inventory slots but doesn't allow the inventory slot to be restricted to supported items. For example, as a ruleset moder I could make it so that STR_RIFLE_CLIP can only go in slot STR_CLIP_HOLDER, but short of adding an applicability list to every equipable item in the game I can't make it so that only STR_RIFLE_CLIP, or only clips, can go in STR_CLIP_HOLDER. Right now we want this feature for Piratez to add a dedicated utility items slot without having to add a list of all other slots to every non-utility item.

I want to add a property "PlacementRestrictionLevel" to inventory slots that, when set >1, causes applicability to be enforced for all items. By default slots would have restriction level 1 and only enforce applicability for items that have a non-null applicability list. PlacementRestrictionLevel: 0 (or any slot named "STR_GROUND") would ignore applicability entirely. Useful for a backpack maybe.

First we have to add the property and a getter in Mod/RuleInventory.cpp to add support in the ruleset.

Code: [Select]

/**
 * Creates a blank ruleset for a certain
 * type of inventory section.
 * @param id String defining the id.
 * @param _resLevel int restriction level for item placement.
 */
RuleInventory::RuleInventory(const std::string &id): _id(id), _x(0), _y(0), _type(INV_SLOT), _resLevel(1), _listOrder(0), _hand(0)

void RuleInventory::load(const YAML::Node &node, int listOrder)
{
_resLevel = node["PlacementRestrictionLevel"].as<int>(_resLevel);

/**
 * Gets the restriction level. 0 never restricted, 1 restricted for items with slot lists (default), 2 always restricted.
 * @return restriction level.
 */
bool RuleInventory::getResLevel() const
{
return _resLevel;
}
With the property added we need to send the slots resLevel to the item along with the slots string ID when we check for compatibility in BattleScape/Inventory.cpp.

Code: [Select]

/**
 * Picks up / drops an item.
 * @param action Pointer to an action.
 * @param state State that the action handlers belong to.
 */
void Inventory::mouseClick(Action *action, State *state)
{
// Check if this inventory section supports the item
if (!_selItem->getRules()->canBePlacedIntoInventorySection(slot->getId(), slot->getResLevel()))
And finally we need to catch the resLevel parameter and use it to determine item applicability in Mod/RuleItem.cpp.

Code: [Select]

/**
 * Checks if the item can be placed into a given inventory section.
 * @param inventorySection Name of the inventory section (RuleInventory->id).
 * @param resLevel restriction level of the inventory section (RuleInventory->_resLevel).
 * @return True if the item can be placed into a given inventory section.
 */
bool RuleItem::canBePlacedIntoInventorySection(const std::string &inventorySection, int &resLevel) const
{
// allow default items in unrestricted inventory sections.
if (resLevel == 1 && _supportedInventorySections.empty())
return true;

// always possible to put an item on the ground or in fully unrestricted slots
if (inventorySection == "STR_GROUND" or resLevel == 0)
return true;

// otherwise check allowed inventory sections
return std::find(_supportedInventorySections.begin(), _supportedInventorySections.end(), inventorySection) != _supportedInventorySections.end();
}

I submitted a pull request for the code as I wrote it to the Meridian branch for convenience. I triple checked it a few times and I don't think there's anything blatantly wrong in it, but IDC if you use my code or even do it the way I came up with. My approach was to do it without adding any new functions except a getter, and put it alongside your old code.

PS, huge thanks for all the work extending OXC! And thanks for reading all this too btw.

3

XPiratez / Custom inventories, gear slots and OXCE limitations

« on: August 24, 2018, 06:55:18 am »

I was looking into the idea of adding gear slot functionality into CE and while I think I've found the right part of the OXCE code, but then things got strange...

Is Piratez using a custom version of OXCE to add inventory layouts to armor types? And why/how are we using fixed weapons as inventory slots? If someone did add proper support for custom inventory layouts into OXCE ... would that even help piratez?

I mean what the flying tits is this?

Code: [Select]

armors:
  - type: STR_PIR_CASTAWAY_ARMOR_UC
    spriteSheet: PIR_489.PCK
    spriteInv: MAN_489
    builtInWeapons: // WAAAAAAHt?!?
      - INV_NULL_4X3
      - INV_NULL_2X1_LS
           ...
      - INV_NULL_1X2_QD //This built in weapon is the Quickdraw slot for this armor?
items:
  - type: INV_NULL_1X2_QD
    invWidth: 1
    invHeight: 2
    fixedWeapon: true
    defaultInventorySlot: STR_QD_SLOT //But where is STR_QD_SLOT defined?


4

Open Feedback / Last salvo on Interceptions

« on: March 26, 2016, 11:54:35 pm »

Wasn't this fixed?

When you run out of ammo during an interception the UFO moves up to max range if you're using standard/cautious, just like before you started shooting at it. You have to hit 'aggressive' or you really only have 2 avalanches per launcher. Not a problem with avalanche range !

It's not necessarily a unfun game mechanic but I got tired of it a long time ago and it just feels incorrect, plus I thought it was fixed like 2 years ago or something. Shouldn't missiles hit based on range when you fired them anyway?

5

Open Feedback / Needed Feature: Responsibility Toggle

« on: September 04, 2015, 09:15:34 am »

So after all the wait and hype I still haven't managed to really play TFTD, I swear if it's not one thing it's another. A lot of games have a quickstart option but I'm not really sure that's applicable here. Beginner isn't really solving most of my problems either.

What I need is an option to toggle all the stuff that makes it hard to continue playing. It would default to on and when turned off certain mechanics should all be disabled. Here's a list of the mechanics I would disable to ensure a full TFTD experience:

1. Money - All purchases, sales, construction and income should be $0.
1a. Rent should also be disabled.
2. Living Requirements - All living space requirements should be disabled.
3. Time Passage - The geoscape (and any other screen) should work without time passing.
4. Employers - All employer actions should be disabled and all scores should be left undefined.
5. Governments - All government activity should be disabled.
6. Roommates, spouses, parents and children should be left uncalculated or disabled entirely.

Ya, that should about do it. Then I'll be able to play TFTD properly.

6

Released Mods / (TFTD) Easy Gauss

« on: August 15, 2015, 11:17:18 pm »

Mod Page:
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/easy-gauss

Description:
REQUIRES TFTD-ENABLED NIGHTLYS

Reaserching "Gauss Technology" unlocks:
 - Gauss Pistol + Gauss Pistol Clip
 - Gauss Rifle + Gauss Rifle Clip
 - Heavy Gauss + Heavy Gauss Clip

Reaserching "Gauss Cannon" unlocks:
 - Gauss Cannon (Craft) + Gauss Cannon Ammo (Craft/HWP)
 - Celocanth w/Gauss Cannon
 - Gauss Defenses (Base Facility)

notes:
The craft gauss cannon and the tank (celocanth) use the same ammo in the default game and this mod doesn't affect that.

Reaserch times are adjusted so that getting all the handheld weapons is easier (faster) then getting them all in order with the vanilla reaserch tree, but harder then just getting the gauss pistol + clip. With 30 scientists it should take less than a month.

Research scores are adjusted to reflect the amount of time you spend researching.

7

Troubleshooting / [Solved] TFTD modding related crash - not sure if I should make a bug report

« on: August 10, 2015, 07:34:03 am »

Currently we're supposed to be testing vanilla game, not mods, so my first thought would be "no don't report it for now". OTOH it's a bug that occurs even if the mod doesn't make a change...

So here's the bug: If a mod contains a copy of items.rul then my game will crash in the battlescape if I use the little icon to center on an alien a soldier sees.

- I had this problem with 08_07_2335 and 08_09_1522. I updated items.rul in both places when I tested (in case it changed).
- it happens even if the only other thing in the mod is a metadata.yml file containing only master: xcom2
- it does NOT happen if I delete the contents of items.rul and leave a blank ruleset file.

Apparently OXC is having a problem loading something in items.rul as a mod but loads it fine when it's the default game. Anyway I just use a mod to cheat and give me cool stuff like bigger facilities so the game progresses faster and I can do that without items.rul.

8

Tools / Missing palettes in PCKview

« on: May 12, 2015, 05:05:09 am »

PCKview has a list of 8 palettes, none of which are correct for the base facility icons in BASEBITS.PCK.

How do we edit these?

9

Open Feedback / We should probably automatically unload broken mods

« on: May 08, 2015, 07:31:32 am »

I installed Improved Hand Obs mod incorrectly and the game crashed with a useful error, useful to any of us at least. Now most of us regulars here can solve these problems quick and easy with a text editor, I think it took me about 4 mins to just fix the mod but I could just as easily have disabled/deleted it, or worst case scenario I would have deleted my config file.

Let's pretend I'm not a geek and I don't know shit about x-com or programming.

"HAALLP! I just downloaded and got my files from steam and my xcom worked great. But I put a mod on and now it doesn't.    And every time I load the game it just has the same error.  . I deleted the game and re installed it and it's still happening."

I dunno Darkestaxe, did u delete ur config file, or the mod?

"Where's that? Will I have to start over with rifles?"

10

Open Feedback / What are the current limitations on HiRes

« on: May 05, 2015, 05:31:12 am »

I know that high res was thrown around a lot a few years ago, and as best as I remember the decision at the time was that the way the graphics were being implemented would require some pretty major rewrites to support higher base resolutions.

Codewise what would be involved in converting OXC to allow mod support for 2x2 resolutions for:
* battlescape tiles and object textures (like soldiers, etc)
* the geoscape globe textures for terrain types
* background images for things like the equip-screen or buy/sell screen
* Information text in lists like buy/sell screens
* Formatted information like screens like the soldier stat screen
* Menus and dialogues like the battlescape control bar or the pop-up when you click a UFO on the globe

Further what would be involved in converting OXC to display all screens at the current resolution when using things like 1/2 display. So that bases and equip screens wouldn't be all super small.

Just to clarify I'm under no illusion that Warboy and Supsuper are going to drop everything and switch gears so that Warboys hammer can smash OXC into HD-COM: Enemy Revealed.

11

Fan-Stuff / Why the aliens half to relocate x-com bases after a retaliation mission fails

« on: May 04, 2015, 01:18:30 am »

Floater Engineer: My fellow clones and I were invading a planet when we located the main base of a resistance cell. Unfortunately the ship we sent to annihilate the local inhabitants was lost. Very few humans died that day...

Hypercorp Rep: I'm sorry to hear that, how can I help you today?

Floater Engineer: When I attempt to retrieve the navigation records from the PsyFit Fleet Tracker XT I get 'Error 37, records have been purged'. This will not stand! The humans must die, So saith The Brain!

Hypercorp Rep: I'm sorry, but you should have been informed that all navigation records made by Hypercorp trackers are the intellectual property of General Interplanetary LLC and it's subsidiaries. You need to file an access request with their records access department. Would you like me to transfer you?

Sectiod Engineer: Yes, quiclky! The humans must die, so saith The Brain!

Hypercorp Rep: Ohh k then, one moment please.

Recorded Message: If you are a new customer and would like to create a records retrieval account, squake gargle or speak now. *pause* If you are a returning customer without an account or are a Hypercorp customer with one of our premium devices, please squake gargle or...

Floater Engineer: The humans must die, so saith The Brain!

Recorded Message: Thankyou for calling General Interplanetary. We value our partners and we know that your plans for galactic domination are important. Please wait and the next available representative will be right with you. Please have you Galactic Zenar bank account number ready and be advised that all record retrievals cost 30,000TCN to complete. Please remember to allow 20 galactic standard stardates for record retrievals to be processed.

Floater Engineer: Hey Commander, how much is 30,000TCN? Can we afford that?

Floater Commander: 30TCN is a bit pricey, that's about the cost of the Battleship we lost. Pay it, The Brain must see humans die!

Floater Engineer: No, 30 'Thousand' TCN. How much is that?

Floater Commander: I'm not sure, my brain can't process that number either. Let's ask a sectoid.

Floater Engineer: While you're at it, you may want to find out how long galactic standard stardates are, this will take at least 20 of them.

[A few minutes later]

Sectoid Commander: You stupid floaters! Don't waste your time with GI and hypercorp, by the time they get back to you, we sectoids will be reaper meals. Just go scout that base again. What we do is we always have a few scout ships ready to restart the search in case our attacks fail.

Snakeman Comander: SSSYessss syuu needs to findss sss humaans eeeach timessss. Ssssilly Floooatersss, sssscalling hhhypercorpssse!

12

Open Feedback / Reaper in the closet

« on: May 02, 2015, 11:17:04 pm »

I thought I already had the fixed map files so I'm not sure if this is a bug or if it's a freak accident or some overlooked intended behavior. I think a reaper does not belong in a little room with a little door.

13

Suggestions / Options>Advanced has turned into TLDR

« on: March 19, 2015, 09:19:42 am »

Will it may not seem like an issue to us (if you frequent these forums, you're probably 'us') I think having a giant frikkin list of option/value combos is not a very user friendly way to present the wide range of configuration options present in OXC.

I'm not saying we should get rid of the options/advanced section, but I think many of the features could and should be moved to other parts of the options menu. Preferably in a way that's more intuitive to OXC noobs.

I thought of this when I saw this thread, I spent about 10 mins looking for the options I already know are there so I could refference them in my own post, and didn't find them. I gave up and simply said that they're there.

I missed them because I'm a drunk fucking pigeon and there's a cat scratching on my door but I already know the options are in there somewhere. I would not have spent an hour searching for an option that may or may  not be there - nor would I waste so much time on a game that I'm not so invested in.

14

Work In Progress / OpenTFTD Impatience build

« on: June 22, 2014, 07:28:24 am »

OMG OMG OMG TFTD in openxcom OMG whens it gonna be ready? Gawd this is taking forever!

OK, I can't wait anymore, time to dive in and hack together a clumsy TFTD build. I'm not going to lie, it's gonna look like shit and it's gonna crash everytime we try to go to the battlescape, but it works. Sorta

Instructions for installing:

• Install the latest nightly in a new folder called OpenCantWait\
• Grab GEODATA GEOGRAPH MAPS ROUTES and UNITS from your TFTD folder and copy them to OpenCantWait\data
• Grab GEODATA GEOGRAPH MAPS ROUTES UNITS and UFOINTRO from xcom1 and copy to OpenCantWait\data again
       ----- Do not overwrite, ignore files that are already there. -----   
• Download SOUND.zip below and add the \SOUND folder to your OpenCantWait\data
• Get SAMPLE.CAT - SAMPLE3.CAT from either your UFO or TFTD directory and add them to OpenCantWait\data\SOUND
       ----- Using the UFO versions will give you UFO sounds and the TFTD version will give you no sound ----- 
• Download HACK-CantWait.yml below and add it to your OpenCantWait\data\Languages folder
       ----- You must also select the hacked language in the options menu for it to take effect -----

OMG OMG OMG TFTD in openxcom OMG whens it gonna be ready? Gawd this is taking forever!

Shutup and wait Darkestaxe! Gawd! I'm working on it.

Current Limitations:
 * The game crashes if you enter the battlescape. (For now if you really want to use the battlescape, you'll have to use UFO files, but then you'll be playing UFO.)

 * The equip screen and UFOpedia entries are just blank screens (no buttons or anything). Hit Esc to leave, use UFO files to play UFO.

 * In relation to the ruleset: all stats, functionality, etc is exactly the same between UFO and TFTD, always always always - except for almost everything. I'm not planning on changing the ruleset unless it's to either make a new screen work or squash more lies. SupSuper and Warboy are already working on an official one and ruleset work is a lot of work.[/list]

15

Suggestions / [Suggestion]Model for supporting HWP weapon switching.

« on: June 21, 2014, 08:09:20 am »

I know the suggestion that we allow tanks to switch their weapons has been coming up almost as often as the TFTD and combined requests but I'm thinking about how to do it from a coding/data perspective without breaking everything.

First off tanks and hover tanks already have their gun turret graphics separated right? (If not that could be a problem)

I would make the tank weapons into an item. The tank should only ever be a tank w/ nothing until you get to the battlescape. This way the only thing that the battlescape and geoscape need to communicate is how many STR_HWP_CANNONGUN, STR_HWP_CANNONSHELL and STR_HWP_TANK are either on the craft at the start of battle or recovered at the end of battle.

This also means that we're only adding some new items to the list of things you can purchase/research/manufacture/load on a craft/sell etc to the geoscape, thus we don't need to add a new screen. I haven't tried it but I'm currently under the impression that you can do that already by just adding a new entry to the ruleset.

The battlescape is somewhat less fortunate, although if I understand correctly HWPs are already treated as carrying a weapon in their right hand.

Obviously we don't want to just have tanks appear as Dolph Lundgren and trust players to only give HWP guns to blonde dudes named Tank or Hovertank. We already added alien dolls to the equip screen and we should be able to do the same with tank dolls, though I don't know if they're the same dimensions.

Next there's the possibility of separating tanks from soldiers, such that they would have a different inventory, or preventing tanks and humans from equipping each others equipment.

Finally there's the reality of coding all this. The result would be that modders could add new tanks or new tank weapons, rather then having to add tank/weapon combos, and you would be able to get hovertanks without plasma or plasmatanks without hover.

Personally I've thought long and hard about making a total rebalance mod with added weapons etc. I can't really do much about tanks as long as their weapons are welded to the frame.