Messages

1

Help / Zoom from inside the Battlescape, without needing to go into options?

« on: February 06, 2025, 07:34:22 pm »

The OXC engine already has multiple zoom levels from the Options > Video screen.

If we need easier and faster zoom in and out for precision, specially in cellphones, it would be great if we could BRING those choices to the Battlescape bottom menu, like a + and - to cycle through the 1x, 2x, 3x etc zoom level.


That would be a first step. Second would be to create a 0.1x incremental/decremental zoom, and tie the mouse wheel to it. Or a pinch movement on phones

2

Help / Re: How to rotate camera and zoom (During battlescape)

« on: February 06, 2025, 07:30:32 pm »

Why would I think that? Because clearly they SEEM to have 4 faces. Now, maybe they don´t, but you asked why I would THINK they have

For instance




the wall panels clearly have internal faces and external faces. Towards right and left. THus 4 faces.

Those internal 1 tile tanks, etc, are clearly made to look the same no matter the angle. If we could rotate the map, they would be in the same tile and look the same.


there are few resources I can think of that don´t have multiple angles... like the cow operation table from UFOs, or the front and turbines of the Avenger or Skyranger.

3

OXCE Suggestions NEW / Re: [suggestion] - Laser Cannon variable Rge, Dam and Acc Based on altitude

« on: February 06, 2025, 07:17:30 pm »

it's a technical feature

as for feasibility: I don't know how to implement it... if someone else knows how to do it (and it wouldn't mean rewriting the whole engine, we can discuss if and how it could be merged)

A technical feature for QoL 
Just something that it would make it so much easier to play specially in smaller screens, while at the same time you want sometimes a broader view of the battlescape. Zoom to move and precision, zoom out for tactical planning.


Maybe just bringing the 1x, 2x, 3x options to the battlescape bottom menu would be enough. Like a - and + button, increasing or decreasing the zoom as if we were changing it from the options menu.

4

OXCE Suggestions NEW / Re: [suggestion] - Laser Cannon variable Rge, Dam and Acc Based on altitude

« on: February 05, 2025, 09:09:03 pm »

New features can be roughly categorized into 3 categories (it's not perfect, but it's also not the worst):

1. QoL features (stands for quality of life) -- these are features that don't change the game mechanics / game physics / game internal guts... basically cosmetic features. Like for example a new hotkey for something, or a new screen to show some new useless statistic, or a new link somewhere to do something a bit quicker. Something that doesn't require a mod to turn it on.

2. Modding features are basically anything that requires a mod to turn the feature on. So adding any new attribute to the existing modding ruleset language counts as a modding feature.

3. Technical features are things like: use a different rendering engine, use a different yaml library, load mods directly from zip files, support a new platform or operating system, etc.


Your suggestion falls into the modding feature category because it would require a mod to be turned on.

gee, damn, I got completely wrong what the modding feature meant. I was thinking it were features that modders needed for their mods to work or extend their mods.
I suppose I could re-create the thread at the modding support and maybe work with others on how to implement it?

Does my topic on smooth zoom directly on the Battlescape falls on QoL or Technical Feature?

5

OXCE Suggestions NEW / Re: [suggestion] - Laser Cannon variable Rge, Dam and Acc Based on altitude

« on: February 04, 2025, 10:37:08 pm »

I don't think this would be a useful feature.

LASER cannon is always considered useless because of it's range. But also saw many criticisms to mods that increase it's range.

And ANYWAY, it's unrealistic the way it works now.

The feature would be useful because it would make the Laser Cannon useful (which it isn´t) while at the same time not making it overpowered. Your usage of it will depend of UFO altitude.

Also, https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=11631.0

I read it. Don´t see what's wrong.


1. Open a new thread in this board (https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/board,35.0.html)
OK
2. Give it a good name
OK I guess
3. Describe what you want to achieve (e.g. via use case, example, etc.)
OK
4. Don't panic if I don't respond immediately
OK

- one thread = one feature request... if you put more than one request into a thread, there's a good chance I will ignore it completely as spam
OK, as far as I understand, it's a single feature request

- describe the requirement/problem, not only the solution... there are many solutions to the same problem, and I will likely come up with a different solution (so if the problem is not described well, you will be double-disappointed, because I will do a different solution than you wanted AND the problem might not even be solved)
OK, I guess I did it?

- I accept QoL features from anyone (modders and players)
I have no idea what QoL feature is.

- I accept modding features ONLY from modders (either established modders, or new modders who have already published something non-trivial)
Ok, my request is not for any mod, so not a modding feature.

- I do not accept private requests (i.e. some new feature for your own private mod, which you will not share with anyone)
Ok, not a private request

- I don't have much time anymore, don't panic if I don't answer within 1 day... written answer and/or just a categorization of the request can take several weeks, implementation can take months or even years depending on complexity and priority
OK

6

OXCE Suggestions NEW / [Suggestion] Smooth zoom in/out with mouse wheel or two fingers on mobile.

« on: February 04, 2025, 04:04:22 am »

Since the game already allows 1x, 2x, 3x etc zoom being set through the options menu, wouldn´t it be possible to do a smooth zoom in/out directly from the Battlescape, by 0.1 increments, with the mouse wheel or "pinch" fingers on mobile phones/tablets? I mean, in theory, first thing would be to try to create options from 1 to 1.1, 1.2 all the way to 7.9x, 8x. If that works, seems it would be possible to just assign changing that on the fly, from inside the battlescape, assigning it to the mouse wheel, right?

zoom.cpp has the function Zoom::_zoomSurfaceY()
This function resizes an SDL_Surface (a bitmap in memory).
Currently, it only supports integer zoom factors (2x, 4x, etc.).
It calls different optimized scaling routines based on hardware.

Instead of checking for dst->w == src->w * 2 (for 2x zoom), allow any floating-point scale factor.

maybe if we changed
if (dst->w == src->w * 2 && dst->h == src->h * 2) return zoomSurface2X_64bit(src, dst);
else if (dst->w == src->w * 4 && dst->h == src->h * 4) return zoomSurface4X_64bit(src, dst);

to something like
float zoomFactorX = (float)dst->w / src->w;
float zoomFactorY = (float)dst->h / src->h;

if (zoomFactorX > 1.0f && zoomFactorY > 1.0f) {
    return zoomSurfaceDynamic(src, dst, zoomFactorX, zoomFactorY);
}


then create the zoomSurfaceDynamic() function
int zoomSurfaceDynamic(SDL_Surface *src, SDL_Surface *dst, float zoomX, float zoomY)
{
    int newWidth = (int)(src->w * zoomX);
    int newHeight = (int)(src->h * zoomY);

    SDL_Surface *scaledSurface = SDL_CreateRGBSurface(0, newWidth, newHeight, src->format->BitsPerPixel, 0, 0, 0, 0);

    SDL_SoftStretch(src, NULL, scaledSurface, NULL);  // SDL built-in resizer (supports non-integer scaling)

    SDL_BlitSurface(scaledSurface, NULL, dst, NULL);
    SDL_FreeSurface(scaledSurface);

    return 0;
}


it would use SDL_SoftStretch(), which supports non-integer zoom factors?

7

OXCE Suggestions NEW / [Suggestion] Laser Cannon variable Rge, Dam and Acc Based on altitude

« on: February 04, 2025, 03:56:28 am »

Hey everyone,

I wanted to bring up something that has always bugged me about the Laser Cannon in XCOM (1994). As it stands, the weapon has:

Damage: 70
Range: 21 km
Accuracy: 35%
The major issue is the fixed range—a laser weapon should not behave like a projectile-based cannon with a hard limit. In reality, lasers do not have a set range, but their effectiveness is influenced by atmospheric conditions, scattering, and beam divergence. This means that altitude should play a major role in how the Laser Cannon performs during air combat.

How Altitude Should Affect Laser Performance
Higher altitudes have lower air density, meaning there are fewer particles to scatter and absorb the laser energy. This would logically lead to:

Increased Range – The beam would travel farther with less scattering.
Higher Accuracy – Less atmospheric distortion would mean a more precise shot.
Potentially Increased Damage – More of the laser energy reaches the target instead of being absorbed by air molecules.
Conversely, at lower altitudes, where air is denser:

Shorter Range – More scattering reduces effective distance.
Lower Accuracy – Beam distortion from refraction and turbulence.
Slightly Lower Damage – Energy absorption in the atmosphere.
Possible Game Implementation
If OpenXCom were to make these adjustments, UFO altitude during interceptions could determine how the Laser Cannon behaves. For example:

High altitude (>15 km) → Full range (maybe 30–40 km), full damage (70), and better accuracy.
Medium altitude (~8–15 km) → Current stats (range 21 km, damage 70, accuracy 35%).
Low altitude (<8 km) → Reduced range (~15 km or less), slight damage drop (maybe 60), and lower accuracy (~25%).
This would also add a tactical layer where engaging UFOs at high altitude is preferable for laser-based weapons, while projectile weapons (like cannons and missiles) perform better at lower altitudes where there is air resistance for laser attenuation to be less of an issue.

What do you all think? Would this be feasible to implement as an optional feature in OpenXCom?

Looking forward to your thoughts!


EDIT: the ruleset is very simple
craftWeapons:
  - type: STR_LASER_CANNON_UC
    sprite: 4
    sound: 8
    damage: 70
    range: 21
    accuracy: 35
    reloadCautious: 24
    reloadStandard: 24
    reloadAggressive: 24
    ammoMax: 50
    rearmRate: 50
    launcher: STR_LASER_CANNON
    projectileType: 4


maybe a possible solution would be to create three versions of the Laser Cannon (STR_LASER_CANNON_HIGH, STR_LASER_CANNON_MED, STR_LASER_CANNON_LOW), each with different stats.

And then use a script or event trigger to swap out which version is used based on UFO altitude. If OpenXCom Extended (OXCE) exposes UFO altitude as a variable, a custom script could adjust the Laser Cannon stats dynamically before engaging in combat.

A simpler way might be to modify the interception accuracy/damage formula in OpenXCom's engine to apply a bonus or penalty based on altitude.

8

Help / Re: How to rotate camera and zoom (During battlescape)

« on: February 04, 2025, 02:25:27 am »

No, as we'd need to have drawn 4 times the graphical resources for each map tile in order to accomplish this

Why? As I understand, each of the static resources on a map is already available from 4 different angles at least. Like say, a wooden wall. When you create a map with a square house with wooden walls, each wooden wall tile has a position and an angle. Like... right bottom, right top, left top and left bottom. Any 90 degrees rotation would just go to the next position of that same type of resource

and beyond that there are myriad technical reasons why we don't have rotation. As for the zoom, the best we have is setting the zoom level in the Options > Video screen.

if the zoom level can be set to 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x etc by the menu, wouldn´t it just be a matter of doing it SMOOTHLY (by increments or decrements of 0.1 for example) with the pinch movement?

9

OXCE Builds & Ports / Re: OXCE v7.15 for Android

« on: December 29, 2024, 02:26:35 am »

Working flawlessly! With PSX music and sound effects.


Thanks a lot!

10

Released Mods / Re: [UFO] [TFTD] PSX Music, SFX and Cinematics

« on: December 28, 2024, 09:00:15 pm »

the GOG XCOM UFO version has the PS1 soundtrack for download. Can I just use that? It's mp3 however.

11

OXCE Builds & Ports / Re: OXCE v7.15 for Android

« on: December 28, 2024, 08:05:35 pm »

Thank you. Will uninstall everything and try again from scratch.

12

OXCE Builds & Ports / Re: OXCE v7.15 for Android

« on: December 28, 2024, 01:47:57 am »

Aye aye sir! 

Thank you!

13

OXCE Builds & Ports / Re: OXCE v7.15 for Android

« on: December 27, 2024, 09:43:19 am »

When trying to run it, the game closes.

I have the GOG XCom UFO Defense and copied the PC folder to a folder on my Android Tablet internal memory.

The log says this:
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [INFO]   Scanning standard mods in ''...
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [INFO]   Scanning user mods in '/storage/emulated/0/openxcom/'...
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [INFO]   Scanning user mods in ''...
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [ERROR]   no mod masters available
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [ERROR]   No X-COM installations found
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [INFO]   Found candidate method ID: 0x774004b460
[27-12-2024_04-23-12]   [INFO]   Returned to native code!

Not sure what is happening. I set the data directory. And then I set the directory where the game files were copied (the GOG version). OXCE then copies files and the main screen says it found the game. (status: Version: 1.4+ (Collector's Edition)

14

OXCE Builds & Ports / Re: OXCE v7.15 for Android

« on: December 18, 2024, 08:42:57 pm »

Hi there. Long time since I used Open XCom on Android. I had a tablet at the time and the screen broke.

Guess what, I bought a new tablet and I can´t wait to play OpenXCom again.

OXCE didn´t even exist at the time.


I remember the previous version of OpenXCom I used would work with the PS1 ISO to play the much better music from the PS1 version. Is that possible with OXCE?

Will have to figure all again how to use it, since it was a long time ago the last time.

15

Offtopic / XCOM Board Game

« on: August 06, 2014, 06:45:52 pm »

this article was published today at RockPaperShotgun

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/08/06/xcom-the-board-game/




it seems it must be played with a "digital companion" (I guess an iOS and Android app?)

"The app’s primary function is to coordinate the escalating alien invasion, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans. Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs, plan strikes against your base, and respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. The app manages all of these tasks and heighten’s the game’s tension as it forces you to respond in real-time. Then, after you move quickly to coordinate your response, you engage the enemy in the untimed resolution phase and feed the results to the app. Based upon these results, the app launches the invasion’s next strikes."