Messages

361

Suggestions / Additional button for interception

« on: October 02, 2013, 09:22:44 am »

Whenever you click on a UFO on the geoscape or a new UFO is detected you have two choices: "Cancel" and "Zoom on UFO - 5 sec"

It would be nice to have a third button "Intercept" which brings you directly to the interception menu.
With the third button we could save some unecessary clicking especially when you have several UFOs detected at the same time and have to divert your interceptors to different UFOs. Then, everytime I click on an UFO to check the type again, close the window, go to the interception menu, click an interceptor and on the UFO again.     

362

Work In Progress / Questions on ruleset modification

« on: October 02, 2013, 09:02:26 am »

Maybe somebody can help we with the following questions

1. In the standard ruleset xcom1ruleset there is an entry for the rocket launcher ufopaedia page (line 7907-7910). In line 7920 exactly the same entry is written again. Does such a duplication serve a special purpose or is it just an "accident"?


2. I can define more than 3 compatible ammo types for one weapon. But when I try to open the the Ufopaedia ingame for this weapon it always chrashs. Is there a hard-coded 3-ammotypes limit in openXcom?


3. Usually I first load the standard ruleset and then a smaller ruleset, which modifies or adds content. I expected that all variables, which are not changed by the 2nd ruleset are taken from the standard one, but this is not always the case. For example when I add a ruleset with the following code

Code: [Select]

items:
  - type: STR_PISTOL
    weight: 4
    accuracySnap: 30
    accuracyAimed: 60
    tuSnap: 15
    tuAimed: 30I can no longer see the shooting-sprites ingame. I also have to add the line "bulletSprite: 1" to get a visible sprite again in the battlescape. Why has the "bulletSprite" variable to be necessarily defined again in the second ruleset, but the other variables not?


4. I also want to remove some stuff of the standard ruleset, but without modifying it directly. Is it possible to remove, for example, a requirement for an ufopaedia entry with an additional ruleset?   

Code: [Select]

  - id: STR_MOTION_SCANNER
    type_id: 4
    section: STR_WEAPONS_AND_EQUIPMENT
    requires:
      - STR_MOTION_SCANNER
    text: STR_MOTION_SCANNER_UFOPEDIA
So for the above code (which is in the Xcom1ruleset) can I type anything in a second ruleset that removes the required research topic for the ufopaedia entry, maybe something like: "requires: - NOTHING"?

363

Troubleshooting / Re: Crash to Desktop after Chryssalid attack

« on: September 30, 2013, 04:56:55 am »

a save file would be useful, did you try the bug tracker?

Sorry, I don't have a safe file and it seems quite hard to reproduce the described situation in the game. 

So far I did not bother with the bug tracker, but if I find more bugs I will definitely give it a try.

364

Work In Progress / Re: Let me tell you about rulesets

« on: September 30, 2013, 04:49:45 am »

it is now.

Thats great! A huge THANK YOU from my side!

365

Suggestions / Alien containment

« on: September 26, 2013, 06:50:44 am »

When playing with the option for a limited alien containment (10 aliens), sometimes it happens that the containment is full and all further aliens captured are automatically killed.

In case of a full alien containment, it would be really nice, if one can choose which alien gets killed.

In my opinion, UFO apocalypse featured the best alien containment, where you had an own screen, with a nice overview on all aliens (also corpses) and the remaining containment space. This information is also available in openXcom, but scattered over several screens.

366

Offtopic / Re: At what point will xcom be obsolete?

« on: September 26, 2013, 06:29:09 am »

I believe when the real aliens land on earth and start enslaving humanity openXcom is maybe out of date   .

367

Troubleshooting / Crash to Desktop after Chryssalid attack

« on: September 22, 2013, 06:37:46 pm »

Not sure where to post this:

The following happened during a snakeman alien base mission (latest nightly built):

Alien Turn:
a) Chryssalid approaches and hits "soldier 1" wearing a power armor two times. "Soldier 1" is still standing.
b) "Soldier 2" starts reaction fire (heavy laser)  and hits accidently "soldier 1"
c) Due to the laser hit "Soldier 1" is dropping to the floor (killed or unconscious)
d) Crash to desktop

Maybe openXcom trys to make "soldier 1" a zombie but is irritated that he was killed by a non-Chryssalid weapon? Anyway, I am also curious what is supposed to happen (Zombie or not Zombie).   

368

Released Mods / Re: Tyran_nick's mods

« on: September 20, 2013, 08:17:22 am »

Here's my take on the Thunderstorm, using an X-30 NASP image as a starting base, with some redone fluff. Have yet to do the other images required for full implementation (base hangar image and intercept button).

@MKSheppard
This image is really cool. Could you please upload it without the writing? Then I could steal it for my own mod. 

369

Offtopic / Re: Do you like Xcom 2 Terror from the deep?

« on: September 20, 2013, 08:12:44 am »

"Terror from the Deep" is by far my favorite game of the series. The main reason for this is the very special atmosphere. It feels like a great mix of Jules Verne / Lovecraft / Abyss. The heavy diving suits, with which you can only walk and not swim, the creepy soundtrack, the screaming of a dying lobsterman, all of it is just priceless.

Though I have to admit the game is really difficult. In the last years I played exclusively TFTD, then a few weeks ago I started playing openXcom and something felt very wrong: It was so easy.
Why are those terror and alien base missions so short? Why do some of my soldiers survive more than 10 missions? You have access to all important techs after only 5 months? The Cydonia mission has only two levels?
Luckily, there are those Chryssalid terror sites at night, which bring back the very special TFTD feeling of total unfairness.

370

Work In Progress / Re: Let me tell you about rulesets

« on: September 19, 2013, 07:09:31 am »

Is it possible to apply the "waypoint" variable to ammunitions instead of weapons. This would make it possible to mod in special guided ammunitions for example for the rocket launcher.
If the variable was an integer (instead of a boolean), it could limit the number of waypoints with the specific ammunition.

It would also be great, if one had access to the amount of "drift" for each ammunition via a ruleset variable. Although I am not sure how exactly the drift mechanic for the blaster launcher is implemented in OpenXcom  .

371

Work In Progress / Re: Balanced Ruleset

« on: September 14, 2013, 02:02:32 pm »

I'd make Heavy Plasma work like the TFTD's Sonic Cannon (that is, snap and aimed fire only), and make Plasma Pistols more frequent in the late game, since they're a good weapon whose sole downside is their rarity in the battlefield. I would also improve the aim rating of the Heavy Laser, downgrade the explosion radius of the Blaster Bomb to that of a small rocket, and make Psi consume enormous amounts of stamina and TUs.

I agree with all points. Maybe the blaster launcher should be split into two weapons:
1. Direct fire weapon with very large explosion and damage
2. Guided weapon with small explosion and damage like the small rocket

Extreme damage + waypoint-guidance is completely nuts. Thankfully the aliens kill more often themselves with it than the Xcom troops.

372

Work In Progress / Re: Balanced Ruleset

« on: September 14, 2013, 03:27:15 am »

There may be great changes in strategy and economics, if you will buy crafts, not rent.

Interesting idea. With these prices a craft would be very valuable and an early  loss of an interceptor nearly unacceptable.

In the original I found the air combat too easy. Even a single interceptor could shoot down most of UFO types by itself and by the time you have the firestorm, there is no threat anymore even from battleships (this is in strong contrast to battlescape missions, where the aliens are ruthless). I think that already small and medium UFOs should be a threat in air combat and the possibility to attack with multiple crafts at the same time is underused. Fluffwise it is cool to detect an UFO and send in several interceptors from bases scattered all over the world.
So in a modified ruleset I try to improve the UFOs to a point where Xcom has to sent regularly  2, maybe even 3 interceptors to shoot down a medium UFO. In short: UFOs should be tough, Interceptors weak and relatively cheap. Expect to lose a craft from time to time.

373

Work In Progress / Re: Question on image format for modding

« on: September 13, 2013, 06:13:37 pm »

Ah thank you for the answer and the link, that solves the problem hopefully.

Will openXcom stick to these palettes in the near future (probably because of simpler integration of the original graphics???) or do you plan to allow the integration of images with more colors?


Edit:
I have experimented a bit with changing weapn graphics and must say it would be a HUGE simplification, if the limitation to these palettes was removed (at least for a graphics layman like me).

374

Work In Progress / Question on image format for modding

« on: September 13, 2013, 01:41:44 pm »

I tried to add an image for laser tech to the Ufopaedia. However, it seems that openXcom makes some kind of color transformation on the images.
I saved the image as 24 bit .png and 8 bit .gif, but both show different colors in the game compared to an image viewer (the 8 bit .gif is really ugly  ). For saving the images I used gimp and paint.net.

Is there somewhere a guide on how to prepare images for openXcom, so that the correct colors are shown ingame?

Ruleset and images I used are attached.

375

Suggestions / weapon modes

« on: September 09, 2013, 03:18:29 pm »

It would be nice to have an alternative firing mode for the plasma weapons, which uses up maybe half the clip but then fires a plasma bolt which generates an explosion/fire. This would give the aliens more versatility and allowing them to have a "fire" weapon in their repertoire.


For the Trekkies, also lasers could have a second mode, which generates a small amount of stun damage:
"Set lasers to stun! We need this one alive!"