Messages

151

Released Mods / Re: [TOTAL CONVERSION] The Piratez Mod - 0.86 - 3 Oct - DEEP ONES

« on: October 17, 2014, 05:32:02 pm »

If the modsite ever returns, I will try to download the latest version and take a look. Maybe a second pair of eyes can find the problem.

152

Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod

« on: October 15, 2014, 04:58:01 pm »

Lobstermen perfectly encapsulated much of what was wrong with TFTD. They were made to add extra challenge to the game that UFO lacked. Unfortunately they provided more frustration than challenge. Adding a powerful foe can make a game a lot more fun. However the Lobstermen were immune to almost everything the player could throw at them (except for melee, stun, and MC). Games like XCom are all about tactics and against Lobstermen there were simply too few tactics that were effective against them. Fighting them became an exercise in patience rather than intelligence. They would have worked as a terror unit or a final guard unit, but not a mainstay unit. I just hope to avoid making that mistake with the new alien I added.

153

Released Mods / Re: [STAT TRACKING] Soldier Diaries 1.0

« on: October 15, 2014, 04:43:41 pm »

Yeah, I would love to train to acquire that skill.   I'm not sure where hue and saturation are impacting the indexing conversion.  That conversion is always so destructive for me, that I can't seem to figure out how to make it look any better.  If i desaturate, I can get a beautiful, completely white indexed image, but that doesn't seem to be a useful skill. XD

I really need to make a tutorial on working with colors one day in photoshop. Uncontrolled dithering is one of the most common mistakes I see with a lot of mod artwork. If you are switching to index color mode within the image itself, it shouldn't be dithering at all. At least it doesn't on mine. Now if you copy and pasted over to an indexed color image, then the conversion is very destructive. Using File-> Save for Web & Devices lets you control the colors and level of dithering. Still even if you get a good clean conversion, you will almost always need to touch up.

154

Open Feedback / Re: I need some mod suggestions!

« on: October 14, 2014, 06:19:51 am »

Those mods look very promising. Doubt if those will be compatible with the mods I'm trying to use (Yet more UFOS). Maybe I have to try them seperately.

Actually they are compatible. TerrainPack alters terror mission terrain and adds new geoscape terrain. UFO maps are a separate entity. I would recommend the following mods.

Mods that Add Maps
TerrainPack
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/terrain-missions-pack
Luke's Extra UFOs
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/lukes-extra-ufos
Expanded Alien Base
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/expanded-ubase

Mods that add new Aliens
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/anthropod-alien
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/cover-waspite-alien
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/gazer-alien

Mods that add new weapons
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/sniper-rifle
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/light-machine-gun
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/shotgun
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/combat-knife
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/grenade-launcher

Others
Adds a nice middle tier interceptor
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/thunderstorm-interceptor
Adds a nice mini HWP for scouting
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/scout-drone

Mass Accelerator Weapons is pretty neat, but it makes the game easier though and basically throws balance out the window.
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/mass-accelerator-weapons

All of these are fairly simple mods that should be compatible with one another. Or at least they were unless they have been updated since I last played. It has been a while, but this use to be close to the old combination I used before I started my own modding project. Regardless I consider this a good starter combination. The Final Mod Pack has I think almost all of these included with a ton of other stuff, but it is a marathon mod and the tech tree is very different from the original. The above list adds a bunch of stuff without messing with the pacing. If you want a new experience then I would recommend one of the several mega mods floating around. If you want something close to the original, but with a few extra toys then stick close to the above list.

Edit
I regards to your first turn carnage problem (feel your pain by the way) I know of one non mod solution. It is to have the first soldier in the transport prime a smoke grenade and then drop it at his feet. This provokes no reaction fire from the aliens (as opposed to throwing) and will explode at the end of the turn providing some cover. The downside is that this is a gamble as the Aliens can still walk up to the transport and take shots inside if they are close enough  as the smoke does not spread well inside the transport and the Aliens still know your soldiers are there. Still this can be less bloody than having a shootout from the back of the skyranger. I also know the Final Mod Pack has a transport that has cover for your troops although it slows down deployment. I am also working on a transport that has doors as well. I hate when turn one is a reenactment of Omaha Beach.

155

Released Mods / Re: [STAT TRACKING] Soldier Diaries 1.0

« on: October 11, 2014, 05:03:30 pm »

Awesome designs Ivan! I love your idea, and these medals are really well-though of and gloriously looking. The more I am sad that your Photoshop conversion skills do not give full credit to these designs.

I was thinking the same thing. It would be a tricky thing though. You would want to keep the dithering on the background and parts of the cloth texture while keeping the metal free of dithering to give it that shiny look.

156

Work In Progress / Re: TFTD Med-kit handobs?

« on: October 10, 2014, 06:51:11 pm »

You mean these? You'll have to convert them though.

157

Work In Progress / Re: Graphic Help

« on: October 08, 2014, 12:14:10 am »

You have the wrong palette. The image you have attached is using the battlescape palette. You need the UFOpedia palette for craft entries.

Of course you could just use this version. It should be the right palette.  https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=File:UP005.gif.

158

Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod

« on: October 06, 2014, 12:59:31 am »

The facility update or at least it might as well be. Now up to 0.70. Added several new base facilities most of which are available from the start. I am very interested to hear what people think of the Security Checkpoint since I worry it may very well break base defense. Not sure how to balance this really.

Also I changed the plasma conversion system a bit. I worry it may make things rather tedious, but I find the system very engaging and a lot more versatile than the previous 1 for 1 conversion system. Regardless I held back from fully integrating the system until I get some feedback from others. If others find it fun then I may expand this system greatly in the near future.

Added a late game alien with a terrorist unit. The new terror unit is rather dull in terms of spriting, but I may try to liven it up later. The main alien though is a full 100% original sprite and man was it hard to make. It's still not perfect, but it is at a point where I don't feel completely ashamed to release it. Also the new race is a late game foe, but I still worry it will either to be too hard or too easy. Mind you it isn't as bad as the “all your weapons are useless” lobstermen, but it is near impossible to kill if you don't have the right tools. My goal is to force the player to keep a diverse arsenal, but I am eager for balance feedback to avoid the rather dull grind that the lobstermen put the player through in TFTD.

Added another tier of weapons after lasers. They only have two kinds of ammo, one for laser damage and one for AP. They are rather expensive, but are comparable to plasma in performance. Like the new aliens, the sprites are 100% original for these new weapons.

And as always there are a whole bunch of minor tweaks and bug fixes. I am most proud of the new cursor. At any rate, please enjoy and let me know when you find new game breaking bugs.

https://www.openxcom.com/content/files/bb285195/XenoOperationsBetaV0.70.zip

159

Released Mods / Re: [TOTAL CONVERSION] The Piratez Mod - 0.86 - 3 Oct - DEEP ONES

« on: October 06, 2014, 12:53:09 am »

Thanks. Yeah I saw that my X3 sprite was stolen and repainted. Darn pirates! Pirating my sprites!  You are more than welcome to my any part of my mod of course. I just have a habit of asking. Occasionally mod communities get rather touchy about that.

160

Released Mods / Re: [TOTAL CONVERSION] The Piratez Mod - 0.86 - 3 Oct - DEEP ONES

« on: October 05, 2014, 07:35:22 pm »

Hey Dioxine. Do you mind if I plunder... er borrow your expanded Living Quarters and expanded Stores for my mod? I know I probably don't need to ask, but I have never liked stealing other's mods unless I ask first. In this case I have a whole bunch of new facilities with custom maps slated for my next release and it would be easier just to integrate your living quarters and stores into the mod as a whole rather than releasing a compatibility patch. Well that and I don't think I could a better job than what you have made already.

Also thanks again for the melee fix. I was really hung up on that until your suggestion about the unlimited ammo.

161

Work In Progress / Re: Warning, may contain spoilers

« on: October 03, 2014, 09:33:51 pm »

Just finished a playthru, gotta say A+!

Thanks for the mod and your hardwork!

Cydonia was friggin awesome, I really like the changes, it did always feel kinda anticlimactic in the vanilla, you really amped up the challenge!

I do appreciate your one concession, which I won't mention lest I spoil it for someone else, but was a pleasant surprise.

Thanks again for the awesome work!

Thanks for the praise. Amusingly the first time I play tested the changes to Cydonia it was a really intense fight. I had almost given up hope wandering through the base trying to find the command center. I watched as over half of my best forces all loaded down with the best armor and weapons in the game fell to ambushes and terror units. It was intense. Finally I found my target and was preparing my soldiers for the final assault on the Alien command center. I was running low on ammo and my soldiers were really beat up. It was then I realized I was having fun. I loaded up what ammo and readied my explosives preparing for the final desperate assault. Then one of the guards went berserk and fired an explosive of some kind into the brain . Needless to say I adjusted the guard's bravery after that.

As for the concession, well it does make things a little easier, but I thought why not. It would be the only chance the player ever got.

Glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be more to come in the near future.

162

Work In Progress / Re: Proto laser tech

« on: October 03, 2014, 09:08:19 pm »

I couldn't get infinite clips to work completely. Well they do work in that you get infinite ammo for the mission you are on, but the the game still counts the clip as having been used so you lose the clip at the end of the mission. Theoretically each mission should eat one clip since the game recycles ammo I think though I haven't tried this with multiple clips yet. Don't know if this still holds up since that was several nightlies ago.

163

Released Mods / Re: [STAT TRACKING] Soldier Diaries 1.0

« on: October 02, 2014, 06:47:15 pm »

I haven't been able to figure out how to add a "hard return" to the extraStrings for the UFOpedia Texts. :|   I think that would help break up the Text Block if I could figure that out.

Try {NEWLINE}
For an example of this load up one of the language files in notepad and look for the Medikit entry. It has several examples of a new line.

164

Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod

« on: October 02, 2014, 03:58:27 am »

X-Ops, I went ahead and used some of your sprites for the Final Mod Pack - all were credited to you, of course. Here's the list, in case you want to know:
- Black Power Armour. For the Men in Black, it will be used as is (not implemented yet). For X-Com, I changed the helmet a little, got rid of the way-too-awesome triple green light and substituted it with an orange visor, loosely based on Shadics' black Power Suit version.
- Assault Rifle. Not sure how it was originally called in your mod, but it's the carbine (?) weapon. I only changed the clip, because I wanted it to be interchangeable with the vanilla Rifle.
- Armoured Sectoid. Made it normal Sectoid Commander, just with better armour stats (same as yours), since I couldn't fir an entire Sectoid race in the game. I also changed the proportions a little, since the helmet was visibly smaller than an unarmoured Sectoid's head.
-Mutant sprites. Used for Praetorian and Guard Muton ranks.

Many thanks for the awesome sprites!

All cool with me  . Totally agree with using Armored Sectoids and other Muton sprites as extra ranks. The FMP has plenty of races as is. Looking forward to fighting the MIB in black armor. I think it suits them. On a side note, you have no idea how many different helmets I designed for that armor. Easily twenty variations trying to get one that looked just right. Ended up with the splinter cell look.

Loving this mod, some observations if I may.

First, the bug I had encountered before may have also been something on my side.  I did a clean install, installed the 9/30 nightly and havent encountered a single bug since.

The X3 craft, the name escapes me as of now, but i noticed I was able to take a battle ship down with minimal damage using plasma weaps, is this intended?  seems a tad OP

My other observations aren't really specific to this mod, but having played a number of mods I was wondering if anyone knows if it would be possible for manu items to go "obsolete".  Reason I ask is my manu screens always get cluttered with stuff I haven't made since the 2nd month of the game, would be nice if you could filter out the obs techs.

Also, when it comes to global radar, it would be cool if you could filter out the fluff ships, like the very small and small ships.  or maybe even only show ships with a certain race.  I dunno, I guess the prob is me, I tend to linger before doing cydonia, and it just gets annoying dealing with all the UFOs when you are sitting on most of the tech and tons of alien stuff such as elerium and alloys.

All in all, love the mod, great work, now if I can just get my nerve up to take on those armored mutons...

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback! The next version should fix that crash bug and be compatible with the latest nightly again. Hope to have that out this weekend maybe. As for the XCF-3, the stats are close but slightly inferior to the Firestorm which could tank a Battleship on a good day with a bit of luck. Regardless I do plan to rebalanced crafts in the near future.

For the menu items, I would love a way to obsolete items in the manufacturing list. Unfortunately there is no way that I know of to do this. As Arthanor said using the drop down category list on the production menu helps narrow things down slightly (I need to actually add some categories to help this).

For radars, well as Arthanor also said, this is currently impossible. Like you, I tend to linger before Cydonia building up a dream team before setting off for mars and eventually I start to grow weary of the constant UFO detections. As of now though there is no way to sort through UFO activity.

The answer is using categories to sort through it. Version 1.0 doesn't support the sorting, but the nightly does. Ideally, we would have categories for laser weapons, plasma weapons, HWPs, Crafts, etc. which would make going through the list easier. And good listOrder. They are a pain to setup, but it is well worth it since you end up learning where in the line up a given category is and can quickly scroll through the useless stuff.

Are there any extra categories you could suggest for the manufacturing screen? I have listOrders set for everything save for research.

165

Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod

« on: September 30, 2014, 04:44:05 pm »

Yeah it is actually very silly (and old), the default clipsize for weapon is = 0 making aliens think oh wow, such no ammo, weapon such  useless. It's easy to overlook to a modder, as for every other intent and purpose, clipsize = 0 is the same as -1 for a melee weapon and never gets displayed. But for the AI to understand it can use a weapon, you have to set clipsize to a non-zero value (probably -1, unlimited; if you set it to a positive value the weapon will disappear after that many attacks, or after the battle unless it wasn't used at all - this is naturally useful for making magazine-less expendable weapons like single-shot launchers or shurikens).

Yep. That fixed it. I had noticed this, but I thought surely this isn't the problem. Shows how much I know. Thanks guys. I'll include that fix on the next update.