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Messages - XOps

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181
Work In Progress / Re: Cluster Bombs?
« on: September 11, 2014, 06:20:49 am »
A shotgun like weapon set to explosive damage using the shotgunPellets rule can cause multiple explosions. Don't think it will work with a grenade type item though.

182
Work In Progress / Re: Help with the position of text on a UFOpedia page
« on: September 10, 2014, 10:05:27 pm »
Do ufopaedia graphics need to be .SPK format or can they be normal images like anything else?

Ive thought about doing a full-size ufopaedia rework before, where every single thing gets a full size color image just like the Aircraft. Including all of the items, armor, HWPs, and so on. But thats a hell of alot of work and I wont even try it unless I know if its feasible.

The alternative is making them like TFTD ufopaedia and treating them the same way that the Alien Autopsy is (so rather than the right side, its just on the left side)

Short answer, no. Not really feasible. Long answer: UFOpedia images can by any image openXCom accepts. You can even replace the UFOpedia background windows as those are just images. Limitations have more to do with how text and stats are positioned as well as image layering. At the moment, the only article that gives you the most control is the craft article that allows you to position both the stats and the text. Other articles are impossible to change too much without using a custom EXE making it impossible to give each an individual image (already tried to do this with a mod. I wanted to have different background layouts for different kinds of weapons. No sell). There are also layering issues. The armor entry for example draws the armor image over the navigation buttons and title text which forces you to leave a transparent hole there for those to show through. Then there is the palette issue as the weapon and armor entries use the battlescape palette, the craft uses the UFOpedia palette, and the UFO entries use the geoscape palette, and finally the base facilities use the basecape palette. Here is what you can give an individual image too though.
Type 1: Crafts
Type 2: Craft Weapons
Type 5: Armor (Though you have to deal with layering issues)
Type 7: Alien Lifeforms and UFO components
Everything else though is hardcoded to one background image and only the type 1 craft articles let you move around text and stats.

183
Programming / Re: Explosion Graphics
« on: September 10, 2014, 07:25:40 pm »
This is pretty awesome. Explosion sprites are one of the limitations I came up against while modding. Would be even more awesome if it would also externalize explosion sound effects for them too.  Right now you can only replace all explosion sounds rather than going on a case by case basis. Seems like a good compliment to more animation control. Regardless being able to define extra explosion animations alone would be really nice. This will probably have to be done at some point for TFTD anyway.

Also curious. Does it fix the explosion radius issue? I noticed that setting the blastRadius in the item config has no effect on the size of the explosion animation area. Instead it seems to draw the animation based on weapon damage. You could have a 200 power weapon and fire to see a massive explosion, but if the blastRadius is set low then only a small crater remains. Not a massive issue, just an oddity I noticed with the current code.

184
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 10, 2014, 02:54:53 am »
NOTE:  To anyone downloading this...it does require the latest in nightly builds. 

 :( Didn't even load? I tried it on 1.0 on my computer and it did load. Crashed when I started browsing through the UFOpedia though. I had hoped it would work 1.0 as most of the YAML was written when it was still 1.0.

Bloom laser... While it is an interesting concept this mod have no way to use them. They could be good only on alien bases where open places are hard to find... Otherwise nearly impossible to hit something farther than 5-6 squares. And X-com soldiers like to shot down each others  and the civilians with these things than aliens. I think it must be paired with a mod what provides more terrains, places to test these laser-shotguns really...

I hadn't had much luck with it either, but since I always play on Superhuman I just assume every weapon sucks  :). Still I may boost the accuracy of it. Actually I am tempted to boost the accuracy of all the laser weapons. I always thought it odd that laser weapons all had awful accuracy given that we use lasers on our guns for accuracy in real life.

Plasma conversion. Genius idea! Make a bit boring to research tons of corresponding things then manufacture them but it feels much more real than grab-and-use alien things so easily. Maybe the same could be apply upon small- and blaster-launchers as well in the future releases.

Glad you like it. I may fiddle with this system in the future to make it more versatile. I also had an Idea that a lot of the alien gear could be broken down into useful components as well.

And your UFOpedia rules. Just rules. It looks so good. Rules, man, rules. Although I found a bit funny that X-com works like some kind of corporation: "We may sell them for good price for Xenovision, Burger TV, Rigour Mortis Pharmacy and Cemetery ltd..." It is a matter of taste I know but it was strange for me. But if we think about that, well, it is rather logical...

Just trying to answer the age old XCom question of "Who buys all this alien stuff anyway?" :)

A bit of feedback...the AntiMaterial rifle clip weights 6....I dare say it's a bit too much IMO, and I'd take another look at the weight of the kevlar vests....even thou 6 is not exceptional....it might benefit a reduction (1 or 2 points for playability).

I was leaning that way too really. I'll knock down the weight a bit for the AM Clip and the Vests. Always felt wrong punishing the player with so much weight for armor that doesn't really do much except change the look of your troops.

I am in this situation....how is it fixed? I looked into the rulesets but to me it all seems okay.... ???

The requires String of the UFOpedia article was set to the facility name and not the research that unlocks it. The facility was still unlocked, but the UFOpedia article was not. It will be fixed when I update the zip file sometime probably on the weekend.

Now this is silly, I get a crash on my very first terror mission....OXC throws an asser somewhere about size of a vector....I'll try to reproduce.

99% sure this is the Terrain Pack. Hobbes was having trouble with nodes on that thread recently. Still I'll keep an eye out for it.

I like your armor ideas! I'm exploring options for new armor types for my expansion. Mind if I use yours for insight?

Thanks. You are more than welcome to copy my code or ideas. I only ask for a mention in the credits if you borrow artwork.

185
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 09, 2014, 06:51:51 am »
Just played a bit and noticed that the begin game research, "Global Satellite Detection Network," does absolutely nothing and doesn't give access to any other research. It also has no ufopaedia page. Is this intentional?

Nope. Should unlock the global radar facility. Add that to my list of stuff to fix.

EDIT: It was a string issue. Thanks for the catch. By the way, the facility should still be in the facility build list. The UFOpedia article was the only issue I think.

186
Work In Progress / Re: Help with the position of text on a UFOpedia page
« on: September 09, 2014, 06:29:30 am »
I don't really know of any way to do this easily. The type 7 UFOpedia page can only set the text to the left side. I suppose you could either use a bunch of spaces and the {NEWLINE} command to manually format the text so it appears on the right side though I don't know if it would look right or not (I think the font is monospace so it might work).  A craft entry gives you control over where the text is placed.  You could try making a dummy craft and then setting up a UFOpedia article for it while displaying the stats text in the corner off the page leaving only the text and image. To be honest though the craft thing is just a guess.

187
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 09, 2014, 06:13:41 am »
I do play with UFO extender accuracy of course.....I mean that they LOOK identical ;D....and its a bit confusing.

I can confirn I had the mission pack disabled BTW.

EDIT: by the way.....was the X35 meant to be outrunned by small scouts like...3 times in a row? Oh my....seems these evening my Xeno-fu is low... :P

Ah. Yeah I can see that. Come to think of if the SMG is a bit longish for an SMG probably being closer to a carbine. As for the X35, the stats are copy pasted from the interceptor. Should be identical actually.

188
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 09, 2014, 01:27:03 am »
The first mission was outstanding, I really like the alien weapons gfx and I should commend you also on the bullets gfx and sounds, very much to my taste.

For the records, it has been fought on farm terrain in northern emisphere using Hobbes terrain/mission pack (no alien remix)

I was a bit disoriented by the mixup between mod arms and vanillas....also I need to look into starting gear..

I think I may have a workaround for that. I still want to leave the classic rifle and pistol in the store for the Lite version though I want to keep them out of the starting gear. I couldn't take them out of starting gear because of rules conflicts involving the starting craft data. Shuffling around the STR id of the Interceptor should do the trick. I will try to fix that next version. Also watch out for the mission pack. The Terrain Pack works, but the Mission Pack may crash because of the item levels for the raid mission.

I might say that the firearms look tightly identical in many respects...particularly the assualt rifle and the submachine gun......speaking of which, I really miss a 2x1 one-handed UZI-like weapon....I think that you could tweak the SMG into that, right now overlapping with the Assault Rifle might be a little too much. Enphasis on "might be".

Well someone isn't playing with UFO Extender accuracy on ;). If you play with UFO Extender accuracy then the differences become a lot more pronounced. Also consider that if a soldier doesn't move at all, then they can do four auto bursts (25%tu use) a turn with an SMG. That's basically 12 shots. The Assault rifle can only two two full auto bursts and one snap shot a turn. Also the aim shot sucks for the SMG. Still I feel your pain of not having a nice 2x1 backup weapon. I have few weapons in the works that may fill that role. Just to note, the 8 weight of the pistol is completely vanilla. I never understood why it was so heavy either.

189
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 08, 2014, 01:25:47 am »
This came out of nowhere!! Thanks for sharing this, XOps!!
Loving the new sprites, loving the detailed changes you've made. I hope you add tons of new maps to fight in, that's something everyone skips over, 'cept for a few who have the time to create them from scratch, but I'd really love to see fresh maps for Xeno Ops.

Thanks! New maps is a long term goal. To be honest, I am waiting for a little more Mod support in the custom missions area. I have a couple of missions planned and I also plan to try my hand at map making and even some MCD editing as well. First though I am waiting for the ability implement truly custom missions and a little more modablity for the geoscape. I definitely want to redo the final Cydonia base to make it a little more challenging/interesting to fight in. Until then it's just the Terrain Pack mod and vanilla.

190
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 07, 2014, 11:37:20 pm »
looking at the armor code you need coustom man numbers to made compatible with other armor mods
something like

Thanks. I'll take a look at it. To be honest I didn't even know you could do that. I imitated other's codes pretty closely as I didn't really know how the game picks inventory images for Xcom troops other than f0 through f3 for women and m0 through m3 for men.

I miss the extra aliens of FMP but hell! This mod is awesomely good! Billions of weapons right at the start! And stronger aliens? Armoured sectoids are not as laughable as I thought when first met with them :o
Very good mod. I hardly wait to Cydonia! BTW love the new interceptors, although only use the second x-com designed one. Yes, there is a more developed one but it do not give so much to worth to use them I think. Maybe if plasma-weaponry and plasma beam could be get later...

I love this mod! Good job!

I had actually worried the armored sectoids would be pushovers. I lowered their armor quite a bit from my first playthrough and I worried I went too much the other way. Next release should see their special Terror unit added to the mix as well. As for the interceptors, well that is the big bugbear of the release. Both air combat and the tech tree need major overhauls before all three will be useful for the same game. I am saving that battle for the marathon version.

Question, there's a tn of stuff but then again we hve 2 pistols and 2 assault rifles...why so? Usually the Vanilla gunpowder firearms get deleted....

BTW: is it just me or ANY and ALL the mods that add material instantaneously make it IMPOSSIBLE to store things for a mere 10 soldier?  ;D

I left the original pistol and rifle items in the game. The pistol is functionally identical to the new one. The Assault Rifle is a little different from the old rifle, but they are pretty close in performance. However I decided to leave both in the game in case anyone still wanted to use the classic versions. Balance issues prevent me from doing the same for plasma and lasers.

191
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 07, 2014, 05:01:05 pm »
Is this compatible with Final Mod Pack? I use FMP as basic for OXC so mod-compatibility with that is important for me (I also use the Rail gun mod what adds the mass-accelerator technology to the game).

Anyway, if this not compatible with FMP now, not problem, I shall give it a try for sure! Just be so much awesome to play both mods together!

I haven't tested it. Too busy making this mod to play around with the FMP. As others have said, I really doubt it is compatible especially since it messes with the tech tree. I do plan to release some compatibility patches in the future though most of these will be for mods I think compliment this one. Mostly mods that add in aliens, missions, or terrain. Others will likely take care of FMP compatibility. I may also release a mod compatibly list down the road some time. Probably for 1.0.

btw I think this mod should have tag [TOTAL CONVERSION] because of amount of things it change.

I always thought of it as more of an expansion pack.

Same here :) Btw the whole graphic design reminds me of Shadowrun (the computer game). Was it an inspiration? Or do you simply like anime-ish stuff? :)

Never played Shadowrun. I read a couple of the tabletop rulebooks and have seen a few of the games. I always thought XCom had some anime-ish elements to it anyways (the Guile hair, oh man the Guile hair). I do like a lot of anime designs, but I got hit by Sturgeon's Law with anime a long time ago.

https://focusowners-social.com/forum/images/smilies/drooling.gif

I'm so going to steal stuff from this for the Final Mod Pack.
(Which is the highest praise possible ever.)

That's cool. Just give credits and all.  :)

192
Work In Progress / Re: [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations Mod
« on: September 07, 2014, 02:56:58 am »
Very impressive looking mod!  Nice work! 

One question:  is this mod strictly ruleset based? or does it rely on a custom .exe?

Cheers, Ivan :D

Thanks! It's all ruleset. It has been years since I did any C or C++ programming. Don't really have time to relearn right now.

Impressive amount of work! The sprites look pretty neat too.

Thanks again! I've gotten pretty good at sprite modification. I still struggle a bit with originals though. I am very proud of the First Aid Kit. Too bad it only gets a month of use at best.

193
Work In Progress / [BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations v0.98
« on: September 07, 2014, 02:14:22 am »
Update by Meridian: updated to v0.98 to be able to run on the latest OXCE v7.1, download here: https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,2913.msg142458.html#msg142458

Update by Meridian: updated to v0.97 to be able to run on the latest OXCE v6.6, download here: https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,2913.msg131015.html#msg131015

Update by Meridian: updated to v0.96 to be able to run on the latest nightly and on OXCE, download here: https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,2913.msg114978.html#msg114978

Current Mod Version: 0.958 Updated on: 1/25/18

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.

Installation
Extract the zip file contents into your mods folder. The mods folder is located where your save files are. If you need help, see here: https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Installation_FAQ_%28OpenXcom%29#How_do_I_install_mods.3F

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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