Messages

16

The X-Com Files / Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

« on: June 06, 2020, 03:21:52 am »

Ha, good catch!

Thanks! I like helping!

Btw... I went to a mission in South America, southern Argentina or Chile I think... I got desert terrain and people who look like arabs and Bedouins.

You know, I never went there, got relatives who did. Don't remember them telling me about those guys. Sounds like a bug to me.

17

The X-Com Files / The Tyson Challenge

« on: June 06, 2020, 03:11:39 am »

So... Is it possible? Anyone try this? Beating the cults, monsters and aliens by just... Beating them with your fists? No rifles no pistols, not even bows and sticks... Just bare fists.

(Is ear biting allowed?)

I just know someone is going to be insane enough to try.

18

The X-Com Files / Re: Questions on damage and armor

« on: June 06, 2020, 03:03:51 am »

I didn't know melee attacks from sides or behind are easier. Might wanna put that in the Field Manual section.

The way Resistance/Armor works reminds me of what the original Fallouts did with DR/DT. DT is hard armor reduction, and then DR is soft armor reduction based on percentage. The difference here is that X-COM armor value is universal, whereas every single damage type in Fallout had its own DR/DT in each armor.

Know what would be cool? Taking a page from Fallout and adding JHP/AP ammo for some weapons. Shotgun is already ammo rich, how come we can't blow those unarmored bitches with dum-dums?

Maybe giving X-COM the ability to use its engineers more early on, by crafting their own "Wildcat Bullets"?  Fallout New Vegas did that. I'm sure there's some cool load recipes out there we can use on the net. Maybe X-COM can loot recipes from Cults?

Then the possibility of using... Exotic components in bullets. Like... Quillboar Spike Flechettes? Megascorpion poison bullets? Elerium arrows for the prospective Oliver Queens of X-COM ("YOU HAVE FAILED THIS PLANET!" *shoots arrow*)?

(I just realized Flechette guns would be cool. Black Ops?)

Tracers would be cool too, but no idea how to make them different.

19

The X-Com Files / Re: The Second Base - when to build it?

« on: June 06, 2020, 02:49:52 am »

Oh no, not at all! You just need to recruit all the staff experts. Promo II is really key for cult fighting, you're definitely swimming against the tide here!

IRC the requirements are :

Xenologist - You get him by default I think
Military Envoy - All cult networks researched, probably the next easiest to get.
Chief Engineer - Alien device researched, a Psiclone will do.
Chief Researcher - Live capture of one of the big mutants (Mongorn, Werewolf etc.) and an Alien Fuel trace. This one can be harder to get.

And yeah, the Mudranger rocks in the .001% of cases you actually get to use it. 

I am only missing Chief Researcher. Got a live Mongorn and Werewolf on storage too, started researching alien fuel trace recently, never knew it was actually such a key research fuuuuck.

Should I keep one scientist per research and spread out, or go for more?

20

The X-Com Files / Re: The X-Com Files - 1.4: Signs of Apocalypse

« on: June 05, 2020, 07:36:31 am »

Strange, I find the FAL to be the best all around assault rifle for its highly accurate snap shot and power bonus. All you're giving up vs the M16 is a little firing speed and burst fire accuracy, but I use rifles for aimed and snaps anyway. The M16 puts a lot of the other rifles to shame of course, but I'd rather take most of the 7.62 line if given the chance.

I meant pure power. Even with the power bonus, average damage is lower or same as Magnum. Felt kinda underwhelming

7.62 is a helluva powerful rifle round.

Its a wonderful gun otherwise.

21

The X-Com Files / Re: "Reactive" missions/events

« on: June 05, 2020, 07:28:27 am »

Talking about Marazova... Wans't she going to do a terrorist attack? Seems like being able to fight her later in her attack makes sense. Make it harder, of course.

22

The X-Com Files / Re: The Second Base - when to build it?

« on: June 05, 2020, 07:24:31 am »

Mudranger I never used since it's just too impractical at the range it offers but in general, yes, I suspect that's by design. You simply won't ever manage to fit in every facility and maintain sizable support staff + agent roster with just one base, not without being practically unable to respond to missions or scramble fighters later on.
A million seems severely too little to me. Just building one base with basic, not even late-game facilities takes several millions, and then maintaining all that you'll build takes a couple on top of that. Two relatively well equipped bases pretty much finished and well staffed with agents, researchers and engineers set me back over 7 - 8 millions every month, and I am not yet even at the invasion stage.
I sometimes do make specialized bases but it's mostly to avoid micromanaging and just having one place constructing everything for every base and one researching everything. If you are able to maintain research staff and expensive facilities, nothing stops you from creating second research base, either.
Research early game goes very slowly because you lack facilities and staff. The regular, not-specialized laboratory you get after second promotion or so will boost it all considerably, allowing a couple times as many researchers you could house till now.

Mudranger is one of those things that seem absolutely useless, but when you use it, you realize how useful it is.

I once stomped on a Cult Outpost with it, it was hilarious. Then there was a Downed UFO mission but that went south because some alien managed to hide himself and snipe me out somehow, I think I lost to the last alien.

Get started = Build the base, maybe a hangar. You won't be able to build everything in the first month, anyway. Took me months until my second base became useable.

Research: I am a bit worried because its Jan 98 and I don't feel like I am doing too hot right now. Its one year until the invasion and I am going around on a chopper, using kevlar and rifles. I feel like the aliens will stomp me. I need to up my tech game, and more importantly - numbers.

Don't you have to destroy a Cult in order to get Promo II? I sure as hell am in no position to destroy any cults any time soon. Can't even beat a base.

23

The X-Com Files / Re: The OpenXcom Files: Tips and Tricks!

« on: June 04, 2020, 11:18:57 pm »

I realized these days that SMG snap fire actually fires multiple bullets. Fuck, I could have been spraying dudes. Or not - I'm a big fan of sniping.

I realized recently that melee is kind of a protection against guns if your gun is not for close combat. CQC can bite the bad guys, too.


About Night Missions: The key is to know how to use the darkness to your advantage. Ideally, you want to stay somewhere dark, full of smoke and cover, and surround your location full of flares which don't illuminate you, but only your foes.

You want to see, but not be seen.

I think cults are really better to take on at night. At day, you get too many damn people shooting you at once. Day is better for taking on monsters and aliens, and night is better for taking on humans. Cult of Dagon is the exception, but AFAIK lower-level Dagonites have 10 night vision range, not much better than yours (9).

The real danger of night missions is too much hard fighting at the start then getting taken apart by far-off enemies sniping you outside your vision.

Jungle Missions are hell. Too many obstacles you can't see through but the enemy can. All the trees protect against grenades but that sword is double-edged. Jungles at night are deep hell.

-----

You know, talking about South America and Africa... I do feel like there's a gap on cults there. East Europe has Red Dawn, East Asia has Black Lotus, Med had Cult of Dagon, North America has EXALT...

Feels like  South America would be narco types with maybe some santeria/macumba/satanism stuff. Mix of western and eastern weapon alongside bootlegs. The whole "CIA Blackops" is already EXALT's thing.

Subsahara Africa would probably be something more of the "African Warlordism/Crazy African Dictatorship/Afrosocialist Guerilla" cliches, with a bit of jihadi (through that's very much a 2000s trope) and some South African tropes. Child soldiers, combat drugs, weapons consisting of knock-off Warsaw Pact guns and bootleg crap, excentric african Dictatorship folks, mercs, South African guns, hmmm...

----

24

The X-Com Files / The Second Base - when to build it?

« on: June 04, 2020, 08:25:25 pm »

Don't think I am the only one who feels constrained by my first base, eventually. I feel like I need more vehicle space eventually. Also, the need to fight Cults with a Mudranger and get to missions faster.

Feels like once you have a million to spare, its time to get started.

Is it worth it turning the second base into another research base? Say, putting an intelligence center and prison to turn it into a interrogation base (X-COM GITMO lol), or bio lab/animal pen to start researching live captures. Or just research stuff. Or even a second headquarters, but that seems hella pricey.

So far I am using my second base as an outpost for running missions and storage. I got what should be like two million in briefcases/bags/criminal cases, and a research that doesn't go fast enough.

25

The X-Com Files / Re: The X-Com Files - 1.4: Signs of Apocalypse

« on: June 04, 2020, 08:10:06 pm »

I think the gun progression is in the right spot so far. I do think the AK47 seems immensely useless, except as an early gun if you got the bullets for it. By the time you can buy an AK47, you can buy a M16, and that's a far more precise gun. The only exception is if you fail to get EXALT operations but still have Cult Arms dealers and Red Dawn Operations.

MP5 is lovely, such a nice little balanced gun. I consider the L85 an upgrade of it.

There's a lot of interesting randomness to drops and such. Stuff like the Bolt-Action Rifle, SKS, QBU...

I have been using a FAL I got from some mooks in big missions. Sweet gun, but feels underpowered? Brazilian army was using FALs until 2000s something, and I know ex-military people. It should be quite stronger than M16.

(the current brazilian rifle is just a plastic NotAFal chambering 5,56mm loool)

I thought Uzis were useless and couldn't hit shit, but I just realized uzi snap shots fire 3x. Now I'm going to spray the fuck out of people with the Black Ops SMG until I no longer feel as if I missed out.

Looking at all the guns, sometimes I feel like I got too many guns, not enough people to carry them in every mission lol. I generally go with a Sniper/Rifle/Shotgun/Greenadier-Pistoleer load-out, add different rifleman and/or submachinegunner if using Hummer or Copter.

26

The X-Com Files / Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

« on: June 02, 2020, 05:57:01 pm »

I think Storm and Red Dawn Storm Trade are switched up in the pedia.

Storm is in Reports. Red Dawn Storm  Trade is in Artifacts. The reverse would make more sense.

27

The X-Com Files / Re: concealable is not concealable

« on: June 01, 2020, 10:28:17 pm »

Nah I know how to - Tapatalk is glitchy lately - it keeps asking if this is my login on this site, it often says I have no authorization to access threads, etc.

Btw its just me or the main use for uzis is being concealable? I regret selling my uzi ammo, just got Meet the Informant and I just realized the Manibea was a perfect gun for those missions. Kinda like a concealable MP5.

Well, guess my enemies will just have to chew on those Black Ops Magnum rounds

28

The X-Com Files / Re: concealable is not concealable

« on: May 31, 2020, 08:51:19 pm »

The fuck, I took the sig out

I think tapatalk put it back. It was glitching some days ago.

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29

The X-Com Files / Re: concealable is not concealable

« on: May 31, 2020, 08:43:46 am »

The Sports thing is funny. With a name like that, I originally thought it was about infiltrating football stadiums (both kinds), baseball fields, basketball courts, golf fields, etc.

The idea of a mission where X-COM infiltrates disguised as an Football team, staff and fans, is funny to me. X-COM F.C entering the field and being limited to:

- Hands and footwear (concealed knife within for those really cutting kicks)
- The ball (actually a bomb that can be kicked)
- Whistles (emit ultrasonics which stuns enemies)
- Goalkeeper Gloves
- Water Bottles (optional "Baptized Water Bottles" containing Totally Trustable Water. The Argentinean soldiers suggested this trick)
- Laser Pointers (decrease enemy accuracy. Later models may be actually low-powered laser weapons, James Bond-style)
- Yellow and Red Referee Cards, which are actually lethal throwing weapons in disguise.
- Fireworks.
- The obligatory glass bottle they get thrown at them by "hooligans" who are actually Council agents so it counts as items they sneak in. The 90s were wack, man.


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30

Suggestions / Weight in decimals rather than integers

« on: May 31, 2020, 07:49:55 am »

Just a small, but possibly significant thought I had.

How come we can't have that? That might seem insignificant, but could make a lot of difference. Weight of equipment can be very important in military operations, as we know well.



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