Topics

16

Open Feedback / melee counterattack

« on: November 18, 2013, 10:37:53 pm »

I remember somebody talking about this, but I never saw it in action: a chryssalid just counter-attacked one of my guys, killing him! I didn't know this could happen for non-melee attacks, though: my guy was simply standing in an adjacent tile, firing his laser pistol at the chryssalid.

is that supposed to work this way? I think it's brilliant, but I simply never had the situation before

17

Work In Progress / Sentry Gun

« on: November 11, 2013, 03:10:18 pm »

just an "idea thread" for now:

- "sentry gun" could be an xcom unit with 0 energy, making it immobile (that works, doesn't it?) but capable of turning and shooting

- main use: xcom base defense

- are there spawn points in the xcom base that could be "abused" for sentry guns? (doesn't make sense to have sentry guns in the upper floor areas; having them in the hangars and lift would be unfair to the aliens; are there spawns points that are specific to "lower floor, not near alien entry point"?

- could also be deployed by "grenade"-type object? 3x3 item, very heavy, "explosion" spawns "sentry gun" unit.

- (what happens if a "grenade" spawns a unit on a tile already occupied by a unit???)

- fixed weapon: conventional auto cannon, later: laser, plasma

- perhaps include some kind of "self destruct" function? just in case somebody blocks his/her own way with a sentry gun and is then unable to finish a mission? or do we leave that to darwinism? you can always kill the sentry gun by shooting it...


does anybody have some graphics for a tripod-mounted gun?

18

Work In Progress / shape charge explosive

« on: November 10, 2013, 09:25:00 pm »

ok, this is kinda tricky, and I need some help - or possibly a code addition. I'm not sure.

I'm trying to create a shaped charge explosive that allows xcom operatives to breach UFO walls: something that can destroy walls, but is almost non-usable as a weapon.

I could simply make a "higher explosive", but the 360° blast is really inconvenient. something that would be capable of destroying a UFO wall would level a lot of terrain around the UFO, possibly including the soldier who used it.

I was then thinking about severely reducing the explosion radius, but that would make it an exceptionally powerful grenade - you could use it to kill a sectopod with hardly any collateral damage!

next I thought about making it a single-use melee weapon: your soldier would have to stand in front of the wall and "hit" the wall. unfortunately, melee only works against live targets - you cannot "hit" items or terrain.

I now arrived at a single-shot "weapon" type device. it uses the graphics of the High Explosive, but has "battleType: 1" with "maxRange: 1" and "power: 150", meaning that it can be fired into an adjacent tile with enough power to have a high chance of breaching a UFO outer wall (it can fail, though - my first field test left the wall standing and me wondering what I did wrong).
I set "clipSize: 1" to simulate an explosive device. it performs nicely in that it can be used to breach a UFO at a high TU cost (80%), and disappears after use... unfortunately, it reappears after combat, due to the programmed properties of single-use items.

is there anything else I might try? some other way of implementing it? another item type I can use?

19

Released Mods / [RESEARCH / GAME PACING / WEAPON] "slower technological progression"

« on: November 10, 2013, 04:13:24 pm »

here's the for-now-final version of my slower technological progression mod, using fenyo's latest addition to the game that allows for different manufacturing items to produce the same things...

here's what it does:

alien weapons cannot be used by humans. not without modifications, that is.
alien technology is researched in layers. at first, you have no clue how they work, then you find out they are operated by tapping into the mind of the user. then you find out that you can use mind probes to replace the relevant parts and make alien weapons human-usable. in the end, you can discover how to build the weapons from scratch.

human versions of the alien weapons are weaker.

I strongly recommend using the advanced option that self-destructs the weapons of killed aliens for the optimal experience of this.

as an extra, I added HWP/Plasma, HWP/Launcher and Hovertank/Laser, because why not? and to manufacture a tank with a certain weapon, you need one of those weapons as raw material.

also, the research topics for "tank weapon" and "base defense module" for the advanced weapons (laser / plasma / fusion) have been split into separate research subjects.


EDIT: updated file... human mind probe text string was missing

20

Suggestions / weapons that can only be used by certain soldiers?

« on: November 09, 2013, 09:31:04 pm »

the blaster launcher got me thinking about how these super-advanced weapons are being wielded. I guess none of us thinks that they have a keyboard where you input waypoints as spatial coordinate triplets, right? ("fly to 3/10/2, then go up to 3/10/5, over to 15/11/5 and then down to 15/11/0 to smack that muton on the head")

so, how do they work? my best guess is that the weapon either uses some kind of augmented reality goggles where you look at the waypoints, or that it somehow uses a psionic interface, projecting a 3D map into your head and you simply think the waypoints into the map.

so, to reach my suggestion: would it be possible to make a weapon only available to soldiers with a certain stat minimum?

the obvious thing would be to have super-advanced weapons only usable by units with at least basic psi training... the Psi-Amp already works that way, but that's hardcoded via the "battletype", right? another interesting use would be to have heavy weapons only usable by high-strength units, so your weakling rookie couldn't run around with a Heavy Plasma on his first mission. or, for total-conversion-RPG-type-games, you would have an easy way to implement weapon classes that can only be used once the appropriate skill has been trained

(you could also add "weapons" that can only be used by soldiers with a certain rank... a "call airstrike" radio device, for example...)

21

Suggestions / waypoint weapons - limit number of waypoints?

« on: November 09, 2013, 09:17:19 pm »

while it is certainly nice to remove limitations from the game, here's one I would like to re-introduce... the waypoint limit for guided weapons. of course, the limit should be configurable! maybe some other kind of restriction could also be implemented, like "every waypoint takes another 3 TUs" or something?

I'm suggesting this because I want to be able to reduce the threat / superiority of the blaster launcher without simply deleting it. and I think reducing the number of waypoints could be a good start. or maybe the number of waypoints that can be set could depend on a soldier stat? maybe the waypoints are programmed psionically, and you can only program up to (psi skill)/10 waypoints? speaking of that, I think I need to start another suggestion topic right now...

22

Released Mods / [WEAPON] alloy ammo

« on: October 27, 2013, 10:28:40 pm »

best used in conjunction with any kind of mod that delays availability of plasma weapons... this mod allows you to research and manufacture special ammo for the human conventional weapons, increasing their usefulness. once the "alloy ammunition" research is completed, alien alloys can be manufactured into specialized ammunition (higher damage, more bullets per clip). also, you can manufacture an alloy cannon for your craft, which is basically a cannon with slightly higher damage and higher range.


I'm still struggling with one issue, though: if you manufacture ammunition, somehow you end up with less than there should be. for example, a "Rifle Alien Alloy Ammo Clip" holds 30 bullets.
If I manufacture 100 clips, I end up with 32 clips.
If I manufacture 10 clips, I end up with 4.
If I manufacture 1, I end up with 1.
Not only do I get less than I ordered (most of the time), but it's also inconsistent... maybe it's about the "can manufacture more than one item per hour" thing? haven't tried if it changes when that's turned on in the advanced options.


EDIT for ease of access:

here's the final (or at least most recent) version of this mod. I'll try to keep it updated.

note that the alloy ammunition suffers heavily from the fact that manufacturing projects that are completed in under an hour create problems - it is strongly recommended to use the advanced option "TFTD manufacture rules"

"alloy_ammo.rul"
alloy ammo ruleset with updated research costs etc., alloy cannon for craft uses special alloy ammo that needs to be manufactured

https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1684.0;attach=6400


"alloy_ammo_2.rul"
craft alloy cannon uses alien alloys directly to re-load; UFOpedia text changed accordingly.

https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1684.0;attach=6390

23

Troubleshooting / at what point does the game determine the alien race for a UFO?

« on: October 26, 2013, 01:02:52 pm »

because I just had a situation where I shot down a UFO and saved the game, then sent a skyranger there. I started the battle, and encountered snakemen. the mission went terrible, I reloaded my previous save, sent the skyranger again, started the battle and now there were sectoids! I thought the alien race was determined at mission generation?

24

Suggestions / x-com bases with sizes other than 6x6?

« on: October 16, 2013, 02:29:20 pm »

I was wondering: how hard would it be to have x-com bases that have sizes other than 6x6 small facilities?

I mean, other than the problem of actually displaying them in the basescape view, is it possible at all? restricting the game to a base of 4x4 (two hangars plus seven facilities or one hangar plus eleven facilities) or even 3x3 (one hangar plus four facilities) to make the game harder might be fun. or a modded game where you only have one base, but that base has 12x12 facility spaces?

is there any part of the base layout that is still so hardcoded that this would be completely impossible?

another interesting thing would be bases with other shapes (3x5? 2x8?) or spaces that cannot be built on... like in apoc. is there any easy way to make this possible? maybe it would be possible for "scenario"-type savegames to create a "facility" (named "rock" ) that does not need to be connected to the access lift and can only be placed or destroyed in debug mode? this would make it possible to reduce the available space

25

Suggestions / more modular research / construction mechanics

« on: October 13, 2013, 09:43:40 pm »

I'm almost sure I requested something like this before... but I can't find it, so I can't bump it. I was reminded of this while discussing orphaned strings in the language files and pondering the apparently once-intended additional mechanics that just didn't make it into the game.

What I mean by more modular research / construction mechanics is this:
I think it would be nice if it was possible to define a "construction" that produces more than one thing and also a thing that is defined internally instead of by the name of the construction project.

The main reason for this would be the possibility to define for example a construction project "UFO Power Source Deconstruction" that uses a UFO Power Source as a raw material and yields a few units of Elerium and a few units of Alien Alloys. Or a construction project "Extract Elerium-115 from Plasma Rifle Clip" which uses a Plasma Rifle Clip as a raw material and yields a unit of Elerium.

Another example? Maybe it would be possible to construct PSI-Amps from Elerium for a lot of money, taking a lot of time - or from less Elerium and a Mind Probe for a lot less money and faster - surely the Mind Probe circuitry can be re-used for the PSI-Amp



As for research, similar modularity would be nice:
if there were switches not only for enabling research, but also for disabling it (negative requirements, so to say), we could implement stuff like research bonuses (something like "as soon as you research ufo power source, all plasma weapon research becomes a lot easier").

or a mod that uses the research system to do magic spell research, you could implement mutually exclusive spell realms (for example: if you research life spells, you don't get to research death spells and vice versa)

it would also make sense to have certain research projects give you items upon completion of the research: if your eggheads research how to build a weapon, maybe they do that by constructing a working prototype? so it would be nice to have the option that research projects can give you other stuff, too. could even be money.

26

Translations / STR_INTERCEPTION_CRAFT

« on: October 13, 2013, 05:50:30 pm »

STR_INTERCEPTION_CRAFT is the string used for the title of the "Equip Craft" screen... shouldn't it read "INTERCEPTION AND TRANSPORT CRAFT" ? just sayin'

27

Translations / orphan strings

« on: October 13, 2013, 11:57:21 am »

is there a list somewhere of the strings that exist in vanilla xcom / openxcom but aren't used?

if not, I'll try to start one here... including probably intended or possible uses, so that the translators may still translate them - a modder may want to make use of the strings


STR_XCOM_OPERATIVES_RETIRED_THROUGH_INJURY
not sure if this is ever used... it's part of the battlescape debriefing set. obviously it was intended to inform the player that a number of soldiers have been injured, although the word "retired" implies a kind of permanent loss of the soldier... I think maybe we should add a string "STR_XCOM_OPERATIVES_INJURED" to add this kind of information to the debriefing screen, and keep the original string in case somebody wants to mod the game for more realism, including a mechanic that removes soldiers with grave injuries from the active roster permanently. might be interesting

STR_HOSTILE / STR_NEUTRAL / STR_FRIENDLY / STR_COMMITTED
probably remnants of a kind of diplomatic system... best guess is that these were used to indicate the level of pissed-off-ness of funding nations. "committed" would probably indicate that they signed a pact with the aliens?

STR_DAMAGED_RETURNING_TO_BASE
implies a kind of damage threshold for xcom craft... so a craft severely damaged would automatically return to a base... perhaps this was a mechanic during development, but later discarded so that the player would be allowed to decide this entirely by himself. since the string is there, maybe this could become an optional feature? something like "dogfight breakoff damage threshold", toggleable between "never", "50%", "75%", "90%" ?

STR_SELECT_ACTION / STR_CONTINUE_INTERCEPTION_PURSUIT / STR_PURSUE_WITHOUT_INTERCEPTION
probably remnants of a geoscape popup intended to be used once a craft reaches the target UFO. replaced by the possibility to minimize a dogfight...

STR_ALIEN_CORPSE / STR_ALIEN
probably intended to be used in a similar way as "alien artifact" - giving a name for something without giving away what it is. since the actual name needs to be used in base stores, and the names are nicknames anyway, these strings weren't necessary (just like "alien artifact" isn't strictly necessary, either - it might be better to add " - unresearched" after the name. I mean, come on, your soldiers aren't blind, so you might as well call a gun a gun.

STR_RAW_MATERIALS
is this used at all? possibly it was once used as a component for a composite sentence structure, which had to be discarded because it wouldn't work in other languages

28

Work In Progress / "radar craft" as radar stations mod

« on: October 04, 2013, 01:50:36 pm »

I was just browsing the ruleset description page and an idea began to form in my mind that I would like to share... if you like it I would try to make it into a ruleset.

I'm thinking of a conversion mod that changes the way UFOs are detected... it is more-or-less inspired by parts of XCOM2012. Instead of placing lots of bases all around the world just to detect UFOs, your bases would have only a very limited detection radius, and all "radar" base facilities would not exist. instead, a special type of xcom craft would detect the UFOs, much like the satellites in XCOM2012. they would be slow-moving craft with lots of fuel (maybe balanced so that a "radar craft" can patrol for a month before having to re-fuel) and a large detection radius. I'm considering limiting their use by making them extremely expensive in maintenance. I'm also considering making the basic hangar capable of housing more than one craft, so that one base can have several "radar craft" without cluttering the base with hangars.

this mod would be even more interesting if UFOs were capable of attacking xcom craft, of course...


what do you think? is this something you would want to play?

29

Translations / defining a "default" language?

« on: October 03, 2013, 11:01:19 pm »

as a modder, I think it would be nice if it was possible to define a "default" language that is used if no proper string in the chosen language is defined. is that in any way possible?

because I think it would be nice if people not playing in en-US could still enjoy some name for the new strings, even if it's not in their own language, it is definitely better than the "STR_WHATEVER_SOMETHING_OR_OTHER" clogging up the research/manufacture/inventory/ufopaedia screens... and I will definitely not bloat my mod rulesets with a several-page-long string name list for a load of languages I don't even understand...

30

Suggestions / additional visual clues on the geoscape

« on: October 02, 2013, 11:57:20 am »

as an additional help for convoluted interception situations: would it be possible to add a (toggleable) flight path preview for xcom craft? simply a line that connects the crafts current location with the target along the current calculated flight path? I recently had one of those situations where I followed a battleship and discovered a large scout and two supply ships in-flight, probably all on an alien base construction mission. I scrambled my interceptors from the two nearest bases, and got totally confused as to who was targeting which UFO

also (this was discussed before, but I wanted to bring it up again): would it be possible to 1) externalize the geoscape sprites and 2) allow for different sprites depending on UFO size?