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XPiratez / Re: Everyday is Caturday Challenge Run
« Last post by Yugian on Today at 01:02:53 am »
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Č̶̝͕̺̫̩͍̫͍̰̠̇̚o̷̱̫͔̓̄̍͂n̷̝̦̯̓̂͒̓͐͊͆̂̕͠s̴̡̧̨͙͙̟̦͎͔̬͙̲̪̻̼̓͐̈́̌̈́͘͝u̸̥̜̥͈͕̇̽́m̷͕̹̘̱̭̼̙̬͙̞̗̈́̓̌̃̀̔̈̀̈́̉̎͘ê̸̛̜̪͍͇̎̂͐̏͝ ̶̡̹͉̯̠̰̙̣̭̝͆̓̈́̎̊́̃̈̾ţ̴̼̏͌̈́͛̆͛ḩ̵̱̘͓̮̳͓̈́̄͠͝į̶͓̖̞̼̈́̄͊̓͊̈́̔̇̂͗͛̉ŝ̴̺̼̹̋ ̵̦͝w̵̨̩̩̼̹̜̮̖̯͕̔̈́͌̽͆͋̌͐̌̐̐ͅȍ̴̤̤͉̭͇̩̲̽̃̓͋̔̈́ŗ̶̧̨̧̣̤̟̗͖̈́̐͂̈͛̋̔̑̐̓̇̌͂ļ̵̲̠̘̙͉̔̓d̶̟̼̘͎̩̞̫͙́̔̈́̿̎̎̀͋̕͝͝͝,̸͓̤̗̩̠͛͆̒̾͋̀̄͘͝ͅ ̴̖̖͈̯̪̱͙͇͍͖͖̯̀̒͑̌̏̀͌́̓̈́͝a̴̛̝̼̦̻̭͇̖̻̩̰̳̤̜͑͋͐̽̔͐͜͝ͅn̵̡̧̝̲̖̣̱̓̎͌͗̋̓̏d̶̨̛͈́̀̈́͒̄͌͋̋̏̔̀̾͝ ̶̼̩͚͇̙̺̜̖̜̋͌̉̀̆̏͑̆̍̆̚͝͠͝b̵̢͚̳͈̺̜͚̝̺̼͉̟̫̯̽̊͌͗́ͅe̵̡̠̲̱̺̔̓̍ ̵̨̛̻̲̬͐̀̊̎̈́͆͒̓̉̀c̵̨̫̃͐̉̊͐̿̌̌̈̚o̵̢͉͇̻͇̗̔̏͂n̸͚̟̖͇͗͂̒̒͒̓̆̆͛ś̵̨̡͇̪͚͈̺̞̖̯̪̆̔̀͋̀͆͂̚͠u̷͉̬͎͂̓̂̅̄͌͒͑͂̊͑͝͝͝ͅm̸͇̜̟͚̺̙̈̎́̇͠ę̴͙̝̤̖͕̔ḏ̶̢̨̡̯̹̠̥̖̞͈̘͍͎̒̃̌.̴̪̜͙̩̙̳̤͔̜̖̬̚


They Fall like rain.

Corpses sinking into the ethereal sea. Echoing pulses across the rippling tide of the conchfield. Falling on top of each other, as they turn to gray. Souls from all walks of life- Forming the great graveyard that is Terra. For all of what the star gods took from humanity- For as much as the course of human history had been irevokably changed from their conquest, they could not take this.

What they could not take, they instead despoiled. This Graveyard turned legion- as billions of souls still were fading away. Six Hundred years without final rest, without respite. Grasping, clawing. A psychic echo that would not stop screaming. A song that could not be silenced. Beyond this veil, was the pain of countless souls. Emotion so strong, that it could pierce the veil, and bleed into the world of the living. To reach for the living, so that they may yet stave off this fate.

Yet how can one understand what lies beyond the point of no return, whilst having yet to cross it?

That she could see this- was proof that Terra had accepted her. That one day, when she would cross that threshold, she would join this graveyard of the dead. No longer merely a visitor of the land, but rather a soul that belonged to this realm of billions. But today was not that day- Life would not leave the Black Cats body, The Baron would not have his due. No, she was brought here for a different purpose. A feminine giggle to echo through the rippling sea- her eyes would dart to where it could have possibly come from. From every angle, from every way it could come...

Nothing. Just a lingering expectation... and the scent of ripe cherries.

Instead, her eyes would look upon the great ball once more. The taste of sulfur danced upon her tongue- and her body felt as if would catch ablaze. The sensation was overwhelming- threatening to strike at her senses... but she was tougher then that. Stronger then that. Instead, it conjured memories. Memories that were an age ago, yet still were remembered with the veracity of a scar that never healed. That of another black cat. That of a sister in arms, whom gave her life- for her own.

Unending rage. Fury. Emotion swelled in her heart, as she reached out. Desperate to make amends. Desperate to bring her back- But strength alone could not change her fate. Guilt instead would be the prize- as something slipped from her hand. Flailing to grasp at it, she'd catch it right between her claws. A stone, of a strange shape. Engraved with beautiful symbiology- the duality of the masculine and feminine... These were stones they got from the hunters. Dawning realization crossed her features, as warmth coursed through her hand. Prana.

She couldn't do anything here... But if she could awaken. If she could get access to this stone again... Maybe.

Maybe she could reverse the whims of fate. Maybe she could bring her back. Bring them all back.


Third of September
Bloomsday


I was writing in my book when my door was violently assaulted by a hand. I should have heard the sound of boots on the ground, but with a busy base and many hands flowing through the corridors, that is a luxury that had faded a long time ago. Apparently, My Honor guard was nowhere to be found at the door too. That, or maybe this was pressing enough that whomever it was, wasn't being bothered to stop. Very well, with a flick of the button and a sharp hiss, I would grant the intruder an invitation.

"Come in. You dont need to pound my door."

Surging forth, Kaminyan would slam her hands on my desk- The passions clearly worn on her face like a veil. The force exerted was enough to echo impact throughout the room. Her haired was frazzled and her scars were visible- she clearly cared not for her appearance any more then the tribal bones and straps she cared for. Even as ebony black as she was- I could tell she was exhausted: Running on emotions rather then energy. Yet she still commanded enough force to make me jump in my seat- Her voice did not lack for that strength either.

"Capnyan, I've seen it-! I saw them!" She was half practically yelling. Her ears flicked like daggers and her tail the conduit for motion that could not be contained in the body. Her hands gripped as if squeezing blood from a stone. It had... Had she taken her usual 'meditations' before coming here? I'd rise my hands, trying to ease her.

"Who? Who did you see? Take a breath Kami, Your going to get nowhere with this-"

"Our Claw Sisters! I saw the Atusid, Fleur... Roush! I saw them all!" She doesn't wait to let me finish. Elation crosses her voice, as if in her mind she saw friends long past once more. But that's impossible... Or maybe it wasn't. Her head lowering as if to give the dead respect- it soon would flick back up to look me in the eyes. An expectation- a hunger. Something has taken hold of her, as soon she states the ridiculous. "Capnyan, I know where they are! I can bring them back!"

I blink incredulously. I have to fight the urge immediately to reprimand her for this prank- or to order our 'Master of Catweed' to cut off her supply, until she recovered. But I entertain the notion, as I shake my head with a sigh. "Kami... The dead don't come back. I know that you miss Roush. We Both miss our sisters dearly, but-"

Again. She doesn't wait. Instead, she merely assaults my desk again- as if Im the one in the wrong. As if she was dictating terms and delivering punishment. "I CAN!" Her voice cracks, like a singular cut into glass. Her eyes betray somberness that has to be choked down. For the fiercest of warriors often have the softest of hearts- something that can be ill afforded on the field of battle. And in this case, I am her foe. But she would continue to speak- a light rumble to her cadence. "I just need those stones we're stockpiling- and brainers, and a room! Somewhere where I can have some space to-!"

"You want an entire section of the base, a portion of our staff and stone we don't fully understand- so you can practice Witchcraft to cheating the reaper?" My tone grew dry- and incredulous. My temperance had limits- and whilst she was damn good warrior... I wasn't going to bend to her will. A dangerous stance to take, for someone clearly overwrought.

"Its NOT witchcraft!" A flash of anger, driven by those passions cross her face. Our eyes meet in a duel of prides. Thank the Empress that we are in private conferance- We are leaving ourselves no way of saving face in a public space. Hells, there was likely listeners at the door from how loud Kaminyan is being. "Trust me Capnyan- don't you want to see them again?!"

She's not wrong. But we have to live in the here and now. I had to accept these realities an age ago, when I took command. And it is not her place to judicate to me how she handles her grief. To her words, I return a quiet growl. "Yes. I would. But the dead are dead, and I am not commiting what limited resources we have to a flight of fancy, that you may process your grief!" Poor choice of words, admittedly- but her energy was... overwhelming. I had to reassert control, even if it was in an antagonists role.

Im met with a growl- as she withdrew her hands. The first battle was that of words. The second was of pride. A stand off. Clenched hands soon bending- claws visible in light. She's sizing me up, and if I do not do the same, I will be seen as weak. There Will be a fight. So I slowly rise from my seat- joining her in this battle of wills. My own hand to match hers in the shape of a battle claw.

She's about as big as I am- A testament to her survival on this planet, and her freakish nature as a Nekomimi. Scars mark her body, both fresh and old- I know her skill with arms and that one mistake could cost me. I know if she came here to fight, she has put herself into the headspace of a battlefield that she often does to deal with the stress... Leaving my only options to restrain her, or drop her. But that in itself is a weakness to be exploited. She's fatigued, and acting on impulse and emotion. I know her way of trounce- Mine is made to counter hers.

And above all, I'm growing my strength as a Saint. I can win this, should it come to it.

Would there be space, we would circle each other. A clear stand off. WE don't want to make the first move- but it is clear that we wish for opposite things. This is not a glorious fight, it is a tragedy- and someone would be reduced for it. But such was the will of warriors- To see ones dream fulfilled, one had to suffer theirs not to. Perhaps our passions drove us so fiercely, that someone else would enter the room. The encroaching smell of Weed to fill my room- making my nose wrinkle and my senses violated- Kaminyan flinching as this was strong. Even for them.

Squirrelwizard would come in, calm and composed. A hand to her mouth to nurse a pipe that seemed to billow out smoke. Where two were not unlike fire, she was like a gentle... Strongly scented breeze. A light hum to her cadence, she'd hold up her other hand and speak. "Capnyan, Kaminyan. Calm yourselves- You might get hurt. That would be rather silly, wouldn't it?"

I would breathe in to address them, but their hand would raise again, clearing their voice. "I know what is going on. I... Have seen it as well. The seriousness of this situation..." A breath. A ring of smoke to follow. A sastified smile from the serenity of their indulgence. "I understand your intentions. You speak with the burden of a crown... And you, speak with the burden of guilt." That alone should have provoked a fight. I see Kaminyan's eye twitch, as if challenging her fight or flight response. They already didn't get along the best, so this was not helping. But they would speak, somehow to serenade the beast that flared in her heart. "Capnyan... I can give credence to her words. It Is possible."

"See, I told you-!"

"But you cannot do it alone." The Herbalist would step forward, as if to join us- eyeing us both. "...Yet, we cannot simply devote so much to this- that this may take months... years even..." Another wiff of her pipe, before exhaling sharply. "...There must be a compromise. Capnyan, may I speak?"

I would nod. She may.

"I understand my relationship with her is strained... But I would ask you to trust me. I will share my room with her, and we will work on this project together. In return, grant us access to the Sivalinga Stones. Either we will succeed... or we will not." But I knew her track record. The tone suggested that there was no one better qualified for this. Once more, my authority is challenged- but this one is undercut with kindness. With Politeness. And... She wasn't wrong. Out of anyone, she was the best qualified to oversee this project. There was also enough wisdom to put aside grievances, to see this project through.

After all, there was only one of us whom saw the other side.


Looking over to Kamivax, seemingly draining of energy, I'd breathe in the misty airs- before nodding. "Fine. Granted. I will grant you two, to accomidate for mistakes. But no more."

"That is sufficient for our purposes." A smile crept on the Herbalists face, content with the compromise- before nodding to Kaminyan. "Then when you are rested, come to my room. We will delve into your mystery together... This is rather exciting." Her tail flicked contently- before she would move to stride out of the room. "And much more productive then those incident with the runts in the vents..."

Dont remind us. Looking to Kaminyan- now that the tension had died... Where there was a clash of ideals. Now it had turned to understanding, and a silent apology. For what it was worth, that was a sentiment shared by two. It was not as if I wished to deny her out of pragmatism, or cruel hearted desire. It was simply clashing realities. I motion for her to take a seat, so that she may take a break- and rest her head. Wordlessly, she'd collapse into the seat... and was out like a light.

Understandable, Really. I follow suit- if only to continue writing my papers.

Stream is Late, but Starting!
This might be too saucy. Please, notify me immediately if it is. I'll happily change it. It felt fitting, but I do NOT want to try the mods.
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XPiratez / Re: Everyday is Caturday Challenge Run
« Last post by Yugian on Today at 12:50:12 am »
When an enemy sees one of your catgirls, she becomes spotted (= valid target for out-of-LoS snipers) for a number of turns equal to that enemy's spotter score (often just one), not for the entire rest of the mission. If she's not spotted again during that time, the "spotted" status runs out. So shooting a (one-turn) spotter doesn't have to mean "going loud", only taking a small step back to spend the subsequent enemy turn behind hard cover, and then back to sneaking around on your next turn.

Heuristic for estimating the spotter rating of your enemies:
Spoiler:
Generally speaking, soldiers (e.g. Humanist Soldier, Spartan Rifleman, Ninja Gal) and competent bandits (e.g. Highwayman, Ratmen) have spotter 1, dedicated scouts and lookouts (e.g. Spartan and Raider scouts, Stormrats, Field Gun, Pillbox) have spotter 2, and field officers (e.g. Spartan Lieutenant, Humanist Leader) have spotter 3-4.

Ah, I did actually know of the intelligence stat- but thank you for a bit more fine detailing on that! Though, I am curious. Is it in 'half turns', or does it count down only on enemy phases?

Still, the issue is less 'I get seen' and more of I kill someone, and the ~25 (average?) enemies know exactly where she is. So grenades get chucked, or someone shoots through a window. Difficult to get a good hard cover when you've got 8 Cats and 6 of them murder to clear the drop zone. Im debating transitioning into the Firefox for a harder cover for me to exploit. More expensive, but the Metallio is rough when it comes to Turn 1-2 survival in that regard if it lands like shit.
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Work In Progress / Re: [WIP][MOD][OXCE] From the Apocalypse 0.28.3
« Last post by robin on April 19, 2024, 09:43:15 pm »
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The X-Com Files / Re: The X-Com Files online Wiki
« Last post by psavola on April 19, 2024, 08:53:19 pm »
The link above describes game engine changes that are not specific to X-Com Files. If the question concerns XCF changes to the main game mechanics, those are not really documented in any one place in a manner that would be understandable or useful to anyone. Many of them can be found in the ruleset files, for example here:

https://github.com/SolariusScorch/XComFiles/blob/master/Ruleset/vars_XCOMFILES.rul

But you'd have to look all of these up in the ruleset reference guide https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/Ruleset_Reference_Nightly_(OpenXcom) to try to understand what these mean. And then there are also a lot more in the other ruleset files. For example, the sniper/spotter mechanics of many enemy units.

All in all, the amount of "changes" in XCF compared to vanilla OXCE UFO game is huge and will take quite a while to get used to. And if you don't study various threads here, it's very difficult to learn the details of all of them.
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The X-Com Files / Re: The X-Com Files online Wiki
« Last post by Solarius Scorch on April 19, 2024, 08:29:14 pm »
Is there anything in the wiki (or elsewhere) that explains basic gameplay changes from the original game?

I found https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Differences_to_X-COM_(OpenXcom) but not sure if OXCE is very different. There's also stuff like the red and yellow numbers on weapons when you equip them, the little dot that appears if you right-click a weapon, and the +/- signs when you click an injured agent in the Training screen, or how to construct additional lab space.

https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=6459.0
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The X-Com Files / Re: The X-Com Files online Wiki
« Last post by 75338 on April 19, 2024, 08:17:36 pm »
Is there anything in the wiki (or elsewhere) that explains basic gameplay changes from the original game?

I found https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Differences_to_X-COM_(OpenXcom) but not sure if OXCE is very different. There's also stuff like the red and yellow numbers on weapons when you equip them, the little dot that appears if you right-click a weapon, and the +/- signs when you click an injured agent in the Training screen, or how to construct additional lab space.
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The X-Com Files / Re: Willing to pay $1000 USD for alternate endings
« Last post by Solarius Scorch on April 19, 2024, 07:42:46 pm »
I'd chip in $10 for the alternate ending. I'd gladly pay $100 to graphically show agents using commercial planes from major city hub to major city hub in the early game.

Me too! :D
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The X-Com Files / Re: Willing to pay $1000 USD for alternate endings
« Last post by 75338 on April 19, 2024, 06:46:13 pm »
Mad respect for the work done on this mod.

I'm guessing a bunch of people wanting to throw money or bid on development would get annoying, but I'd love to see a way to be able to pledge money for different stuff.

I'd chip in $10 for the alternate ending. I'd gladly pay $100 to graphically show agents using commercial planes from major city hub to major city hub in the early game.
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XPiratez / Re: Stuff I'd love to see in XPiratez!
« Last post by Delian on April 19, 2024, 05:35:11 pm »
It's important that Ball Bat hit sound be changed to this.
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I just finished what I assume is the pyrrhic victory route.  I had fun with the weapons and combat, and the WWI aesthetic really stood out from other mods.  The short ranges/slow speed of vehicles also forced me away from the usual strategy of specialized bases, which was interesting.  However, I don't think I'll be continuing for a better ending. 

Looking at the research tree it looks like I would have to capture multiple overlords. I only saw two (and only caught the second) and repeating the wait between them over and over just sounded tiring.  I already felt endgame and hadn't been seeing anything new, so it looks like it would have just been shooting down ships and waiting.  I do remember reading a comment mentioning a Verdun mission but I never got that or any other missions, just ships, bases, and one capsule when China was temporarily lost.

I also had an issue with capturing.  I mentioned that I killed my first overlord.  That was because I brought no tranquilizers to that mission.  I never felt a need for them before that.  Surrendering aliens filled my prison.  I might have taken them for officers, since punching and trench maces seem over-tuned and would regularly kill even armored aliens.  However up until the mission where I captured the overlord I had assumed officers would be visually different.  It was only on that mission that I noticed the royal guard officer's name because I middle clicked to check their weapon.  I noticed there were tesla weapons in the tech tree and maybe those would be better stunners, but since I hadn't been searching for officers contacting Tesla was the last research I did before ending the game.  I had finished all the other researches with regular labs.

I did enjoy the mod, and I would like to play again to see the other country's equipment and actually build an advanced lab.  I'll leave off with a bug.  The last page of the ending narration was cut off for me.  I cut off the top to avoid spoilers but you can see how the bottom got cut.  Thank you for your work.

Edit:  Added my last save file so you can see if the text bug replicates on your end.
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