[COMPILATION] Final Mod Pack (FMP)

[Solarius Scorch]

1. The interceptor cannon is exactly the same as in vanilla, so you should rather ask Gollop. But I am using it a lot, to avoid blowing small UFOs to pieces. And it's super cheap.

This really didn't answer my question. I do not understand the Cannon that is default equipped from the start of the game on an Interceptor. The range is 10m. If I try to get that close to even a small craft my Interceptor is damaged. No fighter pilot would close that range unless absolutely necessary especially if he has a better alternative like missiles.

There is no reason to use the Cannon is my point. The range is crap and puts your fighter at risk from day one. Clearly the game is designed not to really be a shootout  so early on, unless you like taking on targets you cannot handle. If my fighters are going down or being damaged and cannot fly from the first couple of UFOs then that becomes a real problem.

So I equip missiles and sell my Cannons. I would love to see the basic Cannon get more love so its useful is my point. It just doesn't seem to fit in. I will do a save and try a few set ups with Stingray and Cannon combos but I just don't see the point of this weapon. Its mute.

To paraphrase Vader, "player decisions do not concern me". If you do not want to use the cannon at all, that's fine. This is why we have multiple options to choose from.
However I feel the need to point out that while many players forego the cannon in favour of another Avalanche, this is literally the first time in 21 years of me playing X-Com that I see anyone saying that the cannon is useless. Oh well, there are all sorts of different people.

What do you mean by "blowing UFOs to pieces" I thought that no matter the weapon when shooting down a UFO there was a 75% chance any power source would blow no matter the weapon you used. Has this piece of data changed now to be dependent on the weapon type used? Clearly bullets would do less overall dmg than an explosion. Can you clarify?

I was referring to the "UFO destroyed" situation, where there is nothing left to investigate. A common occurrence in X-Com with Small Scouts, might also happen with Medium Scouts. Unless you use the cannon.

I am grateful for the pack it makes Xcom even better than the patched original by a long shot. Lizards in suits? Really?

You're welcome!

Maybe it would also be nice to add some open tiles to the additional terrain, for more balance. Like soft hills of low height. Mountains *without* cave in it. Open landscape only with a tiny shed on it. Grassland with a small pond. etc.

I'm slowly working on such things. Some are already implemented in X-Com Files and need to be ported.

[Meridian]

However I feel the need to point out that while many players forego the cannon in favour of another Avalanche, this is literally the first time in 21 years of me playing X-Com that I see anyone saying that the cannon is useless. Oh well, there are all sorts of different people.

Cannon is useless, I never said it, because I never felt a need to say it.

Still, some people use it and it is a part of the game... no reason to remove it.
Don't like it? Don't use it!

[Tekamthi]

if you're considering any further tweaks, it would be nice if the ironfist item location was a bit further inside... all my toys keep getting blown up 

[Solarius Scorch]

if you're considering any further tweaks, it would be nice if the ironfist item location was a bit further inside... all my toys keep getting blown up 

Yeah, it's a common problem.
Damn, I can't even remember if there's a way to do it in vanilla.

[Antan]

Cannon is useless, I never said it, because I never felt a need to say it.

Still, some people use it and it is a part of the game... no reason to remove it.
Don't like it? Don't use it! Meridain (hope i spelled that right)

I knew it! I am not trying to argue whether it should be removed or whether to use it or not. I simply don't see how or why its even in the game and why it has never been re-balanced. Its fine, I was just curious if I was missing the magic of the "Cannon". I am slowly learning C# and started playing with the files. I found the "Cannon" and fixed it.

So much better with different stats. Makes the early game way more fun with it being useful but still a sufficient risk. Combat with UFOs was exciting and not me just catching them and shooting them down at max range with barely any risk.

[Meridian]

Meridain (hope i spelled that right)

almost, but no

I am slowly learning C# and started playing with the files.

C# won't help you much.
It's either YAML for rulesets or C++ for code.

[Antan]

C# won't help you much.
It's either YAML for rulesets or C++ for code.
Meridian

^
Got it right this time. Well I am to far into C# to start a new language at this point. I am sure C# will help me when I start to dig into C++. That is an assumption of course.

[Antan]

Meridian,

May I ask what mod you are using for the smoke effect? The graphics look better, and the sound mod?

To whomever,

I also have a ton of questions about this mod pack. Is there a place with info I can reference? For example what weapons do you use as the stronger aliens show up? I have never aborted before until now. I either went all in or died trying. Now I have been leaving especially with Gazers. Do you have any advice? It seems explosive is the way to go but that is unfortunate as the other weapons seem to be to weak now to be much help. (conventional)

I finally captured an Engineer and it just opened up a huge tree of new weapons. Based on this if I had known I would have gone after the early missions more fiercely to get early Engineers as the 1st month or two was much easier than month 6.

So any tips or such?

[Tekamthi]

I finally captured an Engineer and it just opened up a huge tree of new weapons. Based on this if I had known I would have gone after the early missions more fiercely to get early Engineers as the 1st month or two was much easier than month 6.

My experience was much the same, except it took me to month 13 to clear the bottleneck.  The effect, though, has been fantastic, as I've had to rely on conventional weapons for a long time, of which there is an ample selection in FMP, and the few laser/gauss I've been able to collect from missions, saving these for special occasions.  After I cleared the initial stages, and found tactics that could avoid major squad wipes most of the time, I only had anthropods/MiB/Hybrids, w/ the odd other race occasionally showing up, and couldn't stun anything of value for a long time.  I finally got a sectoid commander in a jungle pyramid, grabbed his body and evac'd, and more recently sectoid and floaters have reappeared in greater numbers, allowing me to finally access engineers and gauss/railguns/lasers.

The gauss/lasers have come all at once mostly though.  I might have prefered to need an engineer even to unlock each next one, to draw out the progression further, as suddenly in the span of about a month, my former logistical concerns are all but gone.

[Antan]

The gauss/lasers have come all at once mostly though.  I might have preferred to need an engineer even to unlock each next one, to draw out the progression further, as suddenly in the span of about a month, my former logistical concerns are all but gone.

I completely agree. The tech comes way to fast once you get the engineer. I started making laser weapons with clips to find out "Nuclear" laser weapons do not need clips in the same month. Gauss, I am not even using because rail opened up at the same time and is superior. I think there are to many "weapon" types imo. Gauss or Laser but not both. Not unless the game is balanced more to give each a part in the progression.

I am curious to see if plasma is even better than rail guns. I can see having choices but unless they are meaningful choices more weapons that do similar things just clutter up the game. Each choice should be significant or not at all.

[Tekamthi]

I completely agree. The tech comes way to fast once you get the engineer. I started making laser weapons with clips to find out "Nuclear" laser weapons do not need clips in the same month. Gauss, I am not even using because rail opened up at the same time and is superior. I think there are to many "weapon" types imo. Gauss or Laser but not both. Not unless the game is balanced more to give each a part in the progression.

I'm at the early part of this phase, ie finally got the battery unlock and got the alien laser, as well as the ability to research the other lasers and gauss and advanced lasers (each of which is a matter of days now with the 14-month x-com industrial complex pushing R&D).  The gauss research is unlocking both the gauss and rail versions of corresponding weapon.  It's not too many weapon types imo, but just too much too fast.. I'd definitely wanna keep the variety, but I'd separate out gauss/rail more through research somehow, maybe force pistol -> rifle -> heavy or rifle -> pistol -> heavy on each weapon category's research (why bother with pistols, really?), and more engineer captures (or MiB scientists, these are hard to stun) for each stage.  Even if at end-game, there is a clearly 'best' choice of gear, I'd love FMP even more if each had its era for a month or so in the progression through the tree on the way there.

[Solarius Scorch]

I have ideas on how to improve this situation... Sadly, vanilla OXC (as opposed to OXCE+) doesn't support them.

(What I would like to do is to add an advanced laboratory which would be required for high end weapons... But alas, building functions are not supported by OXC. So sad.)

[Antan]

Well we may disagree on the amount of weapons but I do agree the progression is to clumped. Personally I think less is more here with weapons in this case without the spacing for them.

[Tekamthi]

I have ideas on how to improve this situation... Sadly, vanilla OXC (as opposed to OXCE+) doesn't support them.

(What I would like to do is to add an advanced laboratory which would be required for high end weapons... But alas, building functions are not supported by OXC. So sad.)

that sounds cool.. maybe you could tie these unlocks to something only obtainable in alien base? maybe i don't understand the full subtleties, but its generally my policy to leave the bases up and farm the supply ships once a country has been inflitrated... game could use some more motivation to raid these directly i think.

anyway, w/e direction you take it, thanks again!

[Solarius Scorch]

Alien bases aren't that hard, though. At least not objectively. I think we need something stronger.