aliens

Author Topic: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids  (Read 33859 times)

Offline Harald_Gray

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[ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« on: August 04, 2014, 05:51:22 pm »
Mechtoids - OpenXcom MOD

This mod introduces a new alien race that tries to both make the game more challenging and find a new purpose for Sectoids. Most of us who've played the game for some time have asked ourselves questions like why don't the aliens wear body armor? Why are Sectoid soldiers so weak compared to my veterans? Why don't the aliens use more area-effect weapons? This mod tries to offer a glimpse at what such a situation is like. So what is inside?

Tougher, better armed, deadlier aliens. Some new weapons. Nasty - although I hope not too nasty - surprises. More details after the spoiler warning :-)

Be warned that this mod modifies alien item levels. I'm using three item levels and I've defined four, so it should be compatible with other alienitemlevel-modifying mods, but one never knows. And you'll have to decide which version of the alienitemlevels table you wish to use. Mechtoid terror mission use urban terrain and all Mechtoid missions assume 4 height levels in battlescape maps, so some terrain mods might cause problems and/or require a bit of tweaking.


*** SPOILER WARNING ***

If you want to let the content of this mod surprise you, at least during your first game using it, don't read on. You've been warned.

***

So, first the general overview. Mechtoids are Sectoid cyborgs who are toying with the idea that psionics are not always the answer. They have faced the humans, or they've read the reports and don't like the results. They see that at least some humans are surprisingly resistant to psionic powers. So they've managed to convince their superiors to allocate some resources towards improving technologies long considered unimportant. And many of them are a little bit crazy, even by alien standards, so not all their experiments are entirely sensible. What do they have now?

Mechtoid Soldiers
Taller, stronger, better than unaugmented Sectoids. They wear light powersuits, better armored than Personal Armor and somewhat more resistant to plasma - after all, plasma weapons have been the aliens' main weapons technology for who knows how long, so it is a damage type they fear most. They are not as dangerous as some of the vanilla aliens but definitely much tougher than Sectoids.

Mechtoid Marines
Even better and tougher than Soldiers, although the difference is not that great. You can expect to find them more often inside their ships and for this reason they don't use weapons that could penetrate their hulls. But even a guy in a flying suit can die to plasma rifle fire. Like with Soldiers, low hit points mean a good hit will often kill them but they are far tougher than naked Sectoids.

Mechtoid Burner
A failed experiment and a career for crazy Mechtoids. These guys live to set the world on fire (or burn it with acid). Fear them if you've got weak armor, enjoy the fireshow if you're fireproof.

Mechtoid Medic
These guys worship Mutons. Yes, they've helped create the Mechtoid implants and yes, they keep on being useful. But hey're wearing bioarmor that's half armor, half living tissue. Their stun weapons are stronger than the Small Launcher but definitely not as dangerous as say heavy plasma to the face.

Mechtoid Commando
Semi-invisible guys with light armor and distortion fields. Your best bet is explosives or good aim. And they are leaders, so they've got some psionic capabilities too.

Mechtoid Battlesuit
The toughest of the bunch, even tougher than a flying suit. Most likely armed with a Heavy Plasma or a launcher with plasma rockets. This is what SOTA alien military technology can look like.

Weapondrone
Remember Biodrones? These are their grandfathers, bulkier and based on Sectoid brains. They will not shoot you but they will try to implant Chrysalid eggs into your soldiers. Shoot on sight.

Psiodrone
Looks like a Weapondrone, built around a Sectoid psionic. So instead of zombifying you, they will try to make your soldiers shoot their comrades.

Now about Mechtoid weapons>

Electrolaser
Rapid-fire stun weapon. More dangerous than a small launcher but not *that* dangerous, considering stunned soldiers can be reawakened.

Mechtoid Launcher
Weaker than a blaster launcher but much cheaper and therefore more widely used. Blaster launchers in alien hands are nearly useless in the vanilla games and we tend to be happy about that because they are *really* powerful. Mechtoid launchers are intended to be weak enough for the game to remain playable but powerful enough to make you fear them.

Scorchers
Crazy weapons for crazy aliens. This weapon is designed to set the map on fire and create wild explosions that are not that dangerous. Acid clips make it more dangerous but only a fraction of Burners will use those.


#=================================================================#
INSTALLATION
1.
unzip inside:
OpenXcom\data\

2.
Activate the mod from the "Options" menu, inside the game.

The mod should be compatible with most other mods out there so far.


#=================================================================#
CHANGELOG


0.5
- first version, to test the mod and hear people's opinions.



CREDITS:

Chiko - sniper plasma rifle sprite, which I've used to create the electrolaser


----

https://www.openxcom.com/mod/mechtoids

Offline guille1434

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2014, 08:54:57 pm »
Hello! Very nice concept! Just some quick questions: Will this race replace the regular Sectoids? Or if I add this mod I will be able to see sometimes Sectoids and other times Mechtoids in the battlescape? Do you think this mod is compatible with the Final Mod Pack? Thanks!

Offline Harald_Gray

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2014, 09:42:33 pm »
I'm trying to test the concept, receive some feedback and maybe ideas, so I'm not changing any existing missions except alien bases (my mod creates a small chance of Mechtoid bases later in the game). There's also the fact that with the way itemsets work, I can't give Mechtoids their unique weapons unless they have their own missions.

So right now you will only encounter them in some alien bases, in their own missions and in retaliation missions. And they first appear in March, with regular Sectoids in their place when it is too early to send Mechtoids into play. Vanilla Sectoids remain unchanged.

Of course, you can use the New Battle feature to have a go against them right now.

Regarding the compatibility with the FMP, I'm not sure yet. FMP changes urban terrain and IIRC some of the maps are quite high, while my mod assumes vanilla four levels. And you will have to load FMP *after* Mechtoids, because FMP needs its own alienItemLevels table (my mod can work with four item levels because I've defined four but it uses three by default to remain compatible with the vanilla game). Time to test it, I guess.

EDIT:
I took a look at the FMP rulefile and I think my mod should be compatible. Just make sure you load FMP *after* Mechtoids or delete the alienItemLevels entries from the Mechtoid ruleset.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2014, 09:52:37 pm by Harald_Gray »

Offline Arthanor

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2014, 10:06:49 pm »
Looks like you put quite some work into this! Very nice!

I just downloaded it and will give it a try in the game I'm just starting. It's nice to see some meaner sectoids, and I especially like the 4 item level compatibility (as I am using the Alien Armoury Expanded, which also has 4).

I'll let you know how it goes!

Offline XCOMFan419

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2014, 10:18:37 pm »
Ooh! These look awesome.

Next up, mechtoids from XCOM 2012!

Offline Harald_Gray

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2014, 10:27:40 pm »
Next up, mechtoids from XCOM 2012!

Uh-oh... I guess I should have done my homework - can you believe I had no idea the name already existed? I guess it serves me well for not having played UFO 2012  :-[

Offline XCOMFan419

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2014, 11:05:23 pm »
Uh-oh... I guess I should have done my homework - can you believe I had no idea the name already existed? I guess it serves me well for not having played UFO 2012  :-[
Oh. Well that explains a lot :P

Great mod btw. I like the Cyborg-Sectoids. Cyboids? Very unique and cool idea. Makes the Sectoids to be feared again :)

Offline guille1434

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2014, 11:24:29 pm »
Harald: Thanks for your answers! I will do as you say with the ruleset load order, and then report! :-)

Offline essohbe

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #8 on: August 06, 2014, 01:55:20 am »
Do you have to start a new game to get all the races? I have all the races but I never once got waspites or mechtoids.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #9 on: August 06, 2014, 03:10:51 am »
Do you have to start a new game to get all the races? I have all the races but I never once got waspites or mechtoids.

No, races are generated at the beginning of each month.

You're probably just unlucky.

Offline Harald_Gray

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #10 on: August 06, 2014, 03:31:23 am »
I would say you even need a bit of luck - or is it bad luck? - to meet the Mechtoids, because I've set their mission weights a bit low and they don't appear in most vanilla missions. I've wanted them to be a rarity of sorts, not your bread-and-butter enemies you have to fight more often than the vanilla aliens.

And as for Waspites, I too thought I'd never get to meet them at first. Took me a really long time to encounter one, in fact I think I've met it as a part of a mixed crew. Just keep shooting down ufos, of use the New Battle to try them out.

Offline LeBashar

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #11 on: August 06, 2014, 06:29:30 pm »
Interesting mod, but I think the human armored body don't fit very well with sectoides. Maybe something could be done with the elder sectoide of ryskeliini in this page : https://openxcommods.weebly.com/downloads11.html

Offline Deskulpa

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2014, 11:52:47 pm »
"This mod introduces a new alien race that tries to both make the game more challenging and find a new purpose for Sectoids. Most of us who've played the game for some time have asked ourselves questions like why don't the aliens wear body armor? Why are Sectoid soldiers so weak compared to my veterans? Why don't the aliens use more area-effect weapons? This mod tries to offer a glimpse at what such a situation is like. So what is inside?"

That's what I wanted to do in my armored mod too. Good to see more people doing it.
The aliens really need a help.

Offline Harald_Gray

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2014, 04:14:47 pm »
Version 0.51 is up because I've had to fix an error in alien deployment.

Offline new_civilian

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Re: [ALIENS] Mechtoids - armored and upgraded Sectoids
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2014, 11:55:20 am »
Very promising mod! Needs some better icons  (the Launcher especially) and more proofreading but everything else is fine. Good work.  :)