[BETA][WIP][BUNCHOFSTUFF] Xeno Operations v0.98

[cjones]

Yeah, sorry, I tried to be vague, no worries, yer mind will still be blown when you get there!

Hehe

[XOps]

The facility update or at least it might as well be. Now up to 0.70. Added several new base facilities most of which are available from the start. I am very interested to hear what people think of the Security Checkpoint since I worry it may very well break base defense. Not sure how to balance this really.

Also I changed the plasma conversion system a bit. I worry it may make things rather tedious, but I find the system very engaging and a lot more versatile than the previous 1 for 1 conversion system. Regardless I held back from fully integrating the system until I get some feedback from others. If others find it fun then I may expand this system greatly in the near future.

Added a late game alien with a terrorist unit. The new terror unit is rather dull in terms of spriting, but I may try to liven it up later. The main alien though is a full 100% original sprite and man was it hard to make. It's still not perfect, but it is at a point where I don't feel completely ashamed to release it. Also the new race is a late game foe, but I still worry it will either to be too hard or too easy. Mind you it isn't as bad as the “all your weapons are useless” lobstermen, but it is near impossible to kill if you don't have the right tools. My goal is to force the player to keep a diverse arsenal, but I am eager for balance feedback to avoid the rather dull grind that the lobstermen put the player through in TFTD.

Added another tier of weapons after lasers. They only have two kinds of ammo, one for laser damage and one for AP. They are rather expensive, but are comparable to plasma in performance. Like the new aliens, the sprites are 100% original for these new weapons.

And as always there are a whole bunch of minor tweaks and bug fixes. I am most proud of the new cursor. At any rate, please enjoy and let me know when you find new game breaking bugs.

https://www.openxcom.com/content/files/bb285195/XenoOperationsBetaV0.70.zip

[cjones]

Nice.  Finishing up another playthru of pirates.  Looks like another xeno ops run  is in my future.  As for lobstermen, I never played much tftd.  But...encountered them in piratez and omg they are tough

[XOps]

Lobstermen perfectly encapsulated much of what was wrong with TFTD. They were made to add extra challenge to the game that UFO lacked. Unfortunately they provided more frustration than challenge. Adding a powerful foe can make a game a lot more fun. However the Lobstermen were immune to almost everything the player could throw at them (except for melee, stun, and MC). Games like XCom are all about tactics and against Lobstermen there were simply too few tactics that were effective against them. Fighting them became an exercise in patience rather than intelligence. They would have worked as a terror unit or a final guard unit, but not a mainstay unit. I just hope to avoid making that mistake with the new alien I added.

[ivandogovich]

Lobstermen perfectly encapsulated much of what was wrong with TFTD. They were made to add extra challenge to the game that UFO lacked. Unfortunately they provided more frustration than challenge. Adding a powerful foe can make a game a lot more fun. However the Lobstermen were immune to almost everything the player could throw at them (except for melee, stun, and MC). Games like XCom are all about tactics and against Lobstermen there were simply too few tactics that were effective against them. Fighting them became an exercise in patience rather than intelligence. They would have worked as a terror unit or a final guard unit, but not a mainstay unit. I just hope to avoid making that mistake with the new alien I added.

Its true that Lobstermen presented a huge hurdle in TftD.  They are the reason that I always skip Gauss and go straight for good armor and Sonic Cannons by the time they show up.  And Melee. Always melee.  Crack the shell and add butter.  They force a bit of a change from the "push scouts out, snipe anything spotted. rinse repeat" tactic, so I don't think they are a bad thing.

Cheers, Ivan
And sorry for derailing the discussion even further off topic.

[Duke_Falcon]

The facility update or at least it might as well be. Now up to 0.70. Added several new base facilities most of which are available from the start. I am very interested to hear what people think of the Security Checkpoint since I worry it may very well break base defense. Not sure how to balance this really.

Also I changed the plasma conversion system a bit. I worry it may make things rather tedious, but I find the system very engaging and a lot more versatile than the previous 1 for 1 conversion system. Regardless I held back from fully integrating the system until I get some feedback from others. If others find it fun then I may expand this system greatly in the near future.

Added a late game alien with a terrorist unit. The new terror unit is rather dull in terms of spriting, but I may try to liven it up later. The main alien though is a full 100% original sprite and man was it hard to make. It's still not perfect, but it is at a point where I don't feel completely ashamed to release it. Also the new race is a late game foe, but I still worry it will either to be too hard or too easy. Mind you it isn't as bad as the “all your weapons are useless” lobstermen, but it is near impossible to kill if you don't have the right tools. My goal is to force the player to keep a diverse arsenal, but I am eager for balance feedback to avoid the rather dull grind that the lobstermen put the player through in TFTD.

Added another tier of weapons after lasers. They only have two kinds of ammo, one for laser damage and one for AP. They are rather expensive, but are comparable to plasma in performance. Like the new aliens, the sprites are 100% original for these new weapons.

And as always there are a whole bunch of minor tweaks and bug fixes. I am most proud of the new cursor. At any rate, please enjoy and let me know when you find new game breaking bugs.

https://www.openxcom.com/content/files/bb285195/XenoOperationsBetaV0.70.zip

Could you upload it to Mediafire? OXC mods\downloads dead according to the news post on the main web page.

[XOps]

Update v0.80
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q4j8e1xzitzpvgb/XenoOperationsBetaV0.80.zip?dl=0

Since the mod portal is dead until further notice, I have a dropbox link.

By the way, I have found the secret to adding a new transport into the game complete with a map and mostly original tiles. You have to be insane! Seriously out of all the things I added, only two I found difficult. One was making an original alien sprite. That was really hard. However adding a new craft map to the game was infinity more frustrating. I am still not a 100% satisifed, but it is at a point where it is functional.

Also replaced psi armor with the Nerve Suit (new graphics) and gave it a boost in stats and plasma resistance. Needs balance testing. Personal armor is back as well.

[moghopper]

My game crashes whenever it has to use some of the new attack sprites. Specifically, the new stun baton shock sprite, and the reaper biting sprite.

Does this need the latest nightly?

[Solarius Scorch]

My game crashes whenever it has to use some of the new attack sprites. Specifically, the new stun baton shock sprite, and the reaper biting sprite.

Does this need the latest nightly?

I may be wrong, but right off the bat I don't think nightlies do anything to the projectile sprites.

What OS are you using? Because some systems do have issues with sprites.

[moghopper]

I may be wrong, but right off the bat I don't think nightlies do anything to the projectile sprites.

What OS are you using? Because some systems do have issues with sprites.

Windows 7

[Solarius Scorch]

Windows 7

AFAIK Windows always plays nicely with OXC (as long as there are no code errors, of course). Therefore your problem is likely related to something else...

[moghopper]

I just tested it again. The stun batons new electric sprite crashed the game. Not sure what is going on.


It seems to crash at the end of the animation.

[XOps]

I just tested it again. The stun batons new electric sprite crashed the game. Not sure what is going on.


It seems to crash at the end of the animation.

I am 75% sure that you need a later nightly. The earlier nightlies added the ability to add custom hit animations for melee weapons. However for some reason the animation frames were set to 12 instead of 4 like in HIT.PCK. However this was later fixed reducing the frames down to four again so I redid the hit sprites again. What the game is doing is trying to load 12 frames instead of four and when it hits frame 5, it can't find it so it crashes out. Upgrade to the latest nightly and try it again. If it persists, then I will take a deeper look.

[moghopper]

I'll give it a shot. Thanks


Well, I upgraded, and now when I try to start a battle to test it, the game just ceases to play. Program closes, back to desktop.

[XOps]

Well, I upgraded, and now when I try to start a battle to test it, the game just ceases to play. Program closes, back to desktop.

Well now I'm stumped. I just tested the very latest nightly myself and I have no problems. Perhaps you need a fresh install? Also are there any other mods you are using?