I would like to announce a new mod... even if partially with already known contents.
As long ago as in 1997, some people created new UFO maps as replacements or variants (chosen by the game randomly) of the well-known types which we all know well from our beloved game. Which is more, the original game creators must also have planned different UFOs set(s), and left their unfinished work in game files (see
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=2911.0). My ultimate aim is to revive results of all that job - make it available for OXC (and for the original game, if somebody would like it too), and thus show respect to them and to their work.
I have also found a number of less or more important flaws in more modern maps, made by Luke83 and published in his ExtraUFOs pack. For example: if you install that mod, you cannot have the original Harvester any longer in your campaign (or it would look very strange). It needn't be so, this is a problem that one can solve (even if with some own efforts, sometimes enough painful).
Having considered all of these, I have decided to make my own mod with a large collection of UFO maps. The most basic premise of mine is NOT TO RESIGN of the original maps (so, Harvester variants will still be usable along with the original, unmodified map). I am planning to include as much of maps known to me as possible, to make the campaign more attractive. The sources of the maps will then be:
- original UFOs that are present in data files but not occurring in the game,
- UFOs from MapPack1 by Robert Di Fiore, of 1997 (
https://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/ufo-map-pack-1/),
- UFOs from MapPack2 by Luchian Deurell and Sam Jeffreys, of 2001 (
https://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/ufo-map-pack-2/),
- (another) Bird of Prey (provided) by PolynomialRing (
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/birdofprey),
- Small Scout by Zombie, of 2008 (
https://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/small-scout-mod/),
- Extra UFOs by Luke83 (
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/lukes-extra-ufos),
- New UFOs by SolariusScorch (
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/solar-039-s-new-ufos).
Now the time for my own contribution. The mod will not be only a compilation of existing maps, created by other people. Less or more important changes are needed in maps and especially in route files. Luke's tilesets (UFOL83 and U_DISEC3) used with his maps will also need some changes (esp. U_DISEC3, to make the original Harvester and his Harvesters usable side by side). Reviving the forgotten UFOs from the game files would need creating special tilesets (even if Luke83 has already made some good job in this point).
Moreover, I am planning to add reflected, turned, etc. extra variants as my contribution, and perhaps several personal creations made from scratch.
All details will be described in the included readme file.
As for now, maps of two UFO types (Small Scout and Medium Scout) are ready to tests:
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/yet-more-ufos. Large Scouts are just in preparation and will be available in a few days with a new version of the mod (20-30 variants may be expected).
All so far published maps are UFO variants, not new UFO types, i.e. you will still have the basic 8 types, and no new Ufopedia entries, no new topics for scientists, etc. So, the only change in the game is that you have more various alien vessels in your combat missions. Thanks to this, the game is less schematic. You will never know where is the entrance to the UFO, and what is its floor plan. You must be more flexible in your tactics then.
I am planning to leave this option for as much new maps as possible. As for now, it will be impossible for all maps, though.
MapPack1 is fully applicable here (even if UFOs from the pack do not look like their well-known basic variants). The only problem are false walls, holed floors, etc. - I do not like them, and I will remove them all (in my humble opinion, the game reality is not Hogwart, and the aliens should not be warlocks who walk through solid walls - if you disagree, try the original maps from that mappack). Problems start with MapPack2 whose authors changed tilesets for their UFOs. One of possiblilities is to take:
• their Battle Cruiser and Evader as Abductor variants (and not Harvesters like they planned),
• their Freighter as a Terror Ship variant (and not an Abductor variant),
• their Marauder as a Harvester variant (and not a Terror Ship variant),
• their Warbird as a Supply Ship variant (and not a Battleship variant),
• their Attack Cruiser as an Abductor variant (and not a Supply Ship variant),
and I am doing so.
It is so because the current rules used in rulesets do not allow UFOs with the same name and different tilesets. So, there is an appeal to the game creators then: please change it if possible! Especially that no tricks will help (for now) to survive the forgotten pyramidal UFOs from the game files to be just randomly selected variants of the plain UFOs known to all.
I mean that the game allows this:
- type: STR_LARGE_SCOUT
size: STR_SMALL
(...)
battlescapeTerrainData:
name: UFO_120
mapDataSets:
- BLANKS
- U_EXT02
- U_WALL02
- U_BITS
- UFOL83
mapBlocks:
- name: UFO_120
width: 20
length: 20
- name: UFO_121
(...)
and it would be nice if it allowed this (or something similar):
- type: STR_LARGE_SCOUT
size: STR_SMALL
(...)
battlescapeTerrainData:
name: UFO_120
- mapDataSets:
- BLANKS
- U_EXT02
- U_WALL02
- U_BITS
- UFOL83
mapBlocks:
- name: UFO_120
width: 20
length: 20
- name: UFO_121
(...)
- mapDataSets:
- BLANKS
- U_EXT02
- U_WALL02
- U_BITS
- UFOL83
- U_DISEC3
mapBlocks:
- name: UFO_122
(...)
(as for now, it does not work).
So, I am also planning another option (and a special, second ruleset for this mod) in the future: adding more UFO types (so you will have more than 8 UFO types in the game, and each of these still in many variants). It would need changes in Alien missions, the research tree, additional interception graphic, so this is a more distant future...
Finally, inform me please if you know other UFO maps aleady made, and want to have them in this mod as well.
