Area 51 - General Feedback thread

[robotnel]

Could I get some advice or tips or best practices on what I need to do to unlock the next phases of research? I've finished Lasers and most Alloy research. I believe I need to capture an alien scientist or commander but I haven't much luck on finding those. Or rather if I did encounter them they got killed in the mission.

Background on my current playthrough:  It's Aug 1999 and I'm playing on Normal difficulty. The previous month I had two extra large UFOs land and I assaulted them both. Also in the previous month I'm pretty sure I shot down a command ship because that only had Ethereals at the crash site. Both only had alien Leaders (as far as I'm aware). I could reload the save files and reset my progress about a month back but I don't know if that will help.

I haven't discovered any alien bases either but I only have Europe and Asia covered. More bases will be operational by the end of the month.

Other questions or observations I have:

• Does any landed UFO have the chance to spawn in a scientist? I need to be selective on what I target because HK UFO's get all up in my face real quick.
• Does the small radar have any benefit or is it still useless as in OG xcom?
• Can Phasers or Overlords be a Scientist? I've tried to capture them both but they seem immune to stun rods/bombs.
• Would parking a Darkstar over where I think an alien base could be improve my chances of detecting said base?
• I've never been able to capture a rogue scientist alive. They seem to always get murdered in the first few rounds to wandering thin-men or agents.
• Due to a recent council mission to recover a data disk, I can now produce plasma-alloy tanks without having researched plasma weapons :/ Although I seem to be doing just fine with my mix of Gauss/Laser armaments.

 

[Hobbes]

Could I get some advice or tips or best practices on what I need to do to unlock the next phases of research? I've finished Lasers and most Alloy research. I believe I need to capture an alien scientist or commander but I haven't much luck on finding those. Or rather if I did encounter them they got killed in the mission.

Background on my current playthrough:  It's Aug 1999 and I'm playing on Normal difficulty. The previous month I had two extra large UFOs land and I assaulted them both. Also in the previous month I'm pretty sure I shot down a command ship because that only had Ethereals at the crash site. Both only had alien Leaders (as far as I'm aware). I could reload the save files and reset my progress about a month back but I don't know if that will help.

There are two ways to unlock Elerium (required for plasma weapons and other high tech alien tech)
* Scientists, which only appear on Harvesters, Abductors or Labship UFOs.
* If you haven't researched Elerium until May 1999, then starting on that month there's a 75% monthly probability that a special alien base will be generated 'somewhere' in the world. If you assault it and complete the mission (it is a two-part) then you'll recover the Alien Crystal which unlocks Elerium research.

• Does the small radar have any benefit or is it still useless as in OG xcom?

It stacks with a Large Radar like the OG, increasing the detection chance, but building additional ones gives no benefit.

Can Phasers or Overlords be a Scientist? I've tried to capture them both but they seem immune to stun rods/bombs.

Overlord/Phaser do not have any ranks other than soldier, so you can simply kill them all. Btw, Mutons also don't have Scientists, so the races with scientists are: Sectoid, Floater, Spacefarer, Snakemen, Gazer and Waspite. Abduction missions are the best to capture alien scientists because they'll have Sectoids, Floaters and Spacefarers, so if you see an Abductor UFO you'll know for certain that it contains a scientist.

Would parking a Darkstar over where I think an alien base could be improve my chances of detecting said base?

Darkstars have the same odds as any other craft of detecting alien bases. They also became less useful once HKs were introduced since they carry no weapons and are slow, so I'm actually considering removing them. 

I've never been able to capture a rogue scientist alive. They seem to always get murdered in the first few rounds to wandering thin-men or agents.

Rogue human scientists are hostile units, thus they're on the same side as the Thin Men or Human Agents. They'll carry a snubnose pistol for defense against XCom units or police.

Due to a recent council mission to recover a data disk, I can now produce plasma-alloy tanks without having researched plasma weapons :/ Although I seem to be doing just fine with my mix of Gauss/Laser armaments.

That's intended - it's a way to help the player if he/she hasn't unlocked Elerium and plasma weapons yet. You can also unlock other plasma technologies (personal weapons, defenses) by recovering more data disks.

[robotnel]

* If you haven't researched Elerium until May 1999, then starting on that month there's a 75% monthly probability that a special alien base will be generated 'somewhere' in the world.

So if I'm in August, that means there could be 2 or 3 of these bases somewhere?

if you see an Abductor UFO you'll know for certain that it contains a scientist.

Are abductor UFOs large or extra large UFOs? In my playthrough I have the Lab Ship UFOpedia entry unlocked. I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

Darkstars have the same odds as any other craft of detecting alien bases. They also became less useful once HKs were introduced since they carry no weapons and are slow, so I'm actually considering removing them. 

I like the idea of the Darkstar craft. Moving it out to a region I want to cover but haven't built a base out there yet. I think they would work best with the super fast speed of the Blackbird and Thunderstorm craft. However the price is a bit prohibitive, especially at the early stages of the game. Perhaps if having a Darkstar patrolling a zone enabled another chance to roll to detect a UFO or a base, that might make up for the price. Not to mention using up a hangar spot.

Some more questions:
* When I've had Thunderstorms shot down, I write off the pilot as a loss. However after about a week they seem to come back to the base?

* I have one pilot who has a Bravery stat of 90 (up from 60) and I don't know how that stat increased as much as it has. My only guess is that there's a chance the pilot survives the destruction of their craft and this "steels their resolve." I'd like to know how their Bravery got pumped up to see if I could do that to other soldiers as this is the ONLY soldier/pilot that has had an increase like this.

* Is there or could there be something between a Stun Rod and the Small Launchers? There are Stun Grenades but I'm looking more for a danger-close solution. Something like a taser laser gun that's only effective out to 5 or 6 meters. It just seems so strange to me that I need to charge my troops into a alien, risking their safety to swap some electric rods around trying to take out the alien before I run out of TU.

* Do Overlords have a UFOpedia entry? I can't capture or research their bodies. From tests they seem most vulnerable to AP ammo though.

* Are Stalker's resistant to most forms of damage or can they be captured?

* Chryssalid autopsy says they are weak to explosive ammunition. Does this specifically mean loaded explosive rounds or does it also include grenades? Heavy and AC cannons are versatile but they take up so much room and are very heavy. It's easier to just load my crew up with different grenades but I would like another method. Maybe like an update to the Heavy Cannon that uses Alien Alloys in the construction to make it lighter?

* Is there a Guass or Laser sniper rifle or LMG equivalent? If so, what research is that locked behind? Or are Sniper rifles and LMGs made obsolete once I have Gauss/Lasers?

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Hobbes. I love this mod and you should be proud of the amount of content and work that you've put into it. 

[Hobbes]

So if I'm in August, that means there could be 2 or 3 of these bases somewhere?

Only 1 of that kind of special base (with the Elerium unlock) can be generated per game. However, there are other types of special bases that can be spawned (offering different rewards).

Are abductor UFOs large or extra large UFOs? In my playthrough I have the Lab Ship UFOpedia entry unlocked. I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

They are medium UFOs. The Harvester and the Abductor are the only medium UFOs ingame, so detecting a medium is always a good sign.

I like the idea of the Darkstar craft. Moving it out to a region I want to cover but haven't built a base out there yet. I think they would work best with the super fast speed of the Blackbird and Thunderstorm craft. However the price is a bit prohibitive, especially at the early stages of the game. Perhaps if having a Darkstar patrolling a zone enabled another chance to roll to detect a UFO or a base, that might make up for the price. Not to mention using up a hangar spot.

Craft and base radars have an X chance of detecting UFO/bases every Y min., so if you keep them enough time in an area they'll detect any interesting stuff around. I can reduce the cost of the Darkstar.

Some more questions:
* When I've had Thunderstorms shot down, I write off the pilot as a loss. However after about a week they seem to come back to the base?

Pilots (and soldiers) have a 75% chance of surviving a shoot-down on their craft. You'll lose all their gear and HWPs though.

* I have one pilot who has a Bravery stat of 90 (up from 60) and I don't know how that stat increased as much as it has. My only guess is that there's a chance the pilot survives the destruction of their craft and this "steels their resolve." I'd like to know how their Bravery got pumped up to see if I could do that to other soldiers as this is the ONLY soldier/pilot that has had an increase like this.

Bravery has a limit of 100, although it will be very rare for soldiers to ever reach this limit because of how bravery can improve (basically they need to get their morale below 50 during a mission to get a chance of seeing their bravery increase by 10).

But with pilots bravery stat is used to determine the approach speed while engaging UFOs (cowardly soldiers are more cautious, etc.) so there's a chance of bravery being increased with each dogfight.

* Is there or could there be something between a Stun Rod and the Small Launchers? There are Stun Grenades but I'm looking more for a danger-close solution. Something like a taser laser gun that's only effective out to 5 or 6 meters. It just seems so strange to me that I need to charge my troops into a alien, risking their safety to swap some electric rods around trying to take out the alien before I run out of TU.

That's part of the vanilla experience, sending the rookies to charge the aliens with stun rods. Tasers would make capturing aliens a lot easier

* Do Overlords have a UFOpedia entry? I can't capture or research their bodies. From tests they seem most vulnerable to AP ammo though.

All races have UFOPedia entries (some are missing image and only contain the text though). With the races that can't be captured (like Cyberdiscs, Sectopods, Overlords, Phasers, etc.) the only way to see the entry is by researching captured alien medics.

* Are Stalker's resistant to most forms of damage or can they be captured?

Stalkers cannot be captured.

* Chryssalid autopsy says they are weak to explosive ammunition. Does this specifically mean loaded explosive rounds or does it also include grenades?

This is one example of how the vanilla UFOPedia is simply wrong. Chryssalids don't get additional damage from any type of explosives (rounds or grenades)

Heavy and AC cannons are versatile but they take up so much room and are very heavy. It's easier to just load my crew up with different grenades but I would like another method. Maybe like an update to the Heavy Cannon that uses Alien Alloys in the construction to make it lighter?
* Is there a Guass or Laser sniper rifle or LMG equivalent? If so, what research is that locked behind? Or are Sniper rifles and LMGs made obsolete once I have Gauss/Lasers?

Once you unlock Elerium there are upgrades to the Heavy/Autocannons, as well as the LMG and the Sniper Rifle. There is also another special base (different from the one that unlocks Elerium) where you can unlock all these weapons.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Hobbes. I love this mod and you should be proud of the amount of content and work that you've put into it.

Thanks for the kind words

[Jes_ibn_Jester]

Hi!

After reaching february, game crashes. Here's log part:

[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   OpenXcom Version: Extended 5.5 (v2019-05-19)
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   Platform: Windows 64 bit
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   Data folder is:
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   Data search is:
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   - C:/Users/Family/Documents/OpenXcom/
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   - C:/Program Files (x86)/OpenXComEx/
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   User folder is: C:/Users/Family/Documents/OpenXcom/
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   Config folder is: C:/Users/Family/Documents/OpenXcom/
[13-07-2019_23-07-26]   [INFO]   Options loaded successfully.
[13-07-2019_23-07-32]   [INFO]   SDL initialized successfully.
[13-07-2019_23-07-36]   [INFO]   SDL_mixer initialized successfully.
[13-07-2019_23-07-36]   [INFO]   Attempted locale:
[13-07-2019_23-07-36]   [INFO]   Detected locale: C
[13-07-2019_23-07-36]   [INFO]   Attempting to set display to 960x600x8...
[13-07-2019_23-07-36]   [INFO]   Display set to 960x600x8.
[13-07-2019_23-07-37]   [INFO]   Loading data...
[13-07-2019_23-07-37]   [INFO]   Scanning standard mods in ''...
[13-07-2019_23-07-43]   [INFO]   Scanning user mods in 'C:/Users/Family/Documents/OpenXcom/'...
[13-07-2019_23-07-58]   [ERROR]   FileMap::mapExtResources(xcom2, TFTD): external resources not found.
[13-07-2019_23-08-01]   [INFO]   Loading rulesets...
[13-07-2019_23-08-19]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_A. Please review the ruleset.
[13-07-2019_23-08-19]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_B. Please review the ruleset.
[13-07-2019_23-08-19]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_C. Please review the ruleset.
[13-07-2019_23-08-24]   [INFO]   Loading fonts... Font.dat
[13-07-2019_23-08-26]   [INFO]   Lazy loading: 1
[13-07-2019_23-08-29]   [INFO]   Loading custom palettes from ruleset...
[13-07-2019_23-08-29]   [INFO]   Making palette backups...
[13-07-2019_23-08-35]   [INFO]   Data loaded successfully.
[13-07-2019_23-08-35]   [INFO]   Loading language...
[13-07-2019_23-08-36]   [INFO]   Language loaded successfully.
[13-07-2019_23-08-36]   [INFO]   OpenXcom started successfully!
[13-07-2019_23-08-36]   [INFO]   Using software scaling routine. For best results, try an OpenGL filter.
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   A fatal error has occurred: Error proccessing mission script named: recon, mission type: STR_ALIEN_BASE_3 has no available races
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x5818f0 OpenXcom::CrossPlatform::stackTrace(void*)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x582c70 OpenXcom::CrossPlatform::crashDump(void*, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x41c780 exceptionLogger()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0xaf4de0 MPEGaction::MPEGaction()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0xcacda0 void std::iter_swap<__gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >, __gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > > >(__gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >, __gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0xcb1ca0 OpenXcom::ScriptGlobal::addTagType<OpenXcom::ScriptTag<OpenXcom::RuleItem, unsigned char> >()::{lambda(unsigned long long)#1}::_FUN(unsigned long long)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x68fc90 OpenXcom::GeoscapeState::processCommand(OpenXcom::RuleMissionScript*)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x695860 OpenXcom::GeoscapeState::determineAlienMissions()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x696b10 OpenXcom::GeoscapeState::time1Month()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x696d90 OpenXcom::GeoscapeState::timeAdvance()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x65a830 OpenXcom::Timer::think(OpenXcom::State*, OpenXcom::Surface*)
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x59a6f0 OpenXcom::Game::run()
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x41c8c0 SDL_main
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x910250 console_main
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x910370 WinMain
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   ??
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   ??
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x7ffcb1ce4020 BaseThreadInitThunk
[13-07-2019_23-10-07]   [FATAL]   0x7ffcb1f43670 RtlUserThreadStart

Any ideas if I'm missing anything or what?

[Hobbes]

Hey,

Just uploaded version 0.972 with a fix for this bug. Thanks for the report

[Jes_ibn_Jester]

Hey!

Fix worked like magic! Thank you very much.

[Jes_ibn_Jester]

I broke it again

This time it's when entering Extraction Site.

[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   OpenXcom Version: Extended 5.5 (v2019-05-19)
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Platform: Windows 64 bit
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Data folder is:
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Data search is:
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   - C:/Users/Karolina/Documents/OpenXcom/
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   - C:/__Cin/OpenXComEx/
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   User folder is: C:/Users/Karolina/Documents/OpenXcom/
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Config folder is: C:/Users/Karolina/Documents/OpenXcom/
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Options loaded successfully.
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   SDL initialized successfully.
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   SDL_mixer initialized successfully.
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Attempted locale:
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Detected locale: C
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Attempting to set display to 1366x768x8...
[15-07-2019_01-33-32]   [INFO]   Display set to 1366x768x8.
[15-07-2019_01-33-33]   [INFO]   Loading data...
[15-07-2019_01-33-33]   [INFO]   Scanning standard mods in ''...
[15-07-2019_01-33-33]   [INFO]   Scanning user mods in 'C:/Users/Karolina/Documents/OpenXcom/'...
[15-07-2019_01-33-33]   [ERROR]   FileMap::mapExtResources(xcom2, TFTD): external resources not found.
[15-07-2019_01-33-33]   [INFO]   Loading rulesets...
[15-07-2019_01-33-38]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_A. Please review the ruleset.
[15-07-2019_01-33-38]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_B. Please review the ruleset.
[15-07-2019_01-33-38]   [ERROR]   There are invalid/obsolete attributes in starting condition STR_XENOPHOBIA_C. Please review the ruleset.
[15-07-2019_01-33-39]   [INFO]   Loading fonts... Font.dat
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Lazy loading: 1
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Loading custom palettes from ruleset...
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Making palette backups...
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Data loaded successfully.
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Loading language...
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Language loaded successfully.
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   OpenXcom started successfully!
[15-07-2019_01-33-40]   [INFO]   Using software scaling routine. For best results, try an OpenGL filter.
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   A fatal error has occurred: Race STR_MIXED_1_COM does not have a random member at position/rank 9
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x5818f0 OpenXcom::CrossPlatform::stackTrace(void*)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x582c70 OpenXcom::CrossPlatform::crashDump(void*, std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x41c780 exceptionLogger()
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0xaf4de0 MPEGaction::MPEGaction()
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0xcacda0 void std::iter_swap<__gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >, __gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > > >(__gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >, __gnu_cxx::__normal_iterator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData*, std::vector<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData, std::allocator<OpenXcom::ScriptProcData> > >)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0xcb1ca0 OpenXcom::ScriptGlobal::addTagType<OpenXcom::ScriptTag<OpenXcom::RuleItem, unsigned char> >()::{lambda(unsigned long long)#1}::_FUN(unsigned long long)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x71b080 OpenXcom::AlienRace::getMember[abi:cxx11](int) const
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x4e2a10 OpenXcom::BattlescapeGenerator::deployAliens(OpenXcom::AlienDeployment const*)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x4ef600 OpenXcom::BattlescapeGenerator::run()
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x672270 OpenXcom::ConfirmLandingState::btnYesClick(OpenXcom::Action*)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x59d120 OpenXcom::InteractiveSurface::handle(OpenXcom::Action*, OpenXcom::State*)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x654750 OpenXcom::State::handle(OpenXcom::Action*)
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x59a6f0 OpenXcom::Game::run()
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x41c8c0 SDL_main
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x910250 console_main
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x910370 WinMain
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   ??
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   ??
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x7ff9fa104020 BaseThreadInitThunk
[15-07-2019_01-34-21]   [FATAL]   0x7ff9fa693670 RtlUserThreadStart

Save attached.

[Hobbes]

Just uploaded a fix to v.0971 - please check if the error continues

[Jes_ibn_Jester]

I've downloaded your fix. Everything seems fine. Good job on quick fixes, thank you.

[Ajaxial92]

I seem to have run across an error, past 2 UFO's shot down upon reaching and starting the mission gives me a CTD with the following fatal error.

[19-07-2019_00-44-26]   [FATAL]   A fatal error has occurred: Unit STR_PHASER_ANDROID not found

If you wish I can attach the savegame/full log or both if required.

To clarify I'm using the V0.972 found on Mod.io

[Hobbes]

I seem to have run across an error, past 2 UFO's shot down upon reaching and starting the mission gives me a CTD with the following fatal error.

[19-07-2019_00-44-26]   [FATAL]   A fatal error has occurred: Unit STR_PHASER_ANDROID not found

If you wish I can attach the savegame/full log or both if required.

To clarify I'm using the V0.972 found on Mod.io

Fixed, I've updated v0.972. Thanks for the report!

[Ajaxial92]

Fixed, I've updated v0.972. Thanks for the report!

Thanks! My playthrough can now continue. Can confirm it works perfectly now.

[Ai Limão]

This mod is great, but is kicking my butt hence me registering to post this.

How do I identify "scientists" without psionics? Any trait I should look for? I absolutely cannot progress out of Laser/Gauss and any non-vanilla group of units will beat me into submission. I don't like spoiling myself on stuff but honestly I feel like only having the stun rod available makes this incredibly unfair, I wouldn't really complain if I had at least the small launcher available. I have made the impossible several times but none of the enemies I captured were scientists.

[Hobbes]

This mod is great, but is kicking my butt hence me registering to post this.

How do I identify "scientists" without psionics? Any trait I should look for? I absolutely cannot progress out of Laser/Gauss and any non-vanilla group of units will beat me into submission. I don't like spoiling myself on stuff but honestly I feel like only having the stun rod available makes this incredibly unfair, I wouldn't really complain if I had at least the small launcher available. I have made the impossible several times but none of the enemies I captured were scientists.

A couple of tips:
Scientists only appear in Harvester, Abductor and LabShip UFOs, and only in missions with Sectoids, Floaters, Spacefarers, Snakemen, Gazers or Waspites. Harvesters and Abductors are the only Medium UFOs.
The best way is simply to stun every alien inside the UFO, and then move on top of their unconscious bodies. Go to inventory and when you put the cursor on top of the bodies it will display the type (and rank) of alien.
Finally, as the months progress there will other missions to unlock Elerium and advanced weapons that don't require capturing aliens, if you haven't unlock those techs yet. But you'll need to detect special 'bases' around the world.