[OLD] Old OXCE+ discussion thread

[ivandogovich]

So Solar has his own wish list.  When I thought of something today I wondered if you had looked into it, so I thought I'd ask here.

I had a crackdown earlier, and had many defenses fire and hit the Cruiser that was assaulting.  Of course they weren't enough, so straight into the hideout defense battle.  I chose not to fight this with three gals there and reloaded to prep for it.

But what I got to thinking was, "Has Meridian taken a look at the ability to apply damages on an assaulting craft to minimize the number of assaulters?"

I remember that there have been discussions with the devs on this, and my take away was that it seemingly was too hard to do.  This may be the case, I'm not sure.

I'd like to ask how "damaged UFOs" spawn dead enemy units, and wonder if this same process could be applied to the assaulting party. 

One thought is reduce it by the same percentage of damage inflicted on it.

Anyway, thought I'd ask if you have looked at it.  Sorry if you did and I don't remember.  Feel free to tell me that its just too hard to do.  
Thanks for all the amazing improvements you have made for this game on top of being such an entertaining video producer and excellent player!

[Meridian]

So Solar has his own wish list.

You've more than deserved the right for your own wishlist too btw.

When I thought of something today I wondered if you had looked into it, so I thought I'd ask here.

I had a crackdown earlier, and had many defenses fire and hit the Cruiser that was assaulting.  Of course they weren't enough, so straight into the hideout defense battle.  I chose not to fight this with three gals there and reloaded to prep for it.

But what I got to thinking was, "Has Meridian taken a look at the ability to apply damages on an assaulting craft to minimize the number of assaulters?"

No, Meridian doesn't implement features that are a disadvantage to the poor aliens... unless specifically asked for.

I remember that there have been discussions with the devs on this, and my take away was that it seemingly was too hard to do.  This may be the case, I'm not sure.

I'd like to ask how "damaged UFOs" spawn dead enemy units, and wonder if this same process could be applied to the assaulting party. 

That's pretty easy. All enemy units are first spawned alive (remember, game would crash, if you just spawned a corpse). When a UFO crashes, there is a 75% chance for each power source to explode violently. These explosions are the cause of all pre-battle deaths.

One thought is reduce it by the same percentage of damage inflicted on it.

Anyway, thought I'd ask if you have looked at it.  Sorry if you did and I don't remember.  Feel free to tell me that its just too hard to do.  

It's not hard to implement, actually it is pretty easy. But deep inside you too want aliens to have a fair chance Your troops are also not killed, even if your craft survives with just 1%.

Thanks for all the amazing improvements you have made for this game on top of being such an entertaining video producer and excellent player!

Oh you! Now I'm blushing like a 13-year old before the first kiss.

[Solarius Scorch]

Yes, I fully agree with Meridian: crew losses on assault would not only depower the enemy, but would do so in a bad way. In early game you have very little AA power, so there wouldn't be much losses; on the other hand, later in the game, hideout defences would become easier, because even if you don't destroy the UFO, you reduce its crew. I don't think it's good difficulty curve.

[legionof1]

Difficulty curvatures aside don't mess with the one the best battles in the game. Base defense is one of the few times the tactical aspect feels like more like a battle and not a multiple hour chess match with a retard. Good play is still rewarding but the AI dosen't lose 50% of its forces without contest. Also pressure is on not to fuck up so you feel each mistake more.

[Dioxine]

But what I got to thinking was, "Has Meridian taken a look at the ability to apply damages on an assaulting craft to minimize the number of assaulters?"

I remember that there have been discussions with the devs on this, and my take away was that it seemingly was too hard to do.  This may be the case, I'm not sure.

This wouldn't be very realistic. Either the landing craft survives the barrage and lands with little losses (accounted for by the RNG unless you play Jack Sparrow which isn't a very fair diff level), or it does crash and cannot complete the mission.
I went through major pains to make this whole affair more fun for the player, hence multiple types of attacking craft (so light defences can stop some of them), various small bonuses for building defences etc. Not saying it's a reason to stop innovation, but I don't like this particular solution. To make defences matter more, I'd rather see them capable of engaging enemy crafts mid-air, instead of serving as point-defence only.

[Surrealistik]

Difficulty curvatures aside don't mess with the one the best battles in the game. Base defense is one of the few times the tactical aspect feels like more like a battle and not a multiple hour chess match with a retard. Good play is still rewarding but the AI dosen't lose 50% of its forces without contest. Also pressure is on not to fuck up so you feel each mistake more.

Really?

Between a flame pit choke and hyperwave facing said choke (prevents them from routing through the ventilation system and gives you a door to peekaboo a rotation of snipers/bombardiers out from at the main level), plus small launchers + mininukes/fireball launchers/misc aoe weapon + landmines + smoke + any high powered sniping weapon with an accurate aimed shot, I never found it to be a real source of casualties when prepared with proper armaments.

I normally have my dudes destroy all the access lift doors in their LoF so they can shoot AoEs past that into the Hangar while behind an oppressive death curtain of mines, fire, smoke and reaction fire.

Invading the hangar when the dust has settled is probably the most dangerous thing, but as long as you don't overextend, all is well. The worst parts are when you're forced to rely on reaction fire during the approach, because even after you've laid waste and made a friend of horror and mortal terror, sometimes the RNG just doesn't work out and they conquer their fear to come at you bro.

[Meridian]

It's also about how you (want to) play.
Blowing everything up is a solution... but not everyone finds it enjoyable.

Reading through your post, you'd probably enjoy hellrazor's Hardmode more than Piratez... give it a try if you haven't already.

[Dioxine]

  + Added ability to select pilots from crew manually

And what of my carefully prepared deployment maps? Now pilots will spawn in completely random places instead of the cockpit

[Meridian]

And what of my carefully prepared deployment maps? Now pilots will spawn in completely random places instead of the cockpit

I will put my pilots on the bottom of the list 
The lore-haters and constant-whiners can have them in the middle.

EDIT: or I can make it a user option... I guess people (incl. me) will get sick of manual assignment eventually

[Dioxine]

EDIT: or I can make it a user option... I guess people (incl. me) will get sick of manual assignment eventually

I'm already sick of it No, it's a good option, but auto-filling was much quicker. And allowed to use sorting tools on the crew list. Anyway... for the players, it's mostly a story for the next mod update

[Arthanor]

A quick request: When sorting, it sorts with the highest stat at the bottom. That works well if you want rookies out first and vets out last, but in Piratez I like to have high reactions out first (the reaction balance in Piratez favors the gals and you can actually step out without getting reaction shots with good gals).

So I was wondering if it would be possible implement something like:
Select a sorting for the first time -> sort with highest stat at the bottom
Select the same sorting again -> sort with highest stat up top
Select the same sorting a 3rd time -> flip again, etc
Select another sorting for the first time -> sort with highest stat at the bottom
Select that one again -> flp, etc

Thanks! And for all the other cool features

[The Think Tank]

So, pardon my ignorance Meridian, but for downloading these additions do I just go to the source code and download it from there (and hopefully follow some instructions on how to integrate it into my game) or am I missing something?

[Meridian]

A quick request: When sorting, it sorts with the highest stat at the bottom. That works well if you want rookies out first and vets out last, but in Piratez I like to have high reactions out first (the reaction balance in Piratez favors the gals and you can actually step out without getting reaction shots with good gals).

How about:
1. click = sort ASC
2. shift+click = sort DESC
3. ctrl+click = don't sort, just show the stats... I use this one a lot lately

So, pardon my ignorance Meridian, but for downloading these additions do I just go to the source code and download it from there (and hopefully follow some instructions on how to integrate it into my game) or am I missing something?

No pardon needed, I'm always happy when someone new shows interest.

Can I ask two questions first, so that I don't have to write a really long answer?

1. are you using windows or linux? or something else?

2. what do you want to play with OXCE+?
a/ x-piratez
b/ x-com files
c/ vanilla xcom (with a few small mods)
d/ vanilla tftd
e/ a bigger vanilla-based mod (e.g. Hardmode, Area 51, XOps's mod, robin's mod, ...)

[Arthanor]

How about:
1. click = sort ASC
2. shift+click = sort DESC
3. ctrl+click = don't sort, just show the stats... I use this one a lot

What? That's already in? My god! It's like a treasure hunt thanks!

[Arthanor]

I just tried and the ctrl-click works, but not the shift-click.

I guess you were suggesting an alternative way to implement it? Yes, that'd work too!