Re: The X-Com Files - 3.5: Whispers In The Dark

[Solarius Scorch]

Honestly, show me a game that doesn't do this after running 8+ hours straight.

[krautbernd]

Honestly, show me a game that doesn't do this after running 8+ hours straight.

I'm willing to take you up on that if you agree to give those reapers a bigger enclosure 

[Solarius Scorch]

I'm willing to take you up on that if you agree to give those reapers a bigger enclosure 

Minesweeper doesn't count.

[krautbernd]

Minesweeper doesn't count.

 

On a totally unrelated note, i took a stab at rewriting the alien alloys ufopedia entry, since the "tritanium-class of materials"-part felt kind of arbitrary:

"Alien craft are constructed from special alloys with unique properties. We have dubbed this new material 'Tritanium', as it is structurally similar to commercially available titanium alloys. It is unique in that it exhibits shape memory and superelasticity effects while being more durable than any other material known to science. Simply put, it is a self-healing superalloy. It is extremely light and resistant to damage, and can be molded by electro-magnetic methods. This material can be reproduced and used in many kinds of manufacturing processes."

Any thoughts?

[zetzet13]

In my humble opinion the text is very nice.

Maybe one could add to the ending "...although we lack the necessary techniques for precise shaping." to hint at further technologies which will be researchable later on.

[krautbernd]

Researching alloys doesn't unlock alloy manufacturing, revised the text accordingly:

"Alien craft are constructed from special alloys with unique properties. We have dubbed this new material 'Tritanium', as it is structurally similar to commercially available titanium alloys. It is unique in that it exhibits shape memory and superelasticity effects while being more durable than any other material known to science. Simply put, it is a self-healing superalloy. It is extremely light and resistant to damage, and can be molded by electro-magnetic methods. We can now rework existing samples, but more research is needed before we can reproduce the material ourselves.

I'd like to add a passage about precise shaping, but i'm running out of space. Maybe replace "We can now rework existing samples" by "We can now rework existing samples to a limited extent"? Nope, too long.

[Solarius Scorch]

No, it's not because of similarity to titanium alloys... It's because that's how this class of materials called in sci-fi.

And the properties you described indeed apply to some types of tritanium... But others are different.

[krautbernd]

I know that Tritanium is a sci-fi staple (in Star Trek for example) - but is it an actual material in the x-com universe? The entry mentions tritanium-class, like it is a pre-existing alloy, but alien alloys seem to be the only example in-universe. If tritanium (or tritanium-like materials) are already known, why do we need to research alien alloys to manufacture and engineer them? Why is the material called Tritanium when there's a whole class of Tritanium-like materials?


The "shape memory and self-healing properties"-part is a nod to the material found in the alleged Roswell incident, which was decribed to have similar properties - extremely durable, light and that it would always resume it's original shape after being deformed.

[Solarius Scorch]

I know that Tritanium is a sci-fi staple (in Star Trek for example) - but is it an actual material in the x-com universe? The entry mentions tritanium-class, like it is a pre-existing alloy, but alien alloys seem to be the only example in-universe. If tritanium (or tritanium-like materials) are already known, why do we need to research alien alloys to manufacture and engineer them? Why is the material called Tritanium when there's a whole class of Tritanium-like materials?

Sorry, what I meant to say was that it this class of material exists in-universe as a concept, but not in reality (at least in a meaningful/practical way). So after examining the Alien Alloys the engineers are like, "hey, this stuff we dreamed of actually exists!"

The "shape memory and self-healing properties"-part is a nod to the material found in the alleged Roswell incident, which was decribed to have similar properties - extremely durable, light and that it would always resume it's original shape after being deformed.

OK, I haven't heard this piece of UFO lore. I guess it is fine, it's no living metal.
Still, I'd much rather add a new article than modify the old one... The main reason is to have mercy on translators...

[The_Funktasm]

I need to start a game of this both to learn and to have fun.

On a side note though, have you heard of "Kamen Rider Amazons"? It and its squad of dangerous entity bounty hunters reminded me of xcom and got me playing it again. Not sure if it'd provide any ideas but the main plot involves genetically augmented beastmen escaping from a lab and becoming quasi-cryptids.

In ANY case...


Elwood:"There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses."

[krautbernd]

Still, I'd much rather add a new article than modify the old one... The main reason is to have mercy on translators...

I can totally understand that, i just thought i'd share some of the stuff i come up with. I have a background in material science and tried to find some "real-world" analogue that would fit the description of alien alloys (both in-universe as well as what's been reported in alleged UFO cases). Seeing how tritanium has it's origin in titanium alloys being used in high-tech and aerospace applications (as in, it's titanium but better), i thought it would be fitting to base it on those - similar to how alien engineering mentions that alien devices used by cults use common electronic parts, but according to very different rules of logic.

You might want to modify the article regardless, as it mentions that alloys can be reproduced and reformed - which isn't possible until you research alloy engineering and munitions.

[Solarius Scorch]

On a side note though, have you heard of "Kamen Rider Amazons"?[/color]

Sadly, no... But I think Kamen Rider was a sentai show? (Never watched any sentai.)

Elwood:"There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses."

I think you understand this mod.

I can totally understand that, i just thought i'd share some of the stuff i come up with. I have a background in material science and tried to find some "real-world" analogue that would fit the description of alien alloys (both in-universe as well as what's been reported in alleged UFO cases). Seeing how tritanium has it's origin in titanium alloys being used in high-tech and aerospace applications (as in, it's titanium but better), i thought it would be fitting to base it on those - similar to how alien engineering mentions that alien devices used by cults use common electronic parts, but according to very different rules of logic.

You might want to modify the article regardless, as it mentions that alloys can be reproduced and reformed - which isn't possible until you research alloy engineering and munitions.

Then how about this:

"Alien craft are constructed from special alloys with unique properties, placing them in the 'Tritanium' class of materials, previously thought to be only theoretical. They are extremely light and durable, and can be molded by electro-magnetic methods. When desired, they can exhibit shape memory and superelasticity effects while being more durable than any other material known to science - basically a a self-healing superalloy. This material can be reproduced and used in many kinds of manufacturing processes."

[krautbernd]

TBH i think either is fine. I rewrote the article for my own enjoyment and i don't want to "pressure" you into changing stuff that you're ok with. It's your mod. In the end it's bogus science anyway
This might indded be better suited for a seperate lore article/report, given the constraints of ufopedia articles in general.

Again, what might need to be changed (or at least clarified) is that researching alien alloys does not unlock alloy manufacturing. The article states that the material "can be reproduced" (which is verbatim from the original Ufopedia entry), but in contrast to vanilla XCOM it doesn't unlock alloy manufacturing.


BTW, does the mod replace or modify palettes used in the ufopedia articles? Right now i am trying to modify the background image (BACK08.SCR), and i've noticed that the color of the buttons and the upper left box (which contains the name) is subtely different when compared to vanilla openxcom:


This is probably a dumb question, i still have to figure out how openxcom handles this whole "indexed images"-thing.

[Solarius Scorch]

OK, good point. I will do that. Thanks!

[krautbernd]

BTW, have you thought about rebalancing the helicopter vs. the Osprey? The major advantage the Osprey has in real life over conventional helicopters is speed and range. Speedwise it's ok (between the helicopter and the Dragonfly), but the range is the opposite of what i would expect, seeing how the Osprey is also capable of aerial refueling.