aliens

Author Topic: Re: The X-Com Files - 3.5: Whispers In The Dark  (Read 2445892 times)

Offline The Doer of Stuff

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3465 on: April 13, 2020, 02:08:00 am »
In 1.32, I still need "Clinic Logs" to research Alien Infiltration-Clones,  which I need to progress along the alien embassy thing. I've stormed my third hybrid clinic, and while I've gotten a lot of refined humans and disguise machines and kidnapped citizens, no clinic logs. Do you get them somewhere else, or is there something you need to do with the clinic to prep them so that they yield clinic logs? Or have I simply gotten unlucky in loot draws?

Offline Bobit

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3466 on: April 13, 2020, 02:26:11 am »
Maybe chupas are likely to be missed in close-quarters with 122% accuracy because there is a voxel near their center-of-mass voxel which is empty. Think about it, they have that arching form, independent legs. Some other observations:

The stats here seem to suggest to me that cover and size will only be effective at blocking/dodging misses. Each deviation causes 0.08 "max deviation" so real voxel deviation, divided by 2 since it's split between negative and positive. In order for 0-10 "grazes" to cover the whole  block, you would have to go to about 50 tiles, so that 5*50*0.04 = 10. Half the block might be more reasonable, at 25 tiles, but that's still pretty crazy range for just a 10% reduction. Theoretically 10% can be noticeable with machine guns that only have 10% CTH anyways.

However chance to roll a miss but hit anyway is significant at most ranges. With average "max deviation of 4",  which again is really 2 due to the positive-negative split, at 8 tiles range you still have a 1/3rd chance to hit the target tile if you miss. And cover/size is totally effective at stopping that, since it can hit any voxel on the tile. So oddly enough cover is probably better for close range.

All of this is false if you have cover that's one voxel away from your center of mass though, because then it will block 33% of a hit and 50% of a miss. That's just very rare. Less rare when you kneel below cover that then rises above your gun. On that note, do aliens still try to shoot if they have no LoF to the center of mass? You know, a player can get the "No line of fire!" message but know it's wrong and choose to shoot anyways, can the aliens? I doubt it, but if so cover could be broken, and there was one mission in XCF where I felt like the cover was blocking the vast majority of the shots.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2020, 04:11:36 pm by Bobit »

Offline Thunderwing280

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3467 on: April 13, 2020, 02:58:02 pm »
In 1.32, I still need "Clinic Logs" to research Alien Infiltration-Clones,  which I need to progress along the alien embassy thing. I've stormed my third hybrid clinic, and while I've gotten a lot of refined humans and disguise machines and kidnapped citizens, no clinic logs. Do you get them somewhere else, or is there something you need to do with the clinic to prep them so that they yield clinic logs? Or have I simply gotten unlucky in loot draws?
Yeah I remember talking about this a while ago, unfortunately you just have to keep doing the missions until you get them, just try not to damage the building so they won't get destroyed is the best advice sadly.

Offline Mr. Mister

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3468 on: April 13, 2020, 09:46:31 pm »
Maybe chupas are likely to be missed in close-quarters with 122% accuracy because there is a voxel near their center-of-mass voxel which is empty. Think about it, they have that arching form, independent legs.

Honestly if that's the reason it's such bullshit that I'm not even mad, but impressed, and would want a relevant mention in their UFOpedia entry.

Offline vadracas

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3469 on: April 13, 2020, 10:51:26 pm »
Maybe in their autopsy entry, something like "This creature appears to have adapted to hide where it's body really is, allowing our soldiers to think they hit it but actually miss."

Offline Meridian

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3470 on: April 13, 2020, 11:09:37 pm »
This is how the game sees a chupacabra in XCF 1.3... purple thing.

Unless there are more chupacabras, I don't see any "missing voxel" in the centre of mass.

PS: on the second screenshot, for comparison, an agent in orange color
« Last Edit: April 13, 2020, 11:11:39 pm by Meridian »

Offline Bobit

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3471 on: April 14, 2020, 01:50:23 am »
Eh? I thought the voxels were sprite-based? Only for objects and not units?

Online Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3472 on: April 14, 2020, 03:38:34 pm »
Eh? I thought the voxels were sprite-based? Only for objects and not units?

Yes, exactly.
All units are cylinders with defined height. Also, we have small cylinders for targets like Sectoids (or chupas), medium for humans, large for things like Mutons or powered armours.
(Technically we could select a different shape to represent a unit, but it will still be a 2D shape with added height; so instead of a circle you could select a square or something. But it would cause weird effects without giving any real advantages.)

Offline The Doer of Stuff

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3473 on: April 16, 2020, 06:00:50 am »
Does XCF retain the "Snakemen never have medics"  that vanilla X-Com has? If so, is it possible to research Snakeman Medics the tech?

Online Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3474 on: April 16, 2020, 05:07:59 pm »
Does XCF retain the "Snakemen never have medics"  that vanilla X-Com has? If so, is it possible to research Snakeman Medics the tech?

No, there are no Snakeman Medics in XCF, and no associated research.

Offline Alex_D

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3475 on: April 20, 2020, 04:07:19 pm »
I am in month 66 (June 2002), all research available researched (except optional research), nearly 4 Billion in the bank, and total air superiority around the globe.

Month after month, there are UFOs interceptions, and the other odd mission.

What are the chances to actually advance the campaign in a given month? I attached the game save for reference.

Offline X-Man

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3476 on: April 21, 2020, 07:00:09 am »
I am in month 66 (June 2002), all research available researched (except optional research), nearly 4 Billion in the bank, and total air superiority around the globe.

Month after month, there are UFOs interceptions, and the other odd mission.

What are the chances to actually advance the campaign in a given month? I attached the game save for reference.

Didn't you unlock missions on the Moon?
« Last Edit: April 21, 2020, 12:26:05 pm by X-Man »

Offline Alex_D

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3477 on: April 21, 2020, 03:49:23 pm »
Didn't you unlock missions on the Moon?

That's what I thought. But after getting a couple of missions (helping MAGMA Cosmonauts, I think), nothing happened after that. And the stunned enemies were not recoverable.

I have updated the mod mid-campaign. I could have broken something.

Offline X-Man

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3478 on: April 21, 2020, 03:53:23 pm »
That's what I thought. But after getting a couple of missions (helping MAGMA Cosmonauts, I think), nothing happened after that. And the stunned enemies were not recoverable.

I have updated the mod mid-campaign. I could have broken something.

You need to interrogate ethereal-commander to start Moon arc of main quest. And build a satellite, of course.
Members of Black Sun cannot be interrogated, cuz this arc is unfinished yet...
« Last Edit: April 21, 2020, 04:04:32 pm by X-Man »

Offline Alex_D

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Re: The X-Com Files - 1.3: Sanity Check
« Reply #3479 on: April 21, 2020, 04:53:39 pm »
Oh! The elusive Ethereal Commander. I thought I captured one. Checking my save, it seems one of my soldiers killed one.

I guess I have to wait for a Battleship full of Ethereals for him(her/it) to show up again.