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

[Juku121]

Indeed. But remember that a) while 120% damage is pretty strong in pushing damage over the armour's threshold, it's not that much more in absolute terms, which is what armour-dissolving works with, and b) most other similar-tier armours (including your other top option, the Cyber Armor) are strong against plasma.

[zx_79]

I`d really appreciate if someone explained what "Radius effectiveness" is. My initial guess was that it replaces the vanilla "10-damage-per-square" dropoff for explosives, but then I saw the "Radius reduction" so I guess that guess was wrong.

As a side note, MHO is that Thanatonautian Manus from recent update is waay OP - when used by Psi-capable Agent, it surpasses even the Plasma Destroyer given Psi damage type and general armor ineffectiveness against it, while being much more accessible to use through research. I`d say it needs about an order of magnitude of nerfing, to do 10% damage to health and 100% to morale.

Also, all three anti-ghost weapons would really benefit if manufacturing them *and* their ammo was possible, either directly or after additional research, using Ectoplasm as a material requirement.

[Juku121]

My understanding is that it's a parameter for calculating the radius itself, whereas the 10-damage thing is about the damage within the radius. I don't know the exact calculations and am too lazy to go digging for them right now.

[Chuckebaby]

Been really enjoying the latest version of this. Have a good feeling I'm going to have to restart and play again though, I'm getting a lot of -300 points pop up messages. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, looks like I'll have to dig deeper into what I'm doing wrong.

Great ideas and great game play.

[Mrvex]

Been really enjoying the latest version of this. Have a good feeling I'm going to have to restart and play again though, I'm getting a lot of -300 points pop up messages. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, looks like I'll have to dig deeper into what I'm doing wrong.

Great ideas and great game play.

Aside from RNG or by sharing tech to MAGMA, event penalties occur for slacking off and making missions expire, or having active story arcs you havent resolved yet.

[Chuckebaby]

Aside from RNG or by sharing tech to MAGMA, event penalties occur for slacking off and making missions expire, or having active story arcs you havent resolved yet.

Thank you for the info.
Will the game still end (like X com) with 2 consecutive months of poor ratings ?

I also haven't figured out a way to increase research yet. Probably holding me back. Need more lab space but it looks like only one X com HQ is available per base so far. Maybe I need to create multiple bases.

[Mrvex]

Thank you for the info.
Will the game still end (like X com) with 2 consecutive months of poor ratings ?

I also haven't figured out a way to increase research yet. Probably holding me back. Need more lab space but it looks like only one X com HQ is available per base so far. Maybe I need to create multiple bases.

Yeah, 2 months in a row means game over. You will unlock better labs (Like intel lab), your number of scientist will grow but it will take some time and for some time, it will be quite gradual (Like +5 scientists).
Having more than 1 base will be a dream till you get to promo 3, given you wont be able to finance 2 functional bases without the promo 3 income boost and UFO loot selling.

[Juku121]

I thought Medicine -> Biolab was the meta for fastest research?

Having more than 1 base will be a dream till you get to promo 3, given you wont be able to finance 2 functional bases without the promo 3 income boost and UFO loot selling.

Promo III has an income boost? Nobody told me...

And, uh, if you wait until the invasion starts and UFO loot becomes a regular thing before creating more than one base, I'd say you've lost already. You want new bases ASAP, even if they're not full-fledged, since every one of them can have a new lab and lab space is at a premium. Not to mention transport coverage for faster transports, whether directly or via transferring, since your slow-ass two- and four-man teams stop cutting it long before the invasion itself comes along.

[AmanitaVerna]

Also you need a backup base in case the aliens get mad at you for shooting down their UFOs, and send a small army to destroy whatever base you have been launching your missions from. (They hit two of my bases in 1999, and I didn't yet have the capability to prevent them from finding my bases, or to repel their attacks)

[Chuckebaby]

Also kudos to the music track. Great work. Who did this ?
I'm a musician and also a mastering engineer. Always willing to help when it comes to audio if ever needed.
The music track in this game is very well done.
It has a vanilla feel to it (the original game) but also totally different. Great work.

[krautbernd]

Also kudos to the music track. Great work. Who did this ?

Credits are in the readme:

GMGEO3/GMSTORY: Panzerschlag
GMGEO4: Strategist
GMGEO5: Vanilla AGA version of UFO: Enemy Unknown

[Dadimus_Maximus]

Yeah I usually try to get my second base up by late 1997 or early 1998, just so I can actually reach more missions with the Helicopter or Dragonfly for the several months I'm forced to use them.

[superpippo90]

Been really enjoying the latest version of this. Have a good feeling I'm going to have to restart and play again though, I'm getting a lot of -300 points pop up messages. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, looks like I'll have to dig deeper into what I'm doing wrong.

Great ideas and great game play.

It happened to me on my first game with this new version (I had between -2000 and -2500 points for events alone in the first 21 days). I don't know if it's relevant, but I didn't have the latest version of OXCE, if I was you I would check that.

[Chuckebaby]

It happened to me on my first game with this new version (I had between -2000 and -2500 points for events alone in the first 21 days). I don't know if it's relevant, but I didn't have the latest version of OXCE, if I was you I would check that.

Great point.
When I tried to install this latest version of x com files, i got the message when starting "I should update OXCE to 7.7". So I did.
The game opened with no further message. After seeing your comment, I checked again and I was using 7.1. Not even sure how that's possible but I'm guessing it is something I did on my end. I just updated again to 7.7 and I'm still getting a lot of those -300 points warning with my saved games.

I'm going to restart a new game.

[AmanitaVerna]

Given that each month's events are generated and scheduled for the entire month at the very start of the month, it sounds like the problem would have to be that these events are sometimes being generated in large quantities on day 1 before you have had time to do anything, and if you can't get enough points to outweigh them in your first month by doing missions, collecting "artifacts," and doing research, then the council will be very cross with you. (And then your game ends if it happens again in your second month)

I didn't run into this problem when I played through the early game, but I started playing my current game something like a year and a half ago (and I've updated both OXCE and the X-Com Files many times since then), and I know changes have been made to the early game since then.