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

[The Grand Kerbal]

I am very excited for this update to come out. Particularly with the new soldier transformations that comes with it. Do you have any kind of ETA for when you plan on releasing this patch, or is it still too far to tell?

[Solarius Scorch]

I am very excited for this update to come out. Particularly with the new soldier transformations that comes with it. Do you have any kind of ETA for when you plan on releasing this patch, or is it still too far to tell?

I'm mostly done, but there's still at least one mission I need to finish, and ideas are boiling in my head constantly, so we'll see... I'm hoping to be done by the end of this week, but it's not guaranteed.

Anyway, you can always download the current version from https://github.com/SolariusScorch/XComFiles/archive/refs/heads/master.zip - it's fully functional most of the time.

And more screens.

[psavola]

I shifted from 2.9 to 3.0-snap when it branched, and have updated a number of times as new updates have been added. It has been working like a charm. If you're curious of the new shiny things, I can't think of any reason why one couldn't start a new campaign already.

[The Grand Kerbal]

Awesome, really looking forward to the release of 3.0 then. Thanks for the info

[Solarius Scorch]

Finally, version 3.0 has been released.

- New advanced agent types: Spartan, Infernal.
- New UFOs: MiB Armory Ship (map by Civilian, slightly altered), MiB Escort Ship (map by Wolverin), MiB Freight Ship (map by Wolverin, altered).
- New missions: Reclamation of Aether Laboratory (by CosmicAfro), MiB Tritanium Ammo Shipment, MiB Freight, Sleep Wave Emitter.
- New HWP armor: Advanced Scout Drone.
- New unit: Reclamation of Aether Master (mostly by CosmicAfro).
- New weapons: Scoped Hunting Rifle, Dart Musket.
- New items: MiB Crate (sprite by Brain_322), Tritanium Ammo Supply Crate (and associated changes for both), Cyber Eye, Cyber Heart, Cyber Skin, Hormone Regulator, Magnetokinetic Gear, Sectopod Parts, Hyperstims, Advanced Healing Spray (graphics collab with Brain; old item renamed to Improved Healing Spray), Advanced Repair Kit Charge.
- New facility: Advanced Sick Bay (by Krautbernd, sprite by Brain_322).
- New transformation for all animals: Predator.
- New Ufopaedia section: Trainings & Augmentations.
- New manufacturing categories: Prisoners, Disassembly.
- New agent names.
- New hybrid names.
- New dog names (Korean).
- New technologies: Advanced Optics, Cyberoptics, Tissue Composites, Advanced Micromechanics, Alien Implants, Hypermetabolism, Sectopod Adaptation.
- New events: Untangling the Red Tape, Illegal Trade Foiled, MiB Tritanium Ammo Shipment, Serpentine Nest.
- Brought back the "Mysterious Parcel from Syndicate" event.
- Ensured that OXCE experience award system is used.
- Overhauled manufacturing categories.
- Decreased agents' hiring costs.
- Rebalanced and expanded Kyberi (further upgrades).
- Large Living Quarters hold 250 people.
- Reworked Sectopod tech tree.
- Cult Arms Dealers path can be refused.
- Share Tritanium Ammo Tech comes earlier, but tritanium clips from M.A.G.M.A. have limited stocks.
- Tritanium Cannon comes earlier and must be manufactured.
- Extended Illegal Requisition Files list.
- Meridian Hunting is now a one-time mission.
- David Vincent's Secret Shelter now uses reinforcements rules.
- Changed some ranks from Terrorist to Soldier.
- Dream creatures (including X-Com) are more resistant to Chemical damage.
- Color-coded Chasers (by 8mono).
- Improved Giant Beetle paperdoll (by Mikkoi).
- Proper Shadowbat Autopsy pic.
- Advanced drone bays can be built on earlier ones.
- Urban and Urban Deco terrains use extended roads.
- Sliding movement tweaks (by Dioxine).
- Island terrain values fixed (by Dioxine).
- Fixed Ion Beam Acceleration prerequisites.
- Fixed a hole in the Skyraider.
- Fixed strings in the Prisoner Overview.
- Fixed Interceptor article.
- Fixed some ghost regions.
- Fixed Black Lotus post-HQ event script.
- Fixed some tanks' availability on some missions.
- Minor fixes.

It's a round number, and I really wanted to do this number justice. Hopefully I succeeded.

[Vakrug]

- David Vincent's Secret Shelter now uses reinforcements rules.

Oh, great! This mission was a hell earlier, considering how early it spawns, and now with unspecified amount of reinforcements...  :'(

- Dream creatures (including X-Com) are more resistant to Chemical damage.

The only mission where Dagon's Staff was useful...

[psavola]

Oh, great! This mission was a hell earlier, considering how early it spawns, and now with unspecified amount of reinforcements...  :'(

It might depend on the advancement stage where you complete this mission (I researched MIB tech late, because it was so expensive relatively to the rest), but when playing 3.0-snap I found this mission to be relatively easy (AFAIR). Just keep your guys inside the house in specifically selected spots where they can't hit you from the outside at least on their turn, and you can snipe them out from the house. Making brief visits on the roof is also great for some sniping or throwing explosives. It gets a bit trickier if and when you want to catch some of the enemies alive.

[Solarius Scorch]

Oh, great! This mission was a hell earlier, considering how early it spawns, and now with unspecified amount of reinforcements...  :'

There are no extra reinforcements, only the mechanics changed. In fact it's marginally easier, since most troops arrive after turn 1.

(The only mission where Dagon's Staff was useful...

Your definition of "useful" is rather controversial.

[Raptor29a]

Finally, version 3.0 has been released.
- New transformation for all animals: Predator.

-Sweet! Time to dust off the old X-Rat in storage and send him on a mission. 2 Strength + 2 bonus strength = 4
Cutting damage being 5+ (5×Strength)...
can now be 25 the same as a Combat Knife!

[MoonKid]

Might it be OK just to play with my current xfiles 2.* save game?
Or should I totaly restart for a better experience?

[Vakrug]

Your definition of "useful" is rather controversial.

Is it because there are better items to take into a dream, or the stuff is more useful elsewhere?

Might it be OK just to play with my current xfiles 2.* save game?
Or should I totaly restart for a better experience?

It's a round number, and I really wanted to do this number justice. Hopefully I succeeded.

Well, you see, application versioning convention suggests that version 3.0 should be incompatible with 2.x. You can try to open your 2.9 save inside 3.0, but Solarius will be upset, because "number was not justified"... 

[psavola]

Might it be OK just to play with my current xfiles 2.* save game?
Or should I totaly restart for a better experience?

I've played 2.8, 2.9 and 3.0 snapshots from github using the same saves. It has worked just fine.

I suppose you might consider restarting at least if you're far along and have already transformed your best soldiers and would rather try the new transformation (of which spartanism is IMHO really good).

[Solarius Scorch]

Might it be OK just to play with my current xfiles 2.* save game?
Or should I totaly restart for a better experience?

You can continue your old campaign with no problems.

Is it because there are better items to take into a dream, or the stuff is more useful elsewhere?

I think it's a rather useful weapon, if situational.

And it made all other weapons irrelevant in Dreamlands.

Well, you see, application versioning convention suggests that version 3.0 should be incompatible with 2.x. You can try to open your 2.9 save inside 3.0, but Solarius will be upset, because "number was not justified"... 

What the heck are you implying again? Cut down on this stealth aggression please, it's getting on my nerves and overall not very friendly.

I suppose you might consider restarting at least if you're far along and have already transformed your best soldiers and would rather try the new transformation (of which spartanism is IMHO really good).

Yeah, if you've kyberized all your people, then you won't be able to try the new transformations.

BTW, I'm preparing a bugfix release. It's nothing major, there are no major glitches, just some minor stuff like some custom attack names in Pedia. Tomorrow, probably (I want to watit a bit more for bug reports).

EDIT:

Bugfix version 3.0.1 has been released.

- Added Ufopaedia entry for Betarian Zapper and Vampire Bite.
- Live Sectopod research needed for Sectopod adaptation.
- Customized attack names in the Ufopaedia.
- Fixed Ninja Arts's category in the Ufopaedia.
- Minor fixes.

[psavola]

Tried a new game. If I counted it right, there 23 missions spawned in January (and I think all of them involve a significant despawn penalty). Even if you're were constantly running at them with two (or at the end of the month, three) public cars, it would be essentially impossible to deal with all of them (not to mention that many of them would rather require a van to be safe(r) or save scumming). I wonder if this is really the right amount of events, especially in the early game? Four cult apprehension missions from Red Dawn alone in the first month? Even if the amount was halved there would still be a lot of work to do. (And given the mortality rate of agents in the early game, you might expect to lose 10-20 agents in the first months in these missions.)

- "gameTime: 1997-01-03 10:00:00 siteId: 1 siteType: STR_DEAD_CATTLE race: STR_FARMER region: STR_CENTRAL_ASIA deployment: STR_DEAD_CATTLE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-03 19:30:00 siteId: 1 siteType: STR_CROP_CIRCLES race: STR_FARMER region: STR_NORTH_AFRICA deployment: STR_CROP_CIRCLES ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-04 19:00:00 siteId: 2 siteType: STR_DEAD_CATTLE race: STR_FARMER region: STR_SIBERIA deployment: STR_DEAD_CATTLE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-05 21:00:00 siteId: 1 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_ZSRR region: STR_NORTH_AFRICA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-08 09:30:00 siteId: 2 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_CHURCH_OF_DAGON region: STR_NORTH_AFRICA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-09 05:30:00 siteId: 3 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_BLACK_LOTUS region: STR_PACIFIC...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-09 09:30:00 siteId: 4 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_ZSRR region: STR_ARCTIC...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-09 17:30:00 siteId: 1 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_GIANT_SPIDER region: STR_SOUTH_AMERICA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_FEW_DESERT ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-10 00:30:00 siteId: 2 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_GIANT_RAT region: STR_NORTH_AMERICA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_SINGLE_JUNGLE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-11 02:30:00 siteId: 5 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_CHURCH_OF_DAGON region: STR_EUROPE...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-11 03:00:00 siteId: 3 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_MONGORN region: STR_ARCTIC deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_FEW_COLD ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-13 19:00:00 siteId: 6 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_ZSRR region: STR_SIBERIA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-14 02:00:00 siteId: 3 siteType: STR_DEAD_CATTLE race: STR_FARMER region: STR_NORTH_AFRICA deployment: STR_DEAD_CATTLE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-14 19:00:00 siteId: 7 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_EXALT region: STR_SOUTH_AMERICA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-19 04:00:00 siteId: 8 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_BLACK_LOTUS region: STR_AUSTRALASIA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-19 12:00:00 siteId: 4 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_CHUPACABRA region: STR_NORTH_AFRICA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_SEVERAL_DESERT ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-20 07:30:00 siteId: 9 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_BLACK_LOTUS region: STR_SOUTH_EAST_ASIA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-20 16:30:00 siteId: 10 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_ZSRR region: STR_CENTRAL_ASIA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-20 18:00:00 siteId: 5 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_REAPER region: STR_CENTRAL_ASIA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_FEW_TEMPERATE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-21 03:00:00 siteId: 6 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_ZOMBIE_STERILE region: STR_AUSTRALASIA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_SEVERAL_DESERT ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-26 07:00:00 siteId: 7 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_SPIKEBOAR region: STR_AUSTRALASIA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_SINGLE_TEMPERATE ...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-27 07:00:00 siteId: 11 siteType: STR_CULT_APPREHENSION race: STR_EXALT region: STR_NORTH_AMERICA...
  - "gameTime: 1997-01-29 14:30:00 siteId: 8 siteType: STR_MONSTER_HUNT race: STR_WEREWOLF region: STR_SIBERIA deployment: STR_MONSTERS_HUNT_SINGLE_COLD ...

(Removed various event popups)

[Juku121]

I think this particular set of missions was just happenstance. On average, you should be getting the following per each early game month:

• 0.6 Cattle Mutilations (you got 3);
  
• 0.7 Crop Circles (you got 1);
  
• 1.6 Cult Apprehensions per Cult, so 6.4 total (you got 11);
  
• somewhere under 4 cryptid missions total (you got 8 ).
  

Unless you're playing Superhuman with its inflated enemy counts, Apprehensions (well, at least shooting the culprits) should be very doable, ditto for the farmer missions. The cryptids were probably the hard part. An early Reaper, Werewolf, two packs of Zombies, some Chupacabras... Yeah, not seeing these going well during your first month.


The logistics issue is genuine enough, though. Assuming you have to fly to the other side of the globe, you can squeeze out about 8*(2-3 cars) sorties. Of course, lots of missions are usually closer, but they are also not perfectly timed and you might need some downtime for your agents/equipment orders/etc as well. So I'd guess ~20 missions are manageable with skill and some luck. The average seems definitely doable, but, as we can see, the RNG gods can supply some bad months as well. Maybe the first month could be a grace period for, like, half of the Mission1-Mission7 scripts?