Author Topic: Re: The X-Com Files - 3.5: Whispers In The Dark  (Read 2452830 times)

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #510 on: October 22, 2016, 11:06:51 pm »
Temperate werewolf works fine too ;) I think the color also plays as we're so used to grey werewolves.

Yes, that's for sure; I meant making yet another furry for another biome.

Maybe EXALT or some other faction who likes to mess around with human DNA decided to make their own minotaurs for fun/security/enforcement. Arguably, when you're busting in the hideout of a rival gang who's been playing on your turf, it's hard to rival the impact of an actual minotaur!

See? That's why we need the Syndicate. :P Factions like the EXALT or even Red Dawn aren't on the level of actual gene manipulation. Linking Minotaurs to the syndicate could be interesting, though I'm not sure why they would do so. (Military product line, I guess.)

I'm keeping trying. Nov. 1998 now and pretty much have access to all the basic stuff, plus a few things like motion scanners. Working on skyrangers and then going on the offensive once more. I'll try some more stun and see how I can achieve ~15% survival.

You're doing well! How about the cults?

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #511 on: October 23, 2016, 02:05:48 am »
That's what I meant by going once again on the offensive. I did one HQ with the dragonfly but if I can get a skyranger for the other ones I'll wait for that. Exalt is manageable by a small team with good guns as they're not too tough, but I'm wary of the Red Dawn (they're tough so I want more firepower) and especially Black Lotus (expecting casualties!) and I'm still waiting for another Church of Dagon base to catch a sorcerer.

Exalt got me my cult termination for promo 3 and I'm trying to take advantage of all the new hardware I can get for now. Just got labs up in 5 of my bases (not fully staffed though) so that should be quick. Since I'm at +8 million/month even with 7 bases, I probably should.. and I finally have something to make for money.

Current thinking has us researching the Red Dawn operations soon and tackling bases of both them and the church first. Then assemble a full team in Bio armor (since it's good against melee and thus against assassins) before taking on anything big from the Black Lotus. I'm abusing the fact that mission type depends on research to keep the cults small while I grow.

Digging around to see if there were anymore armors coming up, I noticed that personal armor got nerfed. Given that it isn't much protection to plasma already, I was curious why?

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #512 on: October 23, 2016, 12:27:24 pm »
Thanks for the report, it helps.

Digging around to see if there were anymore armors coming up, I noticed that personal armor got nerfed. Given that it isn't much protection to plasma already, I was curious why?

It's actually better against plasma now for the most part. Could need more tuning, but it's supposed to be an anti-energy armour with good mobility. There will be more armour types to complement it.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #513 on: October 23, 2016, 06:38:58 pm »
Ah! I didn't look at damage modifiers, just armor numbers. Makes sense!

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #514 on: October 23, 2016, 09:42:34 pm »
Ah! I didn't look at damage modifiers, just armor numbers. Makes sense!

It's okay, nobody ever looks at the resistances. :P

Offline Nord

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #515 on: October 24, 2016, 02:40:21 pm »
At last, i tear myself from new Empyrion release and returned to sprites. So here it is, maybe a bit ugly, but i tried my best. Inventory, ufopedia and autopsy of werewolf.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #516 on: October 24, 2016, 04:25:42 pm »
Nice! Werewolves and minotaurs sound like the start of a "mythical beasts" arc. Now we just need to think of a narrative to tie them together.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #517 on: October 24, 2016, 06:28:08 pm »
At last, i tear myself from new Empyrion release and returned to sprites. So here it is, maybe a bit ugly, but i tried my best. Inventory, ufopedia and autopsy of werewolf.

Awesome. Integrating it straight away.
(I made another werewolf pic myself, but it's your critter, and also yours looks, well, better. :) )
The only exception is I used your inventory picture to make a Ufopaedia entrance in order to keep Ufopaedia consistent. Maybe I'll use your Ufopaedia picture for something else, like a general article on beastmen or whatever.

PS. Empyrion is on my Steam wishlist! :)

Nice! Werewolves and minotaurs sound like the start of a "mythical beasts" arc. Now we just need to think of a narrative to tie them together.

I'd rather integrate them into an existing or planned arc, instead of making yet another one. :) But yes, the mythical connotations are hard to miss. On one hand I want to tie them to the Syndicate, as this is their kind of thing, but on the other it's tempting to make them something like ancient alien experiments... Or maybe we could have both? :)

In other news, I'm adding new missions like crazy, so hopefully 0.4 will be a major gameplay update - at least for the early game, but not only that. I'm not sure when I'll release it, because I keep adding and changing stuff, but it's already been "releseable" for a week or so. End of the week maybe?
« Last Edit: October 24, 2016, 06:29:58 pm by Solarius Scorch »

Offline Nord

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #518 on: October 24, 2016, 07:09:48 pm »
The only exception is I used your inventory picture to make a Ufopaedia entrance in order to keep Ufopaedia consistent. Maybe I'll use your Ufopaedia picture for something else, like a general article on beastmen or whatever.
I saw, you have different-style pages for deep one and his TFTD friends, and decide to take random nice picture from internet for alive werewolf. But if you want purple-gradient back, i can make one. Well, try to make one...

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #519 on: October 24, 2016, 07:46:38 pm »
I saw, you have different-style pages for deep one and his TFTD friends, and decide to take random nice picture from internet for alive werewolf. But if you want purple-gradient back, i can make one. Well, try to make one...

Well, it looks like this:



Yes, the TFTD aliens are different, because I never made the effort to edit them correctly. :P It's on the to-do list somewhere.

Offline Nord

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #520 on: October 25, 2016, 03:05:51 pm »
How about that:

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #521 on: October 25, 2016, 03:27:30 pm »
How about that:

Honestly? It's way too big, and doesn't look like pixel art. Your previous one was much better, this one looks more like it was cut from a newspaper.
It's not awful at all, but as I said, the previous one was much more in line with X-Com. I'm sticking with that one, as I quite like it, unless I see something mindblowing. :)


In other news... I worked on the Hybrid faction, added a lot of new missions. However, I don't know what kind of weapons they're supposed to be using. Most Earth weapons are pretty meh at this point, and I want to give them something unique... Any suggestions?

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #522 on: October 25, 2016, 07:27:56 pm »
I still don't know about the syndicate, so I can't comment on them much :P Ancient alien experiments could work, or the syndicate, if they have the means, could "unlock" dormant genes from human DNA to recreate these human mutants that have otherwise disappeared. This way there's a reference and the tech isn't as advanced: They didn't splice DNA to create werewolves and minotaurs, they just found a hormone to make the gene active.

As for hybrids, it depends very much on what you want hybrids to be: Are they infiltrators for the alien invasion (so fully supported by the aliens) or runaway experiments (so fully on their own) or something in between. If they are supported by the aliens, "low-tech alien weapons" like alien lasers could work and be how XCom gets to develop their own. Vanilla XCom starts with access to laser weapons research, maybe it was from captured alien stuff in the 1996-1999 period covered by XComFiles? If hybrids are on their own, maybe they developed psi-assisted aiming like the reticulans in Piratez? That would give them weapons that don't hurt more, but that are more accurate than average humans and allow them to compete against the 100+ Firing accuracy crack teams from XCom.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #523 on: October 26, 2016, 12:13:13 am »
OK, thanks for the help, I have resolved both cases.

No spoilers though :)

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #524 on: October 26, 2016, 02:08:25 am »
Well then! I'll find it by playing!  >:(

...

Or did that work as planned?  :o

 ;D

Edit because otherwise I'd be a spammer:

I kept on playing, I'll be a bit late on my timetable because I haven't managed to finish interceptors nor clear the cults yet since no base has spawned since I have skyrangers. I'm sure it'll come..

Also, I'm curious how your experiments with dogs are going. Since I did a fair amount of work on them and I am curious about soldier types/soldier specific armor, I could look into it to make dogs a type of soldiers that can't pilot/get promoted and has 3 armors: Default, doggy bulletproof vest and doggy alloy vest.

And finally: I made some "encounter of the 3rd/XXX kind" in December. I'm leaving a save here and I think the title says it all:
« Last Edit: October 26, 2016, 10:44:50 pm by Arthanor »