Author Topic: Re: The X-Com Files - 3.5: Whispers In The Dark  (Read 2454268 times)

Offline Slaughter

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #705 on: November 28, 2016, 06:52:29 am »
Is the gym affected by the "psi-training anytime" option? I can't remember.

Just took a look, and yup, Gym is working now! Thanks, Arthanor!

Offline Drasnighta

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #706 on: November 28, 2016, 07:38:46 am »
Yep, I didn't think about it, started playing with the Option off, and only got the Gym Training Screen at End-Of-Month.

Offline LuigiWhatif

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #707 on: November 29, 2016, 08:36:24 am »
The Data Slates say they need to be decrypted in the workshop, but I don't see an option for that.  Is an there a 'Alien Encryption' research of some sort?

Offline kazek

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #708 on: November 29, 2016, 12:53:19 pm »
The Data Slates say they need to be decrypted in the workshop, but I don't see an option for that.  Is an there a 'Alien Encryption' research of some sort?

They are treated as manafuacture, so you must "produce" one decrypted from one regular.





Also on the other hand, I've reached the full ivasion part, and have some thoughts to share:


First of all I'd suggest making Interceptors easier to obtain. Before i've managed to get one, I had to (ahem. spoiler alert):

1. Find landed UFO, which is hard as hell.
2. Kill an alien and bisect it.
3. Research Alien Biology.
4. Research Alien Containement.
5. Construct Alien Containement.
6. Find another landed UFO.
7. Capture one alive and interrogate it.
8. Get promotion.
9. Research Migs (two times).
10. Curse them, because they couldn't catch anything before runing out of fuel.
11. Research Interceptors.
12. Wait 13 days to produce one.

So after all this time I've lost UK and Australia and got two Alien Base missions. I'd suggest giving any means to counteract full scale invasion before obtaining them. And maybe reduce production time (after all they all made from human tech, so I like to think they are rather assembled than made from scratch)


Second of all I don't know what to do with money right now. Before the invasion i had a 100 millions (and even without Wałęsa!) So I just built myself few bases. And then I sold all redundant items...



Don't know if this is possible, but could you make that we revert to original rank names after third promotion? For immersion reason i've changed it in ruleset, since XCOM is now military organization.


Also small note on one bug (sorry for wrong topic): EXALT is still giving me outpost even after their termination.


Still big fan of the mod.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2016, 01:10:41 pm by kazek »

Offline LuigiWhatif

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #709 on: November 29, 2016, 02:23:33 pm »
I'm aware they're a workshop project.  I assume it's the same idea as data disks in piratez.  But when I go to my manufacture screen, I don't see any project related to data slates.  I was asking if there was another research I had to complete before I could start decrypting.

Did you terminate EXALT after getting interceptors?  I recall that after you beat one of the human factions you get a promotion that also unlocks MiGs (and then interceptors).  Also missions are generated on a monthly basis, so outposts won't stop until the end of the month or so.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2016, 02:26:31 pm by LuigiWhatif »

Offline kazek

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #710 on: November 29, 2016, 03:27:13 pm »
I'm aware they're a workshop project.  I assume it's the same idea as data disks in piratez.  But when I go to my manufacture screen, I don't see any project related to data slates.  I was asking if there was another research I had to complete before I could start decrypting.

Did you terminate EXALT after getting interceptors?  I recall that after you beat one of the human factions you get a promotion that also unlocks MiGs (and then interceptors).  Also missions are generated on a monthly basis, so outposts won't stop until the end of the month or so.


Accordin to ruleset you need
Spoiler:
Alien Codes and Alien Electronics
This allows you to research Slate Encryption.

Yes, but to get promotion you need also Alien Origins, which you can get only by interrogating live alien. Which you can get only from UFO. And i'm over year after beating EXALT. All other cults have stopped spawning.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2016, 03:29:26 pm by kazek »

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #711 on: November 29, 2016, 03:54:57 pm »
The Data Slates say they need to be decrypted in the workshop, but I don't see an option for that.  Is an there a 'Alien Encryption' research of some sort?

Yes, you need to crack the aliens' programming code first, like Kazek explained.

First of all I'd suggest making Interceptors easier to obtain.

OK, I'll give it some thought. I understand your reasons, and I do't think it would be bad for game balance, it's just that it would be weird if you had access to such strictly military tech before you are allowed to use ordinary grenades.

So after all this time I've lost UK and Australia and got two Alien Base missions. I'd suggest giving any means to counteract full scale invasion before obtaining them. And maybe reduce production time (after all they all made from human tech, so I like to think they are rather assembled than made from scratch)

Half a month is still pretty fast for a prototype. :P

Second of all I don't know what to do with money right now. Before the invasion i had a 100 millions (and even without Wałęsa!) So I just built myself few bases. And then I sold all redundant items...

Lol :)

I admit this part is completely unbalanced now. Well I've reduced the funds recently, it will only work in new games.

Don't know if this is possible, but could you make that we revert to original rank names after third promotion? For immersion reason i've changed it in ruleset, since XCOM is now military organization.

Sadly no, not possible.

Also small note on one bug (sorry for wrong topic): EXALT is still giving me outpost even after their termination.

Wow, that's curious... OK, I'll check.

Still big fan of the mod.

Still big fan of feedback. :)

Yes, but to get promotion you need also Alien Origins, which you can get only by interrogating live alien. Which you can get only from UFO. And i'm over year after beating EXALT. All other cults have stopped spawning.

There are some other ways to get aliens, but they're not prominent enough at the moment.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #712 on: November 29, 2016, 04:54:11 pm »
Don't some cults have alien pets? And there's wild reapers too. You don't need an alien containment for those so you definitely can get interceptors before the invasion.

In my game, by December 1998 (so technically before the invasion, even though ethereals already roam the earth), I already was working on interceptors.

Offline mrbiasha

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #713 on: November 29, 2016, 07:54:59 pm »

In my game, by December 1998 (so technically before the invasion, even though ethereals already roam the earth), I already was working on interceptors.

Indeed, it is possible to encounter alien creatures as Strange Life Forms relatively early (I met silacoid on North Pole even before I had Dragonfly i think) and they give you a chance to research critical tech. And in my opinion Interceptor is quite a powerful tool and handing out it too early would really break balance.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #714 on: November 29, 2016, 08:02:54 pm »
That's true, I remember silacoids too now (man what a pain to kill with piddly pistols... luckily there's dynamite!).

As for the interceptor, I like the idea of the mod with XCom potentially being able to get all the tools they have in vanilla by January 1999. Then the story of XCom Files becomes "how XCom started from weird cases to the organization that would stand up to the alien invasion". Following UFOs to try to catch them landed is a fun self imposed challenge, but it's not really a viable situation against an invasion. That's something that should be done for the crop circles missions. After Promotion III and January 1999, it's the war now and it's not a war if one of the sides can't fight. That's the whole driving force behind the early years: "You have to get ready for the war" and that's why I liked it so much: I had a clear objective I needed to accomplish before January 1999. As such, if you go fast you should be ready, and if you fail, well you get the MiG and Dragonfly to try to survive until you catch up and get the Interceptor and Skyranger.

Offline mrbiasha

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #715 on: November 29, 2016, 08:53:26 pm »

As for the interceptor, I like the idea of the mod with XCom potentially being able to get all the tools they have in vanilla by January 1999.

Completly agree on this point! There would be no point at all to make a Commander start figting an Invasion without proper tools and forbid him from access to them. It's just seemed to me that while certain ufos still visit earth even before invasion you can rush radar, detect a UFO very early and if capturing it successfully gain a period of relatively safe time for research. Basically that is what happened to me and I had some easy time to deal with cults using apex tech, and later when initial ethereal wave(which was fixed by Solarius later) hit me I had some means to bust them and get even more tech.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #716 on: November 29, 2016, 09:03:33 pm »
My first UFO catch was in December 1998, but I can't comment on what kind of OP tech I'd have gained since that was the last I played (didn't fancy facing those ethereals again).

I'll have to look in the tech tree to see how broken it can be.

Offline Dreamsicle

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #717 on: November 29, 2016, 09:35:50 pm »
Don't some cults have alien pets? And there's wild reapers too. You don't need an alien containment for those so you definitely can get interceptors before the invasion.

In my game, by December 1998 (so technically before the invasion, even though ethereals already roam the earth), I already was working on interceptors.

I thought wild reapers are a bug? I remember seeing that as such in the bugs thread. Additionally based on the research ruleset
Spoiler:
Reapers don't unlock Alien Biology

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #718 on: November 29, 2016, 10:18:10 pm »
Indeed, Reapers aren't aliens... They are technically cybermutants, even if it sounds confusing.

Offline Arthanor

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Re: The X-Com Files - 0.4.2 alpha: Going Postal
« Reply #719 on: November 29, 2016, 11:36:22 pm »
It think it was the fact that live wild reapers required a special containment facility instead of just animal pens that was the bug (At least that's what I reported). Wild reapers (and silacoids) are ok I think.

I think this is a dissonance created by Solarius saying I should "give myself" a live reaper anyhow since it was not intended that I couldn't keep it (same happened with the Church's pet). Then he fixed it (reapers can be kept live in animal pens) but

Spoiler:
He also removed them (and silacoids) from alien origins which is what is required for promotion 3. This means you have to catch one a many other kinds of aliens, none of which come in the early game.

Honestly, I'm quite happy I benefited from this, as I think reapers, silacoids, the little frog-dog from the church, deep ones and hybrids all should unlock Alien Origins (Especially since Reptoids do even though they are properly evolved Earthlings).

I very much think that Promotions 3, and all the stuff that you start with in vanilla, should be unlockable before you have to shoot down your first UFO and kill, let alone interrogate, your first sectoid, to keep the storyline. If the previous means of acquiring Alien Origins are taken out, I'd suggest an early mission type where you can encounter aliens, like a crash site or something, or the UFO that spawns the crop circle sites actually lands first and if you're lucky you can actually catch them while they're down.

Actually, it would fit extremely well in this mod to have a Roswell themed arc. Let's say you break into an early MIB base which still has sectoid corpses from the historic crash site (Maybe the US always denied having anything, because they didn't want to say they almost had it, then it got taken over by the MiB?). After all, every conspiracy theory is true in XComFiles! Getting the corpse (2nd last mission) would enable Alien Containment and finishing that arc gets you a "captive sectoid" (or you face a "sectoid collaborator" on the last mission if aliens and MIB are working together like in the movies) for Alien Origins. Then you can bring the existence of actual aliens to the world (leaders), thus getting your last promotion so you can get skyrangers and interceptors before the invasion begins, like in vanilla.