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

[Solarius Scorch]

Thanks

As for points cost, they are already much cheaper than civilians. This is hard to balance though, so I claim no superiority here.

[Taberone]

Came back to openXCOM to try out this mod after reading about it on Tv Tropes and I must say, this is really good so far. I thought I was gonna hate the two-seater car thing because it won't feel like a meatgrinder like original XCOM (Nothing like coming to a mission with 14 rookies and coming back with only a handful of survivors), but I actually loved it.

Having to go at missions with only two agents at once (or even one agent, if the other one gets wounded and you don't hire replacements until it's too late like me) is definitely challenging and a nice change of pace.  The whole conspiracy thing with shutting up farmers by tazing them within 10 turns and the men in black vibe is pretty nice, too.

Only gripe I have with X-COM Files so far is the "You lose at close combat" thing. Not sure what exactly it is, but my Agent decided to whip around in the wrong direction and shotgun the other Agent in the face rather than shoot the cyber-gorilla(?) thingy trying to beat him to death.

[mumble]

The close combat thing is a feature where if you are within 1 tile of an enemy, there is a roll between yours / their melee state, to see if CQC failed or succeeded.

if you succeed, you shoot them in the face. If fail, they push the gun away. And vice versa.

this applies to you too obviously, so you can use a high melee person to breach small rooms to great effect.

[Genesis200028]

Is there a list of the hotkeys added by The X-com Files somewhere? If there is one would you please link it to me and if not would you please create one.

Thank you.

[Taberone]

Are Black Lotus gangers more important than the other cults (EXALT, Red Dawn, etc)? I've noticed that whenever I do missions against them, I get a special loading screen showing some lady with two swords on her back. Other cults seem to get the same loading screen background, but not the Black Lotus.

[mumble]

I'm pretty sure it was just a custom made graphic for it, and perhaps all cults will get them in due time.

[Solarius Scorch]

Is there a list of the hotkeys added by The X-com Files somewhere? If there is one would you please link it to me and if not would you please create one.

Thank you.

OK, I'll do that. It's not easy though, since I no longer remember what is in OXCE+ and what isn't.

Perhaps Meridian has such a list somewhere? I just don't know.

Are Black Lotus gangers more important than the other cults (EXALT, Red Dawn, etc)? I've noticed that whenever I do missions against them, I get a special loading screen showing some lady with two swords on her back. Other cults seem to get the same loading screen background, but not the Black Lotus.

Mumble is right: they aren't more important, it's just that I haven't found proper backgrounds for some factions. It's a work in progress.

[jinxed]

Hi there!

I created an account to salute you for this wonderful mod!(and to have some questions anwered, actually )

First of all, the praise. I didn't expect this to be as enjoyable as it turned out to be I'm usually pretty skeptical when it comes to full conversion mods, as they more often than not turn out to be too bloated and too ambitious for what the game engine can offer.
I tried out Piratez!, and while I was deeply impressed with what has been achieved with it on the technical side, its bloat-factor soured it for me(this, and that it's slightly too silly in its oversll tone for me).

Your mod however, won me over with its great mission variety, and the corresponding variety in the mission dynamics. There seems to be alyways a new challenge around the corner, which I cannot praise enough. Also, you have managed to create unprecedented atmosphere for some of the missions.

A Blood Moon mission which I played just recently comes to mind. It was a true survival horror experience in a XCOM game with plenty of "shitshitshitshitshit"-moments. Pure Gold, hats off, Sir!

+1 for the implementation of some of the best of Mark Morgan's work. Overall, the selection of tunes is great, and adds a lot to the flavor of the mod.

Now off to my questions and remarks about the balancing.
I'm playing a Superhuman campaign, and currently I'm in Aug'98. So far things have been going well, I'd say. I have a good roster of Agents, and I was able to bring 2 real labs online in April, so that I'm sporting 65 Scientists now who tear through the research tree.
I successfully assaulted 3 Cultist Bases with the exception of the Black Lotus, which brings me to

Question 1: I hate these stupid Ninjas. I tried an assault on a Base which was just in reach of my Dragonfly. It started off well, until the first panic wave kicked in among the Lotus, when I suddenly lost half of my team to these damn assassins within 2 turns. Since I had no clue how many more of them were on the map, I cut my losses and bailed.
So, do I *have* to thwart all these cults to progress the game? Because I really don't have a lot of desire to try this again, at least not before I have access to Proxies which I can spam around.
The invasion is around the corner, and I don't want to be stalled in terms of crucial tech.

Question 2: Related to the question above, what is my window of opportunity for eliminating these cults? Do I better do this before Jan'99 or can I wait a bit longer?

Question 3: Surf Time/Ski Resorts. Are these missions important? I find them to be extremely unfair, with questionable value. I did one Surf Time mission, and it required a true save/reload fest to survive it, which I despise. But, since I couldn't bail I saw no other chance.
I got a live Osiron Goon out of that mission, so I'm wondering whether doing another one these would bear any meaningful yields for me.
Otherwise, I'd just ignore them.

Question 4: Facilities like the Intel Center, the BioLab and the HQ. Compared to real Labs those seem to have lost their relevance. Do I need to still run them, or can I swap them out for regular Labs?

Now off to some remarks and observations.

- The risk/reward ratio for the missions seems to be rather off at times. Resolving a piss easy Madman Rampage can easily yield more than 500pts on the scoreboard. Now compare that to the first Dossier mission I got yesterday, which involved "Meridian the Hunter". Freakishly hard, 2 dead Agents and the rest battered badly. I got 50ish points for that, and a fancy Plasma weapon I won't be able to research before I have another 30 of them in my stores.
That was pretty underwhelming to say the least.

- I know, I'm in an absolute minority here regarding the following, but I mention it anyway. I'm not a fan of the idea to bring in just about every real world Assault Rifle, MG, Pistol, and SMG. It works for Jagged Alliance, but here I'm just facing an abundance of weapons with laughable differences clogging up the inventory screens.
I prefer every weapon/item introduced into the game to be distinct(FMP did a great job with that). Half a dozen 5.56mm ARs don't fit that bill. But that's just me, and I know that's not gonna change.

I have more on my mind, but this post is already long enough. Again, thank you for this great effort!

[khade]

I don't know the answers to the other questions, but regarding the HQ, it officially counts as really crappy worldwide radar, as long as you have one, anything you notice will stay visible until it leaves the planet.  The negative is that you don't really know the range of your actually semi effective radar, but that seems like a minor problem.

[Solarius Scorch]

Many thanks for your kind words, Jinxed! I am truly grateful. Especially at this early stage.

Now, for the questions:

Question 1: I hate these stupid Ninjas. I tried an assault on a Base which was just in reach of my Dragonfly. It started off well, until the first panic wave kicked in among the Lotus, when I suddenly lost half of my team to these damn assassins within 2 turns. Since I had no clue how many more of them were on the map, I cut my losses and bailed.
So, do I *have* to thwart all these cults to progress the game? Because I really don't have a lot of desire to try this again, at least not before I have access to Proxies which I can spam around.
The invasion is around the corner, and I don't want to be stalled in terms of crucial tech.

Yes, Black Lotus has its quirks, and Assassins are universally hated. (It literally seems to be the most feared and despised enemy in the game, judging from the players' reactions. ) There are ways to partially counter them, such as using melee resistant armours (like Bio-Exo Suit) and motion scanners. It's never a cakewalk though, and I also typically lose some people in these missions. I tend to avoid larger Black Lotus operations fro this very reason, unless I need a particular capture. So... you're not the only one. But I think it's fine, it's good to have hard or quirky missions if they aren't forced onto you.
You don't have to thwart every single cult to win the game, but some content may remain inaccessible.

Question 2: Related to the question above, what is my window of opportunity for eliminating these cults? Do I better do this before Jan'99 or can I wait a bit longer?

There are no specific time constrains. It's not a game where you have to "make it" before a set date or lose. Of course the difficulty grows, but much of this results from your research, not simple time progression. (With the obvious exception of things like alien activity and some less obvious ones, like certain missions.)

Question 3: Surf Time/Ski Resorts. Are these missions important? I find them to be extremely unfair, with questionable value. I did one Surf Time mission, and it required a true save/reload fest to survive it, which I despise. But, since I couldn't bail I saw no other chance.
I got a live Osiron Goon out of that mission, so I'm wondering whether doing another one these would bear any meaningful yields for me.
Otherwise, I'd just ignore them.

Almost all missions are optional. These give some decent rewards and allow for a change of pace, but if you really don't feel up to them, you don't have to do them.

Question 4: Facilities like the Intel Center, the BioLab and the HQ. Compared to real Labs those seem to have lost their relevance. Do I need to still run them, or can I swap them out for regular Labs?

To elaborate on Khade's correct answer:
* HQ is a general, but small lab. It doubles as both Bio lab and Intel lab, so if you have one in your base, you only need the two others for extra scientists.
* Intel lab allows for interrogation of enemies and various research related to intelligence.
* Bio lab allows for studying alien creatures.
* Lab lab only provides scientist slots and you can have many of them in one base. Without any other lab types its research selection is limited to tech and such.

- The risk/reward ratio for the missions seems to be rather off at times. Resolving a piss easy Madman Rampage can easily yield more than 500pts on the scoreboard. Now compare that to the first Dossier mission I got yesterday, which involved "Meridian the Hunter". Freakishly hard, 2 dead Agents and the rest battered badly. I got 50ish points for that, and a fancy Plasma weapon I won't be able to research before I have another 30 of them in my stores.
That was pretty underwhelming to say the least.

It's nice to hear at least one story where the Hunter put up a reasonable defence. ;P I keep hearing how defenceless he is
But yeah, missions... vary. I don't aim for perfect balance though, I personally like the uneven pace.

- I know, I'm in an absolute minority here regarding the following, but I mention it anyway. I'm not a fan of the idea to bring in just about every real world Assault Rifle, MG, Pistol, and SMG. It works for Jagged Alliance, but here I'm just facing an abundance of weapons with laughable differences clogging up the inventory screens.
I prefer every weapon/item introduced into the game to be distinct(FMP did a great job with that). Half a dozen 5.56mm ARs don't fit that bill. But that's just me, and I know that's not gonna change.

Rest assured I do not want to put too much either. Adding weapons is easy, I have more than enough unused sprites, but I always differentiate. Obviously some of them are more similar to one naother than others, but there are compromises to be made.

I have more on my mind, but this post is already long enough. Again, thank you for this great effort!

Have fun!

[tkzv]

Question 3: Surf Time/Ski Resorts. Are these missions important? I find them to be extremely unfair, with questionable value. I did one Surf Time mission, and it required a true save/reload fest to survive it, which I despise. But, since I couldn't bail I saw no other chance.

They become reasonably easy with dart pistols. Until then — clubs and cover, because allowed ranged weapons suck. Fortunately, the enemies are not strong.

- The risk/reward ratio for the missions seems to be rather off at times. Resolving a piss easy Madman Rampage can easily yield more than 500pts on the scoreboard.

It's very much luck of the draw. I once got the madman in the opposite corner of the map in a warehouse with a dozen civilians. No chance to get positive score without cheating.

[LuigiWhatif]

I remember hearing something about a research to end the crop circle/abduction missions.  Is that in yet?  If so, what do I need to do it?

[Taberone]

Do shotguns share the same ammo, or does every single shotgun use shotgun shells that are incompatible with each other? Haven't tried using any shotgun other than the 8-round Pump Shotgun yet. Pump Shotgun is really good, and I like the range on it, too. It's not your typical videogame shotgun that can only shoot up to three centimeters before the pellets magically self destruct in midair. The range seems pretty realistic, and I think the shotguns are going to be my favorite weapons in this mod.

[mumble]

Really depends. Pump uses its own ammo, the "shotgun"  and blackops shotgun use the same shells, and all other shotguns have their own shells. I suppose you could make some of them interchangable, maybe... but I'm not sure how that would balance

shotguns are nice, but they don't penetrate armor well at all, so I prefer rifles generally. Also, I find I prefer slugs over buckshot, because such a damage burst is handy.

I also like the double barrel shotgun, for what its worth, the ammo is odd to handle (2 shot pieces) but the gun performs great in all other respects.

just be aware of how it performs against armor, buckshot can often bounce off harder armor pretty easily, its not an issue early on, but higher grade cultists have high armor and HP which makes shotguns less ideal.


By the way solair, I think "shotgun" could really use another name...maybe Remington, or something?

[Taberone]

Is the SKS supposed to be weaker than the Colt? A .45 is more of a manstopper than a rifle, frequently killing cultists with one or two well-placed shots. Meanwhile, two shots from the SKS don't even seem to faze enemies until I shoot them a third time. Could just be the RNG, though, since XCOM damage is really random. Might need to use the SKS more, but I've only got the one I've looted from a dead cultist.

Had a mission to stun some investigators who knew too much way before trying out the SKS rifle. One of them spawned in an impossible-to-reach area, so I had to shoot him. Now I've got a civilian corpse I can't get rid of without losing money for some reason?

Is there a way to override the "Mission Complete - Returning to Base" behavior? I can't complete one mission and immediately respond to another one, I gotta return to base first and THEN respond to the mission. There's enough fuel left for the public transport.

Also, where does the Black Lotus loading screen come from?