aliens

Author Topic: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste  (Read 1072235 times)

Offline BTAxis

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1380 on: September 23, 2018, 01:06:39 pm »
As player, one's meta-role doesn't really have an in-game avatar.

While I'm in agreement with you, vanilla X-Com breaks this relationship with the player right at the end of the game in the final cutscene, where it goes "you pull the trigger and blow the alien brain to pieces" or some such testosterone-fueled sentence. I always thought that was a bit of a gaff.

Offline Mathel

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1381 on: September 23, 2018, 03:16:15 pm »
It would appear, that only the east facing street lamps (on the west side of the road) are functional. 

E: Dusk City and Dawn City maps.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2018, 03:20:20 pm by Mathel »

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1382 on: September 23, 2018, 05:00:45 pm »
Has anyone managed to run the mod on OXCE 5.0 on Android? Before activating X-Com Files I reset all advanced options to default and deactivated any other mods to avoid conflicts, but the app crashes anyway. May be a case of just waiting for the next mod update to be brought in line with the latest OXCE.

No, sorry but it won't work. You must wait for the next release.

It would appear, that only the east facing street lamps (on the west side of the road) are functional. 

E: Dusk City and Dawn City maps.

Curious! This tileset is probably older than some X-Com players :) I'll check.

Offline Thunderwing280

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1383 on: September 23, 2018, 09:00:10 pm »
In the Syndicate capture mission the ui is really green, is that normal?

Offline tkzv

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1384 on: September 23, 2018, 10:42:44 pm »
Bug: a hunter doesn't have a closeup picture. Mission: Madman Rampage. See the attached hunter.sav
Update: only the hunter next to the agent Karima Abdullah has this problem, the other hunter and everybody else are fine.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2018, 10:46:49 pm by tkzv »

Offline Bartojan

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1385 on: September 26, 2018, 11:36:28 am »
STR_MESSAGE_FROM_MAGMA_TERRAMITE should be about Terramite, but it's about Tritanium now.

Offline Barth Gimble

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1386 on: September 27, 2018, 04:45:50 am »
The Ufopedia entries for "Werewolf''s Fear Gaze" and "Werecat's Compelling Gaze" don't contain any information about the nature of these attacks or how they work.

 ;) Not a bug, but the briefing for the Industrial infiltration missions could be refined. It's not clear whether the bad guys are a sleeper cell who are biding their time by working at some factory, or whether they were attempting to infiltrate the place themselves in order to pull off some shenanigans, or whether it's just some abandoned buildings where they are hiding while they plot some mischief elsewhere.

For the guy a few pages back who was complaining about not getting to keep a corpse of an monster or enemy after researching a live one, if you set retain enemy corpses to true in options.cfg it works just fine and as expected. The only minor problem is the text strings identifying the item aren't defined, so for example instead of "MiB Agent corpse" in your base inventory, it's listed as "STR_MIB0 CORPSE."

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1387 on: September 27, 2018, 10:21:57 am »
The Ufopedia entries for "Werewolf''s Fear Gaze" and "Werecat's Compelling Gaze" don't contain any information about the nature of these attacks or how they work.

That's what the INFO button is for.

 
;) Not a bug, but the briefing for the Industrial infiltration missions could be refined. It's not clear whether the bad guys are a sleeper cell who are biding their time by working at some factory, or whether they were attempting to infiltrate the place themselves in order to pull off some shenanigans, or whether it's just some abandoned buildings where they are hiding while they plot some mischief elsewhere.

Could be either of these cases really... Every case is unique. They are a sleeper cell and they've nested in this industrial complex, that's all.

Offline BTAxis

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1388 on: September 27, 2018, 03:57:03 pm »
Is this another list of feedback in my pocket, or am I just glad to see you?

Strings:
- STR_CYBERWEB_HQ_UFOPEDIA: "Cyberweb's HQ" should be "the Cyberweb's HQ" for consistency. Similarly, "the X Dimension" should be "Dimension X". "wrecking chaos" should be "wreaking chaos". Suggest rephrasing "We must assault this battleship on the ground, as it requires a lot of maintenance" as "As it can simply escape into Dimension X when engaged by our craft, we must assault this battleship when it is grounded for maintenance" (an attempt to explain why it comes back after being destroyed). "Earth skies" would be better as "Earth's skies".
- STR_CYBERDREDNAUGHT_ASSAULT_DESCRIPTION: Suggest rephrasing "If we succeed, this will end Cyberweb plans for world domination and revert them to the role of petty criminals" as "If we succeed, this will end the Cyberweb's plans for world domination, and their members will revert to their former lives of petty crime".
- STR_CYBERDREDNAUGHT_ASSAULT_BRIEFING: "against Cyberweb" should be "against the Cyberweb". "from Cyberweb's" should be "from the Cyberweb's".
- STR_POWER_SUIT_UFOPEDIA: The last comma would work better as a full stop.
- STR_MASS_DRIVER_CANNON_UFOPEDIA: The main body of this description wraps to 4 lines, so "{NEWLINE}TYPE: CANNON" doesn't make it on the screen.
- STR_SUPERLASKA_UFOPEDIA: "Hybrid's harsh selection program" should be "Hybrids' harsh selection program". Suggest rephrasing "after just a few years they are ready for deployment" as "those that do are ready for deployment after just a few years".
- STR_BREAKDOWN_STR_ALIEN_GRENADE: "Alien Grenade" should be "Plasma Grenade".
- STR_GAZER_UFOPEDIA: "armor piercing" should be "kinetic".
- STR_SPITTER_UFOPEDIA: "all matter of damage" should be "all manner of damage".
- STR_HYBRID_OPERATIONS_UFOPEDIA: "aimed at subversion of" would be better as "aimed at the subversion of".
- STR_UAC_STAPLER_UFOPEDIA: "the outer space" should be "outer space".
- STR_MASS_DRIVER_SNIPER_RIFLE_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "therefore diminishing the need of autofire" as "which renders the weapon's lack of an autofire mode negligible."
- STR_MUMMY_ABODE_DESCRIPTION: "key to resolve" should be "key to resolving".
- STR_PLASMA_WEAPONS_UFOPEDIA: This article feels a lot like a stub, because it only mentions that plasma weapons are "based on accelerating particles from within a minute anti-gravity field", something that's mentioned in just about every plasma weapon description anyway. Also, since this article isn't required to research or use the plasma weapons but rather unlocks production of same, it should probably talk about that instead. Here's my idea of what the text should look like: "Now that we have a solid scientific foundation of the physics involved in the aliens' plasma weaponry, we are able to replicate their designs. In theory we could develop our own plasma-based weapons from scratch, but this would be a costly, time intensive and potentially dangerous affair. Reports from the field suggest that the aliens have already settled on a well rounded arsenal, so it is much more practical for us to reverse engineer their existing weaponry.{NEWLINE}We will be able to reproduce any plasma weapon recovered from the field as soon as we have studied it."
- STR_FUSION_WEAPONS_UFOPEDIA: Similar to the above: "Humanity's command over nuclear fusion has historically been crude to say the least, but with the knowledge we've gleaned from the aliens we are now capable of using fusion power at much smaller scales and with a much greater degree of control.{NEWLINE}We are now capable of producing any fusion powered weapon in our workshop, so long as we have a workable design for it."
- STR_ALIEN_DOMINATION_UFOPEDIA and STR_OBSERVER_UFOPEDIA: "crafts" should be "craft".
- STR_CHRYSSALID_VILLAGE_DESCRIPTION: Suggest changing "hopelessly" to "frantically", because come on, I haven't even started the mission yet. Give me a chance here.
- STR_CHRYSSALID_WEAPON_UFOPEDIA: "Chryssalid" would be better as "The Chryssalid".
- STR_SECTOPOD_UFOPEDIA: Suggest a rewrite of "Sectopods are robot creatures with a powerful laser beam weapon. The control of these mechanical beasts is via a telepathic link to their controllers, usually the Ethereals" as "Sectopods are robotic creatures armed with a powerful laser beam. These mechanical beasts are typically controlled via a telepathic link, usually by the Ethereals".
- STR_SALAMANDRON_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "This creature is very sturdy, covered with thick scales and" as "This creature is very sturdy. It is covered with thick scales that are".
- STR_VAMPIRE_QUEEN_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: "except the lower muscle mass and slightly better developed brain" would be better as "except for a lower muscle mass and a slightly better developed brain".
- STR_DISRUPTOR_HEAVY_UFOPEDIA: It kind of feels this description starts twice, so suggest changing "This heavy warp weapon is mostly an overgrown biocomponent. This exotic life form emits" to "This heavy warp weapon is mostly an overgrown exotic life form capable of emitting".
- STR_MUMMY_UFOPEDIA: "the ultimate form of Zombie" sounds like a martial arts stance or something. Suggest "the ultimate Zombie evolution".
- STR_HOVERTANK_PLASMA_UFOPEDIA: "lease of life" should be "lease on life". Suggest rephrasing "The added maneuverability of air travel and the power of plasma beams is a lethal combination" as "The combination of aerial maneuverability and the power of a plasma beam is nothing short of lethal."
- STR_PSI_PREDATORS_OF_YITH_UFOPEDIA: "some sort of creature that capture" should be "some sort of creatures that capture".
- The following strings appear to be missing: STR_CYBERDREDNAUGHT, STR_CYBERWEB_DOMINATION, REGION_HELLO_WORLD, STR_UNARMED_GAZER, STR_UNARMED_ANTHROPOD, STR_UNARMED_FLOATER, STR_UNARMED_CHTONITE, STR_SCORPOID_WEAPON, STR_ANTMAN_WEAPON, INV_JETPACK_A_3X3, INV_JETPACK_B_3X3, STR_JUNK.


Etc:
- STR_COUNCIL_APPEARS_UFOPEDIA is hard to read due to its color scheme.
- The power suit claims to amplify the wearer's speed, but it does the opposite as it takes away 15 TUs. Also the claim that it enhances the user's strength is a little misleading, because it does nothing for throwing distance or strength-based weapons. It may be safer to say that it allows the wearer to carry more stuff.
- A similar line might be appropriate for the Juggernaut suit.
- Plasma firearms share a number of notable characteristics, such as armor stripping, setting targets on fire and having multiple dice rolls for damage. I think it's worthwhile pointing this out to the player as the plasma tech comes in, preferably via an article in Field Manual.
- The Tank/Plasma 'Pedia entry and its weapon are unlocked from the Plasma Cannon topic. Not the HWP itself though.
- The HWP Plasma Cannon (Hover) appears as its own research that is unlocked from the Plasma Cannon, Tank/Cannon and UFO Construction topics. Until it is researched the HOVER/PLASMA entry does not appear even if Hovertank/Plasma is researched.
- STR_STAFF_027_UFOPEDIA needs to be added to the Ufopedia.
- The Swarmids' article still claims smoke is effective against them, but in fact they are immune to choke damage.
- The Dimension X Outpost Defense mission yields Alien Surgery, which seems odd.
- The Mass Driver Rifle, Mass Driver Sniper Rifle and Heavy Mass Driver research topics have needItem set to true, which makes them effectively unresearchable as far as I can tell. The Mass Driver Pistol is fine.
- The general Cyberweb Battery can be brought on missions, but there is no point in doing so.
- The Mass Driver Defenses are inferior to the Laser Defenses, which is strange because the latter comes in much earlier and the handheld MD weaponry tends to outperform laser weaponry.
- Consider sorting the Plasma Caster after the Plasma Pistol, as the former refers to the latter.
- They Cleric of Apocalypse is visually a little wonky. It disappears while it is walking (in some directions) and turns red when downed.
- The Pinky Devil sprite has a pink rectangle where there shouldn't be one when facing north.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1389 on: September 27, 2018, 06:56:30 pm »
Is this another list of feedback in my pocket, or am I just glad to see you?

Ummm... Hooray! New fixes! :D

Can we just agree on not using "the"? It's not like it serves any function, and honestly its usage seems random. :P

Everything except:

- STR_MUMMY_UFOPEDIA: "the ultimate form of Zombie" sounds like a martial arts stance or something. Suggest "the ultimate Zombie evolution".

My text is indeed too memeish (I spend too much time on Discord), but yours sounds kinda awkward... Maybe you meant "The ultimate stage of Zombie evolution"?

Love your articles on plasma and fusion weapons. They're in.

- STR_COUNCIL_APPEARS_UFOPEDIA is hard to read due to its color scheme.

It's... hard to fix. I get a reflux whenever I think about it. So I'm ignoring it. :P

- The power suit claims to amplify the wearer's speed, but it does the opposite as it takes away 15 TUs. Also the claim that it enhances the user's strength is a little misleading, because it does nothing for throwing distance or strength-based weapons. It may be safer to say that it allows the wearer to carry more stuff.

Good points. This suit will probably be changed in the future, but let me adjust the text for now:
"A powerful new protection for soldiers, this armor is powered by an Elerium energy source. It greatly amplifies the carrying capacity of the wearer while retaining good mobility. It offers great protection for combat troops."

- A similar line might be appropriate for the Juggernaut suit.

I think it should be more or less obvious by this point, I don't want to get too repetitive. (Yes, I said otherwise about the medical items, but at least those were instructions.)

- Plasma firearms share a number of notable characteristics, such as armor stripping, setting targets on fire and having multiple dice rolls for damage. I think it's worthwhile pointing this out to the player as the plasma tech comes in, preferably via an article in Field Manual.

It's hard to decide what is important and what isn't. Theoretically, everything is under INFO... But maybe I can add something to the Plasma Weapons Calibration article, if space allows. What would you like to see there?

- The Dimension X Outpost Defense mission yields Alien Surgery, which seems odd.

You mean the item? Or research?

- The general Cyberweb Battery can be brought on missions, but there is no point in doing so.

Yes, there is - you can transport it between bases via craft transfer. ;)

Offline BTAxis

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1390 on: September 27, 2018, 07:36:18 pm »
It's hard to decide what is important and what isn't. Theoretically, everything is under INFO... But maybe I can add something to the Plasma Weapons Calibration article, if space allows. What would you like to see there?

Essentially the things I mentioned, without breaking immersion and explaining the OXCE engine directly. So, maybe mention that plasma projectiles "melt armor with their intense heat", that they "can cause anything they hit to burst into flame" and that they "inflict great damage more often than not". There's no need to go into details or be otherwise verbose about it, because players can be expected to look at the info screen, like you said.

Quote
You mean the item? Or research?

The item.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1391 on: September 29, 2018, 06:21:00 pm »
Essentially the things I mentioned, without breaking immersion and explaining the OXCE engine directly. So, maybe mention that plasma projectiles "melt armor with their intense heat", that they "can cause anything they hit to burst into flame" and that they "inflict great damage more often than not". There's no need to go into details or be otherwise verbose about it, because players can be expected to look at the info screen, like you said.

Thanks!
Something like in the attachment?

The item.

Yes indeed. Fixed.

Offline BTAxis

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1392 on: September 29, 2018, 11:51:28 pm »
That looks just fine, yeah.

Offline Barth Gimble

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1393 on: September 30, 2018, 07:06:56 am »
Saw two small problems:

1) The UFOpedia entry for "Ilya Dolvich" has some kind of text in Cyrillic characters that English-speaking players shouldn't see in their game.

2) I just took down a Cyberweb lair for the first time in my v0.9.5 game and something weird happened that didn't occur while I was playing the previous version. Since my people are investigators rather than soldiers, I try to make arrests or capture things alive (at least, the first time I meet them) rather than destroy. My agents took down the Cyberweb scientist and his robots with Electric prods. Upon ending the mission, I got a screen that said "Alien Containment Limits Exceeded," but there were no entities listed as available for transfer to another base. Presumably this was something about the robots, and happened because the base the agents came from doesn't have alien containment. Anyway, this didn't happen in the last game when taking down Cyberweb robots.

Offline tkzv

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Re: Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste
« Reply #1394 on: September 30, 2018, 09:37:41 pm »
1) The UFOpedia entry for "Ilya Dolvich" has some kind of text in Cyrillic characters that English-speaking players shouldn't see in their game.
It means "Doesn't understand English" :)