Bugs, crashes, typos & bad taste

[Solarius Scorch]

In the manufacturing menu, it lists the required item as STR_ZOMBIE_STRIX_TERRORIST. I have a living Strix in my jail, but I can't process it.

Ah, true. Fixing now.

Yeah, it's tricky. For my part I'd be fine with having numbers only on UFOs since you might want to tell them apart if there are multiple of them present at once, but that's really just me.

OK, let's wait for some third opinions.

[Niewiem]

Yeah I agree that only UFOs need to have numbers

[BTAxis]

Here's the latest harvest.

Strings:
- STR_DEEP_ONE_UFOPEDIA: ""Almost human, a strange creature who appears to be a reptilian humanoid, very closely related to man" would be nicer as "Almost human, this strange creature appears to be a reptilian humanoid very closely related to man". "both deep sea and the surface" would be better as "both the deep sea and the surface".
- STR_BONE_CLUB_UFOPEDIA: Suggest removing the somewhat baffling "Contemporary science knows no explanation for it." Why is science trying to explain a bone club?
- STR_STAFF_004_UFOPEDIA: "which means" would be nicer as "meaning". "beejesus" should be "bejesus". "The good news is when" should be "The good news is that when".
- STR_VAMPIRE_KNIGHT_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: "crawl out of vampire's mouth" should be "crawl out of the vampire's mouth".
- STR_DESTROY_ZSRR_UFOPEDIA: Not partial to the phrasing of "This will be more than enough to put all of their commanding officers in prison for a long time, or worse", so suggest "This will be more than enough to get all of their commanding officers sentenced to a long time in prison, or worse". Also, suggest rephrasing "we can also sell any Red Dawn Keycards if we still have any" to "we can also sell any Red Dawn Keycards we still have".
- STR_TACTICAL_NEURAL_IMPLANT_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "allowed" to "have enabled".
- STR_STAFF_OF_HEART_GRIP_UFOPEDIA: I have a nit to pick with "a golden material" because while it IS sound, when I read it my first reaction is 'so basically gold then'. Therefore, suggest "a gold-colored material" instead. Also, "to good results" would be better as "to good effect".
- STR_SYNDICATE_SCIENTIST_UFOPEDIA: "their objective is not protection of Earth" should be "their objective is not the protection of Earth".
- STR_TANK_CANNON_UFOPEDIA: This description sort of introduces the HWPs as a whole, but as the cannon, rocket and minigun tanks can be researched in any order that seems somewhat inappropriate. Suggest wording this description to match the rocket and minigun tanks; the introduction is taken care of in STR_HWP_UFOPEDIA anyway.
- STR_ZOMBIE_IMPLANT_VIRUS_UFOPEDIA: The phrase "isolating the problem" is used at the end of a sentence twice in a row. Suggest changing the second instance to "cotton on to the problem".
- STR_SKULLJACK_UFOPEDIA: "turn a two-way feedback device to a three-way one" should be "turn a two-way feedback device into a three-way one". "take a temporary control" should be "take temporary control".
- STR_DOSSIER_SHADOWMAN_UFOPEDIA: "remains unseen to either electronic or human eyes" would be better as "remains unseen to both electronic and human eyes".
- STR_DOSSIER_LADY_LUCY_UFOPEDIA: "died from drug overdose" would be better as "died of a drug overdose".
- STR_STAFF_024_UFOPEDIA: "what psychiatry should really focus on instead are people" should be "what psychiatry should really focus on instead is people".
- STR_BLACK_MOON_DESCRIPTION and STR_BLACK_MOON_BRIEFING: "There is an unusual Werecat activity" would be better as "There is unusual Werecat activity".
- STR_CULT_HQ_BLACK_LOTUS_BRIEFING: Consider adding the boilerplate abort instructions.
- STR_AVALANCHE_UFOPEDIA: "BUT AN EXTREMELY HEAVY LOAD" should be "BUT WITH AN EXTREMELY HEAVY LOAD".
- STR_GOING_DEEPER_UFOPEDIA: "Our exploration of the Shogg" should be "Our exploration of Shogg". "One of them are" should be "One of them is". Suggest changing "we would do well" to "it would be in our interest".
- STR_SYNDICATE_EXPERIMENTS_UFOPEDIA: "these incidents" would be better as "these appearances".
- STR_HYBRID_NETWORK_UFOPEDIA: "by aliens themselves" should be "by the aliens themselves".
- STR_DEEP_ONE_OUTPOST_UFOPEDIA: "the unmanned undersea communication outposts" would be better as "unmanned undersea communication outposts".
- STR_SYNDICATE_CHUPACABRAS_LAB_BRIEFING: "clear up this mess" would be better as "clean up this mess".
- STR_SYNDICATE_NETWORK_UFOPEDIA: "find a few traces of official activity" is rather odd because anything that is official is by definition public. It needs not be found. Suggest rephrasing as "identify a few connections with the corporate sector". "but we need to do it discreetly" would be better as "we need to do it discreetly". Suggest changing "kaputt" to "in the bag".
- STR_ARROW_RUMORS_UFOPEDIA: "stumbled on" would be better as "stumbled upon". "we start to unravel" should be "we're starting to unravel".
- STR_ANTHROPOD_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "fairly tougher" to "a fair bit tougher". Suggest changing "being biological robots" to "which makes them biological robots".
- Mass replace "installed on crafts" with "installed on craft". 7 instances.

Misc:
- The Heavy Crossbow can be brought on missions prior to being researched.
- Consider sorting the MiG-31 before the Interceptor because it's available sooner. The CF-105 too really, except I got it later than the Raven, heh.
- Consider sorting the Tritanium Cannon after the basic Cannon. Ascending overall power and all that.
- CF-105 Arrow Rumors and CF-105 Arrow Investigation should probably not be in Field Equipment. How about Reports?
- The hatches on the sides of the Skyraider look like they should allow soldiers to stand on them. Is it possible to alter the map that way?
- The Skyranger description claims it's "the fastest of its kind", which is the vanilla text, but it's not true in XCF because the Skyraider is faster, and appears first.
- Speaking of vanilla text, some craft descriptions (such as the MiG-31 and the Raven) are in allcaps to match the vanilla convention, but others aren't. Consider unifying this.
- The tile in the NW corner of the Black Lotus HQ statue block is impassable.
- The tile in the NW most corner of the Black Lotus HQ tech-sphere (or whatever) block is impassable, both floors. (1) The same is true for the NW tile in the room with the stairs on that block. (3, lower level)
- The tile next to what looks like a tool cabinet in a corridor block of the Black Lotus HQ tileset is impassable. (2)
- The tile in the NW corner of the Black Lotus HQ elevator isn't an elevator. (4)
- The tile in the NW most corner of the Black Lotus HQ SAM block, sans missiles, is impassable on both floors. (5) On the block WITH missiles, only the top floor tile is impassable.
- Tiles adjacent to cable walls on the Black Lotus HQ tileset have a higher move cost, than other tiles, namely 8 as opposed to 4. They also make the wrong noise. (6)

[Mathel]

Tritanium Shrapnel Charge sets the blast zone on fire. Is this intentional? If so, it should be in it's description.

[Solarius Scorch]

Here's the latest harvest.

Strings:

Thanks, all fixed.

Misc:
- The Heavy Crossbow can be brought on missions prior to being researched.

And what's wrong with it? Most weapons can.

- Consider sorting the MiG-31 before the Interceptor because it's available sooner. The CF-105 too really, except I got it later than the Raven, heh.
- Consider sorting the Tritanium Cannon after the basic Cannon. Ascending overall power and all that.

Craft items aren't really sorted at all yet...

- CF-105 Arrow Rumors and CF-105 Arrow Investigation should probably not be in Field Equipment. How about Reports?

Indeed.

- The hatches on the sides of the Skyraider look like they should allow soldiers to stand on them. Is it possible to alter the map that way?

It felt it would be just too comfortable.

- The Skyranger description claims it's "the fastest of its kind", which is the vanilla text, but it's not true in XCF because the Skyraider is faster, and appears first.

Changed to "TROOP TRANSPORTER, WITH VERTICAL TAKE OFF AND LANDING (V.T.O.L.) CAPABILITY AND AN INCREASED CREW COMPARTMENT."

- Speaking of vanilla text, some craft descriptions (such as the MiG-31 and the Raven) are in allcaps to match the vanilla convention, but others aren't. Consider unifying this.

I keep forgetting
Will do that later at some point.

- The tile in the NW corner of the Black Lotus HQ statue block is impassable.
- The tile in the NW most corner of the Black Lotus HQ tech-sphere (or whatever) block is impassable, both floors. (1) The same is true for the NW tile in the room with the stairs on that block. (3, lower level)
- The tile next to what looks like a tool cabinet in a corridor block of the Black Lotus HQ tileset is impassable. (2)
- The tile in the NW corner of the Black Lotus HQ elevator isn't an elevator. (4)
- The tile in the NW most corner of the Black Lotus HQ SAM block, sans missiles, is impassable on both floors. (5) On the block WITH missiles, only the top floor tile is impassable.
- Tiles adjacent to cable walls on the Black Lotus HQ tileset have a higher move cost, than other tiles, namely 8 as opposed to 4. They also make the wrong noise. (6)

I can't work with MCDs right now, but I will try to remember to fix it later.

Thanks for all the reports!

Tritanium Shrapnel Charge sets the blast zone on fire. Is this intentional? If so, it should be in it's description.

All explosions set things on fire. There is no need to write it under every entry.

[BTAxis]

And what's wrong with it? Most weapons can.

Hm. I somehow thought research was always required first. I suppose that's only true for alien tech.

[Mathel]

All explosions set things on fire. There is no need to write it under every entry.

Most explosions set flamable things on fire (Hay bails, grass, etc...).
Incendiary damage explosions, plasma blasts and Tritanium Shrapnel Charge set anything on fire.

Here is comparison between High Explosive, Elerium Explosive and Tritanium Shrapnel Charge.

[BTAxis]

A wild feedback list appears!

Everything that's not in the second part:
- STR_HYBRID_FARM_DESCRIPTION and STR_HYBRID_FARM_BRIEFING: I'm not entirely sure what is meant with "We are expected to see this business closed in no time". However I suspect it means "We are expected to see to it that this business closes in short order", so I suggest that.
- STR_FLOATERS_HISTORY_UFOPEDIA: "a distant planet, orbiting two suns" would be better as "a distant planet that orbits two suns". "almost to the point of extinction" would be better as "so badly they almost went extinct".
- STR_OSIRON_AA_AMMO_TRADE_DESCRIPTION: "from which" should technically be "from whence".
- STR_HYBRID_FARM_UFOPEDIA: "genetically-modified plants" should not have the hyphen.
- STR_MONSTER_VS_POLICE_DESCRIPTION and STR_MONSTER_VS_POLICE_TEMPERATE_BRIEFING: Suggest rephrasing "Despite our discouragement, local police forces planned a cleanup operation" as "Local police forces have begun a cleanup operation despite our efforts to discourage such things".
- STR_UFO_SUBTYPES_UFOPEDIA: "equal ease" would be better as "ease equal". "within a certain parameters" should be "within certain parameters". "ships of certain type" would be better as "all ships of any given type".
- STR_MAGMA_REACTOR_CHAINSAWBOTS_DESCRIPTION and STR_MAGMA_REACTOR_CHAINSAWBOTS_BRIEFING should be swapped.
- STR_BLOODHOUND_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: "which suggests immune system deficiency" should be "which suggests an immune system deficiency". Suggest rephrasing "Still, the most worrying" as "Most worrying, still".
- STR_GANG_STORMIES_UFOPEDIA: "Earth black markets" would be better as "Earth's black markets".
- STR_MESSAGE_FROM_MAGMA_05_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rewriting "nobody else has anything like it! And now you too" as "nobody has anything like it! Except for you".
- STR_MONSTERS_INC_UFOPEDIA: "cloning and distribution of" should be "cloning and distributing". "not actual creators" should be "not the actual creators". Suggest changing "Earth security" to "defeating this menace" or similar because let's face it, in XCF the monsters are the least of Earth's problems.
- STR_PULSE_WEAPONS_UFOPEDIA: "anti-personal" should be "anti-personnel". "cause additional 25%" should be "cause an additional 25%".
- STR_DOSSIER_CARLOS_TANAKA_UFOPEDIA: "some criminals groups" should be "criminal groups".
- The following strings appear to be missing: STR_MANAGE_CONTAINMENT_3, STR_ALIEN_3, STR_LIVE_ASTR_DEAD_ASTR_UNDER_3. STR_REMOVE_SELECTED_3
- STR_COMMUNION_OF_APOCALYPSE_UFOPEDIA: "They are a mixture" would be nicer as "These are a mixture".
- STR_THUNDERSTORM_UFOPEDIA: Both instances of "THUNDERSTORM" would be better as "THE THUNDERSTORM" as it's a craft type, not an individual craft.
- STR_ALIEN_DATA_SLATE_UFOPEDIA: "in possession of" should be "in the possession of".
- STR_DELTA_RADIATION_UFOPEDIA: "the E-115 molecule" makes no sense because Elerium is an element, and elements are by definition lone atoms. You could maybe say that E-115 commonly forms molecules with itself like Oxygen does in O₂ and O₃. Moving on, "their range" should be "the range of Delta rays".
- STR_GUNSHIP_ARMOR_UFOPEDIA: "Given a basic knowledge" would be better as "Leveraging our basic understanding". Consider mentioning explicitly that the thing can fly.
- STR_ALIEN_NAVIGATORS_UFOPEDIA: "The Navigators caste" would be better as "The Navigator caste".
- STR_BLOODHOUND_UFOPEDIA: "imperfections of design" would be better as "imperfections in the design". "both these" should be "both of these".
- STR_DESTROY_BLACK_LOTUS_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "Actually, we have already located some of their leaders within mere hours" as "In fact, we located some of their leaders within mere hours of activating the detector".
- STR_ALIEN_COMMANDERS_UFOPEDIA: "highest level of alien field command structure" should be "highest level of the alien field command structure".
- STR_SYNDICATE_PHASE_1_DESCRIPTION: "the last floor" would be better as "the top floor". The pickup and the helicopter should be added to the list of allowed vehicles.
- STR_CEREBREAL_UFOPEDIA: "allies, who agreed" would be nicer as "allies who have agreed". "fuelled" should be "fueled", but only in en-US.yml.
- STR_LASER_WEAPONS_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "known for decades" to "around for decades". "allows for design" should be "allows for the design".
- STR_GOLD_SHIELD_UFOPEDIA, STR_GREEN_SHIELD_UFOPEDIA, STR_PURPLE_SHIELD_UFOPEDIA and STR_RED_SHIELD_UFOPEDIA: These articles suffer from singular/plural inconsistency. Either use "A force shield of X type gives", or use "They offer" and "They give".
- STR_ALIEN_ELECTRONICS_UFOPEDIA: "a multi-threaded communication" should be "multi-threaded communication". "therefore" would be better as "thereby". "the rough understanding on" would be better as "a rough understanding of".
- STR_SYNDICATE_WORKER_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "white collars" to "white-collar drones", because I've only ever seen the phrase "white-collar" used as an adjective.
- STR_DOSSIER_MILLICENT_WEBER_UFOPEDIA: "after giving" would be better as "after she gave". "'New Humanity'" would be better as "a 'New Humanity'".
- STR_USO_AQUATOID_BRIEFING: The reminder that only underwater gear can be taken on this mission is a bit pointless, as by the time you read it the mission has already begun.
- STR_MONSTERS_FINAL_SOLUTION_UFOPEDIA: "dispersed from air" should be "dispersed the from air".


Everything that wasn't in the first part:
- Alien drones can apparently bleed. That doesn't make much sense since they're supposed to be robotic.
- Consider sorting the Reaper Corpse item with the rest of the corpses.
- Rocks in the desert can burn away, which is a tad odd.
- Consider sorting Message from M.A.G.M.A.: Tritanium Ammo with the other messages from M.A.G.M.A.
- The Black Lotus Avatar does not seem to have a combat analysis article.
- Consider sorting the HWP Autocannon Tritanium Shells below the Gunship/Autocannon, following the convention of other HWP production items.
- A door on the industrial map set disappears when opened. See image.
- The Alien Drone Adaptation production item seems less than great because it costs resources whereas disassembling an alien drone and then building a new drone yields resources at the end of the day. The increased manpower and monetary cost in doing so don't outweigh this in my opinion.
- Consider adding a UFOpedia entry for the drone weapon.
- On some missions, regular Syndicate Security units appear incapable of attacking anything on their own turn, though they will use RF. I have TRIED to get them to shoot me, but they refuse. I have a save to demonstrate.

[BTAxis]

A partially domesticated but not quite housebroken feedback list appears!

Writery:
- STR_MANSION_DEFENSE_SYNDICATE_DESCRIPTION and STR_MANSION_DEFENSE_SYNDICATE_BRIEFING: "is targeted by" would be better as "has become the target of".
- STR_MANSION_DEFENSE_SYNDICATE_BRIEFING: "After successful mission" would be better as "Once your mission is successful". "stresses the importance of it" would be better as "stresses that this is of utmost importance."
- STR_REACTOR_DEFENSE_SYNDICATE_DESCRIPTION and STR_REACTOR_DEFENSE_SYNDICATE_BRIEFING: "as well as" would be better as "and".
- STR_AQUATOID_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "The Aquatoid Race is" to "The Aquatoids are". I'm unhappy with "Aquatoids seek to propagate its sterile race by genetic modification, the ideal subjects being human beings". Suggest "Aquatoids seek to propagate their sterile race through the genetic modification of other races. As it turns out, humans are the ideal subjects for this".
- STR_SORCERER_OF_DAGON_UFOPEDIA: "and quick to follow orders" should be "and are quick to follow orders".
- STR_GANG_CAVEMEN_UFOPEDIA: "have a very firm stand on possible alien origins of humanity" would be better as "take a very firm stand on the possibility that humanity has alien origins".
- STR_GANG_LUCHADORES_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "Well, each of these guys actually hunted and ate a Zombie" as "Well, these Luchadores actually went and did exactly that". Suggest rephrasing "you are subjected to all sorts of physical effort while feverish," as "you are subjected to all sorts of physical stress and feel feverish".
- STR_GANG_MOTOR_MEN_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "the falling civilization" as "a civilization doomed to ruination".
- STR_IMPROVED_LABORATORY_UFOPEDIA: "Understanding of alien power generation" would be better as "Our understanding of alien power generation". "management It" would be better as "management. This facility".
- STR_UAC_CHAINGUN_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "fires hails of bullets, deadly to any life forms" as "a hail of bullets that is deadly to any life form".
- STR_DOSSIER_PIOTR_WISNIEWSKI_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "from 1967 to 1984 when he left" as "from 1967 to 1984, after which he left". Suggest rephrasing "Since his departure, it is unknown what he is working on" as "it is unknown what he has been working on since his departure". "he is a suspect for the theft of" would be better as "he is a suspect in the theft of".
- STR_CHITIN_KNIFE_UFOPEDIA: "of some large arthropod carapace" would be better as "from some large arthropod's carapace".
- STR_MINOTAUR_UFOPEDIA: Suggest rephrasing "to create an unstoppable warrior" as "that together create an unstoppable warrior".
- STR_CHAINGUN_CLIP and STR_CHAINGUN_AA_CLIP: These strings should probably be prefixed with "UAC", as all other UAC ammo is.
- STR_ANTMAN_UFOPEDIA: "individual personalities, although strongly predisposed for a collective society" would be better as "individual personalities, although they're strongly predisposed toward a collective society"
- STR_ALIEN_MEDICS_UFOPEDIA: "much of alien tech" would be better as "a lot of alien tech". "or participating" would be better as "or when participating".
- STR_ALIEN_LEADERS_UFOPEDIA: "with exceptional intellect" would be better as "that display exceptional intellect". "little actual privileges" would be better as "few actual privileges". "allows us to identify" would be better as "enabled us to identify".
- STR_CULT_HQ_JUNGLE_CHURCH_OF_DAGON_DESCRIPTION and STR_CULT_HQ_JUNGLE_CHURCH_OF_DAGON_BRIEFING: "the Church structure" would be better as "the Church's structure".
- STR_CULT_HQ_JUNGLE_CHURCH_OF_DAGON_BRIEFING: Consider adding the boilerplate abort instructions.
- STR_GANG_WESTMEN_UFOPEDIA: "believe in futility" should be "believe in the futility". "and better be somewhere else" would be better as "and they had better be somewhere else". "'salvage operations'" would be better as "'salvaging'".
- STR_DAGON_STATUE_UFOPEDIA: "This golden statue" would be better as just "this statue", because gold isn't unearthly.
- STR_GANG_EASY_RIDERS_UFOPEDIA: "or criminal activity" would be better as "legal or otherwise".
- STR_GANG_TECH_WIZARDS_UFOPEDIA: "for pure sensation" should be "purely for the sensation".
- STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH_UFOPEDIA: "earth" should be "Earth".
- STR_CYBERWEB_MANUFACTURING_PLANT_DESCRIPTION: "much illegal tech sold" would be better as "much of the illegal tech that's sold".
- STR_ADVANCED_ROCKET_LAUNCHER_UFOPEDIA: "Utilizing the Alien Optical Processor" should be "Utilizing Alien Electronics". The AOP is not involved in building this weapon.
- STR_CYBERWEB_MYSTEK_UFOPEDIA: "They are considered by" would be better as "They are regarded by".
- STR_SECTOID_LEGENDS_UFOPEDIA: "Sectoids joined" should be "the Sectoids joined".
- STR_ALIEN_SOLDIERS_UFOPEDIA: "of alien forces we didn't know already" would be better as "of the alien forces that we didn't know already".
- STR_ANTMAN_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: "This insectoid has all the features of sapient, tool-using creatures", while perfectly fine on its face, appears to be written as a rhyme due to the way the wrapping works out. It should also be plural to match the rest of the article. Thus, suggest: "These insectoids have all the characteristics of sapient, tool-using creatures".
- The Ion Blaster Battery description uses STR_ION_BLASTER_UFOPEDIA, not STR_ION_BLASTER_CLIP_UFOPEDIA.
- STR_ALIEN_GARDENS_UFOPEDIA: "for cultivation" should be "for the cultivation".
- STR_GAZER_AUTOPSY_UFOPEDIA: No more than one semicolon per article please, goodness me. The first one can be safely replaced by a full stop.
- STR_MACRO_SMG_UFOPEDIA: Suggest changing "It relies on the user's strength" to "It requires a strong soldier to carry it", as the original phrasing initially led me to expect that strength was involved in the damage calculation.
- Suggest mass replace "armour" -> "armor" in en-US.yml.
- Suggest mass replace "armor" -> "armour" in en-GB.yml.
- Suggest s/(?<![ -]s)(?<![ -]se)([iy])z(e|es|ed|ing)([^\w])/$1s$2$3/g in en-GB.yml, for about 140 replacements. It should have no false positives (I hope) though it will miss "TERRORIZE" in STR_MONSTERS_TERRORISE and STR_ALERT_ARACHNOQUAKE because it's uppercase.


Miscery:
- Consider sorting the Sectoid Corpse item with the rest of the corpses. The same goes for any other alien corpse that is sorted above the combat equipment.
- The Syndicate Assassination mission allows 2x2 HWPs to spawn in the pantry, a place they could not possibly have gotten into.
- On the Shogg Village mission, consider placing the item pile on the evac area.
- Consider adding a combat analysis for the Cave Girl, or unlocking the Cave Guy combat analysis from the Cave Girl.
- The BlackOps Smartgun can be purchased as soon as it is researched, without having to research BlackOps Smartgun Acquisition.
- The BlackOps Smartgun does not support spray & pray. Perhaps it ought to.
- My preferred order for the BlackOps LMGs is: Assault LMG, LMG, Smartgun.
- Consider allowing the Pickup for the Orion Stakeout mission, for completion's sake. The Pickup is supposed to be a covert ops vehicle after all.
- Consider sorting the BlackOps Smartpistol before the Blackops Pistol clips (but after the pistol itself).
- Consider sorting the Advanced Rocket Launcher before the standard rockets (but after the regular Rocket Launcher).
- I was unable to complete the Vampire Castle mission because large parts of the map were completely unreachable. It may be worth looking into the connectivity of this map set.
- Consider sorting the Medi-Kit after the Healing Gel. Also, consider cutting the vanilla usage manual off the description, as it seems silly to be presented with it after having gone through 4 other items that work the exact same way.
- The ladders that lead down to the special rooms on the Cyberweb Dimensional Portal map cannot be ascended, so units can get stuck down there.

[Solarius Scorch]

Whoa, thanks as always, BT-san. I can't imagine how long it took you to write this report, since the fixes alone took me way over an hour. Much appreciated!

I fixed or otherwise addressed all your points, except for the ones below - please check and provide extra info where needed:

"cause an additional 25% damage" - so damage is a countable noun here?
STR_DELTA_RADIATION_UFOPEDIA: "the E-115 molecule" makes no sense because Elerium is an element, and elements are by definition lone atoms. You could maybe say that E-115 commonly forms molecules with itself like Oxygen does in O2 and O3. Moving on, "their range" should be "the range of Delta rays". - Normally I would agree, but everything we know about Elerium poits to the conclusion that is that it cannot be an element, or not simply an element. It's not really described yet, since I'm anxious to use actual pseudoscience, but I'm sort of working on it.
"Consider adding a UFOpedia entry for the drone weapon." Sorry, which drone do you mean? The scout?
"On some missions, regular Syndicate Security units appear incapable of attacking anything on their own turn, though they will use RF. I have TRIED to get them to shoot me, but they refuse. I have a save to demonstrate." Yeah, it just... happens sometimes. I have no idea why.
"'salvage operations'" would be better as "'salvaging'". I feel some comedy value would be lost here.
"STR_ALIEN_RESEARCH_UFOPEDIA: "earth" should be "Earth"." you are right, but it's vanilla text from 1994... Wouldn't be the first such case.
"Suggest mass replace "armor" -> "armour" in en-GB.yml." I don't exactly maintain en-GB, I only copy en-US under a differnt name - otherwise people who play in en-GB don't get the changes of vanilla strings. I would love to add en-GB, but I don't have the time to do this properly and so I hope someone will take care of it on Transifex.
"The Syndicate Assassination mission allows 2x2 HWPs to spawn in the pantry, a place they could not possibly have gotten into." You mean X-Com units? Yeah, because people kept moaning ahbout the equipment pile being exposed on the roof, so I moved it to the pantry, but had to also move the spawn point... I will think about how to solve it.
"The BlackOps Smartgun does not support spray & pray. Perhaps it ought to." Nah, it's not in line with what smart weapons do. You can consider it a disadvantage of this tech, but I personally think it's pretty negligible.
"My preferred order for the BlackOps LMGs is: Assault LMG, LMG, Smartgun." OK, but I'm not sure why... I'm certain you have a good reason, care to elaborate?
"Consider allowing the Pickup for the Orion Stakeout mission, for completion's sake." It's always been allowed, the text simply hasn't been updated after this car had been added. I removed the entire line, as this should work automatically now.
"Consider sorting the BlackOps Smartpistol before the Blackops Pistol clips (but after the pistol itself)." This is something you can never do right, since either you get an order which is just ugly (as it is now) or the upgrade located before the basic version... Which one do you think is better?
"I was unable to complete the Vampire Castle mission because large parts of the map were completely unreachable. It may be worth looking into the connectivity of this map set." Never had problems with this map after removing some grates. (They were put in place to prevent excessive camping of the bridge.) Is your problem related to this, or is anything wrong with the architecture itself?
"Consider sorting the Medi-Kit after the Healing Gel. Also, consider cutting the vanilla usage manual off the description, as it seems silly to be presented with it after having gone through 4 other items that work the exact same way." All medical items have this description (or should). Yes, it's a bit redundant, but I see no harm in it.
"The ladders that lead down to the special rooms on the Cyberweb Dimensional Portal map cannot be ascended, so units can get stuck down there." Lol, yeah, no I remember it. XD Not sure if it can be fixed easily, but I'll have a look.

[BTAxis]

Whoa, thanks as always, BT-san. I can't imagine how long it took you to write this report, since the fixes alone took me way over an hour.

I just keep a file open as I play. I don't really think of it as a big deal, so I'm content to contribute to XCF in this small fashion.

so damage is a countable noun here?

We're not dealing with damage as a noun here, but "twenty-five per cent damage" as a noun phrase. That's typically treated as countable, as seen in the ninety-ninety rule for instance.

Normally I would agree, but everything we know about Elerium poits to the conclusion that is that it cannot be an element, or not simply an element. It's not really described yet, since I'm anxious to use actual pseudoscience, but I'm sort of working on it.

STR_UFO_POWER_SOURCE_UFOPEDIA specifically specifies it as "element 115". It is your creative license to not treat Elerium as an element in XCF, but then you should address this.

"Consider adding a UFOpedia entry for the drone weapon." Sorry, which drone do you mean? The scout?

I meant the X-COM flying drone. It has a built-in weapon that does not have any player-viewable stats in the 'pedia (that I can find anyway), though all other HWP weapons do.

"My preferred order for the BlackOps LMGs is: Assault LMG, LMG, Smartgun." OK, but I'm not sure why... I'm certain you have a good reason, care to elaborate?

It's mostly the order in which they become available (at least in my campaign), with the Assault LMG requiring only Promotion II and the Smart Gun not appearing until the Syndicate gets into full swing. The order also matches my perceived order of increasing overall power, with the regular LMG being more powerful than the Assault LMG owing to a better auto-shot. It's pretty subjective though, so feel free to disregard this.

This is something you can never do right, since either you get an order which is just ugly (as it is now) or the upgrade located before the basic version... Which one do you think is better?

Interesting. I'd probably choose the latter, because that is at least in line with the convention that ammo is displayed below the weapon. The reverse being the case actually threw me and made me think I did not have the upgraded weapon at that base, which led to a moment of confusion.

Is your problem related to this, or is anything wrong with the architecture itself?

Unfortunately I don't have a save for it, but I was running up and down the castle with my scanners looking for "that one last zombie" until I just went and activated the 30-turn bug hunt mod. Turned out there were like 14 enemies with no path to me, in two map blocks that were apparently completely cut off. I could potentially have blasted my way in, but I really had to go because one of my soldiers was going comatose.

All medical items have this description (or should). Yes, it's a bit redundant, but I see no harm in it.

Well, the Healing Gel doesn't, but you're right otherwise. The stim and painkiller functions aren't covered in the XCF healing items though, but I don't propose they should be.


On all other comments I defer to your judgment.

[Solarius Scorch]

I just keep a file open as I play. I don't really think of it as a big deal, so I'm content to contribute to XCF in this small fashion.

Even if you say so, I know how much pain this kind of thig is. So, kudos!

We're not dealing with damage as a noun here, but "twenty-five per cent damage" as a noun phrase. That's typically treated as countable, as seen in the ninety-ninety rule for instance.

I'm not disbelieving, but since you are knowledgeable about these things, could you please elaborate? Because it's the first time I'm hearing of such a difference in any language (and I speak 4) and I'm a grammar junkie.
While I am no expert on English grammar, a noun phrase is a noun with some corresponding attributes. I fail to understand how the presence of attributes changes how the noun behaves; to me this seems completely illogical and counter to any basic grammar rules I know. It doesn't look like an exception either, it's too broad. In fact I'd be really interested in learning more about this.
(This of course is completely off-topic. I'm just intrigued.)

STR_UFO_POWER_SOURCE_UFOPEDIA specifically specifies it as "element 115". It is your creative license to not treat Elerium as an element in XCF, but then you should address this.

I know, I know... As I've said before, it's hard to do well, so I'm sweeping it under the carpet for now. (Still a bazillion times better than almost any "sci-fi" series I've watched. )

I meant the X-COM flying drone. It has a built-in weapon that does not have any player-viewable stats in the 'pedia (that I can find anyway), though all other HWP weapons do.

There is an entry:

Code: [Select]

  - id: STR_ALIEN_DRONE_WEAPON
    type_id: 4
    section: STR_ALIEN_LIFE_FORMS
#    text: STR_ALIEN_DRONE_WEAPON_UFOPEDIA
    requires:
      - STR_ALIEN_DRONE
    listOrder: ???

Or was it added after the last release? I'm not sure.

It's mostly the order in which they become available (at least in my campaign), with the Assault LMG requiring only Promotion II and the Smart Gun not appearing until the Syndicate gets into full swing. The order also matches my perceived order of increasing overall power, with the regular LMG being more powerful than the Assault LMG owing to a better auto-shot. It's pretty subjective though, so feel free to disregard this.

OK, got it! I certainly owe you this much.

Interesting. I'd probably choose the latter, because that is at least in line with the convention that ammo is displayed below the weapon. The reverse being the case actually threw me and made me think I did not have the upgraded weapon at that base, which led to a moment of confusion.

Yes, ammo should always be after the weapons.

Unfortunately I don't have a save for it, but I was running up and down the castle with my scanners looking for "that one last zombie" until I just went and activated the 30-turn bug hunt mod. Turned out there were like 14 enemies with no path to me, in two map blocks that were apparently completely cut off. I could potentially have blasted my way in, but I really had to go because one of my soldiers was going comatose.

Pity, now I'm worried there's something wrong with the castle... Oh well, let's keep an eye on this.

I am also open to suggestions on how to counter extreme camping without blocking the routes with grates. Maybe use the new feature for spawning enemies mid-battle, to simulate reinforcements? But won't it just encourage the grind even more?

Well, the Healing Gel doesn't, but you're right otherwise. The stim and painkiller functions aren't covered in the XCF healing items though, but I don't propose they should be.

Now the gel has it too.

On all other comments I defer to your judgment.

All right!

[BTAxis]

I'm not disbelieving, but since you are knowledgeable about these things, could you please elaborate? Because it's the first time I'm hearing of such a difference in any language (and I speak 4) and I'm a grammar junkie.

Well let's see, I'm not a linguist or anything myself (I'm not even a native English speaker), so I can't really answer in the most definitive of terms. I did google it a bit and found some words on the subject here.

From where I'm sitting, the inclusion of the definite article comes from using the word "additional" before "25% damage". We're then talking about one unit of "25% damage", which is countable. If we were to phrase it as "25% additional damage", we wouldn't use the definite article because we're talking about a certain quantity of "damage", which is uncountable.

I know, I know... As I've said before, it's hard to do well, so I'm sweeping it under the carpet for now.

Handwaving stuff is perfectly okay. The player can be expected to suspend their disbelief a fair bit, especially when the source material is as pulpy as X-Com. All I'm advocating here is internal consistency.

There is an entry:

Alright then. Suffice to say I tried to MMB the drone's weapon without effect. Of course if it's to come in the next version then it's all peachy.

I am also open to suggestions on how to counter extreme camping without blocking the routes with grates. Maybe use the new feature for spawning enemies mid-battle, to simulate reinforcements? But won't it just encourage the grind even more?

Well hmm, I must admit to camping at the bridge quite a bit. Zombies can chew you up right quick if you let them get close to you, especially since close quarters overwatch is a tenuous gambit in the face of so much health. Add to that the fact that the castle has loads of places where enemies can sneak up on you. It's a death trap, which is what it's supposed to be, of course.

I'm considering what you said about reinforcing, and whether using some kind of proximity mine in a boss room for spawning the queen could be an incentive, but I'm a little dubious. I don't know how much control over such an encounter OXCE's scripts allow, nor am I convinced it's necessarily a good fit for X-Com in the first place.

I don't know if this mission is going to pop up again in my campaign, I did research the queen but didn't finish the zombie arc yet. If it does though I'll pay extra attention to it.

[Solarius Scorch]

Well let's see, I'm not a linguist or anything myself (I'm not even a native English speaker), so I can't really answer in the most definitive of terms. I did google it a bit and found some words on the subject here.

From where I'm sitting, the inclusion of the definite article comes from using the word "additional" before "25% damage". We're then talking about one unit of "25% damage", which is countable. If we were to phrase it as "25% additional damage", we wouldn't use the definite article because we're talking about a certain quantity of "damage", which is uncountable.

Ah, all right. While not exactly familiar, this pattern at least doesn't seem illogical to me.

Handwaving stuff is perfectly okay. The player can be expected to suspend their disbelief a fair bit, especially when the source material is as pulpy as X-Com. All I'm advocating here is internal consistency.

I worry about it too, and probably too much... But I will only fix it after I have a complete better model.

Alright then. Suffice to say I tried to MMB the drone's weapon without effect. Of course if it's to come in the next version then it's all peachy.

Works in the quick battle. I don't have a handy campaign save to confirm, so please check again after the next release.

Well hmm, I must admit to camping at the bridge quite a bit. Zombies can chew you up right quick if you let them get close to you, especially since close quarters overwatch is a tenuous gambit in the face of so much health. Add to that the fact that the castle has loads of places where enemies can sneak up on you. It's a death trap, which is what it's supposed to be, of course.

I'm considering what you said about reinforcing, and whether using some kind of proximity mine in a boss room for spawning the queen could be an incentive, but I'm a little dubious. I don't know how much control over such an encounter OXCE's scripts allow, nor am I convinced it's necessarily a good fit for X-Com in the first place.

I don't know if this mission is going to pop up again in my campaign, I did research the queen but didn't finish the zombie arc yet. If it does though I'll pay extra attention to it.

Thanks for sharing the thoughts. I'm not satisfied with the current solution, so I will certainly think about it more.

[karnaugh_map]

A Giant Spider doesn't leave a corpse behind if it bleeds out and the mission ends, see attached save.

There were two Giant Spiders, one is killed and leaves a corpse, the other was wounded and died of fatal wounds and leaves nothing.