Repetitive missions

[zoli]

Hi!

I liked X-Com and OpenXcom is great! I don't know if any of these were discussed here and sorry if I'm wrong. If some of these could be easily modded by editing the rulesets, I'd do it, but I'm not a programmer and I couldn't do any of the more complex modding work.

The problem

I feel when I play that crash site missions happen too often (not just in geoscape time between missions but in geoscape events between missions) and they become a repetitive task to do. Also, farmland missions are too common(I know this is geoscape terrain related).

The reasons

-When the aliens are outnumbered, outgunned and the only objective is to kill them, the 30th large scout crash site becomes boring. Even if the soldiers are improving, having to do tens of missions for this is also boring. Trying a new tactic or having to capture a certain alien can make these missions interesting.
-Later in the game, when most of the world is covered in hyperwave decoders there are obviously more UFOs to detect and intercept.
-I have to admit I'm not agressive enough in research, manufacturing and psi-training and this could make the geoscape gameplay less eventful.

Ideas

-I actually would like to ask for ideas. I believe the solution is not to make missions more challanging or make UFOs much less frequent(maybe it would help if they were a bit less frequent at late game)
-I assume that the geoscape data could be easily(?) edited and that would make the farmland maps less frequent.
-Having OpenXcom list soldier stat improvements at mission debriefings would be a great reward and motivator in the long run.

[ivandogovich]

Your easiest solution is to download the expanded terrain pack.  The gives many new maps to keep things fresh and even changes the layouts of ufos like Large Scouts so you can battle through many different variants.
  Oops.  See hellrazor's post below.  I do highly recommend his work.

https://www.openxcom.com/mod/terrain-pack

[hellrazor]

Your easiest solution is to download the expanded terrain pack.  The gives many new maps to keep things fresh and even changes the layouts of ufos like Large Scouts so you can battle through many different variants.

https://www.openxcom.com/mod/terrain-pack

Hobbes terrain pack adds a lot of new globe and terrormission terrains.
over 100. Also some new maps for alien bases.
It does not contain additional floormaps for ufos.
I created a overworked version of the additional ufo map mods.
Adding 86 variant maps to vanilla ufo floor map see here
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/darkened-ufo-vanilla-variants

[yrizoud]

Also, consider that you don't HAVE to play each and every mission. If you reach a point where money is not holding you back, you can simply let UFOs fly (especially smaller ones), or crash them to stop them getting any points, but don't bother assault.
For the endgame stuff, you need specific alien ranks which can only happen on largest ships of some races, so there's little reason to bother with smaller ships and mutons / snakemen.

[Hobbes]

so there's little reason to bother with smaller ships and mutons / snakemen.

We have a traitor amongst our ranks! We shall execute him by firing squad composed of all rookies

Now seriously, skipping these types of UFOs/races has become my standard fare when playing vanilla

[zoli]

The terrain and the UFO interior mods look great, they'll give a lot of novelty of the vanilla game.

Also, consider that you don't HAVE to play each and every mission. If you reach a point where money is not holding you back, you can simply let UFOs fly (especially smaller ones), or crash them to stop them getting any points, but don't bother assault.
For the endgame stuff, you need specific alien ranks which can only happen on largest ships of some races, so there's little reason to bother with smaller ships and mutons / snakemen.

Now seriously, skipping these types of UFOs/races has become my standard fare when playing vanilla

I do skip missions and I only go to ethereal missions if it is absolutely necessary. I don't care that I ought to do as many missions as I can. But I want to train my soldiers for the final mission and I'm basically looking for a safe and non-boring way for that If too many soldiers die then I can hire rookies and start all over again.

I was looking for mods that could help:
1. Elerium recovery
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,2055.0.html
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,4874.0.html
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,2369.msg23805.html#msg23805
I had a terrible luck with shooting down UFOs or attempting to anticipate their landings. This would give a secondary objective besides killing all aliens: spare the plasma clips on both sides.
2. The built-in Self-destructing weapons mod
This would make capturing aliens more important.
3. Long research times unless you have live aliens
I remember that the new XCOM gave research credits after interrogating live aliens, but can something like this be done in OpenXcom?
4. Autocomplete missions
A few strategy games had this option. After clicking the autocomplete button, the player would instantly see the mission debriefing, with the score, who died, who got promoted, etc. Would it be possible to create a mod like this in OpenXcom?

[Slaughter]

A bombard option like Xenonauts would be pretty cool.

Also, you can just down them over water.

Enviado de meu SM-G3502T usando Tapatalk

[zoli]

A bombard option like Xenonauts would be pretty cool.

That would be interesting if the player would get huge penalties in the monthly score for ignoring crash sites.

[The Reaver of Darkness]

You don't have to go to crash sites. Probably lore-wise the aliens' life support runs out and they die after some time, then X-Com agents clean up the mess after it's safe. But once the ship is down, you can safely ignore it without it impacting your score. I find that simply shooting down tons of aliens gives you a huge score boost and can easily make up for the occasional battleship you ignore. In the long term, just make sure you aren't ignoring any countries. If you let too many of them go, you can lose them game despite doing well.

Mods are of course another answer to spice up the game. Luke's UFOs is an excellent way to make crash sites a bit more interesting, especially with the larger craft because the interior design will be different almost every time. I believe Hobbes posted a mod that gives more terrain variations across all types of sites. And my Air Weapons mod makes fusion ball weapons a lot stronger so if you're willing to spend the elerium, you can destroy the smaller craft outright and even take out battleships without taking too much damage. Note: my Air Weapons mod actually makes air combat more difficult in general, but makes it scale better overall.

If too many soldiers die then I can hire rookies and start all over again.

There is much to be said about advanced technology boosting the effectiveness of your troops. It really helps you get back on your feet when you lose trained personnel. If you feel the tech advantages in your game could use a bit of a boost, there are mods that give even more options. I'm not well versed in these options, but I have a mod that tweaks the power and flying suits to grant strength or firing accuracy, respectively. It's very nice for rookies.



Luke's UFOs - this mod meets with my approval!
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/lukes-extra-ufos

Terrain Pack by Hobbes - I haven't used this mod but I believe it is used in FMP.
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/terrain-pack

Reaver's Air Weapons - my own mod
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=4791.0
In posting this I have come to the realization that I don't have a page for this in the mod portal yet. That will be fixed eventually!

Reaver's Soldier Classes - also my own mod
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/reaver-039-s-soldier-classes
This one changes armor in a way you might find useful, though it also makes some other major changes you may or may not like. Still, having hiring options may further assist you in getting back on your feet after losing soldiers.

[bulletdesigner]

A bombard option like Xenonauts would be pretty cool.

i made a bombard beacon for 40k mod , a bit OP but get´s the job done. also a solo pod with only 4 seat for that hwp, so no points is lost... so if done right even colony's get theirs

[zoli]

Luke's UFOs - this mod meets with my approval!
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/lukes-extra-ufos

Terrain Pack by Hobbes - I haven't used this mod but I believe it is used in FMP.
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/terrain-pack

Reaver's Air Weapons - my own mod
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=4791.0
In posting this I have come to the realization that I don't have a page for this in the mod portal yet. That will be fixed eventually!

Reaver's Soldier Classes - also my own mod
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/reaver-039-s-soldier-classes
This one changes armor in a way you might find useful, though it also makes some other major changes you may or may not like. Still, having hiring options may further assist you in getting back on your feet after losing soldiers.

These are great! Thanks!

i made a bombard beacon for 40k mod , a bit OP but get´s the job done. also a solo pod with only 4 seat for that hwp, so no points is lost... so if done right even colony's get theirs

Are these on openxcom.com?

[bulletdesigner]

i made a bombard beacon for 40k mod , a bit OP but get´s the job done. also a solo pod with only 4 seat for that hwp, so no points is lost... so if done right even colony's get theirs

https://www.openxcom.com/mod/40k

still it´s a small part of a big mod that changes everything dunno if any mod out there is a solo bombard beacon mod, which i think is what you are looking for

[hellrazor]

Luke's UFOs - this mod meets with my approval!
https://www.openxcom.com/mod/lukes-extra-ufos

To old and buggy.
You may wanna use: https://www.openxcom.com/mod/darkened-ufo-vanilla-variants