Author Topic: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod  (Read 74436 times)

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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[UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« on: June 27, 2017, 10:07:16 am »
Reaver's Faithful Megamod
Runs on: Vanilla OpenXcom. This mod is 100% vanilla-friendly and you do not need OXCE to play it properly.

I have here a megamod I've been working on for quite a few years now. It changes many aspects of the game with the focus being on preserving the original feel of the game while balancing everything better and providing more options wherever choices were lacking. When you play this mod, you'll always have a choice at every turn. There's always two or three ways to do something, so you can customize your gameplay to what feels best to you.

Minor spoilers ahead, offering a glimpse into the features offered in the mod. You can download the mod on the OpenXCom Mod Portal or at the bottom of this post.

Latest Version: 1.4.7.1
This mod is complete and will not receive any major content updates. If you experience any bugs or imbalances, let me know and I may fix them.





Aircraft
You start out with two interception craft, an Interceptor and a Punisher. The Interceptor is faster and has longer range, the Punisher is tougher and carries more armament. You also have two transport craft, a Skyranger and a Custodian. The Skyranger is fairly quick and carries a medium complement of troops, the Custodian is a lot slower but can carry more troops and features rear exits for rapid deployment. There are sixteen total craft and you'll unlock more gradually as the game progresses. Some are mid-tech and you'll get them before the Firestorm/Lightning, others are higher tech than the Avenger/Vanquisher. Each craft is unique and has its own special niche, with plenty of overlap so you can comfortably choose your favorite craft without having to worry too much about what it can't do. The higher tech craft are especially versatile, most of them can do everything you need them to do.

Patrol craft are a thing now, some of the craft you get will have an enhanced onboard radar and/or improved ability to stay in the air for long periods of time.

Get used to your early craft unlocks, because you will have to research Alien Containment and get a navigator before you can start researching Firestorm or Lightning. There are other things to research first, and you will be briefed on the details after you research an alien corpse.



This is the Custodian. It can carry up to 18 soldiers or 3 tanks, and you start the game with one of these.
SpoilerOld map of the Custodian:


Base and Facilities
Living quarters hold 25 personnel and labs and workshops have 25 personnel space. The research and manufacturing projects still cost just as many points, so it'll be important to build plenty of labs and workshops! There are lots of ways to make good money in this mod. It won't be quite as easy as running lots of UFO sites, but that will get you off to a good start. The best thing to do with all of those surplus special materials you collect is to manufacture them into complex and expensive projects for sale. You can use the auto-sell function to predict how much you'll earn by making a given item, but as a general rule of thumb, the more complicated and difficult it is to manufacture, the better the profit margin will be on it. This does not hold true for ammunition, however.

You can make your base more space-efficient by producing large living quarters or general stores. Each large facility has the capacity of five small facilities, so you get 25% more within the same amount of space.


Air Combat
I added several aircraft weapons, so that there's two variants of each type. One variant will be long range and will hit hard, but it will be slow-firing and carry low ammo. The shorter range variant will have more damage throughput, higher average DPS, and higher accuracy and rate of fire so its damage will come out more smoothly. You might find stingrays useful in my mod, but you can still just use avalanches if you prefer. Plasma craft weapons use special ammo that cost elerium to manufacture, so if you're short on elerium it may be better to use laser weapons. Fusion weapons are much more powerful but very expensive to fire.

UFOs have longer attack ranges now, so you'll frequently find that they shoot back during interceptions. Your craft will need to be repaired more often and you may lose a few. Later craft repair each hit point more quickly, so they make decent brawlers with their higher toughness. Larger UFOs have increased hit points, so it'll be more common for your ammo to run out before downing something really big. You might find it useful to bring two or more craft to intercept.

Short video showing the Laser Beam and Pulse Cannon craft weapons in action against a medium scout.

I haven't added any new UFOs but I have made medium UFOs a lot more common. Terror ships are also less common now overall, however some ships that assault your base will be terror ships now. They have the same complement of troops, but are much easier to shoot down with base defenses. I also buffed missile and laser defenses a lot so they aren't completely useless anymore.


New aircraft UFOPedia images and maps from XCom Files make expanding your arsenal more exciting!


Ground Weaponry
You might be stuck with conventional weapons for longer in my mod, but fear not for there are plenty of ways to take down tough aliens with starter technology. If you find yourself fighting any armored opponents, try using a heavy cannon, autocannon, or rocket launcher against them. You can also use assault tanks to punch through tough armor, and there's more information on tanks further down. I've made AP damage type more viable in general, and I also increased the power of most grenades. Incendiary damage has been reworked and now should be particularly effective against both reapers and giant robots. No matter what you're up against, it can be killed with conventional weapons--even the sectopod, though I'm not going to tell you how, that's for you to figure out if you really want to! (I can think of at least three ways.)

All 3 classes of weapon come in pistol, rifle, and heavy with two variants of each: automatic and semi-auto.
Pistols have a very low time unit cost to fire, and are fairly accurate. The plasma pistol is considerably weaker than other plasma weapons, but before you get armor you might find it to be the most fearsome weapon in the aliens' arsenal due to its high rate of fire.
Rifles are all pretty accurate, with high accuracy aimed shots.
Heavy weapons have very high power and are great for punching through armor, but they are cumbersome weapons with slow fire rates. The semi-auto heavy will have a high accuracy, while the automatic heavy will have an autoshot but overall mediocre accuracy. The autocannon has an arcing shot which can be useful in a lot of ways. The heavy plasma has a much lower rate of fire, but it hits a lot harder. This weapon will scare you when you have your soldiers in heavy armor.

It'll take much longer to research Laser Weapons, but when you finally get it, you immediately unlock Laser Pistol and Laser Rifle. You then get the choice of researching Heavy Laser Weapons or Automatic Laser Weapons. Once you have researched both, you'll have unlocked the whole laser weapons tree.

The aliens use semi-automatic plasma weapons. Once you research these, you will be able to manufacture your own versions which will use the alien weapons in the project. Make sure you stock up on plasma clips, as you cannot manufacture your own clips without having alien clips on hand! The aliens will continue using all three types of plasma weapon into the end game, so you won't have to worry about one clip type disappearing. Automatic plasma weapons are specific to X-Com and are more expensive.

You can't manufacture the standard ammo for the blaster launcher or small launcher, but you can manufacture conventional variants. In the event you aren't securing enough ammo from the aliens, you will still be able to use these weapons. In addition to this, the small launcher is now one-handed and quick-firing with cheap lightweight bombs, and you will get other conventional weapon upgrades as you research some alien weapons. Fusion blaster bombs use a containment field to decrease their blast radius, making for a heavily concentrated precision explosive. The conventional blaster bombs do not have this feature so you'll have to collect blaster bombs from aliens if you want to take advantage of it.


The Small Launcher is a one-hand weapon and has low TU cost and weight. You can fire up to 3 small bombs per turn.


Tanks
Tanks come in three varieties: guardian, battle, and assault.
Guardian tanks are tough and heavily armored, but carry weak weaponry. Guardian tank armor is pretty uniform, so it doesn't matter which side gets hit.
Battle tanks are nearly the same as the original tanks, however I have improved their weapons a bit (especially aimed shots).
Assault tanks aren't so tough, but they carry a very powerful weapon which can punch through the toughest armor. Assault tanks have their best armor in front, and they are quite vulnerable in the rear.

Different tank types now come in different colors!


You must research alien alloys to be able to build laser tanks, but they have improved armor and time units now. The laser assault tank's aimed shot has over a 90% chance to hit. New alien explosive rocket tanks have the same improved armor and time units that the laser tanks have, and they require research in Alien Alloys and Alien Grenade.


Firestorm and Lightning Buffed
I'm going to leave most of the aircraft for you to discover, but I'd like to mention the Firestorm and Lightning. When you finish UFO Construction, you'll be able to research either New Fighter Craft or New Transport Craft. The Firestorm now can carry 4 soldiers or a tank, so while it makes for an excellent interception craft, it can double as a weak but very fast transport. The Lightning was already able to perform interceptions but I've improved its transport capacity. It now carries up to 16 soldiers or 4 tanks, and deploys them in all directions. If you had any prior reservations about using it as your main transport, you can forget them. This craft no longer carries a heavy cost for its speed. Speaking of cost, the Firestorm and Lightning now cost less elerium to fuel, so they might find a use in your armada even after you've started building more advanced craft.




Soldier Classes
You can choose to recruit pre-screened soldiers at higher cost and wage. They have the same maximum starting attributes as well as attribute caps, but they will have certain minimum attributes increased to ensure you don't get a lousy soldier.
Breacher: high reactions and health, good for exploring UFOs and going around corners
Ranger: high time units and stamina with a small boost to firing accuracy and reactions, good for exploring large amounts of the map
Sniper: high firing accuracy and reactions, good for camping behind cover with a good line of fire to many areas
Heavy: high strength and health with a small boost to accuracy and decrease to reactions, good for using large weapons and explosives
Elite: slightly boosted starting attributes in all areas.
There are two more soldier classes you can unlock with further research, both are quite expensive but very useful if you can afford them!


Late-game Craft
Eventually you'll unlock craft even more advanced than the Avenger or Vanquisher. They aren't that much stronger overall but rather they focus on being more versatile, being able to perform many different roles all in one craft. There is no need to have them and they are very expensive, so it's something to spend time and money on if you don't have anything better to do.

I won't spoil these craft too much but here's some external views:

Stalker - excels as a patrol craft and despite using elerium for fuel, it is particularly fuel efficient


Heracles - excels as a ground transport and has a complex interior design


Game Difficulty
I made a drastic change to the difficulty of the game. Experienced is now closer to what beginner used to be--not quite that easy but it makes a much more significant difference from Veteran than before. Genius is now about the same difficulty as Superhuman used to be. Beginner is very easy and Superhuman is very difficult. I haven't changed how difficulty affects alien craft spawns or alien deployments (yet), but it now makes huge changes to their time units, energy, health, and reactions. In addition, Beginner greatly reduces alien's armor and firing accuracy (just like in vanilla) while Superhuman greatly increases alien's armor and firing accuracy. Good luck trying to take out Sectopods now. (It's very possible, but won't be easy.) Celatids will probably never miss a shot in Superhuman, so you'll have to use their arcing shot against them. Melee units also have their strength greatly affected by difficulty, so that will affect their melee damage.
edit: I am being told that my mod is significantly more difficult than the original game. Experienced is probably more like the original Veteran, while Veteran is probably more like Genius or Superhuman. Let me know your thoughts on how it compares with the original!

I am eager to see someone try to take on my Superhuman difficulty setting. If you know the game really well, you can probably still dominate the aliens, since my mod offers so many resources you can take advantage of. There's always a way to get something done, you just have to figure out how. I guarantee you I'd get pulverized on this Superhuman difficulty. I'm having enough trouble on Genius. But I know it's possible to win, probably even what some of you would call easy.


Other Changes
There's a bunch of other changes made to the game, and some I'll leave for you to discover.
 * Late-game things often cost a lot more money, so you'll find ways to spend your money. Riches won't come easily in my mod.
 * The alien races are a bit different, especially sometimes in alien bases. You may encounter mixed race ships later in the game.
 * Power suit now has higher armor than flying suit, and both give special attribute bonuses.
 * Alien psionics are nerfed a bit so they will feel less cheaty.
 - - Your psionics are nerfed even more, so it'll be difficult to build up a squad of psi-warriors.
 - - You will need mind probes and ethereal corpses to build psi-amps, but you can get both of these in the late game.
 - - Get your Psi Lab built ASAP. Even if you can't use psionic attacks, you can still train psi defense.
 * There are six different ships you can take to Cydonia.
 * Some of the previously useless alien research (like alien food and alien entertainment) is now used to unlock important technologies.
 * startingBase ruleset is altered and gives you a lot of supplies plus a tank.
 * You can manufacture heavy armor immediately at the start of the game. It offers +12 armor on all facings and costs 5 strength and 5 TUs from the soldier. It's probably better to wear it, but it's a choice for you to make.


Slideshow demonstrating various explosive devices in my mod
http://imgur.com/a/oIyli

Video showing how to use guardian and assault tanks for best effect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzLoMC3VFb4

How to get shot, and how to not get shot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOy7Wpy8hvU

Video showing my blue plasma weapons, just ten minutes of me playing the game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mj70Dv7ofU


Future Changes
The mod is essentially finished. There's still things I wish I could have done, but I am moving this project to OXCE+ and am going to make some major changes. I will thus release the OXCE+ version under a new name.

The main things I still wanted to get done:
I'm still seeking improvements to aircraft artwork. I plan to also continue adding art assets to the game as I come across them. The final four aircraft unlocks also need plenty of work; their maps and sprites don't look much alike for one thing. I do not plan to add my own UFO battlescape variants, but this mod is mostly compatible with Luke's UFOs and should be compatible with Darkened UFOs but I haven't tested it yet. I want to eventually compile a set of UFOs from Luke's and/or Darkened mods to ensure compatibility, as I know at least Luke's UFOs mod has some redundant code that can interfere with this mod. I also want to fix research list order because that's currently a hot mess, and I'd like to iterate on the value of various aliens and corpses as well as their special items, making their sell values vary much more.



Version changes, credits, and recommended settings are on reply #3.

« Last Edit: January 16, 2022, 06:13:57 am by The Reaver of Darkness »

Offline SteamXCOM

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2017, 08:42:35 pm »

That is an impressive LIGHTNING, it is enlarged, no?  Maybe it should be the THUNDER.

I shall have to study your doors to see how you got them to work!
Yes, I should like to see how the nodes work to have aliens storm the craft, that should be a possibility on them all..

Offline drages

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2017, 10:54:26 pm »
This looks like a great mod to be a reference for beginner modders too.

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2017, 01:58:36 am »
Version 0.6.0 Changes:
 * Large Radar is now a large facility.
 * Advanced craft are locked behind some alien research, and you have to research alien containment to build one.
 * You can manufacture Heavy Armor for your troops at the start of a game.
 * Several research tweaks
 * Starting Base altered
 * Lots of bug fixes

Now introducing the new Heracles! This is a late-game craft you may eventually unlock, which can hold a large number of troops or tanks. The old map for it looks like an elongated Avenger, but I have made an exciting new map that gives the player a sort of ship you never get to have: it's like one of the UFOs! It's got rooms and hallways inside, and your crew start littered about the craft rather than all lined up. It also has nodes running through the ship so that aliens may enter and explore the interior.

This is the outside view. I'm not spoiling the interior right here!
edit: This is an older map. I have a new map for the Heracles detailed in the OP.

Version 0.8.1 Changes:
 * Added new aircraft maps, sprites, and UFOPedia graphics
 * Fixed Small Launcher to look like it's 1-handed
 * Changed/expanded difficulty settings
 * Added psionic prodigy soldier
 * Tweaked some alien tech weapons

Version 0.9.4 Changes:
 * Gave sectopod its own unique green laser. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN7omKSvuSs
 * Increased sell costs of most manufacturable items.
 * Tweaked Heavy Cannon, Autocannon, and Heavy Plasma accuracy and TU costs.
 * Switched plasma hovertanks to slow-firing. Their auto-shot is gone but their damage and accuracy is now higher.
 * Improved cannon tank rate of fire.
 * Increased alien TUs and reduced their reactions. This eliminates the frustrating ability aliens have of nearly always winning reaction rolls. On high difficulty, they will still have higher reactions than most of your soldiers, but on low difficulty you can easily have the higher reactions. I have also found that giving aliens more TUs makes them more aggressive and enables them to use tactics they previously would ignore. There is now much more reason to wait in ambush points to shoot aliens who come out in the open.
 * Tweaked smoke grenade/rocket/bomb.
 * Added Large Workshop.
 * Buffed incendiary damage. It is now effective against reapers and cyberdiscs. It is not particularly effective against sectopods but it will damage them right through their heavy armor and is still one of the most effective attacks your soldiers can make with conventional weapons.
 * Fixed bug with alien base race selection.
 * Fixed bug with live alien research.

Version 0.9.5 Changes:
 * Fixed UFOPedia bug.

Version 0.10.6 Changes:
 * Increased craft radar ranges
 * Added pieces to LIGHTNIA.MCD
 * Remade Heracles and Stalker maps
 * Various tweaks and bug fixes detailed in metadata.rul

Version 0.12.1 Changes:
 * Tanks are now colored by type: guardian=green, battle=blue, assault=red.
 * New Alien Explosive Rocket tanks!
 * Large Laboratory and Hyper-wave Decoder have been added. Many thanks to XOps for his artwork!
 * Spawn nodes added to various terrain types, ensuring all of the aliens will be able to spawn.
 * Late-game research projects now add a lot more points to your score.
 * A few craft tweaks. Assassin now can overtake a Terror Ship. Aircraft Cannon damage rate greatly improved. List orders adjusted. Fusion Defense will always destroy a battleship.
 * A few bug fixes detailed in the metadata file.

Version 1.0.0 Changes:
 * Tweaks to tier 2 tanks, Alien Rocket Tanks now shoot faster.
 * Changed Heavy Armor from that awful green to a nice brown.
 * Avenger and Starstreak can equip 3 and 4 weapons, respectively, iff you use OXCE/OXCE+.
 * Other minor tweaks detailed in the metadata file.
 * I changed recommended settings below: removed the recommendation to turn off psi strength improvement. As I understand it, it actually only improves psi strength when your soldiers receive psi attacks. It's also a reasonable amount of training and helps make up for your soldiers being incredibly psi-weak most of the time. Use if you want to, but you don't need it.

Version 1.0.5 Changes:
 * Various bug fixes

Version 1.1.0 Changes:
 * Fixed several sprite transparency indexes

Version 1.2.0 Changes:
 * minor bug fix
 * minor adjustments to Skyranger, Stormstrike, and Sparrow
 * First Aid Kit now heals three fatal wounds at once, but may only be used once per turn.
 * Some other Easter egg changes for you to discover, in the spirit of Easter.

Version 1.2.1 Changes:
 * minor bug fix

Version 1.2.3 Changes:
 * Fixed certain items not announcing they can be manufactured: Plasma Hovertanks, Fusion Rocket
 * Added back doors to Custodian; fixed issue with soldiers being unable to deploy from both sides of exit.

Version 1.3.1 Changes:
 * Added multiple new types of grenade, as well as some new types of craft missile.
 * Added many UFO variations based on Luke's UFOs mod.
 * Abductors now carry Alien Entertainment
 * Appearance of a race (e.g. mutons) no longer random but happens on a specific month.
 * Increased soldiers' minimum psi strength.
 * Tank armor reduced, health increased.
 * Alien psionics adjusted.
 * Sectoid terror site is less scary; floater terror site is more scary.
 * Funding increased slightly.
 * Varois other small changes.

Version 1.4.1 Changes:
 * Buffed all of the automatic weapons slightly. They should now have a larger margin of benefit above their semi-automatic counterparts.
 * Alien equipment is less random, instead is based on rank versus time. Each rank has a particular weapon progression.
 * Mind probes and small launchers will be more common now. Blaster launchers may show up where you do not expect them.
 * Large facility build time reduced significantly.
 * Battleship map is larger now, both fixing a longstanding bug with the Lightning as well as making the map feel less cramped.
 * Various bug fixes.

Version 1.4.5 Changes:
 * Major balance pass on automatic weapons and alien armor. Details in post #123 on page 9.
 * Fixed a terrain bug that was causing crashes in some cases.

Credits:
# resource authors/sources:
# Chiko: alien and terran plasma variants
#      * https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,383.0.html
#      * available via Chiko's Alternate Xcom (Chiko)
# Shadow: variations on Chiko's designs and blue plasma bullet sprite
#      * https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,1710.0.html
#      * obtained via Terran Plasma Weapons (Shadow)
# CanadianBeaver: auto-pistol, submachinegun, automatic lasers, first aid kit, and a few other items
#      * https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=4823.0
#      * obtained via Awesome Guns (CanadianBeaver)
#      * additional credits on mod page
# Dioxine: large general stores and living quarters sprites, large and small living quarters maps
#      * https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=2806.0
#      * obtained via Improved Living Quarters + Large Stores (Dioxine)
# Ryskeliini: heavy armor design
#      * https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=1281.0
#      * available via Combat Armor (Warboy1982)
# Robin: variation of Ryskeliini's sprites
#      * http://www.openxcom.com/mod/armored-vest
#      * obtained via Armored Vest (Robin)
# XOps: corridor and large laboratory, radar, and hyper wave decoder sprites
#      * http://www.openxcom.com/mod/armored-vest
#      * obtained via Armored Vest (Robin)
#
#
# tool authors/sources:
# Volutar: MCDEdit
#      * https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php/MCDEdit
#      uses: edit MCD tileset pieces and images
# DaiShiva: MapView
#      * http://openxcommods.weebly.com/mapview.html
#      uses: edit battlescape maps
# Bomb Bloke//Humax: XCOMExtractor
#      * http://www.openxcom.com/mod/xcom-image-extractor
#      uses: convert .PCK images into .gif format
# Mark Tyler: mtPaint
#      * http://mtpaint.sourceforge.net/
#      uses: pixel editor which preserves palettes
# Falko: SpriteConverter and PaletteConverter tools
#      * https://falkooxc2.pythonanywhere.com/
#      uses: make spritesheets, fix palettes, perform palette swaps
#
# special thanks:
# Meridian:
#      for always being extremely patient and helpful no matter how difficult I have been
#      for being extremely skillful with the code and helping me when I get stuck
#
#
# I need to sort out credits for all of the images, maps, and tilesets from XCom Files. In the meantime, you can check
#   the XCom Files mod for credits.
#
#
# The Reaver of Darkness(myself): all battlescape maps in this mod unless otherwise stated; various tiles
#      in LIGHTNIA.MCD; red/blue laser pistol and heavy laser; blue plasma auto pistol and assault cannon;
#      smoke, fusion, and alternate incendiary rockets; conventional ammo for blaster and small launchers;
#      additional graphics for the plasma rifle; alien explosive cannon ammo; sprites for Heracles and
#      Stalker, Sectopod green laser graphic, Large Workshop sprite and map; tank color swaps; adjustment
#      to AwesomeGuns' machinegun; all added bullet sprites

Recommended settings:
Geoscape:
 * Force craft launch: yes
 * Storage limits for recovered items: yes
 * Psi-Strength Evaluation: yes
Battlescape:
 * Explosion height: 3
 * Alien weapon self-destruction: no (important!)
 * Alien bleeding: yes

Recommended mods:
 * Luke's UFOs - set Luke's UFOs above Reaver's X-com to ensure it does not have priority, this is important!
 - Luke's UFOs are incorporated into Faithful as of version 1.3.1 -


---------- original post ----------

That is an impressive LIGHTNING, it is enlarged, no?  Maybe it should be the THUNDER.
It is enlarged, but only a bit. The original had a 7x7 interior, mine has an 8x8 interior. I wanted to avoid adding too many craft, so I kept it as the Lightning. Also, I found in the original game that I generally avoided using the Lightning for anything as I much preferred the ability to bring tanks to battle. Even if it could have carried tanks, having only 12 capacity is a bit short, considering it also had about the same range as an interceptor. There were too many downsides to make me want to build one of these when I'd be better served with a Skyranger. My Lightning shouldn't have you questioning whether or not it's worth the hangar space, but more whether or not you can afford to drop a couple mil on it and spend several weeks building it.


This looks like a great mod to be a reference for beginner modders too.
I hope so! I'm pretty new to modding myself, though I've accumulated a tiny bit of code experience here and there through my years of interest in computers. I keep my mods simple and similar to the original game rulesets. I started out by copying the rulesets and changing the attributes. New modders could look at my rulesets and compare them to the base rulesets to see what I did to achieve my results.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2020, 12:05:21 am by The Reaver of Darkness »

Offline SteamXCOM

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2017, 03:54:19 am »
Quote
  REAVER: I'd also like to find a use for some of the unused things, such as alien entertainment or alien food, but I don't have any ideas yet.

Alien Food= the tech should be researched before aliens can be researched (interrogated).
Alien containment can be built as the result of researching  alien containment and maybe something else early  so alien containment facility can be built, however aliens can now be kept but will not co-operate unless fed and that means researching their food at least.

Not sure if food can be used as an disposable item to interrogate the aliens.
Researching an alien requires an alien which is removed from the game afterwards, no sure if two items (the alien and 1(or more) food) can be implemented that way.

Alien Entertainment- a component required to manufacture certain things like weapons etc (the parts are taken out and re-purposed).

As it is, I gated laser weapons behind Alien Entertainment just to slow that research path down to stay in conventional weapons longer (the tech is understood and able to be weaponized into the laser weapons).
« Last Edit: June 28, 2017, 03:58:17 am by SteamXCOM »

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2017, 07:19:21 am »
Alien Food= the tech should be researched before aliens can be researched (interrogated).
Alien containment can be built as the result of researching  alien containment and maybe something else early  so alien containment facility can be built, however aliens can now be kept but will not co-operate unless fed and that means researching their food at least.
I love your idea!

I think it makes sense that these aliens are made of sterner stuff. I don't think they are interrogated through basic torture. I imagine the scientists have to come up with creative ways to study the way they think by watching how they respond to various stimuli, perhaps by using a combination of high stress and mild psychoactive drugs to put their mind in a receptive state, then putting them into artificial stages that look like their home environments. Perhaps they measure the way the aliens communicate and attempt to replicate communications, or put multiple live aliens together to see how they interact. Example: if they could fool a doped and stressed engineer into believing it is back home and/or get it into a state in which it doesn't care much anymore, they might convince it to start acting like it's at work--and watching it may reveal technological secrets.

However they get it done, keeping the aliens alive and able to be studied may require knowing a bit about their environment. Perhaps alien food is necessary for keeping them alive, so you can't research alien containment until you research food. Then perhaps alien entertainment is needed for interrogations, as that research helps understand a crucial part of the puzzle: that the aliens depend on psionics to a great extent. The entertainment devices can simultaneously teach us about the basics of psionic feedback devices while also helping us to see how the aliens communicate and think.

I don't see any use for alien reproduction in our interrogations, and alien surgery and examination room are designed to be used on Earth animals. Maybe researching alien surgery and examination room can help us expand our medical technology.

edit: I gated super soldiers behind examination room, alien abduction, and alien medic. After learning about what the aliens are doing to "enhance" humans, X-Com is able to use the aliens' research for their own benefit.

I also gated alien containment behind alien food and alien entertainment, and I had already gated UFO construction behind alien navigator, so now you have to assault a harvester or supply ship and a terror ship or battleship, or assault an alien base, before you can research superior aircraft designs. That'll give more time to enjoy the 8 craft you have available before that, and it'll make the new craft seem like more of an accomplishment when you finally get them.

I added a research project called Aliens in Captivity which you can research as soon as you get any autopsy done. It explains why the aliens don't survive capture, and hints at what might be needed to support them. Once you have researched alien food and alien entertainment, you'll get a research project called Alien Containment, this time unlocking the base facility.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2017, 11:01:46 pm by The Reaver of Darkness »

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2017, 12:39:36 pm »
Major update: 0.6.0!

I've added lots of content to the mod, fixed bugs, and tweaked things. Important highlights are outlined in the OP, while you can find a more in-depth changelog in the metadata file. Download is on the OP.

I've been playing my mod and it seems pretty difficult. Granted, I am playing on Genius (I usually play on Veteran), and I've been using the smaller Skyranger as my main transport. But having research and production slower forced me into lots of combats with starter tech. I researched Alien Grenade and Alien Explosives as soon as possible, then skipped laser and went straight for the plasma pistol. I have the ability to kill the aliens I come across, but it's often not very easy. This is especially true for Cyberdiscs and Chryssalids.

I made the Stormstrike slower but now it carries more troops. It's effectively an upgrade to the Skyranger, carrying 12 soldiers instead of 10, as well as moving faster and having patrol and radar bonuses. I'm trying to get one of those in my game as fast as possible, ever since I got rid of my Custodian, I've been feeling inadequate in terms of taking on the larger UFOs or terror sites. I was never using the Stormstrike before with just 6 soldiers, but my experience with 10 tells me 12 is adequate to use as a troop transport.

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2017, 04:11:24 am »
Major update: 0.8.1!

I've added lots of content for all of the different aircraft. Finally, each craft looks and feels unique! I got all of the craft images, sprites, maps, and tilesets from X-Com Files, however I did tweak some of the maps and tilesets.

Difficulty also got a huge makeover. Beginner sets various alien stats at low values, and they increase by 25% per difficulty, to double at Superhuman. Beginner and superhuman are now extremes, with Experienced being "easy" and Genius being "hard". Most players will probably want to choose from those three difficulties. If you really want a challenge, try Superhuman. And if you really find the game to be too difficult, try Beginner.

If you had a previously existing game on Superhuman, the update might make your game significantly harder, but you should have some advantage from all the progress you've already made while it was easier. It won't be as difficult as starting at Superhuman from scratch and having to claw your way forward, struggling to make enough kills to get the money and items you need to advance in the game before the aliens crush you. And if you had a previously existing game on Beginner, you might find aliens die significantly more easily now, though their armor should be the same and their firing accuracy actually slightly higher.

I made this change to difficulty because I have always felt that there's too little difference between difficulties to justify having five of them. When I was new to the game, Beginner was brutal to me. Once I got good at winning on Beginner, it wasn't much of a step up to play on Veteran, and even Superhuman was no longer daunting.

More info in the Original Post.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2017, 04:13:22 am by The Reaver of Darkness »

Offline drages

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2017, 10:09:32 am »
Hey Reaver! I am following you mod, as art based for now..

I am creating new tanks if you follow my sprite thread, like 2 palette one and TFTD tank.. maybe you want to use them at your tanks too..

You got great assets collection, for air things i will probably get help from them!

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #9 on: July 17, 2017, 11:08:54 am »
I am creating new tanks if you follow my sprite thread, like 2 palette one and TFTD tank.. maybe you want to use them at your tanks too..
I definitely do! I was just thinking I need to get alternate looks for the guardian and assault tanks. Alternate colors would be acceptable but what I really want is for guardian tanks to look beefier but with small guns, while assault tanks look more skeletal like little more than a heavy artillery platform.

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2017, 09:58:45 pm »
Can I get someone to try to abuse this mod? I want to see if there's overpowered stuff I'm not noticing. Try incendiary.

Update: Version 0.9.4
 * Gave sectopod its own unique green laser.
* Increased sell costs of most manufacturable items.
 * Tweaked Heavy Cannon, Autocannon, and Heavy Plasma accuracy and TU costs.
 * Switched plasma hovertanks to slow-firing. Their auto-shot is gone but their damage and accuracy is now higher.
 * Improved cannon tank rate of fire.
 * Reduced aliens' reactions and increased their TUs. It is now easier for you to perform reaction fire, but the aliens are significantly more dangerous during their turn and they will charge at you more aggressively.
 * Tweaked smoke grenade/rocket/bomb.
 * Added Large Workshop:

 * Improved incendiary damage.
 * Fixed bug with alien base race selection.
 * Fixed bug with live alien research.

The Sectopod now has a special weapon. Its UFOPedia entry has been changed to say that it fires a laser. This laser is of alien design but works along similar principles to the laser weapons that X-Com employs. You can mind-control Sectopods and use them to shoot other Sectopods. (But you'll need a very powerful psionic attack!)

The Sectopod always had laser damage type even though it looked and sounded like plasma, and the UFOPedia entry said it was plasma. I liked the laser better so I retconned it.

I boosted incendiary damage by a lot. It's still not a very good way to damage small units, but 2x2 units get hit by the attack up to four times. I gave them a resistance to it so it wouldn't be overpowered, and reduced reaper's weakness to incendiary. Incendiary is highly effective against reapers, pretty effective against cyberdiscs, and a bit effective against sectopods.


More info and download in the Original Post.
« Last Edit: January 20, 2018, 07:09:36 pm by The Reaver of Darkness »

Offline wolfreal

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2017, 12:52:54 am »
I am going to give it a shot. But... where is the last download available?
 

Offline The Reaver of Darkness

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2017, 05:01:03 am »
where is the last download available?
Oops, I forgot to put it up. It's up now on the OP.

Offline Yataka Shimaoka

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2017, 11:52:25 am »
Well Reaver, you really have out done yourself! Back then your mods just add stuff without new graphics. But now, you combined all of your mods to make this fantastic project of yours. I hope in near future, your mod will be one of the most popular megamods around!

Offline SIMON BAILIE

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Re: [UFO MEGAMOD] Reaver's Faithful Megamod
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2017, 03:16:01 pm »
Is a file missing as when I check the ufopaedia in debug mode the game crashes per attached log file. This happens whether I run the game off nightly 01/08/17 or oxce+ 3.9a of 14/07/17. Using v0.9.4 of your mod.