Hi,
feedback and bug reports.
Dude, this mod is amazing! I´m into it for maybe 30h now. I´m a gamer since ´92 on C64 and since ´96 on PC. I have seen so much and are bored of most game concepts. But this mod hit´s a spot an presses my buttons. :-)
The mod is like when a fantastic artist covers an already good song and turns it into something even better. Like "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochrane performed by Stray Cats.
I came across the mod because of the Youtuber YETI. I swore to myself to not ever touch the early X-Com games again. Because I spent so much time with them. Well, there goes that.....
I really like what you do there with squeezing out content from the base game. Like to now obtain the Particle Disturbance sensor, you need to research and build it. That felt like cool and appropiate.
Alien bases intercept my craft now?!?!?! WTF?!?!?! -Good job! That is a nice spin.
The CORMORANT with gas cannon is so crappy. It really has it´s strengths as one time use as a one way product. :-) It really is only the fodder to get the dropship in to mess up the base.
Maybe it would be good to always get the Triton into the base, regardless of has the CORMORANT shot down the interceptor or not. So that the CORMORANT is the bait and distraction. That would be a thrilling feature for iron man mode. "At least I dont have to rebuild it this time." or "And I have to build a new CORMORANT. Again!!!."
But the CORMORANT is as it should be. In such an appearing alien thread, you can be happy to be at least able to intercept their small craft. Maybe there will be something better available than the gas cannon for the CORMORANT.
What I really like is the weaknesses overview per species. I still really don´t know how to obtain theese, if by research or PEW PEW PEW experience. But when the one for the lobster man popped up, that was quite helpful and a relief of some sorts. Basically with the gear available I have to charge the most dangerous melee enemy so far with melee weapons.....and tazers. The first appearance of lobster man was a shitpants moment. Then having to charge them was the 2nd one. Good job! Game design wise, this is so amazing! :-) Because you have to adapt or you "get adapted"....by claws, sissors and the rest of their arsenal.
I really like the Gas cannon and auto jet cannon and their ammo types(the gatling looking thingy). Good job on that!
The mod feels like a triple A title to me.....almost.
I had to juggle alot of Magna grenades until I could get the Gauss Rifle. That felt kind of bad. Because the Jet Harpoon performs poor at hitting things. While the laser rifle does well on the surface. Usually in UFO and TFTD I used 2x grenades per soldier and that was 99% of times enough. In TWoTS I had to step it up to 4x.
Maybe there is a spot in the gap between weapons to be filled out. As the Jet Harpoon is so inaccurate, grenades are just a better working solution for that period. Maybe there is a solution for that via research, but I did not come across early. Depending on grenades for 10-20 missions feels so bad, as it is always the same. Prime it by one dude in the craft. Throw it outside to a dude, who delivers the final throw 2 times. And dont forget the gas cannon. Maybe I should have gone 4x gas cannon per 12 soldiers instead of 1x gas cannon.
The Gauss rifle is really what I dared to get as a firearm, before I discovered it as research.
But anyway, what you have done so far with the guns is way better then TFTD. In TFTD it was just "rush sonic weapons ASAP". "When a fantastic artist covers an already good song....."
Also, the research menu via "Q" is kind of spoilery. I looked a little bit around in there to find a way to aqua plastics and other things. Now I know that there are armored versions of enemies and some other things. I rather not know anything about that. It was still kind of enjoyable when I almost shit my pants with the first appearance of lobster man. As my ways of dealing with them, wasn´t dealing with them well.
I dont know if "Q" is a feature of OpenXcom or TWoTS. Maybe there should be a version of it, where you only can see, to what your current resources lead to. Based on the aliens in the holding cell and the aquired items in storage.
I always felt with basic TFTD that game design wise the research feature lacks a little bit of trancparency. I had issues/ little hickups back then to get to Zrbite armor and such. But with the fact in mind, that a badly needed research may be already available and already listed for ages, the game is doable. As I dont have to learn the battlescape gameplay so much. I did that around 1998. ;-)
Also the 1st base gets small fast. One has to ousource from there. That is cool and challenging. From the management point and credits wise.
I now have 5 bases. The 1st is the fighting one. The 2nd is for production. The 3rd will become the research one. A 4th will may be become a storage base. And who knows, what is still hidden in the deapths of the mod for a 5th base.
But I feel, the that the base game has some weaknesses, regarding managing so much. Like behind the intercept button, there is a feature missing, which leads directly to "Equip Submarine".
Like when you want to start the Triton, you have to get through the base first to equip all the lately produced guns, armor, gear. Then you go back to GEOSCAPE and then you can launch. This is not a shortcut.
The situation is similar with transferring gear across all bases. It feels like there could be some shortcuts, which make life easier. Like the bar on which are all your bases are selectable, should be available in every TRANSFER screen or CHECK STORES srceen behind the BASE INFORMATION screen.
The same feature "Equip Craft" should be behind the specific base menu. For when you click a base on the globe.
Dont get me wrong. For what you can do, manage and achieve, the GUI is already simple.Considering that it was designed for what resolution? 680x420? But still there is room to catapult the features of the GUI from the 90´s into 2019.
Bug: The guided Torpedo is listed in the Usopedia. But I cant manufacture it. I just have noticed, that it is dependent on the research for "Advanced torpedo launcher". It feels like the guided torpedo should only appear in the Usopedia, when it is available for production and the research was really REALLY finished.
Bug: The update txt of the latest update says X-Rifle research was fixed.
Yesterday I had the X-Rifle research still available in the list of research projects. But I had the thing already bought in numbers, equipped and used on various missions. Like *PEW PEW PEW* Oh wait, it does more like *bang bang bang*.
So somehow I could research it twice. Unless it get´s accessible twice via surface weapons aquisition. But I can remember, I already had it´s data in the Usopedia and the research was listed again for availability.
So I just took some time to write you this. Hopefully you like it. I now don´t want any more interruptions, playing your mod. :-) Man I´m so curious what happens next. WOW. GJ!!! :-) :-) :-)
I have huge respect for the ammount of work you have put into this. It cannot have been little. It must have been alot. It pays and all worked out. I enjoy what you have achieved. I´m sure other people feel the same way.
