problems to add a mod (BirdofPrey UFO)

[ThunderFromAbove]

Hi folks,

hopefully some friendly soul is willing and able to help a newcomer into the (exciting...!) world of OpenXcom.

Many, many years ago I played weeks upon weeks of (vanilla) UFO - Enemy Unknown (german version). Now I came across OpenXcom for the first time and am (again...) hooked on this old but excellent game. I choose the nightly version und so far I´m really happy with all those already integrated improvements from the original game. I´m especially grateful that the 80 items restriction has been deleted...  At first I tried milestone 1.0 but de-installed it again, because of the limited language-options (only british or american english). But Nightly works perfectly also in german language, which makes it considerably easier to play, although my english is not too bad (only a bit "rusty"....  )

I have already browsed excessively through existing mods. Although I don`t want to change the "feel" of the original game too much, some small changes would be nice to have. For example I`d like to implement the additional large scout ship in shape of an klingon Bird of Prey. But I´m not sure where to copy the files of the mod, because of the changed file-structure of the Nightly-Version. In my installation (movable version) I can`t find a folder named "data" where the new files / folders of the mod are supposed to be copied to. Or maybe I only missunderstand the readme file...? 

Is there a (hopefully easy....!) way to implement this cool new UFO design into Nightly-Version?

I`d be also interested in trying out the AwsomeGuns 1.6 mod. I copied the folder of the mod from the zip-file into OpenXcom/user/mods. I could also enable this mod from the option menu. But I don`t see any changes made to the game that I loaded. I don`t get any additional options for new research and I can`t order any new weapon so far. Any idea, what I did "wrong"?

Many thanks in advance for any helpful reply!
Kind regards
Thunder

[The Reaver of Darkness]

I have already browsed excessively through existing mods. Although I don`t want to change the "feel" of the original game too much, some small changes would be nice to have.

My mod makes changes for balance purposes and filling in gaps in the progression. It does make a lot of changes, but preserving the original feel is central to the design of my mod. If you're interested in playing it, I'd love to hear from you about it! It gets quiet in here, I can't find hardly anybody to play my mod.
https://openxcom.mod.io/reavers-faithful-megamod

For example I`d like to implement the additional large scout ship in shape of an klingon Bird of Prey. But I´m not sure where to copy the files of the mod, because of the changed file-structure of the Nightly-Version. In my installation (movable version) I can`t find a folder named "data" where the new files / folders of the mod are supposed to be copied to. Or maybe I only missunderstand the readme file...? 

Is there a (hopefully easy....!) way to implement this cool new UFO design into Nightly-Version?

The mod is supposed to go into its own folder in C:\Users\<your computer username>\My Documents\OpenXcom\mods\. Once you get used to that, the new file structure is much easier to work with. The 1.0 Milestone is very old and out of date in many ways, many bugs have been fixed since then and many features have been added. Nearly all mods you'll find work with the new file structure.

I`d be also interested in trying out the AwsomeGuns 1.6 mod.

Any idea, what I did "wrong"?

AwesomeGuns uses OpenXcom version 1.0, the milestone. I believe it's the only current mod that is made for 1.0. But you can find many of the features in other mods: most of the content is borrowed from other work and most of the rest has been borrowed into other mods. If you just want a mod that gives you upgrades to the weapon graphics, try Chiko's mod which may or may not be up to date. My mod uses several of the same graphics from AwesomeGuns and Chiko's mod and it is up to date. If you just want a bigger variety of guns to choose from, check out Xtreme Measures, but beware as it greatly increases the power of some weapons.

[ThunderFromAbove]

My mod makes changes for balance purposes and filling in gaps in the progression. It does make a lot of changes, but preserving the original feel is central to the design of my mod. If you're interested in playing it, I'd love to hear from you about it! It gets quiet in here, I can't find hardly anybody to play my mod.

Hi Reaver,
thanks for your reply! I admire and salute you for the lot of time you invested in order to create such a big mod! Unfortunately.... thats exactly the reason I´m not going to try it out - at least not yet. It really looks good, but I mainly want to again dive mostly into the "old" game, that I played a lot in younger years. Therefore I`m looking mainly for rather small changes / improvements. And certainly not for something that intensly changes the research tree for example.

That ist - BTW - also the reason, I´m no longer interested in the awsome guns mod! I thought at first, that it will only add some more human weapons right from the start (MP, Shotgun, heavy MG etc. maybe also a grenade launcher?). But after reading the description a second time more closely, I found out that in this mod the laser can be researched only later and after some alien research first - AND it has no longer the ability for auto-shots! And this is an absolut no-go for me, because I LOVE the original laser rifle!!! And want to have it rather soon. Maybe I´m a bit biased (even "romantic"?  about this wunderful piece of human-made killing hardware, but I used to use it even all the way to Cydonia in my previous games of the past!!! In addition to the PSI amplifier and Blaster Launchers of course..... 

So far I have choosen to use those small mods: Extra Pockets for the troopers, improved optics for handheld small objects (like different typs of grenades), a smaller replacement for the stun rod, AWACS planes (although I`m not sure, if they are worth the monthly rental cost and the trouble to build an additional hangar...), a rather "cool" looking HAZMAT protection suit and an Airsoft Pistol with NO damage, in order to train my troopers reaction ability by "shooting" at unarmed aliens without killing them. At least not for some time, of course...  I also tried two mods to include a stun grenade and a dart rifle. Unfortunately both don`t seem to work. Neither can I buy those "new" items, nor is there a new option to research it. As you seem to be very knowledgable with modifications of this game: Any idea what`s wrong? Are those mods defective, did I make a mistake to install it (I copied both folders into the "user/mods" sub-folder of the game) or is there a prerequisite for getting those additional items that I´m not aware of? In the options menu I can activate both mods, but in the game I don`t see any effect. 

The mod is supposed to go into its own folder in C:\Users\<your computer username>\My Documents\OpenXcom\mods\. Once you get used to that, the new file structure is much easier to work with. The 1.0 Milestone is very old and out of date in many ways, many bugs have been fixed since then and many features have been added. Nearly all mods you'll find work with the new file structure.

I have decided to install the game as a "movable" Version, so I can easily copy it to another computer. So the file structure is slightly different in my case: OpenXcom/user/mods (plus the savegame folder here also). But thanks again, I´ll try it that way! The only problem is, that I can never be sure, that it does work, because it only adds an additional BirdOfPrey UFO (if it works correctly...). So I have to wait and see, if one day I come across this "new" enemy craft.... 

Kind regards
Thunder

---posts merged ---

oops! I`m sorry! I have already found out myself, what`s "wrong" with the "missing Dart Rifle and the stun grenade....! I should have read the description more closely: The first needs an alien autopsy first, before it can be researched....! And the second can´t be researched before an alien stun bomb (ammo for small launchers) was researched before. (Shame on me for not reading thoroughly....) 

[The Reaver of Darkness]

But after reading the description a second time more closely, I found out that in this mod the laser can be researched only later and after some alien research first - AND it has no longer the ability for auto-shots! And this is an absolut no-go for me, because I LOVE the original laser rifle!!! And want to have it rather soon. Maybe I´m a bit biased (even "romantic"?  about this wunderful piece of human-made killing hardware, but I used to use it even all the way to Cydonia in my previous games of the past!!! In addition to the PSI amplifier and Blaster Launchers of course..... 

Some of us feel that the original choice of research topics is unbalanced since Laser Weapons is clearly better than Medi-kit or Motion Scanner and thus is the "correct" choice. I think AwesomeGuns has autoshot on a different laser, and also makes the rifle into more of a sniper weapon. It also adds a special laser sniper weapon with VERY high damage. My mod keeps the original laser rifle appearance--I loved the red/blue lasers so much I even redesigned the laser pistol and heavy laser with the same look! I changed the laser rifle's attributes; it still has its autoshot but its aimed shot is much more accurate and has a much higher TU cost. I find its an excellent weapon for inaccurate rookies and very much viable into the end game.

But I understand how you feel. There were design decisions I had to make, and in order to balance the game I had to change a few of the "core" elements. I'm sorry if my mod doesn't live up to your expectations.