aliens

Author Topic: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?  (Read 3916 times)

Offline Chromaphasia

  • Squaddie
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« on: September 15, 2020, 02:13:12 am »
     I've been playing the mod for a couple days now and having a lot of fun being tense and afraid of basically everything early game, but now I'm stuck. It seems like the "Promotion II" tech/research/topic is the next basic point of progression, but it requires the topic "All Staff Contacted". I've managed to get everyone except the Chief Engineer, with his topic "Chief Engineer Recruitment".

     I'm looking at it in the Tech Tree, and it requires the topic "Cool Alien Gadget". It says that topic depends on an "Obliterator Terrorist", which is an enemy I've never seen. On top of that, according to its entry in the tech tree, it requires the service "Std. Lab" which I think means Standard Laboratory, which you can't unlock until after Promotion II, which of course requires the Chief Engineer. I've barely fought aliens in my playthrough so far. It's mostly been strange life forms (megascorpions, zombies, etc.) and cult related quests. The only thing alien related has been crop circle and cattle mutilation missions, and I've already researched the alien fuel trace, and the farmers. The only time I've ever ACTUALLY encountered aliens was a "Military shot down UFO" mission, or something like that. I only just barely won, a good few of my 4 agents that got sent died, i think it was 2/4 with one of the survivors being super almost dead. We recovered a corpse of a sectoid as well as a few alien guns. I've researched the corpse, that took bloody ages, and I can't research the guns, seems like it requires a whole slew of alien related topics, with some undoubtedly requiring a lab, I'm sure.

     So what am I missing, is there a super common item I need to research to complete this progression? I can't really fight aliens even if I wanted to, the mission has only turned up once in almost an entire year of in-game time, and there's no way in hell I could kill, let alone CAPTURE an obliterator, from the sounds of things, that thing is buff as hell.

Offline unarmed drifter

  • Colonel
  • ****
  • Posts: 111
    • View Profile
Re: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2020, 10:10:42 am »
@Chromaphasia: easy to get "cool alien gadgets" are the psychdrug-fork-thingie from exalt goons or the magic glove of the black lotus witch

Offline tarkalak

  • Commander
  • *****
  • Posts: 1460
    • View Profile
Re: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2020, 12:20:53 pm »
Yeah, Psiclone is the usual thing you use to unlock the Engineer and is plentiful from Exalt Safehouses and Outposts.

In the Tech Tree Viewer you can see that there is a huge list of things that give the Cool Alien Gadget for free. Researching any of them will give it.

Offline Solarius Scorch

  • Global Moderator
  • Commander
  • ***
  • Posts: 11670
  • WE MUST DISSENT
    • View Profile
    • Nocturmal Productions modding studio website
Re: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2020, 01:08:50 pm »
There was a small bug which didn't impact any functionality, but caused this weird display in the Tech Tree Viewer showing that you need Obliterator Terrorist to get Cool Alien Gadget. This is not true.

I have just fixed this display bug, so thanks for bringing it up.

Offline Chromaphasia

  • Squaddie
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
Re: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2020, 10:30:52 pm »
Alright that sounds easy enough. I had been avoiding safehouse/outpost missions in the west, I started my game in Egypt in order to try and cover a lot of ground, the new "Xcom Winnipeg" branch is about as skilled as it sounds, and it just isn't that good yet, but I will definitely start investing more over there instead. Glad I could make the mod that little teensy bit better, it's been an absolute joy to play, and I love the area specific enemies and encounters. Starting up a second branch and discovering all this stuff in the west was an amazing feeling, and I'm loving the added lore and such, so thanks for all your hard work in making such a robust mod

Offline hairybert

  • Captain
  • ***
  • Posts: 52
    • View Profile
Re: How am I supposed to get Chief Engineer?
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2024, 09:01:01 am »
It just happened to me: With a little bit of luck, you can get the Psiclone tech for free from interrogating a Homicidal Maniac (I think the EXALT tech must already be known), which appears in the early madman missions.