In Progress Let's Save Humanity in openxcom

[Awor Szurkrarz]

This is getting kinda image heavy. Any chances of bumping the thread to another page?

True. It makes my Firefox shit itself. Damn this subforum certainly has way too much posts per page.

Also, do I correctly assume that you have increased the blast range of explosives?

Yes. Generally, I assume that most of explosives are thermobaric (as indicated by lack of fragmentation and a fiery explosion). RPO-A is supposed to have a lethal radius of 10m. 40mm are supposed to have 5m effective casualty radius.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

In the morning, Skyranger-1 landed near Crash Site-2.

Here is how the landing site looked:

UFO was located about 70 metres from the Skyranger.

 

[Storyfag]

Keep 'em coming. I think I *want* your mod :D

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

First blood was drawn just after landing. A Rifleman destroyed this suspicious looking building using a disposable RPG with thermobaric warhead. It turned out that there was an alien inside.

X-Com Operatives methodically destroyed suspicious looking buildings in vicinity of the landing site.

The X-Com team advanced towards the UFO.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Keep 'em coming. I think I *want* your mod :D

Maybe I'll release it one day.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Suddenly, a contact! A little alien emerged from the ship and fired at X-Com soldier with a plasma pistol. Luckily it missed. X-Com machine gun and rifle fire missed it too, though.

And grenade launcher fire...

It was finally killed with a tank shell.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Another alien was spotted and killed outside the UFO. It's not sure if he came out under cover of smoke or from behind the UFO.

X-Com squad has moved near the UFO. Note a badly placed proximity grenade before the door.

An alien detonated the grenade prematurely and destroyed tank with some sort of a large plasma gun. He was killed with rifle fire.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

In face of such fire-power, the surviving tank moved behind cover, while three X-Com operatives took positions to assault the UFO.

A moment later the last alien came out and was gunned down before it could do anything.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

The UFO was practically intact and one precious UFO Power Source were recovered.

No operative was killed or wounded and two of them - a rifleman and a grenadier were promoted.

Skyranger-1 flew back to base.

 

[Storyfag]

Keep 'em coming. I think I *want* your mod :D

Maybe I'll release it one day.

I really don't know which part I'm enjoying more - the wanton destruction of buildings afforded by the enhanced blast radius of warheads and grenades, or the huge, huge team fielded from the enlarged Skyranger. If only the Aliens could be made more dangerous...

Not *quite* the fan of small-ish radar ranges, but I guess they add challenge on the strategic level.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I really don't know which part I'm enjoying more - the wanton destruction of buildings afforded by the enhanced blast radius of warheads and grenades, or the huge, huge team fielded from the enlarged Skyranger.

To be honest, massive building destruction was what usually happened in my vanilla games too. It just took a bit more ammo back then.

The difference in scale completely nullifies both higher amount of soldiers and lesser amount of ammo needed - because back then it was vandalising a tiny 40x40 - 50x50 map with a few buildings.

Generally, I used to take rocket launchers, heavy cannons, auto cannons and high explosives. I often took a lot of incendiary AC clips and basically spammed the level with fires. It was a tactic for non-terror missions though.

If only the Aliens could be made more dangerous...

I think that aliens really need some way of differently experiencing the reality because of psionics. And player should never be able to research psionics just as the aliens aren't capable of researching intelligence :D .

Not *quite* the fan of small-ish radar ranges, but I guess they add challenge on the strategic level.

I made them shorter to make the game more realistic.

 

[Storyfag]

And player should never be able to research psionics just as the aliens aren't capable of researching intelligence :D

You just made my day with this

 

[Machocruz]

So are the extra weapons, massive funding in the beginning, extended Skyranger, and larger maps all part of your own mod, or are they in OpenXcom?

 

[Storyfag]

What about increasing number of aliens in every ship at the same % proportion as the Skyranger's increase?

Nah, that is the lazy solution. Each individual alien should be made more dangerous. Pump up their aiming skills etc. And maybe make plasma weapons more dangerous... and somehow harder to get? The easy solution is to increase the research time.

 

[34scell]

There's an option to have equipment disappear when the alien dies, so there's more of a incentive for capturing aliens.

 

[Storyfag]

There's an option to have equipment disappear when the alien dies, so there's more of a incentive for capturing aliens.

So researching an item would be possible only if the alien using it was captured?

<palpatine>good, good!</palpatine>

But once an item is researched, it should be also lootable from killed aliens. Is such an option supported?
Still, all of that does not solve the issue of superfast research of elerium, alien alloys, power sources and navigation consoles.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

So are the extra weapons, massive funding in the beginning, extended Skyranger, and larger maps all part of your own mod, or are they in OpenXcom?

It's my own mod. Current features:
Geoscape:
-More realistic prices - aircraft are bought not rented and cost tens of millions of dollars. Interceptor and Skyranger AWACS cost 150 million and Skyranger costs 60 million.
-Radar ranges are smaller - so it's necessary to immediately start building lots of bases.
-Funding is higher because the upper two. Also, underfunded earth defence organization would be silly.
-Most of research times are 10x longer.
-Researching lasers and most of alien technologies requires researched Elerium.
-Some upgrades of X-Com items become available after research of some alien stuff. Heavy cannon and autocannon become available after researching alien alloys.
-No female agents.
-Much better agent stamina.
-Agents are more expensive but better trained (that is less failures that need to be fired).
-Aliens now have 20 points higher accuracy and reactions. I'll have to increase it, I think.
-Aliens have no blaster launchers. Now whole fusion missile tree is an X-com technology.
-Manufacture times of small items are much faster.

Battlescape:
-No heavy cannon/autocannon in the beginning.
-All human HE weapons assumed to be thermobaric due to how the explosion mechanics work.
-It's possible to fire two aimed shots per turn from most of weapons.
-Old rocket launcher is renamed missile launcher and can be fired only aimed at cost of 95% tu.
-Various modifications of weapon damage. For example Rifle has power of 22. It's to bring it in line with lethality stats of RL rifles.
-Vision range is now 100m.
-Maps are 100x100m.
-Terror sites have ~100 civilians.
-Alien grenades have power of 750 and blast radius of 20m.
-Starting Power Source explosions are much more powerful.

So researching an item would be possible only if the alien using it was captured?

<palpatine>good, good!</palpatine>

But once an item is researched, it should be also lootable from killed aliens. Is such an option supported?

It simulates weapon self-destructing when the wielder dies, so probably no.

That too, but the inferior numbers do make it unfair IMHO. Althrough I do think Battleships have around the same numbers of the expanded Skyranger or a Avenger.

I think that UFOs are simply much less efficient than X-Com craft. Which includes carrying less soldiers. Practically speaking, only a Battleship is an equivalent of X-Com craft when it comes to function.
The rest are just aliens minding their own business. Scout craft, experimentation craft, craft for terrorist actions, etc.

 

[34scell]

You can add stat bonuses to armour, so you should just make cannons have a lower TU cost but be much heavier (requiring power armour to use). They can be a reward for focusing research on protection over firepower.

 

[Storyfag]

-Researching lasers and most of alien technologies requires researched Elerium.

Is it possible to set up specific prerequisits for each tech? Both in terms of research and items (so, for example, researching a heavy plasma weapon would require that Elerium has been researched and that at least a single such weapon is present, *and* that a live Alien soldier is present?) Ofc it'd be ideal for the weapon and the Alien to disappear from your stores after the research.

-Some upgrades of X-Com items become available after research of some alien stuff. Heavy cannon and autocannon become available after researching alien alloys.

While I like the idea of making the HC and AC researchable items, I'm not that fond of making alien technologies a prerequisite for them. Doubly so for the laser weapons.

-Much better agent stamina.
-Agents are more expensive but better trained (that is less failures that need to be fired).

Ah, so instead of a bunch of farmers with pitchforks, you finally get to hire actual special forces operatives?

-Aliens now have 20 points higher accuracy and reactions. I'll have to increase it, I think.

Yess do eeet. Maybe beef up their stamina too? And maybe, just maybe, armor/health? LARP it as "plasma shields" which would be only fully negated by the increased firepower of plasma weapons?

I think that UFOs are simply much less efficient than X-Com craft. Which includes carrying less soldiers. Practically speaking, only a Battleship is an equivalent of X-Com craft when it comes to function.
The rest are just aliens minding their own business. Scout craft, experimentation craft, craft for terrorist actions, etc.

True, but you need to compensate for your added numbers, through.

The best compensation is increasing of Aliens' stats. But you *could* have some FUN with what spawns in an UFO. Even in pure UFO kyrub was capable of replacing, say, every Floater Leader with a Sectoid Leader. And to do the same with the Snakeman Soldier that normally replaces the Snakemen Leader. And replace the Muton Soldier that replaces the Muton Leader with an Ethereal Leader. FUN.

-Aliens have no blaster launchers. Now whole fusion missile tree is an X-com technology.

Why? I don't get why some people dislike Blaster Launchers. Sure, they're cheesy, but just keep them out of player hands and it should be ok. Maybe they self-destruct after use even with stunning, too?

I think this is becaue, as Awor has put it, Aliens are incapable of researching intelligence. I've seen them commit suicide by Blaster Launcher many, many times.

 

[Machocruz]

-Aliens now have 20 points higher accuracy and reactions. I'll have to increase it, I think.

Damn, I"m playing Veteran difficulty in OpenXcom and the aliens rarely miss as it is.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Some quite interesting modifications, why not release it after some testing and feedback?

True.

Other possibly interesting modifications might be making human non-laser weapons last longer, as well as the upgrades as you say, perhaps adding more (Anti-Materiel Rifle?).

Well, the first wave of human powerful weapons will be gyrojet cannons (auto-cannon and heavy cannons).

Can you change the rate of apperance of alien types? Because if the game goes on longer with the same weapons, it will get a lot harder if Mutons and Ethereals start showing up while you're on lasers.

You're saying like it's a bad thing .

I think that UFOs are simply much less efficient than X-Com craft. Which includes carrying less soldiers. Practically speaking, only a Battleship is an equivalent of X-Com craft when it comes to function.
The rest are just aliens minding their own business. Scout craft, experimentation craft, craft for terrorist actions, etc.

True, but you need to compensate for your added numbers, through.

I do?

-Aliens have no blaster launchers. Now whole fusion missile tree is an X-com technology.

Why? I don't get why some people dislike Blaster Launchers. Sure, they're cheesy, but just keep them out of player hands and it should be ok. Maybe they self-destruct after use even with stunning, too?

Because any half-decent AI would completely massacre X-Com with Blaster Launchers. Especially if they'd deploy it in reasonable quantities.

You can add stat bonuses to armour, so you should just make cannons have a lower TU cost but be much heavier (requiring power armour to use). They can be a reward for focusing research on protection over firepower.

Powered Armour adds 50 to strength. Cannons are made from Alien Alloys, so they are a bit lighter than now. I think that power armour could allow to use much higher capacity mags, though. There could be a separate version for PA with higher amount of shots per burst.

-Researching lasers and most of alien technologies requires researched Elerium.

Is it possible to set up specific prerequisits for each tech? Both in terms of research and items (so, for example, researching a heavy plasma weapon would require that Elerium has been researched and that at least a single such weapon is present, *and* that a live Alien soldier is present?) Ofc it'd be ideal for the weapon and the Alien to disappear from your stores after the research.

It is possible.

-Some upgrades of X-Com items become available after research of some alien stuff. Heavy cannon and autocannon become available after researching alien alloys.

While I like the idea of making the HC and AC researchable items, I'm not that fond of making alien technologies a prerequisite for them. Doubly so for the laser weapons.

The main problem with creating laser weapons today are power requirements for anything with decent damage. Elerium would create a breakthrough in that area.

-Aliens now have 20 points higher accuracy and reactions. I'll have to increase it, I think.

Yess do eeet. Maybe beef up their stamina too? And maybe, just maybe, armor/health? LARP it as "plasma shields" which would be only fully negated by the increased firepower of plasma weapons?

No, no shields.

The best compensation is increasing of Aliens' stats. But you *could* have some FUN with what spawns in an UFO. Even in pure UFO kyrub was capable of replacing, say, every Floater Leader with a Sectoid Leader. And to do the same with the Snakeman Soldier that normally replaces the Snakemen Leader. And replace the Muton Soldier that replaces the Muton Leader with an Ethereal Leader. FUN.

I'll think about it.

 

[34scell]

You can add stat bonuses to armour, so you should just make cannons have a lower TU cost but be much heavier (requiring power armour to use). They can be a reward for focusing research on protection over firepower.

Powered Armour adds 50 to strength. Cannons are made from Alien Alloys, so they are a bit lighter than now. I think that power armour could allow to use much higher capacity mags, though. There could be a separate version for PA with higher amount of shots per burst.

Weight isn't the main issue when firing a cannon, but it could simulate the difficulty of handling the recoil.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

You can add stat bonuses to armour, so you should just make cannons have a lower TU cost but be much heavier (requiring power armour to use). They can be a reward for focusing research on protection over firepower.

Powered Armour adds 50 to strength. Cannons are made from Alien Alloys, so they are a bit lighter than now. I think that power armour could allow to use much higher capacity mags, though. There could be a separate version for PA with higher amount of shots per burst.

Weight isn't the main issue when firing a cannon, but it could simulate the difficulty of handling the recoil.

That's why I changed them to gyrojet.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

State of bases 4 days after the last mission.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

The East Coast is the main base where two X-Com platoons and 1st. Interceptor Flight reside. It has 6 labs currently researching Medikit.