X-COM OpenXcom Thread

[lightbane]

It's actually been talked about a little here, but it does deserve more recognition. I'm thinking of making a topic at some point to talk about noteworthy X-Com mods, including Piratez and X-Files as well as more obscure ones (like the Dune one), to solve that problem.

 

[Jaedar]

X-pirates is cool, but the version numbering is approaching clevian levels (current version is 0.99H1)

I think it suffers from a lot of feature bloat (I don't even want to guess how many hundreds of weapons there are) but I guess that happens in a game where you start with muskets and tech your way to plasma.

 

[Incantatar]

X-pirates is cool, but the version numbering is approaching clevian levels (current version is 0.99H1)

I think it suffers from a lot of feature bloat (I don't even want to guess how many hundreds of weapons there are) but I guess that happens in a game where you start with muskets and tech your way to plasma.

Version numbering is really something I don't give a shit about. His changelog is good, that is all I want to see.
A lot of shit is great as long as it's meaningful. And as far as I see most shit is useful for a time. The tech tree is a complete mess though. At least from a newb view.

 

[thesheeep]

A lot of shit is great as long as it's meaningful. And as far as I see most shit is useful for a time. The tech tree is a complete mess though. At least from a newb view.

Absolutely true. I had one run where I never figured out how to use any kind of Voodoo other than the basic one you get with that stripper costume
There is no rhyme or reason to the tech tree.

On the other hand, you can just research in a random direction and see where it takes you. I found that fun in its own way, definitely more interesting than "this is the research path you ALWAYS take if you don't want to suck".

 

[ArchAngel]

I have been checking out streams of X pirates a bit and there is way too much new stuff there compared to original. I cannot force myself to start playing it as it seems there will be too much learning new stuff for it.

Is there a good overhaul mod for UFO, something like what Long War was for Xcom?

 

[baturinsky]

http://www.openxcom.com/mod/final-mod-pack

 

[Alienman]

http://www.openxcom.com/mod/final-mod-pack

The 1.13 for X-com.

 

[kyrub]

I have been checking out streams of X pirates a bit and there is way too much new stuff there compared to original.

The good thing in X-Pirates is that you actually don't need to know the stuff. It works as a freelancer game, you just play in any direction you wish. It's surprisingly funny, just don't plan to finish it.

 

[Incantatar]

I have been checking out streams of X pirates a bit and there is way too much new stuff there compared to original.

The good thing in X-Pirates is that you actually don't need to know the stuff. It works as a freelancer game, you just play in any direction you wish. It's surprisingly funny, just don't plan to finish it.

It is a lot more open than vanilla. Otoh it is pretty difficult too. In my first game I got butt fucked thinking I can do a progrom mission and my second base got raided and wrecked.

 

[Alienman]

Is there a good overhaul mod for UFO, something like what Long War was for Xcom?

There's also The X-COM Files, which is Final Mod Pack++, has a number of new features. The big gist of it is that its a "prequel" of X-COM, you start the game as a bunch of Mulder & Scully types with a lot less resources and backing, investigating the aliens and such, fighting cults, monsters and infiltrators, learning, fitting pieces, obtaining authorization for more equipment, until you become the X-COM from the games, then you continue your game from that point onwards until Cydonnia.

Its still in beta, but its hella fun! I did a short-lived LP of it, but sadly a change of imagehosts took it down.

I tried it a long time ago so it might be better now, but I found it a bit silly. Got a mission in the arctic and apparently I took my car there

 

[octavius]

http://www.openxcom.com/mod/final-mod-pack

The 1.13 for X-com.

Or the BWP?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

How is X-com Files coming along?
Worth checking now or should I wait 1/2 year for more completed version?

 

[Cael]

OK. Since they are not compatible with each other:
Area 51 or Final Mod?
What are the differences, which is harder, more fun, less head-desk shenannigans?

 

[Alienman]

Not played Area 51, but Final Mod Pack is basically just an incredible extension of the vanilla game, similar to the Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 patch.

It makes it harder to get alien tech and so on, so you will have to use human weapons for a lot longer. I recommend playing with the nu-Xcom setting, that weapons get destroyed if you kill the aliens - so the only way to get weapons is to stun them. Makes the game much more tactical and balanced economy-wise.

 

[Average Manatee]

Any of the big mods reached a relatively finished/polished state? I've played FMP and Piratez (not that Piratez will ever be finished or polished, lol). Don't want to start up X-Com Files or Area 51 and end up hitting a "mod not done wait 4 months for the 2nd half of the game" roadblock.

 

[Cael]

Not played Area 51, but Final Mod Pack is basically just an incredible extension of the vanilla game, similar to the Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 patch.

It makes it harder to get alien tech and so on, so you will have to use human weapons for a lot longer. I recommend playing with the nu-Xcom setting, that weapons get destroyed if you kill the aliens - so the only way to get weapons is to stun them. Makes the game much more tactical and balanced economy-wise.

Eww! Sounds like a WW1 veteran's nightmare: Alright, troopers 4-14! Rush the enemy in a human wave with stun rods. Chhhhaaaarrrrrggggeeeeee!!!!!

 

[thesheeep]

Not played Area 51, but Final Mod Pack is basically just an incredible extension of the vanilla game, similar to the Jagged Alliance 2 1.13 patch.

It makes it harder to get alien tech and so on, so you will have to use human weapons for a lot longer. I recommend playing with the nu-Xcom setting, that weapons get destroyed if you kill the aliens - so the only way to get weapons is to stun them. Makes the game much more tactical and balanced economy-wise.

Eww! Sounds like a WW1 veteran's nightmare: Alright, troopers 4-14! Rush the enemy in a human wave with stun rods. Chhhhaaaarrrrrggggeeeeee!!!!!

Yeah, breaks any logic for the sake of increasing difficulty.
I mean, sure if the weapon is somehow biological and actually requires its host to be alive, I get it. But in many cases, you could just pick up and use the weapon

 

[Cael]

Yeah, breaks any logic for the sake of increasing difficulty.
I mean, sure if the weapon is somehow biological and actually requires its host to be alive, I get it. But in many cases, you could just pick up and use the weapon

Bearing in mind all XCom games already have destroying loot in play. If you insist on using explosives liberally, you will loose loot and even bodies and starship parts. The stun requirement is just... mindbogglingly bad.

 

[Average Manatee]

It's actually not that bad, stun rods are excellent weapons for UFO breaching compared to all other human options barring the Heavy Cannon. Stun Launchers are godly weapons.

Vanilla X-Com has massive balance problems when you can find your entire monthly funding amount by killing a dozen aliens in a single mission. It's not too relevant for Vanilla since the game is pretty short, but for any longer campaign you need to either massively nerf the sell rate of found equipment or resort to having most of them break.

 

[Alienman]

Final Mod Pack comes with more ways to stun too.

 

[Average Manatee]

I recall it having a taser but it was much worse in practice than in theory. Short ranged, you'd miss half the time, half the time the enemy wouldn't go down. Better to just run up and poke.

 

[Cael]

It's actually not that bad, stun rods are excellent weapons for UFO breaching compared to all other human options barring the Heavy Cannon. Stun Launchers are godly weapons.

Vanilla X-Com has massive balance problems when you can find your entire monthly funding amount by killing a dozen aliens in a single mission. It's not too relevant for Vanilla since the game is pretty short, but for any longer campaign you need to either massively nerf the sell rate of found equipment or resort to having most of them break.

Money was never a problem in vanilla past the first month or so, once you get to laser cannons.

The most dangerous breach has always been the medium scout, and one way around that is to pound the crap out of the outer hull with rockets from a HWP before going in. If you are lucky, you'd take out a couple of the sectoids inside and cause the others to panic and/or run out.

 

[Cael]

I don't recall seeing a medium scout with a busted roof that didn't have the walls in pieces as well. Large scout, yes, but those were never a major problem breaching.

 

[Average Manatee]

>shooting down ships
Whoa, didn't know I was among casuals. Anyone good knows you wait for them to land and get more shit.

Breaching UFOs was never a problem if you used motion scanners. Though there were some X-Com versions that had some weird AI issues causing some enemies to camp without movement forever. Not sure if that was intended or not but it doesn't exist in Open Xcom.

People used stun rods? Just smoke grenade the interior of the UFO, preferably thrown through the busted roof, wait a few turns and the aliens collapse from smoke inhalation.

Are you just theory crafting? Because this does not work. Smoke damage is 1-3 per turn, enemies recover from stun at 1 per turn, and stun subtracts from health (nor stamina), so the "aliens are stupid and run out of stamina moving back and forth" issue doesn't matter. The only way this works is by abusing the "smoke damage also triggers every time you start a fire" bug in original X-Com, but if you are abusing that then you knew exactly what you were doing and woulds state so.

 

[Cael]

Breaching UFOs was never a problem if you used motion scanners. Though there were some X-Com versions that had some weird AI issues causing some enemies to camp without movement forever. Not sure if that was intended or not but it doesn't exist in Open Xcom.

In the original, enemies camp. You often find clusters of 3-6 enemies camping around the power source in medium scouts. Anyone opening the door is basically dead unless you somehow cause them to move or die.