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oh dope posted:Is there some weird rule about Null Lance that I'm not aware of? I've only used it twice and both times (on separate missions) it simply went right through the enemies and did exactly nothing. No ! Missed or anything. Most recently I tried against a Codex and an Archon that were wide open, no cover, and my psi dude did his thing to zero effect. I'm really bad at this game. Look at the tiles highlighted below, not the beam itself. The targeting can get wonky, especially if so if you're shooting it diagonally.
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Mar 27, 2016 20:19
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Also if there is any kind of elevation changes between you and your target it can miss entirely as well.
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Mar 27, 2016 20:52
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So I couldn't do any dev tonight so of course I spent it thinking about squad size. Given that in GW it'll never be a win condition to wipe the enemy, there is more viability in ghosting most of the way to the objective, storming it in 1 or 2 turns and then getting out of dodge. With all that in mind I think it might be interesting to make squad size more of a side grade than a no brainer. Have squad size start at 4, then upgrades go to 6 & 8 respectively. Then, have squad size change the enemy response and concealment options. 4 & 5 allow concealment. 6 & 7 no concealment. 8 no concealment and all pods activate on first alert. Then have the reinforcement response times scale inversely to the squad size. I think with all that there might be enough incentive not to take everything all time, as long as I can put enough risk into taking a large squad.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:03
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Maluco Marinero posted:So I couldn't do any dev tonight so of course I spent it thinking about squad size. Given that in GW it'll never be a win condition to wipe the enemy, there is more viability in ghosting most of the way to the objective, storming it in 1 or 2 turns and then getting out of dodge. That is a really nifty idea.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:05
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Maluco Marinero posted:So I couldn't do any dev tonight so of course I spent it thinking about squad size. Given that in GW it'll never be a win condition to wipe the enemy, there is more viability in ghosting most of the way to the objective, storming it in 1 or 2 turns and then getting out of dodge. How are you going to handle XP if wiping the enemy isn't a win condition and ghosting is possible?
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Mar 27, 2016 21:28
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Digirat posted:May havoc never leave us That is satisfying as gently caress to watch over and over.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:36
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Maluco Marinero posted:So I couldn't do any dev tonight so of course I spent it thinking about squad size. Given that in GW it'll never be a win condition to wipe the enemy, there is more viability in ghosting most of the way to the objective, storming it in 1 or 2 turns and then getting out of dodge. I would change the order of progression: 6&7 would activate all pods but still start in concealment, and 8 would be just like you said. I think having all pods activate fits the idea of guerilla warfare so well it shouldn't be the exception. Also I'd suggest, for variety, to not get rid of the timed missions entirely. It'd make sense that sometimes ADVENT's response would be to send interceptors to shoot down the skyranger if they have any available nearby. Whether to add escalating reinforcements to those particular missions is a matter of taste I guess. With the necessity to dedicate actions/item to acquiring bodies, a small squad would be even more punishing. You'll need to make sure there's an incentive to vary the size depending on circumstances (ideal would be to see the map before the mission, but not sure it's moddable. however that would be the most decisive factor: on a big map you want to sneak around as long as possible to cover the distance, on a small one going for shock and awe with 8 dudes is more viable) For the enemies that don't leave a body, make them buyable through the black market? Although that's boring. From the SMG mod It seems it's possible to mod in modifiers for the detection range of enemy units. That's another lever for you to use to adjust difficulty with squad size. Also, I'd love if star soldiers, with their face plastered all over the cities, had a penalty against detection by civilians. Another consideration for balance would be to increase the means to incapacitate/distract the aliens to help the player bug out since having to flee in the face of impossible odds will be the rule rather than the exception. Improved flashbangs and smoke maybe? Ok I'm done armchair modding. I really like your ideas btw and I'm really looking forward to trying our your mod.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:40
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oh dope posted:Is there some weird rule about Null Lance that I'm not aware of? I've only used it twice and both times (on separate missions) it simply went right through the enemies and did exactly nothing. No ! Missed or anything. Most recently I tried against a Codex and an Archon that were wide open, no cover, and my psi dude did his thing to zero effect. I'm really bad at this game. You might have a mod installed that is messing with it. I saw on Grimy's Loot Mod that some people were reporting that Null Lance didn't work, and I experienced it too.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:50
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BenRGamer posted:How are you going to handle XP if wiping the enemy isn't a win condition and ghosting is possible? Part of the reason I won't do this change til I've done more play testing on the missions and see how many kills come out of them on average. My mind would be towards raising mission XP and lowering kill XP, and having the ability to train troops up more than just squaddie rank. That would be tempered with requiring mission experience & maybe leaving behind a trainer. It will be tricky to balance, I want to see how many more soldiers die / get injured on missions comparatively. Zokalwe posted:I would change the order of progression: 6&7 would activate all pods but still start in concealment, and 8 would be just like you said. I think having all pods activate fits the idea of guerilla warfare so well it shouldn't be the exception. Yeah, there's a LOT of different ways I can push this, and I think the other lever I'll end up introducing is an XCOM Threat Level, sort of an additional bar to the Avatar Project that shows how well you're doing + how seriously the ayys are taking you. High Threat Level, quicker and stronger reinforcements. It's gonna throw the balance all out of whack the moment I start doing that though so I'll be taking my time on introducing these non mission changes.
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Mar 27, 2016 21:55
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Yoked posted:You might have a mod installed that is messing with it. I saw on Grimy's Loot Mod that some people were reporting that Null Lance didn't work, and I experienced it too. Ah, I do have that mod so that could be the problem. I tried using it again on a chrysalid during a retaliation mission. It was out in the open, on the same elevation, and I made sure it was targeted properly. Went right through him. Oh well. Can I respec psi soldiers?
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Mar 28, 2016 01:49
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Wouldn't having all pods be active at the start mean you could just camp one spot and have them funnel into your death zone?
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Mar 28, 2016 01:53
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Internet Kraken posted:Wouldn't having all pods be active at the start mean you could just camp one spot and have them funnel into your death zone? I'm not sure if you've played XCOM2 yet but there are these things called mission timers? or something which basically puts the onus on you to get poo poo done
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Mar 28, 2016 02:05
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Internet Kraken posted:Wouldn't having all pods be active at the start mean you could just camp one spot and have them funnel into your death zone? Not if it also means constant and exponentially building reinforcements (which is how the mod will work). The idea is if you take a full squad of 8 you're committing to a full court press towards the objective because the enemy will respond in kind (and will have way more troops available than you will given enough time)
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Mar 28, 2016 02:06
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Internet Kraken posted:Wouldn't having all pods be active at the start mean you could just camp one spot and have them funnel into your death zone? Usually it means they stay further away than you can comfortably engage them and take pot shots at you. They only have to nail one of their 25% shots to ruin your day.
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Mar 28, 2016 02:13
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Why are Pods called Pods instead of groups or squads or whatever? Classic X-Com terminology or programming term for them or....?
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Mar 28, 2016 02:23
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Because the aliens are space whales
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Mar 28, 2016 02:25
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a cow posted:I'm not sure if you've played XCOM2 yet but there are these things called mission timers? or something which basically puts the onus on you to get poo poo done There's also a bunch of missions that don't feature timers. Maluco Marinero posted:Not if it also means constant and exponentially building reinforcements (which is how the mod will work). The idea is if you take a full squad of 8 you're committing to a full court press towards the objective because the enemy will respond in kind (and will have way more troops available than you will given enough time) Ah, I see. That sounds interesting. ZearothK posted:Why are Pods called Pods instead of groups or squads or whatever? Classic X-Com terminology or programming term for them or....? I dunno why pods stuck but original X-com didn't have them. All aliens on the map were active the moment you started the mission. Which meant you could exit the skyranger and get blown up by a sectoid camping the entrance. Internet Kraken fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 02:27
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ZearothK posted:Why are Pods called Pods instead of groups or squads or whatever? Classic X-Com terminology or programming term for them or....? Well it's not 94 XCOM because enemies were not organized in the same way, they were instead scattered about individually for the most part. Which was the death of many of my soldiers back in the day, as one lone goddamn sectoid hides out in a barn and reaction fires their faces off.
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Mar 28, 2016 02:33
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I always figured it was "Pods" to sound like a weirder take on "Squads". 
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Mar 28, 2016 02:42
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Moola posted:Because the aliens are space whales Wait, so Dishonored 2 is before or after the Terror from the Deep expansion for XCOM 2?
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Mar 28, 2016 04:29
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Digirat posted:May havoc never leave us It's a shame the other beam weapons aren't as badass sounding/looking as the cannon.
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Mar 28, 2016 04:54
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 Note to self: do not download character pools from 4chan edit: I could believe a scottish man would be named ballstink though tbh. Yknow what I'm gonna give this guy a chance. I wanna see him rise through the ranks.
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Mar 28, 2016 05:28
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A pod is a valid group noun, y'know! I don't know why they picked it (and it's possibly some programmer's acronym for something else), but you can have, for example, a pod of whales. The squad size difficulty mod sounds really good by the way. Could there be a way to make it interact with the alien threat level style mod - or rather, in this case, the Avatar project timer? And then make that so it the reduction for plot events is cut in half, and facilities only ever reward one pip? Having both the force strength modifier in place for Avatar / game progress AND the squad force response in tandem would change the dynamic of the game completely and I think for the better. A 'lite' version of the squad size mod would be good, too really ... like for example full alert with 6, no conceal with 5 and conceal with 4. I personally (and hopefully I'm not the only one) can't stand increased squad size. Eight people seems way unfair even with greatly increased pod sizes and activate all mods simply because of the interaction of skills and AOE/multi target effects between troops at that point, and it makes most of the avenger entry cutscenes look janky.
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Mar 28, 2016 07:04
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Welp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIX8TsnBRiU
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Mar 28, 2016 07:35
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You're doing good work.
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Mar 28, 2016 07:38
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Christ that's perfect. I love this! Thanks for the mod 
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Mar 28, 2016 07:44
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The red wizard hat slew me.
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Mar 28, 2016 07:49
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Moogle posted:A 'lite' version of the squad size mod would be good, too really ... like for example full alert with 6, no conceal with 5 and conceal with 4. I personally (and hopefully I'm not the only one) can't stand increased squad size. Eight people seems way unfair even with greatly increased pod sizes and activate all mods simply because of the interaction of skills and AOE/multi target effects between troops at that point, and it makes most of the avenger entry cutscenes look janky. Yeah, to be honest the more I think about it, it'd be nice to try and keep 4-6 as the standard before running to the 6-8 everyone sees as the go to. The game is much more heavily playtested at 4-6 so it makes sense to try not to leave that balance for now, as it throws everything all over the place as far as balance. XCOM soldiers have a poo poo load of AOE and Multitarget abilities that just smash the enemy especially when they clump. In other news manually looting supply raids is going to be tricky, and it's pretty likely I'll need to write completely new code for the objectives to make them retrievable, which likely means overriding every Land and Cover Parcel that has supplies in it. I think it'll make supply raids much more interesting though. What I'm thinking is you have a garrison and the distress beacon. If you kill the distress beacon before it runs out it buys you a few turns before reinforcements start streaming in, and you can try and loot the gear with the time you've earned. Maluco Marinero fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 08:28
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Could you do something interesting like replace it with objective chests, and/or make those chests spawn things(off of the hack) that you have to carry out?
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Mar 28, 2016 09:17
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Is there an easy way to replace the track samples with full music on our own?
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Mar 28, 2016 09:25
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If downloading the XCOM SDK / Unreal UDK 3, sampling your own music, editing them down to 20 second clips, then creating a random sound cue from them then linking it in the config is easy then yeah.
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Mar 28, 2016 09:27
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That's the plan, I'll just be working in uncharted territory. Fun fact, the recover item mission works like that however it's all scripted in Kismet (so hard coded to a single objective). You rarely see it because the "Extract Item" objective only appears when you drop an evac, but it's there and the objective success is tied to whoever did the hack evacuating the mission. I believe it also handles death of the courier and then recovery of the item from the ground but I haven't tested that bit. Edit: it might be better to implement the Fulton harness first really, mainly because I already have a rough idea how to do that with corpses. I'll need the harness for the full reimagining of supply raids to work.
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Mar 28, 2016 09:29
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drat 
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Mar 28, 2016 09:30
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For Guerilla War would it be possible to rework the black market so that you could purchase corpses rather than only sell them? It seems like this would give you another tool in balancing out the changes the mission structure will have on corpse loot.
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Mar 28, 2016 12:04
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Maluco Marinero posted:Yeah, to be honest the more I think about it, it'd be nice to try and keep 4-6 as the standard before running to the 6-8 everyone sees as the go to. The game is much more heavily playtested at 4-6 so it makes sense to try not to leave that balance for now, as it throws everything all over the place as far as balance. XCOM soldiers have a poo poo load of AOE and Multitarget abilities that just smash the enemy especially when they clump. I've actually switched to default squad size of 5, and bumped up the cost for Squad Size I and II by about 200 supplies. The reason for 5 is because I'm using Lubrication's Infantry Class mod, so I like being able to get all 5 classes from a successful Gatecrasher mission. I'm also using Increased Enemy Squad Size (not the plus version) and the Fatigue mod, so there is that.
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Mar 28, 2016 12:16
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Moogle posted:A pod is a valid group noun, y'know! I don't know why they picked it (and it's possibly some programmer's acronym for something else), but you can have, for example, a pod of whales. Yeah, I know that. I am just curious about where the term originated from in relation to the packs of aliens in XCOM, was it Firaxis or the community? Is it like every group is a little monster egg that cracks open when players approach? This is keeping me awake at night. [Edit] Okay, it is from Firaxis and it is what they've used in programming and the community picked it up from there, from actors within XComAlienPod. I guess I have to scream at Jake on Twitter or something. ZearothK fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Mar 28, 2016 |
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Mar 28, 2016 12:22
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Bless.
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Mar 28, 2016 12:42
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Moogle posted:A pod is a valid group noun, y'know! I don't know why they picked it (and it's possibly some programmer's acronym for something else) I think it's because Beagle started using the term when he played EU, and he had the best videos, so it stuck.
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Mar 28, 2016 17:06
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teddust posted:For Guerilla War would it be possible to rework the black market so that you could purchase corpses rather than only sell them? It seems like this would give you another tool in balancing out the changes the mission structure will have on corpse loot. Seems like you'd want to boost intel rewards then. Maybe make every successful hack always get you some bonus intel.
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Mar 28, 2016 18:16
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Just adding carry states and rejigging missions tonight. Removed Extract VIP (which I may eventually turn into Protect and Extract, with Evac disabled for 6 turns), and reworked Retaliation, Rescue and Extract to have unlocked extractions. It may be necessary to make reinforcements more responsive here given how quickly you can possibly storm an objective. Also, Vipers are awkward to carry. 
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Mar 28, 2016 19:00
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