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Alkydere
Jun 7, 2010
Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.



Shumagorath posted:

Is it just me or do SPARKs have terrible aim?

Well, they are MECs. Seriously though, run Johnny Killbot right up to the enemy's face and shove that gun barrel down the enemy's throat since he can't use cover anyways.

Also feels so loving good to one-shot early Captains and such with the fist (Veteran level).

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EngineerSean
Feb 9, 2004

by zen death robot
You spelled Sparkerson wrong.

Speedball
Apr 15, 2008

Are there custom animations for punching large enemies like Mecs had in Xcom: Enemy Within?

Alkydere
Jun 7, 2010
Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.



Speedball posted:

Are there custom animations for punching large enemies like Mecs had in Xcom: Enemy Within?

Sadly, there doesn't seem to be. I loved the MEC going "DOWN BOY!" when a Berserker jumped on it. It also doesn't impart nearly the impact.

Still fun as hell though.

Shumagorath
Jun 6, 2001

Alkydere posted:

Well, they are MECs. Seriously though, run Johnny Killbot right up to the enemy's face and shove that gun barrel down the enemy's throat since he can't use cover anyways.

Also feels so loving good to one-shot early Captains and such with the fist (Veteran level).
I picked Rainmaker over the fist for 001 even though I remember how much fun the fist was in EW. Intimidate, on the other hand, is the absolute worst especially given that I gave up the ability to bulldoze entire buildings.

Mr.Pibbleton
Feb 3, 2006

Aleuts rock, chummer.

Alkydere posted:

Well, they are MECs. Seriously though, run Johnny Killbot right up to the enemy's face and shove that gun barrel down the enemy's throat since he can't use cover anyways.

Also feels so loving good to one-shot early Captains and such with the fist (Veteran level).

I like the overdrive, punch, shoot combo myself.


Shumagorath posted:

I picked Rainmaker over the fist for 001 even though I remember how much fun the fist was in EW. Intimidate, on the other hand, is the absolute worst especially given that I gave up the ability to bulldoze entire buildings.

Can later Sparks equip two heavy weapons? That's the only thing that'd make me consider it over puuuuunch.

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


anyone got a good geoscape guide? I remember a post somewhere in this thread that had good advice on how to maximize it e.g. with workshop placement and build order but arseholes if I can actually find it

Alkydere
Jun 7, 2010
Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.



Ciaphas posted:

anyone got a good geoscape guide? I remember a post somewhere in this thread that had good advice on how to maximize it e.g. with workshop placement and build order but arseholes if I can actually find it

Prioritize engineers early as they're one of your biggest bottlenecks in the early game. Remember to fly back to your HQ after supply drops as you can often buy one with some of the supplies you got there, or check the Black Market if you're overloaded with intel.

Remember to get your resistance coms up relatively early. Not before a GTS and/or AWS of course.

And with Workshop the main important thing is put it where it's got either 3 or 4 adjacencies, and make sure everything next to it can staff an Engineer. If the buildings adjacent to the workshop have less than 4 total engi slots when upgraded, you've wasted the Workshop.

Mr.Pibbleton
Feb 3, 2006

Aleuts rock, chummer.

Alkydere posted:

Prioritize engineers early as they're one of your biggest bottlenecks in the early game. Remember to fly back to your HQ after supply drops as you can often buy one with some of the supplies you got there, or check the Black Market if you're overloaded with intel.

Remember to get your resistance coms up relatively early. Not before a GTS and/or AWS of course.

And with Workshop the main important thing is put it where it's got either 3 or 4 adjacencies, and make sure everything next to it can staff an Engineer. If the buildings adjacent to the workshop have less than 4 total engi slots when upgraded, you've wasted the Workshop.

I've gotten two supply drops and a grand total of two engineers, the black market finally provided one so I just need 105 intel. :sigh:

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic
I typically put my Workshop right between two Resistance Comms rooms so that I can use all four gremlins to :words: with the Resistance, thus freeing my actual engineers up for actual work. Is this wasting the workshop?

Shumagorath
Jun 6, 2001

Mr.Pibbleton posted:

Can later Sparks equip two heavy weapons? That's the only thing that'd make me consider it over puuuuunch.
Not that I know of but Rainmaker makes powered weapons loving ridiculous.

Malachite_Dragon posted:

I typically put my Workshop right between two Resistance Comms rooms so that I can use all four gremlins to :words: with the Resistance, thus freeing my actual engineers up for actual work. Is this wasting the workshop?
No, as long as you can redirect those gremlins to above/below too. Base had the two power coils in the bottom middle two cells so I put the workshop in row 2 column 2 with the AWC above, coms on its left and the proving grounds on its right.

Alkydere
Jun 7, 2010
Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.



Malachite_Dragon posted:

I typically put my Workshop right between two Resistance Comms rooms so that I can use all four gremlins to :words: with the Resistance, thus freeing my actual engineers up for actual work. Is this wasting the workshop?

Considering how awkward real engineers can be at communications...it's probably for the best.

Maluco Marinero
Jan 18, 2001

Damn that's a
fine elephant.

teethgrinder posted:

Welp next mission is Avenger defence and I'm getting utterly destroyed, so I guess that makes my decision for me.

Bitching about how I got here: I don't understand it ... the enemy UFO was nowhere near my Avenger on the geoscape ... it just suddenly warped into place as I arrived at my destination. Feels like the game forced it to happen.

Pretty sure it doesn't matter where the UFO is. Internally it has a countdown or something so proximity has nothing to do with the chance roll.

teethgrinder
Oct 9, 2002

I guess that was my point. Just looked silly/buggy.

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic

Maluco Marinero posted:

Internally it has a countdown or something so proximity has nothing to do with the chance roll.
It what? :psyduck: I know for a drat fact I've successfully evaded UFOs without ever having to fight them, so you're telling me I wasted my time running back and forth across the globe and it doesn't loving matter?

RBA Starblade
Apr 28, 2008

Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

So on my new campaign, I set an overwatch trap in concealment, with 3 guys in cover and 1 in the open. All overwatching. The enemy squad moves in and detects the soldier. Nobody fires on my team. Both enemy units fire on my team, and don't reposition.

Did they make concealment even more worthless in vanilla than it was before or is this an exciting new bug?

e: Well I'm not allowed to let gremlins hack terminals so this is the fastest I've ever restarted a campaign. What the gently caress? I have no mods installed to affect any of this.

RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jul 2, 2016

Captain Gordon
Jul 22, 2004

:10bux::10bux::10bux::10bux::10bux:

RBA Starblade posted:

So on my new campaign, I set an overwatch trap in concealment, with 3 guys in cover and 1 in the open. All overwatching. The enemy squad moves in and detects the soldier. Nobody fires on my team. Both enemy units fire on my team, and don't reposition.

Did they make concealment even more worthless in vanilla than it was before or is this an exciting new bug?

e: Well I'm not allowed to let gremlins hack terminals so this is the fastest I've ever restarted a campaign. What the gently caress?

Nope, thats how vanilla concealment works. If you get spotted, ayy's get a coin toss as to whether they get the scatter move or take a shot on the exposed soldier immediately.

RBA Starblade
Apr 28, 2008

Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

Captain Gordon posted:

Nope, thats how vanilla concealment works. If you get spotted, ayy's get a coin toss as to whether they get the scatter move or take a shot on the exposed soldier immediately.

It's been a while since my last campaigns, but my concealed guys would regularly fire out of cover. Is that random chance too and I got lucky literally every time? I lost by one turn because of this and the gremlin not being able to hack for no particular reason.

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


Nope, they only get the coin toss if they reveal you on their turn. This was done to prevent Beaglerush (:v:) from putting all other soldiers on overwatch and setting one out as bait for 100% free no aim penalty overwatch shots

Captain Gordon
Jul 22, 2004

:10bux::10bux::10bux::10bux::10bux:

RBA Starblade posted:

It's been a while since my last campaigns, but my concealed guys would regularly fire out of cover. Is that random chance too and I got lucky literally every time? I lost by one turn because of this and the gremlin not being able to hack for no particular reason.

The overwatch should still trigger as normal if you are revealed, but overwatch doesnt trigger on enemy fire, only movement. So if you got revealed by a pod and they decided to stand and shoot, overwatch would never trigger as they didnt move.

RBA Starblade
Apr 28, 2008

Going Home.

Games Idiot Court Jester

Captain Gordon posted:

The overwatch should still trigger as normal if you are revealed, but overwatch doesnt trigger on enemy fire, only movement. So if you got revealed by a pod and they decided to stand and shoot, overwatch would never trigger as they didnt move.

It was enemy movement though. They walked into it. Oh well, I never actually cared about concealment before, might as well not start now. :haw:

quote:

Nope, they only get the coin toss if they reveal you on their turn. This was done to prevent Beaglerush () from putting all other soldiers on overwatch and setting one out as bait for 100% free no aim penalty overwatch shots

Oh. Welp guess I'm going back to opening with frag grenades. :v:

RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Jul 2, 2016

Maluco Marinero
Jan 18, 2001

Damn that's a
fine elephant.

Malachite_Dragon posted:

It what? :psyduck: I know for a drat fact I've successfully evaded UFOs without ever having to fight them, so you're telling me I wasted my time running back and forth across the globe and it doesn't loving matter?

I could chase this more, buttttt my conclusion from the code below, is that when it creates the UFO it rolls the chance of interception, and then puts the mission in the calendar right there and then. Literally nothing you do in the strategy layer beyond that will change that calendar, it'll wait til you're not doing anything past the interception time, and then it'll intercept.

code:
function OnCreation(XComGameState NewGameState, bool bGoldenPathSpawn)
{
	SetInterceptionChance(NewGameState, bGoldenPathSpawn);
	SetLocationHuntXCom();
	SetVisible();
	
	`XEVENTMGR.TriggerEvent('UFOSpawned', , , NewGameState);
}

//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Set whether or not this UFO will succeed in its interception attempt
function SetInterceptionChance(XComGameState NewGameState, bool bGoldenPathSpawn)
{
	local XComGameStateHistory History;
	local XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien AlienHQ;
	local int IntChance;
	
	History = `XCOMHISTORY;
	AlienHQ = XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien(History.GetSingleGameStateObjectForClass(class'XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien'));
	bGoldenPath = bGoldenPathSpawn;

	if (!AlienHQ.bHasPlayerBeenIntercepted)
	{
		IntChance = bGoldenPathSpawn ? DefaultInterceptionChanceGoldenPath : DefaultInterceptionChance;
	}
	else
	{
		IntChance = AfterFirstInterceptionChance[`DIFFICULTYSETTING];
	}

	bDoesInterceptionSucceed = class'X2StrategyGameRulesetDataStructures'.static.Roll(IntChance);

	// If the UFO intercepts the player, flag Alien HQ so any subsequent UFO spawns will use the correct percentages
	if (bDoesInterceptionSucceed)
	{
		AlienHQ = XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien(NewGameState.CreateStateObject(class'XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien', AlienHQ.ObjectID));
		NewGameState.AddStateObject(AlienHQ);
		AlienHQ.bHasPlayerBeenIntercepted = true;
	}
	else if (!AlienHQ.bHasPlayerAvoidedUFO) // If the player avoids interception, let AlienHQ know. Used for spawning Landed UFO supply raids.
	{
		AlienHQ = XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien(NewGameState.CreateStateObject(class'XComGameState_HeadquartersAlien', AlienHQ.ObjectID));
		NewGameState.AddStateObject(AlienHQ);
		AlienHQ.bHasPlayerAvoidedUFO = true;
	}
	
	SetInterceptionTime();
}


//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Sets the time when this UFO will attempt to intercept the Avenger
function SetInterceptionTime()
{
	local XComGameState_MissionCalendar CalendarState;
	local int HoursUntilIntercept;

	SpawnTime = GetCurrentTime();

	if (bDoesInterceptionSucceed)
	{
		CalendarState = XComGameState_MissionCalendar(`XCOMHISTORY.GetSingleGameStateObjectForClass(class'XComGameState_MissionCalendar'));
		InterceptionTime = CalendarState.GetBestNewMissionDateBetweenMissions(MaxInterceptMissionsToWait);
	}
	else
	{
		HoursUntilIntercept = (MinNonInterceptDays * 24) + `SYNC_RAND((MaxNonInterceptDays * 24) - (MinNonInterceptDays * 24) + 1);
		InterceptionTime = GetCurrentTime();
		class'X2StrategyGameRulesetDataStructures'.static.AddHours(InterceptionTime, HoursUntilIntercept);
	}
}

// some update function, but here's the important stuff
			// If we have hit our interception time, become visible, transport to be close to XComHQ, and start the attack
			if (class'X2StrategyGameRulesetDataStructures'.static.LessThan(InterceptionTime, GetCurrentTime()))
			{


Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



K, I reloaded an older save before the glitched machine, console'd everyone invincible, and redid it. Funny moment: When I executed the berserker queen upon first sighting. Invincibility doesn't make you always hit or make your items proc, so that was amusing.

So, hopefully, I can start seeing some of this new content :v:

Mr.Pibbleton
Feb 3, 2006

Aleuts rock, chummer.

Is there a numeric health display that works with the new DLC?

deep dish peat moss
Jul 27, 2006

Does anyone know of any big character pool mods like Hero Pool 3 (large character pool composed of characters from various media)? I love playing through the game with a ridiculous cast and the stories that come from things like B.A. Baracus accidentally killing the Red Ranger with a grenade, but I don't think Hero Pool is being updated anymore. I like the "Big Pool of Actors" one in concept except it's really jarring how many of their names are misspelled

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic

Mr.Pibbleton posted:

Is there a numeric health display that works with the new DLC?

The one I've been using works just fine still; I'll check which one it is when I get home from work

Drunk in Space
Dec 1, 2009
I think my game is horribly bugged. You should be able to build armour from the item screen after developing it in the proving grounds, right? In my case I have to do a proving grounds project every time I want an exo suit or whatever. I've also lost the ability to create a bunch of special items, like the freeze grenades and alien grenades, after the guy equipped with them died. Is that normal?

Count Uvula
Dec 20, 2011

---

Drunk in Space posted:

I think my game is horribly bugged. You should be able to build armour from the item screen after developing it in the proving grounds, right? In my case I have to do a proving grounds project every time I want an exo suit or whatever. I've also lost the ability to create a bunch of special items, like the freeze grenades and alien grenades, after the guy equipped with them died. Is that normal?

Everything but the alien grenade thing is normal (which I think is a proving ground project that permanently replaces your frag grenades with them?). The fact you can't replace the freeze grenades suuuucks, but there's a mod that lets you build replacements for the special gear atleast.

Maluco Marinero
Jan 18, 2001

Damn that's a
fine elephant.
No, that's not how the proving grounds work. There are some upgrades in it, but many are single item builds. You just run the project in the proving grounds again to get more.

Maluco Marinero
Jan 18, 2001

Damn that's a
fine elephant.
Y'know I think people would understand the choices the game has made (for better or worse) if they realised so many of the design decisions are for a long form roguelike, not a strategic simulation. There's plenty of gamey elements that are done in line with this idea, because the strategy layer isn't deep enough to control the player snowballing without it, it has no checks and balances for doing really well, you have to keep up and prepare for the final boss just like FTL and others of its ilk.

Drunk in Space
Dec 1, 2009
I see. So the armour tab is just for squad-wide improvements then? I'm a bit confused because I have a bunch of 'spark' related projects and I have no idea what that is. Some kind of mech?

Also do the standard ADVENT troopers completely dry up eventually? I messed up earlier in the game and sold a load of their corpses, and never have enough to make the plated armour upgrade. Getting problematic because I think I'm hitting in a point in the game where it expects my paper tissue men and women to take more than a couple of hits.

Count Uvula posted:

Everything but the alien grenade thing is normal (which I think is a proving ground project that permanently replaces your frag grenades with them?). The fact you can't replace the freeze grenades suuuucks, but there's a mod that lets you build replacements for the special gear atleast.

I think the item was actually an acid grenade. I never got a chance to use it because the guy equipped with them (and an ice grenade) got murdered by a beserker queen. I had no idea you lose them after the person equipped with them dies. Explains why I lost my sweet twin axes.

The inability to pick up items your guys have dropped is really dumb, especially when it comes to medkits. The guy above died from bleeding out, and I was helpless to do anything about it because the guy with the medkit was also dead. It's a really weird design decision for a game that gives you such a limited array of item slots.

Drunk in Space fucked around with this message at 08:14 on Jul 2, 2016

Maluco Marinero
Jan 18, 2001

Damn that's a
fine elephant.
You may have made a bit of an error there. Before making Exo and Spider suits you should be building the base upgrades (which is in Build Items, not the proving ground), predator and then warden at Tier 3.

Troopers do show up again, they'll probably be advanced troopers but they give you same necessary corpses. That said though, the pool of possible encounters is wider so you'll get less troopers. In the future maybe abstain from selling Troopers and Lancers until you've got all the big ticket items they help pay for.

Drunk in Space
Dec 1, 2009
I sold a bunch of them because the black market guy said they were in high demand and I figured I'd have plenty of opportunities to acquire more since they seemed to be a bog-standard enemy type. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of the missions where you encounter them early on are timed missions where you have to extract and don't have a chance to grab the bodies.

its curtains for Kevin
Nov 14, 2011

Fruit is proof that the gods exist and love us.

Just kidding!

Life is meaningless
If a soldier dies, two things happen.

1. If it's a map where you don't evac like a retribution site, you keep their wares AS LONG AS YOU WIN.

2. If it's a map where the end objective is 'ALL XCOM OPERATIVES MUST EVAC' then you will lose all the equipment from that soldier UNLESS you have another, alive soldier, carry him and exfil with him.


I'll reword that so it's less confusing.


Soldier A has a frost bomb.

Soldier B is next to him.

Soldier A gets pasted by a muton.

Soldier B walks into melee range of Soldier A and presses the PICK UP command, which only appears when you have an opportunity to pick up an unconscious or dead ally.

Soldier B Walks into the Evac Square, and presses Evac. Both Soldier B and Soldier A (who is being carried) are evacuated.

The commander keeps the frost bomb, since Soldier A was brought back.

its curtains for Kevin
Nov 14, 2011

Fruit is proof that the gods exist and love us.

Just kidding!

Life is meaningless
Predator and Warden Armor are one time purchases. Your armor is permanently upgraded for the whole squad if you buy them.

Every project in the Proving Grounds with the exception of a very few number of things (plasma grenades) are 1x items. You commision an experimental grenade, the game randomly rolls you 1 (one) of the experimental grenades. You want another? You commission another experimental grenade. EXO/WAR and Spider/Wraith Suits are also 1x quantity; if you want more than one, commission more than one. You lose all equipment from a soldier that doesn't make it. You don't notice if that soldier was wearing predator armor, carrying a magnetic rifle, and a frag grenade, but if they're carrying anything Non Standard (Read: anything that isn't stock or a squad upgrade) you will lose that poo poo.

its curtains for Kevin
Nov 14, 2011

Fruit is proof that the gods exist and love us.

Just kidding!

Life is meaningless
For what it's worth, Drunk in Space, everything you've posted about so far is textbook normal gameplay. Nothing you've talked about is wierd or strange in anyway.

its curtains for Kevin
Nov 14, 2011

Fruit is proof that the gods exist and love us.

Just kidding!

Life is meaningless
Things you should sell to the Black Market:


If they're in high demand:

-Alien Alloys
-Some of your spare corpses
-Unwanted Tier 1 weapon mods


If they're not:

-That's it



Never sell them Intel tablet drops; The trade is usually about 1.5 for 1 supplies:intel; considering you'll get supply drops for 300 supplies later, its not worth it. That intel is worth its weight in gold.

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic
Or do what I do and never sell them anything ever :v: if they want access to my toys they can drat well join X-Com themselves.

Drunk in Space
Dec 1, 2009
Yeah, I figured the issue might be that I didn't carry the guy and his gear back, but unfortunately it was indeed a timed evac mission and he died near the starting location after a protracted fight, so I simply didn't have the time.

I like the game but I do miss oldschool XCOM's "pick up whatever you can off his burnt corpse and run!" inventory system. The fact that you can at least carry people and their stuff in this one is good, though.

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Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



So 'Infinite Proving Grounds Grenades' mod is broken, which is annoying. It does the research, claims a grenade is made, but doesnt even make 1 grenade (default), let alone squad grenades (mod).

In addition to this, same problem as before. Did a few missions, then it freaked out. I *think* its a combination of the stunned/unconscious condition and the Recovery Turn System mod.

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