The XCOM Thread: HOW DOES SNEK KICK DOOR?!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The XCOM Thread: HOW DOES SNEK KICK DOOR?!

Exposure: Apr 4, 2014

Re: labs and their vanilla uselessness, I use this since combined with a lot of the mods I have that add in additional techs, it can come in very useful when it comes to the techs that use up resources (or just getting extra intel out of datapads/data caches.)

# ? Nov 14, 2016 19:38

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# ? May 25, 2024 00:11

Kwyndig: Sep 23, 2006; Heeeeeey

Even if you rush labs, the amount of research time decrease is not worth it, since Scientists don't have levels it's a flat single digit percentage that never improves over time. You'd be better off just buying a scanning bonus with the supplies.

# ? Nov 14, 2016 19:41

Monathin: Sep 1, 2011; ?????????
?

Okay, I'm actually, finally, ready to begin doing a new run with all the DLC. Are there any must-have mods people recommend? I'm not looking for major, total, complete overhauls. Just the quality-of-life stuff. Probably throwing together A Better AI, Advanced Modular Weapons, Heavy Weapon Tweaks, and It's Just A Scratch, I might also grab a bunch of the Long War mods assuming they're not too broken and/or superficial (I honestly never used the SMGs, I don't know anyone who did). Anything else people would recommend?

# ? Nov 15, 2016 22:56

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

I'd probably add 'More Dark Events', 'Metal over Flesh' (better SPARKS without being overpowered), 'SPARKS get GTS Perks' and then a bunch of the cosmetic stuff if you want it.

Really, the SPARK stuff is mandatory if you're grabbing the Long War perk pack just to let them keep up. It doesn't give SPARKs the same boost it does soldiers and they're a little underpowered as is.

# ? Nov 15, 2016 23:06

Exposure: Apr 4, 2014

Man the official fix for the targeting bug is 743 MB to download? Must have been one hell of a bug if that's required to fix it without reverting back to the pre-patch code.

# ? Nov 15, 2016 23:28

Monathin: Sep 1, 2011; ?????????
?

I do enjoy having stompy robots on my team.

Is there any must-have cosmetics stuff or is it all basically to-taste, at this point?

Monathin fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Nov 15, 2016

# ? Nov 15, 2016 23:48

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Monathin posted:

I do enjoy having stompy robots on my team.

Is there any must-have cosmetics stuff or is it all basically to-taste, at this point?

Captain Bubs stuff is still the biggest and most complete one but there are a ton of cool cosmetic packs floating around.

# ? Nov 15, 2016 23:53

Suspicious: Apr 30, 2005; You know he's the villain, because he's got shifty eyes.

I did a classic run of XCOM1 starting from South America and an impossible one starting from Asia and... I still don't have the continental achievement. :pram:

My very first run was from Europe, I know that much. Now I have 4 ironman saves in the temple ship and I have to guess if they're all from NA or all from Africa. Time to flip a coin.

# ? Nov 15, 2016 23:56

Monathin: Sep 1, 2011; ?????????
?

Oh right, actually, one last question:

Does anyone use the Leader Pack/SMG Pack these days? I feel like they aren't very... good, really, speaking, as fun as Leader Training might be (it isn't). Is there any good reason to use them?

# ? Nov 16, 2016 00:15

MrL_JaKiri: Sep 23, 2003; A bracing glass of carrot juice!

Suspicious posted:

I did a classic run of XCOM1 starting from South America and an impossible one starting from Asia and... I still don't have the continental achievement.

My very first run was from Europe, I know that much. Now I have 4 ironman saves in the temple ship and I have to guess if they're all from NA or all from Africa. Time to flip a coin.

Africa is an excellent starting location, is that something you'd take into account?

# ? Nov 16, 2016 00:33

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Monathin posted:

Oh right, actually, one last question:

Does anyone use the Leader Pack/SMG Pack these days? I feel like they aren't very... good, really, speaking, as fun as Leader Training might be (it isn't). Is there any good reason to use them?

Not really.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 00:36

Bholder: Feb 26, 2013

SMGs are good with the perk-pack

# ? Nov 16, 2016 01:21

Brunom1: Sep 5, 2011; Ask me about being the best dad ever.

Is it possible to aim grenades and rockets on the vertical axis in the PS4 version?

~~Pressing up like in EW only toggles between the R2 options.~~ Figured it out. Had to turn off the ability grid.

Oh, and I went into the game figuring disabling the Alien Hunters mission would keep this baby Xcom-er safe from the Kings. It didn't. What it did was make the Kings available to spawn from the get-go and they have been hounding me nonstop.

I have, thus far, found the Viper King on the same mission I was first introduced to regular Vipers... and found the Zerker Queen before even the regular ones showed up.

Brunom1 fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Nov 16, 2016

# ? Nov 16, 2016 02:00

Lowen SoDium: Jun 5, 2003; Highen Fiber; Clapping Larry

Monathin posted:

Okay, I'm actually, finally, ready to begin doing a new run with all the DLC. Are there any must-have mods people recommend? I'm not looking for major, total, complete overhauls. Just the quality-of-life stuff. Probably throwing together A Better AI, Advanced Modular Weapons, Heavy Weapon Tweaks, and It's Just A Scratch, I might also grab a bunch of the Long War mods assuming they're not too broken and/or superficial (I honestly never used the SMGs, I don't know anyone who did). Anything else people would recommend?

Long War stuff that I think is decent:
Long War Alien Pack
Long War Laser Pack

Quality of Life Mods
Blackmarket Usage
Cost Based Ability Colors
After Action - Days Wounded
Gotcha Flank Preview Evolved
Uniforms Manager
Show Health Values
Stop Wasting my Time
Instant Avenger Menus
Free Camera Rotation
Overwatch All/Others
Evac All

Fixes for UltraWide Monitor
UltraWide Squad Selection UI Fix
Widescreen Fix

Funny Costumes and LOL text in game
Im To Fancy For Thouse Ayys
Capnbubs Accessories Pack
Fancy Dress Party
Ayy Lmao 2: /xcg/ Boogaloo
Super Awesome Skyrangers

# ? Nov 16, 2016 02:03

Pomp: Apr 3, 2012; by Fluffdaddy

any rumblings of an expansion pack

# ? Nov 16, 2016 02:10

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.

Monathin posted:

Oh right, actually, one last question:

Does anyone use the Leader Pack/SMG Pack these days? I feel like they aren't very... good, really, speaking, as fun as Leader Training might be (it isn't). Is there any good reason to use them?

I like the SMGs, especially with Grimy's loot mods. You can get/make some absurd setups that really don't mind the reduced damage.

I really need to remove the Leader pack from my mod loadout though. Didn't even use it when the game was new.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 02:19

BlazetheInferno: Jun 6, 2015

I am increasingly intrigued by the "Allies Unknown" set of mods. Alien Rookies with different bonuses for varying increases in recruitment cost (many of the alien species being Mass Effect Aliens at the moment)

# ? Nov 16, 2016 03:49

Jetamo: Nov 8, 2012; alright. alright, mate.

Pomp posted:

any rumblings of an expansion pack

Other than the SDK filenames leak from between Alien Rulers and Shen's Last Gift, not as far as I know.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 06:41

Bogart: Apr 12, 2010; by VideoGames

The Leader pack sucks, but the Rogue custom class makes a strong case for SMGs with their default perk (gain extra base damage if flanking). I just think their upgrade should be rolled into basic Magnetics / Plasma costs.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 21:58

Lunchmeat Larry: Nov 3, 2012

Honestly I barely even use assault rifles because shotguns are accurate enough anyway, so SMGs got totally ignored

# ? Nov 16, 2016 22:05

Nordick: Sep 3, 2011; Yes.

Bogart posted:

The Leader pack sucks, but the Rogue custom class makes a strong case for SMGs with their default perk (gain extra base damage if flanking).

The Shinobi class in LWPP has the same kind of perk. Also Grimy's Loot Mod has an upgrade module that increases damage but basically negates any crit chance.
Sure, you'd still do even more damage with a shotgun or AR, but with the perk and the upgrade SMGs do enough that the mobility increase feels worth the tradeoff.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 22:09

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Bogart posted:

The Leader pack sucks, but the Rogue custom class makes a strong case for SMGs with their default perk (gain extra base damage if flanking). I just think their upgrade should be rolled into basic Magnetics / Plasma costs.

SMG upgrade costs are absolutely absurd.

Also their laser pack is neat but ultimately entirely useless as they just sort of shoved a half tier upgrade in between Magnetics and Plasma and made it mandatory for Plasma research which serves to do nothing but drag the game out and reeks of :effort:

Also the perk pack is great work, but their new and re-balanced classes are largely terrible and mostly uninspired retreads. They also added a whole new rank of perks and sort of exploded the power creep.

# ? Nov 16, 2016 23:18

BlazetheInferno: Jun 6, 2015

Power creep is definitely a thing with the Perk Pack. A Better Advent can really mitigate that however.

However, if you don't like dedicated scout units, the Shinobi is probably not going to impress. The Ranger, on the other hand, is probably my favorite Perk Pack class, it's an Assault-rifle focused class that isn't 90% support, medicine and gremlins.

BlazetheInferno fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Nov 17, 2016

# ? Nov 17, 2016 01:54

Lunchmeat Larry: Nov 3, 2012

Shinobi owns, I just used mine as a melee unit and the damage output was fantastic. They were basically my dedicated Codex/Advent killer, and once you get Serial on them you have someone who can cut a huge swathe across the battlefield and still end up in cover.

# ? Nov 17, 2016 02:54

Annointed: Mar 2, 2013

Yay thanks to Low Spec Gaming on how to make this CPU hog of a game less of a strain on my poor old laptop, I can finally play this game without lag. And I got to say on the new DLC weapons, they are well worth their usage. Bolt caster allows my specialist to do more than hack/emp, Axe gives my ranger a free LH, and the Shadowfall pistol is worth it just for the aim bonus, I don't even use the shadowfall ability. But the one above the rest is that Frost Grenade, that thing is as game breaking as pre nerf Mimic Beacon. Being able to effectively turn an entire pod into a popsicle for a couple turns is absolutely OP. Whoo boy as soon as I get Magnetic Weaponry I am tackling the Alien Rulers and Shen's Last Gift Asap. With the mods I have for SPARKS hopefully it'll be enough for me to justify using them other than my cookie cutter team of Shotgun Ninja Ranger, Hack Specialist, 2 Grenade Heavy Demolitionists and 2 Pistol specced Snipers.

Speaking of which, have Firaxis did anything to Buff Sniper spec Snipers/Sword Rangers/Gunner Heavies? Outside of editing the damage & anim on Sword Rangers to justify even using that build, I never really saw the appeal of the other two.

Annointed fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Nov 17, 2016

# ? Nov 17, 2016 02:57

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Annointed posted:

Yay thanks to Low Spec Gaming on how to make this CPU hog of a game less of a strain on my poor old laptop, I can finally play this game without lag. And I got to say on the new DLC weapons, they are well worth their usage. Bolt caster allows my specialist to do more than hack/emp, Axe gives my ranger a free LH, and the Shadowfall pistol is worth it just for the aim bonus, I don't even use the shadowfall ability. But the one above the rest is that Frost Grenade, that thing is as game breaking as pre nerf Mimic Beacon. Being able to effectively turn an entire pod into a popsicle for a couple turns is absolutely OP. Whoo boy as soon as I get Magnetic Weaponry I am tackling the Alien Rulers and Shen's Last Gift Asap. With the mods I have for SPARKS hopefully it'll be enough for me to justify using them other than my cookie cutter team of Shotgun Ninja Ranger, Hack Specialist, 2 Grenade Heavy Demolitionists and 2 Pistol specced Snipers.

Speaking of which, have Firaxis did anything to Buff Sniper spec Snipers/Sword Rangers/Gunner Heavies? Outside of editing the damage & anim on Sword Rangers to justify even using that build, I never really saw the appeal of the other two.

Gunner Grenadiers are actually amazing, especially on longer missions like base defense or the final mission. You can get up to +39 aim between PCS, SCOPE and item bonuses and they have pretty decent aim already. Chain Shot shredder absolutely demolishes Sectopods/Gatekeepers and also they're useful for more than 4 actions per mission.

Honestly if you grab Salvo you basically have all the utility a fully-grenade spec'd dude has and you can gently caress people up with the cannon.

# ? Nov 17, 2016 03:07

MF_James: May 8, 2008; I CANNOT HANDLE BEING CALLED OUT ON MY DUMBASS OPINIONS ABOUT ANTI-VIRUS AND SECURITY. I REALLY LIKE TO THINK THAT I KNOW THINGS HERE

INSTEAD I AM GOING TO WHINE ABOUT IT IN OTHER THREADS SO MY OPINION CAN FEEL VALIDATED IN AN ECHO CHAMBER I LIKE

Also, your specialists can do more than hack! They should have a grenade to blow up cover, although I use them for this last because... they have the highest aim out of the classes (other than sniper I think?)

# ? Nov 17, 2016 21:05

Lima: Jun 17, 2012

I rolled Salvo on a specialist once - that one-turn Blaster Launcher/Capacitor Discharge combo made her the second-most deadly soldier on my roster :v:

# ? Nov 17, 2016 23:45

wolfman101: Feb 8, 2004; PCXL Fanboy

I was watching Beaglerush shoot the floor out from under his own troops and thought I should make a mod I made public. Tougher buildings.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=692643094

# ? Nov 18, 2016 02:40

Exposure: Apr 4, 2014

Some days I wish I wasn't such a Mass Effect nerd, then I wouldn't end up writing stuff like this:

code:

function GenerateQuarianName(int iGender, out string strFirst, out string strLast, optional int iRace = -1 )
{

		if(iGender == eGender_Male)
		{
			strFirst = (m_arrQuarianGivenNamesM[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianGivenNamesM.Length)] $ "'" $ m_arrQuarianLastNames[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianLastNames.Length)]);
		}
		else
		{
			strFirst = (m_arrQuarianGivenNamesF[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianGivenNamesF.Length)] $ "'" $ m_arrQuarianLastNames[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianLastNames.Length)]);
		}

		strLast = (Rand(2) == 0) ? ("nar " $ m_arrQuarianShipNames[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianShipNames.Length)]) : ("vas " $ m_arrQuarianShipNames[`SYNC_RAND(m_arrQuarianShipNames.Length)]) ;
	
}

to appease my dumb sensibilities. Though I had fun turning Sabotage into its XCOM 2 equivalent.

(and hopefully one day I'll actually take a break from modding XCOM 2 and start a new campaign before the expansion pack is announced)

Exposure fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Nov 20, 2016

# ? Nov 20, 2016 07:48

Szurumbur: Feb 17, 2011

Questions (for the PS4 version):
1. How does Ironman mode work? I know you only get one save, but I assume it can be loaded? There's a replicable bug leading to a soft crash (shooting at the flying Archon) and if I can just reload then it's not that much of a deal.
2. It seems that magnetic weapons, once upgraded into laser/plasma/fusion, retain their upgrades - that's correct and a normal behaviour, right?
3. Does the extra skill from the facility only occur once per soldier? It also occurs regardless of the rank, as long as you level up, right? So as long as you had built before you ran out of level ups on which to trigger the skill?
4. How does "Skulljack every ADVENT type soldier" Trophy work? There are four of them and by the time I got the Jack I was fighting with the Elite versions, but I assume it works the same for the purpose of the Trophy. Video guide said you just need skulljack three other types, Officer being plot-mandatory. However, I am certain I did pierce the skulls of all the types, but the trophy didn't trigger. Of course, with ADVENT being so common I'm going to try almost every mission for random types, but maybe it's a common bug?

Thanks in advance!

Szurumbur fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Nov 20, 2016

# ? Nov 20, 2016 16:25

Lima: Jun 17, 2012

Szurumbur posted:

Questions (for the PS4 version):
1. How does Ironman mode work? I know you only get one save, but I assume it can be loaded? There's a replicable bug leading to a soft crash (shooting at the flying Archon) and if I can just reload then it's not that much of a deal.
2. It seems that magnetic weapons, once upgraded into laser/plasma/fusion, retain their upgrades - that's correct and a normal behaviour, right?
3. Does the extra skill from the facility only occur once per soldier? It also occurs regardless of the rank, as long as you level up, right? So as long as you had built before you ran out of level ups on which to trigger the skill?
4. How does "Skulljack every ADVENT type soldier" Trophy work? There are four of them and by the time I got the Jack I was fighting with the Elite versions, but I assume it works the same for the purpose of the Trophy. Video guide said you just need skulljack three other types, Officer being plot-mandatory. However, I am certain I did pierce the skulls of all the types, but the trophy didn't trigger. Of course, with ADVENT being so common I'm going to try almost every mission for random types, but maybe it's a common bug?

Thanks in advance!

1 - Only one save yeah. I think the game overwrites the save at the start of every turn so you should be good as long as the bug doesn't trigger 100% of the time.
2 - Correct and normal yes. Stock weapons also transfers their mods to Mag weapons.
3 - The bonus skill triggers at a fixed rank which is unique to every soldier - so if you level someone past the bonus rank before you finish the AWC then they'll never get the extra skill.
4 - Dunno but Keep Mining Those Skulls regardless :v:

# ? Nov 20, 2016 17:17

Exposure: Apr 4, 2014

Basically what the game does for the skulljack achievement is cross-checking the enemy you skull jacked with the list of character group names that can be skull jacked. So a basic trooper counts the same way as an advanced trooper or elite trooper does.

What's probably throwing you off is that if I'm reading this right, a Codex skulljacking is required in addition to the ADVENT soldier types before it'll pop the achievement.

# ? Nov 20, 2016 17:49

Szurumbur: Feb 17, 2011

Lima posted:

1 - Only one save yeah. I think the game overwrites the save at the start of every turn so you should be good as long as the bug doesn't trigger 100% of the time.
2 - Correct and normal yes. Stock weapons also transfers their mods to Mag weapons.
3 - The bonus skill triggers at a fixed rank which is unique to every soldier - so if you level someone past the bonus rank before you finish the AWC then they'll never get the extra skill.
4 - Dunno but Keep Mining Those Skulls regardless

Exposure posted:

Basically what the game does for the skulljack achievement is cross-checking the enemy you skull jacked with the list of character group names that can be skull jacked. So a basic trooper counts the same way as an advanced trooper or elite trooper does.

What's probably throwing you off is that if I'm reading this right, a Codex skulljacking is required in addition to the ADVENT soldier types before it'll pop the achievement.

Hmm, I have only seen one Codex aside from the one which triggers automatically, but I'll be watchful. That's a bit of a bummer with the extra skills being tied to unique ranks, since it means the later it's built, the fewer the benefits - but I suppose at the start you lack the resources and space, so you choose what to prioritize and with the skills being random you can't know when it will actually bear fruit.

Thanks for the help! But now that I think about it, any advice for finishing the game before 1st July? I assume just actually doing the story missions/research as soon as they become available wouldn't work? And it the Blacksite always within a similar distance to your starting location, or is there an optimal starting placement - I believe Blacksite would actually be the biggest roadblock, correct? Codex can be flashbanged and bluescreened, but the Blacksite's security is quite formidable.

Szurumbur fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Nov 20, 2016

# ? Nov 20, 2016 18:51

Kurvi Tasch: Oct 13, 2012; Thats von Derp for you!

Szurumbur posted:

Thanks for the help! But now that I think about it, any advice for finishing the game before 1st July? I assume just actually doing the story missions/research as soon as they become available wouldn't work? And it the Blacksite always within a similar distance to your starting location, or is there an optimal starting placement - I believe Blacksite would actually be the biggest roadblock, correct? Codex can be flashbanged and bluescreened, but the Blacksite's security is quite formidable.

I think the blacksite will always be generated at a fixed distance to your starting locations. Anyway, actually getting all the mandatory stuff done in time is not going to happen with standard play. For that achievement you should switch the headquarter-scanning bonus to reduce build-times. It's also one of the few situations where a laboratory might be useful.

# ? Nov 20, 2016 22:20

TescoBag: Dec 2, 2009; Oh god, not again.

Is there a mod to add MEC's back in properly yet?

SPARKS seem okay but underpowered

# ? Nov 21, 2016 22:59

Andre Banzai: Jan 2, 2012

I'm in like my 20th run of XCOM 2 and I still love it (I'm addicted and it's a suffering) but any hints of an expansion yet? Yes I use a trillion of mods but I wanted a..... real expansion y'know *meth addict face*.

# ? Nov 22, 2016 13:32

Moonshine Rhyme: Mar 26, 2010; Hate Hate Hate Hate Hate

I've hit the way back machine and am working through Apocalypse again.

Game rocks, that is all

# ? Nov 23, 2016 01:06

MF_James: May 8, 2008; I CANNOT HANDLE BEING CALLED OUT ON MY DUMBASS OPINIONS ABOUT ANTI-VIRUS AND SECURITY. I REALLY LIKE TO THINK THAT I KNOW THINGS HERE

INSTEAD I AM GOING TO WHINE ABOUT IT IN OTHER THREADS SO MY OPINION CAN FEEL VALIDATED IN AN ECHO CHAMBER I LIKE

Moonshine Rhyme posted:

I've hit the way back machine and am working through Apocalypse again.

Game rocks, that is all

Oh man apoc is so fun, it's a different kind of fun than standard xcom, but definitely a blast!

Everyone dual-wields with explosive rounds, you win game.

# ? Nov 23, 2016 01:20

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# ? May 25, 2024 00:11

Nordick: Sep 3, 2011; Yes.

MF_James posted:

Oh man apoc is so fun, it's a different kind of fun than standard xcom, but definitely a blast!

Everyone dual-wields with explosive rounds, you win game.

Personally I preferred dual wielding with HE rounds in one gun and incendiary in the other.

Then I went to a mission at the spaceport with like three full squads thusly equipped and managed to entirely level the whole spaceport from within. Transtellar wasn't very pleased.

Apoc is good times.

# ? Nov 23, 2016 01:53

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