Topics

1

Coding / Github?

« on: February 15, 2020, 10:46:53 pm »

The game is semi-dormant, which happens to many projects. Often it takes a group
of very active people keeping something going; and then some helper folks
emerge.

Battle for Wesnoth is doing fairly well. They are also quite active on github.

Would it be worth to consider moving to github? The issue tracker is fairly
nice, and perhaps people could work on some smaller things that may be
missing, todo list entries and such.

2

Discussion / History of the Project?

« on: November 23, 2019, 03:34:44 am »

Does anyone know the history of the project? E. g. when it was started, who started it,
who were the people who kept it going etc...?

I don't remember who started it but I think it was someone from Germany. Might be
wrong, my memory fails me (that is why I note down everything!)

3

Discussion / Move to GitHub?

« on: November 23, 2019, 03:33:47 am »

Are there any plans to move to GitHub? Might make the project a bit more active perhaps (no idea, I have just visited since
my inactivity of a few years).

4

Discussion / Could you add IRC to the FAQ please?

« on: June 30, 2014, 11:18:15 pm »

Hi guys,

In the FAQ

http://ufoai.org/wiki/Manual/FAQ

IRC is not mentioned.

Could you please add a section and let us know if there is an IRC channel?

I am sometimes connecting to #wesnoth to discuss with the folks there, it would be awesome to
find out if UFO AI has an IRC channel as well and where it is - the FAQ could mention that,
including if it has no IRC channel, as that saves me, and probably others, the time to look
for it (because I just tried to look for it; a FAQ could cover that)

Thanks.

5

Feature Requests / Customize Strengths of Aliens

« on: November 29, 2011, 10:31:40 am »

Hi,

It would be kinda neat to be able to customize aliens.

Not so much the looks of aliens, but why not that too (provide some .gif or .jpg or .png or what not, or if it has to be a 3D model, that could be used too).

Also customize the values of the aliens, and a pre-set of behaviour (sneaky ... aggressive... cautious... swam-mode)

The idea is that a player could customize heavily before starting to play an Alien Invasion game.

6

Offtopic / Background Colour and Theme for the Forum?

« on: November 08, 2011, 09:37:12 pm »

I miss the old black / dark theme of the forum

I understand that you guys want to use another forum software, but could the default background be made consistent with the overall homepage layout?

Just a darker background would be nice, right now it is so LIGHT BLUE that it KILLS MY EYES

7

Discussion / Ufo:AI vs Wesnoth

« on: May 12, 2009, 09:19:48 pm »

Hey,

I'd like to make a little open-ended discussion here.

Before I suggest the topic, I propose a "light rule" so that the discussion doesn't go in a direction where it kills itself again:

-> Let's concentrate specific sections which can interest players, for example graphics, game style, various weakness one game might have whereas the other has not
-> Let's not become too concerned with details. I would like to talk about the overall impression of these games. We can of course discuss about some details,
but if possible I would like to return to the general environment of these games, rather than i.e. specific pictures of a single character ... ;-)
-> Please Participate!

The topic here is about the game Ufo:AI here, and the game Wesnoth. As I believe many knows, Wesnoth is a rather big game by now. The current download has around +200 MB,
and UFO-AI can be compared to this easily (I think UFO-AI is bigger). Of course, the game mechanics can not compared easily because there are many differences. But I do want to point out specific issues, where either one could improve, or learn, from the other project.

* The first thing that crosses my mind is the campaign mode. I think one big advantage Wesnoth has over UFO-AI is that you can choose from so many different campaigns. I know that this concept does not easily relate to UFO-AI, however I think that campaigns give people a clear aim. A goal. A focus. This I think is a very good idea. For Ufo-AI we could concentrate on more details on how to make the aliens more interesting. How to make the story develop more dynamic, maybe add some unexpected plots or twists into the game.
An overall linear plot is ok, but I think without twists the story would become a bit boring.  There are many ways to achieve this... I dont want to get lost in detail, so I propose just a short way.

Picture week 22. The aliens did not show much activity. Then suddenly, they launch multiple attacks:
- They infiltrate the base, and at the same time attack one or two towns. During that attack they also introduce a new weapon(or any other item which the player can then develop). This could be an optional line, a plot which does not always happen, which is not totally needed to end the game, but which might be more interesting and give the game a little twist.
- Rescued civilians may want to help out the earth defenders somehow... perhaps they donate a bit of their money, or time...


* Next thing I believe, one big difference will always be that Wesnoth aims to be very simple. In fact, downright stupid. They wont add new features if they make the game "too complicated". This will forever be a liability for wesnoth. They have purposely limited themselves and thus can not explore more "complex" game dynamics.

* Another thing which is actually a plus for Wesnoth is that various users happily contribute their campaigns. I wonder how much modding could be done in Ufo:AI.  For example, it would be interesting to have a campaign line where it is very hard to find out who is an alien, and who is not. The aliens would actively try to be very sneaky and ... you know, "cloak and dagger" style... or maybe aliens which hypnotize and drink blood gothic-like hehe
Just to try out different things and see if this idea can bring any improvement.

*Maps:
The maps on Wesnoth are very simple, much simpler than in UFO-AI for example. Thus they can easily become bigger. This I believe is a slight limitation in UFO.AI. I think a really big map could be interesting. Maybe not in mainline mode, but I would like to explore a really big map with some "niceties", who knows. Maybe an old army base where robots fight as well... anyone remembers Fallout games? One base was cool, it had deactivated combat robots which were very strong... something like that could be fun to try out in UFO-AI.

Hmm cant think of more right now.... perhaps later

8

Discussion / Weapons (again) ;)

« on: May 13, 2008, 03:46:30 pm »

Is there any chance that some weapons will be rebalanced?

I find that I completely avoid a few weapons, mostly because there are other weapons
available that do the job. Take the shotgun. Normally in games it is a very effective
weapon, but in UFO:AI the shotgun is basically useless. The submachine gun has
many more shots. Or take the pistol. For being so light, it also is of less use compared
to the submachine gun.

I am fine with flame thrower, it is at least a fun weapon and no other weapon can
do what the flame thrower does (though grenade thrower can be effective too
against multiple targets, but so can the bazooka)

What I am also unhappy with is the machine gun. Maybe the submachine gun
is just too good and should be downgraded, but I would rather see slight
upgrades for other weapons.
I thus make a slight proposal:


- Machine gun should fire more bullets than it currently does
- Pistol should have a lower TU use
- shotgun: should basically kill everything in close range (i am kidding here... it should do a
LOT of damage in close range IMHO though.)
- sniper rifle: any chance that the TU could be reduced a bit? I find that my sniper guy
is less effective than a group of submachine gun guys, simply because the sniper
guy cant shoot twice anyway, and can hardly move AND shoot either.

Hmm my 2 cc (and i left out melee weapons hehe)

9

Discussion / Cant reach target

« on: May 07, 2008, 01:58:08 pm »

Hi,

I just lost a campaign on highest difficulty. I am not complaining about that, except for one thing.

In the beginning I have only one base. Then there was a terror attack in Wellington. Even with 2 fuel pods, I could not reach this area,
thus I could not fight the aliens, thus the aliens continually killed citizens and eventually I lost the game.

Of course, before losing, I built a new base close to that attack site when i had the money etc.. and I think it is possible to drive those aliens out in time by building up a second base - I just didnt concentrate fully on it because I thought I would have enough time.
So I eventually lost the game.

But I am not happy with this and thus I have two suggestions to make here:

1) Give some kind of warning when a nation is very unhappy with you. This could be a tiny notification in the tray area to the left.
This way the user is less likely to just advance in full speed and rather concentrate on killing aliens more readily.

2) If a firebird is equipped with two fuel pods, it should really really really be able to reach any place on the map. Maybe increase the benefit of the fuel pod (the range). I would not mind if they are more expensive, I just dont want to build a second base just to  reach a specific area on the map.

10

Discussion / Ammunition

« on: May 07, 2008, 01:52:11 pm »

As it happens even on the highest difficulty level, the biggest problem is actually not money but that there is a shortage of weapons and ammunitions. Can the amount of available ammunitions be increased? It is frustrating to have like +200k money but the ammo will go out and you have to wait a long time until you can buy more. This shortage of goods is valid for everything more or less (even scientists) but while I can understand that great scientists dont come in cheap and super-quickly, I just cant understand why ammunitions are rather limited given that they are manufactured in huge numbers even today

11

Discussion / money money money ... and hiring researchers

« on: April 22, 2008, 02:19:14 pm »

Even on hard difficulty levels I soon get a lot of money due to various reasons.

But there is a time when money isnt really useful anymore. I myself have supported prosopals such as
digging underground (to further extend a main base) or giving "research grants" to research projects to
stimulate the speed of research.

But actually I think the one thing that could be implemented super quick would be this:
- Money as a way to hire additional people.

In reallife you often see that people will accept the better paid offer. And research is in no way
different from that. I'd propose that you can hire ie researchers even if "none are available" if
you simply offer a lot more money. Or maybe make it per project, I'd really love to have ways to
use the extra money i have, and research is the most important aspect for me (as the early
weapons kinda suck IMO especially if the aliens come with their long range weapons ...)

12

Discussion / TerrorAttacks?

« on: March 25, 2008, 01:55:38 am »

Would it be possible to add big ship types for terror attacks to happen?

I remember in one of the UFO games, being on a ship. That was kinda fun... the though alone of
rich tourists running around being chased by aliens on an isolated ship was kinda fun

13

Discussion / Weapon Balancing

« on: March 12, 2008, 10:23:44 pm »

I think a few weapons are unbalanced. Take knife.
Its very difficult to sneak up on aliens.

Flame thrower:
its big fun (though I would love to break wooden walls with it) but the problem is you really need to kinda move right up to the enemy... Maybe the range should be extended, or more target squares should be combatted with it. Also i think inferno sweep and inferno is too similar

Grenade launcher:
I think this is a very good weapon actually, you can kill groups of aliens rather nicely with it but the range part is REALLY killing the weapon. Later in the game, the long rifles just pick my guys apart. It makes no sense to run around with a weapon that has such a low range. Sure, you may use it when the map has many buildings etc.. but there are simply better overall weapons imho

Pistol:
I am fine with it, but maybe single shots could be made cheaper?

Bolt Rifle:
Cannonade is very cool, no complaint. The snapshot and precision shot however is kinda annoying... I think it could need a slight boost. But I am ok with it as it is.

Sniper Rifle:
Sorry, it sucks. Headshot takes up 24 points? And normal movement is 31, so what am I supposed to do, take a position somewhere on the map.. and wait. But the aliens will shoot at me too and hit me much easier with their long range weapons...  and if i actually move, i can do only one shot, which normally miss. Compare this to a weapon that can fire multiple times.

Grenades:
Not sure... they kinda roll around and miss too often, and they block a hand, thus preventing the use of a normal weapon kinda...

Submachine gun:
This is kinda the best weapon, even though its only secondary.
I can fire SO MANY SHOTS with it, i can happily use reaction fire... yes, it doesnt do a lot of damage, but i think firing SO MUCH is simply better. sooner or later the alien just is dead.

Missile thrower:
I think its underpowered. The exploding missile hardly kills an alien on first shot for me. And reloading takes a lot of points... and we cant destroy buildings with it... and there are no waypoints... and, well actually, the other weapons are just better!

Not sure about the other weapons... I am not yet an expert but i think the machine gun is useless, especially compared to assault rifle (which is much better) and the submachine gun is a lot better than the machine gun too.


I think these issues should be considered. It would be cool if weapons that are too similar could be modified a bit to reflect different needs. I would also like to see a somewhat heavier pistol-type weapon. Something like a huge desert eagle or magnum or something, maybe with a bit longer range and power but heavier handling cost.
Also what could be fun, a kinda whip that has a limited range (but higher than knife). Something like an ultra-thin whip but supersharp... guess you know what i mean

Anyway, in general I am ok with the weapons because I get to choose - and not elect those weapons that I feel are less useful

14

Discussion / AI versus "logical choices"

« on: February 23, 2008, 05:10:42 am »

Lately i had four xcom units arranged. One was moving too close to the alien and I expected him to die.
My mistake i guess.

However the alien in question used his close combat weapon, and WALKED AROUND the front unit, attacking
the unit behind him (who I thought would auto-fire, because that one was walking around crouched and I ensured he had plenty of movement points left to fire)

What disturbs me in this situation is that the AI went straight for it - could it be that the alien targeted the "strongest" or most dangerous unit?
At any rate I would personally think that hitting the most-forward unit makes most sense if you "think" like an alien. In reallife he wouldnt run around someone only to start hacking on someone in backrow. (Maybe he has a reason, or its a crazy alien that does not think like humans though)

So whatever it is, Personally this behaviour totally surprised me, and I think the aliens should rather prefer to hit what is closest to them (I dont intend to "bait" them but I find it not realistic to run around a unit to hit another unit without any reason)

15

Feature Requests / Civillians should run away from the aliens and hide or try to.

« on: January 16, 2008, 10:44:08 am »

I picked this up from another thread.

Right now the civilians run around rather aimlessly and thus get shot down.

Dont get me wrong, I like that civilians notice aliens and then I could act
on this info and shoot the alien down. 

But from a civilian that is afraid of aliens, he should either run away as much as possible,
or if that is not possible, try to find a "safe spot" where he could stay.

That actually brings me to another thing ... i think the maps could be
either a bit bigger, or there could be more stuff to hide behind ...
cupboards... furniture... walls which dont lead to a door...
or doors which can be closed or locked behind you...