Messages

46

Discussion / Re: An Open Letter to the Developers

« on: August 06, 2013, 02:15:04 pm »

i have no clue about craft distances or damages done. i need numbers.

check the ..ufoai..\base\0ufos.pk3
     extract archive --> aircraftmanagement.ufo

its a simple weapon damage minus shield value = actual damage (EDIT: completely ignoring the weapon accuracy which should make/have an impact)

note that the damage integer within the aircraft specs are in fact the  aircraft health points, so for example the firebird has a HP of 200.

So, depending on the aircraft, the weapon  (that the aliens are firing at you), the shield ( aircraft armour) ..;  the shield will usually let you take at least another hit.



.. for example the Saracen has a value of 125 damage (or health points), so against the PBW or particle beam weapon ( which has a weapon damage of 40)   The first few armours ( they go +4 to +8) of polymer  and alien plating will not allow you to survive the fourth hit.

Alien polymer ( of +16 I believe) , will give you not just the fourth, but the fifth hit, of course the sixth hit will kill ya.

Most ppl run Stilettos of course...

47

Mapping / Re: [solved] UFOAI-2.4 cant start map editor

« on: August 06, 2013, 11:01:42 am »

It doesn't work, it can't possibly work,.. oh it worked..
..
this totally sounds like a successful windows solution to me...

48

Tactics / Re: security camera usage in base defense

« on: August 06, 2013, 10:45:02 am »

I don't think i ever had functioning cameras on a base Defense .. ever.. so if I put a guy there (control centre)  and nothing happens... greatest April 1st or what??

49

Discussion / Re: An Open Letter to the Developers

« on: August 06, 2013, 10:38:35 am »

"yes that's the point: it is too easy to make errors concerning soldier movement. especially for newbies."

Engage the confirmation.


"it doesn't even feel like a cheat, because it's so obvious. and no, they don't repair fast enough. i had 2 fighters and while i waited for one of them to be repaired i lost serveral ufos until i decided to just sell and rebuy one. maybe that also changes with the new pace in 2.5, but it's still a problem that selling and buying is a fastrepair."

Right off, maybe, put some armor on that and it takes time to equip, if yer just buying decoys then yeah.


"i did that, but i still didn't know what happened. i have no clue about craft distances or damages done. i need numbers."

do check yer pk3, aircraftman??  ..its beeen awhile, i think this is the right file 2 feeel?


that sounds painful. i have enough "are you sure you want to do this?" in my windows. i don't need it in games too. an automatic highlight on mouseover would be perfect. this is not the highest priority and i assume it would take some time to implement. but definitely a very nice to have.


not like xcom had, that was just stupid. but it should be cheaper to produce something myself compared to buying it on the open market.


Every open market I ever saw2, und4ercut... if yer lookin for profit, just sell all accumulated weaponsand shoot down every alien craft you detect.

50

Feature Requests / Re: Dead Soldier Stat View

« on: July 30, 2013, 09:23:09 am »

I'd take anything.. it is seriously the hardest thing, trying to ascertain the performance of my squad on a individual soldier level.  Did I win or lose? OK, but often some of my guys don't seem to do much if anything, does this happen often?? I don't know, maybe its just unlucky RNG, but I honestly couldn't say how many if any shots they took..  And a lot of it is based on the map, but w/o any kind of stats im just guessing. and often I think, am like yeah that sounds awesome but no real clue if it actually works. 

Yeah, i also attach notes to my guys names, usually the last few mission kills / totals plus wpns, but without the maps its kinda depending on my sketchy memory to bring it all into some kinda reasonable perspective and i usually fail. 

51

Windows / Re: Nightly Builds (Full Installer)

« on: July 30, 2013, 09:03:14 am »

Lately the update goes straight green, without doing any kind of update.  I've looked at the commits, and the build bot, and it seems like some kind of revision should be in order.  But, the updater just says 'finally after...' and doesn't do anything.

  Am I missing something?

52

Feature Requests / Re: Cybernetics / tactical ideas.

« on: June 17, 2013, 04:35:42 am »

I love the idea that we would try to create our own augments, and create our own 'super soldier's no matter how crude they may seem compared to the advanced Alien technology.

Give a soldier super strength, and super speed.. result is say double time units or 60 TU's but because of the operational invasiveness , poor guy is so ramped/jacked up, he can't sit still for a second and thus ( hello shaky) takes an accuracy hit... or truer to real life, the soldier can enter a mode with super accuracy / TU ( in the UFC they describe as explosive??) but the natural mode is conservative and comparatively lethargic to your average soldier.


You may have caught these, but here's some on psionics:

http://ufoai.org/wiki/Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare
http://ufoai.org/wiki/Talk:Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare

Regarding this http://ufoai.org/wiki/Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare#Psionic_Abilities_.28Phalanx.29  , it seems the Holo-grenade ( totally awesome BTW)  would need more then just an IR signature or visual rep, but some sorta emulator ( to run a fake mind) ??

53

Tactics / Re: building a workshop base

« on: June 17, 2013, 03:22:40 am »

When a base attack is spawned, the UFO or UFO group should fly to a base that is randomly picked, the selection being modified by the bases' weights. A base's weight is a function of how well-known that base is to the aliens (the base will make itself more known the more it attacks nearby UFOs) and the degree of alien infiltration and/or XVI infection of the area the base is located in.

http://ufoai.org/wiki/Talk:Gameplay_Proposals/Campaign#Base_attacks

Yaay for old data.. I'm thinking of purely workshop bases where:

I usually have only three bases, first one gets a lot of labs, second one is mainly for armed forces and the third one gets the workshops and a ufo yard next to it.

I'll build the ufo yard and workshop base (3) right beside the first base or the second base, which ever can take out a harvester.


For base 3 ( workshops) I go for maximum efficiency.. no soldiers, no batteries, no radar.. no defense.  To be honest I am unsure what effect having those (soldiers, running intercepts,  radar) exactly has on the so called 'weight'  umm like does having a missile battery make the base more likely to be attacked?  Does having SAM installations around the base lead to the aliens having a greater interest level in that base?

The text for the Radar building, implies that the 'active scanning' will garner more alien interest... but to what degree?

So I build 'workshop' bases, right beside active ( usually radars + assault / interception) and hope that the aliens are more attracted to the active base.  Its kinda like throwing a penny on the sidewalk and sure some people will notice it, so you chuck a $100 bill right beside and no one notices the penny anymore.

I'm also trying to maximum three bases ( with radar installations so that I have expanded coverage, and taking out everything they spot).  Tactically I suck later game, but in 3-4 campaigns at 5-8 months, my workshop base when positioned beside another active base has never been attacked.  Maybe I'm fluky??


PS. I usually just end up destroying that one workshop in my first base.
PSS. I had a base where I threw down multiple batteries ( laser and missile in an attempt to see if that alone would take down a harvester) and complete exaggeration that base seemed like it was a base defense every other mission.
PSSS. Early to mid-game money is tight on normal / standard campaigns.. but with the increased action 'hard' is actually the easiest in terms of money.

54

Discussion / Re: An Open Letter to the Developers

« on: June 15, 2013, 10:14:16 pm »

"Imagine, if you go to McDonald's"...  there is a real problem with your examples: standards.  A ball player either catches the ball or not, the goalie stops the puck or not, the musician plays the correct notes or not, your McD's burger is cooked properly or not.... That is, the problems pretty much answer themselves, its obvious.

But to be honest, and here I feel we completely disagree; Its not enough to just stand up and say "I criticize".  If you're in a restaurant, you have a problem with the food, the waiter asks what exactly and you say its undercooked, or burnt or soggy... there is an exchange of ideas, a working together to address the issue.

As an example, there was a problem with the smoke grenades, it caused frame drops.. People noticed it, some people complained.. one guy actually went and tested various values.. and it was changed.  I honestly don't know how you can say that the dev team is dismissive of complaints, the problem is that they are a small group, with lives outside of this and therefore few hours with which to address all concerns.. is it really so much for us to try and meet them halfway?

Yes its valid to say this is wrong, but its so much more helpful if we can say this is wrong and here are some ideas (even if they're just brain storms) on how it could be improved. You have an idea, someone else maybe adds a bit, furthers it and we can get somewhere.

...'my soldiers have the rank of "Mediocre", '...  This to me is being dismissive of the dev team's efforts, yes you don't agree with something and that's cool, but this game wasn't made just for me or you and it IS modable.. How much time was spent making it that way?  I mean, the game doesn't have to be modable.. BUT IT IS.  If you want better stats for your soldiers you can change it, nothing is stopping you, and all you need is Notepad.  I feel like people just gloss over this like thanks, but thanks for nothing?!?!

I've only been lurking here since the stable 2.4, so maybe I don't have the correct perspective.. but I see a dev team that listens, and while that doesn't always translate into immediate changes (snapsnap dev team.. snap snap  ).. they DO take it into account when they move forward.  I see constant adjustments and changes being made, and a lot of it affected by the players feedback.  It is progress and maybe it feels slow, but in my experience there is real give and take, a conversation where both sides are working to improve this game.

Your concerns are real, and that's cool.  I just hope you continue to log in and converse with everyone here, you really have nothing to lose and the more / better we communicate with each other the better this game can be.  Also, reading about 2.5 is nothing like playing it; you really should try it! ... and then come back and talk about it.

55

Coding / Re: Formula for TU penalty

« on: January 24, 2013, 05:13:35 am »

interesting, i equipped nanocomposite and my soldier's TU dropped just a little, something like, from 32 to 30 (i may check if needed), and that certainly does not look like a 20 % or 30 % drop.

I think the base value for a light unit is 42... so you went from 42 to 30??

56

Discussion / Re: weapons balance in 2.5

« on: January 24, 2013, 05:10:41 am »

  During the campaign I went from sniper rifle to EM Rifle, and didn't really notice a loss of performance.  At least up until the Encased Plasma Ammo, where I think the damage output really out classes the EM Rifle (not just the light class extra TU ie double shot, as much as there aren't any resistances or armour values to detract from it) .

  I don't think the game takes advantage of through wall RF, If I remember Telok says it'll shoot through another Alien, but I'm not sure this applies to walls (which will break the LOF and consequently the RF cycle?).

  Either or, seems rookies with the Encased Plasma Ammo, have a better mission to kills ratio then the my more experienced soldiers with EM's.  Of course being rookies, (less then 10 missions) I can't say they are REALLY out performing..

I should say, I really like the accuracy of the EM Rifle, and take a lot of long distance shots on my turn, but don't try to RF with them which limits their viability.

57

Bugs in stable version (2.5) / Workshop

« on: January 24, 2013, 04:40:26 am »

How often does the Geoscape / Base / Base Summary -> Workshop get updated?
  If I hire workers, they show right away but when I unhire  (I'm sorry mais we're moving to a more automated Production Delivery System and due to the now unnessary redundacy of a labour intensive PDS we will no longer be requiring your fine efforts) the screen still shows the same amount.
  e.g.  From a starting first base, Workshop 10/10, unhire all Ten workers, and Base Summary screen still shows Workshop 10/10

Also from the Geoscape, selecting airborne craft (own) and then Using right mouse button with mouse motion to zoom + -   will break targeting command.  (Using the middle scroll button to zoom + - or pressed middle button works just fine)  The right mouse button also cancels?  =  ( I'm sorry  this isn't a bug per se as much an idiot moment.) 

58

Feature Requests / Re: Left click should work on mouse button release, not mouse down

« on: January 24, 2013, 04:30:20 am »

When doing a left click, the moment when the mouse button released is the one that should count. At the moment, this is true for the time UI actions are executed, but not for the click location.

Have you checked Options / Gameplay -> Confirm Actions?  It'll treat movement the same as firing (it'll even show the path you'll take).  Not sure if it fixes the issue,  (more of a work-a-round)  and it'll mean double clicking.. but it should save you from moving on miss-clicks.

59

Discussion / Re: Funding Nation mood whiplash

« on: January 24, 2013, 04:24:00 am »

Yeah, the TR-20 does have better damage (all ammo fired and hopefully hit), but it doesn't quite have the range of the Sparrow Hawks..  i.e. the Alien Fighter has a PBW of range 2, so you can fire and stay out of range with the Hawks.

Later on, when you're up against the AM missile, I find on slow (5 sec??) I can wait till I see the alien craft fire, then cut left or right and the missile will miss, then turn and fire.  (Using PBW's,  dodging and firing from just inside of weapon range).

I also use Saracens.  I don't build a lot of bases, so I need the range.   

60

Feature Requests / Re: More intel-gathering items for the battlescape

« on: January 24, 2013, 04:05:54 am »

I'll use IR goggles to gopher hunt  (there is an advantage with through wall tech = Sniper Rifle 1, EM Rifle or Bolter 2, Coil Gun 3)  like the one map where the aliens are all 1 level down in tunnels, I'll IR to find then snap shot  (1 or 2 squares off there is no reason for aimed shot)  kill.   That or on base defenses, where I use IR to acquire, then shoot UP (base is made of tinfoil?).

I'd like to have more items available that let you gather intel on the battlefield - spend TUs / turns to find out where the aliens are in order to avoid risk.

Have you checked out the proposal for Psionic Warfare?
http://ufoai.org/wiki/Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare

And the Talk page?
http://ufoai.org/wiki/Talk:Gameplay_Proposals/Psionic_warfare

Its all very cool.