Some thoughts about gameplay (UFO 2.2, linux)

[vvb]

Here are some notes about 2.2 version in linux (fedora core 6).
1. Mailclient (INBOX) have some problems. I didn't figure out how to produce problem, but sometimes after I've read new incoming letters, I can't start mission. When I press button "Start mission", it's only black screen and nothing happens. If I press ESC button -- game exit to Geoscape mode.
2. Mailclient again. There are no buttons to read next/previous letters. Or in my case they are fail to do their job. I think this becouse close integrity mailclient with UFOpedia.
3. I've found very unnoying bug. When mission starts, if you press ESC and then choose "Abort", mission aborts and in summary you can see what from 8 PHALANX soldiers after mission there are 248 (!!!) survivors. 8-[  ] After this all soldiers on ship are deleted and all equipment is returning to base, so I have to equip ship from beginning.
4. ESC key in games usually used to cancel current action (choose aim to shoot and so on). But in UFOAI by pressing ESC is always gives you menu. 8-(
5. Is farm08n ALWAYS choose to play the first mission? Every time I start campaign, first mission is farm08n. Is it feature or a bug?
6. Look around with CTRL is not comfortable. LMB will be more useful, I think.
7. In linux it is impossible to switch to other tasks by alt-tab (or whatever).

[Zenerka]

1. Mailclient (INBOX) have some problems. I didn't figure out how to produce problem, but sometimes after I've read new incoming letters, I can't start mission. When I press button "Start mission", it's only black screen and nothing happens. If I press ESC button -- game exit to Geoscape mode.

Fixed in current trunk.

2. Mailclient again. There are no buttons to read next/previous letters. Or in my case they are fail to do their job. I think this becouse close integrity mailclient with UFOpedia.

That will be implemented in near future - as a part of general improving mailclient.

3. I've found very unnoying bug. When mission starts, if you press ESC and then choose "Abort", mission aborts and in summary you can see what from 8 PHALANX soldiers after mission there are 248 (!!!) survivors. 8-[  ] After this all soldiers on ship are deleted and all equipment is returning to base, so I have to equip ship from beginning.

I will look into this. I want to fix this for 2.1.1.

5. Is farm08n ALWAYS choose to play the first mission? Every time I start campaign, first mission is farm08n. Is it feature or a bug?

It is a desired feature. This will be more clear in 2.2, where we will finally implement UFOs recovery, I believe.

[vvb]

Some additional notes about SVN version 7761:
8. When I choose OSS as sound system, all is fine. But with ALSA sound is chopping and wheezing.
9. As I can see, reaction fire with 'damage radius weapon' can't be set now? I think it's not good idea. I kill more then 80% of aliens on 'reactin fire' mode. So all these grenade launchers and rocket launchers are ineffective for this. So I have to use pistols and rifles.
10. When I hire new scientists, workers and so on, I can't see how many space I have for researh/laboratories and so on.
11. 'Havy laser' model in UFOpedia is too large. It doesn't fit to screen a little.
12. After second successfully mission, when my ship was on his route to base, I save game. Now I have error loading save game. It says:
Load 'slot2'
...subsystem 'base' - loaded 34875 bytes
...subsystem 'base' could not be loaded correctly - savegame might be broken (ffffffff)

[vvb]

And one more thing about [12] at previous message (Error loading save game). It seems that if I save game immediately after mission (when ship is returning on a base), I get error load message every time. But when the ship arrives at the base, I can save/load easily.

[Zenerka]

10. When I hire new scientists, workers and so on, I can't see how many space I have for researh/laboratories and so on.

For workers and workspace in workshops, you have such info in production menu. For laboratories and quarters, I will add something somewhere.

12. After second successfully mission, when my ship was on his route to base, I save game. Now I have error loading save game. It says:
Load 'slot2'
...subsystem 'base' - loaded 34875 bytes
...subsystem 'base' could not be loaded correctly - savegame might be broken (ffffffff)

Fixed already (yesterday).

[vvb]

13. I don't know is this feature or a bug. When I've read new mail in mailclient and rotate 3D-model of something, programm remembers at which angle I've rotate it. And when I 've read some different mail, 3D-model in it has the same angle of rotation at previous one.

14. At X-COM laser weapon has NO ammo at all. I t was very useful and comfortable. X-COM laser rifles has not much damage as plasma, but I've prefer to create 8 laser rifles and forget about ammo at all. It's rather fair I think. Is there any kind of firing weapon in ufoai, that have NO ammo? I dont like all this 'microeconomic stuff' with ammos. If you whink that laser weapon will be ultimate weapon becouse of this, it's damage can be decreased. In X-COM you can't hurt last main monster/brain/or_what_was_that.

[vvb]

15. It's still dangerous save game when ship is flying. In svn 7805 I've save game after industrial06n and after trying to load it, I get:
File 'slot3' loaded.
Save user settings to /home/vvb/.ufoai/2.2-dev/base/config.cfg
Error: the selected mission has no def pointer set
/usr/local/bin/ufo: line 2:  8978 Segmentation fault

16. When I kill bloodspider it's always something blinking on monitor. Some sort of white flash. I don't know how exactly to describe it. I think something wrong in a moment, when bloodspider model become a 'dead one' (bloodspider is lying on its spine)...

17. Another one bug (not always porducable, but anyway it has a place). In menu SAVE, choose slot (say, slot3) for save by clicking mouse on it, and then choose another one (say, slot2). Save game, then return to geoscape. Then return to SAVE menu. There is blinking * on a slot3.

[vvb]

18. Transfer between bases. I've give order to transfer some of equipment (laser rifles, sniper rifles and so on) from first primary base to secondary, just builded. And all of transferred equipment is gone! It's not on my first base, it's not on the second one.

19. Just small thought. Little remark. There was old game which called "Incubation: Time is running out". In Incubacion was one kind of alien, which have total frontal "bulletproof". So to kill him one must go from behind and shoot him to the back. I think it's not a bad idea make one of the alien in ufoai which have similiar characteristics. He can be very slow, with hand-to-hand only weapon, but if you'll encounter him in narrow  passage... 8-)

[vvb]

20. There is little strange in UFOpedia description of "Alien Autopsy - Shevaar". The text is " ) There is a complex set of implants...". I think ")" here is not needed (or, may be, it's a "-" must be here instead...

21. One more little strange with "Mailbox". When I've play, I've  recieve new mail in mailbox about new research results. But about some items (say, Medium Alien Armour, ?Plasma? Rifle, and some more) I've recieve no mail at all. In UFOpedia description of this items is appeared.

[vvb]

22. In SVN 8094 on main screen there is "version 2.2". Is this correct? Or may be there should be "2.2.1"?

23. There is some strange in female model in helmet. Head is shifted to back. It seems very unnatural. It's very remarkable when you equip you soldiers. Just switch between female with armor and without it. You'll see the difference.

24. Just my opinion. On pics maps loading (/base/pics/maps/loading) you shouldn't see "hidden" levels. I mean that screenshot should be done with ALL levels turned ON.
 I hope you'll get what I mean.
 By the way, my favorite one is mine_crash05. COOOOOOL.
 Very good -- oriental05, office06, japan06
 Not bad -- village07, tower06, rivertown01 (and so on)...
 "Bad" pics -- transport06, terrain08, subway07...(and so on)...

25. Feature/bug?
Set reaction fire. Choose with mouse "primary fire mode" of some weapon (some of modes are grey if you don't have time to them). NOW: press X (uset reaction fire). The grey color is not changed! Even when you have time to shoot.
 By-pass: press "primary fire mode" twice. 8-(

[vvb]

26. Again I can't load my save game. At this time:
Loading savegame
...version: 2
...game version: 2.2-dev
Global data loaded - size 49486716 bytes
...techs: 135
...buildings: 18
...ranks: 16
...nations: 8

Load 'slot2'
...subsystem 'base' - loaded 34490 bytes
...subsystem 'base' could not be loaded correctly - savegame might be broken (ffffffff)
Unknown command "game_timestop"
Changing to Singleplayer
Save user settings to /home/vvb/.ufoai/2.2-dev/base/config.cfg
recursive shutdown

[vvb]

27. Today I've download SVN 8187. There is little bug in it. When I kill bloodspider, game just crash.
---
Team 7 ended round, team 1's round started!
Bloodspider Bloodspider is consumed by mad rage!
Team 1 ended round, team 7's round started!
Received signal 8, exiting...
---

28. Death sounds are great. But they are slightly long. Should be cutted a little. And part of them can be used when wounds happen. Now it's hard to tell are my/aliens shots hit target?

29. Machine gun's model have holes in it. Sorry.

Just curious: Are my notes need to someone? Game designers, are you reading it? ;-) Just give me a sign...

[Zenerka]

SIGN.
Zenerka was here.

PS More verbose comments a bit later.

[jbabcock]

16. When I kill bloodspider it's always something blinking on monitor. Some sort of white flash. I don't know how exactly to describe it. I think something wrong in a moment, when bloodspider model become a 'dead one' (bloodspider is lying on its spine)...

I have had the game crash a few times immediately after killing a blood spider, using some of the more recent SVN versions. I can't reproduce it with confidence though.

[vvb]

16. Flash in bloodspiders' model can bee seen when you choose to play at the alien side, and enter to the "Hire employees" menu at the base. Just choose bloodspider from the list. Some sort of white line flashes at the end of animation of bloodspider I think...

30. Death sound with sniper rifle problem. I can hear death scream, but there is no sniper rifle fire sound before of it. 8-(