Custom Soldier Ability Trees

[leejonnymr]

I followed everything but can't get it working.

 

1. Decompressed XComGame.upk

2. Unpacked the decompressed XComGame.upk

3. Opened GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function with Hex Editor

4. Edit skills as desire and save

5. ???

 

What do I do with the files? Where does XShape come into play?

 

I have a folder named XComGame with all the unpacked files in it.

[tbkiah]

If you do it that way you need to repack the UPK, rename the old UPK, move the new one into the same folder, rename the compressed_size file, and run XShape

 

You really should only do that way for major mods... for testing your own modifications you should hex edit a decompressed but not unpacked UPK file. You unpack the UPK so you can search hex values in the big UPK.

 

Otherwise i'm sure repacking files for minor mods would get pretty tedious.

Edited October 28, 2012 by tbkiah

[leejonnymr]

How do I edit the values in an unpacked file though?

[tbkiah]

I assumed you knew how to do that from your post that i replied to? Your question i thought was after that... which i said you need to repack the UPK.

[PepprmintButler]

I believe the question was meant to be, how to I edit the values in the PACKED file.

Answer is, the same way you edit the unpacked files : hex editor. The packed upk and the unpacked folder have the exact same content. The unpacked upk (folder) has the code in individual files ; the packed upk has it all in one continuous chunk of code. Once you found the part of the code that you wish to modify, probably by using UE Explorer and navigating the unpacked upk folder for the relevant file, you can search the packed upk for the same code as in the GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function file or other. Of course there's a lot more to search in so you need to search for longer strings (e.g. the first two lines of code in GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function). Once you found the section of the upk that contains the function or other that you want to edit, you can edit it there directly and save yourself the trouble to repack the upk.

I hope that was clear. I kinda doubt it was. It's 3 am here, not the best time to get into technical 'splanations...

[graaa]

I followed everything but can't get it working.

 

1. Decompressed XComGame.upk

2. Unpacked the decompressed XComGame.upk

3. Opened GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function with Hex Editor

4. Edit skills as desire and save

5. ???

 

Here's a bit of a rundown of the way I did it:

 

go back to step 3 where you open the GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function in the hex editor.

4. Also open the decompressed XComGame.upk in the hex editor next to it (its the file that's has more Kb than the other one, don't confuse this like I did!)

5. Make a list of all the changes you want to make, such as "Deep Pockets 2c 35 06 with Battlescanner 2c 08 06" etc... believe me it makes this much easier to keep track!

6. Double check the values on that list! Make sure 2c 35 06 actually IS for deep pockets. Nolanoth was nice enough to put them all here: http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/813563-probably-found-a-way-to-edit-ability-trees-of-your-troops-and-enemies/page__st__20

7. Use the Find tool in the Hex editor to find the hex in the GetPerkInTreeAssault.Function file... don't search for it in the big XComGame.upk because there are bound to be duplicates in there somewhere to confuse you! These 3 hexes can be used for ANYTHING so you gotta find them in the right PART of that giant file... that's where the smaller .function file comes in handy because its a specific snippet of that huge file.

8. Once you found the proper hex in the smaller .function file, DON'T CHANGE IT THERE. You change it in the giant XComGame.upk (make a backup too!). The way you find it in the big file is by selecting an entire line in the smaller .function file, including the hex you want to change. Then go to the big file and use the find tool and enter that entire line in there. Now the tool has enough information to direct you to the correct part of the big file so you can edit the proper hexes without worrying about editing the wrong hex.

9. Make the change in the proper hexes.

10. Repeat as desired, going back and forth in the smaller .function file to find the proper hex and in the bigger hex to make the actual change.

11. SAVE

12. use XSHAPE to patch your .exe so it can read your new XComGame.upk without crashing.

Edited October 28, 2012 by graaa

[leejonnymr]

nvm Edited October 28, 2012 by leejonnymr

[nobody4422]

Here's a remix I was writing up earlier, I'm curious on your thoughts. I had three main goals, first to eliminate the 'no contest' choices (I'm looking at you Smoke and Mirrors OR Field Medic) and make it a choice between two similar abilities. Second, reassign abilities so that they would more logically fit with the assigned roles (i.e. Flush for snipers, Battle Scanner for support). Third was to rearrange abilities to prevent too much power to early or an extremely powerful combination (the vanilla assault is a good example of this problem). Reading some of the comments here I don't think I got it all right, particularly the Sniper, so I welcome your comments and suggestions. Long story short I wasn't focusing on different 'builds' within a class, but rather one clearly defined role with the abilities offering distinct, but mutually exclusive, advantages to support that role.

 

Heavy

Big gun, big booms. Primarily a second line combatant the role of the heavy is to cover allies, suppress enemies, and blow stuff up. Keep him behind your assualt teams to provide much needed cover fire, or bring him in closer to unleash a mass of devastating explosions.

 

I removed Fire Rocket as the opening ability because I found it a little overpowered for early in the game, and instead replaced it with deep pockets allowing for two grenades or any combination of items (I'm really hoping we can make our own items in the near future as an Extended Magazine would be perfect for this guy). From there I think the progression is logical and choices difficult.

 

 

Deep Pockets

Bullet Swarm OR Suppression Fire - Choose either direct fire or support

Fire Rocket OR Shredder Rocket - Instant damage or long term damage

Rapid Reaction OR Cover Fire - Overwatch choice, more shots or more situations

Grenadier OR Rocketeer - Choose your explosive. 4 grenades or 2 rockets (I'm not sure how it'll work if they choose Shredder though)

HEAT Ammo - You should start to see robots around this time

Danger Zone OR Mayhem - Fire support or fire power

 

Support

A well rounded soldier that brings a lot to the battlefield. While his abilities are less geared towards direct combat he is still a very capable fighter and the skills he brings to the group can mean the difference between victory and defeat. He can be effective literally anywhere in combat, out front, in the rear or anywhere in between.

 

I mostly had to get rid of the bad pairings in this one, but I added a few abilities from other classes that were better geared towards battle support. I also moved the healing abilities to the end as I felt they were kind of overpowered in the beginning ranks and other abilities couldn't compete.

 

Smoke Bomb

Battle Scanner OR Sprinter - Choice of scouting method

Smoke and Mirrors OR Dense Smoke - More smoke or thicker smoke

Holo-Targeting OR Combat Drugs - Buff all allies against one enemy, or a group of allies against all enemies

Rifle Suppression OR Sentinel - Suppression or second overwatch

Revive

Savior OR Field Medic - 8 HP in 1 Turn or 12 HP in 3 turns.

 

Assault

Front line fighters that get in quick and hit hard. Their skills focus primarily on defense for closing the distance and offense for when the get there. Great inside buildings and other close quarters situations. You want these guys in the front.

 

This class was one that I thought most overpowered. Run and Gun alone is massive and you get that as a Squaddie. Combine that with Tactical sense, Lightning Reflexes, Rapid fire and any of the four other choices and you have someone who can run around the map inflicting massive amounts of damage with impunity. I had to do something about that while keeping their role intact. For starters I moved Run and Gun to Major rank, its too powerful that early, but I replaced it with will to survive which gives them enhanced survivability while closing that dangerous gap. The other ranks provide for difficult choices I think

 

Will to Survive

Aggression OR Close and Personal - offensive boost either with more enemies or closer range

Tactical Sense OR Lightning Reflexes - Defensive boost where lot of guys may miss or one guy will miss.

Killer Instinct OR Executioner - Situational offensive boosts, Increased criticals on Run & Gun or increased aim against weakened enemies

Extra Conditioning OR Resilience - Defense boost More HP or No critical hits

Run & Gun - Where it should be

Close Combat Specialist OR Rapid Fire - Let them come to you and hit em hard or go to them and hit em harder

 

Sniper

Patiently waiting and watching the battlefield picking off anyone stupid enough to poke their head up. The sniper is great at long distances providing excellent overwatch protection and unique tactical abilities. They're vulnerable at close ranges though so keep them in the back.

 

I had the most difficulty with the sniper and still doubt some of the ability locations. Gunslinger and snapshot are giving me the most problems. I originally wanted to take both of them away entirely as they kind of ruin the long distance fighter role, but I put them in anyway, probably in the wrong places. From reading this thread it seems that Snapshot is less powerful than I though and Gunsliger more so. I'll provide alternatives where appropriate.

 

Squadsight - The most basic ability of any sniper is to shoot where directed by a spotter.

Head Shot OR Disabling Shot - Tactical choice. Can you kill it in one hit or do you need to buy your squad some time?

Gunslinger OR Flush - Random choice. Protect yourself at close distances or scare enemies out of cover for your allies to take care of.

(Alternate: Sentinel OR Flush - Overwatch Choice. Take out more enemies during your overwatch or scare enemies into the path of others' overwatch)

Damn Good Ground OR Low Profile - Defensive choice. Plan on jumping rooftop to rooftop or crawling through the underbrush

Bring 'em On OR In the Zone - Offensive choice. Increase damage on everyone or free kills in certain situations.

Opportunist

Snap Shot OR Double Tap - Offensive choice. Move and shoot or shoot twice.

(Alternate: Gunslinger OR Double Tap - Move and shoot or shoot twice)

 

I haven't put it into practice yet to see how it works out, but I think it'll be pretty balanced. I welcome your inputs.

Edited October 28, 2012 by nobody4422

[graaa]

I wasn't focusing on different 'builds' within a class, but rather one clearly defined role with the abilities offering distinct, but mutually exclusive, advantages to support that role.

 

Glad to see we're generating some ideas here!

 

I have to say, this way of looking at it makes it fresh and keeps things simple. I think delaying the heavy's rocket and making it a choice between regular and shredder is brilliant and I'll be trying something like that out. I do however prefer the idea of having two distinct builds per class that one can work with, otherwise I fear the soldiers will behave and play identically. Your way of looking at it I think is useful in some situations when building the tree, however I am hesitant to incorporate the model of choosing between two similar abilities at every rank. I feel that the Support class, for example, needs a dedicated medic build where one soldier can get field medic AND savior, not either OR.

 

Coincidentally, recently did a reworking of the classes for my own game and I'm very happy to see that we shared some decisions!

1) Heat Ammo at Major for Heavy... seems like a no brainer to pick this one up so why not guarantee it and put others perks up for grabs?

2) Tactical Sense OR Lightning Reflexes choice for assault...for the defensive/rifle assault build or the offensive/shotgun assault build

NOTE: run N' gun should come BEFORE killer instinct in the assault tree, not after! I like the idea of delaying run'n'gun too, maybe putting "Sprint" as the squaddie perk?

3) Squadsight at Squaddie for sniper... another no brainer! Every sniper should have squad sight. I've then had the tree focus on building a "recon" snapshot sniper and a stationary one.

 

There are some things that I feel like I am pretty set on when I think about reworking the ability trees.

1) No deep pockets perk for anyone - in my game, every soldier can carry two items thanks to editing the .ini file. Two items are all you need. 3 is not supported in the GUI (although you can still kind of access it) and its a bit redundant. Two items for everyone is why I've gotten rid of deep pockets completely.

2) No overwatch buffs for snipers - I feel like opportunist makes them way too powerful, especially when you have squadsight. Also, I have trouble believing a sniper can even HAVE a reaction shot where they have to put the rifle up to their eye fast enough to then aim, etc. I'm not about to get rid of sniper overwatch, but I feel much more satisfied giving the overwatch buffs all to the support class.

3) No revive. Get rid of this perk. Let them die. I never use the survivor of a critical wound in another mission. ever. again.

4) No combat drugs. Absolutely useless. A one-time shot of will and crit% when your soldiers should already have that from leveling/good tactics & flanking. The defense bonus is massively superior.

5) Okay, on the fence here, but Sprint for supports? I know this might be controversial, but I am almost positive we can build a better support tree WITHOUT having sprint in there. I don't see what it adds to the support class, to be honest. Supports aren't best utilized as foot-scouts or the tip of the spear. They are SUPPORTS and stay somewhat in the middle of the formation so they can move last to provide that OH s*** ability like smoke, suppression, healing, or overwatch cover.

 

Otherwise, I'm open to new ideas! Posts like these are why I started this thread. Cheers, nobody4422

Edited October 28, 2012 by graaa

[graaa]

I am getting an error 13 from XSHAPE. First I was getting error 5 but after renaming I am now getting error 13.

 

Head on over to this thread: http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/810950-xshape/page__hl__xshape

 

I have no idea how Xshape works. I just followed the instructions... lol =)