Storms over former XCOM members | Controlling abductions

[johnnylump]

Has anyone found where to edit the hit points of UFOs? I wonder if the large scouts might use some buffing.

[Drakous79]

Don't forget to get some rest too :) AP stands for armor penetration probably.

 

XCOM and alien ship types

Ship Type	Size		Operator	Default Weaponry

1	Interceptor	Small		XCOM		Avalanche Missiles
3	Firestorm	Small		XCOM		Avalanche Missiles
2	Skyranger	Small		XCOM		None
4	Small Scout	Small		Aliens		UFO Plasma Cannon I
5	Large Scout	Medium		Aliens		UFO Plasma Cannon I
6	Abductor	Large		Aliens		UFO Plasma Cannon II
7	Supply Barge	Large		Aliens		UFO Plasma Cannon II
8	Battleship	Very Large	Aliens		UFO Fusion Lance
9	Overseer	Medium		Aliens		UFO Plasma Cannon II and I

XComStrategyGame.upk, class XGItemTree, function UpdateShip(Type, Speed, Engagement Speed, HP, Armor, AP).

function UpdateShips()
{
   UpdateShip(2, 2000, 10, 8, 0, 0);
   switch(Game().GetDifficulty())
   {
       // End:0x125
       case 0:
           UpdateShip(1, 1500, 10, 2500, 5, 0);
           UpdateShip(3, 3500, 20, 6500, 25, 34);
           UpdateShip(4, 1500, 20, 800, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(5, 1800, 22, 1600, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(6, 2000, 17, 1800, 5, 3);
           UpdateShip(7, 2500, 25, 2000, 16, 4);
           UpdateShip(8, 3000, 40, 2400, 52, 20);
           UpdateShip(9, 3500, 60, 2500, 64, 25);
           // End:0x3d7
           break;
       // End:0x209
       case 1:
           UpdateShip(1, 1500, 10, 2500, 5, 0);
           UpdateShip(3, 3500, 20, 6500, 25, 34);
           UpdateShip(4, 1500, 20, 800, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(5, 1800, 22, 1600, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(6, 2000, 17, 1800, 5, 3);
           UpdateShip(7, 2500, 25, 2000, 16, 4);
           UpdateShip(8, 3000, 40, 2400, 52, 20);
           UpdateShip(9, 3500, 60, 2500, 64, 25);
           // End:0x3d7
           break;
       // End:0x2ee
       case 2:
           UpdateShip(1, 1500, 10, 2500, 5, 0);
           UpdateShip(3, 3500, 15, 6500, 25, 16);
           UpdateShip(4, 1500, 20, 800, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(5, 1800, 22, 1600, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(6, 2000, 17, 2200, 10, 3);
           UpdateShip(7, 2500, 25, 2400, 30, 4);
           UpdateShip(8, 3000, 40, 2900, 42, 20);
           UpdateShip(9, 3500, 60, 2500, 45, 25);
           // End:0x3d7
           break;
       // End:0x3d4
       case 3:
           UpdateShip(1, 1500, 10, 2500, 5, 0);
           UpdateShip(3, 3500, 15, 6500, 25, 16);
           UpdateShip(4, 1500, 20, 800, 0, 7);
           UpdateShip(5, 1800, 22, 1600, 2, 7);
           UpdateShip(6, 2000, 17, 2200, 13, 3);
           UpdateShip(7, 2500, 25, 2400, 36, 4);
           UpdateShip(8, 3000, 40, 2900, 52, 20);
           UpdateShip(9, 3500, 65, 2500, 52, 25);
           // End:0x3d7
           break;
       // End:0xffff
       default:
           BuildShipWeapons();
           UpdateAllShipTemplates();
}

Edited January 10, 2013 by Drakous79

[johnnylump]

Thanks!

 

My thought is we'll be seeing so many more large scouts as precursors to abductions, so perhaps making them bit tougher to take down is in order. Maybe having them escape more quickly, or more hit points? Thoughts?

[Drakous79]

I would love to have either large scout or the abductor according to how I'm doing (if ever had ship weapon laser cannon or better in storage check for example). But don't know, if it is possible as I haven't checked, why is the scout connected with the abductor. Maybe make large scout tougher.

 

Edit: Could be the connection a reason, why is ShowUFOsOnMission disabled by default?

Edited December 10, 2012 by Drakous79

[FlyingHigh10000000]

The following changes are what I feel would be ideal for balancing UFOs.

 

1 - DO NOT show the scouts that precede abductors, terror ships, etc, but DO show the actual abductors and Battleships as they conduct their missions. One thing I have noticed is that in March and April, Abductors and Battleships don't seem to actually conduct the missions, but rather, Large Scouts do, likely because at that point the player has probably just barely outfitted their fleet with Phoenix Cannons, which simply aren't strong enough to take down anything bigger than a Large Scout. Not sure how possible this is, as it seems like the command to show UFOs on missions is an all-or-nothing deal. Maybe there's a setting to toggle their visibility in XComStrategyGame?

 

2 - Make Small Scouts escape much faster, to compensate for the fact that two Avalanche missiles will take them down. Default game behavior is way too lenient on the player, and it's nothing like the original, where Very Small UFOs would blink out the moment they saw you, most of the time. The player simple shouldn't be allowed to take down UFOs so easily. Should be pretty simple if we can figure out what the values for each ship mean.

 

3 - Make Large Scouts escape a little bit faster. Maybe a couple of seconds, at most, because as it is, Large Scouts require two interceptors to take down, usually, because they either get away or nearly shoot down the normal jets. Same as above, in regards to difficulty in getting it working.

 

 

Battleships, Abductors, Supply Barges, and Overseers seem pretty balanced. the Scouts are the ones that need work, at least with the changes we're working with here. I highly recommend balancing mods to use Impossible, because the number of aliens, and the lack of player-assistance by the game mechanics(On Easy and Normal the AI cheats for you, as people have found out.) feels as close to the original game as I've seen so far. The alien numbers really come into play in Abduction missions, and with the way the patrol system works, if you mess up, you can get surrounded, and fast, making an abort not only smart, but necessary at times, to keep your squad alive for another mission. That, at least to me, is the true spirit of XCOM.

[johnnylump]

The following changes are what I feel would be ideal for balancing UFOs.

 

1 - DO NOT show the scouts that precede abductors, terror ships, etc, but DO show the actual abductors and Battleships as they conduct their missions. One thing I have noticed is that in March and April, Abductors and Battleships don't seem to actually conduct the missions, but rather, Large Scouts do, likely because at that point the player has probably just barely outfitted their fleet with Phoenix Cannons, which simply aren't strong enough to take down anything bigger than a Large Scout. Not sure how possible this is, as it seems like the command to show UFOs on missions is an all-or-nothing deal. Maybe there's a setting to toggle their visibility in XComStrategyGame?

 

2 - Make Small Scouts escape much faster, to compensate for the fact that two Avalanche missiles will take them down. Default game behavior is way too lenient on the player, and it's nothing like the original, where Very Small UFOs would blink out the moment they saw you, most of the time. The player simple shouldn't be allowed to take down UFOs so easily. Should be pretty simple if we can figure out what the values for each ship mean.

 

3 - Make Large Scouts escape a little bit faster. Maybe a couple of seconds, at most, because as it is, Large Scouts require two interceptors to take down, usually, because they either get away or nearly shoot down the normal jets. Same as above, in regards to difficulty in getting it working.

 

 

Battleships, Abductors, Supply Barges, and Overseers seem pretty balanced. the Scouts are the ones that need work, at least with the changes we're working with here. I highly recommend balancing mods to use Impossible, because the number of aliens, and the lack of player-assistance by the game mechanics(On Easy and Normal the AI cheats for you, as people have found out.) feels as close to the original game as I've seen so far. The alien numbers really come into play in Abduction missions, and with the way the patrol system works, if you mess up, you can get surrounded, and fast, making an abort not only smart, but necessary at times, to keep your squad alive for another mission. That, at least to me, is the true spirit of XCOM.

 

 

I like all these thoughts. And yep, I'm just modding for impossible, but making the aliens generally fight at normal abilities (with no bonuses), with a few exceptions. (10 hp outsiders are nasty, but they should be, because you usually fight them when they are alone, so they should be more like a boss than one more enemy trooper.)

 

I don't know how to do #1, but I think scouts that escape easily might be the best course in reproducing its effects. You might only get a brief shot to prevent an abduction by taking down the large scout that precedes the abductor. Those aim consumables suddenly become useful.

 

It also means we can put a lot more UFOs on the battlespace, doing all the things they do, because so many of the scouts will get away and not require assaults. A busy, complex globe ...

 

Again, this means setting panic to zero for escaped and ignored UFOs, which isn't a big deal. Long repair times for interceptors would also help, as it forces the player to make resource management decisions in whether to launch.

 

I have taken down abductors with three interceptors with Phoenix cannon. All end up heavily damaged, and sometimes the abdcutor gets away.

 

(Now, my real wish: A new ship, a panic-inducing alien bomber, somewhere between a scout and abductor in size and difficulty, that gets shot down over cities, and assaults take place in city terrain with a big blown-up UFO in the middle, but that's of course beyond any modding capabilities right now)

 

... @ Drakous, I suspect the devs didn't do all this because of limited maps and a desire to prevent repetition for a certain sector of player. A typical game has, what, 40 missions? What we're talking about could potentially double that or more -- six to ten abductions a month, plus two or more ufos, plus either a terror or a council mission. Maps will repeat, and a lot of missions will be at the same tech and soldier levels as the previous one; progress will feel much slower. I'm fine with that -- I want something that feels like a long, difficult war. (And this is one more reason for either a random map generator or modder map-making tools)

[Drakous79]

Johnny, I wouldn't care about too many missions :biggrin:

 

Will look for scouts/abductors issue when there's more time.

[FlyingHigh10000000]

In regards to a busy Geoscape, I present the following screenshot, as a culmination of the work everyone's put into finding this stuff, testing it, etc.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=112641212

 

It was glorious. I'd had Gangplank(the third Slingshot mission) sitting there all alone as a request from the Council. A terror attack started, and I couldn't go to it because I didn't have enough troops that weren't injured. Then a UFO went and landed right next to my base. Stuff like this just makes it all worth the trouble.

[johnnylump]

In regards to a busy Geoscape, I present the following screenshot, as a culmination of the work everyone's put into finding this stuff, testing it, etc.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=112641212

 

It was glorious. I'd had Gangplank(the third Slingshot mission) sitting there all alone as a request from the Council. A terror attack started, and I couldn't go to it because I didn't have enough troops that weren't injured. Then a UFO went and landed right next to my base. Stuff like this just makes it all worth the trouble.

 

Niiiice.

 

I've found the code to modify the ships armor and speed values. Here you go:

 

Impossible Small Scout**

24 04 1d dc 05 00 00 2c 14 1d 20 03 00 00 25 2c 07

 

Impossible Large Scout

24 05 1d 08 07 00 00 2c 16 1d 40 06 00 00 2c 02 2c 07

 

Impossible Abductor

24 06 1d d0 07 00 00 2c 11 1d 98 08 00 00 2c 0d 2c 03

 

Impossible Supply

24 07 1d c4 09 00 00 2c 19 1d 60 09 00 00 2c 24 2c 04

 

Impossible Battleship

24 08 1d b8 0b 00 00 2c 28 1d 54 0b 00 00 2c 34 2c 14

 

Impossible Overseer

24 09 1d ac 0d 00 00 2c 41 1d c4 09 00 00 2c 34 2c 19

 

** The small scout is the same for all four difficulty levels, so you'll find four instances of this string searching through the file. Go with the last one (it's just before the unique code for the impossible large scout.)

 

The codes are constructed like this

24 uu 1d v1 v2 v3 v4 2c ww 1d x1 x2 x3 x4 2c yy 2c zz

 

24 1d 2c -- leave alone

 

uu - unique identifier for ship, leave it alone

v1 thorugh v4 - speed, in four bytes. Note, the number is backward in two byte sets, so the overseer's speed in hex is 00 00 0d ac -- or 3,500. You have to put the two byte sets in reverse order -- ac 0d 00 00 is the way to enter it.

ww is "engagement speed" in hex

x1 through x4 armor, in four bytes, reversed just like speed is

zz -- 'AP' , armor piercing or something.

 

Also, the end of the formula doesn't work on small scouts, because what's "2c yy" in the other formulations is condensed into "25" -- the decimal value entered is zero. I'd suggest leaving the "25" alone.

 

Now, to figure out the difference between "speed" and "engagement speed"

Edited December 11, 2012 by johnnylump

[Drakous79]

Cool!

 

25 and 26 (0 and 1) are problematic. Steal the byte or let it be.

 

Speed on geoscape, engagement speed while intercepted (faster craft escapes sooner / less time to shoot).

Edited December 11, 2012 by Drakous79