I use this mainly for renameing units, auto equiping troops with what they used last mission. but I like some of the other features.

Being a programer I have picked apart it's default settings and modified them to my likeing. Sutchas modifying the starting base for defensive ness. but not having it add scientists or additional moduals, so I dont give myself to mutch advantage.

I also like the ability to add aditional UFO's to the game (not refering to the random generated ones.) but the lack of quality ones has set me on a quest to desing my own.. problem is, then I will allready know what they are like inside

-Blade FireLight

If I knew how to do it I could make you a killer UFO... After mapping all of the original ones for both of the first games I know what makes a UFO good, bad, easy and hard... Give me the program and the knowledge to work it and XCom will wish for battleships more often!

Maybe I should make a maping totorial.. I have a lot of referances. and I have a mapcode to image table that makes map editing easier.

Their are some reasons that their are not verry many new UFO maps availibly

1. the map editior is not graphical, plus will not run with out some kind of slowdown (moslow) on fast (200hm+) systems. (so it can only run in 9x and DOS)

2. you can only view the finished map's in game. making testing somewhat tedious. as you have to load a precombat mission and use xcomutil in prompt mode to choose the ship. then either explore the whole map. or save use xcomutils show all map options and then reload. you still have to walk throught the whole ship to make sure you did not make any walkthrou walls. or unpassible halls.

3. Route Maps. This is that the game AI used to help aliens navigate the UFO and deturming where they start. This file can only bee edited in HEX. A bit of a task.

Now I know how to edit Route Maps and Ship Maps. I have some designs I'm working on but would love to have some help. Either in the form of floorplans or compleated map files. I can create of Route Maps for them


It would be so cool to have new designs. Imagin it. Having 3 or more possibilites and not knowing what one untill you step off the skyranger ramp.

Can you give me the references? I think I have enough time to look at it and maybe do something more sofisticated

That 'fix' to the starting base parameter in XCOMUTIL sounds great. I've wanted something like that but don't use the utility's setting because the addition of 50 scientists is a bit much. I only use xcomutil for the renaming and autoequipping of soldiers, which is very convenient, and also adding auto fire to pistols, so nothing major. Besides, it's easy to 'rearrange' your starting base and make it very defensible within a month by building hangars and living quarters in the right spots.

I was thinking of adding an overlay installer to xcomutils setup. to alow you to choos a base layout from a few choices.
but that will be after I get some working maps

right now I use this setup for my startup base

HHHHHH
HHHHHH
HHHHHH
L
X
XXX
r

H is hanger. L = Acces Lift X=misc stuff r=small radar

Only 2 hangars? Huh, I guess you really don't want the advantage...

I never use X-COM Util. The only thing I used to use it for was base rearrangement, just move the top hangar down to the bottom middle space in between the other two. Everything else I left.

But I like to always play my game realistically, I.E. never convert all my guys to uber plasma-toting maniacs. I actually don't like heavy plasmas because I think they are too powerful, and doesn't make the game as fun. I always keep some stuff from the original selections, like when I make a new squad at a new base I make them earn their new weapons. They go out and fight as rookies with rifles and auto-cannons.

That's why I don't use X-COM util. Because I figure: when X-COM would have first been organized, and the base layout was decided, they didn't know the bases would be attacked, and they wouldnt have thought to design it so aliens wouldn't come in at the hangars and access lifts. So I figure as I build more bases I can design them how I want.

Or, alternatively, you could spend millions of dollars refurbishing your base to have a defendable layout, without exiting the game at all.

I did this once.

Hmmm... sorta makes you think. If you dismantle a base facility, wouldn't it take a while to do? And they would probably not fill it in with rock again, which means that it should take a couple of days off of build time the next time you build a facility there.


And I'm sure blade just forgot to list the extra hangars, along with a few other things.

You know what? I find I don't quite like the xcomutil base map layout after all.

Oh, a single corridor is nice to concentrate the enemy access points, but I find I like having two different entrances to certain areas like the hangars. That way if approaching the hangars in one direction turns out to be certain death, perhaps the other would be more suitable. Or peforming a pincer movement and getting at the enemy from both angles.

Besides, I feel that having soldiers cluster up the long corridor is simply demanding a blaster bomb, even if everyone is hiding in the utility closets.

Also, what would happen if the aliens saturate a base module along the corridor with too many blaster bombs? If the access lift is on their side, would this end up pruning an all-too large section of your base for good? I mean, each module needs access to another one to exist...

I guess I worry too much.

Otherwise, I use XComutil every so often for a bit of fun.

- NKF

If someone could make x-com.... larger (ill explain)

For starters make the landing craft larger with more space for men and drop the 80 item limit. Then increase the # of aliens and make the craft bigger. Basicly i would like to see an x-com were 30 troops take on 100+ aliens. This should make the troops more expendable and should eliminate lone commando style tactics and rely more on team style assults. I don't know how possiable this is but it would be cool if it could be done. (I haven't used the program so i dunno what it can and can't do)

-PSY GUY-

IIRC there's simply not enough space available at the game's object tables for that amount of troopers/aliens/items plus it would have to be a fairly big map, at least the double of the current UFO ones if you wanted to spread the soldiers around. It would be a great idea although there would be something needed to improve playability like being able to give orders to whole squads instead of just individual troopers.

But going back to the XComutil question, besides the uses already given below to it, i can give a little more:

- It fixes the bug that resets the difficulty from superhuman to beginner every time you load a saved game.
- If you use the research from captured aliens option the game gets really challenging. You need to capture live aliens in order for the research to advance unless you're happy fighting Mutons with personal armour and lasers. Research takes so damn even with 250 scientists that the only option at the beginning is really to go after them with stun rods.
- If you have UFO and TFTD you can play UFO's missions on TFTD's terrains, which is something really new since the colours change.
- Finally it allows you to play scenarios like fighting blaster launcher armed Mutons in city terrain or Ethereals on the Cydonian pyramids. And some of those are really hard to crack without psi-amps.

Fox.
I did not acturaly have the layout infront of my when I posted and forgot the other hanger..
besides you dont have to use all the features. just the ones you like.

NKF.

Xcomutils base is like this

HHHHHH
HHHHHH
A
X
XXXXXXX

it can be modified to be like this

HHHHHH
HHHHHH
A X
XXXXXXX

or using the original moduals

HHHHHH
HHHHHH
A X
XXXX

looking at that I think it would be kind of cool.

PsyGuy unfortunetly thoes changes are not likely doable.. and changes like that with moslikely cause the game tobecome unstable. Besides the only person I know who could do it is unable to becaus of leagle reasons.

-Blade FireLight

hey! there isn't a poll vote for "once in a while"!

sorry ki-tat. I'm new at making polls

nah, don't worry. it ok. people leave out options all the time. we are only humans.

Im just wondering, i dont use XcomUtil but will begin to use it wen i stop playing the game... hehe

Is there a possibility to make a set where you are fightin two alien races, ie snakemen + reapers & sectoids + cyberdisks, and they are also against each other...

it should be possible, as civilians (the neutral side) can be edited, so there should be a way to do this...

The story would go something like this:

"Snakeman soliders are angry at the fact that sectoids are not paying for the Ellerium 115 supply so they launch an attack on their earth base"

So Xcom can get to the base and fight off both sides as they blast each other....

(dont take into account the whole brain presence stopping the races from fighing because when "money comes into the equation i dont giv a damn if were fightin for the same cauz" - Snakeman Quote!)