I'd like to request any player with a copy of UFO and/or TFTD that has not yet applied the XComutil base disjoint patch to their games to provide a little bit of assistance. If you find the doorways to some base modules are being sealed off for no apparent reason, then you can help.

After hitting the base disjoint bug in my current copy of UFO CE for the n-th time, I started noticing a pattern. The same modules were always being sealed off every time the base was attacked. So, I started a new game, encouraged a base attack, then edited my base and plugged every gap with single modules. I put together the following diagram to show the results I got:

http://www.geocities.com/nkfarma/temporary/bdb.html [1]

It appears that only the south and eastern most edges of the base are affected.

What I want to know now is whether this is consistent with everyone else? Are the affected modules sealed off exactly in the same manner for your games? Are there any differences between the various versions of the game (dos, CE, amiga, psx)? I would appreciate some feedback on this.

Having discovered that even laser tanks can sometimes shoot through the base's solid walls, sealing off sections of the base becomes tactically advantageous. Think about it, sealing off the access lift and the hangars, and only dealing with them when you're ready to do so.

- NKF

P.S.: Interesting note: In UFO: If the base being attacked does not have any hangars, the aliens will be spawned in locations where your soldiers normally start. This means they'll be all over the base! Hangars are good.

[1] The link to the diagram is only a temporary one. Here's the general idea: For all base modules on the eastern edge of the base, all horizontal doorways are sealed. For all modules on the southern edge, all vertical doorways are sealed. This leaves the south-eastern most module sealed off from the base completely.

From the software engineer's point of view, it looks like a 'fencepost' problem - blocks 1-6 are supposed to have accessibility checked, but the software might be exiting the loop on block 5 instead of 6. Assuming 1,1 is the upper left (northwest) corner.
I won't be verifying this experimentally, though.

Why not just use xcomutil to remove those bugs ? Seriously you can just leave off all the optional settings if you want and the game is the same.

Slythe: Well, you see, the reason why I'm asking for help is because I've already applied XComutil's fix on all my copies of the Dos X-Com games. Sadly, because of my overzealous attempt to get more people to play X-Com, I never got my cd back before I moved to New Zealand, so uh, I'm stuck with what I've got, except for the CE version of UFO.

Besides, if this is consistent with all versions of X-Com UFO and TFTD, then I want to think of ways that it can be used to your advantage. I mean, imagine having the access lift in the lower right corner of your base, and then extending a few modules up and then placing a hangar there. This way two groups of aliens will be isolated in the hangar and the access lift. And with the help of a heavy plasma, a plasma tank or a laser tank (if you're desperate), you can cut through the walls and deal with each group separately. Kind of like blast doors come to think of it... say, blast doors, now those would have been an excellent building module in Apocalypse.

JFG: Yes, my thoughts exactly.

- NKF

I personally have never seen the seal-off bug in the past. To be honest, im not too entused about trying to exploit it, either. Sounds a little.... risky :/

Then again, ive only been playing for 2 years or so (however long its been since PCGamer sent the classic games collection out... god bless them for that)

Yes, it would be very risky if you didn't have anything to cut through the walls with.

Nevertheless, this knowledge, if it's valid, should help players without the xcomutil base disjoint bug fix to plan their bases a little better.

Heh, if this is true, I'm definitely going to put this in my notes. But I don't know whether to classify this as a Geoscape or a battlescape issue.

- NKF

I've never had the base disjoint bug either, but I have the original version. Well, it's on CD, and labelled X-COM, not UFO (which means it isn't the european version), but the all levels being beginner difficulty bug still exists. (Short of using XCOMUtil, anyway)

Maybe it's a problem with the CE?

Oooh, can you post "NKF's Notes" for all of us, sometime? I'm sure with all the expertise you have on X-COM, you probably have extremely extensive notes .

The easiest way to find out is to just build a base. Start with the access lift in the bottom right most base slot, then fill in every other gap with a base module of some sort. Use an external base editor to make your job faster. Arm the base with soldiers and an inteceptor, then start attracting a lot of attention to it until the aliens attack it.

I just want to see how closely the sealed off walls in your game match the walls in the diagram I made.

If you ran Xcomutil's setup program (xcusetup) any time in the past, then all the walls will have been knocked out anyway, so you won't even notice the disjoint bug.

As for my notes: Well, I'm slowly working on it. Just need to organise them into some sort of logical order. It's really just a collection of notes on bugs, game 'features' and other observations I've made about the game. No tactics or anything.

- NKF

Well, I'm basing this from a base I once had before I've even heard of xcomutil. It was completely filled in, though the access lift wasn't in the lower-right corner. Is that a requirement for the base disjoint?

No, but it sure makes defending the base without any heavy plasmas very annoying.

- NKF

Yup, as a PSX user, I can confirm that this bug is in the PSX version, suffering exactly the same problems. I had a Grav Shield once there, and lost my Commander, Colonel and Plasma Hovertank there if I believe. By the time I tunnelled out, it was over

Hey NKF,

I'm about to dust off my PSX UFO game, load it up and start afresh. With this thread in mind can you confirm that to NOT get any of this base disjoint nonsense it is recommended that I build my Hangers at the southern most point and my modules to the west?

What is most strategically advantageous design for a base? Anyone?

The best strategic design is, quite simply, a line. You get your access lift, right? Build your hangars on one side, and all the other modules on the other side, ok?
This creates a 'choke point' (the access lift) a narrow area that the aliens have to pass through in order to get to your soldiers, who have all spawned in the other modules, on the other side of the lift.
Hey presto!
You've only got one route to defend. Fill it with lots of bullets and you've got yourself a win. Obviously, this isn't possible with your first base without extensive redesign, but if you build any others, it'll make defence a cinch.

Thanks Fullauto,

but Im also trying to avoid this annoying 'base disjoint bug'. I've experienced this bug before in the past and didn't have the proper weapons to punch a hole through the walls.

Yep, had that little beauty before. It's never happened to me on any of my smaller bases, just at the main one.

I can answer that one. All maps are generated by the geoscape part of the game. The battlescape merely executes what is passed to it by the geoscape.

Though that's tricky to work out with the CE version, as both parts of the game seem to be stored in the one executable.