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Ammo vanishes + excessive plasma pistols?


Chancellor Kremlin

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OK, so I have installed X-COM Enemy Unknown, and used X-Com util to patch it. (its working on dosbox).

 

I started a game on superhuman. My base got attached on the 12th and destroyed.

 

So I started again. This time I did rather well, except that very few aliens began using heavy plasma, and when they did, they ceased to do so very soon. Now I only get aliens with plasma pistols (exclusively). No rifles, or anything else, just pistols. This is in all missions. In the brief period they did yield heavy plasmas, I noticed that I would not get their clips at the end of a battle, the result being I very suddenly found myself without ammo for my own heavy plasmas. The clips I seemed to take with me during the mission also seemed to vanish by the end of it.

 

Also, its January 12 2000 and only now have I noticed an ethereal showing up, very late I reckon?

 

So, whats going on? Seems like there has been some corruption or something. All alien attacks on cities I have had have been by floaters and only two by sectoids, and mutons only appeared a month ago.

 

What the heck?

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Yeah, I was kind aware there was a bug relating to missing ammo, the problem is that not only do partially used clips vanish (as is the case in TFTD if im not mistaken) but ALL clips vanish at the end of the mission, even ones I don't use. The result is that I come back from a mission in a deficit, as even clips the aliens did not use vanish too. Is this normal? Is this what the bug is about?

 

As for game enhancers, I am only using X-Com Util. THere is a function to swap all weapons in a tactical game to heavy plasma, but these are not permanent and must be done on a mission by mission basis.

 

I will upload a saved game so you can have a look at it. I also find it strange that there are no ethereals around, and its already been a year... I'm having doubts if this is even superhuman difficulty!

 

 

 

 

Edit: is there any way I can upload files through the forum itself?

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Yeah, I was kind aware there was a bug relating to missing ammo, the problem is that not only do partially used clips vanish (as is the case in TFTD if im not mistaken) but ALL clips vanish at the end of the mission, even ones I don't use.

Even full clips not loaded into weapons?

 

Edit: is there any way I can upload files through the forum itself?

Not in this section. Just dump it on MediaFire or something and provide a link.

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I can't remember the discussion this was in, but I seem to recall that it was the result of a slight version difference as to how ammo clips are recovered. Probably a Dos vs CE difference. But yes, fully loaded clips get can get discarded.

 

Might want to run a test to see if this is the case. buy a small rocket for the rocket launcher. Just one. Bring it and a rocket launcher with you to a mission. Say attack an alien base or a crash site you're planning to ignore. Make sure the rocket launcher is loaded with the small rocket, then dust off. Either a complaint or checking the Skyranger inventory should reveal some clues as to what is happening.

 

As for the file, you've got a duplicate thread over the Xcomufo forums. It has the savegame forum that you can make use of to post your savegame. You could use that and just provide this thread with a link to that thread. Many of us are members of both forums.

 

- NKF

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Edit: is there any way I can upload files through the forum itself?

Not the Enemy Unknown forums, but seeing as this is a technical support question I moved it to the proper forum where you may upload a file if you need to. I'd suggest trying NKF's idea with the Rocket Launcher or another weapon to see if clips disappear. Though, that really doesn't explain the weapon mixups. :)

 

Ethereals take a long time to show up so that really isn't surprising. And I'm assuming since you are using XcomUtil that whatever difficulty you chose initially is the same level now because that bug is fixed. ;)

 

- Zombie

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"One of the rockets"? You were only supposed to bring one...

 

The clip issue is described by the link I posted earlier: In the DOS version, if a clip is still in a gun at the end of combat, you don't get to keep it. You have to manually unload them all.

 

I mean, you must've been keeping some clips. Otherwise you'd never have gotten a single heavy plasma clip in the first place, and you kinda need one in order to research the things so your soldiers can use them.

 

Supposedly XcomUtil has a workaround for this, but I can't see any documentation for such a thing. Still, it'd be trivial to write one, I suppose - a small hack that runs between mission end and mission debrief which automatically unloads all clips. Actually, so simple I did it in four lines and the program's attached...

 

Extract the archive straight into your game folder, then edit whatever batch file it is you use to start the game (eg "RUNXCOM.BAT"). You can do this by right clicking the batch then selecting "edit" from the context menu - this'll bring it up in Notepad.

 

Do a word search for "tactical" (Ctrl+F, make sure "match case" is off). Under every single line in the file that has that word in it, add a new line that just says "unload". Once you've done that, save & quit notepad, then see what effect it has in game.

 

I haven't actually tested this, but what the heck, it should work.

unload.zip

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys, just a bump, im having the same problem again:

 

Well, its done it again.

 

I have reinstalled the game, and once more, after reaching September of the first year, all aliens are now carrying plasma pistols in place of the heavy plasmas, and I have noticed my ammo for blaster launchers also gets deducted even if I don't use it, so basically the same problems again.

 

They both seem to have happened at the same time. Is this perhaps a corruption? Im on vista 64 bit, playing on dosbox (not sure what version) and UFO with x-com util, which says also patches ufo.

 

Does anyone have any clue how to fix it?

 

Cheers.

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Like I mentioned in the XcomUfo forums, try running the game (fresh install) without XcomUtil. That way we can narrow down what is the root cause of your problem. If it still happens, your copy of the game is corrupt. If it doesn't, XcomUtil may be accidentally overwriting some bytes in the executable. :D

 

- Zombie

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Like I mentioned in the XcomUfo forums, try running the game (fresh install) without XcomUtil. That way we can narrow down what is the root cause of your problem. If it still happens, your copy of the game is corrupt. If it doesn't, XcomUtil may be accidentally overwriting some bytes in the executable. :D

 

- Zombie

 

Sorry Zombie, I didn't read/missed that note. I'll try that. On a related note, a dreadnought on an alien retaliation mission heading for my base in South East Asia has just stopped on top of my base in Africa and seems to have made a home for itself there. Its been a week now and its right there, on top of that base, and I get no messages for any intercepts I send there. It seems like my game is probably being corrupted. Maybe I should attach a save game?

 

Also, thanks for replying in such festive times. I wish you and your family a merry Christmas!

 

CK.

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Well, I hope everybody has a good xmas!

 

 

 

 

Having played the unpatched and non x-com util modified version, I have encountered the same problem again, playing on superhuman (although I did notice what seems to be the inverted difficulty bug where I seemed to be playing one easy). Got both problems again, the disappearing ammo and plasma pistols exclusively, again, from September onwards.

 

 

 

 

ideas?

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The "disappearing ammo" thing applies to every DOS version of the game out there, so don't be surprised to see it. The rule is that if a clip is in a gun at the end of combat, it's lost.

 

Remember the "fix" I posted needs to be manually applied to the batch file you're using to start the game. I was gonna edit it to make it act more like the CE version (you only lose clips loaded into guns if they're partly empty). As it is, I feel it's way too generous - no regular version of the game gives you as many clips as that tweak currently does.

 

I still have no real idea as to what's going on with the plasma weapons. Try applying this, then this. Even if your game is supposedly up to date, they may do the trick.

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If, what Bomb Bloke recommends doesn't fix the plasma weaponry issue, I'll ask you to email me your geoscape executable so that I can take a closer look at it. There is a progression to how the plasma weapons are phased out and they always go from the weakest to the strongest, so the alien loadouts area may be corrupted somehow. Let us know if the patches help. :D

 

- Zombie

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Thanks guys, also, hope you are all having a good new year!

 

As for the updates, I tried updating a version that was already 'updated' by X-Com Util, but whenever I tried any of the executables, the screen on dosbox was simply black and went nowhere.

 

I have made a clean install and updated both to 1.2 and 1.4. So far it works, but it means I will have to play again till september to see if they work on the problems I have encountered. Also, what happens if I install x-com util now? (that they are patched to v. 1.4?)

 

 

 

 

The annoying thing about this is that I have to keep constantly replaying from scratch to check for errors on different versions. In all honesty, if I cant have x-com util working I don't think I want to go through with it. I will see what the non x-com util 1.4 version does, and take it from there.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the help.

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Well, like I said, I tried playing the version I was playing on before (normal 1.0 + x-com util which patches it), once it had been patched with version 1.2 and 1.4, but after that, any executable stopped working, the screen opened on dosbox, but stayed black and went nowhere.

 

 

 

 

So I installed a fresh install and patched it with 1.2 and 1.4, but not x-com util. The patches themselves suggest starting a new game. Hence, here I am again.

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