TFTD Artifact Missions

[Jace11]

My foray into XCOM modding is going ok, I've managed to make a load of fixes myself and changed a few things.

 

One other thing I would like to change is artefact missions, at the moment they are 2-stage. I wonder whether it would be possible to change it to one stage only. I frankly think the underground level is too poorly made, with see-through tiles from 1 level to the next, some modules not fitting together properly and lots of other issues that lead me to just wanting to eradicate it altogether (tonight I had a Hallucinoid stuck under the lift that leads to the device - I couldnt get him and he couldnt reach me). There are enough two stage missions as it is.

 

So can this be done? The upper pyramid stage is fine. Can you say place a device that when destoyed completes the mission..? Can you unlink it from the second stage? And / or can you change the objectives to "kill all aliens" instead?

 

If any of these are true, and I know some people are able to unlink some 2 stage missions, which parts of the exe are responsible offsets-wise?

 

So far I have a good set of mods I am pooling

 

New name pools,

All TFTD weapons have stats identical to their EU counter parts (I seem to prefer EU combat mechanics - e.g so sonics have auto and stats of plasma weapons, and all weapons are generally cheaper in TUs).

Bio-drone melee acc fix

Zombies UFO map fixes + routes (from this site)

The intercept bug fix (from this site)

A bit of map editing (cargo01 fix for stairs that lead up through a roof to next level - bug I found.

Extended triton, hammer, leviathan - like the mod in the files section but using normal tiles.

New start base layout - hardcoded into geoscape.exe where the template is.

dye grenade fix

 

But I'd like to do something about artifact 2nd stage, I tried map editing it, but it didn't really work. MCD edit of the black tiles (contents) to make them solid so that you cannot see through them to levels below failed.

 

Anyhelp appreciated..

 

TTFN

[Hobbes]

All TFTD weapons have stats identical to their EU counter parts (I seem to prefer EU combat mechanics - e.g so sonics have auto and stats of plasma weapons, and all weapons are generally cheaper in TUs).

 

You can do it yourself there's a few good editors like this one

 

I've done the opposite actually and changed the stats of the Plasma/Laser weapons on EU to TFTD's Gauss/Sonic, but kept EU's stats for human weapons.

[Jace11]

You can do it yourself there's a few good editors like this one

 

I've done the opposite actually and changed the stats of the Plasma/Laser weapons on EU to TFTD's Gauss/Sonic, but kept EU's stats for human weapons.

 

Yup, that's the one I used to do it. And a few other things like design a new base layout, save it then copy the hex into the exe as the starting template.

interesting you modded the weapons like that, i guess it makes sense though, as difficulty wise eu is a bit easier, so it's a nice thing to do to make combat more interesting by making the weapons more unique in attributes, my feeling was tftd is a bit too hard combat wise and e.u's combat, particular early on has a nice feel to it. I mean who wants to use a dart gun with 16 damage...

Just reading seb76 stuff of disassembling xcom code and finding mission.dat stuff inside the exe... Gonna take some deciphering

[Bomb Bloke]

So can this be done? The upper pyramid stage is fine. Can you say place a device that when destoyed completes the mission..? Can you unlink it from the second stage? And / or can you change the objectives to "kill all aliens" instead?

In the second stage, there exists a "synonium device" (mapID 89 in MapView). Destroying this allows you to win the map by getting your soldiers to the lifts, then aborting. Therefore, the easiest way to deal with the matter is to seal the bottoms of the lift shafts (so no aliens can enter and no troopers can leave) then place a synonium device at the bottom of them. All you need to do is wander down, destroy them, then head back up and bail.

 

I'm not sure if the game already lets you win by killing all the aliens. Their placement is bugged to the point where a route node that should exist within one map module may occasionally end up in another (that is to say, the EXE blatantly ignores what the RMP data files tell it to do); this can, in cases, lead to aliens spawning in the darkness between the walls. This makes them impossible to kill, so having "kill them all!" as a mission requirement would in turn require this bug to be fixed.

 

(Assuming it's a bug. On the surface, it looks like one, but I can't understand why it would only happen in these missions. Or... perhaps it happens in others, but no one notices because most missions don't have great big unbreachable walls everywhere?)

[NKF]

The ship mission actually have some parts where aliens will spawn in walls that are virtually indestructible. I think towards the front of the pleasure cruiser map, there's a square-ish area that I suspect is meant to model a shaft to allow goods to be lowered into the hold. If anything gets stuck in there, you can't complete the mission.

 

Also how strict is the success flag for winning colonies and artefact sites? In UFO you could win it without destroying the command tables, but that might have changed a little in TFTD.

 

- NKF

[Hobbes]

Yup, that's the one I used to do it. And a few other things like design a new base layout, save it then copy the hex into the exe as the starting template.

interesting you modded the weapons like that, i guess it makes sense though, as difficulty wise eu is a bit easier, so it's a nice thing to do to make combat more interesting by making the weapons more unique in attributes, my feeling was tftd is a bit too hard combat wise and e.u's combat, particular early on has a nice feel to it. I mean who wants to use a dart gun with 16 damage...

Just reading seb76 stuff of disassembling xcom code and finding mission.dat stuff inside the exe... Gonna take some deciphering

 

IMO combat (alien AI and weapons) in TFTD is better than EU. The problem with TFTD's tactical missions is the size and complexity of some maps (Liner, Cargo Ship, Artifact, Alien Base, etc.). Regarding weapons, removing autofire from Plasma/Sonic benefits the aliens more - they rarely use it, and a human player can use to destroy the alien's cover. The increased accuracy/damage stats also make reaction fire from the aliens more deadlier, specially against power suits (which remain with their stats rather than ion armour stats) - I just like to make the game more difficult