UfoMan

I thought that the current version of Alpine doesn't work with version 1.2 of Aftermath.

Just double or triple the number of rounds in the SNIPER gun. Handicaps are fine. But, a discardable weapon should have at least ten shots, and preferably twelve to fifteen.

I campaigned for a month trying to get ALTAR to put a Personal Combat Teleporter like the one in X-Com Apocalypse into Aftermath, but it didn't happen. That's why the Telepathic Firestarter mentioned above interests me so much. If I were making wishes, the topic of this thread, I would want Aralez to create a Psi Projector that can freeze them through the wall, and make another type of Psi Projector that can make them burst into flames or explode through the walls. That's the weapon I would want to see become reality before Aralez stops making weapons, and then there truly would be no need for a Personal Combat Teleporter.

It is great to finally see some excitement come back to Aftermath. Aftermath needed a boost in the arm. Hopefully Aralez won't get tired and burn out. It's a lot of work he has done and is planning on doing. But, there's no reason he can't pace himself and be making occasional changes or improvements even six months from now. I don't think ALTAR will have Aftermath the Sequel out by then. I salute you, Arelez! Hopefully, Strahd won't get discouraged by all the attention going to Aralez. If Strahd finishes his project and adds new sounds to everything, then that too would be another reason to play Aftermath again. Trying out new sounds can be just as fun as trying out new weapons. With new armor types, new soldiers, and even new aliens, the Rebalance 6 sounds like a great new frontier. BTW, how do you get the new Deep Throat alien to appear? When is it supposed to appear? How do you go about trying out the new alien? It's nice having the Cyborgs just show up without having to install a saved game.

Yay, Fnurg is back! As we fall down at his feet and worship. Looking forward to that new rebalance he has been working on! Maybe he can figure out how to use the new tools to make me a Personal Combat Teleporter for Aftermath 1.3, and put it into an Alpine Plugin for us all to enjoy.

Speaking of multiple parameters and Alpine plugins, I was wondering if there was anyone who knew how to make a Personal Combat Teleporter out of an Alpine plugin for version 1.3 of Aftermath? Kind of like the teleporter that was available in XCom Apocalypse. The one parameter would be rate of recharge varying from no time to a long time. The other parameter would be when the device is introduced into the game - from right at the beginning, to early, middle, or late game. Does anyone know how to use the modding tools or Alpine in order to make a Personal Combat Teleporter for Aftermath?

The Version 1.4 thread on the ALTAR board: http://www.chatbear.com/?P584035 I want some of that.

Slaughter! You are doing exactly what was on my mind! I was thinking just the other day that I liked the structure of ALTAR's message board better. Here I can't find all the modder's great input -- I stumble over it weeks or months later. Glad to hear that you feel the same! -- If you can, try to keep the same starting link: http://www.ufoaftermath.co.uk/?c=Mods&p=mods because I try to point people there whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Where or how do you turn on the ALLITEMS cheat? That would have been useful for me. Maybe Slaughter could gather together all the answers to these various modding questions into some sort of Modding FAQ?

I too have pressed hard on ALTAR at times, but I have also said that I would rather that they take their time making modding tools and patches even if it takes until February or March 2004, rather than giving us stuff that is junk or useless or not what we want.

Stargate Rocks! And in the first few episodes, you soon get over the fact that the main dude used to be MacGyver. When I see him now, he's Jack O'Neill or Colonel. MacGyver never comes to mind.

If you do Predator, make them rather fast and extremely strong, a lot of hit points so that one really has to concentrate to bring them down. If you do Aliens, make them extremely fast and very deadly up close, but relatively easy to kill from a distance or with flame.

My sentiments tend to go along the lines of Aralez's. I would want a mod that has it all inside. But if forced to get specific, I especially miss the tanks, flying armor, and alien death cries from X-Com and X-Com Apocalypse. Even the death of Lobster Men and Deep Throat in TFTD was satisfying. I miss that in Aftermath. I would either go with an X-Com mod, or an Enhanced Aftermath mod, or any mod that would give me alien movement sounds and alien death cries. Of course, if people really have the time, I loved Predator, Aliens, and am really into Stargate. I'm also a Babylon 5 junkie, and anything Star Trek and Borg is great as well. So, with Aralez, I would want it all. I'm a greedy bugger I know.

Bless you for the installer! Fulby, I can guess that you are getting a little overloaded by now, so hopefully my suggestion will help. People are having problems adding non-Alpine mods. Instead of you taking each one of us through it step-by-step, which you seem willing to do, maybe you could instead gather together all your various written suggestions into some kind of generic text file, or even into some kind of help file within Alpine itself. I imagine in the end having a help file would save you a lot of time instead of you taking each one of us through it step-by-step. If a help file is started now, by the time it is polished and updated down the line, hopefully most of us will be able to figure out non-Alpine mods on our own. And, again, I thank you for what you have done.

I held off on Alpine and modding in part because there wasn't a Power Armor plugin for Alpine. Of course, the other thing that has kept me away from Aftermath recently is the Sound Crash Bug, which got worse with modding. It looks like now that the biggest problem with Alpine and some of the mods is that a person has to start a new game when certain plugins are added. That got me into trouble the last time I tried modding a couple weeks back -- invalidated saved games. I could never figure out how to turn on Aralez's ALLITEMS feature, he needs a text file on that, or something. Anyway, I no longer have the 'lack of Power Armor' excuse, and they recently tried to make the Rebalance Mod compatible with Alpine, through the Naked Rebalance. Now if they can just figure out how to Alpine Lua me a Personal Combat Teleporter, most of the features that I would want in a Weapons mod are there. I don't know which will drag me back to Aftermath first, the coming patch from ALTAR or an Alpine with all the features I want in it. The Alpine is getting tempting -- I'm almost ready to reinstall Aftermath. I imagine, though, that we are going to have to wait and cross our fingers hoping that ALTAR provides what we need so that we can have alien sounds and alien death cries. Nevertheless, with the help of these dedicated modders, the Aftermath game is getting ever closer to what I originally imagined it should and would be, even if ALTAR doesn't come through for us. Praises to you, the modding community!

Aralez, I appreciate what you have done. If nothing else, you and Fnurg and sigget have pointed ALTAR and the rest of us to areas where the game can be improved. I, for one, hope that ALTAR takes the opportunity to do a lot of modding of their own in the coming patch. I even tried starting a thread or two on their message board regarding the subject: Rebalance Mod Thread: http://www.chatbear.com/?P574011 Mods Should be Modularized Thread: http://www.chatbear.com/?P573565 I imagine nothing will come of it, but we can always keep hoping. If ALTAR responds in even a small measure, it will give the wonderful modders like you more to work with in the next version of Aftermath. Kudos! And best wishes.

I agree with what Slaughter is trying to get at about the big huge file. This is the way modding is supposed to work: GurkoZ the sound modder would grab ALTAR's Sound Modification Tool, and when he runs the program, the tool will read a file called Altar_Original_Sounds.snd and pull it into memory, pull it into the tool. GurkoZ would then replace Altar's original sounds with the path names of his own selections, and then GurkoZ would push a button, provide the name GurkoZ, and then ALTAR's Sound Modification Tool would write a new properly formatted stand alone file named GurkoZ_Sounds.snd. It would now become the new default sound module, because ALTAR would program Aftermath so that if there is some other file with the snd extension in the Sound Directory, then it will take preference over the Altar_Original_Sounds.snd file. There would be a Weapons and Balance file along with a Weapons and Balance modding tool. A map making tool and set of files. ALTAR could modularize as much as they like, if they are smart and diligent. They could have an Alien Sounds tool and set of files, along with a Soldier Sounds tool and set of files, along with a Weapons Sounds tool and associated files, along with a Music tool and set of files. There doesn't have to be one huge massive sound tool and one massive file. It can be broken down into smaller tools and smaller files - smaller modules. But one tool affects only one file and therefore one mod affects only what the modding tool can access. It would bring control and organization to the system. Then we could swap one module for another module, straight across. And, we would have the tool that accesses only a specific type of module. We could also build upon ALTAR's original modules. Then GurkoZ could create a new Sound Mod using ALTAR's sound tool and starting with ALTAR's original module. Aralez could come along, and load GurkoZ sound module into the ALTAR tool, change a few things, and then resave his changes along with what he decided to keep from GurkoZ in a new file called Aralez_Sound.snd. Even the average stupid user like me could grab the ALTAR tool, load in a set of sounds, change a couple that he wants to change, and save out his own custom sound module. With the proper exclusive modding tools, the original default modules that ALTAR creates would never be erased, or changed. So ALTAR could then have a button or a switch that goes straight to the defaults and ignores all the mods. Or the button could be pressed to turn on modding, and Aftermath would go with the mod files or modules that have the newest date if there is something there besides the default module.

I agree with what Slaughter is trying to get at. Having everything in one big file is what seems to be gumming up the works and creating much of the confusion and conflict between mods. Mods should be modularized, so that one type of mod can be replaced by a mod of similar type, and so that a modding tool only works with a specific type of mod. Longer post here, explaining what I am talking about. http://www.ufoaftermath.co.uk/forums/index...topic=853&st=30 Mods should be Modularized: http://www.chatbear.com/?P573565

I know it's probably too late, but to the original question that started this thread, I believe that mods should be modularized. A mod and a mod tool should limit itself to one file or to one activity. If there were such a system in place, then we could replace one sound mod with another sound mod. We could replace one weapons and rebalance mod, with another weapons and rebalance mod. Use one modding tool to replace one squad or set of soldiers with another set. Have a modding tool that replaces one set of music with another set of music. One set of aliens with another set of aliens. We would replace one set of maps with another set of maps. We could swap one set of alien sounds for another set of alien sounds. As long as nobody crossed the boundaries and limited themselves to what the modding tool was designed for, then we could mix and match mods, and the whole thing would still run. We would just replace one mod with its comparable mod that is better. If the rules or boundaries are set by ALTAR and followed, then we can swap one engine for another engine, and everything works just fine. Then ALTAR would provide a tool for each file or category that they want us to modify separately, and if people limit themselves to whatever that tool can do, then there will be little cross pollution from one mod to the next. There may be additional weapons or aliens added that don't have sounds from a new sound mod, but they would be programmed to default to something that the author provided. There could be a weapons adding mod and file. There could be an aliens adding mod and file. As long as everything remains modularized, then all we have to do is swap one module for another, and the system doesn't crash as long as the modules that are created don't have bugs. Furthermore, the modders could then specialize on what each one of them is good at. The Music people would only work with the music tool. The Sound people would only work with the sound tool and sound files. The Rebalance people would only work with that tool and that set of data, etc. It would require a bit of organized coordination on ALTAR's part to pull it off.

So what mods are incompatible with the First Person Camera, and what mods are compatible? Does the First Person Camera require a complete uninstall and reinstall fresh to work right, or has it been tested and shown to work with other mods. If so, what mods are safe?

I quit playing Aftermath and uninstalled the game, because mods were interferring with other mods, and the sound crash bug came back with a vengeance. It got too frustrating to handle. Is there some kind of official coordinated list someplace as to what mod works with what mod? If I install the Alpine Mod, what other mods will work with it, and what mods should I avoid? If I install the Rebalance 4.1 or the Rebalance Light, what else can I install, and what should I avoid? Is there any way to start up something official so that people can report in and tell us what works with what and what we should avoid for now? Furthermore, anybody got any idea how extensive the coming modding tools and new patch are going go be?

I haven't studied the config files like Aralez and sigget, but I don't see where we can access and change character voices or add alien sounds and alien death cries. The most popular patch suggestion and modding suggestion has been to add more sound - particularly, alien movement sounds, alien death cries, and the ability to change soldier voice acting in a mod. Other's want to be able to mix and match music in a mod. So, to Martin, I would say that we want the programming hooks and the documentation so that we can completely take over the sound and add alien sounds as well. It would be a modder's paradise if we had complete control over the sound as well as additional sounds that we can add and modify. I personally want the sound crash bug gone - that would eliminate a lot of my personal frustration when it comes to Aftermath. Second on the list? People want to be able to make their own maps with a map editor and then play them immediately in some kind of skirmish mode with full access to all the best weapons. Others have suggested design your own weapon or design your own alien contests. There seems to be a lot of flexibility. I would also like to see Aralez's Cyborgs become an integral part of Aftermath, and I know that others would like to see Power Armor and other armor types become an integral part of Aftermath. The best part of X-Com was the Flying Armor, and there have already been mods that have tried to work Power Armor into the mix. http://www.chatbear.com/?P572747

Slaughter, you are right. It looks as if Alpine is starting to have most of the features that many of us want in a mod. And, you are also right, that they need to figure out how to get Aralez's cyborgs and weapons as Alpine plugins, and make sure that it all works together without crashing the system. Then the only thing we need is for ALTAR to listen and provide programming hooks for Alien Movement Sounds and Alien Death cries in a patch, and the Aftermath games starts moving closer to X-Com. The only thing left would be rebalance issues. I'd like some of Aralez's new weapons to show up earlier in the game at the Hard Difficulty Setting. You also are right that Silent Storm is already getting reviews and ratings that I wish Aftermath would have gotten. I took a look at Nival's web site and a fansite in Austrailia, and for a brief moment there, I almost got the feeling that the Silent Storm people were closer to making an X-Com mod than the Aftermath people were. <grin> I hope that ALTAR provides a lot more modding potential in their next Aftermath patch. If they do, then once again you are right, I will be back wanting to play Aftermath again. I just hope and pray that while ALTAR is in there tinkering that they figure out a way to kill the sound crash bug, the greatest source of my frustration with Aftermath.

I too responded at the main board. Yes, it appears that my system has been mucked up pretty good. I don't think that the MegaMod completely uninstalls itself. But, I didn't like infinite missions and all that from the Megamod, but I did like the instantaneous chopper. I looks like I now have the best of both worlds with remnants of MegaMod2 floating around giving me the faster chopper with the greater stability and purpose of the Aralez 3.3 Mod. Never got the 4.1 Rebalance to really work for me. Plus, I didn't like the slower chopper, the sparse number of soldiers, the camera that zooms out even farther, the missing GurkoZ sounds, the weakened sniper rifles, etc. The Megamod and the Aralez 3.3 seemed to be going in the right direction, and they coordinated rather well with the Gurkoz sound and MusicMod. The MegaMod was just about right for a Rebalance Mod, except when it was in complete control, it seemed to make the system go wonky. Oh well, an imperfect science, this modding business.

With a bit of study, you soon learn that the MusicMod is a music toolkit for Aftermath. I used the UFO Sound Extractor to get the Options Screen MP3 music that I like from ALTAR's product. And, then I went into the subdirectories of the MusicMod and replaced some of the TFTD music that I don't like with the Option Screen music. Then I edited the config of the Music Mod to move the X-Com music I like into the tactical missions, and to move the TFTD leftovers to the geoscape along with ALTAR's Option Screen Music. Then I used the MusicMod to create my own custom gamedata.vfs that has all the music I like where I want to hear it. I imagine that you could use the MusicMod to install your own favorite MP3 files anywhere you want in the game, as well, so long as they are not too big. I have had fun with it. Of all the Mods, the MusicMod is my most favorite.