X@COM

Strange guy has finally released his mech warfare mod, Union.

The target, a garrison town controlled by the United Planetary Federation, has already been bombarded prior to your arrival, but the enemy presence is still strong. Lead a mixed squad of Union troops including infantry, special forces, and mechs to clear out the opposition.

I've played this one several times already, and it's full of good old mech-blasting, tree-stomping action. Torch infantry squads with mech-mounted flame throwers, use laser targeting to call in artillery and air strikes, launch disposable rockets carried by special forces, switch some mech shields to different modes depending on the situation, and (lots, lots) more.

Of course, you need to be careful lest an effective assault is turned into horrible losses in the blink of an eye when a unit of patrolling mechs finds you exposed at the wrong place. One of my more recent runs was going swimmingly, having already taken out five enemy mechs and a few infantry before a flamethrowing mech emerged from the darkness and melted one of my own to scrap. In that same turn I'd thought I could sneak up behind a soldier manning his mounted heavy machine gun, but ran out of TUs right before getting to him--he swiveled it around and opened up, blowing through both that guy, the door behind him, and my other special forces guy providing cover outside. (I got sweet revenge with my snub-nose cannon, which caused a *much* bigger explosion than I expected, much to my satisfaction ;p)

Here most of the fires have already died out after the advance across town.

Starting squad in one mission, labeled.

Best run so far.

In a way, this mod is a little before its time, as Strange guy has included a lot of interesting mechanics, details, and lore which aren't accessible within the game itself. Seeing how the game still lacks support for in-game reference information, you'll want to at least skim over the accompanying README-Union.txt file to get the most out of this mission. (Several times I've considered supporting that feature immediately, specifically for Strange guy's mods which generally have a lot of detail, but due to the level of integration necessary and the fact that the HUD isn't ready yet, from a development timeline perspective it's better to put it off rather than have to rewrite it later.)


R9.3

I've also taken this opportunity to upload the latest build: R9.3.

The most notable features (as seen in the previous post) are the new map labels, animated explosion AOE previews, a new explosive priming interface, and glowing indicators for primed explosives. See the change log for a complete list.

Union uses R9.3 so you'll get to see all these features in this mod as well.

Hear that?

It's the
hum of nearby power cores,
the twittering of alien terminals,
the footsteps of soldiers making their way across a lawn, pushing their way through foliage, and trampling crushed glass as they investigate a decidedly large opening in the side of a now-abandoned house, or the sound of aliens sneaking down a wooden hallway towards that very opening. Or not sneaking. You'll definitely know a sectopod when you hear one--let those mechanical steps strike fear into the heart of many a brave field commander!
It's the
charging of powerful laser cannons,
brick walls crumbling from an explosive impact,
spent shells rattling across the concrete,
bullets ricocheting off UFO hulls,
grenades bouncing down the hall (if you're close enough to hear this one, um, was nice knowing you),
glass storefronts being blown out (try the pressurized gas explosion of a small launcher for the coolest effect--since it just gets the windows ;p)
falling furniture smashing into a lower floor,
a growling reaper that must be right around the corner,
and the roar of a massive... well, you'll hear it when you do (hopefully before you see it so you still have time to run).

And that's just the beginning.

Weighing in at 850 sounds, R9 is the true beginning of creating the sense of immersion I envision as being core to the X@COM experience.

It's been a while since we had a nice whole number release following the modding bonanza that was R8 (which resulted in some very beneficial iterative development).

The highlights of this release are a super fast (relatively speaking) engine refactor (old post) and, of course, the new sound system, which I've posted a bit about recently, but here's a quick overview:

• Ambient sounds are sourced from objects in the surrounding environment (area-based ambient sound will come at a later time when the map generation supports it)
• Volume is distance-based, and allows for different falloff models depending on what makes the most sense
• Weapons and explosions currently use a temporary set of sounds, a quick job meant just to cover the basic X-COM content
• The system is, as usual, easily moddable: there are hooks in the data/code for weapons, destruction, various types of impact, death and injury, ambience, item interaction, etc.
• Sound is also integrated with the event/ability scripting system, meaning just about anything can be audible if necessary

Among the smaller additions, melee attacks that fail to destroy terrain objects now show messages indicating how effective the hit was. This was a great community suggestion, since you generally don't have any idea whether what you're using to bash down that heavy door is going to knock it down anytime today. Later this will be slightly less of an issue once you can examine damage and integrity values in-game, but for now it could save you some time, especially useful in Rookie's Tale where melee items are the norm.

The log now implements message folding, so consecutive identical messages will just increase the count on the first one by using a suffix: "<x#>"

Proxy grenades now require priming as in the original. Don't drop them at your feet after priming them! Dropping them and picking them up again will deactivate them (of course you can only do that if you haven't moved from their location, or you use some kind of psionics to move them, entirely possibly one day as we've seen in Rookie's Tale--unlike the original, flying units cannot drop down to pick them up.) The game still supports grenades that auto-activate when thrown, for modding potential (that and X@COM smoke grenades still automatically explode).

On the scary side, aliens can use grenades! Oh my... This feature has not been retroactively added to old missions, though--it's only available in mods, and only where the modder intends it (by putting 'nades in alien hands ;p). At least there's only a *chance* they'll throw it at you.

So you want to finally hear all these new sounds? There are currently three ways:

• The simplest (though not quite as fun) is to download the demo and run the sandbox, where you can play around with the weapons, shoot the house, etc.
• You can also replay the old demo missions, but because game sounds are *deactivated* by default, you'll have to turn them on manually by editing the mission's .bat file: add the "-fullSound" command line switch. I recommend against this option since the experience will be fairly inconsistent given that they contain additional non-standard content for which there are no sounds.
• Or... play this new mod created specifically to show off sound effects!

Welcome to Ground Zero.

So after years of playing X-COM you're a pro at taking on one landed UFO, sure, but how about multiple UFOs at once?

The weakest opposition you could face will be two medium scouts, plus whatever has taken up defensive positions in the surrounding structures, plus whatever else decides to show up depending on your performance. On average there will be around 3-4 UFOs, though, among them sometimes a large scout or even a terror ship.

As usual, expect some surprises along the way, though this is still a more traditional tactical mission, so don't bother using anything in the environment--I didn't go crazy with that system like I did when testing it in Rookie's Tale.

Beware of sectoid and ethereal leaders, since some of them may be capable of mind control (requires LOS though), and also try not to bunch up too much lest a well-placed alien grenade wipe your whole team out.

If you feel outgunned, Malachai can be a useful ally if you can find him early. He'll join you and follow around, hopefully covering your back with his minigun and super deadly skill with throwing knives (close combat only). Once he's joined, shift-f to highlight his position since he's an allied unit not under your control. (Malachai is one of our fans from YouTube whose enthusiasm for R9 has earned him a place in this mod =p)

Like exodus, completing this mission "successfully" shouldn't be too difficult (you could always hide, wait most of it out, and at least survive...), but scoring well will be quite difficult due to the various penalties for failure to achieve objectives.

Your primary goal is to take out power sources, and for that purpose you have a good number of remote charges. As a reminder of how to use them, (p)rime them with an empty hand to create a detonator, then place the charge and (u)se the detonator when ready to set it off. Make sure to place/throw them close enough to the power source to be able to destroy it!

This mod also includes a special new kind of remote explosive, the Hull Breacher, designed specifically for breaching UFOs and giving you a different point of entry for alternate tactics. Make sure you place them immediately adjacent to a UFO hull or wall, flip the switch, and surprise some aliens from behind!

Jackpot! Look at all those power sources...

So now's your chance to command a newly audible heroic squad to prevent the equivalent of a local Armageddon. Good luck if you're forced to land at night...

My advice: Move quickly, because the longer you take the harder it will get.

X@COM is finally getting some truly video-worthy content (sound makes a huge difference), and I was working on a Ground Zero compilation to show off this release, but lacking the time to edit and polish it I've put that aside for now. In any case, you can always download and play a round if you'd like to experience it now, or wait until I do get a video out there--now that sound is mostly in place the visuals/UI are going to start improving in leaps and bounds.

I'll be leaving for a couple weeks soon so there won't be any new posts for a while, but when I return in late April there will be a brand new sound-enabled mod ready from one of our modders.

Recently on Bay 12 we've been talking about making X@COM more accessible to modding, and that's what R8 is all about. The game data has always been pretty moddable since it's stored in text files, but changing the data wouldn't be as much fun without the ability to create your own scenario to go along with it!

Since internally R7's Cataclysm was written using a very modular, data-based system (I love data-based design in general--probably fairly obvious by now), making the entire thing moddable only took a couple days of extracting that part of the code into text scripts, followed by extending the system so you can do plenty of things that weren't even seen in Cataclysm. So now you can use the text files to change/improve/expand Cataclysm, or go even further and do a total conversion.

There are 4 main files to edit when creating a scenario, one listing the areas and their properties, another drawing the blueprints for each area, a third for spawning objects, and the last for defining the scenario's rules and other settings. Here is an example of the settings file where you can change victory conditions, mission scoring, and general properties:

This file includes explanatory comments for data entries--the others are instead explained in much greater detail in the modding guide.

To make a mod you'll definitely want a copy of X@COM Modpack M1, which you can get by joining the new X@COM Forum (for modders and mod players only right now--it'll be expanded later). The Modpack comes with some helpful tools to make your modding experience a lot more pleasant. You'll get...

• a 20-page guide (required reading!)
• a palette key
• my version of Notepad++ with syntax highlighting for X@COM script files (*.xt)
• a fixed-width font you may want to use with NP++

If you're feeling bold and creative, you can do much more than simply modify Cataclysm. You can add new races, units, items, terrain and other objects to create a turn-based strategy game with entirely different content. On the more complex (but fun) side, you can even implement your own special abilities that enable the type of very dynamic environment seen in Cataclysm. Learn from the hundreds of examples included with the game. Here's the entire implementation of *all* the original abilities seen in X-COM, with syntax highlighting:

Click to see full script (server on which these were stored died)

And here are the lines which control the spread of the virus in Cataclysm:

Click to see full script (server on which these were stored died)

But you don't have to mess with all that stuff if you don't want to--you can create your own mission using only the scenario files and all the objects I've already created for previous scenarios.

Of course it's nice if others can play what you create, so beginning with R8, X@COM can now run mods which are simply dropped into the game directory.

Debesh Unnos (Crazy Cow) has already created the very first mod for X@COM which adds some new potential buildings/encounters to your Cataclysm town, among other changes. His mod is the beginning of what we'll call "Cataclysm+". If anyone wants to just add one new building or make a few simple additions to Cataclysm, something not necessarily worth a standalone mod, send them to me and I'll merge them with Debesh's mod to expand the scenario and give everyone a chance to see any of the extra content in their towns. Check the files page for currently available mods.

Other more ambitious mods (total conversions) are already in the works, so you'll still get some fun new stuff to play with while I work on improving the game in general.

Though modding support is the main feature of R8, it does still come with other goodies a proper release deserves.

There is of course the psi-amp, covered in my previous post. As described there, X@COM also supports intrinsic abilities, though you won't yet find any in the game.

You can now seed the map/mission generator, so you can share a particularly interesting map with other players, or play the same map multiple times without relying on a saved game. The seed for a given map is found in your mission results/score file, and can be set in "data/maps/_seed.xt".

I've added a swap hands command ('w') available as a free action (0 TU) to switch the contents of a unit's left and right hands.

R8 makes some significant changes to how doors and windows work by turning them from terrain into props (I hope I've made all the necessary adjustments--it required a rather sweeping refactoring effort). That windows are now props is an issue even for gameplay because it means you can now stand in a space previously occupied by a window, i.e. much closer to the edge, and get a better view. Sadly, this also means you'll have to hit someone twice to knock them out of a window (unless/until I enable melee knockbacks greater than one space), whereas they used to crash through the window and immediately slip off the edge.

Units are allowed to throw directly to ally positions. You could always throw at *enemies*, which is great for grenades, but the game was disallowing tosses to allies because it assumed you were trying to do something bad by throwing stuff at them =p. It's now much easier to pass around weapons and gear when you need to--in my own experience this need arises quite often in Cataclysm, so I finally fixed it.

Over the past couple weeks I noticed some things amiss in Cataclysm, or parts that could be quickly improved, so I tweaked the scripts a bit more. I don't have a list of all the changes, but among them:

• You are guaranteed at least one homemade flamethrower in the survivalist's house. I thought I had done that originally but apparently not, and it pissed me off when I got there and searched the house only to find a bunch of ammo!
• Suicide bombers no longer detonate on the dogs which roam the town--they're not THAT stupid...
• Allied criminals freed from the police station will find themselves weapons if you don't give them any.

As an amusing side note, just before release I also had to fix a regression where the police started attacking me... It was rather amusing to be shot dead as I sought refuge in the police station, because the police suddenly thought they were terrorists (literally) of all things, heh.

The zombie apocalypse is coming to a small town near you! Brought to you by... chryssalids!

It's a zombocalypse, X-COM style! Now don't get too scared. I wouldn't make you face an army of chryssalids--that would just be a massacre and not much fun at all.

I present to you R7 along with the grandest scenario yet: Cataclysm. (Yes, it's named after the cool zombie apocalypse survival roguelike which you can find here.)

A virus of alien origin suddenly descends on a town where a small group of X-COM operatives happen to be enjoying some R&R. It's time to show those aliens what off-duty X-COM soldiers can really do! WE'RE GONNA... wait a minute... we're off duty... we don't have any weapons... or armor... or anything except our wits and a sledgehammer in the garage. ****.

As you can see, this scenario is very non-traditional in design. It's all about survival, and *if* you get confident enough that you'll be able to save yourselves, you may even lend a helping hand to your neighbors, who are otherwise soon to be alien food.

Before my brother even started playtesting yesterday, he pre-announced his strategy: "I'll just kill all the civilians I see to prevent the zombies from spreading." How noble of him :) But smart. After all, you know what happens when there's even one chryssalid loose among civilian meatbags. But chryssalids are only one part of the problem, as you'll see. There is actually more than one kind of zombie out there, and only those that were created by chryssalid injection will contain eggs to hatch new chryssalids. Most zombies come from... other sources. You'll see.

Besides, you can even use civilians to your advantage (other than scoring points for rescuing them): Hold a weapon in your *left* hand and stand adjacent to them--if they think it's better than whatever they're carrying (some carry common household items as weapons), they'll take it from you at the beginning of their next turn. Be careful what you give them though, since their accuracy is even more terrible than the worst rookie, which can mean collateral casualties. In most cases it may be a better idea to just arm them with a better melee weapon rather than giving them a gun. The results of handing them a rocket launcher would no doubt be catastrophic (civilian apocalypse? :). I added this feature as an afterthought just yesterday because it only took a few minutes and sounds like fun ;) Arm your neighbors and create your own militia!

Aside from regular civilians, you may also come across any number of different NPCs. (Not all of them are friendly, mind you.) So there are lots of potential allies out there, but don't rely on the NPCs too much or expect the AI to be very smart. X@COM is still running on the same simple placeholder AI thrown together for the *last* ARRP. I've tweaked it a bit so your allies aren't complete morons and will at least stick close to you and fight only when necessary or convenient. To recruit someone, just walk up to them; if they want to join/follow you, they'll say something to that effect. (I haven't yet added the triggers necessary to have them join you on sight or some other way, so I used what I had on hand--an adjacency check script trigger.) Be careful of trying to hide in tight quarters with a bunch of friends, because they can block you in--unless you stick to the open areas, you'll have to effectively "herd" your civilians by blocking doorways; moving quickly also works, as does crashing through windows and going out back doors--most areas have quite a few access points, just don't try to visit the bathroom with all your buddies in tow ;). Also, because it can be difficult to keep track of your friends without constantly looking around to see where they are or if they're actually following you, I added a temporary command 'C' for highlighting your followers, even when outside your FOV (this also simulates the fact that you should know where they are by sound, anyway).

All this talk about the icing on the cake, and I haven't even gotten to the cake yet: Cataclysm takes place in a completely randomized town. Moreover, it features over three times as many terrain pieces as Exodus, so there's a lot of variety, and of course the huge amount of replayability that comes with it. Naturally not every structure can appear in every town, and even some that do will be destroyed by the... um... you'll see when you find them. So each time you play you may gain access to resources and allies you didn't have before (and vice versa). You could easily play a dozen different games and still not see everything. Here's a sample town:



As much as I want to describe all the fun stuff out there, I don't want to reveal too many details just yet. I'll let you play and be surprised. Find cool stuff. Kill enemies. Die. Etc. I may post some spoilers and more details later on once everyone's had their chance to explore the town.

You'll need to use everything at your disposal to survive and come up with a good strategy if you're going to survive and/or score well. Here are some essentials:

• There are only four soldiers at the house, and relatively inexperienced ones at that; they also only have standard coverall armor--so they're pretty squishy.
• The previously neglected 'u'se command is now more useful. All generic items currently represented by '&' have a special use. So use them. Well, you should probably first consider what may happen as a result =p Many are simply flavor items, but some can be pretty useful. This is how you use things like food, bandages, medi-kits etc.
• Remember to turn on "smashing" ('h') if/when you want to crash through a window as an alternate entrance/exit (you may even consider doing this from the second floor of a house, rather than face what you know is downstairs :)). If you gain an insane amount of strength (somehow...), you could very well push through walls this way (though be wary of knocking walls and debris on yourself!).
• Melee attacks ('m') are now much more important since you don't start with any guns. Hopefully for your sake you can acquire some real firepower quickly; there are a few fairly good melee weapons to be found, but it's obviously preferable to stay outside melee range of zombies. I've also somewhat lifted the original restriction on melee damage affecting terrain, so with enough strength and/or a good enough weapon you can bash through objects (ex: a sledgehammer should work fairly well on a locked door), useful for quick escapes or gaining access to new areas.

Another thing I do have to mention up front is a special little place you'll almost certainly come across, as it's the only structure besides the X-COM house which is generated on every map: Kyzrati's Curiosities. This aptly named little antique shop is stocked with a random selection of toys to play with. While many of them don't really belong in an X-COM game, most are nonetheless lots of fun--just me playing around with the script files doing weird things... Some are prototype next-gen X-COM tech which you may see in future games; some are not-so-subtle references to other roguelikes; many are fantasy-oriented. You may get lucky and find something that could increase your chances of survival, or completely doom everyone. It's a small place, and you can ignore it if not interested and would rather focus your attention on the zombocalypse. If you are interested, note that Kyzrati's will tend to carry a very different set of items each time it's generated, so visit often :)

Have some more randomly generated towns:

Despite all the content, there are several things that didn't quite make it in, but I may add them gradually as I test other features in the future and release an updated version of this scenario. I'm also considering opening up this scenario to modding, making it possible to randomly insert new structures and define what kinds of items/NPCs you want in them. (Of course you can already create new items and NPCs.) I'll see if I have the time, and if there are *multiple* people REALLY interested in having a serious go at modding, even though right now it's a bit of a pain (compared to how much easier it'll be later) and the mods wouldn't at all be futureproof. The primary purpose would be to extend the life/interest of the demo, because Cataclysm could very well be the last new scenario before I scrap the whole demo map system and put in the real one, and there will be a bit of a wait in the interim.

Moving beyond Cataclysm, let's look at what general new gameplay, mechanics, and interface features R7 comes with:

Obviously you've got your chryssailds, zombies, and silacoids as described in an earlier post.

There are the medi-kit, motion scanner, and mind probe, which I've covered before (here, here, and here). These are all activated with the 'u'se command.

While I don't like to hack together temporary incomplete features, the HUD now features a mini log. The true HUD, waiting on the sidelines until the big UI overhaul, will of course feature such a log as well, but it will be scrollable and properly animated. For now the huge number of crazy things that can happen, plus NPC speech etc., necessitated an easy way to read about them as they happen without opening the full log window every time. [Note: While playtesting, I once encountered a strange case where the mini log started writing messages where you can't see them. (Well, it was a hack to begin with...) If you do happen to run across this, it can be easily fixed by just saving and loading (F8 then F9), which reloads the log. Only ever saw it once, though...]

I also removed the extraneous unit stats from the HUD, both to make room for the mini log, and because you can now access them through the new stats window ('c' for "character", or '@'), which was added along with the mind probe.

Similar to the 'u'se action, there is another new action called manipulate ('n') which enables units to use terrain objects and other units for effects unique to / determined by the target (e.g., open furniture, activate computer terminals, remove spare ammo from a mobile storage unit, and so on). Although already processed by the game and accessible to modding through script triggers, I chose to de-emphasize this feature in Cataclysm's design mostly for lack of time. (This action is not even documented on the commands list for now.) I was going to exclude it entirely, then just today for the heck of it threw in a couple manipulable pieces of furniture: So if you happen across a gun case or sword stand, face it and press 'n' for a present. Consider it a reward for making it this far down this sheer cliff of text ;)

Morale mechanics have also been implemented. After all, what good is a frightening scenario if your troops aren't afraid of anything? Gone are the nerves of steel you took for granted in earlier releases! That said, seeing as you only have four soldiers in this scenario it's unlikely morale will matter much since you don't have many soldiers to lose anyway. Regarding morale, I wrote about the details a loooong time ago. Civilians are not currently affected by morale--their stupidity is a big enough disadvantage as it is. I'll gladly add in civilian morale penalties once maniacal charging melee berserk attacks are possible, but those aren't in yet, so you'll just have to wait if you want to see a civilian lose it and run straight at an alien to pummel it in the face with a frying pan :)

Speaking of morale, check out these rather amusing log lines I happened to see while the game was playing itself over the past couple days for testing:

(Also note that Donald was sitting on the toilet at the time :)

As with most releases, some of the new content has been retroactively inserted into old scenarios, so if you replay them you'll now have access to medi-kits, motion scanners, and the new canon aliens (so they're now *all* in there). Of course, you'll now also have to deal with morale in those missions as well, so do try to shoot more than get shot =p (Note: If you want to play without the drawbacks of morale failure, add the "-noPanic" command line switch when you run the game to ignore morale effects.)

You'll notice there is now a rudimentary help system. It's not really all that helpful yet, but the framework is there, so it's a start. Each window now also has its own command list, accessible either by keyboard or mouse (through the little '?' near the bottom right corner). Windows also have a button to close them by mouse, if you insist...

Melee attacks are now allowed to hit units on different z-levels. In fact, there was a problem preventing huge units like the colossus from even attacking targets... some fearful monster THAT was. I was wondering why it never seemed to be much of a threat despite its size, but I figured walking through walls and trashing the Area 51 base was good enough. Since melee attacks play a larger role in the new scenario, I spent a little more time with them and noticed the issue. If you go back to Area 51, beware the bite of the Colossus! (Same with the Mega Reaper in the default ARRP scenario, I believe.)

Check the change log for the full list of mods and fixes.

Overall, R7 comes with a large number of additions, but as fun as it is, in my opinion it's approaching "the more it includes, the more it leaves to desire" territory. This release was more about a mad sprint to increase depth, and it definitely succeeds at that, but a lot of it now needs fleshed out with more breadth then polished. The next several releases will be headed in that direction (sideways).

By the way, for those that don't know, this release is a part of ARRP 2012, which makes it a kind of anniversary for X@COM--the first pre-alpha tech demo was released for ARRP exactly one year ago. Things have come quite a ways since then, yet there's still so much more to do. Mechanics-wise, the battlescape is almost feature complete compared to the original. We're only missing the psi-amp now, and beyond that I have a backlog of improvements to implement before doing some serious work on the overall UI to make it truly awesome (in theory, anyway).

Under the hood, R7 also comes with a more powerful error recording system which records exactly what the program was doing even on a hard crash (beautiful line numbers, baby!), giving me one more tool to use to track down bugs remotely. But that's only if you send me the data! The crash data will be appended to the end of the run.log file, so if your game crashes and you want to help prevent the same problem from happening again, please e-mail me that file. (Be sure to make the copy *before* starting up the game again, since subsequent runs will replace the old file.) Better error data is something I've wanted to do for a while, but kept putting off since a good solution was tough to find and it wasn't absolutely necessary yet. Now it's going to be essential since the special abilities system can theoretically cause all sorts of mayhem (read: bugs) through emergent effects.

Unfortunately, this is the slowest version yet. There are several parts of the UI architecture awaiting optimization, and I know specifically what parts will be changed and how--just haven't gotten around to it. So if you don't have a fairly fast CPU, you may notice some slowdown and/or UI artifacts (possibly many). Press F5 to check your FPS (appears in title bar while windowed)--if you're not consistently getting at least 50+ (especially while opening a sub-window), your CPU is too slow to run a flawless game. It'll definitely still be playable, but your UI will likely look funny. I should get around to optimization soon.


Technical/Modding Addendum:

ALL of the neat special behaviors and interactivity with objects you see in this scenario are scripted through the new Special Abilities system (specialabilities.xt)--not a single bit is hard coded. If you look at the file you'll see I also left in many of the original test abilities I was using just to make sure the triggers and effects work as intended, though still others are not listed. (Warning: Looking at that file will likely spoil a good bit of the fun and surprises.) In previous scenarios I was forced to hard code any interesting scripted events. Now even though there are lots more interesting things going on around the map, it's all automated through these abilities. Besides adding content to the text files, the only thing I had to actually code for this scenario was the map generation and initial object spawning code, since there's no map editor yet. (The entire map format has yet to be written.)

It's ridiculously easy to add new scripts. A whole new NPC with special behavior(s) and/or weapon can be created in moments: Think of an idea, jot down a few lines in the SA/item/entity files, and *bam*, done. Granted, I'm familiar with the system and know the variables, but it's pretty simply nonetheless--actually, I don't even remember all the variables myself, I just copy and paste everything from another similar scripted object and tweak as necessary. With all the mixing and matching that's possible, even with the incomplete set of triggers/conditions/effects that exist so far, there's a lot of potential for imaginative designs.

Now that you've made it to the bottom of The Great Wall, get out there and kill some zombies! (More realistically, run away until you find something you can use, then kill them...)


"Revelation 11:11: But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them." --Rev. Jones (you'll know him when you meet him--look for the shotgun-wielding clergyman handing out molotovs ;) )

This isn't the big release I intended it to be, but I figured it'd be nice to get a playable demo back out there so anyone new to the game can try their hand at perforating some aliens.

There's no new scenario this time around, or any new gameplay at all--R6 is mostly a batch of UI changes.

As described in the previous post, the engine was refactored to support multiple fonts simultaneously, which will play a big part in future UI design. Using multiple fonts of different sizes isn't very true to the console tradition, but square fonts aren't very readable, and readable non-square fonts aren't all that great for a tactical map since they distort space, so X@COM should benefit greatly from mixing the two--square fonts for maps, and narrow fonts for text. (The R6 HUD still uses the wide text font, but will eventually be narrowed once it's redesigned.)

The temporary message feedback system was replaced by a more proper version which can be easily expanded and modified through the data files.

A new Combat Log window is now available, where you can read all about your squad's glorious exploits. The log is still in its infancy, but already includes more than 80 different message types. On completing a mission, your score and log are output to an html file (it'll show you the file name and path). I originally had it writing to a text file, but decided it'd be nicer to retain the log message colors, hence the html.

If you played Cogmind, you'll recognize the text animation effects and sounds, which were from this previously unreleased version of X@COM to begin with (I've been sitting on most of it for a while now). If the message sounds annoy you, you can mute the game with F6. (Don't forget to check F1 help for new commands.) It won't be so annoying later when it's accompanied by a wider variety of console bleeps and bloops as you give commands and watch the battle.

Although it doesn't affect current gameplay, R6 comes with the refactored anatomy system. Future modders will be happy to know that they can create new body parts, then combine those parts into completely new beings where the body part parameters do actually have a number of gameplay implications. This system was already described in an earlier post.

There's also a set of new larger fonts available which can be activated for a 1280x960 window, along with somewhat improved fullscreen support. The larger fonts were a quick job--I just blew up and the normal fonts and tidied them up enough to prevent graphical artifacts, so they don't look nearly as good as the official fonts will when I get around to dedicating more time to them. Here's a shot of one of the font sets available at the higher resolution (click for full size):


The next release will bring some new gameplay and yet more UI windows.

Well, X@COM still isn't where I wanted it to be for the year-end alpha release, but my hand was forced since the R4 demo will expire soon. (Every demo release is actually hard-coded to expire after a certain period--it keeps me releasing new versions [mostly] on schedule!)

So I bring you 0.10. The changelog isn't all that impressive, but this is actually the biggest release yet in terms of modifications, most of them internal as the game is now powered by a brand new engine. Let alpha development commence!

At least now you can try out the new inventory system. With full inventory access you'll also be able to keep those grenades out of your off-hand for better accuracy with two-handed weapons, and carry spare ammo for heavy weapons to make them a lot more useful.

Remote detonation of explosives is now supported. This marks the debut of the 'u'se command, which will be for all sorts of special functionality in the future. Priming your remote charges will create a detonator, which can then be activated at any time by using it. The original X-COM didn't have remote charges, but it's a commonly requested feature, so I've added them since it was easy and the vanilla mode can simply leave them out. Later on when aliens can pick up weapons, it would be amusing if/when the dumber ones happen along and pick up your primed remote charge...

To make downloading the release a little more worthwhile, I added a new scenario: Exodus. You get to assist the National Guard during the evacuation of a city overrun by aliens. This mission shouldn't be too difficult to "successfully" complete, although there's potential for a much higher score if played well. Replayability is high as the city layout and opposition forces are randomly generated. You have a smaller squad this time around, but they're better armed (and armored). You'll also face a new alien species, a weaker precursor to the upcoming Chrysalid (minus the zombies).

Here's a shot of a generated city (revealed):


"Looks quiet. Also looks like we've arrived a bit late..."

During one of my test runs, a huge group of civilians came swarming my way, and right before they reached safety, a blaster bomb came out of nowhere and toasted them all... poor civvies.

Oh, and being a city, I upped the map height to 6, so you can have some pretty tall buildings out there.


The older scenarios have also been modified/updated, mostly to give you a little more firepower and flexibility since now you have inventory access. Area 51 might be slightly easier since there's enough explosives stocked about to level the entire base. Just try not to be in it when that happens.

Your rookies should be ever so slightly more effective now, since while overhauling the armor data format I discovered that the armor value application (a temporary hack for the demo) was overriding all rookie armor with zeroes... So at least now they have that minute amount of armor (which we all know they so desperately need).

I noticed the annual Roguelike of the Year competition is being held right now. There have already been a fair number of votes cast for X@COM (I was pleasantly surprised when I first opened the page and saw several dozen votes), but let's try to get that number higher! Obviously X@COM won't (and shouldn't) win, but the extra awareness would be good, so go put in your vote! (Of course, that assumes you're reading this because you like what I'm doing here.) Don't forget to check out the other entries, too; I voted for DCSS, DF, Infra Arcana and MageGuild. Oh yeah, and myself :)

The next release will come some time next month and should include at the very least medkits (stop bleeding already!), UI sounds (ooooh), and a main menu (not really all that essential yet, but I might as well..). Other things high on the alpha list that will be appearing in the next few releases:

• sounds
• proper message system
• special units (Chryssalids, Silacoids)
• special items (motion detector, mind probe, psi amp)
• morale
• psionics 
• battle recording?

I should also spend some more time on HUD design/planning, and there will probably be another post dedicated to it that provides some HUD content proposals which can hopefully attract input.

After much hardware-induced delay, a new release is ready for the ASCII-loving, alien-hating commanders out there to test their skill (and/or luck) on.

In addition to the many new features mentioned in the previous post, R4 adds a new scenario and scoring system to tide you over until the first alpha release, which probably won't be available until the end of the year! Most of the core mechanics are complete (the rest will come in alpha), and huge changes will be taking place over the next couple months as I build a libTCOD framework from scratch to handle the kinds of things I want X@COM to be able to do. I'll occasionally post progress updates when there's something to show.

As for the new scenario: Fight alongside soldiers defending an Area 51 base against an alien assault, and be prepared for some surprises. To play, run Area51.bat. The environment is non-random, but enemies are mostly randomized. Once the remake is complete, later versions could optionally include similar handcrafted scenarios, though of much better quality and properly balanced.

There are a lot of enemies, so definitely try out this new feature: You can now press/hold the 'e' key to highlight known threats. So at the beginning of a turn when you've suddenly been engulfed in total chaos (very likely to happen in Area 51, believe me), highlight the threats to quickly get an idea of what you're up against. (Threats are highlighted no matter what level they're on.) The visual effect is currently handled with the projectile particle engine, so flashing indicators may not appear in their entirety for units at the edge of your FOV (or at all for known units outside FOV); there will eventually be a separate 2D particle engine for map/interface effects that can properly handle highlighting and all kinds of other nifty indicators.

As usual, see the changelog for a comprehensive list of what you get with R4.

You can still play the original completely randomized ARRP demo; in fact, it's still the default. Remember that the original scenario will be a fairly different experience now that reaction fire is implemented.

As requested, there is now a scoring system (applies to all modes). The game will eventually replace this temporary implementation with a detailed and extensive scoring/records system, as well as medals for soldiers and achievements you can earn as commander. Here's the result of my test run on Area 51:
There are more unlisted ways to score points, but I didn't earn those. If you have a particularly good run (or even win!), when you see the mission end screen press your PrtScn button and a screenshot will be saved in your game directory. Maybe you could show it off in the X@COM Bay 12 thread (link on right).

That's it. No more media for you. Not doing any in-game screenshots or video for this release, at least not just yet, since I don't want to spoil the fun.

Now go! Defend Area 51!

The number of new features has hit critical mass, so time for another release. See the files page for a link.

As detailed in the last post, large units have been added. You get a tank this time, too. Admittedly not an impressive one, but anything will help against your new enemies, the alien "terror units." For now only large terror units are included; normal-sized thralls will come in a future version.

Terrain smashing is now implemented. Talk about putting the gravity system to the test... Giant units plowing through buildings, heavily-armored X-Com units dropping through weak house roofs in style, tanks mowing down fences... Everything went smoothly except the house filled with stuff getting bulldozed by a house-sized alien--he really helped me fix all the rare bugs :)

Now you can jump through windows without bothering to shoot them out first! By default, "smash movement" is *not* active--you can toggle it on a per-unit basis using the 'h' key. (This is so that the pathfinder knows what kind of path to take.)

Stronger units can smash almost anything, while most rookie soldiers can't get through much more than glass, shrubbery, and other weak obstacles, though stronger soldiers can eventually push through fences, thick hedges and weak walls, or even smash chairs and some other furniture as they move. Later on, some armor and equipped weapons will probably improve a soldier's ability to smash things. Sledgehammer, anyone?

Essential for large units, built-in weapon modules are now operational. The system is very expandable and can later be used to enable units to accept multiple modules, even non-weapon modules with special effects.

Melee attacks (m/M) are now possible, too. In fact, you can use any item to perform a melee attack. Farm level? Grab a pitch fork and stab the little bastards! (Warning: May not work on big bastards.) I divided melee damage into three types: bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing (others can be used or more added easily). Melee attacks can of course do non-melee kinds of damage, like the stun rod.

Bludgeoning damage may also knock targets backward depending on relative strength and item mass. Whack an alien right through a window and have him fall to his death! Or, if you're strong enough, push him right through a wall...

Melee attacks do not currently harm terrain (as in the original), though that can easily be changed by modifying the materials.xt file.

Knockbacks and terrain smashing are both optional (though in the demo there's no button to toggle them); those and the many other optional settings will eventually be accessible through a config file.

About the new demo:

• Most of the large units are what you'd expect from X-COM: UFO Defense, but I did throw in the chance of one 3x3 unit. Here's hoping you don't get mauled by a Mega Reaper. (Murphy's Law says you will.) And if you see some toppled houses and trampled hedges while you're scouting around... well, let's just say you're probably not safe :)
• Explosives are quite effective against large units since *all* sections take damage separately.
• For those who have previously checked out the bunker, there's a couple new toys inside :)
• See the changelog for a full list of changes (some commands have changed)

I also put together a quick demo video showing large units. To speed things up, I'm controlling the aliens in a mock battle. In retrospect, there should've been more wanton destruction :)



There will probably only be one more tech demo release soon (reaction fire), then a rather long gap before the first alpha version.

Now what are you waiting for?! Go stun yourself an alien!

Hm, just noticed the X@COM code base has reached 12,000 lines. That's already six times 2K! Imagine what it'll be eventually :)

I've uploaded a new release with some minor enhancements to the ARRP demo.

Here's the changlog list for those too lazy to check:
* ARRP: HUD more informative
* ARRP: To improve cover, reduced amount of open space and added a new orchard terrain area
* NEW: Light affects unit visibility
* MOD: Non-keypad movement scheme (arrows) more flexible, allows full range of movement
* MOD: Keyboard input more responsive
* MOD: ESC cancels priming action
* MOD: Right-click cancels firing/throwing
* MOD: ESC/Right-click stops movement
* MOD: Units may fire at targets beyond obstacles
* MOD: Auto doors close at end of turn instead of immediately when unoccupied
* MOD: Previous saved games no longer invalidated by adding/moving objects in data files
* FIX: Errors caused by AI misbehavior will be corrected without crashing

The biggest change: Light now affects unit visibility, so if you thought the demo was tough already, now you're really going to be slaughtered on the night missions (as it should be). I added another flare among the starting equipment; try not to blow them up--you've only got two.

Mostly been refactoring and trying to clear my workspace of notes/TODOs accumulated during the coding frenzy leading up to ARRP. Work should start on some new feature this weekend.

Here's a screenshot of a squad disembarking at the landing site near an orchard at night:

The 2011 ARRP release is here! Check out the Files page for a download link. I've worked on X@COM for about 70 days now, so I guess that makes this a 70DRL release, too! :)

The demo scenario can be pretty damn hard, and then sometimes you can just get really unlucky. I only tested it a few times, in one of which an alien not far from the Avenger started with a Blaster Launcher... Needless to say we all died a fiery death, roasted in an impervious shell of our own making!

You can also luck out and not meet too many tough aliens, but they'll probably get you eventually. You'll definitely last a lot longer if you commandeer alien weaponry (no time for research!) and/or find secret weapons.

The alien AI is very basic (didn't spend more than a few hours adding it), and is nothing like the AI the game will use, but it does come in multiple varieties so don't expect all the enemies to behave identically.

There has been very little real playtesting so far, and I've been coding lots of new content up until just a moment ago, so don't blame me if it explodes. Seems fine when I run it, though, so do your worst. Come to think of it, explosions are good, as long as they're properly aimed...

I will entertain requests for simple updates to make the demo more fun, but don't request anything major--coding it is fun and all, but takes time away from core development. I'll also be updating the demo with new gameplay features as they become available for testing.

Some specific notes:

• The game could be quite a bit faster, but I compiled the release build with most of the assertions intact, so you'll actually get specific error messages if something does go wrong.
• Check out the FOV options. The original had none, but everyone seems to want things like highlighting. I'm not yet sure it's a great idea, since it removes some of the suspense, and X-COM is all about suspense.
• There wasn't enough time to update the latest libtcod, so there's no mouse wheel support for zooming--that will come soon.
• Oh, and look out for Sigmund.

While I'm at it, may as well put up a fun screenshot. This is what the ARRP map gen's first run produced:
Oh the havoc one misplaced variable can wreak on a calculation :)

Never fear, you can now advance your soldiers without the danger of buildings and terrain rearranging themselves around you.

Now go shoot something already!