Like in JA2? Unfortunately, no. There does not appear to be seperate moddable values for different stances. And any attachment (such as a bipod) works in all 3 stances. This is why I have not created a bipod accessory for the mod.

In JA2, an attachment like a bipod only works in prone. It's too bad the devs didn't look at JA2 (or look close enough if they did) and incorporate JA2's features in the design of the UFO series.

FYI, contrary to your warning on your download page, my mods *are* compatible with existing savegames. I test them in my own games before I release them.

And versions 1.4+ of the mod can probably be used without overwriting LocalizationPack. I have not tested it, but I'm pretty sure that if you don't overwrite LocalizationPack the mod will still work, just without the new weapons and ammo. (Perhaps someone with more time than I have can test this for me?) I mention this because there are more changes between v1.4+ and v1.3 than just the new DE .50AE (and other upcoming new weapons and ammo).

Have you played around with my v1.4 of the mod, with the new 33-round MG bursts? They seem to be working pretty well in my own game.

Thanks!

The new DE .50AE which was added in v1.4 of my mod uses the same round as the Automag V. For game purposes, it's the same gun.

Only if I switched the MGs to only use the new ammo caliber. For example, I could create a new 7.62x51mm ammo type that only came in 100-round lots, that could be used by the M60 and was not compatible with the sniper rifles. The new ammo could come in conventional soft & hard (AP) bullets, and in special plasma or warp damage rounds.

I have not switched the type of ammo used for any of the weapons because I don't know how missions determine what weapons the enemies are carrying and I haven't wanted to risk changing, for example, the MGs and then have the enemies try to use them without ammo (bad for them, and for you too if you get a weapon with no ammo early in the game).

If anyone can clue me in to how the game picks weapons for enemies, then I can start fiddling with changing the ammo types of existing weapons.

Hmm, I misread your warning that followed the modification. Corrected now, though I'll leave the warning about the localization.

Excellent work ShadoWarrior!

Those two handed SMGs really give the new grip to the game. I love this game and I love guys like you who keep working and increasing the gaming fun and making the experience more deeper for all of us.

Thanks man.

Shows of appreciation like yours are most welcome and help to keep me going.

Have you noticed that now, in the first post in this thread, I list the changes I've made for the next release (and I am already playing with in my own game)? Gives you something to look forward to ...

im using it with the german version of aftershock with no problems. of course the gui is transformed into english, but no crashes, no bugs caused by that (my mgs have in the inventoryscreen a damage like 453432 but i guess thats not caused by the translation..), everything just fine

great mod, thanks a lot

You're welcome!

It's comforting to hear that using the latest version of my mod, other than changing the language, doesn't screw up non-English versions of the game. Thanks for letting me know.

I'm eagerly waiting for the next version of your mod. Can't wait to see what is going to change to be even better...

I'm currently working on 2 more new weapons (besides the already implemented Wakizashi):

1. Cattleprod, 2-handed basic weapon, new damage type "Shock" 10% temp / 90% stun, uses same energy cells as lasers. (You'll be able to make and use the weapon long before you can make the batteries for it.)

2. Stunrod, 1-handed advanced weapon, new damage type "Stun" 100% stun, uses same energy cells as lasers.

I haven't added them into my own game yet because I'm still looking for the file(s) that list each enemy's damage resistances. Since I'm adding new damage types I'll probably need to update the enemy files too.

will you add new firearms too? like some nice steyr aug or something like that..
and can you change the research tree? imo it sucks that you gain all the weapons (like all rifles) with a single research that only takes ~10hours

/e: check out this: http://forum.ufo-aftermath.com/index.php?showtopic=1769

I'll add a specific new firearm if enough people ask me for it. Bear in mind that the Steyr may be inferior to the XM8, so it may not be worthwhile to add such a weapon. (The Steyr is awesome in JA2, but JA2 doesn't have the XM8. I don't know how the two weapons compare to each other in real life.)


It's possible to do so, but I don't intend to. All research in the game is MUCH MUCH faster than realistic. It's a game. No one wants to spend months, years, or decades researching tech. The time it takes to get human weapons is no better and no worse as compared to other techs. They're all ridiculously quick.

This mod looks darn promising. Great job.

Err, just a thing - I simply can't get over the XM8.. I mean, that is the designation for the prototype (eXperimental) rifle, isn't it? Well, if the us army actually accepted this weapon, it'd be designated M8. And more, they'd definitely not keep that stylish XM8 logo on the weapon's receiver.. I know, they probably won't accept it after all, but still it seems kinda stupid to actually 'manufacture' prototypes. It's not all that hard modification (I would try to make it, but my texturing skills are somewhere below zero), and it's logical.

Well, there goes my 2c

And please, keep up the good work..

The Steyr AUG is by far the best assault rifle in real life. Highest accuracy, easy handling, not prone to malfunctions.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to have a lot of rifles to choose from, even if they don't differ too much in quality (in game)

That's what I thought. Let me ask this: do folks really want me to add a new rifle that's even better than the kicks-too-much-ass-in-this game XM8?

Hi shadow: Well, if you don't mind the work

I for myself would like to have a huge ammount of different weapons to choose from. You don't have to make the AUG too good nevertheless. Just tweak the XM8 down a bit and make the AUG almost the same. It doesn't matter if they are almost identical in terms of gameplay, just to have a variation to choose from is great.

BTW: Very fine mod, if I wasn't such a fool, I'd like to contribute, but for me what you modders do is witchcraft. Seriously, I don't know how you do such awesome work Keep it up!

PS: I have many ideas, but am too stupid to mod

Thanks!


I look forward to hearing those many ideas ...

Great work guys!

I was surpised the 1st time a rocket flew towards me and I lost 3 of my best men... working on that

I realy like the concept of different ammo types for the projectile weapons. (SLAP or API comes to mind ... as well as some soft balls to deal with those rets/mutants).

My requests for weapon would be :
M2 (ok it's big... but, if we make it extremely heavy...)
HKG11 (shorter range than XM8, but better precision in burst fire)
A grenade launcher with a barrel (like in UFO AM)... dunno the name.

Thanks again!

Thanks!


Was much worse when the rockets did a bit less damage but the aliens fired them faster than you could get up off the ground after getting hit.


Adding API ammo to various calibers was already on my to-do list.



The M2 cannot be fired "from the hip". It's simply too heavy to carry. Plus, do we really want a automatic-fire Barrett-equivalent in this game? Yikes!

The G11 is a possibility. It certainly will have its own ammo caliber (4.7mm).

The M79 GL is already in the game in the form of the HK 20mm GL.

ShadoWarrior, if I understan correctly, you do know how to add NEW weapons (models and textures included)?

Yes and no. I know how to create the new weapon and add it to the appropriate file(s). What I don't know how to do is create the graphic model for the weapon.

@SW:

About the M79 GL (I was talking about a multiple shot IE: semi auto... the one we have is a 1 shot/reload... it should be 2 handed I think).

M2: I "had" to try

Other variants/weapons I'd like to see in game (as someone esle mentioned up here... a bit more diversity couldn't hurt).

M1911 (less punch than the .50AE... but longer range & faster ROF)
Thompson (Hey...if you model the .45ACP for the above...)

What about 7.62 assault rifles? GA36 or the Gallil (IIRC ?) ... could have a better punch than the 5.62 ARs... perhaps shorter range, lower ROF...

Satchel charges. <--- would realy like that one.

I would also like to see the M2. (very heavy and only usable with heavy armour, as in aftermath)

M2 and gatling guns for drones?
ammopack for drones in stead of armour?

Now that the colt and MP5 have been made into two-handed weapons can we see a wider choice of pistols and semi-automatic handguns? My ambidextrous rangers are now restricted to DE, UZI's, Human and Reticulan laser pistols, Blasters and warp pistols. Only the Blasters and Warp Pistols from that list are any good at later levels.

Seeing as the XM8 is a prototype weapon could it not be changed to an advanced weapon instead of a rifle for purposes of research and manufacture?

The problem is, that to my knowledge the model format of UFO:AS is a custom one, and we do not have the tools to convert models to the in-game format.

Other than that, the program uses dds textures, which is a rather common format and everything else is in text files. So if you have the models, the textures, and a tool to convert them to the in-game format, then you should be able to add new models to the game.

I don't know, but if the model format is the same than what UFO:AM used, it may be possible that there is already a model converter out there somewhere.

EDIT: Here is a tutorial on model creation for UFO:AM. I have no idea whether it works for AS or not, but chances are it would work, unless Altar changed the model format between the two games.

http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/index...?showtopic=2770

EDIT2: If someone into modelling tries this, and it seems to work, let us know. Could we add models to the game, that would really open up the 'adding new items' option in modding. Atm it is kinda limited to the reuse of existing models for similar items.

Hmm. for some reason i'm unable to edit my post. Odd.

Anyway, on the same forum, i saw a thread in which someone reported the above mentioned method not working anymore with UFO:AS.

Ah well.. im sure we'll have the tools sooner or later.

Has anyone emailed the developers about the graphic models for UFO:AM?

As a modeller/modder I would expect the following tools/information:
- A sample source file (in 3DS Max, Blender, whatever they use)
- An exporter or model converter (E.g. 3DS->UFO:AM format, or .MAX->UFO:AM format)
- Information about the type of texture that can be used (If all else fails, .BMP usually works)
- Information about model scaling
- Information about special points on a model, such as hold points

This is all very useful information which I might expect Altar to release if they want to support the modding community.

If they could provide a sample file for a unit as well, then this would pave the way for some talented people to design new character models.

I imagine the "research time" is realy time it takes to dig out the blueprints from some archive and figure out how to retool the factories to start producing the weapon. Helps the suspense of disbelieve for this item at least.

WEll, I have severl weapon models in 3DS, I have them UV maped and theri textures I cna easily convert to dds.

All that's needed is a converter..

C'mon Altair, if anyone of you reads this APPEASE THE CROWDS!

Such as the MGL-140 (named "Striker" in UFO:AM)? It's on my to-do list. Fixing the HK 20mm so that it's a two-handed weapon has been done for the upcoming v1.5 release of my mod.


Sure. Just as I had to say "no".


The .45ACP round most assuredly does not have better range than the .50AE. And it only has faster fire because it has less recoil.


I'll add the M1911 and Tommy gun to my to-do list.


7.62mm guns have better range, and ROF is not appreciably different. That said, I've put the G36 on my to-do list.


Also on my to-do list.

My to-do list is getting quite long ...

I don't see a way to restrict weapons to an armor, or better yet, to a Strength level.

I can make drone versions of the M2 and 7.62mm miniguns. I've added them to my to-do list. Not sure about how to make drone "ammo packs". I'll look into it.

Thanks to you, and Saintaw, for the suggestions!

The Colt M1911 is on my to-do list. I've already created the Wakizashi (if you also have Commando L1+ to go along with Ranger). The Stunrod (an advanced neural shock one-handed weapon) and Taser pistol are also in the works.


Good suggestion. I'll see what I can do to change it for the next release of my mod.

That's an absolutely brilliant idea! Explains "research" quite well. Too bad it doesn't help with construction times for buildings. Unless we postulate massive use of nanobot constructors ...

Suggestion:
As much as i love new items personally, i've had a few requests from friends to provide a mod that does not contain any of the 'possible compatibility breakers', namely the newly added items.

I think there should be a version of the mod that does not contain any new items, just the balance changes of existing ones.

In terms of compatibility, consider the following problem: what if someone produces a newly added item, say the new DE .50AE, and then tries to play the save without the mod... I see two possibilities:
1) The game ignored the missing item - it simply vanishes.. this is maybe the better option
2) The game crashes... this would mean, that saves created with new items are not compatible with other equipment mods, or the unmodded game itself.

Then again, as the mod gets more and more complex, creating an alternate version could get... well. more difficult. For now, i think it would be fairly easy to do.

Anyway, its your call Shadow.

I expect that any savegames after a new item has been added to a soldier's inventory (perhaps even just having new items under construction) will very likely cause a crash. Mod users use mods at their own risk. I do my best to assure that the mod is compatible with existing non-modded savegames (or with previous versions of the mod), but savegames including this mod should not be expected to work with the mod removed. This was true with many of the mods for UFO:AM as well. I know this may be asking a lot, but players should exercise a little common sense about these things.

Note: It's been my observation that UFO:AS has exceptionally (pun intended) poor error-handling. Almost anything unexpected causes a crash. That's slipshod programming, for which there can be no excuses (I have 30 years experience in software engineering, almost 20 of it in QA).

With regards to making a "safe" version of the mod sans new items, I simply have no desire to go through the work of having to make some of the same changes to two mods. Doing it once takes enough time as it is. Since some of the 'rebalance' changes assume that there are new weapons to replace the nerfed ones, it will become progressively more and more difficult to have a "balance only" version and a "comprehensive" version, especially now that I've added new damage types to go along with some of the upcoming new weapons that I'll be adding.

SW,

Looking forward to the next version then

My notes about the m1911 & the 7.62 weapons above are just meant as "game-enlargment/enhancements" and are not meant to be accurate data (I own couple 9mm, a .357, a .44 and a .45 sidearm... I do not however have the luck of owning a .50AE... don't think it'll ever happen in this socialist part of the world I live in *sic*). I'm just trying to think of 'well known' weapons, and reasons to add them in the game (So as not to have more "hangar queens" like the current m4).

Perhaps (just a wild guess here) you could attach some specific weapons to soldier classes (IE: One would need to have "trooper" training in order to operate the GA36... something similar, I'm sure you get the idea...)




*this is a subliminal message to remind y'all of the satchel charges... you haven't seen this.*

Well, this morning I tried out the new API ammo I created (and the new damage type to go with it) in one of my savegames. A miserable failure. The enemies would get hit and take ZERO damage. Worse yet, the scrolling message window wouldn't even show the hits as taking place. Without being able to properly implement new damage types, I've had to scrap half the changes I was putting into v1.5 (basically a whole weekend's worth of work down the drain) and abandon API ammo (there's no point to API ammo if I cannot create working new damage type for it). Sigh.

{begin rant}
So I'm restricted to creating new ammo and weapons that use existing damage types. Too many damn restrictions. Without being able to model, I cannot change the Katana to a 5x1 weapon (instead of 5x2). I cannot tweak called shots nor quick shots. I cannot restrict weapons to a minimum attribute score or for use only with certain armor.

This game is a huge step backwards for modders compared to Aftermath, and far inferior to JA2's richness in ability to create new weapons that work just as you'd like them to. I sure as heck hope that someone at Altar is reading this thread and takes note of the mod community's frustration with Aftershock.

The game, as shipped, is a huge fraud perpetrated on the gaming community (and fans of UFO:AM in particular), especially given what was said about this game before its release and all the promises that were made.

PS - get the damn patch out!
PPS - fulfill the promises you made!!!
{end rant}

Cr*p :/

Aren't they supposed to release an SDK at one point? (or did I dream that?). I "think" I read here somewhere that they were developing this stuff with a PGsql so that it'd make things easier for modders...

Must have been a dream... or another game board.

Hey there just wondering if youve tried entering the new damage types into the protection array for the armour used.

Even a unarmoured human is considered as wearing "human body"

;#108
SubEquipment RECORD
id INT 247
name STR "Human body"
equipslot STR "Armour"

With no entries in the protection array

ListOfProtection ARRAY 13
;"Soft"
FLT 1
;"Hard"
FLT 0.9
;"Laser"
FLT 1
;"Plasma"
FLT 1
;"Warp"
FLT 1
;"Sonic"
FLT 1
;"Blade"
FLT 1
;"Burn"
FLT 1
;"Explosive"
FLT 1
;"EMP"
FLT 1
;"Psi"
FLT 1
;"Friend"
FLT 1
;"Medic"
FLT 1
END_OF_ListOfProtection

its possible that it ignores it altogether or at least would have a value of 0 which is 100 percent resistance.

Hope this helps

Hello ShadoWarrior

I'm so pleaced to see you working so hardly for all of the community. You really have made your part. Can you imagine how much you have made for all of us?

But anyway, I'll stop the flattering and licking and go to the point...

1. How about replacing the SR-25 with G3 or FN-FAL? Slower rate of fire than AK with single snapshots and aimed shots, range like 50 and and incredibly uncontrollable (very low accuracy) with burst fire. At my eye, SR-25 looks little like FN-FAL, while it's from the armalite weapon family.

This should also meet Saintaws ideas about 7.62mm rifles.

2. What do you think of, could you possibly make M72 LAW to be truely One shot, disposable anti-tank rocket launcher? You know, One shot and "get-rid-of-the-tube" kind of piece Tinkering the size also little smaller, like 1x4 or 1x5 quadrants might meet better with reality.

I did that. For EVERY enemy and armor in the game. (Lots and lots of entries, which is why I spent so many hours this weekend doing it.) It didn't work.

To strip all that non-working stuff out I ended up having to reload v1.4 and reapply all the v1.5 changes that weren't related to the new damage types and new ammo. A royal pain.

I was orginally planning to replace the SR-25 with a Dragunov. Now, with my lack growing frustration at the limitations imposed on modding, especially changing the names and other parameters of existing weapons which can be found in missions, I'll be adding new sniper and assault rifles -- not replacing any existing weapons. Tweaking values is one thing, replacing is quite another. Replacing things already in the game is an almost sure recipe for disaster until such time as Altar gets around to giving us modders a helping hand.


I cannot change items to sizes that do not already exist. (See my earlier post regarding not being able to resize a Katana to 5x1.) That means I'm stuck with 1x1, 2x1, 3x1, 2x2, 5x2.

As best I recall, the M72 actually can be reloaded (though in normal use rarely was). Regardless, I don't wish to go through the effort, just for the sake of total realism, of trying to make one-shot missile launchers. Besides, if I did that then the LAW would become one of those "hangar queens" as someone else put it.

Yes, those empty m72 law tubes can be reloaded, but I think it's factory related stuff. Definetly not done in the field! I just thought if it could be possible to make it to be as same size as the law rockets are now.

Ouch....

Did you notice that the weapon still does damage to scenery ie windows and walls?

Nope. When I trained with them at Fort Knox over 20 years ago I recall ammo crates near the firing line containing just the rockets. The ones we were given to use had already been loaded by the instructors, and I never used one again after this so I don't have personal experience in their reloading, but I know it could be done outside of a factory. The open ammo crates with the rockets pretty much proved that to me. Prior to that, I thought they were one-shot weapons. When I asked one of the instructors about it, the answer I received was something along the lines of "don't worry about that now, you're here to learn how to fire them". To which the only answer possible is "Yes, Drill Sergeant."

Nope. My to-hit numbers were 98% or better. There were no "stray" rounds for me to observe. The most disconcerting thing, which I simply cannot explain, is why the hits by my custom ammo weren't being logged in the message window. The hits by non-custom ammo were showing up as they should. It was just the custom-damage stuff that was apparently non-existent. Oh, and the graphical effects of the bullets firing (muzzle flash and bullet streaks across the map) worked fine. Just no damage inflicted, and no logging of the hits. Very very strange.

But I've abandoned the idea. It's too much effort trying to figure out how to make it work. I'll wait until Altar deigns to help us modders. If ever ...

Take a look at the list of changes for v1.5 ...

Thank you! Can't wait to try this!