If you find any bugs or issues, tell me in as much detail as possible, preferably in the Bugs tab. I'll do my best to fix them. (don't forget that mods which use the same files will interact in horrible and unexpected ways.)
If you have a specific request, ask away. I'll try to help. Even if it's a "is it possible" question. If it's possible and fast to do, I'll do it. If not, I'll tell you how to, and try to do it yourself, since modding this game isn't hard - it's just about editing values, mostly. Nonetheless, if you aren't able to do it, I'll try to.
The file no longer exists because it was integrated into the main mod. (At the time, the "Tactical Challenge Mode" would make the game harder, but after testing, since it ended up being a "well-balanced difficulty", it was integrated into the main mod.)
Damn, cant even get past the initial KGB safehouse attack mission you ahve to deal with. Way too many dudes and you cant get past them before you're boxed in and shot to bits
Were you able to finish the mission? This mod makes the game truly challenging, especially in the beginning. Some tips:
You shouldn't rush story missions before building up your base, funds, and armaments. This takes a lot of time because the base game is so damn slow, so I recommend using Cheat Engine's Speedhack Tool to speed up the game (explained on my other mod: Speedhack_Plus).
Optimizing your agents' weapon combinations is a must.
You're more likely to survive with hit-and-run tactics, while using multiple agents' overwatch/guarding ability to create kill zones.
Enemies can't dodge point-blank, so if you're able to attack an enemy agent that way, with 2-3 agents with a pistol, and retreat, you should be able to kill that enemy agent and make it back to safety.
Doors are your friends. Enemies can't open a door if you're right on the other side of it. This does leave you without cover, so be careful not to be flanked. This can even be a bit of a cheat sometimes, because if you are in a locked room with no windows, enemies can't really get in or get to you, while you can keep opening the door, attacking, going back in, and closing it.
You are in for a treat, i just started this 2 weeks ago and immediately, the challenge, the tactical experience, and the revamped unlockables/rewards really make this feel much more immersive, rewarding, and like a brand new game and playthrough, hope you enjoyed it as much as i did!
Hell yeah, I didn't go in deep yet but it feels right and smooth for me atm, it's harder but also giving you more stuff to counter that. Looking great from reading the change logs so far.
Just want to thankyou soo much for this amazing mod, the level of difficulty and quality life updates, as well as immersion and realism this adds scaling perfectly with difficulty makes this the most appreciated mod in my book for all the mods i have come across over the years... i normally never comment but i really just wanted to show my appreciation and let you know that your work and effort do not go unnoticed for such an underated game and with little mod support, i somehow stumble upon the best mod ever and i am truly grateful.... quick question though, anyway to turn the air support cutscenes back on? I love the immersion it adds, and always think the cutscenes are badass lol
You're welcome! At first I just made this mod for myself, but then I decided to share it. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I will create an optional file which turns the cutscenes back on.
I've uploaded an Optional File called "Restore Animation Cutscenes v1.0", which restores Enemy Air Support Cutscenes and/or Friendly Support Powers Cutscenes. Since the files are modular, feel free to use either one, or both.
Should you try these out, I would be thankful if you would let me know about your experience on the following:
I'm unsure if the game will load the files during a current save/playthrough. Logically, it should load them the next time you start any mission and go from the Strategic Gameplay (World Map) to Tactical Gameplay (Single Map/Level). Nonetheless, since the only changes were adding the cutscenes, it will have no negative impact whatsoever on a current playthrough.
One of the objectives of this mod was eliminating the ridiculously long "waiting time" in-between actions. Should you notice something weird, like agents performing actions during the restored cutscenes (because there wasn't a wait-for-cutscene-to-end wait time), or something like that, feel free to tell me.
I hope this makes you gaming experience and immersion better!
Wow NMKopfkino... just seeing this now, i hope it wasnt too much trouble to alter and create those animation files, thankyou so much, i will try this out now on my current playthrough, seriously though..... you are amazing!!
I'm playing this with just one full medium-difficulty CIA campaign under my belt, so maybe I'm missing something and I don't know exactly what's the mod's doing and what's just the hard difficulty, but...
How am I supposed to deal with the story-forced raids/ambushes in the very early game? I tried a KGB and a CIA campaign and I had to stop both times there... you're facing at least 5 enemies at any given time, of which 1 to 2 agents, you have early-game weapons that barely do any damage (most pistols can't even reach the damage threshold to be able to shoot), while enemies consistently have 2 FP already? (they used a medkit and shot me many times) and they're simply gonna slowly kill your agents due to superior firepower.
Especially in the CIA raid where you have to reach a specific goal on the map before reaching for evac, avoiding contact is not really possible. They're gonna close on you and even if you manage to kill 2/4 enemies (but even 1 agent is a lot to take down), reinforcements are gonna come anyway... maybe right in front of you.
In the KGB forced ambush you have 3 agents and the amount of enemies is insane. You are in an especially closed environment where you have to go from point A to point B and you have to pass through the enemies somehow... and it's simply not doable? Also the fact that now stuff tends to cost a bit more in terms of APs and FPs doesn't help.
I bet it's not a problem of the mod being that unbalanced, it must be me not getting something. Apart from that, I wished the throwables range was a bit higher but heh, I can now barely frag some enemy sometimes :p
Thank you again for the effort you put on this! I hope I'll be able to give it a full run!
P.S.: maybe you wanna add that you can't complete the tutorial with the mod? Just in case... a friend... tried... (hey, the tutorial mission is part of the story! :p I'm one of those guys...)
Thank you for trying the mod! and for diligently explaining your experience and situation. I truly appreciate it.
The game has insufficient modding variables for each difficulty, meaning that only a few things can be changed depending on difficulty, while most are static/forced globally. Since I couldn't fine-tune by difficulty, and wanted the game to be much more challenging and dynamic, I balanced the mod for a Hard(er) difficulty.
I have been able to successfully complete all 3 extended story modes using this mod. In the beginning, sometimes I wasn't able to knock out enemy agents, capture them, and/or get to the objective without triggering combat, because at the beginning you're weaker. My strategy was usually to silently dispose of enemies in key positions, so I could try to complete objectives and explore as much as I could, silently. Once I could no longer progress, I would strategically position all agents, rush the objective, use some guerrilla combat tactics, and evacuate. Tips:
Enemies can't dodge point-blank, so if you're able to attack an enemy agent that way, with 2-3 agents with a pistol, and retreat, you should be able to kill that enemy agent and make it back to safety.
Doors are your friends. Enemies can't open a door if you're right on the other side of it. This does leave you without cover, so careful not to be flanked. This can even be a bit of a cheat sometimes, because if you are in a locked room with no windows, enemies can't really get in or get to you, while you can keep opening the door, attacking, going back in, and closing it.
It's in the mod description, but the "Threshold for enemy agent becoming suspicious (was) increased to 4-6 takedowns/kills of civilians/enemies", so you have more room to dispose of key enemies before raising suspicion. This gives you more leeway to strategically dispose of enemies that are between you and the objective. If you want, I can create an optional file which increases this even further. Is there another range you would be comfortable with? That, or I can just erase the "suspicion mechanic" by setting the limit to 99 (assuming the game accepts it, because it overwrites some modded values no matter what).
It's also good to take some time to build your base, funds, and armaments before campaign missions. This takes a lot of time because the base game is so damn slow, so I recommend using Cheat Engine's Speedhack Tool to speed up the game (explained on my other mod: Speedhack_Plus).
Since I made this mod to make the game truly challenging, especially in the beginning, I didn't even think about the tutorial, because I would have never been able to survive it when I started playing the game for the first time. Thank you for telling me! It has already been added to the list of known bugs.
I've uploaded an Optional File called "Throwables Longer Range v1.0", which has instructions, and 5 options inside (A to F), which increases the range more and more. I hope it fits your gameplay style! If you feel like none of these fit, feel free to tell me. Note that enemies also benefit from this, and it might make things a bit messy, or it might be incredibly fun and dynamic.
When applying body chemicals, there is some unknown combination where it actually knocks you down to the base of 5 Movement Range from wherever you was, and it doesn't seem obvious on which combinations do this. Is this intentional?
One of the objectives of this mod is simplifying compounds, so there are no need for guides. The compounds only add values (never subtract), and are free to apply anytime, in any order, without needing or blocking another. Also, compounds only change the 4 base stats (Circulatory, Respiratory, Sensory & Motoric), and it's from those that the game calculates the rest, such as dodge or movement range. If I remember correctly, what you're experiencing is a game mechanic that lowers the value of movement range when you gain 1 more action point. For example: at 1 AP your movement range increases from 5 -> 6 -> 7, and then, when you gain another AP, your movement range is reduced to 5, although in reality you can now move 10 squares (5x2), instead of only 7. This repeats until you max out at 4 AP.
Thanx for this great mod! One question though: In the description you mention "- Maximum available disguises increased to a total of 6, via upgrades. -- You'll be able to disguise your whole assault team!" In my "medium" playthroughs (US/RU/IL) I got disguise-upgrades max 3 times...so 3 are missing? Or do these extra 3 (= 6 all together) only unlock on "hard"? According to "DT_Techs.csv" there are only three techs (tech_campaign02b_01, tech_127, tech_244) which each grant +1 disguise... am I missing something?
I've checked the files, and this was indeed a mistake and an oversight on my part. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
About the difficulty: DT_Techs doesn't seem to take difficulty into account, but DT_HideoutParams could. It has 3 lines "level0", "level1" and "level2", which affect Easy, Medium and Hard, respectively. It even has a "MaxDisguisedAgents" parameter as well, which should be the number of starting disguises, which is set to 1 (default value) on all difficulties.
-- EDIT -- I have corrected the issue and updated the mod. (it's probably necessary to start a new game, otherwise it might not update the values, but you can try to load a save game and see if you get more disguises or not.)
Notes: You said you only had a total of 3 disguises, but even with the mistake, there should have been 4, because the mod was set to give you 1 at the start on campaign, +3 via upgrades. This made me wonder if some people are not receiving the starting one, although I checked before updating the mod and I received it after the initial mission.
To prevent anyone from having less than 6-team disguises, I updated the mod to give 8: - Campaign start: +1 - 1st upgrade: +1 - 2nd upgrade: +2 - 3rd upgrade: +4
Now, even if someone doesn't receive the one at the start of the campaign, they will have at least 7 after upgrades.
28 comments
Just discovered your mod thanks very much for your contribution. Can't wait to test it.
Wish you the best
Some tips:
- You shouldn't rush story missions before building up your base, funds, and armaments. This takes a lot of time because the base game is so damn slow, so I recommend using Cheat Engine's Speedhack Tool to speed up the game (explained on my other mod: Speedhack_Plus).
- Optimizing your agents' weapon combinations is a must.
- You're more likely to survive with hit-and-run tactics, while using multiple agents' overwatch/guarding ability to create kill zones.
- Enemies can't dodge point-blank, so if you're able to attack an enemy agent that way, with 2-3 agents with a pistol, and retreat, you should be able to kill that enemy agent and make it back to safety.
- Doors are your friends. Enemies can't open a door if you're right on the other side of it. This does leave you without cover, so be careful not to be flanked. This can even be a bit of a cheat sometimes, because if you are in a locked room with no windows, enemies can't really get in or get to you, while you can keep opening the door, attacking, going back in, and closing it.
Hope it helps!I want to do some tweaks of my own so i would know where/how to find vanilla .csv gameplay files ?
Inside the Guide, under "How to start: CSV files", there's a link to the default .csv files (in a Google Drive folder).
I'm also recording a run with the mod so having them would be useful to add some cool visuals.
I will create an optional file which turns the cutscenes back on.
Should you try these out, I would be thankful if you would let me know about your experience on the following:
I hope this makes you gaming experience and immersion better!
I'm playing this with just one full medium-difficulty CIA campaign under my belt, so maybe I'm missing something and I don't know exactly what's the mod's doing and what's just the hard difficulty, but...
How am I supposed to deal with the story-forced raids/ambushes in the very early game? I tried a KGB and a CIA campaign and I had to stop both times there... you're facing at least 5 enemies at any given time, of which 1 to 2 agents, you have early-game weapons that barely do any damage (most pistols can't even reach the damage threshold to be able to shoot), while enemies consistently have 2 FP already? (they used a medkit and shot me many times) and they're simply gonna slowly kill your agents due to superior firepower.
Especially in the CIA raid where you have to reach a specific goal on the map before reaching for evac, avoiding contact is not really possible. They're gonna close on you and even if you manage to kill 2/4 enemies (but even 1 agent is a lot to take down), reinforcements are gonna come anyway... maybe right in front of you.
In the KGB forced ambush you have 3 agents and the amount of enemies is insane. You are in an especially closed environment where you have to go from point A to point B and you have to pass through the enemies somehow... and it's simply not doable? Also the fact that now stuff tends to cost a bit more in terms of APs and FPs doesn't help.
I bet it's not a problem of the mod being that unbalanced, it must be me not getting something.
Apart from that, I wished the throwables range was a bit higher but heh, I can now barely frag some enemy sometimes :p
Thank you again for the effort you put on this! I hope I'll be able to give it a full run!
P.S.: maybe you wanna add that you can't complete the tutorial with the mod? Just in case... a friend... tried... (hey, the tutorial mission is part of the story! :p I'm one of those guys...)
The game has insufficient modding variables for each difficulty, meaning that only a few things can be changed depending on difficulty, while most are static/forced globally. Since I couldn't fine-tune by difficulty, and wanted the game to be much more challenging and dynamic, I balanced the mod for a Hard(er) difficulty.
I have been able to successfully complete all 3 extended story modes using this mod. In the beginning, sometimes I wasn't able to knock out enemy agents, capture them, and/or get to the objective without triggering combat, because at the beginning you're weaker. My strategy was usually to silently dispose of enemies in key positions, so I could try to complete objectives and explore as much as I could, silently. Once I could no longer progress, I would strategically position all agents, rush the objective, use some guerrilla combat tactics, and evacuate.
Tips:
- Enemies can't dodge point-blank, so if you're able to attack an enemy agent that way, with 2-3 agents with a pistol, and retreat, you should be able to kill that enemy agent and make it back to safety.
- Doors are your friends. Enemies can't open a door if you're right on the other side of it. This does leave you without cover, so careful not to be flanked. This can even be a bit of a cheat sometimes, because if you are in a locked room with no windows, enemies can't really get in or get to you, while you can keep opening the door, attacking, going back in, and closing it.
- It's in the mod description, but the "Threshold for enemy agent becoming suspicious (was) increased to 4-6 takedowns/kills of civilians/enemies", so you have more room to dispose of key enemies before raising suspicion. This gives you more leeway to strategically dispose of enemies that are between you and the objective. If you want, I can create an optional file which increases this even further. Is there another range you would be comfortable with? That, or I can just erase the "suspicion mechanic" by setting the limit to 99 (assuming the game accepts it, because it overwrites some modded values no matter what).
- It's also good to take some time to build your base, funds, and armaments before campaign missions. This takes a lot of time because the base game is so damn slow, so I recommend using Cheat Engine's Speedhack Tool to speed up the game (explained on my other mod: Speedhack_Plus).
Since I made this mod to make the game truly challenging, especially in the beginning, I didn't even think about the tutorial, because I would have never been able to survive it when I started playing the game for the first time. Thank you for telling me! It has already been added to the list of known bugs.I hope it fits your gameplay style! If you feel like none of these fit, feel free to tell me.
Note that enemies also benefit from this, and it might make things a bit messy, or it might be incredibly fun and dynamic.
If I remember correctly, what you're experiencing is a game mechanic that lowers the value of movement range when you gain 1 more action point. For example: at 1 AP your movement range increases from 5 -> 6 -> 7, and then, when you gain another AP, your movement range is reduced to 5, although in reality you can now move 10 squares (5x2), instead of only 7. This repeats until you max out at 4 AP.
One question though: In the description you mention
"- Maximum available disguises increased to a total of 6, via upgrades. -- You'll be able to disguise your whole assault team!"
In my "medium" playthroughs (US/RU/IL) I got disguise-upgrades max 3 times...so 3 are missing? Or do these extra 3 (= 6 all together) only unlock on "hard"?
According to "DT_Techs.csv" there are only three techs (tech_campaign02b_01, tech_127, tech_244) which each grant +1 disguise... am I missing something?
About the difficulty: DT_Techs doesn't seem to take difficulty into account, but DT_HideoutParams could. It has 3 lines "level0", "level1" and "level2", which affect Easy, Medium and Hard, respectively. It even has a "MaxDisguisedAgents" parameter as well, which should be the number of starting disguises, which is set to 1 (default value) on all difficulties.
-- EDIT --
I have corrected the issue and updated the mod. (it's probably necessary to start a new game, otherwise it might not update the values, but you can try to load a save game and see if you get more disguises or not.)
Notes: You said you only had a total of 3 disguises, but even with the mistake, there should have been 4, because the mod was set to give you 1 at the start on campaign, +3 via upgrades. This made me wonder if some people are not receiving the starting one, although I checked before updating the mod and I received it after the initial mission.
To prevent anyone from having less than 6-team disguises, I updated the mod to give 8:
- Campaign start: +1
- 1st upgrade: +1
- 2nd upgrade: +2
- 3rd upgrade: +4
Now, even if someone doesn't receive the one at the start of the campaign, they will have at least 7 after upgrades.