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X:CE 0.31 Release Candidate


llunak

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In the downloads section you can find release candidate of X:CE version 0.31 .

This is an unstable release, intended to test changes before a final 0.31 release. Please join the testing (see below for specific areas which especially need testing).


Installation (0.31RC3 and newer):

  • In the game launcher, use "Modding Tools" to install the base X:CE mod (it may take a while, you will get a confirmation dialog when the installation is done). Note that if you use the Xenonauts 1.5x release as a base, the newly installed mod will not show in the list, ignore this.
  • Exit the launcher.
  • Run X:CE's game executable instead of the base game's executable. It is possible to run it directly from assets/mods/xce and it is not anymore necessary to copy it anywhere (it may be useful to create a desktop shortcut to simplify accessing it though). If you do copy the .exe files, you may need to copy .dll files as well.
  • Verify in the launcher that it is the correct version.
  • Install the X:CE settings and balance mods in "Modding Tools" in the launcher.
  • If you have Skitso's map pack or art pack mods installed, deactivate/delete them. They have been merged directly into X:CE.
  • On first game start you may get a dialog warning about X:CE mods not being activated correctly or in the correct priority order, simply confirm that you want it to be fixed automatically.

Changes between 0.31RC2 and 0.31RC3:

Notable changes:

  • Skitso's map pack and art pack have been integrated into X:CE.
  • It is possible to run X:CE's game executable directly from the mod folder, without any manual changes. This is the preferred way now, instead of replacing the original game's executables.
  • Fixed searching for game data in map editors (they should now work correctly again).
  • Firing at a target now may suppress it even if the shot does not hit anywhere near it and just flies close by. This should make firegun suppression have roughly the same effect like it used to before 0.30 release made missed shots continue flying in their direction instead of hitting nearby their target.
  • Explicit short range shooting bonus has been reduced. 0.30 release made it possible to hit a target even with a slightly scattered shot, thus in reality increasing the chance to hit at a short range, making it larger than the chance shown by the firing cursor. This change reduces the realistic chance to hit to again roughly match actual accuracy as it used to be before. The percentage chance shown by the firing cursor is now the estimated chance to hit, adjusted for the possibility of close range shots hitting even if they don't hit exactly the spot aimed for.

Other changes:

  • Merged in most recent fixes/changes from Xenonauts 1.5, such as burst fire mode added to right-click cycling.
  • The game now checks and possibly fixes incorrect status of X:CE mods (not active, not in correct mod priority order).
  • Cursor should now always try to prefer targetting objects when firing. Use the roof-walls toggle in the GC panel if you want to explicitly target ground behind a wall or another object.
  • Fixed loading of recent GC maps when loading a geoscape save (the game should now do better at not using the same map again if there are other suitable maps available that have not yet been chosen).
  • Fixed showing of cover indicators in some cases.
  • Fixed some cases when suppression effect and explosions would spread through obstacles.
  • Improved selection of targets for missed shots, shots blocked by an obstacle should be a bit more likely to hit target's cover rather than a random obstacle in the way closer to the shooter.
  • Tab and Shift+Tab have been reassigned in default shortcuts to cycle soldiers and cycle with finishing the current soldier (i.e. the select-next-soldier actions in style of the panel buttons in the OG), this matches a change done for Xenonauts 1.5.
  • It is now possible to have mods provide images that will be alpha-blended onto base game image instead of replacing it. For asset/somewhere/image.png, such an image should be named assets/somewhere/image-modmerge.png . It is recommended to still provide also a non-modmerge image for older X:CE versions (or Xenonauts 1.5).
  • Fixed loading images from mods if they replace images provided by the base game in an image atlas.

Installation (only 0.31RC2 and older):

  • In the game launcher, use "Modding Tools" to install the base X:CE mod. Note that if you use the Xenonauts 1.5x release as a base, the newly installed mod will not show in the list, ignore this.
  • Exit the launcher.
  • Copy executables from assets/mods/xce to the toplevel game directory (possibly using new names, if you do not want to overwrite the original executables).
  • Launch the X:CE executable and verify in the launcher that it is the correct version.
  • Install the X:CE settings and balance mods in "Modding Tools" in the launcher.
  • Ensure that all X:CE mods are activated and in the proper priority order, they need the to be lowest priority mods, in the order of xcebalance, xcesettings, xce (thus the order in the list will be, from top, any other mods, xcebalance, xcesettings, xce).

Changes between 0.31RC1 and 0.31RC2:

  • Fix problem with loading some (mostly map) assets if they have uppercase letters in their path.
  • Add more tileset types, to allow easier creating of mods with new tileset types.

Large changes summary:

  • Incorporation of fixes from the Xenonauts 1.5x releases (not listed in the detailed lists below).
  • New UI for mods management from the Xenonauts 1.5x releases.
  • Fixes and improvements for the show-roofs ground combat function. Showing roofs should now be superior to the current default of not showing roofs and will likely become the new default in 0.32 if there are no problems reported.
  • Aliens turns should be faster.
  • Fixes to handling of victory and defeat in some ground combat mission types.
  • Various other fixes.

General improvements:

  • Integration of the new "Modding Tools" UI from Xenonauts 1.5x .
  • Skipping of hidden animations for faster alien turns has been enabled by default, after hopefully having been fixed in 0.30 (SkipHiddenAnimations in config.xml).
  • Make it possible to turn music/sfx completely off.
  • Implement wall transparency also for vehicles (if a vehicle is right behind a wall, the wall will get partially transparent, just like with soldiers).
  • Show/hide parts of buildings in show-roof mode in order to make soldiers/vehicles behind them visible.
  • Cursor entering/leaving buildings hides/shows insides of building in show-roof mode.
  • Aliens entering/leaving buildings and/or becoming visible in buildings hides/shows insides of buildings in show-roof mode.

UI:

  • Improve layout of the 'abandon mission' dialog and show to-be-left-behind living soldiers before dead ones.
  • Adjust alignment of airplane/vehicle base screens to fit adjustments made to soldier equip screen done in 0.30.
  • Hide tooltip on any mouse click/wheel action.

Balance:

  • Aliens in missions where Xenonauts do not start in a dropship have full TU available in the first turn (and not only half TU as with dropship missions).
  • Using a teleport if the other teleport tile is blocked by an enemy unit will result in that unit being telefragged. This prevents blocking off aliens on higher UFO floors. There is no change (teleporting will not happen) if the other end is blocked by a friendly unit.

General fixes:

  • Fixed final door in the final mission to not be indestructible if damaged.
  • Fixed teleporters in the final mission to work as described in the mission briefing.
  • Final mission cannot be safely aborted.
  • Failing to achieve the goal of the final mission is a mission failure.
  • Dead soldiers from the final missions are also recorded and counted.
  • No recovery of items/soldiers left behind in the final mission.
  • Unescaped soldiers in the final mission are missed in action.
  • No items should ever be recovered from a lost ground mission.
  • Soldiers/aliens react to fire/smoke only if it affects them.
  • Do not stop soldier movement if the soldier spots an alien that was already spotted that turn (and lost sight of again meanwhile).
  • Soldier animations should no longer be sometimes skipped.
  • Heal unconscious soldiers normally, as if they were awake, not by just 5HP per healing.
  • Do not show that it is possible to heal a vehicle.
  • Avoid crash when loading a save with a mind-controlled character.
  • Pay maintenance for items in transfer.
  • Show interceptors properly on geoscape after reload.
  • Save properly character's turns alive in save games (for zombie->reaper spawns).
  • Fix gibbed corpses to work like normal corpses (show/hide properly, etc.)
  • Characters killed in the air drop down and get a gibbed corpse instead of just exploding in the air and vanishing.
  • Prevent equipment from disappearing if a soldier cannot be equiped completely using a soldier role loadout.
  • Prevent reassigning soldiers when a dropship is out of base.
  • If aiming at ground, make it more likely that a missed shot will still hit somewhere near the aimed for place instead of hitting somewhere far off.
  • Do not possibly remove door open TU cost twice.
  • A shield at 0 HP should be already destroyed.
  • Fix handling of visibility of UFO hulls.
  • Properly sort by date in soldier memorial.
  • Fix crash on start of alien base attack.
  • Fix carrying of downed soldiers, carrying such a soldier to an abort zone and aborting now gives them a chance to be revived (similarly as if the mission has been won).
  • Psionic powers should work only soldiers that have not been stunned, escaped or similar.
  • Alien base should be properly destroyed if its power cores have been destroyed, even if the mission is otherwise a failure.

Testing

Please test this release candidate. The areas that especially need testing are

  • The new mod management UI in the launcher.
  • The show-roofs function in ground combat.

What is the relation between X:CE 0.31 and Xenonauts 1.5x?

  • Xenonauts 1.5x releases have been based on an older X:CE version than 0.31 and thus do not contain all these fixes. Also some X:CE changes have intentionally not been incorporated. See Xenonauts 1.5x release announcements for details.
  • X:CE 0.31 should contain all Xenonauts 1.5x fixes and new features. That being said, I was rather short on time for X:CE development in the last weeks and I have not verified this in depth, so it is possible that X:CE 0.31 is missing some of Xenonauts 1.5x fixes/features. I intend to handle this before the final X:CE 0.31 release (which may still take a while, depending on my time available).
Edited by llunak
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[*] Using a teleport if the other teleport tile is blocked by an enemy unit will result in that unit being telefragged. This prevents blocking off aliens on higher UFO floors. There is no change (teleporting will not happen) if the other end is blocked by a friendly unit.

Lots of good stuff in there, but this is probably my favourite. Elegant and brutal at the same time.

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Using a teleport if the other teleport tile is blocked by an enemy unit will result in that unit being telefragged.

Hey, what's up with that? First you take away my dual shields, and now teleport blocking; if you remove door spamming too, I won't have any cheesy "strategies" left!!! :P

Fix crash on start of alien base attack.

That'll be sweet, as I've been intermittently struggling with those crashes for a while now

Characters killed in the air drop down and get a gibbed corpse instead of just exploding in the air and vanishing.

Will the equipment from those corpses be recoverable?

Heal unconscious soldiers normally, as if they were awake, not by just 5HP per healing.

I didn't know this was possible. I thought healing unconscious soldiers had been removed as a "feature" a long time ago. So are you saying that if I have a trooper that's knocked down to zero to -19 HP, I can heal them to positive HP and thus guarantee their survival?

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Hey, what's up with that? First you take away my dual shields, and now teleport blocking; if you remove door spamming too, I won't have any cheesy "strategies" left!!! :P

Well, sorry. Would telling you about a cheat that gives a hoard of money be a sufficient compensation?

Will the equipment from those corpses be recoverable?

No, they still splatter all around. I did this quite a while ago, but if memory serves me well this is purely a cosmetic change.

I didn't know this was possible. I thought healing unconscious soldiers had been removed as a "feature" a long time ago. So are you saying that if I have a trooper that's knocked down to zero to -19 HP, I can heal them to positive HP and thus guarantee their survival?

As drages says, this is about stunned soldiers, soldiers at <= 0HP are technically dead until possibly recovered at mission end. But altering this by possibly requiring stabilizing such soldiers using a medikit may be buried somewhere in my todo list.

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But altering this by possibly requiring stabilizing such soldiers using a medikit may be buried somewhere in my todo list.

I'd vote for that idea. Maybe something like if a Xenonaut is "technically dead" (zero to -19 HP) he can be stabilized (guaranteed recovery) IF another soldier can get to him immediately (that same turn) and then spend at least another full turn performing that stabilization (in what is likely a risky and exposed position).

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The problem is not with voting, but with somebody actually doing it. Do you feel like, say, fixing all the holes in UFO hulls, so that I do not spend time on things somebody else can do and can spend more time on coding?

You are right about that.. CE coders should give more times to open more ways for modders with softing the hardcode parts rather then game fixing.. Game fixing is the main game developers problem..

For now there are very huge hardcoded problems out there. We need to have that points as softcode to make improve the game mostly about geosphere..

Chris and his team are already at finishing the fixing.. Thx for all of them.. i realy give nearly all my free time for modding because all body works so much for this awesome game..

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The problem is not with voting, but with somebody actually doing it. Do you feel like, say, fixing all the holes in UFO hulls, so that I do not spend time on things somebody else can do and can spend more time on coding?

I'll give it a shot, yes. The problem is that I nothing about how to go about doing something like that, and I might cause you more aggravation than it's worth with a hundred stupid questions. But if you're willing, then yes.

Edit: cancel that

Edited by dpelectric
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You are right about that.. CE coders should give more times to open more ways for modders with softing the hardcode parts rather then game fixing.. Game fixing is the main game developers problem..

I'm afraid your assumption is rather incorrect. I think Chris was rather clear on the fact that after the final Xenonauts release he considered the game to be more or less finished. He changed his mind (which might very well not have happened without X:CE) and there will be Xenonauts 1.5, but presumably that's just a temporary one time thing. Moreover it's quite possible that 1.5 will contain more fixes from me than from everybody else together.

And I'm not saying that to boast, as I can't say I would be that happy about that, since that puts in front of me the prospect of me being the only one doing the work soon. GH will sooner or later move on completely, presumably rather sooner than later (and it's understandable, given it's business for them), and in case it's not noticeable, "CE coders" is, since about September, me. (Yeah, too bad. If somebody wants to be touchy and overreacting like dpelectric today, there's nobody else. Quite frankly, I also wish there was. I prefer talking to computers than to complaining people.)

For now there are very huge hardcoded problems out there. We need to have that points as softcode to make improve the game mostly about geosphere..

If you main concern is with things being hardcoded, it actually shouldn't be that difficult to change for somebody who knows at least some C++ and goes with the community coder program. I would be willing to give such person hints on such changes, but as I've said already several times, there's only so much I can do, and I consider my time and effort better spent on fixing/improving the base game.

(And yes, drages, I still have your PM marked for sorting out, I was hoping I would reply with at least some answers, but given how things are, I'm afraid I actually won't get to any of that anytime soon, sorry).

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I understand u. I really would love to know c coding.. I just worked 12 hours non stop today on my mod. I love this game so much. Ppl can complain because I think they guess there are many ppl at ce project.. I thought you all dead and when I see this post I became very happy.

I only wish.. not want, just wish.. very few step left to get the ultimate game.. now we got very very good game and I am more then happy about it.. I cant thank you enough for your effort.

Take your time.. even you stop now u give more then enough.. caught... make the vehicles use 2 weapon.. caught.. :)

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If you main concern is with things being hardcoded, it actually shouldn't be that difficult to change for somebody who knows at least some C++ and goes with the community coder program. I would be willing to give such person hints on such changes, but as I've said already several times, there's only so much I can do, and I consider my time and effort better spent on fixing/improving the base game.

Solver was bugging me a while ago about this. I'm not a programmer by any means but I've played around with C++ and understand at least the basic logic of how stuff works (and have built a more or less functioning program). Not enough to do anything especially useful, but maybe enough to tinker?

Don't especially have the time to commit to it right now but if things are still rolling after New Year I might see if Chris is willing to let a rank amateur take a peak inside.

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Solver was bugging me a while ago about this. I'm not a programmer by any means but I've played around with C++ and understand at least the basic logic of how stuff works (and have built a more or less functioning program). Not enough to do anything especially useful, but maybe enough to tinker?

A bit hard for me to judge, but I think that should be enough to do at least some things. It really depends, things like "this value is hardcoded but should be configurable" should be fairly trivial, more difficult things depend case by case. And unlike people who signed up in summer you'd have the advantage that I've already become quite familiar with the codebase, so I can give guidance and review the changes, as time permits.

And I wouldn't worry that Chris wouldn't let you take a peek :).

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I understand u. I really would love to know c coding..

It's actually not necessary to be a coder for contributing to X:CE, there are improvements/fixes that can be done without writing any code.

Fixing holes in UFO hulls that I mentioned above is one such a case. It'd just need:

- launching the game in quickbattle with all UFO layouts

- using the GC editor for running around and inside all those UFOs to find all such holes

- using the map editor tools to fix the holes (or modifying the map files directly)

- giving me the fixed UFO maps

(And even doing just the first 2 would save me quite some time.)

So if you or somebody else would be willing to help X:CE in such ways, just say so. If you don't know how to do some of the things needed, I can try to explain in more detail.

Also, as a bonus, not only helping X:CE in such ways would let me spend more time on writing code, but I'm also much more likely spend that time on something such people need. I've already spent time several times on people who didn't actually do much in the end and/or disappeared, and while I don't blame them, such is life, from my point of view I could have spent that time better. But I know that helping somebody like kabill is time well spent. Such is life.

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Has Solver indeed left us? :(

While I've not been that active here at the forums lately, I've been actually working pretty hard on some map stuff... I'm currently making final touches to my Ultimate map pack and wondering if it should be finally included in the CE now as Chris suggested to me few months ago.

Edited by Skitso
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Has Solver indeed left us? :(

He's responded to my mail when I asked about updating X:CE on Steam, so let's hope it's just lack of time.

While I've not been that active here at the forums lately, I've been actually working pretty hard on some map stuff... I'm currently making final touches to my Ultimate map pack and wondering if it should be finally included in the CE now as Chris suggested to me few months ago.

Does that mean you don't want to keep it as a mod? Not that I mind including it directly with X:CE, but if your goal is making sure it reaches more people, I don't think it's necessary to do it this way. Now that there is the better mods UI, it can be included with Steam X:CE, and for non-Steam people it'd be nice to have a Wiki page that'd list all the nice-to-have mods.

Hmm, in fact, is it ok if it gets included with 0.31 on Steam? I expect it's still like 1-2 weeks before 0.31 is final.

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Entirely your choice but I'd actually happily bundle your map pack with the default V1.5 update on Steam and other platforms if you want. It'd have to be disabled by default so people have to manually click the tickbox in the mod launcher to have it activate, though, otherwise it'd look like it was an official piece of content.

If you're interested in that then PM me and we can chat about it, but obviously it's just a suggestion and I don't mind if you'd rather not. Steam Workshop is another way of distributing your mod to a vast number of people while retaining a lot more control over future updates to it.

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Same problem as above, Steam [community] - installed exe's from X:CE 0.31r2, I have a problem with steam_api.dll not found

Edit: (I've copied dll from other game. But I still think this should be noted [it works with this other DLL, but on clean install it was missing])

Edited by venthe
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