maxm222 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 I'm putting slightly differen versions of this in both general and bugs since I think it applies in both. It's been a while since I've commented/reported anything, but I've managed to avoid the current plague, and although my 100-year-old mom tested positive at her old folks residence several weeks ago, she's actually doing fine now. Anti-bodies may or may not protect her after this infection (no one knows yet), but in the case of my mom, we're hoping. Still can't visit her yet, of course. And others at her residence have not done so fine--protect your elders! In any case, I hope all of you and your loved ones are healthy and hanging in there--and not totally broke yet. It's great to have games to relieve cabin fever and forget about where the rent might come from. Anyway: I reviewed comments that Chris and others have made over the past 12 months or so concerning the "Hidden Movement" graphic (HMG) that pops up to (supposedly) hide alien and friendly acitivity that are "out of LOS [Line Of Sight]." And I'm bringing it up again, since Chris said in Feb.: "keep reminding us [about the issue] every few months and you'll probably eventually catch us at a good time. : )." So I'm trying again, since I just played the last build and the issue is still around. However, I want to check something I noticed in looking back: Chris (maybe--not sure) and some others appear to think that my concern is that the HMG is annoying as opposed to actually broken--and I want to make sure I'm not misinterpreting what is being said, because I'm beginning to feel a little crazy about what you guys think or don't think..not that this would be that unusual for me. For example, Chris has said: "It's not a bug" and "The HM screen is only meant to be displayed if action is occuring that isn't in the LOS of your soldiers; it's literally meant to hide movement that is hidden." Now, I've noted the "meant to" wording, but other commenters have said sort of similar things along the lines of: "the HMG may annoy you, but it is just hiding stuff that your troops couldn't see anyway." After a lot of tedious checking and screenshots I've shared here, I've confirmed to my satisfaction that--on my computer--many if not most times what the HMG does is to hide alien action which is clearly within the LOS of my troops--including even alien melee attacks on adjacent soldiers (how can that not be in LOS?). I've also confirmed that the HMG will pop up even over totally black (undiscovered and no LOS) areas where the player can't see anything anyway! A couple of other members have confirmed these problems, but more seem to misunderstand what I'm saying, as mentioned above. So if most of the time the HMG varies between being redundant (since the non-HMG LOS mechanic seems to work just fine), and hiding alien actions which are clearly within soldiers' LOS, that means the HMG is significantly BROKEN, not just annoying, right? And yet, almost no else seems to be concerned about aliens getting to make sneak attacks in broad daylight with no cover--so to speak--and the player being deprived of information that is often important in making next-move decisions. The only reason I can think of for the lack of upset is that most members just assume that the HMG is working correctly, or maybe think that there is no way I am able to check on his? Any new thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Caine Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 I believe! Seriosly, you're right. I've seen that happen too lots of times. I just. Can't. Prove it! I suck at capturing footage, and it's captured footage that would be what prves it happens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxm222 Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 Thanks Max (great name, isn't it?)! And thanks for moderating too, while I'm at it. Well, if no one else believes me, maybe I'll re-run a "best-of" screen shots that accompanied my past rants.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 How hard would it be to completely remove the hidden movement graphic through modding? I don't imagine its as simple as modifying the stats for a gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Caine Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 You'd need to alter the code, and that's above my pay grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puciek Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 So... Can you post those screenshots where HM screen blatantly hides something you should've seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxm222 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 (edited) I"m working on it..see the bug reports (I think) for the first couple of examples. Edited May 22, 2020 by maxm222 clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxm222 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 (edited) Okay, here we go--as specific as I can make it. What is demonstrated here, happens in every game. See also a couple more examples in the "bug" section. We're fighting in the good 'ol container yard. I include it here because it's almost unrecognizable after I get done with it (below). Follow the numbers. Basically, the alien turn starts, an HMG plops down on the screen, and when I push it partly out of the way it turns out to be covering two aliens advancing towards friendly troops IN THE OPEN, IN LOS. Maybe the HMG code is reacting to some other alien that should be hidden--maybe the LOS mechanic that works fine every other turn has suddenly stopped working and the HMG springs mindlessly into action to prevent vital secrets like what's happening in front of the squads' eyes from them. It doesn't matter. It's broken, and as soon as a player is aware that the HMG essentially acts like a dog walking in front of the TV and looking expectently at you, frequently, in no predictable way, it becomes, for me, a deal-breaker for the game. If I saw this happening in a demo, or someone playing the game, etc., that would be it for me--I'd move on. That's why I'm spending so much time and energy on this--I'm hoping that very soon anyone new who might play the game or see it played doesn't see a random blocking of battle action.(Also, it really kills any fun left--for me--during the 200th play-through of a battle). I know others will have other reactions and I respect everyone's preferences. It's just that I'm guessing that both developers and players believe that the HMG is only blocking hidden action--and that's demonstrably not correct. And that's the end of my advocacy on this issue--if my evidence isn't convincing, I'll go back to making pink and blue Covid-19 baby masks... Edited May 22, 2020 by maxm222 clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxm222 Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 Oh wait: babies suffocate with masks. I guess I'll have to stick to rants about game mechanics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Do you guys think simply replacing the hidden movement image with a transparent one would work? It's one of the main reasons I got Xenonauts CE, to remove the image completely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruggerman Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 May be you should get a vote going, and see who wants it gone, you would have my vote!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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