Space Voyager

Interesting, this adding sand to the paint. I hope to remember. Nice job!

Crap, I obviously bought it once upon a time. Oh well.

::
 
To be released by early 2019.

HE HE HE, who would have thought that these people even hear about a country this small!
 
I agree on this Russian hacker, he does eat like an animal - and he did stop making interesting vids long ago. Usually I skip them (and will probably get him off my subscription list) but this one got my attention.
 
Thanks for the vids, seems that the content is not completely the same.

Never knew what our soldiers eat when kitchen is not nearby. Now I do.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdHVkJYwJ48

@SV: you almost sound like Thulsa Doom - "Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they learn why they fear the night."
 
::
 
Onto other, better futures:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdKNQvkc4NA

I designed Area 51 exactly to keep it as close to the original as possible (i.e. no changes/"improvements" to the mechanics) while adding new enemies, maps, research, etc.
 
 
Try Luke83's Extra UFOs mod - Area 51 already includes it - if you want more variety in UFO layouts

NKF, wanted to follow up and say you're absolutely right about the latest nightly -- OpenXcom 1.0 is not worth downloading compared to the update. Two of the mods -- Area 51 and XFiles -- sound like they expand gameplay without removing what made the original fun, but I decided to stick with the original for now (and XFiles in particular is pretty incomplete according to the forum). The Hardmode Expansion mod might be worth playing too.
 
Actually, instead of OpenXcom, I decided to go with the OpenXcom Expanded + mod, which is based on a fairly recent "nightly" and adds some extra options. Some things I love:
- Tons of options to enable with just a click, including a bunch from XcomUtil and UFO Extender.
 
- I love the radar detection range lines for bases and ships; such a small change makes a subtle but significant improvement in appearance and gameplay!
 
- Removal of the 80-item limit, and the unit limits, and having storage/alien containment facilities that actually work correctly...keeping lean is such a habit that bringing extra stuff on missions feels kind of bizarre, like I can actually have a ship loaded with equipment and decide (on mission start) what to use based on the opposition. I haven't had a base/retaliation mission yet but I think the change will be an incredible enhancement there.
 
- I also like that I can enable Aliens getting wounds, and giving them the ability to pick up weapons, with a single click enabling those. (I read some posts with disagreements on these options but I think they should've been implemented in the original). I've decided the weapon range of 50-150%, instead of 0-200%, is also a nice option.
 
- Being able to set manufacturing to automatically sell things is another great, subtle feature. I love micromanaging (everyone who loves XCOM pretty much has to love micromanaging) but it's nice to have that option to set-and-forget when I don't need to manufacture specific equipment for using.
 
- The graphics. The graphic options are actually rendered better than the original, while still being the original graphics. Lots of fun graphic options too (CRT and Curvature were awesome to see -- annoying to actually use, but cool that they're an option). I ended up using the default OpenXcom shader/smoothing effects as they looked best to me, while still capturing the feel of the original.
 
- Gameplay speed is perfect. I like most everything slower so I can see each thing that happens, like a board game or chess match. The original game had optional adjustments, but some things would go way too fast on modern computers even with the slowest options set.
 
 
Some things I miss:
- XComUtil included the ability to randomize UFOs that had crashed or landed. It sometimes worked, and when it did it was pretty cool...but it was also buggy. I'd like to see that again someday.
 
- XComUtil included the ability to gain research help from captured aliens, but I couldn't find that option or a way to edit it into OpenXcom (other than giving free research for interrogating an alien, which would be too powerful if overused).
 
- XComUtil included the ability to sort soldiers globally. The sorting capabilities in OpenXcom are a significant improvement over the original (which didn't have it at all) but with XComUtil I could sort all the soldiers at all the bases with one batch file against a saved game. It required exiting the game and running the batch file, but was still fast and easy compared to organizing soldiers at each base separately.
 
 
Editing changes was simple once I got the hang of the .rul files. I did all the changes I made through hex editing 10+ years ago, and most changes took minutes instead of hours. Plus I was able to add a few other fun things:
- Added more civilians in Terror missions, and added a few civilians running around in other missions. Boosted civilian running speed to add to the chaos. Also reduced the score value of civilians so my change in frequency doesn't result in too high/low scores for those missions.
 
- Added more aliens, and more potential variety of aliens on missions.
 
- Changed alien equipment for more variety, and all alien technologies available from the start (blaster bombs on a day 3 crash site was a fun experience...for me, not my soldiers...).
 
- Changed how soon new alien races might appear, and increased late-game variation so it's not as likely to be the same alien race over and over.
 
- Boosted alien stats across the board, and significantly increased psi strength on aliens so they're less likely to be mind controlled or panicked. Also results in higher-strength psi attacks from aliens, making psionics scarier. Also gave all Sectoids some psi skill, so early Sectoid missions are harder.
 
- Changed weapon stats (alien weapons boosted, earth weapons degraded, some equipment made much heavier) and made armor stronger on aliens and soldiers so getting one-shot-killed while wearing armor is much less likely (but still possible from heavy plasmas and blaster bombs). Also made power armor stronger than flying armor, so both are viable depending on what's desired for a mission.
 
- Increased initial and monthly funding from countries, because I like having lots of money to play with and making country funding more essential than manufacturing for generating income.This also offsets the difficulty, since losing entire teams and Skyrangers can happen in the first month now (which would be pretty much game-ending without funds to replace them).
 
- Tripled manufacturing times and increased all research 10x, to slow down the pace of the game (my favorite part of the game is early/mid game, so this extends that fun for me).
 
- Changed soldier order and facing on all ships. Seems to work just like XcomUtil, but took a couple tries to get right. Only tested on the Skyranger so far but should work on the other ships (even if it requires a few adjustments).
 
- Recreated my massive statstring logic from XcomUtil, which only took a couple times to get right using OpenXcom semantics. This was the most time-consuming change though because I couldn't just cut and paste (the language and logic is different, but equally powerful). Talking hundreds of lines here.
 
 
So far I'm in game date March 14, 1999. I've lost 29 soldiers so far (8 to friendly fire), failed 4 out of 13 missions, killed 70 aliens and captured 13, spent over $200M, and have only completed research on laser weapons and laser pistols (but just hired a bunch of scientists in two dedicated research bases, so should start getting more technologies in a month or two).
 
And that's another thing I love in OpenXcom -- the statistics and soldier memorial screens, and other little extra-detail screens after missions.
 
I know OpenXcom isn't the original game, and that the executable code has been entirely replaced in an attempt to mimic the gameplay experience. But the developers, and all the modders, have done a phenomenal job here. I feel like I'm playing the original game, with most XcomUtil features I liked plus my own hacks, and with what seems to be fewer bugs, more stability (absolutely no crashes so far), better UI, and tiny, subtle tweaks to gameplay that make it better without making it different.
 
I'll have to play a few more game months to see how things go in future missions, but so far, this has become my favorite version of one of my favorite games. And from what I've read on the mods, Area 51 especially, it looks like there's potentially even *better* versions to try out in the future!

Pro tip: use a stud finder before drilling any holes or putting in screws. Do that, and you'll be fine SV.
 
- Zombie

HE HE HE!!! Sorry if I find games like this a bit funny... It could be useful when you're buying a new comp though.
 
What we need are games in which you play games. Oh, we have those!!!

HE HE HE, so true!

Good commanders always prime the High-Explosive for 0 turns only to find out the soldier is too weak to throw it, then drop it out of desperation and get caught in the blast anyway. If that isn't one of Murphy's Laws of X-COM, it should be.
 
Oh, I added some pics of a Medalist International Floppy Disc Folder to the MicroProse (Other) portion of the page just now. Medalist International was a division of MicroProse Software, in case any of you are wondering how that ties in. The folder can fit 4 floppies (mine was preloaded with MPS demos), but it also has a vinyl pocket which is barely wide enough to fit a fifth, though I doubt that's what the intended use of it is for. (Possibly for a business card)? An interesting piece, that's for sure.
 
- Zombie

Even the item from the first X-COMs seem to be endlessly trickling in, and new games didn't really help with completing the collection!

I have no idea, and I even used to be in the scouts program.
 
Well, I didn't have much time this last week to do anything due to work, so today was the day to change that. Since all the X-COM/XCOM promotional item pages are up, I was finally able to create a proper menu at the top of each page to make it easier navigating between game items. So go check out every promo item page - I think it turned out fantastic!
 
I removed the last of the XCOM items from the main promotional item page, and moved the Bureau sticker set to it's proper page. I even added three (technically four) items to the MicroProse (Other) section today: a David Leadbetter's Greens golf kit, a Medalist International patch and two MicroProse software patches - one is new, while the other is identical except it was off of "Wild" Bill Stealey's flight suit. (Bill Stealey was the co-founder of MicroProse Software). While I couldn't find any pictures of him wearing this specific patch there are a few pics of him wearing a blue patch of similar design and size on the net. All of these items are super rare, so you can join me in drooling.
 
Tomorrow I'll be adding some XCOM 2 items and building on some existing XCOM entries with more pics. Stay tuned!
 
- Zombie

SCOUTS JAMBOREE PATCHES?! I see games infiltrated the last of the human shelters...
 
How can a game jamboree patch even come to exist? Who comes up with such an idea?

Dudes...
 
Seriously though...
 
Dudes!!!

We will and we hope you will, too! Happy New Year everybody!

The Tasmanian Devils are already partying in the future - let's get ready to join them.
 

 
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Have a good one you all!

If that was aliens I was not notified that I'd need to dust off my heavy plasma and fight.
 
- Zombie

Ok, as I had no idea if that really was a rocket I did some "research" on linked vids.
 

One can hope!

Well, I feel a little bad for not updating everyone on my collection recently. There have been some acquisitions most notably:
February 6: X-COM: TFTD German CD version. While I do have the German CD version already, this actually came in the box for the floppy version with a big, round, white sticker on the front announcing it was the CD version. Kinda different.
February 12: XCOM 2 Iron on patch (set of 4 different styles). Another XCOM 2 Chinese made merchandiser but pretty decent quality.
March 19: Pack of 16 Gamestop XCOM 2 Promotional Box Art Sleeves... supposedly. I had to open up the package to investigate the sleeves, but I think it's actually one of those multi-sheet XCOM 2 posters you see on eBay. In other words an aftermarket creation not officially licensed by Take 2. That was a disappointment, but at least it was cheap @ $4.77.
March 26: em@il X-COM American version. I lost my copy and picked this up for a song @ $10.77. Brand new, not sealed, but how often do you see these come up for sale nowadays?
April 1: Computer Game Review and CD-ROM Entertainment "Sealed with #1 Game Disc" July 95. So I had the disc already from ages ago, but finally found it with the magazine and sealed. That's pretty rare for 1995. For $18.83 I thought that was worth it.
April 19: Hasbro Action Man Doll Red Jumpsuit Micro Prose Race Car Driver Good Condition. Not really X-COM, but MicroProse related. Talked the seller down because my research indicated the doll was not complete (missing some clothing items). It's huge: 12 inches (or 30.5cm) tall and actually better than good condition. The seller was from Israel so shipping was pretty expensive, but I got the whole thing for $25 which wasn't bad.
July 20-21: Picked up both UFO: Aftershock and Aftermath Greek versions of the game. Kinda hard to find these in other languages and the thing which sweetened the deal was free shipping from Greece. $12 for each. Again, not X-COM/XCOM, but rare and related... sorta.
August 2: XCOM Field Team Bag - Penny Arcade Expo. This was from the first XCOM ARG game announced which later became The Bureau. Super-duper rare made out of army green canvas type material with metal clasps and black printing. Talked the seller down a bit due to it being niche, and got it for $82. Maybe a little expensive, but I don't see these coming up at auction at all.
October 31: X-COM Apocalypse Magic Civilization 2 = Best Of MicroProse Strategy Bigbox. When I say bigbox, I mean BIGBOX! The thing is literally 3 inches thick (or 7.6cm). It's a miracle the three versions actually fit inside, there isn't even one millimeter of clearance. By far the highest ticket item so far this year @ $93.22. Why so expensive? It's a German version, shipping is expensive from Germany, the condition is excellent, it's complete and it's rare. I had my eye on this for at least a couple years (and possibly more if it was the same seller when I saw it 4-5 years ago) but the price never came down and no other copies showed up. When eBay ran a 20% off sale, I finally splurged. Well worth it.
November 6: "The Power of 2K" 2K Games XCOM, Bioshock Gamestop 26" x 36" Promotional Poster. Actually it's XCOM 2. Another Gamestop poster, but this is pretty rare. Picked it up for $2+$6.90 shipping.
November 7: MicroProse Vintage Crew Sweater XXL. Not actually a sweater but a sweatshirt. Yeah, I already have one from Quentin, but this is a little bit different as it's made by Fruit of the Loom. It's a little faded and there is a small discoloration spot but overall it looks fairly new. $20.99 w/free shipping is too good to pass up.
November 9: XCOM 2 Steelbook. I didn't have this yet and the price was always so high I got cold feet. But when I saw it for $20.91 including shipping, I picked it up.

So that's what I've been up to. Not exactly the biggest acquisition year (at least so far), but there have been some really cool and rare items in the mix.
 
Unrelated: but a fun sort of related. Let's back up a bit to October 14. I was on vacation with my dad in Tennessee to visit my brother. He doesn't drink much beer so the first thing we did when we got there was to go shopping at a local grocery store for a build-your-own-6-pack. There was actually a pretty good selection. What we setled on: bottle each of a German beer, a can each of a TN brew, a can each of another TN IPA. At the last second, I changed my mind on the last one and got this instead:
 



 
UFO beer? Hell yes! Huckleberry? Sure! Hefeweiss? Sold! It was actually pretty good even though there was only a muted huckleberry finish. Wasn't too strong at 4.8% either. Why they put a picture of blueberries on the front is beyond me, huckleberries look nothing like that. (Thumbs up please, my first two site related pictures with my "new" camera. Getting my feet wet with it).
 
- Zombie

Right now we have reached all the corners of the Earth, have all the continental bonuses, researched all important stuff except for the Andromedon corpse, which gives us proximity mine, an Item that I practically don't use.
 
We are still lacking Warden armor, because 75 Elerium Crystals are hard to come by and I've used some to create Icarus Armor, Gremlin Mk3, Alien Psi Amp, but I think my next goal is to finally build that damn armor. We are almost ready to hit the underworld, well we need to do those 2 mission from Shadow Chamber, but that will come once every basic research topic is done. We are still missing NKF and Mr. T promotion to Colonel too, but they should be close enough.
The fighting is now super easy with all those items, skills etc. But still that damnable protect the device mission is just ludicrous. Even with updated health to 78 I barely won it. Thanks to stupid Sectopod hitting it for 11 damage. If Codex wouldn't swap with it for couple of turns it would be gone. In the end it had like 7HP left. That's stupid and I've activated pod each turn (almost) and killed it the same turn it was activated. I'm sort of trying to avoid it, but if it's the only mission that gives me intel, which I need to buy attachments and Elerium through black market...
With the ability to add weapon addons the SPARK is now finally doing something nice - like hitting aliens.
 

 
Some random posters from recent missions:
 



 
And a bonus one.
 

 
That prayer didn't save him from SVs keen eye.
 
 

So one campaign is over, second begins. Now with more glitter.
 
The result of operation gatecrasher.
 

 
And already the game fucked up two costumes. But...
 

 
Strategy Core members never fail.
 
 
And here is a quicky for propaganda.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of extending ideas to create a theory...