crispy

I first saw X-Com in 1995. I was unemployed and living with my brother, dead broke and down on my luck ... and my brother had x-com on his computer. I played the HECK out of that game. Later, when I moved to Japan, I started to miss it, and told him about it: and my brother bought me a copy of the collector's edition. Awesome brother, eh?

Update: Okay, just as background here, years ago, my brother bought me the X-Com Collector's Edition as a present. What a brother! When I switched to Mac this summer, I could no longer use CE without putting Windows on my Mac. I decided instead to use the dos version of X-Com on dosbox for Mac. Problem: The version I've been trying to play on dosbox started as a zip file. Apparently, because some of the files are old formats that Mac OS X is not familiar with, when OS X unzipped the file, some of the execs got messed up: do4gw, intro, run, tactical and geoscape In other words, all the stuff I needed to run the game. After much help from some very, extremely patient experts, I finally solved the problem, and the solution was 100 times easier than half the stuff we tried before we found the solution. Solution: If Mac does not like your dos version of X-Com: unzip the zip file on a PC, then transfer it to your mac. Should work fine. I only checked it for a second, but I think there's no sound. No problem for me though. I'll just put on some tunes! Update: wrong. sound's okay!

Hey, thanks for the help. I tried all that and it either A) gives me the black screen, or B) hangs up. I tried different variations, but not luck. I'll take a break for now and try again another time. Thanks for your help, though. I appreciate your time. I guess x-com just doesn't like my mac.

Thanks, bomb bloke. Did what you recommended. I'm getting only a black screen. Note, other dos games have worked for me, so I know dosbox is basically okay. At the top of Dosbox, it says: (When I type UFO at the c prompt, I get) DOSBox 0.72, Cpu Cycles: 3000, Frameskip 0, Program: DOSBOX (when I type UFOCD at the c prompt, I get) DOSBox 0.72, Cpu Cycles: 3000, Frameskip 0, Program: Intro. This lasts for about one minute, then the program changes to DOSBox. I pushed up the cycles and frameskip, but no change. However, after two minutes of waiting the program still says Intro for UFOCD, but I don't know if it means anything. I pushed cycles up to 6500 and frameskip to 5, but don't know if it really had any effect. Could be the program is faulty, or it might simply not like my mac.

Hi all, I've used x-com CE for a long time on a windows machine ... but I recently switched to a Mac. I'm now trying to get the dos version working, but I can't seem to get the dos X-com going under dosbox. could anybody give me a step by step run through for getting x-com working in dosbox? Dosbox starts with a Z prompt. I do mount c /xcom (to mount the xcom file as 'c'). I go to c do DIR there are several files to choose from: cdsetup.bat full.bat go.com install.bat intr.o noway.com setup.exe small.bat sound.cfg ufoc.d ufocd.bat welcom.com I've tried the ones marked in red but so far nothing is working. Any help would be appreciated.

I really know next to nothing about modding, but having seen what others have done (with map mods, uniform mods, weapon mods etc.) and I'm curious to know if it's possible to create an extensively modified version of x-com, but still retain the original, perhaps by renaming the .exe for the mod. Yes, I want to have my cake and eat it too. For example, would it be possible to make x-com into a WWII game? (change the aliens into different varieties of german soldiers, remodel alien ships and bases as bunkers or fortresses, remodel the maps into 1940s Europe, change the skyranger into a troop glider, D-Day LST (landing ship) or some such). And would it be possible to somehow change the exe name so that I can keep playing x-com as it is, but play the modded game too. I guess the question comes down to whether or not its possible to use the x-com game engine to create a new game. Can it be done?

When playing the actual missions, did you reduce the speed in the settings? One of the buttons at the bottom of the screen (on the mission screen that appears after your troops have landed) controls settings such as scroll speed, alien speed, firing speed, etc. (it's been a while since I looked at it, so I don't remember exactly what all is there, but I've used it a time or two when, in spite of the fodder patch, my game still ran too slow or too fast.) The fodder patch still works okay for me though. Could be your machine has a more powerful video card than mine, though my card's not bad. When all else fails, you could try turning down the video accelleration, but ... try the game scroll settings on the mission screen first.

I use X-Com Collector's Edition. I have Win XP on a 1ghz pc, and I have fairly powerful video card. I just reinstalled X-Com Collector's Edition on a new Hard Drive, installed the Fodder Patch (go to http://f0dder.has.it and select 'misc.'; Follow the instructions on the 'Read-Me' file, which essentially says to copy the Fodder files into the appropriate x-com folder, then make a short-cut from the new icon to your desktop for convenience). This has fixed not only the video problems, but also the speed. It may still run a tad fast, or sometimes a tad too slow, and may be a little buggy at times, with crashes (caused by corrupted save files?) but is otherwise great, and is easier and more convenient in many ways than other patches I tried. I would highly recommend the fodder patch for playing UFO in XP.

I landed at a crash site, and was equipping my crew when I noticed something odd among the equipment: a dead sectoid navigator. It's obviously a glitch or bug, but it really creeped me out that I had landed and somebody forgot to scrape the dead alien off the floor. I have no idea how it got there. Unfortunately, although I saved, it didn't occur to me to take a screenshot of it, and when I went back, although my crew hadn't left the ship, the alien was gone. Have you ever seen this?

I've beaten UFO a few times, and while it's still challenging, I do okay. However, TFTD seems a lot harder. Can anyone give me some advice on how to keep my guys alive longer? For example, is it better to split up (to cover more ground and protect my guys from berserk rookies shooting up the team) or is it better to stick together (more guns pointed in the same direction?) What's the best way to take out those little flying UFO-looking things? I'm early in the game and have only basic weapons. Which one should I do? (I have only gauss rifles and stun-lances at this point). Currently, I'm on a cruise ship at sea, doing a terror mission on the shipping lanes. My guys are in their craft, waiting to disembark. I've reloaded a couple of times, so I know what's coming. When I open the door, I'm going to immediately have: 1 flying ufo-dealie dead-ahead (let's call it 12:00) A second ufo-dealie at 3:00 and a third behind my at 6:00. There's a yellow horsie-guy at about 1:00 on the second level, in firing position (but he usually waits for me to shoot him). There's a second yellow horsie guy at 1:00 on the first level beyond a door, hiding behind some boxes, and a third just down the hall who's gonna pop out the moment I go through the door. Suggestions?

I found another site that seems to have the f0dder patch. You can try: http://www.xcomufo.com go to downloads click x-com (and/or tftd) and the first download should be the x-com loader bugfix. Install the patch. Then go to program files, microprose. There should be a little sun icon called Xcom1lder (xcom loader). Right click and copy and shortcut to your desktop. When you want to play x-com, click on the sun icon instead of the usual x-com icon and it should be okay. I haven't tried xcomufo.com's bugfix, but I believe it may be the same one. Good luck. Also, I wanted to say thanks to Alan. I wanted to check with him first and make sure I wasn't overstepping my bounds by posting a link to another x-com site. I know some sites offer illegal downloads, but since this one doesn't I thought it would be okay. Still, I wanted to check with Alan first to be sure it would be okay. Thanks again. Crispy.

On the reverse side, I had a base attack the other day, and I was sending all troops to close in on the last alien. Stupidly, I bunched up. Luckily, he didn't have a grenade or blasterbomb. He fired his weapon down a corridor, and the shot flew past 15 guys, without hitting any of them! It struck a far wall way behind them. Now I don't feel so bad about that sectoid that sat in a corner and got missed about fifteen times by stupid troopers standing three meters away.

Yes, with the unnecessary bases gone, my finances are clear, but Japan has signed a pact with the aliens. Got to clear that up soon. As for RM2k, I live in Japan, so I have legal copies (although they're in Japanese) of both 2k and 2k3, including the extra handbooks. (This is off-topic, but for those who are wondering, we're talking about game-making program)

Got a one-woman army story. Lost an entire 13 person platoon, mostly to stupidity, bad timing, and Mind Control. I was down to my last person. She had been mind-controlled earlier in the game, and so I had disarmed her. She was armed only with a stun-rod, and I was using her to clear corridors and draw fire so my troops could pin-point and draw out the enemy. However, the entire team bought it except her. In the end, she was left in a room with four aliens. By going into the alien chamber, stunning an alien, and then walking out, she managed to stay alive. For some reason, they didn't shoot her (well, they shot her once, but only once), and they wouldn't follow her through the door. So by hopping back and forth, she got all four aliens with her stunrod.

Okay, I'm having a little trouble with my finances. I had 3 bases. Alpha was a complete base with 20 troopers, 35 scientists, and 10 engineers. It had 2 stores, 2 living areas, and other basics. Beta and Delta each had 20 troopers, 1 interceptor, 1 skyranger, and stores. They were just a skeletal bases designed only to shoot down UFOs. Now after a few months, even with every country giving me funding, I was only pulling down about 500,000 a month. I sold off a lot of alien stuff (mostly bodies) but it didn't give me very much. Granted, I was keeping a lot of the weapons, Elerium 115 and Alien Alloys to use in the future for battlesuits (that I'd never be able to afford to build anyway). Does anyone have any hints on base management? I mean, there are slots for like 8 or 9 bases, but I can't afford even half that after 6 months. What was my accountant doing wrong?