Bringing Soldiers In From Ufo And Tftd

[Mylar]

I started a game of UFO on max difficulty, and have played in my spare time at work for quite a while (~two years RL time), I could have ended it long ago, but wanted to get my higher level officers some time in psi training before I end it.

 

I plan on using an editor to move my named officers (30ish of them) with me into a game of TFTD, and play it all the way through using them and whatever I pick up as recruits in that game.

 

That much is possible with an editor that I already have, and the stat conversion is linear between the games.

 

Other then moving my characters over I do not plan on cheating in any way, (including massive reloading).

 

My two most experianced characters in the current game, CrazyCarl and Doorman, have maxxed secondary stats, but still have quite a bit of room to grow in their primaries. They were both from the original starting crew from day1. I HAD three characters from the original crew, but my first commander, Louie, got waxxed a few months ago by a stray shot from the second story window of a farm house that I could of sworn had been cleared. My new commander is one of the two remaining originals, but he is the one with 30 bravery... of course...

 

Anyway, after they have been all the way through TFTD, I'd like to convert them into Apoc and do the same with them there. It has been a while since I've played Apoc, so I'm getting started on the logistics of this move early so that it is ready when the time comes (possibly a few years from now).

 

I'm looking for suggestions of editors and patches so that I can D/L them now and have them safe in case they are no longer available when the time comes to use them. I have my original CD still, so I don't need the game, just any patches since release.

 

Questions enumerated for ease or reply:

 

1. For the stat conversion, what all will be different, and are there any major changes in the starting/max values for Apoc that will require a %based increase or reduction to bring my transferred characters in line?

 

2. Psi has been split, suggestions on splitting/converting existing values? I plan on moving my psi skill with me into TFTD and just not using it till I get access to psi via research, I'll likely do the same with apoc.

 

3. Race questions, My best two Psi officers, Donny and Rasputin, have 99 and 100 natural psi, can I bring such characters into Apoc as humans or will I be forced to convert my Psi corps to Hybrids?

 

4. Were hybrids available from the beginning of the game, or do I have to do something in game to get on good terms with their faction first?

 

5. Suggested editor for use in bringing characters over from TFTD > Apoc? The conversion from UFO > TFTD is easy with an old editor I already have, but I do not mind outputting my soldier's stats to a spreadsheet and putting them into an Apoc editor manually if I have to.

 

6. I'll just move all 30 or 40 of my best guys to TFTD in one push at the beginning of the game, in Apoc I remember manpower being more of an issue, I don't mind trickling my guys in as the game progresses if that would be less unbalancing. Is there a possibility of just waiting till I hire a soldier in game naturally and then changing his name/stats and crossing off the one I brouht in from my spreadsheet?

 

 

Long winded post, sorry about that. I'm just looking for input and suggestions. Hopefully by starting this now I'll have a good Idea of what I'm going to do by time it comes time to deal with the conversion...

 

Wish me luck in TFTD!

[Robo Dojo 58]

1a. Time units (Speed) has been pretty standardized in Apoc. Most humans start with around 60-70 speed, and can reach 100 (as opposed 50-60, max 80 in X-COM). The largest variance in speed comes from encumberance, as it is nearly impossible to not feel a little burdened in Apoc. A direct carryover from X-COM will do fine, and leave some room for improvement. Add 10 if you really want to, but it is not necessary.

 

1b.Accuracy has been drastically changed in Apoc. Instead of a "tohit%" rating, it is stored in the game code as a "tomiss%" rating. The game displays this value as 100% minus your tomiss% rating. Larger values give your attacks a larger spread, and it multiplies with the inaccuracy of a weapon and any penalties. It works this way for vehicles too, only the accuracy percentages are displayed backwards (I.E. 25% accuracy on a gun is really 25% miss for vehicles).

Humans tend to start with 20-30% accuracy in Apoc, sometimes reaching around 40%. Accuracies of 50-60% are considered very good, and 70-80% is excellent. At 90+% accuracy (stored as 10-% tomiss), there is almost no penalty multiplier that can hurt your aim.

I recommend taking your unit's accuray, and cutting it in half. Then subtract it from 100 to find your tomiss value. A godly unit with 120 accuracy will become 60% accurate(40%miss), and a poor unit with 48% in X-COM goes to 24%(76%miss). This will leave you with very solid values, leaving room for advancement and some challenge.

 

1c. Stamina is viewed in game as being 1/2 of the stored value. Double the value before entering it into the editor, and it'll work nicely. You may get some low stamina characters who are weaker than the typical rookies, but it's not really a big issue. If you don't want that, then input a value which is 1.5x the original, and add 60-80. It'll narrow the range of your stamina to more typical values, buffing the weak and softening the strong.

 

1d. Strength was slightly inflated in Apoc, but its effectiveness isn't really that different. Give strength over on a 1:1 ratio, adding 10 to cover the conversion. This will keep your troops from being weaker than Apoc rookies, with some room for the elite troops to max out.

 

1e. Bravery obviously makes for a 1:1 ratio. Just remember that in both games, it's stored as 1-10, and the game display adds an extra zero.

 

1f. Apoc health commonly goes from 40-100, only going lower for the real weak ones. Add about 50% to health. Your 60 health elite X-COM troops become 90 health gods in Apoc, with just a little room to expand. If that's too much, add 1/3.

 

2. In apoc, the 3 psi stats do not improve past 3 times their original value. If your troops have been in training a long time, try to put them near that max of their capability. I don't know of any real good way to convert the values, but to fit humans within the confines of the game, just don't put your psi defense past 60, really.

 

3. Generally, all humans in Apoc are weak with PSI. If you want to convert them over, I recommend you make them a hybrid so they don't really stand out as hacked. There is no real difference between humans and hybrids, it's just a little out of place to have a 99 psi-power human. A hybrid with 100 energy, 98 attack and 97 defense is just fine and dandy however.

 

4. I haven't played Apoc in so long... I usually find them after a week or so. They come from the mutant alliance, it's easy to not be hostile with them.

 

5. No input from me on editors. Sorry. However, you'll likely have to do it by hand.

 

6. Living quarters in Apoc hold 10 people at a time. Plus salaries won't be cheap, money is tight in the first few weeks. I recommend you add the troops over time. It's not too much to trickle them in up to week 3 or 4. Not to mention the hand cramps you'll be getting from typing in all those stats! Just keep in mind that typical Apoc missions can be managed with much fewer soldiers than X-COM/TFTD, so a total squad redeployment may not be necessary. Cryo freeze only the best and brightest!

Edited October 10, 2006 by Robo Dojo 58

[[NKF]]

Just a note on stats: you can actually enter the values well above the Apocalypse limit levels, so you could enter your 100+ accuracy if you wanted. However, the way Apocalypse handles its experience system, these stats will actually degrade until they reach the proper maximum levels. As androids do not earn experience, this doesn't happen to them. But these old dogs won't learn any new tricks either.

 

For hiring - you just have to be in a non-hostile state with the Mutant Alliance for hybrids and SELF for the androids. I think you may get a better chance of these recruits actually showing up in the daily randomised hiring list if you're in very good standing with these organisations. Even when allied, there are just too few of these recruits for my tastes (Well, the androids at any rate are quite rare). Just be on good terms with them and you'll do fine. There's also a special mission in the alien dimension where you get to rescue some harmless descendants of your old enemies - this will improve your standings with the Mutant Alliance if you aren't already allied.

 

- NKF

Edited October 11, 2006 by NKF

[Robo Dojo 58]

Just a note on stats: you can actually enter the values well above the Apocalypse limit levels, so you could enter your 100+ accuracy if you wanted

This is true for everything except the accuracy. Accuracy is represented as 100 - (0-255), leaving you anywhere between -155% and 100% accuracy. Units can start with 65% accuracy in X-COM, which is well above the 20-30'ish% that your rookies get in Apoc. While 100% accuracy is very good in X-Com, units in Apoc with 100% accuracy will have perfect aim while airborne, running, dual wielding heavy weapons on autoshot. You can't directly compare or convert the stats between the two games, as accuracy works differently from X-Com to Apoc. Namely that it is a far more potent attribute per point in Apoc than X-Com.

 

Everything else in Apoc reaches higher numbers than X-Com, more or less. A direct carryover in stats with a slight bonus will keep your guys at the same relative power, while leaving room for the higher Apocalypse caps to grow in power.

 

As for the other attributes:

Health max is 255

Stamina max is 127.5 (255/2)

Bravery 255... with a 0. (2550)

Yadayada 255 255 255 (you get the idea)

Accuracy 100(perfect aim under all conditions).

Edited October 11, 2006 by Robo Dojo 58

[Mylar]

Thanks guys. This is just the kind of stuff I needed.

 

I'll use Robo's guidelines for converting them in with some headroom to grow.

 

My goal in this is not to have super uber characters and make the game easy, it's to have the SAME unit of characters make it all the way through all three of the games. I'm hoping that one of my original two will land the killing blow on the final boss in the alien dimension, but it's gonna be rough keeping them alive through TFTD. Even if they do not make it, it will still be the same unit, soldiers have already come and gone and even the dead ones leave their mark on the corps.

 

Aka, it's not their strengths that I'm intrested in, it's their quirks... Like Carl's bloody 40ish accuracy that he started with. Or Doorman, who had the unfortunate honor of being the first one out of my skyranger for the first 10-15 missions as I was trying to get him killed(30 bravery) until I noticed that his rather cruddy starting stats had blossomed nicely. The T&A twins, Two Soldiers named Em who are heavy weapons queens. Donny, who was a suicidal rookie named Donny Osmond (so I could giggle when he died) till he managed to live through that first month of psi training and popped out with a nearly maxxed psi str...

 

Trickling them in to replace staff I got normally works fine for me, as does converting my Psi heavy characters into Hybrids... Gonna be kinda weird seeing them with the buggy eyes though. Ahwell, IIRCC, unit models in Apoc are pretty much indistinguishable anyway.

 

As far as editors, should I just grab them all and stick em in an archive or is there something similar to clarkwehyr for ufo that stands well above the rest?