Bman's UFO Ease of Use Mod

[LarkinVB]

For those who want to play a good mod compilation which does add better functionalty but does not change game mechanics as much as SageXCOM mod does.

Latest version does add an additional ingame option menu so you can set what to use and what not. I think SageXCOM should add such a feature.

Check it out here

[PhoenixD]

Ingame options menu?

...yeah, we'll have to ste- borrow that.

[NefariousKoel]

Gonna give it a shot, thanks for the link.

[Wolf Woof]

ORIGINAL: LarkinVB

For those who want to play a good mod compilation which does add better functionalty but does not change game mechanics as much as SageXCOM mod does.

Latest version does add an additional ingame option menu so you can set what to use and what not. I think SageXCOM should add such a feature.

Check it out here

This is a very nice mod....highly recommended.

[Temple]

Can this mod be used without starting a new game? 

[Wolf Woof]

Yes I had a game going and installed the mod and kept right on going with my latest saved game. No problems.

[JHAYES3489]

I love this mod, it gives you the flexibility to adjust the game to your liking. GREAT WORK

the lastest version even puts a glow around commanders

[Temple]

ORIGINAL: JHAYES3489

the lastest version even puts a glow around commanders

Now *that's* something that will make this a must have mod [:)]

[JHAYES3489]

Indeed, although I was confused how it would be displayed. I was kicking the doors down in a vipon base last night looking for commanders, expecting to see one that looked like he'd received a high dose of radiation, not the case. The icon appears with a yellow border, as pictured. Still very handy, and thank you Bman [&o]

I love this mod, and check daily for updates. To me, it's made this game a true X-COM experience.

Here is a what you'll see when you find a commander using BMan's 1.7 mod



Personally, I think I'd be cool if you could scale the model up a bit (25%). So when you see a big ass alien, you know he's the one with the goods.

The alien bounty option is nice too.... helps the cashflow, I have mine set to 20k like the old days

[Da_Junka]

If you start playing with Bmans mod you will never return to vanilla, it adds so much juicy stuff and everything is optional to.  v1.8 is out with screaming tarts and civilians that poo themselves.[:)]

[jonpfl]

Can anyone tell me how I install this mod or point me in the right direction (another post or a readme)? I read that you unpack a file but am not sure what that means.

Thx
jonpfl

[PDiFolco]

ORIGINAL: jonpfl

Can anyone tell me how I install this mod or point me in the right direction (another post or a readme)? I read that you unpack a file but am not sure what that means.

Thx
jonpfl

Look here : tm.asp?m=1459915

Basically you have to get a small proggie (xbig.exe) to unpack a game file (system.xbg), then you change the extracted basic files (they are just plain code editable with notepad) with modded ones. Only tricks are :
- the proggie works in console mode (like MS DOS) !
- you have to replace the original packed file with a blank dummy cause else the game still loads it in priority
- and there's no tool to repack things !

It took me 2 minutes to make it right on first try, it ain't that complicated [;)]

[GalacticOrigins]

I just want to confirm before I try and install.

1. Old Save game files work, Bman said yes, I will take this as Yes.

2. I can turn off all the tweaks? Such as ...
_____  A. I like the slow weapons fire and alien movement and want that vanilla.
_____  B. I like the cost of ammo 'as is' since it makes money tighter (as it should be)
_____  C. I like the use of ammo 'as is' since that, too, makes money tighter.
_____  D. Vanilla use of ammo gives a reason for workers to be busy, which is a problem that is integral to the game imho.

There may be more, but I do not mind added functionality (kill tally is a very nice feature). I DO mind changes to the stock game, as listed above.

BTW, can Mission Count also be added?
How about adding ...
___ Favorite Weapon for this soldier
___ Rounds Fired by this soldier
___ Hit Ratio for this soldier
___ Type of kills for this soldier or just for all of CAF (by alien type)
Contacts Shotdown
Total Missions flown by CAF
Worker Hours spent on tech items (hard, there are many items ...)
Longest Tech to be researched
CAPABILITY TO MAKE RESEARCH SLOWER (other than stick with one lab, ad lab really cruises thru the tree)

All I can think of atm. the last three are not that important

Anyway, I may try this. The Kill Tally alone is worth it. I stay away from most mods since they change things too much for my liking, but this one looks good. [8D]

[Wiz33]

  I install this mod right after I installed the game so I have never player the game without mod and I cannot imagine doing so now.

[cdbeck]

Great mod, I can't play vanilla now because of the BMAN mod either.

Wish it was a little easier to install though, like all of the mods. Also, does anyone have a bit more graphical chugginess after installing the BMAN mod?

SoM

[Mister B]

ORIGINAL: GalacticOrigins

I
2. I can turn off all the tweaks? Such as ...
_____ A. I like the slow weapons fire and alien movement and want that vanilla.
_____ B. I like the cost of ammo 'as is' since it makes money tighter (as it should be)
_____ C. I like the use of ammo 'as is' since that, too, makes money tighter.
_____ D. Vanilla use of ammo gives a reason for workers to be busy, which is a problem that is integral to the game imho.

All of the tweaks are optional with Bman's mod. The only things you cannot turn off are the bug fixes and the interface improvements.

[GalacticOrigins]

OK, thanks Mister B! Appreciate the info. [:)]

[GalacticOrigins]

Couple of notes:

1. I can no longer change levels for viewing. The level change is not available (greyed out). I have to click on someone that is on a given level to change view levels. This makes selecting soldiers harder.

2. Right clicking no longer de-selects a soldier as easily as it used to.

3. Enemy AI, these aliens are now much harder. Especially the machines. They are slow and dumb, but they retreat now, which is a great tactic for them but OUCH. Oh, and they are in groups, like 5-6 at a time. That means 50-120 hits from the weapons you have when you first meet them. Grenades, some rockets, and an advanced early tech weapon work well, but the this early tech weapon is like range 4-5, so you have to get close with enough AP to use it. When the machines retreat, it is much harder. Dunno about this. (Later on, machines are less of a problem due to a certain tech 3 weapon. You do not need many of these weapons as they are only so-so against living targets and not as accurate, but still.) Since their detect range is longer, in an open field map it is way hard. Hopefully no one will get the map I just had ... [:(]

4. Now that grenades are used by aliens, I think their range is too long.

5. The game animations are choppier on some maps, like City. Dunno why. I use standard speed animations. Maybe that has something to do with it. (I disliked even level 2 animations as it was too fast and went back to x 1 faster, normal.)

6. The Day-Hour change to production time is kinda nice. However, it makes producing large quantities of items kinda not useful.

---Example: I order 4 suits of level 2 armor. A mission is coming up and I am close to producing a suit. With the change, I have to lower the number I am building to 1 just to see if it is nearly finished in time for the mission. Then I have to readd the other 3. Or, I can only build one at a time. (YUCK, since making laser ammo would be a MESS!). Since I am on HARD difficulty, money is very tight, and so I juggle my few workers around a lot. I can no longer do so since I have NO IDEA when the next item is going to be ready. I only know when the entire order is going to be ready.

---Basically, I liked the old production percentages better. However, I would approve the DAY-HOUR settings for Research.

I do not use most of the other settings, except kill totals (YAY!). They do, however, allow certain players to fine tune to their personnal desires and that is Very Good. [:)][8D][;)]

I am mostly concerned with 1 and 2 as they are interface oriented.

[Mister B]

Problems with the mod should probably be posted to the thread linked at the beginning of this one. I'm not sure Bman even reads this thread. In regards to changing level views, the mouse wheel works for me, and I believe there is a hotkey for it as well. Can't speak to the 2nd issue, I haven't noticed any changes there.

[GalacticOrigins]

Forgot about the wheel ... I can use that.
 
I was only posting some opinions, none are Major Problems. I like the mod overall and reccommend it.