Info (Long War)

Current Version

Long War 3.0 Beta 14g Download

Change Log

http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Bugs_%28Long_War%29

Current Version Read Me

XCOM: Long War EW A modification for the 2012 Game X-Com: Enemy Unknown with the 2013 expansion, X-Com: Enemy Within. v3.0 Beta 14g * Release Date: Nov. 29, 2014

• Chief Designer and Programmer: JohnnyLump
• Chief Programmer and Designer: Amineri
• Chief UI Programmer and Artist: XMarksTheSpot
• Programmer and Chief Quality Assurance Specialist: Ellatan
• Senior Contributing Programmer: WGhost81
• Sound Editors: TrackTwo, Matt Lees
• Contributing Artists: JCLewis, Ebolii, lfish, Obstbanane, IvanDogovich, Kordolius, Zyxpsilon, Neonin, AlexGlitch
• Contributing Programmers: TrackTwo, Liquid911, Part Time Commie, Uberjumper, Drakous79, Bertilsson, Bokauk, BlackAlpha, Guicomir, MuckBeth, Peasly Wellbott, Oddball_E8
• Translators: Noganeto1 (Spanish), Aldo32 (Spanish), Kordolius (French)
• Linux Port: Shivoc, Falex007, WGhost81
• Mac OS/X Port: Thither, Anderkent
• Thanks to: Kevin Schultz, Dan Price, Roland Rizzo at Firaxis Games for some expert assistance
• Thanks to: DubiousIntent (X-Com's modding archivist), Hobbes (for his excellent XCOM wiki, http://www.ufopaedia.org/ ), Uzifeline, Gugacuardo, Tapkomet, Ogel, and Thunder_GR(soldier name lists), Heramael (copyediting)

"Takes XCOM to a new level." -- XCOM lead developer Jake Solomon, via Twitter, April 23, 2014 https://twitter.com/SolomonJake/statuses/469913573578530816

"This mod is the absolute best way to play XCOM" -- Wired, Nov. 17, 2014 http://www.wired.com/2014/11/mod-absolute-best-way-play-xcom/

"This is a collection of profound and surprisingly careful changes ... It's like a free expansion pack ..." - Rock, Paper, Shotgun http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/05/16/xcom-hardcore-mod/

"Terrific ..." -- Kokatu, Aug. 6, 2014 http://kotaku.com/5878852/the-12-best-games-on-pc

Named by PCGamer one of "the 15 most brutal mods of all time" and in November 2014 was the site's Mod of the Week. http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/10/05/the-15-most-brutal-mods-of-all-time/3/ http://www.pcgamer.com/mod-of-the-week-the-long-war-for-xcom/

• You must have a legitimate version of Enemy Within to play this mod. This mod is for games with the March 10, 2014, patch, what we're calling EW Patch 3. The game version is still listed as 401776.

An Enemy Unknown version of this mod is available on the Nexus.

• For the latest version of this mod, go to XCOM Nexus: http://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/

Endorsements on the Nexus are welcome! They help promote this mod so other players can find it.

• We want your feedback! Please post on the Mod page on the Nexus, or in the Long War entry on the "Mod Talk" forum, on the Long War mod entry on the 2kGames X-Com forum, or feel free to PM me through the Nexus. Please read the "known issues" and "vanilla bugs" entries below before reporting a bug, but if it's not there, let us know!

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR DONORS!

BLATANT SELF-PROMOTION Check out mod designer John Lumpkin's science fiction novels, Through Struggle, the Stars, and its sequel, The Desert of Stars, available as an e-book and paperback on Amazon and elsewhere. Visit www.thehumanreach.net for details. In its May 2012 edition, the venerable Analog Science Fiction magazine called it "all good, great fun." A sequel, The Desert of Stars, was published in March 2013. And take a look at Long War artist lfish's portraits and illustrations here: http://www.danaillustration.com/

PLEASE READ THIS README, ESPECIALLY THE ENTIRE FAQ, OR SOME GAME EVENTS WON'T MAKE SENSE

• This mod makes more than 700 changes, large and small, to the vanilla versions of the game. It is harder and longer than the vanilla version but gives you many more tools to combat the alien threat.

Some of the changes in this mod include:

• An extended campaign requiring far more missions to complete
• Tactical missions that allow up to twelve XCom soldiers per mission with the right upgrades
• Eight soldier classes: Infantry, Assault, Sniper, Scout, Gunner, Rocketeer, Medic and Engineer, and eight MEC classes: Valkyrie, Marauder, Jaeger, Pathfinder, Goliath, Archer, Guardian and Shogun
• New and modified perks, including Ranger, Sapper, HEAT Warheads, Lock N' Load and Javelin Rockets
• New and modified technologies, including Xenopsionics, Alien Biocybernetics, Pulse Lasers, Gauss Weapons and Advanced Aerospace Concepts, and many new foundry projects
• Five tiers of XCOM weaponry, many new weapons, like SMGs, marksman's rifles, and the sawed-off shotgun, armors and small items, and SHIVs that can be equipped with perk-granting small items!
• Much earlier access to psionics and vastly expanded psionics tree, with new psi powers unlocked by alien autopsies and interrogations
• A system of commissioning and promoting XCOM officers who provide bonuses to your entire squad during missions (replaces the EW medals system)
• Overhauled interception game, with five new UFO classes, such as the fighter, raider and harvester, as well as six interceptors per continent, foundry projects to upgrade your aircraft, individualized pilot names and pilot experience, and the Stingray Missile weapon system
• Overhauled strategy game, in which the aliens gather resources and conduct research -- efforts XCOM must interdict if it hopes to save humanity. XCOM can now retake countries by finding and conquering alien bases in those countries. Help council countries defend themselves by fulfilling their requests for alien technology!
• Aliens and EXALT forces now grow tougher over time, gaining stats and perks. Enemy units will have leaders who are particularly challenging, and will sometimes be real monsters! You will also see greater variety in alien pods.
• Overhauled system of weapon damage
• Requirement that soldiers rest after each mission, requiring the player to build a much deeper roster of soldiers
• Modified second wave options to support longer campaign

Most of the specific changes will be detailed in in-game text ... many game mechanics have changed, so read perk, tech and item descriptions closely! They may not do what you expect from vanilla.

• Perk trees for all classes are in a file in your XEW directory, or here:

http://home.comcast.net/~johnnylump/Long_War_3_perk_tree.jpg

• Tech tree is in a in your XEW directory, or here:

http://home.comcast.net/~johnnylump/Long_War_3_tech_tree.png

• A Long War wiki is hosted on UFOpeadia, here:

http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Long_War (It needs contributions!)

THANK YOU FOR TESTING A BETA. PLEASE NOTE IT MAY HAVE STABILITY PROBLEMS AND OTHER BUGS, SO PLAYING IRONMAN OR WITH AUTOSAVE OFF IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. IT MAY ALSO HAVE BALANCE ISSUES.

• If you want a cleaner version of this mod, you should play the EU version or wait until this version is final.
• Please check the Known Issues first, and if your issue isn't listed, we want detailed feedback on all of those things on the Long War EW Beta feedback forum.
• Make sure you post your difficulty level, any Second Wave options you are using, and whether you started a campaign under this version, or a prior one.
• Also note that Future Betas/Final versions may invalidate existing campaigns.

To install

• If you are upgrading from Beta 3 or earlier, you should verify back to an up-to-date vanilla install.
• If you are upgraded from Beta 9a or earlier, you must start a new campaign.

• If you have ever played with any other mods on your EW install, or have changed some files yourself, verify back to a vanilla installation of EW before installing Long War. If you have any trouble with installation, do this as well.
• Disable any antivirus software. We have specific reports that Comodo security software can prevent a proper install; some have reported installation problems with it *on* while others with it installed but *off*. We have separate reports that BitDefender Free will crash XCOM with this mod.
• Make sure you have the latest .net framework installed.
• Run the installer.
• When you select your path to install the mod, you should receive a warning that the directory already exists, although we have had reports that it doesn't if you run in the installer in admin mode. If you aren't in admin mode and don't get this warning, you may have selected the wrong path.
• Start the game once. You may receive a CTD error; this appears to be some aspect of the mod completing installation and making nice with Steam. Start it again, and it should run.
• If you have been playing vanilla XCOM in a language other than the one you installed it in, switch XCOM to the installed Long War's language via its properties in Steam.

If you get multiple CTDs upon starting the first mission, and/or see only four soldiers in the Skyranger during the first mission, or see graphical glitches with some of the new weapons, this may be evidence of a bad install. You may try the following steps

• Go to C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\Config
• Delete all files in that directory.
• Start the game and see if it works.
• Make sure three files are NOT present. They will cause CTDs on launch. If they are, delete them and start the game:

{app}\XComGame\CookedPCConsole\XComGame.upk.uncompressed_size {app}\XComGame\CookedPCConsole\XComStrategyGame.upk.uncompressed_size {app}\XComGame\CookedPCConsole\Engine.upk.uncompressed_size

• If that still doesn't work, Go to C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS UDERNAME\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\SaveData
• Delete or rename the file profile.bin. You should to check your graphics and other settings ingame after this.
• If that doesn't work, we've had reports that installing Long War again, over the existing copy, may fix the issue. Note this will probably prevent the included uninstaller from working correctly, and you'll likely need to verify back to via Steam to uninstall.

Installation notes

• This mod will overwrite several game files and likely render multiplayer unplayable until you uninstall.
• We don't think it will work on Macs, although you are welcome to try and give us feedback.
• The mod will not work properly on vanilla EW campaigns, so you'll need to start a new one. Campaigns are saved even if you uninstall, so you should be able to return to vanilla campaigns. Long War campaigns probably won't work well in vanilla.
• If Firaxis / 2k issues any patches to vanilla XCOM, it will overwrite and disable Long War, and almost certainly make the mod unplayable until the modders are able to update it. Unfortunately, turning off automatic updates to the game in Steam, via the game menu / Properties / Updates tab, does not prevent patches from loading. Your savegames should be preserved, though.
• If you want to use alternate game textures via Texmod, install them AFTER you fully install Long War.
• If you install this mod over an existing version of Long War EW, you won't be able to uninstall back to vanilla; to do so, you'll have to go to Steam and use the "Verify Integrity of Game Cache" option (under the Xcom game menu / Properties / Local Files tab) to restore your game to its original settings. You should also do this if something goes wrong with the uninstall.

To uninstall

• Uninstall via the usual Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Programs feature, or verify back to vanilla.

Troubleshooting

If you hit something that seems to be a bug, try the following steps and see if any of them clear up the problem

• Save your game and reload.
• Save your game, shut down XCOM and Steam, and restart.
• Save your game, shut down XCOM, and restart your computer.
• Save your game, shut down XCOM, delete all files in C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\Config, and restart XCOM.
• Consider verifying your XCOM install back to vanilla and reinstalling the mod per the instructions above. This will not remove your savegames.
• If you are getting periodic slowdowns or lockups on the Loading User Settings popup, try: 1) deleting most of your old savegames (in C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\SaveData) 2) turning of Cloud synch in Steam, or 3) Playing in offline mode.
• Find the file Long_War_EW_Detailed_Install_Troubleshooting.txt in your XEW folder and follow the instructions there.
• Report the bug on the Nexus. Please include the difficulty and any second wave options.

If You Get a Crash To Desktop

Please help us by posting crash output on the LW EW Beta Nexus subforum.

• Describe the circumstances of the crash.
• On most installations, go to this directory: C:\Users\YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\Logs
• Open the file Launch.log in a text editor.
• Scroll to the bottom of the file and look for the line that says "Log: === Critical error: ==="
• If it is present, copy that line to the end of the list of functions that were called and post on the subforum.

It should look like this:

• [0019.24] Log: === Critical error: ===
• Unknown code token 04
• XGExaltSimulation Command1.TheWorld:PersistentLevel.XGExaltSimulation_0
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGExaltSimulation:GetPanicMod:00F5
• Script call stack:
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGGeoscape:Tick
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGGeoscape:GameTick
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGGeoscape:UpdateShips
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGShip_UFO:OnArrival
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGAlienObjective:NotifyOfSuccess
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGStrategyAI:LogUFORecord
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGCountry:AddPanic
• Function XComStrategyGame.XGExaltSimulation:GetPanicMod

• Unfortunately, this stack dump doesn't occur very often in the log, and if a function list isn't present, it is unlikely we can do much with your post.
• If you can repeatedly reproduce this error after reloading your save game and taking the same steps, we may want your savegame. Please PM johnnylump on the Nexus with details, and he'll get you an email address for you to send the save.
• In any event, accept our grateful thanks for helping us debug the mod.

IF YOU GET A BAD ALIEN POD SPAWN (in an inaccessible or off-map location)

• Save and exit the game.
• Find the launch.log file as described above.
• Upload it to a file-sharing service.
• Alert the devs, specifically WGhost81, about the circumstances of the spawn and how to retrieve the file.

• Included software:

XCOMEUModHelper by UberJumper

Acknowledgements

• Amineri and XMarksTheSpot for UPKModder
• Eliot van Uytfanghe for UE Explorer
• twinj for discovering how to rescript functions
• Gildor for Unreal Package Decompessor
• Inno Setup 5, by JRSoftware.org
• Also special thanks to Neonin for the Long War logo on the Nexus mod page! Check out Neonin's UI Texture Replacement mod for livelier in-game icons and other graphics: http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/382//?

Take a look at some playthroughs here http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?showtopic=1049348

Permissions

Please contact me (JohnnyLump) via private message on X-Com Nexus before redistributing any files with this mod. If you're a modder, check out the discussion "Long War upk changes" in the Mod Talk forum for how to implement specific changes in this mod in your own.

FAQ General

Q: I'm fairly new to XCom. What difficulty should I start with? A: Normal.

Q: I'm an XCom vet. What difficulty should I start with? A: Normal.

Q: But I'm really awesome at -- A: Sorry to interrupt, but just start with Normal. We don't have easy difficulties in this mod that hold your hand while you learn the ropes, and we've removed every bit of code we can find that cheats for the player on the lower difficulties. It's going to be hard. The other difficulties are just harder versions of normal; feel free to move up when you get a handle on all the new mechanics.

Q: Say what? Ten HP outsiders with regeneration in the first downed UFO mission? I love all the new X-Com options but don't like the difficulty. Why did you make a mod that is so hard? A: This mod was made by people who loved the vanilla game but saw lots of opportunities within the engine for much deeper strategic and tactical play, and for a greater variety of problems to throw at the player. When someone tells us it is too hard, there might be any of three things going on: 1) The player hasn't adapted to the changes in the mod and expects their suboptimal strategies to succeed (We believe this is the case with outsiders). We have a Long War strategy subforum on the Nexus page you can go to for advice. 2) The player's definition of fun is different from ours; they expect the game to provide them easier situations, make solutions more readily available, or be geared to provide the illusion of challenge but actually make it pretty easy to win. In this case, the player should play an easier difficulty setting and/or use the cinematic mode second wave option, which gives accuracy bonuses to both XCOM troops and aircraft. The player can also mod LW to their personal preferences or play another mod. Long War isn't for everyone. 3) The mod really is unreasonably hard (or bugged in a way that makes it too hard) and should be changed. Specific feedback about the situation and how you attempted to address helps us; general complaints about difficulty really won't induce us to make any changes.

Q: Okay, I get it; it's hard. But I'm a casual player without a ton of time or Grognard levels of strategery. What starting settings would you recommend? A: Play normal difficulty with only the Not-So-Long-War and Cinematic Mode Second Wave options activated. This is probably somewhere close to vanilla classic difficulty and Marathon duration.

Q: I'm supertough and insist on playing Ironman. A: That's not actually a question, but understand there could be campaign-ending bugs or corrupted savegame issues that we can't do anything about. Periodically back up your savegames or face the prospect of losing all your work. You've been warned.

Q: I want you guys to add feature X. How do I tell you? A: Post in the Long War Feature Requests and Suggestions subforum on the mod homepage on the Nexus. We do read the suggestions and have adopted many of them that sound fun and are technically feasible. We can't always reply, though.

Q: I want to mod feature X myself. How do I do that? A: Many, many game settings are contained in the file XEW\Config\DefaultGameCore.ini, which can be edited with a text editor, and your changes will take effect the next time you load the mod (no other changes are necessary!). Ingame text is in INT files in the localilzation folder. If it's not in either of those files, you'll probably have to make hex changes to the upk files, which is considerably more complicated. See the "Modding Long War" subforum or the general XCom Mod Talk forum on the Nexus for details.

Q: Can you make a shorter version of Long War? A: Try the "Not-So-Long-War" Second Wave option.

Q: Can you make a longer version of Long War? A: Try the "Liberators" Second Wave option.

Q: I love this! Can I give you something? A: For those who want to directly support the modders, we have placed a Paypal donation link on our Nexus page, but we are not allowed to request, reward or publicly acknowledge any specific gifts (sorry, but we really are deeply grateful), in accordance with Nexus' policies that prohibit any kind of appearance of "selling" the mod. In addition, you're always welcome to buy JohnnyLump's sci-fi novels through www.thehumanreach.net.

Q: May I redistribute some of/all of this mod on the Nexus or another web site? A: No, not without specific permission from JohnnyLump.

Q: I want to make some changes to the mod and redistribute that. May I? A: No, but contact johnnylump via the Nexus messaging system. We may grant permission to distribute settings and localization files for alternate Long War experiences, but we are unlikely to allow redistribution of the core mod (upk) files. Again, permission isn't granted unless he says it's OK, and we won't agree to allowing you to accept donations or posting it anywhere other than the Nexus.

Q: Do I still have to disable phone home like in Long War EU? A: No longer! The mod fixes the exe so that is no longer required.

Q: Can I use other mods like Toolboks with Long War? A: It depends, but often you may not. Other large-scale overhaul mods (if anyone every makes any others) will not be compatible, nor will mods that change ini settings or ingame text by overwriting ini and int files. Mods that make individual changes *may* be compatible if they search and replace hex. If they search by absolute offset within the upk (like Toolboks), they will not be compatible unless they are made specifically for Long War, but those that search and replace hex regardless of location in the file have a good chance of working. Keep an eye on the Long War modding subforum; we'll post possible changes you can make yourself if they are easy to implement and frequently requested.

Q: I keep getting the same maps every other mission! Is there a fix? A: Press ALT-F10 once during the game. The only feedback you will see is the XCOM shield spinning briefly in the lower-right corner, but this resets the file that tracks which maps you've already played. What is happening is some of Long War's repurposed maps are being treated as "new" and repeatedly pushed to the top of the queue; by resetting your log the game will treat all maps equally.

Q: I installed the mod, but got error 0xc0000142 when I try to run the game. A: This error is known to occur when people install mods on pirated copies of XCOM. The mod only works with legitimate Steam versions of the mod. This includes the boxed DVD version, which requires Steam to install. While this occurs because of something the pirates did (and not us), we don't support pirated versions and will not troubleshoot these problems; the solution is to buy a legit copy of the game.

FAQ - Specific Gameplay Questions

Q: How do I win? A: Win the Temple Ship mission, same as vanilla.

Q: How do I lose? A: All 16 council countries have to defect from XCOM. That's it. A succesful alien assault on XCOM HQ no longer ends the game.

Q: Hey, I lost a country with little panic in the first month! Is that supposed to happen? A: Yes. And if the aliens grow strong enough, they'll do this again, although you can stop those missions once launched. (It's just really hard.) Find and defeat the alien base in lost countries and you can get them back.

Q: A really big UFO just landed in my home country in March! How am I supposed to beat that? A: Basically, you're not. (It's possible, though.) The aliens have an active strategy now, gathering resources and conducting research and going on other missions not directly related to XCOM's operations. They're going to do their thing, and sometimes you'll cross paths with them when they are doing something they feel is rather important and have brought along a massive force to defend it. The penalties for XCOM aborting that mission early on are usually small, so don't feel obligated to sacrifice your force to win that one. Try to avoid the temptation to repeatedly save scum through these missions; you are denying yourself the full Long War experience by hamstringing the alien AI so much.

Q: I just ran into a mission with tons of powerful aliens. How am I supposed to beat that? A: Again, you're not. Part of the tactical challenge of the mod is to recognize a bad situation and retreat.

Q: What's that little shield by each country in the Situation Room? A: That represents the country's ability to defend itself from the alien incursions. Fulfilling council requests from that country fills the shield and increases that country's ability to resist panic increases caused by alien activity and helps protect any satellites overhead from detection by alien scouts.

Q: Why do all my starting soldiers have genemod armor? A: That's a new armor, the tac vest, which anyone can wear. Long War EW introduces 7 new armors (for a total of 14) generally built as lighter armors allowing more mobility at some cost of protection; we used the genemod armor bases to represent these armors. If you don't like the look, try some of the alternate decos, which will minimize the sleeveless effect.

Q: Why do my starting soldiers have Exalt weapons? A: Exalt weapons have been repurposed in Long War and now serve as the default ballistic weapon set (along with the traditional shotgun). Exalt lasers are now the beam-laser class of weapons; vanilla XCOM ballistic weapons are now the Gauss class of weapons, and XCOM lasers are now the pulse laser class of weapons.

Q: One my weapons did zero damage after a hit! Is that supposed to happen? A: Yes. When this happens, you'll usually see a blue icon with a shield and a number. That's a measure of "Damage Reduction" -- how much damage bounced off the enemy after a hit.

Q: I just bagged a sectoid that had mind-merged to another sectoid, but it didn't die; it only took some damage. Is that supposed to happen? A: Yes. XCOM Psi troopers can get mind-merge, too, and we suspect you wouldn't want the effect to kill two XCOM troopers at once, would you?

Q: My soldier's status shows "fatigued." What does that mean? A: After missions, soldiers need to rest for several days to recover from the intensity of combat and exposure to strange alien chemistry. During this time, they will not be auto-loaded into mission rosters. You can still send them on a mission (with no loss in capability), but after the mission they will suffer a light wound, representing exhaustion, and will be unavailable until they recover.

Q: Why are my arc thrower stun chances so low? A: Arc Throwers are no longer nearly automatic; your best case is a 55 to 60 percent chance to stun an alien. This is to make capturing aliens a meaningful and dangerous challenge. With Long War's increased mission count, you'll have far more opportunities to stun aliens and get their stuff, and you wouldn't want Alien Containment to overflow, would you?

Q: I only got a few Meld from a canister on the first mission? Is that supposed to happen? A: Yes. The amount of meld you get will vary, based on something we'll let you figure out.

Q: I saved some of the civilians on a terror mission but panic still went up! Is that supposed to happen? A: Yes. Your job on terror missions is to minimize damage by saving lives; every civilian killed raises panic in both the country and on the continent.

Q: I captured an alien but can't interrogate it. What's up with that? A: Review the tech tree and you'll see that you need to perform an autopsy on a species before being able to interrogate it.

Q: How do I set default colors / armor deco / headgear for my soldiers? A: Look for the file DefaultGameCore.ini, which is in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\XCom-Enemy-Unknown\XEW\XComGame\Config in a standard Steam installation. Open it in a text editor like notepad. About 40 percent of the way down you'll see a comment "Initial soldier appearance." The next several lines set various default appearance numbers for various classes. EDIT THIS FILE AT YOUR OWN RISK. The range of allowed colors and styles are in a separate text file, Long_War_EW_Armor_Kit_Codes.txt.

Q: I have lots of detailed questions about mechanisms within the game. Is there a wiki? A: Work has begun on a wiki, here: http://ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Long_War . It needs contributions. We have also put an extended FAQ/proto-wiki up as a locked forum thread, here: http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?showtopic=1631968

New Commands

Tactical Game

• ALT-1 through ALT-8 Select individual soldiers (doesn't work with soldiers 9+)
• ALT-O Overwatch all soldiers with moves remaining (Note there is no confirm dialogue when you hit this; it doesn't work if the currently selected soldier is in motion)
• ALT-F1 Toggle HUD (for screenshots)
• F2-F9, ALT-F2 through ALT-F6 New camera angles, F2 is overhead; ALT-F5 and ALT-F6 are closeups
• ALT-F7 Sets slomo to 1.0 (normal animation speed)
• ALT-F8 Sets slomo to 1.15 (accelerated animation speed, still looks pretty realistic)
• ALT-F9 Sets slomo to 1.5 (extremely accelerated animation speed, looks unrealistic)
• ALT-F10 Reset map cycler (Do this once if you are repeating a few maps over and over, but this should no longer be necessary with campaigns started under 3.0 Beta 10 and later)
• MAX ZOOM This option, in your interface menu, lets you set the closest zoom level the camera can normally go
• CAMERA PANNING This option, in your interface menu, lets the center mouse button activate full control over camera pitch and yaw.
• RESTART MISSION This option, in your pause menu, lets you restart a tactical mission. The map and enemies will not change. This is not available in Ironman.

Mission Control, Strategy Game

• F1-F7 Rotate Hologlobe to XCOM base on each continent, plus North and South Poles (we've also fixed the vanilla bug that disabled mouse control of hologlobe positions)

Any Time

• ALT-F12 Hard Quit to Desktop

Tips:

• Many players have reported this mod to be more difficult than vanilla X-Com. A number of strategic game elements are more random, and no longer are the parts of the strategy game that drive the narrative forward so simple to accomplish: They take meaningful amounts of time and resources, even as the aliens gain additional tools to beat you. Be prepared to abort missions and lose satellites and countries. Improvements in soldiers and technology will often be incremental rather than transformational. There isn't some dominant strategy deliberately embedded in the settings for you to root out; instead, you'll have to mix both long-term preparation with short-term flexibility to deal with crises.
• Expect to lose some battles. A key part of tactical play is knowing when to retreat to preserve your force. Save-scumming to win extremely difficult missions can have a dramatic impact on the rest of the game and deny you the full Long War experience.
• You may attempt to retake alien countries by defeating the alien base there. You'll need to orbit a satellite over that country to find it, and the aliens will do everything they can to shoot it down! You'll also need a new skeleton key for every additional attempt.
• Your interceptors now have a chance to detect UFOs on their continent in countries where no satellite is present. If the aliens seem to be concentrating on a country where you don't have a satellite, stationing interceptors nearby will give you a chance!
• Council nations will now hit you with many more requests for items than you can possibly fulfill, so be selective. Every request you fulfill gives that a country a better chance to resist panic (as indicated by the filling in of the small shield in the Situation Room).
• Any soldier can attempt psi training, even if they have failed in previous attempts. A greater will score makes you more likely to succeed. Note that Psis cannot become officers, however.
• Armor-piercing aircraft weapons are necessary to down certain UFOs, even early in the game.
• Satellite spam is no longer an effective strategy; you'll fall too far behind on research. Labs are now vital.
• Keep a spare satellite on the launch pad. You can't get every UFO, and the survivors will sometimes send hunters after your birds.
• Plan ahead! Everything takes time to build now. Minimum Engineer requirements may also be more of a factor.
• You'll find you'll usually want more than you can afford; be prepared for shortages in cash, meld and alloys, in particular, in the early and mid-games, and weapons fragments and Elerium late game. * Selling alloys and elerium may come back to haunt you later. Landed UFOs are a terrific resource.
• With the long injury recovery times and soldier rest requirements you should maintain at least 30 troops in your barracks.
• Interceptor buffs are much more useful than in vanilla, but don't expect to bag every enemy UFO. You can still keep panic at bay by at least making an attempt.
• UFOs will blow up entirely more often if you use high-damage weapons for the final hit.
• SHIVs are no longer a sideshow, but a crucial part of your team from the start. MECs are something you won't be able to field until midgame.
• In the late summer months, casualties of experienced soldiers may mount. Look for projects that help you maintain the ability to field a powerful combat team.
• You absolutely must have HEAT weapons (either via perks or the SHIV item) or chem grenades to take on Cyberdiscs and Sectopods. They will be very difficult otherwise.
• Enemies with area-of-effect weapons can be hindered with suppression, poison, mindfrays and flashbangs, all of which reduce their range.
• In emergencies, you can take fatigued soldiers on missions, but they will suffer the equivalent of a light combat wound (from all the drugs you had to juice them with plus overexposure to alien chemistry.)
• Both low and high cover provide more protection than in the past, and offer a measure of damage reduction from most weapons. Low cover is now 2/3 the value of high cover in many respects (instead of half).
• Don't neglect psionics early on! You need a highly developed psi soldier to win the game.

Permanent known issues, don't think we can fix

• CTD on first attempt to play after install. We think this is Steam adjusting to the larger LW files. Solution: Try again.
• Changing game difficulty in the middle of a tactical mission will reset all alien leaders and navigators to base hit points for that species and should be considered more of a cheat than it normally is.
• Loading savegames in tactical missions can cause problems, including: recheck of panic when a soldier is critically wounded and awaiting stabilize; cancelling hunker down status; resetting certain flags intended to prevent you from doing things like using Run and Gun and Close Encounters on the same turn. These can be exploits and you should feel really, really bad for using it.
• Sometimes critically wounded soldiers have a bad z and can't be revived. Save and reload often fixes.
• Certain map errors. These are probably hard to tell from other errors, but if the problem is related to something in the map itself, we are unlikely to be able to fix it. This includes: 1) Doors failing to block visibility as you would expect (this includes a hang that occurs when overwatch fire goes through a closed door); 2) Line of sight issues; 3) Bad pieces of terrain you can't climb on or have weird cover interactions with; 4) preactivated pods; 5) Rare alien teleports to get out of bad positioning; 6) ladders blocking flanks
• Close Combat Specialist is flaky. We didn't change it; it's unlikely we can fix it.
• Rapid double-clicking (such as with a dying mouse that automatically does this inadvertently) can screw up your interactions with the engineering UI and charge you tons of cash for a single transaction.
• Periodically, the map script for the XCOM HQ assault mission will be interrupted. Reload an earlier save or (with ironman) use the dev console to restart the mission.
• Sharpshooter perk shows in soldier's active abilities list when soldier is in full cover (instead of when target is in full cover). Still WAD on targeting detail.
• Female weapon models not aligning with pawn correctly
• Flying creatures will sometimes stack on the same tile during movement
• Squadsight + flanked shows erratic behavior and doesn't always offer crit bonuses.

Changelog

Hotfix 14g (Nov. 29, 2014) Features

• You may now select and equip your soldiers for the HQ defense, with some important limits: You will be required to equip 12 soldiers (this number is moddable in DefaultGameData.ini and LW default may change based on feedback), but only a random five will be available immediately, with three more as reinforcements (one automatic, the other two dependent on losses). The remainder were pinned down somewhere else and will not show up on the mission at all (and receive no fatigue or XP). Blueshirts will be largely unchanged from B14, although reinforcements will almost always arrive based on keep you at 6 XCOM soldiers and 2 blueshirts, so no more gamey sacrifices of those guys. Aliens will also sometimes bring leaders on the HQ Assault, which the leader level and frequency increasing with alien research. They will also work to protect their assault carrier better.
• Hangar ship list will contain an icon indicating whether aircraft is a standard interceptor or Firestorm
• Critical Wound will penalty now exposed as an ini variable for modding
• Added scroller to soldier equip UI allowing more 6 items (armor+weapons+items) to be equipped. Note for modders: Small items in slot 4+ may not supply charges in tactical game; we may try to address this in the future.

Fixes:

• CTDs and some other weird behavior at interception initiation (with short-range weapons and maybe Sparrowhawks)
• CTD when an ethereal psi-reflects twice in a turn (we think vanilla bug)
• Lockup when SHIV tries to reinforce a HQ assault and gets stuck in the door. Shivs will no longer go on these missions.
• Lockup when you have covering fire, sentinel and Neural Dampening all on the same soldier, you overwatch, and a mind control is used against you. (Fix: Being dazed cancels any overwatch shots)
• Bug in which randomized alien drop downs were not taking place
• Added explicit check for panicking in whether Close Combat Specialist triggers
• Incidents of zero damage will still do zero damage if targeted is shredded. This is to fix cases of shredded ethereals taking 1 damage when a psi reflect event occurs.
• Reworked how item discounts/rush costs are calculated so rounding issues don't make it advantageous to build a single item rather than several.
• Ready For Anything will now trigger when Adrenal Neurosympathy fires after a kill
• Combat Stims provide immunity to crits when not flanked or exposed
• Psi Abilities will no longer apply shredding debuff with Shredder Ammo
• Cyrillic font should look nicer now
• Officer bonus perks properly removed from MECs now
• Removed hyperwave beacon from list of salable items (due to bug in gray market); increased sale price of alien entertainment to compensate
• You shouldn't be able to co-equip Psi Grenades and Flashbangs now
• XCOM reinforcements in HQ Defense should spawn in order of barracks sorting now
• Sectopod AI won't try to clusterbomb airborne units
• Medikit preview blinkies will correctly take Smart Macrophages into account in all cases
• EMP Cannon should work properly in providing loot chances now; exposed its effectiveness to the ini
• You can change hairstyles on special soldiers now (Zhang, etc)
• Finishing a lab should correctly update time to completion of current research project in UI
• Added IsLocationOccupied check to prevent aliens from dropping on tiles already occupied by soldiers.
• Reverted Commander spawn points to default for Supply and Battleship UFOs, because of UFO volume not being determined properly for those ships.
• You should be able to train Rift before activating Gollop Chamber again if other requirements are fulfilled
• Some crit bonuses will no longer be displayed twice in shot detail when attempting precision shot
• Field commander rank should show up correctly in barracks now
• Drone self-destruct will actually entail them self-destructing and not just taking damage
• Panicking units will automatically unstealth, and cannot be stealthed with ghost grenades. This was to fix some buggy behavior but we're fine with the nerf to stealth, too.
• Some scrolling improvements
• Fixed bug in which abductor research missions were providing no alien research bonus
• Attempted Fix (again): Tried to remove Steady Weapon ability from EXALT AI possibilities in a second location in the AI code
• Attempted Fix: Found and eliminated case in which you could generate XCOM HQ assaults two months in a row, contrary to design intent for that not to happen
• Attempted Fix: Rare cases of units blocking tiles after death.
• Attempted Fix: Tile blocking after a suppression-caused reaction fire shot

Balancing:

• Lowered sectoid commander aim significantly so their AI decides to use psi powers more often.
• Removed brutal and boring Van Doorn map from terror mission roster. Added new gas station map in its place.
• Steadfast perk (and Alien Trophies and Mind Shield) now provides immunity to Muton Intimidate ability. Mutons will no longer intimidate XCOM soldiers that they can't see (so at squadsight ranges or hidden).
• Mind Merge provides greater DR (1 per 45 will)
• Adjusted spawn settings again to better spread out alien pods, but again raising the still-slight risk of a spawn appearing in visual range of XCOM LZ.
• Mayhem provides +4 damage (sted +2) for sniper and strike rifles
• Thin Men should show up more often in general encounters
• Reduced meld provided by mectoids (3 to 2) floaters (.5 to .4), Heavy Floaters (1 to .8 ) and Exalt Elite (1 to .8 )
• Slightly changed Commander Pod location randomization algorithm to produce more diverse results.
• Rapid Reaction now allows a third overwatch shot if the prior two hit
• Buffed will of Temple Ship Muton Elites
• Some aliens will have access to Neural Damping perk
• MEC-3 armor now has two small item slots instead of one. Removed tactical sense perk from MEC-3 armor. Increased engineer requirements for MEC-2 and MEC-3 armors slightly.
• Mimic Beacons now work on a caster will versus alien will mechanism, so aliens have to fail a will-based saving throw to be affected by it. Raised cash price and will penalty of MBs slightly.
• Scientist and Engineer Loss on defeat during HQ Assault will cap at 1/3 of current staffing
• Increased meld cost of some items and foundry projects
• Amped up alien base forces a bit. Aliens will have a higher chance of rolling navigator abilities, and "Itchy Trigger Tentacle" will be activated for the alien side during base assaults (representing them being on the defensive).
• Removed some sectoid automatic will upgrades, made some more powerful navigator sectoids instead (so the critters will vary more)

- New soldiers and blueshirts will equip assault rifle or assault carbine and tac armor or tac vest based on their aim and mobility rolls. You can set their ability score threshold for equipping them in DGC.ini.

• Soldiers will cost $25 on all difficulties.
• Increased damage caused by drone self-destruct for big drones.
• Increased costs significantly for Ghost Grenades, somewhat for Chem Grenades. You'll need more bodies.
• Increased elerium costs for flying and psi armors.
• Tweaked up frequency of interceptor base attack.
• Frontloaded some rocketeer aim gain to early levels, removing some from later levels.

Special Thanks for advice, ideas, support and feedback from many people, including but not limited to: Adam T., Agammamon, Albrecht S., Alec K., Alex E., Allen S., Allen M., Amanasleep, Anaxibois, Anders H., Anders J., Andrey S., Angel R., Anthony S, Antioche, AnUser, Armarnis, Avenger93, Ayur S., BeagleRush, Ben C., Bilfdoffle, BigRowdy, Binkleywalker, Bjlinden, Bowen X., Boyski, Brandon C., Brian H., Brian K., Bryan B., BuffaloBurger, Businessware Technologies Inc., Cal0004, Casnimot, Charles B., Charles-Henri G., Chris H., Christian P., Commander Gorda , Computeraddict, Daniel S., Darkrenown, David N., David W., DeadCrowsFood, Deducter , Demiansky, Devon_v, Dominique V., Duong N., Dustin K., Dustin S., drake8888, Edward O., eld10, Eric M., Erik H., Feldelm, Felerys , Firestorm10, FilthyRobot, Fishbo, Florian E., FlyingHigh10000000, Geoffrey N., Gerd G., Gorgon01, Guillaume B., Gyogen, Haerzog, Hambil, Haruspice, Hazapuza, Hellraptor, Heramael, Houmie, Ian R., Iceciro, Insufferable Smartypants, Jan-Michael M., Jared B., Jeffrey E., Jeremy O., Jeroen K., Jesse N., Joachim W., Johan K., John S., Joseph B., Joseph H., Kara42, Kaya E., Ken D., Khamza D., Kirill Z., Kostas A., Low Low H H, Luix, Maik A., Markus L., Matthias L., Maxim I., MelloAce, Michael B., Miguel P., Mike B., Minoitos, MrBims, MSpain77, Mufuks, NeoSeether, Nesi N., Nontalo, Oleg E., Oliver L., Orost, Patrick M., Patrick P., Philip M., Philipp D., Phwop, RaymondHouser, Reid A., Renraw, Rex F., Robert F., Robert H., Ross C., Rudiger S., Saph7, Sebastian C., Sebastian S., Shane F., Sibiryak, SirDrD, Skrzaciksc, Squee913, Stefan S., Stephen M., Talhydras, Teemredd31, Thomas M., Thomas G., Thunder_GR, Tim E., Valakov, Vesa P., WalterJ, Wintermist, WorthlessBums, Xaxyx, Xwynns, Yustarius , Yzaxtol , ZiggRolls20, Zybertrix,