Installation FAQ (OpenXcom)

Brief answers for brief questions.

For the sake of clarity, the current milestone is classified as v1.0, while all nightlies after May 1, 2015 are classified as v2.0.

What are milestones and nightlies?

Milestones are key "versions" of the game, packaged for all platforms with the appropriate installers. You can rest assured that everything that applies to a specific milestone version is never changing and is the same across all its builds and platforms.

Nightlies are automatically made from the latest code, so they have no "version". They contain the latest changes as well as the latest bugs. There's no harm in using them, but they change frequently, so don't use them if you like stability. They need to be manually installed.

For example, v2.0 contains TFTD, but it hasn't made it to a milestone yet, so you need to use a nightly to try it.

What are the Data and User folders?

Assuming you installed the game in a OpenXcom folder:

The Data folder is where all the original and new game data is kept. In v1.0 it's your OpenXcom\data folder. In v2.0 it's the OpenXcom folder itself.

The User folder is where all your options, screenshots and saves are kept. In v2.0 it also contains your mods (in v1.0 they were in the Data folder instead). The default User folder on Windows is in C:\Users\<user>\Documents\OpenXcom.

For advanced users, you can also have multiple Data folders, as well as your Data folder inside your User folder. For all possible folder locations see here: https://github.com/SupSuper/OpenXcom#directory-locations

How do I install a nightly?

Just extract the ZIP to your install location and copy the original X-COM resources to the appropriate folders:

v1.0

Copy your X-COM: UFO Defense data to the data subfolder. You should apply the universal patch afterwards.

Your installation structure should look like this:

• OpenXcom
  • data
    • GEODATA
    • GEOGRAPH
    • Language
    • MAPS
    • Resources
    • ROUTES
    • Ruleset
    • Shaders
    • SoldierName
    • SOUND
    • TERRAIN
    • UFOGRAPH
    • UFOINTRO*
    • UNITS

v2.0

Copy your X-COM: UFO Defense data to the UFO subfolder. You should apply the universal patch afterwards.

(and/or)

Copy the X-COM: Terror from the Deep data to the TFTD subfolder. No extra patches are required.

Your installation structure should look like this if you have both games:

• OpenXcom
  • common
    • Language
    • Resources
    • Shaders
    • SoldierName
  • standard
    • xcom1
    • xcom2
    • ...
  • TFTD
    • ANIMS*
    • FLOP_INT*
    • GEODATA
    • GEOGRAPH
    • MAPS
    • ROUTES
    • SOUND
    • TERRAIN
    • UFOGRAPH
    • UNITS
  • UFO
    • GEODATA
    • GEOGRAPH
    • MAPS
    • ROUTES
    • Shaders
    • SOUND
    • TERRAIN
    • UFOGRAPH
    • UFOINTRO*
    • UNITS

*optional

How do I install mods?

Make sure you have the required OpenXcom version. Mods will either be formatted for v1.0 or v2.0. In addition, some mods may require a minimum nightly version. You don't need to track down the specific nightly version, anything later will usually work as well.

When in doubt, always check the mod installation instructions carefully.

v1.0

Extract the mod to your data subfolder.

v2.0

Extract the mod folder to your User mods folder (eg. Documents\OpenXcom\mods). This folder is automatically created after running the game once. Each mod should have its own subfolder, eg:

• mods
  • Mod1
  • Mod2
  • Mod3

v2.0 mods should already come packed in a folder. v1.0 mods need to be packed into a folder yourself, and any *.rul files moved into a Ruleset subfolder inside the mod's folder, eg:

• mods
  • OldMod
    • Resources
    • Ruleset

How do I switch between UFO and TFTD?

Go into the Options > Mods screen from the Main Menu. You can't access this screen from the Geoscape/Battlescape. However, any enabled mods will automatically apply to any savegames you load.

How do I update OpenXcom?

It's recommended you just delete the old install folder (backup anything you wanna keep) before installing the new version (specially when upgrading from v1.0 to v2.0), since by default your User folder is separate.

However if the major version is the same (eg. upgrading nightlies), you can also just install the new version on top of the old one.

Any v1.0 saves and mods are fully compatible with v2.0.

How do I update mods?

Delete the old mod folder and replace it with the new version. Don't install the new version on top of the old one.

Can I make a portable installation?

Yes, just create a OpenXcom\user folder and this will become that installation's User folder. Copy any content from your old User folder if you wanna reuse it.

Can I have multiple installations/versions?

Yes, all installations have their own Data folder but share the same User folder. If you want multiple independent installations, give them their own User folder like you would for a portable installation.

v1.0 and v2.0 installs cannot share the same User folder.

How do I know I installed a nightly correctly?

If you downloaded the nightly from our website, the nightly build date should be shown on the Main Menu. However this will not be shown if you compiled it yourself, even though it's equivalent to a nightly.

How do I reset my options when my game won't start?

Delete the options.cfg file from your User folder.

How do I reinstall OpenXcom from scratch?

Backup any content you wanna keep (eg. saves), delete your OpenXcom folder and your User folder, and then reinstall.