Talk:ADVENT's Agenda (LW2)

Page Sources

The material present on this page can be found on the Long War 2 installation folder, specifically:

• \Config\XComLW_Activities.ini (config file, can be read with Notepad or Notepad++)
• \Config\XComLW_Overhaul.ini
• \Config\XComMissions.ini
• \Script\LW_Overhaul.u (actual mod code, requires UE Explorer to read)

In addition, check this thread on the subreddit r/Xcom contains an excellent Excel spreadsheet made by sectoidfodder, who has already compiled all the relevant info: [1]Hobbes (talk) 23:26, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

ADVENT Activities Table

I've been considering how to use tables to properly display all the activity info. I had this already on my mind I was still compiling the info since my table was getting too big but with the publication of the previous mentioned Excel table, you now have the complete picture (and saved me quite some work).

Essentially, my idea was to split the table into 2: one focusing on activities in general, with activation conditions, while the 2nd would be strictly focusing on the missions generated by activities (and this last one could be made into a template to use also in the Missions page - there's going to be a lot of info of cross-references between this page and Missions to properly explain both).

So here's a proposal for each table

Activities General

• Activity Internal Name - preferable to using alternative names to avoid confusion
• Description/Objectives - to better clarify the previous field
• Priority
• Requirements
• Limits
• Missions Spawned

Activities/Missions

• Internal Name
• Mission Tree/Families
• Rebel Income
• Discovery
• Duration
• Win or Fail/Expire
• EVAC/Force/Alert/Infiltration Modifiers

How does that look? Hobbes (talk) 13:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

imo, the wiki is for players who don't read the source code, ergo internal names should be avoided if at all possible. This includes the internal names for the variables that comprise the column headers; "Minimum Intel" and "Detection Rate" makes a lot more sense than "Rebel Income" and "Discovery" for instance. In fact, I don't even think internal names should be listed anywhere on the page. It may be less readable to editors and those who read the source code, but they should come second. DjinnFor (talk) 09:41, 19 February 2017 (UTC)

IMHO, since its beginning the UFOPaedia is meant for the whole XCOM community, and that includes players, modders and everyone else not included in these categories (even Firaxis devs have used it). And since Long War was originally created by modders, to me it sounds ironic to place them second to players considering that without modders you wouldn't be playing Long War 2.

First, this discussion to me applies to the general pages - i you want to make your own strategy tips page (plenty of those on the UFOPaedia) then I'd say you're absolutely free to use whichever terms you feel adequate but you're still going to have to explain them. If I first read something saying: "Mininum Intel: 100", I have no idea what it means unless both the terms and the value are properly explained at the end of the table or somewhere in the page. So that clarification is always required regardless of the term used being 'Rebel Income' or 'Minimum Intel'.

Second, if we go towards non-use of internal names, then who decides which terms to use? On the general page Weapons (LW2) someone has already started using the term Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) to refer to the game's SMG. I personally disagree with PDW since I consider that Carbine would be more appropriate to use than the SMG. Who is more right, PDW or Carbine?

The answer is that the choice between both is arbitrary and subjective, and if you allow one then you have no argument to prevent others from using their own terms, which means that you'd have general pages that would use either SMG or PDW or Carbine or even all of the terms. Which is a recipe for confusion, even if you're know something about firearms, since anyone reading might think there are 3 different game weapons called SMG, PDW and Carbine. And this is the main reason why ingame terms and internal names should be used on the general pages - so that we all agree that we don't have to spend time arguing which personal choice is better and to avoid confusing those who are almost ignorant of how LW2 works by presenting them 2 or 3 different terms for the same item. Hobbes (talk) 16:20, 19 February 2017 (UTC)