Long War Mod Revisited

[Jarhead0331]

So I have FINALLY downloaded and started playing XCom with the critically acclaimed Long War Mod. I like a lot of what it adds, ie. additional soldier classes, new weapons and gear, etc.  However, I must say that the increased difficulty in combat which seems to come from drastically reducing the chance to hit is very frustrating and takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the game for me. Yes, I get it...regularly hitting a target behind cover should not be a given. I do like that the mod rewards the player for flanking the enemy, firing from elevated positions, or striking from the rear. However, I think the penalties for firing on targets that are in partial cover are too severe. I've found myself cursing at the monitor quite a bit. It actually reminds me of the old game Full Spectrum Warrior, which would have been good, but for the gamey puzzle like system of suppress, flank and shoot. In FSW, you could not hurt the enemy behind cover unless you pinned them in place with one squad and then flanked them with another. LW is beginning to feel like that.

Anyone else struggle with this? Any suggestions?

What are some of the recommended strategies in Long War for base expansion and research? 

[JasonPratt]

I kind-of recall that there's an option or two in TLW for activating the new bling without increasing the various difficulties...?  ???

[Nefaro]

I kind-of recall that there's an option or two in TLW for activating the new bling without increasing the various difficulties...?  ???

Are they switches in a text file?  Or do they have some actual launcher or interface option?


I've not played the TLW mod, nor many other mega-mods recently.  Mainly due to reasons Jarhead mentioned; many additions are enjoyable but the mod creators often change something that didn't need changing.  Between that "almost there" frustration and possible Mod Soup or installation hoops, I've not put the effort into it when the base game in question is already enjoyable.

[JasonPratt]

Well, it's yes and no.

Yes, all original 31 "Second Wave" options from EW are still available to be chosen when starting a new game, and some of them make things easier or more difficult. Occasionally a lot easier, such as turning off the Exalt collaborators. Some of the options have been tweaked however to fit TLW better if checkmarked. (Second Wave was the original EW code concept from which TLW was developed.)

Yes, the least difficulty level, "Normal", grants some benefits to the player and debuffs to the enemy. Not a lot but some. "Classic" difficulty is the more-or-less 'neutral' difficulty of TLW.

No, there is also a whole other set of less-than-normal difficulty levels called "training", which (per the wiki) cannot be accessed (yet, for some reason, despite the game being out of beta) without some light folder haxoring. Per the TLW wiki:

Easy Levels

We really want to support all levels of pain tolerance: since Beta 15e, the Long War download has 4 additional easier difficulty levels included, but you have to make a file change to get them working. Doing this will replace the key settings for the four default difficulties. It does not change static in-game text, so the difficulties will be still be labeled "normal", "classic", "brutal", "impossible" -- however, this "impossible" is still a bit easier than standard "normal".

To play with the easy settings:

    go to your version of C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\XCom-Enemy-Unknown\XEW\XComGame\Config\
    rename the file DefaultGameCore.ini to AltDefaultGameCore.alt or something like that. The goal is disable the usual settings file.
    rename the file DefaultGameCore - Training.ini to DefaultGameCore.ini -- this enables the alternate settings file to be used by the game.
    after doing this, you MAY have to also delete the file XComGameCore.ini in your version of C:\Users\John\Documents\My Games\XCOM - Enemy Within\XComGame\Config

This last step is troubleshooting and shouldn't be necessary for most players, but sometimes the game fails to update the file it actually uses (XComGameCore.ini) with changes to the file users should edit (DefaultGameCore.ini), and this will ensure that the update does take place.

[undercovergeek]

The long war guys are also making their own 'xcom'

[Rayfer]

I enjoyed the new Xcom but the last thing I would want is to make it even more difficult.  Some of us here on these forums suffer from tactical deficiency disease. I know I do.

[KyzBP]

I've been enjoying the heck out of this game because of the Long War mod.  My first 6 attempts at this were on the 2nd lowest difficulty setting but I wasn't anywhere near ready for that.  I've selected the lowest difficulty/easiest setting and it's still challenging but not overwhelming and punishing.  It makes the game very enjoyable.

[MIGMaster]

I'm currently playing thru the mod for the first time and enjoying it. I find it far more stressful than the original game - I really think my movements thru now - almost like a breach-and-clear mindset. The mod definitely adds more "character" to the game, but I do fine the cover model a bit frustrating. I do like the auto color coding of troops and the HK style assault rifles and the concept of the battle rifle is cool.

[KyzBP]

Chryssalids, man.  Fing Chryssalids is all I have to say. >:(

[Capn Darwin]

For the Lids, boxstrat and shotguns. Those guys suck.

[chemkid]

hi there!
just starting out on my first xcom adventure with the long war mod and wonder
if anyone can give some hints if this mod ups the system specs (compared to EW)
required to play? eg. more stress on gpu or more cpu power needed? thanks in advance!

cheers!
chem!

[BanzaiCat]

Is this Long War mod for XCOM: Enemy Unknown?

I have it on Steam, but haven't messed with it in a couple of years. Never did play through it fully.

[chemkid]

link:
http://www.longwarstudios.com/xcomlongwareuew.htm

it's the mod for xcom enemy within (should work with EU, too...)

enjoy!
chem!

[BanzaiCat]

Thanks!

[undercovergeek]

AFAIK it needs enemy within