Octopus Overlords

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:12 pm Tip I'm adding:

Sometimes you find a lootable container that's trapped, and it isn't obvious what you should do about it. There's a tell, though. If it says "Disarm", it's a bomb (use a character with high Explosives.) If it says "Disable", it's a mechanical trap (use a character with high Mechanical.)

I def messed that up a few times. I think the icon when you moused over it was also different but I never thought to confirm, I just quick saved before every trapped container.

That's the thing - if it's trapped, you still just get the loot icon (but the object gets a red outline and the tooltip is different.)

A new mod just released today - Free Camera Mode. (Or for you Steam Workshop folks, here.)

It includes a free cam, and the ability to toggle the UI, and the ability to turn off auto-hiding walls/roofs. I've been wanting something to let me take a better look around now for a while.

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Jul 18, 2023 12:28 pm Tips list

A "blue head" indicator means friendly fire alert before you shoot - ask me how I know this (sorry, MD! But had you lived, you probably would have annoyingly apologized for your big ass head being in the way of my shot!)
Defuse mines in prone position...if a mishap occurs, less damage than crouched, and much less damage than standing over said exploding mine.
You can shoot mines
If an enemy shows NEAR DEATH, just take the easy torso shot if possible...usually enough to take them out (this might depend on what difficulty you play on, I have not tested this in game).

Nice tips! The one about mines is valid in real life as well (and it works for grenades, too.)

Updated the tips post. The first one was just a rephrasing to clean up some later edits.

• General: Don't avoid minefields! Take a high wisdom character and move them around, either a couple of steps at a time, or in a crouch to slow them down. They should detect the mines. You then have options. You can send in your explosives specialist and have them dismantle them all. It gives a ton of parts, which are important. At the same time, some minefields can actually be useful when enemies attack through them. Take that into account before deciding when to scrap the mines. A good hybrid approach is to take a few minutes to discover the mines' locations, but leave them there until everything else is done and you're ready to leave the zone, just in case there is a fight. Bonus: Barry, the cheapest merc, has very high stats in both explosives and wisdom.
• General:Defuse mines in the prone position. If a mishap occurs, you take less damage than if you were crouched, and much less damage than if you were standing.
• General:You can shoot mines. Both kinds, but shooting the explodey kind is more effective than shooting the diggy kind.
• General:If an enemy shows 'Near Death', a torso shot will usually take them out, and is much easier to hit than a limb or head.
• General:When targeting an enemy, one or more of several icons may appear next to each body part in the menu. A vest means that location is armored. A vest with a red slash means that it's armored, but will be bypassed. A wall indicates that it's physically behind cover. A blue head means that there is a friendly between you and the target, and you're likely to hit them instead.

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 10:10 pm General:Defuse mines in the prone position. If a mishap occurs, you take less damage than if you were crouched, and much less damage than if you were standing.

Huh, I didn't think of that. Thanks!

I've done a lot of complaining about the game being too streamlined from the OG (the biggest offender IMO being the "rails" feeling through the maps, vs. the completely open maps in JA2), but one QOL thing I would like is if the game auto-selected the best merc for any given task. Especially when your team is all grouped together, outside of combat mode.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 10:43 pm one QOL thing I would like is if the game auto-selected the best merc for any given task. Especially when your team is all grouped together, outside of combat mode.

That much I absolutely agree with. It would at least be nice if you could select the mercs with the 1-6 keys.

One other criticism is the deployment zones. If I know an enemy is on their way to my position, I shouldn't get deployed in the dead center of the map with no cover. There should be multiple deployment zones.

I Love It™ when my deployment zone is also the enemy spawn location. It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does at least those fights are over quickly.

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:51 pm A new mod just released today - Free Camera Mode. (Or for you Steam Workshop folks, here.)

It includes a free cam, and the ability to toggle the UI, and the ability to turn off auto-hiding walls/roofs. I've been wanting something to let me take a better look around now for a while.

A comment on another benefit of this mod: You can use the free cam during deployment.

The high vertical camera during deployment makes it really tough to judge lines of sight and cover before you decide on a plan, and that can be a huge problem. More than once I've thought I was putting my mercs in a good spot, only to find out that the cover was too high for actual line-of-sight, or to find out that what looked like cover was almost flat.

This solves that.

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:51 pm A new mod just released today - Free Camera Mode. (Or for you Steam Workshop folks, here.)

It includes a free cam, and the ability to toggle the UI, and the ability to turn off auto-hiding walls/roofs. I've been wanting something to let me take a better look around now for a while.

Oh, I like this!

Roughly how many commandos will I need to finish the entire game? I like having a large roster, but I don't want to handicap my troops by spreading XP's too thin. Any ideas?

I feel like 2 squads is probably optimal: one for offensive operations and one for training militia and as a blocking force to prevent opposing forces from recapturing mines, camps or settlements. In both of my playthroughs I ended up with 3 full squads, but the 3rd squad was because I was swimming in money and wanted to try out some of the really high-end mercs. The ability to be in 3 places at once does come in handy, particularly after a specific scripted event triggers, but isn't absolutely necessary.

Unless you're trying to speed-run the campaign, you can afford to take the time for training once your cash flow is secure, so I wouldn't worry too much about balancing the size of your force against potential combat XP.

Personally, I seem to be moving toward three squads: My primary squad (Alpha Team, with whom I 'play' the game), a backup squad (Bravo Team) with whom I address various occurrences (like enemies wandering where they shouldn't) and who can provide backup when needed, and a utility squad (Charlie Team, which consists of former members of the other teams who are, sadly, a little outclassed now) whose job it is to run around ferrying supplies and topping off militias.

Yeah two squads seemed fine for me. I never fought a battle with the second squad. I let them auto-battle with militia backup and they generally fared ok. They mostly just ran around training militia and occasionally handled a quest step that was out of my way.

For the record, I was playing at normal difficulty. It may be different at different difficulty levels. I don't think I ever did hire a legendary merc. I never needed them. Two snipers + shaped charges was generally enough.

Are you guys going with 4-6 mercs per squad? Is 6 the max for a squad? Thanks for the help, guys.

Apollo wrote: Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:42 pm Are you guys going with 4-6 mercs per squad? Is 6 the max for a squad? Thanks for the help, guys.

I usually run 6-merc squads, which is the maximum squad size. However, since you can have multiple squads in the same sector, it's possible to have battles where your entire roster is present.

Apollo wrote: Wed Aug 09, 2023 11:33 am Roughly how many commandos will I need to finish the entire game? I like having a large roster, but I don't want to handicap my troops by spreading XP's too thin. Any ideas?

Two full size squads, one offensive "A" team and "B" team primarily for defensive/blocking as others have noted. I have a third team of 3-4 to handle ammo production/repair duties/extra healing power/mule duties but they don't see any combat. Slightly over 50% of the way through and most of my A team is level 5-6 and most of the B team is level 3-5. I think at least some of them will hit level cap (10) by the end, but not all.

By the way, still waiting for a mod that provides additional squad icons, and for a bonus would let us actually use the text box where the squad name is displayed when you pick the squad icon to actually name the squad as we see fit (it is frankly weird that the text box is disabled because it looks like it may have been editable at some point).

Apollo wrote: Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:42 pm Are you guys going with 4-6 mercs per squad? Is 6 the max for a squad? Thanks for the help, guys.

6. In my secondary unit, I just have a little of this and a little of that. A medic, someone for repairs, whoever I have left over. For my main squad, one is a dedicated sniper, one primarily for heavy weapons, one as the primary scout, one as a medic, one as a tech, one for explosives. If I had it to do over, I might have combined the scout - my custom merc - with tech (it would have been handier.) The only problem being that there are very, very few high Leadership characters early on.

Is anyone still playing this? Forum chatter kind of dropped off a cliff! BGIII? Bored with it? Finished?

Anyhoo, I have questions if anyone has answers:
1. Since the game doesn't auto-select mercs with the highest ability for a given, directed task, how do you guys deal with talking to people? Do you select your merc with the highest leadership or wisdom? What about perks like SCOUNDREL? Do stats outweigh something like that? OR does the game actually consider your whole team when talking? Maybe it's an exception to the rule about not picking the "best" merc for a job?

2. When I start the game, I get tons of flicker...and the title screen seems very greyed out for some reason. When the in game title comes up, the blacks are deep and rich in comparison. Just me? There are so many damn options these days, I have no idea where to even start to troubleshoot the flicker. I can change settings on my monitor (gaming/VRR), my graphics card software, and/or the game itself. hundreds of potential combos if not more. Any ideas where to start?

3. Isn't FSR supposed to speed things up if your card supports it? When I turn it on, my frame rate drops considerably. I'm sure this is user error (as mentioned, either a monitor setting, the AMD Radeon software setting, or the game), but no idea where to even start. My card supports FSR 2.0 if that matters, and I am gaming at 1440p.

4. Why does the AK I found not let me load 7.62 ammo? I have a box of 7.62 NATO ammo and I click on it (select) then click on the AK...nothing (and the AK chamber is empty). What the hell?

I would ask these on the Steam JA3 forums but there are just so many assholes (actually, it's just a very loud, prolific few I think) on that discussion board for some reason (normally I find the Steam game discussion boards very cordial/helpful). I think it's mostly jaded, angry 1.13'ers that wanted JA 1.14 and got XCOM with a JA skin instead. The more I play, the more I like it, personally, but I'm also kind of resigned to the fact that if this project didn't top JA2, with Ian freaking Currie leading the way, then it will probably never happen. I''ve made peace with that, finally.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:38 pm Is anyone still playing this? Forum chatter kind of dropped off a cliff! BGIII? Bored with it? Finished?

I'm still playing. I have BGIII installed and waiting, but they're too similar for me to want to play them side-by-side.

1. Since the game doesn't auto-select mercs with the highest ability for a given, directed task, how do you guys deal with talking to people? Do you select your merc with the highest leadership or wisdom? What about perks like SCOUNDREL? Do stats outweigh something like that? OR does the game actually consider your whole team when talking? Maybe it's an exception to the rule about not picking the "best" merc for a job?

As far as I can tell, it doesn't matter who talks. It seems to consider, as you said, the whole team.

3. Isn't FSR supposed to speed things up if your card supports it? When I turn it on, my frame rate drops considerably. I'm sure this is user error (as mentioned, either a monitor setting, the AMD Radeon software setting, or the game), but no idea where to even start. My card supports FSR 2.0 if that matters, and I am gaming at 1440p.

It should. Between this and your #2, I'm wondering if there isn't a setting somewhere that's causing both problems. HDR? Refresh rate? FreeSync? I haven't owned an AMD card in 15+ years, so I can't be more useful than that, sorry.

4. Why does the AK I found not let me load 7.62 ammo? I have a box of 7.62 NATO ammo and I click on it (select) then click on the AK...nothing (and the AK chamber is empty). What the hell?

7.62 is the diameter of the bullet. There are actually different types 7.62 ammo out there. One is 7.62 NATO. The other is 7.62 Soviet (that's the more common name, that or 7.62x39 - the game calls it WP for Warsaw Pact, although I was so used to hearing 'Soviet' that I kept thinking it was some sort of white phosphorous round.)

They're very different. The smaller one is the Warsaw Pact/Soviet/x39.





And Jagged Alliance 3 as JA2 1.14 would have crashed and burned. I get the desire, but it's not the 1990s. I think they did a great job of keeping the core and the feeling of the original while updating what needed updating rather than being a slave to the past (the flaw of the recent System Shock remake.)

Wow, thanks! And so promptly, damn.

My first tweaking for the graphics issue was to blame HDR, so I turned that off everywhere...monitor, AMD software, etc. Nope. Then I thought it might be Vsync, but it did it when on and off. Not a huge deal, just annoying.

My bigger concern was the ammo. Explains it, thanks.

Also, this restart, I chose Igor for some reason. This game does not do stealth very well (which is kind of his thing), so I think he is probably a terrible pick overall unless I am just not playing him correctly. I think I might also be conflating "stealth" with "stealth kill" which are very different, and use different stats and skills.

Gah, one more thing I forgot - how in the world can I headshot someone with a loud ass gun (while stealthed), and perps not 30 ft from the now headless dude don't even flinch?! This is from a non-silenced gun BTW. How does that not start combat?

I've no idea. I use stealth extensively, just not from up close. They have a 360-degree detection radius, but it doesn't go very far. Sneaking into position for an ambush and stealth-sniping the outliers is a core strategy for me. Enough so that a high Agility is a prerequisite for joining my squad.

Also, I reread your previous post and caught the part about clicking on the ammo and then the gun. If you right click a weapon, the context menu will show you every type of ammo that can go in that gun.

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2023 12:57 am I've no idea. I use stealth extensively, just not from up close. They have a 360-degree detection radius, but it doesn't go very far. Sneaking into position for an ambush and stealth-sniping the outliers is a core strategy for me. Enough so that a high Agility is a prerequisite for joining my squad.

Also, I reread your previous post and caught the part about clicking on the ammo and then the gun. If you right click a weapon, the context menu will show you every type of ammo that can go in that gun.

Ah, so! Thanks again.

Stealth in JA3 is... interesting. It is definitely an acquired skill. You need to figure out how the game does it. My custom merc was a melee stealth killer and he did a great job of it. The challenge was that even melee stealth kills alerted nearby enemies. Apparently people make suspicious noises when you cut their throats.

I basically used stealth to take out isolated enemies before going loud. Once you take out the first one, it almost feels like a clock is ticking as they are pretty good at spotting their friends bodies lying in the open and I don't think there is an option to hide bodies.

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Jul 27, 2023 5:37 pm And someone just shot the treasure-hunting chicken.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:38 pm Is anyone still playing this? Forum chatter kind of dropped off a cliff! BGIII? Bored with it? Finished?

Yep, but I don't play as much since the last patch because the movement AP bug is really annoying.

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2023 12:20 am

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Aug 14, 2023 11:38 pm Is anyone still playing this? Forum chatter kind of dropped off a cliff! BGIII? Bored with it? Finished?

I'm still playing. I have BGIII installed and waiting, but they're too similar for me to want to play them side-by-side.

I played JA3 for a while, but I don't remember all my companions, pets and any inanimate objects I passed by trying to have sex with me.

I've put JA3 on the backburner for now while I focus on BG3, but I'm on my 3rd playthrough and don't feel like I'm finished with the game just yet.

In other news, I've been dipping into the Behind the Bastards podcast back catalogue for something to listen to while exercising this week, and stumbled onto this two-parter that was particular fascinating after having spent so much time (168 hours) with JA3. I had no idea that paying mercenaries with diamond mines was an actual thing that has happened!

hepcat wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2023 1:43 pm I played JA3 for a while, but I don't remember all my companions, pets and any inanimate objects I passed by trying to have sex with me.

People-with-good-hair problems.

More tips:
-grenade + wire cutters = gunpowder
-You don't have to carry ammo in your character's inventory, just keep it in Squad stash and they can still reload.

Hey, jackasses - yeah, all of you with the 85+ Marksmanship scores.

When I put you on overwatch, kindly stop firing all of your rounds directly into a lamp post, tree, rock, or wall that's four feet away and not (supposedly) in line-of-sight.

"Hi there, local! We're the mercenaries here to save you from the oppressive tyrant ruling over you. We're good guys. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to hack your phone and empty your bank account. Oh, and we disassembled your car for parts on the way in. I hope you don't mind. Have a great day!"

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 7:49 pm "Hi there, local! We're the mercenaries here to save you from the oppressive tyrant ruling over you. We're good guys. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to hack your phone and empty your bank account. Oh, and we disassembled your car for parts on the way in. I hope you don't mind. Have a great day!"

And don't forget dropping mortar shells on their villages.

Patch 1.1.0 – Modding Tools & Active Pause & More

In this patch we are releasing the first stage of our modding support (more details below). The second stage of the modding tools (map and campaign editors) is still in the works and will arrive in a later update.

We have added new popular request features like Active pause and Photo mode. Patch 1.1.0 also includes gameplay tweaks as well as many fixes to mechanics, quests and content.

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Aug 20, 2023 7:49 pm "Hi there, local! We're the mercenaries here to save you from the oppressive tyrant ruling over you. We're good guys. Now, if you don't mind, we're going to hack your phone and empty your bank account. Oh, and we disassembled your car for parts on the way in. I hope you don't mind. Have a great day!"

I feel like that is a valid player choice, but there should be a down side to acting in an exploitative manner, perhaps along the line of imposing loyalty penalties in settlements when you do things that are a little on the predatory side, or even having a villager go all Tinhay on you for stealing their stuff.

Max Peck wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 1:23 pm Patch 1.1.0 – Modding Tools & Active Pause & More.

[/quote]
Woot! That should do it for me. Time to restart.

Since so many here were asking about “active pause”:

Active Pause – you can now pause time while exploring tactical maps in real time. This will allow you to better plan your actions and manage stealth approaches without worrying about quick reflexes. By default, tactical pause is set to the Spacebar key on the keyboard. (Community Suggestion)

NOTE: It is impossible to execute multiple attacks at the same time. Any attack will un-pause the game.

Very nice. I've been running an active pause mod since the beginning, but it's got its quirks. Hopefully this will be a better implementation.

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 1:38 pm NOTE: It is impossible to execute multiple attacks at the same time. Any attack will un-pause the game.

Which is fine. Most of the time it's used for either setting up an ambush (in which case you're setting everyone to overwatch, then making a single attack), or synchronizing movements (like when a mission starts in the middle of the shit, or with enemies approaching) - you can pause, give movement orders to all six, then unpause. It beats the hell out of madly trying to give six people different orders one by one in a five second window while enemies approach.

Some things that stand out:

There is now a free cam/photo mode, something else I've been running a mod for.

There are several mods they made themselves that are available:

o a new AIM merc character with new voice lines
o a new weapon (the M1A1 Thompson) using a new caliber the .45 ACP
o a new operation – Scrounge (spend time looking for items)

One of those will, I think, appeal to a certain talking dog of our acquaintance.

- Weapon Shipments – enemies can now send weapons shipments (similar to diamond shipments) that contain weapons, ammo, meds, and parts. Intercept them to gain some extra resources and items. (Community Suggestion).

- All mercs in a squad can be ordered to move together in real-time exploration by holding down Shift when issuing a move order (Community Suggestion)
- Mercs can now be ordered to walk instead of run while in real-time exploration by holding down Ctrl+Shift when issuing a move order (Community Suggestion)

The second one there will explains why I was stuck walking earlier...

- Changed how Overwatch interrupts work when affecting units that are leaving cover

Hopefully that fixes mercs just emptying magazines into the cover...

- Movement range is properly displayed when stance changes are involved

Oh, thank god.

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Aug 21, 2023 3:46 pm Some things that stand out:

There are several mods they made themselves that are available:

o a new AIM merc character with new voice lines
o a new weapon (the M1A1 Thompson) using a new caliber the .45 ACP
o a new operation – Scrounge (spend time looking for items)

Anybody got links to those mods? I've looked in the the Workshop and even searched but I'm not having any luck