XCOM 2
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Robotic Raider Faction [BETA]
   
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8 Jul, 2024 @ 11:44am
11 Nov, 2024 @ 10:51am
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Robotic Raider Faction [BETA]

Description
A new Julian themed faction
This mod adds a new sitrep, Robotic Uprising, which spawns robotic units hostile to both XCOM and ADVENT, with the addition, each turn, of some dialogs from the famous psychopathic killer robot, Julian. The pod is created with a leader from AutomatedDefenses lists (so it could draw from any installed mod that adds robotic units in these lists), and adds some Spark MEC, similar to the lost tower mission.

Three tier boss Julian
Julian comes now in three tiers. Each tier has only to be defeated once ; moreover, the damage done by XCOM will be saved for the next encounter if Julian can't be killed the first time (such as with the alien rulers health mechanism).
First tier is the same as the lost tower Julian
Second tier is a classic sectopod, but with the health (and skin) of the lost tower Julian
Third (and last) tier is a prime sectopod, with the health (and skin) of the lost tower Julian

Robotic reinforcements
Upon raider pod activation, robotic reinforcements will spawn each three turns. They will last until the end of the mission.

Dependencies
A Better DLC is only required for its Spark units, so a standalone, such as Advent Spark Standalone published by Deadput could be used instead.
Similarily, A Better Advent is only required for the Julian tier 3 (with prime reactions), so using a standalone instead, such as Forged Sectopod Prime should work too.

Recommended mods
Unit Flag Extended : With this mod, Julian and its acolytes will use a new color for their healthbars (instead of the same red as the aliens, which could be confusing)
Faction Anchor : On missions where all ennemies must be killed, this mod will prevent a premature ending when all advents unit have been defeated (even if Julian is still alive)

Compatibility
Compatible with my Alternative DLC Integration mod : if both are installed together, the Robotic Raider Faction will take predominance and replace the one-timed encounter sitrep by its own.
Not meant to be used with my Julian Sitrep standalone mod
Tested (and compatible) with Covert Infiltration
Most likely not compatible with Raider and Resistance Spawning
Using another mod that spawns Julian in eTeam_Two could result in deleting some Julian boss tier (and/or messing the HP/armor saving) : to my knowledge, only the Distress Beacon mod from MrCloista would be concerned
Playing the lost tower mission or not, though, should have no impact on this mod (as Julian is not in eTeam_Two here)

Credits
Thanks to DerBK for its incredible mods, A Better Advent and A Better DLC, that I've used as dependencies for this one.
Also, nothing would have been possible if it wasn't for the highlander and already existant functions managing raiders spawning.

Beta state
I've put a beta state flag as I've haven't yet played enough with it to be definitive about balancing ; feel free to provide feedbacks or suggestions. Also, I might add some more content in the future, but this could take a while.
67 Comments
Epigamesh  [author] 20 Jun @ 8:17am 
@Bus It shouldn't as I remember having tested it back then with them active (except for the ADVENT initiative addons).
There would be problems, though, if you use Raiders and Resistance strategic spawning.
If not, I don't known.
Beeabble 17 Jun @ 7:11pm 
I'd love to use this, but for whatever reason they just don't seem to spawn when their sitrep is active. Maybe it conflicts with The Hive (+ More), or MOCX (+ADVENT Initiative addons)?
SparraNova 4 Mar @ 6:04pm 
@Epigamesh some of them are? The ABA Sparks are always invisible I think (though they don't show up very often), but the Advent Drones are fine when they aren't on Julian's team.
Epigamesh  [author] 19 Feb @ 2:23pm 
@SparraNova Are these models also invisible when they are not in Julian's team ? I don't know what could be causing this, as my mod shouldn't modify other unit appearance (though the strangest bugs can sometimes appear, especially when running a lot of mods together)
SparraNova 15 Feb @ 6:41pm 
I should add to my previous comment, their HP bars don't appear either, but they still show up as targets when shooting, take damage normally, and die like normal units (though I'll need to check if they actually drop corpses as loot).
SparraNova 15 Feb @ 4:43pm 
I'm having a persistent issue where some of Julian's units- the ones from other mods like the Advent Drones or ABA Sparks specifically- being invisible. They still function fine mechanically (outside of some awkward pauses while trying to hack one), but they just don't have models for some reason. This never happens with the vanilla robotic units he gets, so I have no idea what is causing this.
Epigamesh  [author] 8 Feb @ 11:00am 
@Dank Potatoes This is strange. In theory, Shen last gift should have no impact. I don't know what could prevent Julian from appearing (unless having extremely bad luck : by default in the config ini, he has a 67% chance to spawn when he's still alive and the minimum forcelevel is reached)
Dank Potatoes 5 Feb @ 5:39pm 
I have had this installed for nearly a whole playthrough, and it worked great, despite my heavily modded game.
Couple of issues though:
-Julian ever appeared once, as a boss. I kept running into Advent Mecs and Sparks, but never the main man. Is it possibly because I played the Shens last Gift Mission, and killed Julian in the tower?
-I never experienced a Sectopod Prime either. I don't have ABA installed, just the standalone enemy mods you suggested. Don't know if it changes anything?
Deacon Ivory 11 Nov, 2024 @ 11:57am 
Just a heads up that Renegade Rulers is pretty broken, so the issue is likely there and not here.
Epigamesh  [author] 2 Oct, 2024 @ 8:50am 
@EdemBR I have tested with the hive, but not renegade rulers (I don't know why it would interfere but it might be worth a try).
The mod raiders and resistance spawning also currently prevent Julian from spawning, but, if you are not using it, I don't know what could cause this (though I would be very interested to know if you find it)