OpenApoc - X-Com Apocalypse Dedicated to Fans

Hello!
X-COM 3: Apocalypse, was not as popular as the first two parts, and turned out to be quite contradictory. On one side, weights were amazing for those years, physics and total destructibility, tactical capabilities, a lively city, social interaction, corporate wars, an economic model. On the other, there are problems with AI, balance, the uselessness of many types of weapons and equipment, the extreme limited social interaction, the boring war on the territory of the newcomers, and many exploits.

But not everyone knows that many of the problems of the game were due to the fact that it came out long before reaching readiness, despite 3 years of development. Many mechanics and capabilities were implemented only partially, and some remained only on paper. However, fans of the game are not asleep - the alpha version of OpenApoc has recently been released. The alpha version is playable and allows you to play the game from start to finish. Added more than 40 various optional enhancements, the skyrm mode, translations into several languages, etc.

The development by enthusiasts has been going on for the fourth year. Alpha release timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Apok. In the main branch 2282 commits are entered. OpenApoc source code is written in C ++ using the library SDL2, licensed under MIT. The resource description language is XML. The current version is 0.1. Reverse programming of the release and beta versions written in assembly language is conducted in the IDA environment, manual testing during the game with the use of memory modification tools, game files (Apoc'D, Midnight Editor).
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Major OpenApoc improvements:

1. Multiplatform;
2. Improved performance and ease of launch on modern platforms;
3. Support for modern resolutions and windowing;
4. Image scaling (under development);
5. Extended modding support, the original modding was harder;
6. Full debag-system ;
7. Skyrish mode (fast combat);
8. Switching between translations in the game interface, teamwork on translations.

For the first two parts of X-COM, an analogue already exists - OpenXcom, whose popularity among the community is obvious. But the concept of X-COM 3: Apocalypse was much more ambitious than the first two parts. The concept conceived by Gollop was so far ahead of its time that to this day nothing comparable in scale to the initial ideas mentioned in interviews, memoirs, and various reference books on the game was released. However, only a small part of what was conceived was realized, and therefore, in contrast to OpenXcom, when developing OpenApoc, it is necessary not only to restore the game on a new engine, but also to realize the plan of Julian Gollop, which he could not or did not manage to implement in the game.

In the game it was planned to reproduce in detail the events, organizations and individuals in the conditions of war with an external enemy in the megacity of the future:

• Each corporation was supposed to have a leader who could be detained, arrested, interrogated, or killed;
• X-COM operatives could perform the functions of spies by performing intelligence operations in other organizations in order to obtain more detailed information about what is happening in the organization and the city;
• Organizations had to conduct real economic activity, compete in the markets, could sell and buy buildings at auctions;
• It was planned to introduce a developed system of diplomatic relations in which the player could enter into alliances with other organizations, provoke the start of corporate and gang wars, etc .;
• It was planned that the game would have several procedurally generated measurements that the aliens captured during the game, if X-COM did not help their inhabitants in time;
• In the beta resources, 9 planets icons were found - it was possible that there would be several planets in the game. This is also confirmed by the fact that space pirates are mentioned in the articles of Ufopedia, as well as a large number of space technology forcedly and completely artificially limited by flights in the atmosphere in the release version (“Valkyrie”, “Hawk”, ships “Transtellar”);
• According to the developer interview, it was intended to develop a system unique to a series of skills: forensic science, interrogation, and ground and flying equipment control. Also, in addition to those actions that are present in the release version of the game, the developers were going to add swimming and climbing;
• At the initial stages of development, there were many sketch models of monsters that did not reach the release. In general, initially it was assumed that sprites of people and technology would be created by scanning plastic figures, but due to the imperfections of 3D laser scanners at that time, developers were forced to create two-dimensional models from 3D ones created in 3D-graphics editors, which also did not have the best effect on their quality.
• Various objects and technologies that were not used in the game were found in the game resources (some of them could later be seen in a few modifications of the original game):
  Zorium, Tracker Gun, Tracker Gun Clip, ForceWeb, Energy Pod, Dimension Destabilizer, Psi-Grenade, Multi-Tracker, Mind Shield, Alien Detector, Dimension Force Field, Dimension Shifter, Cells, Advanced Alien Containment, Live Overspawn, Walls, One Way to Win, CEO of organizations, Soldiers;