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[WOTC] Covert Infiltration

Complete overhaul of how the player approaches missions on the strategy layer, made with the intention of keeping compatibility with almost any other mod on the workshop. The main effect of this overhaul is an increase in the number of impactful decisions the player needs to make on the strategy layer.

Mission Deployment

• Many missions now need to be 'infiltrated', meaning the squad and their equipment will be unavailable for a time before the mission is launched
  
• The longer the squad prepares before the mission, the more beneficial the mission's SitReps will become and the less likely a Chosen will show up
  
• Assault missions (missions which do not require infiltration) still exist and are mostly the same as vanilla, making the geoscape more varied and interesting
  
• An entirely new UI screen along with extensive changes to vanilla UI to support the new mechanics

Activity Chains

• Most missions have been sorted into semi-randomized sequences of activities (assault, infiltration, or covert action) that we call activity chains
  
• Major rewards are usually granted after the last stage of a chain, but completing intermediary stages is also beneficial for XP and minor rewards
  
• Plan ahead to make the most out of your limited resources and keep the fire of resistance alive

Geoscape Changes

• The default covert actions overview screen has been replaced by the new covert operations UI which allows you to view and manage both actions and infiltrations
  
• Mission opportunities come slow at first but can be increased by contacting new regions and building radio relays once the player is ready
  
• Avatar Facilities require more planning and preparation to unlock, making the Avatar Project more threatening
  
• ADVENT will dynamically target their retaliation strikes onto regions important to the Resistance's war effort, such as regions near Avatar Facilities or regions with radio relays

SitRep Changes

• The most annoying SitReps have been removed with several new ones to compensate
  
• Increased the number and variety of SitReps that will spawn on non-infiltration missions

Covert Action Changes

• XCOM is no longer limited to a single covert action at any given time
  
• Covert actions can be cancelled for an intel cost that ramps up the deeper the squad goes into enemy territory
  
• Risks will increase in severity as the aliens get stronger, but they can be mitigated or prevented by equipping the squad with better gear
  
• Covert actions and scanning sites have been completely rebalanced to make them more distinct from one another
  
• Several overpowered covert actions and scanning sites have been removed and others added in their place

Avenger Changes

• The Resistance Ring is no longer required to run covert actions, and instead is required to assign resistance orders, with engineer slot bonuses related to them
  
• The Guerrilla Tactics School has two training slots and it can train soldiers beyond Squaddie level with the appropriate upgrades
  
• XCOM starts the game with 16 soldiers as well as an engineer and scientist to get that snowball rolling and mitigate bad RNG

Mission Changes

• Completely new Operation Gatecrasher (default one was converted to a normal mission)
  
• Supply Extraction missions reworked with infinite reinforcements
  
• Ambushes can take place on maps other than the abandoned city

Meta

• In-game tutorial popups to explain new mechanics as they are introduced
  
• Plenty of options in the Mod Config Menu to tweak your experience
  
• Full controller support for all custom UI

Covert Infiltration has been designed to only affect the strategy layer, with minimal changes to the game's tactical missions. This means that modded maps, enemies, and soldier classes are all compatible right out of the box, no questions asked. Additional covert actions and scanning sites are also perfectly fine. However, certain other mods that change aspects of the strategy layer are incompatible. Check this thread for a non-exhaustive list.

Mods that add new missions are less reliable given our changes to mission spawning. We cannot guarantee that all modded missions will show up in your campaign. Adjusting missions to correctly spawn is out of scope for config edits and is best left to mod authors.

Mod-added SitReps that are not specially configured will be added to our 'environmental' pool, which are the SitReps that are considered to impact XCOM and ADVENT equally, such as explosive barrels or third-party factions.

Any mod-added item will work fine but may not have precisely customized infiltration hours and risk reduction values. Item categories (weapon, armour, etc) get automatic values which may or may not be balanced - it is obviously better if every item has custom values.

Some mods will already configure their items, missions, or SitReps to work with Covert Infiltration by default, but others may not bother or may no longer be actively maintained. First you should check the Strategy Overhaul bridge mod collection to see if there is a relevant bridge for the mod in question. If there is not, check this guide on configuring modded content.

While we will be checking the comments here from time to time, we encourage you to come chat with us on Discord[discord.gg]!

Project lead: Astral Descend
Second-in-command: NotSoLoneWolf

Contributors: .vhs (assets), ArcaneData (programmer), Arubiano (testing), Barn Cat (testing), bstar (design, testing), captainkek (testing), Chin (testing), Chris the Thin Mint (design), El Grillo (testing), Hannibalian (design), lago508 (design, assets), LordAbizi (testing), MrCloista (design, testing), paledbrook (CHL development), Rai (design, testing), Red1 (Russian translation), Rev (testing), robojumper (CHL development, general advise), RustyDios (testing), Samio (testing), Sgt. Steakfries (testing), Skorpior (testing), Spart117MC (assets), Sputnik Monroe (testing), statusNone (programmer), TeslaRage (testing), TheBr33d (testing), Thrawn (design), Veehementia (testing)

Cannot be added or removed during campaign - the campaign will permanently break.

This project is hosted on GitHub under the MIT license: https://github.com/WOTCStrategyOverhaul/CovertInfiltration

Some screenshots include elements added by other mods.

Covert Infiltration requires all the other Strategy Overhaul mods to form a cohesive and balanced experience, as well as the other four required mods for technical reasons. Do not attempt to play this mod without all of the requirements.