Facility Lead Issue?

[marceror]

I just researched a Facility Lead, which clearly indicated that it would provide me the precise location of an Advent Blacksite facility to perform a tactical strike. Yet, after returning to the world map, the alien facility in question is stating that I will need to make contact with the local resistance before I can attempt the mission.

What gives?

[Zyrrashijn]

This is working as intended. Without the lead, you would have never learned about that facility in the first place. They changed that from vanilla. You still need to make contact first, though.

[marceror]

This is working as intended. Without the lead, you would have never learned about that facility in the first place. They changed that from vanilla. You still need to make contact first, though.

Interesting. Though the quirk here is that I already knew about the facility. I could see that it had been added to the map. Maybe I didn't really, really, really know about the facility though -- in the Biblical sense, or something. I dunno.

Okay, I guess I'll really deprioritize the use of facility leads for the time being, since if this is working as intended, I'm feeling rather unimpressed. Maybe I'm missing something and it will all become clear in time....

[JM01]

If this is indeed working as intended then Facility Leads have become worthless in every way. When advent creates a new facility the game tells you which region it was built on so you don't need to have the icon on the world map to know where it is. This literally makes facility leads a waste of intel. Worst part is they made the option of selling facility leads unavailable as you can't sell them anymore (though I believe you can actually change this in the config).

[Jadiel]

I'm not sure you understand the mechanic. Yes, when the aliens build the facility you know it's in South Africa (or wherever). This tells you you need to contact that region. However, even if you have contacted the resistance in South Africa, the facility doesn't appear until you find a Facility Lead for that facility. Once you've researched the Facility Lead, it actually appears as a mission on the Geoscape.

So whereas in Vanilla, Facility Leads were purely optional (you knew where Facilities were, and you could contact that region and attack it), in Long War 2, you can't ever attack a Facility without a Facility Lead. So they are pretty important.

[marceror]

That's what I was beginning to understand. Since I could already see that there was a facility, based on my vanilla XCOM 2 experience it never originally occurred to me that the facility lead was actually a requirement to launch the mission.

Also, it might be helpful to add a note in the facility lead description that making contact with the resistance first is a requirement. The current verbiage tells me that the lead gives me the exact location of the building, so it's not really intuitive that the exact location of the facility isn't enough to assault it. Directly calling that out would probably avoid some confusion.

[JM01]

Wow if that is the case then that is even worse. Now not only do you need to make contact with the region but you need a facility lead to even get it to show up on the map? On top of that to get a facility lead you have to be lucky enough to get it as a mission reward from an intel package (as far as I am aware getting a facility lead is a chance from an intel package and a rare one at that). This is a pretty bad design flaw unless the chance of getting a facility lead goes way up once one has spawned somewhere. If that is not the case then attacking a facility will be yet another RNG feature that wasn't needed in a game already too filled with RNG.

Oh well at the very least it seems like right now the mod is in kind of a "test the waters" phase so this could be changed but a facility lead requirement is kind of dumb.

If I am completely wrong on this though please feel free to tell me to shut up and go stand in a corner as I am glad to be wrong about how I am understanding this.

[Peerless Girl]

You're understanding it fine. I believe but haven't done it yet myself that using skulljacks with Skullmine on high-ranking officers and such has a good chance to reward facility leads also. Frankly I was ecstatic when I learned you couldn't just "automagically" find a facility and attack it, since it made no sense in vanilla. This way yeah, resistance has let you know there's some kind of facility activity somewhere in (whatever region) but they have no idea exactly where it is, until you find it's location, and can then hit it.

[Zyxpsilon]

Another issue to consider with this new "naming convention" is that the true BlackSite storyline mission uses a similar detection mechanic. Once on the map -- it has a clear special 3d-Model & the Events row of symbols explicitely gives it an Objective/Arrow layer to identify it.

Now comes the mystery Facilities Lead ruleset requirements..

1) The usual "Need to Infiltrate" popup step shows up as an "Intel Package" hint only.. THIS can be solved be editing their XComGame.INT file from Line #1861...
------------------
;; REWARD TEMPLATES
[Reward_Rebel X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Resistance Personnel"

[Reward_ResistanceMEC X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Resistance MEC"

[Reward_NewResources X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="New Resources"

[Reward_POI_LW X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Intel Package"

[Reward_Dummy_POI X2RewardTemplate]
;DisplayName="Intel Package"
DisplayName="Liberation Chain"

[Reward_Dummy_Materiel X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Enemy Materiel"

[Reward_Dummy_Unknown X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Unknown"

[Reward_Dummy_Unhindered X2RewardTemplate]
DisplayName="Unhindered Operations"

[Reward_FacilityLead X2RewardTemplate]
;DisplayName="Intel Package"
DisplayName="Facility Lead"
--------------------------

I commented out ( ; ) the original string and enhanced it here as green for clarity. You'd just replace it with the RED text (direct ID tag!) instead of receiving such a guessing spoof.
I've also took that opportunity to specify the Liberation Chain stuff, btw.

2) Once these are finally revealed .. some extra annoying steps must be performed. But this quote from a request/suggestion i made to Pavonis staff explains better what should be re-designed into that complex process;
--------------
-- QoL/Info: I get that you wanted to set a mystery gimmick by "hiding" the Facility reveals when they've been almost shown by a VERY rapid banner hint below the Doom Tracker.. but about two months ago i got one such swift Info -- and i just can't recall what Region that precise counter-reaction to alien activities attempt should be either scanned for or skulljacked to obtain a *random* Lead/Pad.

Thus.. once the hint(s) start to appear officially -- please try adding a few HUD ways to help us take the right decisions at the most optimal times by;

-- 1) Coloring that Region red and/or (still, early if you must) dump the Red/Triangular 3d Model on the Geoscape, or
-- 2) Put a small symbol (mini-triangles? Remember the EU radar!) in the Haven-Management list. We got two cool Cyan dots for the Liberation steps, didn't we?
-- 3) Drop a dedicated Tag in any of the affected Region Banner(s) somewhere.. but more obvious than those minuscule HA rank Icons.
-----------------

3) As if it wasn't enough.. the HQ Assault(s) also receive a yellowish "BlackSite" event icon -- without the tiny Star overlay!! I changed that image too.. for my brain sanity.

[trihero]

Also, it might be helpful to add a note in the facility lead description that making contact with the resistance first is a requirement.

It's one of the tips in the loading screen, but I agree it could be more explicit.