Slow strategy progression?

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

I'm using LW2 version 1.4, playing on Windows 8 on Steam, and also using the Alternate Mod Launcher (https://github.com/Gribbleshnibit8/xcom ... tag/v1.0.0) just for easier mod organization.

Here (https://pastebin.com/YZ1BrqnX) is the mod options ini which should list all mods I'm using. A majority of them are just soldier cosmetics, and the purely cosmetic mods are marked with an asterisk in front of the line, but I left them in since I am using them and they may have some weird effect on config files.

The (what seems to be a) bug is that the strategy layer seems to be progressing very slowly. I'm on veteran difficulty, in the beginning of May of the first year, and so far, no dark events have shown up, ADVENT strength is 1, 2, and 2 in the three regions I have contacted, and vigilance and force seem to be progressing slowly. I can only chalk so much up to me handling the strategy well (which I normally don't), so this seems really odd to me.

I did an .ini refresh but I can't really tell if it worked or not. No dark events still, and ADVENT strength is the same.

The only file I've edited is is the characterstats config in the LW2 files in the steam workshop, and the only edit I made was to decrease hp variance on veteran difficulty from 3-7 to 4-7. This caused a weird bug where when I gatecrasher'd all my soldiers took mass damage. This happened once and I restarted the mission and they were fine, so I didnt pay it much mind.

Thank you for reading! Any help is appreciated!

[LordYanaek]

Unless this changed recently, using the Community Highlander Mod with LW2 required some special steps to avoid conflict. Did you follow every instruction? I don't use it myself so i can't tell you precisely but both LW2 and CHM are "highlander" mods because "there can be only one" so they will conflict by default.

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

I did have that mod enabled, although I could not tell you why that is. I was playing Spectrum Green a while back so maybe that needed Community Highlander?

The strange thing is, since I stopped playing with Spectrum Green, I have done 1 LW2 campaign before this, and the strategy progression was normal.

Regardless, I disabled the mod, but I'm guessing I need to start a new campaign for it to take effect?

[fowlJ]

Unless this changed recently, using the Community Highlander Mod with LW2 required some special steps to avoid conflict. Did you follow every instruction? I don't use it myself so i can't tell you precisely but both LW2 and CHM are "highlander" mods because "there can be only one" so they will conflict by default.

Unless it became more complicated since last I used them together, it's as simple as just deleting or commenting out the LW2 version of the .upk file. Still worth checking, I guess, but I'm pretty sure trying to use both of them together just makes the game crash anyway, which didn't happen here.

Speedbump, do you happen to know what the exact Force Level actually is? At the beginning of May, I think it should be around 4 or so, maybe still 3 at that point. ADVENT Strength can be kind of slow moving at lower difficulties, so that isn't necessarily very odd.

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

Force level is currently at 4 (with a +1 next to it according to the LW2 information display mod).

[fowlJ]

That's normal, then. The +1 means it's going to tick up again sometime soon, so you're actually about to hit the next batch of new enemies (Mutons, Najas, and ADVENT Scouts, and with MECs becoming eligible to be followers in pods, instead of just leaders).

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

So if that is normal, and the low ADVENT strength could be normal, that really only leaves dark events. Why would those not be showing up, now that I'm in the third month?

Is it possible they are happening, and I'm not detecting them? Or is their development based on ADVENT strength?

EDIT: I looked at the previous campaign I was doing, and dark events seemed to be progressing like normal. Is the problem likely with the .ini I edited, even though it was the character stats file? If so, is it possible to refresh the files in the steam workshop directory?

[Antenociti]

Have you liberated a region yet? (I think you have to liberate a region before you start seeing dark events. )

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

No, but, In my previous campaign, I was on step 2 of region liberation. In my current campaign, I'm on step 1.

[Antenociti]

Not 100% on this - but iirc the dark events go on in the background until you liberate a region (or on one of the later missions to do so).

Until then I think you can breeze along seemingly without a care in the world whilst, in the background, all sort of stuff is going on you just aren't seeing.

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

I guess that kind of makes sense? The only difference between the two campaigns are the steps of region liberation.

[Speedbump from Chinatown]

Would there even really be any way to test this?

Dark events dont show up until the third month anyway, and it would take 10 or so hours for me to get to that point from a new campaign.

If it would help I can post a copy of the config folders from the steam workshop directory, and maybe someone can see if they look okay?

EDIT: From what people are saying here, on JoINrbs' discord, and reddit, this seems to be normal just unlikely behavior. I guess I'll just keep playing and follow up if something happens.

[WanWhiteWolf]

Dark events are visible without liberation.

I don't know if it's something related to difficulty. Maybe they start showing up a bit later on Veteran.

Easiest way to test it - is to make a save and then simply pass the time / ignoring everything. It may take 5 minutes of globe scanning , but you can probably reach July; if by then you don't have them then something is off.