Improvements (OpenApoc)

OpenApoc introduces dozens of optional gameplay improvements and enhancements beyond the original X-COM: Apocalypse. All of these can be toggled on or off through the More Options menu accessible from the in-game options screen.

For a complete list of differences from the original game (including technical improvements, controls, and bug fixes), see Differences to X-COM (OpenApoc).

Cityscape Improvements

Option	Description	Default
Improved city control scheme	Completely new control scheme using modifier keys for direct orders, UFOpaedia lookups, and additive selection. See Controls (OpenApoc) for details. Can be disabled to restore vanilla controls.	ON
Ferry checks relationship when buying	Transtellar checks its relationship with X-COM before providing transport services. In the original, transports were always available regardless of relationship.	ON
Allow manual use of teleporters in city	Players can manually route vehicles through teleporter buildings for quick transport across the city.	ON
Allow manual ferrying of cargo and non-combatants	Manual control over ferry transport of cargo and non-combat personnel.	ON
Allow soldiers to call taxi	Soldiers can use taxis for transport. In the original, only civilians could use taxis.	ON
Allow attacking owned vehicles	X-COM can attack its own vehicles. This was impossible in the original game.	ON
Call existing transport	Reuses existing transport vehicles instead of spawning new ones each time.	ON
Recover dropped equipment	Equipment dropped by agents in the city is automatically recovered and returned to base stores.	ON
Enforce vehicle cargo limits	Strict enforcement of vehicle cargo capacity. When disabled, vehicles can carry unlimited cargo (original behavior was inconsistent).	OFF
Nearby vehicle loot pickup	Nearby X-COM vehicles can collect loot from crash sites and battles, not just the vehicle that initiated the mission.	ON
Building loot deposit	Recovered loot can be deposited inside buildings for later collection.	ON
Armored roads	Roads have damage reduction, making them harder to destroy during city combat.	ON
Ground vehicles crash on lost support	Ground vehicles without road support crash. Weapons and modules may be lost in the crash.	ON
Dimension gate crash	Vehicles incapable of dimensional travel crash when entering dimension gates.	ON
Out of fuel crash	Vehicles crash when their fuel runs out completely.	ON
Collapse raided building	Buildings collapse after a successful raid operation.	OFF
Retaliation on unintentional hit	Any stray shot hitting a hostile building provokes immediate retaliation.	OFF
Market on right	Market stock displayed on the right side of the transaction screen (swap from default left).	ON
Left click icon for equip	Left-clicking a unit's icon opens the equipment screen directly.	OFF
Skip turbo movement	Performance optimization that skips turbo movement calculations.	OFF
ATV UFO missions	All Terrain Vehicles (Griffon, Wolfhound APC) can initiate UFO recovery missions.	ON
Show current dimension vehicles	Vehicle list filters to show only vehicles in the current dimension (or entering/leaving).	ON
Non-X-COM vehicle prefix	Non-X-COM vehicles are prefixed with * in vehicle lists for easy identification.	ON
Iso-only follow	Disables automatic camera following in strategy (isometric) view.	OFF
Currency formatting	Monetary values displayed with locale-appropriate currency formatting (e.g., $1,234,567).	ON

Battlescape Improvements

Option	Description	Default
Instant explosion damage	Explosions cause damage immediately rather than with a visual delay.	ON
UFO damage model	Uses the UFO: Enemy Unknown damage randomization model (0-200% of base damage) instead of Apocalypse's narrower damage range.	OFF
Gravlift sounds	Sound effects play when units enter or exit gravlifts.	ON
Realistic throwing	Units must face the target and be in the correct stance before throwing items. When disabled, throws are instant regardless of facing.	ON
Payload explosion	Carried ammunition detonates when a unit or vehicle is destroyed, causing additional explosions.	ON
Display unit paths	Movement paths are visually displayed during tactical combat, showing where units will move.	ON
Additional unit icons	Extra status icons shown on the unit panel for fatal wounds and psionic effects.	ON
Force-firing parallel	Force-fire mode allows shots aimed parallel to the ground plane (useful for suppression).	ON
LOS for psi maintenance	Psionic attacks require maintained line of sight to the target. When disabled, psi effects persist without LOS.	OFF
Vehicle shield sound	Different sound effect when vehicle shields absorb damage, providing audio feedback.	ON
Run and kneel	Units default to running movement and kneeling stance.	ON
Auto-reload	Weapons automatically reload from carried ammunition when a clip is expended.	ON
Same ammo type reload	Auto-reload only uses the same ammunition type that was previously loaded (won't switch ammo types).	ON
Mousewheel vertical scroll	Mouse scroll wheel changes the displayed map level in battlescape.	ON
Single squad select	Single-click on squad number buttons selects the entire squad (instead of requiring double-click).	OFF
Disable scroll sounds	Turns off the scrolling sound effect when moving the map.	OFF

General Improvements

Option	Description	Default
Debug commands visible	Displays debug/cheat command buttons in the interface. See Hidden Features (OpenApoc) for details.	ON
Advanced inventory controls	Shift+click for auto-equip/remove, Ctrl+click to remove clips from weapons.	ON
Agent equipment templates	Save and load agent equipment loadouts with number keys (Ctrl+1-0 to save, 1-0 to apply to all selected agents).	ON
Seed RNG	Seeds the random number generator at game start for varied gameplay each time.	ON
Mouse capture	Captures the mouse cursor within the game window, preventing it from leaving the window boundary.	OFF

Mod Options

These options modify game balance or add non-standard features:

Option	Description	Default
Max tile repair per night	Maximum number of scenery tiles construction vehicles repair each night (configurable 0-100).	5
Scenery repair cost factor	Percentage of original price organizations pay for scenery tile repair (configurable 0-100%).	10%
Stunning hurts relationships	Stunning units belonging to an organization damages X-COM's relationship with that organization.	OFF
Raid hurts relationships	Initiating a raid on a building damages the relationship with its owner organization.	OFF
Original BSK Launcher sound	Uses the original game's Brainsucker Launcher sound effect.	ON
Invulnerable roads	Roads cannot be damaged or destroyed by any weapons.	OFF
Griffon ATV	The Griffon AFV becomes an all-terrain vehicle capable of off-road movement.	ON
Wolfhound ATV	The Wolfhound APC becomes an all-terrain vehicle capable of off-road movement.	ON
Low HP vehicle crash	Vehicles crash when their health drops critically low. Weapons and modules may be lost.	OFF

Pause Notifications

OpenApoc adds a comprehensive configurable notification system that pauses the game when specific events occur. Each notification can be individually toggled in the options. These are not present in the original game.

City Notifications

UFO spotted
Vehicle damage (light / moderate / heavy / destroyed)
Vehicle escaping (damaged and returning to base)
Vehicle out of ammo / low fuel
Agent died / arrived at base
Cargo / transfer / recovery arrived at base
Vehicle repaired / rearmed / refuelled
Not enough ammo / fuel
Unauthorized vehicle detected
X-COM base destroyed

Battle Notifications

Hostile spotted / died
Unknown unit died
Agent died / brainsucked
Agent critically wounded / badly injured / injured
Agent under fire / unconscious / left combat zone
Agent frozen / berserk / panicked / panic over
Psionic attack on unit / unit under psionic control / freed from control