Long War, EW, tweaking my playing experience

[Gordonmull]

Hi folks

 

I've been icing xenos since the 90s and bought EU, played a bit then got bored with what, at the time, I thought was a step backwards in AI. I'm now getting back into it and lurking the forums a bit into the bargain, having fun and now treating it as a game in its own right, instead of a successor to the original.

 

From what I read Classic and Impossible seem to have you practically unable to put a foot wrong or you lose the game. I've been through the previous titles over and over again, so please don't doubt my acceptance of challenge but that just doesn't sound like fun to me. Too formulaic. I used to "love" losing whole squads at worst or many soldiers to those comic events (alien grenade/blaster launcher into the skyranger, hot LZ, hot chryssie-infested LZ etc) and having to recover from it but this just sounds punishing. War has its casualties after all.

 

With the above in mind, I'm thinking of trying Long War, it sounds a bit more old-school friendly. However it seems I need EW to use it. While I'm aware I can get an older version I'd rather not for stability reasons. EW seems to introduce something that kind of goes against the grain to me - the MEC soldiers. Start doing that and we're no better than the aliens, so I'm not too into that.

 

Is it possible to play through EW without using this feature?

 

For info I don't use Ironman because there will always be bugs and misclicks and cats jumping on the keyboard etc. but I do have the discipline never to need it. X-com's pointless if you savescum.

[Hobbes]

Is it possible to play through EW without using this feature?

 

Yes. I've completed several campaigns of EW without using MECs or Gene Mods (I hate how the sleeveless look is also used with Titan armor), and ignoring the Meld canisters helps prevent unwanted alien activations.

[Gordonmull]

That does sound encouraging then and worth a try.

 

Thanks Hobbes and since I've not had the opportunity to say it to you before, thanks for your great fanfic too. Really visceral, really enjoyable and really relaxing when you are not in the mood to go up against packs of chryssies yourself.

[Hobbes]

That does sound encouraging then and worth a try.

 

Thanks Hobbes and since I've not had the opportunity to say it to you before, thanks for your great fanfic too. Really visceral, really enjoyable and really relaxing when you are not in the mood to go up against packs of chryssies yourself.

 

Only saw this now, cheers