Am Phase Description (spoiler Confirmed)

[rocksk]

This game can be described in 4 phases.

1st Learning ..

Beginning of the game. Stand and shoot every trans and alien with ease.

 

2nd Need to change..

Stand and shoot not longer works due to rocket, plasma gun aliens and powerful spitting trans. Tactical changes to ‘Move shoot move shoot’.. PSI stringer...

Most noticeable change is the alien weapon improve to rocket and plasma gun. And your guys will suddenly die when hit once or twice.

 

3rd Need for ambush..

Move shoot move shoot is more important then ever in long range combat due to advance plasma gun rain. Lots of people complain about sudden death of their troops in long or close range encounters. Importance of Alien armor research increases 100 fold.

It is raining Advance Laser and Advance plasma gun, rockets. Troops started to go sickbay more often. Others did not make it back. Those who keep their guys in together will pay for their resistance to change. The whole squad will suddenly die if hit by advance plasma. Go read the book call who took my cheese for ideas.

 

Ambush is more important then ever.

Tactical in urban is changed to.

Shoot run hid wait shoot check proceed

Shoot (attach attention)

Run

Hid (take cover behind wall)

Wait (wait for ret to walk by)

Shoot (shoot at short range with maximum power)

Check (look around for more prey)

Proceed (carry on)

 

Tactical in open area is changed to.

Keep apart spot shoot run shoot. PSI PSI PSI

 

4th PSI heaven .. Move shoot move shoot is suddenly useless due to warp weapon and micro slug acc and PSI projector. Alien ability is heroic now. Your troops are dropping like flys if you are still in low level armor. Sound of mini gun together with alien screaming is also common. Flame thrower also make their entrances with fire together with super power sniper rifle.

Suddenly stand and shoot works again. The change here is shot with maximum firepower at super long-range couple with psi steam for safely. Of cause the stand and shoot is not the same as 1st phase.

Tactical

Stay apart, and shoot. Possible victim of ret’s target should run very fast while others take the ret down with high power sniper rifle and mini gun.

One funny thing is Cloth Armor is suddenly the best anti warp defense, 70% compare with bio armour 65%. I am not suggesting you go and wear cloth. It is just funny to know that nude is better then thick heavy armor.

 

My questions will be. What trigger the changes. And is there other phase of the game I missed out. Mission story confirmed do not trigger the phase changed. Level of troops? Game Time? Reseach?

[TopCat]

In my experience the appearance on the map of each story mission ramps up the alien weaponry. Certainly rocket launchers and microslugs appear as soon as the Russian base mission appears on the map. The appearance of the "Retribution" mission also seems to trigger a difficulty increase.

 

Level of the soldiers also seems to have some effect. I was experimenting the other night with a team I'd increased to level 20 using a save editor. Just after the first story mission (Area 51) I had my team go on a pilot rescue mission. Right next to the drop zone were 2 Deathbellows. The squad were wiped out in seconds. With squads I've levelled up properly Deathbellows never started appearing until much, much later.

 

TC

[sigget]

The game works around phases, there's something like 15 or so, the shift from one phase to another seems to be guided by base count, game time and research. I wanted to try how this actually worked so i started a new game, refused to go to area51, i wanted to get more bases and better troops before it got hard, then suddenly, russian area51 popped up, seemed strange, i didnt go there either, then i got biomass, on the 1st of march if i remember correctly. So you can stall the phase shifts but not for very long.

[rocksk]

Did you take note of the level of your troops. It seem to get harder each time my guys level up at around 6 and then around level 10.

 

I kind of enjoy low level trans (Chomper and unarmed dangerfly)

until around level 6, using the shotgun method, then boom. Trans is no longer close combat only, Slimethrower and G11 armed trans start blowing my guys away.

 

If it is our troops level, then i believe the phase change and storyline mission started around 7, then 11, then 15.

 

The fact that Area 51 had appeared twices on different game when my guys level up to 8 could mean something. And both time, i enter the missions with 3 level8 3 level7 and 1 recuit level 4 armed with only assult rifles and faces only laser pistols and rifles and plasma gun ret could mean something too. Not sure.

 

Before level 6, the ret is armed only with laser pistol and got blow away like dust.

[sigget]

If you extract the files and have a look at strategic/configs/game you'll see that the game has 12 phases, triggered by tech advances or base count, and how the difficulty for each phase is described.

 

Or perhaps im reading it wrong and you get access to the tech and the base count when you enter the phase...

[rocksk]

[see that the game has 12 phases, triggered by tech advances or base count]

 

Roger that, can you give some details on that. I like to know what trigger what.

[Chryssalid_Victim]

Would really love to know what these phases are described as

 

i.e.

 

1) ludicrously easy

2) Plasma Gun could hurt a tad

.

.

.

.

7) Rocket 4 j00

8) It's PSI time!!!!

.

10) It's raining death......

.

12) YOU'RE STILL PLAYING?!

 

Look forward to hearing more about this

[rocksk]

Me too. Had not long into the file yet, maybe later