X-COM PSX Controls

[Fox]

Hey so I finally got UFO on PSX. But what the eff are all the controls? I think I got the Geoscape mastered, but what are the damn controls for the Battlescape? I mean I can't even kneel ffs. Anyone care to enlighten me on how things work?

[Fox]

Uh, nevermind. I figured it out. And I also figured out there is a "POINT AND CLICK" interface. Which is about 100000 times easier. Does anyone know of a mouse for the playstation? That sure would be easy.

[Zombie]

Fox: I've been playing X-COM on the Playstation for about 9 years now, so if you have any questions I probably know the answers. For instance: to open a door without stepping through, just press the circle button. You get the idea.

 

Yes, there is a Playstation mouse. I haven't used one yet, but I'm guessing that it is a whole lot easier than the standard controller. Me thinks the mouse plugs into the I/O slot on the back of the unit, not the controller port.

[Fox]

Oh wow, that's way helpful. What other tricks do you know? And is your PSX really laggy on the Geoscape? It isn't smooth at all as the days go by.

[Zombie]

Here are a few general/Geoscape tricks I know.

 

When you first start the game, the Microprose name flashes up and then the trailer starts. To bypass these screens completely, simply press"X". That brings you directly to the starting screen.

 

If you accidentally start a new game with the hotspot interface selected, you'll see the globe after selecting the placement of your base. But if you want to get to the menu options to change to the point and click interface, press "select" twice. That should highlight the INTERCEPT menu option in light lavender. Now scroll down to OPTIONS, and do the switch. That's a whole lot easier than reloading the game!

 

If you have the point and click interface selected, and want to rotate the globe manually without mucking around with the globe control icons in the lower right, do this: First, place the yellow pointer to the place on the globe you want to view. Next, click the "Circle" button. That should rotate the globe to the desired location. If the location you want to see is on the other side of the earth, place the pointer near the very edge of the globe and press the "Circle" button a few times. In order to zoom in and out you still need to use those icons in the lower right.

 

And yes, the Playstation gets kinda laggy, especially if the game is deciding where to place UFO's and close to the end of the month. Get a year into the game, and the Geoscape time goes by real choppy. You might want to run the time in lower increments (like hours instead of days) to keep the game from going too slow. If you accidentally get caught into a freeze up when the 1 Day time is selected, press the "Circle" button, and the time should slow down momentarily to 1 Hour. Pressing the "Circle" button when 1 hour is selected will reduce the increments to 30 mins. Each press of that button will make the clock move ahead by 1/2 of the current time increment selected. This sometimes helps the game to "decide" what to do next, without wasting an entire afternoon waiting for the Geoscape to go by 1 Day.

 

I'll have to scrounge up my tricks for the Battlescape for you. Hope that helps for now. If you have any other questions, please ask!

[Bomb Bloke]

Keep in mind that a 486 with a 3D card can outperform a Playstation.

 

The trick for rotating the globe works in the PC version as well. Only noticed it a few months back. Just right-click the map, and it centers on that location. Dead handy when the game's running waaaaay too fast and it's impossible to turn the globe with any precision.

[NKF]

Once I discovered that trick, I've never used the controls for anything else, except for turning the globe upside down or to spin the globe around non stop. Generally silly things that can't be done with the centre-on-location button.

 

You can also use right click on the zoom buttons to instantly zoom in or out. The PSX version may have this as well, but I couldn't say.

 

- NKF

[Fox]

Awesome guys... do you know if there is anyway to change from point and click to hotspot with the press of a button? Hotspot has its benefits, and so does point and click... since I am a PC veteran it's hard to get used to hot spot, but I could see how it could be easier if you got proficient at it. Do all you guys use hotspot?

[Bomb Bloke]

Never touched the PS version. I'd stick to point-and-click myself, faster or not.

 

On the PC version, there's a button to turn border markers/town names on and off. Any such thing on the PS?

[Zombie]

Awesome guys... do you know if there is anyway to change from point and click to hotspot with the press of a button?  Hotspot has its benefits, and so does point and click... since I am a PC veteran it's hard to get used to hot spot, but I could see how it could be easier if you got proficient at it.  Do all you guys use hotspot?

 

Once you are in the hotspot interface, you need to actually go into the menu via the select button (twice) to switch it to the point & click interface. The options tab is the only way you can "toggle" these two modes. And there are no button shortcuts on the controller to switch them. All I can say is that the hotspot interface is rather unwieldy, and doesn't offer the same ease of control as the point & click interface. I'd stick with the Point & Click, because I have yet to master all the nuances the other interface offers.

 

Right, I forgot that one. Press the circle button (similar to the right mouse button on the PC) when the yellow pointer is sitting over either zoom button. If you are zoomed out initially, when you click the circle button on the zoom in button, the view is the extreme close-up. The reverse also applies when you are zoomed in.

 

There are no buttons to turn on/off the boarder/cities in the Playstation. If you have the globe as it's smallest size (zoomed out the furthest), click the zoom in button once to show the boarders. Click it another time, and it shows the country names. A third time shows the cities. The next two zoom-in clicks don't show anything new, just a closer view.

 

Keep the questions comming, Fox. I know you've got more!

[Fox]

For instance: to open a door without stepping through, just press the circle button. You get the idea.

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I tried that, but with point and click interface circle just makes the guy look that way (like right clicking on PC). Is there something special you have to do to open the door?

[Zombie]

First, make sure the soldier is standing directly behind the door. Next, highlight the square behind the door you want to open and press the circle button. This should face the soldier so that he/she is looking point-blank at the door. Now, press the circle button directly behind the door once more. This should open the door without the soldier actually walking through it - good for all sorts of things, especially UFO raids.

[Fox]

Ok, it worked Awesome. I'm in March of my PSX game... farthest I've ever gotten on PSX. It's working nicely, it was really an awesome port over to playstation. Works amazing. This could totally be put on PSP! I say we start a petition.