Not fair!

[Aziraphale]

Ok, so I started off at the X-Com UFO Centre forum, and NKF recommended me over here so I wouldn't get bored. So, here I am. Hi, I'm Aziraphale.

 

Anyway, I try to play on Beginner, because let's face it, I'm a beginner. I love the game to death, but I just plain suck at it. I have a limited sense of strategy, though I could win anything in theory. I'm great at Theorycraft. {Theorycraft - noun - Art of using logic in a theoretical situation to win a battle otherwise impossible to win. deriv. frm Starcraft} Anyway, can I have some help on how to never lose a guy in a battle?

 

Every. Single. Battle. I. Always. Lose. At. Least. One. Soldier. Rookie. Or. Veteran. And. It. REALLY. Pisses. Me. Off. :hmmm: :hmmm: :hmmm: :hmmm: :hmmm:

 

I mean, I understand that I should always have reaction fire, and kneel to shoot, and kneel with reaction fire at the end of the turn, but someone always manages to die, enough that I just get so fed up with the game, I haven't even gotten power armor in a long time. Because I'm just so SICK of EVERYONE always DYING!

 

And this is the CE, so I have no clue if X-COMUtil will work, and even then, I really don't like the idea of cheating anyway.

 

I can't GET to the point in the game where I land people with pistols vs mutons, use psi to disable the mutons by dropping all their weapons, and have a free range shooting time! I haven't had psionics in such a long time that I have simply just stopped playing.

 

An up-to-date remake, with a full company, would be great. I'm really sick of having the scroll speed at 1 and twitching my hand, just to have to go to the map again.

 

Also, when do I make another base? Please help? How do I suppliment it? I know how to build it, with the access lift being the only thing touching the hangers, etc. But yeah.

 

On a more humorous note, I started a game, shot down 2 UFOs, and by the 10th of Jan 1999, had my base invaded and destroyed by sectoids. Tanks don't help much when they come out of their cubbyhole and get shot with 5 rounds of heavy plasma.

 

I think I'm done ranting, reply at your own discretion.

 

-Aziraphale

[BladeFireLight]

just about everyone here losses men. so dont get to attached to them.

 

And Xcomutil does work with UFO CE. (and a split for the TFTD exe is in the works I'm told)

 

The way I handls the problem of the loss of men is the have them cover eachother. move slowly and try to keep a formation when crossing open ground.

 

I'm supprized your having speed problems in The CE version. on my 1800+ it is way to slow on scroll setting 1. (but I hate the geoscape speed so I usualy play the dos version on an old system.)

 

I had a similar experiance on the 7th of a game. No new equipment had arrived and i got attaced. but I made it out with one rookie. who only servived becaus she paniced an ran into the where the aliens were lived through a shot by a plama pistol and went bizerk and shot the last 3 sectoies. that was a battle I wish I could see agian

 

-Blade FireLight

[Psy Guy]

Welcome to XTC.

Hmm you know about the out of sight sniper tactic? You use troops too far for the aliens to see to snipe them when a spotter see's one. Also Psionics can greatly reduce losses when combined with the alien inventory trick. (the trick is to Mind control an alien then select a x-com op and enter his/her's inventory and scrol through everyones inventory untill you see the controled alien and then drop all its guns and ammo plus AGs) Also use gernades to bomb or flush out aliens around corners. And for craft try shooting rockets at the diagnal walls of the ships because the blase will travel inside killing any nearby aliens inside and outside the craft. Also use motion scanners to find aliens and use HE weapions to deal with them before they have a chance to fight back. For bases defence missions just be smart and build a well planned base.

 

|HHHH|HHHH|

|HHHH|HHHH|

|HHHH|HHHH|

|HHHH|HHHH|

|LL|

|LL|

|RR|

|RR|

|RR|RR|RR|RR|RR|RR|

|RR|RR|RR|RR|RR|RR|

 

H= hanger

L=Lift

R= Rooms other than Hangers and Lift

-For the main base try to block off the lift and hangers so the aliens can't get inside your base facilities.

-I tend to build my next base around the beginning of march.

-Go streight for laser weapions then go for persional armor then follow up with medi-kits. After that go for hyperwave decoder if you have a navigator

-Mass build laser weapions and sell of extras for cash.

 

-PSY GUY-

(The path toward killing mutons with pistols begins somewhere else )

[Aziraphale]

Speed problems. Yes, very much so.

 

AMD 1.4 gHz Thunderbird, Athlon family.

Windows 2000 Professional.

GeForce II MX 200 (wish I had a better card, but hey, it runs most 3d stuff nicely)

256 meg DDR Ram.

 

If that doesn't qualify for creating speed problems, I don't know what does. It's also really annoying to see aliens walk around, an then even at the slowest setting, I still can't remember where they are.

 

About my squad guys, I usually pair them off and cover each other via leapfrog going slowly. I try to have a high and a low TU person go together so that the high TU person has a lot more time for reaction, as well as the low having a shot for reaction as well. My mortality has dropped dramatically, but still, it's not fair that aliens have a sight radius about 2x bigger than yours! (or what it seems like) :hmmm:

 

As for being attached to my men, it's rather hard, even when I rename them to like "Soldier 1" and so forth. Having a name humanizes them. Not like in Starcraft where I could lose like 24 Terran Marines and not care. (Well, except that I might lose the game, but hey, I didn't care that I lost them except from a strategic point of view) Here, when they have all different names, it's a lot harder to not become attached.

 

And yes, I know. I get too deep into playing games. Shut up.

 

Like I said, I love this game, but it's just so annoying!

[Psy Guy]

For names probs try giving them names like alpha 1 or delta 2 and use there names to identify there squads so its easier to keep track of them. Also change there names around (as in move them into diffrent groups) so you forget who was the last alpha 2 or the original beta 4. Also try calling them all Terran Marine (if you can name them all the same thing) .

 

-PSY GUY-

(Power Suits save lives, and Psi Amps can help)

[NKF]

The path toward fighting mutons with pistols is to not do it at all.

 

Laser and plasma pistols on the other hand are a completely different story.

 

For base design, if I build a base with the idea of placing all enemy access points in one area of the base in mind, I'd also include a secondary passageway to the hangars so that you can take on the enemies from two directions in case it's impossible for you to approach from one of the corridors. You might also want to take note of the way the closets are positioned for particular base modules.

 

Alternately, build less hangars. Having only one hangar means they'll all get herded into the one hangar, making them prime targets for high explosives. Defending the base would get a bit harder, since they'll start pouring out of the hangar and lift rooms if you aren't quick.

 

You know, this is where the smiley 'tiles' would come in handy...

 

Aziraphale: just spend some time reading the threads on this forum. Plenty of good advice all round.

 

Also re: aliens sight, they get to cheat a bit by remembering where you are. On the other hand, their sight radius isn't all that great. If you shoot with a soldier that can't see it, it can't use its opportunity fire on you. By not being able to see it, I mean if the soldier can stare in the general direction of the alien but not see it (as in there's no glowing indicator for that alien).

 

Before getting psi-amps, consider using the mind probe to scan your enemy's TUs before taking action. If it has plenty of TUs, it can use opportunity fire, if it doesn't, well, it won't mind at all if you walk up to it.

 

- NKF

[Aziraphale]

Ok. Need to clarify a few things:

 

1) Mutons with Pistols = Work on Gun Accuracy. Maybe Psi Ability by panicing them a lot. When run out of pistol ammo, kill all the aliens with Heavy Plasma or something. I was only referring this to say I want to get to the point where I can do this in order to beef up my guys.

 

2) I know how to build a base. My only question (which was answered) is WHEN to build a second one.

 

Ok, so just those. Other than that, I've been browsing, and like I said. I'm good at Theorycraft, so I can come to all this myself (re-reading it helps a lot though) but I just can't do it.

 

I'm not trying to be mean, because you're all really nice, but I probably sent a bad example saying I'm a newbie. I'm not a newbie, I just plain suck at UFO Defense.

 

Am I going to be condemned to never be able to beat the game on Beginner?

[NKF]

Early on, I'd recommend you train poor firing accuracy with grenades and reaction fire. I like to scatter about 6 - 8 soldiers armed with pistols/laser pistols (fast, see?) around a ufo door. A lot of the soldiers will start opening fire on any alien stepping out the door, so it's great all-round practice.

 

Or you could just go about stunning the mutons and reviving them with your medikits to disarm them. You can even do that with psi capable aliens to run a little active screening session to find out your psi-strength even before you get the psi-lab.

 

Or hey, brainstorm, flying suits and reapers/chryssalids. Either of these two aliens will absorb enormous amounts of pistol bullets, so they're just as good as Mutons in that respect.

 

As for when you build your base: Well, any time you want, given you can afford it.

 

You can even start work immediately on a new base after the first few missions but it would probably only be enough to consruct a listening post. Just build it up slowly as money comes in.

 

- NKF

[ignore my tentacles]

Unless you are willing to cheat or save the game EVERY combat turn, it's not likely that you will get through the game without losing some soldiers. Even for the most cautious commanders, there will be times where just plain bad luck will cause a soldier to fall prey to alien reaction fire.

 

You do get a little attached your squads at times, especially when a familliar name yet again saves the day by nailing some grenade-wielding muton on reaction fire. But you simply have to exercise a little callousness sometimes. For example, it's a lot worse to lose your first Captain than a rookie I'm sure you will agree- so why not sacrifice that newbie for the sake the rest. Got to get into that house or UFO, and you know there are several aliens ready to fry the first man (or woman) through the door? Send for the rookie. One of two things will happen:

 

1) The rookie opens the door, becomes an alien bullet-sponge and loses his/her breathing privileges. But the door stays open, allowing his/her more experienced and accurate buddies to open fire or sling a few grenades in.

 

2) The rookie whips out a gun, shoots wildly yet somehow guns down the aliens and clears the way. The bonus here is that he/she will gain essential experience and level up to 'squaddie' afterwards.

 

Bearing in mind that rookies will generally lag behind the rest of your team, keep 'em lightly armed, I'd say the laser pistol is probably the best starting weapon for them and a few choice grenades. I don't give them armour until they have become a squaddie, but that's because I'm mean, rather than any sound tactical reasoning.

 

There's tons of sound advice to be found on this site, especially from the 'older members' (i.e. not me) so it won't be long before your losses are down to more acceptable levels.

 

Good luck

 

Ignore-my-tentacles

[Snikers]

In WWII, it was said a pilot did not live long enough to change the sheets on their beds.

 

XCOM is pretty much the same.

 

Truthfully, XCOM is fraught with casualties, no matter what you do. I can only give three

tactics not already discussed.

 

1. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER leave a crucial plan in the hands of a rookie.

 

2. Go in the day whenever possible. Going about at night is a good way to die.

 

3. Remember #1? I want to add to it: NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER!

[Solfius]

I'm not trying to be mean, because you're all really nice, but I probably sent a bad example saying I'm a newbie.  I'm not a newbie, I just plain suck at UFO Defense. 

 

Am I going to be condemned to never be able to beat the game on Beginner?                

You're not the only one.

 

Also I find lines of soldiers a brilliant tactic. A line of troopers moving a few sqaures a turn and kneeling leaving plenty of TUs for reaction fire will mince practically anything that gets in their way, without you having to tell your soldiers to do anything (I once completed a snakeman/chrysallid terror mission doing this, only shot non-reaction fire once or twice)

 

Unfortuantely this don't work too well in buildings.

[NKF]

Instead of going through a door and getting gunned down, why not do the reverse? It's better to fight your battles on the turf of your choosing than it is to fight on theirs. Besides, the aliens do it to you, so why not do it to them?

 

Wait till all the aliens come out and get gunned down by your own reaction fire before you head in and clean up the remaining aliens who guard one spot. This doesn't seem to work so well in TFTD, as the aliens in the USOs don't seem to wander about too much in that game.

 

Try to locate the rooms these aliens most often guard -- they're usually in the same place for every ship type. They often face the doorway with plenty of time units stored up, so you're going to have to think of a method of attacking them indirectly. Heavy plasmas help so you can drill a hole into a side wall, or you might even want to apply a good dose of smoke grenades in front of the door and waiting a few turns before sending someone in.

 

For the large scout, if the engine room is intact and you know the last alien is in the UFO's bridge and is watching both doorways, you can lure it out by heading up the left passageway and standing in the corner (I like to stand by the rightmost corner). By the next turn, the alien will walk towards you, and will often exhaust its TUs by the time it ends its turn, so you can usually walk through the door and shoot it without retaliation. Or drop a proxy mine and run away. This is okay with sectoids, snakemen and floaters. Can't really say much about how it would work against the Mutons and Ethereals though.

 

- NKF

[Aziraphale]

Ok, so I actaully got through January (hey, for me, that's saying something) and I've been making Personal armor for people. All of the sudden in mid febuary, I get a terror attack on the other side of the world (I have EuroCom and am building AmeriCom). In mid January I had a floater Terror attack, but even at night it was simple, simply because I had endless patience with it, and every time someone died or got fatal wounds, I reloaded it. And I saved every turn. So I lost a rookie in the beginning I didn't care about. Got through that no problem, because HE ammunition for autocannon >>> Reapers. My heavy weapons person had like 4 of 5 one-shot kills with that. I liked that mission, I did well on it.

 

I just got my sectoid terror mission, and well, how FAIR is it, exactly, to have 3 cyberdiscs and a sectoid just WAITING for you outside of the Skyranger Ramp? I mean, honestly. This is the kind of thing that pisses me off. And they weren't even in the front of it! They were all sitting behind the ramp so, I moved a guy down, he died. Thinking there was only one, and I had like 10 guys full of TUs with vs a single disc that was running low, I ran another guy outside. She turns around, and gets blasted by not one, but TWO cyberdiscs! From that point I exited the game.

 

Now please tell me, are the maps randomly generated every time you land, or do I have to LEAVE a terror mission without doing anything?

 

And off topic question: Is it possible to use a blaster launcher and destroy the Skyranger, or is the skyranger basically invulnerable?

[Spaceman42]

Randomly generated.

 

Good idea: DON'T click the "Accept Mission" button when the dialog pops up; save, *then* land the Skyranger. Very good for ramp-campers.

 

And yeah, it's indestructible.

[Slythe]

Yes sometimes the random placement of aliens around the LZ can get rather nasty. First off I'd suggest bringing a tank along as a scout, to send out of the Skyranger first and get a look around. Occasionally it'll get shot and destroyed instantly upon moving onto the ramp, in which case you know there's aliens nearby. The next thing you should do is throw a smoke grenade just outside at the bottom of the ramp, and maybe even one inside the Skyranger. Next turn you can move soldiers out into the smoke cloud which should hopefully hide them from immediate reaction fire.

[JellyfishGreen]

The third thing down the ramp - after you lost the second trooper - should have been a primed pack of HE, or a BL round, or (for the purists) a smoke grenade. Three cyberdisks close together could destroy each other through chain reaction, if you manage to get one!

[Xcom-Warblade]

Basically you need PATIENCE. I played the game today and with much patience, managed to blow the living crap out of Sectoids who were invading my most importnat base. In a battle, you need to look at your surroundings....figure out approximately how many TU's it will take to get from Point A to Point B. Like the rest of the guys said, grenades. Grenades are essential to survive, from clearing area to preparing the soldier's dinner (YUM! Sectoid Casserole.... ). USE THEM!!.

[Mouse Nightshirt]

I have successfully completed quite a few games with <5 casualties, without cheating in any way or form. My secret to success comes in three parts (In order of importance):

 

1. Reservation of Time Units.

2. Effective use of cover.

3. Not overestimating self, or underestimating aliens.

 

 

1. This is what, in the long run, will keep your people alive. Early in the game, its not that pheasable, as most of your people have poor reactions, but as the game goes on, it easily becomes the situation "I'll shoot you before you shoot me" - on most of my games, 25-50% of aliens are killed by my reaction fire. Also, if you see an alien, but it doesn't see you, don't go charging after it. They reserve time units. Be careful, or the may react to you.

 

2. A grossly misunderstood, underused and underadvertised piece of advice. Effective use of cover is what will save your people. Walls, trees, hedges, fences, anything, will keep your people alive. If a soldier remains in the centre of a large open area for 3 turns, he will die. Simple as that. Keep your soldiers crouched if at all possible, which not only increases their accuracy by 10%, but means less of them is likely to be hit.

 

3. Accurately judge your enemy. If you think there may be a few round a corner, don't overestimate the abilities of one of your soldiers. Wait for backup.

[NKF]

Mouse, just a few thoughts:

 

1. I agree, if the alien hasn't seen you (in its field of vision), it won't know you're there. I had one very amusing experience recently with a reaper (playing my crazy solo-soldier-with-pistols-against-floater-battleship scenario again), I stepped around the corner of a hedge (right next to my Lightning). Sadly, the gap had been widened from a stray bullet, so a reaper walked right through it and ended its turn a few steps away from the soldier (looking at the lightning). I waited a turn, hoping to get it with reaction fire, and it completely missed my soldier and went on a round-about tour of the Lightning for a few turns. Only when it turned and got the soldier in its field of vision did it charge at him. Had a couple of other similar experiences recently too, so there may be some truth in it.

 

2. I think kneeling gave a 15% bonus. The game just mulitiplies your current accuracy score by 1.15.

 

3. In addition, spend a bit of time probing any enemy that you spot. If you have any reserve troops on the Skyranger, have the ones at the back equip some mind readers so they can do a bit of spy work instead of just twiddling their thumbs. Knowing the strengths of your current enemy is a good bonus and knowing how many TUs it has left helps a great deal when devising a method of tackling it.

 

- NKF

[Slythe]

In addition, spend a bit of time probing any enemy that you spot

 

Off topic a bit but, at one point do people tend to research the mind probe and motion sensor ? I find that after I get laser rifles, personal armour, and medkits, and possibly heavy plasma and a few other things, I usually go for mind probes soonafter so that I can better locate navigators and sectoid leaders. Motion sensors however I tend to ignore til close to the end, but maybe they're more useful than I presume.

[BladeFireLight]

the motion scaners are a decent profit makers for your engineers in the begining.

 

also I'm finding them quite usfull in the new ship design's i'm working on. It helps to know what corners to check befor opening a room. As i have also update the AI files for the orignal maps it helps their to.. althwize you get shot in the back becaus you turned left instead of right.

 

-Blade FireLight

[darkvenom]

The best way to make money is through researching the alien tech and selling it off...

 

alyways keep enought o arm ur men, but if the amount of guns u have are overstocking the clips then sell them, i frankly only keep laser rifles, heavy plasmas, stun launchers, BB launchers, and a few tanks (psi amps as well). By selling equipment off it also helps on reducing stores heaps!

 

Also save ellerium, dont manufacture any alien weapon tech, unless u realli have to! I think everyone starts off from a point where u dont realli know how to establish urself, but trust me, u soon see patterns in the game that make u strategies before events occur...

 

i realli need to go to bed, i got work 2morro!!!