Help me beat the game, please :)

[Sungazer]

I've played TFTD on and off over the years, and as you can guess by the title, never beat it. In the past, I was probably too young and this game is hard, but I later realized that I was repeatedly sealing my fate by screwing up the research tree.

 

I've come close; mantas, mag. ion armour, full sonic tree, etc. Just could never get T'Leth to pop-up in my Research. In my last attempt a couple years ago I finally found patch v2.0 and had a good game going, but lost the flash drive where the entire game was stored and ran from (portable X-Com ftw!)

 

So I got the itch and went out looking for the patch, and that brought me here. I lurked for a bit and saw how helpful everyone was, so...this.

 

I'll be starting a Campaign on Beginner (yeah yeah, I've never beat it and this game is hard enough), and using this thread to type out a playthrough with gripes and questions along the way that anyone is free to answer. While I'm pretty familiar with the game I also welcome any advice, I know I can always learn something.

 

If I don't get a lot of responses, no sweat, this will serve as a blog-style record of my game that may help me in the end anyway.

 

----------------------------------------------------------

 

New Campaign

Difficulty: Beginner

Version: 2.1

xcomutil?: No

 

** Jan 1st 2040 - First Base **

 

I usually place my first base in the western Atlantic off the eastern coast of the US because they are my highest paying sponsor and there's a nice big open ocean with lots of activity (usually.) This base is very creatively named "West Atlantic"

 

Opening Preparations

 

At the base window, to make sure I don't forget anything, I start at the top of the menu and work my way down.

 

Aquanauts

 

I screen for Aquanauts with less than 40 Bravery and re-name each one "Coward." Those with 40 Bravery or higher receive a name. The "Cowards" I keep around in the beginning and use them as "Spotters", usually equipped with light weaponry (Jet Harpoons early-game, Sonic Pistols later), a thermal tazer and/or chem flares. They're my sacrificial lambs that eat alien reaction shots and spot aliens for my "named" Aquas to kill. Aren't I terrible?

 

Once I have 12-15 "named" at a base, I'll sack any Cowards that survived so I don't have to keep paying them. After all this is done, here's how my opening personnel roster came out:

 

Coward

Minotaur

Nick

Coward

Balthazar

Vladimir

Coward

Coward

 

Meh, 4 cowards and 4 named, I've done worse. On names: I usually use the first letter of their name and grab something out of the air. You may recognize some from time to time

 

Equip Submarine

 

Starting with the Triton-1, I remove all Dart Guns and ammo, reduce the Jet Harpoons/Clips to 5/10, use both Gas Cannons and all of the AP-ammo, but I remove the HE. I like more control than those give me, and I've killed a lot of civilians with HE rounds in the past, whoops. I don't care for the Hydro Cannon, Torpedo Launcher or Dye Grenades either.

 

I change out the Gas-cannon on Barracuda-1 for a DUP launcher, but leave Barracuda-2 as-is for Very Small subs.

 

Build Facilities

 

Time to fix the wonderful starting layout. (Not using xcomutil, but I've read about it, not interested atm.) I build a sub pen to the left of the north one, alien containment to the east of the workshop, living quarters south of the lab, and wide array sonar south of the general stores.

 

Research

 

I'm going with the Particle Dist. Sensor (PDS) instead of Gauss for a few reasons. One, it's in the top 3 I believe for profit per time unit in regards to money-making. Two, it can be done by the first week, whereas you have to nearly finish the Gauss tree at Cannon to beat its profit per unit. Finally, I almost always shoot down and successfully recover some kind of sonic weaponry in the first few days, so I *might* make it to gauss pistol clips before I'm buried in a list of better options.

 

Purchase/Recruit

 

2 Aquanauts

20 Scientists

3 Gas Cannons

12 GC-AP Bolts

5 Thermal Tazers

5 Chem-Flares

 

Sell/Sack

 

1 Ajax Launcher

3 Craft Gas Cannon

5 Dart Gun

13 Dart Clip

3 Jet Harpoon

10 Harpoon Clip

1 GC-HE Bolts

1 Hydro Cannon

6 HJ-AP Ammo

1 Torpedo Launcher

4 Small Torpedo

5 Dye Grenade

 

Build New Base

 

Because I'm maxed out on living space and have no manufacturing to do, I decide to get an early start on a second base. This one goes in the Sea of Japan because it's one of the cheaper places to build one (500k) and the Asia Coalition is my second-highest paying sponsor. It is cleverly named "Sea of Japan" and it gets a sub pen and general stores to start.

 

Funds after preparations: $303,346

 

Ouch. I know I'm broke, but I'm not worried. Alien loot will be available soon and so will PD Sensors for profit.

 

Now What?

 

Well, at this point I usually speed time way up and just sit and wait for my crappy sonar to pick up a sub or I get hit with a Terror mission. I recently read a post where someone talked about using their triton to help patrol early, so I think I'll try that. I send my Triton further east into the Atlantic towards Europe. I'd send it further, but if I get a sub, my barracudas have to be able to reach it or there's no point in detecting it.

 

I equip the new ordered gear as it arrives and put the new scientists to work. My two new Aquanauts are Javelin and Tirion, both had 50+ Bravery, woohoo!

 

** Jan 6th 2040 - Alien Sub-1 (Small) **

 

Intercepted and downed 3 DUPs later. I let the night travel for a few hours so I can do the mission with plenty of light. We're going in boys!

 

Crash 1 Debriefing: Bleh, 2 Cowards dead, 3 Aquatoids killed. Total score of 72, Rating>OK, and Vladimir is now an Ensign. Could have gone worse, could have gone better. The last aquatoid was deadly accurate with his Sonic Rifle and aggressive, sniping my troops from the sub door as they tried to flank. At least no Named died and I now have Sonic weapons to begin researching as soon as my PD Sensor is done, which should be soon.

 

** Jan 9th 2040 - PD Sensor Research Complete **

 

This took a little longer than I expected, but it was early on this day. Research on Sonic Pistol begins and I start manufacturing a batch of 50 PD Sensors.

 

No new activity yet, despite my patrols all over the Atlantic :\

 

** Jan 16th 2040 - Update **

 

Still no activity, wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Can Tritons detect alien activity? I'm patrolling with it and my Barracuda-2. In the meantime, Living Quarters at West Atlantic finished so I sacked the ones near the airlock. Feels like a waste, but they'll get re-built in the southern area so I can recruit more. I built a second General Stores in "Sea of Japan" as well because the first finished. Sold extra aquatoid corpses and some of the PD sensors that finished, but I'm down to $200,946.

 

** Jan 21st 2040 - Alien Sub-2 (Small) **

 

Finally! Barracuda-1 downs it with minimal damage sustained, I wait for daylight, and begin Mission Crash Site-2!

 

Crash 2 Debriefing: Hehe, 2 more Cowards dead (my last 2, time to recruit more!), but I killed 6 Aquatoids, putting my score at 155, another Rating>Ok. Javelin is turning out to be quite a crack shot. Hopefully he survives for awhile

 

** Jan 21st 2040 - Terror Site-1 **

 

Crap. Minutes after my Triton return, this pops up. My Triton was refueling so I sent a Barracuda after it to keep it on the map. I had no time to wait for new Aquanauts obviously and I'm still using Gas Cannons. I get there in bright daylight thankfully, but this could get ugly...

 

Terror 1 Debriefing: ... /failpalm. As I expected, a massacre. Gillmen & Deep Ones. I was doing great at first, moving very slowly, picking them off at range as best I could. My men were shooting horribly, emptying an entire clip to kill a single alien at times. The Gillmen weren't shooting great either, but slowly shots started landing. First Javelin died to a Sonic Pistol. Then a Deep One got Nick. Another Deep One blew up a barrel near Tirion and they both died. Before I knew it, Balthazar was the last one standing, and he was just a few steps from a Deep One with a Thermal Tazer in his hand. Yep. I ran up to him, stunned him, threw him in my bag, ran for the Triton and dusted off. Score -262, Rating>Terrible! But, "Deep One Terrorist" is in my Research screen now, not a complete wash. I'll be careful not to research him until later.

 

** Jan 25th 2040 - Sonic Pistol Research Complete **

 

30 Scientists begin the "Pistol Power Clip" research project at "West Atlantic"

 

** Jan 26th 2040 - Facilities Complete **

 

Sub Pens at both bases are complete, and so is the Wide Array Sonar. Standard Sonar and the first poorly placed Sub Pen in the bottom-left get axed.

 

** Jan 27th 2040 - New Recruits **

 

9 new Aquanauts arrive and get screened; 5 named, 4 cowards, not bad. Back up to a crew of 10, but I'm very broke, and can't even afford to equip them all after the equipment I lost at that first Terror Site. Not the best start I've had.

 

** Jan 30th 2040 - Alien Sub-3 (Small) **

 

This one is touched down, so thankfully I managed to manufacture & sell enough PD Sensors to re-arm my squad with Gas Cannons. Sold the rest of the Jet Harpoons since Sonic Pistols will be available soon, but I'm still so broke I have to manufacture and sell PD Sensors one at a time. I want to catch the sub while it's still landed, but I'll be fighting at night, so glad I have Chem Flares. I hope this mission goes better than the last...

 

Landed Sub 1 Debriefing: Well, 3 more casualties, 2 Cowards, 1 Named (doh!), but I managed to recover 4 live aquatoids (hopefully one's a medic) and because I used no explosives I got a sweet haul of alien loot. Sub constructions amongst it. Score 172, Rating>Ok, and Balthazar is now an Ensign.

 

Update: Of the live aliens recovered, I now have in my list Aquatoid Medic, Soldier, and Squad Leader, plus the Deep One Terrorist from earlier. I think of the Aquatoids only the Medic is semi-useful. I think?

 

X-Com Monthly Report - Jan 2040

 

Monthly Rating> 432 Good!

Funding Change> -129,000 (gah!)

 

Euro-Syndicate decided to increase my funding and USA reduced their funding. No surprise there, the failed Terror Site was on the US' north west coast, but hey, at least they didn't join the alien cause. Not too late to patch things up next month.

 

Well I'll conclude this monster here and reply with February's events when they come to pass! How'd I do? Comments, advice, thoughts on my thoughts, etc., all welcome!

 

[Sungazer]

** 6th Feb 2040 - Pistol Power Clip Research Complete **

 

First activity of the month and my first Sonic weapons! Woohoo! I have 5 pistols and 7 clips in stock, so those go on the Triton right away.

 

Anyway, I decide to knock out Sonic Pulsers next before moving on with the rest of the sonic tree so I can start using that very abundant weapon.

 

** 10th Feb 2040 - Sonic Pulser Research Complete **

 

Wow, 4 days for 33 scientists. Not bad. The Sonic Cannon research project begins now.

 

Almost 2 weeks into this month, still no Alien detection, even with wide array sonar and frequent patrols...

 

** 16th Feb 2040 - Alien Sub-4 (Small) **

 

About time, look at the date! Easily intercepted and downed. Here begins the daylight Crash Mission-4, the first one with my new shiny Pistols!

 

Crash Mission-4 Debriefing: This went pretty well overall. Lost 1 Named to reaction fire when he missed, not sure what I could have done about that. If he was luckier, or the alien was a worse shot... I ended up killing 6 gillmen for a Score of 192, Rating>Ok

 

** 20th Feb 2040 - More Personnel **

 

My 2nd Living Quarters at "West Atlantic" finished in its new location so I ordered 7 more scientists (to bring my total to 40), 5 more Technicians and 5 more Aquanauts. Of the Aquanauts I got 3 Named, 2 Cowards.

 

** 26th Feb 2040 - Update **

 

Writing about this because there's been 0 other activity. My 2nd sub pen at "West Atlantic" is done and the wide array sonar at "Sea of Japan" is done. This allows me to dismantle the bottom-right sub pen, completing the necessary defensive changes to the original base, and I transfer Barracuda-2 to Sea of Japan to intercept anything the new wide array picks up. I hope I get one more mission before the end of the month...

 

X-Com Monthly Report

 

Monthly Rating> 450 Good!

Funding change> +148,000 (!)

 

USA was particularly pleased with me even though the one USO I downed was no where near there waters? Cool, not going to complain. Good month overall, if a little dead. Good for research and patching up a bitter sponsor.

 

Oh, funds at this point: $2,262,211 ... not too broke anymore Stay tuned for March!

[SectoidEmperor]

Brotip: to get access to the T'Leth and Leviathan research, you need to research Alien Origins, Ultimate Threat, all the other Subs, and THEN capture a live Lobsterman Commander and interrogate him.

[Bomb Bloke]

I screen for Aquanauts with less than 40 Bravery and re-name each one "Coward." Those with 40 Bravery or higher receive a name. The "Cowards" I keep around in the beginning and use them as "Spotters", usually equipped with light weaponry (Jet Harpoons early-game, Sonic Pistols later), a thermal tazer and/or chem flares. They're my sacrificial lambs that eat alien reaction shots and spot aliens for my "named" Aquas to kill. Aren't I terrible?

Keep in mind that Bravery doesn't relate to a trooper's chances of shrugging off MC attacks (TFTD's version of psychic abilities). Enough MC panic attacks, and most any soldier will start panicking. Bravery does, however, reduce the effectiveness of successful panic attacks.

 

Units have two (initially hidden) stats that handle the odds of such attacks getting through. Aliens tend to use panic/mind control attacks on the most MC-vulnerable trooper first - keeping a known "MC weakling" around (unarmed) is a good way to redirect their attention away from the rest of your (armed) squad.

 

Being hit with a panic attack will lower Morale by 110 - Bravery. Hence, at 40 Bravery, a trooper will go down to 30 Morale. Any trooper with less then 50 Morale may panic/berserk on their next turn. Relying on Bravery to save you against MC really isn't practical.

 

When up against aliens that lack MC-powers (eg most of them), Bravery doesn't count for much unless you're taking a lot of casualties. When one of your troopers dies, the squad loses morale according to his rank - no one cares that much if a rookie bites it, but if the team Captain goes down, there'll be a serious hit.

 

Morale penalties (and boosts, mostly gained from killing aliens) are adjusted according to the highest ranked member of your team. Having a single high ranking member around the place will "make up for" the rest of the squad being a bunch of pansies.

 

In short, try to at least keep enough solders around so that you can get some decent ranks in place. The more men you have, the higher the ranks that'll be awarded. Losing troopers won't take away ranks that have already been given out, though. A trooper must perform certain actions in combat (eg "shoot an alien") in order to achieve rank, but only one such action is required - in total - to achieve any given rank.

 

Typically speaking, so long as you're killing more aliens then you're losing men, Morale won't be much of an issue.

 

Starting with the Triton-1, I remove all Dart Guns and ammo, reduce the Jet Harpoons/Clips to 5/10, use both Gas Cannons and all of the AP-ammo, but I remove the HE. I like more control than those give me, and I've killed a lot of civilians with HE rounds in the past, whoops. I don't care for the Hydro Cannon, Torpedo Launcher or Dye Grenades either.

Explosives are your friend - especially when loaded into a torpedo-HWP. Those things can fire more torpedoes per turn then the average soldier, don't need to reload, and don't run out of energy. They seem expensive, but they can be very effective at reducing the "alien menace" to quivering piles of organs within the first few turns of battle. They're also a fair bit more accurate then rookie soldiers are.

 

But if you don't want to bring any of the big guns, at least bring something that provides light - at least one such bit of equipment per trooper. You have serious visual penalties during night missions (about half your sight range), and aliens don't. Chem-flares can be thrown around to reveal the map, or you can just shoot some IN shells about the place - fire works just as well, and burns aliens, too.

 

(Not using xcomutil, but I've read about it, not interested atm.)

These days, it now includes the fixes required to make sure the tech tree doesn't glitch out on you. Pretty much all it's features are optional (it asks which you want at the time of install). There are also guides around the place which show you how to make it through the game without stalling on research, but they contain spoilers, of course.

 

Because I'm maxed out on living space and have no manufacturing to do, I decide to get an early start on a second base.

Aliens tend to concentrate most of their efforts near your bases. Be prepared to defend 'em. Really additional bases are a cash sink (initial cost + monthly upkeep = $$$), or a place to stick those modules that you really can't fit in the first one.

 

Can Tritons detect alien activity? I'm patrolling with it and my Barracuda-2.

They can, but they don't have the range of a standard base. There's no point to patrolling within a base's detection range, of course. At this stage of the game (keeping in mind it's Beginner level) there won't be that many USOs flying about anyway.

 

Your dropships are best used for detecting alien bases, as opposed to moving vessels. Sit them down some place where there's been a lot of reported alien activity (check your graphs!), and let them patrol in place for a few game-hours or so. If they see nothing in that time, move 'em or recall 'em. But, again, there won't be any bases to find - yet.

 

In the meantime, Living Quarters at West Atlantic finished so I sacked the ones near the airlock.

Due to a bug, deconstructed modules will cost you $80,000/month until you build over them again. Hangars count as four such modules for this purpose. Careful with that.

 

Sold extra aquatoid corpses and some of the PD sensors that finished, but I'm down to $200,946.

Once you start a research project, you can sell the items associated with it to free up store space and bring in a smidgen of extra cash. You don't need to assign scientists until you're ready to do so.

 

My men were shooting horribly, emptying an entire clip to kill a single alien at times.

In case you're not already using 'em, keep in mind that "auto-shots" tend to be a heck of a lot more effective then anything else. Don't let the "rated accuracy" scores fool you either, they do not directly relate to your chance of actually hitting the target.

 

Oh, and make sure you use that kneel button, too. It ups your accuracy, and considerably lowers the effective accuracy of the aliens as well.

 

In regards to reaction fire, having a large amount of TUs available when moving your units means they're less likely to trigger it from the aliens. Having a high amount free when ending your turn means you're more likely to fire on the aliens when they start moving. Granted, having a high Reactions score is good too, but without the TUs to back it up, that won't help you. But unless your troops are somewhere you know is 100% safe, always leave enough TU spare to kneel.

 

Update: Of the live aliens recovered, I now have in my list Aquatoid Medic, Soldier, and Squad Leader, plus the Deep One Terrorist from earlier. I think of the Aquatoids only the Medic is semi-useful. I think?

Researching Medics in TFTD is a good way to break the tech tree. Don't do it until you've got all the "important" projects out of the way. Researching the Deep One now will kill the tree.

 

The Soldier/Leader will net you an advance, but it's one you can get a whole bunch of other ways.

 

What you really want about now would be a dead Deep One to research, or perhaps a live Calcinite.

[BladeFireLight]

Researching Medics in TFTD is a good way to break the tech tree. Don't do it until you've got all the "important" projects out of the way. Researching the Deep One now will kill the tree.

Doing Live Deep One early dosen't kill the tree, it's just a waste because you have to get another one.

And Medics dont brake the tree either. they just confuse the player that looks at the UFOPedia and thinks they already researched an alien just because they see the the entry. If you know what live ones are dependent on important research save them for the proper time. For the rest, I all ways research them to keep the containment unit cleaned out.

 

-Blade FireLight

[Sungazer]

First of all, thanks for the replies and great advice! My responses to some comments, then a play log for March 2040 will follow.

 

Being hit with a panic attack will lower Morale by 110 - Bravery. Hence, at 40 Bravery, a trooper will go down to 30 Morale. Any trooper with less then 50 Morale may panic/berserk on their next turn. Relying on Bravery to save you against MC really isn't practical.

I was never sacking low-bravery Aquanauts for MC purposes. I've made it to MC Labs and Readers in past games (no Disruptors), so I'm familiar with MC Strength and MC Skill. I know MC Strength, like Bravery, never increases but MC Skill will increase with Lab training. What I didn't know is all the mechanics surrounding Bravery, just my own observations. Bravery affects how much Morale a unit loses when other units die. For example, my soldiers with 20 Bravery would lose as much as 18 morale when another rookie died, but those with 50 or 60 would lose 9, literally half as much.

 

That said, I was experimenting a little with a game at work (shh), where I chose not to do the "Named" and "Coward" bit, and just put their firing accuracy next to their name instead. I noticed that the only time morale became an issue, it became an issue for almost everyone. If I did "bad" in a mission, I did *really* bad. I did know that my Morale went back up with each alien kill, so 2 or 3 deaths you can recover from. If 4 or 5 aquanauts die in a single turn though, almost everyone all the way up to 50 bravery is freaking out.

 

I also knew about the ranks and how they affect morale, as well as how troops gain ranks, which is why I prefer a full triton of personnel even if I don't use them all, for purposes of calculating rank.

 

So...in this current game, I'm going to re-do / re-think naming them and judging by Bravery. The idea originally came from that old unofficial strategy guide, and I just didn't think about it long enough, following blindly instead.

 

Explosives are your friend - especially when loaded into a torpedo-HWP. Those things can fire more torpedoes per turn then the average soldier, don't need to reload, and don't run out of energy. They seem expensive, but they can be very effective at reducing the "alien menace" to quivering piles of organs within the first few turns of battle. They're also a fair bit more accurate then rookie soldiers are.

I do like explosives, just probably a lot less than the average player. I don't like to use them in or close to alien subs in the early game because I want to salvage as much as I can, not carpet bomb it into the ocean floor. Explosives destroy corpses, kill any aliens that might have been knocked out, destroy all extra weapons and munitions...If I don't have to use them, I don't. I also don't use them in Terror maps very often because of the close-quarters, and civilians killed by your operatives cost more points than if the aliens get them. Even then, I swear there are Terror missions where I don't throw a single grenade or shoot a single barrel, and I still get docked a civilian or two at the end!

 

But if you don't want to bring any of the big guns, at least bring something that provides light

Yeah they're in my shopping list if you look, I <3 chem flares and use them religiously if I get caught at night.

 

There are also guides around the place which show you how to make it through the game without stalling on research, but they contain spoilers, of course.

If you're referring to the "Research Bug Avoidance Guide" over at the Ufopaedia, I'm familiar with it, and it's actually how I realized I had been screwing myself in the past. And there weren't really any spoilers for me, I've made it through I'd say 95% of the Research Tree in past games. Researched and built Mantas and Hammerheads, Mag. Ion Armour, etc.

 

Aliens tend to concentrate most of their efforts near your bases. Be prepared to defend 'em. Really additional bases are a cash sink (initial cost + monthly upkeep = $), or a place to stick those modules that you really can't fit in the first one.

Hmm, I thought the point of building bases was to spread your "influence" and coverage so you could impress your sponsors and keep your revenue up. Do bases themselves generate activity? I always assumed there was activity going on around the entire globe and I just couldn't detect it. Either way, I'll probably expand slower.

 

Due to a bug, deconstructed modules will cost you $80,000/month until you build over them again. Hangars count as four such modules for this purpose. Careful with that.

Holy crap, I never knew this. I thought it was always recommended to dismantle and re-arrange the first base because it's a death to defend. Is that overhyped?

 

In case you're not already using 'em, keep in mind that "auto-shots" tend to be a heck of a lot more effective then anything else. Don't let the "rated accuracy" scores fool you either, they do not directly relate to your chance of actually hitting the target.

Didn't know this either. I thought accuracy was calculated by multiplying the weapon's accuracy for that shot against the aquanauts firing accuracy. For example, if making an aimed shot with a weapon that has 110% accuracy for aimed shot with an aquanaut who has 50 firing accuracy, he'll have a 55% chance to hit with an aimed shot. I'll look again when I open my game here in a minute, but then maybe there's something else going on I don't know about.

 

Oh, and make sure you use that kneel button, too. It ups your accuracy, and considerably lowers the effective accuracy of the aliens as well.

I do, religiously In fact I almost always have my troops reserving TUs for some kind of action. For "scouts" it's usually a snap shot or a kneel, and for snipers it's usually a snap shot or aimed shot. This forces my snipers to move slower and keeps 'em in the back where they belong.

 

In regards to reaction fire, having a large amount of TUs available when moving your units means they're less likely to trigger it from the aliens.

Never knew this, interesting.

 

Researching Medics in TFTD is a good way to break the tech tree. Don't do it until you've got all the "important" projects out of the way. Researching the Deep One now will kill the tree.

 

The Soldier/Leader will net you an advance, but it's one you can get a whole bunch of other ways.

 

What you really want about now would be a dead Deep One to research, or perhaps a live Calcinite.

 

Yeah I'm using the research guide mentioned earlier, so I should avoid the pit falls. And agreed, dead deep one is on top of my list right now, just hope I get another terror site with them when I'm actually prepared this time.

 

Thanks again for reading and replying, fellas. I'm comfortable with the research tree, bases and the battlescape, but have little experience with geoscape mechanics (as discussed above), colony and artifact raids, and base defending, because I just can't recall ever being attacked or having enough MC-trained soldier to feel confident about attacking a colony.

 

Anyway, March 2040 coming up!

[Bomb Bloke]

Doing Live Deep One early dosen't kill the tree, it's just a waste because you have to get another one.

Are you certain? This article seems rather specific on the matter - unless playing an older version of the game, you need to research it in order, or you'll never make it to T'Leth.

 

Explosives destroy corpses, kill any aliens that might have been knocked out, destroy all extra weapons and munitions...

Only if you fire multiples at the one area. In the early stages of the game, one rocket will be enough. Granted, later on you'll need a few to take out certain enemies, but by then your soldiers will be starting get some experience/decent weapons to work with.

 

Think of 'em as training wheels of sorts.

 

Hmm, I thought the point of building bases was to spread your "influence" and coverage so you could impress your sponsors and keep your revenue up. Do bases themselves generate activity? I always assumed there was activity going on around the entire globe and I just couldn't detect it. Either way, I'll probably expand slower.

Aliens do operate around the globe, but most of their activity will be around your bases. That is to say, you don't need to spend too much time looking for them if all you want is to keep your score/cash figures well above 0.

 

Yes, the main benefit to having extras is to get more funding out of specific countries. However, the sponsors are cheap regardless - it's often easier to just concentrate your forces and rely on alien artefacts for funding. The more powerful alien weapons go for a bundle, and once you get your engineers in full swing, you'll be pretty much set.

 

If you really do want to make more bases later on, hunt down an alien outpost somewhere (preferably one supplied by something weak, like Gillmen) and plonk it down next to that. As the colony supply ships come rolling in, you'll be able to raid them for easy Zrbite (not to mention all the $ an intact supply ship + crew + weapons is worth).

 

Holy crap, I never knew this. I thought it was always recommended to dismantle and re-arrange the first base because it's a death to defend. Is that overhyped?

Aliens drop in through the hangars and the airlock. By bottlenecking them away, you can potentially make base defense a little easier, yes. Not something I've ever personally bothered with. I think Seb wrote a fix for the payment issue, but thus far all his work's been aimed at the original game. Come to think of it, I'm not even clear on whether the bug applies to TFTD. Hmm.

 

Didn't know this either. I thought accuracy was calculated by multiplying the weapon's accuracy for that shot against the aquanauts firing accuracy. For example, if making an aimed shot with a weapon that has 110% accuracy for aimed shot with an aquanaut who has 50 firing accuracy, he'll have a 55% chance to hit with an aimed shot. I'll look again when I open my game here in a minute, but then maybe there's something else going on I don't know about.

All that's accurate as far as getting the rated accuracy for your aimed shot (keeping in mind that other factors, like wounds and whether or not you're kneeling, will adjust the score further). What I'm saying is that the rated score you see for your aimed shot is not relate to your actual chance to hit.

 

That depends on the size of your target (Aquatoids are smaller then just about everything else for eg), the distance between you, and any cover between the gun and the victim. Currently, no way exists to calculate the "real" chance to hit something, but long story short, 100% accuracy won't hit 100% of the time, and 0% accuracy isn't sure to miss - even over long distance.

 

For example, if you're told your aimed shots have a 50% chance to hit, over a decently long distance you'll still probably miss more often then not.

 

Even at point blank range, an auto-shot is usually the safest way to ensure a hit. Especially at point blank range - the more shots you can get in, the less likely the alien will survive and return fire.

[NKF]

Are you certain? This article seems rather specific on the matter - unless playing an older version of the game, you need to research it in order, or you'll never make it to T'Leth.

 

It's not that they don't reappear, they can. But then there are occasions where they do not. I've actually experienced both scenarios in the same game installation, but can't say what conditions need to be present for either to happen.

 

The safest way to make sure it's not a problem is to make sure you research them in the proper order. Besides, it saves times and you don't have to go risk lives trying to catch another sample.

 

I've only just glanced through the thread - will make some time for some proper feedback later on.

 

- NKF

[BladeFireLight]

Are you certain? This article seems rather specific on the matter - unless playing an older version of the game, you need to research it in order, or you'll never make it to T'Leth.

 

It's not that they don't reappear, they can. But then there are occasions where they do not. I've actually experienced both scenarios in the same game installation, but can't say what conditions need to be present for either to happen.

 

The safest way to make sure it's not a problem is to make sure you research them in the proper order. Besides, it saves times and you don't have to go risk lives trying to catch another sample.

 

I've only just glanced through the thread - will make some time for some proper feedback later on.

 

- NKF

 

I completely disagree with that artical. I just did this with an unmodified TFTD 2.1 and TFTD:CE

 

   Project			  New Research
1. Live Deep One	  - Alien origins,  M.C.-Lab
2. Dead Deep One	  - Aquaplasitcs
3. IBA				- Nothing
3. Mag Nav			- Trans Resolver
4. Live Deep One	  - Nothing
5. Aqua Plastics	  - Plastic Aqua Armor
6. Live Deep One	  - Nothing
7. Plastic Aqua Armor - Nothing
8. Live Deep One	  - Ion Armor
9. Ion Armor		  - Mag Ion Armor

 

The only thing that matters is Plastic Aqua Armour + Ion Beam Accelerators _Before_ Live Deep One Terrorist.

And why miss out on the Trans Resolver early in the game?

 

I Can take it a step further and verify all the way to new fighter sub if you like.

 

-Blade FireLight

[BladeFireLight]

Well that was odd. first time I click on the article it says you "need" to research in order. now it does not.

[Sungazer]

** March 1st 2040 - Alien Sub-5 (Small) **

 

Woohoo! On the 1st, just south of my "Sea of Japan" base. Before doing any intercepting, I go through my aquanauts and rename them as discussed above with their accuracy after their name, abandoning the "Named" / "Coward" convention. I also order a few more scientists and techs because I have the room and the cash. I'm currently researching Sonic Cannons, and have Sonic Pistols, Pistol Clips and Sonic Pulsers researched.

 

The USO is touched down so I send my Triton out, but it takes off so I have to shoot it down. Done! So begins Crash Site-5!

Debriefing Crash Site-5: Sonic Pistols won the day! 4 Gillmen dead, 0 Aquanauts. Score 126, Rating> OK. 3 new Ensigns and a Lieutenant as well. Not bad.

 

** March 2nd 2040 - Alien Sub-6 & 7 (both Small) **

 

Just as I'm leaving the crash site with my Triton, two more USOs appear in the Sea of Japan around me, and my closest Barracuda is undergoing repairs. I'll try sending my Atlantic one to it but it will probably run out of fuel first. I think I'm going to build a 2nd Sub Pen at my "Sea of Japan" base for another interceptor if this keeps up.

 

Might lose some points here because I don't know if I'll be able to do anything about them. If my Triton has enough fuel I'll try following one in hopes of it touching down. Bleh, I hate my luck with events clipping each other in this playthrough.

 

** March 2nd 2040 - Alien Sub-8 (Large) **

 

Wow, and now this. There must be a colony nearby. 3 USOs now that I can't do anything about -.- I get the feeling the sponsors won't like this...

 

Hah! Well, they stuck around long enough for my Barracuda-2 to go after USO-7...oh man. I'm an idiot. 7 was a Large that just...There goes my Barracuda ... I need to start paying more attention, or pausing the game while I type this out That was $600k mistake, ouch.

 

** March 4th 2040 - Colony **

 

I knew it! Southwest of my base, just north of Australia, is my first colony of the game. If I'm not mistaken, every month a colony exists, I take a score hit. If that's true, that sucks, because I can't do anything about that for awhile...

 

** March 10th 2040 - Terror-2 (London) **

 

Yay, a terror mission! Hopefully I get my dead deep one here. Looks like it's going to be a night mission, fun. Oh sweet, on my way to the mission, research on the Sonic Cannon finishes, so I start on the Cannon Clip.

 

Terror-2 Debriefing: Could have gone worse for a night mission with no armor. Lost 2 Aquanauts to Gillmen snipers in the 3-story building with lots of boxes, but I took down a total of 12 aliens and got my dead deep one. Total Score 151, Rating>OK

 

** March 14th 2040 - Alien Sub-11 (Small) **

 

This time I'm positive it's small! It's near Sea of Japan again, so it's a good thing Barracuda-3 got here and got armed in time. Looks like a supply run to the colony, but this is just speculation. it touched down just outside the colony before I could shoot it down, but I stayed on it while my Triton was on its way, and I shot it down when it tried to take off again.

 

Thus begins Crash Site-11!

 

Crash Site-11 Debriefing: 0 casualties, 5 gillmen killed. Total score 194, Rating>OK. Did pretty good here, but did get lucky a couple of times with bad alien shooting.

 

** March 18th 2040 - Cannon Power Clip Researched **

 

And 40 scientists go to work on Sonic Blasta Rifle, putting me at 4 out of 6 in the Sonic family to unlock the almighty Oscillators. Can't wait to get revenge for Barracuda-2, lol...

 

** March 23rd 2040 - Alien Sub-12 (Small) **

 

Shot down by Barracuda-1 near the North Pole, around Icelandic Union and Eurasia. Time for Crash Site-12.

 

Crash Site-11 Debriefing: 0 casualties, 5 gillmen killed, again! Another flawless run. Total score 154, Rating>OK. Made good use of Chem Flares and Sonic Pulsers. Also helps having Sonic Weaponry now too.

 

** March 25th 2040 - Alien Sub-13 (Large) **

 

Great, another Large USO. Best I can do is follow it w/my Triton. My money's on Terror mission, they seem to come at the end of the month.

 

It was moving way too fast for my Triton, lost it. No Terror Site though.

 

** March 26th 2040 - Sonic-Blasta Rifle Researched **

 

Almost there! 50 scientists begin the Blasta Power Clip.

 

** March 30th 2040 - Blast Power Clip Researched **

 

Woohoo! 50 scientists finally begin the Sonic Oscillator project

 

** March 31st 2040 - Alien Sub-14 (Very Large) **

 

Hoo boy, this sucker is hauling at 4800 speed, no way can anything I have catch. This might be the Terror Site I thought was coming on the 25th. I guess I'll attempt to follow it in the event it touches down...

 

Yeah I lost that sucker in a matter of minutes. Another just popped up, Alien Sub-15 (Large), will also attempt to follow this. All this Large+ activity I can't do anything about can't be good for my score

 

End of Month Report hit and that Large USO is still active, heh...

 

X-Com Monthly Report

 

Monthly Rating> 124 Good!

Funding Change> -135,000

 

To no surprise, Free China, Australia and Fed Korea decreased funding. That's ok, I'll have Sonic Oscillators in April, and it's payback time!

 

Comparing this month to February's, it was incredibly active and took much longer, but was a good month overall and I still have a Lieutenant in my ranks and I'm floating around 2M cash. April coming soon...

[Sungazer]

** April 1st 2040 - Terror Site-3 **

 

I knew there was a terror site coming, I could feel it! Unfortunately it's a Shipping Line, bleh. Then on top of that, on my way to it, the Australian port city of Darwin gets attacked to make Terror Site-4. I'm going to try to keep it on the map with Barracudas, but I get the feeling it'll disappear before I get to it...

 

You have got to be kidding! Before I even make it to Terror Site-3, Alien Sub-15 (Small) appears at the North Pole and its touched down. Do I go after it or try to keep the Terror Site on the map? I'm going to go with Terror Site-4, but I would probably fail at either. You know what this tells me? I simply need more subs. If I had another Triton equipped with a Squad and another fighter, I could deal w/all this alien activity. So much for slowing down expansion.

 

Terror Site-3 Debriefing: Ouch. Lobstermen and Biodrones, and I have no armour to speak of. I lost 6 Aquanauts and had enough. Got the rest back inside the Triton and dusted off. I did manage to kill 8 aliens, but I still got a Score of -162, Rating>Poor! What a great start to April

 

** April 2nd 2040 - Terror Site-4 **

 

It disappeared today while all 3 of my subs were "Out" or "Refueling." It's only the 2nd and the Aliens are slaughtering me in score.

 

** April 3rd 2040 - Update **

 

Another batch of PD Sensors is done and puts me over 3M, so I decide to start a new base in the center of the pacific, far enough south to get the 600k "South Pacific" instead of the North. I chose this spot because it's between my two bases and there seems to be a lot of activity going on around here. It'll give me a foothold out in the middle of the expanse that my subs keep trying to cross. It gets a sub pen and wide array sonar to start.

 

** April 4th 2040 - Alien Sub-16 (Very Small) **

 

Destroyed by a single D.U.P., pft.

 

** April 6th 2040 - Alien Sub-17 (Large) **

 

Sonic Oscillators are not done researching, let alone being Manufactured, or rearmed... so... I just watch this one.

 

** April 17th 2040 - Sonic Oscillator Researched **

 

I can hear the "Hallelujahs!" raining down. Yay, time to crank some of these out and get back at the Aliens for picking on Australia! 60 scientists now begin research on the Deep One Corpse.

 

When the Oscillators are done manufacturing, I plan on transferring them to Barracuda-3 at "Sea of Japan" where all the Large USO activity has been.

 

** April 19th 2040 - Deep One Autopsy Complete **

 

And 60 scientists begin research on Aqua Plastics.

 

** April 19th 2040 - Alien Sub-18 (Small) **

 

A single pulse of the double-Oscillator sends this USO to the ocean floor. Next stop: Crash Site-18!

 

Crash Site-18 Debriefing: 1 casualty, 5 gillmen killed. The casualty was just an exchange of fire where he hit and I didn't, we both had sonic cannons and I still have no armour. Soon, I hope. Score of 133, Rating>OK, two new Ensigns and a Lieutenant, sweet.

 

** April 29th 2040 - Aqua Plastics Research Complete **

 

And 60 scientists begin research on Plastic Aqua-Armour

 

X-Com Monthly Report

 

Monthly Rating> -799 OK

Funding change> -340,000

 

Ouch. Neo-Japan was pleased with me, but a long list of others were not. My worst month yet. I was wrong about April and having Oscillators, they took more than half the month to finish researching. Hopefully May will be more like i expected April to be. Ugh, not looking good atm.

[Sungazer]

** May 1st 2040 - Alien Sub-19 (Small) **

 

Easily downed by a single round from Barracuda-3, which sets up Crash Site-19

 

Crash Site-19 Debriefing: 1 casualty, 4 dead gillmen. The casualty was like the last one, an exchange of fire that I lost. I'm trying to get better about ending my turn behind cover, but I just didn't have the TUs. Score of 77, Rating>OK

 

** May 2nd 2040 - Alien Sub-20 (Small) **

 

It's touched down near my "Sea of Japan" base and my Triton is on its way from the Atlantic. I have Barracuda-3 sitting on top of it for now.

 

Plastic Aqua-Armor Research Complete

 

This just happened in the middle of this USO stand-off. I'm going to move onto Ion Beam Accelerator next so I'm only going to whip up a small batch of this armour, maybe 6 or so.

 

Back to the stand-off... 20 is downed by Barracuda-3 and the Triton is on its way for Crash Site-20.

 

Crash Site-20 Debriefing: 1 casualty, 5 gillmen killed. Much like many other missions. I'd like to stop losing 1-2 men per mission, but without armor it's not easy. Score of 136, Rating>OK, one new Ensign

 

** May 5th 2040 - Update **

 

I finally get a Triton-2 at "Sea of Japan" along with 8 fresh Aquanauts. I finally have a strike force near the Alien colony that has been plaguing me for the last 2 months. Hopefully in a couple more I can assault that thing and get the ugly pink square off the map.

 

** May 12th 2040 - Alien Sub-21 (Small) **

 

It's easily shot down by Barracuda-3 just north of Australia, and I get to break in my shiny new Triton-2 crew. Crash Site-21 will be their first mission, and for some, probably their last...

 

Oh boy...on the way there, my research for Ion Beam Accelerator completed, which means if I'm not mistaken, I have to research the Live Deep One to get Ion Armour. I'm going to make a separate back-up save here incase I'm wrong. Assuming I'm not, 60 scientists begin the interrogation of the Deep One Terrorist.

 

Crash Site-21 Debriefing: Hehe, short and sweet: 0 casualties, 1 dead gillman. My new crew did fine (they actually have great stats for rookies!) Score of 80, Rating>OK.

 

** May 14th 2040 - Deep One Terrorist Interrogated **

 

Nice, this unlocked Alien Origins, M.C.-Lab, and Ion Armour. I think I'll start with the Armour, so 60 scientists get back to work!

 

** May 15th 2040 - Alien Sub-22 (Very Small) **

 

Destroyed by Barracuda-3 in a single volley of double-Oscillator.

 

** May 18th 2040 - Ion Armour Researched **

 

That went nice and quick. On with the M.C.-Lab. I'm going to make more Ion Armour then I did Plastic Aqua, but still not a full regiment because I'll be moving to Mag. Ion soon.

 

** May 23rd 2040 - Alien Sub-23 (Large) **

 

Ah, finally, my chance for revenge. ... Of course! It was moving at 3400 and completely eluded me. Bah! It just didn't want a piece of my double-Osci.

 

** May 26th 2040 - M.C.-Lab Researched **

 

Woohoo! Now I can start screening for MC Strength. I remember our discussion on Bravery, but if I'm not mistaken, you don't want low MC Strength Aquanauts correct? What's the threshold for this? Would you sacrifice them or just sack them right away? I also know you can't train until the end of the month, so multiple MC Labs is nice. How many do you usually have? I was thinking 2 to start with as funds allowed. Maybe 3 max?

 

60 scientists now begin research on Magnetic Navigation and MC Reader was unlocked.

 

** May 27th 2040 - Alien Sub-24 (Large) **

 

Hmph, maybe this time I'll have my revenge! ... Downed it in 9 shots with no damage using "Cautious Attack." Eat ocean floor alien scum! (lawl)

 

Time for Crash Site-24, my first Large downed sub. Going to use my Triton-1 crew who's more experienced, geared and armoured. Scratch that. Enough Armour was finished and transferred that I decided to take the newer Triton-2 crew after all. Hoo boy...

 

Crash Site-24 Debriefing: 3 casualties, 11 aliens killed, 4 of them Xarquids, which were 2 of those casualties to reaction fire. No Aquanaut wearing any kind of armour, ion or plastic aqua, lived through any shots. Both Blasta Rifles and the Xarquid shots one-shot my Aquanauts as if they weren't wearing armor at all, Awesome -.- Now that I think about it though, I never saw much medi-kit use til the last Mag. Ion Armour tier. Total score of 304, Rating>Good!. One hell of a haul.

 

** May 31st 2040 - Alien Sub-25 (Large) **

 

Bring it on, 25! You're going down like the last one! Oh it's touched down Bah it took off way before I got close.

 

X-Com Monthly Report

 

Monthly Rating> 1,615 Excellent!

Funding Change> +595,000

 

Suh-weet! All but 4 sponsors were very pleased with my progress and they all increased my funding. Those 4 weren't unhappy, they just didn't pitch in Things are looking up, now I just have to get MC training going and start building a squad capable of taking out that thorn-in-my-side colony. I know I'll need DPL and I don't think I have any in stock yet.

 

Huge improvement from last month and my best month this game yet! On to the summer with June.

[NKF]

Well that was odd. first time I click on the article it says you "need" to research in order. now it does not.

 

 

There's lots of 'needs' littered throughout the Deep One Dilemma sub-article. Being the one who wrote the original text so many years ago (has been edited by others since), I never intended it to convey that you had to follow a particular research path. The diagrams only show a rough outline of the research progress.

 

Now just some thoughts and tips in no particular order:

 

- Bravery does improve, but the circumstances necessary to improve bravery are not very satisfactory. You have to resist panicking when morale is under 50%. Every turn you resist, you get a bit of experience. Which is amusingly enough worth the same amount of experience as hitting an alien when it comes to the tally for determining promotion handouts.

 

MC Strength and Energy recovery (Base TUs / 3) are the stats that don't change.

 

 

- Weapons - I'd recommend keeping 1 clip of HE and Phosphor on board for your Gas Cannon, even if you plan to go all AP. The extra punch is often welcome and keeps the options available to you. The advantage of the HE round is that if you've destroyed stairs that lead up to an upper floor at a terror site, you can use the HE rounds to destroy the floor above you by firing directly at the ceiling (don't worry, the explosion's on the level above).

 

- The Starting layout is by far the worst base ever designed. It's deliberate, I think. I probably wouldn't worry too much about reorganizing your starting base right away until you've got a bit of cash coming in. The paying-for-dirt bug that causes you to pay rent on used base modules is real killer on your bank balance at the start.

 

The main thing at first is to get your necessary facilities up and running as soon as possible. A containment is probably the most important module to start with. Other facilities like stores, quarters and a wide array sonar (to compliment, not replace, the small sonar) are good extras. Just keep the spending within your budget.

 

- It's not always a good idea start a second base from the very beginning. You need to build up some reasonable funds to build it as well as pay the on-going maintenance and wages.

 

Luckily most of the activity right at the start of the game is deliberately focused on your starting area. You have a bit of time to strengthen your starting position before expanding with listening/intercept outposts. Best wait until a month or so in once you've secured some funds from selling surplus alien equipment.

 

- Tip: The Coelacanth seems to have an intermittent immunity to reaction fire. If you have the funds, they might be useful scouts on terror missions. Doesn't seem to apply to the Displacers or to all the tanks in UFO.

 

- Tip: Aliens can only react against aquanauts within 20 tile of them. Have your shooters stay well beyond that range to avoid return fire. Never attack with the forward scouts if at all possible. They ignore lighting.

 

- Medics, keep them all for the very end when you have nothing left to research. They'll fill the gaps of any entries you missed.

 

- The alien weapons in this game have a higher armour level than they used to in UFO. Most of the weapons can survive a low-level HE blast. More importantly, if the alien is on its own (commonly when out in the open), a killing blow with an explosive round will not destroy the loot or corpse. Just don't go deliberately firing another HE round at the pile.

 

Coincidentally, thanks to the higher armour levels, explosives will not destroy other explosives of the same type. No chain reactions, but you can place prime multiple grenades on the same tile.

 

- Tip: NEVER prime a grenade and then drop it near its target. Experience is awarded to the last person to throw the grenade, otherwise it defaults to the first unit on the Triton or the first SWS. Keep this in mind when using Magna Packs and the Sonic Pulser.

 

- Your activity is generated as shooting down and recovering the alien subs in the various zones. Adjacent zones are aware of this activity. The bases themselves do nothing.

 

Alien colonies on the other hand produce 5 points a day, and attract supply ships. Luckily, all these points are easily covered for the month by doing one or two good ground missions in that area (such as recovering the supply ship - or conducting regular quick raids on the top-side of the colony, then dusting off).

 

The strategy of pirating supply ships that land at colonies is a great way to sustain your finances for the rest of the game. It has all the benefits of raising experience, gathering loot and maintains the area activity score all at the same time. The downside is obviously that you have to work for your gains. That's not a problem, it's the PWT launchers that the crew carry that will be a challenge. That obviously becomes a blessing in disguise once you get pulse wave torpedo launchers of your own.

 

- The relation to TUs and Reaction is basically to produce a reaction level or initiative. Take the percentage of remaining TUs and multiply it by your reactions and that gives you that unit's initiative level. Basically the one with the highest initiative gets to move or react.

 

Say you have 50% of your remaining TUs left and 70 reactions. Your initiative is calculated as 35. Say an alien has the same reaction level, but 80% of its remaining TUs, the alien will have an initiative of 56. The alien will react against the aquanaut if spotted and has sufficient TUs to do so.

 

Of course, there is one exception. If both sides spot each other at the same time, then there's no initiative comparison for that very moment.

 

As you can see, exhausting all of your TUs while being observed by an alien is a very bad thing to do indeed!

 

- When given a choice, always go for the Terror Site or Artefact site above your every day missions. If you can't handle the site, at least land and dust off. Letting them disappear on their own will result in a far heavier penalty.

 

- Tip: When playing two-parter maps, never leave anything on the floor of the Triton when completing the first map. Anything left on the floor will simply vanish out of existence. I've lost a good number of my spare Gas Cannons to the shipping lane missions this way.

 

- MC Lab screening - One or two is sufficient depending on how large a screening operation you want. At the very least you'll need more aquanauts than lab slots to swap them out each month. The MC Strength threshold is a tough one. The higher the better. 70+ is reasonable. You could choose to keep a few 0 MC Strength units to act as bait for MC capable aliens to waste their TUs on.

 

- NKF

 

edit: A good reason not to write your posts in Notepad - no spell checker.

[Sungazer]

** June 1st 2040 - Alien Sub-26 (Large) **

 

This month is starting out with heavy action right away it seems. Let's hope I can catch it. ... Nope, gone.

 

** June 4th 2040 - Mag. Navigation Researched **

 

This unlocked Transmission Resolver and Mag. Ion Armour, which I will be throwing my 60 scientists at next.

 

** June 7th 2040 - Alien Sub-27 (Large) **

 

2720 speed, I doubt I'll catch it. ... As expected, I didn't catch it, but while following it I found a 2nd colony on the outside of the North Pole north east of Alaska. Great...

 

** June 8th 2040 - Alien Sub-28 (Small) **

 

1232 speed, should have no problem catching it. ... Yep, got it. Commence Crash Site-28.

 

Crash Site-28 Debriefing: Ew, 2 casualties and 3 dead aquatoids. One was deadly accurate and my aquanaut missed his reaction shot, I think the other had a DPL because I didn't see any Pulsers get thrown but my poor Aquanaut got blasted hard. Total score of 7 (lol) and Rating>OK

 

** June 9th 2040 - Mag. Ion Armour Researched **

 

Yay, at last. Maybe my Aquanauts will stand a chance now. In the spirit of survivability I'm going to knock out Medi-kit next.

 

** June 11th 2040 - Medi-kit Researched **

 

Nice and quick, I'll now knock out Zrbite, which has been in my list forever.

 

** June 12th 2040 - Alien Sub-29 (Large) **

 

2720 speed again, probably won't catch, but of course I'll try.... Yeah, lost it.

 

** June 13th 2040 - Alien Sub-30 (Large) **

 

2720 speed, great. ... Lost another one. Grr, now I need a Manta.

 

** June 15th 2040 - Alien Sub-31 (Very Small) **

 

2000 speed, hopefully I'll blow this one apart for some points.... Gah it disappeared before I even got close, this will be a great month.

 

** June 17th 2040 - Zrbite Researched **

 

The next most useful thing on my research list appears to be Transmission Resolver.

 

** June 18th 2040 - Alien Sub-32 (Small) **

 

448 speed, better catch this one... Finally some action! Crash Site-32 is under way!

 

Crash Site-32 Debriefing: 2 casualties, 4 dead aquatoids. The Aquanauts who died basically deserved it their shooting was so terrible. Each got 3-4 shots at their killers where they were using Sonic Cannons, kneeling, with Aim Shot, and still missing. Their killers finally just gunned them down. This was also Triton-2, my rookie crew. Total score of 37, Rating>OK

 

** June 23rd 2040 - Alien Sub-33 (Small) **

 

560 speed, easily caught and shot down by Barracuda-1. Crash Site-33 for Triton-1 this time.

 

Crash Site-33 Debriefing: 0 casualties, 5 dead gillmen. Mag. Ion Armour made it very fun to ascend one level and just raid death from above. Never even got shot at actually, a couple rookies were shooting very well. Score of 138, Rating>OK, and holy cow!, 3x Ensigns, 2x Lieutenants, and 1xCommander from that fight! Nice.

 

** June 24th 2040 - Transmission Resolver Researched **

 

This unlocked Alien Sub Construction, so that's next for my 60 scientists!

 

** June 29th 2040 - Alien Sub Construction Researched **

 

Maybe we'll start seeing some new subs in August if I get the research done in July. This unlocked New Fighter Flying Sub, so that's the next project.

 

X-COM Monthly Report

 

Monthly Rating> -454 OK

Funding Change> -5,000

 

Neo-Japan and Free China were pleased, increasing their funding, but Alaska and Australia were not, and they decreased theirs. Hopefully with a new sub to catch those Large ones I couldn't catch before I won't get another negative score. I also got a chance to start my first batch of MC Lab Aquanauts at the end of this month.

 

Here comes July!

[Sungazer]

There's lots of 'needs' littered throughout the Deep One Dilemma sub-article. Being the one who wrote the original text so many years ago (has been edited by others since), I never intended it to convey that you had to follow a particular research path. The diagrams only show a rough outline of the research progress.

 

Now just some thoughts and tips in no particular order:

 

- Bravery does improve, but the circumstances necessary to improve bravery are not very satisfactory. You have to resist panicking when morale is under 50%. Every turn you resist, you get a bit of experience. Which is amusingly enough worth the same amount of experience as hitting an alien when it comes to the tally for determining promotion handouts.

 

MC Strength and Energy recovery (Base TUs / 3) are the stats that don't change.

 

 

- Weapons - I'd recommend keeping 1 clip of HE and Phosphor on board for your Gas Cannon, even if you plan to go all AP. The extra punch is often welcome and keeps the options available to you. The advantage of the HE round is that if you've destroyed stairs that lead up to an upper floor at a terror site, you can use the HE rounds to destroy the floor above you by firing directly at the ceiling (don't worry, the explosion's on the level above).

 

- The Starting layout is by far the worst base ever designed. It's deliberate, I think. I probably wouldn't worry too much about reorganizing your starting base right away until you've got a bit of cash coming in. The paying-for-dirt bug that causes you to pay rent on used base modules is real killer on your bank balance at the start.

 

The main thing at first is to get your necessary facilities up and running as soon as possible. A containment is probably the most important module to start with. Other facilities like stores, quarters and a wide array sonar (to compliment, not replace, the small sonar) are good extras. Just keep the spending within your budget.

 

- It's not always a good idea start a second base from the very beginning. You need to build up some reasonable funds to build it as well as pay the on-going maintenance and wages.

 

Luckily most of the activity right at the start of the game is deliberately focused on your starting area. You have a bit of time to strengthen your starting position before expanding with listening/intercept outposts. Best wait until a month or so in once you've secured some funds from selling surplus alien equipment.

 

- Tip: The Coelacanth seems to have an intermittent immunity to reaction fire. If you have the funds, they might be useful scouts on terror missions. Doesn't seem to apply to the Displacers or to all the tanks in UFO.

 

- Tip: Aliens can only react against aquanauts within 20 tile of them. Have your shooters stay well beyond that range to avoid return fire. Never attack with the forward scouts if at all possible. They ignore lighting.

 

- Medics, keep them all for the very end when you have nothing left to research. They'll fill the gaps of any entries you missed.

 

- The alien weapons in this game have a higher armour level than they used to in UFO. Most of the weapons can survive a low-level HE blast. More importantly, if the alien is on its own (commonly when out in the open), a killing blow with an explosive round will not destroy the loot or corpse. Just don't go deliberately firing another HE round at the pile.

 

Coincidentally, thanks to the higher armour levels, explosives will not destroy other explosives of the same type. No chain reactions, but you can place prime multiple grenades on the same tile.

 

- Tip: NEVER prime a grenade and then drop it near its target. Experience is awarded to the last person to throw the grenade, otherwise it defaults to the first unit on the Triton or the first SWS. Keep this in mind when using Magna Packs and the Sonic Pulser.

 

- Your activity is generated as shooting down and recovering the alien subs in the various zones. Adjacent zones are aware of this activity. The bases themselves do nothing.

 

Alien colonies on the other hand produce 5 points a day, and attract supply ships. Luckily, all these points are easily covered for the month by doing one or two good ground missions in that area (such as recovering the supply ship - or conducting regular quick raids on the top-side of the colony, then dusting off).

 

The strategy of pirating supply ships that land at colonies is a great way to sustain your finances for the rest of the game. It has all the benefits of raising experience, gathering loot and maintains the area activity score all at the same time. The downside is obviously that you have to work for your gains. That's not a problem, it's the PWT launchers that the crew carry that will be a challenge. That obviously becomes a blessing in disguise once you get pulse wave torpedo launchers of your own.

 

- The relation to TUs and Reaction is basically to produce a reaction level or initiative. Take the percentage of remaining TUs and multiply it by your reactions and that gives you that unit's initiative level. Basically the one with the highest initiative gets to move or react.

 

Say you have 50% of your remaining TUs left and 70 reactions. Your initiative is calculated as 35. Say an alien has the same reaction level, but 80% of its remaining TUs, the alien will have an initiative of 56. The alien will react against the aquanaut if spotted and has sufficient TUs to do so.

 

Of course, there is one exception. If both sides spot each other at the same time, then there's no initiative comparison for that very moment.

 

As you can see, exhausting all of your TUs while being observed by an alien is a very bad thing to do indeed!

 

- When given a choice, always go for the Terror Site or Artefact site above your every day missions. If you can't handle the site, at least land and dust off. Letting them disappear on their own will result in a far heavier penalty.

 

- Tip: When playing two-parter maps, never leave anything on the floor of the Triton when completing the first map. Anything left on the floor will simply vanish out of existence. I've lost a good number of my spare Gas Cannons to the shipping lane missions this way.

 

- MC Lab screening - One or two is sufficient depending on how large a screening operation you want. At the very least you'll need more aquanauts than lab slots to swap them out each month. The MC Strength threshold is a tough one. The higher the better. 70+ is reasonable. You could choose to keep a few 0 MC Strength units to act as bait for MC capable aliens to waste their TUs on.

 

- NKF

 

edit: A good reason not to write your posts in Notepad - no spell checker.

 

Wow, thanks for all the great tips, NKF. A lot to digest. Some of it I knew or read before, but was good to have reinforced. I definitely expanded too early this game, I haven't broke 4-5M at all yet because I float so much. Maybe I'll yank myself out of that soon *shrug*

[chiasaur11]

- Bravery does improve, but the circumstances necessary to improve bravery are not very satisfactory. You have to resist panicking when morale is under 50%. Every turn you resist, you get a bit of experience. Which is amusingly enough worth the same amount of experience as hitting an alien when it comes to the tally for determining promotion handouts.

 

Haven't you read your Kipling?

 

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you" seems a tolerable qualifier for being the guy who tells everyone else not to panic.