I remember something about TFTD

[dogfish]

After beating UFO a couple times playing ironman with a few different mods I decided it was time to break out TFTD.

 

I remember why I don't like this game. Its VERY annoying. Terror missions have so many nooks and crannies with spawn points such that the aliens don't move. I spend 40 minutes trying to find the last alien in a terror mission (there were actually 3 much to my dismay). The three weren't together mind you they were in different buildings.

 

Also they don't attack you.

 

Alien: "Hey thar I hear multiple of my buddies fighting outnumbered 3 to 1 against xcom and I'm at 99 morale so why don't I just HIDE IN MY 4x4 building.

 

I like the bigger maps and more terrain detail, I also like the two part bases and general added difficulty.

 

But man, why should I play if its not fun?

 

I may press on (got dead and live deep ones on said terror mission), but I'm not sure.

 

Anyone else run into this problem?

[(name_here)]

Yes, specifically everyone. At least you didn't have an alien actually inside an inaccessible area.

[Bomb Bloke]

You'll grow to hate the larger missions, and loathe the two-parters.

 

There's not much you can really do other then learn the spawn points (once you've done a few such missions, you'll know where to look) or nuke the place.

[chiasaur11]

I only beat it due to playing for an audience.

 

Other than the drills and the door opening, there isn't much in its favor.

[NKF]

Well, ignoring the anti-climax right at the end, there's always the satisfaction of beating an otherwise very frustrating game(particularly for newcomers) !

 

I really enjoy TFTD (even with the dayglo hi-visibility colours), but I admit that I'm not overly fond of the two-parters when you start getting a lot of them.

 

There was something about the AI in TFTD being slightly bugged. After the 20 turn full-map ping the aliens get (which was quite lethal in UFO), some of the aliens seem to sieze up and not move as much, if at all. It makes tracking them down a bit easier, but does have the disadvantage of allowing them to keep full TUs (= high reactions).

 

- NKF

[dogfish]

Yeah I actually played tftd as a kid BEFORE ufo/eu and I never actually beat it. As I found eu to be a better game I always just played that. Now, I sort of feel like I should beat it just out of respect.

[Invertin]

I know what you mean. I spent ages searching around the map, until I found a door in a HILL facing north (so that it was hidden from view argh) that lead to a secret underground spiral corridor, and in the very centre was one guy with full TUs and surprisingly good reactions. I lost my entire team to that one friggen alien because my grenades barely annoyed it and I couldn't get a shot at it around the corner before I got reaction fired in the face.

 

Why was there a secret underground spiral corridor anyway?

[chiasaur11]

I know what you mean. I spent ages searching around the map, until I found a door in a HILL facing north (so that it was hidden from view argh) that lead to a secret underground spiral corridor, and in the very centre was one guy with full TUs and surprisingly good reactions. I lost my entire team to that one friggen alien because my grenades barely annoyed it and I couldn't get a shot at it around the corner before I got reaction fired in the face.

 

Why was there a secret underground spiral corridor anyway?

 

Because TFTD hates you and wants you to die.

[NKF]

Yes, they deliberately made it hard. But it can still be beaten with determination.

 

The spiral corridor, is just another of the bomb shelter bunkers. Like the one under the Moai. Weird design for a bunker though.

 

Just be very careful about using explosives in the spiral bunker. The walls do not seem to provide very good high explosive block, and thus explosives go through the walls. This really hurts if you try to evade the blast by stepping behind a wall inside the spiral. But that also means tossing sonic pulsers or launching GC-HE rounds into the sprial bunker is a quick and dirty way to kill off the alien waiting at the end (and any hapless civilians that may have wandered in and somehow survived).

 

Hmm, Spiral Zone....

 

- NKF

[Space Voyager]

You'll grow to hate the larger missions, and loathe the two-parters.

 

How true...

[hatfarm]

I haven't played through TFTD in a LONG time because of an issue I ran into a Lobsterman ship that I was able to clear up pretty well, but then there was one just sitting on the top of a hill, which I couldn't see until I got into firing range, and he cleaned up my entire crew just sitting on top of this hill. He WOULD NOT DIE. I shot him a ton of times, but he just wouldn't die, so I gave up on the game. I was pretty far into the game, but just couldn't bring myself to play something that just wasn't fair. I don't find that to be fun. I do think the game in general is pretty fun, but that just upset me a lot at the time.

 

I know that the reason they made it so hard was because of the difficulty bug in UFO, which is kinda funny. If only they had just gone back and checked as to why the game was not difficult...

[Space Voyager]

He would not die... Yep, that is Lobsterman...

 

I ran from terror missions at the first sight of them until I got some formidable weapons.