X-COM Firaxis - XCOM: Enemy Unknown + Enemy Within Expansion

[mediocrepoet]

So I started a classic game without the tutorial. Mission one - two casualties. Mission two with a small UFO taken down - complete failure, first three of my squadmembers were obliterated by sectoids, then this energy guy flanked and murdered the fourth one. I'm completely hooked; probably will restart on normal to get a hang of the game and learn some nifty tricks and then restart on classic once I feel ready.

This is about my experience too. I found that sometimes the tactical bits on classic would be alright and other missions would be a total clusterfuck. What really screwed me though was running out of money to provide proper coverage in classic since the game's economy is different than the original's in a lot of ways. I bumped down to normal for a bit mainly to get a hang of base finances. Thing is, even with ironman on, normal is pretty easy.

I'm surprised that I like this game as much as I do. There are things that I miss from the originals (well I mostly just played TFTD) but this one seems solid in its own right so far.

 

[Infinitron]

Infinitron. You might like to edit your post before mods would scream murder.

But the problem is: I don't have space on HD, I planned to update when I'd get new HD to avoid problems. And I don't wanna be forced only because some retard wasn't able to make crack OS independent. In addition, XP compatible is also Wine compatible which is the biggest problem with whole situation.

The game isn't OS independent. I think you're expecting a bit too much from the poor day 1 cracker

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Just got an excellent rating in all categories on a terror mission in classic ironman. Achievement unlocked.
Shame this campaign is going to get fucked because my strategic layer is hosed. Not pulling in nearly enough money, don't have nearly enough scientists, don't even have an alien containment facility yet.

 

[sser]

Impossible/Ironman run.

I had a flawless first month. Did not lose a single soldier. Answered every abduction call. Sent a satellite out. Got a C rating.

Second month. Still chugging along without casualties. First human-casualty of the entire war was on a terror mission. My heavy was KO for 2 days so I went in with 3-snipers, 1-assault, 1-support. They almost got aced. Terror missions are beastly. Next battlemap I get super-fucked on the RNG in rather extreme, unbelievable ways. I put up another satellite and answered my abductions. But with the terror mission failed, and a sit-room mission aborted (they're not possible on impossible), the game ended.

61 days survived.
62 aliens killed.
6 soldiers lost.

The tactical screen doesn't give me much trouble anymore, RNG or not. But I can't figure out how to contain the panic on the world map. Countries just lose their fucking mind non-stop even if you are flawlessly pushing through. The original is so much preferable than the dumb way they have it set up here. Instead of cutting funding, countries just fucking bail. There's no, "You got a C-rating, so we're gonna cut back on the funding." Not it's, "You did everything remotely possible, but four countries are going to leave anyway." Makes perfect sense. Instead of the gradual decline you would see in the original, the game just ends. Two fucking months in and it's over, even with a flawless first month and an average second one. Two months, and the world gives up on the organization. Seriously.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Large UFO landed in the States. I buzz over there with my awesome squad. Encounter a few groups of floaters outside the UFO but we take them down without taking any hits. Have all my guys stacking up on the entrance to the UFO overwatching and reloading as needed. Got my sniper in position to maybe shoot inside, got soldiers set back a bit to fire inside, it's gonna be great!
End turn. Alien movement! Suddenly THREE FLOATERS AND THREE MUTONS BURST THROUGH THE DOORWAY, DICKS IN HAND. Here was their positioning against my mans after one floater was taken out by overwatch fire.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/920117395421309941/EABD9C62D957F5A48129F133C8D364C2DF8FDBB4/

Only had one KIA (One of the heavies) and won the mission. Two soldiers got shot up a bit but my high level medic took care of it.
:kwanzania:

 

[Gozma]

Phoenix Cannon + dodge booster indeed smoked a "large" UFO, although it looked exceptionally blown the fuck up on the battlescape (I saved/quit at the start of the mission, dunno what mysteries it holdsss) so I dunno if there is a gentler way to down them.

I dunno if you noticed Sser but the abduction missions you pass up cause every single country on that continent to go up I think 2 panic on impossible, so basically you should probably pass up missions in south america and africa and just write them off since that's only causing 4/6 total points of panic per abduction there. Put 0 resources into tactical and everything into putting up more satellites, which drop the panic by I think 2-3 right off the bat and they reduce it longterm too. I think when you spot and shoot down UFOs that is also possibly preventing abductions, which are the #1 source of panic that I have run into. Terror mission was pretty underwhelming and doing it well knocks off a lot of panic from the whole continent it happens on too.

Ironically the #1 thing boring me about XCOM is doing spotting for squad sight snipers... which reminds me of a certain other game somehow

 

[Raghar]

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/920117395421309941/EABD9C62D957F5A48129F133C8D364C2DF8FDBB4/

Looks like AI is actually somehow competent.

I dunno if you noticed Sser but the abduction missions you pass up cause every single country on that continent to go up I think 2 panic on impossible,

3 or more. Impossible has harsh penalties.

 

[Ulminati]

What month do cyberdisks start showing up

I got them in the first alien base, after 2½ months

 

[Gozma]

I did the base in may (I forget what month it starts on) and there wasn't shit interesting in it, there were drones with no disks, floaters and crysalid packs. I don't think there were even Mutons, although I had run into a handful before then. I guess a consequence of playing on classic instead of impossible

 

[Blaine]

Cars explode so readily in this game, I'm not sure if I'm playing XCOM or watching an episode of CHiPs. Also, gas tanks in 2015 are apparently stored in the engine block.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Looks like AI is actually somehow competent.

It really is. Poorly placed aliens are much rarer than intelligently placed aliens for better cover/flanking. I think when I lose this campaign I'm gonna switch to normal ironman though. Judging by the achievement stats nobody has beaten the game on classic difficulty yet, so maybe I should play on normal so I can at least SEE ethereals and sectopods and shit. My classic games all seem to run into trouble around when mutons start showing up.

I did the base in may (I forget what month it starts on) and there wasn't shit interesting in it, there were drones with no disks, floaters and crysalid packs. I don't think there were even Mutons, although I had run into a handful before then. I guess a consequence of playing on classic instead of impossible

You were blessed by the dice. You're much more likely to get machete wielding rape gangs in the alien base, but since enemies are randomized it's possible (According to the lead designer) to get sectoids and floaters in the final mission of the game. Not LIKELY, but possible.

And now for something completely different. Wish I had a sniper with archangel armor and the ability to fire again if he gets a kill.

And this picture which is pleasing.

Game of the decade all decades.

 

[Ulminati]

Cars explode so readily in this game, I'm not sure if I'm playing XCOM or watching an episode of CHiPs. Also, gas tanks in 2015 are apparently stored in the engine block.

Oh god the cars. The exploding cars. feels like every plasma shot has an 80% chance of igniting them.

That's another gripe I have. Allow me to shoot at the environment ffs. Making your own doors in buildings and blowing up gas stations were part of what made UFO so great. (One of the first games I played with truly destructible environments). In this turd you can only do it with rokkits/grenades and those are really limited.

 

[Monocause]

Normal seems a bit too easy compared to classic, which seemed an overkill for a beginner. Still, I've gotten the hang of a couple of things:

1) Engineers are more important than scientists in early game - and workshops are more important than labs - as they decrease the alloy cost of stuff, and alloy's hard to come by.
2) Playing the tutorial does make the early game easier, as you get some easy missions and a free satellite. The only downside is that you can only choose your starting point either in NA or EU, but that doesn't matter much.
3) While you may feel tempted to pick missions that grant you scientists/engineers early game it's better to pick up the ones that give you cash. It's important to get your satellite coverage as big as possible ASAP. Satellite coverage means less panic, more cash, scientists and engineers per month.
4) When picking a mission from a couple of options it's important to remember that panic increases continent-wide, not just in the particular country that you scratched off.
5) Snipers are not the best choice for terror missions and for larger UFOs.

 

[tuluse]

Normal seems a bit too easy compared to classic, which seemed an overkill for a beginner. Still, I've gotten the hang of a couple of things:
2) Playing the tutorial does make the early game easier, as you get some easy missions and a free satellite. The only downside is that you can only choose your starting point either in NA or EU, but that doesn't matter much.

So it effectively emulates real life then?

 

[Gozma]

The scientists/engineers you get from satellites are actually pretty skimpy, you mostly get them from labs/workshops or as prizes for missions. All the stuff together you get for satellite coverage is really big though (including seeing more UFOs to shoot down)

I almost had a TPK on the large UFO map due to being seriously unprepared to see 3 of a certain enemy. Have no idea how I will handle it if I have to do it again.

You were blessed by the dice. You're much more likely to get machete wielding rape gangs in the alien base, but since enemies are randomized it's possible (According to the lead designer) to get sectoids and floaters in the final mission of the game. Not LIKELY, but possible.

I'm pretty sure they scale the stuff in the base as time passes, so there isn't really a reason to put the base mission off.

 

[Ulminati]

The game would be pretty awesome for a Let's play, mind you. Since the LP readers won't have to fiddle with the shitty UI, retarded pathfinding ans superfluous transition cutscenes. I'd do it except experience has shown I don't stick with games long enough to finish LPs.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I'm pretty sure they scale the stuff in the base as time passes, so there isn't really a reason to put the base mission off.

They do scale stuff as time passes, but supposedly there's still a chance for a lucky roll. And there is a reason to put the base mission off since apparently once you do that all outsiders on UFOs get replaced with a sectoid commander, so you have to fuck with psionics at that point.

superfluous transition cutscenes

On glorious PC you can skip 99% of them. The only one you can't IIRC is the "Skyranger in flight" one because they're putting an actual load behind that. Everything else can be clicked past.
Something you CAN'T click past is when your bros at base talk at you during a mission. Like the first time you see a flight computer during a campaign Vahlen says HEY BRO DON'T SHOOT IT BRO I WANNA LOOK AT IT BRO and you can't do shit while she's talking or skip it. Those are relatively infrequent though so whatever.

 

[Gozma]

And there is a reason to put the base mission off since apparently once you do that all outsiders on UFOs get replaced with a sectoid commander, so you have to fuck with psionics at that point.

Ah, fuck, that explains the 3 sectoid commanders on the abductor. Their evasion is ridiculous. I did a save/quit at the start of a large scout ufo mission thinking I'd stomp it tomorrow but now I know danger lurks therein! I shoulda brought a shotgun to have a run and gun/rapid fire guaranteed kill

 

[sser]

Goddammit. Why can't there be a way to dampen the huge imbalance that is weighing literally fucking everything on a RNG? Here's better design:

1) All-in shooting has increased accuracy.
2) Crits only come to those out of cover or flanked.
3) Damage taken is based on type of cover you're in. Cover degrades from full to half more frequently. Full Spectrum Warrior, anyone?
4) Snap-shot: low-accuracy shot wherein you can take a few steps (or just one) afterward.
5) If you are within within 2 squares of someone you can't miss because that is just ridiculous.
6) You can focus fire terrain.
7) Panic now just picks a random square and fires instead of focusing on individuals like the idiotic system it currently is.
8) You can path the way you want to, instead of letting the computer auto-trace it for you.
9) Give the aliens more agency over the map. The way they move in clusters now promotes meta-gaming like trying to reveal one at a time.
10) Let aliens panic too. People often forget that the aliens in the original were also capable of panicking when everyone around them died.

 

[Sranchammer]

GOTY

 

[Blaine]

Goddammit. Why can't there be a way to dampen the huge imbalance that is weighing literally fucking everything on a RNG? Here's better design:

Yeah. They not only omitted a layer of tactical depth, but a layer of granularity along with it. Your men moving once or twice along a computer-chosen path and the weight of RNG on mission outcomes pretty much prove that. If you've got a good team and play well, typically the RNG won't weight too terribly... but losing that Support Colonel to three whiffed rolls is "terribly" when it happens. I prefer to die because I made an error or overstepped myself (or to the occasional nasty surprise), not simply due to random numbers.

The first time I encountered a Berserker Mutoid, I got lucky and reduced its HP to exactly one, at which point I got lucky and it happened moved adjacent to one of my Support characters carrying an Arc thingamabob, and then I got lucky yet again (but not too lucky) and stunned it. That's nice I guess, but I stopped playing Monopoly years ago.

What irks me the most is that it's almost impossible to surprise enemies offensively (as opposed to a defensive Overwatch ambush). The only way I know of to surprise enemies on the offense is through use of a Battle Scanner and long-range ordnance/sniper rifles. Granted, all the aliens really get to do when surprised is show a QTE and grab the nearest cover, but sometimes that means they'll disperse over quite a wide area. Doesn't seem quite equitable to me. They can wait to shoot whatever appears, and so can you, but only they can wait to take cover the moment enemies are sighted.

In a way it makes sense, because tactically (not philosophically) COM is the "aggressor" closing on a defended position in these scenarios, but it still bothers me.

 

[Gregz]

Goddammit. Why can't there be a way to dampen the huge imbalance that is weighing literally fucking everything on a RNG? Here's better design:

1) All-in shooting has increased accuracy.
2) Crits only come to those out of cover or flanked.
3) Damage taken is based on type of cover you're in. Cover degrades from full to half more frequently. Full Spectrum Warrior, anyone?
4) Snap-shot: low-accuracy shot wherein you can take a few steps (or just one) afterward.
5) If you are within within 2 squares of someone you can't miss because that is just ridiculous.
6) You can focus fire terrain.
7) Panic now just picks a random square and fires instead of focusing on individuals like the idiotic system it currently is.
8) You can path the way you want to, instead of letting the computer auto-trace it for you.
9) Give the aliens more agency over the map. The way they move in clusters now promotes meta-gaming like trying to reveal one at a time.
10) Let aliens panic too. People often forget that the aliens in the original were also capable of panicking when everyone around them died.

The game has been out one week, and you are playing on IMPOSSIBLE difficulty. It's usually called that for a reason.

Do you really believe you understand every strategic angle this game gives you to exploit after one week?

Just because you're a BRO and a TRU gamer doesn't mean you can just dive in like a developer on the hardest difficulty and expect to ace it like a cake walk. Take some time to learn how the game works.

Anyway, it's SP so do what you want...but I highly doubt your problems are all RNG.

 

[sser]

Goddammit. Why can't there be a way to dampen the huge imbalance that is weighing literally fucking everything on a RNG? Here's better design:

1) All-in shooting has increased accuracy.
2) Crits only come to those out of cover or flanked.
3) Damage taken is based on type of cover you're in. Cover degrades from full to half more frequently. Full Spectrum Warrior, anyone?
4) Snap-shot: low-accuracy shot wherein you can take a few steps (or just one) afterward.
5) If you are within within 2 squares of someone you can't miss because that is just ridiculous.
6) You can focus fire terrain.
7) Panic now just picks a random square and fires instead of focusing on individuals like the idiotic system it currently is.
8) You can path the way you want to, instead of letting the computer auto-trace it for you.
9) Give the aliens more agency over the map. The way they move in clusters now promotes meta-gaming like trying to reveal one at a time.
10) Let aliens panic too. People often forget that the aliens in the original were also capable of panicking when everyone around them died.

The game has been out one week, and you are playing on IMPOSSIBLE difficulty. It's usually called that for a reason.

Do you really believe you understand every strategic angle this game gives you to exploit after one week?

Just because you're a BRO and a TRU gamer doesn't mean you can just dive in like a developer on the hardest difficulty and expect to ace it like a cake walk. Take some time to learn how the game works.

Anyway, it's SP so do what you want...but I highly doubt your problems are all RNG.

There is nothing, game wise, mechanically different between Classic and Impossible.

I have almost beaten the game on Impossible/Ironman and have played it enough to see the flaws.

The game simply ignores standard genre rules. Why does a shooter miss at point blank? Why if he hits it only does two damage to a guy in the open vs. someone getting hit behind full cover, all the way across the map, for a one-hit kill crit? These things don't make any fucking sense. You can have a RNG in a game, but holy shit, include some reliable modifiers. The game has no rules besides "If you're behind cover you are a little less likely to be hit." That's it. That is quite literally the game's only rule. Everything else is governed by the RNG. This is why I referred to the game as a "rogue like."

 

[Ulminati]

At this point I'm pretty much ready to declare SMAC Firaxis/Sid Meier's swansong :/

 

[Kane]

codex verdict on this shit game?