XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Giaddon · 2012-10-21T10:52:16.000Z

Actually, due to rounding issues, you will very very very very rarely miss a 100% shot.

Nathan_Phoenix · 2012-10-21T10:53:29.000Z

Spock:

Nathan, that happened to me only once in the game I just finished. I thought the game had crashed. But after a LONG wait – at least a couple minutes – the alien turn did end, and I was able to proceed. But I imagine you’ve already tried waiting – even going to get a cup of coffee while you wait?

It just happened again. before I only waited a few minutes. I’ll just leave it running for a while and see if it ends the alien turn.

LeSquide · 2012-10-21T10:53:33.000Z

Giaddon:

Actually, due to rounding issues, you will very very very very rarely miss a 100% shot.

…Really?

Well fuck.

beloved_one · 2012-10-21T12:04:28.000Z

Giaddon:

Actually, due to rounding issues, you will very very very very rarely miss a 100% shot.

Have you ever seen this happen?

Stepsongrapes · 2012-10-21T12:08:09.000Z

Giaddon:

Actually, due to rounding issues, you will very very very very rarely miss a 100% shot.

What rounding issues would this be from? The stats are all whole numbers and everything is added/subtracted: there isn’t any division, etc.

Papageno · 2012-10-21T12:12:10.000Z

Ugh, the handling of multistory UFOs (and buildings in general) needs improvement. Maybe it makes a difference if you’re using a mouse/keyboard vs. controller (which BTW it appears you cannot switch mid-mission).
Possible spoiler

I was assaulting that rather long and boxy-shaped UFO with the ramps and the two Outsiders, and for the life of me I couldn’t direct my dudes to certain spots where I know they could stand (because I’d assaulted the same UFO in an earlier game). It looked like the destination highlight box was offset in the terrain by a half-square in the lengthwise dimension of the UFO. In the same mission I couldn’t get one of my snipers to go through an opening at the top of a ramp for some reason, so I had to make her take 3 of 4 turns to go around the long way. The only thing I can think of that might have been the problem is that perhaps there was some residual fire from a muton grenade explosion and she couldn’t walk through it.

Also, I had the never-ending alien turn bug last night. Not just that, but it happened with the game stuck in the glam-cam perspective of one of my guys.

All that said, this game has its hooks in me in a big way.

BTW, is the tutorial essentially what was in the demo, or was there more to it (I skipped it).

Murbella · 2012-10-21T12:13:53.000Z

You need to mess with going up/down levels and rotating the camera on the multi story levels. Sometimes if you get the right angle through rotating, you can order your troops to move and not have them go to the wrong place.

This does probably take more time real time to do then just going around if you can though.

Papageno · 2012-10-21T12:18:14.000Z

I tried the raising/lowering the levels and turning the camera with both those problems (sniper can’t go through blown up opening, can’t direct my guys to specific squares). Nothing worked. Coincidentally (or not), it was the first time I had a guy using a skeleton suit.

Piemax2 · 2012-10-21T12:28:31.000Z

Finished my ironman/normal playthrough.Ended in November, score sheet said 5 guys died- not sure how that adds up as fewer than that had dies before the final mission. I’d like to try again on something in between normal and classic difficulty, but I really like the Xbox version much more than the PC one- the camera didn’t jump back and forth between levels, I didn’t mis-click on the wrong square, and the game didn’t freeze up. So maybe I’ll wait for a patch or DLC.

Driveled · 2012-10-21T13:31:49.000Z

ElGuapo:

How did you possibly do that? In my Classic Ironman game, my oldest guy was a mid game rookie.

There was of course some luck in there but I used him very conservatively. My typical setup was 2 snipers, 2 support, 1 assault, 1 heavy. Both snipers rarely left the spawn location. Once I got archangel they would just play squad sight at max altitude with archangel or the highest point I could see before I got archangel. He rarely made entry into any structures.

I had one failed mission where I lost a VIP but I never withdrew from any missions. My sniper was the last man standing at least twice.

Good old Hans “Clockwork” Gruber ended up with 150+ kills over 50? or so missions.

There really should be a hall of fame or some way to view your game after completion. If you load your last save it just brings you to the final shot and there is no way to view stats.

Giaddon · 2012-10-21T14:02:46.000Z

How many people use the SHIVs? They are AWESOME. I just finished the alien base on classic with 4 of my best soldiers and 2 laser-equipped alloy SHIVs. My soldiers took exactly one point of damage (a drone got a shot off on one of my assaults). I simply let the SHIVs lead the way, and they handled most of the hostiles, and took the brunt of the attacks. A laser SHIV deals 9 base damage, so one-shots chryssalids, and with a lucky critical can one-shot a muton. They move farther than a typical soldier, have 30% defense, are hardened against critical hits and have 18 health. They can’t use cover, but they create cover for your soldiers. Also, way less emotionally difficult to send a SHIV into the fog of war.

CF_Kane · 2012-10-21T14:13:41.000Z

Giaddon:

How many people use the SHIVs? They are AWESOME. I just finished the alien base on classic with 4 of my best soldiers and 2 laser-equipped alloy SHIVs. My soldiers took exactly one point of damage (a drone got a shot off on one of my assaults). I simply let the SHIVs lead the way, and they handled most of the hostiles, and took the brunt of the attacks. A laser SHIV deals 9 base damage, so one-shots chryssalids, and with a lucky critical can one-shot a muton. They move farther than a typical soldier, have 30% defense, are hardened against critical hits and have 18 health. They can’t use cover, but they create cover for your soldiers. Also, way less emotionally difficult to send a SHIV into the fog of war.

SHIVs are really buggy, sadly. I could never get one to appear in a mission and be able to use its guns, even after I loaded it on to the Skyranger.

Virgil_Hilts · 2012-10-21T14:13:43.000Z

The downside is that they do not gain experience and the kills they get don’t help your dudes get experience.

Pod · 2012-10-21T14:23:31.000Z

Papageno:

BTW, is the tutorial essentially what was in the demo, or was there more to it (I skipped it).

There was a tiny bit more. Though the second mission was completey different than in the dmeo. There was also a 3rd mission and possibly more cutscene crap. It’s hard to tell when the tutorial ended.

Piemax2 · 2012-10-21T14:26:54.000Z

Driveled:

There was of course some luck in there but I used him very conservatively. My typical setup was 2 snipers, 2 support, 1 assault, 1 heavy. Both snipers rarely left the spawn location. Once I got archangel they would just play squad sight at max altitude with archangel or the highest point I could see before I got archangel. He rarely made entry into any structures.

I had one failed mission where I lost a VIP but I never withdrew from any missions. My sniper was the last man standing at least twice.

Good old Hans “Clockwork” Gruber ended up with 150+ kills over 50? or so missions.

My original sniper survived too and was high kills, but only around 90-- I didn’t use him much after I got psi labs as he wasnt’ gifted and I was levelling up the guys who were. My team for the final mission was 4 colonels and 2 majors- 2 of the colonels weren’t gifted (sniper and support). Then gifted heavy and assault (the “one”) and gifted sniper and heavy.

Scotch_Lufkin · 2012-10-21T14:31:02.000Z

SHIV’s are critical at higher (Classic and above) difficulties. While it’s true the don’t gain experience, they do gain improvements in the Foundry. The high end SHIVs can deal out the damage of a Heavy with the accuracy of an Assault, has a LOT of health and can even provide cover to other soldiers, along with the ability to Suppress and even … well, they get some cool stuff towards the end. They can also be replaced much easier, and as such make amazing, durable, and deadly scouts.

All the more reason the SHIV bug (which I haven’t experienced and I use one SHIV every mission) is so unfortunate.

Alan_Au · 2012-10-21T14:31:45.000Z

SHIVs also have an innate defense bonus equivalent to being in cover. In fact, SHIVs have very good stats across the board. Unfortunately there’s a pretty bad bug with deploying SHIVs, so until that’s patched, building one is a bit of a gamble.

Dejin · 2012-10-21T14:44:15.000Z

Driveled:

I never played the original but went ironman on my first attempt and finished the game tonight. Playtime was about 25 hours.

My original sniper made it all the way through and got the final killshot. There should be an achievement for that :)

There is an achievement related to a soldier making it all the way through the game. Unfortunately from the description it looks like they have to take part in every battle, which just sounds nuts.

Alan_Dunkin · 2012-10-21T15:27:48.000Z

The SHIV bug sucks balls. I can’t use any of them now, though perhaps I’d say they are more important in the early and middle game rather than the end when your guys start getting ultra powerful and you have a few psychics around.

— Alan

ElGuapo · 2012-10-21T16:40:27.000Z

What’s the SHIV bug? Have yet to use one. They seem expensive. Soldiers are 15 quid!