XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Stepsongrapes · 2012-10-22T16:26:46.000Z

Spock:

Hmm, the Officer Training School was my first build on my current Classic game, and I had the power for that. But I haven’t built a Workshop yet. I dunno, so far I’m not minding the extra challenge in the strategy layer.

I usually go for a workshop first to quickly get a satellite uplink. By the time I get around to a school, I’m in to the second row. The lift itself requiring power is a bit of kick in the gut.

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T16:29:07.000Z

Just finished this on classic! Took a bit longer than I had to to get the blaster launcher (awesome!) and to mind control an Ethereal.

Really great experience. Now for classic+ironman.

(I just checked my facilities. I built the school first, then the workshop on the second layer. Worked well for me (I only lost Egypt).

Bandersnatch · 2012-10-22T17:02:33.000Z

Quaro:

Here’s how to enable it:

Edit XComGame.ini (in your XCOM folder under My Documents\My Games) and add the following lines at the end:

[XComStrategyGame.XGCustomizeUI]
bArmorDecoAvailable=true
bArmorTintAvailable=true

This doesn’t activate the preorder armor models but it does give you the ability to change colors.

Basic colors is all you need if you just want to color code various roles and make the battles more readable.

Thanks a ton for this, worked like a charm.

I’m enjoying Classic quite a bit. I completed Normal and never even understood flanking. I’d see yellow alien heads from time to time and just think that they were aliens with the best hit chance. On my sniper, what does it mean when you see a crosshair on the target list? I had one mission where 3 thin men popped up and two of them had crosshairs on their target, but the other one didn’t. All three had the same aim chance.

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T17:06:32.000Z

The crosshair icon means your sniper can only aim at the target due to the squad sight ability.

Alistair · 2012-10-22T17:13:29.000Z

I should not have started on Ironman :(

Game 3 commencing.

Does the tactical game not cry out for an Overwatch toggle, where everyone loses one action but is put in overwatch at the end of the turn? Lack of that makes a repetitive game a bit of a grind IMO.

Stepsongrapes · 2012-10-22T17:20:29.000Z

Alistair:

I should not have started on Ironman :(

Game 3 commencing.

Does the tactical game not cry out for an Overwatch toggle, where everyone loses one action but is put in overwatch at the end of the turn? Lack of that makes a repetitive game a bit of a grind IMO.

If I understand you correctly, I’d find that a bit intrusive. I’d prefer a default setting that anyone ending a turn with the requirements to overwatch (i.e., action available, not a sniper rifle) should automatically engage overwatch. Heck, even the current non-automatic system would be improved by having overwatch be consistently a certain action (e.g., action #2 or some such). Having it move around so that I need to see what specific button to push (twice) for each trooper is dumb.

Alistair · 2012-10-22T17:22:49.000Z

Maybe that’s a better idea, yes.

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T17:24:58.000Z

Just push Y! Push y. All done. Well, once per soldier. y y y y y y.

Also, can I just say, at the end of the game you are controlling psychic army men (and women!) who are fighting space aliens?! X-Com was such an awesome idea. I’m so glad that it finally got rebooted, and so wonderfully. Yay xcom.

Stepsongrapes · 2012-10-22T17:26:38.000Z

Giaddon:

Just push Y! Push y. All done. Well, once per soldier. y y y y y y.

Also, can I just say, at the end of the game you are controlling psychic army men (and women!) who are fighting space aliens?! X-Com was such an awesome idea. I’m so glad that it finally got rebooted, and so wonderfully. Yay xcom.

So with a controller it’s always “y”? Well, for KB, they went with sometimes it’s “2” and sometimes it is “3” (except when it is “4”).

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T17:28:22.000Z

With a keyboard it is also always Y!

Push Y! It’s so much fun! You’ll be glad you did!

Also X to switch weapons and R to reload!

Stepsongrapes · 2012-10-22T17:35:43.000Z

Giaddon:

With a keyboard it is also always Y!

Push Y! It’s so much fun! You’ll be glad you did!

Also X to switch weapons and R to reload!

My mind. It is blown.

Alistair · 2012-10-22T17:48:39.000Z

Really? Goodness me. The Earth lost, and I never knew y.

TimJames · 2012-10-22T18:19:13.000Z

Don’t press y. Press y, then tab. Otherwise you have to sit there like a dunce watching the overwatch logo float up in the air before the UI sloshes over to the next unit.

Alistair · 2012-10-22T18:47:08.000Z

Jeez. I’m a planetary commander not a typist.

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T19:10:21.000Z

Tim James:

sloshes

AWESOME diction. OMG. Perfect.

ElGuapo · 2012-10-22T19:29:03.000Z

hepcat:

Thanks, that’s a fantastic idea that I do believe I’ll steal for myself!

I give them colors according to their national flag. Except snipers. Snipers wear black.

Miramon · 2012-10-22T19:50:01.000Z

Yeah, sloshes is the word. The UI is like one of those wave machines with a layer of blue oil slowly swirling around when you tip it. It’s like piloting a ship. Left Full Rudder! Aye Aye Left Full Rudder.

I finally managed to finish a normal ironman game without either running into some kind of stupid bug or rage-quitting after being stupid myself. Two deaths, no countries lost. got bored with the slow encounter rate toward the end, so I finished as soon as possible without researching everything.

The final encounter really does seem kind of silly, especially when my double-tap sniper eliminated the uber boss (really? uber?) with two successive criticals. We were kind of chewed up by the time we got to the end, with 4 out of 6 wounded, but it was all my own fault. Normal mode really is easy if you take care, though you can still run into the occasional unlucky level layout as per that chrysalid cluster-up I mentioned earlier in the thread.

I can see that classic ironman is certainly doable, but I have no great interest in it right now. Perhaps some other lifetime. Not a bad game, for sure, definitely worthwhile and with some nice retro qualities, but also not all that memorable, and with little replay value for me.

habibi · 2012-10-22T20:37:07.000Z

In my 15 missions I have never found the need to switch weapons to a pistol or anything (aside from Arc Thrower)… when do you need to switch? Isn’t the secondary weapon redundant?

Giaddon · 2012-10-22T20:39:10.000Z

If you run out of ammo or you want to weaken an enemy for capture. Also essential for snipers. Foundry upgrades can make pistols better, as well.

Murbella · 2012-10-22T20:40:15.000Z

For the most part, yes. Pistol is completely worthless without doing all of the foundry upgrades. Even then you probably need a supporting skill (like the sniper pistol skill) to do anything noticeable with one.

The most use i got from pistols was when trying to lower an enemy’s health enough to use Arc Thrower without killing them. Also sometimes useful for going overwatch with assault since the game is too stupid to realize they shouldn’t try to overwatch fire their shotgun from a mile away with 0% chance to hit for 0 damage.