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Post by cerahbes on Aug 10, 2014 17:35:57 GMT -5
No I did not save my recordings, sorry.
Research attempts to complete/progress at the end of every day. The status such as "poor" or "good" is simply a measure of progress till completion. You can have multiple bases each with their own scientists working on different topics. Don't be afraid to have a lot of them - In my playthrough my prime base had 50, second base had 30, and third base had 20. Just be careful as you have to pay their salary each month!
Research: focus all scientists in one base on a single subject at a time Laser Weapons - get these fast till you can do plasma Heavy Plasma - is the best gun all around - don't bother with the plasma rifle or plasma pistol unless you are bored Alien Grenade - Explosives are incredibly useful to kill around corners, clear out pesky terrain, etc Plasma Cannon - Best universal weapon for interceptors Blaster Launcher - best friend and worst enemy Alien Alloy - opens up multiple fields, including armor, ufo development, and alien gear production
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Post by zerker on Aug 10, 2014 17:51:47 GMT -5
Since I've already got Plasma Rifle as an option, is there any benefit in researching Laser Weapons instead, or should I stick with the 'best' weapon I can currently research? I'll probably research Alien Alloy next. I'm assuming there's no reason to research health kits until you actually have armour?
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Post by Snarboo on Aug 10, 2014 18:20:07 GMT -5
Plasma tech takes longer than Lasers IIRC, so don't be afraid to supplement your arsenal with laser weapons in the meantime. Also keep in mind that you can sell motion scanners for a profit! Simply click the "sell" button when manufacturing them.
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Post by cerahbes on Aug 10, 2014 20:59:49 GMT -5
The medkit is really clunky but not bad to have a few in your squad. To use one, put it in your hand, get next to the wounded soldier and face them. Then use the medkit which takes 10 TUs per function you do. The medkit has its own unique screen that lets you do pain killer, stimulant, or heal. When a soldier takes damage and doesn't die they will usually aquire "fatal wounds". Each fatal wound bleeds a health point every turn - using the heal function will remove a fatal wound. Painkiller restores lost morale/health from bleeding I think? And stimulant wakes up unconscious soldiers/restores energy. While not necessary - healing/preventing bleeding damage will get your soldiers off the wounded status sooner. Soldiers are wounded if injured and recover 1 health point per DAY. Late game if a soldier takes 50 damage and lives .. that's 50 days out of action.
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Post by Feynman on Aug 10, 2014 21:11:42 GMT -5
Since I've already got Plasma Rifle as an option, is there any benefit in researching Laser Weapons instead, or should I stick with the 'best' weapon I can currently research? I'll probably research Alien Alloy next. I'm assuming there's no reason to research health kits until you actually have armour? Plasma weapons are a mid game thing. They require quite a lot of scientists to research effectively. At the beginning of the game, your primary research goal should be rushing to laser weapons ASAP. Laser weapons are strong, they don't use ammo (freeing up more belt space for grenades and such), are just plain better than the terrible human ballistic weapons you start with, and they are very easy to research. Plasma weapons are better than laser weapons, but the upgrade from laser -> plasma isn't nearly as significant as the upgrade from ballistic -> laser. They simply require too many resources be be worth spending time on in the early game when laser weapons are right there.
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Post by X-pert74 on Aug 10, 2014 22:24:40 GMT -5
Personally I have never used the motion detector, ever. To me it's by far the most pointless research to start with, especially since if I recall correctly, researching it doesn't lead to anything else in the research tree.
Laser weapons (mostly rifles) are really important, and have some benefits over the plasma weapons you can get later (such as infinite ammo, and increased power against robotic enemies). Eventually though, you do want to get Heavy Plasma researched. And as far as how to allocate researchers, personally I only do research at my initial base, so I can focus my researchers as desired (whether I want them all to research one thing, or research a couple things simultaneously). I'll have other bases where I keep various soldiers/interceptors/engineers/etc., but I only have scientists at my initial base. I do build Alien Containment facilities at later bases too though, so that when an alien gets captured by one of the soldier teams at those bases, I can then transfer the alien to my main base in order to be interrogated.
I have to put extra attention toward researching Alien Alloys; they are absolutely essential in several ways, and I'd recommend taking care of them as soon as possible. Either around the time you research laser weapons, or even earlier.
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Post by Joseph Joestar on Aug 10, 2014 22:31:05 GMT -5
Personally I have never used the motion detector, ever. To me it's by far the most pointless research to start with, especially since if I recall correctly, researching it doesn't lead to anything else in the research tree. Laser weapons (mostly rifles) are really important, and have some benefits over the plasma weapons you can get later (such as infinite ammo, and increased power against robotic enemies). Eventually though, you do want to get Heavy Plasma researched. And as far as how to allocate researchers, personally I only do research at my initial base, so I can focus my researchers as desired (whether I want them all to research one thing, or research a couple things simultaneously). I'll have other bases where I keep various soldiers/interceptors/engineers/etc., but I only have scientists at my initial base. I do build Alien Containment facilities at later bases too though, so that when an alien gets captured by one of the soldier teams at those bases, I can then transfer the alien to my main base in order to be interrogated. I have to put extra attention toward researching Alien Alloys; they are absolutely essential in several ways, and I'd recommend taking care of them as soon as possible. Either around the time you research laser weapons, or even earlier. Yeah, battles got a lot easier after researching alloys (which led to armor) and the laser pistols. Great stuff! Are there any long-distance non-lethal weapons? I had to save scum to get in unscathed with the stun rod. Anyway, it's waterboarding time!
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Post by X-pert74 on Aug 10, 2014 22:50:58 GMT -5
Personally I have never used the motion detector, ever. To me it's by far the most pointless research to start with, especially since if I recall correctly, researching it doesn't lead to anything else in the research tree. Laser weapons (mostly rifles) are really important, and have some benefits over the plasma weapons you can get later (such as infinite ammo, and increased power against robotic enemies). Eventually though, you do want to get Heavy Plasma researched. And as far as how to allocate researchers, personally I only do research at my initial base, so I can focus my researchers as desired (whether I want them all to research one thing, or research a couple things simultaneously). I'll have other bases where I keep various soldiers/interceptors/engineers/etc., but I only have scientists at my initial base. I do build Alien Containment facilities at later bases too though, so that when an alien gets captured by one of the soldier teams at those bases, I can then transfer the alien to my main base in order to be interrogated. I have to put extra attention toward researching Alien Alloys; they are absolutely essential in several ways, and I'd recommend taking care of them as soon as possible. Either around the time you research laser weapons, or even earlier. Yeah, battles got a lot easier after researching alloys (which led to armor) and the laser pistols. Great stuff! Are there any long-distance non-lethal weapons? I had to save scum to get in unscathed with the stun rod. Anyway, it's waterboarding time! Yes, there is the Small Launcher , which is a huge, huge improvement over the Stun Rod. Just be careful not to get caught in its blast
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Post by Tarsier on Aug 11, 2014 0:07:45 GMT -5
Since nobody's talked about them, I'd like to talk about the enemies.
There's five main aliens in UFO Defense, which you will always be fighting against one kind of except in the final mission, and six Terror Units, which are seen much less often, only in Terror Missions, on Terror Ships, and on some of the later UFOs, and are each associated with one specific kind of alien.
The main aliens are Sectoids, Floaters, Snakemen, Mutons, and Ethereals, while the Terror Units are Cyberdisks, Reapers, CHRYSSALIDS, Celatids and Silacoids, and Sectopods, listed in order of introduction and association. You'll note that CHRYSSALIDS is in all caps. There's a very good reason for this.
In order of how dangerous they are, from easiest to fight to most deadly, Floaters, Mutons, Snakemen, Sectoids, and Ethereals. Snakemen are that high up for a very good reason.
Floaters have the ability to fly, something that they rarely use, and are the second most accurate aliens. This is about all they have, as they have the second lowest health, armor, Psi defense, and Reactions. Their Terror Unit, the Reaper, has monstrous health, the highest in the game, and an obscene amount of strength, which it won't use because it only has a devastating melee bite attack that will turn your tanks into confetti. They're easy to mind control though, and are a large target, taking up a two-by-two area, making indoors a safe place against them.
Mutons are technically the second least dangerous, but are a massive step up from Floaters, boasting the highest non-Terror Unit health and strength. However, they have low Firing Accuracy and Reactions, which becomes something of a moot point when they survive a full Heavy Plasma autoshot to the face. Notably, they're the only alien that gets two Terror Units, both of which are notable for different reasons. The Celatid is armed with one of the most dangerous weapons in the game with it's acid spit, and can potentially out-shoot a Floater, but can be killed in one shot with a Laser Rifle, and has poor reactions. The Silicoid, meanwhile, is a perfect target for training Reactions against, with it's slow speed, heavy armor, and immunity to fire. Bring along some Autocannons and AC-I if you want to try.
Snakemen have only their Terror Unit and Reactions going for them, most other stats being between the others. CHRYSSALIDS, however, earn this spot for the Snakemen. CHRYSSALIDS are the fastest unit in the game. They have an absurd amount of Energy, letting them move for almost the entire, likely short, mission. They have obscene Strength and Bravery, neither of which are likely to come into play. They have twice the health of a Snakeman, and twice the armor of a Muton. They can come in from off-screen and murder your Commander in a single Alien turn. If they hit someone, the poor guy turns into a Zombie, who inevitably gets Reaction Fired and turns into ANOTHER CHRYSSALID, with somewhat lower stats. This new CHRYSSALID, however, is more than capable of turning half your squad into Zombies as the other half panics because CHRYSSALIDS. They can attack up to seven times on Beginner, and including moving between your soldiers and tearing them apart, can usually zombify about four people before running out of Time Units. All the while, two dozen more CHRYSSALIDS are just off-screen from all the Civilians that got a high five from a CHRYSSALID. They have no weaknesses, despite what the in-game UFOpedia says about HE ammo, and take less damage from fire than normal. Fortunately, they only have average Psi Defense, and Zombies will not hatch into more CHRYSSALIDS if you light them on fire, and a CHRYSSALID can be distracted with heavy enough armor to survive multiple attacks, although it won't prevent Zombification. In short, CHRYSSALIDS are jerks.
Sectoids are likely your first opponent, and are an underwhelming one, with pathetic health, armor, accuracy, and using piddly Plasma Pistols that will turn your jumpsuit-wearing troops into something a lot like jam anyways. The danger comes in when Sectoid Leaders and Commanders arrive. Sectoid Leaders and Commanders both have Mind Control, the most dangerous ability in the game. This is because it will take control of your own Commander and tell him he would get a touchdown if he fired that Blaster Bomb right next to him, right next to him usually being the rest of your A-Team. Leaders and Commanders have the same weaknesses as normal Sectoids though, and usually aren't going to last long when you kick down the door and start beating him into unconsciousness with Stun Rods for turning your best troops into a new wallpaper. Cyberdisks are pretty much just a large unit with a gun. As much health and armor as a CHRYSSALID, a bit more accurate than a Muton, very good Psi defenses, will often explode in a large radius when destroyed, not nearly as terrifying as an endless sea of crab men.
Ethereals are the last enemy you run into, and can be described as Super Sectoids. However, every Ethereal, every last one, has Mind Control, and they're all better at it than you. They also have the second-most health of the main aliens, more armor than CHRYSSALIDS, impressive Reactions and Accuracy, can fly, and have Sectopods. Much like how Ethereals are Super Sectoids, Sectopods are Super Cyberdisks. They have a bit less health, but easily have the most armor in the game, with about twice as much armor at the closest point between them, will often explode when destroyed like Cyberdisks, and are incredibly hard to mind control. They take half again as much damage from lasers, however, and fire lasers themselves. Mind controlling one partially then having it walk in circles a bit will likely cause it to kill itself with it's own reaction fire.
Also Cerahbes is a cool guy, thanks again for making sure I don't look like a complete idiot when I'm posting while half asleep.
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Post by X-pert74 on Aug 11, 2014 3:18:05 GMT -5
Tarsier's post is a pretty good write-up on the different varied aliens in UFO Defense. Personally though, I've never encountered aliens in quite that order before; usually I find Ethereals after either Floaters or Snakemen, and for whatever reason don't run into Mutons until much, much later in the game. In fact when I played as a kid, I didn't even known Mutons existed because I never ran into them, and would forget about them after the intro sequence
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Post by Bobinator on Aug 11, 2014 12:04:30 GMT -5
Here's a few tips to start off, and I'll use this post to edit more tips in as I think them up.
- This is not Fire Emblem. Your guys will die. There's absolutely nothing you can do to get around it, so you might as well get used to it. In fact, it's usually OK to send a rookie or two out into the field as... how do we put this... "advance scouts". You probably DON'T want to do this with anybody above the rank of Squaddie, as the resulting morale loss could get you into serious trouble.
- Even if you can't see the enemy, watch carefully when it's their turn. If you watch where their shots come from, you can get a hint at where some of them might be hiding.
- There's an option to enable stats in the inventory screen that will show you how much weight a soldier can carry before they get penalties. You'll want this on, for convience sake, and it's not so major that it'll drastically change the game.
- Do NOT leave too many of your guys in the Skyranger when you start off. You'll want to leave one or two in there in case things get bad and you need to abort the mission. If you leave more than that, however, you run the risk of somebody mind controlling a guy in the Skyranger with a grenade and OH THERE GO HALF YOUR DUDES.
- While you can carry a two-handed weapon like a rifle in one hand and something else in the other hand, this will reduce your weapon accuracy. Keep things in your inventory until you're ready to use them.
- Your soldiers CAN hit each other, especially if somebody with low accuracy is trying to hit the enemy. This is especially common if somebody who's crouching is behind somebody else who's crouching. Try not to avoid having your soldiers stand in a line.
- Always, ALWAYS try to kneel at the end of your turn, unless the exception from the previous tip applies. It helps your accuracy, probably reduces your chance to be hit, and lets you crouch behind certain chest-high walls. Remember that there's a button on the HUD that lets you reserve AP for this. On that note, you should probably keep some AP reserved for reaction fire, too, since that can lead to a free attack, every so often.
- Reaction fire can suck if somebody's carrying a rocket launcher. Try not to leave people with one too close to anybody else.
- If you don't have time to find a door to a building on a terror mission, just fire off a few shots in the nearest wall and make a hole you can pass through. This works better on terror missions than UFO crashes.
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Post by Feynman on Aug 11, 2014 15:50:17 GMT -5
- Do NOT leave too many of your guys in the Skyranger when you start off. You'll want to leave one or two in there in case things get bad and you need to abort the mission. If you leave more than that, however, you run the risk of somebody mind controlling a guy in the Skyranger with a grenade and OH THERE GO HALF YOUR DUDES. One fun tactic is hiring a few rookies with really crappy bravery for the sole purpose of chilling in the Skyranger with only a stun rod or something else harmless, then laughing when the aliens choose to focus their mind control efforts on them. The aliens won't always target these guys, but they will often enough to help reduce the threat of mind control. The Skyranger holds so many soldiers that having a few "dummy" units to draw mind control attacks won't impact the effectiveness of your squad.
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Post by Snarboo on Aug 11, 2014 16:16:15 GMT -5
Sometime tonight, I will be streaming myself playing a themed game of X-COM. Watch in horror as your favorite GC9X hosts die in agony at the hands of an inept squad leader! Edit:Thinking some time around 8 PM EST, possibly earlier. The link will likely be tweeted, so be sure to check out the GC9X Twitter!
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Post by Snarboo on Aug 11, 2014 18:17:39 GMT -5
Stream'll be up in about an hour!
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Post by Tarsier on Aug 11, 2014 19:30:41 GMT -5
- Do NOT leave too many of your guys in the Skyranger when you start off. You'll want to leave one or two in there in case things get bad and you need to abort the mission. If you leave more than that, however, you run the risk of somebody mind controlling a guy in the Skyranger with a grenade and OH THERE GO HALF YOUR DUDES. One fun tactic is hiring a few rookies with really crappy bravery for the sole purpose of chilling in the Skyranger with only a stun rod or something else harmless, then laughing when the aliens choose to focus their mind control efforts on them. The aliens won't always target these guys, but they will often enough to help reduce the threat of mind control. The Skyranger holds so many soldiers that having a few "dummy" units to draw mind control attacks won't impact the effectiveness of your squad. Hell, I don't think you even need to give them the Stun Rod, if their Psi Strength is low enough. On that note, it can be worth it to go and test a few Rookies for especially low Psi, so that they can have fun screaming in a corner while the rest of the squad gets to shoot Sectoids.
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