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[Volodja]

I think with my next play through I'm not going to bother with Assault. They are the worst class by far. I just don't see a use for them. Heavies are more powerful offensively (esp against the late game robots), Support gets 3 heals, and snipers wreck. I use my Shiv for scouting. So no need for Assault at all.

Assaults are the units that require the lesser positional care.
With Run and Gun their effective range of attack is gigantic, making flanking really easy (and an Assault with full damage abilities and equipped with a Shotgun can fuck anything up in a Run and Gun + Rapid Fire turn) and none of their abilities really require them to be in any particular spot (Snipers obviously have many more problems from that point of view, Heavies have no mobility bonuses and a skill that needs them to stay still that turn and Supports, even with the movement bonus, have to be in the position to be able to cure or smoke anybody that needs it, so they can't run too far away).
They ended up becoming the backbone of my squads because they can fan out one turn and then cluster together for concentrated fire in the next and they are very sturdy too.

 

[Mupod]

I've researched the plasma rifle but not the laser one yet. Do I need to do that first or something? I DO have access to the Plasma sniper and shotgun though but I haven't researched the plasma pistol.

You can skip lasers entirely, which is what I did last time. So no, you definitely don't need to research that. Don't need the pistol either.

I'd say just check again...maybe you need plasma cannons (ship weapon) first? I always get those quick because they are so cheap and important.

 

[Corky]

Whehehe, you are really engrossed in the game.

I am :'( what I literally did was that as soon as I realized that I had lost I just put my head in my hands for what felt like an eternity.

 

[Tacitus_]

I hope someone does a Halo mod on this later. I think that would be one of the best franchise to use this gameplay. Your Spartans, if they die in a mission will just be considered MIA, as with the lore in the series.

I don't even have an Xbox 360 (last Halo I played was the 2nd) but I would download this on day one.

Even better, a WH 40K mod. A Space Hulk game like this would rock so hard.

 

[Raxus]

You can skip lasers entirely, which is what I did last time. So no, you definitely don't need to research that. Don't need the pistol either.

I'd say just check again...maybe you need plasma cannons (ship weapon) first? I always get those quick because they are so cheap and important.

If you can stomach it long enough. I think the game encourages you to go regular guns->laser guns->plasma guns for good reason. When you infiltrate the base early on you will want a few strong weapons to support you.

 

[Miletius]

Update: Impossible is indeed living up to it's name. I think I may do another Classic run for cheevos and maybe set IM proper on (even though I didn't save scum on my regular classic run).

 

[GuitarAtomik]

You can skip lasers entirely, which is what I did last time. So no, you definitely don't need to research that. Don't need the pistol either.

I'd say just check again...maybe you need plasma cannons (ship weapon) first? I always get those quick because they are so cheap and important.

Yeah I haven't researched that yet so I'll try that. Thanks!

Even better, a WH 40K mod. A Space Hulk game like this would rock so hard.

YES! I was saying on Facebook that this is like the 40K videogame that Games Workshop refuses to approve/make. At a smaller scale of course. Imagine this game with larger squads, maps, and added vehicles. It would be nuts.

 

[TheVoidDragon]

Even better, a WH 40K mod. A Space Hulk game like this would rock so hard.

An actual W40K game similar to this would be great.

 

[Mupod]

If you can stomach it long enough. I think the game encourages you to go regular guns->laser guns->plasma guns for good reason. When you infiltrate the base early on you will want a few strong weapons to support you.

On my classic ironman I poured all my resources into a single plasma sniper rifle, and captured as many light plasmas as I could. It was...extremely risky and I lost some good men, but I caught the very first Muton I ever saw so that sped it up. Worked out pretty well, although my heavy with her boring old LMG was kind of dead weight after I used her rocket. I ended up clearing the base much earlier than I did on my previous normal run, although if not for that sniper rifle I'd have been Chryssalid food. There were SIX in one room...and four Mutons behind them.

I have a great appreciation for Light Plasma. Early on combined with a scope its inherent +10 bonus really makes up for your crappy aim, and they always one-shot floaters/thin men/sectoids.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Played the demo and liked it a lot. I'm just worried about difficulty. From listening to the Bombcast I really don't want to get 9 hours in and be screwed and have to re-start. How is easy?

 

[Rufus]

An actual W40K game similar to this would be great.

It would be perfect.

Mortal wounds on a veteran? Put them in stasis, then entomb them in a Dreadnaught.

 

[Corky]

Played the demo and liked it a lot. I'm just worried about difficulty. From listening to the Bombcast I really don't want to get 9 hours in and be screwed and have to re-start. How is easy?

You're not forced to play Ironman mode, hence you wont have to restart anything.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

You're not forced to play Ironman mode, hence you wont have to restart anything.

Well all your countries can pull out right? That's what I was meaning. Basically losing the game without beating it.

 

[Rufus]

Well all your countries can pull out right? That's what I was meaning. Basically losing the game without beating it.

Normal is kind of difficult to screw up, since you have to neglect panic ratings for a long time for that to happen. Even then, losing a few (I lost 3 and did just fine) won't doom you, either.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Normal is kind of difficult to screw up, since you have to neglect panic ratings for a long time for that to happen. Even then, losing a few (I lost 3 and did just fine) won't doom you, either.

Alright. Cool. The Bombcast worried me because Vinny restarted 9 hours in due to not doing satellites and having nearly everyone pull out. Brad did the same, but managed to turn it around before it got too bad.

 

[Tacitus_]

Yeah I haven't researched that yet so I'll try that. Thanks!


YES! I was saying on Facebook that this is like the 40K videogame that Games Workshop refuses to approve/make. At a smaller scale of course. Imagine this game with larger squads, maps, and added vehicles. It would be nuts.

An actual W40K game similar to this would be great.

There probably won't be an official Space Hulk game, gets in the way of GW making monies off of the real thing.

Alright. Cool. The Bombcast worried me because Vinny restarted 9 hours in due to not doing satellites and having nearly everyone pull out. Brad did the same, but managed to turn it around before it got too bad.

I neglected satellites for a long time since I didn't want to launch where I couldn't have Interceptor coverage. Managed just fine on Classic difficulty, you just need to sometimes do a panic mission with suboptimal rewards to get the panic meter down.

 

[Rufus]

Alright. Cool. The Bombcast worried me because Vinny restarted 9 hours in due to not doing satellites and having nearly everyone pull out. Brad did the same, but managed to turn it around before it got too bad.

On normal, things seem more dramatic than they are.

Vinny is just compulsive. Didn't surprise me that he started over at some point. I don't remember exactly how it went for him, but he might have turned it around too, I dunno.

 

[Mupod]

Starting over 1-2 hours in is a great idea especially if you did the tutorial. Having a solid plan for those first 2-3 months makes a world of difference, and once you get past the early game things are a lot more stable. Even on Classic I only lost 2-3 people (to stupid mistakes) past a certain point.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Well all your countries can pull out right? That's what I was meaning. Basically losing the game without beating it.

It's really not that bad on normal. I've never played X-Com before and rarely play strategy games (Never played Civ or anything like that even though I'm interested) and I'm doing pretty well. No one's pulled out yet and I've only lost 2 good soldiers out of maybe 30 missions or so (I did reload a lot though lol). As long as you're careful in the actual missions, watch your panic ratings, and don't neglect anything too long in the base, you'll be fine.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

There probably won't be an official Space Hulk game, gets in the way of GW making monies off of the real thing.

Yeah I know. It annoys me even though it makes sense on their end. I'm surprised no one has tried to rip it off in video game form yet though.

 

[ii Stryker]

Alright. Cool. The Bombcast worried me because Vinny restarted 9 hours in due to not doing satellites and having nearly everyone pull out. Brad did the same, but managed to turn it around before it got too bad.

I'm new to the franchise also(the demo got me hooked) and I'm playing on easy and its going well for the most part. I have the 360 version and it is a bit buggy but nothing game breaking as of yet(I think I'm toward the endgame), just a few weird anomalies here and there.

Build satellites as often and as early as you can because that's how you manage how often you're attacked and its your source of income as well. Take it slow and constantly overwatch. Also save often because the game does not autosave!

The key to this game is thoughtful patience(your decisions do matter) and the acceptance that you will take casualties.

 

[decoyplatypus]

Assaults are my oh shit button. When something absolutely needs to die to make sure it doesn't do something unpleasant next turn, run and gun flank + rapid fire. This sounds situational but I use it at least once a mission...especially once Sectoid Commanders and Ethereals start showing up.

Also I can't imagine not running with one because they deal with melee enemies so efficiently.

Edit: Oh yeah lightning reflexes is a MUST. If I'm not sure an enemy who escaped earlier is milling about on overwatch I just run my assault past the suspicious area.

I use them the same way. I run two assaults for most terror missions (where snipers are going to have a tough time). The fact that you can trust them to (a) kill just about anything in their dash radius, and (b) take a hit if you leave them somewhere exposed, makes them pretty valuable team members.

By the time I reached plasma weapons, I actually thought heavies were less useful. They needed upgraded scopes to be able to hit anything, and the right situation for rockets (set up on the previous turn and no need to spare civilians or salvage equipment) came about less often than good run-and-gun opportunities. Plus there's less call for blowing up enemies' cover once you've got ghost armor. I loved my heavies (one was my longest survivor of the game, and extra damage to machines was great), but if I had to drop a unit type from my next play through, it would be heavy.

 

[Funky Papa]

Yeah I've really taken a shine to dealing with Mutons by blowing up their cover (even more fun when you have MC, because you can use THEIR grenades). Explosives would soften them up to ensure a kill with each shot too. I got so much use out of Double Tap disabling shot that I didn't really think of trying In the Zone, but I'm definitely gonna try it next time.

Edit: Oh shit Shredder Rockets would be perfect for this and I never used those either.

Shredder Rockets are amazing. Put your heavy on hold whenever you feel that Mutons or any other hardened enemy is coming your way. As soon as they come into sight, you hit them with a shredder right away and finish them off with rifle/shotty fire.

Mutons are always dangerous, but they stop being gamebreaking assholes once you equip your team with an upgraded heavy and a badass sniper a laser rifle. Giving them SCOPE sights are also a great idea. Upgraded heavies with SCOPE sights are tough bastards.

 

[electricpirate]

Haven't played the full game yet, but I think that would be a very interesting merging of IP's and styles. I remember liking Halo Wars (the demo at least) but this seems to be more akin to what I would want from a RTS Halo game.

Yea, I always felt that Halo wars really limited itself by following the Starcraft model. Something with tactical gameplay akin to Myth: TFL or Homeworld mixed high strategy layer like Xcom could be pretty dam amazing.

 

[forgeforsaken]

What I want next is a new Mission Force Cyberstorm game (like the first one, not the crappy second one.)

 

[Mike M]

*Spend several turns arranging my guys around the door in one of the side "pods" of a crashed UFO to prepare for entering the main body.*

*Fucking Cyberdisk and drones randomly spawns in the middle of everyone. Suddenly no one's in cover now.*

Fortunately I was able to take it out before it got an attack off. Seriously though, WTF was that? Glitch? Hitherto unknown ability of the Cyberdisk to randomly manifest without warning?

Anyway, I think I'm on the verge of getting rolled. Already lost one country, three others are at full panic, and I haven't been great about amassing resources needed to get satellite coverage...

Got plasma weapons researched, though.

 

[Funky Papa]

An actual W40K game similar to this would be great.

You are basically asking for a Chaos Gate remake

That game was fucking badass, if a bit clunky at times.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Thanks guys. Might grab this over the weekend.

 

[ii Stryker]

Shredder Rockets are amazing. Put your heavy on hold whenever you feel that Mutons or any other hardened enemy is coming your way. As soon as they come into sight, you hit them with a shredder right away and finish them off with rifle/shotty fire.

Mutons are always dangerous, but they stop being gamebreaking assholes if you equip your team with an upgraded heavy and a badass sniper a laser rifle. Given them SCOPE sights are also a great idea. Upgraded heavies with SCOPE sights are tough bastards.

Use the good ground perk and the archangel armor with snipers. the archangel give your sniper the auto high ground. Use ghost armor and alloy cannon with assault to make them ninja shotgun beasts!

how do you level up your psionic abilities?

 

[Mupod]

*Spend several turns arranging my guys around the door in one of the side "pods" of a crashed UFO to prepare for entering the main body.*

*Fucking Cyberdisk and drones randomly spawns in the middle of everyone. Suddenly no one's in cover now.*

Fortunately I was able to take it out before it got an attack off. Seriously though, WTF was that? Glitch? Hitherto unknown ability of the Cyberdisk to randomly manifest without warning?

Anyway, I think I'm on the verge of getting rolled. Already lost one country, three others are at full panic, and I haven't been great about amassing resources needed to get satellite coverage...

Got plasma weapons researched, though.

As I've said before, my theory is that it's just a patrol. However, when the computer thinks you can't see its units, it teleports them instantly to its destination to make the turn go faster. If you played the original you know how long the HIDDEN MOVEMENT could last otherwise. Sometimes this doesn't work quite right and a patrol seems to 'teleport' into the middle of your squad.

As you said yourself it's no big deal because it happens during the alien turn, and they never attack you if they find you on that turn. They just get their free move.

how do you level up your psionic abilities?

Use 'em. I like bringing a bunch of psi squaddies on Council missions and blowing up the 10 million Thin Men with Mindfray, levels them up fast.

 

[doomquake]

why are there not xcom minis? i want an xcom board game..i dont want to learn 40k

 

[marrec]

why are there not xcom minis? i want an xcom board game..i dont want to learn 40k

OH MAN I would play the shit out of that.

Of course, I would play the Aliens... cause I like being the bad guy in Board Games.

 

[garath]

Use the good ground perk and the archangel armor with snipers. the archangel give your sniper the auto high ground. Use ghost armor and alloy cannon with assault to make them ninja shotgun beasts!

how do you level up your psionic abilities?

Description of the arch angel armor says it doesn't confer high ground bonus. A high level sniper still rips though.

Earlier in the thread someone said level up psi abilities by using them. Whoops. I never did do that.

 

[doomquake]

if i get angry and frustated enough...i will extract the models and send em to the 3d printer.. *shakes fist*

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I wanted to wait till around Christmas to pick up Xcom, but I couldn't do it. The game is soooo good.

 

[Ravensmash]

Worth playing Ironman to start with ?

 

[garath]

Worth playing Ironman to start with ?

Yes. I've quite enjoyed it.

 

[Dakota47]

Worth playing Ironman to start with ?

Depends on who you ask. I'd say yes, because it adds to the tension. Other people have argued though that it is better to do the first run without it so you can learn the game better and correct beginner's mistakes.

 

[TheVoidDragon]

You are basically asking for a Chaos Gate remake

That game was fucking badass, if a bit clunky at times.

Wow, i didn't know that was what Chaos Gate was. It looks quite good. A remake of that would be awesome if it was similar to XCOM.

 

[electricpirate]

Worth playing Ironman to start with ?

If you are jumping into classic you may want to play a b it without it, try a few missions a few times, and work on strategy. Just doing that dramatically improved the quality of my game on classic.

 

[ii Stryker]

Description of the arch angel armor says it doesn't confer high ground bonus. A high level sniper still rips though.

Earlier in the thread someone said level up psi abilities by using them. Whoops. I never did do that.

I was watching this developer walkthrough and they are using the archangel armor with the sniper.

 

[Basileus777]

Description of the arch angel armor says it doesn't confer high ground bonus. A high level sniper still rips though.

The bonus from Damn Good Ground does work with the armor.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

With a bit of luck, I just saved my playthrough. Got a hard mission done at the low cost of 3 rookies, got a lot of money and a panic reduction, got the satelite nexus up and running, allowing me to launch 3 satelutes I had in reserve and lower the most precarious countries, and now have a council mission which will give me a load of money, a good soldier and a panic reduction

Spending 20minutes tactically moving around the map, only to find that you've been laboriously chasing a single muton #feelsbadman

 

[Ketch]

I'd say normal iron man is a good way to start. Really makes you FEEL like you better not screw up, with out actually punishing you too severely.

Classic Ironman is frickin BALLS HARD though. Playing through normal ironman I thought about restarting a couple times because I didn't think it was hard enough, but man I'm glad I didn't.

I'm not sure if it's just because i'm used to the vets I had last play through, but it really feels like your rookies take a hit to all base stats... and then, combined with the increased difficulty anyway (more enemies on screen, more enemy cooperation, just the general "no holds bared" mentality of it), I lost more dudes on classic before the first council mission then I did in all of normal ironman.

Tactics I thought I'd be able to use (putting everyone on overwatch, and then retreating with my pointman to lure the enemy in) aren't working, and are actually being used against me. I've actually had to order more rookies! For the folks playing normal, when have you ever thought to yourself "Man, I wish I had more rookies"?

My strategy right now is to fill out my squads with 2 or 3 rookies and one vet (meaning a lvl 2 guy), I'd like to send more of my squaddies out but everyone is DEAD already. I'm doing well in the strategy layer though, so I've got that going for me.

 

[slaughterking]

Just had my first freeze at the end of the last mission. Great timing.

 

[McNum]

Hmm, while not 100% confirmed, we may have the first victory on Impossible Ironman now. Take a look. Spoilers (and ponies) in the link, so watch out for that.

 

[daviyoung]

I've

Spoiler

just built the skeleton key

and every important scanned mission is very difficult with cyberdisks and mutons everywhere. I get creamed doing those, I get creamed trying to do the story mission. I'm playing on normal.

Fuck this GOTY contender.

 

[The_Squirrel_Menace]

I give up.

I've been complaining games in this day and age are ridiculously easy.Right now, after playing this game in Classic Iron man (finished the game in normal), I feel like I have been anally raped, gang bang style after a terror mission gone wrong and got all my Veterans left killed. Note for later, once you got a squad full of vets, don't send them ALL in the same mission run, add a rookie or two and ranking up officers.

I'll give it a another go but I'm done for a few days. Shit, can't believe I'm writing this. I first screamed of rage when my sniper missed and then I alt-tabbed out of rage when that mutton tossed a grenade next turn, KILLING my last two men in a row, taking cover next to a god damn car.

Fuck you ETs.

 

[Funky Papa]

Mutons and cars (or tightly packed squads) are always bad news. Learn it GAF.

 

[Rufus]

Tightly packed squads are tempting their fate at all times.

Worth playing Ironman to start with ?

If not for the two times somewhat extraneous circumstances forced me to reload (a crash and an alien turn not finishing), my first game would have been voluntary Ironman, pretty much.
Granted, I never wiped, but I've lost plenty of capable people along the way. Living with the losses stung, but it was OK.