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XCOM: Enemy Unknown |OT| Neo GAF is Under Alien Control

Miletius

Member
Loving Impossible so far. Classic was great, but the game was pretty much over as soon as I developed plasma weapons. The aliens just can't handle squadsight+archangel+plasma.

Being forced to flank and hunker down pretty much all the time is a nice change of pace.

After jumping back into impossible I agree. It really forces you to play at your absolute best on impossible, which classic has moments of, but doesn't last.
 
I wouldn't say there are any "essential" ones. I don't use any mods. You can check the official forums or the xcom reddit page for links to mods.

http://forums.2kgames.com/forumdisplay.php?76-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown-General-Discussion

http://www.reddit.com/r/Xcom/

There are a lot of mods at nexusmods. This is one of them that lets you tweak just about everything.

http://xcom.nexusmods.com/mods/76/

Overall, I'm of the opinion that the game is pretty fine on its own at the moment without mods.

Good to know, thanks. I agree, the balance seems great already. Some of the balance mods on Nexusmods look like they would remove a lot of the chance and consequence from things.
 

Oppo

Member
What the shit??

My frame rate in this game has just falled through the floor. Nothing changed! I was mid-game!

Like switching between a battle and the base... now it seems permanently fucked. Rebooting doesn't fix it.

Does anyone know what's up with this? I think it patched itself just before I started playing today (has been a little while) and I was playing happily for quite some time until it just decided to start sucking.

Seriously, any light someone can shed on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm mystified. And fucking irritated. We're talking from 45+ to sub-10 FPS. Everywhere.
 

r1chard

Member
Loving Impossible so far. Classic was great, but the game was pretty much over as soon as I developed plasma weapons. The aliens just can't handle squadsight+archangel+plasma.

Being forced to flank and hunker down pretty much all the time is a nice change of pace.
Problem is that some maps on Impossible difficulty are, in fact, impossible to win.

I got a defuse map (first council mission, second mission of the game) on a bit of straight bridge. Almost no cover (certainly not enough for all 4 squaddes), a Thin Man triggered at the second power source, a trio of Sectoids at the next one and then four more at the third one. It's almost impossible to force the game to only activate them one at a time because no-one can get close enough or into flanking position to actually shoot any of the aliens. Plus, bomb timer. My sniper is useless as they don't have squad sight yet. I inevitably end up wasting grenades (two per alien) or my heavy's rocket in order to progress but that leaves me with nothing to take on the further aliens. My assault is useless as any attempt to get close enough to shotgun triggers more Sectoids that I can't handle. There's some scattered cover spots - trucks and a couple of utilities, but more often than not the full cover is worthless and there's nowhere to hide in absolute cover. A squaddie is killed pretty much every turn from about the third on.

So yeah, I'm not enjoying Impossible at all :-(
 

Miletius

Member
Problem is that some maps on Impossible difficulty are, in fact, impossible to win.

I got a defuse map (first council mission, second mission of the game) on a bit of straight bridge. Almost no cover (certainly not enough for all 4 squaddes), a Thin Man triggered at the second power source, a trio of Sectoids at the next one and then four more at the third one. It's almost impossible to force the game to only activate them one at a time because no-one can get close enough or into flanking position to actually shoot any of the aliens. Plus, bomb timer. My sniper is useless as they don't have squad sight yet. I inevitably end up wasting grenades (two per alien) or my heavy's rocket in order to progress but that leaves me with nothing to take on the further aliens. My assault is useless as any attempt to get close enough to shotgun triggers more Sectoids that I can't handle. There's some scattered cover spots - trucks and a couple of utilities, but more often than not the full cover is worthless and there's nowhere to hide in absolute cover. A squaddie is killed pretty much every turn from about the third on.

So yeah, I'm not enjoying Impossible at all :-(

Yeah, it sucks sometimes for sure. I think what helped me earlier was knowing that there are some games where you can fail even if you do everything really well. In particular getting narrow maps very early on can be a death sentence. Some other things -- getting bomb diffusal when you aren't ready, getting a terror mission when you don't have the troops for it, and really getting shitty luck with the missions (which cause sats to become unavailable) can all screw you over.

But overall I like impossible a lot more, and will probably default to it from this time forward.
 
Problem is that some maps on Impossible difficulty are, in fact, impossible to win.

I got a defuse map (first council mission, second mission of the game) on a bit of straight bridge. Almost no cover (certainly not enough for all 4 squaddes), a Thin Man triggered at the second power source, a trio of Sectoids at the next one and then four more at the third one. It's almost impossible to force the game to only activate them one at a time because no-one can get close enough or into flanking position to actually shoot any of the aliens. Plus, bomb timer. My sniper is useless as they don't have squad sight yet. I inevitably end up wasting grenades (two per alien) or my heavy's rocket in order to progress but that leaves me with nothing to take on the further aliens. My assault is useless as any attempt to get close enough to shotgun triggers more Sectoids that I can't handle. There's some scattered cover spots - trucks and a couple of utilities, but more often than not the full cover is worthless and there's nowhere to hide in absolute cover. A squaddie is killed pretty much every turn from about the third on.

So yeah, I'm not enjoying Impossible at all :-(

Getting a bomb disposal in the first month for me is an automatic skip. No thanks council, keep your rubbish reward, I'm not getting my entire squad wiped out.
 

Miletius

Member
Getting a bomb disposal in the first month for me is an automatic skip. No thanks council, keep your rubbish reward, I'm not getting my entire squad wiped out.

I would have said the same thing, but I just came out of 2 impossible games where I got disposal in the first month and survived. That being said I had a full squad of non-rookies for each, both were on non-narrow maps (graveyard with giant crypt in the center for one, Train yard for the other).

These games were a wash for me though because I had already decided to fuck it, since the abduction missions came way to late to build more than 1 sat for month 1. I went in not caring too much, played very aggressively, got lucky, and survived both.
 

Sotha Sil

Member
I would have said the same thing, but I just came out of 2 impossible games where I got disposal in the first month and survived. That being said I had a full squad of non-rookies for each, both were on non-narrow maps (graveyard with giant crypt in the center for one, Train yard for the other).

These games were a wash for me though because I had already decided to fuck it, since the abduction missions came way to late to build more than 1 sat for month 1. I went in not caring too much, played very aggressively, got lucky, and survived both.

Oh damn. The big graveyard. It was the third map on my current Impossible run. Took cover behind the lanterns, on the edge of the map: still, one of my guy managed to trigger all the goddamn patrols. All of them. Sectoids everywhere. A slaughter. My sniper managed to get out alive, killing the mind mergers. Twenty days in the hospital.

Yeah, this is going to be a tough one!
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Problem is that some maps on Impossible difficulty are, in fact, impossible to win.
I got a defuse map
So yeah, I'm not enjoying Impossible at all :-(

Just according to keikaku.

If you get a first month bomb disposal, your best bet is memorizing where all the spawns are since they are always the same.
 

r1chard

Member
I would have said the same thing, but I just came out of 2 impossible games where I got disposal in the first month and survived. That being said I had a full squad of non-rookies for each, both were on non-narrow maps (graveyard with giant crypt in the center for one, Train yard for the other).

I've survived other bomb defuses in Impossible at that stage of the campaign, so yeah as you say, it's not just that it's a bomb defuse. It's just the combination of rookies, bomb defuse and narrow map that makes it impossible.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores

Nice. On that map, I usually just take the rooftops since the thinmen that drop from the sky always do so close to my troops and get slaughtered by overwatch.

I can also set up a pretty easy trap for the last 5 sectoids hanging out at the end.

protip for the escort missions where the VIP starts with you: for the first few turns, just stay put and overwatch since the first couple thinmen will drop right in front of you and you can blast them with overwatch. As you progress through the stage, you will trigger other thinmen drop events, so just take it slow and every once in a while after making progress, just do a couple overwatch turns to see if anything happens to drop out of the sky.
 
I wish there was a good way to record your matches. Sometimes you just set up your guys in perfect position and flush aliens in such a way that they just walks perfectly into your overwatching flanking snipers...
 

Rufus

Member
Toofcake, hihi.

Nice. On that map, I usually just take the rooftops since the thinmen that drop from the sky always do so close to my troops and get slaughtered by overwatch.
Last time I did that on the map I got shot through the roof...

Do I automatically procure weapons from the battle after its over or do I have to enable some action from my soldiers?
You only get fragments and not even those if you use explosives. The only way to procure them is to capture an alien.
 

TTG

Member
Time to dive back into XCOM, after taking a short break for Dishonored. I think it's about time I tried out impossible. Rules of engagement nice and simple, no saves mid-mission. No replaying a mission if at least half my squad makes it back. The rest, I'll decide as it goes.

It's no ironman, but I think it strikes a nice balance between frustration and a fair challenge.
 

TTG

Member
Aaaand, I lose my first mission because of a chain panic. I brought down 6 sectoids without so much as taking a hit before that too.
 

TTG

Member
QUICK QUESTION: If I lose 1 country on my starting continent, do I still lose the bonus? Apparently, this hasn't come up in the 3 runs before this one.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
QUICK QUESTION: If I lose 1 country on my starting continent, do I still lose the bonus? Apparently, this hasn't come up in the 3 runs before this one.

You can't lose your starting base bonus even if all the other countries on that continent defect. Feel free to ignore them if you have to.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
I can't see to find a Battleship to save my life. I want to wrap up my Normal run to get all achievements I can before starting out in classic, but this mofo won't show up :/
 

McNum

Member
I can't see to find a Battleship to save my life. I want to wrap up my Normal run to get all achievements I can before starting out in classic, but this mofo won't show up :/
Let a lesser UFO get away. A Battleship will show up to destroy your satellite in that area. Make it regret that.
 

TTG

Member
Wow, month 2 on impossible is brutal. My first mission is 3 packs of floaters and 1 pack of thin men. No more sectoids(not yet), my soldiers obviously don't have carapace or beam weapons yet. Yeesh.
 

Belgorim

Member
I have been trying to get a good start on a run, but half the time I dont get an abduction until there is 23-24 days left for council, this makes it so my first workshop is completed 13-14 days before council and my satelites cant be launced first month (except 1).

Is this just completely random or can I control it somehow? I'm tired of starting over.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I have been trying to get a good start on a run, but half the time I dont get an abduction until there is 23-24 days left for council, this makes it so my first workshop is completed 13-14 days before council and my satelites cant be launced first month (except 1).

Is this just completely random or can I control it somehow? I'm tired of starting over.
It's random. While first month 4 sats are a good strat, it's not absolutely necessary.

If the first abduction mission doesn't happen in time, you can do an early OTS, and/or rush an alien capture/scientists instead so you can go for early light plasma rifles.
 

beje

Banned
Does anyone know if the PC retail version has a key that can be redeemed in Steam? I've found a very good deal but my DVD reader is busted and won't read a thing.
 
I'm sure this a dumb question but I can't figure out how to exit flight mode. When I click on the icon it says I can enter or exit it but I can't get it to exit.
 

Grimsen

Member
What I would like to see implemented is an option for aliens to play "normally" on their turn.

-remove the scatter animation;
-enemy units play their full individual turns, taking cover, going in overwatch, mind merging, etc.

That would actually make the game harder, since players wouldn't be able to abuse overwatch on scattering aliens, and would most likely run into overwatch shots.

The aliens' turns would take longer, but so were the original x-com's.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
Let a lesser UFO get away. A Battleship will show up to destroy your satellite in that area. Make it regret that.
Thanks, that did it.

Also my good argentinian comrade Ernesto Flores just managed to get me the Xavier achievement so I'm just about done with my first playthrough. I've also just noticed that I've been playing on Classic, so I think I'll try doing the "beat a mission with a single soldier" achievement. Not really sure how I'll do it, though, got any tips?
 

Mattdaddy

Gold Member
I think its time for another run, Im starting to feel the itch.

This time my strike team members will be named after the most dope crisis response team from my childhood...

Mike
Steve
Jumbo
Ron
Dick
Kemco

Mwuahaha.
 

r1chard

Member
Finished another game of Classic last night. The final mission was so easy it was a little boring.

Gonna stick to Impossible from now on if it kills me :)
 

TTG

Member
Was taught another lesson on impossible tonight. Funny how it's my 4th time through the game and there is still stuff to learn.

Know the layout of the map people! It's not REALLY relevant on other difficulties, but you gotta take a path through the map that's to your advantage. I'm not talking about high cover by the way, more like knowing how many flanks you're going to be exposed on.

I'm in the second month, so it's that point where there are plenty of floaters and thin men and you're stuck with stock gear save for SCOPEs and nano fibers. The map was one of the smaller ones where you open up at one edge of a rectangle, both of the far walls are buildings and in the middle is a courtyard with a fountain. It's night time... you've probably seen it before.

Well, I stuck to the exterior 3 times and lost all 3 attempts. It doesn't matter if everyone is behind high cover and you've got heavies and a sniper ready. The patrols converge in such a way that you'll have at least 9 of the 12 aliens in your sight in a span of a couple of turns. Finally decided to go around and into a building before engaging, bought just enough time to take care of them 1-2 packs at a time.

I definitely don't have enough experience to know the spawn points and enemy numbers on maps(hey, I've seen videos where people have it down to a T). But yea, if you find yourself in a shitty place on a map, it doesn't matter what your cover looks like or how careful you are about movement. It's a disadvantage, maybe one that's exacerbated on impossible, but it's there.
 

Miletius

Member
Was taught another lesson on impossible tonight. Funny how it's my 4th time through the game and there is still stuff to learn.

Know the layout of the map people! It's not REALLY relevant on other difficulties, but you gotta take a path through the map that's to your advantage. I'm not talking about high cover by the way, more like knowing how many flanks you're going to be exposed on.

I'm in the second month, so it's that point where there are plenty of floaters and thin men and you're stuck with stock gear save for SCOPEs and nano fibers. The map was one of the smaller ones where you open up at one edge of a rectangle, both of the far walls are buildings and in the middle is a courtyard with a fountain. It's night time... you've probably seen it before.

Well, I stuck to the exterior 3 times and lost all 3 attempts. It doesn't matter if everyone is behind high cover and you've got heavies and a sniper ready. The patrols converge in such a way that you'll have at least 9 of the 12 aliens in your sight in a span of a couple of turns. Finally decided to go around and into a building before engaging, bought just enough time to take care of them 1-2 packs at a time.

I definitely don't have enough experience to know the spawn points and enemy numbers on maps(hey, I've seen videos where people have it down to a T). But yea, if you find yourself in a shitty place on a map, it doesn't matter what your cover looks like or how careful you are about movement. It's a disadvantage, maybe one that's exacerbated on impossible, but it's there.

Yeah, that Data Center map is brutal if you get stuck out in the open. Like you said, I usually head straight north, with multiple entrances and good cover it's a much better place to be. You can usually engage a pack inside the "cube" area, and then grab the ones in the upper management offices afterwards by sneaking around further.
 

Celegus

Member
I finally beat the game a few days ago (just on normal) and while it was pretty good at first, got pretty tiring and repetetive later on. Once the gear upgrades stopped coming in (really, only 3 tiers?) and money is basically useless, it got a bit boring.

I may try playing on Classic so that I actually have to pay attention, but I really dislike the fact that 95% of missions are randomly generated. It just felt like a string of skirmishes against the AI rather than an actual campaign. I did about 40 missions in my playthrough, and only got one bomb mission the whole time and two VIPs. The vast majority were just killing all the aliens in a town/UFO.
 
Okay Xcom Gaf, this game got me interested in the original so I Dl'd it off steam.

Should I install any of the Mods? I'm kind of shocked how bad the UI is, even for a 1994 PC era game (No hotkeys????), so I'd like to put in one of the mods that fixes that, but I don't want to really change the experience in other ways. If possible, i'd like a vanilla experience with hotkeys, and maybe a few extra bits of UI information. Can any of the mods out there do that? Most seem like they do something along those lines, then contain a bunch of arbitrary gameplay tweaks that I don't really care about.
 
Okay Xcom Gaf, this game got me interested in the original so I Dl'd it off steam.

Should I install any of the Mods? I'm kind of shocked how bad the UI is, even for a 1994 PC era game (No hotkeys????), so I'd like to put in one of the mods that fixes that, but I don't want to really change the experience in other ways. If possible, i'd like a vanilla experience with hotkeys, and maybe a few extra bits of UI information. Can any of the mods out there do that? Most seem like they do something along those lines, then contain a bunch of arbitrary gameplay tweaks that I don't really care about.
I'm not aware of any mods that do those things.
 
UFO extender does it, and I'm realizing you can turn everything off. My current game in OG xcom just ate it (AHHHHHHHHHHHH NIGHT MISSIONS), so I'll try it for my second. Sorry to ask a question I answered myself.
Huh. The more you know.

Night missions are the worst. I always go out of my way to land during the day if possible, and if I absolutely have to go at night then I spam flares all over the map.
 

Rufus

Member
On the topic of hotkeys, has Firaxis ever said anything about how some of them don't do shit, even if you rebind them to something else? I would really like to be able to hunker down with a button press.
 

zkylon

zkylewd
On the topic of hotkeys, has Firaxis ever said anything about how some of them don't do shit, even if you rebind them to something else? I would really like to be able to hunker down with a button press.
Me too, it's really dumb to have the common squad abilities bind to different numbers for each soldier and it just makes me hunker down less.

I do appreciate being able to spam tab+Y :)
 
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