I'll give a more detailed explanation of the game here at some point for those not familiar with it, but for now, XCOM LP. The new one. We'll be playing on Normal and using Not Created Equal (soldiers have random starting stats), Hidden Potential (soldiers have random stat gains each levelup), and New Economy (country income provided is random). As such, soldiers will generally be assigned in order, rather than requesting specific stats. Waiting on gender or specifically requesting horrible stats may be possible, however.
Our first order of business is a base location. Base location determines our starting bonus and gives us a free satellite over a country on said continent.
North America: Air and Space, -50% purchase price, manufacturing cost, and maintenance on all aircraft and aircraft weapons.
Europe: Expert Knowledge, -50% maintenance and cost to build Laboratories and Workshops.
Asia: Future Combat, -50% cost to all Foundry and Officer Training School projects.
South America: We Have Ways, Autopsies and Interrogations are completed instantly.
Africa: All in, +30% monthly funding
Note that these bonuses may also be acquired by having a satellite over every country on the continent in question.
The GameEach nation on the Council (that is, each nation funding XCOM) has a panic level ranging from 1 to 5. At 5, they leave the Council at the end of the month, at which point there's no way to get them back.
Panic is increased whenever we allow an alien action to succeed in said country (or in some cases, the continent said country is located on) and decreases whenever we successfully stop aliens in said country (or, again, the entire continent, though in fewer circumstances than increasing panic). Since abduction missions force you to choose one and abandon two sites, this means limiting panic can be difficult.
Because the panic reduction from normal missions is dependent on the aliens actually attacking said location, and because we suffer a net panic loss from most abduction missions, the most important method of manual panic reduction is the launching of satellites over a given nation. Satellites prevent abduction missions from occurring in the nations they're stationed over and allow us to detect (and thus shoot down and loot) UFOs over them. Furthermore, they reduce panic when first deployed, making them a handy tool for salvaging a nation that would otherwise pull out of the project. Finally, they increase our funding by the amount specified (which is what's randomized each game with New Economy enabled).
Satellites require 20 days to build and require sufficient facilities (which take 14 days to build) to support them, meaning they require a fair bit of effort before you need them.
Soldiers are our primary combat operatives. They have a few stats, most of which are fairly self-explanatory.
HP normally starts at 5 (on Normal difficulty, that is). As expected, when a soldier's HP drops to 0, they die or are knocked to critical condition. Soldiers at critical may be stabilized with a medikit (and are automatically saved if the mission ends before they die), but will otherwise bleed out in 3 rounds. Furthermore, soldiers that do survive suffer a permanent reduction to Will. HP increases as a soldier levels, usually but not always at the rate of 1 HP per levelup.
Aim is a soldier's base chance to hit something. Several things can modify this stat, usually down, most notably cover. Low Cover incurs a -20 Aim penalty to attempts to shoot the target, while High Cover provides -40. Aim normally starts at anywhere from 55-80 (65 when not using Not Created Equal) and increases by a class-dependent amount per level.
Will is a soldier's ability to not panic under adverse circumstances. It normally starts at 25-60 (40 when not using Not Created Equally), and can increase each level.
Movement is the number of tiles a soldier can move in a given action. Obstacles may complicate this number. It begins at 11-13 (12 without Not Created Equally), and does not normally increase (a Support levelup option and a certain advanced armor are the only exceptions, AFAIK). It is not normally visible as a stat, and so can be determined only by observing a soldier's movement range.
Finally, a soldier has a Rank and Class. Rank goes up as the soldier accrues experience, which is gained by participating in missions and killing aliens. At the first levelup, the soldier is assigned a class and automatically receives the default benefit associated with that class. At every other levelup save the second to last, a soldier may select their levelup perk from two options.
Soldiers will be doled out in order; that is, if there's five people who want a soldier, the first person gets the first unclaimed soldier on the list, the second gets the second, and so on. You may trade soldiers with each other, though presumably only before they've been redone in your image and deployed.
Soldiers will generally be played according to your instructions for how they should act, within reason. You may provide this information on your soldier immediately, or claim a spot and then decide once you've seen your soldier's stats. Your soldier will also select levelup perks and equip themselves as you direct, assuming we have enough of said items in stock.
Missions will usually consist of an experienced member or two and at least one of our least experienced soldiers. Particularly vital or difficult missions may waive this in favor of a more capable assault team, while especially easy missions may warrant fewer veterans.
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Topic: BAYCOM 12 [Update 0: Introductions] (Read 4876 times)