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[Mephansteras]

I was inspired by the Let's Play X-com threads to dust off my copy and start up a game. Had a few false starts while I remembered how the heck you play, but I've finally got a decent game going.

Played a bit this morning before work, and left with a rather...exciting situation.

I'm still pretty early in the game. I've just gotten Plasma rifles, but still don't have Personal Armor yet. Stupid slow scientists. Anyway, I've got my main base in the US, a secondary base in Europe, and scanner bases in China and South America. My secondary base just got it's second hanger built and a Sky Ranger purchased. Then things got interesting.

I had just shot down a small UFO over the middle east, when the Intercepter caught site of three very large UFOs and a Large UFO in the vicinity. They touched down, so the Sky Ranger I'd sent from the US diverted from the crash to one of the UFOs. My European Sky Ranger is still fueling up, and can't take off for a bit.

I left for work having just taken out a very large Sectoid UFO, but took heavy casualties (6 out of 14). One of the VLUs has already taken off, leaving one VLU and one LU on the ground, plus a crash site.

I'm pondering what to do next. Skip my depleted but veteran group over to the crash site? Or let them go back to refuel and grab whatever rookies I might have a base before coming back? I guess my newly formed European force gets to deal with one of the large ships. That should get ugly, as they don't have the good equipment yet and they're all rookies.

So, give advice, share stories, whatever.

[Granite26]

1:  I cheat mercilessly through save-scumming.  It's more fun to me that way.

2:  There are several modern retreads of xcom, including one that's intending to just be an extra maps and tech tree clone.

3:  Sounds like you've lost a country there.  It may be time to get a second team operational.  I've found that lots of soldiers are good, because your elites get higher ranks.

[Sowelu]

Plasma rifles, but no personal armor?  Egads!  Steer clear of those UFOs!  That big one is a battleship, and while landing at its site might make you feel better, it won't actually help you (aside from the loot).  What you just described is bad news, and once it reaches this stage, I tend to just let it go.

Higher ranks don't actually do too much, except for helping keep morale up when mundane bad things happen.  Still, I like to have enough guys to fill three interceptors around that point, even if they are rookies.  Never underestimate the usefulness of three rookies with rocket launchers or AC-HE ammo!  (Don't overestimate it either though.)

[Mephansteras]

Yeah, things have progressed a bit faster then I thought. But at least if I've lost something I think it's just the middle east, which I can deal with.

I'm going to try to take out the big ships anyway. Already did one, and I can use the loot. Worst that happens is I lose a bunch of rookies. I'll leave one onboard the ship so I don't lose the SkyRanger if things go south.

Sounds like I might need to spend a lot of cash in a hurry to catch up with where the game is.

I'm also not above savescumming a few times if I hit really bad luck. Like my rocket launcher guy getting possessed on the second turn. Ouch...

[Antioch]

NEVER save-scum, you only realise how much it ruins the game when you stop doing it.

I usually send in hordes of rookies backed up by a few elites, the rookies spot (and die) and the elites take aimed shots from afar. I would go for replenishing as with a vet only squad you will surely take a lot of casualties, odd are that they won't find the base anyway.

[Sowelu]

Actually, infiltrations can happen quite early.  Shooting down or otherwise taking out every scout you see can help with that though.

The big reason I say 'stay away from battleships' is, well, having a rookie stay in the ship is all well and good unless they give you a couple blaster bombs in the second turn.  Though maybe they don't start using those even on their big ships until later?

[Mephansteras]

Well, they didn't seem to have any on the ship I just took out. Only nasty thing about that fight was the Sectoid commander taking over one of my scouts.

[Nirur Torir]

I also restarted playing, this time without abusing saves, and on Superhuman for the first time, in addition to trying out HE-Autocannon shots. How did I not discover them before now?

First mission went fairly well, despite half the people dying. The last alien shot himself with a stun bomb, and died due to lack of alien containment. Sorta. In my second mission, he started off in my Skyranger's armory! I stuck him in the backpack of my rocket launcher solder, and had him spend the mission in the Skyranger.

Still unused to HE-Autocannons, I had my first people out of the Skyranger use the ramp for cover, and had my only three casualties of the mission caused by friendly fire. Oops. Somehow, the alien woke up at some point, and spent most of the mission staring at my rocket-trooper at point blank range, standing on top of my rocket stockpile. Naturally, I'd forgotten my stun rods, and the alien containment had just been completed. Poor alien stowaway.

[Mephansteras]

That's hilarious! 

[Gunner-Chan]

The big reason I say 'stay away from battleships' is, well, having a rookie stay in the ship is all well and good unless they give you a couple blaster bombs in the second turn.  Though maybe they don't start using those even on their big ships until later?

Battleship = Blaster bombs

If I remember correctly leaders ALWAYS carry launchers, so be very very careful when assaulting a battleship. Because a Blaster Bomb can easily wipe out your whole team second turn.

[Boksi]

I've been playing too. Got power armor and firestorms and heavy plasma already, currently researching psi-labs.

Of course, I'm playing it on beginner.

[Granite26]

I've found that HE rounds are more likely to damage to things you don't want them to (civilians, your allies, you, the alien drive core) than appreciable damage to things you do (anything tougher than sectoids).

Apocalypse...  Now there was a game.  I'd go find the building with nine supports, put half my guys covering the elevator door(only way out), and the others emptying their alien recharge bioblasters into the supports.  Why should I fight room to room when I can force them to madly dash out at me in an attempt to escape the collapsing building?

[Antioch]

I never got apocalypse working properly, the sound never works or it lags

[Granite26]

I played them all when they first came out

Apocalypse was in that wierd transition area where games stopped being dos compatable but weren't yet win95 compatable.  There's like... 2 years worth of games that don't work without shoehorning

[Sowelu]

Apocalypse works GREAT for me, and it really is one of the best games ever IMO.  AC-HE and AC-IN are even more fun in that game.

And the real reason for AC-HE?  "My sniper would love to shoot that guy, but there's three walls in the way."  Or "Boy, this map would be a lot easier if there wasn't a hedge there."

If you blow a ton of clips every non-terror mission to clear away cover when you think there -might- be an alien behind it...and you save like one guy every four missions because of that...well, you saved money.