First off, Cthulhu: You NEED to install the 1.13 patch. It corrects some SEVERELY glaring oversights in the game. This is a game that needs a little love before it's playable. Specifically: Install the 1.13 patch. Then, in the INI editor, disable the Drassen counterattack or you will be a very sad puppy.
If you don't install the 1.13 patch, then you won't even be able to tell what your chance to hit with a given shot is. And that's just stupid. 1.13 puts a little red bar above your crosshairs that roughly indicates a 1% to 99% chance to hit.
Jagged Alliance is free on Gametap right now, so I decided to try it out. I'm thinking I did something wrong though. Am I supposed to stick with the recommended starter kit they have when you start, and begin the game with pistols, or was I supposed to buy bigger guns for them?
You can loot the bodies, but otherwise until you take the Drassen airport, there is no other source of guns. For an easier time, go to the options menu and make enemies drop all loot. It really changes the game balance though. Still--Pistols will work pretty good early on, yeah. Just use them carefully.
I'm wondering because I've been trying to get to Drassen or whatever, I just beat the first few fights in Omerta, and I can't get there without having all of my guys get severely wounded in the first fight on the road.
Hmm, fights in open terrain suck REALLY hardcore. You can make them a little easier travelling at night, but early on with early equipment, it's really rough. Open-terrain fights don't really get any easier until you start having sniper rifles, which is maybe halfway through the game.
Once you get to the airport, be prepared to retry quite a few times. It's hard. You'll want to attack at night, and when you engage the enemy, make sure you engage with multiple people, and within the range of your pistols. Shooting at a guard with one guy from 18 squares, he's going to bring in backup and by the time you kill him, you're wounded and his buddies have shown up. Shooting at the guard with three guys from 8 tiles, he'll be blown away pretty quick.
Accuracy is really irritating too. I know that there are more factors involved when you're in a combat situation, but really. The bullets go astray of their targets by more than 10 feet sometimes, and the guy's only fifteen feet away. I'm a limp-wristed nancy and I can hold a gun steadier than these guys can.
For one thing...each square is supposed to represent ten feet. Which is pretty ridiculous sometimes, but they're not THAT bad of a shot, there's just a lot of abstraction going on there. If you're more than ten squares away though, keep in mind that it means you're trying to hit someone with a pistol at a hundred feet in a combat situation. Good freakin' luck. You'll have a slightly better time prone, but you're mostly hosed and you'll want to use cover and get closer. "Use cover and get closer" is pretty universal advice until you get some pretty nice rifles.
Have you tried right-clicking to make your guys spend time aiming? THIS IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. You usually want to spend the max (4 clicks = 4 points, until you get scoped weapons that you can spend more time aiming). Clearly you shouldn't go for the head shot, either, and leg shots are a waste of time (and knock the enemy prone so they're harder to hit). Head shots are only useful when you are literally in the tile right next to your enemy.
Am I just doing it wrong? My starting lineup was Grizzly, Barry, Igor, Fox, and Hitman, and I picked up Ira from the rebel camp(Big mistake, she has the whiniest, most grating attempt at a fake Brooklyn accent I've ever heard)
Mistake #1: You didn't hire an IMP guy! That is really important, in part because he comes with an awesome MP5 that will be your best friend in the world until it runs out of ammo (make sure that doesn't happen before you take the airport). To conserve ammo, use burst fire with it, not full-auto.
Some people recommend starting with fewer, better troops. You can easily get by with your IMP + two or three actually good mercs. Save a little cash so you can get better stuff later. Fox is not a bad choice, Grizzly is probably not too great, and remember that high level is often worth it. BRING A GOOD DOCTOR OR TWO. Never, EVER travel until all your troops are fully healed (that means, in the map, set some guys as 'doctors' and your wounded as either 'patient' or 'doctor' if they have experience, and wait until wounds go away). Fatigue is also pretty bad for your aim--guys with half a blue bar will be moderately worse shots than guys with a full blue bar.
Oh yeah, and stay the hell away from blue and green ammo. Pretty much everyone wears armor, so glaser rounds will usually never even do a single point of damage.
Also, language. I know that hardened mercenaries are up there with sailors and /b/tards when it comes to swearing, but I feel like they're just doing it because they can. With words like "Fudge" and "Flipping A" being bandied around I'm afraid to have the volume turned up lest my family hear.
Ira is the worst voice actor in the game. You can mute her with a little button in the battle interface, left side.