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[GlyphGryph]

The free turn happens on all difficulty levels, though. As a clear part of the core mechanics, it's hard to argue using it is cheating. And definitely not difficulty-based cheating.

Do soldiers simply have lower stats in higher difficulty? Or are you saying the hit percents are actually lying to you? (Haven't done a statistical analysis, but it doesn't seem that way to me).

The alien units also have higher stats on higher levels, so if you're talking comparative, there's that too.

[LoSboccacc]

what I'm saying is that when it display 70%CTH it feels like if it actually is lower on higher difficulties, so it is harder for you to judge shots. *if* (and I don't know) this is the case, I would have preferred a -20% difficulty or something shown added or subtracted to the cth.

btw, some google fu turned out this:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/655782-xcom-enemy-unknown/64396727

so it seems that it is the other way around 

but it hints at some trafficking with numbers.

[Anvilfolk]

Yeah, I dislike that. See, if they present percentages with bonuses, they should percentages with all the bonuses. I don't like the game assuming, behind the screen, that 100% is 95%, or that 50% is 65%, even if it helps me.

I still get the feeling that Classic percentages aren't quite percentages either, or at least are influenced somehow that isn't shown.

[LoSboccacc]

yea I don't mind aliens being stronger or humans being wimpier at higher difficulties.

I'd hate the interface lying to me, if this gets confirmed.

[GlyphGryph]

Even though it only lies in your favour?

Honestly, I understand this though - it's clear that they have it doing "psychological" chance rather than actual chance on the easier difficulties, to reduce instances "The game is cheating, I missed 10 times in a row at 75%!" bullshit. In particular, it seems to be a case of protecting players from getting screwed by the RNG.

Basically, for the easier difficulties, they have it cheat so people don't think it's cheating, and people think it IS cheating on the harder difficulties specifically because it's being honest. -__-

There's no winning!

[Werdna]

I can't imagine the aliens not getting that free move when discovered.  Otherwise the first turn would be an orgy of fire at coverless aliens, or better yet, grenade spam since they're clustered together.

[jocan2003]

Im just tired of hearing player cry about alien free-move.... I think they never played the original X-Com where their free move was a plasma shot in your face, im soo happy that it is now a move instead of a squad death......

TO these whinners, they should go play just one game superman on the original, cry, rage and finaly come back to this X-Com to see how much 8Friendlier* the tactical game is. Cover, skills, flanking, while in original, rookie, vet, panick.

[Silent_Thunder]

their free move was a plasma shot in your face

Reminds me. I do miss the 14 man squads. Loved tactics such as the "Rookie Enemy Position Triangulator" and the "Rookie Propelled Grenade Launcher"

[shadenight123]

Played the game for a while.
Decided to nickname one 'Lucky bas***' after a particular mission that went a bit like this:
the guy moved first on the High Difficulty map of the moment (I think it was Berlin, anyway, the construction site)
He takes cover behind the concrete wall.
And then all hell breaks lose.
Floaters to the left, Slim mans above and Sectoids to the right.
Basically that lucky bas*** survived a three pinned assault on his person, before I could have him retreat.
(while obviously he was being suppressed)
Just saying...
I kind of imagined him going through a limbo-like dance while avoiding all that flying plasma.

[Zangi]

I kind of imagined him going through a limbo-like dance while avoiding all that flying plasma.

Or curled up into a ball.

[Pandarsenic]

Entered my first UFO recovery mission with nobody higher than Squaddie, with a grand total of SIX HEALTH on one of my guys. Luckily, with the wonders of smoke/hunker/heavy cover, nobody was even harmed.

Quick question: Aliens will absolutely refuse to move if they're being overwatched. Will a Support with Covering Fire make them refuse to shoot or does that not happen?

[Zangi]

Quick question: Aliens will absolutely refuse to move if they're being overwatched. Will a Support with Covering Fire make them refuse to shoot or does that not happen?

They will still shoot.

Though, if you do overwatch the enemy are more likely to overwatch themselves or do nothing for that turn.  So yea.. take that as you will.

[Mephansteras]

I have a nice cliff hanger moment going on.

Was playing a bit before having to go into work this morning. It's early on in a new campaign (Near the end of the first Month) and I get a Council mission. Sadly, it's for Mexico. Which isn't really a place I needed to get panic reduction. But...eh, it's a mission.

Since we're so early on, I bring my Sergent Support, a Sq. Heavy, and two very promising rookies to try and level them up.

I get the mission to escort the traitor politician. So there is an alleyway between two buildings leading to the Skyranger. I decide that looks like a deathtrap, so we take the ladder up to go along the rooftops.

That works pretty well, for the most part. We don't face much opposition up there, and most of the Thin men who drop down are quickly killed off. One of my rookies isn't so lucky, though, and a thin man jumps up right near her and one-shots her. The one big problem with the roof top: Mostly low cover. *sigh*

We explode him with a grenade and soldier on.

I reach the end of the building, drop down a smoke grenade, and then my Heavy and other rookie drop down to provide covering fire for the VIP. No shots against them, so the VIP dashes down and into the extraction zone.

Mission is NOT over. I now need to kill off any remaining aliens.

Great...you mean all those guys I didn't trigger by going over the roof? That'll be fun.

Alien turn. A sectiod pops his head around the corner and manages to miss my now flanked Heavy. She proceeds to run up to him and blow his face off with point blank machine gun fire. However, that triggers a new group of sectoids inside the building.

My support drops down, opens the nearby door to the building, and takes a shot at a sectoid. Hits, but doesn't kill. The rookie stays where she is on overwatch, since I know there are aliens over there somewhere.

Alien turn: One of the sectoids opens fire on my Support, but only does 1 damage to her. The one she hits goes on overwatch, and then a Thin Man and Sectoid run into the building from the side the Rookie was watching. I assume they didn't want to trigger her overwatch.

And then my alarm when off telling me I had to go.

So now I have 4 aliens, including a Thin man, all with sights on my Support, and two of them in Overwatch. I've used up 1 smoke and 1 grenade, leaving my rocket and the rookie's grenade. Haven't used my medkit yet, since up until this point the only injury was immediately fatal.

This should be interesting to try and get out of. While I have High cover where I am, I'm pretty screwed if the aliens shoot it down.

Worst part? I don't know that I'll have time tonight to finish the mission, so I may have to wait until tomorrow. I have a feeling I'm going to be thinking about this a lot.


Note: This is Classic with second wave options Damage Roulette, High Stakes, Not Created Equal, and Hidden potential activated. Enemy health bars are off. (Which includes turning off info on how much damage you do to them when you hit, which I like)

[Anvilfolk]

I kind of imagined him going through a limbo-like dance while avoiding all that flying plasma.

Or curled up into a ball.

That and the aliens were by then laughing so much about all of them missing the human-in-ball-form that they missed miserably, making it even funnier. If they had survived, it'd be one of those stories... "Hey, remember that one time, the human that became a little ball and then 10 of us were shooting at it and missing? That was so much fun. I wish we would invade Earth again."

I have a nice cliff hanger moment going on.

... snip ...

That sounds great. I love reading about how other people are tackling and interacting with the game. All too often I will ragequit, and get frustrated. The way you do it sounds much better and more involved

What difficulty?

[Mephansteras]

Note: This is Classic with second wave options Damage Roulette, High Stakes, Not Created Equal, and Hidden potential activated. Enemy health bars are off. (Which includes turning off info on how much damage you do to them when you hit, which I like)

Easy to miss in that giant post.