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[EnigmaticHat]

What would you define as an AI exploit?

Also, started a classic game with all the second wave options except the ones you need to beat impossible to unlock.  So far I've been winning my missions without too much trouble (I mean there were casualties, but hey, its Xcom).  Satellites cost 420 though and that will apparently go up while my income goes down D:  Currently I expect to win all my missions and then lose anyway because holy shit the game is going to be longer than normal and I didn't put out a single satellite in the first month.

[Metalax]

One trick if you are running with the escalating satellite costs mode enabled, if you purchase multiple satellites in one batch they all cost the same amount. You can also afford to sell off most of the alien gear you recover if you are using the marathon option as you get far more missions between research completions so you end up with more recovered material.

[Mephansteras]

What would you define as an AI exploit?

There are a few. Like the fact that a triggered alien group doesn't get a shot off until their next turn. Or the overwatch-lock where aliens often get stuck doing nothing if you have them flanked and are on overwatch. I've seen stuff like that really abused. And, to an extent, it's necessary to really do an impossible run well.

[Sirus]

Can't speak for the first one, but the "overwatch and flank" thing makes a bit of sense. If you're going to be shot at no matter what you try to do, sometimes instinct says to stay where you are and hope for the best. Think of it as the aliens being paralyzed with fear.

[Neonivek]

One thing that isn't an exploit but can feel like it is Inching.

The thing with aliens is when you spot them they get a free movement. Thus you can only explore with your first character.

[Mephansteras]

Can't speak for the first one, but the "overwatch and flank" thing makes a bit of sense. If you're going to be shot at no matter what you try to do, sometimes instinct says to stay where you are and hope for the best. Think of it as the aliens being paralyzed with fear.

If it happened every once in a while it'd be a reasonable quirk. But the fact that it's reliable makes it an exploit. If nothing else, the alien should at least shoot at someone.

[kaian-a-coel]

Yeah. As for the "spot move", I killed an outsider like that (commando with that ability allowing him to shoot anyone coming close, and that stupid thing tried to get cover on the other side of the door... It got laserified.). I would have been happy if not for the fact that I was trying to capture the bloody thing alive.

[EnigmaticHat]

There are a few. Like the fact that a triggered alien group doesn't get a shot off until their next turn.

This seems like a fair feature.  Unless you mean overwatching forever to exploit the fact that aliens that wander into sight give you a full move to kill them.  That would be a pretty lame way to play the game.

I'm not sure if it counts as an exploit or is even necessary, but if I think an alien is overwatch camping out of sight (I swear, sometimes they just pick a spot and stick to it) what I'll do is send out one guy one tile out, then send him back.  The next turn send him two tiles out, and then back.  Repeat with one tile more each time until he lands in cover and then the rest of the squad moves up.  If he finds the alien he can run back into cover knowing that as long as he gets out of sight in a one tile move, the alien won't shoot him.

[kaian-a-coel]

I prefer sending an assault with the "first overwatch always miss" perk.
And no I'm not exploiting AI flaws. I merely rushed laser weapons on easy mode and they die crazy fast.

[Mephansteras]

There are a few. Like the fact that a triggered alien group doesn't get a shot off until their next turn.

This seems like a fair feature.  Unless you mean overwatching forever to exploit the fact that aliens that wander into sight give you a full move to kill them.  That would be a pretty lame way to play the game.

I'm not sure if it counts as an exploit or is even necessary, but if I think an alien is overwatch camping out of sight (I swear, sometimes they just pick a spot and stick to it) what I'll do is send out one guy one tile out, then send him back.  The next turn send him two tiles out, and then back.  Repeat with one tile more each time until he lands in cover and then the rest of the squad moves up.  If he finds the alien he can run back into cover knowing that as long as he gets out of sight in a one tile move, the alien won't shoot him.

The feature is fine. Exploitable, though. If you send one person forward and they don't trigger an enemy, you can have everyone else in your squad move forward behind them out in the open and you will never end up caught in the open exposed because any aliens that come across you will only be able to scatter and get into cover.

Really, it'd be easily fixed by occasionally having a group of aliens on the map 'activated' and moving around in patrol mode. It's only exploitable because nearly every group of aliens in the game behaves this way and you can therefore count on the behavior.

[Chattox]

Has this game just been dropped by the devs? There hasn't been a patch since January and there are plenty of game-stoppers still in there. Also it didn't really get any DLC apart from slingshot :/

[nenjin]

Kinda seems that way, doesn't it?

[Mephansteras]

Yeah...haven't heard a peep about it in ages. I now they did an iOS release of it, so maybe that took some time?

Really hoping they're just dug in developing an awesome expansion to it and the game isn't going to languish in its current state forever.

[WillowLuman]

Well, there was that cryptic thing at either PAX or E3 (can't remember which), where the Council spokesman said something about a new threat, then got cut off by static.

[kaian-a-coel]

Well, there was that cryptic thing at either PAX or E3 (can't remember which), where the Council spokesman said something about a new threat, then got cut off by static.

that could be declassified. That would be a shame.

Really hoping for a multiplayer campaign mode (versus).