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[Urist Imiknorris]

Oh, I didn't see that lab in the corner.

The lack of scientists is because you didn't research xenobiology first, as it's what unlocks council requests for sectoid corpses (giving scientists in return).

As for what to do next, what laser weapons have you built?

[Rolan7]

Just two laser rifles and a laser-smg.  The rifles go on infantry (or PFCs) and the medic or officer gets the SMG.  It has some cool name like scattershard.
One of the laser rifles broke in this last mission, takes 8 days to put back together   Some council nation wanted three of them in exchange for a soldier, haha.  Might be worth it for the defense boost, but the demand expired in like half the time it would have taken to build more of the things.
Still, the extra accuracy and single point of damage is pretty useful.  I think I want a third laser rifle, and maybe a laser SAW.  Or LMG, hard call...  The pseudo-sniper thing with the LMG is neat but I'm not sure it's worth it.  Even my snipers are using marksman rifles, particularly with low profile.

[Flying Dice]

Yeah, I'll be honest, I turn off equipment damage even on really hardcore playthroughs because it's utter bullshit.

[Sonlirain]

Lasers are a good stopgap till you get pulse lasers.
Gauss weapons are cool thanks to their beefed up DR penetration.
The gauss sniper is a godsend when fighting mechanical enemies however it only has 1 shot so better get some ammo conservation projects done before using it else you might end up becoming insane.

Laser cannons for the interceptors are awesome when you get the foundry project that upgrades them into something you can use fro a loooong time. Hell upgraded lasers basically never really expire and remain useful till the end unless you get filthy rich and can put plasma/fusion on every single firestorm you own.

[i2amroy]

Yeah, I'll be honest, I turn off equipment damage even on really hardcore playthroughs because it's utter bullshit.

Eh, I'm cool with it, but I do have the "repairs only take time, not resources" setting turned on. It only happens when the soldiers take damage anyways last I knew (assuming you don't turn on the wear and tear option), and generally that's something you avoid in the first place after all.

Some council nation wanted three of them in exchange for a soldier, haha.  Might be worth it for the defense boost, but the demand expired in like half the time it would have taken to build more of the things.

I can honestly say that I've never, ever, fulfilled that request.

[BigFatStupidHead]

I'm getting really annoyed with all the flying mechanical units. +30 unavoidable defence, DR, and practical immunity to crits. My flanking strategy is somewhat confounded by it. I guess that means it's time for me to turn up the HEAT.

[Rolan7]

Yeesh.  It's nice that every sniper gets squadsight, but all 3 choices at level 3 are juicy.

Disabling shot: Enough said!
Precision shot: Lets my favored weapon, marksman rifle, be infinite range for a turn
Snap shot: Let's me use full-on sniper rifles like marksman rifles

I peeked at the wiki a bit though.  While a single long-rifle sniper with disabling shot will be critical against late-game juggernauts, there's also the arc rifle.  Might equip it on grenadier-engineers and medics, it even has standard range like a real rifle.  Not as fast as an SMG, but support characters don't have to be fast...  They just need to carry stuff, so they don't have room for the ceramic and laser sight of a normal soldier.

So it seems like snap shot is the better choice.  I passively get to use the higher-damage long rifles after moving (with -10 aim, but eh).  Particularly good once I get the gauss anti-materiel gun.

... Oh except Precision Shot also gives bonus damage when used with a long rifle, and restores crit-chance for squadsight targets.  So it really is a tough choice.

I hate and love how many tough choices this mod introduces, it's amazing.  On the whole I love it.

[Flying Dice]

Yeah, Sniper's another tree that has a couple good build options. Low Profile/Lone Wolf -> Disabling Shot -> Your Choice -> Executioner/VPT -> Your Choice -> Double Tap/Mayhem makes for a great skirmishing support sniper who acts sort of like a strike rifle Scout with the ability to completely shut down one or two high priority targets, while Lone Wolf -> Precision Shot -> Sharpshooter -> Platform Stability -> Bring 'Em On -> ITZ/Double Tap functions like the traditional vanilla back-of-the map murder machine.

I usually build about half-and-half; the former are great for maps with lots of interior spaces and relatively short sightlines, the latter for the direct opposite.

[BFEL]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197964141316/screenshots/

BASES SHOULDN'T BE BUILT THAT WAY! EVERYTHING IS WRONG! EVERYTHING

I HATE YOU.

[KingofstarrySkies]

u mad

[Urist Imiknorris]

I typically have three sniper builds - a Mayhem prec shot sniper for putting a single gigantic hole in something, an ITZ prec shot sniper for janitorial duty, and a strike rifle Disabler with Double Tap. I never bother with Snap Shot.

It should be noted that marksman rifles have the same damage as full sniper rifles, just with less range and crit.

[Rolan7]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197964141316/screenshots/

BASES SHOULDN'T BE BUILT THAT WAY! EVERYTHING IS WRONG! EVERYTHING

I HATE YOU.

Phew thanks, I was really worried that I was doing it wrong.  But now that someone on the internet is mad about it, I feel 100% confident about my decisions and will defend them to the death

Joking aside...  What did I do wrong   I felt like the placement of that steam vent in the top left forced my hand a bit.  I *wanted* to make uplink and power squares, but I had to start building!  And that top uplink was pre-built.  There was no way I could make an uplink square while utilizing the steam vent.  I was also in a rush and didn't have full access to the third row down.

[monkey]

This is how you build a base: http://gfycat.com/SpectacularGiganticFlounder (base assault spoiler), lowly human scum.

                                                                                                                                              -- Fervent Advent sympathizer

[Flying Dice]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197964141316/screenshots/

BASES SHOULDN'T BE BUILT THAT WAY! EVERYTHING IS WRONG! EVERYTHING

I HATE YOU.

Phew thanks, I was really worried that I was doing it wrong.  But now that someone on the internet is mad about it, I feel 100% confident about my decisions and will defend them to the death

Joking aside...  What did I do wrong   I felt like the placement of that steam vent in the top left forced my hand a bit.  I *wanted* to make uplink and power squares, but I had to start building!  And that top uplink was pre-built.  There was no way I could make an uplink square while utilizing the steam vent.  I was also in a rush and didn't have full access to the third row down.

Honestly, any time I get steam vent placement that shitty I just restart the campaign. It's well-worth replaying the first mission once or twice to make the whole campaign much less stressful.

Anyhow, what you want are blocks of 2x3 or 3x2 labs and workshops, staggering the special ones that count as them for adjacency with the normal ones. The same applies for your uplinks and nexii. That maximizes the adjacency bonuses, which means everything gets done faster and you spend less money building your base.

[Rolan7]

Yeaaah, but I don't think it's particularly bad.  Here's where I am now:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=499415908 (got the URL right this time, last one was just general screenshots)

Obviously, a 2x2 square is better than 1x4.  2x3 is almost inconceivable, it'll be several months at *least* before I can get enough engineers for two more workshops - and that's with fulfilling every single request for weapon fragments.  I'm screwed for scientists because I didn't know that I kinda needed to do xenobiology to start trading sectoid corpses for scientists. 

I also put off alien materials for far too long, which... wow.  I could have been enhancing salvage, researching alien craft for bonuses, or getting scientists (and other things, like nation defense) for my huge excesses of elerium/alloy/meld.  I've had to just sell several hundred units of elerium and alloy, which I mostly got from taking down three supply ships (and losing several strong soldiers).

Not the point.  Thing is, a line of 4 satellite uplinks supports 7 satellites.  A square supports 1 more.  The benefit of squaring workshops is even less since it's capped at 50% savings and has diminishing returns, but it's also by far the easiest to square (since repair bay and foundry count for the adjacency).

Given that it's May and I'm still 3 scientist short of a second lab, I really don't need to be aiming for 2x3 of them.  I'll be missing out on a 10% research boost... which sucks a bit... but only once I have the scientists to build 4 labs in the first place.  Whereas I was able to build 4 workshop-type facilities, and I did make them a square (potentially 2x3, going forward).

My plan right now is a satellite nexus underneath the uplinks (once I get all that research done), then another to the left.  An elerium generator underneath alien containment, connected to the thermal generator on the bottom-right vent.  Far left column remains dedicated to science - once I get some FREAKIN SCIENTISTS lol

Also, wow, I literally never used shivs before for some reason.  They're adorable and fun, it's like when I first got MECs.  Just got the Newfoundland site recon...  Not sure what to expect, but some Googling indicates that shivs *can* press the button.  Good luck little buddy, but better you than us.