Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I know there have been reports of video issues and bugs, I know I've had issues while inside larger UFOS and buildings.

Did it patch today? If so, I don't know if it's changed.

Well, aside from my losing game where nearly every country left, my winning gme (played on easy-- yeah, I know...) had South Africa leave because I failed two interceptions there.

How long does a play-though usually take you?

 Manchu wrote:
How long does a play-though usually take you?

Uhm. I don't know? I've only finished once. The first time I played I was doing it on Classic, and I basically got destroyed by the seventh deployment. I'm guessing ten hours for a particularly fast play through? Considering I completed it on easy difficulty.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As an aside, I really recommend to people that they capture as many thin men as they can, and then capture and interrogate a muton for plasma research credit. Research light plasma rifles.

Light plasma rifles have the exact same stats as laser rifles, BUT... they also give +10 to aim, making them extremely useful on low to mid rank soldiers. And thin men are easy to capture, having only three HP they're always vulnerable to the stun gun ,and when you capture them, you get a free light plasma rifle.

Actually, I'd say interrogate as much as you possibly can. The research credit bonuses are huge! For interrogating a muton you get 50% off time to research plasma weapons, for example. For a muton elite, it's 25% on all weapon tech. And so on and so forth. You don't necessarily need to capture any enemy after you interrogate them unless you want their weapons, though.

The thought of interrogating a Muton makes my XCOM agents nervous. Although, having half my squad using laser rifles makes thinning the ranks that much easier.

Thanks for the research heads-up, I'm going to go home and capture me some Mutons.

Wait, so the whole game takes 10 hours to play through?

Is there a lot of replay value?

That seems reaaaaaallly low. I spent days on my original X-com games.

On easy mode, yes. I only had two failed missions that entire game, and both of them were interceptions on the overseer (although I nearly had a team wipe when I went to check that UFO when it was downed).

If you want a longer game and more replay value, you play on classic. I just played on easy so I could finish the story, gonna play another classic run (my first classic run failed miserably) later.

So are there more missions and such in the harder difficulties?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just worried about spending $50 for something that is done in 10 hours.

If you find yourself completing this game in only one ten-hour play-through to your complete satisfaction, I would be incredibly surprised.

Good to hear.

I have probably played it for about 20 hours on normal difficulty now and I am still finding stuff to research. I think there in't much more to go though as I am probably building the thing that will lead me to the source of the invasion.

Well, it's more like... well, easy is just too easy.

It really is.

Classic is definitely appropriate for an X-Com game. Impossible is, well... fits its name.

impossible isn't impossible, its just very unforgiving I'm stuck on it on the first mission I fight a big walker mech on, I just cant slag the damn thing with its like 45hp.

When you up your arc throwers to capture drones, can you capture the other robots as well?

The thing with the difficulties is, on easy the moment you get a story mission, you can just go do it and its done, on higher difficulties you are in a constant fight for resources to actually have a chance of attempting them

I bit the bullet and picked it up. Seems decent so far, not thrilled with the interface (very console). They really need to fix the line of sight, I'd say a third of the shots I'm taking I have no line of sight at all, it looks really wonky.

This is my first XCOM game as I didn't really have ready access to a computer until about 2002. So far I'm loving it although my first couple of playthroughs ended pretty brutally (well, not really, but when everyone except the rookies are dead it's pretty rough).

I've been playing Normal with Ironman enabled. Having real problems with the Chrysallids and juggling the missions. How long do you have to counter an alien abduction or one of the special missions? So far the rescue civilians mission for me is the hardest.

What is the ironman mode? I seen that but just played it on normal.

Ironman mode autosaves regularly, you cannot have any save other than the autosave. Basically, ironman mode is-- you screw up, you live with it, because you can't retreat back to an old save.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Hm, first time a game of mine got patched before I was even allowed to play it. Can anyone tell me what's changed?

The majority of the patch was new video clips, it seems. It will now play them in 1080 when it can.
There are patch notes up on the 2k forums though, and they list a few game changes.

Nothing major but there have been various 'visability/hiding optimisations'.

I've found that the easiest way to play is to choose 2-3 continents to spend time defending. It's taken me two play-throughs to figure this out, you can't save everyone. I stuck with Europe, North America and Australia. Was hard, spent a lot of money on satellites and Interceptors, but I'm sitting pretty on something like 400 monthly income and my 6-man squad is Majors/Captains with a couple of Captains as fill-ins for casualties.

Just started on Light Plasma Rifles...should make for some pwnage when I get them done.

Had a throw-the-controller moment last night. Having suffered through a few instances of serious under-performance (how does a sniper shooting with 75%+ chances to hit miss that often?), my squad launched into a difficult mission and did brilliantly. After promoting everyone back at base, I went to install a satellite over Egypt (which was in the red, panic-wise) only to slip up and put it over a grateful but already safe China. My last save was halfway through that difficult mission. I feel like this team is just not meant to have things go off without a hitch.

(how does a sniper shooting with 75%+ chances to hit miss that often?)

I swear I thought it was just me. I have had mine miss with 90% chance before. It's funny but my two medics are the best fighters, snipers wiff more then hit.

Maybe it's just confirmation bias? Every time it's my sniper turn to shoot, I find myself talking to the TV:

Me: Now, I'm asking you as a friend not just ordering you as a superior officer, to actually make this shot.

*POW*

Sniper: That did not just happen.

Me: So we're not friends, huh?

I have discovered a good way to find out how good your guys are; have one of them mind controlled. One of my Colonel assault troopers managed to take out 4 other colonels. I will be reloading that game

When one of your units gets mind controlled, use your sniper to disable their weapon. It'll buy you a turn to get everyone at least in to cover, if not the hell away from them. If you're lucky, they'll just switch to their pistol instead, which will do one to two damage.

Although ti's not quite as good for the heavy weapons carrier for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately it was inside a UFO and his first victim was my sniper

Hm. I never let my sniper getthat close...I admit that I used a rocket to blast a hole in the wall to the central chamber though

I had set up a kill zone outside the door, unfortunately it was a little bit too good

Had a stupid fight inside one of the large UFOs last night.

Squad makes its way up to the downed ship, leapfrogging 2x2x2 through cover. As soon as my assaulter gets past the first shield/door all hell breaks loose.

Six, yes six, of the jump pack guys appear, jumping all over the place and behind my squad. One of the bots accompanied by the little bots flanks me from the right (all 2 of my sniper shots wiff).

Through some gratuitous usage of hi-explosive I secure the flank, and waste 5/6 of the jumpers.

I was swearing and sweating the whole time. I love this game.

How good would a Warhammer version of this game be, is all I keep thinking about. I hope someone makes a chaos gate mod at the very least.