XenoMask

Play game on ironman Save scum is cheating. Like I said, things affected by luck can be managed, don't want lucky crits to kill your soldiers? Use the darn hunker down if your soldier doesn't have good shot. Will level too low, unit panic happens too often? Have units spread out to prevent friendly fire. Berserkers at close range? Keep few units with you that can deal with them. Two sectopods? Same. Crap ton of chrysalids? Have a shiv. ...Actually, never, mind, you can solve TONS of those with shivs. Shivs do ton of damage, are good scouts, have good health, can work as mobile cover, can suppress, have nice ammo capacity, cannot panic, cannot be mind controlled, cannot be turned into zombies. Shivs are actually reason I did win that playthrough on classic that I won They are much more useful that you would think. Which is one reason why people have hard time with game... Shivs make terror missions with chrysalids ton more easier too. So yeah, get a shiv or two.' (Also, game is still hard even if you think its because of randomness and not because that you can't adapt, by that logic Nethack is easy game if you remove permadeath and random causes of deaths by drinking potions and such)

Oh yeah, forgot about squad panic... Thing is, usually when it happens to me they shoot aliens. Thats because when the panic decides its time to shoot something, they pic random target from line of sight. So if panicking soldier that shoots sees only your soldiers... Yeah. And reverse if soldier sees only enemy units. So yeah, its another thing that CAN be managed(best way sadly being having nobody die, but even then higher rank units don't panic as easily. Still, it can be managed if you somehow can make your units see more enemy units than your units or keep your units far away from each other so they aren't in each other's line of sight while still being able to support each other) if you know how but it can screw it up if it does happen on bad timing because unit's turn gets wasted.

Impossible isn't balanced to be beatable by devs if we believe them, though it can be beaten While tactics phase is harder, its panic level management that is bigger pain. Anyway, one thing I admit that I find little frustrating about the game on ironman is that if you lose, you can lose whole game just because you lost once depending on what mission you lost and which units died. Like if your best units died and you have only rookies left or if it was terror mission or abduction mission in point where you picked country based on panic level of continent. Of course, you can still salvage game after that, but its very hard after that. Of course, thats how most strategy games i've played work like, if I lose then I start lose even badly =/ Heck, even original game can be like that to me at least from my non save scum playthrough it seems...

Yeah, though some people here are bit too fanboyish with their true successor comments. But yeah, besides that this is good community.

Hmm, I wouldn't really say its luck based as luck does help but you can win it if you are good enough. But of course, some people are like "What, no, thats bullcrap, I can't lose because of luck, I need to lose because I'm not good enough" which is kind of dumb in my opinion, especially since you can still beat this game if you are good enough. Besides, it seems like some people's idea of difficulty doesn't really make sense. You lose, game is too hard, you win, game is too easy. So game would somehow have to allow you to win without feeling "too hard".

Cyberdiscs suck when you fail to kill them though Mainly because they do crap ton of damage. Anyway, you are either great at this sort of games or uber lucky ._. But yeah, game does get easier when you get better gear though you can still lose soldiers if you make mistake. I'd recommend you to try out classic ironman to see if thats any harder for you.

So wait, you are having harder time because there are less enemies per map on normal you get less loot and are unable to adapt to it? ._. And you found tactics on classic easy? Thats kind of bizarre considering how many people are like "Normal is too easy and enemies have bullcrap aiming abilities on classic" Then again, I'm pleased actually because I think people are just whining and not used to RNG. Seriously, does nobody here play games with RNG?...

I would ask about playing on ironman, but you are saying you are oddly finding game harder on lower difficulty? O_o Or did I understand right? Anyway, most people seem to find game too hard on classic so... *shrugs* Beats me I find it hard but fair. So yeah, play on ironman? Anyway, yeah, there is bug that mind controlled units don't have their weapons explode. On reverse, if you kill your unit that is mind controlled by enemy, their equipment explodes

Umm, how else would you play the game? I mean, how? NOT manage panic levels? Not have them at all? Have 10 levels of panic? Enlighten me how did original not force you play in one only way to not lose game.

Yeah, there are no problems with graphics And he can't be talking about art/design because how that can be "old"? So he either has bad computer/thinks Crysis' max graphics are modern day graphics.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/xcom-enemy-unknown/1226388p1.html

I actually don't like soldier customization in XCOM: EU because I find it immersion breaking I do like nickname system though

Okay

Are they also opinions which you state as facts? If you state them as opinions then no problem

@Dowly: Okay, your small letter writing is just trolling me. @Fridge: See, THIS is what I meant Shuichi. People who don't get it that panic levels are manageable even if it helps to have luck... @TrashMan: If you say so

From gameplay perspective, you could say same about platformer games in situations where you can't jump high enough Which is why I consider that to be example of stuff where game is restrictive compared to original. But yeah, thats dumb since the explanation is "lack of resources" but I'm not myself really bothered by that even though its dumb. (And That's XCOM, Baby! refers to situations where RNG screws over you)

I wasn't bragging really, I just meant to say that its possible =/ On that run I got lucky because one 1) It was another tutorial run(I sometimes enable tutorial because I want to try to make tutorial heavy to survive whole game and because it makes first month easier) 2) I got lucky and got world where starting panic level after tutorial ended up being at 1 or 2 AND steam near first access lift. 3) I got lucky in many things. Like that I got in situation where I could capture sectoid and thinman in same mission, thats really fricking hard... I also got lucky enough that my first terror mission was of the "Two chrysalids near your spawn, able to kill them before civilians can be zombified" and otherwise enough easy missions for me to able get better gear to be able to keep up with aliens getting harder. But yeah, sorry....

Okay, but you said you are afraid of the world more than aliens? I thought that was supposed to mean you had more problems with panic than actual aliens. Besides, I didn't say said that YOU have complained difficulty, I said that "people" have. Its rather common thread in 2k and I've seen it few times here too where people complain about playing game "perfectly" yet still losing due to panic, in which case they assume fault is with game instead of themselves. Also, what great ability? .-. I don't have great abilities in anything, heck, I have self esteem low as its possible to be without being suicidal. Besides, I did say that game does require luck and skill, I'm not skillful enough to beat it without major luck early on as game is type of game that gets easier if you are able to get pass beginning... Also when i said that you are going to rage about aliens' purpose, I meant that its really really confusing exposition that can be understood in multiple ways which some people find lame. Heck, I'm still pretty confused about it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the stooge to make fun off of this forum Oh well, I prefer aliens to humans anyway *runs away*

You were talking about whether callsigns should be separate from names? I actually think they should be because I find renaming soldiers when I want to nickname them annoying Because seriously, whose name is... Eh, can't figure out good example now, but you see what stuff players name their units.

I don't really think its "restrictive" except unless you compare it directly to original, but yeah, it is random. I've compared it few time to roguelikes. Why? Because 1) Your starting conditions can heavily change your odds, for example whether you have easy access to steam in base or whether your world spawns with less panic levels.(or whether your first mission allows you to reduce panic of those panic 3 countries) 2) Missions themselves. Getting terror mission with chrysalids too early on can be painful especially if you are unable to kill those two(note: Early terror mission only seem to have two of them at beginning on first) and they manage to zombify(btw, chrysalids seem to have chance of whether they succeed in creating zombies) lots of civilians. 3) UFOs. Its kind of useful if you can get elerium from smaller ufos earlier than sooner, especially since early on large ufos can be too hard. But yeah, ufo landing and crashing missions are rare early on when you have little satellite coverage as its mainly up to luck early on. 4) In tactics lucky crits, this shouldn't really be problem if you are good at risk managing, like using hunker down when you know to and such. Of course there are still bad luck with getting into fight with 9 enemies at same time even if that seems to be rather rare... But yeah, game is ultimately about risk management and maximizing your chances. You are playing it wrong if you are trying to kill enemies with 50% shots even if that can work well sometimes. Either way, I think its good thing that its game you can actually lost just because things didn't go as planned, that in my opinion brings greater meaning to victories when you really have chance of losing. @Shuchi Niwa: Just to say something, I managed to beat classic with only having lost china because of bad luck. Panic management is completely possible when you know how to I say this because too many people don't realize that its possible, they just think game is bullcrapping on them.(though yeah, you have really hard time recovering if you lose abduction mission at bad time though it IS possible to recover. It just makes things further risky, I've learned from losing china by satellite getting shot down that it might be good idea to have spare satellites at time even though they are so expensive...) Anyway, I wonder what you'll reaction will be when you find out what goal of the aliens actually is. Probably gonna get more rage Since you are delaying final mission anyway, can't you just get blaster launcher from battleship?

I'd like to point out that while he is right about that losing isn't always bad, roguelikes don't work like that I mean, yeah, you can screwed by luck or win because of luck, but it ultimately is up to skill or more accurately, skill to wight risks vs gains and manipulate luck so that you win. So in a way, its still "fair" even if you don't get particularly uber good item early on, its difference from starting with bad conditions leaving you bored.

Almost every "veteran" on this particular thread is particularly keen on bashing EU so I'm not sure why you are focusing on HWP's dislike I mean really, how many people here states their opinion as facts? Pretty much everyone.

I really hate it when people use arguments that apply for original game as well I mean, in original game there WASN'T alien "bigger plan", just rate of percents at which ufos spawn to do what missions which change each month. If they succeed in their "missions" then you get penalty score. Thats it, they don't get any benefits from research or anything. Really, only difference in that matter is that in original you get ufos way more often since you can see them instant they go near you while in remake its matter of luck.(there was disabled feature with ability to prevent terror ships and abduction ships doing their missions that can be enabled with modding so apparently ufos do still exist but you just can't see them. Hard to tell since you can't see them =P) Also, your arguments are about "More complicated = deeper". Also, some of them DO patrol which makes it especially painful because if you don't have heavy, 9 aliens in same spot is total overkill for them. Yes, that has happeend, I wasn't moving at all just trying to kill two mutons only for cyberdiscs and drones and floater to come near the ufo. (Also, in original game aliens didn't move until turn 20 because ai wasn't complex enough to allow them to find you, so they only went after you after they saw you.(even then, they might have just stayed on same spot =P Hence the infamous final alien) So thats another complaint that applies to original too)) Seriously, unless you mean it as critizication of what they could have improved from original game, don't use arguments that also apply to original game... @Par'Gellen: Isn't your edit what I basically said? .-. Well, I guess its not exactly the same thing I said, but mostly?

Hmm, original used system were aliens had randomly generated ufos(aka, they spawn from nowhere and there is percent change of what type they are and what they are going to do) doing "missions" that in practice worked by subtracting "score" from your end of month score if they succeeded. There are of course situations like that if infiltration scout succeeds then there comes multiple ships to finish infiltration and that if you shoot down some ships then likely of retaliation mission ufos is higher. I'm not sure about this game, but I figure out that it works the same. So, no, there isn't geoscape "AI" for ufos in original that plays game against you and I doubt there is such here.