EIG

I think an interesting option would be a sort of VIP defense mission, at least if you got control of the VIP or the AI improved. The idea is you've found a target for the Cleaners, and are able to intercept the team preparing to take the target out. They're close enough that there is a time limit to do the mission, and both the VIP and the Cleaners are on the same map. Goal is to protect the VIP for a standard turn limit timer, with optional objectives of taking out the Cleaners and recovering data. VIP starts close to the dropship, representing you going straight for them, while the Cleaners are spread out a little but mostly in a structure on the map that has 1-3 computers with Cleaner data. The idea is a reverse Abduction style. You collect everything at the end of mission, and the goal is to stop the Cleaners from killing the VIP for the turn limit. You can use any excess turns after taking out the Cleaners, if you take them all out, to still be able to grab the data before "it gets deleted". Edit: Just remembered the detail I thought up for why it is reverse Abduction. You have a requirement to kill a certain number of Cleaners because the actual goal is to eliminate the cell. So the reversal is that the interactable is optional while killing is required. ... although this did make me just realize I haven't checked how Abduction works with the 99 turn limit option that just recently was added. Mostly I'd like to see more Cleaner missions with auto-collection of resources at the end. The autopsy and capture of the basic agents/soldiers is a bit of an out of the way thing right now, with no real prompt/time to do it, and it seems to me that at least one mission where you get to collect stuff before the final base mission is desirable to fix that.

I think that for some of them they actually happen in the wake of a UFO, so in theory you can scramble a jet to scout in front of where it happened to try and take down a UFO not currently in radar range. Although I would also like some more missions triggered by events instead of just the scripted few and the UFO missions. I would think the plan is for the currently scripted set of missions to end up more dynamic and happening more than just once, but I'm not sure if that is the idea or not.

So, maybe I should go into a bit more detail on what I see them as, given I am a bit worried some are taking this as an argument that you should skip lasers instead. I see mag weapons as actually working in theory as the starting weapon upgrade. You unlock them basically as soon as the game starts to research, they are cheap enough to easily get some as soon as they unlock, and there is a good sized time period between being able to build them and getting the advanced lasers upgrade where they are a solid choice of weapon. Then you get some more advanced research, get the option for laser weapons, and while the infantry lasers aren't better than mag weapons right off they are a step to the strategically important heavy laser technology that advances aircraft and vehicle weapons noticeably. Later on the laser upgrade to be better than the mag weapons, but it isn't the case that you should go a couple of missions with mag weapons and then throw them all out as soon as you have the first version of lasers. It is a theoretical progression where you get both, and both have their time period to be useful. The issue is mostly that the mag weapon research is a tiny little dead end project that competes with other early game projects, particularly the first armor project that has a much more noticeable impact on tactical combat and uses the same limited early resources. In theory this is all balanced to give what looks to me to be the intended progression, and given the gap between mag weapons and advanced lasers I'd say there can be the time and resources for going with both. In practice the game goes a bit quickly right now and infantry armor is the better first tech pick, especially with how you can capture the Cleaner Mag Weapons, which are just plain better than what you can build for rifles (20 weight instead of 25). I think the stats are in a good place and that the timing could work, but the extra research and early cost makes it so skipping for lasers is a bit too attractive.

So, a lot of people are saying "skip mag weapons for lasers", and I'm not seeing it myself. For a few reasons actually. First, at least currently, before upgrade laser weapons have the same base damage as the mag weapons, but they don't have the bonus penetration value. I'm actually thinking that means they are slightly worse against armored opponents unless/until you hit 3+ shots on the same target, which is where the laser's low ammo matters a bit more. After the upgrade that changes, but I think the after upgrade version is currently the human version of plasma weapons given the requirements. Second is the cost, which is where I am thinking that the trick is that you can sell the mag weapons when you do upgrade to lasers for a good chunk of what the lasers are going to cost you in terms of money, and both have fairly low resource costs when you start getting regular UFO missions. Compared to the other projects available the resource cost doesn't seem that big to add in. Third is a relatively recent change to let you capture Cleaner mag weapons... which kind of works against my argument because you can in fact just do that instead of building them yourself and get lighter versions as well. Still using those to fill out your mag rifles while you just build mag versions of shotguns or machine guns seems like a way to tide you over until the laser upgrade. Now, as for downsides I currently see: - The mag sniper seems a bit more dubious. The sniper class has a base 10 penetration already, even the laser version, while the mag only has 12. Going straight to laser here isn't as strange of an option to me as the other variants. - You will be losing some research time to unlock these, and as noted above the Cleaner options can fill out a big role without that. I'm not sure they are really in the right spot at the moment, but I don't think I will be going to instantly skipping them just yet.

I just researched the laser cannon for the MARS while I had a cleaner mag weapon in my stores, and when I went to see about upgrading the weapon for the MARS I found the rather unexpected option of giving it a captured rifle for a primary. output.log user_save_3b-13.json

Updated to 1.29d and after loading the save a UFO immediately appeared. Appears to have been and fixed the issue.

First time starting up an existing save file after updating to the C version of the 1.29 experimental build, saw there were other crash to desktop reports on the build so I saved right after selecting the terror mission to launch. Transport appeared on map successfully, and then the game seems to slow down massively for just a moment before crashing to desktop. Reloading provided save has it immediately hit that slowdown and crash. user_save_3-9.json output.log