ADederer

7.00 series. Have been on experimental almost without exception. Generally Soldier. I ran some earlier at Veteran. Usually have tweaks to money survivability etc. (one reason no survivors stood out).

1. Basic progression is going smoothly, game builds to having real money and extra bases at notable times. Cleaner base is timed to be near Lasers and Dragonfly. 2. One possible bug from last play through, got NO survivors from Med lab or random. Over 300 days and a dozen fatalities. I would check the code. 3. Problems.. Too many upgrades too late. To much time waiting for late upgrades to gate, as well as missions. 4. About at orbital, game needs more paths and something to eat up some OP points and Money. The endgame missions aren't bad, but they take TOO long to appear and several techs are Single-mission wonders. 5. Penultimate mission is good and tense, then it devolves into "find the goober wandering around". Give us a target or at least a scanner. 6. Alien bases should be tied into OP points or $, Let us set a pace depending on how well we are doing. 7. Non-stun grenades are dang weak, Grenade launchers even more so, and VERY heavy. 8. We need a "dressing" that can STOP bleeding only, but doesn't heal. and is light enough for everyone to carry. As is, riflemen are effectively medics until the Lizards show up. And this FURTHER restricts grenades. 9. Carrying captures, and/or teamate's bodies, adds to found play drama, you want MORE of this. 10. Another reason to tie bases to OPs etc.. With limits on clean-up, resources get VERY tight at certain times. Alien Bases are the best source, but too far out of player control. 11. Reapers are TOO fast for current overwatch. 12. Last game, Harvesters came AFTER Battleships.

It was a loose UFO that turned into a Terror site, Andons and Wraiths. Just too many to handle (too much armor and HPs, and even improved Guardian Armor is one-shot able). I had 2 suits of Colossus armor, but was short a 3rd MG so only deployed 1, he tanked reasonably well, but the MG was just NOT doing the business (doesn't seem to like armor, and doesn't destroy it enough to make up). I had Gauss cannons on the MARS (only real source of ranged damage), and they were helping, but they go POOF awful fast against Fusion. Both times things have gone THIS bad this fast, it was terror mission (don't know if the other was a random landing). There was a period where the Satellite missions were similar. ARES and 2 Colossi seem to make these doable (triple rockets and enough MG fire to suppress most everything). I think the lesson coming out of this is that balance is often on a razor's edge. Small differences can lead to outsized outcomes. There isn't much space between (dealt with, no problem, won lost 2-3 guys and "barely won, half the team gone the rest OOA for a month). Small advantages STACK (losses beget more losses).

7.xxx Am sliding through 2nd level difficulty with few issues. Am caught up on Tech, only lacking the last dropship. Improved Gauss and fusion grenades. Get a Terror mission and am losing over half my force (tried some variations). Combination of near one-shots due to fusion weaponry and Andons and Wraiths playing bullet sponge (theoretically, gauss should be up to this, in practice, I think the damage spread is so wide, about half the hits do nothing). And this is in a game where I have been dominating. Losing this many upper-rank troops in a higher-level game (or even a squad wipe) doesn't bear thinking about. What's the cause? I think a combination of things. 1. Gauss is narrow-banded. It mostly keeps up, but when the enemies start getting REALLY spongy, it doesn't do enough damage often enough. Too many aliens hang around with a handful of points left. 2. Fusion guns are LETHAL, and with power armor moved VERY deep into the game, there is no tanking this. One-shots are common, two hits are near certain death.. Hurt troops and you must play careful for the rest of the mission. Dead troops lead to spiraling failure. Andons can't be stunned and Wraiths never seem to miss. 3. Numbers are off, 10 troops can deal with a crash, IF you don't walk into a mob. Terror missions find you outnumbered and having to spread out. This makes the aliens even MORE difficult to kill, (Sometimes it takes 4-6 troops to get a single kill). Getting a Pegasus MIGHT help a little, but the numbers are not good. 4. Balance is on knife-edge. Small changes (or non-changes) are boosting losses by two or even three hundred percent. I think you are going to have to check your spikes very carefully, otherwise late-game stompings may cause players to turn off and drop playing. There is NO way to "get ahead" of this spike, it's built into the game progression as running, and that could wreck immersion. 5. Rule of "N" and "Fuzzy Wuzzy" numbers really put the game balance on edge. If I can kill everything every turn (at most leaving 1-2 suppressed aliens), the situation is manageable. An alien that ALMOST dies, but then KILLS one of mine is a BIG swap. Once is bad fortune, 2-3 times and it can spiral into a wipe. 6. Grenades late are mostly a stun weapon (and maybe for destroying armor). Their efficiency via-a-vis breaking armor or doing significant damage considering the time required mean that gangs are HARD to handle. If I have a MARS with multiple rockets I might deal with a pack, grenades won't cut it, especially versus mech. This was an issue back in November, if anything it's worse now.

Something seems off. Went from a solid game (just equipped Gauss, improved Guardian, did first Cruiser, no problem. Terror mission was just rediculous. Ghosts and Andos eating 4 and 5 shots, reasonable shots (60%+) showed bullets going off at 30 degrees. Between massive bullet sponges (many with cloak) and Fusion guns I lost a MARS and 6 of 9 guys. Only thing I was short of was a Rocket MARS (which might have helped). I got the impression that something was wrong with my RNG at least. Maybe de-link extra HP and Fusion guns? This was a MAJOR spike, and I was up-to-date. In a close campaign, this would likely have been a wipe. Again, I also got the impression that RNG was not on the level, but part of that was that Fusions are near 1-hit kills, when I have to hit them 4-5 times before being hit twice, and they have numbers..

This is right before it happens, the last alien is in the dark room, ready to be snuck up from the teleporters. Once it swaps to mission 2 several troops will lose a LOT of health. user_heal_drop-7.json

Personnel who have been wounded and healed do not carry their healing into the final battle. They reset to their lowest total.

As shown, top of Abductor remains, so far only seen in Desert. Worked OK in Port map. Not level 2-3 does disappear. Middle part reappears at level 3.

Seems to happen when screen scrolls away from a selected soldier (moving or not). The next solder cannot "get focus" and the programs times out.

Roof Issue still recurring in 6.14. Deployment has been centered properly.

I'm guessing this is another Reaper/Zombie issue. bug_report_2025-10-05-13h01_gc_6.13.0_unhandled_exception_1.zip

Day 45 (save from pre-patch) selecting any agent causes crash to desktop. After a pause, (no pop-up appears, but there is a pause of 2-3 seconds before the crash). bug_report_2025-10-01-19h41_st_6.12.0_unhandled_exception_1.zip

When attempting the Sabatoge the cannon mission. 1. The roofs at level 2 are not going transparent, making internal navigation blind. 2. Deployment is off-center, should be one space to right. Insert image from URL

Did a base assault and it reset the cooldown on getting Alloys and Alerium (both of which were nearly done). Will check if transfers, crashed UFOs do the same..

This is likely caused by a Reaper Zombie trying to crouch (same issue, same turns).

This particular bug_report_2025-02-15-16h23_st_5.10.0_unhandled_exception.zipbug happened when trying to fly to abduction mission (crash on launch of Dragonfly). First mission with (mostly) Gauss weapons. Similar crash happened (same root) when attempting to get to terror mission (this crashed on arrival at site). bug_report_2025-02-14-21h27_st_5.10.0_unhandled_exception.zip

I find MARS invaluable in early game, ARES not so much (for one, alloys are TIGHT). Mostly Rockets, but big cannons have their uses (Robot busting, and base attacks). Points to remember. 1. If you TAKE the objective, any destroyed MARS is half cost to fix (unless blown up with explosives). Just wait till the dropship gets back to base. Be careful with MARS on in-and-out raids. 2. Always add the extra armor. You lose TU (and a theoretical 2 shot possibility), but it can tank MUCH more damage (armor is MUCH better). 3. MARS is a fire-support platform. You don't NEED to get close, and you rarely want to. 4. Use MARS early. As desert nomads say "carry your water IN you" don't afraid to do a 3-shot. Make the later fights easier. 5. Plan to HIDE the MARS late, it isn't too useful in UFOs (except for permanently opening doors). NEVER send one through a teleporter to attack (all it will likely do is draw fire and die). Send a good soldier with a flash-bang. 6. MARS is fine going right back out after taking all but 1 HP. Your soldiers won't be. 7. Use the MARS to set up kills if possible. You want the kills to go to humans, who will get better. 8. The Auto rifle is there for cleanup and emergencies. Don't be afraid to swap in a target system if you mount the big gun(s). 9. Sentry Guns are the backstop for remote bases (along with 2 AA anti-UFO batteries). Be sure they have up to date guns and rebuild the ones in the Cleaner base once you take it.

My base load is 2 Assaults and a MARS up front. One MG, one Sniper (on the centerline) and the balance in riflemen. Only Riflemen generally carry Medipacs, but everyone gets auto meds as fast as I can capture a lizard. Add another MARS to the dragonfly and another assault to the final one (sticking with 2 bots). Grenadier is a swap for rifleman for certain missions (at range and outdoor). I occasionally swap in a second sniper (for Planet/Beam assault for example. MARS are heavily used early-mission to take heat off the troops. Aside from breaking doors, they rarely do anything inside the UFOs. The shear range of the Rockets is very handy in some situations (and a triple shot can deal with very problematic forces, at the cost of fewer bodies to sell). Mostly, they set up the others for kills and take damage I don't have to wait to heal (and they rebuild for cheap and no alloys). MG is only really good with the 10 burst, so that's what I try to stick to. you can get 30%+ to hit on the big boys, may kill it, usually at least takes off mucho armor. And the reach is a LOT better than grenades etc. It's just tricky to not suppress your own men, thus only one. I try to carry 1 demo pack, but the size makes taking more than 1 per trooper tricky once you hit mid-game (gas masks, auto meds and targeters have the same form, as do the carry bonus harnesses), I find myself leaning on electroshocks a LOT, they are versatile against living things (still suppress) and bypass armor on most mechanicals. Snipers are good, but 1 shot a turn hurts and some guns lose damage at range. I like to have one, but more than that is limiting. Machine gunners and snipers tend to carry the stun guns (which is one reason they usually have gas masks).

I find auto-med to be useful as a med kit replacement on most soldiers (leaving rifles with both). It saves too many troops who would bleed out otherwise (you can't always run someone over in time). Grenade launcher (outdoors only) now reaches far enough to be useful. Still WAY heavy (I take 1 max). The Machine guns are for suppressing packs and more often, for chewing through bot armor (the to-hits are high enough against bots that you can do serious damage). Collossi are slightly more portable machine guns, but need a med module and be immune to suppression (they get suppressed, they can't even shoot..). I find up-armored MARS much better than using shield characters: can tank a lot of damage, heals for nothing and instantly, can usually be replaced at half price if it DOES die, carries 6 grenade equivalents (or a big gun for indoor work), can't cause troops to panic.. Use it early, preserve it if it takes serious damage and ALWAYS use the over armor option. Having a triple-shot available can solve a LOT of issues. Oh, and it knocks open doors and removes a lot of walls, letting you mouse hole the cleaner base. Just be careful about sending it through hostile doors and teleporters (it has terrible reflexes and draws all kinds of opportunity fire).

Will get the bug reports in. The sentry guns wouldn't transfer without living space. I want to have 12 spaces of troops and lasers (and preferably level 2 explosives) to take the cleaner base. Which is probably overkill, but luck swings around the sentry guns can cripple a "shoestring" attempt very easily. All that armor.. And the big brains in the HQ waiting to rack up the fatalities.. The early fights are often bianary, either the aliens/cleaners miss or someone dies. A bad run can cost me 3 guys easily. Warden armor smooths this out.. Doesn't come back til plasma.. Part of the reason Gaus tends to stick around is that you get the Pegasus around the time you get particle guns. You want to have viable weapons and leftover lasers won't cut it. So particles supplement, not replace, gauss. Gauss starts to feel weedy when the giant aliens become common., but it'll do. Colossus should be immune to suppression (alien automatic fire stacking suppress can just wreck your team in narrow confines).

Having played through to the end, the initial deadliness faded, but slowly, I saw multiple submachine gun bursts hit 3 for 3 out at 10 odd squares (generally writing off a "naught"). Once the tech started catching up, things got easier (accelerated weapons actually have an age now!). Progression seems smoother (but getting the proper load for the cleaner base is trapped behind a logjam of tech). 1. Air to air was smoother and easier. Micromanagement isn't needed, just keeping up. I think the heavy laser and particle beam may be blind alleys now. Double slugthrowers and armor seem to be where it's at. 2. Money is only tight in a few spots. Expansion early is quite doable (getting the needed aircraft, that's a different issue. 3. First time I gave a secondary base engineering (for upgrades etc..) also noted that security bots need living quarters now.. 4. Radar and new base elevators are pricy, this both impacts when 2-3 radar coverage happens, and the upkeep keeps on biting. 5. Lasers have their age (the end of the cleaners to the first alien base assault). Problems, they are STILL the only weapon with real ammo issues, and by the time they get an upgrade, they are obsolete. 6. Guardian armor is VERY awkward to work in. Power armor overtakes it VERY quickly (if you can afford it). 7. Gauss seems good enough for the endgame, supplemented with Particle guns. 8. Once you get 2-3 bases going, resources and to a lesser extent money are rarely much of an issue. After Cruisers, time is really the only one (the tech tree fades out). 9. Observer/Abductor is the "crazy" time for tech, keeping up is pretty much impossible, you have to set priorities. 10. The late ships are HUGE, but open and not THAT populated. I took both fairly easily. 11. Will have to see how the late mission goes, but Colossi look like a solution in search of a problem (the late ships have the space to flank in). They'd be much more useful earlier. Haven't tried them at the Alien base yet. Are they supposed to get a Grenade launcher? Look neat, but graphic bug only the first suit has leg animations the others shrink and "scoot". Also, I keep wanted to tell them "Grandma what BIG eyes you have!" 12. Keeping wounds on unconscious aliens, allowing melee to miss and keeping the good non-lethal stuff for midgame threatens to make getting needed captures done in a timely manner MUCH more difficult. Having your "prisoner" die after you move on (and no, you can't heal them) could delay getting medical upgrades (and that could be fatal). 13, Biggest rookie PITA. Low-strength crew who have to skimp and can't carry ANY grenades. Granted, part of this is that riflemen are my designated medics (module AND pack), but 40 strength is a real barrier.

Early impressions, things are LEATHAL. Whatever you did to dial back human weapons seems to have done too much (haven't hit with a range 1-3 burst yet). Meantime, the cleaners are hitting 3 round bursts across half the map, and the Aliens are worse. Medical center doesn't seem to "Save" very many either. My initial squad had assaults with sub-40 accuracy, this seems to break the model, they are literally missing at range 1-2 with all 3. Air changes look to be good, less to worry about. Money hasn't been TOO much an issue, will know more once base gets built out.

Game crashes when clicking on confirm of battle results. Was first rescue mission (soldiers) since patch (did not see rescue tubes as in earlier versions. Crashed to Red. Had 20+ empty bunks (building MARS with full bunks also crashes).