Jean-Luc

It sounds like you were playing the 1.13 mod with the Drassen Counterattack turned on. For some reason it's turned on by default and it really sucks for people who don't know about it.

Do you have the Ice Cream truck or the chopper? They should help out with travel. You could also hire Biff and Flo from Merc to act as a "teaching pair" and mules. They're cheap, both have the "teacher" trait and they like each other.

You can get it drm free on GOG: http://www.gog.com/game/jagged_alliance_2 Or if you prefer Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1620/ It's almost universally considered the best turn based tactics game but it does have a lot of micro management on the strategic side and I can't guarantee you'll like it so don't be angry with me if things go sour. Similar to X-Com is has a strategic management side where you have to handle income, expenditure, hiring people, training militias, protecting captured territories, repairing equipment, providing medical treatment , acquiring new equipment, etc. It also has excellent characters, voice acting, funny cut scenes and a story that's told through gameplay and in-game events rather than movies. It's a pretty sand boxy experience that doesn't hold your hand or point you in a specific direction (except at the beginning). A lot of things are left for you to discover. If you do play it don't use any mods at start, get acquainted with it first.

Explosives can blow up walls so you can open up an alternate route (nice in some of the more fortified areas) but yeah, there's rarely a use for them and I've never ever used a mine. True about night fighting, nightops/stealthy characters kick ass. I always make my IMP with nightops. Nightops + nv gear + laser scope makes you a nightmare for the enemy.

TUs or action points aren't simply a matter of X-Com nostalgia. They're a staple mechanic used by a lot of turn based games and are generally associated with the genre. Jagged Alliance is another famous classic that sort of entrenched this mechanic as a something to look for in TBS games. Gameplay-wise the main idea is that TUs allow you to fine tune your actions and maneuvers to do "just the thing" you want when coordinating your squad. Players who are used to it typically don't feel the "accounting" you describe, it just flows intuitively or they get used to it after a while. For example, Jagged Alliance 2 had different movement costs for walking, running, crouching, crawling and then a sneaking variant for each of those plus different costs for turning when standing/crouching/crawling plus different lines of sight and sound levels for all those states also depending on different kinds of cover, terrain, camouflage, time of day, equipment. Oh and there was also swimming, vaulting over low cover, climbing on top roofs, all with their own action point costs and other factors. Plus stuff like weight, morale, wounds, it goes on. For players who enjoy that level of gameplay EU2012 feels kinda empty and a game like Xenonauts/X-Com falls somewhere in between. Having said that it's probably true that Xenonauts need more balancing in terms of firing vs. movement costs and such to make sure all weapons are useful and needed tactical options aren't restricted. It's a similar thing with UFO searching. Having an arrow point where to go takes away tension and the sense of risk and exploration where you nervously wonder what awaits you whenever you open a door or expose a soldier to take a peek. It's a generational gap I guess. Xenonauts does make an earnest effort to compromise and appeal to newer players and is in many ways streamlined compared to the old X-Com (believe me) but it mostly caters to an old school core. It is what it is. This is something you learn playing the game. The autopsies should tell you about each of the aliens and their different ranks. For example a Caesan non-combatant (red shirt) is weaker than a Caesan guard (blue shirt). You'll also notice aliens wearing armor and such.

Yeah, Tyrian's a classic and it looks great even today. There's Ring Runner: http://www.gog.com/game/ring_runner_flight_of_the_sages Crusader series has a cult following but I've never played it: http://www.gog.com/game/crusader_no_remorse Drox Operative is basically Diablo in space: http://www.soldak.com/Drox-Operative/Overview.html Kinda low budget but if you're looking for an arcadey/shooty experience with lots of loot and replayability it should fit the bill. Space Pirates and Zombies is a good candidate too: http://minmax-games.com/SpacePiratesAndZombies/ Starsector is kinda like a sci-fi Mount & Blade: http://fractalsoftworks.com/ It's a bit more elaborate tactics and management wise but still technically a shooter. Still unfinished but playable with a strong modding community. Oh and there's Infested Planet: http://www.rocketbeargames.com/infestedplanet/index.html technically it's real time tactics, not a shooter but it has a really arcadey feel and intensity. Sword of the Stars: The Pit might also serve although it's a rogue-like: http://www.gog.com/game/sword_of_the_stars_the_pit Top down, nice 2d graphics.

Yo man, your sig is teh sh1t dawg. Fight the powah!

A unique feature of grenades should be that they provide some indirect fire. Soldiers should be able to effectively throw them over walls or hedges. Not sure how well they work in that regard atm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_sensing_in_snakes Realistically, heavy smoke would probably debilitate the senses of any organic creature but whatever.

Would it be possible for the game to remember and read a soldier's original TU value instead of the post-encumbrance one? For example a guy normally has 50 TUs but because he's over-encumbered he's down to 40. Could the game still treat him as if he had 50 TUs for the purposes of calculating firing costs? In any case I support the new proposed system. It's obvious why it had to be in X-Com and why it's needed now. Rookies need to be viable in the late game and balance needs to scale more tightly.

"No rookie, no problem" - Commissar Stalin

I heard that idea was gunned down by an unknown assailant with a British accent as it was coming home from shopping. Eventually they had to take it off life support. Don't worry Jasmine. We'll just go to the pound and get you another nation. There's plenty of nations out there in need of a good home.

What, no planetary defense simulator?

No need for fleet limits as long as there's enough ammo to go around.

As a long time game buyer/follower I would never look to a game's official site for regular news/updates. It's one of the first things you learn.

Stunned? Stunned!? Son, we don't "stun" aliens in this organisation.

Buyer beware: http://steamcommunity.com/app/221020/discussions/

Maybe bleeding could cause stun so more heavily wounded soldiers have a chance to "pass out"?

The old forum sewers.

I don't see why Aliens can't have nations and matters related to geography, you gotta believe man. This is NG's schedule now: -Trucks/Cars/Bikes -Construction Machines -Aliums -Pawnstars/Storage -Truckdrivers -Hillbillies -Jesus/Illuminaty/Knights Templar -Lumberjacks -Aliums At least it's not History Channel.

Excellent. Maybe I'm shallow and I hate pressuring people but please don't let the wonderful art go to waste Chris.

Looks like Knight's mind has been devastated by disease. Time for Comissar to administer the "final rites".

I ended up really enjoying it as well. Avoided most of the problems others have reported as well.

Must be all the pollen.