Hello,
I have been following this game for a long time, I just made the plunge yesterday and purchased it on Steam. First off, the game feels great. I love the direction you guys are taking and I love the way the developers are interacting with the users to make changes and find solutions to problems.
With that being said, there is one change that has quickly become my most serious complaint about the game. The fact that ground missions can only result in a negative score due to civilians killed needs to be addressed. I read through the forums and understand the changes were implemented in order to make airstrikes a worthwhile option, but in my opinion this change just takes away to much from the game. The mission ending screen provides a certain level of satisfaction, and to see a terrible rating at the end of each one just doesn't work.
For example, there was a UFO coming in that I tried to intercept and failed miserably when all three of my interceptors got shot down. The UFO, however, proceeded to land nearby. I sent my crew out to attack them and we succeeded. I got a terrible rating at the end of the mission, and, much to my surprise, the country (USA) decreased its funding for the month a little later. I think Ground combats have to affect country relations at least somewhat otherwise the whole funding issue becomes a mess.
I bought this game finally because I was watching a lets play on youtube (based off of V19 I believe) and the game actually looked like it was getting playable. I still believe it is very close but this change to ground combat and funding needs to be looked at again IMO. Thank you for your time.