AmericanPride

Yeah - the problem of the vanilla reference I think is one of the main issues. My first round with the mod (on normal), I never had any soldiers above Sergeant (and only a few at that) because of all my senior operators kept getting killed. It was a wake-up call that the mod demands a very different approach than vanilla. At one point, there were 3-4 alien bases after 3 failed assaults wiped out all my best operators. I only had PVTs remaining and limited my activities to interdicting small UFOs to rebuild my teams. It was frustrating at first but after accepting that this mod is far more demanding and challenging, it became very enjoyable.

TD, This mod is awesome. Don't let the haters get you down. Keep up the good work - oh and, where are the dang Xenopedia entries for the new weapons stats???!?

The AK-47 and M-16 have two very different design philosophies. The Soviets emphasized massing fires while the Americans emphasized precision fires - hence the point shooting and no automatic fire on the M-16/M-4. The Soviet warfighting doctrine of Deep Battle focused on massing effects across the entire battlespace - including down to the individual rifelman; hence the heavy-rounds, automatic fire capability of the standard issue assault rifle. During their WW2 experience, the Soviets learned that the most engagements occurred within 300m, so they were not concerned with their soldiers' abilities to conduct long-range, precision fire. Instead, they wanted as many rounds on target within 300m as possible.

I do like the addition of the AK-47, however I have to comment that the burst mode for the AK-47 should be more effective than the M-16. The Soviets deliberately designed the AK-47 to deliver the maximum amount of firepower in the shortest period of time per soldier.

Just a few quick thoughts, as I've only played through a couple of months: - The flamethrower is awesome. It's saved my skin a few times in close combat already. - Thanks for reducing the area effect of whatever the early non-lethal weapon is called (with the purple gas) - Also, I like the increased area effect of the C4. Now it's more like explosives rather than an extra large grenade.

TD, No C4 was involved. A Seb threw gas at my team. I returned fire and of course, all of them missed. Without TUs to move behind cover, I thought at least deploying smoke to protect my exposed operators would assauge my conciousness. But then - BOOM! Actually - come to think of it, C4 may have been involved. One of my soldiers were killed, and his dropped kit may have included C4 but I don't recall what was included in his gear.

Not sure if this is vanilla or the mod, but I was unpleasantly surprised to find that discharging a smoke grenade in gas leads to a large explosion, the results of which can kill many operators on your team. When playing on Ironman, it's these little surprises which are the most satisfying.

I haven't seen a need for more than two teams. One is my main element, used for major assaults and terror missions, while the other conducts the smaller missions (scouts, etc) to help develop new recruits.

Yeah - nuke them from orbit. You have to keep your men at a distance, watch their spacing, and concentrate explosive fires (rockets, grenades, C4). I think 2-3 C4 attacks should do the trick, since I hit it with 1 C4, 2 rockets, and a half dozen grenades. The problem I can't seem to figure out is assaulting landing ships - specifically the command deck. In the first one, I lost the entire 8 man team to 2 androns while assaulting the command deck. In the second one, I lost 9 of 10 operators to 4 Sebillians. After using rockets and C4 in the room, 2 still lived, so I fled with the lone survivor. Any suggestions?

I had 10 men, all with ballistic weapons. I riflemen and machine-gunners had the advanced ballistic weapons. Of the ballistic weapons, only the sniper rifles and machineguns did any damage, and it was relatively minor. The most damage was incurred with the use of alenium rockets and grenades, and C4. Fortunately, the Viper was initially trapped in a building, giving me time to position my men in line at a safe distance. The engagement started with the detonation of C4, which also destroyed the building but prevented the Viper from moving closer because of the fire. Yes, twice. Each time the Viper was in the open near the dropship. I think more variety in ballistic weapons would be interesting, as would the addition of new heavy weapons (flamethrower, anti-material rifle, mortar). I also think it would be interesting to have more Geoscape features. Aircrews would be awesome too though I don't know if that's feasible. I haven't played the aircombat... scared to try it. Haha. So I auto-resolve it but I may try it out. I use squadrons of 2 condors and 1 T-10(?) and that seems pretty effective against everything except the large class of ships. I do like the dissembling mechanic, though I think it could use some refinement to give a greater feeling of the desperation in reverse engineering the crafts of alien invaders. For example, instead of yielding just one item after dissembling, perhaps it can yield 3-5 different items all of various values and purposes (one might improve armor, or a new technology, another provides alloys, etc). We hope in the future bring more and better content for this game! Thank you!

As I continue to progress further in my game with this mod (normal, Ironman), I'm gripped by the intensity and high stakes of this mod. I've lost multiple ground teams (usually due to ambushes with grenade launchers as my operators stack to enter a UFO). That's been the most dangerous tactical action thus far, followed closely by clearing alien bases (I've destroyed one of three, with two failed assaults on the others). In my one engagement with a omega(?) viper (the large one), I managed to kill it without any casualties of my own using C4, rockets, and grenades... that was a proud moment after the spectacular losses in earlier missions. My highest ranking operator is a lieutenant - with all other senior officers having been killed in previous missions. The ability to produce items for sale on the market is a godsend. All around, I will have to say that this is a thrilling mod and I give it an A+.

If you could get your mod added to Into Darkness........... I'd probably quit my job.

I actually like the wound/death modifications. In the previous version, it seemed like inevitable death if any of my operators were wounded because the bleeding rates were very high and since either they or their medic usually panicked at the sight of blood, they were usually dead within 1-2 turns. Now in 5.2, I actually have an opportunity to conduct first aid and keep my operators in the fight.

Here's what works for me: 1. Use cover. If you operator is in the open, he will get hit. 2. Use LMGs. They are much more flexible now. 3. Use smoke and grenades aggressively. 4. Organize for success. Designate specific roles for each operator and know how that role will contribute to winning. 5. Be aggressive. It's easier to replace ammo and weapons than experienced operators. 6. Watch your spacing. Grenades have a tendency to arrive precisely when and where you don't want them.

Yes - that happened to me too. 7 KIA in three turns. One fled for his life back to base. That was a UFO assault with at least 5-6 vipers who swarmed the landing zone. Haven't encountered that situation in 5.2 yet though from TD's general comments I should expect something very bad to happen eventually...

Just another thought - what does the team have in mind about expanding the depth of the Geoscope part of the game? For example, would it be possible to add different ways to engage with host countries; i.e. reaching a certain relation level grants a cash bonus or free base or higher quality recruits? Or negotiating agreements when you can use their research institutes or airbases that provided limited expansions of your own capabilities?

Also - one small comment - I really like the change made to the LMG. It makes the weapon system more practical and easier to employ. Now it actually feels like a squad LMG that can maneuver on the battlefield. It also seems like the blast radius of the C4 has increased. I'd have to check, but it also seemed like the TU cost for rifle burst fire was reduced. Anyway, all of these tweaks are excellent choices and make the tactical combat seem more realistic.

Thanks for the assistance. I'm pretty sure the Marines would NOT be happy with Ruskies in MARPAT...

Unfortunately, I do not have a copy but it did get me thinking about different kinds of camoflauge patterns: MARPAT, Tiger Stripes, Multi-cam and so on. Even the blue of of Russian MVD interrior troops (I think it's called Gorod-1) would be cool.

Thanks for the reply. Is the Marine Edition mod compatible with Into Darkness? I'm primarily interested in the portraits and uniforms (not geoscape, aircraft, etc). How would I go about testing that out?

I will say (again) that this mod is awesome. It seems like the pace has slowed from the previous version, which I applaud. There were simply one too many missions where my soldiers were under-armed or under-armored, leading to disasterous consequences (8 KIA Xenonauts). The AI also seems smarter with the use of smoke and tactical withdrawals. I will attest to the new found dangers in breaching UFOs... One question. How do I dissemble UFOs? I have an extra hanger... Congrats to the team on a job well done.

Sentelin and TacticalDragon, Thanks for replying to my comments, and for your efforts with this mod. As far as your questions: - Ability to name squads. I see two parts to this: naming the whole squad (all eight soldiers) and any sub-components of it; i.e. 2-4 soldiers. - Campaign streamers and/or battle stars. I think medals add more immersion to the game and also have a marginal impact on soldier performance. That's great. Campaign streamers and battle stars indicate participation in a military campaign - so say a named squad successfully completes a terror mission. That could be a battle star given as an award to the whole squad so any future soldier assigned to that squad receives that bonus while assigned. Campaign streamers could be accomplishments for a squad in a given wave - i.e. 2 successful recovery missions in one wave could earn a streamer for the squad. Military organizations don't just celebrate individual accomplishments; they also celebrate unit histories and achievements. Campaign streamers and battle stars could replicate that.

I have minor suggestions for future consideration: - Ability to name squads instead of only aircraft - Ability to give call signs to each soldier - Camoflauge patterns independent of armor type - Campaign or battle stars and/or streamers in addition to medals - Drones. Man-pack tracked or aerial drones for recon - Crew served weapons. HMG, recoilless rifle, and/or mortar with high stopping power but low mobility - AWAC aircraft. Long flight times and extended radar but no offensive weapons - Weapon attachments (not sure if it's possible). Increases weight but may increase accuracy or lethality - Deployable remotely operated weapons Just talking off the type of my head. I still have alot of exploring to do with the mod, and it's very exciting.

Thanks for your help. I look forward to playing it.

Some of the changes look A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Can I overwrite the previous mod or do I need to do it over a vanilla version?