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V14 First Impressions - Two Thumbs Up!


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Wow! This is a BIG improvement over 13.2. I noticed the aliens are least trying to seek cover. They're slightly more aggressive too. No freeze ups when starting ground combat, excellent! I also noticed that ground combat loads faster now. I could be crazy but I think the autofire spread has been reduced to a more reasonable arc, but I won't swear to that one. Air combat missile speed seems to be much faster now. Don't know if I like this. Does give the aliens less chance to shoot back. Will have to play some more.

A few small problems I've noticed (all have been reported by others):

Combat shield appears to have been removed.

Explosions aren't visible.

Aliens hide in containers and crates, but I can still tell they are there. Very bad for the poor alien that hid in a cargo container while my entry specialist planted C-4 all around his "hiding" spot. ;)

I haven't seen a single civilian on any map.

Troops and helicopter sometimes land backwards. Not a big deal but defeats purpose of organizing your exit order.

Sometimes you land and after the first turn you win instantly without a shot fired. I like this. I'm assuming all aliens killed on impact. Should be a message stating same though.

Suggestions:

I still think the suppression model needs to be changed so it is much less predictable. Once alien is pinned down you know you can just walk up and shoot him point blank. Too easy, no tension.

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I have had pinned aliens get on their feet and run for cover, once or twice. I also had a non-pinned Sibellan just stand and look at my troopers as they emptied three pistol mags, two AR mags and three grenades before it died.

Other than that, I'll be inclined to agree with everything StellarRat has said.

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that's too bad. I enjoy the training as an option to bring fresh recruits up to speed with my normal men. If it worked, I would very much enjoy the option to be able to level up my soldiers outside of combat, so that if my main team gets wiped out in a brutal invasion, my backup squad is fresh and upgraded enough to not die to rookie stats.

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There were too many people who complained that "the training didn't work", despite the fact there was a clear explaination of what the training button did. For that reason and others, Chris 86'd it.
IMO, it was just an unnecessary complication. You have to assume that the Xenonauts are already the best of the best when they are recruited. I imagine them to drawn from elite anti-terrorist and special forces teams from all over the world.
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I wouldn't mind seeing a training option introduced later in the game, so you aren't stuck with raw recruits slowing experienced soldiers down. The reasoning would be after a year or so of fighting the aliens, the veterans can teach the newbies the ins and outs of bug hunting, run them through mock-ups of the insides of alien ships, etc.

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I wouldn't mind seeing a training option introduced later in the game, so you aren't stuck with raw recruits slowing experienced soldiers down. The reasoning would be after a year or so of fighting the aliens, the veterans can teach the newbies the ins and outs of bug hunting, run them through mock-ups of the insides of alien ships, etc.

The best training in the world doesn't stop people freezing in fear the first time they enter real combat, which really is down to experience and cannot be taught in a classroom.

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The best training in the world doesn't stop people freezing in fear the first time they enter real combat, which really is down to experience and cannot be taught in a classroom.

Out of curiosity, what's your source on that?

Presumably X-Com is recruiting from a pool of soldiers who have seen real combat. Besides, what the best training in the world does is train your body what to do so that if your mind freezes you'll still do more or less the right thing. We train marines to do things like slap the magazine eject button with the butt of your hand because your hands might be shaking too much to use a finger. Most people I've talked to that had good training said that they pretty much just reverted to what they'd always done (ie, training) when the bullets started flying.

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crusheven is right. Back in the Army, we had it beaten into that when you take fire from an unseen enemy, take cover first, return fire second. I'll second what's been said about training and combat as well, doing something over and over and over creates a kind of muscle memory. When your mind freezes your body reverts to what it has done thousands of times; your training.

Which has created some strange events for Swedish military personnel abroad. There is this story of a Carl Gustav grenade launcher team that, when disengaging from combat, ran back for the empty tubes used to carry the grenades. Simply because during training they would always pick them up when they were done.

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I wouldn't mind seeing a training option introduced later in the game, so you aren't stuck with raw recruits slowing experienced soldiers down.

A one-time training course for new recruits is just fiddly and not what the commander of the entire organisation would deal with.

It would be more apropriate to slightly adjust the stats of new recruits upwards as the game progresses.

Say, you have researched the Alien Retina Improvement technology which gives +3 Accuracy to new recruits and +1 to all existing ones.

The (very small) bonus to existing soldiers makes sure it's always useful - but may not be worth it for that alone.

This way you do have to make a long term choice, balancing your funds and research capabilities versus better recruits and a tiny bonus to existing soldiers.

It is not fiddly, though. Once the research is ordered, the decision is made and the computer never makes you go through any "maintenance clicking" afterwards. Zero ongoing micromanagement.

No UI required to order any particular training or even list training courses completed or not.

It becomes part of your grand strategy.

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His troops are elite racoons. They are doing extremely well considering the shrunken down weapons and mags (necessary to ensure that their small paws can handle the weapons)

I'm afraid I cannot comment on the existence or non-existence of the unit you are referring to. If such a unit did exist, however, it would be the elite cannon fodder of the Xenonauts, capable of seriously bruising a Ceasan and causing aggravated annoyance to Sibellans. Plus, they multiply like crazy.

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Rather than the slightly pointless training I still think it would be better to just allow you to recruit the occasional higher rank.

A small chance of a rank2 trooper and a tiny chance of a rank3.

Those chances can increase slightly as the game progresses to allow you some chance to replace troopers who die.

Completely non-essential either way of course.

Just recruiting a rookie and buddying him up with a higher rank for a mission or two does the same thing but is also more fun (to me).

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