Very low panic level - No late-game pressure - Commander difficulty

[PorT_Lobo]

It's very easy to manage panic in the late game; even with basic angels armed with missiles, you can shoot down the best UFOs (harvesters and cruisers) and still lower panic using OPs. This allows you to calmly wait an indefinite amount of time to attack bases and final missions until you're ready. There's no pressure, nor a remote chance of losing the game due to panic and regions abandoning the Xenonauts.

Controlling panic is so easy that you can stop going to Terrors and immediately compensate with OPs.

It's possible to have zero panic even without half the map under radar control...

The panic caused by bombers in uncontrolled zones should be much greater, the panic caused by Terrors should be enormous for the player to be forced to fight, the panic caused by delays in attacking alien bases should be great with each passing day without going there. OPs spent to control panic should be more and have a much longer cooldown.

The player should feel pressured to invest in more bases and radars, and better planes to control air space. They should be pressured to attack alien bases quickly and shouldn't be able to avoid Terror attacks without panic levels reaching their maximum.

 

See the attached picture please... this is in Commander difficulty, panic ZERO. Why should the player risk to go to a Terror if after it can lower it down again with few OPs?

[Skitso]

I've played to day ~280 now and I fully agree. I can skip terror missions and manage panic with ease - even with only 2 bases with 3 planes eacb, while letting lot's of UFOs run amok around the globe, even the UUO orbit shots give me no worries. No pressure, no hurry, no dread.

Edited April 7 by Skitso

[fusion-waffle]

I agree -- all of my commander campaigns end up in state like this, using 2 bases only.

 

Failing anything subtler, if there was yet another campaign difficulty slider with a panic multiplier, that increased the severity of negative panic events but didn't increase positive panic events, i'd be interested in trying a campaign where i dragged that slider from 1x to 2x or 3x.

Edited April 7 by fusion-waffle

[Skitso]

2 hours ago, fusion-waffle said:

Failing anything subtler, if there was yet another campaign difficulty slider with a panic multiplier, that increased the severity of negative panic events but didn't increase positive panic events, i'd be interested in trying a campaign where i dragged that slider from 1x to 2x or 3x.

I would:

• Increase UUO orbital strike panic damage to 20 global + extra 15 to the target region
• UFOs that are left flying around should generate a lot more anomalies/panic. Some UFO missions should be able to kill supoorters too.
• Alien bases should be more important: they should be more numerous, harder to find and they should be a LOT more difficult to clear. They should be like a tier more advanced than the player is so it would be really tough to clear immediately and would require proper planning and gearing up. Bases should cause more panic, kill supporters, generate more infiltrators and anomalies around them and spawn extra UFO missions in it's region. It'd be cool to see all the increased regional alien activity and then send planes to scout area to find the base.

Edited April 7 by Skitso

[PorT_Lobo]

Skitso you are 100% right.