/vr/ - Retro Games

Make sure you've got a good mix of equipment. Rifles are the standard, but have explosives available, and a couple of guys with high reactions and TUs should have pistols or something to go scouting.

You should almost always ensure you've got enough TUs on everyone for reaction fire at the end of a turn.

Research new weapons and armor as a priority. Plasma weapons are the most powerful but you've got to actually capture them from aliens before you can research them. Laser weapons are far easier to get because you can just follow the research from the start of the game, and they're still much better than starting gear, they also don't have ammo limits. As for armor research Alien Alloys and then Personal Armor immediately, and start cranking that shit out of your workshop. It won't save everyone all the time but it should make a notable difference nonetheless in the early game.

And finally, play tactically. Except in terror missions you're not in a rush of any sort - just take your time, assess your situation, move your people slowly and ensure everyone can cover everyone else.

>>755471

Oh forgot to say, but don't keep your people too close together because grenades.

>>755471
>>755482
Thanks, at least a bit more encouragement for me.

What about the playing time to beat a game, do you have any clear memories roughly estimations?

As in if you are three hours in and doing poorly, would it be safer to just start over than to continue and even if I got better, I would lose because of being so bad at the start?

>>755487

Time played isn't necessarily the best estimate (afraid I can't recall how long it's taken me to beat the thing), it's better judged by your in-game date. If you're a couple months in and still dealing with Sectoids or maybe Floaters then you should be fine to carry on as long as you whip your R&D into shape. If you're dealing with pic related then maybe think about starting again.

Although from the Dorf Fort school of thought, remember that Losing Is Fun, and your main problem is probably just a lack of experience and grokking the game, so carrying on even if you're doomed might be worthwhile anyway.

>>755529
Alright, I'm still having only sectoids and the purple guys who I assume are floaters, but maybe I'll up my chances by starting a new file and at least getting some armor in research, I've completely missed that one.

The only butt-blastingly difficult enemies have been the E.T. looking-two-footed monsters in Terror attacks, many times kills my men with just one hit and won't go down from clips of the rifle.

Thanks again, I'll get right on it.

Have a look here:
http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=X-COM

Go for some reading (worksafe!).
There are a lot of good pointers on how to base-layout, selecting soldiers (how to select "sniper", "scout" or "heavy", etc.), research (order) and equipment.
Usually you start research with laser tech, med-kit, then you go into alien alloy and plasma...

Also check out some "Lets Play" at YT. For example I enjoyed this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqrBWjiNyjY

It is not as retarded commented as nearly 99% of the other ones.
OK it is around 61 episodes long, but you will get the basics out of it pretty soon.

Cheers

>>755438
>even on Beginner

Due to a bug (maybe in your version), all difficulty levels are Beginner.

Anyway, use tactics. That may sound snide, but you really do need to pay attention to formation and having a point man and all that stuff since your guys go down in one hit. Always have one guy watching another. Always have some people with Reserved Time Units in case an alien runs by. Always position your people at doors in case an alien comes barging out. And keep your distance when you don't know what you're up against. Spot a sectoid? Could be cyberdisks somewhere.

OP, the best method to play the game is simply to mimic real life CCB tactics. That means using spot & snipe tactics to avoid alien reaction fire, use explosives against armored targets (like cyberdiscs) and use smoke to cover your troops' movements. Tanks can also be incredibly useful to draw and block enemy unit fire, and brute force your way into the enemy lines/barricades (especially rocket tanks).

Additionally, you will want to use auto-fire most of the times, especially when playing with all-rookie teams, because the to-hit probability of six 10% shots is higher than a single 30% or 40% aimed shot.

>>755438
Oh, and don't worry too much about losing soldiers. They're meant to be expendable. Losing 2 to 3 each mission is par for the course.

If you have more than 50% of your rookie-only teams surviving, you're doing good. Never shed a tear for the rookie, for they'll always be bad.
Also, sell any unneeded shit, mainly corpses, and sometimes excess alien magazines/weapons if you're desperate.
And always look around, you never know when there's a hidden alien out of your field of view. Also, if you send a guy in and he gets shot at, don't send another one in hopes that the alien won't shoot again. Just wait by the door you entered to cap that alien when he comes around.