🚀 go-pugleaf

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
> want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
> 
> If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
> expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
> 
> 

I have sent my g/f out on a mission to purchase it today, the local Game 
shop has a pretty decent returns policy so I'm not too concerned about 
it being pants... Still a shame about the absence of a demo as it does 
mean that warez is the only way to go if your supplier isn't to happy 
with returns.

The problem I now face is that, some time last year I intruduced her 
to X-Com on a Toshiba Libretto, this has turned her from a techno-fearing 
luddite into an uber-geek with a X-Com addiction, so I'm not 100% sure 
that I'm going to get a chance to play it at all this weekend....

- Malc

"Mark Morrison" <drdpikeuk@aol.com> wrote in message
news:9l4qnvs9vc2fl8fka5f34vhq0fn96ossj3@4ax.com...
> Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
> want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>
> If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
> expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?

i wanna hear about how it plays.
first ppl to play it, pls pls tell us all about how fun it is. :)

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 09:57:10 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
wrote:

>On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>
>> Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>> want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>> 
>> If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>> expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>> 
>> 
>
>I have sent my g/f out on a mission to purchase it today, the local Game 
>shop has a pretty decent returns policy so I'm not too concerned about 
>it being pants... Still a shame about the absence of a demo as it does 
>mean that warez is the only way to go if your supplier isn't to happy 
>with returns.
>
>The problem I now face is that, some time last year I intruduced her 
>to X-Com on a Toshiba Libretto, this has turned her from a techno-fearing 
>luddite into an uber-geek with a X-Com addiction, so I'm not 100% sure 
>that I'm going to get a chance to play it at all this weekend....
>
I like the way you worry about not playing UFA :A more than the lack
of sex with your game-playing girlfriend over the weekend.       :P


-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> 
> I like the way you worry about not playing UFA :A more than the lack
> of sex with your game-playing girlfriend over the weekend.       :P
> 

I'm sure that there will be time for both, probably not at the same time 
though!

 - Malc

 

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 13:09:52 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
wrote:

>On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>
>> 
>> I like the way you worry about not playing UFA :A more than the lack
>> of sex with your game-playing girlfriend over the weekend.       :P
>> 
>
>I'm sure that there will be time for both, probably not at the same time 
>though!
>
Oh, I don't know - a loptop at the bottom of the bed...

"That's it..Oh, yeah, keep going.  Almost...almost...almost...FUCK !!!
My colonel got hit by a sniper and dropped a live grenade !  Most of
my squad are dead !  I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO STOP !!!"

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:11:36 +0100
\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>
>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?

How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 04:31:20 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
wrote:

>____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:11:36 +0100
>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>    / \
>>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>>
>>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>
>How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.

Why ?

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:11:36 +0100, Mark Morrison <drdpikeuk@aol.com>
wrote:

>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>
>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?

It's pretty good so far.  Close enough to the Xcom games to feel like
a sequel, but different enough to feel like it's own game, and not a
direct reproduction.

Hard going at first, when your guys have pistols and uzis, but when
you start recovering rifles, things take a turn for the better.

And as in Xcom 1, 2 and 3 - grenades are your friends early on.

I've ordered it, as it's well worth the cash.

Got to go - I'm invading my first alien base...

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 21:55:44 +0100
\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 04:31:20 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
>wrote:
>
>>____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:11:36 +0100
>>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
>> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>>    / \
>>>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>>>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>>>
>>>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>>>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>>
>>How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.
>
>Why ?

Pirate.
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 14:09:44 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
wrote:

>____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 21:55:44 +0100
>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>    / \
>>On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 04:31:20 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>____     On Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:11:36 +0100
>>>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
>>> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>>>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>>>    / \
>>>>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>>>>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>>>>
>>>>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>>>>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>>>
>>>How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.
>>
>>Why ?
>
>Pirate.

So ?  After playing the pirated version, I've ordered the game online,
and am waiting for it to come out here in the UK.

What exactly is wrong with that ?

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

____     On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 11:37:41 +0100
\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>>>>>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>>>>>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>>>>>
>>>>>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>>>>>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>>>>
>>>>How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.
>>>
>>>Why ?
>>
>>Pirate.
>
>So ?  After playing the pirated version, I've ordered the game online,
>and am waiting for it to come out here in the UK.
>
>What exactly is wrong with that ?

Says you?
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 21:44:07 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
wrote:

>____     On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 11:37:41 +0100
>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>    / \
>>>>>>Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
>>>>>>want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
>>>>>>expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
>>>>>
>>>>>How about you squeeze your head real tight and pack it in your anus.
>>>>
>>>>Why ?
>>>
>>>Pirate.
>>
>>So ?  After playing the pirated version, I've ordered the game online,
>>and am waiting for it to come out here in the UK.
>>
>>What exactly is wrong with that ?
>
>Says you?

That was question - tell me, what is wrong with that ?

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

> >>So ?  After playing the pirated version, I've ordered the game online,
> >>and am waiting for it to come out here in the UK.
> >>What exactly is wrong with that ?
> >Says you?
> That was question - tell me, what is wrong with that ?

Like I've said on other previous occasions, ignore our resident angst-ridden
teenager...  :)  He seems to think only his opinion matters.

--
Daniel Blakemore
  "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that
will reach to himself"   - Tom Paine

____     On Sun, 5 Oct 2003 17:30:20 +0000 (UTC)
\__/___  Daniel "Naughty Tentacles" Blakemore ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>> >>So ?  After playing the pirated version, I've ordered the game online,
>> >>and am waiting for it to come out here in the UK.
>> >>What exactly is wrong with that ?
>> >Says you?
>> That was question - tell me, what is wrong with that ?
>
>Like I've said on other previous occasions, ignore our resident angst-ridden
>teenager...  :)  He seems to think only his opinion matters.

Pussy.
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

> >Like I've said on other previous occasions, ignore our resident
angst-ridden
> >teenager...  :)  He seems to think only his opinion matters.
> Pussy.

*smooch*


You fancy me, don't you?  ;)

--
Daniel Blakemore
  "He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from
oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that
will reach to himself"   - Tom Paine

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 13:09:52 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> wrote:
> 
> >On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
> >
> >> 
> >> I like the way you worry about not playing UFA :A more than the lack
> >> of sex with your game-playing girlfriend over the weekend.       :P
> >> 
> >
> >I'm sure that there will be time for both, probably not at the same time 
> >though!
> >
> Oh, I don't know - a loptop at the bottom of the bed...
> 
> "That's it..Oh, yeah, keep going.  Almost...almost...almost...FUCK !!!
> My colonel got hit by a sniper and dropped a live grenade !  Most of
> my squad are dead !  I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO STOP !!!"
> 
> 

I think that after about 30 seconds of that she may replace me with 
something else that requires a battery![1] Anyway the only laptop that 
I've got that'll play the game is too heavy for me to carry upstairs! 

- Malc

[1] Her laptop of course ;o) 

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, roid wrote:

> "Mark Morrison" <drdpikeuk@aol.com> wrote in message
> news:9l4qnvs9vc2fl8fka5f34vhq0fn96ossj3@4ax.com...
> > Ufo Aftermath is floating around on some of the binary groups, if you
> > want to try before you buy (since thee's no demo).
> >
> > If you DO enjoy it, though, make sure you buy it so we'll see
> > expansions and/or a sequel, OK ?
> 
> i wanna hear about how it plays.
> first ppl to play it, pls pls tell us all about how fun it is. :)
> 
> 

There are a good number of reviws doing the rounds at the moment, so 
I'm not going to add to 'em, however in the absence of anything 
showing on here I thought I'd give my initial views on the game after a 
few hours playing over the weekend:

+ Lots of research
+ A Fair number of aliens
+ Large number of weapons (most of them fairly similar though)
+ Good range of mission types
+ biiiiiiiiiiiig levels.
+ pretty graphics
+ good start/stop play system (but possibly not to everyones liking, I 
  found it easy to setup decent manouvers and see them happen in 
  "real-time" but when things go pear shaped it's quite a pain to get the 
  guys to do what you want!) 
+ easy to setup decent tactical manouvers and see them play out.
+ ok-ish character development, and easy to get attached to characters[1].

- dumbed down Geoscape (very little point to it, other than a pretty way 
  of passing time between missions tbh)
- unable to enter building :-(
- annoying view controls
- easy to get your troops to max out their stats
- Unable to rename troops[2]
- Pain in the arse troop management.
- No terror missions (although that is explained, what with pretty much
  everyone being dead /already/)
- No economy so no cash management (same reason as no terror missions)

Overall though, the game really is *fun* - the Pros do outweigh the Cons, 
by a significant margin. However it does remind me more 
of Abomination (if anyone remembers that[3]) more than UFO:EU with it's 
focus on the tactical missions across cityscapes[4] rather than the even 
split between strategic and combat missions.

I guess the question is if I will still be playing it in ten years time. 
I'm pretty sure that the answer is no, but for the next few months I'll be 
happy freeing the world of alien scum! :-D

- Malc

p.s. apologies for any spelling, gramatical or "just plain wrong" errors.

[1] And get unreasonably upset when they die, for example in the middle of 
a huge rampage  around a military base infested with laser toting aliens,
armed with a MP5 killing alien after alien just to die by the hand of a 
lowely grey because he got a lucky shot in whilst my guy was reloading in 
the middle of a firefight. Not that I'm bitter or anything. ;-)
[2] you can change their tactical "call sign" but they are still refered 
to by their unchangable name in various bits of the game :-(
[3] Does anyone know if that or Fallout Tactics is still for sale 
anywhere?
[4] I weep for being unable to enter buildings, but I can see it being a 
decent trade off for the city size and reducing the "bug-hunt" factor.
 

>
> + Lots of research
> + A Fair number of aliens
> + Large number of weapons (most of them fairly similar though)

most of the rifles have the same stats don't they? Except for bullet type in
some cases.

> + Good range of mission types
> + biiiiiiiiiiiig levels.
> + pretty graphics
> + good start/stop play system (but possibly not to everyones liking, I
>   found it easy to setup decent manouvers and see them happen in
>   "real-time" but when things go pear shaped it's quite a pain to get the
>   guys to do what you want!)

I keep forgetting to cancel orders when a damn alien bushwacks my little
squad so I can return fire. Waiting for them to all move to their assigned
spots can be a pain under fire. Sometime the pathfinding is odd,
specifically when opening doors in tight corridors, half the team try to
walk to the other side the long way, just to fit into the pre determined
pattern.

> + easy to setup decent tactical manouvers and see them play out.
> + ok-ish character development, and easy to get attached to characters[1].
>

Pity you can't have different squads assigned to different military bases

> - dumbed down Geoscape (very little point to it, other than a pretty way
>   of passing time between missions tbh)
> - unable to enter building :-(
> - annoying view controls

I agree, tilt should not zoom the it does.

> - easy to get your troops to max out their stats
> - Unable to rename troops[2]
> - Pain in the arse troop management.

I would like an easier way to swap weapons, instead of: put sniper rifle on
ground move uzi from backpack to hands, pick up sniper rifle. Should be able
to assign that to a button, like swap weapon or some such.

> - No terror missions (although that is explained, what with pretty much
>   everyone being dead /already/)
> - No economy so no cash management (same reason as no terror missions)
>
> Overall though, the game really is *fun* - the Pros do outweigh the Cons,
> by a significant margin. However it does remind me more
> of Abomination (if anyone remembers that[3]) more than UFO:EU with it's
> focus on the tactical missions across cityscapes[4] rather than the even
> split between strategic and combat missions.
>
> I guess the question is if I will still be playing it in ten years time.
> I'm pretty sure that the answer is no, but for the next few months I'll be
> happy freeing the world of alien scum! :-D
>
> - Malc


overall I feel the same way about the game at the minute. Still doesn't feel
as free as X-Com1+2 if you know what I mean, but not a bad game overall.

____     On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:35:46 +0100
\__/___  malc ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>There are a good number of reviws doing the rounds at the moment, so 
>I'm not going to add to 'em, however in the absence of anything 
>showing on here I thought I'd give my initial views on the game after a 
>few hours playing over the weekend:

How diverse are the missions?
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 05:03:30 +0800, Bateau <Gamera@work.stomping.aza>
wrote:

>____     On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:35:46 +0100
>\__/___  malc ran through the
> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>    / \
>>There are a good number of reviws doing the rounds at the moment, so 
>>I'm not going to add to 'em, however in the absence of anything 
>>showing on here I thought I'd give my initial views on the game after a 
>>few hours playing over the weekend:
>
>How diverse are the missions?
The actual objectives are (so far, at least) retrieve downed UFOs,
retreive landed UFOs, go to a location and retreive a specimen of an
alien, retreive a pilot after his plane gets shut down (after
attacking a UFO), retrieve an item, clear an area of all aliens, clear
out a military base (in 2 parts - get to the entrance, then enter the
base and clear it) and attack an alien base (similar to before).

I'm not that far into the game, though, and I'm sure there are more
mission types there, as well as other mult-part missions.

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Bateau wrote:

> ____     On Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:35:46 +0100
> \__/___  malc ran through the
>  LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>      |   waving an axe and screaming:
>     / \
> >There are a good number of reviws doing the rounds at the moment, so 
> >I'm not going to add to 'em, however in the absence of anything 
> >showing on here I thought I'd give my initial views on the game after a 
> >few hours playing over the weekend:
> 
> How diverse are the missions?
> 

There are a dozen different types of missions I've seen, the early ones 
tend to be things like "destroy an item", "recon an area" and "grab a live 
alien for research", they then move into the more traditional "kill all 
aliens in this area", "protect this base", "take over that base" and "deal 
with that downed UFO". There are also several "plot-missions" (I won't 
give away any details here) that advance your understanding of what is 
going on with Earth and the Aliens...
All this is across different types of landscape (as we have come to expect 
from this type of game) including woodlands, cities, polar regions, 
military bases and other such stuff.

However, with all these different types of missions most of them come into 
2 categories: "kill X aliens" or "see/collect X aliens/objects". I found 
that the gloss over the missions hid that though ;o)

Anyway, that's enough of me sounding like a sycophantic marketing guy ;o)
Hope it answered your question....

 - Malc 

On Mon, 6 Oct 2003, « Les » wrote:

> >
> > + Lots of research
> > + A Fair number of aliens
> > + Large number of weapons (most of them fairly similar though)
> 
> most of the rifles have the same stats don't they? Except for bullet type in
> some cases.

the majority of weapons are similar, however the (miniscule) difference in 
stats does make an awful lot of strategic importance when deciding on a 
weapon; especially when half a kg of weight may mean the difference 
between being able to carry enough ammo to finish the mission or having 
a weapon with enough range not to worry about being mowed down before 
you can let off your first shot...
That said, I have found a couple of weapons I liked that seem to work and 
kitted my troops out with them almost exclusivly.  

> 
> > + Good range of mission types
> > + biiiiiiiiiiiig levels.
> > + pretty graphics
> > + good start/stop play system (but possibly not to everyones liking, I
> >   found it easy to setup decent manouvers and see them happen in
> >   "real-time" but when things go pear shaped it's quite a pain to get the
> >   guys to do what you want!)
> 
> I keep forgetting to cancel orders when a damn alien bushwacks my little
> squad so I can return fire. Waiting for them to all move to their assigned
> spots can be a pain under fire. 

It does turn into a bit of a piss and panic when they ambush a group of 
peeps, most of my squad movement problems come down to the irritating zoom 
controls...  

> Sometime the pathfinding is odd,
> specifically when opening doors in tight corridors, half the team try to
> walk to the other side the long way, just to fit into the pre determined
> pattern.

It is a pain in the arse!
Especially in 2 squares wide coridors :o(

> 
> > + easy to setup decent tactical manouvers and see them play out.
> > + ok-ish character development, and easy to get attached to characters[1].
> >
> 
> Pity you can't have different squads assigned to different military bases
> 

Meh, bases seem to be a bit of a joke really - they don't add anything to 
progressing the game other than speeding up R&D and having more diverse 
scenery to play missions on.

> > - dumbed down Geoscape (very little point to it, other than a pretty way
> >   of passing time between missions tbh)
> > - unable to enter building :-(
> > - annoying view controls
> 
> I agree, tilt should not zoom the it does.
> 
> > - easy to get your troops to max out their stats
> > - Unable to rename troops[2]
> > - Pain in the arse troop management.
> 
> I would like an easier way to swap weapons, instead of: put sniper rifle on
> ground move uzi from backpack to hands, pick up sniper rifle. Should be able
> to assign that to a button, like swap weapon or some such.

Trying to work out if you are adding a command to a soldier's list of 
things-to-do or creating a new list has foiled me on many an occasion - 
especially when under pressure...

> 
> > - No terror missions (although that is explained, what with pretty much
> >   everyone being dead /already/)
> > - No economy so no cash management (same reason as no terror missions)
> >
> > Overall though, the game really is *fun* - the Pros do outweigh the Cons,
> > by a significant margin. However it does remind me more
> > of Abomination (if anyone remembers that[3]) more than UFO:EU with it's
> > focus on the tactical missions across cityscapes[4] rather than the even
> > split between strategic and combat missions.
> >
> > I guess the question is if I will still be playing it in ten years time.
> > I'm pretty sure that the answer is no, but for the next few months I'll be
> > happy freeing the world of alien scum! :-D
> >
> > - Malc
> 
> 
> overall I feel the same way about the game at the minute. Still doesn't feel
> as free as X-Com1+2 if you know what I mean, but not a bad game overall.
> 


- Malc

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
wrote:

>
>the majority of weapons are similar, however the (miniscule) difference in 
>stats does make an awful lot of strategic importance when deciding on a 
>weapon; especially when half a kg of weight may mean the difference 
>between being able to carry enough ammo to finish the mission or having 
>a weapon with enough range not to worry about being mowed down before 
>you can let off your first shot...
>That said, I have found a couple of weapons I liked that seem to work and 
>kitted my troops out with them almost exclusivly.  

When your guys are stronger, I like to carry a main weapon, and a
shoret-range heave damage weapon for when I raid space ships (you
generally fight close range in those).  THere's a gun called a
JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
only has a range of 6 metres or so.

I also like the flame thrower.

I keep meening to give someone a grenade launcher, but keep
forgetting...

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

____     On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:07:34 +0100
\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
 LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
     |   waving an axe and screaming:
    / \
>On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>When your guys are stronger, I like to carry a main weapon, and a
>shoret-range heave damage weapon for when I raid space ships (you
>generally fight close range in those).  THere's a gun called a
>JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
>only has a range of 6 metres or so.
>
>I also like the flame thrower.
>
>I keep meening to give someone a grenade launcher, but keep
>forgetting...

Automatic shotguns and flamethrowers and grenade launchers? Cool.
-- 
|    _             .\ ~~   _       ^~
|   <')_,/    ,  ;  .\   >(')__,  . ` '  ,
|   (_~=/   \._`.'.  .\   (_~_/         _,      _..-''-._,____,----,____
|    ='-     \=~_) ;  .\ ~^~~^~   ` (_~_/        `'--'`  `~~~~)_)=\_\-.(
|             -'=      .\    ~^~    ~^~~^~
ICQ:11367619 EMAIL:bateau:-)jupiter-io.net WEB:http://tyrian2000.cjb.net

On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 14:39:20 +0800, in alt.games.x-com you wrote:

>____     On Tue, 07 Oct 2003 07:07:34 +0100
>\__/___  Mark Morrison ran through the
> LI-\o-' streets of alt.games.x-com
>     |   waving an axe and screaming:
>    / \
>>On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
>>wrote:
>>
>>When your guys are stronger, I like to carry a main weapon, and a
>>shoret-range heave damage weapon for when I raid space ships (you
>>generally fight close range in those).  THere's a gun called a
>>JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
>>only has a range of 6 metres or so.
>>
>>I also like the flame thrower.
>>
>>I keep meening to give someone a grenade launcher, but keep
>>forgetting...
>
>Automatic shotguns and flamethrowers and grenade launchers? Cool.

hmm last 2 days i played like 24 hrs of ufo im like at the end witht
he last  research option tofind the alien motherland:P

anyways this is when the battlefield with its real time battles  is
retarded and ruthlessly hard even for me on normal difficulty.

at this point when u enter any mission for a downed ufo or a ufo base
5 aliens with green bio armors on and using  rocket launchers or midn
control projectors or other things will surround ur guys and blast at
u or control ur guys its so hard u cant make it past the beginning now
for me and their bio armor makes it so it takes like 20 shots of a
plasma cannon to kill them and it onylt akes like 4 shots for them to
kill me or worst yet jsut zap my easy toc ontrol guys with amind
control device and my squad of 7 is toast.

another hard part are now my bases ar ebeing attacked all over and i
cant defend any of them ebcuz the aliens always come together at one
mass tain and my 7 guys are scattered all over the base and  usually
one or two guys find the whole mass of invading aliens.
even worst if u get all ur guys together all these aliens do is blast
their missile launchers at me and since this is real time most  medium
to short distances ur troops wont make it alive from the blasts. and
the aliens dont care if they die blasting u becuz they got unlimited
troops to send again tomorrow
but as the humans u only get 1 new squaddies every like 5-10 days
ingame which takes a while so u dont got that many guys to scarifice.
worst yet their 2nd fave weapon on invading base missions is using the
psi control devices and my own troops get controlled and theres nod
efense for it, the effects wear off after a while but still it sucks.


my stragety now is to play this game on easy mode to give me time to
develop  bio armor and the best weapons for my guys and stock up on
alien medi kits productions.

also this way i think i might try a specizlized squad where its 5
soldiers and 2  full time doctors or 4 soldiers and 3 full time
doctors with best medical skills  attributes with a whole backpack
load of medical kits.
that way my elite soldiers troops can run ahead with a rocket launcher
blast a alien get mind controlled or what not or not and run back to
my medics and get healed up and repeat. i think thats about the only
way now for me to win this game hehe

overall i find their real time battlefields to be the suxxorz becuz
trees and hills or bushes doesnt block bullets and its all a crazy hit
or miss randomness to bullets and blasts being fired from alien to
humans. If they had went turned based this game woulda been so much
funner and better so i can get time to see the feects on all the
numerous weapons the game has out there.

Also the bases are just lame and no money management is disappointing.
if i was a game critic i would give this game a 70% overall it  at
least has a great research and items.

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> wrote:
> 
> >
> >the majority of weapons are similar, however the (miniscule) difference in 
> >stats does make an awful lot of strategic importance when deciding on a 
> >weapon; especially when half a kg of weight may mean the difference 
> >between being able to carry enough ammo to finish the mission or having 
> >a weapon with enough range not to worry about being mowed down before 
> >you can let off your first shot...
> >That said, I have found a couple of weapons I liked that seem to work and 
> >kitted my troops out with them almost exclusivly.  
> 
> When your guys are stronger, I like to carry a main weapon, and a
> shoret-range heave damage weapon for when I raid space ships (you
> generally fight close range in those).

I've been stung with only having Grenade Launchers, rifles, and rocket 
launchers in the middle of a small enemy craft... suffice to say that not 
many of my guys survived! I've altered my tactics since then... shotguns 
and mini-machine guns all the way!

>  THere's a gun called a
> JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
> only has a range of 6 metres or so.

I've not found that to be too useful yet - I may give it another go 
though!

> 
> I also like the flame thrower.

I've only managed to use that sucessfully once - the range on it is 
dire... but brilliant for rounding a corner just to bump into 2 heavily 
armed greys ;o)

> 
> I keep meening to give someone a grenade launcher, but keep
> forgetting...
> 

I've been using them for a few missions now, not sure if they are better 
or worse than the RPGs/other rocket launcher...
They don't seem to be helping in my present missions :-( But that might be 
because I'm sending my guys out on glory-runs![1]

- Malc
 
[1] often loosing said glory-runner as soon as he strays more than a few 
feet from the secured area where there rest of the team are!

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:23:49 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
wrote:

>On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>> 
<snip>
>
>>  THere's a gun called a
>> JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
>> only has a range of 6 metres or so.
>
>I've not found that to be too useful yet - I may give it another go 
>though!
>
On an alien ship mission, it was all tight corners and short
corridors, so I gave my No 2 soldier (Scully) a Jackhammer, and sent
her out alone.  She turned a corner and came face to face with a grey.
I switched the weapon mode to burst, and shot him nice.  

He exploded and died instantly.

Now, these are the same guys who can take a round of fire from 3 alien
rifles, a sniper rifle, 2 other rifles and a laser pistol, and only be
knocked out...

-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:23:49 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> wrote:
> 
> >On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
> >
> >> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> >> wrote:
> >> 
> <snip>
> >
> >>  THere's a gun called a
> >> JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
> >> only has a range of 6 metres or so.
> >
> >I've not found that to be too useful yet - I may give it another go 
> >though!
> >
> On an alien ship mission, it was all tight corners and short
> corridors, so I gave my No 2 soldier (Scully) a Jackhammer, and sent
> her out alone.  She turned a corner and came face to face with a grey.
> I switched the weapon mode to burst, and shot him nice.  
> 
> He exploded and died instantly.
> 
> Now, these are the same guys who can take a round of fire from 3 alien
> rifles, a sniper rifle, 2 other rifles and a laser pistol, and only be
> knocked out...
> 

Impressive :o)
I do find it odd that the human weaponry (so far) seems more powerful that 
the Alien stuff... however I'm sure that'll change soon - afterall, I'm 
only (stuck) on the second plot-mission. 

- Malc

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:01:02 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
wrote:

>On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 11:23:49 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> >On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 00:35:31 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
>> >> wrote:
>> >> 
>> <snip>
>> >
>> >>  THere's a gun called a
>> >> JAckhammer (IIRC) which does something like 1440 dmagae on burst, but
>> >> only has a range of 6 metres or so.
>> >
>> >I've not found that to be too useful yet - I may give it another go 
>> >though!
>> >
>> On an alien ship mission, it was all tight corners and short
>> corridors, so I gave my No 2 soldier (Scully) a Jackhammer, and sent
>> her out alone.  She turned a corner and came face to face with a grey.
>> I switched the weapon mode to burst, and shot him nice.  
>> 
>> He exploded and died instantly.
>> 
>> Now, these are the same guys who can take a round of fire from 3 alien
>> rifles, a sniper rifle, 2 other rifles and a laser pistol, and only be
>> knocked out...
>> 
>
>Impressive :o)
>I do find it odd that the human weaponry (so far) seems more powerful that 
>the Alien stuff... however I'm sure that'll change soon - afterall, I'm 
>only (stuck) on the second plot-mission. 
>
>- Malc

I'm actually stcuk on that now.

As soon as my guys appear, 3 greys appear.  I can kill 2, but the 3rd
is armed with a sort of incendiary grenade launcher...


-- 

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes !
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses !
And what's with all the carrots ?  
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway ?
Bunnies !  Bunnies !  It must be BUNNIES !

On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:

> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:01:02 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> wrote:
> 
> >
> >Impressive :o)
> >I do find it odd that the human weaponry (so far) seems more powerful that 
> >the Alien stuff... however I'm sure that'll change soon - afterall, I'm 
> >only (stuck) on the second plot-mission. 
> >
> >- Malc
> 
> I'm actually stcuk on that now.
> 
> As soon as my guys appear, 3 greys appear.  I can kill 2, but the 3rd
> is armed with a sort of incendiary grenade launcher...
> 
> 

I've given up on it that mission for now, presently stuck on a base 
defense that is just as hard thanks to them damn psi-controlling guys and 
their pesky incendary death-from-afar launchers[1] :o(

- Malc

[1] Note that there does appear to be at trick to taking these guys out... 

"malc" <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.50.0310082111330.2103-100000@localhost...
> On Tue, 7 Oct 2003, Mark Morrison wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 7 Oct 2003 16:01:02 +0100, malc <malc@NOSPAM.gothcorp.co.uk>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >Impressive :o)
> > >I do find it odd that the human weaponry (so far) seems more powerful
that
> > >the Alien stuff... however I'm sure that'll change soon - afterall, I'm
> > >only (stuck) on the second plot-mission.
> > >

Hmm, same here, I have several alien weapons, laser guns, plasma rifles etc,
and the human weapons I have seem far better...

Used the first stuff that came to hand, Colt M4 - ?, and moved on through
HK636, HK611K5 etc

The Neostead has to be the best short range weapon available.... I tried
clearing a big alien ship using LMG's and got gutted. retried with entire
squad using Neostead's on entry... and got shot up... but shot them up far
better..

No deaths. 3 out of 7 of the squad were wounded though.. but at least they
weren't dead!

Anybody tried using those alien plasma guns? the very heavy ones? Seem
useless to me.

Dave

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Sloth wrote:

> 
> 
> Hmm, same here, I have several alien weapons, laser guns, plasma rifles etc,
> and the human weapons I have seem far better...
> 
> Used the first stuff that came to hand, Colt M4 - ?, and moved on through
> HK636, HK611K5 etc
> 
> The Neostead has to be the best short range weapon available.... I tried
> clearing a big alien ship using LMG's and got gutted. retried with entire
> squad using Neostead's on entry... and got shot up... but shot them up far
> better..

The HK CAW or flamethrower are my close range weapon of choice; though I 
do really like the power that the MP7 puts out (but only when the guy 
using it has Heroic or above handgun skills!).

> 
> No deaths. 3 out of 7 of the squad were wounded though.. but at least they
> weren't dead!

I can't stand them thur ship invasions - I have yet to get out of that 
central room in a mission...

> 
> Anybody tried using those alien plasma guns? the very heavy ones? Seem
> useless to me.

agreed, they don't seem to be quite as effective against the aliens as 
they are against my guys!
I've yet to find a Psi weapon that is worth carrying, has anyone else had 
any good results with Psi?

> 
> Dave
> 
> 
>