I never liked 2. The levels were too big and dark, the enemies were too tough, and the weapons weren't good enough. When a lucky lobsterman can take a dozen heavy sonic hits[1] without a scratch, that's a problem - and there wasn't ever just one lobsterman. Just one would have been an interesting challenge.
And don't get me started on the two-part missions where you lose the booty from the first part, or the perfect trap missions, or your inability to fly in terror missions, or the weakness of the MagIon armor....
(And the bugs. The bugs! Get stuck in a research trap! Research a medic and lose a critical technology (like Aqua Plastics) permanently! And some games you just won't *ever* see a deep one!)
XCom 1 was great (I still play it regularly) but it was too easy. 2 just went *way* too far in the opposite direction. I still play it once in a while, but I cheat.
[1]: Or, worse, sonic grenades or *direct disruptor pulse cannon hits*
Secret #1: Run for laser rifles. Research Laser weapons, laser pistols (start building pistols), laser rifles (stop building pistols, start building rifles. Stop when you need to manufacture something else, but only then. Laser rifles is profitable, yo!)
Once you have laser rifles, give *everyone* a laser rifle and stop worrying about going around corners - blast them apart. Shoot through walls. Shoot through floors. If you think there's an alien behind that wall, stack up a pair of troopers and start the first one full-autoing the wall until you see it, then switch to the second guy who's been saving his shots for the target.
Laser rifles are *great*.
Eventually, you'll replace Laser Rifles with Heavy Plasmas. Until then, though, use laser rifles (and stun rods) for everything.
Secret #2: Psychics make *everything* better. The first time there's a "Large" or bigger Sectoid ship, shoot it down (it's a Terror Ship, guaranteed, early in the game) and rush it. Use nonlethal methods on every Sectoid on the second floor of the ship. Sacrifice 9/10 of your team if you have to, but *take the leader alive*.
Stop researching whatever you're working on and research the leader. Then research psi-labs, and build at least three. And fill them with troopers. As many troopers as possible. Then research psi-amps, and build four.
Unless you're short on cash, avoid the aliens during the month it takes you to get your psychics online. Shoot them down (plasma cannons = THE BEST SHIP GUNS IN THE GAME! AND INFINITE AMMO!) but don't bother following up. In fact, try not to engage *any* aliens during the month, but obviously you can't let a Terror mission go off without a hitch.
Before the end of the month, hire a pile of spare troopers. You'll need them for the next part. Once you get your psychic reports, make a note of the strengths. Remove from training any person with less than a 70 Psi-Strength, and put in a new unknown. FIRE any person with less than a 50 psi-strength - they're just bait for enemy mind-control. Repeat this every month for the rest of the game.
Pick your top 4 strengths - strengths of at least 90 - and mark them, too. Give them a different outfit (blue suits if everyone else has power armor, no armor if everyone else has blue suits, etc) and bring them along on every mission. Give them the psi-amps.
Every time any person sees an alien, all four of your psychics should try to Mind Control it *before* anyone makes another move. You'll fail a lot, at first - this is okay. Before long, you'll start succeeding every time, because every failure trains the skill.
Mutons are a particularly good alien to practice on. They're weak against psychics.
When you mind control an alien, open it's inventory. Have it drop it's gun, ammo, and any grenades. Then use it to scout for you and open doors and all that stuff. Aliens are expendable - mind control them *every round* and keep a layer of friendly meat shield between the uncontrolled aliens and your troops. Also, you can then have them walk right up to your allies for stunning or target practice, if the aliens have a job that interests you. NEVER, EVER, EVER TAKE A MEDIC ALIVE. Or, rather, never, ever research a Medic. And the best way to ensure they don't show in your list is to kill them for the free skill points.
Researching a Medic gives you a free other item of biological research - research a Sectoid Medic and you might learn about a live Reaper or a dead Ethereal. Cool, right?
Well, kinda. Cool, yes, but *if that alien research that you got for free gave a technology, you do not get it*.
And, worse, since that alien is now "already researched", you can NEVER get that technology.
Researching medics is a good way to get yourself into a hole where you can't finish the game because you simply cannot get a necessary technology. The same bug exists in 2, and it's worse there because more aliens produce necessary techs.
(Aqua Plastics requires a dead Deep One. A live Deep One won't do, and you very well might never see a fucking Deep One at all. And, unlike X-Com 3, researching a live alien does not *give you* a dead alien automatically.)
I once swam with a bunch in chest deep water off of St Thomas.
It was incredibly cool, but there's just no getting used to them, they are totally alien beings.
Or as the guide put it "If you're wondering where the rays are... just listen for the shrieking and then look for the person trying to levitate straight out of the water, go towards that person and you'll find the rays".
There are some small ones like that in our local aquarium. They are pettable and so so friendly. They swim around in circles and bump their noses on your hand so you'll stroke them gently. One liked me so he/she decided to turn around, swim against the current, and pass by again for more pets. :)
I wouldn't really want to be in the water just then since it'd be too easy to panic them or hit the sensitive ends of their wings and make them flip out, but they are very cute animals, IMO.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 03:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 03:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 07:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 03:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 04:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 04:54 pm (UTC)-- Steve much preferred the original in that series, for purely nostalgic reasons.
PS: that's an amazing photo.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:00 pm (UTC)I loved those games. Shame about the third one.
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/60/X-Com+2+-+Terror+From+The+Deep.html
The original is up there as well. They're so old now, that they count as abandonware. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:49 pm (UTC)And don't get me started on the two-part missions where you lose the booty from the first part, or the perfect trap missions, or your inability to fly in terror missions, or the weakness of the MagIon armor....
(And the bugs. The bugs! Get stuck in a research trap! Research a medic and lose a critical technology (like Aqua Plastics) permanently! And some games you just won't *ever* see a deep one!)
XCom 1 was great (I still play it regularly) but it was too easy. 2 just went *way* too far in the opposite direction. I still play it once in a while, but I cheat.
[1]: Or, worse, sonic grenades or *direct disruptor pulse cannon hits*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 06:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 06:25 pm (UTC)Secret #1: Run for laser rifles. Research Laser weapons, laser pistols (start building pistols), laser rifles (stop building pistols, start building rifles. Stop when you need to manufacture something else, but only then. Laser rifles is profitable, yo!)
Once you have laser rifles, give *everyone* a laser rifle and stop worrying about going around corners - blast them apart. Shoot through walls. Shoot through floors. If you think there's an alien behind that wall, stack up a pair of troopers and start the first one full-autoing the wall until you see it, then switch to the second guy who's been saving his shots for the target.
Laser rifles are *great*.
Eventually, you'll replace Laser Rifles with Heavy Plasmas. Until then, though, use laser rifles (and stun rods) for everything.
Secret #2: Psychics make *everything* better. The first time there's a "Large" or bigger Sectoid ship, shoot it down (it's a Terror Ship, guaranteed, early in the game) and rush it. Use nonlethal methods on every Sectoid on the second floor of the ship. Sacrifice 9/10 of your team if you have to, but *take the leader alive*.
Stop researching whatever you're working on and research the leader.
Then research psi-labs, and build at least three. And fill them with troopers. As many troopers as possible.
Then research psi-amps, and build four.
Unless you're short on cash, avoid the aliens during the month it takes you to get your psychics online. Shoot them down (plasma cannons = THE BEST SHIP GUNS IN THE GAME! AND INFINITE AMMO!) but don't bother following up. In fact, try not to engage *any* aliens during the month, but obviously you can't let a Terror mission go off without a hitch.
Before the end of the month, hire a pile of spare troopers. You'll need them for the next part.
Once you get your psychic reports, make a note of the strengths. Remove from training any person with less than a 70 Psi-Strength, and put in a new unknown. FIRE any person with less than a 50 psi-strength - they're just bait for enemy mind-control. Repeat this every month for the rest of the game.
Pick your top 4 strengths - strengths of at least 90 - and mark them, too. Give them a different outfit (blue suits if everyone else has power armor, no armor if everyone else has blue suits, etc) and bring them along on every mission. Give them the psi-amps.
Every time any person sees an alien, all four of your psychics should try to Mind Control it *before* anyone makes another move. You'll fail a lot, at first - this is okay. Before long, you'll start succeeding every time, because every failure trains the skill.
Mutons are a particularly good alien to practice on. They're weak against psychics.
When you mind control an alien, open it's inventory. Have it drop it's gun, ammo, and any grenades. Then use it to scout for you and open doors and all that stuff. Aliens are expendable - mind control them *every round* and keep a layer of friendly meat shield between the uncontrolled aliens and your troops. Also, you can then have them walk right up to your allies for stunning or target practice, if the aliens have a job that interests you. NEVER, EVER, EVER TAKE A MEDIC ALIVE. Or, rather, never, ever research a Medic. And the best way to ensure they don't show in your list is to kill them for the free skill points.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 11:50 pm (UTC)Why shouldn't you take medics alive/research them?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-17 01:34 am (UTC)Researching a Medic gives you a free other item of biological research - research a Sectoid Medic and you might learn about a live Reaper or a dead Ethereal. Cool, right?
Well, kinda. Cool, yes, but *if that alien research that you got for free gave a technology, you do not get it*.
And, worse, since that alien is now "already researched", you can NEVER get that technology.
Researching medics is a good way to get yourself into a hole where you can't finish the game because you simply cannot get a necessary technology. The same bug exists in 2, and it's worse there because more aliens produce necessary techs.
(Aqua Plastics requires a dead Deep One. A live Deep One won't do, and you very well might never see a fucking Deep One at all. And, unlike X-Com 3, researching a live alien does not *give you* a dead alien automatically.)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:29 pm (UTC)I know they incite fear in others, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 10:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 03:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 03:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 04:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 04:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:19 pm (UTC)this is an AMAZING picture! :)
and the rest of your journal is very interesting as well.
mind if i add you?
:)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 05:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 09:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-17 12:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 09:14 pm (UTC)It was incredibly cool, but there's just no getting used to them, they are totally alien beings.
Or as the guide put it "If you're wondering where the rays are... just listen for the shrieking and then look for the person trying to levitate straight out of the water, go towards that person and you'll find the rays".
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-16 09:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-17 12:20 am (UTC)awwww....
Date: 2008-06-17 12:53 am (UTC)There are some small ones like that in our local aquarium.
They are pettable and so so friendly. They swim around in circles and bump their noses on your hand so you'll stroke them gently. One liked me so he/she decided to turn around, swim against the current, and pass by again for more pets. :)
I wouldn't really want to be in the water just then since it'd be too easy to panic them or hit the sensitive ends of their wings and make them flip out, but they are very cute animals, IMO.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-17 07:03 am (UTC)