1.5 playthrough questions and observations
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2017 9:57 pm
I haven't done a playthrough since 1.2
Also changelogs are not for me, so if any of this was already dealt with there, sorry.
Going to play on commander, but not ironman, even though i really want to, because i am a klutz and there is no way to take back that click where you accidentally hit " Overwatch all" when half your troops are in the open and have not done anything.
First observations:
1) red fog not affecting alien aim to the extent i thought it would. I have it on quadratic. The alien officer had 6 or 7 health to begin with, I took him down to 1 point, and yet he still had 34% aiming up at me on a roof in half cover. Nearly killed my gunner.
2) ̶)̶ ̶M̶o̶v̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶o̶b̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶k̶e̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶.̶ ̶W̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶f̶l̶a̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶a̶n̶c̶e̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶m̶o̶v̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶1̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶N̶C̶E̶,̶ ̶I̶M̶O̶.̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶l̶b̶o̶x̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶l̶e̶g̶i̶t̶ ̶(̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶f̶f̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶)̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶N̶C̶E̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶i̶s̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶1̶.̶5̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶1̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶.̶5̶.̶.̶.̶.̶.̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶.̶5̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶s̶?̶
̶3̶)̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶r̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶s̶?̶ ̶R̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶?̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶l̶s̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶s̶.̶ ̶E̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶1̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶.̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶i̶t̶i̶g̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶?̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶.̶i̶n̶i̶?̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶?̶
̶4̶)̶S̶o̶l̶d̶i̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶n̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶j̶u̶r̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶I̶n̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶w̶o̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶1̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶o̶r̶.̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶g̶?̶
̶
̶5̶)̶ ̶B̶u̶g̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶o̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶p̶i̶c̶k̶u̶p̶ ̶z̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶t̶.̶ ̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶n̶.̶.̶.̶i̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶ ̶D̶O̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶a̶c̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶m̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶
6) ̶G̶r̶a̶z̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶.̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶w̶a̶r̶d̶s̶?̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶l̶i̶d̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶i̶d̶e̶a̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶s̶.̶
7) So, okay the timers. The timers seem to have been lengthened somewhat from when i last played (v1.2), but the reinforcement schedule makes the timer length a lie. Any way to tone down the reinforcement thing? I just played a mission, in the first few weeks, where the map was enormous. There were 25 turns allowed on timer, but once i got to near my objective (rescue prisoners), the reinforcements started coming, and coming and....if i had been in an ironman game, I would have lost then and there. There were still 11 turns left on timer. Big fat lot of good it did me.
8) Are aliens better and tracking sound now? I have been experiencing every alien on the map come running at me, in multiple missions, after a fight starts. I mean i know this is a signature move, but ...they seem a little too good at it.
9) If indeed aliens track sounds ..like smashing glass...then the independent movement of the specialist gremlins is an issue. On maps where we start revealed, gremlins can go crashing through windows with abandon, even though the specialist was careful to not make any commotion.
10) Spikey difficulty. So for a while now the aliens have been getting stronger as you would expect. I have predator armor and lasers ( on half my troops anyways), but then all of a sudden it seems, the aliens have been getting huge buffs of HP, armor, advanced weapons ( plasma grenades with huge radius, rockets, and incendiaries), lots of snakes and Mindcontrolling sectoids with 10 hp?
Every mission i have been given that allows me to counter a DE, i take it, and have won them all, but the DE's are rapidly accumulating nonetheless.
11) A suggestion for any of you modders out there: make a meta-mod that provides a GUI for all the adjustable .ini files, with full translations of what they do, exactly. Make sliders or something, that allow us to fine-tune every tunable element. Please?
12) Again...spikey difficulty!! Holy smokes. I am still piddling around in predator armor/lasers with a couple mag weapons mixed in, but the aliens have CRAZY HP!! I am fighting Archons and Officers and Berserkers with so much HP that it requires over 7 shots to kill them!! If you look at xwynns playthrough ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... TccjbZP_9n ), it relies on being able to pull only a couple pods, then locking down and killing them methodically. Now, it is just not possible to kill even one pod without them getting many opportunities to kill my squad, my squishy squishy squad. And as i noted in (8) above, sound seems to pull all the pods very effectively anyway, so forget 1 or 2 pods....which leads to
13) Locking down: red fog and disorientation do not seem to work as well in managing the enemies. They seem to still be able to all-too reliably slaughter my squadies.
14) Stealth is dead? Most missions where i would like to stealth in a bit closer to objectives, there is always always always a drone monitoring the approach. Every approach. Either drone or patrol.
15) "protect the convoy" missions are really a trap? Had those big beefy acid throwing super mutons and greater archons with support staff just popping in out of nowhere, fighting my troops with mag/laser weapons, and my poor resistance fighters who, in a group of 5, would be very very lucky if they could take a greater archon to half health before being slaughtered.
Will keep updating as things occur.
Also changelogs are not for me, so if any of this was already dealt with there, sorry.
Going to play on commander, but not ironman, even though i really want to, because i am a klutz and there is no way to take back that click where you accidentally hit " Overwatch all" when half your troops are in the open and have not done anything.
First observations:
1) red fog not affecting alien aim to the extent i thought it would. I have it on quadratic. The alien officer had 6 or 7 health to begin with, I took him down to 1 point, and yet he still had 34% aiming up at me on a roof in half cover. Nearly killed my gunner.
2) ̶)̶ ̶M̶o̶v̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶o̶b̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶l̶y̶ ̶k̶e̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶.̶ ̶W̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶f̶l̶a̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶a̶n̶c̶e̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶m̶o̶v̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶1̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶N̶C̶E̶,̶ ̶I̶M̶O̶.̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶l̶b̶o̶x̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶l̶e̶g̶i̶t̶ ̶(̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶ ̶a̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶f̶f̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶)̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶i̶g̶h̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶N̶C̶E̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶i̶s̶t̶i̶c̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶1̶.̶5̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶1̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶.̶5̶.̶.̶.̶.̶.̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶.̶5̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶s̶?̶
̶3̶)̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶r̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶s̶?̶ ̶R̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶?̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶l̶s̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶4̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶s̶.̶ ̶E̶v̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶n̶ ̶i̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶1̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶.̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶i̶t̶i̶g̶a̶t̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶?̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶.̶i̶n̶i̶?̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶?̶
̶4̶)̶S̶o̶l̶d̶i̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶n̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶j̶u̶r̶e̶d̶.̶ ̶I̶n̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶w̶o̶r̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶1̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶r̶m̶o̶r̶.̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶g̶?̶
̶
̶5̶)̶ ̶B̶u̶g̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶o̶p̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶p̶i̶c̶k̶u̶p̶ ̶z̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶i̶ ̶w̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶t̶.̶ ̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶n̶.̶.̶.̶i̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶u̶r̶n̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶ ̶D̶O̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶a̶c̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶m̶o̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶,̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶u̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶
6) ̶G̶r̶a̶z̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶.̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶w̶a̶r̶d̶s̶?̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶l̶i̶d̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶i̶d̶e̶a̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶s̶.̶
7) So, okay the timers. The timers seem to have been lengthened somewhat from when i last played (v1.2), but the reinforcement schedule makes the timer length a lie. Any way to tone down the reinforcement thing? I just played a mission, in the first few weeks, where the map was enormous. There were 25 turns allowed on timer, but once i got to near my objective (rescue prisoners), the reinforcements started coming, and coming and....if i had been in an ironman game, I would have lost then and there. There were still 11 turns left on timer. Big fat lot of good it did me.
8) Are aliens better and tracking sound now? I have been experiencing every alien on the map come running at me, in multiple missions, after a fight starts. I mean i know this is a signature move, but ...they seem a little too good at it.
9) If indeed aliens track sounds ..like smashing glass...then the independent movement of the specialist gremlins is an issue. On maps where we start revealed, gremlins can go crashing through windows with abandon, even though the specialist was careful to not make any commotion.
10) Spikey difficulty. So for a while now the aliens have been getting stronger as you would expect. I have predator armor and lasers ( on half my troops anyways), but then all of a sudden it seems, the aliens have been getting huge buffs of HP, armor, advanced weapons ( plasma grenades with huge radius, rockets, and incendiaries), lots of snakes and Mindcontrolling sectoids with 10 hp?
Every mission i have been given that allows me to counter a DE, i take it, and have won them all, but the DE's are rapidly accumulating nonetheless.
11) A suggestion for any of you modders out there: make a meta-mod that provides a GUI for all the adjustable .ini files, with full translations of what they do, exactly. Make sliders or something, that allow us to fine-tune every tunable element. Please?
12) Again...spikey difficulty!! Holy smokes. I am still piddling around in predator armor/lasers with a couple mag weapons mixed in, but the aliens have CRAZY HP!! I am fighting Archons and Officers and Berserkers with so much HP that it requires over 7 shots to kill them!! If you look at xwynns playthrough ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... TccjbZP_9n ), it relies on being able to pull only a couple pods, then locking down and killing them methodically. Now, it is just not possible to kill even one pod without them getting many opportunities to kill my squad, my squishy squishy squad. And as i noted in (8) above, sound seems to pull all the pods very effectively anyway, so forget 1 or 2 pods....which leads to
13) Locking down: red fog and disorientation do not seem to work as well in managing the enemies. They seem to still be able to all-too reliably slaughter my squadies.
14) Stealth is dead? Most missions where i would like to stealth in a bit closer to objectives, there is always always always a drone monitoring the approach. Every approach. Either drone or patrol.
15) "protect the convoy" missions are really a trap? Had those big beefy acid throwing super mutons and greater archons with support staff just popping in out of nowhere, fighting my troops with mag/laser weapons, and my poor resistance fighters who, in a group of 5, would be very very lucky if they could take a greater archon to half health before being slaughtered.
Will keep updating as things occur.