XCOM: Enemy Unknown

[fragger]

We had a topic for this game on the old site but don't seem to have one here, so I thought I'd start one - even though as far as I am aware, only Art and I have ever played it...

In the Main Menu there is an option called "Second Wave", and if you click on it, a list of four optional rules will appear. These can only be selected when starting a new game and cannot be changed once the game is under way (additional optional rules are unlocked whenever a player completes a game on Normal, Classic or Impossible difficulty levels for the first time. Each difficulty level has its own new set of 4 optional rules to add to the initial ones, so if you complete at least one game on each of the four difficulty settings, you will have a list of 16 optional rules to choose from).

Of the original four optionals, I'm trying out the "Not Created Equally" rule. This randomizes all Rookie stats at the start of the game.

----------
Normally, all Rookies have the same starting stats:

Will: 40
Aim: 65

Then, when a Rookie receives his/her first promotion and is randomly assigned to one of the four Troop Classes, their Rookie stats are replaced by new randomized stats.

Instead, what "Not Created Equally" (let's call it the "NCE rule") does is replace the fixed, initial Rookie stats with random ones, so that Rookie stats become:

Will: Between 25 and 59
Aim: Between 50 and 80

And instead of replacing a Rookie's stats with new ones upon that Rookie's first promotion, the new randomized Rookie stats are transferred to whatever Class the Rookie gets assigned to (along with any gains they may have made while still a Rookie).
----------

The NCE rule has a further effect - it randomizes each soldier's movement radius, so it's possible for soldiers in the same class to run different distances. This randomized movement radius is not randomized each turn. So if upon creation a Rookie gets a movement allowance of 7 per action, it will stay at 7 for that soldier throughout the game. Someone else might get 6, someone else might get 9, etc, but the allowances are permanent for each trooper.

So you can see that this rule can result in soldiers being created both below and above average, since the range of randomness goes both below as well as above the standard stats. So you can end up with quite a range of soldierly proficiency.

But it also results in a more interesting game. The troops seem more like individuals, since they are all different at the start and they retain their starting stats into whatever class they get assigned to. So there's a sense that you're bringing your soldiers up from rookiehood, not just from when they get classed.

And using the workaround of "save right before the last shot of a mission and reload if a Rookie doesn't get assigned to the class you want", it's possible to spot which Rookie will make a good future Sniper or which would make a good future Assault Trooper and begin skilling them up accordingly from the beginning - no more "Class lottery". I'm currently a ways into a game using the NCE rule and I now have among my squad a Sniper Colonel with an Aim stat of 115 (125 with a dedicated scope), two sharp-eyed Heavy Majors with Aim stats of 96 and 92 and an Assault Colonel who can run a country mile

[Art Blade]

we are still the only ones who have ever played it. It was the headline of an article I read about someone called Zemalf who won a game called XCOM on impossible ironman difficulty without losing a country that peaked my interest. I then watched his playthrough on YouTube and that got me hooked. I bought the game and started playing and posting here at OWG. And then I "convinced" you to play it, too.. again my fault to get you hooked to yet another game And funny you should mention XCOM right now because I have literally right now been watching the old playthrough on YouTube again, done that the last couple of days. And I too have been considering playing it again. Funny coincidence However, I'm currently busy playing an extension (DLC) for the Witcher 3 and there's still new stuff for Hitman 2 coming up every couple of days or weeks which I'm also playing.. so I will have to finish the Witcher first to make some room (or time) before picking up another oldie but goldie like XCOM. For that game, I got two versions but as good as the stuff for Enemy Within is, as annoying is the bloody limited turns (or time limit of sorts) for almost every mission thanks to the stupid "meld" currency needed for the enhanced upgrades. I don't like that one bit, time limits, so when I pick up XCOM again, I'll deffo play the old classic version. Less good stuff but at least the freedom of unlimited turns per mission.

I remember the NCE rule but never used it. I also remember that there's something (likely it's the very same NCE rule) that shuffles class abilities across classes. Like, get a sniper with three grenade slots or close quarters combat reaction shots.. some "new" abilities may prove useful, others not so much.

Cool stuff, fragger, those heavies usually compete with moles regarding eye-sight so you've got an excellent team now Keep 'em alive! Use the save-game option to make sure they survive. I mean, in this game it really makes a difference if a squad member croaks. It hurts. I still remember my very first attempt at this game and I didn't pay attention to first getting satellites at all costs. It resulted in an unwinnable career and I had to give up. That also meant giving up on a sniper whom I really, really liked. He had so great stats (117 sight without scope) and it really hurts until today having had to abandon him. Unfortunately I don't know how to duplicate stats if that's possible at all so the unique units you get will always be individuals and losing any of them for whatever reason hurts. Which is what makes the game great and which is why I wouldn't want to "enjoy" the super-hard difficulties that rid you of savegames. Permanent loss isn't my cup of tea in any game. So.. let's keep 'em alive

[Dweller_Benthos]

A friend of mine plays/has played this game and several others like it. Right now he's beta testing Phoenix Point, I think it's called? He goes on and on about how he doesn't like this or that feature or how something is bugged. I guess they are looking for a release late this year or early next. Anyway, I've watched him play these types of games and knew right away they aren't for me, I don't have that kind of focus or patience, much like how I think it would go if I played Hitman.

[Art Blade]

in a way, you can actually compare XCOM to Hitman. You need patience and planning-ahead and none of the people I know who don't play any of those got that kind of patience.

Which from a logical point of view makes fragger a potential Hitman player.. wouldn't be the first game he followed my lead

[fragger]

Actually Art, I tried Hitman some years ago and it didn't grab me. Can't say why exactly, just didn't appeal to me for some reason.

I've still got the Hitman disk around here somewhere, it was a store-bought copy.

Cheers for the feedback on XCOM, guys I agree Art, I wasn't crazy about the Enemy Within expansion either and gave up on it. I only play the original now, with an add-on that gives me extra choices for soldier/armour customization, and that's it.

Most disastrous mission I had was when I lost 4 troops in one turn, and they were all Majors and Colonels. It was on one of those Battleship missions, which only start appearing if you're still playing beyond a certain game month (I think it might be October). They're big maps, on a par with the Alien Base, and always have about 22-23 enemies inside. The game displayed one of its quirks by throwing ALL the Battleship defenders at me en-masse, all at once, which it does on rare occasions with Battleships/Alien Base missions.

And these weren't small-fry. There were two Sectopods and two Cyberdisks among the mob, the least of which were Mutons. And there's not a lot of cover on Battleships. So I got somewhat overwhelmed. In one turn, the enemy took out four of my squad and left the two survivors on about half health and with no Medikits (I lost them when I lost the two Support troops who were carrying them) facing about fifteen enemies, including the Sectopods and Cybersdisks. It was hopeless, so I aborted (only time I've ever done that) and brought the battered survivors home.

Why didn't I just reload and replay the mission, you ask? Because I was playing on flipping IRONMAN mode so I had to live with it

It didn't look real good on my Monthly Report, all the same

[Art Blade]