Öjevind Lång
Deity
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2005
- Messages
- 2,371
I recently bought the original X-Com game (the one sold under the name "UFO - Enemy Unknown" in Europe) on Steam and am having a glorious time playing it again. None of the sequels is half as much fun as the original X-Com. I have taken a break from an otherwise very enjoyable session playing Civ V as Hiawatha, who is much more fun to play as than I realized. Anyway, some people might be interested in a few reminders of important things in the game:
1. As the excellent manual that came with the game back then says, don't throw away the lives of your soldiers unnecessarily. They improve and become formidable fighting machines if you don't waste them. Not to mention how their health increases. A real veteran can sometimes survive even being the direct target of an alien grenade.
2. Research laser weapons first. Laser rifles are great, and heavy lasers much more useful than I ever realized before. After laser files (before heavy lasers), research medikits so you no longer have to see your soldiers bleed to death.
3. On the other hand, rocket launchers and heavy cannon are practically worthless. Your soldiers are so busy lugging those heavy monsters around that they seldom get to shoot anyone, except possibly the other squaddies by mistake.
4. I've never found much use for motion scanners and only research them when there is nothing more important to research, but your mileage might vary.
5. The best way to make some extra money is to produce laser cannon and sell them - it pays more than selling anything else you can produce.
6. Rename your soldiers so you rememeber who is who. That makes it easier to recall that this one is an indifferent shot but quite fearless even if most of the squad is dead or has been taken over by alien psi, this one couldn't hit the floor of a boat but is an excellent scout, this one is almost imposible to kill, this one can move at a tremendous pace carrying lots of equipment, this one should be specially trained with a psi amp and kept away from the front line, and so on. Also, with distinct names you begin to care more for the little guys and are more assisduous at keeping them alive. Use a name book or a phone directory or your imagination. Also, as I once saw a poster somewhere say, there is a special satisfaction in sending a soldier whith the same name as your boss first into an alien scout. (BLAM BLAM BLAM! AAAAHHH!)
7. In fact, it is a good idea to keep lists of your soldiers with their ablities and the equipment they carry. As the game proceeds, they almost become friends of yours, and you really hate to lose one of them. Which makes the game more fun, and also helps you to be vigilant about not wasting them when there is no need to.
8. Research, research, research. You should have at least 100 scientists pretty soon in the game. As the manual says, the rewards are rgreat. That manual was really good: it is clear from it that the people who devised X-Com had played the game thoroughly and enjoyed it immensely before it was introduced on the market. That is true of many games back then, of course. Now it all seems a bit more focused on simply getting a product out for Christmas without any thought for proper game testing.
9. Always locate your first base in Europe or America, because that's where the big sponsors live. East Asia is a given third. Then it's time to found a base in the southern hemisphere: Australia , Africa or South America. And a base on Hawaii will help you shoot down a lot of alien traffic.
10. When you can afford to, buy a second Sky Ranger and create a backup team that takes care of smaller business (shot down scouts and the like) so you don't find yourself unable to answer to calls for help from terror sites or landing near shot down big ships containing valuable things or aliens to take captive. When creating your second team, send over a couple of veterans from your first squud to help the second team while it learns the business of fighting.
11. Build an alien container at once at your head base. Some aliens have very valuable information to give.
12. Try to get psi as early as possible by capturing the leader of a sectoid terror teame or commander at one of those catttle-mutilating ships or of an alien base. Getting one of those alive is worth almost any sacrifice. For that reason, research stun launchers early on, after laser weapons and medikits. Fortunately, the aliens very often bring stun launchers along.
13. Pick your battles. If you feel your carefully built up team would be cut to pieces attacking a terror ship with chrysailds, or an ethereal scout, and you don't have any particular need to capture something or someone on that vessel, then just dust off. Live to fight another day...
14. OTOH, it is from capturing alien vessels that you find the money to finance research and building things. Though, as I said, your engineers can build things to seell for profit when not busy with something else.
11. Always send your team to terror sites if you don't want to lose sponors' money. Yes, few things can be worse than a night battle against chrysalids in a city, but refraining from that will cost you in other ways.
12. Smoke grenades are a must. Always let your troops move under cover of the smoke from them when you can. You can also let your soldiers lurk outside an alien ship camuflaged by them and shoot the aliens like partridges when they come out to see what's up. Putting one of those grenades that detonate if you come near them outside the exit from the alien ship helps in this later activity. Will give your soldiers a chance at some shooting practice.
13. Don't lose your nerve when fighting chrysalids! I know that's easier aid than done, but keep shooting at them, and remember that grenades are of limited usefulness agaisnt them.
14. The heavy explosives you can buy even at the beginning of the game can be used as hand grenades to great effect, by soldiers who have built up some strength and throwing ability. Means you don't feel the pinch so much before you have researeched alien grenades, or later if you run out of alien rgnades and donöt have the elerium or money to build nes of your own.
15. When at all practicable, always try to capture ships with elerium on board. It's worth more than gold.
Have fun! I definitely am.
1. As the excellent manual that came with the game back then says, don't throw away the lives of your soldiers unnecessarily. They improve and become formidable fighting machines if you don't waste them. Not to mention how their health increases. A real veteran can sometimes survive even being the direct target of an alien grenade.
2. Research laser weapons first. Laser rifles are great, and heavy lasers much more useful than I ever realized before. After laser files (before heavy lasers), research medikits so you no longer have to see your soldiers bleed to death.
3. On the other hand, rocket launchers and heavy cannon are practically worthless. Your soldiers are so busy lugging those heavy monsters around that they seldom get to shoot anyone, except possibly the other squaddies by mistake.
4. I've never found much use for motion scanners and only research them when there is nothing more important to research, but your mileage might vary.
5. The best way to make some extra money is to produce laser cannon and sell them - it pays more than selling anything else you can produce.
6. Rename your soldiers so you rememeber who is who. That makes it easier to recall that this one is an indifferent shot but quite fearless even if most of the squad is dead or has been taken over by alien psi, this one couldn't hit the floor of a boat but is an excellent scout, this one is almost imposible to kill, this one can move at a tremendous pace carrying lots of equipment, this one should be specially trained with a psi amp and kept away from the front line, and so on. Also, with distinct names you begin to care more for the little guys and are more assisduous at keeping them alive. Use a name book or a phone directory or your imagination. Also, as I once saw a poster somewhere say, there is a special satisfaction in sending a soldier whith the same name as your boss first into an alien scout. (BLAM BLAM BLAM! AAAAHHH!)
7. In fact, it is a good idea to keep lists of your soldiers with their ablities and the equipment they carry. As the game proceeds, they almost become friends of yours, and you really hate to lose one of them. Which makes the game more fun, and also helps you to be vigilant about not wasting them when there is no need to.
8. Research, research, research. You should have at least 100 scientists pretty soon in the game. As the manual says, the rewards are rgreat. That manual was really good: it is clear from it that the people who devised X-Com had played the game thoroughly and enjoyed it immensely before it was introduced on the market. That is true of many games back then, of course. Now it all seems a bit more focused on simply getting a product out for Christmas without any thought for proper game testing.
9. Always locate your first base in Europe or America, because that's where the big sponsors live. East Asia is a given third. Then it's time to found a base in the southern hemisphere: Australia , Africa or South America. And a base on Hawaii will help you shoot down a lot of alien traffic.
10. When you can afford to, buy a second Sky Ranger and create a backup team that takes care of smaller business (shot down scouts and the like) so you don't find yourself unable to answer to calls for help from terror sites or landing near shot down big ships containing valuable things or aliens to take captive. When creating your second team, send over a couple of veterans from your first squud to help the second team while it learns the business of fighting.
11. Build an alien container at once at your head base. Some aliens have very valuable information to give.
12. Try to get psi as early as possible by capturing the leader of a sectoid terror teame or commander at one of those catttle-mutilating ships or of an alien base. Getting one of those alive is worth almost any sacrifice. For that reason, research stun launchers early on, after laser weapons and medikits. Fortunately, the aliens very often bring stun launchers along.
13. Pick your battles. If you feel your carefully built up team would be cut to pieces attacking a terror ship with chrysailds, or an ethereal scout, and you don't have any particular need to capture something or someone on that vessel, then just dust off. Live to fight another day...
14. OTOH, it is from capturing alien vessels that you find the money to finance research and building things. Though, as I said, your engineers can build things to seell for profit when not busy with something else.
11. Always send your team to terror sites if you don't want to lose sponors' money. Yes, few things can be worse than a night battle against chrysalids in a city, but refraining from that will cost you in other ways.
12. Smoke grenades are a must. Always let your troops move under cover of the smoke from them when you can. You can also let your soldiers lurk outside an alien ship camuflaged by them and shoot the aliens like partridges when they come out to see what's up. Putting one of those grenades that detonate if you come near them outside the exit from the alien ship helps in this later activity. Will give your soldiers a chance at some shooting practice.
13. Don't lose your nerve when fighting chrysalids! I know that's easier aid than done, but keep shooting at them, and remember that grenades are of limited usefulness agaisnt them.
14. The heavy explosives you can buy even at the beginning of the game can be used as hand grenades to great effect, by soldiers who have built up some strength and throwing ability. Means you don't feel the pinch so much before you have researeched alien grenades, or later if you run out of alien rgnades and donöt have the elerium or money to build nes of your own.
15. When at all practicable, always try to capture ships with elerium on board. It's worth more than gold.
Have fun! I definitely am.
