UFOpaedia - User contributions [en]

User:220.245.178.131

2005-10-30T17:00:33Z

220.245.178.131:

hmm, funny number! its me, '''EsTeR'''

<slaps Post-It note to forehead>

Why civilians go rogue

2005-10-30T15:36:41Z

220.245.178.131: Heheheh read this!

Hmm, anyone know what a "persuadatron" is? Now apply this to a turn-based game.

now for the real article:

if you m.c a civilian next turn he will be owned by the aliens and your are forced to kill him.

----------------------------------------------------------------

'''A Good Intention:'''

[the secene] Terror mission out near Arkansas, USA. Sectoid Race interrupting the local Hicksville sunday markets where car-parts and moonshine are generally traded. Xcom Command received the terror alert and are just landing on the road one city block away. Skyranger craft equipped with seven local lads who joined up to 'protect America and kick some Alien butt'. The story now unfolds:

Sarge: Awriight gurls, git orf my ship and kick some ass
[three Soldiers jump off the ramp and take position near the landing gear]

Bubba: Hey Sarge, I see a god damn varmit!

Billy-Ray: Careful there Bubba, those yer-aliens, there smart.

Sarge: Not as smart as me, i'll show em'
[whips out the Psi-amp, whilst Bubba readies a shot from his Laser Rifle]

Bubba: Damn, I missed ... HOLD UP!. I see some city-folk milling around. GIT AWAY yer fools.
[the cilivians are being attacked with plasma fire from a Sectiod Engineer's pistol]

Billy-Ray: Sarge! there killin our friends. Don't let them, Sarge!

Sarge: Hold on to yer hats! I'll git the civvie with ma Psi-Amp and git him away from that no-good alien.
[bravely, Sarge mind-controls the cilivian and leads him to the skyranger]

Bubba: Hey? What?
[with Sarge now tired from the mind-force, the cilivian is released from the mind-control]

Billy-Ray: God-damn, what is that cilivian doing? He's not one of ours? Sarge!, whata we do?

Sarge: KILL IT!....Kill it!, it ain't one of ours!
[Sarge opens with his Pistol, trying to shoot the un-friendly cilivian. Bubba and Billy-Ray follow as well]

Bubba: DIE! god-damn varmit!
[with the cilivian now dead...]

Billy-Ray: That city-folk, he turned weird or somethin'. Did ya see the look in his eyes? There were all monster-like.

Bubba: Hey Sarge? what did ya do?

Sarge: Don't know, but them city-folk, there not right in the head after we play with it.

Bubba: Yeah, you'd better not do that again, Sarge.

Billy-Ray: Hold Up! I see another alien....

That might explain a few things....

Main Page

2005-10-28T19:01:05Z

220.245.178.131:

Welcome to UFOpaedia.

This site has been created to serve as the ultimate resource for information based around the Extra Terrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM) and its encounters with the alien invaders.

Information about all previous encounters with the alien menace will be recorded here along with helpful strategic guides for new Commanding Officers.

For new authors:
# [[Help:Getting Started | Getting Started]]
# [[Guidelines to writing articles]]

= X-COM: Main UFOpaedia Entries =
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td style="width: 33%;">
=== UFO Defense ===
* General Info (this is a test heading, delete if ya want)

*[[Base Facilities (UFO Defense)|Base Facilities]]
**[[Base Defense Measures (UFO Defense)|Base Defense Measures]]
*[[Crafts (UFO Defense)|X-COM Crafts]]
**[[Craft Armaments (UFO Defense)|Craft Armaments]]
*[[Heavy Weapons Platforms (UFO Defense)|Heavy Weapons Platforms]]
*[[Equipment (UFO Defense)|Equipment]]
**[[Weapons (UFO Defense)|Weapons]]
*[[Alien Life Forms (UFO Defense)|Alien Life Forms]]
**[[Alien Research]]
*[[Research (UFO Defense)|Research]]
**[[Alien Artefacts (UFO Defense)|Alien Artefacts]]
*[[UFO (UFO Defense)|Unidentified Flying Objects]]
**[[UFO Detection (UFO Defense)|UFO Detection]]
**[[UFO Components (UFO Defense)|UFO Components]]
*[[Soldiers (UFO Defense) | Soldiers]]
*[[Missions (UFO Defense) | Missions]]
*[[Scoring (UFO Defense)|Scoring]]
-----

=== Supplementary Reference ===
* [[Item Weight]]s
* [[Inventory TU Table]]
* [[Glossary|Glossary of terms]]
</td>
<td style="width: 33%;">

=== Terror from the Deep ===

*[[Base Facilities (Tftd)|Base Facilities]]
**[[Base Defense Measures (Tftd)|Base Defense Measures]]
*[[Subs (Tftd)|X-COM Subs]]
**[[Sub Armaments (Tftd)|Sub Armaments]]
*[[Heavy Weapons Platforms (Tftd)|Heavy Weapons Platforms]]
*[[Equipment (Tftd)|Equipment]]
**[[Weapons (Tftd)|Weapons]]
*[[Alien Life Forms (Tftd)|Alien Life Forms]]
**[[Alien Research (Tftd)|Alien Research]]
*[[Research (Tftd)|Research]]
**[[Alien Artefacts (Tftd)|Alien Artefacts]]
*[[USO (Tftd)|Unidentified Submerging Objects]]
**[[USO Detection (Tftd)|USO Detection]]
**[[Sub Components (Tftd)|USO Components]]
*[[Aquanauts(Tftd)|Aquanauts]]
*[[Missions(Tftd)|Missions]]
*[[Scoring (Tftd)|Scoring]]
</td>
<td style="width: 33%;">

=== Apocalypse ===


* [[Mega Primus (Apocalypse)|Mega Primus]]
** [[Possible Base Locations (Apocalypse)|Possible Base Location]]
** [[Corporations (Apocalypse)|Corporations]]
** [[Relations (Apocalypse)|Relations]]
** [[Trade (Apocalypse)|Trade]]
* [[Bases (Apocalypse)|Bases]]
** [[Facilities (Apocalypse)|Base Facilities]]
** [[Layouts (Apocalypse)|Layouts]]
* [[Personnel (Apocalypse)|Personnel]]
**[[Agents (Apocalypse)|Agents]]
**[[Research and Development (Apocalypse)|Research and Development]]
* [[Personnel Equipment (Apocalypse)|Personnel Equipment]]
** [[Market (Apocalypse)|Market]]
** [[X-COM Proprietary Goods (Apocalypse)|X-COM Goods]]
** [[Alien Artifacts (Apocalypse)|Alien Artifacts]]
* [[Vehicles (Apocalypse)|Vehicles]]
** [[Roadcars and Tanks (Apocalypse)|Roadcars and tanks]]
** [[Air Vehicles (Apocalypse)|Air Vehicles]]
** [[X-COM Hybrid Aircraft (Apocalypse)|X-COM Hybrid Aircraft]]
** [[UFOs (Apocalypse)|UFOs]]
* [[Vehicle Equipment (Apocalypse)|Vehicle Equipment]]
** [[Common Vehicle Equipment (Apocalypse)|Common Vehicle Equipment]]
** [[Road Vehicle Equipment (Apocalypse)|Road Vehicle Equipment]]
** [[Air Craft Equipment (Apocalypse)|Air Craft Equipment]]
** [[Alien Craft Equipment (Apocalypse)|Alien Craft Equipment]]
* [[Research: Lab Reports (Apocalypse)|Lab Reports]]
** [[Biochemistry (Apocalypse)|Biochemistry]]
** [[Quantum Physics (Apocalypse)|Quantum Physics]]
</td>
</tr>

<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td style="width: 33%;">

=== Interceptor ===
* [[Technologies]]
</td>
<td style="width: 33%;">
=== X-COM: Genesis ===
* [[Info(Genesis)]]
</td>
<td style="width: 33%;">

=== Alliance ===
* [[Info(Alliance)]]
</td>
</tr>
</table>

==Miscellaneous==
This section contains articles that have yet to be classified. For now, everything that doesn't seem to go anywhere will go here and will later be moved where ever they will fit in.

* [[Under The Hood]] - General odds and ends regarding UFO and TFTD.
* [[Tricks, Tips and Hints]] - Information.. "acquired" from experienced X-COM players, full of tips that can help you fight the alien menace.
* [[Exploits]] - Ever wanted to get a little upper hand on the aliens? Enter and find some help.
* [[Known Bugs]] - Beware, all you need to know about bugs with X-COM and TFTD are contained here. These will help you avoid making a fool of yourself.
* [[Background]] - Game design notes, backstory, real-life equivalents.
* [[Community]] - People in the community, memes, etc.
* [[Fiction]] - Tasty links to inspired authors.
* [[Links]] - The, y'know, rest of the Internet.
* [[Contact]] - Send messages to the ones that makes this ufopaedia for info etc.

Talk:Main Page

2005-10-28T18:59:52Z

220.245.178.131: Plz have a look, important

just a thought. there seems to be a 'lets jump straight in' sorta attitutde with the main page, there is/are no clicky links to info pages for each of these games which would help some new ppl who are looking for info, find that we don't have nOOb info, so they they just wonder off. If we are gonna keep these game recycled thru the ages... then we'd better have some sort of noob info happening, as:

*Different Versions
*Hardware Specs
*How to get working in Windoze
*What this game is about
*Screenshots (which show the game well, not just "sick-ass" screenies)
*WHat ppl liked about the game
*Who made this game (like a bit of back ground info)

I noticed that there is no "info" heading at the start of game sections....

User:EsTeR

2005-10-28T07:17:22Z

220.245.178.131:

Hey, a fan of X-Com series and my defining gaming experience. Terror From The Deep is my favourite coz it was alot harder than Enemy Unknown (which was weak due to the difficulty bug - doh!).

Psi-Amp

2005-10-27T12:22:37Z

220.245.178.131:

==General Information==
The Psi-Amp can only be used by soldiers with [[Psi Skill|psionic skill]].

==How To Use==
During combat, click on the Psi-Amp, select the type of attack, and select a target unit with the cursor.

There are two types of psionic attack:

; PANIC UNIT : If the attack is successful it will reduce the target's morale and may cause it to panic.
; MIND CONTROL : If this is successful then you will gain immediate control of the enemy unit as if it was one of your own (except that you cannot directly access the object screen). It is more difficult to be successful with this type of attack.

==Specifications==
'''TUs to use:''' 25 [[TU]]s (Fixed Cost)

'''Unit cost:''' $160,000
'''Engineer-hrs. to produce:''' 500
'''Workspace required:''' 4
'''Special Materials required:''' 1 x Elerium

Note: if you mind control a large unit, such as a Cyberdisc, be sure to get all four quarters of the unit under control. If not, once moved, the Cyberdisc may shoot the 'Alien' quarters of itself because of its high reaction stat. Other large aliens may do the same, but the Cyberdisc is deadly because of its explosive nature.

==See Also==
[[Psionic Laboratory|Psi-Lab]] 
[[Psionics]] 
[[Psi Skill]] 
[[Psi Strength]]

Cyberdisc

2005-10-27T12:18:56Z

220.245.178.131:

==General Information==
[[Image:cyberdisc.gif|right|Cyberdisc]]
Cyberdiscs are an alien [[Terror Unit|terror unit]] accompanying [[Sectoid]]s. As with all terror units, they can be encountered in the following mission types:
* [[Terror Mission]]
* [[Base Defense]]
* [[UFO Ground Assault]] ([[Terror Ship]] or [[Battleship]])
* [[Alien Base Assault]]
* [[Cydonia]]
The Cyberdisc's only means of attack is its plasma beam doing a whopping '''130HP''' damage. The Cyberdisc has another feature that makes it rather deadly, and that is, that it can explode upon death with the strength and radius of a [[High Explosive]]. Upon targeting a Cyberdisc, be weary of this blast radius as your soldiers, or perhaps a wandering civilian, could find themselves in a world of hurts.

==Statistics==
'''TUs:''' 62-72
'''Health:''' 120
'''Energy:''' 90-105
'''Reactions:''' 64-75
'''Strength:''' 90-105
'''Bravery:''' 110
'''Firing Accuracy:''' 30-70
'''Throwing Accuracy:''' N/A
'''Psi Skill:''' N/A
'''Psi Strength:''' 100-116

'''Damage:''' 130
'''Accuracy-'''
'''Snap:''' 75%
'''Aimed:''' 110%
'''TUs-'''
'''Snap:''' 30%
'''Aimed:''' 60%

==Live Specimen==
This miniature flying saucer is an automated terror weapon armed with a powerful plasma beam. The anti-grav propulsion gives it a big advantage in difficult terrain. Its primary function is destruction and terror in the service of the [[Sectoid]] race.

==Autopsy==
[[Image:cyberdiscautopsy.gif|right|Cyberdisc - Autopsy]]
The Cyberdisc is well shielded and is particularly good at withstanding explosive ammunition. The primary anti-gravity system is too badly damaged to gain any understanding of its functioning.

Note: you may have difficulty getting an intact corpse because of its explosive nature. Shoot the Cyberdisc to kill it when its one level above the ground, it drops down to ground level, hits the ground and becomes a corpse, THEN the explosiion goes off where it was just hovering: ie: at one level off the ground. Gaurenteed works if corpse falls flat.

==Notes==
The following are some miscellaneous notes on the Cyberdisc:
* The Cyberdisc takes 0.8x damage from armour-piercing weapons.
* It takes 0.6x damage from high explosives.
* It has a flat profile (smaller than a Sectoid), making for a harder target (per square).
* Takes up 4 squares on the battlescape.
* Has very high health.
* Has very high strength.
* Very high [[Psi Strength]], making it harder to mind-control and/or panic.
* Can attack up to 3 times in one turn.

==See Also==
[[Sectoid]]

[[Category:Alien life forms]]

Bio-Drone

2005-10-27T12:13:23Z

220.245.178.131:

Functionally identical to the Cyberdiscs of the First Alien War, except miniturised for indoor-use, Bio Drones are terribly dangerous.

The usual Cyberdisc warnings apply here:

1. Use anything other than a Melee weapon against it with cause an explosion big enough to kill creatures nearby... Aliens, civilians, or your men/women.

2. Though it has a front and back, and therefore possible to sneak up upon it unnoticed, it is physically impossible to tell which way it is facing visually.

3. When possible, double-team against a Bio-drone. Have an aquanaut drawing fire, while another sneaks up behind it with a Melee weapon.

4. Bio-Drones leave scorch marks on the ground is they are moving around above sealevel.

Brainsucker Pod

2005-10-27T12:07:47Z

220.245.178.131:

Have a pesky Anthropod launching these little pods-of-sweet-love? well, pick up the pods around you and place them in your inventory. no more unexpected surprises....or if you a sadist: throw one far and get ready for some target practice!

Exploits

2005-10-27T11:57:15Z

220.245.178.131:

== To Do List ==
For writing up

* Free HWP ammo during base defense
* Phantom base radars (See temporary notes in [[User Talk:NKF | NKF:Talk]] for now)
* unit overcrowding preventing aliens from spawning in base defense

== Alien Inventory Screen ==
When controlling an alien through [[Psionics]], you can't directly see their inventory by clicking the inventory button. (Where DO Sectoids keep their grenades, anyway?) However if you switch to a human soldier, and check his inventory, you can use the arrows in the top corner to cycle through your units - including your "new recruit". Be careful though, as the game will often stack all the equipment in one location - if you pick an item up with the cursor, you won't be able to return if to it's original location (as there is already something there), so you'd better have enough TUs to put it somewhere else!

This trick is handy for getting aliens to drop their grenades, as well as their weapon. If you're feeling particulary vindictive, you'll prime the explosive while you're at it.

== Faulty Collision Detection ==

The mystical art of moving solid objects through other solid objects.

=== Throw Through Ceilings ===

Most explosives (grenades, HE packs) can be chucked up through ceilings to land on the floor above. This is useful if you don't know where enemies are exactly, but you know where they are roughly. Use a big enough boomstick (HE rounds, pointed at ceiling) and you'll probably kill anyone in the vicinity of the blast.

=== Corner Tile Tricks ===

Diagonal exterior UFO tiles aren't a well-defined boundary. A grenade thrown onto the same square from outside will detonate inside the UFO. An unconscious volunteer thrown onto the same square from outside will awake inside the UFO. (Except if he's sharing the tile with a live grenade.) A Flying Suit can sometimes fly up into a UFO from beneath a diagonal overhang. 
 
Note: This trick will also work with any wall that occupies the entire tile - i.e. any tile with a wall that you cannot walk into. Almost all the sides of most X-COM troop transports consist of these, and all outer walls along the West and Northern sides of UFOs are made of these as well.

=== Walk Through Wall Trick ===

This trick ties in with the corner tile trick, as it makes use of any wall that occupies an entire tile. 
 
As mentioned, you can fly up into some walls. For soldiers that cannot fly, you can walk into these walls if your starting location is on a different elevation than the destination. 
 
For example, if you're standing on the second floor of a barn with a nearby wall shot-out that's just to the West of a [[Large Scout]]. If you stay on the same level and move your movement cursor to a point that would walk your soldier (assuming you could walk on air) to a spot just above one of the UFO outer hull walls. Then walk. Your soldier will walk, drop and then step right into the wall. From here, you can either walk into or out of the UFO as you please - or you can throw a high explosive right into the ship and take one step away to get behind the safety of the hull. 

=== Moving a Large Unit Up Stairs and Sinking it into A Wall ===
Tanks are built up of four units, which make up each of the quarter. The primary quarter, the part that has all the vital statistics, is the upper left or north-west quarter when viewed from the overhead map, or the topmost when viewed in the battlescape. 
 
When moving a tank up or down different elevations, mainly via stairs or dropping it off the edge of a wall, the game only uses the primary quarter for collision detection. So you can easily move a tank up narrow stairs (or through a narrow cave - but that's not related to this). 
 
If you move a tank off a northward facing ledge, the rest of the tank will sink into a wall (if there is one), and cause the tank to get stuck. This won't happen if the tank moves off a south facing ledge as the primary quarter will fall after the rest of the tank.

=== Seeing Through Ceilings ===

When a unit stands on raised terrain (such as a ramp), it's head gets raised, bringing up it's field of vision. This can allow you to see through the cieling in some instances, for example, if a soldier stands on a barrow of hay his head may stick up high enough to let you see the contents of the upper floor.

== Infinite Fuel ==

This trick is great for saving Elerium-115. When you finish building a new ship, load it out with weapons (dual Plasma Cannons are recommended) and wait for it to have the "Ready" status. Then, transfer it to another base. Immediately after it arrives, tell it to go to a random point on the globe (preferably where you have no bases) and have it patrol in the area. Clicking on it will show that its fuel tank is 0% full. This ship will now have unlimited fuel until it returns to base. This works best on Firestorms, as they have the same number of guns as the Avengers yet cost less.

Note: After downing a UFO, this ship will automatically head back to base. Be sure to send it on patrol again before reaching base, or you will lose the unlimited fuel feature. Because of this, it helps to keep it patrolling as far away from its base as possible.

== Free Manufacturing ==

In the Workshop screen, choose an item to be manufactored, but assign no engineers to it. Also, make sure it's set to produce 0 of the item. Click OK, then go back and assign as many engineers as you want (preferably as many as possible). This time, change the quantity to 1. When the production is finished, you will have gotten one of the selected items--for free! Doing this with tanks and then selling them works wonders on your finances.

Note: Although it may be tempting to create fleets of free Avengers like this, you must still have adequate hangers, severely limiting your options. Still very useful, though!
 
 
''NKF Quick notes'':
* It doesn't matter if you assign engineers to a 0 item build project, because the engineers will be taken off the project anyway.
* In a similar but completely opposite vein, if you start a project with a certain number of items to build, the required cash for the first item (and perhaps materials) will instantly be taken from you. And if you cancel the project before the job is done, you will not be refunded. It's mainly a loss if you're low on resources, otherwise most players won't even notice the fact that the resources for the first item were never refunded. This doesn't happen if you start a 0 item build project, and then assign staff and a build amount later. This in effect makes the first item in the build list free.

== All Terror Missions During the Day ==

During the night, the aliens have a severe visability advantage over your soldiers. I'm sure every X-Com player has fallen victim to a night-time terror mission at least once. Those days are now over. When a Terror Mission comes up, simply equip a Skyranger with all the manpower and firepower you'll need to defeat the aliens, and have it patrol just beside your base. (Game) minutes before the hour changes (e.g. at 1:56), have the Skyranger target the Terror Site. After the hour changes (e.g. at 2:03), have the Skyranger patrol in place again. Repeat this before and after the hour changes until daylight. You see, Terror Sites only disappear on the hour, and they won't disappear if they're targetted by a craft. So if you make sure it's targeted as the hours change, you can stall for time until daylight!

Note: Or, you could just use Scott T Jones's wonderful tool known as Xcomutil. Running the RunXcomW.exe program allows you to make all missions in the light of day, regardless of actual game time. A lot easier to use Util. . .

== Grenades: Pass the Experience Trick ==
'''(Or who gets the experience when you "drop" a grenade)''' 
 
Some commanders may have noticed that a soldier that drops a primed grenade rather than throwing it will often not get credited for the damage or killed enemies. 
 
There is a very odd explanation for this. The game attaches an ownership to the grenades. It will rememeber who last threw the grenade so it can credit the right person with experience. Unfortunately, the game only assigns the ownership to a grenade ''after'' it has been thrown, but not when it's dropped or picked up. 
 
So who gets the experience if its dropped? All X-COM owned grenades, at the very start of the mission, default to the very first soldier on the transport, or the very first armoured weapons platform if you have one. This means that if a grenade is dropped rather than thrown, all experience goes towards the very first soldier in the list, or the tank. 
 
Can we move the ownership around and pass the experience to soldiers of our choice? Definitely! Just have the person you want to get the experience throw the grenade, then get someone else to carry and drop it to where it can be useful. Just remember to not throw it again. 
 
The method of deployment for these grenades will be left as a practical exercise to the commander. Be creative, or be heartless - it's all up to you! 
 
The biggest advantage of this unusual pass-the-experience technique would be to provide training for frail soldiers that would prove to be more of a detriment in combat than out of it - yet another reason for commanders to not sieve troops based on poor combat statistics.

== Mind Control Madness ==

Whenever you mind control another unit, it automatically returns to the alien side at the end of the aliens' turn. This is true even if you mind control a civilian.

While saving civilians leads to higher scores, "removing" them from play in this way then killing them off as aliens removes the risk of a score penalty should they be fall into trouble.

[[Gaining permanent control of a Chryssalid/Tentaculat]]

== Fire ==
===Just how does it work?===
NKF quick notes:
(I might be duplicating something here, but I'm just jotting these down quickly before I forget)

* Fire does two types of damage to units. Impact and damage over time.
** Damage Over time: Standing in fire or actually being on fire.
** Impact damage: The weirdest and most unusual damage of all.
*** Anyone standing in fire: Receives hit-point damage every time an incendiary shell explodes
*** Anyone standing in smoke: Same as above, but take stun damage instead of hit-point damage.
* Fire does a fixed amount of damage. The damage of an incendiary weapon only determines how large the spread of the fire will be. So an autocannon incendiary shell is just as powerful as an incendiary rocket -- the only difference is the blast area.
* Fire and Smoke use the same object table, and being limited, can get used up very quickly and attempts at producing more fire or smoke will not work. Incendiary impact damage will still work on any units in fire/smoke.
JFG adds: Please see my [[Incendiary]] topic

== The Numbers ==
More on this later.

'''Downright cheatin' - be warned!'''

== Helpless Tactical Mission ==

The way this all works is based on the previous tactical in which you went really well and completed it. If the current tactical mission you are on does not go well, press CTRL C. What has just happened is you current mission has ended with the results of the previous mission. That is, score, items, corpses, Elerium, and stat increases are carried forward to this mission, from the last. Soldiers will get experience again even if they didn't come on this current mission and are back at base.

What is 'CTRL-C'?
Xcom1 and Xcom2 are DOS games (disk operating system...not denial of service). A command used in DOS is "break" which is keyed in as CTRL-C. What these games do is halt the current process. Xcom1&2 have a failsafe to "crashing", by returning to the previous "good" process, which was a completed tactical mission.

How to Cheat?
Setup:
Do a tactical mission with a landed (not crashed) Battleship. Avoid using any weapons that consume ammo (including the tank) eg: use Laser Rifles instead. Make sure no soldiers die, or tanks. Don't use grenades, flares, etc. Try to do this mission in a 'bean counter' mindset. on the very last turn if the mission (you need to guess it) save your game in a new slot, and then don't overwrite it from here on. Now end the tactical mission normally. and play your game normally as well.
Using It:
Later on when you do your next tactical mission and are able to move your guys off the craft, just press CRTL C. The mission now ends with the results from the Battleship tactical mission.
Cautions:
If you happen to complete a tactical mission by accident, or you abort the current mission, the results of this mission will be stored in the "misdata" folder, overwriting automatically the previous tactical mission. To get your Battleship mission back, save the game '''RIGHT NOW''' in your usual spot (you should be back in geoscape view if you have just completed your mission). Load the Battleship mission, then end it. The mission results are now refreshed in the misdata folder. Now load your game normally and keep playing. When you next play a tactical mission, just press CTRL C.
Disclaimer:
USE ONLY AT YOUR OWN RISK. Can corrupt data and such. UFOpedia.org, or myself are not responsible if this cheat blows up your computer or '''ANYTHING''' else.

Plz edit my post, paragraphs are out, etc

== Free Wages ==

At the end of the month, all your soldiers, scientists and engineers collect their pay checks. Unless, of course, they are in transit between bases, in which case they are unable to reach the guy holding their paychecks before he closes up shop.

That is to say, the game forgets to add them to your monthly expenses.

The trick here is to have labs and workshops in two bases, and just before each month ends, relocate your staff. They can start working as soon as they arrive, and you don't have to pay them - saving you anywhere up to several million dollars each month.

(Does this work with aircraft?)

== Fog of War Scouting ==

The 3D cursor shows the terrain inside it, regardless of whether you have explored the tile or not. While the obscure shapes shown don't mean much to novice players, veterans will soon recognise tiles, and then the map segments they are native to. For example, you can easily find a UFO by looking for the destinctive wall patterns, and the power supply in the center. Or, you could use this to bombard locations such as command centers, or places you know aliens spawn at the beginning of play, with early Blaster Bombs.

== Extra Ammo Collection ==

Any clips in weapons at the end of combat are discarded, unless they have not been used at all. If you unload all weapons, then ALL clips will be added to your stores.

== Dead Man Switches ==

Grenades will only detonate when they are on the ground and when their timer has counted down. Timers will continue to count down regardless of location, but if the grenade is not on the ground, it will not explode. This means that you can set all the grenades to a time of "0" at the beginning of play, or at an earlier turn, and throw them when it's tactically feasible.

This is a double-edged sword, however, because should a unit fall dead or unconcious the grenade will hit the ground and promptly take out anything in the near vicinity... which may (or may not) work to your advantage. This tactic encourages keeping your troops far apart. If you anticipate the soldier will have a very high chance of being killed, it may be wise to use the "pass the experience" trick as described earlier before handing the soldier an armed grenade.

Proximity mines can be defused by saving, quitting the game, restarting it then reloading the game. You can still drop on top of them with a flying suit, or by dropping from a hole in the roof in order to safely pick them up.

Alien Missions

2005-10-27T11:39:02Z

220.245.178.131:

==Alien Research==
The Alien research mission is used for collecting basic data on Earth and its inhabitants. Small vehicles are predominantly used, with occasional landings in deserted areas. This type of Alien activity poses the least threat to X-COM, with little concern from governments or the public.

==Alien Harvest==
The Aliens have many uses for Eearth's fauna. Animals are abducted secretly, and returned with various organs removed. Cattle mutilations are predominantly reported along with [[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFO]] sightings. This type of Alien activity causes great concern by governments and considerable anxiety amongst the population. This type of activity occurs mainly in farming land. The theory behind the 'Alien Harvest' suggests that Alien races originally "seeded" the planet with its flora and fauna, and now they have returned to reap the harvest they have sown.

==Alien Abduction==
This is the most insidious form of Alien activity. The abduction by Aliens is widely reported, despite the Aliens' attempts to erase the experience from their victims' memories. Abductees report being subject to humiliating physical examinations, including impregnation of alien foetuses and bizarre genetic experiments. The purpose behind this activity appears to be linked to genetic mutation and manipulation of the Aliens own genetic material. This activity causes great alarm, and occurs in populated areas or cities.

==Alien Infiltration==
Earth governments can be infiltrated by Alien agents which are Human in appearance. This can result in official contact between Aliens and governments at the highest level. The climax of this activity is characterised by intense [[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFO]] activity in the vicinity of major cities. The aliens will attempt to sign a pact with an earth government by offering knowledge of their superior technology. In return, the government will allow the Aliens to conduct their activity unhindered. This Alien mission represents the worst threat to X-COM. If a government agrees to a pact then its funding will cease.

===Additional Information===
Four UFOs take part in an Infiltration mission, landing in both the target and neighboring countries. Limited information indicates two of these are often [[Battleship]]s which must be shot down to forestall the infiltration. Engaging intact UFOs on the ground is apparently not enough to prevent them from completing their mission.

Zombie says, "According to my preliminary results, Russia cannot be infiltrated in the CE version of X-COM so losing the game by this method is impossible." (Jun 16, 2005, StrategyCore forums)

==Alien Base==
Aliens will construct secret underground bases in remote locations. After some initial reconnaissance flights some intense [[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFO]] activity will occur as the base is being built. These bases are known to contain experimental labs for human abductees, and supplies for further activity in the region. The presence of Alien bases will generate a large amount of reported Alien activity without the presence of UFOs. In order to locate a base, an [[Crafts (UFO Defense)|X-COM craft]] must patrol an area for a few hours to stand some chance of detection.

===Additional Information===
is there a limit to how many bases can be in a game at once (30 so far)

==Alien Terror==
When the Aliens terrorise a city, they will deploy some [[Terror Unit|special forces]] with awesome powers. Civilians will be directly threatened, and governments will be forced to evacuate whole areas. The main purpose behind this activity is to generate sufficient public hysteria so that governments will threaten the X-COM project.

==Alien Retaliation==
If X-COM [[Interceptor]]s are being particularly successful in shooting down [[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFOs]] then the Aliens may take some retaliatory action. This could result in a direct attack against an [[Base Defense|X-COM base]]. However, the aliens have to find an X-COM base in order to attack it, and provided UFOs are kept away then there should be little danger of an assault.

==Alien Supply==
Once an Alien base is constructed, then it is resupplied on a regular basis by a special [[Supply Ship|supply vessel]]. If one of these vessels is detected while landing then it is certain that an Alien base is nearby.

==See Also==
[[Alien Life Forms (UFO Defense)|Alien Life Forms]] 
[[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFOs]]

[[Category:Missions]]

Field Manual: Terrain

2005-10-27T11:36:38Z

220.245.178.131:

==Natural Features==

Firing over the crest of a hill, known as the reverse-slope position, exposes the minimum sight picture to the enemy and provides the greatest protection from return fire. Simply ducking into concealment protects the soldier from all but indirect-fire weaponry [grenades]. Allow time to climb the hill before seeking out the enemy.

Soldiers should seek to overwatch from hill crests and move in the protection of valleys or next to slopes.

Movement up and down hills takes time so a soldier on flat ground will always outpace a soldier on a slope.

Enemies hiding in valleys are best dealt with through grenades or other indirect fire.

==Artificial Features: Wooden Structures==

Wooden frame structures such as barns provide good concealment and some degree of protection. However they are highly vulnerable to explosives [and energy weapons] and can be penetrated by high caliber weaponry.

They are excellent for concealing movement and approach but equally conceal the enemy in their windows, doors, and corridors.
Sniping from a high position or window minimizes exposure but the soldier must be prepared for return fire and move to different cover if spotted.

==Vegetation==

Vegetation, especially in jungle or forest environments, provides a high degree of cover. Thick-trunked vegetation can often stop enemy fire temporarily but will quickly be shredded by powerful weaponry.

Thick vegetation reduces sight lines and is a dangerous environment to move through. Scouts have to look all around them as each movement can reveal previously hidden areas. Overwatch and support teams will find trees blocking both direct and indirect fire and will have to move closer to the scouts to adequately support them. Paths through the vegetation are not always evident and soldiers may be forced to double back if their path becomes impassable.

Clearings should be exploited as rally points and kill zones. Soldiers concealed in vegetation on the edges of a clearing have the best combination of concealment and field of fire. High explosive can be used to clear vegetation as necessary.

''[Jasonred] : Try experimenting with [[Incendiary|Incendiaries]] in this environment! Clear the landing area of enemies, retreat to the transport, fire a round or two of incendiaries, and wait for either the aliens to come to you as the fire catches them, or for the whole place to burn down and give visibility.''

==Artificial Structures: UFO Hulls==

UFO Outer Hulls, like our reinforced concrete bunkers, are generally impervious to man-portable weaponry. [1] The commander has two choices: siege or storm.

Sieging has the benefit that time is on the commander's side, so forces can be arranged in good concealed positions with good fields of fire. All exits from the structure should be covered. Avoid placing units directly in line with exits or windows as these units will be the first ones attacked when the enemy ventures forth. The enemy will hide from a barrage but will hopefully become curious enough, if all is quiet and movement unopposed, to reveal themselves. This then allows your marksmen to engage them.

Sending forward a scout is risky but can fool the enemy into revealing themselves to shoot at the presented target.

Sieges succeed through attrition of the enemy as they reveal themselves. A resolute enemy with adequate supplies, however, can choose to remain hidden indefinitely. So eventually the structure will have to be stormed.

Storming these structures is always hazardous because no amount of "target softening" can guarantee them clear of enemy presence before the assault. The first soldiers in will always be in harm's way. [2] Single file entry is often required so the assault team must enter quickly and spread out again to maximize effectiveness. Assault teams should carry weapons with high rate of fire and high stopping power. Armor is a must. [[Stun Rod]]s can also be useful. [[Heavy Cannon]] can provide stopping power.

Training must emphasize prioritizing targets.

*a) An enemy facing the soldier and in line with the entryway, should be handed off to a following soldier or even to a support sniper outside the entryway. If neither of these are practical (due to blocked lines of fire) then engage at short range with burst fire (autofire).
*b) An enemy facing the soldier, but not in line with the entryway, must be engaged. At short range, use three-shot burst fire (autofire).
*c) If enough time remains to take cover and let a following soldier engage the enemy, but not enough time to both fire on the enemy and take cover, then take cover.
*d) An enemy facing away from the soldier should be engaged only if time permits or if no other soldiers can move into position to take the shot. Stun rods are best used on this presentation of target.
*e) Enemies packed into a corridor are best engaged with burst fire. Use of explosives in such situations is unpredictable given the close range and risk of secondary explosions.

Motion detectors are invaluable in gaining information about the enemy in such a structure. The soldier with the motion detector does not have to be a member of the assault team but should be moved up next to the structure.

See also [[UFO Assault]].

*[1] [[Blaster Launcher]]s will penetrate an outer hull. No other unmodified weapon has sufficient power. [[Heavy Plasma]] will eventually penetrate inner bulkheads.
*[2] ooc nb. SWAT teams get thick full length shields for this sort of thing. X-Com get ... rookies.
--[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 14:56, 19 Apr 2005 (BST)

TO DO: (anyone) TU expelled within terrain movements. eg opening and stepping thru door = 8TU

==See Also==

[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category:Field Manual]]

Cydonia

2005-10-27T11:29:38Z

220.245.178.131:

A two part mission. Note that this is a DO OR DIE mission. If you fail or hit abort at any time, the entire campaign ends, you lose.
To have this mission available, you must research "Cydonia or Bust", and access it by launching an avenger. It'll either give the option to go to intercept or to Cydonia. The "Cydonia" button is at the top of the screen if you have an Avenger selected in the Geoscape.

=Mars: Cydonia Landing=
==Briefing==
Your Avenger craft has landed in the region of Cydonia on the surface of Mars. Our information indicates that one of the pyramid constructions contains a green access lift to an underground complex. Once you have assembled all your soldiers in the lift area, continue to the next stage…

==Description==
First part is on the surface of Mars. Lots of Pyramid structures, some with aliens inside, some empty. Only one has the entrance to the aliens HQ, the entrance being an area with glowing green floor. Now, this floor has, I forget how many squares, 4x4 area? Anyhow, you can step onto that with as many people as possible, hit abort, and it'll bring them and whatever they're carrying to part 2. OR, you can just kill everything on the stage and everyone will go to part 2.

The surface is filled with many many Sectoids and Cyberdisks. Much Commanders and leaders methinks, as there's Psi all around. I find this mission hilarious when I shoot a cyberdisk, it blows up, and the chain reaction kills over 5 other cyberdisks. Plus many many sectoids. It then turns into Pyramid hunting.

'' [ [[User:NKF|NKF]]: I think the easiest way to look at it is that this mission is basically a Sectoid Battleship/Base crew in a one-of-a-kind map with a choice of two different winning conditions] ''

==Tips & Tricks==
[[HWP]]'s can follow you onto the lift and the next level if you use the [[Blaster Launcher|tools at your disposal]] to widen the doorway for them.

=Mars: The Final Assault=
==Briefing==
The pyramid lift takes your battle weary soldiers deep below the planet's surface. They arrive in the heart of a large complex of tunnels and chambers. The alien brain is hidden somewhere in the labyrinth. It must be destroyed if the earth is to be saved from alien enslavement.

==Description==
Second part is almost like a alien base assault. It's filled with all manner of creatures, if I remember correctly. Ethereals, Sectopods and Chryssalids, if I'm not mistaken. Anyhow, you only need to destroy one portion of a 4 part alien brain to win the mission. There's a whole bunch of heavily armed ethereals defending the Brain Room. Of course, either a blaster bomb, or plain mind controlling one of them to shoot the brain ends the mission easily... to be true to storyline, kill all opposition, then shoot the brain pointblank with a plasma based weapon.

'' [ [[User:NKF|NKF]] : This is UFO's only mixed crew mission. It's mainly an [[Ethereal]] crew with a few extras, mainly terror units, from the other races. This mission only really needs a blaster launcher, and with luck, if you locate the command theatre right away, will be over in less than a few turns.] ''

===Tips & Tricks===
Go armed for bear. Best agents, best weapons, and Hovertank/Launchers. Psi experts and Blaster Bombs are great, Laser Rifles and Heavy Plasma are good. Flying suits are nice to have. Don't bring psi-weaklings. Spread out a little so Blaster Bombs don't wipe everyone out. If all else fails, 5 psi-experts and 10 jokers carrying Blaster Launchers and 4 bombs each can send 20 BBs flying around Stage 1 and 20 demolishing stage 2. If for some reason you haven't got many psi strong soldiers, 1 psi resistant soldier and 5 hovertank launchers should work...

and for the macho-ist (cough cough try this) Total loadout.... 1 psiamp & 1 soldier with no armour

=See Also=

[[Category:Missions]]

Cydonia

2005-10-27T11:27:59Z

220.245.178.131:

Base Defence

2005-10-27T11:20:52Z

220.245.178.131:

==Briefing==
An Alien vessel has landed nearby. Our base is in severe danger. As per standard procedure all non-combat personnel and XCom craft have been evacuated. Alien units will enter the base via hangar doors or the access lift. Defend the base and its vital installations at all costs - this is a fight to the death.

== Battleships ==

An inbound [[Battleship]] on a "[[Retaliation]]" mission means there is a high chance that a Base Defense mission is in the offing for you.

You can bring down these battleships with sufficient [[Base Defense Measures (UFO Defense)|Base Defense Measures]], but the game is programmed to just send another on the exact same mission. It's been proven that about 6 or 7 Fusion Ball Defenses with Grav Shield (total defensive strength 6000) can hold off incoming battleships (hull strength 3000) indefinitely, but since you get no bonus for blowing a battleship out of the sky, not even to monthly score, it's better to let them land eventually and just run the mission. Once you've run the mission, win or lose, the attacks stop coming. The aliens seem to forget where the base is...

BTW, only battleships actually assault your base, don't worry too much about other alien craft on "Retaliation" missions, they're just scouts. Shooting these down far away from your base may confuse the aliens as to where your base actually is.

== Battle Tips ==

You really want everybody at home for a base defense mission. If you're caught with your Skyranger off at some UFO crash site, you'll have to defend the base with a rookie, two guys on crutches that were in med-bay, and the antique [[Tank/Cannon]] you hadn't got around to selling yet. Mind you, the odds are still in your favor.

Battleships will unload both regular aliens and their associated [[Terror Unit]]s. You won't ever see the battleship, but you will get to see all those nifty modules you've been constructing in the Base Planner view, close-up! Base modules have two levels. Soldiers will normally spawn/start in Living Quarters and Storage modules.

Base layout becomes quite important, as aliens can only come down into your base through hangars and the access lift. If you grouped your hangars with the access lift, then built one module only connecting to the access lift, that module becomes a choke point for base defense. A long chain of rooms becomes a long choke point ripe for mining with [[Proximity Grenade]]s.

A soldier with a [[Motion Detector]] in an upstairs closet near the access lift combined with a [[Tank/Rocket_Launcher|rocket tank]] at standoff range will keep the aliens at bay until the rockets run out. ''-see also [Stewart's] strategy on xcomufo.com forums.''

[[Blaster Bomb]]s can clear your base in just a few turns, if you launch a few into the hangars and access lift. ''The problem is getting the program to supply your soldiers with blaster bombs before hitting the 80-item limit.''

Hovertank/Launchers are almost as good at clearing out your base, except for the fact that their missiles are more prone to inaccuracy and often veer off and blow up against the wrong walls. ''Since the game has a "free ammo for HWP in base defence" bug, I don't see HOW you can lose as long as you keep 3-4 of these things in every base.''

Corridors attaching to the right of a hangar come through a ground-level hangar door. Corridors attaching to the left don't get a door.

Doing too much damage to a room can also collapse it, and you will lose that room permanently. Any rooms that can only be accessed by going through the collapsed room will also be lost. Spawn-point rooms such as Living Quarters, Stores, Access Lift, and Hangars can't be collapsed.

You can recover lots of valuable [[Elerium-115]] and alien weapons from a successful base defense. Losing or abandoning the battle means losing the base. Although sometimes you can still come out with a positive score for your trouble.

It might be best to disarm all your psi-weak soldiers at this base if there are ethereals or sectoids attacking.

''[ [[User:NKF|NKF]]: Elerium collection from a base defence mission can only happen if elerium pods are generated in the battlescape. See, if you have 10 units in storage, the game will generate 10 pods in the base, given sufficient space in the object table. But because the way the game automatically converts 1 pod into 50 units at the end of the mission, you're basically getting 5000% more elerium from your own pods (those that don't get destroyed, anyway). None of them come from the aliens! Until this is verified for 1.4 and 1.4ce, it is safe to say that this will only happen in earlier versions of the game.] ''

''[A somewhat unorthodox strategy, forced by necessity, paid off for Zombie: "I armed my best soldiers with the stun rods, hid them in the General Stores next to the Access Lift, and went to work. Every round a Snakeman would appear from the Access Lift, and every round one of my soldiers would stun the alien while another veteran grabbed the body and hauled the poor alien upstairs for observation. I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants!" - as copied from strategycore. Mental picture of a Snakeman with a pillowcase over his head, zipcuffed arms behind his back, old army sock stuffed in the mouth, being heaved into a darkened storeroom on top of his buddies. "Right, that looks like the lot. $20K each, and a $1K cut for me, and $5K for Big Dave as a gift." --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 08:34, 14 Oct 2005 (PDT) ]''

== To Surrender or Not To Surrender ==

There are only two costs incurred when you lose a base:
# You lose the base and everything in it;
# You lose points for the soldiers and tanks that died defending the base.

The loss of the base is presumably erased from the annals of history. It's all kept very hush-hush from the public. The non-combat staff and all ships that were at the base are disbanded and are not lost in the battle. X-Com ships vanish without a trace, probably stolen by wretched engineers. The deaths of the soldiers on the other hand are a lot harder to explain, and friends and families are bound to make inquiries.

Therefore, if you find yourself in a situation where you are defending a base against an enemy that you have no hope of winning against, should you surrender without a fight, or fight it out? You will need to base this on who you are fighting with and what you have to fight them with.

For example, a fresh batch of recruits in jumpsuits armed with regulation standard pistols and rifles against an elite squad of [[Ethereal]]s and [[Sectopod]]s. This can be classed as a hopeless battle should you not be able to utilise the weapons used by the attackers. In a situation like this, you should cut your losses and surrender without a fight. This will incur a 0 point penalty along with the loss of the base.

On the other hand, should it be against [[Floater]]s, you could push on and try your luck.

Alternately, you could also try to kill as many raiders as you can before surrendering. As long as you did not lose any soldiers in the process, you will get a positive score for losing the base. If this is an option, go for it. If not, don't.

It is understandable that some commanders may be too proud to go down without a fight. There is nothing wrong with that, but do try to consider the consequences of any actions before taking them.

'''Note:''' All of the above relates to raids on bases when you have more than one base. If you are put into a situation where you cannot save your very last base, then you should consider restarting the game.

== Bugs ==
Base defenses can be DEADLY.

But not for the reason you think.

The game has some totally funky system for deciding what equipment in your base will be available during base defence. (See '80-item Limit' in [[Known Bugs]].) So, if you've been accumulating a lot of clips or mission specific special equipment, you might have *problems*.

Ie, make sure to sell unnecessary stuff before base defences. (You don't want to be armed with unresearched "Alien Artifacts".)

Equipment assigned to your craft is not available for base defense missions, even if that craft is currently in it's hangar.

Also much feared is the dreaded "walled off section" or [[Known_Bugs#Base_Disjoint_Bug|Base Disjoint Bug]]. Sections of your base along the extreme south and east edges will often be separated from each other by dirt walls. Heavy plasma and blaster launchers needed in this scenario to excavate the dirt. Possible that heavy explosives might work too, I'm not sure. Soldiers spawning in Stores or Living Quarters here may be trapped for the duration.

Another ANNOYING bug I find is the dissapearing bodies and booty from aliens. This is related to the 80 item bug problem.

A much nicer bug is that HWP's automatically get a free load of ammo (which is added to your stores if unused). Note you still need at least one soldier as aliens landing at an unguarded base - or a base defended only by HWP's - take it without a fight.

If you have a LOT of soldiers, enough to fill all your spawn points, soldiers will start taking alien spawn points. Which means less aliens. ''- much kudos to [Zombie]''

Macho-ists: at superhuman, you get the same qty of aliens as in the battleship, eg +25 aliens, +8 terror units. to get the full compliment to attack you base, you need AT MINIMUM 2 hangers. (unless you want aliens to spawn in general stores downstairs corridor). Four hangers gaurantee maximum alien load if you use 15 soldiers and conservative loadouts. i usually defend with 10 guys, 2 tanks VS four hangers. LasR usually
==See Also==

[[Category:Missions]]

Alien Base Assault

2005-10-27T11:07:31Z

220.245.178.131:

==Briefing==
XCom operatives have gained entrance to an alien base. The control centre must be destroyed to render the base inoperative. The Mission will terminate when all enemies are eliminated.

==Modules==
* Entry Lifts - where your soldiers start.
* Storage Rooms - Hangar-size rooms full of vats, with a security watchtower in the centre.
* Alien gardens - Dark rooms with jagged rocks and strange pulsing mushrooms. Burn 'em.
* Alien entertainment - Flashing walls and floors you thought went out with disco in the seventies.
* Fuel storage - Red pods with elerium. The target for "smash and grab" missions.
* Command Centre - the double-walled area where you'll find the Base Commander on the second floor.
NOTE: destroying the contents of this room on the second floor renders the base destroyed for all intents of a base assault. if you are only doing a smash-n-grab, don't kill all aliens and don't blow up this room.

==Notes==
Somebody turned the lights out. Alien bases start dim and remain dim, so bring electroflares.

Remember those proximity grenades as you can't guard every intersection.

Terror units will be in the area.

Alien bases can be a very quick and dirty (deadly) way to get Elerium ASAP. use option only if desperate and you don't see any landed craft. if you let alien bases appear on the geoscape and leave them be (besides assaulting the supply UFOs, of course) the aliens might build another extremely close to this base in the future. I have had 5 bases on the very tip north of Japan, right next to one of my bases (needless to say, I never had Elerium problems) TOTAL COUNT: 30 alien bases so far. (does anyone want my LOC.DAT and CRAFT.DAT files?? to study (ver 1.4) or to place into a new "SUPER superhuman" game?) i don't check back here often BTW, but within a fortnight (now 27th Oct 05)

==See Also==

[[Category:Missions]]

Terror Mission

2005-10-27T10:54:44Z

220.245.178.131:

Large numbers of aliens have landed in a major city! The population panics! There are special large "[[Terror Unit]]s" we haven't seen before!

Funnily enough, these seem to be more of a trap for your squad than a political move by the aliens... Oh well, into the breach once more...

==Briefing==
Mission will be successful when all enemy units have been eliminated or neutralised. You must attempt to save the lives of any civilians in the area by neutralising the alien menace.

== Tips & Tricks ==
* The Terror UFO isn't anywhere to be found during a terror mission.
* Urban (city/suburb) terrain.
* In a terror site - worry about your soldiers first. Civilians later. Very important. This is a game, so you can choose to be a bit heartless. [NKF]

== A debriefing ==
An excerpt from a soldier's journal who shall remain nameless:

'-- it's very strange. The aliens don't appear to want to kill the poor citizens they're terrorising. At least not at first. They won't hesitate in the least and will immediately open fire on the civilians the very moment our dropship lands in the area and lowers its access ramp . If we ignore the terror alert for a few hours, they'll kill the townsfolk anyway.

They appear to know when one of our ships is en route to the site, and will patiently wait for us to arrive. I wonder if we have any moles in the organisation, or if the aliens just have awfully powerful scanners? They just know. I guess that's all there is to say about it.

Sgt. Mikhail Okabe says it all boils down to psychological warfare. They want to break our morale by making us watch helplessly as they slaughter the people we're sworn to protect. If we arrived and all the civilians were dead, we'd probably not think twice about it, or at least not as much if we were to watch them being murdered before our very eyes, or having to listen to their tormented screams.

The aliens also seem to do something to the civilians before we arrive. At every terror site I've been to, the locals always appeared to be in a rather addle minded state, and walked about as if they're in a dream. They'll merrily walk through a hail of flying lead just to let the aliens get a better shot at them, and yet they won't seek shelter in nearby buildings or the relative safety of our dropship.

The third time they attacked Novosibirsk, I remember trying to protect an old woman from one of those furry bipedal aliens that was chasing after her. Instead of getting behind me for protection, she stared at me with a vacant smile, turned around and walked towards the alien and... That happened only a week ago, but every time I try to rest, my sleep is plagued with the same nightmare. If this keeps up, the base commander's going to need to find a new firearms instructor, and I'm going to be sporting a new jacket with very long sleeves.

But I think that's not the worst of it. If we knock out any civilians during the battle with our shock sticks, they just change. I don't really know how to describe it, except that they become someone.. no something else. . I've a feeling these people, who are in a very weakened mental state, are holding onto their minds for their dear lives. Any interference on our part just causes them to lose concentration and are thus defenceless against whatever it is that enters their heads and practically kicks them out so that it can then make itself at home.

These posessed civilians are harmless when awake, but we are still required to deal with them somehow. No matter how we decide to do that, our Damage Control specialists jump in and 'vanish' any of the affected persons. It's a very hush-hush matter. Even the inspection team from the UN who come around to assess the damage aren't made aware of the posessed civilians, so we are not credited or discredited for this little mistake of ours.

After the aliens have been dealt with, the rest of the civilians seem to recover after a few hours, and have no recollection of what had just happened to them. This is rather convenient and saves having to lug all the brainwashing equipment out there. But one does have to wonder how Damage Control is going to explain the big crater where the old gas station should be, or what's up with that inside-out vege-mart. "

-- [[User:NKF]] pasted by [[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 13:18, 25 Apr 2005 (BST)

hehe...always the gas station!

And some more: all buidlings in the cityscape are very weak, light gun-fire can destroy fences and walls. to save a few more cilivians than usual, try limiting HE rounds. TIME is NOT on your side if you want a half decent score, expand quickly and secure. the quicker you kill aliens or get them to panic, the less cilivians end up dead.

==See Also==

[[Category:Missions]]

UFO Ground Assault

2005-10-27T10:43:25Z

220.245.178.131:

==Briefing==
Explore landing site and, if possible, gain entry to the UFO. Mission will be successful when all enemy units have been eliminated or neutralised. Recovery of UFO, artefacts and alien corpses can then be initiated.

== Assaulting Supply Ships with JFG ==
After staking out a [[Floater]] base and getting a recovery craft set up, I was hijacking a [[Supply Ship]] every week for a month, and be darned if I wasn't starting to follow a pattern. I had a modified Firestorm stalking them, with 6 soldiers and a HWP; after clearing the outside and sniping a few at the exit, I'd breach with a team of 3 at each door; clear the one or two aliens usually at the grav lifts, quickly peek into the engine room in passing (150 units of intact [[Elerium-115]] waiting, sweet); send one guy straight to the top floor to hide by the door, while the other two on his team go halfway up and bust open the shaft with plasma rounds; five guys sweep the middle deck. Usually the floaters are starting to panic by now. Then all six troops re-converge on the lift, head for the upper deck, and advance on the control room. First guy out of the lift turns right; the second turns left, checks the corner, then turns to stand next to the closed door to the south; third advances past second guy to snipe towards control room; fourth (if time) enters closed door to the south. Then it's just a matter of leapfrogging most of the team up the north corridor towards the control room with overwatch while one or two do a quick sweep of the narrow south corridor, perhaps opening a shortcut across the waist of the ship with heavy plasma along the way.

Occasionally I'd vary this routine by hitting the floor of the control room from below with HE-HC or stun rounds, but that could be considered cheating. But not as [[Exploits|exploitative]] as the time I shoved a brick of HE up through the floor of the control room. A quick way to end the mission. Also fun is tossing HE or alien grenades into the diagonal walls at the back of the ship, near the lifts, from outside, with a long delay; if timed right, this kills anyone near the lifts inside just before the breaching team gets there. In mountain terrain, this might even destroy the outer wall at the waist of the ship! Easy lift access if I had stuck around!

And all that procedure comes from harsh experience, like the time I forgot to check the corner after coming out of the top level lift and was shot in the back.

And it got me a sectoid leader for [[Psionics]], too, once I had identified my weakest link and given him a standard pistol and smoke grenades. He was being alternately panicked and controlled somewhere out in the forest right up until the powersuits kicked in the control room door and hit the leader with stun rounds at point blank range. Up until that time every attempted supply ship hijacking or sectoid base raid had been a psi-attacked disaster.

--[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 14:26, 23 May 2005 (BST)

''Note: This was on Normal difficulty. At Superhuman difficulty, there's a few more aliens around, and it becomes wiser to stand in the lift (since aliens don't shoot down well) than to hide by the door. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 01:35, 26 Sep 2005 (PDT)''

And some more: THE ABOVE EXAMPLE "I had a modified Firestorm stalking them, with 6 soldiers and a HWP" indicates a modified game using XcomUtil. In an unmodified game this is just an interception craft. If you want Elerium, don't use explosives near the power cores. if you have stunned a 'soldier' class and don't want it, relocate it and grenade it, or use medikits to awaken then shoot.
If you assault craft that are landed you get more things to sell, but there may be more aliens to shoot your head off.

==See Also==

[[Category:Missions]]

Bravery

2005-10-27T09:28:01Z

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Bravery

2005-10-27T09:25:44Z

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The Bravery stat is a measure how brave the soldier is in the face of danger. A higher bravery level results in higher [[morale]] on a mission, and therefore, less likelihood of panicking or going berserk during combat.

==Starting Values==
New recruits will always begin with a value between 10 and 60.

==Improvement==
You have a chance of +10 Bravery being awarded if your soldier loses control due to heavy morale loss. If your Bravery is improving, it can be due to several reasons. On the one hand, it could mean you're not doing very well and you're losing so many soldiers that the others are panicking. Getting hurt also drops morale. Or it could mean that the soldier isn't good at resisting psi attacks.

Specifically: each time your soldier is panicked or mind controlled, his or her chance of a +10 Bravery award at the end of the mission increases by about 10%. At 10 panics and/or MCs, you have approx. a 90% chance, and at 11 mental breakdowns, the +10 Bravery award is guaranteed.

You can not get more than the lone +10 award in any one mission, even if you panic a hundred times.

Due to the way Bravery is stored in the data files, it can only have/increase in increments of 10.

==Maximum Caps==
An X-COM soldier's bravery is capped at 100 (but aliens can have a Bravery of 110). Unlike other stats, Bravery will not overflow its [[Experience#Regarding_Caps|cap]] because it can only increase by one increment at most per combat mission.

==See Also==
*[[Morale]]
*[[Experience]]
*[[Psi_Strength|Psi Strength]]

[[Category:Soldiers]]

''Thanks, User! I put it under "Improvement", above. If we get one or two others confirming, we'll take out my note. Hope you don't mind... I'm just really interested in a confirmation that the game can work some other way that I didn't realize!

''By the way... thanks for all your many contributions all around the wiki! Why not consider Logging In (upper right of wiki page) with a user name, so we see what all you've done? Otherwise the wiki gives you a different i.p. address whenever you edit, so we neither know who you are, nor are we able to see all the stuff you (as one person) have done across sessions.

''And thanks again for all your stuff! You can delete all my notes here after reading them - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]]''

UFO Components

2005-10-27T09:15:53Z

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==UFO Construction==
Alien craft consist of three main components - a [[UFO Power Source|power source]], a [[UFO Navigation|navigation system]] and a hull built from [[Alien Alloys|alien alloys]]. The hull is specially designed to allow gravity waves to be directed and controlled. In addition a small quantity of [[Elerium-115|Elerium]] is required to fuel the power source. Once the principles of construction are understood, and the functions of each component are known, then it is possible to build some equivalent craft.

==Components==
There are three primary UFO Components. You require varying amounts of these in order to research and build the [[Firestorm]], the [[Lightning]], and the [[Avenger]]. They can all be obtained during [[Alien Base Assault|Alien Base]] or [[UFO Ground Assault]] missions. --[[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 17:07, 4 Mar 2005 (GMT)
*[[UFO Power Source]]
*[[UFO Navigation]]
*[[Alien Alloys]]

==Facilities==
*[[Alien Food]]
*[[Alien Reproduction]]
*[[Alien Entertainment]]
*[[Alien Surgery]]
*[[Examination Room]]

==See Also==
[[UFO (UFO Defense)|UFOs]]

UFO Detection

2005-10-27T09:14:02Z

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Alien craft regulary enter and leave the Earth's atmosphere. Spotting them and shooting them down is an important goal. 
 
'''Detection Facilities'''
* [[Small Radar]]
* [[Large Radar]]
* [[Hyper-Wave Decoder]]
 
The above can be built in your base for the purpose of detecting UFOs nearby. 
 
(cue notes from someone who knows more about how this is done then Bomb Bloke does) 
 
Your craft can also detect UFOs via onboard scanners. If an alien vessel moves out of range of your land-based detection systems, you may be able to resume tracking by sending one of your ships to where you believe the UFO to be (based on its speed and direction).

Harvester

2005-10-27T09:02:58Z

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==General Information==
The Harvester has a trap door in its base and is equipped with lifting gear to haul up cattle or other beasts. Laser cutters are used to extract the desired material and the carcass is dumped on the ground. There are also storage containers for body parts.

==Additional Information==

Alien Harvest missions, if sucessful will give you -30 points

==See Also==

Stun Rod

2005-10-27T08:27:17Z

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To use this a soldier has to be adjacent to the alien and facing the target. It's very dangerous to use early in the game when you have low TU soldiers with bad armor. But it's the only practical means to capture an alien Navigator or Sectoid Leader/Commander as early as possible.

== Vital Statistics ==

'''Stun Rod'''
*Type: Stun
*Stunning Power: 65
*Handedness: Two-handed
* Attack Cost: 30%
* Accuracy: 100%. Always hits but you must be adjacent to and facing target
* Weight: 6
* Width: 1
* Height: 3
* Cost: $1260
* Selling Cost: $945
* Production Costs: Nil

== Usage Notes ==
Remember aliens you [[stun]] for research purposes will die unless brought back to an [[Alien Containment]] facility.
===Tips===
Early in the game, put this weapon on your more expendable soldiers - there's a good chance they will die! It's a good idea to carry a pistol in the other hand as a backup. The pistol can also be used to slightly damage a unit before/after a capture attempt or if they're suffering from smoke inhalation (to push them over the [[unconscious|consciousness]] edge).

The easiest place to get a [[Navigator]] before you can use a [[Mind Probe]] is inside a [[Large Scout]]. Usually 1 or 2 hang around inside near the [[UFO Navigation]], and it's rather safe to go through a door and stun one. The alien inside the central room is normally an [[Engineer]] and carries a [[Small Launcher]] on higher difficulties / mid-game; this can be used to your advantage.

Setting an alien on fire can make capturing it much easier. It lowers their [[health]] and [[Firing Accuracy|firing accuracy]] each turn they BBQ, making them safer to approach and easier to stun. Plus it doesn't give wounds which could kill them while unconscious. Finally, they tend to waste all their TUs running away from the fire. I'm not 100% certain, but I think when a unit goes unconscious they stop burning as well.

''[[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]] : I think so too regarding the burning. Also, early in the game, stun rods might be best used in swarms. I.e. get 2-3 men to dogpile a target alien with stun rods. Always try to approach from BEHIND aliens so as to avoid reaction fire. ALSO, I normally would NOT use the pistols. If I'm not mistaken, shooting an alien who has full TUs can cause him to spin around and shoot you back. Stun rods, for some reason, do not seem to activate reaction fire under certain conditions. (Do they activate reaction fire at all?) So, it's safer to whack em from behind 2-3 times with a stun rod than to shoot once then stun.''

Also, be very wary concerning stun rods and ELEVATION.

''[[User:NKF | NKF]] : Jasonred, a stun rod attack will indeed attract a reaction shot - and the fact you have to spend TUs walking up to the alien increases the chance of the alien reacting as soon as it is made aware that a soldier tried to attack it. See more on [[Reactions]]. ''

user: reaction shot for alien triggered only if the stun-rod soldier moves one step, if another comes up from behind the alien and tries to stun, but failed, reaction 'focus' of alien moves to this soldier. the first soldier can now move away without trigger alien fire. This above, is only if alien is facing away from soldiers

===Activating Melee Attacks for Other Items===
Every item in the game has a melee weapon rating, however the melee attack command has been disabled for all items but the stun rod. One unusual work-around is to stack the stun rod on top of another item in one of your hand slots. This has the effect of displaying the stun rod as the active weapon and hiding the ammo counter. However, when the attack menu is brought up, the stun command will now show that it requires 50% of your [[TU]]s to use and you will also get the firing commands for the stacked weapon.

Do not be fooled however by the now more expensive stun command as this new attack is deadly and will kill its target. The strength of the attack differs based on different objects, so you will have to experiment to find a good combination, as not all weapons have the same melee strength. Some do nothing, while others will kill a healthy [[superhuman]] [[sectopod]] in one hit. Try guns, grenades and even corpses if you're desparate. 

See [[Item Stacking Bug]] for instructions on item stacking.

== See Also ==

[[Item Stacking Bug]]

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Rocket Launcher

2005-10-27T08:19:29Z

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= General Information =
The rocket launcher is the equaliser of the conventional ranged weapons. It's slow, it's heavy, and it's severely limited ammunition is overshadowed by its sheer brute force. Although the alien [[Blaster Launcher]] is superior, the Rocket Launcher is cheap and ammunition is easy to obtain in large quantities. 
 
The rocket launcher is the most accurate weapon that can be fired in a straight line, surpassing even the dreaded [[Heavy Plasma]] or the weak X-Com Standard [[Rifle]]. It's slow, but the amount of firepower packed into that single shot makes up for this many times over.
 
The Rocket Launcher comes with three rocket flavours, each with its distinct advantage and disadvantage. See the respective paragraphs for more information on these rockets.

== Weapon Statistics ==
Rocket Launcher

* Firing Cost:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 45%
** Aimed: 75%

* Firing Accuracy:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 55%
** Aimed: 115%

Grip: [[Two Handed]]

* Weight: 10
* Width: 2
* Height: 3

* Cost: $4000
* Selling Cost: $3000

* Production Costs: n/a

== Ammo Vital Statistics ==
=== Small Rockets ===
Small Rockets are literally light rocket propelled grenades (RPG). They are the lightest in weight of the three types of rockets and well suited for weak recruits. Unfortunately, Small Rockets do not work very well against heavily armoured units, like the [[Cyberdisc]]. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 75
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 6
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $600
* Selling Cost: $480

* Production Costs: n/a

=== Large Rockets ===
Large rockets are the mainstay ammunition of the rocket launcher. They are identical in function with the small rocket, but have twice the firepower, and are unfortunately slightly heavier. Strong soldiers should be eqipped with a launcher and a full compliment of large rockets (three in backpack, one in tube). If the soldier is mobile, then another soldier could carry another four for the heavy weapon soldier. Despite the extreme weight, the large rocket is the most destructive and powerful ranged weapon available to X-Com personnel at the beginning of any new campaign. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 100
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $900
* Selling Cost: $720

* Production Costs: n/a

===Incendiary Rockets===
These special "Willie Peter" rockets (White Phosphorus) serve a variety of purposes, depending on the situation and the tactics employed. One of the most common uses is to illuminate a battlefield at night, the other primary use is to set fire to it. The one thing the incendiary rocket cannot do is provide instant kills on most enemies. The Large Rocket serves that role a lot better. 
 
The incendiary rocket has the highest detonation radius of all the incendiary weapons, thus it will cause a lot of fire to form on the battlefield, perfect for illumination or to clear the battlefield of thick shrubs and to slowly roast aliens to death. 
 
To better understand how the incendiary effect work, refer to the [[incendiary]] section. 
 
*Type: Incendiary
*Stopping Power: 90
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $1200
* Selling Cost: $960

* Production Costs: n/a

See also: [[Heavy Cannon]], [[Small Launcher]], [[Blaster Launcher]]

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Rocket Launcher

2005-10-27T08:12:38Z

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= General Information =
The rocket launcher is the equaliser of the conventional ranged weapons. It's slow, it's heavy, and it's severely limited ammunition is overshadowed by its sheer brute force. Although the alien [[Blaster Launcher]] is superior, the Rocket Launcher is cheap and ammunition is easy to obtain in large quantities. 
 
The rocket launcher is the most accurate weapon that can be fired in a straight line, surpassing even the dreaded [[Heavy Plasma]] or the weak X-Com Standard [[Rifle]]. It's slow, but the amount of firepower packed into that single shot makes up for this many times over.
 
The Rocket Launcher comes with three rocket flavours, each with its distinct advantage and disadvantage. See the respective paragraphs for more information on these rockets.

== Weapon Statistics ==
Rocket Launcher

* Firing Cost:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 45%
** Aimed: 75%

* Firing Accuracy:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 55%
** Aimed: 115%

Grip: [[Two Handed]]

* Weight: 10
* Width: 2
* Height: 3

* Cost: $4000
* Selling Cost: $3000

* Production Costs: n/a

== Ammo Vital Statistics ==
=== Small Rockets ===
Small Rockets are literally light rocket propelled grenades (RPG). They are the lightest in weight of the three types of rockets and well suited for weak recruits. Unfortunately, Small Rockets do not work very well against heavily armoured units, like the [[Cyberdisc]]. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 75
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 6
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $600
* Selling Cost: $480

* Production Costs: n/a

=== Large Rockets ===
Large rockets are the mainstay ammunition of the rocket launcher. They are identical in function with the small rocket, but have twice the firepower, and are unfortunately slightly heavier. Strong soldiers should be used to carry a full compliment of large rockets (three in backpack, one in tube). Despite this, the large rocket is one of the most powerful ranged weapons available to X-Com personnel at the beginning of any new campaign. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 100
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $900
* Selling Cost: $720

* Production Costs: n/a

===Incendiary Rockets===
These special "Willie Peter" rockets (White Phosphorus) serve a variety of purposes, depending on the situation and the tactics employed. One of the most common uses is to illuminate a battlefield at night, the other primary use is to set fire to it. The one thing the incendiary rocket cannot do is provide instant kills on most enemies. The Large Rocket serves that role a lot better. 
 
The incendiary rocket has the highest detonation radius of all the incendiary weapons, thus it will cause a lot of fire to form on the battlefield, perfect for illumination or to clear the battlefield of thick shrubs and to slowly roast aliens to death. 
 
To better understand how the incendiary effect work, refer to the [[incendiary]] section. 
 
*Type: Incendiary
*Stopping Power: 90
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $1200
* Selling Cost: $960

* Production Costs: n/a

See also: [[Heavy Cannon]], [[Small Launcher]], [[Blaster Launcher]]

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Rocket Launcher

2005-10-27T08:02:12Z

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= General Information =
The rocket launcher is the equaliser of the conventional ranged weapons. It's slow, it's heavy, and it's severely limited ammunition is overshadowed by its sheer brute force. Although the alien [[Blaster Launcher]] is superior, the Rocket Launcher is cheap and ammunition is easy to obtain in large quantities. 
 
The rocket launcher is the most accurate weapon that can be fired in a straight line, surpassing even the dreaded [[Heavy Plasma]] or the weak X-Com Standard [[Rifle]]. It's slow, but the amount of firepower packed into that single shot makes up for this many times over.
 
The Rocket Launcher comes with three rocket flavours, each with its distinct advantage and disadvantage. See the respective paragraphs for more information on these rockets.

== Weapon Statistics ==
Rocket Launcher

* Firing Cost:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 45%
** Aimed: 75%

* Firing Accuracy:
** Auto: n/a
** Snap: 55%
** Aimed: 115%

Grip: [[Two Handed]]

* Weight: 10
* Width: 2
* Height: 3

* Cost: $4000
* Selling Cost: $3000

* Production Costs: n/a

== Ammo Vital Statistics ==
=== Small Rockets ===
Small Rockets are literally light rocket propelled grenades. They are the lightest of the rockets and well suited for weak recruits. Unfortunately, light rockets do not work very well against heavily armoured units, like the [[Cyberdisc]]. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 75
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 6
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $600
* Selling Cost: $480

* Production Costs: n/a

=== Large Rockets ===
Large rockets are the mainstay ammunition of the rocket launcher. They are identical in function with the small rocket, but have twice the firepower, and are unfortunately slightly heavier. Strong soldiers are required in order to carry a full compliment of large rockets. Despite this, the large rocket is one of the most powerful ranged weapons available to X-Com personnel at the beginning of any new campaign. 
 
*Type: High Explosive
*Stopping Power: 100
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $900
* Selling Cost: $720

* Production Costs: n/a

===Incendiary Rockets===
These special white peter rockets serve a variety of purposes, depending on the situation and the tactics employed. One of the most common uses is to illuminate a battlefield at night, the other primary use is to set fire to it. The one thing the incendiary rocket cannot do is provide instant kills on most enemies. The Large Rocket serves that role a lot better. 
 
The incendiary rocket has the highest detonation radius of all the incendiary weapons, thus it will cause a lot of fire to form on the battlefield, perfect for illumination or to clear the battlefield of thick shrubs and to slowly roast aliens to death. 
 
To better understand how the incendiary effect work, refer to the [[incendiary]] section. 
 
*Type: Incendiary
*Stopping Power: 90
*Capacity: 1
*Weight: 8
*Width: 1
*Height: 3

* Cost: $1200
* Selling Cost: $960

* Production Costs: n/a

See also: [[Heavy Cannon]], [[Small Launcher]], [[Blaster Launcher]]

[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Mind Probe

2005-10-27T07:53:07Z

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==General Information==
The Mind Probe is an alien communication device which is used to take information directly from brain waves. X-COM units can use this device in combat to display an alien's characteristics.

==Additional Information==
The Mind Probe is a metallic alien basketball-shaped device that allows you to remotely enter the mind of the target. In game terms, this gives you a once-per-use peek at an alien's stat screen, revealing important info such as his health, TU's, and rank. Can be used on any alien within sight of any soldier. The soldier with the mind probe does not need a direct line of sight to the alien, but they will turn to face the alien.

Mind Probes must be researched before being issued to soldiers. The most common use of a mind probe is to identify high-ranking targets worthy of capture and live research. They are not vital battlefield devices and take up one hand space or 4 backpack spaces.

Although the Mind Probe uses [[Psionics]], soldiers do not need any psionic ability to use it. Because every use requires 50% [[TU]]s, you will only ever get two uses per turn - less, if you spend too much time moving or turning. A good choice for the useless officer who sits in the [[Skyranger]].

-- [[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]]

==Specifications==
'''TUs to use:''' 50%

'''Cost per unit:''' $262,000
'''Engineer-hrs to produce:''' 1200
'''Workspace required:''' 4
'''Special Materials required:''' 1 x Elerium

==Notes==
* If the alien is nearly out of [[TU]]'s, you can move without fear of drawing reaction fire.
* If the alien is low on [[morale]], it is likely to panic easily.
* If the alien is nearly out of [[health]], you might be able to bring it down or [[stun]] it with light weaponry.

==See Also==

Electro-flare

2005-10-27T07:50:56Z

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== General Information ==

The X-Com electro-flare is a light 'grenade' that provides stable illumination under any low light conditions.

Unlike conventional phosphor flares, the electro flare is not chemical, but rather electronic, as its name suggests. The electronics are encased in a light but durable shell that, while it won't survive the shockwave of an explosion, will protect the delicate circuitry from being damaged when thrown against hard surfaces.

The batteries used in the flares provide many hours of continuous illumination, making it a viable strategy for X-COM field personnel to retrieve and re-deploy the flares as many times as necessary.

To use it, a soldier only has to throw it to its destination, and the flare automatically activates once it lands.

== Specifications ==
'''TUs to use:''' 25%

'''Unit cost:''' $60

== Hints and Tips ==

* Incendiary munitions and flares should be brought along on any night mission. Incendiary ammo provides a compact but limited light source that can be deployed offensively and anywhere in the field as long as there's a clear path. Especially effective in wilderness missions. The electro flares provide long lasting redeployable, recoverable and non-lethal lighting solutions. This makes them ideal for urban missions or in situations where fire would only hinder your progress.

* Remember: electro-flares can be recovered. While it would be ideal to give everyone a flare, or two, it is not practical and is a waste of equipment space on the troop transport. Be smart. Recover the flares as soon as you are able to win more ground. One other good strategy is to use a leap frogging system. When approaching a flare that you wish to recover, deploy another flare further ahead so that any aliens shrouded in the darkness are not hidden from view. Then move in, recover the flare, then repeat the process.

--throwing accuracy increased by throwing something or just when you kill something? explain this plz

Craft Armaments

2005-10-27T07:42:00Z

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Interception craft would be useless if they had no means of neutralising enemy aircraft.

To this end, there are a number of offensive weapons available that can be fitted to interception craft for use in combat.

*[[Cannon]]
*[[Stingray|Stingray Missiles]]
*[[Avalanche|Avalanche Missiles]]

*[[Laser Cannon]]
*[[Plasma Beam]]
*[[Fusion Ball Launcher]]

As a general guide to the available weapons, 70km is the standoff range you first get the dogfight screen. Hence, if a weapon has 70km range, as soon as you press cautious attack, the weapon will be fired.

--> someone plz write up descriptions of modes of attacks and the way weapons are fired in these modes, possible damage bonuses, and even maybe chance of destroying if agressive mode? Also explain the cautious and outta ammo bug

Lightning

2005-10-27T07:31:48Z

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[[Category:Crafts]]
== General Information ==
[[Image:lightning.png|right|Lightning - New Fighter-Transporter]]The prototype X-Com fighter/transporter, the Lightning is the second UFO-based craft developed by R&D, with the emphasis on troop transport capabilities.

The Lightning is your typical 'Jack of all trades, master of none'. It neither excels at being an interceptor nor does it excel at being a troop transporter. Either role can be better filled with other aircraft, such as [[Interceptor]]s or [[Skyranger]]s, but the Lightning is a meld of both.

As an interceptor, it fails by having a short range. As a transporter, it is unable to carry [[Heavy Weapons Platforms]]. These are the main reasons why a number of [[X-COM]] Commanders frown on the usage of the Lightning.

However, unlike the [[Skyranger]] or the [[Avenger]], the Lightning does offer a completely unique experience when it comes to ground combat because of its peculiar octagonal design. Due to an unusual design flaw, troops are able to leave from four other locations apart from the official entrance. These additional exits are found on the corners of the ship.

With a combination of well trained soldiers, adequate equipment and strategy, the ability to deploy from almost every direction can prove to be very advantageous in many different situations. However, as the Lightning lacks the ability to transport [[Heavy Weapons Platforms]], only [[X-COM]] Commanders that are confident in the abilities of their squads to survive without HWPs may wish to make use of the Lightning.

As the Lightning is designed to carry troops, it lacks the acceleration of the [[Firestorm]]. This means that even though it can stay in the air for almost as long as a [[Firestorm]], it cannot fly very far. This does not necessarily render the Lightning useless. Though its range is limited, its acceleration still outclasses every other earth based aircraft available, making it excellent for rapid short range interceptions and ground assaults.

Whilst its primary role is that of troop transporter, unlike the [[Skyranger]] it has a single aircraft weapons hardpoint.

The Lightning also has much heavier armour and hull strength than the [[Firestorm]] and is second only to the [[Avenger]] in terms of its ability to sustain damage. Although it may not be destroyed completely by a single attack from a [[Battleship]], the odds of a lone Lightning surviving an attack against a [[Battleship]] are substantially smaller than that of the [[Avenger]].

The Lightning, for all its advantages and disadvantages, is best used as support for other ships with a more dedicated role rather to be relied on by itself. If you need rapid response times and don't have the Avenger, this craft can shuttle back and forth between all those landed alien craft who are building an Alien base. Grab that Elerium quick.

== Special Requirements ==
The "Lightning" craft is fuelled by [[Elerium-115]]. Before manufacturing this craft, ensure that you have sufficient stocks of Elerium in your [[General_Stores|general stores]].

One Lightning requires 6 units of Elerium for refuelling. When refuelling, the Firestorm receives 16% more fuel (i.e., 1 Elerium) every half hour, on the half hour. So it can take up to three hours to refuel, and will be finished fuelling precisely on the turn of a half hour.

Lightnings are repaired at the rate of 3% damage per day.

== Vital Statistics ==
<table>
<tr><td>Maximum Speed:</td><td>3,100</td></tr>
<tr><td>Acceleration:</td><td>8</td></tr>
<tr><td>Fuel Capacity:</td><td>30</td></tr>
<tr><td>Weapon Pods:</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td>Damage Capacity:</td><td>800</td></tr>
<tr><td>Cargo Space:</td><td>12</td></tr>
<tr><td>[[:Category:Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]] Capacity:</td><td>None</td></tr>
</table>

== See Also ==
*[[Skyranger]] - Standard Troop Transporter
*[[Avenger]] - Ultimate Craft