UFOpaedia - User contributions [en]

Alien Inventory Use

2009-07-09T09:44:21Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Things The Alien AI Does Abnormally */ free look turn 20

The workings of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) directing the Aliens are shrouded in mystery, particularly its operations on equipment in inventory. Even more so than alien fire and movement, alien inventory operations by the AI are hidden from players. The operations of the AI can't be directly observed, but must be inferred from the outwardly-visible effects (for example at the end of a turn) and augmented by Mind Probe, Psionic Mind Control, or similar techniques. This page is a collection of observations and inferences about the Alien AI.

= Normal Things Alien AI Cannot Do =

* Pick up anything
* Use any melee weapon (eg Stun with a Stun Rod, attack with a Vibroblade)
* Prime/use Smoke Grenade. (The Proximity Mine may also fall into this category as well as the Flare).
* Use Mind Probe.
* Use Motion Scanner/Medi-Kit.
* Drop anything voluntarily (except when panicking)
* Throw anything other than armed grenades/explosives (various types)

= Normal Things That The Alien AI Does Normally =

* Attack with alien built-in weapons and alien built-in melee attacks
* Load, reload and fire any ranged weapons normally
** This includes all human weapons including our so-called 'advanced' technologies. It seems the Aliens have 'Researched' all our weapons and taught their forces not only how to use them, but their strengths and weaknesses!
* Reload its weapon if empty, when spare clip(s) are available, paying TUs to do so.
* Select weapon firing mode Snap, Auto or Aimed. (All have been observed but the rules are TBD)
* If its current weapon is empty and no more clips are available: Switch to another loaded weapon, or to an unloaded weapon that has available ammo, or to a grenade. (Possibly by cheating?)
** Switching and reloading have been observed for all weapons and all weapon+ammo combinations.
* Prime and throw any standard grenades such as Grenades, Alien Grenades and High Explosives, but not Smoke Grenades or Proximity Mines.
* Use items that are placed in regular inventory slots, including the "magic pocket" (see next section) by first moving the item into the hand.
* Use soldiers' Psi-Amps when controlling MCd soldiers whose psi skill is greater than 0.
* Reaction fire with any loaded ranged weapon currently in its left or right hand.
** This is a forced, hard-coded reaction for any alien unit that's not currently taking its turn, rather than an action that the AI can choose to take, as it will even work on civilians despite them not having any code that lets them fire their weapons (if they somehow manage to get one) deliberately.
* Pays 15 TUs to reload a weapon, using a spare clip from anywhere in its inventory (but usually from the "magic slot").
* Pays 4 TUs to move objects from the "magic" leg leg slot to either Hand.
* Remembers your position for [[Alien Stats|Intelligence Stat]] turns, after sighting. This allows the alien to back out of your visual range before firing.

= Things The Alien AI Does Abnormally =

* Ignores Inventory Placement rules, by initially (pre-combat) stacking all its items (apart from weapons in hand) in a "magic pocket" on its right leg (slot 2).
* It is believed that '''all''' items are initially stacked in slot 2, but that the AI loads a weapon and moves it into each alien's right hand slot, prior to the start of Battlescape turn 1.
* Is updated with the position of all your troops on turn 0, turn 20, and if down to one or two surviving aliens. This "free peek at the board" is especially noticeable when being attacked by [[Psionics]] on turn 21.

= Alien AI Abilities To Be Determined =

*Does Encumbrance apply? - May be that Alien TUs break badly if Weight carried exceeds Strength. More investigation needed.
*Are TUs spent ''in all cases'' when moving items around?
*When does the AI move items around (regardless whether cheating or paying TUs).
*Unloading a weapon
**To select a different ammo type
**To remove a dud round
*Selecting to use, from inventory, a different (eg more powerful) weapon than what is currently held. (Alien AI does this when mind controlling humans. (What are the rules?)
* Drawing, arming and throwing a grenade/explosive, despite holding a loaded weapon. (What are the rules?).
*Changing non-empty ammo clip on a weapon (eg to a more powerful type)
**If so, what happens to partly spent clips if changed?
*Walk up a ramp? (Zombie has seen Chryssalids walking up the steps in a Lightning, so this is probably true for all transports).
*Ignoring the research status of alien weapons when using mind controlled soldiers carrying said weapons.
*Initiating Psi attack using a mind-controlled human with positive Psi Skill
**when holding a Psi-Amp
**when not holding a Psi-Amp
*Flight, especially vertical flight, when a mind-controlled human unit is equipped with a Flying Suit

= Things The AI Can't Do, That Can Be Done Under Human or Manual Control =

* Placing items anywhere other than the hands or "magic slot"?
* Using Mind Probes, Motion Scanners, Med-Kits, Flares, Smoke Grenades, Proximity Grenades.
* Picking up objects, or deliberately dropping them.

= Things The AI Can Do, That Can't Be Done Under Human or Manual Control =

* Initiate melee attacks from terrorist units
* Initiate Psi attacks from aliens with Psi Skill but no Psi-Amp

= Oddities - Things The AI Can Do, That It Really Shouldn't =

* If you use an editor to give a Reaper ([[Reaper|large furry terrorist attack animal]]) any regular ranged weapon (such as a Heavy Cannon or Plasma Rifle) in its Right, er, Paw, the Reaper will attack with that weapon in preference to its built-in melee attack. This may just be reaction fire (like armed Zombies & Chryssalids), not convinced the Reaper is firing during its own turn as well. The Reaper still tries to close to melee range if it can. The prospect of a Reaper packing a Heavy Plasma is not pretty. Nor is a "suicide" Reaper packing a Blaster Launcher to use on you at point blank range.

**However, the spectacle of a pyromaniac suicide Reaper armed with AC-IN, or equally hilarious, Rocket Launcher-Incendiery, can become QUITE pretty... if your units have Personal Armor or better.

** This trick does not work with terrorists that already have '''built-in''' ranged weapons, as they use their built-in ranged weapon instead.

* Similarly, if you arm Civilians (just with Pistols or Rifles perhaps - most countries do have laws restricting military weapons after all), they will use the weapons in Reaction fire, and will shoot indiscriminately at both X-COM soldiers and Aliens. The reason for this is that the civilians are neither X-com nor Alien... they are on an entirely separate team, which is why you can cause a bug making them permanently on the alien side. (if you subsequently MC and KO them, you can sort of get them on the X-com team)

Alien Inventory Use

2009-07-09T09:40:42Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Normal Things That The Alien AI Does Normally */ remembers position

The workings of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) directing the Aliens are shrouded in mystery, particularly its operations on equipment in inventory. Even more so than alien fire and movement, alien inventory operations by the AI are hidden from players. The operations of the AI can't be directly observed, but must be inferred from the outwardly-visible effects (for example at the end of a turn) and augmented by Mind Probe, Psionic Mind Control, or similar techniques. This page is a collection of observations and inferences about the Alien AI.

= Normal Things Alien AI Cannot Do =

* Pick up anything
* Use any melee weapon (eg Stun with a Stun Rod, attack with a Vibroblade)
* Prime/use Smoke Grenade. (The Proximity Mine may also fall into this category as well as the Flare).
* Use Mind Probe.
* Use Motion Scanner/Medi-Kit.
* Drop anything voluntarily (except when panicking)
* Throw anything other than armed grenades/explosives (various types)

= Normal Things That The Alien AI Does Normally =

* Attack with alien built-in weapons and alien built-in melee attacks
* Load, reload and fire any ranged weapons normally
** This includes all human weapons including our so-called 'advanced' technologies. It seems the Aliens have 'Researched' all our weapons and taught their forces not only how to use them, but their strengths and weaknesses!
* Reload its weapon if empty, when spare clip(s) are available, paying TUs to do so.
* Select weapon firing mode Snap, Auto or Aimed. (All have been observed but the rules are TBD)
* If its current weapon is empty and no more clips are available: Switch to another loaded weapon, or to an unloaded weapon that has available ammo, or to a grenade. (Possibly by cheating?)
** Switching and reloading have been observed for all weapons and all weapon+ammo combinations.
* Prime and throw any standard grenades such as Grenades, Alien Grenades and High Explosives, but not Smoke Grenades or Proximity Mines.
* Use items that are placed in regular inventory slots, including the "magic pocket" (see next section) by first moving the item into the hand.
* Use soldiers' Psi-Amps when controlling MCd soldiers whose psi skill is greater than 0.
* Reaction fire with any loaded ranged weapon currently in its left or right hand.
** This is a forced, hard-coded reaction for any alien unit that's not currently taking its turn, rather than an action that the AI can choose to take, as it will even work on civilians despite them not having any code that lets them fire their weapons (if they somehow manage to get one) deliberately.
* Pays 15 TUs to reload a weapon, using a spare clip from anywhere in its inventory (but usually from the "magic slot").
* Pays 4 TUs to move objects from the "magic" leg leg slot to either Hand.
* Remembers your position for [[Alien Stats|Intelligence Stat]] turns, after sighting. This allows the alien to back out of your visual range before firing.

= Things The Alien AI Does Abnormally =

* Ignores Inventory Placement rules, by initially (pre-combat) stacking all its items (apart from weapons in hand) in a "magic pocket" on its right leg (slot 2).
* It is believed that '''all''' items are initially stacked in slot 2, but that the AI loads a weapon and moves it into each alien's right hand slot, prior to the start of Battlescape turn 1.

= Alien AI Abilities To Be Determined =

*Does Encumbrance apply? - May be that Alien TUs break badly if Weight carried exceeds Strength. More investigation needed.
*Are TUs spent ''in all cases'' when moving items around?
*When does the AI move items around (regardless whether cheating or paying TUs).
*Unloading a weapon
**To select a different ammo type
**To remove a dud round
*Selecting to use, from inventory, a different (eg more powerful) weapon than what is currently held. (Alien AI does this when mind controlling humans. (What are the rules?)
* Drawing, arming and throwing a grenade/explosive, despite holding a loaded weapon. (What are the rules?).
*Changing non-empty ammo clip on a weapon (eg to a more powerful type)
**If so, what happens to partly spent clips if changed?
*Walk up a ramp? (Zombie has seen Chryssalids walking up the steps in a Lightning, so this is probably true for all transports).
*Ignoring the research status of alien weapons when using mind controlled soldiers carrying said weapons.
*Initiating Psi attack using a mind-controlled human with positive Psi Skill
**when holding a Psi-Amp
**when not holding a Psi-Amp
*Flight, especially vertical flight, when a mind-controlled human unit is equipped with a Flying Suit

= Things The AI Can't Do, That Can Be Done Under Human or Manual Control =

* Placing items anywhere other than the hands or "magic slot"?
* Using Mind Probes, Motion Scanners, Med-Kits, Flares, Smoke Grenades, Proximity Grenades.
* Picking up objects, or deliberately dropping them.

= Things The AI Can Do, That Can't Be Done Under Human or Manual Control =

* Initiate melee attacks from terrorist units
* Initiate Psi attacks from aliens with Psi Skill but no Psi-Amp

= Oddities - Things The AI Can Do, That It Really Shouldn't =

* If you use an editor to give a Reaper ([[Reaper|large furry terrorist attack animal]]) any regular ranged weapon (such as a Heavy Cannon or Plasma Rifle) in its Right, er, Paw, the Reaper will attack with that weapon in preference to its built-in melee attack. This may just be reaction fire (like armed Zombies & Chryssalids), not convinced the Reaper is firing during its own turn as well. The Reaper still tries to close to melee range if it can. The prospect of a Reaper packing a Heavy Plasma is not pretty. Nor is a "suicide" Reaper packing a Blaster Launcher to use on you at point blank range.

**However, the spectacle of a pyromaniac suicide Reaper armed with AC-IN, or equally hilarious, Rocket Launcher-Incendiery, can become QUITE pretty... if your units have Personal Armor or better.

** This trick does not work with terrorists that already have '''built-in''' ranged weapons, as they use their built-in ranged weapon instead.

* Similarly, if you arm Civilians (just with Pistols or Rifles perhaps - most countries do have laws restricting military weapons after all), they will use the weapons in Reaction fire, and will shoot indiscriminately at both X-COM soldiers and Aliens. The reason for this is that the civilians are neither X-com nor Alien... they are on an entirely separate team, which is why you can cause a bug making them permanently on the alien side. (if you subsequently MC and KO them, you can sort of get them on the X-com team)

Talk:Alien Stats

2009-07-09T09:34:38Z

JellyfishGreen: New section: Intelligence and the Turn 20 Free Look Phenomenon

== Welcome to the new Alien Stats page ==

To those involved in the discussion moved here from Under The Hood: there's a lot to tie together before there is a consensus on a final set of stats. Either that, or, I'm easily confused... which is probably the more likely choice of the two. :P

I hope no one minds me making a new page. If you have better ideas for naming or placing it, please speak up. In the meantime, until things get clarified (see below), I don't want to work on this actual Page yet. The plan is to work out the major differences here in Discussion, then post to the Page once things are clarified. ''- [[User:MikeTheRed|MTR]]

Here is a summary and snippets from the Under The Hood discussion:

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I'd like to have alien stats as seen in the [http://www.xcomufo.com/usg.html USG] Section 9.0 broken out by rank and game difficulty. - MTR

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For what it's worth, I have been dilligently working on just this topic for a while now (each and every stat personally verified by myself). I'm over 3/4 done, with only Superhuman left. Gimme a little bit to get it all pulled together. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 21:39, 10 Nov 2005 (PST)

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There's an Excel table made by a guy that contains all the stats, including the differences between levels. You can get it [http://www.xcomufo.com/area51/files/aliendat.zip here] --[[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 23:18, 10 Nov 2005 (PST)

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== Notes/Discussion re: a unified Alien Stats list ==

These notes are as much simply notes to myself (MTR), as they are for others. You will see why I'm in such a state of confusion that I don't know what to put on the Page for this discussion.

=== GEOSCAPE/XcomUtil data ===

The data found in XcomUtil.cfg's AlienStats section EXACTLY matches data found in GEOSCAPE.EXE (start position 379,729; reclen 39; 33 records). Not a single difference in byte values. Indeed, XcomUtil ('''Xcu''') didn't bother to sort the records or move the columns in any way. This is for XCOM DOS 1.4. We can only presume Xcu did the same thing for its TFTD data. However, I have seen at least a few differences in this data vs. what I've seen in the game... and as mentioned, it does not have difficulty levels; just one set of alien race+rank. Note that Xcu/GEO have quite a few more fields than can be seen with e.g. a Mind Probe. Let me ([[User:MikeTheRed|MTR]]) know if you want a copy.

=== Aztec's Spreadsheet ===

Aztec's spreadsheet on Hobbes' [http://www.xcomufo.com/area51 site] has many of the same fields as the Geo data, so he might've hacked it too. Hobbes, do you have a contact for Aztec by any chance? We should invite him... who knows if s/he's still interested, though. I have it in Excel/Access if anybody wants it.

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I got it from a russian website some time ago. I can try to find it again if you want it.

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Z has said that basically Aztec copied the OSG. Still, if you want, you can try to contact Aztec. Entirely up to you, Hobbes, we don't care. But maybe Aztec would like to join in. FWIW it was a trip to see Cyrillic notes.

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The site I took it from was this [http://freelancer.ag.ru/gamearchive/download/index_eng.shtml one]. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a contact for Aztec. But then I don't really care also :)

[[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 07:52, 12 Nov 2005 (PST)

=== Comparing Geo to Aztec ===

Since everyone has access to Aztec's spreadsheet, it's not really necessary to have the Geo one (though I'm happy to send it to you). Here are all the differences:

*'''Inherent Differences:'''
**Aztec has all five diffulty levels; Geo only has one. I wonder if this means alien stats can be easily based off of one set of core stats.
**Aztec has info on Zombies, Geo does not. Conversely, Geo has two entries for civilians and a tank and hovertank entry; Aztec doesn't have any of these. Thus Geo has 33 records for XCOM (and Xcu has 28 for TFTD, presumably also from TFTD's Geo), while Aztec has 30 records for XCOM, times 5 for Difficulty equals 150 records.
**Geo has approximately a dozen more fields than Aztec. I think it's stuff like "float" and some others we've figured out, as well as some unknowns, and a few potential garbage/unused fields (e.g. all 0). Keep in mind that Geo is a dump of Geo... not a tailored end report.
*'''Bytes that are always different:''' Comparing the two, we see that there are fixed bytes that are always the same in Aztec, but different from Geo (does not change with Aztec Difficulty level):
**Sectopod, Health: Aztec 120 - Geo 96 = 24
**Reaper, Bravery: Aztec 80 - 90 = -10
**Floater Commander, Melee Accuracy: Aztec 70 - Geo 76 = -6
**Floater Leader, Aggression: Aztec 1 - Geo 2 = -1
**Floater Leader, Intelligence: Aztec 6 - Geo 72 = -1
*'''Systematic differences:''' I don't know what to make of these, but there they are. (Why only be different at one level, or at all levels except one?)
**Geo has twice the Firing Accuracy and twice the Armor, vs. Aztec Beginner level. But not versus its other levels(?!). FWIW, my in-game experience matches Aztec - but I am using DOS XCOM 1.4, which means I'm locked into Beginner even though I selected Experienced, right?
**EXCEPT for Celatid and Chryssalid, Firing Accuracy and Armor. Here, Aztec and Geo agree at Beginner, and Aztec is twice Geo, at all higher levels. See how confused I am? hehe.
**I wonder if Aztec made some assumptions and interpolated incorrectly... or could Geo itself somehow be wrong? At least in terms of directly snarfing its bytes... who knows what additional post-processing goes on, and I know that ''my'' experience matches Aztec's (but is my game at Beginner or Experienced? sigh)

=== Aztec's Data Across Difficulty Levels ===
Aztec has 30 different records for each difficulty level, as follows:
# Race Rank
1 Celatid
2 Chryssalid
3 CyberDisk
4 Ethereal Commander
5 Ethereal Leader
6 Ethereal Soldier
7 Floater Commander
8 Floater Engineer
9 Floater Leader
10 Floater Medic
11 Floater Navigator
12 Floater Soldier
13 Muton Engineer
14 Muton Navigator
15 Muton Soldier
16 Reaper
17 Sectoid Commander
18 Sectoid Engineer
19 Sectoid Leader
20 Sectoid Medic
21 Sectoid Navigator
22 Sectoid Soldier
23 Sectopod
24 Silacoid
25 Snakeman Commander
26 Snakeman Engineer
27 Snakeman Leader
28 Snakeman Navigator
29 Snakeman Soldier
30 Zombie
Thus there are 150 records in his "database", for the five levels. And a potential 150 unique values for each type of alien statistic. But do all aliens have different values for each statistic? No.

*'''Stats that never change:''' Comparing across Aztec's five levels, here are alien stats that do not change across Difficulty level, although they can be different for the 30 different types of aliens. IOW, an Ethereal Commander's Health will be the same from Beginner to Superhuman, but its value can be different from an Ethereal Leader's Health:
**Health
**Bravery
**Throwing Accuracy
**Melee a.k.a. Close Combat Accuracy
**Can Fly
**Aggression - see [[UNITREF.DAT]][44]
**Intelligence - UNITREF[73]
**Score Value (Mission Points for death or 2x for capture)
*'''Stats that sometimes change:''' The first makes sense. The other, I wonder about:
**Psi Skill - This is zero for most aliens at all Difficulties (25 alien race+ranks in all). The other 5 race+ranks all have differing values at each Difficulty level: All Ethereals (Commander, Leader, Soldier), and two Sectoids (Commander, Leader). 25+5x5=50 unique values total across the 150 records.
**Armor - This is an odd one. For all five armor places (front, left, right, rear, under), everyone has one value at Beginner level, and then twice the Beginner armor level, for the four higher levels. Total unique values across the 150 records is 60 (30 at Beginner, 30 at another armor level, for the other four Difficulty levels).
*'''Exceptions to stats that always differ across Difficulty levels:''' Past the stats listed above, all the other stats have many unique values across the 150 records. There are only two stats which have 150 unique values across all 150 records: Strength and Psi Strength. The exceptions to not being unique, generally make sense.
**TUs: Chyrssalid is 124 at both Genius and Superhuman. 149 unique values.
**Stamina/Energy: Zombie is 124 at Genius and Superhuman. 149 unique values.
**Reactions: All six Sectoid ranks (Soldier, Medic, Nav, Eng, Ldr, Cdr) are 74 at Gen and SH. 144 values.
**Firing Accuracy: The Chrysallid, Reaper, Silacoid, and Zombie all have 0; everyone else has unique values. No surprise, since they are melee only. But it reduces the usual count of five distinct values for these four Terrorists across Difficulty levels to 4 instead of 20; thus 134 unique values.

===Danial's Discoveries===
Here's what I've just found regarding skill level increases, though it's far from concrete:
'''Stat Increase Per Skill Level'''
TUs 5%
Health 0% (constant)
Stamina 5%
Reactions 5%
Strength 5%
Bravery 0% (constant)
Firing Acc. 100%; 5%*
Throwing Acc. 0% (constant)
Close Acc. 0% (constant)
Armour 100%** (constant @ >=Exp. Skill)
Psi Skill 5%
Psi Strength 5%
Aggression 0% (constant)
Intelligence 0% (constant)

'''Note:''' These %'s are integers, so 5% of 52 = 2.6, which will add only 2TUs, resulting in 54.

*Doubles from Beginner to Experience, plus 5%; then 5% each following skill level.
**Doubles from Beginner to Experienced, and then remains constant.

== We could sure use some Good Data, Z :) ==
Looking forward to your data Z. I sure hope you can lay some of my confusion to rest.

Anyone else is welcome to join in, of course!

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I have known of Aztec's spreadsheet for a while now. It's good, but all the stats are just yanked out of the OSG. (Do you see a problem here)? I do. The OSG has been known to be wrong before. The alien stat sheet is no different. From my verifications, some of those numbers are not correct. I think that might explain some of the trouble.

The reason why you only see one set of stats in the game files is because the game only needs one set - like you guessed, the other levels are calculated off this "base" value. The OSG for Enemy Unknown doen't say anything about this, but the OSG for TFTD does verify that the stats are calculated with base modifiers. (I must mention that TFTD is harder at superhuman because the modifications are higher - the "base" level is assumed to be Veteran in TFTF, while in EU the "base" seems to be Beginner).

Armor for the higher skill levels (Exp, Vet, Gen, Sup) is simply double the Beginner level.

The stats that do seem to change across skill level are TU, Stamina, Reactions, FA, Strength and Psi Str. For aliens with Psi abilities, their Psi Skill also increases. (This coincides with the OSG from TFTD). Oh, yeah. CCBA also increases (Close Combat Base Accuracy) Hope this helps. I'm just dumping stuff here to hit the most asked questions. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 17:03, 11 Nov 2005 (PST)

That sounds like a great idea, Papa Legba. It's just as important as a listing of numbers - because it's just as important to help newbies, as it is to have advanced stuff. In fact, I suggest putting your info on the page before the listing of numbers... introductory stuff before advanced stuff. Why not copy it on over and get the page started? Otherwise we're waiting for Zombie to finalize his alien stats, which should be soon. Then we'll add that. -[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]]

== Future Work ==
Things seem to be falling together, especially with Danial's findings. However, Danial did a quick and dirty analysis (personal comm.), and of course everything can be worked into a user friendly way, given time. Both Danial and I have only been able to comment on Geo and OSG - we await Z's findings dearly. As stated above, there are discrepancies between Geo and OSG, and while we assume Geo is correct, is it really? Only troops on the ground, fighting it out street to street, can say for sure. This is a common hazard for the military; the real world versus training docs, in 1000 AD, 2000 AD, or 3000 AD. ---[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 20:28, 11 Nov 2005 (PST)

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I don't have anything useful to add to this discussion, but I'll say one thing: the best way to get this hammered out is probably to put the best version you have up and let the criticism come in. It can always be edited later. Things tend to hang around in limbo indefinately if you try to make the first version absolutely perfect.

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Well, I have all the necessary data compiled and ready. All that is left is to iron out some minor details. So keep your eyes peeled, help is on its way. :) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 00:32, 20 December 2005 (PST)

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Hi, Zombie, can I urge you to release your data, even in raw form? It's info the wiki is sorely lacking, and I don't want to have to repeat your efforts and gather the data myself. --[[User:Ethereal Cereal|Ethereal Cereal]] 15:44, 13 May 2006 (PDT)

== P.S. Re: Tanks ==

Ok, I've cleaned this out... there was nothing much to see here, except the fact that XcomUtil messed with my tank stats, laugh. Thanks to Hobbes, EsTeR, and Danial for setting me straight -[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]]

== Intelligence and the Turn 20 Free Look Phenomenon ==

QUOTE (Zombie @ Jan 16 2009, 06:31 PM)
<blockquote>Here's what happens: at the beginning of a mission (turn 0), the aliens know the stats and locations of all your troops. (I just tested this again to be sure: edited 10 Sectoid Leaders and 10 Commanders to be on a Large Scout, then edited my soldiers to have 10 Bravery and 0 for Psi Strength and Psi Skill. On the aliens first turn, half my troops were under control by them). The aliens have an intelligence stat which allows them to remember the stats and locations of your troops, and the higher the number the longer they remember. For aliens, that number is between 2 and 8 (which translates to a 2-8 round memory). After that time period is up and the alien doesn't see any of your units, it's memory is wiped clean and is basically blind and has to search for more targets.

This changes when one of [these] conditions happens.
* If you kill all the aliens except for two (or one, it doesn't matter) then the aliens are granted the omnipotent power to see the stats and locations of your troops again (hence why I said "re-reveal" in my previous post).
* Or, if it hits turn 20 and there are still aliens left on the map, they get a free look around. In either case, the aliens use their intelligence stat yet again to remember what was shown to them. After this time period is up, the aliens will be totally blind because there are no more "free-looks" coded into the executable. So if you can last this long and remain hidden, the remaining aliens are going to have to search for you which may take a while.

That's what I believe happens. It needs to be tested though, so if I get some time tonight or this weekend I'll do a little more editing. </blockquote>

Info (em@il)

2009-04-06T17:07:37Z

JellyfishGreen: A stub of basic information. Pete was talking about excom in February.

Email XCOM (excom) was a play-by-email game from Hasbro Interactive that used the character concepts of X-COM and the tile-based gameplay of Rebelstar. All turns had to be registered on the server, which has been retired. See the links below on how to play without the server.

==Links==
[http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/excom.htm World of Stuart] has an introduction and patches.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-COM:_Email_games Wikipedia article]

[http://xcom.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/x5f2.shtml Utilities including editor and server bypass] on XCommand.

==Credits==
'''Hasbro Interactive Development Team''' 

'''Programming''' 
Adrian Scotney 

'''Art''' 
Pete Austin 
Drew Northcott 
Jonathon Rowe 
Wiggz 

'''Mapping and Design''' 
Pete Austin 
Marc Curtis 
Rab Letham 
Drew Northcott 
Wiggz 

'''Audio''' 
John Broomhall 
Darren Lambourne 

'''Manual''' 
The Write Stuff 
John Possidente 

'''Special Thanks''' 
Byron Schubert @ Xcommand 

'''Hasbro Interactive''' 

'''President''' 
Tom Dusenberry 

'''Producer''' 
Ken Megill 

'''Product Manager''' 
Scott Schaier 

'''Executive Producer''' 
Mike Glosecki 

'''Creative Director''' 
David Walls 

'''Director of Business Development''' 
John Sutyak 

'''V.P. Research and Development''' 
Tony Parks 

'''V.P. of Technology''' 
Rich Reily 

'''Director of Quality Assurance''' 
Michael Craighead 

'''Q.A. Manager''' 
Kurt Boutin 

'''Q.A. Supervisor''' 
Andy Mazurek 

'''Testers, Beverly''' 
Jake Hopkins (Lead) 
Mark Huggins 
Jen Kaczor 
Jason King 
Randy Lee 
Dan McJilton 
John Silvius 

'''Testers, Hunt Valley''' 
Mike Davidson (Lead) 
Grant Frazier 
Jason Gleason 
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'''Testers, Chipping Sodbury''' 
Darren Kirby (Lead) 
Pete Austin 
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'''General Manager, Marketing''' 
John Hurlbut 

'''Director of Marketing''' 
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'''Director of Marketing Services''' 
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'''Channel Marketing Director''' 
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'''Channel Marketing Manager''' 
Sarah McIlroy 

'''Director of Public Relations''' 
Laura Tomasetti 

'''Creative Services Director''' 
Steve Webster 

'''Creative Services Manager''' 
Kathryn Lynch 

'''Art Director''' 
Steve Martin 

'''Editorial Specialist''' 
Elizabeth Mackney 

'''Documentation Manager''' 
John Possidente 

'''Manager of Technical Services''' 
Tony Moreira 

'''Director of Operations''' 
Bob Sadacca 

'''Operations and Special Projects Manager''' 
Tracy Kureta 

'''Legal and Finance''' 
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'''Hasbro Interactive Worldwide''' 

'''Managing Director''' 
Tim Christian 

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Steve Cross 

'''Head of Localization''' 
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'''VR-1, Inc. (Server Development)''' 

'''Producer''' 
Mike Rooks 

'''Design''' 
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'''Lead Programmer''' 
Alexander Chekhovtsov 

'''Programmers''' 
Alexander Doudorov 
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==See Also==
{{Games Navbar}}

Terror Units

2009-04-03T15:14:51Z

JellyfishGreen: /* When Do Terror Units Show Up? */ grammar

Each species of [[Alien Life Forms|Alien]] has a counterpart species that it brings along for especially demanding missions where more assault power is required-- most famously the [[Terror Mission]]s launched against major cities. These creatures are called terror units, and bring a new destructiveness to the battle. Only the [[Muton]]s break this pattern, using two different species of terror unit simultaneously.

For an overview and comparisons between see [[Overviews of Aliens]]. For information on the vital statistics of aliens, see [[Alien Stats]].

==When Do Terror Units Show Up?==
Terror units will always be present for these scenarios:
*[[Terror ship|Terror Ships]], including city [[Terror Mission]]s
*[[Battleship]]s, including XCOM [[Base Defense]] missions (always performed by a Battleship)
*[[Alien Base Assault|Alien Bases]], including Cydonia

Terror units will never be present on any small UFO, medium UFO, or [[Supply ship|Supply Ship]].

==Terror Unit Types==
*[[Cyberdisc]] - the [[Sectoid]]'s terror unit.
*[[Reaper]] - the [[Floater]]'s terror unit.
*[[Chryssalid]] - the [[Snakeman]]'s terror unit.
**[[Zombie]] - an intermediate stage of the [[Chryssalid]].
*[[Celatid]] - One of the [[Muton]]'s two terror unit types.
*[[Silacoid]] - One of the [[Muton]]'s two terror unit types.
*[[Sectopod]] - The [[Ethereal]]'s terror unit.

== Capturing Live Terror Units ==
Of the six terror unit types (seven if you include Zombies), only four can be captured live and placed in [[Alien Containment]]: Reapers, Chryssalids, Celatids, and Silacoids. [[UFOpaedia]] entries on the two robotic terror units -- Cyberdiscs and Sectopods -- can only be generated by researching alien Medics, which sometimes divulge information on other species. Zombies will never have a UFOpaedia entry.

==Notes==
*The presence of terror units significantly changes a battle. For example: by themselves, Snakemen are far less frightening than Mutons. Snakemen have far less moblity and poorer combat skills. However, the addition of the Chryssalid makes a Snakeman terror mission into a nightmare. The Mutons' weak Celatids and Silacoids make Muton terror missions seem much more relaxed by comparison.

==See Also==
[[Terror Mission]]s 
[[Terror Units (TFTD)]]

{{Aliens Navbar}}
[[Category:Missions]]

UFO Ground Assault

2009-04-03T14:57:52Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Medium Scout */ tidy

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

==Breaching UFOs==
Most of a UFO ground assault is like any other mission. Use smoke grenades to disembark; illuminate the exterior in night missions with flares or fires; and use fire team tactics for [[Sweeping the Battlescape]]. The moment of entry into the UFO can be a unique challenge, however, as the first soldier inside a UFO strongroom is often a guaranteed casualty. Several measures can be taken to reduce the agony of this crucial (and sometimes climactic) phase of the battle.

'''1. Rookies ("puppets") first.''' It never hurts to deliberately take a few rookies or underachievers to absorb enemy reaction shots and/or psionic attacks. (You end up with a lot more Sergeants as these guys are rotated in and out of the Skyranger.) One of these should be sent first through UFO doors.

'''2. Cover the point.''' Have the rest of his fire team positioned a few squares behind with plenty of TUs to fire over his shoulder. They may be able to throw explosives (or even smoke) into the room, or even shoot all the aliens inside. They risk shooting the point (the rookie who entered the door), but the aliens are more likely to do that if you don't kill them all first. Any TUs the rookie uses to kneel, escape, or fire may get him shot. The aliens will have a harder time returning fire against shots over his shoulder (hitting the UFO wall etc). ''Save the point soldier's TUs until after the rest of the team has used all of theirs.'' Remember to NOT ''throw'' explosives until AFTER you have ''fired'' explosives.

'''3a. BANZAI!!''' (Note: Without the right equipment, this can be considered a "sacrificial rookie" tactic; but with the right equipment the rookie stands a good chance of survival. Consider a [[Power Suit]] and an [[Auto-Cannon]] with explosive ammunition for for this purpose, at least for the frontline rookies.)

The point may have to take one for the team. The worst case scenario is that the entire team misses the aliens, the aliens kill the point, and then come out to shoot the team (who burned all their TUs up covering the point). Even if the point tries to retreat, he may be shot, and if he is using a rifle-type weapon, he may still get shot after killing one alien. The solution is to use whatever explosives he is carrying to kill as many aliens inside as possible before dying, or upon death. Sufficient armor will allow him to do this with minimal personal risk.

Do this AFTER the team has tried and failed to clear the room. If he is carrying a grenade, prime it and, if for some reason he can't toss it (usually because he spent 8-14 TUs getting to and through the door) move him as far toward the group of aliens as possible. In a small room, he will be in their midst by the time they shoot him. If they don't kill him, and he has 2 TUs left, he can drop the primed grenade. This also works with smoke if the aliens are far enough away. If he is using rockets or explosive ammunition, fire at point blank range and blast everything in the room (preferably targeting the rear wall or alien). If he is wearing a power or flying suit, then ordinary grenades, AC-HE, and HC-HE ammunition will be nearly harmless. The edge of a rocket blast is also much less dangerous in armor. He or someone behind him may be able to bombard the room with minimal risk. Of course, in a small UFO the power source and Elerium may be nearby, so the use of extreme measures to clear the room in one turn may be at the expense of valuable resources. Another option is the [[Small Launcher]], but the point has no defense against [[Stun Bomb]]s. (see also #3b below)

'''3b. Shoot the rookie (gently).''' Send one rookie, wearing any armor, through the door. If he survives (which he often does, thanks to the mutual surprise rule), he can safely turn around to spot any aliens, as turning does not provoke [[Reaction fire triggers|Reaction fire]]. Unfortunately, taking any other action will likely prove fatal. So shoot him - with a [[Stun Bomb]]. With any luck, he'll drop to the floor, [[Unconscious]] - but alive (as long as he wasn't carrying a live grenade). Snipers can then shoot through the door at spotted aliens, from outside their sight range. This tactic works quite well when assaulting a [[Large Scout]] with destroyed interior; firing a large rocket through the open door and into the back wall has a good chance of killing the aliens who tend to lurk in that area.

The rookie could also carry a primed [[Smoke Grenade]]. This will go off after the rookie drops (for whatever reason), providing cover for the next soldier through the door.

Another soldier can pick him up and/or revive him after the room is secured. Be careful with explosives until then, as it is very easy to kill an unconscious soldier in any armor.

'''Alternate Strategy: Ambush (The old Stand-by).''' Depending on your soldiers' [[Reactions]] and [[Time Units]], you may be able to form a firing line outside of dangerous rooms to wait for the aliens to emerge. On Superhuman difficulty, simply waiting outside a door may not prevent the emerging aliens from getting the first shot. You may need to force them to move out further, depleting TUs and ending up with less [[Reaction fire formula|Initiative]] when they sight your soldiers. This can be accomplished by waiting around a nearby corner or by deploying a Smoke Grenade in front of the door with several squares' distance between the door and your firing line. Most of the aliens will pile out by Turn 20 or 21, but often a command crew will remain inside larger UFOs, and you still might employ the above tactics to finish the mission.
Alternatively, set up a decoy... use either tanks or rookies to draw fire, while your more valuable troopers shoot any emerging aliens.

Also, beware of Blaster Bombs when setting up an ambush. If there is a clear path to a blaster-wielding Commander or Engineer (on battleships and base missions) it will blast the ambush team almost invariably. This is not a problem on all other UFOs (those not carrying blaster troopers). [[Terror Units]] also pose a threat to ambush teams due to their typically high armor and TUs. For these reasons, ambushes on missions associated with Terror Ships and Battleships should be carefully planned.

'''Supplemental Measure: Make a new hole.''' A second (or third, or fourth, or nth) entry in a UFO exterior created by a [[Blaster Bomb]] (or [[Heavy Plasma]] for interior walls) is a lot safer than a pre-existing door. Aliens can only patrol along the routes set in the game files and will be completely oblivious to any new entries/exits created. Aliens may know where your troops are, but will have to exit the normal doors in order to reach them. This allows your soldiers to set up ambush points along the perimeter of the UFO to nab aliens before they can do much harm.

'''Note:''' Proximity grenades may occasionally kill the aliens inside when one steps out, but this isn't always the case, and proximity grenades have other limitations (especially deep inside big UFOs).

4. Camp the Grav Lifts. This is really an exploit, but aliens don't know how to shoot down the lift shaft, so they're sitting ducks.

5. Shoot around corners is good ... Well, not really. But explosives can do damage to enemies (and objects) hiding around the corner, which means you can often avoid having to step around the corner and be immediately gunned down by a camping alien waiting to reaction shot you to death!

== Specific UFO Tactics ==

===Small Scout===

If the alien is in the UFO, toss a grenade up the grav shaft or shoot up the shaft. Most likely, the alien will be found around the base of the UFO or about the battlescape.

===Medium Scout===

This UFO is hard to storm. If you can afford to lose Elerium, have a grenade, or even better, a High Explosive carrying rookie enter first, or smash it open with a blaster bomb, then grenade the inside. Nuking a new hole in one of the exterior walls is a great way to clear the inside with conventional weapons and save that precious Elerium.

An Ambush strategy can work well. Early game, losing a Power Source, Navigation, and Elerium is NOT an option. ($660,000 worth of loot! And blowing up Elerium is WORSE than selling it.) And you have no blaster bombs. So ambush becomes your only real option.

As for the remaining stragglers who refuse to come out... the Stun Rod is surprisingly good! Because it does not draw *immediate* reaction fire when used on aliens which cannot see you. See [[reaction fire triggers]]. Or a weapon with AutoFire. It's melee range is overcome by the fact that you are already at nearly point blank range after stepping through the door...

===Large Scout===

This is also hard to storm, as the grenade strategy does not work, then you have to kill/stun the navigators by rushing the command center, THEN kill the engineer in the engine room. Throwing High Explosives or firing Large Rockets (or even Stun Bombs) into the diagonal areas will allow the explosion to reach the inner bridge and may kill/stun aliens camped there. Then it's just a matter of luring the Engineer out of the engine room.
Remember that the bridge has 2 entrances, and aliens will usually only be guarding 1 entrance. So you should mass your troops at both doors, then step through with 1 troop. If he gets shot at or if he has an alien facing him, charge in through the other door.

===Harvester===

This ship has a weird layout, and is a total mess to storm without heavy plasmas and/or flying suits. If you have flying suits, enter the East door, then clear the ground floor and fly up to clear the remainder of the craft.
Easiest to camp the Grav lifts, exploiting the poor AI.

===Abductor===

Finally, one which is not quite so problematic to storm. Enter through the door, slaughter any alien in the entryway, then rush the next room. Either burn through the roof and kill the commanders (recommended) or work your way over to the grav lift, move up a floor, and then kill the command crew (only do this if you lack heavy plasmas). Either way, the command team is dead, and you just have to clean up the surviving, panicked crew.

===Supply Ship===

Mount a 2-pronged assault through both entrances, and blow your way in through the third floor walls to kill the command crew. The back of the first floor is surprisingly a common source of deaths for whatever reason, and the second floor is excellent for alien last stands, because of the compact quarters. In an unmodified map, the South East exterior door lacks a thru-route which makes it safe to stand behind it during the aliens turn. On your round you can safely enter the door, shoot at any enemies and then duck back out without many repercussions.

===Terror Ship===

This ship has the advantage that you can use HWPs to get your troops in, but they also have a terror unit ambush spot at each side. There is an open spot where terror units (like [[Chryssalid]]s) like to jump down from. Fortunately, they also have a bridge with an exposed diagonal wall. Send in two blaster bombs and all the navigators, leaders, medics, and some of the engineers are dead. Follow up with flying suits while sending land-bound troops in on the bottom floor after your tanks.

===Battleship===

The battleship is easy to enter, but filled with ambush spots. As usual, make a hole and kill the command crew. They tend to be in a defensive position covering the top-floor grav lift, so surprise and maybe stun them. Meanwhile, send a tank up to the second floor, then sweep the ship and blow a hole in the tiny room on the second floor. There are a few spots on L1 (the second floor) where large terror units may be stuck inside a wall. This affliction can sometimes help as you can target those areas from below with grenades before entering that level.

== Assaulting Supply Ships with JFG ==
After staking out a [[Floater]] base and getting a recovery craft set up, I was hijacking a [[Supply ship|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, and the fourth (if time) enters the closed door to the south. Then it's just a matter of leap-frogging 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. The decoy 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 preoccupied leader with stun rounds at point blank range. Previously, every attempted Sectoid 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)''

== Notes ==
* In 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 will get more things to sell, but there may be more aliens to shoot your head off.

''For medium-sized and larger UFO's in the later game, your best friends are some flying suits and a [[Blaster Launcher|blaster bomb]]. Use the blaster to make a hole in the topmost level of the craft--only blasters can pierce the outer walls of UFOs. Then send in your flying units. This will let you take out the alien leader sooner-- which I believe adversely effects the morales of the enemy-- and lets you attack from an unexpected angle.''

''In general, it's best to make new doors inside a UFO than use the existing ones, since the aliens have a tougher time setting up ambushes that way. Use heavy plasma to shoot open internal walls (see [[Destroying Terrain]]).''
--[[User:Papa Legba|Papa Legba]] 13:09, 22 Nov 2005 (PST)

''If you feel like you absolutely must use a lot of explosives, you can save the Elerium by shooting the power source (with a non explosive weapon), and then picking up the Elerium crystal in the inventory. I don't find it worth the time to do, but if you must use explosives then it's better than losing 50 Elerium''
~~ [[User:Blehm|Blehm]]

==See Also==
[[UFO Crash Recovery]]

{{Mission Types Navbar}}
[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category: Tactics]]

User:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T11:45:40Z

JellyfishGreen: linky

Colonial Marine Invertebrate

Playing XCOM off and on since the demo came out 1993'ish, and on a Macintosh G3 courtesy of Blue Label emulator since 2001

Favorite ideas for XCOM weapons mods:
*Phaser (stun) [[Pistol]]
*[[Incendiary]] [[Grenade]]
*Higher [[High Explosive]] (200 damage)
*Gatling Laser (see [[Item Weight]] for now)
*''something'' involving [[Celatid]] Acid Spit damage type
*Proximity Nuke

Note to self: Email XCOM page, and "World Of Stuart" temp file server workaround

= Fast-Tracking Psionics =

A suggested (unproven) strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] "Laser Weapons" first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFOs|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psionic Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psionic Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture (panic and stun) (or if you're stronger, mind control and disarm) a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger. The aliens will provide you with footmen. Heh heh heh.

=[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.=

Building: Nuke it. 
Orchard: Nuke it. 
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first. 
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it. 
===Advanced Techniques===
Xcom Base Defence: Nuke the hangars and lift.

(captured here after the actual article got too wordy; this short sweet version was Fox's sig on strategycore for a long time.

=Alien Intelligence=
(work in progress)
"Intelligence" to redirect here.
The only use of the "intelligence" stat in the game is how long an alien remembers your position after a reveal. It is not related to pathfinding ([[alien movement patterns]]).
Because your soldiers are controlled by you, they have no AI as such.

There are (x) ways for the aliens to get a reveal
# Turn 0. (verified by Zombie with psionic decoys)
# Any alien spotting a soldier or being shot by a soldier, who survives the turn.
# Turn 20. (noted as an outbreak of psi attacks or alien activity on this turn)

The reveal is for (all your soldiers positions).

crossref: [[UNITPOS.DAT]] # 8, category:soldiers, [[Alien Stats]], "turn 20" discussions, [[ufo ambush]]

User:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T11:43:30Z

JellyfishGreen: Notes towards a page on Turn 20/Turn 21 theory & Alien Intelligence stat

Colonial Marine Invertebrate

Playing XCOM off and on since the demo came out 1993'ish, and on a Macintosh G3 courtesy of Blue Label emulator since 2001

Favorite ideas for XCOM weapons mods:
*Phaser (stun) [[Pistol]]
*[[Incendiary]] [[Grenade]]
*Higher [[High Explosive]] (200 damage)
*Gatling Laser (see [[Item Weight]] for now)
*''something'' involving [[Celatid]] Acid Spit damage type
*Proximity Nuke

Note to self: Email XCOM page, and "World Of Stuart" temp file server workaround

= Fast-Tracking Psionics =

A suggested (unproven) strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] "Laser Weapons" first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFOs|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psionic Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psionic Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture (panic and stun) (or if you're stronger, mind control and disarm) a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger. The aliens will provide you with footmen. Heh heh heh.

=[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.=

Building: Nuke it. 
Orchard: Nuke it. 
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first. 
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it. 
===Advanced Techniques===
Xcom Base Defence: Nuke the hangars and lift.

(captured here after the actual article got too wordy; this short sweet version was Fox's sig on strategycore for a long time.

= Alien Intelligence = (work in progress)
"Intelligence" to redirect here.
The only use of the "intelligence" stat in the game is how long an alien remembers your position after a reveal. It is not related to pathfinding (alien movement patterns).
Because your soldiers are controlled by you, they have no AI as such.

There are (x) ways for the aliens to get a reveal
# Turn 0. (verified by Zombie with psionic decoys)
# Any alien spotting a soldier or being shot by a soldier, who survives the turn.
# Turn 20. (noted as an outbreak of psi attacks or alien activity on this turn)

The reveal is for (all your soldiers positions).

crossref: Unitpos.dat # 8, category:soldiers, alien stats, "turn 20" discussions, ufo ambush

Talk:Cultural Influences on X-COM

2009-04-03T11:13:16Z

JellyfishGreen: /* UFO */ kudos

== UFO ==

Holy crud! 
I used to watch that as a kid, and got into trouble with my mom when I stole all her tin foil to make a cool uniform, then tried to dye my hair purple like the radar operator/receptionist girl. 
She didn't mind the foil so much, but the beetroot in my hair didn't go down too well =P 
[[User:Tifi|Tifi]] 15:01, 2 February 2009 (CST)

I'd also like to say thanks for this page - I only saw one episode, but it's definitely part of the X-COM source material! How many episodes were there, and how many involved ground combat? The episode I saw was all about a new mind control attempt, no gunplay. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 07:13, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

== Supralight (SOL) speed detection and intercept. ==

In the first episode of UFO it's stated that very special equipment, "Utronic" detection systems, have been developed to track UFOs. So there is a case for why UFOs can be tracked even at superlight speeds.

Interception at high sublight speeds is more difficult but the UFOs are almost always on an approaching course, so it's feasible that the Interceptor rockets are more or less just dropped in the path of the UFOs. Tenuous, but possible. Like a lot of TV shows of this period (and even now), the grasp of physics is pretty weak. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 17:28, 15 February 2009 (CST)

Hmm, thinking about this a bit more... the "Utronic" detectors would need to be detecting something that propagated faster than light, and in fact faster than the supralight UFOs, otherwise they would only detect UFOs after they had already attacked - or after they had dropped below light speed, at least. If Utronics detected any emanation that travelled <= 1.0 SOL, emanating from a UFO travelling at 8.0x SOL, then the emanations later in (absolute) time from the attack point where the UFO decelerated below 1.0 SOL, would be detected before the emanations earlier in (absolute) time when the UFO was far away. A decelerating UFO would appear to be traveling away (or, alternatively, backward in time). Oh, don't get me started on relativity...

Therefore Utronic detectors must be some form of tachyon detector, and UFOs must emit (or reflect) some form of tachyons.

Either that or it's all nonsense. ;) [[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:53, 16 February 2009 (CST)

For that matter, what effect would nuclear explosions have in the vaccuum of space? The propogation of energy from the explosion would likely be too slow to damage the target? [[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]]

----

Oh I think nukes in space would work fine. Which is why they were used in the first generation Anti Ballistic Missiles. There should be no problem as long as the target is at sublight speed. Which The gamma ray burst travels at the speed of light. Its intensity falls off as the inverse-square of the distance, so you want to detonate close to the target. Then you get a plasma created by the warhead material, I suppose that might miss a fast moving craft. But, for example, it would definitely be more effective than a chemical explosive. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:45, 18 February 2009 (CST)

== Sudden Impact ==

Can't remember if this was every mentioned anywhere on the wiki, but I'll mention it here anyway.

Just out of the blue I was looking at the ad sheets for one of my local electronic/dvd/cd shops and looking for some decent bargains, I happened to glance across the cover for '''Sudden Impact'''. The cover has a shot of Clint Eastwood pointing a large revolver to the left (if I can deduce the fuzzy image, it's probably a Desert Eagle).

I don't know anything about the movie, but what struck me immediately was that if this movie was made prior to UFO, then this may very well be the inspiration for the Base Defense background image used in UFO (And its variation in TFTD).

-[[User:NKF|NKF]] 04:03, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

----

http://www.blu-rayaanbieding.nl/discs/suddenimpact.jpg

http://www.ufopaedia.org/images/0/09/BACK04SCR.JPG

The resemblance is uncanny.

(What in the heck?! The CAPTCHA is asking me to type in a fraction as a single character?!)

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 05:59, 2 April 2009 (EDT)

Alien Weapon Loadouts

2009-04-03T10:49:59Z

JellyfishGreen: list formatting 1

Aliens which can carry weapons will choose one of these loadouts:
(all weapons start loaded)

# Blaster Launcher + 3 Blaster Bombs
# Heavy Plasma + 2 spare clips
# Heavy Plasma + 1 Spare Clip + Alien Grenade -> This is the most common loadout by far.
# Heavy Plasma + 1 spare clip -> Common for sectoids, I think it's because they have low strength so they can't carry so much.
# Small Launcher + 2 Stun Bombs
# ?

onwards... I'm not sure... my game has reached lategame, so this is all I will face anymore from this point. I suppose there are Mind Probes under certain conditions, and I suppose that the Plasma Pistol and Rifle would be mirrors of the Heavy Plasma?

Need some help with this.

Anyhow, these loadouts are useful to know, ESPECIALLY once you have psi, OR if you happen to get lucky and make the enemy forces panic... knowing which enemies can carry grenades, and which enemies do not carry grenades makes a lot of difference sometimes! An alien with it's hands empty and standing on a Blaster Launcher or Small Launcher can be given low priority... shoot the more dangerous aliens first. However, a Heavy Plasma toting alien that dropped it's weapons it HIGHLY dangerous, since it has just finished panicking it has gained 15 morale, and it has nothing in it's armament except for an alien grenade... BOOM.

Talk:Alien Weapon Loadouts

2009-04-03T10:48:23Z

JellyfishGreen: New page: Lots of aliens carry plasma pistols and rifles, especially in some of my Floater & Snakemen games, although quite possibly this gets upgraded to Heavy Plasma as standard when playing Super...

Lots of aliens carry plasma pistols and rifles, especially in some of my Floater & Snakemen games, although quite possibly this gets upgraded to Heavy Plasma as standard when playing Superhuman? Normally since I have laser weapons, I sell all the scavenged plasma pistols and rifles ASAP. Equipping troops with them is too much trouble as it involves scrounging or manufacturing the different ammo types. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 06:48, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

Talk:Silacoid

2009-04-03T10:42:05Z

JellyfishGreen: New section: Their true purpose

how do you get these things to attack while mind-controlled? same with chryssilaids?--[[User:(name here)|(name here)]] 20:01, 23 December 2007 (PST)

Aside from [[Item_Stacking_Bug#Effects_of_stacked_items_in_hand_slots|exploiting a programming oversight]], you can't. This means that Mind Control on Silacoids is limited mainly to using them as scouts or fire decoys. Same with Chryssalids, but given the high threat posed by the Chryssalid, mind controlling them is valuable in and of itself because it makes them non-dangerous; the Silacoid isn't that dangerous to begin with. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 20:23, 23 December 2007 (PST)

== Weapon Rankings Vs Silacoids ==

%TUs per kill (average; FA=50).

NB you don't really want to kill Silacoids, you want to use them for reaction fire and target practice, using Snap or Aimed fire with AC-Incendiary rounds that don't harm them at all. Or you could use Pistols - on average it will take nearly 2,000 soldier x turns of firing before the Silacoid is put out of its misery by Pistol fire. You'll almost certainly run out of ammo before then.

Blast Bmb 46
HE Pack(XCU) 70
HvyPlas 76
PlasmaR 132
HE Pack 132
HvyLas (XCU) 133
Stun Rod 139
Alien Grd 164
RocketLg 165
AC - HE 201
Prox Grd 217
HC - HE 218
RocketSm 227
Stun Bmb 258
LaserR 275
Grenade 319
PlasmaP 325
HvyLas 355
LaserP 708
HC - AP 731
AC - AP 1381
Rifle 9120
Pistol 177840

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 21:21, 27 February 2009 (CST)

----

:Very cool, Spike! Can you say more about your modelling or method? All explosives are presumed to be at ground zero, yes?

:Very cool! - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 21:44, 27 February 2009 (CST)

:P.S. There's no telling what wikis or browsers will do with Tab characters - suggest using spaces instead.

Thanks Mike. Yes sorry I should've put a description.

Description of the model used for Weapon Rankings has been moved to here:

[[User:Spike#Tactical_Firepower_Model|Model Description]]

:Nice! I really like how you used % TUs for FA 50 - it's easier for seeing what will take a target down faster (or slower) than [[Kill_Modelling|my]] stuff. I should've revisited my model to post results for when you ''want'' to kill something (not train experience), but I doubt I'll ever get around to it (sigh). That's a lot of work, in your spreadsheet... how did you handle the issue of whether front, side, or rear armor was hit? (for non-explosives)

:-[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 18:19, 2 March 2009 (CST)

Thank you! For armour facing for direct fire weapons, I just use the worst case - front armour. I wondered long and hard if I should use the 'modal' value which would probably be side armour. Without producing 3-4 sets of stats, there's no easy answer. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 19:14, 2 March 2009 (CST)

:Nods... sounds like the best assumption to me, for simplicity's sake. One could've tried a bunch of modeled results from various sides along the lines of what I did, but it has the disadvantages that 1) it'd be arbitrary and challenging to decide how the facings are (randomly) hit, 2) the results are little less straightforward to understand (simlicity is a virtue), while 3) of course, it'd be a lot more work. Front armor is fine... sort of a worst case scenario, while at the same time, the most important time to know how good your guns are (while the target is facing you and may fire back). -[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 17:53, 3 March 2009 (CST)

== Their true purpose ==

Very few people know this, but the Silacoid wasn't originally designed as a weapon. The hungry aliens (especially the meat-loving Mutons) wanted to bring a ''portable barbecue'' on their Harvester missions. See also [[Mutton]]. :) --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 06:42, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

Sweeping the Battlescape

2009-04-03T10:35:30Z

JellyfishGreen: /* The Beginning of the End */ tighter phrasing & spelling

After [[Initial Deployment|deploying]] from the assault craft, the next stage of combat is to '''Sweep the Battlescape''' and clear the area of remaining aliens, as well as find the UFO they landed in. Both [[UFO Crash Recovery]] and [[UFO Ground Assault]] missions usually follow the same profile.

==Sweep And Clear==
At the start of the battle, one of your advantages is that the black "fog of war" accurately marks everywhere you haven't checked for alien presence. Don't lose that advantage. If you sweep and clear the battlefield properly, every square that becomes and stays lit will be a square you don't have to check for aliens again. If you have holes in your sweep or perimeter, it's much more of a nightmare to catch that last alien -- not only do you have to check the black areas but also areas you've checked before.

Any battlefield structure which obstructs your view (buildings, orchards, UFOs, etc.) can conceal aliens and must be cleared out carefully. It is best to destroy these structures (using [[Rocket Launcher]]s, [[Alien Grenade]]s, or [[Laser Rifle]]s -- see [[Destroying Terrain]] for more details) instead of checking them room-by-room. If you can spare the ammunition, [[Heavy Plasma]]s, [[Blaster Bomb]]s, or [[Heavy Weapons Platforms]] can also be used; several of these can also be used to breach inner or outer UFO walls in the final stage of the mission.

Flying aliens can also sometimes pass over the top of a building unobserved, and ground-based units often snipe from rooftops that can be reached by stairs. If a building has multiple floors, you should destroy each of them; aliens can be on any floor, and units on the roof can be more readily spotted once the lower floors are destroyed. [[Large Scout]]s which have been shot down will also often have a hole in the roof, through which flying units may emerge.

In daytime, your soldiers' [[line of sight|visual range]] is 20 squares. [[Night Missions]] are very tricky: your visual range is only 9 squares -- but aliens can still see the full 20 squares away. Use lots of [[electro-flare]]s or [[incendiary]] ammo to illuminate your surroundings, and surround yourself with [[smoke]] to eliminate the aliens' advantage.

==Move In Sequence==
Use the principles of [[Time Management]] and [[Scouting|Sniper/Spotter]]. Advance slowly. Try to follow this sequence:

1) Reactions to any enemy action of previous turn (shooting at exposed enemy until dead, grenading concealed enemy and avoiding area, plan medikit use on fatal wounds)

2) [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]] scouting run. Exposed enemy engaged by support snipers & heavy weapons.

3) Scouts proceed cautiously. Scanners may be of use outdoors as well as indoors. Exposed enemy engaged by support.

4) HWP and scouts retreat and fire at remaining exposed enemy if necessary[1], otherwise take cover and save time for reaction fire.

5) Support moves to cover scouts for next movement. Note support often does NOT need to keep time for reaction fire, which helps when trying to get that heavy [[Rocket Launcher]] into position.

6) Kneel if possible. End turn. Observe enemy activity and evaluate.

Evaluation should give probable numbers and locations of enemy for next set of orders.

''[1] following the rule of "Never give a discovered alien another turn to shoot at you". I would happily trade my chance at reaction fire to take one more alien out of the equation before the alien turn starts.''

'' [ If I don't follow this order, I take more KIA/WIA. I'm trying to use [[Motion Scanner|scanners]] more, as suggested. - [[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] ]''

==Check Those Corners==

Keep a tight perimeter, which means everyone is at most about 10-15 squares from their nearest buddy, or any alien hiding between them. If there's a dense thicket or wheatfield to wade through, get closer or burn it down. If there's a barn or other structure between two of your perimeter squad, send in a fireteam and/or explosives to clear it before pushing the perimeter further along.

==Cover Your Back==

Keep at least two soldiers in the rear both for support fire and to keep a lookout for any aliens trying to sneak through the lines. It is often easy to forget aliens which have been knocked [[unconscious]] during your sweep; if they recover before the end of combat, they will wander around ''behind'' your perimeter, disarmed, but completely unseen. This is possibly a good task for the [[Rear Commander]].

==Eliminate Traps==

Snipers at distance are good at countersniping aliens atop lone buildings. Rockets into the building also work. Upper stories are often weaker or more flammable than the ground floor, thus more vulnerable to cannon rounds. Remember fire will take a while to burn anything.

If you can work it into your style of play, bring lots of explosives and chuck them at doors, windows, and rocket-created holes. With enough walls missing, it's a lot easier to check for aliens. Since this isn't a terror mission there's no risk of civilian casualties. (but civilian lives are not a big enough reason to avoid using this tactic during terror missions... a skilled soldier is worth many many civilian lives) And explosives are cheaper than soldiers - even [[Alien Grenade]]s - just remember to use them.

Flatten those hedges and orchards too. Preferably by grenading the far side.

==Never Give Them A Second Shot==

You'll occasionally lose soldiers to lucky alien snipers with this doctrine. But it's still good doctrine. By moving only a small bit each turn, with your high-reaction scouts, you've minimized the chance of reaction fire, and by keeping a wide perimeter you've maximized the chances of getting a view of their flanks. Which means you'll be ready with the support fire. Sometimes the aliens hit. Sometimes they miss. Never give them a second shot.

==The Beginning of the End==

The usual three stages of a ground assault are: Deployment, Sweep, and UFO Breach. Eventually one of your soldiers will spot part of the UFO, which means that you can start planning the final stage - but first you have to finish the sweep properly. Your perimeter should change through the sweep, from a circle expanding away from the [[Skyranger]], to a line touching the map edges, with cleared area behind and uncleared in front, to a circle surrounding the UFO. Proceed at a steady pace and don't rush soldiers into uncleared area. The first soldiers to come within range of the UFO should take up guard positions, behind cover, at a safe distance, preferably where they can set up a [[Reaction Training#UFO exit ambush|UFO exit ambush]]. If you did your sweep properly they can do this without fear of being shot in the back. The soldiers on the ends of the sweep line now have to hurry up and clear the rest of the map - it may be worth swapping positions so that a faster soldier or [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]] can finish the sweep while a marksman with high [[reactions]] covers the UFO.

Once the battlefield is secured, several aliens may remain in the UFO. Storming a UFO is often more dangerous than the initial battlefield sweep, and requires its own set own set of tactics. See [[UFO Ground Assault]] for more details.

For anything larger than a Medium Scout, it is possible to set up your ambush INSIDE the UFO. Especially during Jungle Missions, (or night missions, or Jungle Missions at night... against ethereals!) it is sometimes safer and easier to just pile a bunch of soldiers into the chokepoint of a UFO and have them guard both the outer and inner doors. Then set the jungle on fire.

Against Battleships, it is advised not to delay breaching the UFO too long, since the aliens have Blaster Launchers, and will gladly spam them to turn your troops into confetti. Sectoids and Ethereals will frequently mind control your weakest Psi soldier, through their abusive "spotting one of your troops lets us mind control ANY soldier" rule. This soldier will then spin around, giving away 80% of your troop deployment, enabling blaster bombs to appear out of nowhere and kill everyone. Against Snakemen, expect a Chryssalid scout to easily spot your troop locations with their 120 TUs, and have a rain of Blaster Bombs shower upon you.

[[Category: Missions]]
[[Category: Tactics]]

User:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T10:21:42Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Blaster Launcher tactics: a brief guide. */

User:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T10:20:54Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Blaster Launcher tactics: a brief guide. */

Colonial Marine Invertebrate

Playing XCOM off and on since the demo came out 1993'ish, and on a Macintosh G3 courtesy of Blue Label emulator since 2001

Favorite ideas for XCOM weapons mods:
*Phaser (stun) [[Pistol]]
*[[Incendiary]] [[Grenade]]
*Higher [[High Explosive]] (200 damage)
*Gatling Laser (see [[Item Weight]] for now)
*''something'' involving [[Celatid]] Acid Spit damage type
*Proximity Nuke

Note to self: Email XCOM page, and "World Of Stuart" temp file server workaround

= Fast-Tracking Psionics =

A suggested (unproven) strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] "Laser Weapons" first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFOs|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psionic Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psionic Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture (panic and stun) (or if you're stronger, mind control and disarm) a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger. The aliens will provide you with footmen. Heh heh heh.

=[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.=

Building: Nuke it. 
Orchard: Nuke it. 
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first. 
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it. 
==Advance Techmiques==
Xcom Base Defence: Nuke the hangars and lift.

(captured here after the actual article got too wordy; this short sweet version was Fox's sig on strategycore for a long time.

Celatid

2009-04-03T10:17:53Z

JellyfishGreen: spelling

[[Image:celatid.gif|right|Celatid]]
'''Celatids''' are an alien [[Terror Units|Terror Unit]] accompanying [[Muton]]s along with [[Silacoid]]s. As with all terror units, they can be encountered on [[Terror Mission]]s, [[Base Defense]], with a [[Terror ship|Terror Ship]] or [[Battleship]], [[Alien Base Assault]]s, and finally on [[Cydonia]].

The Celatid's only means of attack is its acid spit. This does an exceptional 140HP damage, making it the most powerful non-HE weapon in the game(!), increased by 60% on unarmoured soldiers and [[civilian]]s (and even 10% on [[Personal Armour]]ed soldiers). Now combine this with a firing accuracy that can reach 124% (on Superhuman difficulty) and the Celatid makes for a rather deadly foe.

==Statistics==
'''TUs:''' 70-81
'''Health:''' 62
'''Energy:''' 90-104
'''Reactions:''' 40-49
'''Strength:''' 70-75
'''Bravery:''' 90
'''Firing Accuracy:''' 50-124
'''Psi Skill:''' N/A
'''Psi Strength:''' 60-69

'''Damage:''' 140 Venom
'''Accuracy-'''
'''Snap:''' 75%
'''Aimed:''' 110%
'''TUs-'''
'''Snap:''' 30%
'''Aimed:''' 60%

==Live Specimen==
This life-form has the mysterious natural ability to float through the air. It appears to detect human brain waves and will move towards a human target even if well hidden. Once a target is detected the Celatid lands and fires small globules of extremely corrosive venom. The creature has the ability to clone itself at an alarming rate. It accompanies the [[Muton]] race in its wanderings.

==Autopsy==
[[Image:celatidautopsy.gif|right|Celatid - Autopsy]]
The core contains a small bio-mechanical device which appears to be a naturally evolved anti-gravity propulsion system. The sac of venom is the largest organ and there does not appear to be a separate brain structure. There is no discernible digestive or reproductive system. A small organ contains embryos which can grow rapidly into a new being.

==Notes==
The following are some miscellaneous notes on the Celatid:
* We're not sure what the eggheads mean about tracking hidden targets or rapid reproduction cycles, but none of this activity has ever been observed in the field, except the tracking hidden targets after turn 20, which ALL aliens perform.
* The Celatids acid spit does 1.6x damage to unarmoured soldiers and civilians.
* It does 0.4x damage to tanks and hovertanks.
* Celatid has a weakness to its own spit!
* Very accurate attack.
* If in range, can attack up to 3 times in one turn.
* It's quite fast.
* It's quite small, making for a harder target.
* It has poor armor. It can fall to conventional weapons, and even a glancing shot from heavy plasma will usually kill it.
* Its acid spit follows a grenade-like trajectory.
* Due to its arcing trajectory, the effective range of the celatid's spit is 7 squares indoors (with a roof immediately overhead), or 16 squares outdoors.
* If aimed at an outer UFO hull (most likely via [[Mind Control]]), Celatid spit is strong enough to penetrate 7.14% of the time (see [[Destroying Terrain]]). However, it cannot target walls directly -- although it can target (and penetrate) a UFO's roof.

==See Also==
{{Aliens Navbar}}
[[Category:Alien Life Forms]]

User:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T10:14:38Z

JellyfishGreen: Personal notes on strategy and tactics from talk page

User talk:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T10:13:18Z

JellyfishGreen: Removing all content from page

User talk:JellyfishGreen

2009-04-03T10:13:03Z

JellyfishGreen: Nuked it.

... you can't actually lose those modules, so feel free to turn them into glowing craters.

Talk:Realistic Equivalents

2009-03-31T16:29:18Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Pistol and Rifle */

As a note, an MP5 is not considered a battle rifle, as it is a submachine gun.
http://www.hkpro.com/mp5.htm

GazChap - I also wouldn't really consider the AK-47 to be a realistic equivalent. I've always pictured X-COM as being a very high-tech organisation. I would have thought the AK-47 would be too... raw, for X-COM. Not enough bells and whistles on it. - 21 July 2005 14:05 BST.

Not sure why would anyone use an M-16, if there is M4A1s around. Also back the reccommendation to remove the reference to MP-5, as it is just a submachine gun.--[[User:Vagabond|Vagabond]] 05:16, 1 March 2007 (PST)

I would say the US M4 was the closest equivalent - if I remember correctly that only has single/3RB burst modes; the M4A1 adds a full auto option which we dont have. It is probably the most similar looking - although not particularly close, most of the other examples dont look similar at all, even if their behaviour and usage is - obviously with modern weapons you have quite a few bullpup designs, and then stuff like the AK74 and its variants that have iconic looks and wouldnt be confused with whatever the UFO rifle would look like in real life, even by people with no knowledge of weapons. --[[User:Sfnhltb|Sfnhltb]] 10:04, 1 March 2007 (PST)

== Rocket Launcher ==

My money is on the 84mm Carl Gustav. The firepower and weight (9kg empty) is about right. In widespread use with Funding Nations in 1999 both in regular and Special Forces. Not strictly a guided weapon but with optical sight and laser rangefinder. HE and incendiary rounds available. Comparing its effectiveness vs contemporary armour (HWPs), the X-Com RL is clearly inferior to a Milan or a Predator (not in service in 1999?). So the"Charlie G" fits. A typical squad-level close assault weapon of the time. For some reason X-Com quartermasters have requested the proximity safety fuses be removed - clearly for classified tactical reasons they did not want the rockets to be failsafe during the first 15-70m of flight.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 14:02, 9 April 2008 (PDT)

== Pistol and Rifle ==

To me the X-Com rifle looks like a G3 or an FN, but given the hitting power/penetration is barely above a powerful pistol you have to accept the Rifle is only chambered in 5.56mm if not 4.85. Definitely not a muscular 7.62mm (Russian or NATO). Even then, given the closeness in power to the pistol you could argue the pistol must be a Desert Eagle, WinMag, or an exotic Remington, customised with an extended magazine (contributing to the lousy accuracy).

However I don't believe X-Com dallies with exotic weapons; for sound operational and logistical reasons (including a tight budget), I think they take the prudent course of using battle-proven weapons that are in wide service with member nations and familiar to commandos of many nations. So I would vote for an M4, or any 5.56 HK assault rifle, plus the SOCOM pistol or even the humble Browning 9mm.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 14:14, 9 April 2008 (PDT)

Yes, definitely the Mk23 SOCOM pistol. Semi auto, no burst mode, very heavy, 12rd mag, in-service date 1996, stopping power in the submachinegun range - all these things say the X-Com Pistol is the Mk23. The artwork looks like the Mk23 and the robustness of the weapon in all environments fits with the idea of pragmatic weapon choices for X-Com. Of all the realistic equivalents, I think this is the most clear-cut. I withdraw the suggestion of the Browning and the exotic heavy pistols.
[[User:Spike|Spike]] 14:36, 9 April 2008 (PDT)
: Thanks dude - I'm glad my logic has held up all these years. :) --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 12:29, 31 March 2009 (EDT)

Alien Base

2009-03-31T16:19:21Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Notes */

One of the ways in which the threat to humanity manifests is the construction of '''Alien Bases''' on Earth. These bases are the first step in the attempt to control the world, and as such are a significant threat that undermines [[X-COM]]s mission.

Alien Bases add significantly to the Alien [[score]] when they are constructed and between that and the much higher UFO activity present will have neighbouring countries in particular very agitated, possibly leading to them reducing or withdrawing funding. As such Alien Bases in key areas will need to be dealt with somehow, while Bases in remote locations might well not be so critical to target for action immediately.

==Locating an Alien Base==
Alien bases do not show up on the Geoscape by default, they are hidden until you find them. To locate one, an X-Com [[craft]] must patrol in its vicinity for a short time. Also, X-Com agents may report a base location to you at the beginning of the month, but that shouldn't be relied upon.

There are several clues that indicate the presence of an alien base:
*A large UFO performing an Alien Base mission may indicate the creation of a base, or a preliminary scouting mission. Several UFOS running alien base missions simultaneously indicate the construction of a base, and the base may be built even if you [[UFO Interception|interdict]] all of those UFOs. See: [[Alien Missions]]
*An [[Alien Supply]] mission will always land directly on top of a base; patrol the location until you find it.
*For each nation that the aliens enter a [[pact]] with, they will also build a base somewhere in that nation's region-- but not necessarily within that nation's borders.
*Check your graphs for UFO activity by region. A spike of UFO activity in a given region probably indicates the construction of a base there.
*Alien bases are numbered by generation, not by detection. If you already have destroyed 3 alien bases before discovering "alien base 5" you should continue your search to find number 4.

==Goal==

There are 2 ways of destroying the base:

* Destroying the contents of the room on the second floor of the Command Center renders the base destroyed for all intents of a base assault. Specifically, you must destroy all 16 sections of the 4 purple octagonal tables (normally these are UFO Navigations). A single [[Blaster Bomb]] to the upper level will usually set off a chain reaction: if you hear 16 explosions in a row, you're all set. If you abort the mission after destroying the Command Center, the mission will end and the base will be destroyed. Be sure to move all your troops onto the green tiles in the "exit areas" on the upper level. Any troops not on a green tile (including those on the red lift tiles in the exit rooms) will be counted as MIA.
It is often much easier to infiltrate the Command Center by shooting through its walls (and ceiling) than by entering it via its doors and access lift. See [[Destroying Terrain#UFO walls]] for more details.

* Kill all the aliens. This method will of course give greater rewards, but is sometimes more difficult to achieve. Especially in the case of Chryssalids, Sectopods and Cyberdisks hiding in obscure distant closets, waiting to ambush your troops as you search for the last remaining stragglers.

== Recoverable Components ==

The components that can be recovered from an alien base varies, dependent on what modules are used in its layout (see [[Alien Base Terrain]]). Most of the recovery value from an alien base assault will come from recovered alien armaments. See [[UFO Recovery Values#Alien Base Assaults]] for more details.

==Alien Deployment==
<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>5-9</td><td>6-10</td><td>7-11</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics* **</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders***</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders***</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>1-3</td><td>3-5</td><td>5-7</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>12-18</td><td>16-22</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table> 

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Ethereals use Ethereal Leaders in place of Navigators, Medics, and Engineers. 
<nowiki>**</nowiki>Snakemen use Snakeman Soldiers in place of Medics. 
<nowiki>***</nowiki>Mutons use Muton Soldiers in place of Leaders and Commanders.

==Smash And Grab==
Alien bases can be a very quick and dirty (dangerous) way to get [[Elerium-115|Elerium]], using what we call the "smash and grab" mission. Raid them by seeking out the storage room with power units. Destroy the power units without using explosives, and pick up the purple Elerium canisters that were underneath. Boogie back to the entry lift, and abort the mission. You get the Elerium and the base is not destroyed. This means you can raid as often as you dare. Consider grabbing a few pieces of alien equipment on your retreat to replenish any spent equipment during the raid, and perhaps if you are lucky enough to knock out a high ranking alien, drag it back to the entrance to have it abducted.

If you want to do repeated Smash And Grabs on the same base, you must not destroy the base Control Center, and you must leave at least one alien alive in the base.

One tip is to knock out an alien, bring it somewhere safe where you can watch over it (such as the small storage rooms with the small grav-lift), then revive it with a [[Medi-Kit]]. Proceed to wipe out the rest of the aliens, but do not damage the command consoles in the command centre. As soon as the base is neutralized, initiate a recovery mission and gather as much equipment (and corpses, if you're really stretched for cash) in the green entrance pads before aborting the mission. Though this may seem time consuming, it does allow you to reap the rewards of a normal successful mission.

The mission will be counted as a technical failure, but that's nothing to worry about, as the activity points, loot and experience will tell you otherwise.

Many (or most?) alien bases will ''not'' have power units, or any Elerium. Recent research has shown that attacking a base's [[Supply ship|Supply Ships]] is likely to be more profitable (and less dangerous) than attacking the base itself, and a more reliable source of Elerium. See [[UFO Recovery Values#Alien Base Assaults]] for more details.

== Alien Base Tactics ==

=== Camper Strategy ===

The "camper" strategy exploits two quirks of the game: aliens cannot fire conventional weapons up or down through lift tiles, and will fall prey to the "[[Known Bugs#Collectors Edition Blaster Bomb Bug|Vertical Waypoint Bug]]". When the aliens attempt to fire [[Blaster Bomb]]s up the lift shaft, this bug will cause the bomb to travel south, not up, keeping your troops safe on the upper level. The vertical waypont bug only exists in the "Collector's Edition" (Windows) version of X-COM; the camper strategy cannot be safely used in any other version of the game.

Note that when your starting point is in the far south of the map this is not entirely safe. The aliens have about 10-20 shots of blaster bombs. Those are able to destroy even the earth terrain behind the base walls made of alien alloys. After 2 shots the alloys at the south wall of the lower level of the starting point are destroyed and the aliens begin to "dig" a new hallway. If this hallway reaches the edge of the map the blaster bombs following will fly off the map and then reappear on their next waypoint, which is located on the unit blocking the north west tile of the elevator. The result is obviosly the death of almost all of your units in that area and the destruction of any items located there. If your other starting point is for some reason not suitable for camping strategy (for example because no aliens are passing it or being located in the far south, too) abort the mission and try again.

To use the camper strategy, have all your troops retreat to the upper level of the access lifts (the green-tiled rooms). Position a soldier on each square of the lift on the upper level so aliens cannot use the lift to come up (this requires a minimum of 8 [[soldiers]] or 2 [[HWP]]s). The simplest thing to do is then wait until turn 20+, when all the aliens will exit their own encampments and mass on the lift squares below you. You can then shoot them. To reduce the chance of your troops accidentally shooting each other, have them only shoot at aliens located directly beneath them.

Camper tactics can also be used on other lifts found within an alien base, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Rooms which have only one entrance (including the control room) are best, as you do not have to guard your back. However, these rooms are dangerous to approach and clear of aliens in the first place.

Camping cannot be used in [[Sectoid]] or [[Ethereal]] bases unless your troops have extremely high [[Psionic Strength]] and are able to completely withstand [[Psionic]] attacks (especially [[Mind Control]]).

==== Camp and Scout ====

Instead of waiting, you can also choose to send a scout down the lift every turn. Have the scout turn in place to survey the immediate area; if any aliens are spotted, you can send other troops down to shoot or grenade them. Depending on how many [[TUs]] the alien(s) have left, your scout may get fired upon when descending the lift, or the other soldiers when firing upon the aliens. Dropping a [[Smoke Grenade]] in the center of the lower lift room can reduce the number of aliens that can see your troops while they scout.

If the coast is clear, you may wish to have soldiers retrieve nearby corpses or alien gear, so as to prevent them from being destroyed if a Blaster Bomb is set off in the room. You may come under fire from aliens that were not initially visible, however, and it is easy to miscalculate how many TUs are needed to retrieve items and return to the upper room.

==== Camp and Grab ====

After killing several aliens, most of the surviving aliens will panic. If you wish to use camper tactics during a "Smash and Grab" mission, it is easy to approach one of these survivors, stun him, drag him up the lift and use a [[Medi-Kit]] to revive him (don't use a [[Terror Units|Terror Unit]], as they have in-built weapons). You can then kill any remaining aliens you see and collect Elerium and whatever other goodies you wish.

==== The Perfect Base for Farming ====

All of the above leads to the conclusion that alien bases can be used for farming to pursue several goals: Collecting aliens weaponry or ammunition, earning money, getting elerium, improving the monthly rating or for training soldiers (especially psionics). As mentioned above [[Sectoid]] or [[Ethereal]] bases are not suitable. Since [[Chryssalid]]s are both annoying and dangerous [[Snakeman]] bases should be avoided. This leaves [[Floater]] and [[Muton]] bases. Since Mutons are very vulnerable to [[Psionic]] attacks they should be preferred. They have another vital advantage: Since Mutons do not have leaders or [[Commander (Alien Rank)|Commanders]] there will be no units spawning with [[Blaster Launcher]]s in the command center. This ensures the aliens will not destroy their base (and your precious farming ground with it) by themselves. Additionally, Muton bases are home to [[Silacoid]]s, which are tailor-made for [[Silacoid#Reactions_Training|Reactions training]].

Another point to consider is the location of the base on the [[Geoscape]]. One could easily think this is not important, but it is in fact. [[Alien Supply]] missions are ALWAYS within the same time window of the day. This means that raiding [[Supply ship|Supply Ships]] and getting all the weaponry and 150 units of [[Elerium]] from them is much easier when the base is located in an area where this time of the day brings daylight. For [[UFO Ground Assault|UFO ground assaults]] the third factor is the kind of [[Terrain]] the base has been built in.

Conclusion: The perfect alien base for farming is:

- A [[Muton]] base

- Located in the area east of Germany and west of or in New Zealand (in this area anywhere between Arctic and Antarctic)

- Located in an area of your favourite [[Terrain]] for ground combat

If you plan to just start a fancy piracy business [[Floater]] and [[Snakeman]] bases will be perfectly fine, since you do not have to worry about the command center and terror units in this case.

=== Mind Control Strategy ===

Once you have a large number of psi-talented troops, it is easy to win all combats with ease: Mind Control one alien, have it seek out others, then Mind Control any aliens it spots, and have them explore further. Disarm them, then line them up for slaughter.

==Notes==
*Somebody turned the lights out. Alien bases are dim, but your soldiers can still see pretty far without electroflares.
*Remember those [[Proximity Grenade]]s; you can't guard every intersection. (unfortunatly, a Chryssalid will almost unfailingly get blown up, shrug it off, and run up to perform it's zombifying ways on your troops)
*The alien base will be staffed by the same race of aliens that ran the "alien base" or "alien infiltration" UFO mission that set the base up, and the aliens that run the "alien supply" missions to that base. See [[Alien Missions]] for more detail. They will have their associated terror units there.
*Alien bases populated with Snakemen deserve special caution. The high mobility of the [[Chryssalid]] makes it especially dangerous here -- it can run around three corners and still have enough time to infect your troops.
*The Alien Base Commander and a couple leaders will usually -- but not always -- be hanging around the Control Center. Expect some of them to have blaster launchers in the mid-to-late missions.
*Alien Engineers hang out around the Storage Loft sections. Many of them will be armed with blasters as well.
*Don't linger long in the rooms beneath the access lifts, and stay spread out at all times. There WILL be aliens with blaster bombs here, and they will be happy to use them on any clusters of your troops.
*If you are trying to capture a [[Commander]], be aware that before entering the inner door of the command center, if the commander and leaders are not killed or incapacitated before the end of the turn where the door is opened, they may fire their blaster launchers and kill themselves accidentally. Or, worse, they might fire their blaster launchers CORRECTLY, and kill off your entire squad.
*Also be aware that bases staffed by [[Muton]]s will never have a Commander; Mutons can only be Soldiers, Engineers, or Navigators. (This does not prevent them carrying blaster launchers in the command centre, though.)
*Feel free to throw explosives around to open up the terrain, especially in those garden areas. It's your enemy's base, after all.

==See Also==
[[Alien Base Terrain]]

{{Mission Types Navbar}}
[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category:Tactics]]

Alien Base

2009-03-31T16:18:09Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Notes */ incorporating points from Zombie in talk page

One of the ways in which the threat to humanity manifests is the construction of '''Alien Bases''' on Earth. These bases are the first step in the attempt to control the world, and as such are a significant threat that undermines [[X-COM]]s mission.

Alien Bases add significantly to the Alien [[score]] when they are constructed and between that and the much higher UFO activity present will have neighbouring countries in particular very agitated, possibly leading to them reducing or withdrawing funding. As such Alien Bases in key areas will need to be dealt with somehow, while Bases in remote locations might well not be so critical to target for action immediately.

==Locating an Alien Base==
Alien bases do not show up on the Geoscape by default, they are hidden until you find them. To locate one, an X-Com [[craft]] must patrol in its vicinity for a short time. Also, X-Com agents may report a base location to you at the beginning of the month, but that shouldn't be relied upon.

There are several clues that indicate the presence of an alien base:
*A large UFO performing an Alien Base mission may indicate the creation of a base, or a preliminary scouting mission. Several UFOS running alien base missions simultaneously indicate the construction of a base, and the base may be built even if you [[UFO Interception|interdict]] all of those UFOs. See: [[Alien Missions]]
*An [[Alien Supply]] mission will always land directly on top of a base; patrol the location until you find it.
*For each nation that the aliens enter a [[pact]] with, they will also build a base somewhere in that nation's region-- but not necessarily within that nation's borders.
*Check your graphs for UFO activity by region. A spike of UFO activity in a given region probably indicates the construction of a base there.
*Alien bases are numbered by generation, not by detection. If you already have destroyed 3 alien bases before discovering "alien base 5" you should continue your search to find number 4.

==Goal==

There are 2 ways of destroying the base:

* Destroying the contents of the room on the second floor of the Command Center renders the base destroyed for all intents of a base assault. Specifically, you must destroy all 16 sections of the 4 purple octagonal tables (normally these are UFO Navigations). A single [[Blaster Bomb]] to the upper level will usually set off a chain reaction: if you hear 16 explosions in a row, you're all set. If you abort the mission after destroying the Command Center, the mission will end and the base will be destroyed. Be sure to move all your troops onto the green tiles in the "exit areas" on the upper level. Any troops not on a green tile (including those on the red lift tiles in the exit rooms) will be counted as MIA.
It is often much easier to infiltrate the Command Center by shooting through its walls (and ceiling) than by entering it via its doors and access lift. See [[Destroying Terrain#UFO walls]] for more details.

* Kill all the aliens. This method will of course give greater rewards, but is sometimes more difficult to achieve. Especially in the case of Chryssalids, Sectopods and Cyberdisks hiding in obscure distant closets, waiting to ambush your troops as you search for the last remaining stragglers.

== Recoverable Components ==

The components that can be recovered from an alien base varies, dependent on what modules are used in its layout (see [[Alien Base Terrain]]). Most of the recovery value from an alien base assault will come from recovered alien armaments. See [[UFO Recovery Values#Alien Base Assaults]] for more details.

==Alien Deployment==
<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left">Rank</th>
<th>Beg./Exp.</th>
<th>Vet./Gen.</th>
<th>Super.</th></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Soldiers</td><td>5-9</td><td>6-10</td><td>7-11</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Navigators*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Medics* **</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Engineers*</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Leaders***</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Commanders***</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">Terrorists</td><td>1-3</td><td>3-5</td><td>5-7</td></tr>
<tr><th>Totals</th><td>12-18</td><td>16-22</td><td>22-28</td></tr>
</table> 

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Ethereals use Ethereal Leaders in place of Navigators, Medics, and Engineers. 
<nowiki>**</nowiki>Snakemen use Snakeman Soldiers in place of Medics. 
<nowiki>***</nowiki>Mutons use Muton Soldiers in place of Leaders and Commanders.

==Smash And Grab==
Alien bases can be a very quick and dirty (dangerous) way to get [[Elerium-115|Elerium]], using what we call the "smash and grab" mission. Raid them by seeking out the storage room with power units. Destroy the power units without using explosives, and pick up the purple Elerium canisters that were underneath. Boogie back to the entry lift, and abort the mission. You get the Elerium and the base is not destroyed. This means you can raid as often as you dare. Consider grabbing a few pieces of alien equipment on your retreat to replenish any spent equipment during the raid, and perhaps if you are lucky enough to knock out a high ranking alien, drag it back to the entrance to have it abducted.

If you want to do repeated Smash And Grabs on the same base, you must not destroy the base Control Center, and you must leave at least one alien alive in the base.

One tip is to knock out an alien, bring it somewhere safe where you can watch over it (such as the small storage rooms with the small grav-lift), then revive it with a [[Medi-Kit]]. Proceed to wipe out the rest of the aliens, but do not damage the command consoles in the command centre. As soon as the base is neutralized, initiate a recovery mission and gather as much equipment (and corpses, if you're really stretched for cash) in the green entrance pads before aborting the mission. Though this may seem time consuming, it does allow you to reap the rewards of a normal successful mission.

The mission will be counted as a technical failure, but that's nothing to worry about, as the activity points, loot and experience will tell you otherwise.

Many (or most?) alien bases will ''not'' have power units, or any Elerium. Recent research has shown that attacking a base's [[Supply ship|Supply Ships]] is likely to be more profitable (and less dangerous) than attacking the base itself, and a more reliable source of Elerium. See [[UFO Recovery Values#Alien Base Assaults]] for more details.

== Alien Base Tactics ==

=== Camper Strategy ===

The "camper" strategy exploits two quirks of the game: aliens cannot fire conventional weapons up or down through lift tiles, and will fall prey to the "[[Known Bugs#Collectors Edition Blaster Bomb Bug|Vertical Waypoint Bug]]". When the aliens attempt to fire [[Blaster Bomb]]s up the lift shaft, this bug will cause the bomb to travel south, not up, keeping your troops safe on the upper level. The vertical waypont bug only exists in the "Collector's Edition" (Windows) version of X-COM; the camper strategy cannot be safely used in any other version of the game.

Note that when your starting point is in the far south of the map this is not entirely safe. The aliens have about 10-20 shots of blaster bombs. Those are able to destroy even the earth terrain behind the base walls made of alien alloys. After 2 shots the alloys at the south wall of the lower level of the starting point are destroyed and the aliens begin to "dig" a new hallway. If this hallway reaches the edge of the map the blaster bombs following will fly off the map and then reappear on their next waypoint, which is located on the unit blocking the north west tile of the elevator. The result is obviosly the death of almost all of your units in that area and the destruction of any items located there. If your other starting point is for some reason not suitable for camping strategy (for example because no aliens are passing it or being located in the far south, too) abort the mission and try again.

To use the camper strategy, have all your troops retreat to the upper level of the access lifts (the green-tiled rooms). Position a soldier on each square of the lift on the upper level so aliens cannot use the lift to come up (this requires a minimum of 8 [[soldiers]] or 2 [[HWP]]s). The simplest thing to do is then wait until turn 20+, when all the aliens will exit their own encampments and mass on the lift squares below you. You can then shoot them. To reduce the chance of your troops accidentally shooting each other, have them only shoot at aliens located directly beneath them.

Camper tactics can also be used on other lifts found within an alien base, with varying degrees of effectiveness. Rooms which have only one entrance (including the control room) are best, as you do not have to guard your back. However, these rooms are dangerous to approach and clear of aliens in the first place.

Camping cannot be used in [[Sectoid]] or [[Ethereal]] bases unless your troops have extremely high [[Psionic Strength]] and are able to completely withstand [[Psionic]] attacks (especially [[Mind Control]]).

==== Camp and Scout ====

Instead of waiting, you can also choose to send a scout down the lift every turn. Have the scout turn in place to survey the immediate area; if any aliens are spotted, you can send other troops down to shoot or grenade them. Depending on how many [[TUs]] the alien(s) have left, your scout may get fired upon when descending the lift, or the other soldiers when firing upon the aliens. Dropping a [[Smoke Grenade]] in the center of the lower lift room can reduce the number of aliens that can see your troops while they scout.

If the coast is clear, you may wish to have soldiers retrieve nearby corpses or alien gear, so as to prevent them from being destroyed if a Blaster Bomb is set off in the room. You may come under fire from aliens that were not initially visible, however, and it is easy to miscalculate how many TUs are needed to retrieve items and return to the upper room.

==== Camp and Grab ====

After killing several aliens, most of the surviving aliens will panic. If you wish to use camper tactics during a "Smash and Grab" mission, it is easy to approach one of these survivors, stun him, drag him up the lift and use a [[Medi-Kit]] to revive him (don't use a [[Terror Units|Terror Unit]], as they have in-built weapons). You can then kill any remaining aliens you see and collect Elerium and whatever other goodies you wish.

==== The Perfect Base for Farming ====

All of the above leads to the conclusion that alien bases can be used for farming to pursue several goals: Collecting aliens weaponry or ammunition, earning money, getting elerium, improving the monthly rating or for training soldiers (especially psionics). As mentioned above [[Sectoid]] or [[Ethereal]] bases are not suitable. Since [[Chryssalid]]s are both annoying and dangerous [[Snakeman]] bases should be avoided. This leaves [[Floater]] and [[Muton]] bases. Since Mutons are very vulnerable to [[Psionic]] attacks they should be preferred. They have another vital advantage: Since Mutons do not have leaders or [[Commander (Alien Rank)|Commanders]] there will be no units spawning with [[Blaster Launcher]]s in the command center. This ensures the aliens will not destroy their base (and your precious farming ground with it) by themselves. Additionally, Muton bases are home to [[Silacoid]]s, which are tailor-made for [[Silacoid#Reactions_Training|Reactions training]].

Another point to consider is the location of the base on the [[Geoscape]]. One could easily think this is not important, but it is in fact. [[Alien Supply]] missions are ALWAYS within the same time window of the day. This means that raiding [[Supply ship|Supply Ships]] and getting all the weaponry and 150 units of [[Elerium]] from them is much easier when the base is located in an area where this time of the day brings daylight. For [[UFO Ground Assault|UFO ground assaults]] the third factor is the kind of [[Terrain]] the base has been built in.

Conclusion: The perfect alien base for farming is:

- A [[Muton]] base

- Located in the area east of Germany and west of or in New Zealand (in this area anywhere between Arctic and Antarctic)

- Located in an area of your favourite [[Terrain]] for ground combat

If you plan to just start a fancy piracy business [[Floater]] and [[Snakeman]] bases will be perfectly fine, since you do not have to worry about the command center and terror units in this case.

=== Mind Control Strategy ===

Once you have a large number of psi-talented troops, it is easy to win all combats with ease: Mind Control one alien, have it seek out others, then Mind Control any aliens it spots, and have them explore further. Disarm them, then line them up for slaughter.

==Notes==
*Somebody turned the lights out. Alien bases are dim, but your soldiers can still see pretty far without electroflares.
*Remember those [[Proximity Grenade]]s; you can't guard every intersection. (unfortunatly, a Chryssalid will almost unfailingly get blown up, shrug it off, and run up to perform it's zombifying ways on your troops)
*The alien base will be staffed by the same race of aliens that ran the "alien base" or "alien infiltration" UFO mission that set the base up, and the aliens that run the "alien supply" missions to that base. See [[Alien Missions]] for more detail. They will have their associated terror units there.
*Alien bases populated with Snakemen deserve special caution. The high mobility of the [[Chryssalid]] makes it especially dangerous here -- it can run around three corners and still have enough time to infect your troops.
*The Alien Base Commander and a couple leaders will usually -- but not always -- be hanging around the Control Center. Expect some of them to have blaster launchers in the mid-to-late missions.
*Alien Engineers hang out around the Storage Loft sections. Many of them will be armed with blasters as well.
*Don't linger long in the rooms beneath the access lifts, and stay spread out at all times. There WILL be aliens with blaster bombs here, and they will be happy to use them on any clusters of your troops.
*If you are trying to capture a [[Commander]], be aware that before entering the inner door of the command center, if the commander and leaders are not killed or incapacitated before the end of the turn where the door is opened, they may fire their blaster launchers and kill themselves accidentally. Or, worse, they might fire their blaster launchers CORRECTLY, and kill off your entire squad.
*Also be aware that bases staffed by [[Muton]]s will never have a Commander; Mutons can only be Soldiers, Engineers, or Navigators. They will still be carrying a blaster launcher in the control room.
*Feel free to throw explosives around to open up the terrain, especially in those garden areas. It's your enemy's base, after all.

==See Also==
[[Alien Base Terrain]]

{{Mission Types Navbar}}
[[Category:Missions]]
[[Category:Tactics]]

Talk:Incendiary

2009-03-31T15:50:53Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Mwahaha */ by Jasonred, says history

== General Comments ==

For now, we'll just say the smoke + incendiary stun effects only work on X-Com owned units until some tests can be run to confirm this. It's unusual that only X-Com units are affected, but the game has been known to surprise you even after you think you've worked something out.

- [[User:NKF|NKF]]

----

Given how aliens love to hang around in a smoke-filled crashed UFO, IC rounds would be insanely powerful if they did actually work against aliens in smoke. I'm glad they don't ''seem to'', as I'd be very tempted to cheat with it. They do work against aliens standing in fire, though, which is still quite cheaty...--[[User:Ethereal Cereal|Ethereal Cereal]] 21:35, 5 May 2006 (PDT)

-----

I just edited the Incendiary page a bunch, because Brunpal's [[Talk:Experience]] questions about Incendiary sparked my interest... I never did test IN vs. experience. It's a very good question ''if'' it turns out to cause Firing experience. But while reviewing this page, I had a number of questions, for anyone interested. Also, I only tried to clarify things, and don't know Incendiary well, so fix anything you know I got wrong:
#Did I get it right re: the set [ 0, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] for chance of initially catching fire? I over-wrote "linear" because it seemed odd when XCOM usually goes, e.g., 0-10. (Who tested this? - A little help here please. Just making sure.)
#Why flame a zombie unless it's near death (and how can you know if it is)? It's been a long time since I used fire - if you don't have flying armor, why mess around with a zombie by burning it, why not Heavy Plasma it.
#Any research/data on tile flammability versus duration of burning is appreciated. Probably it should go on the [[Terrain]] page byte, but be clearly referenced here. It's just a curiousity, but an interesting one.
#The last line of the page says ''"The damage values listed in the UFOpaedia do not determine how powerful an incendiary round deals damage; it only determines how wide an area will be blanketed with flames."'' Does anyone know IN strength vs radius, then? Should be easy to test and post.
#NKF, Zombie, or anyone else... would you mind seeing if Incendiary causes the Experience counter to increase? Brunpal is right that it's important to [[Experience]]... I found [[Small_Launcher#Experience|Stun Bombs]] to count for experience across their whole range, even if no stun damage occurred... if you have 11+ Mutons in a firing squad situation, passing around an [[Auto-Cannon]] with Incendiary may be better than standard pistols, depending on the range of the blast. I could test it, but it's been a long time since I've delved into the files; maybe one of you have them more close to hand. [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]]
-----
:Offhand, the only way I could think of to check the remaining HP on a Zombie would be by using a [[Mind Probe]]. Given the relative uselessness of a Mind Probe after Psionics are developed, as well as the time needed to use the Probe once, this seems a rather impractical course of action, unless your Rear Commander has nothing better to do. I agree, Heavy Plasma on Auto is better. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 20:33, 1 August 2008 (PDT)
-----
#Yeah, the set is correct. When a unit is shot with an incendiary round, the game does a calculation to determine if the unit catches fire. If it doesn't catch fire, the unit takes no damage (the 0 in the set). If the unit does catch fire, it will take between 5-10 damage points. Stupid discontinuous range, but that's what happens. As you may guess, I did the Incendiary trials over at the StrategyCore forums in the Damage Modifier topic - see [http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=746&view=findpost&p=39672 this] post for the particulars.
#Why flame a Zombie? Simple. A Zombie which is killed by an Incendiary round doesn't turn into a Chryssalid. Zombies are easily outrun, so you can just keep picking at them from a short distance with Auto-Cannon Incendiary rounds and then running away. Fairly effective, even when your troops do not yet have armor to protect them. And when you do not have the luxury of the Heavy Plasma early in the game, Incendiary is a good way to avoid an overabundance of Chryssalids who are not so easy to kill. As for checking the Zombie's stats, you can only rely on the Mind Probe or Psi. Neither are available early either (the Mind Probe is usually low on the research tree for most people even though you can collect enough, and Psi is difficult to use as a soldier needs to be quite proficient to use MC.
#I have been meaning to do some tests in flammability vs terrain but only recently started fooling with MCD values. It'll be next on my list.
#Here, I uploaded a very recent spreadsheet containing both I and Smoke when damage values are hacked. See [[Media:Incendiary_and_Smoke_Patterns.zip | this file]] which contains both.
#I think I fooled around with Incendiary recently in conjunction with promotions. Soldiers who shot aliens with "I" didn't get promoted. Logically, that would mean the experience counter didn't increment. UNITREF.DAT would need to be checked to verify though. Addendum: indeed, as BB mentioned in the experience page (and a quick glance at the UNITREF.DAT experience counters by myself to triple-check my aging brain), Incendiary rounds do not increase any of the experience counters.

Hope this clears up some of the issues/concerns here. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 21:16, 1 August 2008 (PDT)
----
"The damage values listed in the [[UFOpaedia]] do not determine how powerful an incendiary round deals damage; it only determines how wide an area will be blanketed with flames. Fire is unlike other damage; it works at initial blast and then over time, as described above." and
"Initial "impact" damage from incendiary ammunition is either for no points (unit does not catch fire), or between 5-10 points (unit catches fire)."

This should be stressed on ALL the various relevant pages. It's important. 6.4 dmg vs 90 dmg is a significant difference!--[[User:Brunpal|Brunpal]] 09:31, 2 August 2008 (PDT)
----
It looks like Incendiary is gaining some clarity (at least for me), thanks for starting it Brunpal...
*The "6.4" was only for the initial IN round impact (set [ 0, 5-10 ]); it can then burn for 4 more rounds (set [5-10]). Perhaps a short way to state this complicated damage type is "Minimum 0 (unit does not catch on fire) ''OR'' unit catches on fire 1-5 turns, 5-10 damage/turn, 5-50 damage in total (average 21.5)". Does that look right, Zombie? I'm not sure where you got 90 from Brunpal...
:90 is the listed damage from an IN rocket.--[[User:Brunpal|Brunpal]] 21:39, 5 August 2008 (PDT)
*However, the numbers I just stated do not count possible additional damage from nearby terrain being on fire (as opposed to yourself). Maybe those should be included somehow. (And clearly, fire is much more dangerous outdoors than inside UFOs, where terrain does not burn.) But since terrain fire can last a variable number of turns, I guess you can't have a maximum damage. Average terrain damage from fire would be 6.5/terrain (1-12), but also, it can keep the unit itself burning more than 5 turns... hard to model.
*Good point about flaming zombies, Zombie. I guess you ought to know, eh? :)
*The spreadsheet looks great. Perhaps one of us can pull out the area patterns for non-hacked IN weapons and put them on the relevant pages. When it's done, the spreadsheet itself would be an asset to Incendiary (or maybe [[Damage]], if it's listing all types of damage). As has been stated, it's the size (area) of the blast that actually directly relates to incendiary weapon "strength"... the diameters you found are probably what should be in parentheses next to weapon strength, although damage can appear as well.
*Ok, no experience from Incendiary blasts. It might've been real interesting if there were, but it didn't occur to me to test. (Or maybe I tested it briefly so long ago that I forgot.) I would've guessed that they did, because the stun bomb and explosives do. Oh well.
*P.S. Brunpal, we may not have touched pages in a year, but most/all of us have "Watch this page" turned on, so we get immediate notification of any pages we've edited or Watched. :)
-[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 09:17, 5 August 2008 (PDT)
----
*Sounds correct MTR. I think Brunpal was just comparing the "damage" (actually strength) of the Incendiary Rocket (90) to the average damage due to the "impact" of the blast (6.4).
*Well, it isn't ''nearby'' terrain on fire which you have to worry about, it's the tile directly underneath a units feet which causes the most concern. If that tile is on fire and the unit doesn't move, it will take 1-12 damage points. While true that terrain on fire can last a variable number of turns, there is a definite upper-limit to how much damage a unit can possibly take. Fires don't last forever, and the combustibles eventually are consumed leaving either scorched earth or a damaged tile. Those damaged/destroyed tiles usually cannot be started on fire again by the spread of flames. They can only be set ablaze with incendiary ammo, and even then for only 1-3 turns (normal for dead tiles). So it's certainly possible to find a max damage. And for the most part, the things that burn the longest are usually objects, not tiles. And most objects you can't stand on anyway. But I totally agree that it's hard to model how fire functions due to the two forces at work: "impact" damage and damage due to standing in fire.

P.S. Some of us are actually around here and don't need to be coaxed back into existence by an email when a watched page is changed either. Just because it's quiet, it doesn't mean nobody's home. :) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 20:34, 5 August 2008 (PDT)
----
While understanding the whole formula for fire and fire damage happens is useful, it was not thinking to go that broad. I was just interested in what occurs from the moment a solider takes his shot, to the time that solider gets his TU back. ie damage from incendiary rounds vs fire damage. --[[User:Brunpal|Brunpal]] 21:39, 5 August 2008 (PDT)

== Incendiary vs Large Units ==

We're discussing this in [[Talk:Sectopod#Incendiary vs Sectopod]], and a question came up. When an IN round impacts one segment of a large unit, presumably that segment gets the "Incendiary impact" function, i.e. 6/7 chance of catching on fire for 5-10 damage plus 1-5 turns of being on fire. Does the same "impact" function also apply to the 3 adjacent squares (6/7 chance), or is it just the "standing in fire" chance? If you had multiple regular-sized units standing in the area of effect of an IN round, they would each get "impact" effects (right?). So it ''seems'' logical that all 4 segments of a large unit, inside the area of effect, are also exposed to "impact" effects. But I wanted to check. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 06:34, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

Oh boy! Calculating this not only depends on a lot of unknown assumptions, but is fiendishly complicated - especially if you factor in the "funky fire" bug. And contrary to my noblest efforts, it's impossible to use IN weapons without inadvertently exploiting this bug. Even if you only fire IN at a single target until it's dead, once the target is "standing in fire" you effectively just can't miss.

Anyway back to the Large Targets specifically. The key assumption above is whether all regular-sized units in the area of effect of an IN burst are affected with "impact effects" - 5-10 dmg & 6/7 chance to catch fire. If they are, it's reasonable to assume the same thing happens to the 3 other segments of a Large Unit. However I suspect this is not the case, and strictly speaking "impact" effects should only occur at the single, impact square of an IN round. Testing needed!

More likely, the GZ+1 squares, whether occupied by small or large units, are only subjected to the "standing in fire" effects: 1/3 'catch fire' probability, and 1-12 terrain-based damage. And these effects are applied once per turn, not once per hit.

However, all of this is turned on its head by the 'funky fire' bug. After the first round hits, all units (and all Large Unit segments?) are "standing in fire". (Though maybe these fire damage routines run only for the "control" segment of the Large Unit? Possible, but unlikely.) Since they are standing in fire, the funky fire bug applies and all units/segments are hiit with "impact" effects.

So assuming a Large Unit is ''already'' standing in fire (e.g. from a previous IN hit or near miss), damage per IN round fired is 6.4 x 4
= 25.6 average, 10x4= 40 max. Subject to resistance/vulnerability modifiers, but ignoring armour level. In addition as multiple IN rounds are fired, the chance of all segments catching fire quickly approaches certainty. This not only means the Large Unit will sustain further damage at the end of the turn, it makes it impossible to escape the 'funky fire' trap by moving out of burning squares.

(Any testing needs to be very careful and probably only fire a single IN round per game, otherwise 'funky fire' will skew the results.)

So, in conclusion, the TU/kill factors I put up on the Talk pages for the Large Units ([[Talk:Reaper]], [[Talk:Cyberdisc]],[[Talk:Sectopod]]) should pretty much reflect the 'funky fire' reality after the first round connects, apart from the fact that you actually can't miss. The very first IN round to be fired would have the same effect (for immediate damage) on a Large Target as on a small one. But I really don't want to update the numbers to reflect this fact, it's just too awful. For AC-IN, the firepower factors will be about 6 times better than stated. Maybe I'll just remove them. :(

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:51, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

=== Simple Tests ===

I did a small number of tests and found some interesting results. In 5/5 tests, all 4 squares of the target (Reaper) were on fire the following round. (It's hard to tell if they are on fire the same round, as you need to extinguish the fire with smoke to see). Perhaps this makes sense, as it's a UNITREF attribute and so applies to the whole unit, not its 4 component squares?

Looking at the damage, it looks like "impact" and "on fire" damage applies to all 4 squares, i.e. x4 normal. Damage clusters tightly around 16-18 per hit which is roughly the expected value, maybe a bit lower (at x4). And since we '''are''' on fire, should expect an average of 7.5 ({5..10}/6) rather than 6.4 ({0,5..10}/7? Maybe something else is going on here, as these numbers seem a little low - 6.4 x 4 = 25.6 per hit or 7.5 x 4 = 30.0 per "on fire" hit might be expected on a Large Unit.

:Drat. I didn't factor in the Reaper's 170% Susceptibility to Incendiary. So the actual damage levels are more like 10 per hit. Maybe there is no multiplier for the 4 squares? Hard to figure out what's going on here. In tests on hacked humans, armour level is not a factor vs Incendiary damage, otherwise I'd suspect the under-armour or something. 2.5 avg damage per segment seems too low. 10 average damage per alien seems too high - that should be the max, not the average. Is some mechanic pushing the average up to the max? I don't have a clue right now. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 06:53, 11 March 2009 (CDT)

The damage seems to be regardless of "funky fire" effect. A round fired at a target that is not burning / in fire seems to do about the same damage, per hit, as one that is in fire / on fire and so subject to the funky fire bug. So the only 'bad' effect of the bug is that you never miss, and you hit everything that is in fire / on fire. Not quite so bad, and it allows you to play honest by only ever firing at one target, not hitting any other targets by accident (!), and firing from point blank range so it doesn't matter that you never miss.

Burn Time was as high as 7 when multiple IC rounds were fired (on auto). Higher than we thought possible (1-5 range expected). However it sometimes goes DOWN after additional hits. Possibly the value is re-randomised with every new IC impact, but hits are cumulative while firing auto bursts?

Here's the raw test data:

Test 1.
-
2 DH on Reaper, mix of auto and snap, some other IC impacts on others
Burn Time=7 - exceeds known limit of 5
All 4 sq on fire next turn
Is 'on fire' global? It's in Unitref, so maybe
-
Test 2.
-
1 DH on Reaper, only IC shot fired in game.
In firing turn, taken 132/148 = 16 damage. Burn time=3
Start of T+1, taken 122/148 10 more damage, Burn time=2
T+1 Reaper shows all 4 squares burning
-
Test 3.
-
Revisit #2 firing turn... fire another round (this will use funky fire)
So 2nd IC hit, 2nd rd fired, same target.
Health now 114/148, further 18 damage
But Burn time has dropped to 2! Must re-randomise on each hit??
Maybe only accumulates during auto burst?
-
Test 4.
-
Let's try lots of hits. Hack up accuracy to 255
OK 3 out of 3 hits on Auto
T+0 Health=98/148=50 damage (17 avg) Burn=6
T+1 Health=81 (17 more dmg) Burn=5 All 4 squares on fire.
-
Test 5.
-
Revisit #4 and push to 6/6 hits
T+0 Health=41/148=107 (18 avg) damage Burn=7
T+1 Health=21 (20 more dmg) Burn=6 All 4 squares on fire.
-
Methodology (Apart from Test 1) = only ever 1 (same) target in any IC AoE; no misses
(To try to minimise the impact of 'funky fire' effects - but can't eliminate)

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 23:27, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

I re-ran the same simple tests against a regular-sized (Floater) target instead. The results agreed much better with the 'standard model' of [[Incendiary]] effects. All results were within the permitted ranges in the 'standard model', though some values were unexpectedly. I think some variables to look for in Incendiary mechanics are:

* Large Unit vs regular unit behaviour looks to be different
* Auto burst vs single explosion looks to be different (maybe just due to funky fire bug, maybe not)
* Tile MCD "time to burn" value seems to affect one or more of the other calculations / probabilities
* Burn Time on the unit can go up as well as down. New hits seem to re-randomise the value.
* End of turn processing does not always reduce unit Burn Time by 1. Can a terrain fire add to unit Burn Time?

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 21:25, 11 March 2009 (CDT)

:I doubt a terrain fire adds to the time a unit is on fire. Actually, I'm quite positive on this since my tests from a while back were quite thorough. The counter can only tick down to 0, and when it does a terrain fire will have a chance of "reigniting" the soldier again.

:Anyway, I had to start from scratch again on testing due to a few issues with my test scenario. I totally forgot that the first soldier on the unit roster is a bad choice for a "designated hitter" since he can never be automatically selected on a reload. Soldiers lower on the order are much better choices. So I got the shooting automated, but each reload was taking too much time since I had to reselect the shooter, select the shot, move the view down a level, shoot the target and abort. Having the soldier already selected cuts out 2 actions in the list allowing the script to run more efficiently. I'm going to try to get everything properly setup tonight, then start testing tomorrow morning. With a little luck and about 2 hours of babysitting the script to make sure it doesn't quit, I should have some prelims. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 21:55, 11 March 2009 (CDT)

----
Looking forward to seeing that data! I did some more testing just for the special case of Large Units, about 40 tests. My tentative conclusions:

# Damage range per 'impact' hit is the same as regular units, around 5-10 x Vulnerability (maybe + MCD Burn time?)
# Large units go on fire about 1/7 of the time when receiving a direct hit - as expected
# Either all 4 segments go on fire, or no segments go on fire - no 'part segments on fire'
# Unit burn times are not correlated with unit damage received
# Auto fire has the same average damage level per hit as snap fire
# Unit Burn Time can exceed 5, both on Snap and Auto. Highs of 6 (Snap) and 7 (Auto) were seen. Maybe 1-5 + MCD Tile Burn Time?

All my tests were done on the grid-lined pavement tiles from urban terror missions, which have an MCD default burn value of 2. For some of the "setting the large unit on fire" tests, I had the target floating in mid air, because air does not burn even during the turn that the IN round explodes - it makes it easier to see the unit burning.

From Bomb Bloke's editor notes, the 4 potential MCD tiles in a map location are: a North Wall, a West Wall, a Ground tile, an Object tile. All 4 of these MCD tiles might have a burn time value. But Ground and Object are the most likely to be relevant.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 21:58, 12 March 2009 (CDT)

:Ok, I got the script running and optimized it a bit to cut down some wait cycles. Right now it's cranking out approximately 400 trials per hour which is about as fast as I can make it go without removing some desktop icons (all the icons have to refresh at the end of each logging cycle which takes a little time). Anyhow, just for giggles I stopped it after 400 trials to get some prelims.

:<table {{StdCenterTable}} class="sortable">
:<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th align="left" width="90">Damage</th><th width="90">Count</th><th width="90">Pct%</th></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">1</th><td>68</td><td>17.0%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">6</th><td>58</td><td>14.5%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">7</th><td>45</td><td>11.3%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">8</th><td>63</td><td>15.8%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">9</th><td>55</td><td>13.8%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">10</th><td>64</td><td>16.0%</td></tr>
:<tr><th align="left">11</th><td>47</td><td>11.8</td></tr>
:</table>
:If you average the percent columns, it comes to 14.28571429% while the expected is 1/7 or 14.285714285714285714285714285714 which is a difference of 4E-09. This means 400 reloads is plenty enough values for this application. Great news! Well, as you can see, instead of the set [0, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] for MCD of 1, this scenario where the MCD was 0 is shifted up by one [1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]. Interesting.

:Tomorrow I'll rerun the MCD 1 scenario again to verify the values and damage set. Then it's on to the MCD of 2. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 01:50, 13 March 2009 (CDT)

:: Extremely interesting! By the way, it was probably a late night but - the average any 7 numbers that (must) add up to 100% is always going to be 1/7th of 100%, so that result doesn't really demonstrate any confidence in the data. It would be the same with one result, or with a trillion results. The 4E-09 discrepancy is just the precision error in your calculator/spreadsheet's calculation of the percentages and the average of the percentages. You've got some considerable variation from 1/7th on the individual numbers, I'm not sure if that's just to be expected with only 400 trials. But for example "0" and "10" are both a bit high so it ''might'' be non-linear (probably not). Anyway we'll see when all your results are in! (To measure the degree of variation from the expected result, what you want is a chi-squared test or something - and I don't know what I'm talking about there so I'll shut up!)

:: I'm checking Bomb Bloke's MCD database, and there are some tiles in there (U_BASE 22-25) with MCD burn value of 30 - I might play with those and see if anything dramatic happens. Oh except looks like they can't be set on fire (255 flammability). There are others that are quite high (8-), and still flammable. Or I could hack an MCD file (scary). Maybe I'll just wait for your results Zombie! [[User:Spike|Spike]] 05:49, 13 March 2009 (CDT)

= Incendiary Research =

== Large Units On Fire ==

Here's another interesting test for setting Large Units on fire. Set AC-I power down from 42 to 1.
At this IC power, there is no area effect. You can't even start a fire on one tile.
All you can do is set units on fire with a direct hit. This means there is no way the other 3 squares of the
Large Unit are in the IC area of effect.

Result: Whether you hit a one square regular unit or a 4-square large unit, if it goes on fire, '''all''' squares of the unit still go on fire. Along with the fact that the inflicted IN damage level vs Large Units is basically normal (see above), this tends to confirm that being on fire is a "unitref" property and, unlike HE and Stun Bombs, is not applied (multiplied) vs the number of squares the unit occupies. (In fact it would be good to check that HE is actually applied separately to each square, with different HE strength, potentially different armour facing, etc. Maybe the engine just simplifies things and multiplies damage by 4?)

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 07:56, 15 March 2009 (EDT)

== Unit Burn Time ==

Unit Burn Time seems to be considerably '''cyclic''' rather than random. Very often, it just steps down by one from the previous value. I suspect this is because the "impact" routine calls the "end of turn" incendiary/smoke routine (see [[User talk:Seb76#Incendiary Bug]]). Sometimes it does not happen, maybe because some other factor has caused the Burn Time to increase.

Here's some data. This was done against a Reaper with AC-I power set to 1 (and 10% TU Snap fire cost). But I've seen similar results with standard AC-I.

Hit H/H Dmg/Avg Burn Time
1 137/150 13 2
2 126/150 11 1
3 104/150 22 0 Very high damage (=13x1.7). Unit not on fire when game restored.
4 96/150 8 7
5 81/150 15 6
6 66/150 15 5
4,5,6 76/150 /9.33 5 (Auto) 9-10 (=5-6x1.7) is near minimum dmg
7 56 10 4
8 48 8 4 What happened here? didn't cycle. MIN dmg (5x1.7).
9 35 13 6
10 25 10 5
11 10 15 6 New shooter takes over
12 2 8 5

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 07:56, 15 March 2009 (EDT)
:You're right on spot once again ;-) When a unit takes a direct hit from an IN round, it is set on fire (the duration is randomly chosen between 0 and incendiarydamagemodifier/20). Then the "end of turn" routine is called, which inflicts damage *and* decreases by one the number of turns to be on fire (done for all units). Then it sets on fire units standing in blaze. The duration is calculated as for direct hits; if the unit was already on fire, it'll take the maximum value between the new value calculated and the current value affected to the unit on fire. Not sure it is readable but I think you'll sort it out ;-) [[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 10:51, 15 March 2009 (EDT)

== Incendiary in TFTD ==

I read [[Weapons (TFTD)#Phosphor|somewhere]] there are reduced effects underwater (or enhanced effects on land) for TFTD Phosphor rounds. I couldn't find an exact statement of the quantitative difference - does anyone know this? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 14:53, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:The effects of Incendiary weapons underwater (or Phosphor, as TFTD refers to it) is halved over the UFO equivalent. Incendiary weapons are doubly effective on the surface(Terror Missions) vs underwater, but of the three weapons that can fire Incendiary, two of them(Torpedo Launcher and Hydro-Jet Cannon) can only be reaction fired on land. The Gas Cannon can be fired in eiither location. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 15:08, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:: It's clear that the effect underwater is half the effect on land. But does the base level (in USOPaedia / OBDATA) refer to land use or underwater use? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:13, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:As I recall, the base level is on land. The numbers for Phosphor ammo are close to the UFO Incendiary damage numbers, but I know it spreads less underwater. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 15:15, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:: Look at the (puny) area effect pattern sizes underwater, that sounds about right. Can anyone confirm this? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:40, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

There is actually no difference between the pattern for the Gas Cannon's P rounds underwater as on land. Both have a r=3, d=7 pattern. (CE version at least). Maybe the pattern is smaller the deeper you go? --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 16:45, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

<gallery widths="200">
Image:GC-P (underwater).png|Flame pattern from Gas Cannon Phosphorous rounds underwater.
Image:GC-P (on land).png|Flame pattern from Gas Cannon Phosphorous rounds on land.
</gallery>

:OK now I'm really confused then! (I realise I was getting confused with the Dye grenade's small footprint vs Smoke grenades). If the blast pattern is the same size, that implies the weapon power is unchanged. So in what sense is Phosphorus "half as powerful" underwater? Does it burn half as long? Is the impact and fire damage halved? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 16:49, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

I really doubt the damage to units would be affected if the power of the round was modified. The power of the round only determines the size of the pattern produced, not the damage inflicted to units. I'll have to check the burn times and spread rate but my thought is that the two are identical in the version I'm using. Like I said, the pattern may get smaller the deeper you go underwater. The pic above was for a shallow site. It'll take a while for me to find a deeper site to check it out, otherwise some editing of the game files may be necessary to force the scenario.

I just checked the Dye Grenade underwater and on land. Both produce the same r=1, d=3 pattern. So yeah, they are really pitiful when compared to the Smoke Grenade.

Don't really go for the use of "impact" damage with Incendiary/Phosphorous rounds. There is no real impact since the damage range is discontinuous. The unit either catches fire from the splash of fire (in which case it does 5-10 damage points), or the unit doesn't catch fire and the unit remains unharmed. If there were such a thing as impact damage, the range would be continuous like normal weapons, in this theoretical case it would be [0-10] inclusive (ie the set [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 17:36, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

Anyway, the half thing came up because AQ was comparing TFTD to UFO, not comparing the effects in TFTD from underwater and on land. However, further comparisons reveal that a hacked HC-I round of 60 produces the same pattern as a GC-P/60 round. Perhaps this whole dilemma can be traced to the Dye Grenade? --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 18:28, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:That's entirely possible the Dye Grenade is the source. However, several of the pages for the TFTD weapons state that Phosphor is far weaker in water, so I didn't check. My mistake. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 19:35, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. So this could just be a recycled rumour? I guess the general assumption is that the game engines are identical, so we would want evidence that TFTD is different. Looks like Zombie has proved that the area effect is equal (at least at shallow depths). That leaves only the fire damage or fire duration. Testing that would require repeated observations to check if fire damage is less than 6/hit, less than 6/turn, and burning for no more than 2-3 turns. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 20:14, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:As with any wiki where contributions can come from anywhere, there are bound to be problems with validity of the statements made. So unless those statements are backed up by real-life test data instead of memory or hearsay, take them with a grain of salt. The other point is to avoid spreading disinformation at all costs (I have been guilty of this as well, but try to at least quantify them). So there you go. I'm still trying to get a deeper underwater mission to check the size of the pattern produced there. Checking the spread of flames or damage inflicted to units shouldn't take too long though. I'll see if I can't get that done tonight yet. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 20:23, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:Ok, I ran some trials with an unmodified GC-P round on the normal seabed floor against soldiers having 100 health and 0 all-around armor. For the guy standing at GZ, I saw ending health values of 99, 94, 93, 92, 90, and 89 (n=50). So that comes out to 1, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 points of damage respectively. I didn't think 11 damage was possible. Here's where things differ though. All the other guys who were clustered around GZ always received only one point of damage, never more, never less. In EU, the guys around GZ took damage equal to the guy at GZ. Odd. So then it occurred to me that perhaps I should check the MCD values of the seabed (TFTD) and the desert (EU) landscapes. Both are basically identical in terms of armor. But the seafloor has a "time to burn" value of 0 while the desert has a value of 1. So maybe our understanding of normal fire isn't totally complete. I'm going to go back to EU and retest the desert landscape with varying MCD burn time flags to see how that affects damage. ;) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 23:00, 9 March 2009 (CDT)

:: The whole Phosphor being half effective under water is related to the burn time and spread, if I remember correctly. The settings in the MCD files may be the culprit. The actual damage dealt or initial spread may not necessarily be affected.

:: Hey, I just had a wacky idea. XComutil. Use its feature where you can set the depth of a mission. Launch a mission on a island terror site map (again, use XComutil's map picker to get to this faster). Lots of grass to burn there. Set fire to it and count how many turns before the fires die out. Redo the test, but this time set the depth to a deeper level. Try the whole process out again.

:: Next repeat this with one of ye-olde seabed maps. They look really weird without the blue palette shift when played on land, what with the landscape being gray.

:: It's possible that the half-effectiveness relates to the fuel that the fire has to burn more than anything else. Further confirmation on how long the flames stick to a target when on land or underwater may be helpful. -[[User:NKF|NKF]] 01:28, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

:I've been burned one too many times using editors or utilities to mess with saved games. Half the time they introduce some unknown "feature" which isn't documented. Thanks, but no thanks. I only test with an unmodified game, except for the changes I make myself to keep control of the situation. Anyway, I tested a patch of fire on the seabed to see how long it remained lit (which has a "time to burn" value of 0). It only stayed lit the current round the shell detonated. After that the fire went out. So this agrees with what is expected. Will continue to work on this as I get time. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 01:51, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

Well, I suppose my recommendation doesn't necessarily need XComutil. It would've certainly made it easier. But yes, it does introduce a few things that work behind the scenes that we might not know too much about. However, if I remember correctly, one of the battlescape savegame files should hold the depth level of the current map you are playing on. All you'll need to do is tweak that to change the depth of the map.

One other thing, the different effect HE has on the same tiles underwater and when on land (ala the Triton) may also be one of the other culprits behind the belief that phosphor is less effective on land. Being able to blow up the Triton on land, but have it appear virtually indestructable when underwater does that. -[[User:NKF|NKF]] 01:59, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

----

re Zombie's underwater tests, there is normally (i.e. on land in EU) a difference between the IC damage on the target of the direct hit, vs lower damage to others in the area of effect (hmm contrary to my IC kill modelling assumptions: uh oh I may've spoken to soon). But only seeing 1 damage on the others in the AoE does seem low. We need to figure out why. Did any of the other targets catch fire? Does that ever happen underwater? Do tiles ever burn past the turn when the IC round is fired? Any of these factors would reduce total fire damage/effectiveness by '''more''' than half. Actually, doesn't it say the 1-12 damage for "in fire" is ''not'' random, but dependent on terrain type? That could be the answer.

The [[Incendiary]] article actually mentions '''4''' modes of fire damage, only 3 of which are quantified:

#"impact",
#"being in fire"
#"being ''on'' fire"

The 4th mode is "damage from burning ''terrain''. Only a tantalising mention is given, no quantitative details. This could be the source of the discrepancy. In fact it might be a component of "being in fire" that's not fully understood. I think Zombie is right to review the assumptions on this one - nice work! [[User:Spike|Spike]] 04:05, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

:As I recall, "damage from burning terrain" is synonymous with "Standing on a tile that's currently on fire." Thus "Being in fire." But that's me and I'm tired this evening, so I could be wrong. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 05:30, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

I performed my TFTD Phosphorous tests underwater and after the flames died out some of my men did catch fire. So this part seems to jive with that of EU. Tiles do not burn longer than its "time to burn" value in the MCD files. So for instance, in the seabed underwater testing mission, the tiles have a MCD burn value of 0 which corresponds to the results seen (ie fire didn't stick around into the aliens turn or X-COM's next turn either, it only stayed lit the turn it detonated). There really is only 2 "modes" of I/P/fire damage:

<ol><li>The code used for determining if a unit catches fire: 0 damage (if the unit didn't catch and was able to shrug it off) and 5-10 (if the unit catches).</li>
<li>Standing in fire.</li></ol>
At least from the initial tests in TFTD, units outside GZ are just considered to be standing in fire that turn and always take 1pt of damage. Anyway, I don't want to talk myself into a hole without doing more tests. All the following trials I do will be in EU to hopefully curtail any unknowns in TFTD. Once EU's code is figured out then it can be applied and compared to TFTD. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 09:06, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

: If they are "standing in fire", do you think the 1pt damage/turn is based on the fire characteristics tile/terrain type they are standing on? Is it more generally 1-12/turn, dependent on terrain? Also if you get a chance can you test large units and see what kind of effects they take on the GZ+1 squares? If the GZ+1 squares of a large unit are just 'standing in fire' rather than 'catch fire/5-10 impact damage' this will substantially weaken IC vs large units. And I will have shouted too soon! :) [[User:Spike|Spike]] 09:18, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

I did some ad-hoc tests in TFTD. Actually I just ran around firing GC-P and HJ-P rounds everywhere. :) On a typical seabed layout, I found that most things don't burn - the fires don't last into the next turn. The only things I could get to burn were the green moss stuff and and coral skeleton "trees". Even the barrels do not burn. Also, I did not see much sign of terrain damage caused by the fires. But the moss and coral did burn for the normal period, i.e. 1-5 turns.

I also managed to kill an Aquatoid with a single direct hit from a GC-P, in one turn. He died at the end of my turn or the start of his. That seems unlikely. 5-10 from being hit, plus 1-12 for standing in fire, plus maybe another 5-10 from being on fire? It's just about possible I suppose, to max out near 32 damage (if the terrain offers you "12" when it burns). Anyway those are my unsystematic enquiries. I have the 8 save files of various stages of the battle if anyone wants to take a look. It was from a virgin TFTD installation and there was no editing or jiggery pokery.

OK I've uploaded the save files [[Image:TFTD Incendiary Tests 01 Spike.zip]] and taken a look myself with BB's editor. Prior to being hit (Game_4) our Aquatoid was in rude Health, 30/30. Immediately after being hit (Game_2) he was at 19 Health (no Stun damage) and On Fire, as well as Standing in Fire. That implies 11 Damage from the "impact effect" which is not supposed to happen. As noted, at the end of the same turn or beginning of his next turn, he dies. He looks to be standing on a standard seabed square, just sand, the kind of thing that does not burn. He is next to some of the brown cushion-like coral, but I don't think that burns, at least not over multiple turns. In fact in the same turn he is hit, at the end, you can see him dead (Game_3). Since there was only one alien, he died in the same turn. OK that's slightly confusing, maybe someone can double check the turn numbers in the save files (don't know where they are).

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 13:29, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

Doh. I is a idiot. The Aquatoid was killed by the incendiary fire bug - I fired extra IN rounds at terrain objects after he was on fire. Which explains why he is already dead by the end of my turn. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 15:08, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

:Yeah, you gotta watch that. Well, anyhow, I edited the desert landscape in Enemy Unknown to have the same MCD "time to burn" value of 0 as the seafloor in TFTD. From the limited tests, the results look the same as in TFTD. (Fire burns out after the initial turn it detonated, units around GZ taking 1 unit of damage while the guy at GZ got more). So that means I can focus my efforts on EU with little worry because there will be no issues. I'm going use BB's logger and AHK to automate the data gathering aspect to save me a bunch of time. I'll probably need the full requisite 2000 reloads though, as the guy at GZ is not the same as the 24 soldiers around him. Wish me luck. :) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 15:54, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

Good luck! I just read the MCD article, and it mentions 2 fire-related byte fields in MCD - "likelihood of catching fire" as well as "time to burn". Is the last field variable or fixed? Could the first field determine the damage/turn to units when it's on fire? Also with a possible 4 terrain items that could all be burning, is the maximum damage higher than 12? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 16:10, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

:Offset 45 is the flammability rating of the tile. This most likely controls whether an adjacent fire will spread to the tile in question. (For instance, if a fire is burning and the next tile over is a tree or something, it'll probably spread there fast because of the combustibles present). The other byte is offset 57 which is the one we are after. Don't know about the 4 types of things which can exist on a tile at once. I think the most I have ever seen is 2 (usually ground and a wall). Wouldn't hurt to edit a tile to include all 4, but that's an entirely different test to do. It'll have to wait until we get a better understanding of basic fire. ;) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 19:38, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

::Here's a question. On Large units, if only one segment of the Large unit is on fire, will the fire spreading code allow the other three segments to catch on fire? [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 20:13, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

:I highly doubt it. Unit fires are completely different creatures from terrain fires. Needs testing though. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 20:55, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

::Yes it would have to be a very special case, since afaik fires do not spread from regular units on fire to adjacent terrain or to other adjacent regular units. Though it would make more sense than any of those things. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 21:03, 10 March 2009 (CDT)

== Incendiary Bug ==

(Also known as the [[Known_Bugs#Funky_Fire|Funky Fire/Smoke bug]].) I made some suggestion about why this bug happens, and how the code could be patched to fix it: [[User talk:Seb76#Incendiary Bug]]. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 07:13, 12 March 2009 (CDT) Here is the general discussion of the bug:

With this 'Funky Fire' bug, presumably what is going on is that during an Incendiary explosion, the game engine loops through all units that are in fire(and on fire?). This is wrong. What it should be doing is testing to see if they are within the Area of Effect of this particular IN round. The game definitely has working code to correctly select units within an area of effect, since that's what happens for HE and Stun explosions. But in this case it does not apply the correct selection criteria. What is looks like it does is scans the Unitref table (copy in memory) for every unit standing on a tile with fire in it, and maybe also with the 'on fire' flag set. Both of these lookups are actually irrelevant to an exploding IN round. These looks would make exact sense for the end-of-turn processing of fire damage, but not for the instantaneous effect of an IN round. They should use the HE/Stun routine instead, to select the units for processing. Then when the units are selected, it should apply the IN effects - still to be determined. So yes, I think what's happened is the coders mistakenly used the "end of turn" criteria to select units for instantaneous damage/effect when an IN round explodes. I guess one difficulty is that the HE routine is performing 2 functions - it's doing damage to terrain, and also flagging units to apply damage to. It may also be setting smoke. Similarly, the IN routine ought to have 2 functions - to apply fire/burning time to the tile, but also to apply IN damage effects to the occupants of the tiles. This really could be coded badly and just hard to fix. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 19:17, 11 March 2009 (CDT)

OK I'm pretty sure this is the whole problem with the Funky Smoke/Fire bug. What's going on is the Incendiary Explosion routine is calling the whole end-of-turn smoke/fire processing routine, every time an IN round explodes anywhere on the map. That's why you get smoke induced stun as well as fire-induced damage. All you need to do is find this IN Explosion routine and make it return unconditionally before it calls the end-of-turn routine. That will substantially solve the bug. What the IN Explosion routine ought to do is:

# In area of effect
##add fire to tiles
##'''possibly''' do 33% check for units to catch fire - '''unless''' this is performed by the end of turn routine (probably)
# IF a unit was hit directly
## check to see if it catches fire
## ''possibly'' do "impact" damage.
# Return, '''without''' calling the end-of-turn smoke/fire routine

And it's entirely possible there was never supposed to be any "impact" damage, all that was intended was to set tiles and units on fire, with any damage only coming at the end of turn. You can easily imagine a last minute and ill-considered coding decision to run the end of turn routine upon every IN explosion, as an attempt to increase IN lethality, without thinking through the implications properly. So the "impact" damage could just be a side effect of the funky fire bug - applying the 5-10 "on fire" damage right away, when it was meant to be applied at end-of-turn.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 22:11, 11 March 2009 (CDT)
:Hey, that's a nice piece of supposition:) There is actually what I called an ApplyFireAndStunDamage function which is indeed called after IN explosions and at the end of the turn... It basically damages/stuns every unit on fire/in smoke and makes units standing in firing tiles possibly take fire. The function is called 5 times, one of which is at the end of the turn so patching the 4 other locations should remove the bug; but also weaken the IN rounds...[[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 16:22, 12 March 2009 (CDT)

I also suspect that other "end of turn" processing happens with every IN round fired. I am pretty sure "fire spreading" checks occur, as I have seen fire spread when using perfectly accurate shots. Either "fire spreading" happens, or there is a random element in incendiary area of effect, that is definite. I want to repeat these tests to see if "catch on fire" effects also happen for those who are standing in fire when an IN round is fired. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 08:59, 31 March 2009 (EDT)

== Mwahaha ==

Was exploiting the Elevator Shield trick on an Alien Base Assault, and I had the forethought to pack lots and lots of Incendiaries. My sick sick mind found it amusing to set all those aliens on fire and watch them roast stupidly and helplessly. (Jasonred)

Psionics

2009-03-31T15:24:49Z

JellyfishGreen: /* My New Pet Alien */

== Psionic Aliens ==
[[Sectoid]] Leaders, [[Sectoid]] Commanders, and all [[Ethereal]]s, have Psionic abilities to create Panic (reduce [[Morale]]) or attempt [[Mind Control]]. Be very wary. Murphy's Law says the first soldier to succumb to Mind Control will be in the perfect position to shoot your squad in the back with a [[Rocket Launcher]].

If an alien spots any member of your squad, even the tank, during the alien turn, the squad is at risk of attack. The weak soldiers will be targeted most often, and will likely be nicknamed "psi-puppets" by their teammates, if anyone survives. Any soldiers found to be psi-weak should be just fired outright. Taking them off the combat roster and giving base-defense duty serves little purpose... you are essentially paying monthly salaries for them to do nothing. Base defence is always performed by a full Battleship crew... so if your base comes under attack by Ethereals or Sectoids, any psi-puppets are a liability instead of an asset.

== Countering psionic attacks and tactics: ==
=== Re-assign. ===
The former doctrine on psionically attacked soldiers also applies to soldiers who have been psionically screened. Namely, soldiers weak in psi-strength or who have become victims of psionic attack should be sacked or re-assigned at the earliest opportunity for the safety of the rest of the squad. If retained on active duty they should never be knowingly sent on missions against psionic capable aliens.
Veteran soldiers who are psionically weak but otherwise worth keeping can be assigned to a secondary craft or interception base, strictly for use on missions against [[Muton]]s and other non-psionic aliens.

''[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]]: I tried jotting down the names of the puppets as a reminder to fire them later, or use as decoys.''

''[[User:Covenant|Covenant]]: Another good way is to go right from the mission's conclusion to the soldier menu and add a symbol or word to their name so it is instantly recognizable who got mind controlled, and who successfully resisted. Handy for picking subjects for psi-training before you know their strength levels.''

=== Disarm. ===
Some commanders forgo any chance of reaction fire, and have all soldiers drop their weapons at the end of the turn and pick them up on the next turn. Should any soldiers be mind-controlled in the intervening alien turn, at least they'll be unarmed.

=== Decoys. ===
Zombie's experimental results tell us the soldier with the lowest psi-strength is '''always''' chosen as the victim in a psionic attack, even if he's out of line-of-sight of either enemy or ally. The game AI is skipping any LOS requirement. - Psi-puppet soldiers should NOT be used as alien hunters. Disarm them as soon as possible, preferentially '''before the mission'''.

If such soldiers are deployed against psionic capable aliens, they may still have use in limited roles. Do not give them any weapons or grenades. Well, maybe smoke or proximity grenades.

# Unarmed medic, equipment operator, ammo carrier. If controlled, they cannot injure other soldiers. If panicked, they'll drop the equipment.
# Non-lethal weaponry. Stun guns again prevent injury of other soldiers but the risk of control and loss of tactical advantage remains.
# Stun Rods are non-functioning weaponry in the hands of the aliens. Any soldiers under alien control WILL NOT ATTACK using them.
# Miner. Arm them with Proximity Grenades. Unlike those pesky aliens, your agents are smart enough not to get blown up by these things, right? (Just pick them up off the ground)
# '''Decoy'''. The unarmed soldier lets themself get mind-controlled rather than shot. If they are under mind control, the soldier will often be spared by the alien. Every mind-control attack on the "decoy" is one less attack on the rest of the squad and one more psionic alien kept busy. Note your other soldiers may shoot a controlled decoy on sight, and the aliens will shoot a panicked decoy on sight. An extremely risky tactic for the soldier but survival can be extended by blockading the decoy into a closet with other soldiers or tanks and turning your back to them.
# Jack of all trades. Soldier is meant to be a decoy, and carries, Stun Rod in hand, and flares, medkit and smoke grenades. Soldier is also considered "expendable" and thus fulfils role as forward scout during scary situations.
# Launcher Operators. Simply a soldier with a launcher and no ammo. The soldier either stands on a pile of ammunition, or is handed the ammunition on demand in combat. Once the weapon is loaded, the round is immediately spent before the end of the turn. This way, if controlled, the soldier will have an empty weapon and thus be harmless. This allows the weak willed soldier to contribute somewhat to the fight whenever you regain control of them.
# Suicide Bomber. Give this troop no equipment. March him towards a heavily guarded alien ambush. Just before walking him into it, have someone else arm a Heavy Explosive, throw it to him and make him pick it up. Have him walk into the trap and get mowed down by hidden alien reaction fire. End turn. BOOM.

If there are two or more psionic aliens, you may need more decoys to keep them all busy.

''[[User:Stubbs|Stubbs]]: According to the Mind Control section of this wiki, XCOM operatives do not reaction fire at mind-controlled friendlies. Which is correct?''

=== Kill the puppetmaster. ===
Find and kill the alien doing the mind control. This will free those who were under its control. The mind controller is frequently the highest-ranking alien you're facing, which means you'll likely need to penetrate the command center of the structure you're facing.

Remember that killing the aliens' ranking officers imposes a major morale penalty to the invaders, another bonus that shouldn't be underestimated. Many commanders have seen a seemingly invincible, mind-controlling attack force reduced to panic in the instant their commander is shot down. Even against Ethereals, all of which have psionic capability, this tactic is useful, since it will often buy you a round or two before other units start using Psionics and can panic even them.

=== Must... Fight... Harder... DIE! ===
If you can force a very successful round of attacks, the morale penalty this imposes on the aliens may bring on panic, which would bring a temporary stop to their psionic attacks. Such a round also raises the morale of your own troops, which gives will help temporarily combat panic attacks.

=== Roll with it. ===
Kamikaze tactics have also been used but cannot be recommended here.

HWP's can continue to be used in all roles against psionic capable forces as they are immune.

Heavy Support Weaponry ([[Blaster Launcher]]s, [[Rocket Launcher]]s) should only be assigned to soldiers with high psionic strength to prevent its counteruse.

If all forces are equipped with [[Power Suit]], which is proof against light ballistic weaponry, standard rifles and pistols can be freely issued with little risk of lethality even if counterused. Note [[Ethereal]]s are less affected by these weapons than [[Sectoid]]s. For them, we recommend the [[Auto-Cannon]]/HE.

''- JFG, with credits to the adventurous NKF-sensei whose field reports I freely draw from. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 14:50, 19 Apr 2005 (BST)''

''-Jasonred: In fact, you can safely issue them [[Laser Pistol]]s if you're all armed with Flying Suits, possibly Powered Armor is enough. And as duly noted, Laser Weapons are Not Too Shabby.''

''-[[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]]: In my experience, laser pistols can hurt you in flying suits. Specifically, if you're shot in the back. So they are great for "firing squads" (all your guys facing MC'd aliens), but not when aliens might MC you. (And don't turn your back when doing a firing squad!)''

''-[[User:NKF|NKF]]: " Just to add to this, a laser pistol, with 46 laser, does between 0 - 92 damage (See: [[Damage]]). Therefore, only your front plates will be truly invulnerable to laser pistol damage. On the other hand, you have a chance of being damaged from pretty much ''every other direction'', and you cannot always guarantee that you'll be facing your attacker at all times. The only real consolation is that laser pistols won't kill you outright for each hit, but lots of little hits can indeed build up to a lot of damage. I'd much rather recommend an autocannon/HE or the standard pistols/rifles for this exercise. Direct hits from the ACHE can probably cause a tiny amount of damage, but the ammo will not be unlimited like the laser pistol, and the autocannon is also the slowest burst weapon in the game, despite its name, which gives you time to get away and seek cover. Another bonus is that it works a lot better on superhuman ethereals than the pistol/rifle! " ''

== Psionic Soldiers ==

You won't know exactly what your soldiers' psionic resistance or skills are until you build a [[Psionic Laboratory|Psi Lab]] and run them through a screening process (in batches of 10). Soldiers with a high [[Psionic Strength]] (80 or higher) should be trained further and kept in the "rear guard" during combat. Do ''not'' use them as scouts, or front line troops -- they will soon become your most valuable soldiers.

After a month or two of Psi training, your best soldiers will be able to mind-control weaker aliens, such as [[Muton]]s. Your soldiers' Psi Skill can be increased very quickly by equipping them with [[Psi-Amp]]s, leaving them in the [[Skyranger]], and having them attempt to panic units every chance they get. See [[Experience Training#Psionic Skill training]] for more details.

===My New Pet Alien===
Some skilled psionic operators have had success with simply attempting control of every alien encountered and disarming them, then using the controlled alien as a scout to find more aliens, then controlling the newly discovered alien as a new scout and leaving the old one for a mop-up squad, repeat process as TU's permit.

Easiest actions with a controlled unit are movement and firing or dropping the held weapon. It is possible but tricky to do more (see [[Known Bugs#Alien Inventory Trick|Alien Inventory Trick]].) Disarmed aliens make for excellent [[Experience Training]] fodder.

Remember aliens will revert to alien control unless re-aquired on the next turn.

Oddities: [[Large units]]; [[Gaining permanent control of a Chryssalid/Tentaculat]]

===Controlling the Board===
Once you start taking control of aliens that are psionic ''themselves'', this has a certain '''avalanche effect''' as you can spend the alien's TU's on mind control as well. As noted in [[ExploitsB#Exponential_Mind_Control|Exploits]] you '''do''' have to throw them a spare Psi-Amp to take advantage of this.

== Psionic Formulas ==

The equations governing psionics are as follows:

'''Attack Strength (AS)''' = INT( Psi Strength * Psi Skill / 50 ) ''Attacker stats
'''Defense Strength (DS)''' = INT( Psi Strength + ( Psi Skill / 5 ) ) ''Defender stats

'''Attack Success (A%)''' = 100/56 * ( Constant + AS - DS - Distance )

''where''
Constant = '''25''' for Mind Control
'''45''' for Panic

Attack Chance (A%) is a number (0 to 100), not an actual percent (0.00 to 1.00). Values less than 0 mean guaranteed failure, and greater than 100 mean guaranteed success.

It's quite significant that Attack Strength is geometric... a soldier with 100 Psi Strength and 100 Psi skill is not 100 or 200 times better than a soldier with 1 Psi Strength and Skill... he is 10,000 times more powerful at Psi attacks.

These formulas differ slightly from the ones that appear in the [[Links#X-COM:_General|Official Strategy Guide]], but have been discovered through testing and are believed to be correct.

The further away a target is from its attacker, the lower the chance an attack will succeed. Distance follows the "walking TUs" method, where a distance 10 tiles directly lateral equals 10 in the equation, but diagonal distances are more. For example, 10 tiles away on a pure diagonal is considered to be 15 tiles away; see [[Explosions#Distance_From_Ground_Zero|this]] for more on Walking TUs distance. The distance factor means that beyond a certain point, aliens can only panic certain units, not mind-control them.

Overall, it's clear that [[Psionic Strength]] plays the greatest factor in defense, and that Panic Attacks are more likely to succeed. (a flat 36% higher chance than MC) But Mind Control is much more... useful. Overall, it is probably best to attempt panic attacks when the chances of MC are below 5% ... it can be argued that 8 successful panic attacks are better than 1 successful MC... unless of course you are targetting an alien carrying Blaster Bombs. Once MC chance is 18% or higher, MC is better, since the ratio becomes 3 panics to 1 MC. Anything in between is probably the commander's preference.

For an in-depth exploration of the psionic equations, including minimally and maximally effective soldier psi values versus the various aliens in the game, see [[Psionic Equations]].

== Walk-through for a Psi Attack ==

A number of factors affect the results you might see, especially for panic attacks. Here's a walk-through to make everything clear.

For the '''Psi Attack itself''', only these factors matter:
* The Psi Attack Strength of the attacker; both Psi Strength and Psi Skill matter here (see equation)
* The Psi Defense Strength of the target; mainly Psi Strength matters here, but high Psi Skill helps a little
* The distance to target
Nothing else matters - the target's current [[Morale]] or [[Bravery]], etc., do not affect the chance of a successful psi attack. The Psionic Formula alone determines the chance. It is described briefly above, and in much greater depth [[Psionic_Equations|here]].

If the attack is successful, the soldier gets 3 [[Experience]] points added to the counter that determines how much Psi Skill might [[Psionic Skill#Improvement|improve]] when the mission ends. If the attack fails, they only get 1 point added to the counter. This is the only result of failed attempts; the target is not affected in any way by a failed attempt (but the attacker just ate some TUs, of course).

Past the fact that different soldiers are likely to have different attack skills and distances to a target, it does not matter if one soldier performs a number of attacks, or many soldiers perform one attack. Each attack is simply one attack, and each attack gives experience even if the target is already panicked to 0 Morale.

If you performed a successful ''mind control'' attack, the target is immediately MCed - and you can '''stop reading the walk-through here'''. But if you want to understand more about successful ''panic'' attacks, '''continue reading'''.

A '''successful panic attack''' has the result that the target loses [[Morale]] points equal to 110 - their [[Bravery]] (but it can't go lower than 0, of course). Some related info:
* All soldiers and aliens start battle with a [[Morale]] of 100.
* [[Raw_recruit_statistical_likelihood|Recruits]] have [[Bravery]] from 10 to 60. The maximum possible value is 100.
* Thus, a successful panic attack can cause a soldier to lose from 10 to 100 Morale: 10 if they were a superman at 100 Bravery, and 100 if they were a wimp with 10 Bravery.
* '''All''' non-terrorist aliens have a Bravery of 80 [http://www.strategycore.co.uk/xcom/pg/ufoalienstats regardless of game difficulty level], which means they lose 30 Morale with each successful attack. Terrorists have values as follows:
** 90: Celatid, Reaper
** 100: Cryssalid, Silacoid
** 110: Cyberdisc, Sectopod ''(although you can "successfully" panic attack an alien robot, as shown by the experience counter, it can't actually affect them!)''
* While 30 Morale may not seem like a lot (and 80 Bravery may seem high), remember that the chance of a successful attack is based mainly on the target's [[Psionic Strength]]; Bravery is not involved at all. And, as the psionic formula shows, it is MUCH easier to panic a target than to MC it... panic has a +35.7% higher chance, due to the difference in the formula's constants.
* The amount subtracted from Morale is not subject to chance or variability, for a given target. It is always exactly 110 - Bravery. The variability comes from whether the attack was successful (above), and whether the demoralized target misses its panic roll (below).

Units have a chance of [[Morale#Panicking_and_Berserking|panicking]] (or [[berserk]]ing) if their morale drops below 50. There is a 100% (guaranteed) chance if at 0 Morale, up to a 0% chance at 50. Equation: Chance = 100 - (2 x Morale)
* Panic attacks do not give any success or failure message. Here are some ways to see their Morale:
** Use a [[Mind Probe]]. It is not psi dependent, so psi-locked soldiers (not trained in the [[Psi Lab]] yet) can check the success of soldiers with low Psi Skill (and thus a low chance of inducing panic) when you first get Psi capability. But remember, the Mind Probe does not give psi experience.
** You can MC the alien and look at his stats. But this would freeze him for the current turn, and, of course, if you are able to MC, many won't bother with panic.
** If really determined, you can look at [[UNITREF.DAT]] offset [80] for the alien. Mainly only [[HackerTools|hackers]] or testers would do this, though.
* Also, working through the Psionic Formula for a few cases can give you a feel for how likely success is - i.e., how likely it is that you caused the alien to lose 30 Morale points. Even in the best case, though, a target must be attacked at least twice to have any chance at all of panicking, and at least 4 times to have a possibility of being at 0 Morale.
* If a unit panics or berserks, it always regains 15 Morale when done.
* Also bear in mind that [[Morale#Events_which_Affect_Morale|a number of other events]] can also cause units to lose, or even gain, morale.
* For the record, units go [[berserk]] about a third of the time that they panic/berserk.
* Anyone interested in more details on the chance of being successfully psi attacked by aliens should see [[Psionic_Equations#Aliens_Vs._X-COM]].

== Summary of Alien Psionic Resistance ==

'''Figures are for (any rank)/Leader/Commander, Beginner level - Superhuman level'''

Fractional portion (if any) is rounded off.

Grouped according to species, in order of increasing psi defence:

'''Muton:''' 25 - 29
'''Celatid:''' 60 - 69
'''Silacoid:''' 80 - 92

'''Reaper:''' 35 - 40
'''Floater:''' 35/40/45 - 40/46/52

'''Snakeman:''' 40/45/50 - 46/52/58
'''Chryssalid:''' 50 - 58
'''Zombie:''' 80 (all Zombies have Beginner-level stats)

'''Sectoid:''' 40/60/62 - 46/70/72
'''Cyberdisc:''' 100 - 116

'''Ethereal:''' 58/69/75 - 67/79/89
'''Sectopod:''' 100 - 116

A soldier with 80 Psi Strength & Skill can Mind Control even a Superhuman Sectopod 20 squares distant about 30% of the time; a soldier with 90 Str and 100 Skill will succeed 100% of the time at that distance.
Each unit of distance between the target and attacker will increase the difficulty by almost 1.8% (or, if nearer, decrease it).

== Summary of Alien Psionic Attack Strength ==

'''Figures are for Beginner level - Superhuman level'''

Fractional portion (if any) is rounded off.

'''Sectoid Leader:''' 50 - 67
'''Sectoid Commander:''' 60 - 80
'''Ethereal Soldier:''' 40 - 53
'''Ethereal Leader:''' 54 - 71
'''Ethereal Commander:''' 65 - 87

Given the formulas above, this means your soldiers need a psionic Defense Strength of 131 to be completely immune to a psi panic attack from a Superhuman Ethereal Commander, and a Defense of 111 to be immune to Mind Control attacks. A Defense Strength of 131 can only be achieved with very high Psi Strength ''and'' Skill (100 PStr + 155 PSk; 90 PStr + 205 PSk; etc.). However, aliens are typically going to be 10 or more squares distant from your troops, and if you give your troops extensive [[Bravery#Improvement|Bravery training]], panic attacks become far less effective. Therefore, a Defense Strength of 100 plus Bravery at 80+ is generally sufficient to shrug off nearly all psionic attacks; this can be achieved by soldiers with a Psi Strength of 80 + Skill of 100, or even soldiers with 95-100 Psi Strength and little to no psi training.

The best defense is a good offense, however; by the time you have such high-level Psi troops, you will probably be able to mind-control nearly any unit on the map long before they can even spot you (see [[ExploitsB#Exponential_Mind_Control|Exponential Mind Control]]).

== Alien Psionics Targeting ==

If any of your squad members, even a [[HWP]], is visible to any alien during the Alien Turn, every member of your squad is at risk of attack from any psionic aliens, regardless of whether the spotter is psionic. It should be noted that once you pass Turn 20, all of your squad members and their locations are revealed to the AI. This means you can expect a steady stream of psionic attacks after that turn. Your soldiers are also revealed to the AI if there are only two or less units under permanent Alien control.

==See Also==

*[[Field Manual: Psionics]]
*[[Psionic Laboratory|Psi-Lab]]
*[[Psi-Amp]]
*[[Mind Shield]]
*[[Mind Probe]]
*[[Experience]]
*[[Experience Training]]
*[[Molecular Control]]

[[Category:Soldiers]]

User talk:JellyfishGreen

2009-03-31T15:13:16Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen */

== Fast-Tracking Psionics ==

A suggested strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] "Laser Weapons" first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFOs|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psionic Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psionic Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture (panic and stun) a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger. The aliens will provide you with footmen. Heh heh heh.

=[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.=

Building: Nuke it. 
Orchard: Nuke it. 
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first. 
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it.

Talk:SOLDIER.DAT

2008-05-07T15:47:34Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Book of the Dead */

Why would Missions and Kills be signed? You're never going to have negative values. Shouldn't they be unsigned??

- Danial

----

You would think that, wouldn't you? At least that's what I would've done in their place. You can't owe a few kills or missions!

But if you enter values of 0xFFFF into each, the base screen shows -1. Hence why they're signed.

- [[User:NKF|NKF]]

----

Zombie, I've changed back your recent change to offset 63, as you've been mislead a bit by corrupt data...

The files MAN_A.SPK through to MAN_N.SPK do not exist in a normal install of UFO, I'm afraid, and it was never intended for Soldier.Dat to point to them. They are simply the file names I chose when I coded my [http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/index.php?dlid=428 custom uniform mod], so that aliens wouldn't display as troopers in the inventory screens anymore. I later added the same effect to my [http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/index.php?dlid=470 map editer] as well. This affected the inventory screens and nothing else, by tweaking [[UNITREF.DAT|UnitRef[1]]] - The installation of either of my programs obviously adds the required MAN files to your game (as referring to any MAN file that does not exist causes a crash).

On the other hand, modifying Soldier[63] apparently changes the way the unit appears in the battlescape display, as well as what it turns into when it dies! This means that it is not only used to determine UnitRef[1] when battle begins, but UnitRef[0]/[38] as well, and most likely others...

That is to say, this byte gets set when you give a trooper armor. Armor dictates how a unit appears. However, it also indicates a units defensive values, and what item it will turn into when it dies. You didn't mention defense in your edit, but I would assume it also gets set to garbage when you fiddle with this offset.

I'll check this with a byte comparer when I get the time. With any luck, this'll also show me any remaining UnitRef offsets that are affected by this one. I'll update the article when I get some results.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 05:41, 6 November 2006 (PST)

----
My fault, but problems like these could easily be avoided with a readme file indicating what modifications are made to the game files. Never thought that an editor had modding chunks tossed in. That'll teach me a lesson.

Changing the armor field in soldier.dat ([63] or [062] or whatever the darn offset is), changes the image sprite in the battlescape without too many problems, but running through your unit list in the equip screen will crash the game if the number here is greater than 3 as there aren't any MAN.spk images to refer back to. Like you mention, the actual armor attributes are garbage (albeit '''''consistent''''' garbage as the numbers do not change). Just for giggles I did a couple dry runs with varying values to see what would happen to the death item and armor attributes. This may or may not be useful.

<table {{StdCenterTable}}>
<tr {{StdDescTable_Heading}}><th>Value</th><th>Unit</th><th>Death Item</th><th>Fr</th><th>Le</th><th>Ri</th><th>Re</th><th>Un</th></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Sectoid</td><td>HP Clip</td><td>127</td><td>0</td><td>115</td><td>116</td><td>117</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Snakeman</td><td>Plasma Rifle</td><td>118</td><td>119</td><td>120</td><td>121</td><td>122</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Ethereal</td><td>PR Clip</td><td>123</td><td>124</td><td>125</td><td>126</td><td>18</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Muton</td><td>Plasma Pistol</td><td>4</td><td>16</td><td>8</td><td>15</td><td>10</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Floater</td><td>PP Clip</td><td>14</td><td>20</td><td>20</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>Celatid</td><td>Blaster Launcher</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>25</td><td>0</td><td>35</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>Silacoid</td><td>Blaster Bomb</td><td>0</td><td>24</td><td>18</td><td>0</td><td>10</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>Chryssalid</td><td>Small Launcher</td><td>15</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>8</td><td>8</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>Reaper</td><td>Stun Bomb</td><td>0</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>Sectopod</td><td>Alien Grenade</td><td>5</td><td>10</td><td>0</td><td>8</td><td>21</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>Cyberdisc</td><td>Elerium-115?</td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>Male Civilian</td><td>Variable</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>5</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>Female Civilian</td><td>Psi-Amp</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>52</td><td>0</td><td>80</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Zombie</td><td>Unknown</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Mind Probe</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Sectoid Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>20</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Snakeman Corpse</td><td>80</td><td>0</td><td>104</td><td>0</td><td>80</td></tr>
<tr><td>21</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Ethereal Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>22</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Muton Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>23</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Crashes (FLT?)</td><td>0</td><td>80</td><td>0</td><td>104</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>24</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Celatid Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>104</td><td>0</td><td>160</td></tr>
<tr><td>25</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Silacoid Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>26</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Chryssalid Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>27</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Reaper1 Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>160</td><td>0</td><td>104</td><td>0</td></tr>
<tr><td>28</td><td>Invisible</td><td>Reaper2 Corpse</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>104</td><td>0</td><td>160</td></tr></table>
I couldn't find out what item the Cyberdisc "unit" gives up when it dies, as the explosion happens even with Stun Bombs. I assume it's Elerium-115 as it follows the normal item list. The male civilian is a tough nut to crack also. I saw a death item of a Laser Rifle and a Small Rocket a few times - it's probably random or semi-random. Still, you can't stand over the "corpse" and pick up the item as it is invisible in the equip soldier screen. The Zombie is also strange as it cannot be killed by incendiary, most likely a hacked armor value will make the game assume you are wearing a suit of armor greater than Personal and apply the 0% modifier. A value of 23 will crash the game if you try and kill the unit so it's just an assumption that the death item is a Floater corpse.

I should also mention that some of the invisible units higher up on the list are probably tanks as the sound usually correlates to image. This doesn't hold for units lower in the list as I heard a movement noise of a Pistol or Rifle shooting rapidly for one of them! Strange stuff, but it can probably all be tied together once we know where the pointers are going.

- Zombie

-----

That's an easy one at least. As you mentioned, they follow the normal [[OBDATA.DAT|item list]] when turning into death items. Simply put, a unit will turn into object X, where X is 31 + Soldier[63]. That is to say, by default, a unit with no armor (value 0) will turn into a normal corpse (31). But if you crank the value up to, say, 19 (an illegal value), you get a sectoid corpse (31 + 19 = object 50). Pointers to items in the list that were never implemented in the game create weird results.

As for why the floater crashes when dying, perhaps it uses an illegal death scream or something. The corpse value seems legal enough.

The units which sound like tanks, aren't. The reason they makes those noises is because each unit has it's own movement [[SOUND|sound set]], which is determined by some value in [[UNITREF.DAT|UnitRef]]. It's one of the values I've been meaning to hunt down but never got around to...

Furthermore, some units slide, and some units walk. This is another value I've yet to hunt down, but it's important, because sliding units (snakemen, tanks) sound the same regardless of the terrain they're moving over. They also incur different TU costs as per [[TERRAIN|MCD[39]-[41]]].

So obviously one or both of those values are also being determined by Soldier[63]. That'll make them easier to find in UnitRef.

Remember that a soldier is a soldier whether he's in armor or out of it. His armor does change the way he appears, and a few other things, but he's still a soldier at the end of the day. That said, a mod could easily be made that turns units wearing certain (hacked) armor types into aliens when combat begins, hence allowing you to easily deploy them at will. But there's no way it can be done just by tweaking values in save files, I'm afraid.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 14:45, 6 November 2006 (PST)

== Base Reference ==

As I was tinkering around with some files, namely for my Python XCOM 'editor' I noticed that on some of my soldiers the base reference was set to a crash site in loc.dat. So I'm thinking it got mislabled as a base referense when it should be a current location reference.

I haven't completely verified this yet, but just wanted to throw it out there.
-[[User:Pi Masta|Pi Masta]] 20:13, 6 February 2007 (PST)

== Book of the Dead ==

So after reading [http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=32835&page=4 this excellent XCOM thread] I was reminded I'd like to have some way of logging the names of who actually died in a mission. You forget the rookies so quickly...and there's all those letters to write. After a while you even forget your heroes, custom names or no. This would keep track of the names for the memorial.

I can see one way of doing this would be to just compare SOLDIER.DAT (or UNITREF.DAT) in two different saved games, pull out the names of the dead soldiers (along with rank, missions, kills info), and append it to a text file. Is a record in SOLDIER.DAT changed when the soldier dies, or what's the best way to determine who has died? Any advice from the experts? I see a bit in UNITREF.DAT but that's only for Battlescape saves, right?

Maybe later this could be linked to the DOS game's batch file, so every transition between Battlescape and Geoscape updates the Book of the Dead. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 08:47, 7 May 2008 (PDT)

Talk:SOLDIER.DAT

2008-05-07T15:47:16Z

JellyfishGreen: New section: Book of the Dead

Talk:Chryssalid

2008-05-07T15:28:47Z

JellyfishGreen: New section: Top Ten Monsters (Gamespot)

=Reaction firing Chryssalids?!=

Wow, I've never encountered that situation before.(Admittedly, I abuse Save/Reload quite frequently, so this isn't a surprise I haven't seen it.) Would you possibly be able to provide proof or an example, Abraxas? Or maybe the circumstances under which it happened? I figure it must be easy enough to check if the Chryssie kept the weapons; simply use a Psi-Amp and Mind Control to examine the unit's inventory. Anyone else willing to conduct tests?

In any event, that's SCARY, and is one more reason to add to the list why Chryssalids should be hosed with Heavy Plasma fire before any other aliens and why Zombies should be left alone until there's time to fully deal with them. I may even start packing some AC-I ammo in the trunk of the Skyranger on Terror Mission dispatches. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 14:33, 9 September 2007 (PDT)

: I think I witnessed this bug a while back (it was on the PSX version though). One of my soldiers was turned into a Zombie by a Chryssalid, and when it was hit with an auto-shot of Heavy Plasma (all shots connected) it "died" without a sound leaving a X-COM corpse and a Chryssalid carrying the soldier's weapons. I think this may have to deal with stun getting wrongly applied to the Zombie.

: Bug or no, any HTH-only aliens which carry a weapon will use it during your turn via reaction fire (assuming they have a loaded weapon and enough time units). This was one of the first [http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=637&view=findpost&p=7586 tests] I ever ran when I joined the StrategyCore forums. But you have to realize that HTH-only aliens have 0 for Firing Accuracy making it very tough for them to hit anything. That's the good news at least. ;) --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 16:13, 9 September 2007 (PDT)

:: Unless the Chryssie is standing right next to your soldier when it reaction fires into him :) - [[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 20:07, 9 September 2007 (PDT)

This is a sequencing bug. The game probably got something done in the wrong order, and the conditions it needed to drop the equipment (as it should) never occured. The same happens when you die from wounds while standing in smoke, where your unit sometimes dies (game creates a new corpse) and then gets stunned (game drops a referenced corpse - and since the game sees it as a stunning, it never actually gets round to killing the unit). Since even melee units need a reaction level to allow them to have initiative during their turn, it's no wonder that they are able to shoot back with reaction fire.

Actually, I think it sometimes happens during zombification, since I've often had occasions where I've ended up with armed zombies. In turn they arm the chryssalid, if I'm not mistaken. Oh well, much fun to be had. - [[User:NKF|NKF]]

:I was doing a little bit of research today and needed to check what happens when a soldier reaches exactly 0 health (not via fatal wounds). Initial round: nothing happens, the soldier just has 0 health. At the end of your turn though, there is a message saying that Soldier X has just died from a fatal wound. Directly after that there is another message stating that Soldier X is unconscious. When my round returned, I checked on Soldier X. There were 2 bodies on the ground, one from the corpse and one of the unconscious Soldier X. Pumping it full of stimulants did nothing, the soldier remained knocked out. At the end of the second round the soldier died and left a corpse (for a total of 2).

:My theory is that units can be hurt so they have exactly 0 health (it must happen during that round though). This basically puts the unit in limbo between life and death (the final check for death happens at the end of the current turn). When the game does the check, it finds the unit has 0 health which forces it to create a corpse. The game probably forgets to set the death flag and immediately finds that the unit is still alive and has 0 health which knocks it unconscious. This probably explains why Chryssalids from X-COM soldiers sometimes have guns. If the Zombie had a gun and you managed to inflict enough damage to lower health to exactly 0, it dies, and immediately changes into a Chryssalid. More testing needs to be done with aliens and soldiers, but the 0 health idea probably plays a role in this somewhere. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 09:50, 15 September 2007 (PDT)

==Melee TU Cost==
I set a Chryss's current/max TU to 15, and it still had time to turn after attacking. Percentage maybe? - [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 15:54, 10 February 2008 (PST)

:I think I did some more current tests somewhere and found the cost was 14 TU. Can't remember where I put that data though. In any case, it's funny that I ran across this as today I was wondering if the cost is percentage-based. It's certainly possible, but needs more testing. For now, I put an asterisk next to the cost until this is sorted out. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 22:15, 22 April 2008 (PDT)

== Top Ten Monsters (Gamespot) ==

[http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_monsters/ Gamespot's Top Ten Videogame Monsters] includes Chrysallids, naturally. In alphabetic order. Chrysallids made #4 in a subsequent reader poll.

Overviews of Aliens

2008-05-07T15:23:31Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Zombie */ not entirely harmless

As a first step a commander should be aware of the basic details of the threat facing the Earth, to this end an '''Overview of Aliens''' can act as a first step in preparing the novice for their first clashes on the battlefield. Once the commander is conversant with this information further details can be found by looking at aliens' specific pages or [[Alien Stats]].

==Low Threat==
===Low Threat: Sectoid===
[[Image:sectoid.png|right|Sectoid]]
The Sectoids are possibly the first alien you'll see. They resemble the "Greys" spoken of by New Age types and the X-Files television show: short humanoids with pale skin, elfin features and large, almond-shaped eyes.

Sectoids are very weak in combat, with generally poor accuracy and reaction time. They have mediocre mobility, no armor worth mentioning, and will easily fall under standard rifle fire, grenades, or even a glancing shot from heavier weapons. Without their more devious Sectoid Leaders, they can be overcome with minimal risk.

However, on any mission that doesn't involve a small-sized UFO ([[Small Scout]], [[Medium Scout]], or [[Large Scout]]), the Sectoids will have a Sectoid Leader in their ranks. This Leader is capable of [[Psionics|Psionic]] attacks that can panic your troops or even bring them under alien control, to be used against you. In the early game when Sectoid sightings are common, this can be devastating because X-Com has not yet researched psionics, and so is wide open to this type of warfare.

Furthermore, on any [[Mission_Types|Mission]] involving terror units, the Sectoids will be accompanied by the formidable Cyberdisc, which adds another degree of complexity to the situation.
 
See also: [[Sectoid]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Medium Threat: Cyberdisc - Terror Unit|Medium Threat: Cyberdisc - Terror Unit]]

===Low Threat: Floater===
[[Image:floater.png|right|Floater]]
The Floaters are the other variety of aliens you'll see early in the game, possibly before Sectoids. They are purple humanoid shapes clad in capes, floating perpetually above the ground. They are more formidable in combat than the Sectoid. They have better firing accuracy and reactions, along with a modicum of armor. They have somewhat better mobility than the Sectoid, and they are capable of floating in mid-air. They use this ability only rarely (almost never on lower difficulty settings), but it does mean that, at game start, you will see them more frequently on rooftops and other elevated positions. They rarely make good use of cover while floating above ground level. Floaters may be more likely than Sectoids to throw grenades, but hard data here is lacking.

While Floaters, by themselves, are more fearsome than Sectoids, they lack the Sectoids' two advantages: Floaters have no psionic capability, and their terror unit, the Reaper, is mediocre at best. Floaters arguably make for the easiest large UFO missions, terror missions and alien base attacks due to these weaknesses.
 
See also: [[Floater]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Low Threat: Reaper - Terror Unit|Low Threat: Reaper - Terror Unit]]

===Low Threat: Reaper - Terror Unit===
[[Image:reaper.gif|right|Reaper]]
The Reaper is the dedicated [[Terror Units|Terror Unit]] of the Floater, and will only be seen accompanying them. It is a large, furry mammalian biped of size comparable to an X-Com [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]]. It is armed only with its bite, which obviously can be used only when the alien is directly adjacent to its foe. It is arguably the least threatening alien in the game. Since they are so large, reapers are generally easy to spot and easy to hit. While they can absorb a considerable amount of damage, they are resistant only to armor-piercing fire and make a large target. They are particularly vulnerable to incendiary fire, but almost any heavy weapon fire will dispatch them without much trouble. Their only real assets are their high mobility and ability to absorb damage.
 
See also: [[Reaper]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Low Threat: Floater|Low Threat: Floater]]

===Low Threat: Silacoid - Terror Unit===
[[Image:silacoid.gif|right|Silacoid]]
The Silacoid is one of the two varieties of terror units deployed with Mutons, and will only be seen accompanying them. It resembles a large pink rock that slowly rumbles along the ground, often leaving a trail of burnt terrain in its path. Their only combat ability is to make a moderately damaging melee attack, presumably involving the burning heat of its body. Its mobility is lacklustre, and the burnt trail it leaves makes it easy to track. They are somewhat well armored and can absorb a moderate amount of fire. Considering that they are usually only encountered in the mid- to late-game, the sight of this underwhelming combat unit comes as a pleasant surprise to Commanders accustomed to more fearsome prey.
 
See also: [[Silacoid]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#High Threat:Muton|High Threat: Muton]]

==Medium Threat==

===Medium Threat: Celatid - Terror Unit===
[[Image:celatid.gif|right|Celatid]]
The Celatid is one of the two terror unit types deployed with Mutons, and will only be seen accompanying them. It resembles a large, pink kidney bean that hovers along slowly at ground level. It attacks by spitting venom at its target, and can do so with great accuracy. This venom is extremely dangerous to unarmored units, while somewhat less threatening to armored troops and HWPs. It can only project its venom over a short range (perhaps 7 squares), and has relatively low mobility. It has negligible armor and can be destroyed with standard weapon fire, or glancing fire from heavier weapons.

The science division says that a Celatid is capable of tracking units outside of its line of sight, but there is no field evidence to confirm this. In any case, it is at home in close quarters, particularly indoors where it can pop out from around corners, and its small size can make it a somewhat difficult target to hit. However, its low mobility, short attack range and vulnerability to fire means that, with proper care taken, it is only a moderate threat on the battlefield.
 
See also: [[Celatid]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#High Threat:Muton|High Threat: Muton]]

===Medium Threat: Cyberdisc - Terror Unit===
[[Image:cyberdisc.gif|right|Cyberdisc]]
The Cyberdisc is the dedicated terror unit of the Sectoid, and will only be seen accompanying them. It is a mechanical floating disc, comparable in size to our HWP, though it has a lower profile. It has moderate mobility, and can float at any level above the ground. It attacks with a devastating plasma shot, capable of firing up to three snap shots in a round with good accuracy and reactions superior to our HWPs.

It is resistant to armor-piercing weapons, and holds up well against psionic manipulation. Its slim profile can make it a difficult target for an object of its size. Worse, when it is destroyed, it usually explodes with a ferocity comparable to [[Alien Grenade]] or worse. New commanders often have difficulty destroying it with Terran weapons; it is advised to direct as much firepower as is available against one. Alien weapon technology is far more suitable for destroying it.

Commanders should remember that any mission involving Cyberdiscs will also involve Sectoids with psionic capability. However, not all missions with psionic Sectoids will involve Cyberdiscs.
 
See Also [[Cyberdisc]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Low Threat: Sectoid|Low Threat: Sectoid]]

===Medium Threat: Snakeman===
[[Image:snakeman.png|right|Snakeman]]
Snakemen usually won't show up for at least two or three months into the game. As their name suggests, they are reptilian, resembling snakes with arms, slithering along on their lower bodies. They have noticeably better armor than floaters or Sectoids, and are capable of absorbing significantly more fire than either. Their combat stats are at least comparable to Floaters, possibly slightly better. They seem a little more willing to use grenades than Sectoids or Floaters, too. Their key flaw, however, is low mobility. They are not able to move very quickly, slower even than Sectoids.

However, larger Snakeman missions involving Terror Units can be truly fearsome, with the inclusion of their devastating Chryssalid support units.
 
See Also [[Snakeman]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#High Threat: Chryssalid - Terror Unit|High Threat: Chryssalid - Terror Unit]]

==High Threat==
===High Threat: Chryssalid - Terror Unit===
[[Image:chryssalid.gif|right|Chryssalid]]
The Chryssalid is the dedicated [[Terror Units|Terror Unit]] of the Snakeman, and will only be seen accompanying them. One of the most feared enemies of X-Com, these creatures have shiny black exoskeletons, an insect-like look, and a toothy grin. They resemble the art of H.R. Giger. They have incredible mobility, lightning-fast reflexes, and can absorb large amounts of fire. These abilities allow them to slug it out long enough to deliver their chief threat: their infectious bite, which can penetrate even the thickest armor and can destroy HWPs.

The ability of a single specimen to turn an entire troop of X-Com operatives into a new population of Chryssalids is the stuff of a Commander's nightmares. Killing Chryssalids should be your top priority whenever they are present. Concentrate fire upon them. Don't be afraid to sacrifice any civilians or X-Com troops nearby-- if the Chryssalid doesn't die, they'll probably be infected anyway. Ensure that all Chryssalids that drop are dead, not merely unconscious. Listen for the lack of a death-cry - do not hesitate in blowing up its body to finish the job.

====Zombie====
Any X-Com trooper or civilian bitten by a Chryssalid will turn into a zombie -- a drooling humanoid that runs around and tries to launch weak physical attacks against your troops. The creature itself is easily killed. The melee attack can kill a soldier in a t-shirt in one turn. Don't let them stand next to you for long. If you can't burn it and aren't ready to concentrate firepower on the emerging Chryssalid, you should keep your distance. Your soldiers will happily zap them with reaction fire. This can be a worse disaster than just letting the zombie beat a single trooper to death.

Unless zombies are burned to death with an incendiary attack, a Chryssalid will hatch out of its corpse when is it killed. The new Chryssalid is at full strength and has all the abilities of a normal Chryssalid -- including the ability to turn more people into zombies and 100% of it's TU's. Yes, this means that a single Chryssalid can turn every human on the map into a Chryssalid.

 
See Also [[Chryssalid]] | [[Zombie]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Medium Threat: Snakeman|Medium Threat: Snakeman]]

===High Threat: Ethereal===
[[Image:ethereal.png|right|Ethereal]]
Ethereals are the ruling caste of the Alien hordes. They will not be seen until the late in the game, but when they do, expect them to be armed with the most powerful weapons in the [[Weapons#Alien Weapons|alien arsenal]]. Their bodies are thin and emaciated, with pale, pinkish skin. However, they only appear in combat wearing billowing orange robes which make their narrow frames look more imposing.

They can endure large amounts of damage and have very good combat skills. They also have good mobility and are able to fly, which they do with little hesitation. ''Every'' Ethereal has [[Psionics|psionic]] abilities; expect psionic warfare to commence almost immediately in any combat against them. Always engage Ethereals with the greatest caution, and all knowledge of psionic combat you have at your disposal.

As if their combat skills, high mobility, resistance to fire and psionic ability were not enough, they also have one of the strongest terror units in the game-- the Sectopod.
 
See Also [[Ethereal]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#High Threat: Sectopod - Terror Unit|High Threat: Sectopod - Terror Unit]]

===High Threat: Muton===
[[Image:muton.png|right|Muton]]
Mutons are the shock troops of the Alien invasion, possibly the most skilled combatants you'll go up against. They usually won't show up until mid- to late-game, but when they do you can expect them all to be packing the most powerful weapons in the [[Weapons#Alien Weapons|alien arsenal]]. They have purple skin, but everything but their faces are covered with thick, green, skin-tight armor.

They are heavily armored and capable of absorbing heavy fire, and are especially resistant to armor-piercing rounds. They have very good reactions and mobility, and average accuracy. They will lay down heavy fire and use grenades quite freely.

They are not without their weaknesses, however. They are known for a short attention span, and will forget the presence of enemies beyond their sight more quickly than other aliens would. They are vulnerable to psionic attacks, and have no psionic talents of their own.

They are the only species in the Alien invasion with two varieties of terror unit, the Celatid and the Silacoid. However, neither of these creatures can come close to matching the Muton's combat prowess.
 
See Also [[Muton]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Low Threat: Silacoid - Terror Unit|Low Threat: Silacoid - Terror Unit]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#Medium Threat: Celatid - Terror Unit|Medium Threat: Celatid - Terror Unit]]

===High Threat: Sectopod - Terror Unit===
[[Image:sectopod.png|right|Sectopod]]
The Sectopod is the dedicated terror unit of the Ethereal, and will only be seen accompanying them. They are large, bipedal robots comparable in size to one of our HWPs. They are the most heavily armored units of the Alien horde, resistant to almost all forms of damage including even alien weaponry, requiring heavy fire to destroy one. Its only known weakness is to Terran laser weapons, and even against those it can sustain a good degree of damage.

They attack with dual head-mounted green-laser weapon that is capable of automatic fire. They can fire with a high degree of accuracy and reactions far superior to our HWPs. They also have good mobility.

Some commanders keep special weaponry on hand exclusively to deal with them, including the [[Tank/Laser Cannon]] and even the otherwise shunned [[Heavy Laser]]. Blasters will do the job, but direct hits are usually required-- and occasionally may not be enough.
 
See Also [[Sectopod]] | [[Overviews of Aliens#High Threat: Ethereal|High Threat: Ethereal]]

==Notes==
*The leaders of the alien horde are heavily dependent on psionic combat, and have even designed their mechanical units to respond to psionic stimuli.
*Only Sectoid Leaders, Sectoid Commanders and Ethereals (of any type) are capable of psionic warfare.

==See Also==
*[[Alien Life Forms]]
*[[Terror Units]]
*[[Alien Stats]]
*[[Overviews of Aliens (TFTD)]]

Talk:Explosions

2008-05-07T13:57:54Z

JellyfishGreen: New section: Re: When Is a Wall not a Wall

Zombie, even gas station explosions don't hurt anybody nearby? - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 18:37, 3 August 2007 (PDT)

:I'm pretty sure I've gotten civilians killed by stray shots blowing up gas pumps before. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 19:59, 3 August 2007 (PDT)

::Friendly units are not affected by any explosions caused by battlefield objects on UFO (on TFTD and some of my mod terrains this does not apply). There's some sort of quirk however concerning explosions that only generate smoke: I've seen often aliens/civilians get killed because of those explosions: I think (not confirmed) one factor might be if those units are already standing on smoke and the game wrongly allocates them damage everytime a barrel explodes. [[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 02:07, 4 August 2007 (PDT)

:On that note, I've most certainly killed aliens by blowing up fuel barrels in the Hangar during base defense missions. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 07:48, 4 August 2007 (PDT)

:: Just to throw a spanner in the works, sometimes I've seen aliens that weren't near the bowser or fuel drum die after it explodes. For Quite the explosive odd ball out. - [[User:NKF|NKF]]

: Ok, this is what I know. MapView lists those "explosive" objects as having a damage type of smoke, not high explosive. This checks out on the battlescape as when you shoot one of these objects, the explosion doesn't damage terrain and it produces a dense smoke cloud just like a Smoke Grenade does. Moving X-COM soldiers near the fuel bowser and then shooting it doesn't do them any harm - that's basically a given.

: However like NKF and Hobbes mentioned, Civilians and aliens can sometimes die after you shoot one of the objects. It doesn't happen all the time though and a quick round of testing reveals they normally don't take damage from the explosions either. This leads me to believe it is a bug of some sort. I did have a civilian die last night after shooting a fuel bowser: it was about 6 tiles away and wasn't standing in a smoke cloud. But, I did shoot a couple pumps out in the previous rounds which may be incorrectly allocating damage to nearby non-human units like Hobbes points out. Still, more testing needs to be done before we can come to a logical theory. Right now we have nothing to stand on other than our words. ;)

: A main problem with the civilians is that they never get close enough to a fuel bowser on a terror mission to test this out properly and you can't use MC on them as that changes their ownership flag. I might do a little map editing and intentionally force civilians to spawn surrounding the pumps, and also give the civilians no energy or TU to force them to stay put instead of wandering off. Then , if the pump gets shot out and they all survive we'll know that thay don't take damage normally. (By normally, I mean no other object explosions happened on the map in previous rounds). After this I can go nuts and shoot off a whole bunch of pumps to see what happens. If the civilians die when standing in smoke, then we can come to a conclusion. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 08:06, 6 August 2007 (PDT)

: I have seen aliens killed and objects damaged when the purple tables explode. This is most visible in the command centers of bases, where the whole place goes up when a blaster bomb is fired,even if the back blast shouldn't hit the rearmost segments with enough force.--[[User:(name here)|(name here)]] 10:07, 18 November 2007 (PST)

Update:[[Image:Bowser.png|right]]

I managed to construct a testing scenario for civilians against a fuel bowser explosion the other day. The gas station map was edited so that the fuel bowsers were inside a large structure with some lighting sources (lamps) aroung the perimeter for giggles. Since I didn't have access to the internet and since Daishiva's MapEdit doesn't allow you to change the spawn points, I ended up decoding the RMP structure and editing the spawn points myself. Of the 16 normally occurring spawn points on the gas station map, I changed all of them to be civilian with a spawn priority of 10 (meaning a high probability of a civilian showing up there) and clustered 8 of them around 2 fuel bowsers with links which circled the pump to keep the civilians from wandering off. Then I kept going on a terror mission until the structure showed up with enough civies spawned around a pump.

First thing I did was to edit all civies to have 200 health. After this, I shot a pump with 3 civilians standing around it and checked to see if any of them were harmed. Only one was injured. The picture at the right details the scenario. G stands for the gas pump (er, fuel bowser, whatever you call it), C1, C2, and C3 are the civilians and S is the soldier. The solder shot at the pump with a Laser Rifle and the civilian injured in the blast was #3 (red square). No other civilians were ever injured. I didn't have time to check out anything else but the orientation of the shot and the location of the civilians play a role in who will get hurt.

Just for the heck of it, I decided to see how much damage was inflicted to civilian #3. After writing down about 20 numbers I realized that this would be a perfect job for BB's logger and AutoHotKey. I wrote a script, automated the whole process and then came back an hour later. Now, the fuel bowser has a listed damage potential as 46, so I half-guessed the damage would be between 23 and 69 (1/2 and 3/2 the ave damage). Wrong. It was between 0 and 120! This is more like a normal ammunition type than an explosion. After sitting there in disbelief for a while, it hit me that the Laser Rifles damage potential was probably being wrongly allocated to the civilian. When I changed the weapon to the Heavy Laser, the civilian got between 0 and 170 points of damage - exactly what would be predicted with ammo having 85 average damage. And no, the Laser Rifle shots were not missing the target and hitting the civilian directly, I can't stress this enough.

The only conclusion I can draw so far is that the more powerful of weapon that you use to shoot the fuel bowser, the more damage will be dealt to someone standing near it. Of course, more testing is in-order here, but at least we have a workable theory on damage. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 18:40, 9 August 2007 (PDT)

:You can edit the .rmp files with Map View but you seemed to have managed quite well by your own :)
:What you described is the effect when a weapon's hit completely destroys a terrain feature it transfers the excess damage to units (and objects?) closeby. Or, the shot destroys the target and carries on. At least that's what it seems to me on the rare occasions that i witness that behaviour, since it's hard to get it with either bullets against human buildings or plasmas against UFO walls.
:Still that leaves the question about far away aliens dying from gas pump explosions. One thing I remember that can help is that the smoke is generated on the alien's square before it dies. - [[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 22:44, 9 August 2007 (PDT)
--------
I think he means if you destroy a terrain feature that subsequently blows up, the explosion damage to nearby units would be the calculated in the same way as if they had been shot directly.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 19:45, 10 August 2007 (PDT)

:Correct, BB. @Hobbes - I'm still a little confused on who gets hit. See, if the "bullet" were to "kill" the bowser and then continue on, the civilian damaged should be #2 (not #3). Unless the line of fire was screwed up in the intermediate effect somehow. Also, the amount of damage to the civilian is exactly what is predicted if you shot it directly. If the bowser were to "absorb" some of the damage, I'd see that reflected in the log file. And for the time being, this is only true for civilians. I haven't got around to testing if aliens suffer the same fate. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 15:35, 12 August 2007 (PDT)
::Well i was *convinced* that shots would continue after destroying its target until I ran a couple of limited tests to verify this: on the first one I tried firing at soft walls with an unarmored xcom unit behind it. The unit suffered no damage at all. But then I remembered how sometimes objects when hit aren't replaced with their wrecked version (like crates....they just disappear). The crate supposedly would be replaced with the wreck but instead it simply disappears, which would mean that the wreck that replaces it gets the excess power of the shot and is obliterated as well. I can't really explain it but I feel this might be related to the dying civvies/aliens. -- [[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 17:22, 12 August 2007 (PDT)
------------
If you shoot a piece of terrain, the "armor" of that tile is subtracted from the damage the shot did. If the result is still positive, the tile is destroyed, or replaced with the "damaged" version.

In that later case, the armor of the new tile is again subtracted from the remaining damage total, and so on until you run out of "damage" or you run out of tiles to replace with.

(This is how my damage testing tileset (which shows the shot power against a given floor tile, on that floor tile): By drawing a number on each, giving them an armor of 1, and setting them to change to the next numbered tile when toasted).

In this situation, you see one "damage" figure used to destroy multiple tiles (I've done no testing to see whether the damage can then be passed on to units). Each tile takes a reduced amount of damage as the ones before it suck it up.

In the case of Zombies test, a new damage figure is calculated for every unit (or one for all?) that is harmed by the explosion of the tile (assuming it can explode): and that's based on the weapon used to damage that tile in the first place, not on what the tile was. The units take full weapon damage (not explosive damage, or it wouldn't be a random value).

That said, if I ever feel the need to pass on damage after destroying terrain I find an autoshot works quite nicely. But then, I always use autoshot, so go figure. ;)

Also worth a mention (whether or not it's relevant I dunno) is the IN (or was it HE?) bug. If you shoot a unit with an IN bullet of some sort, all units standing in fire (and smoke?) will take the damage of the shot (regardless as to whether they were in range of the blast).

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 06:37, 13 August 2007 (PDT)

===UFO Power Source Explosions===

Months ago, I was working on the probability that UPSs and their Elerium would survive a crash. This involved the individual chance of engine explosion upon crashing, the blast damage of an exploding engine, and the configuration of UFOs (and whether blast damage could spread to other engines). But Arg, I've looked all around and can't find that work on the wiki. Or maybe it was in a forum? Anyone recall? :P - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 09:23, 9 October 2007 (PDT)

: I think it was in a forum. Abstract:
:* Individually, each power source has a measured probability of 70% explode, 30% intact.
:* If a power source is in the range of the explosion of another power source, it is destroyed and does not explode.
:* I don't recall the calculated damage off-hand. It is possible for the navigation consoles on a Medium Scout to survive their power plant explosion, but far from certain.
:* Power sources are checked in coordinate lexicographical order. E.g., for the terror ship the order of checking is N, W, E, S. [This also entails that for a Terror Ship, all four explode or none explode. Assuming no RNG problems, this translates to a 0.81% chance of seeing four power sources. Battleships are notable in that power source explosions do not destroy other power sources, unlike other UFOs with multiple power sources.] - [[User:Zaimoni|Zaimoni]] 12:51 9 October 2007 (CDT)

MTR: please see [[Talk:Exploits#Repairing_damaged_UFOs]] or [http://www.xcomufo.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=242025161 this topic] at the xcomufo forums. BTW, the Medium Scout, Large Scout, Abductor and Battleship all have their PS explosion probabilities calculated separately since they either only have one PS or they are separated by hulls or walls which reduce blast propagation.

The only ships you need to worry about are the Harvester, Supply and Terror Ships. However, since the power sources on those ships are always separated from each other by 6 tiles, we can do some quick and dirty calculations. First of all, a power source has a explosive rating of 180-250 at GZ. Extrapolating to GZ+6 (the location of the other power source), the damage is 120-190. Elerium has a damage rating of 20 which guarantees immediate destruction if another power source explodes (exception is the Supply Ship). Power sources are destroyed outright if the average listed explosive strength is 100 or greater at the point of impact. Since the damage at GZ+6 is always greater than 120 points, all power sources will be destroyed from the blast. In the case of the Terror Ship, if one PS goes off, the strength of that single blast is more than enough to immediately destroy the other power sources. Thus, for all the PS to survive, the game needs to roll the 30% survival dice 4 times for an overall probability of 0.3^4=0.81%. (Supply has 3 PS for a 2.7% chance while the Harvester has 2 for a 9% chance).

The Supply Ship is a special case because the PS are arranged in a straight line each 6 tiles apart. I haven't checked whether items (such as Elerium) can survive at GZ+12 of a PS explosion (I think they can). If this is the case, then a power source which explodes at the outside of the line will only destroy the one in the middle and permit a second roll to determine the fate of the surviving PS. Of course, if the central PS explodes, any successful "saving" rolls made up to that point are ignored and all the power sources are destroyed. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 14:49, 9 October 2007 (PDT)

:Now it's coming back to me... great stuff! Thanks Zai and Zombie. And thanks for the links. It'll take me a little while to refresh everything in my mind, and maybe take your test map for a drive again. Ultimately I'll want to get this info onto appropriate wiki pages. - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 15:38, 9 October 2007 (PDT)

::I can shine some light onto the GZ+12 question, because I just yesterday recovered Elerium from a Supply Ship with two destroyed power sources. Blaster Bomb explosions propagate for 11 tiles, and have no power after that, and tests have shown that a PS explodes with the same force as a BB. As well, it should be noted that sometimes the location of the PS starts on fire and may remain so for some time. (On one final note, it makes more sense to me that Elerium is spawned under SURVIVING power sources; so there is no chance that it is destroyed by an explosion; it spawns after the explosions occur. Of course, I could be completely wrong, it just makes more sense to me to code it that way.) [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 16:16, 9 October 2007 (PDT)

:Good point Arrow, thanks for that. Zombie, I've got a handle on it again and will post something about expected number of PSs at crash sites, a.k.a. average Elerium recovered. E.g. Supply ships yield 17.7 units of Elerium, on average (calcs to be shown on wiki). One thing has me curious... in your XCOMUFO thread you say you wrote down the edge strength of PS blasts (35 to 70) but then later said there are 71 possible values. But aren't there actually only 36? And again I wonder if truncation might have something to do with it... see, depending on just how they truncated what was applied (if they did) and/or how BB's tiles show the number, could have caused a fair amount of creep one way or the other... and it looks like it crept up. (''If'' there were 256 original values somewhere/somehow which got converted to a 7th as many someway/somehow (36/256) ... shrug.) But it's really only an incredibly minor issue. .... Anybody care to recommend where I'd post the info on Elerium salvage? [[UFO_Crash_Recovery]] makes a lot of sense conceptually, but it's not a particularly info rich page. - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 18:58, 10 October 2007 (PDT)

::Heh Mike. The 35-70 damage is the amount found at R11. The 90-125 damage (range of 36) is the average at GZ for objects. The last column is the actual explosive strength of the PS against units 180-250, range=71. Sorry, lots of numbers there to confuse.

::I'd include this info in the UFO Crash Recovery page. That seems like the best place for it, no? --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 19:42, 10 October 2007 (PDT)

:Z, am I losing my mind? but PS explosions are quite unusual, aren't they? 1) they have a ''range'' versus terrain; all other explosions are a simple, invariant 50% of rated damage versus terrain, and 2) while they have a range, it is not +/- 50% of rated, like it is for explosives vs. units. If we are indeed seeing 50% of rated vs. terrain (which the decrement-by-5 strongly suggests), then your min-ave-max conclusion of 180-215-250 for PSs is actually +/- 16.28% of rated. How weird is that (and where'd they get ''that'' percent)? Am I doing this right?? Maybe they special coded PSs. (There was also some "hybrid weirdness" seen with the [[Small_Launcher#Stun_Bombs_vs._HE_Block|stun bomb]].) - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 21:37, 10 October 2007 (PDT)

::LOL, Yup Power Source explosions are in a class all of their own. When I came back to this recently I was quite perplexed at the numbers since they do not follow the anticipated 50%-150% range which normal explosives dish out. The extrema of the PS at 215 damage is +/- 35 damage points which is strange. Don't know why the programmers decided to code this explosion so differently but what's done is done. It's our job to explain it which is usually hard. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 22:14, 10 October 2007 (PDT)

:Ok I have added [[UFO_Crash_Recovery#Power_Source_Explosions_and_Elerium_Recovery]] (and re-organized the page a little) and also created [[Explosions#Unusual_Explosives]] and simplified [[Small_Launcher#Stun_Bomb_Explosions]].
:*Did I get that last paragraph on [[Explosions#Stun_Bombs]] right? Also see [[Talk:Main_Page#Re-organize_Explosions]].
:*Zombie, is there any way you'd care to do a little more testing on crashing and PS explosions - specifically, how hard are units hit? Given how PSs break the standard explosion rules, it'd be interesting to try to modify the game so that the sectoids(?) in the savegame crash scenario, have a lot of health (and armor?), so one can cross-confirm that the damage inflicted on terrain, is what is seen versus the units. (If PSs break some rules, do they break others? Is terrain really being hit by 50%? Just one look ought to answer everything.) I'm not sure how/if aliens' stats can be modified, when moving from GEO to BATTLE... can it be?
:- [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 17:54, 12 October 2007 (PDT)

::Sure, I'll fool around with this a little bit tonight. But I'm letting you know right now that setting this scenario up is gonna take some time. I'll need to edit the routes (erm, spawn points) of a craft so the aliens will start directly next to a power source. Then the aliens stats will need to be modified in the executable to have high health to survive the explosion (assuming the PS explosion does a max of 250, an alien with 255 health should survive all the time so modifying armor would not be necessary). Also, to get any idea of what is happening with the blast, the quantity of aliens will need to be modified in the executable to force more of them to show up (8 is good for a GZ+1 test and 16 for a GZ+2). Will let you know what I come up with.

::Edit: I created a scenario and ran it through its paces just now. Turns out Sectoids were dying left and right with 255 health. No good. I edited them to have 200 health and 100 overall armor and checked again. A couple times I saw corpses around the power source so the strength of the blast must be at least 310. 300 + 10 GZ+1 adjustment. As a quick calculation, if GZ is slated to have a blast strength of 250 and it follows the normal explosive theory, the max should be 250*3/2 = 375. Will need to jump up to the higher difficulties in order to bump armor up to 200 though - beginner always cuts the armor rating in the executable by half. Then we can see what will happen with a 400 health unit. Heck, maybe I better crank the total up to 500 to be safe, lol.--[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 23:31, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

::Edit2: Well, with an armor of 250 and a health of 250, the Sectoids didn't seem to take any damage so I ended up switching everything to 200. Not sure how many trials I ran but it was on the neighborhood of 200 or so and the lowest value I reached was a health rating of 73. 400-73= 327 at GZ+1 and therefore 337 at GZ. More trials will be necessary to narrow the actual number down since the damage range is extremely high (each value in the range has a 0.3% chance of showing up once). --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 21:48, 15 October 2007 (PDT)

:Zombie, sorry for the delay. Wow I had thought this would only need a single test - I hope this isn't too much trouble! Are you also writing down the numerical tileset (terrain) GZ damage each test? It's definitely looking like PS explosions break yet another rule - they are not 50% of average/2 (and who knows what the relation is, unless enough data is colleced). - [[User:MikeTheRed|MikeTheRed]] 15:52, 17 October 2007 (PDT)

:Looks like before the first turn, the engine will look for every tile in the map (it scans the MAP.DAT data linearly) ; when it finds a power source (it checks if the MCD special property is set to 2), there is a 25% chance that it will leave it alone. Otherwise, it'll generate an explosion at the UPS location with a strength of 180+RND*70. Whether the UPS blows up on top of that or is just destroyed, I do not know. Can someone hack the MCD data and see if it's possible to generate an explosion on a tile that is not a UPS just by messing with the special property? PS: I am almost certain of the 75% probability of explosion vs 70% that is often stated here. [[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 09:31, 12 February 2008 (PST)

===Bodies===

I've noticed that sometimes when you use a high level explosive(Alien Grenade sometimes, but more often Blaster Bombs or XComUtil High-Explosive), aliens killed will not leave a corpse. Has anyone figured out the rhyme or reason to this? [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 13:33, 13 October 2007 (PDT)

----

This also happens with human grenades; a fully healthy Sectoid must be at least two squares away from the detonation center to leave a corpse on Superhuman. [[User:Zaimoni|Zaimoni]] 16:38, 13 October 2007 (CDT)

----

Stranger and stranger...I just Mind Controlled two Ethereals, stood them next to each other, and had one of them prime his grenade for immediate detonation and deposit it at his feet. The ethereal at ground zero, right on top of the grenade, was killed and left a corpse; however, his buddy standing adjacent(and to the south) got completely fragged(no corpse). Makes me even more curious! [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 15:49, 13 October 2007 (PDT)

----

Arrow, I'll try to explain this the best I can. Just for the sake of understanding let's look at a piece of terrain. Say you shoot at a tile containing an object (a brick fence for instance). If you shoot at it with a low powered weapon it probably will not do anything to the fence segment. However, if you use a higher powered weapon it will destroy the fence segment which will in turn convert it into a destroyed fence section. If you use a really powerful weapon, it will obliterate the fence segment completely. What happens in this case is that the high damage weapon will destroy the brick fence segment converting it to a damaged object. If the amount of power used up in this process is less than the power of the hit, the resulting excess is applied to the damaged object. If the excess is enough, it will destroy the damaged object. Usually the process ends here and no further objects are created if more damage is applied. Since there isn't a tertiary object pointed to, the object is obliterated. (But in the case of Bomb Blokes numerical damage testing tileset, he linked a whole bunch of tiles together, each with a damage greater than the last one to form a testing scenario).

The same thing happens to live aliens as it does with objects. When an alien is killed, it leaves a corpse "object" behind. If the damage applied is high enough, it destroys the corpse object and leaves nothing behind. The reason why you may notice some strange results is that the damage done by weapons is random (this is especially true with explosives which damage an area). So even though the damage dealt at GZ wasn't enough to destroy an alien outright, it doesn't mean that aliens further away from the blast center will take less damage than those closer to GZ (damage is calculated independently for each tile but still follows the usual damage profile for units). Overall though (like 200+ trials), aliens closer to the blast stand more of a chance to be obliterated than those standing further away. Hope this helps. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 18:03, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----

Ok, thanks! Makes alot more sense now. I suspected that might be the reason, but I wasn't sure about it. Considering my primary explosive at this point is the XComUtil High Explosive, it makes sense that the corpses are obliterated. Thanks for the explanation! [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 18:10, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----

[[Image:Numerical PS Screencap.png|right|thumb|250px]]
Note that although most weapons do random damage to their targets, explosives always deal a set amount of damage to tiles (which depends on the distance from GZ, any non-ground tiles in the way and the original power of the blast), as per this image.

Explosive damage to units is random, however. Dunno if it's random against items or not (I suspect the later). Damage from non-explosive weapons is never applied to those.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 19:01, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----

Sort of. At least this is what I think happens: blast damage from explosives is random to living units. If the random damage allocated to the unit is enough, it will kill the unit creating a corpse. If the blast has even more power, it will pass the excess on to the corpse leaving nothing. Think of the death tile for the corpse as an extra amount of health added to a live alien. If that value is surpassed, it bypasses corpse creation and creates the next tile in the sequence. In most cases, this is nothing.

Non-Explosive weapons can and will have the damage applied to an alien and then the corpse if damage is enough. However, once the corpse is formed, any damage from non-explosive weapons will not destroy the body (you can't target a corpse or items to shoot at, only the ground). --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 19:19, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----

Erm, I'm not following you on that last part. You're saying that if I shoot a sectoid with, say, a heavy plasma, any excess damage will be passed onto the corpse... But the corpse will never be destroyed?

In that case, how do you know any damage was applied to the corpse at all? Items don't have an individual "health" stat that I know of, they either get destroyed or they don't get scratched.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 19:46, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----
Let's say you shoot a Sectoid with a Laser Rifle modified to dish out 255 damage. If the shot pumps out the average (255) it will kill the Sectoid, pass the excess damage on to the corpse object and "kill" the corpse as well all in one fatal swoop. This boils down to sequencing. What probably happens is the game decides what to create by comparing the shot power to the damage ratings of all the tiles in the list sequence. If the damage is high enough, the game creates the appropriate item. It never actually creates the intermediate objects on the battlescape, otherwise a corpse would permanently end the sequence as it is an item from obdata.dat. Is that better? --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 20:34, 14 October 2007 (PDT)

----

No sorry, now you've lost me completely. What the heck do tiles have to do with this?! I suspect we're not talking about the same issue here.

Terrain when "destroyed" turns into other types of terrain, units turn into items, and items just get vaporised. Terrain never turns into items and units never turn into terrain.

My question was whether or not a non-explosive weapon could damage a corpse, as your comments seem to suggest one could (while also stating one couldn't, hence my confusion as to what you mean!!).

To make sure I know what I'm talking about, I jacked up the laser rifle damage to maximum, and crippled the Sectoid corpse endurance down to one (defaults to 26 btw). After shooting a few "volunteers" I'll say my original statement was dead on: A non-explosive weapon CANNOT "kill", destroy, or otherwise damage an item in the battlescape, even if that item is a corpse produced by the death of the original target.

If you shoot a Sectoid, it takes the damage, and that's that. There's no more damage processing unless you're using an explosive of some sort, regardless as to whether the target dies and leaves a body. Terrain/tile elements have nothing to do with the matter.

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 04:56, 15 October 2007 (PDT)

----
Sorry, I didn't mean to type "tiles" in my last post it should have been "objects". As for non-explosive weapons vaporizing a body, I have seen it. Unfortunately I can't seem to replicate the result I witnessed with pumping up the damage to 255. Perhaps it is a glitch of some sort in one of my saved games? More testing is in order. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 07:39, 15 October 2007 (PDT)

----

Ah! I think I see the light now. I reckon what happened was you killed an alien when the item table was full (meaning a corpse couldn't be produced). Could that have been the case?

- [[User:Bomb Bloke|Bomb Bloke]] 15:38, 15 October 2007 (PDT)

----
I don't think so. Usually I test on Beginner skill level with a small compliment (8) of crack soldiers each with a Laser Rifle and Psi-Amp. That isn't even close to filling the item table. And I would have noticed if I couldn't finish a mission due to a clogged item table too. I may have been fooling around with the Damage Modifiers though. I wonder if the additional damage produced by a greater susceptibility rating would have done this. Perhaps. I'll need to run a few tests though. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 21:48, 15 October 2007 (PDT)

----
Zombie, I think it must've been something other than the gun itself. The susceptibility, maybe. Because otherwise, any alien killed by a Heavy Plasma other than a Muton would usually NOT leave a corpse, because of the inhuman damage dealt by the weapon. 115 damage on average, minus 30 for Sectoid health, leaves plenty more than the 26 needed to frag the corpse, and Sectoids blasted by Heavy Plasma always leave corpses in my experience. Hope your tests can shed some more light on this! [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 17:31, 16 October 2007 (PDT)

== Direct Hits ==

Is there any evidence that a direct hit with an HE round is calculated any differently than dropping the round at GZ at the target's feet? In one sense you would expect a DH to apply to the facing armour rather than under armour (even though that would make a DH less effective than splash damage at GZ). Is there any chance that "weapon" damage mechanics rather than explosion mechanics are used for a DH? What about DH from Incendiary rounds?

I have a test rig set up to test this: under Armour maxed out, Auto Cannon accuracy maxed out. I wanted to ask before running the tests.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 00:55, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

:There's no evidence I'm aware of. The only weapon type that has "impact" damage, as I recall, is Incendiary. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 00:57, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

:: Well, from all the tests I ran back in the early days when we were still figuring the damage formula out, I did strike my test subjects head on, and that still dealt damage to the under armour. It's probably easier for the game to deal everything on a tile by tile bases and deal damage to under armour from GZ and GZ+1, then deal directional damage later on. It just recycles the same explosion mechanics that you get with grenades - only it happens earlier(I suppose you could say that if the bullet hits something solid within the tile, instead of dealing directional damage to the target, it tells the game to generate an explosion from that tile location). Besides, making the explosion directional at GZ would weaken it rather than strengthen it.

:: As for incendiary: That's a weird kettle of fish. Impact damage is dealt to ALL units in flames, so I don't know if direction or location really matters.

:: No harm in running your tests though. We've learned a lot of things here by doing just that. -[[User:NKF|NKF]] 03:15, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

: I ran more tests on explosives than I'd like to admit over at the XcomUfo forums. There is absolutely no difference between a ranged explosive (those fired from a weapon) and grenades. All affect under armor when the explosive hits at GZ or GZ+1. (As a side note, the mechanics for the stun bomb function exactly like explosives). Like NKF mentioned, a direct hit from an incendiary round is a strange creature. Where the round hits makes no difference: all units which catch fire take 5-10 damage points while those standing in fire take 1-12 damage points per turn. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 06:48, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

100 AC-HE rounds fired at a Sectoid in the open with 225 Under-armour, all rounds hit his GZ square, nearly all were Direct Hits on him - zero damage to Mr Sectoid. That seems pretty conclusive. There is no special Direct Hit effect from HE, only the standard GZ explosion effect.

[[User:Spike|Spike]] 04:54, 12 April 2008 (PDT)

== Re: When Is a Wall not a Wall ==

That is so not the definition of a "north" wall. Is he trying to say "the hull you see when the UFO is north of your unit"? --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 06:57, 7 May 2008 (PDT)

External UFO Windows

2008-05-06T15:04:46Z

JellyfishGreen:

It is sometimes possible to peer inside UFOs via windows set into the external hull. It is usually necessary to be at a different elevation from the level being viewed. [[Flying Suit]]s are excellent for this purpose, although hillsides or buildings can sometimes be utilized.

The exact angles/positions required for viewing are not known at this time.

This phenomenon may simply be a result of the game engine failing to properly calculate what should and shouldn't be visible from certain positions. Case in point: There are some situations where no UFO windows are apparent, but you are still able to see into the UFO.

Further research is needed.

[[Category: Oddities and bugs]]

Realistic Equivalents

2008-05-01T13:48:27Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Equipment & Explosives */

Realistic equivalents from military and other sources, to add impact to your fanfiction.

== Weapons ==

*[[Rifle]] - [http://remtek.com/arms/hk/mil/g36/g36.htm HK G36] was discussed but it could really be any modern battle rifle - H&K G3, FN FAL, M14...

*[[Pistol]] - SOCOM use .45 ACP, aka [http://remtek.com/arms/hk/civ/mark23/mark23.htm HK MK23]. Very similar to the game pistol in magazine capacity and power (compared to the game rifle, anyway).

*[[Auto Cannon]] - The new 25mm XM307 [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/ocsw.htm OCSW] could rapidly fire AP and HE grenades. No rotary barrel though it does have automatic fire. Manville 25mm is an obscure make of 18-shot revolver gun.

*[[Heavy Cannon]] - [http://global-military.info/weapons/mgl-mk1.html MGL-MK1], revolver 6-shot 40mm [http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl14-e.htm grenade launcher], with HE, AP, and In grenades. & (Perhaps upgraded versions could fire high-velocity grenades like the MK19 automatic grenade cannon.) See also Russia's RG-6 (6G30).

*[[Rocket Launcher]] - Predator Antitank Missile has been suggested. The M136 AT-4 is a disposable one-shot. The reloadable 84mm [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m3-maws.htm Carl Gustav (MAAWS) launcher] is perhaps a closer equivalent.

*Laser weapons - no modern equivalent. [http://www.cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/battlelaser.htm General Electric]?

*Plasma weapons - here are a few [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_rifle promising theories], especially [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_channel "plasma channels".]

== Equipment & Explosives ==

*[[Medi-Kit]] - Stimulants and painkillers aside, [http://www.hemcon.com/ Chitosan] battlefield bandages clot severe bleeding wounds instantly. (Secret ingredients: ground shrimp shells and vinegar. From Slashdot.) Also [http://www.simplerlife.com/quikclot.html QuikClot]. No need for nanites! Stimulants - In real life the Air Force gives its pilots amphetamines in order to keep them awake, I'm sure that the medi-kit would use something similar.

*[[Electro-flare]] - Invented because burning flares would set fires. Used as [http://www.uai.ca/sales/images/meprolight/electroflare.htm emergency road markers] or [http://www.uai.ca/sales/images/bartan/lightgrenade.htm Electric Light Grenade]

*[[Grenade]] - Standard M67 fragmentation grenade. Note the nearest thing to our timer is "cook-off" time. Electronic fuses are possible and reliable.

*[[Proximity Grenade]] - no equivalent. Claymore tripwires and ultrasonic sensors are possible. [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/slam.htm "SLAM Mine"] appeared in Splinter Cell as the Wall Mine.

*[[High Explosive]] - M183, 20lb C4 satchel charges.
*[[Stun Bomb]] - Advanced version of [http://www.pepperball.com/faqs.asp Pepperballs]

== Vehicles & Armament ==

*[[Tank/Cannon]] - M242 Chain Gun, 25mm, [http://www.sfu.ca/casr/101-m242.htm "Bushmaster"] (modified for single shot) mounted on [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/talon.htm "Talon"] robot chassis.

Or something larger, like an [http://www.magnatrac.com/ electric mini bulldozer].

*[[Tank/Rocket Launcher]] - [http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/flame/M202.html M202 "Flash" Quad Launcher], 66mm. (2 per turret @ 4 shots each) Originally developed to disperse incendiaries but fits M-72 LAW rounds, apparently.

*[[Interceptor]] fighter - USAF Lockheed [http://www.geocities.com/nicscics/YF22.htm F-22 Raptor] scheduled for release 2004 will replace the F-15. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II F-35 Lightning II] hit production 2006.

*[[Skyranger]] transport - [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_31 DO-31 VSTOL Transporter], [http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/vvs/an72-01.htm Anotov AN-72] (Cadmus) or Osprey CV-22 have the right size and range.

The german Do-31 concept was intended as a combat zone transporter carrying up to 36 fully equipped troops over a mission radius of about 900 km. It had the ability of taking off and landing vertically with the help of wing mounted engine pods and was able to land on unprepared surfaces. Two flying prototypes were built in Germany during the 1960s.

"Payload considerations have also been a sore point with the CV-22. Planners will have to take into consideration its reduced cabin volume and lift capacity. Not only does it carry fewer troops (18 vs 27), it is also incapable of transporting any of the armored, wheeled vehicles currently used by SOF teams. Procurement of a new vehicle is still pending..."
CV-22 Tiltrotor Osprey compared to Pavelow helicopter in Special Forces deployments, 1 June 1998. Could that new vehicle be [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]]-sized?

== Unit size, speed, game turn length, etc. ==

See Danial's interesting [[User_talk:Danial|page]] on various game measurements compared to real life. ''(If anyone wants to dive into this deeper, make a new page, copy his stuff over, and have a link at the top of the new page giving kudos back to Danial's page... due to the fact it's '''his''' page, it's not really a place for public revision.)''

There is also a [[Talk:Craft|discussion]] taking place on the speeds of aircraft and UFOs.

== Elerium-115 ==

After solving both the [[wikipedia:Barometric equation|Barometric equation]], the [[wikipedia:Drag formula|Drag formula]] and [[wikipedia:Einstein|Einsteins]] [[wikipedia:Mass-energy equivalence|mass-energy equivalence]] equation we arrive at the mass of a unit of Elerium-115 being approximately 2.13 grams.

Terror Ships have 4 reactors with 50 units of Elerium-115 each. If all the E-115 in the reactor detonated at once, it would have an explosive force of about 2.3 megatons. This value is almost exactly the size of two [[wikipedia:B83 nuclear bomb|US B83 thermonuclear devices]] at their maximum yield. (It is highly unlikely that 100% of the E-115 in the reactor would detonate in this way we would need to assume a figure for the amount of E-115 that goes into an uncontrolled reaction - or estimate the amount based on the displayed blast radius.)

There are some interesting armchair conjectures on the power contained in Elerium, both on the [[Elerium-115#How_much_Elerium_is_.E2.80.9E1_Elerium.E2.80.9C.3F|Elerium-115]] page, and on its [[Talk:Elerium-115|Discussion]] page.

Blaster Launcher

2008-05-01T12:20:50Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Tactics */

This man-portable total destruction device is the heaviest weapon alien artifact you'll discover. It fires the football-shaped [[Blaster Bomb]] which can hover and route through up to nine programmable waypoints before detonating on impact with a small explosion. 'Small' being a relative term for battlefield nuclear weapons. A safety radius of 10-20 meters is a good guideline. Blaster Bombs are ''outside'' toys, and can generally be relied upon to kill anything unlucky enough to be hit by them (and anything nearby). Although the weapon can only fire one shot before requiring a reload, one shot is usually enough.

Researching the Launcher and it's ammo allows you to research the [[Fusion Ball Launcher]] and [[Hovertank/Launcher]] projects.

== Stats ==
Blaster Launcher:
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS35.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
*Size: 3 high x 2 wide
*Weight: 16
*TUs:
**Aimed: 80% (Accuracy 120%)
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Manufacturable_Prices|Manufacturing]]: $90,000 for parts, 1,200 Engineer Hours, 1 Alien Alloy
*Sell Price: $144,000</td></tr></table>

Blaster Bomb:
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS36.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
*Power: 200 High Explosive
*Ammo: 1
*Size: 2 high x 1 wide
*Weight: 3
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Manufacturable_Prices|Manufacturing]]: $8,000 for parts, 220 Engineer Hours, 3 Elerium
*Sell Price: $17,028</td></tr></table>

BB [[explosions]] have an 11 tile radius. A soldier on the 11th tile can still be '''killed''' as BB's do average 90 points damage '''at the edge''' of the explosion.

'''NOTE''': Though the [[UFOpaedia]] states that the blaster launcher costs 80% of your TUs to fire, this is in fact incorrect. It only costs 66% to use the launch command. The 80% only applies to the blaster launcher's 'aimed shot', which is disabled when the 'launch' command is enabled. The launch command is a completely different firing mode entirely.

== Usage ==
* Use left clicks to set up to 9 waypoints. Two are the recommended minimum. To guarantee detonation, the last two waypoints should guide the bomb towards something solid such as a wall or floor. Right clicks will unset the last waypoint you set.
* The [[Hovertank/Launcher|Hovertank]] fusion ball is fired by the top-most section of the hovertank (the upper left corner when viewed via the overhead map).
* A bomb fired from within the [[Skyranger]] cannot be relied upon to cleanly exit the craft. Firing from the lip of the craft ''may'' be safe, especially if you angle your first waypoint away from the edge adjacent to the firer: if you're on the left side of the craft, angle your first waypoint to the right, and vice-versa.
* Similarly, it appears to be impossible to fire a Blaster Bomb from inside an [[Avenger]]. On the CE (Windows) version of the game modified by [[XcomUtil]], there appears to be a pink door covering the rear of the craft that the Blaster Bomb hits every time. Curiously, units can walk through this "door" and the explosion damage from the Blaster Bomb detonating also goes through the door and will kill any unit within range on the outside of the craft.
* In the CE (Windows) version of the game, attempting to fire a Blaster Bomb along an absolutely vertical path (as opposed to on an angle) results in it flying south instead. Aliens will still set vertical waypoints however, often killing themselves as a result.
* If it somehow misses a waypoint (via the above method or drift), a bomb will restart its path from the correct waypoint if it later passes it or if it flies off the edge of the map (so long as there are two or more waypoints remaining).
* Soldiers do not need to face targets or waypoints when firing.
* Blaster Bombs can break open a single section of '''UFO outer hulls''' (see [[Destroying Terrain]]). They will carry through with enough power to detonate the nav modules on the other side of the hull, if you hit north or west sides. See [[Explosions#When_Is_a_Wall_not_a_Wall|Explosions: When Is a Wall not a Wall]]. This is not true of shells fired from the [[Hovertank/Launcher|Hovertank]]

== Tactics ==
Aim for large, open areas first to maximize the effects of your blasts. If you want to send a shell into a UFO, first punch open the bridge, then send a shell into that section of the craft to ensure you destroy the highest ranking aliens. This will reduce both [[psionic]] attacks and enemy [[morale]].

When using BBs for base defense, remember that it is possible to destroy your own base with them! Use waypoints to hit the rear side of your (indestructible) entry lift (this helps to avoid destroying adjacent modules), then send another through the resulting hole to nuke the lift contents. Now nuke the (also indestructible) hangars. Be careful of the effects of drift whenever firing through a narrow area.

Units can only hold so many Blaster Bombs. However, because just about any target can be hit from anywhere, there's no real need for the launcher units to move about. Hence one tactic is to have them stand on top of a large supply of ammo, as opposed to having them carry the extra bombs with them.

Blasters are the key for the ultimate anti-Sectoid Leader/Commander tactic. Load a Skyranger with three [[Hovertank/Plasma|plasma tanks]] two soldiers and a blaster with a high amount of ammo, but don't equip it. Send out your tanks to flush out and kill the aliens. As soon as one of the HWPs are sighted, the Sectoids will start to mind control one of the soldiers. Send that one into a two-story building and shoot out the stairs to put him/her out of the fray. If you see multiple Sectoids or Cyberdiscs gathering around (for example, in the [[Abductor]]'s examination room), blast them. After the tanks have cleared the outside, use the blaster to create an entrance into the UFO wide enough for the tanks to enter (you might want to repeat it for every floor if the lifts are small). While clearing the UFO, you might want to destroy the bridge to put the Leader/Commander out of commission.

== Drift ==
Blaster Bombs will often veer slightly off course as they travel, regardless of your units' firing accuracy stat. If it strikes an object (such as a wall, unit, or even the floor) before reaching the next waypoint, it will explode. The waste of a perfectly good bomb aside, a misfire could result in the decimation of your own squad.

Set the bomb's path through the air if possible. There's nothing to hit up there, so even if it does drift, this won't stop it from ultimately hitting the target. Remember to avoid setting waypoints directly above or below each other if using the CE version.

Drift can result in waypoints being missed completely. For this reason, it pays to set multiple waypoints around the final target. If you can, send the bomb up in the air, then dunk the bomb back down again - even if it misses your actual target, it'll detonate when it hits the ground. Be sure, however, that it explodes on the same map level as its intended target, as explosive damage does not carry over to other levels.

Drift is particularly dangerous when firing in narrow corridors, such as those found in bases. In order to avoid this, don't allow the bombs path to cross a tile that has a wall in it. Without benefit of a diagram, the best way to explain this is to say that waypoints should be set as south-easterly as possible (as walls tend to be placed in the northern or western most tiles). Also, try to enforce 90° turns.

Try to always have your soldier exactly facing the first waypoint position (turn soldier or set 1st point accordingly), to reduce the chances of BB drift.

== Safe Practise ==
Because of the indirect-fire nature of the Blaster Launcher, Launcher-armed soldiers need not be on your squad's front line. Ideally, Launcher-armed units should be kept out of the line of fire to prevent them from using reaction fire, which could result in the death of several friendly units, including the unit carrying the launcher.

While the Blaster Bomb is an awesome tool in your fight against the aliens, it is still originally their weapon, and there are times when it will be used against you. Alien units will only carry them during a base defense/offense mission or if deployed on [[Battleship]]s. During these missions, soldiers caught out in the open are wise to crouch (true of any situation). A BB shot directly at a crouching soldier on a level course will simply fly harmlessly over their head, (hopefully) detonating at a distance.

If an alien is carrying a blaster launcher, you can prevent it from shooting by having your soldiers move right up next to it. The AI, though generally stupid, does have some sense of self preservation and will not fire a blaster launcher at a close range target. Just remember that units further away may still be fired on. This strategy only works on aliens with blasters and grenades, and only applies to UFO and TFTD. The aliens in X-Com Apocalypse are a tad psychotic when it comes to explosives.

Finally, when facing psionic Sectoid Leaders/Commanders or Ethereals, DO NOT give a blaster launcher to a soldier susceptable to mind control or panic attacks.

== Dud Shells ==
Sometimes you will get into a situation where your blaster launcher cannot be loaded with a new shell. When you examine the weapon, you'll find that it's still loaded, but will have 0 rounds. In order to use the blaster again, the empty shell must be unloaded.

This situation occurs whenever you attempt to fire the blaster launcher with only 1 waypoint. A blaster launcher fired by way of reaction fire (see next section) will also leave a dud shell behind, as it's technically a 1-waypoint attack. If you set multiple waypoints but the bomb explodes before it reaches its first waypoint, this will also create a dud.

Note that the Collectors Edition of X-Com UFO has rectified this problem to a certain extent. You no longer get a dud shell when:

# You fire the blaster with reaction fire
# You use a 1-waypoint attack and the blaster bomb misses its target and flies off the map. You will still get the empty shell if the fusion ball hits something and explodes.

Dud shells do not come back to base with you at the end of a mission.

== Avoiding Reaction Fire ==
* In case it's not obvious, reaction-fired blasters are generally a bad thing. There is no chance to guide them, so they fly straight forward, and your soldiers will gladly fire at a target a few paces away. Unless the target is far away and the shot is very accurate, you can expect several friendly casualties. Keep your blaster units out of the line of sight of the enemy, and/or with weapons unloaded until needed. It may be sufficient to have them face away from the combat zone.
* After a shot is spent via reaction fire, the empty casing "dud" must be unloaded before using again. This bug has been fixed in the Collectors Edition of X-Com UFO and no longer occurs except with normal one-waypoint shots.
* The time to reaction-fire a blaster is significantly less than the time it takes to normally shoot one.
* One trick to avoid accidentally using a blaster launcher during attacks of opportunity is to keep your blaster unloaded and only load it when you need to use it. You cannot fire an empty weapon. This works for [[Rocket Launcher]]s and [[Small Launcher]]s as well.
* An even better trick is to arm another weapon in the other hand and set it as the [[active weapon]] (that is, visible in the soldiers hands) before ending the turn. You will only switch over to the blaster launcher once the active weapon runs out of ammo (which will never happen if it is a [[Laser Pistol]] or [[Laser Rifle|Rifle]]).

{{Equipment (UFO Defense) Navbar}}
[[Category:Equipment (UFO Defense)]]

Realistic Equivalents

2007-07-09T14:23:07Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Vehicles & Armament */ F-35 Lightning II

Realistic equivalents from military and other sources, to add impact to your fanfiction.

== Weapons ==

*[[Rifle]] - [http://remtek.com/arms/hk/mil/g36/g36.htm HK G36] was discussed but it could really be any modern battle rifle - H&K G3, FN FAL, M14...

*[[Pistol]] - SOCOM use .45 ACP, aka [http://remtek.com/arms/hk/civ/mark23/mark23.htm HK MK23]. Very similar to the game pistol in magazine capacity and power (compared to the game rifle, anyway).

*[[Auto Cannon]] - The new 25mm XM307 [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/ocsw.htm OCSW] could rapidly fire AP and HE grenades. No rotary barrel though it does have automatic fire. Manville 25mm is an obscure make of 18-shot revolver gun.

*[[Heavy Cannon]] - [http://global-military.info/weapons/mgl-mk1.html MGL-MK1], revolver 6-shot 40mm [http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl14-e.htm grenade launcher], with HE, AP, and In grenades. & (Perhaps upgraded versions could fire high-velocity grenades like the MK19 automatic grenade cannon.) See also Russia's RG-6 (6G30).

*[[Rocket Launcher]] - Predator Antitank Missile has been suggested. The M136 AT-4 is a disposable one-shot. The reloadable 84mm [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m3-maws.htm Carl Gustav (MAAWS) launcher] is perhaps a closer equivalent.

*Laser weapons - no modern equivalent. [http://www.cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/battlelaser.htm General Electric]?

== Equipment & Explosives ==

*[[Medi-Kit]] - Stimulants and painkillers aside, [http://www.hemcon.com/ Chitosan] battlefield bandages clot severe bleeding wounds instantly. (Secret ingredients: ground shrimp shells and vinegar. From Slashdot.) Also [http://www.simplerlife.com/quikclot.html QuikClot] - In real life the Air Force gives its pilots amphetamines in order to keep them awake, I'm sure that this would use something similar

*[[Electro-flare]] - Invented because burning flares would set fires. Used as [http://www.uai.ca/sales/images/meprolight/electroflare.htm emergency road markers] or [http://www.uai.ca/sales/images/bartan/lightgrenade.htm Electric Light Grenade]

*[[Grenade]] - Standard M67 fragmentation grenade. Note the nearest thing to our timer is "cook-off" time. Electronic fuses are possible and reliable.

*[[Proximity Grenade]] - no equivalent. Claymore tripwires and ultrasonic sensors are possible. [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/slam.htm "SLAM Mine"] appeared in Splinter Cell as the Wall Mine.

*[[High Explosive]] - M183, 20lb C4 satchel charges.
*[[Stun Bomb]] - Advanced version of [http://www.pepperball.com/faqs.asp Pepperballs]

== Vehicles & Armament ==

*[[Tank/Cannon]] - M242 Chain Gun, 25mm, [http://www.sfu.ca/casr/101-m242.htm "Bushmaster"] (modified for single shot) mounted on [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/talon.htm "Talon"] robot chassis.

Or something larger, like an [http://www.magnatrac.com/ electric mini bulldozer].

*[[Tank/Rocket Launcher]] - [http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/flame/M202.html M202 "Flash" Quad Launcher], 66mm. (2 per turret @ 4 shots each) Originally developed to disperse incendiaries but fits M-72 LAW rounds, apparently.

*[[Interceptor]] fighter - USAF Lockheed [http://www.geocities.com/nicscics/YF22.htm F-22 Raptor] scheduled for release 2004 will replace the F-15. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II F-35 Lightning II] hit production 2006.

*[[Skyranger]] transport - [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_31 DO-31 VSTOL Transporter], [http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/vvs/an72-01.htm Anotov AN-72] (Cadmus) or Osprey CV-22 have the right size and range.

The german Do-31 concept was intended as a combat zone transporter carrying up to 36 fully equipped troops over a mission radius of about 900 km. It had the ability of taking off and landing vertically with the help of wing mounted engine pods and was able to land on unprepared surfaces. Two flying prototypes were built in Germany during the 1960s.

"Payload considerations have also been a sore point with the CV-22. Planners will have to take into consideration its reduced cabin volume and lift capacity. Not only does it carry fewer troops (18 vs 27), it is also incapable of transporting any of the armored, wheeled vehicles currently used by SOF teams. Procurement of a new vehicle is still pending..."
CV-22 Tiltrotor Osprey compared to Pavelow helicopter in Special Forces deployments, 1 June 1998. Could that new vehicle be [[Heavy Weapons Platforms|HWP]]-sized?

--[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 11:56, 25 Apr 2005 (BST)
[[Category: Field Manual]]

Lobster Man

2006-10-21T19:49:10Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Tactics */

== Live Specimen ==
[[Image:Lobsterman.png|right|Lobsterman]]This is a staggering creatures, taller than a man and boasting six limbs, it resembles nothing more than an aquatic Demon. The similarities between this creature and the Earth lobster have earned it the nickname of Lobsterman with the X-Com troops.

This is a behemoth of the deep. A carefully designed fighting creature of incredible strength and practically invulnerable to missile fire. Its pincers alone can crush steel. 

== Autopsy ==
[[Image:LobstermanAutopsy.png|right|Lobsterman Autopsy]]Once past its virtually indestructible shell the creature is an amazing construction. Powerful muscles ripple around a titanium skeleton, a sophisticated targeting system with multi-band scanning ability is hooked directly into the creature's brain. Its multiple eyes are protected by harder than steel plastics and it is clear that when well deployed by their masters these creatures are all but unstoppable.

Buried deep in its body are devices of unknown construction and function. 

== General Information ==
Big meaty claws and an accursedly thick carapace immune to most of your starting weapons, and that includes the Sonic Cannon. Agents have emptied entire clips at them and hardly dented the shell. Fearsome, but...

There are talk of soldiers which eat hearty after Lobsterman encounters. Individuals questioned always deny allegations, but many bases which are close to frequent lobsterman activity sites have been known to stock condiments normally associated with lobster dinners.

On a related note, bases in the region of Japan are famous for "misplacing" Xarquid corpses. A new form of sushi from the mollusk family has also recently appeared in the area. DNA tests and investigations are pending.

Lobsterman ''(singular)'' 
Lobstermen ''(plural)'' 
 
Note: There are no Lobsterwomen.

==Tactics==
The Lobsterman threat was finally countered by a desperate but effective strategy: melee combat with power tools.
*Melee with [[Thermal Tazer]].

''The first time I faced a Lobsterman, practically nothing in my arsenal could so much as dent him. And I think I was playing on easy.

''Later, I realized that the humble freeze rod is a melee weapon and thus effective on them. Which is great, since you won't get to research those drills until LATE in the game. In fact, you might want to still stick with the freeze rod, since they take extra damage from stun as well as melee! - Jasonred''
*Melee with [[Vibroblade]] or [[Thermic Lance]]. "Hot-knife-through-butter" comes to mind. Mmm, melted butter and lobster...
*The best non-nuke ''ranged'' weapon against Lobstermen is the [[Thermal Shok Launcher]]. Don't forget to drop a grenade on the sleeping seafood if you want more kills for your rookies.
*Other ranged weapons are very ineffective against Lobstermen. Three or four shots from a [[Sonic Cannon]] might only stun them.
*If coming up against an unexpected lobsterman (as in, a random Small spacecraft with a few lobstermen in it, earlier in the game than expected) and you are not prepared, it is advisable to abort the mission. (You will lose many. I have lost 4 rookies to a lobsterman before.) If you HAVE to kill it, I would recommend a [[Torpedo Launcher]], loaded with Hi-Ex rounds.

As default, a Lobster Man receives the following defensive bonuses:
* Armour Piercing damage reduced by 80%
* Phosphor damage reduced by 60%
* Explosive damage reduced by 50%
* Gauss damage reduced by 60%
* Sonic damage reduced by 50%
* Stun damage reduced by 20% (however one Stun bomb does the job)
However, damage from hand-to-hand devices is doubled when applied to Lobster Men. They are not capable of Molecular Control and only have average MC resistance.

==See Also==
* [[Alien_Life_Forms_(Tftd)|Alien Life Forms]]
* [[Overviews_of_Aliens_(TFTD)|Overviews of Aliens]]
* [[Bio-Drone]]
* [[Tentaculat]]

User talk:JellyfishGreen

2006-10-07T22:21:50Z

JellyfishGreen:

== Fast-Tracking Psionics ==

A suggested strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] [[Laser Weapons]] first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts (UFO Defense)|Alien Artifacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFO (UFO Defense)|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psi Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psi Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger.

=[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.=

Building: Nuke it. 
Orchard: Nuke it. 
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first. 
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it.

User talk:JellyfishGreen

2006-10-07T22:20:05Z

JellyfishGreen:

== Fast-Tracking Psionics ==

A suggested strategy by JFG. This concentrates on winning the game quickly by getting psionics quickly, which is by no means the only way to play.

== Stage 1: Expansion and Financing ==
Geo: Get started on an Alien Containment first and a second Research lab next. Rearrange the base for better [[Base Defense]] if you have the cash. Buy weapons to your personal preferred loadouts but definitely get a [[Stun Rod]] or two. Hire scientists to at least 50.

Research: [[Research]] [[Laser Weapons]] first, the Medi-kits can wait until you have armor. Go for the [[Laser Pistol]], then [[Laser Rifle]], then turn to [[Alien Alloys]] and [[Personal Armor]]. By this time you might have researchable recovered [[Alien Artefacts (UFO Defense)|Alien Artifacts]], and [[Medi-Kit]]s will be worthwhile.

Battle: Take on any Sectoid/Floater/Snakeman UFO you can reach. Assault landed UFOs if you're hard enough, the extra material will be valuable. Don't fret too much over losing soldiers at this point, they're replaceable.

Once the Alien Containment is complete, and you have stun rods, move to stage 2.

== Stage 2: Acquisition ==

Your goal for this stage is to stun and capture a live [[Sectoid]] Leader. Check the [[UFO (UFO Defense)|Alien Craft]] specs for which craft will have a leader, and assault it on the ground.

Geo: Allocate room for a future [[Psionic Laboratory]] or two in all bases, hire more scientists (max 100) and some engineers.

Research: Research one live alien to get the "Alien Origins" out of the way before you research your valuable leader for [[Psionics]]. Continue on useful artifacts.

Acquiring a [[Mind Probe]] or two and assigning it to your [[Rear Commander]] will aid the search greatly, as will a [[Small Launcher]] with [[Stun Bomb]]s. Research these as a priority if you find any.

Battle:

Shoot all the alien soldiers. Only stun the ranking officers if they're tempting targets.

You may want to rename your psionic weakling and bring them along as an unarmed decoy to keep the leader occupied.

Once you get your psionic alien move to stage 3.

== Stage 3: Exploitation ==

#Research that Sectoid Leader, which should give you both [[Psionic Laboratory]] and The Martian Solution as topics.
#Research Psionic Laboratory, then [[Psi-Amp]].
#Build Psionic Laboratory in all your bases. Build more than one to speed up screening.

Battle: No specific requests. Continue to make money for the war effort by selling recovered artifacts and material.

== Stage 4: Screening ==

When Psi-Lab is complete, you will be able to assign soldiers at the start of the month. (Ideally the Psi-Lab completes a few days before the end of the month, or it will sit unused.)

Assign half combat-worthy soldiers and half rookies to your psi labs. Try not to lose them in combat.

Survive the month. You may be encountering the Snakemen/Muton races.

At some point, manufacture a few psi-amps.

== Stage 5: Advanced Training ==

At the end of the month, you will have screening results, assign psi-amps to the 5 most talented ([[Psi Strength]] >70) and keep them in training. Fill the remaining slots with untested soldiers to screen them. Transfer experienced soldiers with psi strength < 40 to your secondary base, and fire psi-weak rookies if you don't need decoys.

Take the talented psi's into the combat zone but keep them in the 'ranger. Use the regular soldiers to scout for the psi's and have the psi's practice any sort of attack from safety - even 11 unsuccessful Panic Attacks per mission can improve [[Psi Skill]] by its max.

Beware Ethereals and keep weapons away from your psi's. Decoys may still have their uses, try confining them in the 'ranger with psi's.

== Stage 6: Rise of the Supermen ==

If you follow this strategy and don't go broke, your psi's will slowly but surely keep rising in skill, until you can use your HWP as a psi-proof spotter. Mind-control and disarm every alien you discover. Use them to discover the next alien, then give them a .22 pistol and turn them loose to train your reaction stats.

Capture a base commander at your leisure to research the [[Cydonia]] mission. A non-psionic commander should be easy by this stage. They can't be under mind control when the mission ends or they will go MIA.

The strength of your psi squad should make all material recovery and mission completion simpler, so you will be better able to finance secondary manufacturing bases etc. Concentrate on blaster launchers, flying suits, Fusion HWP's and an Avenger as you can use these in Cydonia.

If you have a REALLY good psi squad, you may just need the Avenger.

Posted by Jellyfish Green
[[Blaster Launcher]] tactics: a brief guide.

Building: Nuke it.
Orchard: Nuke it.
Underground bases: Nuke large rooms first.
UFO: Punch a hole in the bridge, then send in a second bomb to nuke it.

Psionics

2006-08-31T15:36:12Z

JellyfishGreen: /* My New Pet Alien */ caveat/links to Exploits

Exploits

2006-08-31T15:29:44Z

JellyfishGreen: Category: Oddities and bugs

== 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.

It's also useful for giving an alien a different weapon, especially [[Pistol|peashooters]] which are harmless to armor but encourage the alien to do something other than shake in their boots during [[Reaction Training]].

== 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]]

==Exponential Mind Control==
''Any'' creature with psionic skill can use a psionic amplifier. Therefore, you can take control of, say, an Ethereal and then toss it a psi-amp, use the alien inventory bug mentioned above, and have him pick it up. You can then use the Ethereal's psionic talents to take over other aliens. With the right application of psi-amp relay tosses and mind control, this can have an exponential effect.

An extreme case: I've used a squad of as little as three troopers (one mind controller, two psi-amp tossers) to take conquer a large scout's worth of aliens (on max difficulty) in one round.

Of course, by the time you've got troopers with sufficient psionic talent to overcome psi-capable aliens, you probably don't need this trick.
--[[User:Papa Legba|Papa Legba]] 23:47, 9 December 2005 (PST)

== 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 ==

'''NB This doesn't work on the CE (Windows) version of UFO/TFTD - only the DOS version'''

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 your current mission has ended with the results of the previous mission. That is, the 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 this keypress does 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 of 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 continue to 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 "MISSDAT" 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 MISSDAT 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.

== 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.

==My Pet Alien==

When in a situation where large terror units exist (ie Cyberdics, Reapers or Sectopods), there is a handly glitch that I noticed. Mind Control the unit by taking over only one quadrant of the creature - use the time units to kill other aliens or scout the area. Once they've run out, mind control another quadrant and do the same all over again. This can be repeated until all four quadrants have been MC'd (or the unit goes crazy and shoots itself - whichever comes sooner!)

[[Category: Oddities and bugs]]

Known Bugs

2006-08-31T15:28:42Z

JellyfishGreen: Category: Oddities and bugs

== Collectors Edition Blaster Bomb Bug ==

In the Collectors Edition of UFO, the [[Blaster Launcher]] has a bug that prevents it from going up or down on the same tile. Or in other words, you cannot change the elevation of the missile vertically on the same tile.

Instead of flying down (or up) to the next waypoint, it will instead fly directly to the south at the pivot waypoint. Relative to the screen, this would be the lower left side of the screen.

This does not happen if you plot the waypoints at an angle. Or, if the blaster bomb flies right off the map, it will reappear at the proper waypoint as long as there are additional waypoints placed after the vertical move.

This bug also applies to the [[Disrupter Pulse Launcher]] in TFTD.

== 80-item Limit ==
When loading up your Avenger for a massive UFO assault or arming soldiers for a [[Base Defense]] from your overflowing stores, you will likely hit this limit.

You only get a max of 80 items, and you don't get to choose which ones, so you may end up with 80 clips and no rifles for the base defense.

The solution is timely housekeeping. Sell off your spare personal equipment. See our handy [[Spring Cleaning Tips]], and also [[Managing the Item Limit]] for ideas.

== The trouble with Mines (general) ==
The armed states for [[Proximity Grenade]]s in both UFO and TFTD are NOT stored in savegames. More information to come.

== TFTD Research Tree Bug Avoidance Guide ==
TFTD's research problems are more of a logical design flaw than a true bug, caused by trying to make the research tree more complicated than X-Com UFO. They can be a pain when you research the wrong thing at the wrong time.

A variation of NKF's [[TRTBAG | TFTD Research Tree Bug Avoidance Guide]] will be forthcoming - free time permitting.

For now:

*ONLY research Deep One Terrorist AFTER you have completed Plastic Aqua Armor and Ion Beam Accelerators.
*You MUST have at least one "Sub Construction" in storage before completing research on Zrbite and/or Transmission Resolver.
*NEVER research the Tasoth Commander. There's no reason to - and as of the last patch, they should no longer appear on the research list. They can block the T'Leth research.
*DO NOT research M.C. Lab unless you have AT LEAST one MC Reader in storage.

Other than the MC reader one, any of the above would make it impossible to finish the game.

== Difficulty Bug ==

The DOS version had a problem where no matter what difficulty level you chose, you were actually playing at "Beginner" level. Because of one or two incorrectly set bytes in all dos versions of the game( 1.0 through to 1.4), no matter what difficulty was selected, the difficulty bug would reset to beginner at the end of the first mission. [[XcomUtil]] corrects this problem. This bug was officially fixed in the Collectors Edition Windows port (also commonly known as UFO Gold).

== Mountain Map ==
Due to a bug in the way this tileset was created, when you shoot the ground, it doesn't burn up - it turns into a tree stump.

Because the stump is on object, as opposed to actual ground, any objects that were in the tile already (for example, UFO hulls or the landing gear of your craft) get replaced by these stumps, making it seem as if they were destroyed.

Tree stumps don't take much damage, so they often get burnt up immediately if an explosive goes off, leaving nothing but burnt ground behind. It is easier to view the effects of this bug by shooting the ground instead.

For more details, see [[Explosions#Mile-High_Madness|Mountain Madness]].

== Base Disjoint Bug ==
Base facilities built along the right or bottom edges of the base building area may end up being cut off from each other by dirt walls, a bug in the routine meant to keep soldiers from accidentally exiting the map edges during [[Base Defense]] missions. The dirt walls can be knocked down by Blaster Bombs during combat but are otherwise unbreakable.

NKF illustrates this in a [http://www.geocities.com/nkfarma/reference/bdb.html pretty picture] for you. XCOMUTIL corrects this problem.

== Big Text Bug ==
There are a few bugs in XCOM, especially early versions, that can build up and make the game unstable enough that it crashes and prints out a screenful of green 40-column text, essentially debug or memory dump information useless to you.

''In the dos version, the text that you see is simply a memory dump in mode-13h (the 320x200x256 colour screen resoulution the game uses) and the text colour is based off the changes to the pallete that the game made. The game sometimes continues with the next part of the game. The game is made of two different programs, [[Geoscape Overview|Geoscape]] and [[Battlescape Overview|Battlescape]], so when one part of it crashes, the other one will not have registered that anything has gone wrong and will attempt to soldier on.''
''In the Windows version of the game, the game simply crashes back to the desktop, unless you're using the [[XcomUtil]] split executable variant. - [[User:NKF|NKF]] ''

== Minimized Interceptor Bug ==
One fairly consistent cause of crashes is saving the geoscape game during a UFO standoff, with a [[UFO Interception]] window minimized to an icon. The next mission after that point will likely dump you to the green text screen, and perhaps an earlier battlescape mission instead of the proper one.

''-- I was able to recover from this state by quickly sending in another interceptor ([[Firestorm]]) to take over, which allowed my first interceptor ([[Avenger]]) to break off and go home without crashing the game again. After the shootdown I overwrote the buggy savegame. --[[User:JellyfishGreen|JellyfishGreen]] 03:11, 22 Aug 2005 (PDT)''

== Interceptions: Using Cautious Attack ==
When intercepting UFO's, the longest ranged weapon will fire as soon as you are within range of that particular UFO using any attack of your choosing, which is normal.

If you use only "Cautious Attack", the craft will only get within range of its longest ranged weapon. Now, if you only have one type of weapon mounted (eg: two Fusion Ball Launchers) or you're down to your last weapon, when the last remaining shot is fired, the intercepting craft will drop back to "Standoff" range as soon as the last shot leaves the weapon tube.

What then happens is that the last fired projectile is still travelling towards the UFO which was just in range, but as you automatically enter stand-off range when you are no longer armed, your ship will have removed itself from your weapon's effective firing range. When the missile reaches the end of its effective firing range it is wasted.

This means, the last shot of ammo from '''any weapon''' using a Cautious Attack will NEVER reach the UFO.

To get around this waste of ammo, briefly enter "Agressive" mode and then return to "Cautious" after the projectile has hit its target.

==Sticky Craft Transfer Fee glitch==
As pointed out by Zombie and Danial, transferring any craft causes '''''all subsequent transfers to have that cost added to it''''', for as long as the craft is in transit. Additional craft in transit will add additional fees. (This has also been called the Exponential Transfer Fee bug, although it's actually additive, not exponential.)

Example (all numbers are only approximations):
Cost of pistol transfer (↔ = to or from)
EU ↔ USA 80
EU ↔ Asia 100
USA ↔ Asia 120

Cost of craft transfer
EU ↔ USA 1600 ''Notice how transfer fees always work as relative percents,
EU ↔ Asia 2000 ''probably on a distance-based formula
USA ↔ Asia 2400

Cost to transfer '''pistol''', after transferring craft from EU to Asia for $2000
EU ↔ USA 1680 (80+1600)
EU ↔ Asia 2100 (100+2000)
USA ↔ Asia 2520 (120+2400)

The cost of the craft transfer "sticks" to '''all''' subsequent transfers, until the craft arrives - although it acts on a proportionate basis, which is probably distance related.

Unfortunately, this cost is '''additive'''. That is to say, if you transferred a second craft from EU to Asia while the first was still in transit, it would cost $4000 ($2000 plus $2000 - it too suffers from the glitch!), it would then cost e.g. $4100 to transfer a pistol from EU to Asia. Having even more craft in transit would add even more fees.

This only appears to happen with aircraft, although it does happen for them all. So try to space out your transfers, if you can.

A related problem is that, if you are in the Transfer screen, start to transfer a craft, and then cancel because you remembered you wanted to send something else first - if you then try to Transfer something on that same screen, ''it will still get the sticky craft fee added''. Try it and see. You have to back up out to the main Base screen and hit Transfer again, to get rid of the sticky fee from a cancelled craft transfer.

==Transfer Limit cash eater==
Only 100 items can be in transit at a time. (Here, a transfer of e.g. 200 Elerium counts as one "item". Also, all soldiers are counted individually.) If you go over the limit, you will get a warning that there is no more transport capacity. If you STILL try to transport something after getting the warning, the item will stay where it is, but the transportation cost still gets deducted. Bad if you're shuffling expensive aircraft.

{| {{stdTable}} width = "80%" align = "center"
|- {{stdTable Heading}}
| Tip
|-
| To Clarify what constitutes an item in the transfer screen, think of them as batches of X amount. For example, if you transfer 200 alien alloys now, and then decide to transfer another 50 alloys later, this will count as two items in transit. Now, when you look at your transfers, you'll now have two items. Two batches of alien alloys, one with 200 units and the other with 50 units.
|}

== Transfer crash ==
If you transfer something to another base the game crashes right after acknowledging the transfer price.

Solution: Start UFO, select English language, finish your transfer, save game, restart with your normal language settings (http://www.xcomufo.com/x1faq.html)

==Carrying Unconscious Units==
Refer to : [[Unconscious#Bug|Unconscious]].

==Disappearing Ammo==

For all game versions, partially-used clips disappear at the end of a mission. This dictates that you should try to use clips that are not full. No mystery here.

However, in the CE edition, clips in '''alien''' weapons (not XCOM weapons) are lost at the end of a mission, whether they are full or not. Thus, you should unload all virgin clips before ending a mission, if you have the CE edition of the game. (Partially used clips are lost regardless, so there's no reason to unload them.)

This bug does not appear to affect the DOS or Playstation versions. ''(Make a note here if you've observed otherwise! -[[User:MikeTheRed|MTR]])

Note that you still get credit (score) at the end of missions, regardless of the CE loaded-weapon bug and/or whether a clip is full or partial.

== Overcrowded Engineers (And Scientists?) ==
In the Dos version (probably the others as well) if you hire more than 255 engineers in a single base, the number of engineers in the base will read a negative number once the 256th engineer arrives. Any Engineers engaged in projects will continue to work on them, but if you cancel the project you will lose engineers until you have lost 255 of them. This bug probably also affects scientists. It may be exploitable to pay a negative salary at the end of the month.

== What just exploded? ==

In some versions of the game, a bug allows an armed proximity mine to transfer its properties to some other item in the next mission, which then may explode unexpectedly. (If the item is left on the floor of the XCOM craft, it will explode as you walk past it.) This problem can be rectified by reloading the game -- as a precaution, save before you move your first soldier.

== Door jam ==

If a door is open when a game is saved on the Battlescape and that game is subsequently restored, the door will remain open for the remainder of that mission.

[[Category: Oddities and bugs]]

Psionics

2006-08-31T15:18:32Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Psionic Soldiers */ pet aliens/avalanche effect

Cyberdisc

2006-08-31T14:26:50Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Notes */

==General Information==
[[Image:cyberdisc.gif|right|Cyberdisc]]
Cyberdiscs are an alien [[Terror Units (UFO Defense)|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 characteristic which makes it rather deadly, and that is, it can explode upon death with an average GZ strength of 120 and damage radius of 7 (d = 15). Upon targeting a Cyberdisc, be wary 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 explosion goes off where it was just hovering: ie: at one level off the ground. Guaranteed 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. It fires with such frequency that many commanders have mistaken it for an auto-shot.
*On any mission where the Sectoids have their Cyberdisc terror unit, they will also have a Leader capable of [[Psionics]].
**However, not all missions with Sectoid Psionics will have Cyberdiscs.
* Take this hovering manhole cover down with Heavy Rockets, Heavy Cannon, High Explosive packs, or Alien Grenades. Forget the rifles - it's just too tough. If two are close together, the self-destruct explosion from one may be enough to bring down the second.

==See Also==
[[Sectoid]]

[[Category:Alien life forms]]

Cyberdisc

2006-08-31T14:24:33Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Notes */ how to kill it

==General Information==
[[Image:cyberdisc.gif|right|Cyberdisc]]
Cyberdiscs are an alien [[Terror Units (UFO Defense)|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 characteristic which makes it rather deadly, and that is, it can explode upon death with an average GZ strength of 120 and damage radius of 7 (d = 15). Upon targeting a Cyberdisc, be wary 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 explosion goes off where it was just hovering: ie: at one level off the ground. Guaranteed 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. It fires with such frequency that many commanders have mistaken it for an auto-shot.
*On any mission where the Sectoids have their Cyberdisc terror unit, they will also have a Leader capable of [[Psionics]].
**However, not all missions with Sectoid Psionics will have Cyberdiscs.
* Take this manhole cover down with Heavy Rockets, Heavy Cannon, High Explosive packs, or Alien Grenades. Forget the rifles - it's just too tough.

==See Also==
[[Sectoid]]

[[Category:Alien life forms]]

Supply ship

2006-08-31T14:05:21Z

JellyfishGreen: /* See Also */ link to Ground Assault

==General Information==
The supply vessel is used during the construction of alien bases or for supplying existing bases. It carries [[Alien Food|alien food]] containers and a [[Alien Surgery|surgical]] chamber.

==Additional Information==
You usually don't want to shoot these down, as most of them actually land for supply missions to alien bases. You can get a nice steady supply of [[Elerium-115|elerium]] this way.

This ship has 3 [[UFO Power Source|power sources]] and 4 [[UFO Navigation|navigations]].

The race aboard this ship is the same thats inside the base under resupply. --[[User:60.241.66.150|60.241.66.150]]

==Plan Of Attack==
=== 1. Ground floor: Power ===
Best tactic here involves a 2 stage attack on the ship: securing the hatches and securing the lifts. It's best to storm both hatches simultaneously; this prevents the aliens within from swarming one door from all sides.

If the power sources have exploded due to a crash, there will be little left of the inner walls on this floor, and often holes in the ceiling exposing the middle floor. You shouldn't have shot it down, really.

Once you have moved soldiers onto each of the one-square lifts on the ground floor, you can prepare for the final assault at some leisure, due to the aliens' typical reluctance to shoot straight down a gravlift. You can, of course, shoot straight up at them. Throwing grenades up the lifts can be very effective as well.

=== 2. Middle floor: Supplies ===
The assault on the middle floor can be executed as a pincer attack from both lifts if you cut through the wall of the three-story lift with [[Heavy Plasma]].

=== 3. Top floor: Bridge ===
The assault on the bridge often proceeds like this:
*1. Secure the lift exit with 3 or 4 soldiers. Check those corners!
*2. Set up snipers to cover the north hallway with reaction fire.
*3. Optionally send a team through the winding south hallway.
*4. Use splash damage from [[Grenade]]s to take down the bridge guards before you turn the corner.
*5. Flank the bridge door. Bust in. Confront the leader cowering behind the navigation consoles and take him down as you see fit.

Alternatively, cut through the bridge's walls with a [[Heavy Plasma]] (see [[Destroying Terrain]]).

==Recoverable Components==

{|
|-
! align="left" width=170| Item || align="right" width=75| Sell Price || align="right" width=75| Quantity || align="right" width=110| Value
|-
| UFO Power Source || align="right"| $250,000 || align="right"| 3 || align="right"| $750,000
|-
| UFO Navigation || align="right"| $80,000 || align="right"| 4 || align="right"| $320,000
|-
| Alien Food || align="right"| $5,000 || align="right"| 20 || align="right"| $100,000
|-
| Alien Surgery || align="right"| $38,000 || align="right"| 2 || align="right"| $76,000
|-
| Alien Alloys || align="right"| $6,500 || align="right"| 141 || align="right"| $916,500
|-
| Elerium-115 || align="right"| $5,000 || align="right"| 150 || align="right"| $750,000
|-
| height=60| '''Total''' || || || align="right"| '''$2,912,000'''
|}

Also see [[UFO Recovery Values#Supply Ship]].

==Alien Deployment==
'''Rank Beg./Exp. Vet./Gen. Super.'''
'''---- --------- --------- ------'''
Soldiers 5-11 6-12 7-13
Navigators 1 1 2
Engineers 1 1 2
Medics 1 1 2
Leaders 1 1 1

Totals 9-15 10-16 14-20

==Floor Plans==
'''2nd Floor:''' 
[[Image:SupplyShip_2.gif]]

'''1st Floor:''' 
[[Image:SupplyShip_1.gif]]

'''Ground Floor:''' 
[[Image:SupplyShip_0.gif]]

==Terrain Maps==
[[Image:UFO_170MAP-L1.JPG|Level 1|thumb|left]][[Image:UFO_170MAP-L2.JPG|Level 2|thumb|left]][[Image:UFO_170MAP-L3.JPG|Level 3|thumb|left]][[Image:UFO_170MAP.JPG|Level 4|thumb|left]]

 

==See Also==
[[Small Scout]] 
[[Medium Scout]] 
[[Large Scout]] 
[[Abductor]] 
[[Harvester]] 
[[Terror Ship]] 
[[Battleship]] 
[[UFO_Ground_Assault#Assaulting_Supply_Ships_with_JFG|Assaulting Supply Ships with JFG]]

[[Category: UFO (UFO Defense)]]
[[Category: Tactics]]

Research (TFTD)

2006-08-26T15:49:52Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Research (Terror From The Deep) */

==Research (Terror From The Deep)==

See:
*[[Alien Research (Tftd)]]
*[[TRTBAG|TFTD Research Tree Bug Avoidance Guide]]

Lobster Man

2006-08-25T13:28:35Z

JellyfishGreen: /* Tactics */ sp

== Live Specimen ==
[[Image:Lobsterman.png|right|Lobsterman]]This is a staggering creatures, taller than a man and boasting six limbs, it resembles nothing more than an aquatic Demon. The similarities between this creature and the Earth lobster have earned it the nickname of Lobsterman with the X-Com troops.

This is a behemoth of the deep. A carefully designed fighting creature of incredible strength and practically invulnerable to missile fire. Its pincers alone can crush steel. 

== Autopsy ==
[[Image:LobstermanAutopsy.png|right|Lobsterman Autopsy]]Once past its virtually indestructible shell the creature is an amazing construction. Powerful muscles ripple around a titanium skeleton, a sophisticated targeting system with multi-band scanning ability is hooked directly into the creature's brain. Its multiple eyes are protected by harder than steel plastics and it is clear that when well deployed by their masters these creatures are all but unstoppable.

Buried deep in its body are devices of unknown construction and function. 

== General Information ==
Big meaty claws and an accursedly thick carapace immune to most of your starting weapons, and that includes the Sonic Cannon. Agents have emptied entire clips at them and hardly dented the shell. Fearsome, but...

There are talk of soldiers which eat hearty after Lobsterman encounters. Individuals questioned always deny allegations, but many bases which are close to frequent lobsterman activity sites have been known to stock condiments normally associated with lobster dinners.

On a related note, bases in the region of Japan are famous for "misplacing" Xarquid corpses. A new form of sushi from the mollusk family has also recently appeared in the area. DNA tests and investigations are pending.

Lobsterman ''(singular)'' 
Lobstermen ''(plural)'' 
 
Note: There are no Lobsterwomen.

==Tactics==
*Melee with [[Thermal Tazer]].

''The first time I faced a Lobsterman, practically nothing in my arsenal could so much as dent him. And I think I was playing on easy.

''Later, I realized that the humble freeze rod is a melee weapon and thus effective on them. Which is great, since you won't get to research those drills until LATE in the game. In fact, you might want to still stick with the freeze rod, since they take extra damage from stun as well as melee! - Jasonred''
*Melee with [[Vibroblade]] or [[Thermic Lance]]. "Hot-knife-through-butter" comes to mind. Mmm, melted butter and lobster...
*The best non-nuke ''ranged'' weapon against Lobstermen is the [[Thermal Shok Launcher]]. Don't forget to drop a grenade on the sleeping seafood if you want more kills for your rookies.
*Other ranged weapons are very ineffective against Lobstermen. Three or four shots from a [[Sonic Cannon]] might only stun them.
*If coming up against an unexpected lobsterman (as in, a random Small spacecraft with a few lobstermen in it, earlier in the game than expected) and you are not prepared, it is advisable to abort the mission. (You will lose many. I have lost 4 rookies to a lobsterman before.) If you HAVE to kill it, I would recommend a [[Torpedo Launcher]], loaded with Hi-Ex rounds.

As default, a Lobster Man receives the following defensive bonuses:
* Armour Piercing damage reduced by 80%
* Phosphor damage reduced by 60%
* Explosive damage reduced by 50%
* Gauss damage reduced by 60%
* Sonic damage reduced by 50%
* Stun damage reduced by 20% (however one Stun bomb does the job)
However, damage from hand-to-hand devices is doubled when applied to Lobster Men. They are not capable of Molecular Control and only have average MC resistance.

==See Also==
* [[Alien_Life_Forms_(Tftd)|Alien Life Forms]]
* [[Overviews_of_Aliens_(TFTD)|Overviews of Aliens]]
* [[Bio-Drone]]
* [[Tentaculat]]

ASTORE.DAT

2006-08-07T22:16:19Z

JellyfishGreen: found TFTD notes on a2zcheats.com

For TFTD:

ASTORE.DAT
1st BYTE Alien type
01h Aquatoid
02h Gill Man
03h Lobster Man
04h Tasoth
05h Calcinite
06h Deep One
07h Bio-Drone
08h Tentaculat
09h Triscene
0Ah Hallucinoid
0Bh Xorquid

2nd BYTE Alien class
01h Commander
02h Navigator
03h Medic
04h Technician
05h Squad Leader
06h Soldier
07h Terrorist

These values define the alive aliens that we have in the base. The two values (one for the type and one for the class) must be entered in the first two bytes of the file. After the project has started or the aliens have been transferred to another base, the first byte will be 0. You can re-enter a new value to have other aliens.

TRTBAG

2006-08-07T22:06:25Z

JellyfishGreen:

''' TFTD Research Tree Bug Avoidance Guide '''
<div align = "right">by [[User:NKF|NKF]]</div>

The designers of X-Com Terror From The Deep attempted to make the research process in TFTD much more complicated than its very straightforward predecessor's research tree. They have succeeded in doing this, but have also introduced many glaringly unacceptable errors in the process that can prevent you from completing the game.

Some players may have had the luck of not bumping into any of these errors by picking all the right research at the right time. Unfortunately, as the research order in TFTD is non-linear, that is to say you can research anything you've got in any order you want, a lot of us are less fortunate. This guide is to assist point out some of the stickier bits.

Until the content can be transcribed into wiki format, refer to the [http://www.geocities.com/nkfarma/temporary/trtbag.html old version]

-----
 
== Introduction==

Unlike X-Com UFO with its fairly straightforward
research tree, TFTD is rife with dead-ends that
will prevent you from completing the game. This
guide attempts to point out these problem and
provide suggestions on how they can be avoided.


With the exception of MC technology, this
document discusses a branch of the research tree
that will take you from the very start of the
game all the way to the final chamber in T'Leth.
While this may spoil the game if you are new to
it, it is better to be informed than to make a
mistake that is irreversible. The game IS hard,
even for X-Com UFO veterans.


This is not a reproduction of the research tree.
There are many documents in a variety of formats
describing the complete research tree on the
Internet that you can peruse. This document is
merely a supplement.


The word 'prerequisite' is used quite frequently
throughout this document. As prerequisite is not
an everyday word, here is its definition.


'''Pre-Requisite''' - Pre- means 'before', Requisite means something that is required in
order to achieve something.


In Layman terms and in context with the game, in
order to get this thingy, you need to research or
have these pre-requisite thingies first.

 
== Research Order and Its Importance==

Many of the problems in the game happen when
researching certain items and aliens in the
incorrect sequence. This normally occurs with
alien interrogations.


As a rule of thumb, if an alien is a prerequisite
for any particular tech item, it's highly
recommended that you do not interrogate it until
all the other necessary research items have been
completed.


== The Deep One Dilemma==

The primary research path looks roughly like so:
Armour, Subs and finally T'Leth


For Armour, it looks like so:


Deep One Corpse, Aqua Plastics, Plastic Aqua
Armour, Ion Beam Accelerators, Live Deep One
Terrorist, Ion Armour, Magnetic Navigation and
finally Mag. Ion Armour


A Deep One Terrorist is the key to winning the
game. You will need both a living specimen and a
corpse. In older versions of the game, where you
need a lobsterman navigator to get magnetic
navigation, getting a live Deep One Terrorist is
not that important. However, in TFTD versions
with the V2 update, success hinges on getting a
living Deep One terrorist.


Deep One Terrorists can be found in most Gill-man
land missions. They rarely appear underwater*,
and are replaced with Xarquids if you shoot down
Gill-Men terror ships.


Don't worry if you missed them, Gill-Man terror
sites do still appear when it's late in the game,
although they are abundant early in game.


Deep One Terrorists also appear in 'mixed' alien
crew land missions. A mixed crew is made up of a
variety of species, and in terror sites and base
attacks, will be supported by a variety of
land-based terror units, which includes the Deep
One Terrorist as well as the odd Xarquid (which
normally replaces the Deep One Terrorist for
underwater missions).


Just promote a terror site by leaving any ships
on terror missions alone, or encourage the
Gill-Men or 'mixed' crews to attack your base by
shooting some of their USOs down near your base.
You might also want to dismantle your M.C
generator to improve the likelihood of an attack.


Before starting research on the Deep One
Terrorist, refer to the Ion Armour section.


Finally, researching an alien medic and getting
information on the Deep One Terrorist or its
corpse is not the same as researching the real
thing. You will not get any research benefits
from the alien medic's report. Keep this in mind.


* you can find some Deep One Terrorists in the second level of T'Leth.

== The Tasoth Commander Trap==

Whether this alien is a legal alien in the game
is debateable. Nevertheless, do NOT make any
attempt to capture this alien.


If you do capture it and for some reason it
appears on your research roster, do NOT complete
research on it.


Interrogating this alien will prevent you from
getting critical research necessary to get to
your final objective.


The only time it's safe to research this alien is
after the "T'Leth" button appears on the
Leviathan's intercept controls. But by then,
researching it will just be redundant.


== The MC Reader and Sub Construction samples==

These two items, the MC Reader and the Sub
Construction store item, are special in that they
will only become available for research if and
only if a sample is available in your general
stores before completing research for their
prerequisite technologies.


If you do not have any when completing research
on the last of their required technologies, they
will NOT appear later even after acquiring a few
samples.


For example: If you've done Zrbite and are about
to finish research on the Transmission Resolver,
make sure that you have the 'sub construction'
item in stores before the research on the
Transmission Resolver hits 100%, or vice-versa.


Between the MC Reader and the Sub Construction
store item, the 'sub construction' store item is
required to win the game. The MC Reader is
optional.


Note: This does not apply to Aqua Plastics. You
can research it even without any samples.


 
== Version differences==

There are two versions of TFTD. The original
unpatched version of TFTD and the one with the v2
update.


Players with the Collectors Edition of TFTD have
the version with the v2 patch.


The known changes in the research tree are as
follows:


====Unpatched====


A Lobsterman Navigator is needed to research
Magnetic Navigation


Ion Armour is not required for Magnetic Ion
Armour. All the technologies you need for
Magnetic Ion Armour are Plastic Aqua Armour, Ion
Beam Accelerators and Magnetic Navigation.


====V2====


Magnetic Navigation can be researched as soon as
one is in storage. The lobsterman navigator is
NOT required.


Ion Armour is required for Magnetic Ion Armour.
Magnetic Ion Armour now just requires Magnetic
Navigation and Ion Armour.


Yes, in other words, the V2 patch makes it easier
to get Mag. Ion Armour. However, it also means
that winning the game hinges on your ability to
obtain a live Deep One terrorist AND researching
it in the right order.


If you patch your game and reload a campaign
created before the patch, you might face a few
research problems. It's not that common, but you
might find that you'll have some trouble with
researching the more advanced armour via the V2
method. There should be no problems if you
haven't even started on the Ion Armour or Mag Ion
Armour yet. It's mostly for campaigns where
you're already half-way through researching the
armour.


== The Good Bit==
 
===Armour===
 

Plastic Aqua Armour

Prerequisites 
Aqua Plastics

Notes: 

Aqua Plastics are obtained from a Deep One corpse.
You need not have any actual aqua-plastics in
storage to get the Aqua Plastics research item.


 

Ion Armour 
Prerequisites 
Ion Beam Accelerators, Plastic Aqua Armour and a
Deep One Terrorist 
Notes: 

Research the first two prerequisites in any order
you wish. However, you MUST research the live Deep
One Terrorist LAST. If you researched this alien
earlier, you won't get Ion Armour. Capturing
another Deep One Terrorist is possible, but there
is a small chance that you will not be able to
research any more of them.

This is especially important in versions of TFTD
patched with the v2 update, as without Ion
Armour, you cannot get Magnetic Ion Armour, which
in turn is needed to get the advanced submarines.
 
Magnetic Ion Armour (TFTD v2) 

Prerequisites Ion Armour, Magnetic Navigation 
Notes: 
If you don't know what version of the game you have,
the method in which you obtain Mag. Ion Armour will tell
you which one it is.


For versions V2 and up, Magnetic Navigation becomes
available the moment you have a sample in storage. Also
keep in mind that Ion Armour is compulsory.

 

Magnetic Ion Armour (TFTD versions prior to the v2 patch)
Prerequisites Magnetic Navigation, Ion Beam Accelerators 
Notes: 
In older versions of TFTD, to get Magnetic Navigation, you need a Lobsterman
Navigator. Keep in mind, Ion Armour is not compulsory. 
 
 

===Submarines===
Manta 
Prerequisites Magnetic Ion Armour, Sub Construction 
Notes: 
Refer to the sub component section for notes on Sub
Construction

 
Hammerhead 
Prerequisites Manta 
Notes: 

 
Leviathan 
Prerequisites Hammerhead, Lobsterman Commander 
Notes: 
The Lobsterman Commander should be researched after
the Hammerhead. Also, for your convenience, don't forget to
research 'alien origins' first so that you don't have to
capture a third lobsterman commander to win the game.
If you did not research the commander and the hammerhead in
the right order, don't worry, just research another
Lobsterman Commander.

 

=== Tech to Win the Game ===

Alien Origins
Prerequisites Any live alien 

Notes: 

 
The Ultimate Threat
Prerequisites Alien Origins and a Lobsterman Commander
 
Notes: 
Research the commander last. If you researched the commander
before alien origins, don't worry. Just research another commander. 
* A lobsterman Navigator can also substitute for the commander

 
T'Leth, the Alien's City
Prerequisites The Ultimate Threat and a Lobsterman
Commander (another one)
Notes: 
You need to research another lobsterman commander. 

If you researched the Tasoth commander any time in
the past, then there's a possibility that this very
important tech item will not appear, which means your
current campaign has been scuttled and has already sunk all
the way to the bottom of the ocean floor. Period. 
If you
don't have any saves made before completing research on the
Tasoth commander, then your only recourse is to start a new
game.

 
=== Molecular Control Technology (optional) ===

Optional because you don't need MC tech to win the game.
But as its research branch has a notable bug, is included
as well.

 

M.C.-LAB
 

Prerequisites Live Deep One Terrorist OR live Calcinite
Terrorist
 
Notes: 
Either of the two terrorist units will give you the
M.C.-Lab.

Deep One Terrorists generally follow Gill-men and
Calcinites associate themselves with Aquatoids. Both aliens
can be found in 'mixed' crew land missions.


 
MC Reader
Prerequisites MC Reader in storage, M.C.-Lab
Notes: 
The MC Reader research item will only become
available if research on the M.C.-Lab is completed while an
MC Reader is in storage.


If you miss out on this, you will NOT get the MC Disrupter
or the MC Generator for the rest of the campaign.

 
MC Disruptor
Prerequisites MC Reader and any live Tasoth 
Notes: 
Excluding the Tasoth Commander, of course.



While the Ufopaedia says it only works underwater, this
item will work on land. I believe the text was meant to say
that only aquanauts with 'MC implants' can use it, the word
'underwater' seems like a typo that was never removed.

 
MC Generator
Prerequisites MC Disruptor 
Notes: 
This item will protect your base from being found,
but it does not work 100% of the time. Aliens can still
attack shielded bases if their scouts are lucky. The
magnitude of USOs successfully spotting your base is
reduced.


 
=== Alien Sub Components===
Aqua Plastics
Prerequisites Deep One Terrorist corpse 
Notes: 
You don't need any aqua plastics to research it. You
just need the Deep One corpse.

 
Ion Beam Accelerators
Prerequisites None 
Notes: 
Ion Beam Accelerator units are found in intact alien
USOs. Most smaller enemy subs will lose their IBA units if
shot down, although some of the IBA units may survive if
they're in larger ships.

 
Magnetic Navigation
Prerequisites None (TFTDv2) or Lobsterman Navigator (pre-TFTDv2) 
Notes: 
In older versions of the game, a Lobsterman
Navigator is required to get Magnetic Navigation.
Otherwise, it should appear immediately on the research
list once one is in storage.


 
Zrbite
Prerequisites None
Notes: 
A clump of Zrbite can be found underneath an Ion
Beam Accelerator unit. If any explosive detonations occur
near the IBA unit, it will be destroyed as it is very
brittle (or rather, the IBA will blow up). 
You can pick up
these clumps, but finding a clump only occurs in unusual
circumstances. For example, throwing an unconscious soldier
into an IBA and waiting for him or her to wake up. Falling
down onto one or walking into one with the
walk-through-walls bug. 
Xcomutil users will often find
Zrbite clumps lying about when selecting a USO floor map
that is not the same as the type of USO you're actually
attacking.

 
Sub Construction
Prerequisites Sub Construction(store item), Zrbite,
Transmission Resolver
 
Notes: 
Keep at least one 'sub construction' component in
storage before completing either of the two prerequisites.
If you don't have one when both the prerequisites have been
met, you will not get the 'sub construction' tech item,
which is required for the advanced submarines

 
Transmission Resolver
Prerequisites Magnetic Navigation 
Notes: 
 

== Obligatory Disclaimer Claptrap==

This document will not always be 100% accurate, as the game tends to behave differently for
different players with different computer systems and game editions.


These notes are derived through many controlled tests and observations with the MS-DOS
edition of Terror From The Deep with the TFTDv2 patch. Any noticeable difference between the
patched game and the older versions are noted. Otherwise, these notes are valid for practically
any version of TFTD available on the PC, with the possible exception of TFTD for the Sony Playstation.


TFTD, Terror From The Deep, X-Com, XCOM, et. al.
originally developed by some very fine people. Originally distributed by Microprose. Now? Who knows.


As the purpose of this document is to inform, feel free to distribute any information in this
document as you see fit.


Many thanks for the input and feedback from the
regular posters on the Xcommand and X-Com
Tactical Command forums for assisting in the
preparation of this document. Some indirect
thanks to the fine folks on the alt.games.x-com
Usenet newsgroup as well. Extra bits and pieces here and there picked up from the xcomufo.com forums as well.

TRTBAG

2006-08-07T22:00:14Z

JellyfishGreen: pasting a pared-down version of NKF's html doc

''' TFTD Research Tree Bug Avoidance Guide '''
<div align = "right">by [[User:NKF|NKF]]</div>

The designers of X-Com Terror From The Deep attempted to make the research process in TFTD much more complicated than its very straightforward predecessor's research tree. They have succeeded in doing this, but have also introduced many glaringly unacceptable errors in the process that can prevent you from completing the game.

Some players may have had the luck of not bumping into any of these errors by picking all the right research at the right time. Unfortunately, as the research order in TFTD is non-linear, that is to say you can research anything you've got in any order you want, a lot of us are less fortunate. This guide is to assist point out some of the stickier bits.

Until the content can be transcribed into wiki format, refer to the [http://www.geocities.com/nkfarma/temporary/trtbag.html old version]

-----
 
== Introduction==

Unlike X-Com UFO with its fairly straightforward
research tree, TFTD is rife with dead-ends that
will prevent you from completing the game. This
guide attempts to point out these problem and
provide suggestions on how they can be avoided.


With the exception of MC technology, this
document discusses a branch of the research tree
that will take you from the very start of the
game all the way to the final chamber in T'Leth.
While this may spoil the game if you are new to
it, it is better to be informed than to make a
mistake that is irreversible. The game IS hard,
even for X-Com UFO veterans.


This is not a reproduction of the research tree.
There are many documents in a variety of formats
describing the complete research tree on the
Internet that you can peruse. This document is
merely a supplement.


The word 'prerequisite' is used quite frequently
throughout this document. As prerequisite is not
an everyday word, here is its definition.


Pre-Requisite


Pre- means 'before'


Requisite means something that is required in
order to achieve something.


In Layman terms and in context with the game, in
order to get this thingy, you need to research or
have these thingies first.

 
== Research Order and Its Importance==

Many of the problems in the game happen when
researching certain items and aliens in the
incorrect sequence. This normally occurs with
alien interrogations.


As a rule of thumb, if an alien is a prerequisite
for any particular tech item, it's highly
recommended that you do not interrogate it until
all the other necessary research items have been
completed.


== The Deep One Dilemma==

The primary research path looks roughly like so:
Armour, Subs and finally T'Leth


For Armour, it looks like so:


Deep One Corpse, Aqua Plastics, Plastic Aqua
Armour, Ion Beam Accelerators, Live Deep One
Terrorist, Ion Armour, Magnetic Navigation and
finally Mag. Ion Armour


A Deep One Terrorist is the key to winning the
game. You will need both a living specimen and a
corpse. In older versions of the game, where you
need a lobsterman navigator to get magnetic
navigation, getting a live Deep One Terrorist is
not that important. However, in TFTD versions
with the V2 update, success hinges on getting a
living Deep One terrorist.


Deep One Terrorists can be found in most Gill-man
land missions. They rarely appear underwater*,
and are replaced with Xarquids if you shoot down
Gill-Men terror ships.


Don't worry if you missed them, Gill-Man terror
sites do still appear when it's late in the game,
although they are abundant early in game.


Deep One Terrorists also appear in 'mixed' alien
crew land missions. A mixed crew is made up of a
variety of species, and in terror sites and base
attacks, will be supported by a variety of
land-based terror units, which includes the Deep
One Terrorist as well as the odd Xarquid (which
normally replaces the Deep One Terrorist for
underwater missions).


Just promote a terror site by leaving any ships
on terror missions alone, or encourage the
Gill-Men or 'mixed' crews to attack your base by
shooting some of their USOs down near your base.
You might also want to dismantle your M.C
generator to improve the likelihood of an attack.
.


Before starting research on the Deep One
Terrorist, refer to the Ion Armour section.


Finally, researching an alien medic and getting
information on the Deep One Terrorist or its
corpse is not the same as researching the real
thing. You will not get any research benefits
from the alien medic's report. Keep this in mind.


* you can find some Deep One Terrorists in the
second level of T'Leth.

== The Tasoth Commander==

Whether this alien is a legal alien in the game
is debateable. Nevertheless, do NOT make any
attempt to capture this alien.


If you do capture it and for some reason it
appears on your research roster, do NOT complete
research on it.


Interrogating this alien will prevent you from
getting critical research necessary to get to
your final objective.


The only time it's safe to research this alien is
after the "T'Leth" button appears on the
Leviathan's intercept controls. But by then,
researching it will just be redundant.


== The MC Reader and Sub Construction==

These two items, the MC Reader and the Sub
Construction store item, are special in that they
will only become available for research if and
only if a sample is available in your general
stores before completing research for their
prerequisite technologies.


If you do not have any when completing research
on the last of their required technologies, they
will NOT appear later even after acquiring a few
samples.


For example: If you've done Zrbite and are about
to finish research on the Transmission Resolver,
make sure that you have the 'sub construction'
item in stores before the research on the
Transmission Resolver hits 100%, or vice-versa.


Between the MC Reader and the Sub Construction
store item, the 'sub construction' store item is
required to win the game. The MC Reader is
optional.


Note: This does not apply to Aqua Plastics. You
can research it even without any samples.


 
== Version differences==

There are two versions of TFTD. The original
unpatched version of TFTD and the one with the v2
update.


Players with the Collectors Edition of TFTD have
the version with the v2 patch.


The known changes in the research tree are as
follows:


Unpatched


A Lobsterman Navigator is needed to research
Magnetic Navigation


Ion Armour is not required for Magnetic Ion
Armour. All the technologies you need for
Magnetic Ion Armour are Plastic Aqua Armour, Ion
Beam Accelerators and Magnetic Navigation.


V2


Magnetic Navigation can be researched as soon as
one is in storage. The lobsterman navigator is
NOT required.


Ion Armour is required for Magnetic Ion Armour.
Magnetic Ion Armour now just requires Magnetic
Navigation and Ion Armour.


Yes, in other words, the V2 patch makes it easier
to get Mag. Ion Armour. However, it also means
that winning the game hinges on your ability to
obtain a live Deep One terrorist AND researching
it in the right order.


If you patch your game and reload a campaign
created before the patch, you might face a few
research problems. It's not that common, but you
might find that you'll have some trouble with
researching the more advanced armour via the V2
method. There should be no problems if you
haven't even started on the Ion Armour or Mag Ion
Armour yet. It's mostly for campaigns where
you're already half-way through researching the
armour.


== The Good Bit==
 
===Armour===
 

Plastic Aqua Armour

Prerequisites 
Aqua Plastics

Notes: 

Aqua Plastics are obtained from a Deep One corpse.
You need not have any actual aqua-plastics in
storage to get the Aqua Plastics research item.


 

Ion Armour 
Prerequisites 
Ion Beam Accelerators, Plastic Aqua Armour and a
Deep One Terrorist 
Notes: 

Research the first two prerequisites in any order
you wish. However, you MUST research the live Deep
One Terrorist LAST. If you researched this alien
earlier, you won't get Ion Armour. Capturing
another Deep One Terrorist is possible, but there
is a small chance that you will not be able to
research any more of them.

This is especially important in versions of TFTD
patched with the v2 update, as without Ion
Armour, you cannot get Magnetic Ion Armour, which
in turn is needed to get the advanced submarines.
 
Magnetic Ion Armour (TFTD v2) 

Prerequisites Ion Armour, Magnetic Navigation 
Notes: 
If you don't know what version of the game you have,
the method in which you obtain Mag. Ion Armour will tell
you which one it is.


For versions V2 and up, Magnetic Navigation becomes
available the moment you have a sample in storage. Also
keep in mind that Ion Armour is compulsory.

 

Magnetic Ion Armour (TFTD versions prior to the v2 patch)
Prerequisites Magnetic Navigation, Ion Beam Accelerators 
Notes: 
In older versions of TFTD, to get Magnetic Navigation, you need a Lobsterman
Navigator. Keep in mind, Ion Armour is not compulsory. 
 
 

===Submarines===
Manta 
Prerequisites Magnetic Ion Armour, Sub Construction 
Notes: 
Refer to the sub component section for notes on Sub
Construction

 
Hammerhead 
Prerequisites Manta 
Notes: 

 
Leviathan 
Prerequisites Hammerhead, Lobsterman Commander 
Notes: 
The Lobsterman Commander should be researched after
the Hammerhead. Also, for your convenience, don't forget to
research 'alien origins' first so that you don't have to
capture a third lobsterman commander to win the game.
If you did not research the commander and the hammerhead in
the right order, don't worry, just research another
Lobsterman Commander.

 

=== Tech to Win the Game ===

Alien Origins
Prerequisites Any live alien 

Notes: 

 
The Ultimate Threat
Prerequisites Alien Origins and a Lobsterman Commander
 
Notes: 
Research the commander last. If you researched the commander
before alien origins, don't worry. Just research another commander. 
* A lobsterman Navigator can also substitute for the commander

 
T'Leth, the Alien's City
Prerequisites The Ultimate Threat and a Lobsterman
Commander (another one)
Notes: 
You need to research another lobsterman commander. 

If you researched the Tasoth commander any time in
the past, then there's a possibility that this very
important tech item will not appear, which means your
current campaign has been scuttled and has already sunk all
the way to the bottom of the ocean floor. Period. 
If you
don't have any saves made before completing research on the
Tasoth commander, then your only recourse is to start a new
game.

 
=== Molecular Control Technology (optional) ===

Optional because you don't need MC tech to win the game.
But as its research branch has a notable bug, is included
as well.

 

M.C.-LAB
 

Prerequisites Live Deep One Terrorist OR live Calcinite
Terrorist
 
Notes: 
Either of the two terrorist units will give you the
M.C.-Lab.

Deep One Terrorists generally follow Gill-men and
Calcinites associate themselves with Aquatoids. Both aliens
can be found in 'mixed' crew land missions.


 
MC Reader
Prerequisites MC Reader in storage, M.C.-Lab
Notes: 
The MC Reader research item will only become
available if research on the M.C.-Lab is completed while an
MC Reader is in storage.


If you miss out on this, you will NOT get the MC Disrupter
or the MC Generator for the rest of the campaign.

 
MC Disruptor
Prerequisites MC Reader and any live Tasoth 
Notes: 
Excluding the Tasoth Commander, of course.



While the Ufopaedia says it only works underwater, this
item will work on land. I believe the text was meant to say
that only aquanauts with 'MC implants' can use it, the word
'underwater' seems like a typo that was never removed.

 
MC Generator
Prerequisites MC Disruptor 
Notes: 
This item will protect your base from being found,
but it does not work 100% of the time. Aliens can still
attack shielded bases if their scouts are lucky. The
magnitude of USOs successfully spotting your base is
reduced.


 
=== Alien Sub Components===
Aqua Plastics
Prerequisites Deep One Terrorist corpse 
Notes: 
You don't need any aqua plastics to research it. You
just need the Deep One corpse.

 
Ion Beam Accelerators
Prerequisites None 
Notes: 
Ion Beam Accelerator units are found in intact alien
USOs. Most smaller enemy subs will lose their IBA units if
shot down, although some of the IBA units may survive if
they're in larger ships.

 
Magnetic Navigation
Prerequisites None (TFTDv2) or Lobsterman Navigator (pre-TFTDv2) 
Notes: 
In older versions of the game, a Lobsterman
Navigator is required to get Magnetic Navigation.
Otherwise, it should appear immediately on the research
list once one is in storage.


 
Zrbite
Prerequisites None
Notes: 
A clump of Zrbite can be found underneath an Ion
Beam Accelerator unit. If any explosive detonations occur
near the IBA unit, it will be destroyed as it is very
brittle (or rather, the IBA will blow up). 
You can pick up
these clumps, but finding a clump only occurs in unusual
circumstances. For example, throwing an unconscious soldier
into an IBA and waiting for him or her to wake up. Falling
down onto one or walking into one with the
walk-through-walls bug. 
Xcomutil users will often find
Zrbite clumps lying about when selecting a USO floor map
that is not the same as the type of USO you're actually
attacking.

 
Sub Construction
Prerequisites Sub Construction(store item), Zrbite,
Transmission Resolver
 
Notes: 
Keep at least one 'sub construction' component in
storage before completing either of the two prerequisites.
If you don't have one when both the prerequisites have been
met, you will not get the 'sub construction' tech item,
which is required for the advanced submarines

 
Transmission Resolver
Prerequisites Magnetic Navigation 
Notes: 
 

== Obligatory Disclaimer Claptrap:==

This document will not always be 100% accurate, as the game tends to behave differently for
different players with different computer systems and game editions.


These notes are derived through many controlled tests and observations with the MS-DOS
edition of Terror From The Deep with the TFTDv2 patch. Any noticeable difference between the
patched game and the older versions are noted. Otherwise, these notes are valid for practically
any version of TFTD available on the PC, with the possible exception of TFTD for the Sony Playstation.


TFTD, Terror From The Deep, X-Com, XCOM, et. al.
originally developed by some very fine people. Originally distributed by Microprose. Now? Who knows.


As the purpose of this document is to inform, feel free to distribute any information in this
document as you see fit.


Many thanks for the input and feedback from the
regular posters on the Xcommand and X-Com
Tactical Command forums for assisting in the
preparation of this document. Some indirect
thanks to the fine folks on the alt.games.x-com
Usenet newsgroup as well. Extra bits and pieces here and there picked up from the xcomufo.com forums as well.

Urban Terrain

2006-08-07T21:24:51Z

JellyfishGreen: /* See Also */ Civilian

[[image:terrain-urban.gif|right|Urban Terrain]]
Aliens will only attack cities for dedicated [[Terror Mission]]s. They will never actually land a UFO in the city, but instead drop off aliens from a [[Terror Ship]] and leave.

Aliens prefer residential areas, without skyscrapers or subways. Houses, apartment buildings, and shops will abound. Expect to see gas stations and the occasional park. The landscape will be densely packed with buildings, walls, and other structures. This provides the aliens with lots of cover and oppportunities for ambush, so move with caution.

The city mission presents another unique element-- human civilians. Do not expect any help from that quarter, however. They will not act rationally. They will wander about at random, dazed by terror. It is important to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, or the political fallout to X-Com could be grave. Aliens will of course shoot civilians on sight, and this also must be minimized as much as possible. As long as it doesn't result in civilian deaths, destruction of property and structures is perfectly acceptable.

 
==Battle Notes==
*Since aliens only visit cities on terror missions, you will encounter [[Terror Units (UFO Defense)|Terror Units]] in every city you visit.
*Because terror ships do not land at the terror site, you will never see a UFO in city terrain.
*To keep civilian casualties low, be more cautious when using explosives and incendiaries.
*However, if you are ever faced with the situation where you have to choose between saving a civilian, or your soldier, save your soldier. Do not purposely cause the death of any civilians, though, as this will reflect badly on X-Com in the end mission briefing.
*Be alert for gas stations; their pumps will explode under fire. This could result in civilian deaths, or present unconventional attack oppportunities.
*As always, tightly grouped buildings and structures can be hazardous for X-Com, since they present many opportunities ambush. However, the presence of civilians mean that levelling the whole site is probably not feasible. Engage with caution.
*When faced with the problem of entering structures occupied by one or more aliens, the main entrance should be treated as an obvious death trap, especially if aliens are seen entering or leaving through the door. Consider making an alternate entry through the side or rear.
*The mail boxes, phone boothes and waste recepticles found outside the market, refer to the screenshot above, provide little to no protection from plasma blasts. Therefore avoid them if you are seeking cover. And no, the phone booths will not let you travel backwards or forwards in time.
*Proximity grenades don't discriminate. They will detonate for civilian and alien alike. The same goes for motion sensors. The blips for exhausted civilians, aliens and even X-Com units cannot be distinguished. Take the readings with a grain of salt and, as always, be cautious.
*Disembarking from X-Com's landing craft in a terror mission can be especially hazardous. Use smoke grenades freely. The danger level is increased at night where you lose up to 4 tiles worth of visibility. Attempt to deploy flares at the edge of your smoke screen before disembarking so that you have full visibility of your landing zone.

==See Also==
[[Category:Terrain]]
[[Terror Mission]]

[[Civilian]]