View source for Talk:Making the Game Harder

A challenge for experienced players could be to be win as quickly as possible, no reloads, no exploits. I've managed June 1st with one reload (lost the skyranger) and June 9th with no reloads, in the basic game version. The economics come into play when you're racing the clock and you certainly can't afford to lose good soldiers.
- Egor

Is it my impression or there's no current link to this page from any other page? 

[[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 12:38, 5 March 2007 (PST)

Its on the front page isnt it?

--[[User:Sfnhltb|Sfnhltb]] 12:40, 5 March 2007 (PST)

Yeah, just checked it, nvm and thanks :)

== Realism of selling advanced manufactures and alien items ==

I removed (edited down) this statement:

'':This not only adds some realism to the game (seriously, who would pay 334,000$ for some metal ball that lets you know the stats of your wife? And which government on earth would allow the possession of plasma weapons to other nations, or even civilians?), it also makes it significantly harder.''

As I have no doubt that governments scientific and intelligence agencies would pay huge amounts for mind probes. They would be incredibly useful to reconnaisance units, covert surveillance, and (just as with X-COM) their greatest use would probably be to positively identify important / high ranking targets.  Alien weapons sales would most likely be to the Council of Funding Nations governments themselves. Do you think they would be able to resist the temptation? No way. The only 'unrealistic' element is that the advanced technologies (especially aircraft) and alien items don't sell for more. This is purely a game balance thing: realistically, X-COM should be able to sell Firestorms and Avengers for hundreds of millions of dollars each. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 20:14, 15 November 2008 (CST)

X-com should be able to sell an alien Power Plant + Elerium for several hundred million each. Ha.
It makes little to no sense that the Mind-Probe would be more expensive than the Psi-Amp though.
Anyhow, Spike is right over here. The Council Of Funding Nations most likely just "informed" X-com that they would "allow" sale of any and all gear... to the CoFN.
Nor do they allow you to hire $100 beggars from India or convicted murderers to use as cannon fodder. Let me tell you, if I were allowed to hire really cheap Rookies with shit stats and let them be front line Stun Rod wielders, I wouldn't care if they had shit for stats... actually, they don't even need the stun rods, I just want bodies to use up alien reaction fire...
The CoFN is as corrupt as any other government in this world, I guess. Full of red tape and officials taking their cuts along the line, eh?
... Anyone find it hilarious how someone is paying this high price for the Heavy Plasma... but they can't fire any of them cause X-com refuses to sell the Heavy Plasma Ammo? XD well, I was stockpiling those for my own use, anyhow, ha. They can't MAKE clips either, they have no Elerium.

[[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]]


:The Mind Probe allows you to take information from brain waves, which would likely mean surface thoughts.  They'd be very useful in police interrogations, court cases, political debate, polygraph testing, market research, and stalking, among other things.  Also, the Psi-Amp is more useful than the Mind Probe...if you know how to use the Amp and have a Psi-Strength high enough to make use of it.  Since X-COM controls all Psionic Laboratories, this would allow the Mind Probe(which can be used by anyone) to be more valuable to the lay person.  [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 19:12, 26 February 2009 (CST)

==Bozo the Clown==

If you're going to do that game, you should probably copy a RESEARCH.DAT file over from a completed game so that he actually has weapons to use; doesn't matter how many aliens are dead if all he sees are "Alien Artefacts."  Keep the ban on carrying weapons on the Skyranger, but at least give him the ability to use the ones he finds in the mission.  Alternately, allow him to use certain clown-like weapons, like the "Slapstick" (Stun Rod) and "Confetti Bomb"(Smoke Grenade) to start with.  [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 15:53, 18 November 2008 (CST)
:Actually I already made a patch for this one (check "Directly Use Alien Weapons" in the "Hack" Section). [[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 16:03, 18 November 2008 (CST)
::Well, I haven't actually tried it out but when it seemed the logical end for the line of thinking of that section (Ironman, Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee). Anyone would have to be a bit crazy to try playing the game like this :) And can't soldiers use alien artifacts in reaction fire? I have the idea they can. [[User:Hobbes|Hobbes]] 16:18, 18 November 2008 (CST)
I don't know if they can.  I'd be surprised, since you can't even THROW an alien artifact if it isn't researched.  (Though this makes some sense in they don't know what is in them before they research it).  In either event, amusing, and Seb, that works too, thanks for the suggestion.  [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 16:21, 18 November 2008 (CST)

:Someone claimed one time that you can use alien weapons for reaction fire <i>if</i> the clip has been researched prior. Not sure if this is true or if you can use the totally unresearched weapon for reaction fire. Anyhow, call me crazy, but I actually completed a "Bozo The Clown" scenario in a X-COM base defense mission one time. Of course, I had about 40 freshmeat soldiers to draw reaction fire from the aliens and finally got an alien to be in the way of the firing line. The big issue is dealing with the constant morale drop when wave after wave of your fellow soldiers die every round. Guess you could call this "Bozo The Clowns" instead. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 16:48, 18 November 2008 (CST)

Or "Clown Car" or "Clown Base" or "Clown School."  [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 16:49, 18 November 2008 (CST)

"Clown Academy"? "Clown Academy 2" (etc)? "Send in The Clowns"? [[User:Spike|Spike]] 17:55, 18 November 2008 (CST)

:Ok you clown, a little bit of testing. You cannot use an alien weapon for reaction fire if the weapon & the clip are not researched. If I get the clip researched, I'll try this soonish. --[[User:Zombie|Zombie]] 18:33, 18 November 2008 (CST)

==Limited Military==
[[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]]: You'll probably go bankrupt very fast if you start the game with maximum hires...

:That's a valid point.  Perhaps [[User:Seb76|Seb76]] can incorporate reduced soldier wages in the next iteration of his Limited Military function of his patch.  Since you can't get more, it's not a bad idea to keep the wages down a bit to allow the game to be completed. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 17:36, 15 February 2009 (CST)
::I can do that, but what should be the new salary - 5000, 2500? (default one is 20000)[[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 13:16, 26 February 2009 (CST)

0, I guess? you're unlikely to use 250 soldiers during the course of a game of X-com, so there's the incentive to sack 100 soldiers right off the bat. [[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]]:

:5000 sounds good to me, to be honest.  It's enough to leave some bite in the salaries but not enough to make the number prohibitive. [[User:Arrow Quivershaft|Arrow Quivershaft]] 19:01, 26 February 2009 (CST)
:: In the end I went for 2500. Also if you want only 150 soldiers, then you just specify so, no need to sack anyone. [[User:Seb76|Seb76]] 13:51, 27 February 2009 (CST)
::: UWAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!! Just realised a hideous flaw of this gameplay style. I'm playing on Superhuman and had been just hired a surplus of soldiers with my recent windfalls of alien loot. So, 35 soldiers on base, still using Earth weapons... and a Battleship lands on my doorstep. ... Equipping and juggling 35 soldiers was annoying. ... But. Nowhere near as bad as 250 soldiers would be. Or even 100. Can you imagine what would happen if you only had 1 base with a Living quarters, and you saw a battleship making a beeline for it... the thought of performing a base defence with 250 soldiers is... AARGH. ... OTOH, maybe the aliens will be unable to spawn any units at all, as you will take up all the spawn points. [[User:Jasonred|Jasonred]] 07:25, 28 February 2009 (CST)
:: Don't worry, your style is fine. There is a maximum number of units that can be loaded onto the map in a base defence. You will never have to fight with more than 40 soldiers, so if you've managed with 35 you have more or less mastered it. More details [[Tactical_Exploits#Base_Defence_Mission_Spawning_Issues|here]]. [[User:Spike|Spike]] 06:44, 28 February 2009 (CST)

== Damn masochistic ==

If I find the game too easy, at leas I will know where to go for advice. Thanks guys --[[User:Boro|Boro]] 14:03, 5 May 2010 (EDT)

: It's funny how a game that has such a steep learning curve for new players also leads to these same players coming up with all these harder ways to play the game once they've mastered it. I guess it's like what some wise chap, whom I've promptly forgotten (which could mean I'm making it up!), said: to push the bounds of human endeavours is to be human. -[[User:NKF|NKF]] 03:14, 30 August 2010 (EDT) 

== Flagged for rewrite ==

Just detected a few personal pronouns used in the text of this article. I propose this article is due for a rewrite. 

Actually, it might be a good idea to create a 'ARTICLE FLAGGED FOR REWRITE' type inclusion page that is tacked to the top of all articles that need rewrites, like the ones found on Wikipedia. The advantage is that all pages have got a 'what links here' page that can help editors track pages that need editing. I'll sit on that idea for a bit. Might be useful. -[[User:NKF|NKF]] 03:14, 30 August 2010 (EDT)