Talk:TFTD Strategy Guide - Revision history

Magic9mushroom: /* Rushing MC */

2020-04-19T02:59:33Z

Rushing MC

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:59, 19 April 2020
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	: If you rush MC in this way don't you trigger the tech tree bug by researching a live alien too early? [[User:4th Cuirassier\|4th Cuirassier]] 10:05, 11 January 2011 (EST)		: If you rush MC in this way don't you trigger the tech tree bug by researching a live alien too early? [[User:4th Cuirassier\|4th Cuirassier]] 10:05, 11 January 2011 (EST)
	As long as you have a MC reader in storage when you finish the research of the MC lab there is no problem and one usually captures one rather early. According to the bug avoidance guide it should be fixed in the 2.1 patch. --[[User:Tauon\|Tauon]] 15:32, 11 January 2011 (EST)		As long as you have a MC reader in storage when you finish the research of the MC lab there is no problem and one usually captures one rather early. According to the bug avoidance guide it should be fixed in the 2.1 patch. --[[User:Tauon\|Tauon]] 15:32, 11 January 2011 (EST)

			:The problem isn't the M.C. Reader bug. The problem is that to get the M.C. Lab that early you have to research a Deep One ''before'' you have the other prereqs for Ion Armour, and that once you've researched one Deep One you won't be able to capture any more of them (the game thinks you have nothing more to learn from them and will avoid putting them in containment to "save space"). The obvious way around this is to simply capture two Deep Ones at the first terror site, since you can still research already-captured aliens. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 02:59, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

	== Battlescape tactics discussion ==		== Battlescape tactics discussion ==

Magic9mushroom: /* Guide Update */

2020-04-18T13:33:49Z

Guide Update

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:33, 18 April 2020
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	::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)		::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

			:My issue with adding "colony milking" to a strategy guide is that it isn't something you need to specifically be aware of or can deliberately do in any real sense.

			:1) You have no control over whether colonies are built. If the RNG says the aliens build a colony, they build a colony and you can't stop it. Otherwise, they don't. You can ''delay'' a colony, but assaulting the touched-down subs doesn't cause a delay so you don't have to actually "leave the mission alone" (I do tend to intercept one or two of the subs in the flotilla at the end, but that's specifically because I wouldn't be able to assault all of them otherwise, so that doesn't lose money either).
			:2) You have control over whether colonies stick around, certainly, but taking them out isn't a grave mistake ''either''. If you can actually win a colony, then you're ready to assault T'Leth, and the colony is likely the last piece of the puzzle to unlock it. Moreover, taking out a colony ''by killing all aliens'' is incredibly profitable in itself; it's about 12 million, whereas each Fleet Supply Cruiser is about 6 million. That's frontloading a month's worth of piracy (IIRC it's 6% per day for a supply mission, which makes 2 a month) - and given that colonies can't appear before March and you typically run out of stuff to buy around April-May, that's actually a great deal.
			:3) What do you need to do to recover the Fleet Supply Cruisers, assuming you're not ready to take out the colony? Research Transmission Resolvers and spread a bunch of them around the globe. Get the Hammerhead for fast response and turnaround. But those are good ideas ''anyway'', as part of your larger economic strategy of "loot All The Aliens". That's what I mean by colony milking not really being separable from that larger strategy.

			:I agree that deliberately building Workshops to build Gauss Cannons is suboptimal, which is why I've never advocated it (if I wasn't clear enough about that, I apologise). What I'm saying is that "find the randomly-generated aliens so you can loot them" is the alpha and the omega of making money, and "colony milking" is just an arbitrary label for one particular subset of lootable randomly-generated aliens. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 13:33, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

1eyedking at 10:01, 16 April 2020

2020-04-16T10:01:05Z

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	:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)		:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

	::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. [[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)		::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

1eyedking at 10:00, 16 April 2020

2020-04-16T10:00:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:00, 16 April 2020
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	:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)		:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

	::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon ~~mass~~ production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. [[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)		::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. [[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

1eyedking at 09:58, 16 April 2020

2020-04-16T09:58:41Z

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	:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)		:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)
	:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)		:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

			::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon mass production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. [[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)

Magic9mushroom: /* Guide Update */

2020-03-18T08:42:50Z

Guide Update

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:42, 18 March 2020
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	:No, it's still 1 for non-Superhuman or 2 for Superhuman. As I said, only the aliens that were "supposed" to be Medics can carry DPLs. There are two types of Gill Man Squad Leaders - those that are assigned in place of Technicians and those that are assigned in place of Medics (the Squad Leaders become Gill Man Soldiers, and the Navigators become Gill Man Technicians) - and only those that are assigned in place of Medics can have DPLs on a Fleet Supply Cruiser. Rank replacement is done after weapon loadouts are calculated.		:No, it's still 1 for non-Superhuman or 2 for Superhuman. As I said, only the aliens that were "supposed" to be Medics can carry DPLs. There are two types of Gill Man Squad Leaders - those that are assigned in place of Technicians and those that are assigned in place of Medics (the Squad Leaders become Gill Man Soldiers, and the Navigators become Gill Man Technicians) - and only those that are assigned in place of Medics can have DPLs on a Fleet Supply Cruiser. Rank replacement is done after weapon loadouts are calculated.
	:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)		:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)
			:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Magic9mushroom: /* Guide Update */

2020-03-17T09:36:42Z

Guide Update

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:36, 17 March 2020
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	:: Weird thing about Medics. So for Gill Men, you could be getting 2 or 4 DPLs depending on difficulty (the latter applying only to Superhuman).		:: Weird thing about Medics. So for Gill Men, you could be getting 2 or 4 DPLs depending on difficulty (the latter applying only to Superhuman).
	:: What you said about base placement is interesting. Do we have percentages of the probabilities for seas activity each month? —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 21:30, 15 March 2020 (UTC)		:: What you said about base placement is interesting. Do we have percentages of the probabilities for seas activity each month? —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 21:30, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

			:No, it's still 1 for non-Superhuman or 2 for Superhuman. As I said, only the aliens that were "supposed" to be Medics can carry DPLs. There are two types of Gill Man Squad Leaders - those that are assigned in place of Technicians and those that are assigned in place of Medics (the Squad Leaders become Gill Man Soldiers, and the Navigators become Gill Man Technicians) - and only those that are assigned in place of Medics can have DPLs on a Fleet Supply Cruiser. Rank replacement is done after weapon loadouts are calculated.
			:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

1eyedking: /* Guide Update */

2020-03-15T21:30:22Z

Guide Update

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:30, 15 March 2020
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	* Taking down Large Alien Submarines is very difficult in the early stages of the game: your Barracudas will very probably RIP at the cost of severing a steady source of income		* Taking down Large Alien Submarines is very difficult in the early stages of the game: your Barracudas will very probably RIP at the cost of severing a steady source of income
	* Wiping out an Alien Colony is a masochistic endeavor without a strong MC squad; which means they'd probably be up and running for a long time regardless		* Wiping out an Alien Colony is a masochistic endeavor without a strong MC squad; which means they'd probably be up and running for a long time regardless
	* You needed the Zrbite anyway. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 21:27, 25 February 2020 (UTC)		* You needed the Zrbite anyway. —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 21:27, 25 February 2020 (UTC)


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	:6) Uh, who has Zrbite issues in TFTD? I usually end up getting so much of the stuff it clogs my stores and I have to sell it. Cruisers are the single most common Alien Sub in the game, and every single one gets you 50 Zrbite whether you shot it down or not. A dozen Sonic Oscillators, 30 suits of Magnetic Ion Armour and 5 Displacers/Sonic is on the order of 800 Zrbite, and even that many is likely surplus to requirements. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 10:08, 26 February 2020 (UTC)		:6) Uh, who has Zrbite issues in TFTD? I usually end up getting so much of the stuff it clogs my stores and I have to sell it. Cruisers are the single most common Alien Sub in the game, and every single one gets you 50 Zrbite whether you shot it down or not. A dozen Sonic Oscillators, 30 suits of Magnetic Ion Armour and 5 Displacers/Sonic is on the order of 800 Zrbite, and even that many is likely surplus to requirements. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 10:08, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

	:: Valid points overall, I think, ~~however that~~ if ~~you aren~~'t running into financial trouble in the early months then ~~you're doing things wrong~~: ~~you~~ should be ~~constantly~~ expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe, constructing facilities, farming recruits), and constant expansion inevitably drains your treasury. Furthermore, Gauss Cannon manufacturing requires you to research the lame Gauss weapons which divert time from more equalizing techs. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid and this is actually for ''all'' difficulties. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)		:: Valid points overall, I think. However, if a player isn't running into financial trouble in the early months then he or she is just nibbing instead of going for the bite: one should constantly be expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe, constructing facilities, farming recruits), and constant expansion inevitably drains your treasury. Furthermore, Gauss Cannon manufacturing requires you to research the lame Gauss weapons which divert time from more equalizing techs. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid and this is actually for ''all'' difficulties. —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

	:It's definitely Medics; I just double-checked the executable and the singular DPL entry on ship type 0c (Fleet Supply Cruiser) is the "late" loadout of rank 03 (Medic). Note that since only Aquatoids actually have Medics, this will be a different rank for any other race (Squad Leader for Gill Men and Tasoths, Technician for Lobster Men, and theoretically Aquatoid Squad Leader for Mixed Crew but Mixed Crew don't run Fleet Supply Cruisers) - but only the ones which are "supposed" to be Medics can have DPLs.		:It's definitely Medics; I just double-checked the executable and the singular DPL entry on ship type 0c (Fleet Supply Cruiser) is the "late" loadout of rank 03 (Medic). Note that since only Aquatoids actually have Medics, this will be a different rank for any other race (Squad Leader for Gill Men and Tasoths, Technician for Lobster Men, and theoretically Aquatoid Squad Leader for Mixed Crew but Mixed Crew don't run Fleet Supply Cruisers) - but only the ones which are "supposed" to be Medics can have DPLs.
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	:Yes, Transmission Resolvers are definitely the workhorse that gets things moving in a hurry, and they're absolutely a priority. But Fleet Supply Cruiser piracy (as opposed to just recovering All The Subs) isn't a thing until quite a ways in (March at the absolute earliest), and you don't exactly have to ''do'' anything to make a colony appear (as I said, colony placement ''cannot'' be prevented, so the only thing determining whether a colony is/is not placed is whether the alien mission roll comes down on Colony Expansion/Infiltration) so that's just one more kind of sub activity you have to attack (and really, quite minor compared to everything else the aliens are doing; the mission setting up a colony will generally have about as much loot as a couple of months of colony piracy).		:Yes, Transmission Resolvers are definitely the workhorse that gets things moving in a hurry, and they're absolutely a priority. But Fleet Supply Cruiser piracy (as opposed to just recovering All The Subs) isn't a thing until quite a ways in (March at the absolute earliest), and you don't exactly have to ''do'' anything to make a colony appear (as I said, colony placement ''cannot'' be prevented, so the only thing determining whether a colony is/is not placed is whether the alien mission roll comes down on Colony Expansion/Infiltration) so that's just one more kind of sub activity you have to attack (and really, quite minor compared to everything else the aliens are doing; the mission setting up a colony will generally have about as much loot as a couple of months of colony piracy).
	:One thing definitely worth noting about Transmission Resolvers (and base locations in general) is the two "sweet spots" in the northeastern Atlantic and northwestern Pacific. The three highest-activity seas are the North Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean (which can all be covered by a single base off the coast of Morocco), and the next two highest are the South China Sea and Sea of Japan (which can both be covered, along with a decent chunk of the enormous South Pacific zone, by a base about halfway between Japan and New Guinea). Those two will get about 65% of all alien activity on the globe, so getting those down ASAP is key (I'd probably finish setting up labs and researching Transmission Resolvers before I finished the network, though). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 12:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)		:One thing definitely worth noting about Transmission Resolvers (and base locations in general) is the two "sweet spots" in the northeastern Atlantic and northwestern Pacific. The three highest-activity seas are the North Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean (which can all be covered by a single base off the coast of Morocco), and the next two highest are the South China Sea and Sea of Japan (which can both be covered, along with a decent chunk of the enormous South Pacific zone, by a base about halfway between Japan and New Guinea). Those two will get about 65% of all alien activity on the globe, so getting those down ASAP is key (I'd probably finish setting up labs and researching Transmission Resolvers before I finished the network, though). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 12:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

			:: Weird thing about Medics. So for Gill Men, you could be getting 2 or 4 DPLs depending on difficulty (the latter applying only to Superhuman).
			:: What you said about base placement is interesting. Do we have percentages of the probabilities for seas activity each month? —[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 21:30, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

Magic9mushroom at 12:16, 28 February 2020

2020-02-28T12:16:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:16, 28 February 2020
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	:: Valid points overall, I think, however that if you aren't running into financial trouble in the early months then you're doing things wrong: you should be constantly expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe, constructing facilities, farming recruits), and constant expansion inevitably drains your treasury. Furthermore, Gauss Cannon manufacturing requires you to research the lame Gauss weapons which divert time from more equalizing techs. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid and this is actually for ''all'' difficulties. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)		:: Valid points overall, I think, however that if you aren't running into financial trouble in the early months then you're doing things wrong: you should be constantly expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe, constructing facilities, farming recruits), and constant expansion inevitably drains your treasury. Furthermore, Gauss Cannon manufacturing requires you to research the lame Gauss weapons which divert time from more equalizing techs. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid and this is actually for ''all'' difficulties. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

			:It's definitely Medics; I just double-checked the executable and the singular DPL entry on ship type 0c (Fleet Supply Cruiser) is the "late" loadout of rank 03 (Medic). Note that since only Aquatoids actually have Medics, this will be a different rank for any other race (Squad Leader for Gill Men and Tasoths, Technician for Lobster Men, and theoretically Aquatoid Squad Leader for Mixed Crew but Mixed Crew don't run Fleet Supply Cruisers) - but only the ones which are "supposed" to be Medics can have DPLs.
			:Gauss isn't too bad. It's not like it's entirely a waste since it is the most efficient Aquatoid-slayer in the game and very close behind the Sonic Pistol against Gill Men, and the Gauss Rifle is quicker to research than the Sonic Pistol so it frees your scientists up for other stuff (armour/M.C./Transmission Resolver) a tad earlier (at the cost of, of course, having to come back to Sonics later). I certainly wouldn't go for the Gauss Cannon early, but it's really a matter of taste whether you grab Gauss Rifles at the start.
			:Yes, Transmission Resolvers are definitely the workhorse that gets things moving in a hurry, and they're absolutely a priority. But Fleet Supply Cruiser piracy (as opposed to just recovering All The Subs) isn't a thing until quite a ways in (March at the absolute earliest), and you don't exactly have to ''do'' anything to make a colony appear (as I said, colony placement ''cannot'' be prevented, so the only thing determining whether a colony is/is not placed is whether the alien mission roll comes down on Colony Expansion/Infiltration) so that's just one more kind of sub activity you have to attack (and really, quite minor compared to everything else the aliens are doing; the mission setting up a colony will generally have about as much loot as a couple of months of colony piracy).
			:One thing definitely worth noting about Transmission Resolvers (and base locations in general) is the two "sweet spots" in the northeastern Atlantic and northwestern Pacific. The three highest-activity seas are the North Atlantic, North Sea and Mediterranean (which can all be covered by a single base off the coast of Morocco), and the next two highest are the South China Sea and Sea of Japan (which can both be covered, along with a decent chunk of the enormous South Pacific zone, by a base about halfway between Japan and New Guinea). Those two will get about 65% of all alien activity on the globe, so getting those down ASAP is key (I'd probably finish setting up labs and researching Transmission Resolvers before I finished the network, though). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 12:16, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

1eyedking: /* Guide Update */

2020-02-28T08:38:53Z

Guide Update

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:38, 28 February 2020
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	:6) Uh, who has Zrbite issues in TFTD? I usually end up getting so much of the stuff it clogs my stores and I have to sell it. Cruisers are the single most common Alien Sub in the game, and every single one gets you 50 Zrbite whether you shot it down or not. A dozen Sonic Oscillators, 30 suits of Magnetic Ion Armour and 5 Displacers/Sonic is on the order of 800 Zrbite, and even that many is likely surplus to requirements. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 10:08, 26 February 2020 (UTC)		:6) Uh, who has Zrbite issues in TFTD? I usually end up getting so much of the stuff it clogs my stores and I have to sell it. Cruisers are the single most common Alien Sub in the game, and every single one gets you 50 Zrbite whether you shot it down or not. A dozen Sonic Oscillators, 30 suits of Magnetic Ion Armour and 5 Displacers/Sonic is on the order of 800 Zrbite, and even that many is likely surplus to requirements. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 10:08, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

	:: Valid points overall, I think, however it'~~s impossible not to run~~ into financial trouble in the early months if you're constantly expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe and ~~equipping them with TRs)~~. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid for ''all'' difficulties. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)		:: Valid points overall, I think, however that if you aren't running into financial trouble in the early months then you're doing things wrong: you should be constantly expanding (ie., building bases all across the globe, constructing facilities, farming recruits), and constant expansion inevitably drains your treasury. Furthermore, Gauss Cannon manufacturing requires you to research the lame Gauss weapons which divert time from more equalizing techs. Also I double-checked and believe it is Technicians who carry DPLs, so yes, you encounter 1-2 DPLs per raid and this is actually for ''all'' difficulties. --[[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 08:29, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:58, 16 April 2020
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	:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)		:And yes, alien activity distribution is controlled by [[ZONAL.DAT]] (or in the case of Alien Surface Attacks, a permanent table in the executable that looks like the starting state of ZONAL.DAT with a couple of zones deleted due to lack of targets; for UFO it's Arctic/Antarctic/Pacific that are deleted, but I'm not sure whether it's the corresponding zones (South Atlantic/North Pacific/Arctic) deleted in TFTD). [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 09:36, 17 March 2020 (UTC)
	:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)		:It's Arctic and Antarctic that don't get hit by Alien Surface Attacks in TFTD (the Falkland Islands are in the Antarctic zone, but they can only get hit as part of a South Atlantic Alien Surface Attacks mission; there are a couple of other ports/islands where this happens). Dunno what the weightings are; probably the initial state of ZONAL.DAT but I can't be sure. [[User:Magic9mushroom\|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom\|talk]]) 08:42, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

			::On a preliminary second playthrough, I can confirm the Colony milking strategy is still the best for easily(-er) beating the game on Superhuman, provided the guide's points are followed as well. I tried going for mass Gauss Cannon mass production but overhead maintenance costs completely drown any chance at profiting short term, because any investment towards workshops must be carefully planned ahead so that both facilities are finished and engineers purchased at the beginning of each month, which can translate to as much as 32 days of paralyzed capital. Maybe if someone else could try it out and help me confirm as it being a better/easier economic alternative to Gauss Cannon mass production? If confirmed, I think it would make a nice addition to this already excellent guide. [[User:1eyedking\|1eyedking]] ([[User talk:1eyedking\|talk]]) 09:58, 16 April 2020 (UTC)