UFO2 strategy

[bakalov]

Juggler, the scouting tactic is important for the early game, when there are only a few subs to intercept and you don't want to miss any of them. Some may not pass near your single base at this time.

At some point as the game progresses, you will see a vast rise in the alien activity in a certain sea. This is almost certain sign that the aliens have built a base in that sea. You may want to go out patrolling to find it too.

[Ecthy]

I never grasped UFO. Played the first game several times, always lost...

[General Ludd]

I know how to open doors, it just doesn't seem to work in UFO. I guess it was only in TFTD that you could do that.

[Skanky Burns]

It wasn't included in UFO. Unfortunately.

[Ecthy]

Especially since all the money donators would withdraw...

[General Ludd]

I'm curious what everyone else does when faced with a next to impossible mission - you know, wheny ou step off the craft and get welcomed with blasts from all directions, and are face to face with three huge aliens. Do you keep save/reloading untill you can do it? Keep fighting and take the loses? Abort the mission and get out with what you can?

[Ecthy]

See, I tend to consider those missions impossible where either aliens terrorize cities or have spaceships too fast for my aircraft

[Raion]

Yes, I have found out that one must avoid those scenarios, as they are thrown into the game to kill you off!
One must know when to hold it, and one must know when to fold it!

Those are the times that you fold!
Feeling Lucky!
Things glowing well in the game!
The aliens don't think so!

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

[bakalov]

There is a high penalty for not completing those though ...

[Sore Loser]

I have decided to start over in my game. I was doing fairly well, but I'd "cheated" a little too often and decided that I had to cut off my arm and start over without any reloading at all. Here is my revised list of self-imposed rules:

1) No reloading unless the game hangs
2) No luxury goods manufacture
3) No MC Disruptor
4) No DP Launcher
5) No Mag. Ion Armour

These rules keep me on my toes. DP Launchers and MC Disruptors just ruin the tactical element, as the location of my men becomes more or less insignificant. Mag. Ion Armour can withstand just about anything, and producing Gauss Cannons takes care of your financial worries too easily. With this in mind, here is what I have learned since the last post:

1) Tanks are crucial early on. Not only do they survive more hits, they survive to let you know where the shot came from. When a rookie goes scouting and is killed, you have little clue where the alien is.

2) Sonic Oscillators are sweet, I can take down large subs without taking a single hit with my Barracuda.

3) Gauss weapons may not be any good late-game, but against Aquatoids and Gill Men they are every bit as good as Sonic weapons. I'm not going to pass this one up in exchange for a direct route to Sonic tech, but thanks for the suggestion bakalov.

4) As long as I exit with my tank(s) first, I rarely get in trouble immediately upon exiting the Triton.

5) You don't need to complete every mission. If the opposition is rough, grab the alien corpses and artifacts and dust off. You usually get a positive score if you take out 4 or 5 alien and recover the loot.

6) This one is almost a spoiler: Make training runs against alien colonies where you take out half a dozen aliens, grab the loot and run away. This gets you much needed experience, enough points to keep your donors happy and a nice profit. I think I'll put it on my list of self-imposed rules.

7) At the second floor of alien colonies I need to be carrying HtH weapons with most of my soldiers and be highly aggressive. PD Grenades are nice for early warning (are they triggered by Tentaculats?) and MC Readers are crucial for finding out if that Lobsterman you're about to run up to with your Vibro Blade has enough time units for opportunity fire.

Osweld, that situation should only occur when you're inadequately prepared. If the tanks can take the first few blasts (or if you have Ion Armour or better) then you should be able to take out any aliens standing near the sub with a mixture of pulsers and sonic cannons. If I'm facing Lobstermen before I have Sonic or HtH weapons then I'll abort, same thing if I'm facing MC combat before I've been able to put a special squad together. In the last case, you need to get out immediately, even if it means losing the tank that's out scouting.

bakalov, do you check the graph every 30 minutes of in-game time?

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Sore Loser

1) No reloading unless the game hangs
2) No luxury goods manufacture
3) No MC Disruptor
4) No DP Launcher
5) No Mag. Ion Armour

Either very brave or very stupid.

[Dis]

is this game a lot different from x-com 1?

I never played any of the other x-com's.

I might be interested in this one though.

Can it play on a fast computer though? my old x-com just isn't holding up on my fast computer very well.

[DrSpike]

You might need a utility to 'slow' your machine down.

[Dis]

is the game that different from ufo/xcom 1?

I want it to be different enough to want to play it, but I do want the gameplay to be similar enough to like it. Ufo3 didn't interest me as much.

the real question is where I would find an old game such as this.

[Dis]

hmm, I sort of "got" this game today. I forgot how soon after the first one they released it. Now I remember why I did not get the sequal. It's too much like the first one. It seems all the weapons are the same but their names changed. Though I'm not sure how they perform in combat. I didn't actually find any aliens. It's a pain playing with my mouse speed as it is.

And I'm pretty sure there is supposed to be music, but I can't get that to work properly. But I do hear other game sounds.

And the graphics are pretty dated