For the 'ol X-Com fans... "UFO Extraterrestrials"

[Warmaker]

BOOMS are nice! But I preferred FIRE even more!

It was unfortunate Apocalypse didn't allow vehicles in the tactical game modes. I really wanted that ability / threat.

Another favorite in that game: Using Gas Grenades to KO the badguys, let the gas die down, enter the room, and then execute the enemy with 1 shot. Maybe a dozen more shots to be safe

What really sucked was when certain aliens use mind control and actually take over one of your troopers. Wow, did that suck! The cool thing was that Cyborgs were immune to mind control. But Cycborgs didnt' get stat increases from experience, so it balanced out.

[F-ZeroOne]

Those looking to recreate the X-Com experience but unable to get hold of the original games for whatever reason may be interested to know that Rebelstar: Tactical Command is available for the Gameboy Advance and features similar gameplay, although without, AFAIK, the resource management.

In addition, X-Com was the ultimate development of an earlier series of similar games beginning with the 8-bit Rebelstar, Rebelstar II and Laser Squad, all of which can be emulated. Laser Squad introduced many elements that made it into X-Com, including limited resource management and collateral damage, and is still very playable today. Versions are available for Amstrad, Atari ST and Amiga, but true Raiders will opt for the ZX Spectrum version.

[Axelay]

Back during my Apocalypse gaming days, there were a slew of Portrait mods for your X-Com troopers.

I actually made one of those back in the day. I did a pack featuring artwork of Cobra agents from the GI Joe toys. I thought that the armor in Apocalypse had such a striking resemblance to Cobra Officers, Vipers, and Crimson Guards that it just had to be done.

I played the original X-COM, TFTD, and Apocalypse. Haven't seen anything since then which grabs me the same way those did, but I may have to check out this new game. I actually really loved TFTD, but I know I'm in the minority. I've always kinda wished some clever team would find a way to get the first 2 games to run on a Windows Mobile Pocket PC. I would totally play X-COM on my PDA.

Some fun things I remember about X-COM:

- Always build your bases with a single choke point between the hangars and the living areas. The lift was the choke point, and a security station connected it to the rest of the base. When the aliens would land in your base, you could have a turkey shoot the likes of which were hysterical. Shoot a rocket into some of fuel drums or missile racks in the hangar and you can almost blow up the whole hangar.

- I used to put heavy training into telepathy, and almost everyone carried a Psi-Amp. When the mood struck me, I'd mind control the aliens and march them out in front of their spaceship. Then I'd have them toss away their weapons and face the wall. I'd end the turn so they'd no longer be part of the team, and then my soldiers would have a nice firing squad. It was also really funny to mind control one guy, have him prime a grenade so it would go off once he was back to normal, run him into a room full of his buddies, and then run out all of his remaining time units.

- There was a special spot on the corner of the top level of the alien Terror Ship. Put a Blaster shell into that corner, and you'd set off a chain reaction that would obliterate everything in the top level. I discovered this quite by accident, but the results were used many a time after that.

- I used to get a laugh out of seeing how complex a pattern I could make the Blaster shells fly in before they ultimately hit their target.

[Warmaker]

Mind Control when it works for you was hilarious.

Run in front of his friends, maybe get shot, then throw a grenade or fire a disruptor point blank into them.

Another favorite of mine from Apocalypse:

Get into a firefight.

Use lots of smoke, explosives, etc. to make vision in the target area bad.

Get a trooper with MarSec Flight Armor, fly over the target area.

Prime a grenade, and drop it straight down. Fly to another section nearby, repeat grenade drop.

Hilarity ensues.

But the effect is better when you drop a Demolitions Pack instead of a grenade.

Edit to add:

Biggest X-Com Apocalypse mistake is when you...

Take your trooper, turn a corner and see aliens who are surprised to see you. I had an Assault Rifle in my right hand and a grenade on the other. I primed the grenade, took another look, and selected "Throw."

"I got those bast**ds now!"

Then, to my horror, I see my Assault Rifle flying in a neat arc and landing in front of the aliens. I'm also now out of Action Points.

In front of angry aliens.

In front of angry armed aliens.

With a primed grenade in my left hand.

This might hurt a little.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Warmaker

[Ladic]

so anyone get the game and play it yet?

[Mr March]

I probably missed it while quickly browsing but hows everyone's love of the TANKS.

Love the tanks! So helpful in the early parts of the game, for all the reasons you mentioned. They also make great scouts and expendable point units.

ANd how can anyone not love the terrain destruction of the missile tank?

[Warmaker]

so anyone get the game and play it yet?

Still waiting...

[Akilae]

I'm not holding my breath... UFO:E has been "near release" so long and the release dates changed so many times it's not funny anymore.

[Mr March]

Damn, it's been so long since I've followed a game prior to release, I'd actually forgotten about the dreaded release date pushbacks. The video game industry has to be the worst offender for that. Remember Daikatana or Battlecruiser 3000AD?

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Love the tanks! So helpful in the early parts of the game, for all the reasons you mentioned. They also make great scouts and expendable point units.

ANd how can anyone not love the terrain destruction of the missile tank?

Finally! And don't forget about the sight range they got as well.

And for people who were fobbin off about using "more soldiers" well sending out too many troops

gets boring, tanks add much needed variety, they move great distances in one turn!

Sending out 12 or more soldiers is tedious, especially if they are raw, totally boring.

Remember there is only so many patches of cover to keep your men alive before the aliens turn!

Add atleast one tank and then you can just spend time on your fav soldiers (lets say a max of 6 - .

I'd leave 2 Psys in a safe area, one in their general area for protection, and the rest should be badass

enough to handle things by themselves, ohh and tanks take the front line. Plasma tanks, sigh. <3 <3 <3

Ohh and when your in a jam, sacrifice the tank if you get one of those situations

that end with one of your units being decimated by an "alien reflex-action on the SAME turn". THEY SUCK.

Nothing brings the emotions i get when a Terror mission pops up.

This game with it's errie music really makes my hair stand up late at night. Pure genious.

Know whats really sad, watching a poor sectoid shoot at a rocket launcher tank and the tank reflexes

a dead on head shot with a rocket. BAM! ! !

Edited April 19, 2007 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Warmaker]

UFO: Extraterrestrials Website

[F-ZeroOne]

This line made me smile:

"Joan Boyd was born in Labor."

Weren't we all?

[Mr March]

Finally! And don't forget about the sight range they got as well.

Tanks can be such a great unit to use, I'm not sure why it would be avoided. Granted, I have played X-COM games without them, but there's no reason to IMO. They are a valuable part of the game, more than can be said for certain other items in the game.

I like the ability of the tank to move faster and the heavy firepower that can be used to complete missions faster. Especially in the mid to latter parts of a game, sometimes a UFO will come up and you're thinking to yourself "Oh for crying out loud, I don't need money, I don't need elerium...just go away and let me do my research." Tanks can make missions go by so fast. Roll them out, have them level the terrain and mow down everything. Quick, dirty and low risk. Helps make things faster.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Yup!

But damn the laser tanks suck!

[Axelay]

Did anybody watch the gameplay movie on the official website? There's an absolute spitting image of the ED-209 from Robocop in the game.

After seeing the movie, I think I have kinda mixed feelings about this. It's just like X-COM which is not a bad thing. On the other hand, it's just like X-COM which is a bad thing. Even the button clicking sound appears to be the same. While I do like seeing new maps, I feel kinda underwhelmed by some of the explosion graphics... Maybe I'll still pick this up after all. It really depends largely upon what kind of editing tools are developed for it.

[Warmaker]

I'm guessing it's the aim for this game... being an "X-Com" game and being playable on current OS's, unlike most of the legacy X-Com games that some require sacrificing a virgin on a bloody altar for your computer to make work, *ahem* X-Com Apocalypse!

If it is like X-Com, then it's good for me.

Why?

Because there are no games close to bringing the X-Com gameplay anymore. They may bring parts of it, but not the whole package.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Warmaker

[ruskiiVFaussie]

I hear x-com sounds everywhere, from tv advertisements, to movies and serials.

Original sound effects are welcomed. If it ani't broke... lol

Like a certain company changing the gunpod noise... that's just....

Edited April 21, 2007 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Sundown]

I also hear sound effects from the Rainbow Six series randomly on TV. I'm guessing both games used public domain stock sound effects that were free or cheap or some such.

[Uxi]

Ah yeah, I LOVE the Xcom games. UFO Defense is still my favorite but the graphics are kinda dated. I love teh concept of the GeoScape and always hoped we'd get a new Xcom game with something like Google:Earth for the Geoscape and allow multiplayer. I always thought multiplayer games would work great and something the size of Google: Earth for a Geoscape could allow a huge number of players who would represent "secret agencies" of various countries. Then you could have a toggle for computer controlled aliens or not.

I can imagine playing a big 64-player game with all kinds of factions, carving up the globe like Risk.

I have Apocalypse working on my XP machine without Dos Box. Can't remember how I did it as I did it a LONG time ago. Good improvements were that you could finally tie equipment to your characters (I always had a rank based structure for armor. Rookies got nothing! Squaddies got personal armor (the plain armor). Sergeant's got power armor and captain's took Flying armor. As my inventory and wealth expanded, I eventually trickled down and sergeants would get flying armor (Marsec for Apoc), squaddies would get the plain power armor, rookies would get personal armor. Anyways, I hated on UFO Defense when my bases would get invaded and i have to spend 30 minutes equipping all my guys according to my scheme. Leaving your Commander unarmored and having em get killed was always a bummer!

I'm about getting played out of Rome: Total Realism (I've chewed up the Ptolemies and have pretty much taken all of Asia Minor from the Selucids - damned phalanxes have made it slower going than I had hoped - i always win, but my sacrificial phalanxes always get badly mauled and my princpes are getting worn down by attrition). Getting ready for my final pincer move on Jerusalem from Egypt and Antioch... Once I'm done with that, I'll most likely go back to Apoc.

[hutch]

I got DOSBOX to run X-Com UFO on my machine and sweet Lord I'd forgotten how much I love this game.

So much fun.

I love the smell of dead Sectoids in the morning.

[Mr March]

Got a question for any X-COM fans in the know. Like I said, it's been a lot of years since I played, so some of the smaller details I've forgotten.

What is the time line for the game? By that I mean, how much time does the player have? Can you keep going for years, or will you eventually run out of time and the aliens win?

Also, is there a time limit after you've finally researched the final Cydonia mission? I seem to vaguely remember some game rule that once you research the final mission, you're under the clock from that point on and have to complete it soon. I've forgotten if this is true or not.

I know I'm doing very well in my current game. I'm in August of the first year (1999) with 6 bases, 5 sets of 10 experienced soldiers all armed with laser rifles, plasma/heavy plasma and Power Suits/Flying Suits. I can research "The Martian Solution" in my queue and I still have an alien Commander to research if needed further (which I think is, if I remember correctly). My Psi-Labs are built in all bases, the first month of training is already under way, and I've got a dozen psi-amps built already. I've also got an Avenger and two Firestorms all armed with Plasma Beams as well as Mind Shields and Hyper-Wave Detectors built at all bases.

I've got tons of elerium from raiding the Supply Ships making trips to an alien base that I've allowed to operate in Singapore for the last 4 months. One of my bases has 900, another has 800, and two more have 600+ each, with the lowest sitting at 350 currently. Plus $40 million in the bank

[Duymon]

UFO Aftermath and UFO Aftershock are actually pretty fun games.

The Tactical Combat part of the game was a blast and really made both games fun for me.

Only problem? As with X-com, the maps start getting reused eventually and it can get a lil stale.

There's also UFO: Afterlight out as well. It has much, much, MUCH more micro-management than the previous two games and is quite a b@tch to learn and play, but it's also a blast. ONly problem? YOu can't freaking name your own toons >_<

This old-school UFO game is looking good though, I'm gonna try it out for sure

[Akilae]

Got a question for any X-COM fans in the know. Like I said, it's been a lot of years since I played, so some of the smaller details I've forgotten.

What is the time line for the game? By that I mean, how much time does the player have? Can you keep going for years, or will you eventually run out of time and the aliens win?

Also, is there a time limit after you've finally researched the final Cydonia mission? I seem to vaguely remember some game rule that once you research the final mission, you're under the clock from that point on and have to complete it soon. I've forgotten if this is true or not.

For me, I would push it as far as I could (before researching the Martian Solution), but eventually one of two things would happen:

1) The infamous blue/green text bug.

2) Too many nations pull their support.

[F-ZeroOne]

Got a question for any X-COM fans in the know. Like I said, it's been a lot of years since I played, so some of the smaller details I've forgotten.

I know I'm doing very well in my current game. I'm in August of the first year (1999) with 6 bases, 5 sets of 10 experienced soldiers all armed with laser rifles, plasma/heavy plasma and Power Suits/Flying Suits. I can research "The Martian Solution" in my queue and I still have an alien Commander to research if needed further (which I think is, if I remember correctly). My Psi-Labs are built in all bases, the first month of training is already under way, and I've got a dozen psi-amps built already. I've also got an Avenger and two Firestorms all armed with Plasma Beams as well as Mind Shields and Hyper-Wave Detectors built at all bases.

I've got tons of elerium from raiding the Supply Ships making trips to an alien base that I've allowed to operate in Singapore for the last 4 months. One of my bases has 900, another has 800, and two more have 600+ each, with the lowest sitting at 350 currently. Plus $40 million in the bank

And. He. Needs. Help.

Inspired by this thread, I've started playing again. This was a game I played the hell out of back in the day, so I figured I'd know what I was doing.

On my first mission, the aliens had shot two of my troopers before they'd even stepped away from the Skyranger transport.

I got one shot in - with an incendiary round - which was close, but not quite close enough, which meant that the now-on-fire Sectoids return volley plasma-fried my auto-cannon gunners lungs.

This, you understand, is on "Beginner".

Goodbye, humanity. It was nice knowing you.

And, er, care to share a few tips for the current X-Com playing equivalent of the Godzilla-era Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force, Mr. March?

Edited April 24, 2007 by F-ZeroOne

[Mr March]

For me, I would push it as far as I could (before researching the Martian Solution), but eventually one of two things would happen:

1) The infamous blue/green text bug.

2) Too many nations pull their support.

From what I recall, the infamous bug won't happen until much later. I think you've got at least a year and a half before it start's rearing it's ulgy head.

I'd forgotten about the nations pulling out over long periods of time. Now that you've mentioned it, I remember that eventually all the countires will be infiltrated by the aliens and pull out, no matter how well your monthly rating is. I can still recall the first time a country pulled out, while I had a monthly rating of 2,000+. I was like, "What the hell? I'm doing so well, how can they pull out?" Then I researched Alien Origins, which told me the war was a losing battle and I needed to capture more alien leaders to find the main alien base. Eventually this leads to the revelation that victory against the aliens all depends upon winning the battle for Cydonia on Mars. Such a desperate story

[Noyhauser]

I'd forgotten about the nations pulling out over long periods of time. Now that you've mentioned it, I remember that eventually all the countires will be infiltrated by the aliens and pull out, no matter how well your monthly rating is. I can still recall the first time a country pulled out, while I had a monthly rating of 2,000+. I was like, "What the hell? I'm doing so well, how can they pull out?" Then I researched Alien Origins, which told me the war was a losing battle and I needed to capture more alien leaders to find the main alien base. Eventually this leads to the revelation that victory against the aliens all depends upon winning the battle for Cydonia on Mars. Such a desperate story

One of the keys to prevent this if I rememeber correctly, is to take out the alien infiltration battleships BEFORE they land (through the hyperwave decoder). If they land, even for a second, the country will be infiltrated and lost, even if you land a skyranger and take it over.

[Noyhauser]

On my first mission, the aliens had shot two of my troopers before they'd even stepped away from the Skyranger transport.

I got one shot in - with an incendiary round - which was close, but not quite close enough, which meant that the now-on-fire Sectoids return volley plasma-fried my auto-cannon gunners lungs.

I always seemed to have the same "exit" plan for my soldiers. First off I think you can look from inside the transport outside to at least get an idea of the surrounding terrain from some of the guys deeper in the vehicle (just make them look sideways). Now the first two actually don't go straight out, but they drop to the sides and kneel right behind the landing gear facing the flanks. They provide your side cover, ignoring hte front of the skyranger. Then I progressively build outwards, with two covering the far corners of the ramp, facing out and away from the skyranger, and maybe two more on the ramp facing directly the same direction that they are originally standing. I probably send only 4 or 6 soldiers out on the first turn, just to minimize their chances of getting fried by a single grenade (I think it happened to me once) and to maximize their chances of retaliating if they see anything. Those troopers should all carry rifles or pistols, and they should have enough action points or whatever they are called to return fire if they see anything. From there on in you start building a perimiter, now with some of hte heavy weapon guys coming out. then you just work through the map.

If I remember correctly, the main problem I had with tanks was that they could only load from the back of the skyranger, effectively making them vulnerable to getting shot on the first turn.

[Mr March]

And. He. Needs. Help.

And, er, care to share a few tips for the current X-Com playing equivalent of the Godzilla-era Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force, Mr. March?

LOL

We're all good at different games and not necessarily the ones we like the most. I adore Starcraft and still play it to this day, both single and multiplayer. But I suck bad at the game

Other games, just gel. Much like my days challenging tourney players in Quake 2 multiplayer, X-COM was one of those games that just meshed so well with me, I was naturally adept with it.

If I can offer some beginning advice in X-COM it's don't neglect any one aspect of the game. Don't neglect capturing aliens; it's part of X-COM so don't waste any chance to do so, especially early in the game. The more captured alien leaders and commanders you have early in the game means you don't even have to bother getting anymore mid to late game. It's amazing what you can accomplish with just stun rods. Don't neglect research; make certain you research the technology you need to get ahead first. Don't neglect manufacturing; make certain that if there's nothing your engineers can make for your needs, put them to work building stuff that you can sell for profit. Don't neglect expansion; be bold and build your first new base as soon as you have 3-4 million. You may feel vulnerable with all these small bases with no defense, but remember your bases are all secret and subterranean, so the aliens won't know where they are, at least initially. Bases take several months to build up properly, so it's best to get started early.

A note about...Surviving the game - Early success in combat comes from two items in my opinion: smoke grenades and tanks. The majority of most soldier deaths will come from some attack when units are out in the open away from cover. Buy smoke grenades and toss them around. These items remain useful throughout the entire game. Think alien capture is impossible early in the game? You obviously haven't seen smoke grenades and stun rods in action together. Tanks are fantastic expendable scouts and basically moving cover. Use them to go first into battle and run along behind them. Most aliens will almost always attack a tank when given a choice of targets, so it's just smart. Also, the missile tank is one helluva terrain leveller and fortifications buster. Use it to clear a field of trees or just to obliterate the top level of some building where you know aliens are entrenched.

A note about...Research - Get those laser weapons, and fast! These babies even out the game like you wouldn't beleive. Go through the laser research tree at least until you get Laser Rifle. You can research more to get Heavy Laser, but avoid using it since it's junk. Laser Rifles require no ammunition, are quick to manufacture and remain useful throughout the game (especially later against the robotic Sectopods). Also note that it is in your best interest to get at least one base with 100 scientists as soon as you can afford it (and if you're really a risk taker, maybe even BEFORE you can afford it). With a hundred lab coats at your disposal, you can research nearly everything you need in a timely fashion. Just make sure to use them all on one topic at a time.

A note about...Weapons - Auto Cannon is your friend early on. It may have it's disadvantages such as being heavy and not very accurate, but with Auto-Fire and all three types of ammunition, this baby can cause a lot of hurt to virtually all the aliens. And who needs accuracy with smoke grenades that can get your soldiers in close. It's also a great way to fight in night missions, using incendiary ammunition to light up the area. As mentioned above, Laser Rifle is your daddy, so get it as soon as you can. It's accurate, light weight, long range, has all firing modes and is twice as powerful as the standard rifle without the need for any ammunition. Arguably the best weapon in the game, despite it's lack of firepower compared to the plasma weapons.

A note about...Troops - Choose soldiers with high bravery and reactions. IMO, no other stats matter (though it can't hurt to get a couple soldiers that "have it all" to assist early in the game). I demand these two stats are high for fresh recruits because they are the hardest to increase in game play. Every other stat will easily increase quickly just doing normal fighting. Really low reactions (30-40) are dangerous to increase because almost all the aliens will get off shots before someone with a 30-40 reaction will shoot. Psi-strength is sadly something you can't do much about, since you'll only find out the psi potential of soldiers late in the game, after you've already built up existing soldiers into mega fighting machines. Nonetheless, it can't hurt to hire one or two new recruits with strong psi potentials to bolster the combat veterans and maybe firing one or two of the lowest psi rated verterans isn't such a bad idea, since they might be more of a liability.

A note about...Money - Start selling lots of alien stuff in the early-mid game. Guns, alien alloys even corpses can bring in tons of cash. Even my strongest squad of soldiers uses only a few plasma weapons, so theres no need to have 20 heavy plasmas in your stores when you can sell all but a half dozen. Sell all but a few items (with the exception of alien alloys, which you want to have at least 150-200 units initially). Don't worry, you'll get lots more stuff as you do more missions. Just don't sell elerium (ever!), ammunition (always keep it), ufo power sources and stuff you really need to build craft and armor. Keep one of at least everything else until you've researched it, including the useless guns and corpses.

A note about...Bases - Build all your bases as easily defendable installations. As soon as you can, rearrange the inital base into a more defensible configuration, basically all the hangars on one side of the lift with everything else on the other side of the lift (and one square of seperation between the two sides, only touching where the lift is). Build all other bases in a similar configuration. Personally, I have rarely bothered with Base Defenses like Missile/Laser/Plasma/Fusion Ball defense or Grav Shields. They take up too many slots that I need for more valuable things like General Stores, which eventualy grow to number 4-5 at my first three bases (I like to have LOTS of storage for hundreds of clips of alien ammunition and lots of space for at least 1,000 elerium or more). Just build bases with an easily defendable layout, build a Mind Shield when able and have a group of soldiers at each base. It's a lot less expensive and your soldiers are useful in the game as more than just static defenders.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Good luck!

Edited April 24, 2007 by Mr March

[Noyhauser]

Just adding to what Mr. March excellent comments. #1 thing to get is the Laser rifle. There is no substitute. Even later in the game I had units carrying them just as a backup weapon, they are that versatile. And you can sell them at fantastic profit too. The other "must have" is the medkit. Over the course of the game you will get shot, blown up or stunned, its a fact. There is nothing more helpless than watching a prized captain or alien prisoner bleed to death because you don't have a medkit. I can remember games where I had like 2 turns before someone bled to death and I had to throw a medkit across from unit to unit to get it to a needed place in time.

Even though Mr. March probably has enough ninja skills to pull off the stun rod/smoke grenade strategy, most of us don't. So I usually wait till a small launcher appears. More often than not you'll find one by your fifth mission, particularly if you do a terror mission early. That just makes stunning so much easier, rather than rolling the dice with the stun stick. On some missions vs a battleship I'll have quite a few of the squad equipped with one to make sure I capture a high value target.

On that note, there is the game of "find the enemy engineer." Getting an engineer gets you the Hyperwave decoder, probably the most valuable base unit in the game (besides mindsheild). Its got unbelievable range (compared to long range radar), and it tells you exactly what no good the Aliens are up to, with what type of ship. Thats actually pretty useful, particularly when you start facing the inflitration scenarios, or they try to establish alien bases. It allows you to discriminate between useless experimentation/mutilation missions, and the big bad terror attacks.

Edited April 24, 2007 by Noyhauser

[Noyhauser]

Don't neglect expansion; be bold and build your first new base as soon as you have 3-4 million. You may feel vulnerable with all these small bases with no defense, but remember your bases are all secret and subterranean, so the aliens won't know where they are, at least initially. Bases take several months to build up properly, so it's best to get started early.

Also chose your base locations carefully. You want to be able to defend your sugar daddies first. If you lose Argentina early, its no biggie. Lose the US early game and you might as well give up. First one I put in North America, follwed up by Europe, then Japan. This covers most of your main contributors. Then I usually get South East Asia, South America and Africa.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

*snip*

If I remember correctly, the main problem I had with tanks was that they could only load from the back of the skyranger, effectively making them vulnerable to getting shot on the first turn.

Better your tanks cop the blasts instead of your men! That's a no brainer.

Tanks Lurve itl! : D Urm, can't remember, do the higher researched tanks explode on death?

Hmm i think from memory that's just the Cyberdiscs with the suicide bomb.

They are tricky at times!

[Mr March]

One of the keys to prevent this if I rememeber correctly, is to take out the alien infiltration battleships BEFORE they land (through the hyperwave decoder). If they land, even for a second, the country will be infiltrated and lost, even if you land a skyranger and take it over.

Yes, indeed! The only downside is battleships are hard to take out. You have to wolf pack em with several combat craft simultaneously in order to get em down and still have all your ships surviving. And damn if the Avenger and Firestorm don't take FOREVER to repair following a battle.

Also chose your base locations carefully. You want to be able to defend your sugar daddies first. If you lose Argentina early, its no biggie. Lose the US early game and you might as well give up. First one I put in North America, follwed up by Europe, then Japan. This covers most of your main contributors. Then I usually get South East Asia, South America and Africa.

Personally, I always go with Europe for the first base at the very beginning of the game. It's the most expensive place to build a base in the game ($1,000,000 to construct), with the closest competitors being the two polar caps at around $900,000 each as I recall. Since you don't have to pay for your first base, the most expensive location is the most logical on a cost analysis basis. In North America, it only costs $800,000 to build a new base, a full $200k less, which can count for a lot early in the game (and can mean the difference between starting your second base in the third month rather than the fourth). Plus, while Europe doesn't have as large a single contributor as North America does with the USA, the combined funding from all those smaller European countries is significant. Seperately, the European countries aren't as financially important, but together as a single union, they represent the biggest economic power (just like in real life). Plus, they are all in the same area, easily defendable with one base, allowing you to maximize the number of nations you can protect.

Whatever an individual player decides, I agree with your initial choices. The first three bases should be South East Asia, North America and Europe (with Europe as the most cost effective first choice).

[Lynx7725]

All this talk is making me itchy to play this game again. Where can I get a copy?

[promethuem5]

It's utterly ancient by today's standards... you can prolly find it online to download really easily on some old games archive site. I've got a copy that came as part of the 100 free games cd from the big anniversary of one of the Computer gaming magazines from ages ago, I'm just terrible at the game...

[hutch]

Excellent advice, Mr. March. Really great stuff.

I will have to try out your recommendations on smoke grenades and stun rods. I've honestly never used either and always thought they were useless. I'm a little past that point in my current game, but when I start again I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks!