As a fair number o’ the folks reading this thread have done, I suspect, I’ve just dug up my Collector’s Edition CD, and gotten back into the original.
One note, on blaster bombs.
When targetting an alien, have the bomb land on him, or in his area, from a higher level. Specifically, if the booger’s on level 2 of the map, have the bomb make its final approach to him on level 3 or 4, with the penulitmate checkpoint right over his head, and the final one right under his feet.
Seems that no matter how good a shot the troop in question is, he’ll still miss from time to time. If you miss the alien by one or two map squares whilst it’s movin’ horizontally, it’ll either zip right off the map, doing nothing, or blast the hell out of whatever’s behind him, which is not always a good thing. This way, you stand a pretty fair chance of making the big-headed mentalist eat some explosive Elerium, even if your aim is off a bit.
Damn this thing is addictive. I’d forgotten just how much.
Yeah, I’m poking around with it too now. It’s really hard to get back in it after Jagged Alliance 2…
Can anyone give me pointers for developing psychic skills? I’ve never bothered with them, partly because I tend to get them extremely late in the game, when you have to start capturing aliens.
Well, first you need to capture a sectiod, research him, then research and build psi-labs. The downside of psi-labs is that it takes a month to see any improvement and you can only put troops in and take them out at the end of the month.
Psi-amps are esstial for active psi-use, and should be given to the guy with the highest strength and skill. You can panic and/or mind control any alien on the map that you can see(any of your troops). Then(if you mind control) you can make them shoot each other, scout around and/or throw their weapons away(leaving many of them desfenseless).
If nothing else, psi-labs let you see psi-strength/skill, high levels of which prevent your troops from being mind controlled/easily paniced. Sack anyone with less then 30 psi-strength.
Well, I finished the game. I became an addict for a while there, but those DAMN DIRTY ALIENS now know to fear my name. Quite fun. I particulary love A.) Blaster bombs and B.) Psi-Amps. There’s something particulary nice about being able to hit anyone on the map and no chance of retaliation. The first part of the final mission was rather kewl, but the 2nd part was basically another base assualt.
Just a couple questions.
Why do the aliens even bother with base attacks when they could equip their battleships with Independence Day style HUGE PLAMSA cannons and wipe the bases off the face of the earth? No need for an invasion.
Though they’d likely do something stupid and equip their ships with Microsoft OS and thus be easily crashed
Is the general opinion that the rest of the alien races were slaves to the etherals or allies? Obviously some of them, like the muton, seemed very much like slaves, but I have to wonder in general.
Could someone clear up the ending for me? I think I have most of it but the one screen with the lizard on it keeps going by too fast for me to read and I can’t figure out how to get screenshots from this game.
[spoiler]Apparently the alien civilization seeded earth to create life/humanity. Was mars seeded too? If the martians did it, Why not just move to earth(it’s not like they have any ethical qualms about genocide)? Again, why did they take so damn long to attack earth if that’s what they were after?
Also, the computer talks of reaching for the stars. I assume this was just a ploy, but why wouldn’t they have gone there already? Their technology was far ahead of earth’s.
And was the base on mars the center of their civilization, or just the base of operations for this solar system? [/spoiler]
You actually have to capture a live sectoid leader (which is a lot more difficult than capturing a sectoid soldier). You’ll only find those in large UFOs, they’ll be in the control room, and you’ll understand they’re alive when they start mind-controlling your troops :D.
You can do without psychic skills, if you choose to. Even then though, you must fire any guy who seems to get mind-controlled or panicked easily in missions. These soldiers are very dangerous for your troops. I know it’s a pity throwing away a 80+ AP Captain, but he’ll be no good when facing high-rank sectoid officials or ethereals, and of course he’ll be no good in the final battle.
My psi-labs are only 9 days away from being finished, and the sorry thing is that I’ll have to wait till the end of the next month to find out what my boys are capable of, although by now I have a pretty good indication of certain boys who aren’t any good. I’m just keeping them around to be used as scouts, or in small UFOs missions where there’s no chance of mind-control.
By now I’ve started getting Mutons, who are a pain in the arse, since they need at least 3 laser rifle shots to die, they all carry Heavy Plasma, and they are aplenty every time. UK has withdrawn from the X-Com project, and I’ve already found a base there (probably Sectoids). I’m just waiting to see my soldiers’ psi-strength before I launch an attack on it.
Boy, I’m getting more and more addicted. My next-game list now includes X-Com: Apocalypse, Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business, and I think I’ll also add Fallout and Fallout 2.
If you haven’t played it yet, try Fallout Tactics. Its a lot like Jagged Alliance. Though personally, I think the game gets boring towards the end, so I never beat it.
Don’t forget Jagged Alliance 2: Unfinished Business. It adds a small (maybe 10-square?) map and mission, but the important thing here is a mission editor.
I’d like to emphasize what skeezix said about dropped the blaster bomb on a target from above. I thought I had posted it earlier, but I must have not bothered to complete it. Few things are more frustrating than a blaster bomb failing to make its last course adjustment and streaking past the target to the other side of the map, blowing up one of your teammates.
I also tend to sack any soldier with a psi-strength below 90. At first, you’ll have maybe one or two soldiers out of your squad who are reasonably high, but recruit recruit, train train.
I tried to get back into X-Com 2, but the huge maps deterred me right from the start. I’m going to beat that game someday, though.
Ok…on the harder game settings, every mission starts off like the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan. Half the squad gets mowed down just exiting the landing craft.
I can’t find this one… I own all the other games mentioned, but I can’t find Fallout Tactics, not even by using zee ozzer vay. I’m only hoping that a magazine will release it as a gift cd-rom (that’s how I got both JAs and both Fallouts).
I also have finished JA: Unfinished Business (no pun intended). Nice game.
By the way, is seems to me that it is a lot easier to lose sleep over a 10 year old computer game than a 6 months old one… and the sad state of computer gaming continues…
