Some thought

[code120]

Hello everybody,
I just found this game and I think it's very good, it's just a pity that it could be a lot better. I read some post on the forum so I know about the difficulties to render the environment destructible, so I'll not complain too much. I saw that maps are rather complex, even if a bit small(soldiers can usually cover them in 3 rounds), maybe I'd like to see less polygons on the map but destructible(and maybe explosive) objects. In X-Com structures were not so defined but at least were mostly destructible. Anyway, in a game of this kind I think there is a thing that is really important, and that is the depth of the tactical system. I don't know if anybody played Jagged Alliance 2, I'd like to see something closer. For example, the first time I played I had two soldiers and an alien in a narrow(1 tile) corridor, my soliers were one in front of the other, the first crouched and the one behind on his feet. Well, the one behind couldn't hit the alien even if the other soldier was crouched, he killed merciless his companion instead. You could do this in X-Com, in JA2 you could even let people lay down on the floor.
I don't know if this is also due to limitations of the engine, but without this kind of elements, the gameplay from a tactical point of view is too simplified, in my point of view.
I played only a day or so, but I never saw an alien applying opportunity fire, maybe i missed it? Also the lighting is somewhat strange, it seems that aliens can see you at night from the opposite side of the map, and you them. Am I wrong? Is there any difference between missions in the daylight and by night?
Sorry for the complains, this game has been a surprise, but it also made me dream of something better.

[SpaceWombat]

There is nothing to disagree with in your post.
Unfortunately destructibles will not be possible as far as I heard. Not sure about that shooting over a crouched companion thing.
Reaction fire for aliens has never happened for me as well. I cannot remember to see that in any x-com game I played.
As night vision is not implemented yet the night missions seem to work like daylight missions in every respect.

[Woreczko]

Aliens can use reaction fire, but they do it very rarely. Most of the time they prefer to move around the corner, shoot, and hide back again. This probably doesn`t leave enogh TU to enable reaction fire. Also aliens do not try to face probable assault routes of your soldiers so they often won`t see them approaching and won`t be able to react.

On the other hand, I can`t recall ever seeing an alien, who uses any fire mode besides the first one (usually snap shot). Can you confirm this?

[Opeth666]

I've never had problems with soldiers shooting each other if the front guy was crouching.  I use this setup all the time to max firepower.

[Stefan1200]

On the other hand, I can`t recall ever seeing an alien, who uses any fire mode besides the first one (usually snap shot). Can you confirm this?

I saw one alien using more than one weapons. One time the alien shoot, some rounds later this alien throw a grenade (and killed my soldier, bad alien ).

[eleazar]

I just found this game and I think it's very good, it's just a pity that it could be a lot better.

You do realize that UFO:AI is not done?  It's in progress.

[Zukn]

 @ Woreczko :I'm pretty sure I've seen aliens use the heaviest option on the particle cannon. Reaction fire does occur but is rare. (I am horrified and delighted when they use it, "the $^$^ shot me! but oh he plays smart, nice work!") Always catches me by suprise.

[code120]

I've never had problems with soldiers shooting each other if the front guy was crouching.  I use this setup all the time to max firepower.

I don't know, I tried a couple of times, the second one with a sniper behind the first guy, same result(it gave 86% chance of hitting the enemy). When a soldier is kneeled down, the trajectory line of the soldier behind turns anyway from green to red. I tried only two times anyway.

You do realize that UFO:AI is not done?  It's in progress.

I know, that's why I begged pardon for the complaints. I know it's a free game and people develop it sparing some of their free time, I meant no offence. If necessary I renew my apologies.

About Ufo:AI I'm enthusiastic over the 3d view and the idea of a 1st person perspective is great, maps up to 8 floors is fantastic but I'd like that the tactical gameplay were similar to JA2. Its source code has been freed and there is the JA2 1.13 project going on, maybe the coders could take a look? Maybe it's just me who consider X-Com and JA like brother and sister.

To give examples of the problems I met:
1. In UFO:AI the trajectory line starts always from around the middle of the soldier 3d model, I guess it's centered at the middle of the 3d block where the soldier is. No matter if the soldier is crouching or not, this doesn't change. Now, soldiers don't shoot holding the rifle at waist height. This in not realistic. In the game all seems simply to be handled like 3d cells that shoot to each other. That means also that an object, no matter how big, will always offer 100% cover. Being the engine 3d, it should be easier than in 2d to have a precise handling of trajectories and obstacles.
If a soldier hides behind an object that leaves his feet exposed, those should be hit. And if the soldier crouches, all of his body should be hit. Viceversa if the object is a crate or whatever.
2. Lighting: it doesn't affect hitting chance. I don't know how hitting chance is handled in X-com, if it is affected by lighting, surely does in JA2.
3. Soldiers turn on themselves only by 90(or 45?) degrees steps.
4. The AI is AS lol
5. Shooting rockets or grenades, the graphical output of the explosion doesn't show the effective area that's been hit, so I didn't use rockets anymore because I never know what they're doing.

I don't mean to do pointless criticising, just saying what in my opinion coul be better, since the game is in progress. I know it's far too easy to criticise other people's job.

[eleazar]

I know, that's why I begged pardon for the complaints. I know it's a free game and people develop it sparing some of their free time, I meant no offence. If necessary I renew my apologies.

It's not necessary to apologize, It just sounded like you didn't understand that you were playing a work-in-progress.

[EuchreJack]

I remember the aliens in the original X-Com always used reaction fire.  I hated to have officers at the top of the solider list, because they would be the first off the dropship, and the first soldier off the dropship tended to get fragged by alien reaction fire.  Of course, reaction fire was more deadly in that game than in this one, with near-certain death from the plasma weapons instead of the health loss in this game.  In this game, you have to wait for particle weapons in order to see instant death.  Plus, the plasma weapons tend not to hit.