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Author Topic: Aliens can freak out too  (Read 5832 times)

Offline geisthund

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Aliens can freak out too
« on: June 02, 2012, 08:48:47 am »
Something pretty interesting just happened.

Remember how in UFO sometimes the aliens flipped out when their morale dropped too low, and they either dropped their weapons in panic or else gunned down team-mates after going berserk?

As far as I've sen the aliens in UFO AI go "berserk" by running forwards all guns blazing. Once in a very long time they've dropped their weapons, or charged out and not fired. I've never seen them "panic" (which was a nice touch in UFO)

Today during a harvesting mission I found most of the aliens up in the command center of the harvester. After dispatching a clump of 4 outside (they were standing together, so a heavy needler and rocket launcher took the whole cluster out) I tried breaking the glass of the cockpit and lobbing plasma grenades in using my GL.

To my surprise I managed (after 8 grenades) to kill 4 of them in 1 shot... and the last one freaked out and ran through his ship gunning down all his friends!

In the end he ran out into my waiting team and got killed by reaction fire, and when we combed the ship there was 1 last alien cowering in the stairwell and a trail of dead bodies. :\

Was this an AI glitch, or do aliens really crack like this?
« Last Edit: June 02, 2012, 09:49:10 am by geisthund »

Offline Salvo

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2012, 09:44:44 am »
This is the first time this has happened to you? They freak out all the time in my battles. Especially the wounded ones are prone to running away to curl up in a corner somewhere.

Offline geisthund

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2012, 09:48:09 am »
running away to curl up has been a regular feature.

turning around and gunning down their friends - no I can't say I've seen that happen before.

Much less running amok through a spaceship killing ALL their friends. It's a first for me.

And believe you me, with 32 active personnel all with over 100 missions each (the most senior ranks are captains, the most junior warrant officers) ....... i've played a few missions.

Offline ShipIt

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2012, 09:51:34 am »
with 32 active personnel all with over 100 missions each (the most senior ranks are captains, the most junior warrant officers) ....... i've played a few missions.

Hehe, seems like.

Nokim

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2012, 10:03:14 am »
turning around and gunning down their friends - no I can't say I've seen that happen before.
It was usual thing for me in earlier version of UFO:AI. 2.3 perhaps... In 2.5 i had never seen this. Instead my soldiers got killed by civilians sometimes. They pick up weapons from dead alien and shoot my wounded soldier. It's VERY rare but it happens... On bunker map.

Offline geisthund

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2012, 10:12:05 am »
... ok i'm still playing 2.4

but why would the civvies do that?!? are they supposed to be under alien control?

Nokim

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2012, 10:31:37 am »
but why would the civvies do that?!? are they supposed to be under alien control?
Seems so... It happened first time some time before research of human attacks on PHALANX appeared. As i didn't have non-lethal weapons on that mission and killing civilians is bad (and counted as such in briefing) i finished picking up all alien weapons before civilian can get it.

ChemBro

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2012, 03:23:58 pm »
Civilians attacking you is part of the story. It's this XVI virus and you can research it to get the message, that aliens use humans.

Also, I often got the message "alien bla is in mad rage", though in 2.3 I had more aliens gunning down their own kind than in 2.4.

Offline Starbug

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #8 on: June 03, 2012, 12:50:01 pm »
I've had an alien go mad and kill one other alien I think, but that's the only other alien there was in that vicinity. I've also had one kill his buddy who was near my troops, but that was cos his aim was rubbish I think ;D (Plasma pistol ain't too accurate).

I've noticed that when the aliens cower in my campaign they sometimes appear to 'drop' their weapon on the floor (you can see a plasma rifle on the floor for instance) while they are cowering, but then the next turn when they recover, they suddly have their weapon again :P

(though it makes a bit more gameplay sense to me that cowering aliens/soldiers would keep their weapons, I remember in a much earlier version when soldiers freaked out much easier, they would drop their weapons and run about, and that became really frustrating to recover from)

Incidentally, I've never seen one of my troops freak out yet, though I don't loose that many troops...
(and they tend to die way before they lose morale)

Civilians attacking you is part of the story. It's this XVI virus and you can research it to get the message, that aliens use humans.

Also, I often got the message "alien bla is in mad rage", though in 2.3 I had more aliens gunning down their own kind than in 2.4.

Ahh that's interesting, that means the electrolaser makes much more sense, I understand why its a primary weapon now even though its a stungun...

Offline Star Adder

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Re: Aliens can freak out too
« Reply #9 on: June 29, 2012, 01:06:59 pm »
Quote
hey would drop their weapons and run about, and that became really frustrating to recover from.
That's why my Squad always carry secondary weapons. That and just in case they've used up all primary ammo.
Excpet for one guy per squad who loved his particle handguns so much he didn't use any rifle anymore.