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Some thoughts about 2.5...

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zollac:
Hi, there. Haven't played this game for a while (I played 2.4 about an year ago) and I decided to come back and try the new 2.5 game. I had lots of fun in 2.4, but somehow 2.5 seems to be a lot harder, that the fun parts are heavily outweighed by the hard parts. I didn't remember alien can one-shot my armored troopers (nano armor). Now I have to spam smoke grenades in every battle to keep my soldiers alive.
And this is something I don't understand at all. Yes, I know smoke is useful and I use a lot of smoke grenades in 2.4, but I don't remember that I had to spam 10 in a battle in 2.4. Is it intended that I have to spam smoke every game? It just feels so...unrealistic and no fun in it. Currently every battle is a hide-and-seek for me. Whenever I saw an alien, I pop smoke under my feet, move all soldiers inside and shoot the alien to make sure it doesn't shoot back and kill everyone. I have to play like this even when I have superior firepower and number. I think the problem is that many maps lack cover like walls that my soldiers can utilize to protect themselves while firing at the aliens. And even if there are such cover, it's simply easier to spam smoke grenades. Most of my soldiers carry at least two smoke grenades, some carry three, or even four. I feel like 2.5 is all about smoke and preventing alien from seeing any of my troops. Because if they do, they will kill most of the soldiers they can see in one single turn.
And right now, in many situations, especially inside buildings or UFOs, the best way to kill an alien is not to shoot at it (if I do this I will be reaction-shot to death even when I have more numbers), but throw a smoke grenade (again) to block the alien's LoS. Then wait for it to walk out of smoke, and then your troops can reaction-shot it to death. I don't know if I had to do this in 2.4, but it just feels unfun. Another hide-and-seek game.
Another thing I don't quite understand is, why do the aliens spawn near the LZ? Although this probably happens in 2.4 as well, but I didn't have problem with it back then. Anyway, from a gameplay perspective, having lots of alien near my initial location means that I have to spam smoke grenade first to prevent any reaction fire, and I'm tired of doing so. From a reality/story perspective, a helicopter/dropship/any aircraft will never land near a place full with hostile contacts unless it's some special situations. If they have to do so, usually they will try to clear any hostiles first before landing. I think it's better if the aliens never spawn near the LZ, or at least not in LoS.
I don't know...there are some more parts of the game that I feel can be improved, but currently the most upset part is the "spam smoke or die in one turn" experience. I play at normal difficulty but the game is very unforgiving. Once the aliens get any chance of shooting, they hit hard, most likely kill the soldiers they shoot at. I won't care some casualties if I'm leading a 20-man team, but for a 8-man squad, every single loss means a lot. It seems that I can't do much to prevent the aliens form massacring my veterans, other than spam smoke. If there are enough useful covers in game then the situation would be improved in my opinion. So it would not be "shoot and kill enemies in one turn," but some real fights which lasts several turns between the aliens and the PHALANX. Currently, however, I have a lot more unfun than fun.

MonkeyHead:
Have you tried flashbangs? They allow for more aggressive play than smoke grenades on the first turn, or if an alien has obviously reserved TU's for reaction fire.

Daikataro:
I HAVE tried flashbangs and:

-Other than HARDENED (30+ kills, double digits missions) veterans, soldiers aim grenades like they gulped down ten irish car bombs beforehand. More often than not, I find the grenade bouncing back to the thrower.
-Unless whatever you're aiming at has the thing blow up directly below their feet and in front of them, flashbangs do little more than annoy them. They will still shoot me dead the next turn.
-Considering the above point, you're much better off tossing a plasma and hoping it's enough.

Seriously, the main problem with the game is two facts:

a) Rookie soldiers, past EARLY stages of the game, are about as useful in actual combat as a sack of potatoes
b) Alien shots are ridiculously strong, as in, absurdly so. I've had power-armour wearing units go down to 2 health and die of bleeding next turn anyway from a SINGLE shot. What's the point of armour if all it does is slightly delay the unavoidable?

What needs to be done is actually easy and requires little coding
a) As PHALANX gains recognition and fame, more experienced soldiers join the cause (seriously, rookies' stats suck so hard they could power a vacuum tube). I would happily trade 30 lousy soldiers for one decent guy who knows not to shoot himself in the foot. Seriously, you're fighting an advanced alien race and all you get are boot camp rejects?
b) Make armour actually relevant, with some armours nearly entirely negating one weapon type damage but leaving nearly unguarded against another. For example, aerogel has a melting point of 1,200°C (yes, it actually exists) so armour based on the technology would be able to dissipate plasma blasts almost entirely, protect decently against laser (since it's more concentrated) but be nearly useless against explosives (except plasma grenades) or penetrating force (needler).

Internecivus:

--- Quote from: Daikataro on September 18, 2014, 07:01:32 am ---a) As PHALANX gains recognition and fame, more experienced soldiers join the cause (seriously, rookies' stats suck so hard they could power a vacuum tube). I would happily trade 30 lousy soldiers for one decent guy who knows not to shoot himself in the foot. Seriously, you're fighting an advanced alien race and all you get are boot camp rejects?

--- End quote ---
It was so in previous releases (2.4 and below). There were reasons to do that, but I don't remember exactly.
By the story you're already getting the best soldiers, so even rookie from Phalanx could easily beat few elite soldiers from nations armies. But it's not enough to beat aliens, of course. 

--- Quote from: Daikataro on September 18, 2014, 07:01:32 am ---b) Make armour actually relevant, with some armours nearly entirely negating one weapon type damage but leaving nearly unguarded against another. For example, aerogel has a melting point of 1,200°C (yes, it actually exists) so armour based on the technology would be able to dissipate plasma blasts almost entirely, protect decently against laser (since it's more concentrated) but be nearly useless against explosives (except plasma grenades) or penetrating force (needler).

--- End quote ---
And aerogel is extremely light, so armour weight should go down.
Btw, for different armours, it's not only coding but also modeling, and modeling isn't as easy as coding.

Noordung:
yes to super light aromurs ;D
well... we could have exoskeleton. power aromour as POWER i understand that this could be exoskeleton with thick armour that not only gives superior protection but also gives more strenght.

and +1 for aerogel. i read somwere that this is suppose to be hard fiction game. so good descrition how things work with mention of known and theroretical materials and technologies could be benifit for game.

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