UFO:Alien Invasion

Technical support => Feature Requests => Topic started by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 02:21:01 am

Title: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 02:21:01 am
I do not oppose reactionary fire but just like the aliens, my men (and women) are randomly spawned around the craft. If you shot down a scout or fighter and land near the crash site (just next to it). You generally start of by seeing 3 or more aliens (often all of them). Which would be nice had they not have reactionary fire. Generally 4 or more of your soldiers are in LOF (line of fire) of aliens.

The problem with all this is if I were to move even one of my soldiers. Aliens start to go on a reactionary fire spree... They end up killing half of my soldiers on the very first turn before I could even rotate my soldiers to face them... While this does save me the trouble of making my soldiers take cover :P, it is rather annoying...

A solution could be starting inside the craft (but that's not necessarily a solution either...).

Reactionary fire exists to make the game interesting. You do not get to shoot defenseless aliens just because it's your turn. You better do not try to go point blank right in front of them... However excessive reactionary fire makes the game rather boring since you know 4 or 5 of your 8 guys will die before you make your first real move...
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Destructavator on August 30, 2009, 03:12:59 am
I haven't experienced such extreme difficulty in missions - what difficulty level are you playing on?  (and what game version, 2.2.1 or the development 2.3?)
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 05:46:17 am
I haven't experienced such extreme difficulty in missions - what difficulty level are you playing on?  (and what game version, 2.2.1 or the development 2.3?)

It is the developer version. I am playing at most difficult. Of course that makes the game "hard to play" but right now it is in the neighborhood of impossible. Harvester class ufo missions aren't this hard as at least some of the aliens are in the craft and lack a direct LOS.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Destructavator on August 30, 2009, 05:56:02 am
Quote
I am playing at most difficult. Of course that makes the game "hard to play" but right now it is in the neighborhood of impossible.

Well, at that level it's supposed to be that unfair like that.   ;)

Actually, when the 2.3 version gets closer to being released officially there will be substantial re-balancing with just about everything in the game mechanics.

...But still, even after the re-balancing is done don't expect to have a fair fight at the hardest level - If you want a "normal" game you would want to play at the standard, default middle-of-the-road difficulty level.  After all, if the hardest level was fair, what would be the point of the easier levels?

Welcome to the forum, BTW.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 06:06:19 am
Well, at that level it's supposed to be that unfair like that.   ;)

Actually, when the 2.3 version gets closer to being released officially there will be substantial re-balancing with just about everything in the game mechanics.

...But still, even after the re-balancing is done don't expect to have a fair fight at the hardest level - If you want a "normal" game you would want to play at the standard, default middle-of-the-road difficulty level.  After all, if the hardest level was fair, what would be the point of the easier levels?

Welcome to the forum, BTW.

It can be an unfair fight. My problem is I cannot take cover... If my soldiers simply started inside the craft (like in xcom1) I would have actual control. BTW a scout UFO cant have 9 aliens in it. It doesn't have the physical space even if you pile aliens on top of each other! :)

Reactionary fire (at least on first round) should only come if I am shooting... IMHO.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 30, 2009, 08:52:21 am
its what i said about in game realism topic if u met squad of aliens armed with pistols in 2 hand and ure fac e to face with 3 or more of em half of ur squad is usually dusted .
best tactic on that as for me is crouch all ur soldiers w/o mowe and kill as many as possible (grenade launcher work good here )  :) but kinda frustrating and unfair its true.
Another weird thing i saw my base is mainly attacked by fighters.....how if research say they no have landing gear :P
aliens are not so smart if they sacrifice ship each time they want assault base so maybe we have chance to win that war yet just need build many bases so they lost all fleet :P

Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 08:56:20 am
Yes but realistically they can't beam outside the craft... Them being outside the craft makes them sitting ducks... Moreso when they crouch :P
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: geever on August 30, 2009, 09:10:28 am
If they are in the craft they could get hit too. doors are opened...

-geever
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 30, 2009, 10:35:44 am
yes but 4 spaces are covered by walls still,till an alien throw grenade inside :P
i think white-cat is talking bout x-com where craft was closed&safe before u opened door.
anyway there happened much times explosions and stun bomb worked inside closed craft even :)
that reaction fire is a bit trouble here anyway maps are little and u sometimes face full squad of aliens in visible range and youre opened to their RF.
As white-cat said harvester missions are easier so u have usually chance to take cover and use some tactic,crashed scout&fighters sometimes looks like lottery situations.
Maybe solution to make it more realistic will be adding crew casualties after crash and proper crew numbers scouts and fighters no take passangers usually .
Another thingy that can make situation more realistic,aliens from crashed ufo could have a bit less morale (bravery or whatever is called here that stat),u rather no often are super hero when u just crawled out from burning vessel:)
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Destructavator on August 30, 2009, 11:24:35 am
Please keep in mind that when aliens see an aircraft approach and land (the player's dropship), they would probably notice and get ready to shoot at whatever comes out of it...
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Thyranim on August 30, 2009, 12:38:15 pm
perhaps it would help, that reaction fire only happens as reaction to the soldier moved?
i noticed sometimes, that I move one soldier, and the other got shot over and over again by reaction fire
and no, they didn't stand side by side... the one was on the left side of an building, outside LOS, the other on the right side, inside 3x LOS
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 30, 2009, 12:53:03 pm
Please keep in mind that when aliens see an aircraft approach and land (the player's dropship), they would probably notice and get ready to shoot at whatever comes out of it...

well our soldiers jumping out from dropship also no think they going into an city tour and they probably should be ready to kill at what moving around :)
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 30, 2009, 12:55:35 pm
perhaps it would help, that reaction fire only happens as reaction to the soldier moved?
i noticed sometimes, that I move one soldier, and the other got shot over and over again by reaction fire
and no, they didn't stand side by side... the one was on the left side of an building, outside LOS, the other on the right side, inside 3x LOS


yea saw it also dunno how it works here,in JA series RF worked just that way enemy used RF to soldier wchich moved no others.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Gunner on August 30, 2009, 02:25:50 pm
Please keep in mind that when aliens see an aircraft approach and land (the player's dropship), they would probably notice and get ready to shoot at whatever comes out of it...

yes but the armed dropship would either shoot or select a new landing zone if aliens are in plain sight with direct LOS to the dropzone
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 30, 2009, 05:54:26 pm
yes but the armed dropship would either shoot or select a new landing zone if aliens are in plain sight with direct LOS to the dropzone

The game is actually not fun at all if I play the game by loading and reloading missions until I am randomly dealt a "playable" mission. I like a good challenge but half/all my people shouldn't be massacred in the first few seconds.

I should decide just when and how my people get out of the craft. The side doors should close/open perhaps... That way I can get out of the door facing the side of the map if I desire. Then I can play a tactical game... For example I could use grenades to clear the nearby indoor area and then move sniper cover to the top. This is what I would call fun.

I am not against reactionary fire... But it makes tactical missions too easy in a sense that all I have to do is reload the game and make the aliens miss their target. No need for tactical planning.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Gunner on August 30, 2009, 06:12:50 pm
you can replay the mission but you can't reload it
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Nightknight on August 30, 2009, 06:22:41 pm
Greetings, Guys.

I've been in this situation too, it's not really fun sometimes since the odds are that half your squad is going to turn into grounded meat. I've noticed that, in the case you describe, the most "Exposed" Units (The ones directly facing the alien craft) have very little chances of survival as the Alien, packing dual Plasma Pistols, have massive amounts of reactionary and an accuracy that makes your sniper look like a rookie. And if it wasn't enough, we talk about more or less 4 aliens at mid range ready to reaction fire on anyone who dares to blink.
Sometimes nearby buildings can be useful, sometimes not.

About the "Locked up" Deployment (XCOM-UFO Style) I remember more than once sending a happy Marine out to check the area just to meet a gentle Snakeman and his gang camping outside of the ship. (I bet that that happened to some of you too)

I guess the best option would be to change the point where the Firebird lands. This would make the game a little more interesting since it would allow both sides (Human - Aliens) to set up a defense and a tactical layout. Considering the aliens have better stats, landing near a UFO almost ensures you that one of your units is gonna get stabbed to death by an alien popping out of nowhere with a Kerrblade.

An easier, cheaper, and maybe viable solution would be to make the aliens to not face directly at the Firebird at round one. Well, maybe one could be looking to the Firebird, but 4 aliens with dual plasma pistols and massive amounts of RF, not much fair.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Gunner on August 30, 2009, 07:20:13 pm
About the "Locked up" Deployment (XCOM-UFO Style) I remember more than once sending a happy Marine out to check the area just to meet a gentle Snakeman and his gang camping outside of the ship. (I bet that that happened to some of you too)

usually armed with a blasterbomb launcher bang bye bye entire dropship
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 12:35:59 am
Blaster bomb cannot be fired as a reactionary... :)

Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 31, 2009, 12:53:24 am
Blaster bomb cannot be fired as a reactionary... :)


yes but grenade can be thrown as RF...effect is similiar.
anyway we talk bout that game no bout x-com i hope it will be rebalanced a bit so as for now i fully agree so crash missions ale pure lottery or ....well so much was said against saves in tactic here we just retry when half of our guys is dusted to pieces after they even pick gun to eye.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Destructavator on August 31, 2009, 01:40:10 am
OK, I'm starting to agree with this issue of being pounded by fire right at the start of a mission - Just for laughs after updating to the latest SVN revision I started a game on the *easiest* difficulty level, tried one mission as a test, and got blasted by a huge barrage of plasma fire.   :o

Apparently something was tweaked that really un-balanced the game like this - it certainly wasn't so bad before, for a long time.

Hopefully one of the coders will notice and tweak things again to fix this.  I can understand this at the hardest level, but not the easiest, this just isn't normal for the game.

Heck, when firing a rocket from a rocket launcher, one of the aliens fired *several* shots that took down one soldier and wounded another while the rocket was in mid-air.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Gunner on August 31, 2009, 02:50:48 am
Blaster bomb cannot be fired as a reactionary... :)

true but doesn't stop you getting a blaster bomb in the face before you can start the mission
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 06:16:44 am
true but doesn't stop you getting a blaster bomb in the face before you can start the mission

I always cover my face... :)

Oh and typically I mind control the alien with the blaster launcher... Launch it up and directly back to him... Oh not even his corpse remain most of the time >:D
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 06:20:35 am
OK, I'm starting to agree with this issue of being pounded by fire right at the start of a mission - Just for laughs after updating to the latest SVN revision I started a game on the *easiest* difficulty level, tried one mission as a test, and got blasted by a huge barrage of plasma fire.   :o

Apparently something was tweaked that really un-balanced the game like this - it certainly wasn't so bad before, for a long time.

Hopefully one of the coders will notice and tweak things again to fix this.  I can understand this at the hardest level, but not the easiest, this just isn't normal for the game.

Heck, when firing a rocket from a rocket launcher, one of the aliens fired *several* shots that took down one soldier and wounded another while the rocket was in mid-air.

Even on hardest level I loose guys because of the random location the game puts them... I should have a say in where my guys are deployed... I am not amazed that the problem exists in easiest difficulty...

On an unrelated note... I think features like reactionary fire should be "disableable" through debugging commands... There is no reason for me not to test unrelated issues... For example I won't get to test a path finding issue simply because all 8 of my soldiers died in the first turn...  ???
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Gunner on August 31, 2009, 12:51:09 pm
I always cover my face... :)

Oh and typically I mind control the alien with the blaster launcher... Launch it up and directly back to him... Oh not even his corpse remain most of the time >:D

MC never played a huge part in the game when i played, but that's because the secoid leaders always trigger my reaction fire getting themselves killed leaving me waiting for the Ethreals to turn up
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 01:09:02 pm
Well... I enjoyed making all aliens walk into my sky ranger. And I had a lot of fun with them   ;)
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 31, 2009, 01:37:02 pm
MC never played a huge part in the game when i played, but that's because the secoid leaders always trigger my reaction fire getting themselves killed leaving me waiting for the Ethreals to turn up

it played huge part at least in final mission and alien base assault .
was great help use one MC-ed allien as a scout :)
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: gerald on August 31, 2009, 01:38:46 pm
OK, I'm starting to agree with this issue of being pounded by fire right at the start of a mission - Just for laughs after updating to the latest SVN revision I started a game on the *easiest* difficulty level, tried one mission as a test, and got blasted by a huge barrage of plasma fire.   :o



Heck, when firing a rocket from a rocket launcher, one of the aliens fired *several* shots that took down one soldier and wounded another while the rocket was in mid-air.
its why i wondered how much TU's they have hehe they are able to fire 2 full auto as reaction fire :P
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 07:55:02 pm
its why i wondered how much TU's they have hehe they are able to fire 2 full auto as reaction fire :P

Aliens gets an extra turn. When you land their TU's are full. When you are done with your turn their TUs are replenished (if they used them that is)...
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: Dorzak on August 31, 2009, 09:08:58 pm
Actually occurs on easiest difficulty as well.   Can lose 2-3 soldiers right away.    If a Grenade launcher is available can usually get away with losing 1-2 soldiers.
Title: Re: Reactionary fire hell
Post by: White_Cat on August 31, 2009, 10:27:49 pm
Actually occurs on easiest difficulty as well.   Can lose 2-3 soldiers right away.    If a Grenade launcher is available can usually get away with losing 1-2 soldiers.

Or you can reload till you don't loose guys :)