Messages

1

Tactics / Re: Flashbang tactics

« on: September 19, 2014, 07:17:59 pm »

Also, I have NEVER seen reaction fire from a Hovernet, making flashbang use on them less of an issue.

I have, it's just that it seems the AI is fond of using them more as scouts than as actual combatants, despite their fierce capabilities. However, when enemy starts running low on numbers, hovernets will often hide and use RF.

2

Tactics / Re: Flashbang tactics

« on: September 18, 2014, 05:22:35 pm »

In my experience, flashbangs are about as useful as a pee-filled balloon. I have seen them work as intended exactly twice, and that because they blew up right in front of an ortnok, as in, point-blank range; other than that, they have done little else than annoy whatever I throw them at, and that's when they don't just get a "return to sender" courtesy of the soldiers' poor aiming with throwables in general.

IMHO flashbangs need a complete overhaul to be an actually viable weapon because, as they are now, there is no real reason to use them instead of the later-plentiful plasmas or the plain, old frags. Concretely I see they need:

-First of all, make them actually work.
-Larger effective radius, with diminishing returns past point-blank range (for example, past 5 tiles units lose 5 TUs less per tile away from the explosion).
-In later game stages, add a research that projects an EMP from the grenade, so it affects robotic units. If testing deems it too overpowered, make it two separate grenades, one flash, one EMP.

As they are now, flashbangs are just a notch above picking a rock off the ground and throwing it at the aliens.

3

Discussion / Re: Some thoughts about 2.5...

« on: September 18, 2014, 05:06:48 pm »

Screw modeling for the time being, this is meant to be a "quick and dirty" fix to an unnecesarily hard modification of the game. It is one thing to have a challenging game that makes you do things differently, think, plan and react. It's an entirely different thing when the enemy is so overpowered they can 1-shoot soldiers with the best gear money can buy.

On the "screw modeling for the time being" matter, just use the old combat armour model as a temporary sit-in and have the report say it was retrofitted with an insulating layer of aerogel that will increase its heat resistance by 1,200%, reduce weight by 50% but strip the armour of roughly 85% its stopping power against concussive/penetrating force. If devs have spare time, model a new one, but fix the issue now and fix the pretty details later (I'm an engineer so we tend to go for the "screw aesthetics" philosophy more often than not).

Here's the counterpart of that one by the way, I'm certain most of you have played with silly putty, and have at least heard rumours about it being used as armour component, so after studying the alien manufacturing techniques, a byproduct of the research would be a non-newtonian fluid that allows for free, unrestrained movement under low stress (running, aiming) but harden to a magnitude order above kevlar when subjected to severe kinetic force (melee, puncturing, shrapnel). Of course, non-newtonian fluids have never been known for their heat resistance, so it would be near-useless against plasma/laser based weapons.

4

Discussion / Re: Some thoughts about 2.5...

« on: September 18, 2014, 07:01:32 am »

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).