Messages

1

Bugs in older version (2.4) / SAM site assisting bug

« on: May 20, 2013, 01:47:38 am »

v2.4

Win7 64bit

In the save there is a UFO coming into range of a SAM site, I also have a saracen nearby ready to intercept.  Now if you have the saracen move away, you'll see the UFO is consistently downed by the SAM site in 3 volleys, but leaves no crash site regardless of whether the saracen is in range or it is downed within the radar range.

If I have the saracen engage the UFO after 2 volleys, the SAM site stops firing.  The saracen is destroyed, and then the UFO moves on, and is hit several more times by the SAM site, yet now it seems invincible and the SAM site cannot destroy it.

1) In the second scenario, since the SAM site has hit the UFO twice, and after the air battle it then hits the UFO several more times but never destroys it, even though it consistently destroys it in 3 volleys in the first scenario.  It seems like somehow the air battle causes the UFO to become invincible.

Now these seem like bugs as well, but maybe by design.  It would seem like the SAM site's targetting should be advanced enough that it can assist during an air battle(usually friendly craft have electronics that white list them to avoid friendly targetting).
2) SAM site does not assist in the air battle.

3) If the SAM site downs a UFO within radar range, or in close proximity to a friendly craft, there should be a crash site.(or is it obliterated?  Perhaps a message indicating "The UFO was obliterated in midair, leaving no crash site.")

2

Tactics / Re: Production vs Buying/Selling

« on: May 19, 2013, 08:10:52 pm »

If the profit after workshop costs and employee costs is peanuts, that's fine. I'm more interested in getting a slight discount by doing major projects in house then trying to resell the stuff for a profit.

I agree strongly!  It really surprised me that building in house essentially is meaningless.  I feel like there should be a warning that says "Building this item is meaningless and pointless since it is currently available for sell at the same price.  Don't waste your precious workshop time building it."  I mean after having played a little bit, and realizing this, I felt like I wasted a bunch of money on workers and workshops(and valuable base space).  There is maintenance costs for these things after all, and in the beginning of the game there isn't much of anything they are useful for.  So if you can't at least save a little bit of money in house, then it feels like I'm being cheated.

This is how you ensure that workshops are not abused for huge profits:

Sell prices 90% of Buy prices.
Workshop prices 80% of Buy prices.

This means something that costs 100c to buy, can be produced for 80c and sold for a 10c profit.  However it is unlikely, or at least poor strategy, to use workshop time for profit.  Say you need some equipment item X that has a buy cost of 100c.  In the same amount of time you could make some other item of the same value for profit.

Either:
1) You spend your workshop time building that equipment X for a cost of 80c.
OR
2) You could spend your workshop time building equipment Y for profit of 10c, and then buy equipment X for 100c. 

In scenario 1, your net cost was 85c, in scenario 2 your net cost was 90c.  So it is a pointless hassle to spend your time building for profit unless you have absolutely no other equipment needs at the time.  With these mechanics in place, you should use your workshop for building items you need, not items for profit.  Even when you have no items you currently need, and just build items for profit, the margin will be quite small.

This should at least be a gameplay option IMO.

Even with these mechanics in place, the value of making larger workshops and hiring workers for the in house discount or profit, would be diminished by the maintenance costs.  So it would be unlikely that profit from workshops would be a major source of income.

Given some of the equipment like the dropships is pretty specialized to your organization, I would think it would be something you'd build in house for a significant discount.  This part of the game adds to the overall immersion of the game, making you feel like you are part of an elite self sustaining organization.