Cult Of Sirius And Alien Infiltration?

[Lentava Esine]

HI!

 

Cult of Sirius was infiltrated by aliens and I did cleaning mission. It was fun, I had to fight against cultist and aliens at the same time. Fortunately there were no rocket launchers. I really hate them when in receiving end.

 

COS is already very hostile so is there any point to stop aliens infiltrating them. Does it change anything if they are alien controlled?

[[NKF]]

Well, not really. The main difference is simply having the cult in a state of being Hostile and no longer receiving bribes or being fully alien controlled.

 

There is one advantage of keeping them in the first category of hostility. If things go in your favour and the aliens do something silly that damages their reputation with the cult (like an Overspawn wandering at random into one of their temples or a misfired heavy disrupter), you could end up in a situation where the cult start improving their relations with you you whenever you attack the aliens. Having something like that happen is freaky and not natural. Easily fixed though with a bit of a rough up.

 

If you play long enough, the political relations between the organisations can get very strange indeed. Like the clinic attacking the senate or having Lifetree attack a GM Megaflyer factory.

 

Hmm. Aiki-Knight, you've got a fairly long on-going game at the moment. How's the political situation in your game?

 

- NKF

[Lentava Esine]

HI!

I am in week 5 now and political relations are still quite stable. I have managed to get few allies, but what worries me a bit is Marsec. It has started to raid goverment which is my ally. Hopefully it won't affect Xcom and Marsec relations.

 

I have been getting allies by just the way NKF descriped. When UFO flies over city I allways send few bikes in low altitude and agressive settings against UFOS. When UFO missfire it will hit some building and so on...... At this stage of game they have missfired more than I. :-)

 

Lentava Esine

[Elros]

On the subject of political relations, does anybody know if Nutrivend has any immediate competitors? I leveled the supermarket to shut them up and suddenly I was allied with the sanctuary clinic. This was in the first week.

[Pherdnut]

Interesting stuff. Has anybody ever had an organization help them shoot a UFO down and then become allied after the fact? Happened to me a long time ago and I've never seen anything like it since.

 

I didn't have an adequate number of craft and weaponry to take on my first battleship of the game. It was heading for a corporate HQ on the North end of the map (so I was definitely less experienced). All of a sudden a horde of small craft came out of the HQ's basement and with their help we dropped the Battleship just a few tiles away from its escape gate but after it dropped troops in that very building. I didn't notice until after I cleared the HQ out but we were allied afterwards. I forget who the corp was but I know I hadn't started bribing allies yet.

[Pherdnut]

Oh, BTW, all alien ships have secondary drops at adjacent building to the one you can see them dumping aliens in. Even battleships only drop a small number of aliens in the extra spots so I don't think the infiltration effect is as severe as the primary spot, but if you really want to keep things tidy save your game and investigate the surrounding buildings or don't let them drop at all. The transporters only drop at 2 spots, but larger ships can spread out at up to three locations.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

You can use the Midnight Editor to take a look at the current political settings. :x

you can also use it to edit them as well.. but that would be cheating XD!

 

Too bad nobody is smart enough *cough J'ordos make this plz.* to make a better way of looking at the allies and such. :o

[Aiki-Knight]

Hmm. Aiki-Knight, you've got a fairly long on-going game at the moment. How's the political situation in your game?

 

- NKF

 

An excellent question, NKF. Once I knocked out the first alien standing fleet, the politcal situation went quiet. I haven't seen a corporate raid in months and months of game-time. It's downright ODD. It's true that the syndicates and cult can't raid anyone, as I've been honing my commandos' skills with an endless stream of solo raids. As a result, they don't raid ANYONE. And when they do, it's one of XCOM's bases. Suffice it to say that, despite the game's weirdly sound AI, they don't get anywhere with that.

 

No one is raiding anyone else, either. In purely game-terms, it may be that everyone has satisfactory relations with everyone else. It doesn't hurt that, since I destroyed the aliens' first standing fleet, they've been dropping Overspawns every time I allow them to have ships. Mostly so that I could see what overspawns would do, I've allowed them to do their thing until falling buildings kill them. It could be that the effect of everyone hating the aliens has ameliorated their inter-corporate relations. Fictionally, I like to believe that XCOM has achieved such power that no one dares draw XCOM's ire. With XCOM having 100 super-late-game uber-troopers and some 60 totally top-equipped dimension-capable ships, they're got the right idea.

 

In my XCOM world, I dislike the social chaos of groups raiding one another. I've gone so far as to punitively raid groups who raid others, with the obvious exceptions of the government and the police. Every time the cult or a gang raided either of these, I would respond with an agent-honing raid or three. When anyone raided me in this game, I raided all their buildings, and if they killed any scientists or engineers in my base (early game), I'd raze all their buildings to the ground. All in all, this seems to have quietened the political situation to the extent that all is quiet on the home front. Corporations are making money and not war. And the psychos and criminals are far too overwhelmed by XCOM's blistering solo-commando raids to have any money to do anything other than dread the next raid.

 

By the way, the Cult is not infiltrated in this game, but the aliens show no interest in infiltrating the Cult at this point. I was hoping to permit a mission to arise where the top teleporting ultra-commandos would go up against a joint-alien-and-Cult force. Sadly, the aliens are past all that. They throw all their efforts into attacking my biggest base where 24 commandos reside, with two complete levels of security-station defences, and no science or engineering staff.

 

Politically, it makes one wonder whether XCOM could stage a successful coup d'?tat at this point. Surely it would take all the corporations put together with the police and government to even give XCOM a run for its money in the case of a coup. Surely, a Machiavellian political leader in Mega-Primus would have to worry about a coup if such as XCOM were dissatisfied with political developments. Maybe that's why everyone is quiet. :-)

[Pherdnut]

Ah, how I do love that first "Let me finish all my research damnit!" pillaging of the alien dimension's fleet once you get a couple decent annihilators up and running.

 

Do the gangs ever attempt to destroy your buildings if you piss them off enough?

[Steelion]

I'm considering playing a game without annihilators, or toxin C and alien gas. Just because once you get them, it's too easy. B is ok, because it's still hard to kill megaspawns with them.

[Sharp]

Only benifit the Cult would get by being infilitrated by the aliens is alien weapons, there is no point in saving the cult. Marsec attacking the goverment may effect you in the way that if the goverments balance is decreased you get less funding for that week (something like the gov wont ever give you more then 1/2 of thier balance or something).

 

@Aiki

Doubt XCom would be able to pull of a coup d'etat as all it would take are half a dozen griffon AFV's from Marsec to ruin your day (what do you mean your not using J'ordos' roadwar to make roads invincible?)

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Well in all honesty, wouldnt even need to be Afvs.

Could just be a single Wolfhound that he didnt notice

they go inside the base, then leave and auto shoot once. The whole base dies :O

[[NKF]]

I'm considering playing a game without annihilators, or toxin C and alien gas. Just because once you get them, it's too easy. B is ok, because it's still hard to kill megaspawns with them.

 

You can easily play the game without Annihilators. There's the Retaliator that takes second place to the most powerful ship in the game. How about trying to master the game with Explorers. It's just a tad more interesting by having 1/3rd the Retaliator's medium disrupter space and 1/2 the shield space!

 

About the toxigun, it's still very formidable with A-class ammo. Perhaps you might want to try using Devestators or more conventional weapons like a AC-AP, Plasgun or a M4000 a bit more than usual? There's any number of ways you can make the game a bit more interesting for yourself.

 

- NKF

[Lentava Esine]

More about politics in my game ( week 6 ). Megapol vehicles are shooting a lot of other vehicles which is indicating that many organizations hate them. I haven't looked situation using editor so I have no clue what will happen. It might turn out a full scale war. Megapol against several organizations. I'll see what will happen.

 

At the time only 2 organization hates me, Cult and Psyke. All other gangs are ally, they are tired of constant alien pounding. Also I have few "normal" minor organizations as well in my side. I don't bribe so I if anyone want to ally it is by free will.

 

About weapons. My soldiers still use all the weapon scale even laser sniper rifle. I find it boring to arm grunts only with toxiguns or devastators. I also do less damage to the buildings. Xcom is supposed to protect not to destroy. About 2 of 10 grunts carries toxiguns ( single and other hand is for lawpistol ). Toxi A seems to be powerful enough. Is damage really different from others? In ufoapedia all weapons have power rating so are there one general damage type?

 

One other thing. How storm and raid differs. Megapol storms Marsec. Psyke raids Goverment. I saw those messages last evening. Is it explained in manual. I had full box ( bought years ago ) but only cd is left. Might have paper manual somewhere.

 

Regards

 

Lentava Esine

Edited June 27, 2007 by Lentava Esine

[[NKF]]

You mean: are the various toxigun clip types different? Not really. The only difference is the strength of each shot. Otherwise they all behave the same way.

 

As for the different nouns for the X attacks Y headlines, without going into the actual game files, I don't see them being different. They just differ the phrase slightly to break the monotony. They still tell you what the organisations think of each other.

 

Perhaps j'ordo's editor might shed some light on the effectiveness of the attacks on the relations and funds after each attack.

 

- NKF

Edited June 28, 2007 by NKF

[Pherdnut]

Maybe turn-based is easier, but I always felt like in Apoc. X-Com has everything it needs aside from interdimensional ships to beat the game. Air Warriors are roughly on par with Explorers and defend quite adequately in numbers. Stun gas ignores shields and a couple full m4000 clips ought to be able to take down a MegaSpawn or two.

[Aiki-Knight]

Maybe turn-based is easier, but I always felt like in Apoc. X-Com has everything it needs aside from interdimensional ships to beat the game. Air Warriors are roughly on par with Explorers and defend quite adequately in numbers. Stun gas ignores shields and a couple full m4000 clips ought to be able to take down a MegaSpawn or two.

 

Yeah but a megaspawn with half-an-alien-brain will pop off a couple dimension missiles at a single agent blowing through two whole mags. Gotta pop out, shoot, and pop back. Of course, combined fire from non-alien weapons (SMG, autocannon, and sniper rifle), in large numbers can bring down megaspawns before they fire missiles, but you need at least 8 agents on full auto to make that happen.

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

If I recall, Nkf chases megaspawns with power swords.

 

So you probably Could take down a megaspawn with a m4000.

Just dodge the rockets.

Its easier than it sounds.

[Steelion]

I (assume) NKF runs in, then chases the spawns as they try and run away...

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Well, I sure hope he doesnt manage to snipe with it somehow O_o

 

Oh lord, that reminds me of Halo 2.

Using the pistol to shoot grenades people are trying to throw.

if you shoot near their hands during mid throw, they kill themselves. Its wonderfully hilarious

Just imagine that in X-Com.

Rocket is about to leave the heavy launcherrr :O!

NO NKF YOU CANT DO IT

"Yessir I can"

*pew pew*

*boom*

dudeee D:

" i no im silly"

 

I totally think thats how it would happen.

Although the Dialogue might differ a little bit

[[NKF]]

I imagine the conversation would go something like:

 

Omigosh! Omigosh! Woo! look at what I did! LOOK at what I just did! Lookie! Take that you- *killed by enemy*

 

 

Sniping on megaspawn with low level equipment. Hmm, let's see, it should work. If you're fighting in the groove left behind by the mothership - or was it battleship? Doesn't particularly matter as there's plenty of space in the sewers too - have everyone up next to the exits spread out and go prone (have some kneel and stand if you want to stuff even more snipers into the mix). Someone should then be near the doors to spot the Megaspawn as they leave (and more importantly distract them and their rockets), then have a barrage of force fire sent down the lift shaft until the Megaspawn is dead. You might want to toss in some stunners or smoke grenades while you're at it to obscure your snipers. It's basically the same strategy I use with devestator cannons. But with aimed/snap shots with dual autocannons, M4000 or sniper rifles should do the trick, as enough power can and will overpower anything.

 

Hey, I just realised something. Does the 'fleeing from fire' reflex work with Megaspawn? If it does, it would be a brilliant way of disabling its weapons for a moment.

 

My strategy with running up to the Megaspawn with power swords (and sometimes grapples) has its flaws. If you're unlucky, the Megaspawn will fire a dimension missile at point blank range as you're approaching (which is why you want to rush at if from several different directions at once). However once you're right up next to it and chopping away, things will go well unless you get interrupted by other aliens.

 

- NKF

Edited July 9, 2007 by NKF

[NRN_R_Sumo1]

Well Nkf, if you were silly like me, You would have one agent who is meant to do drop downs

Basically he flys to the edge of the ship, switches his armour in the pack, and does a leap of faith off the top of the Ufo.

One time I managed to land on top of the spawn.

it was kinda funny that he couldnt shoot him, till the spawn moved and I fell off T_T

I got him though

[Steelion]

Generally the only reason i fly to the tops of UFOs is to find that elusive skeletoid, or to blow a hole in the roof with modified HE.