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XCOMUFO & Xenocide

Initial Funds - How Do You Spend Them?


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That's what I do, when I start a game:

Change Gas Cannons on Ajax on one Barracuda and on D.U.P. on the other.

Remove all Dart guns from Triton, equip it with all Gas Cannons and Jet Harpoons.

Sell (both for money and to free some space):

- All Craft GC's, Dart Guns, Hydro-Jet and ammo for them;

- Torpedo Launcher and its topedoes;

- All Dye Grenades.

Build:

- 2 Sub Pens in the upper part of the base (so I could later dismantle 2 lower ones and get 3 Pens and Airlock on one side of the base);

- 1 General Store;

- 2 Living Quarters (the existing LQ near the Airlock will be later dismantled);

- Alien Containment;

- Wide-range Sonar;

- Laboratory (expensive, but it takes ages to build, so I'd better to start it in the beginning).

Buy:

- Gas Coelacanth + ~70-80 bolts for it;

- Several Gas Cannons, so 5 of my team will carry them (I like GS, but it's not very good in close combat, so the rest remain with Jet Harpoons) + some ammo for it;

- Some grenades;

- 10 Thermal Tazers (sometimes);

Hire:

- 4 Aquanauts (total - 12, 10 for Triton, 2 as urgent replasement of casualties);

- Scientists forthe rest of the money.

I spend almost all of the money, but make sure I got some minimum cash to start producing Gauss Pistol when I have it, in case the first contact with aliens is delayed.

That's my usual plan for beginning. How do you start the game?

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First things first, the disclamer: I use the xcomutils' improved base, gauss, and tanks, so my method is affected by this.

 

Arm barracudas with 2 gas cannons, sell all sub weapons and both barracudas

Recruit 20 techs, 2 aquanaut (end up with 50 scientist, 40 techs, 10 aquanaut)

buy and sell to have in stores: 8 gas cannon + 8 of HE and AP ammo, 8 small torpedos (great for leveling mountains underwater), 1 SWS + 40 bolts, 50 particle displacement grenades, 20 magna blast grenades, 20 chemical flare, 10 thermal tazer

build living quarters, small sonar, general stores.

 

That's it at the start, I like to keep my spending conservative, keep a reserve of a few mil in the bank. Later when I have the money I spend first on an extra lab + scientists, then an extra workshop + techs. Adding living quarters and stores as needed of course, plus MC lab and transmission resolver when I get them (a few months in).

 

Tony, you might want to take a look at xcomutils; you don't have to use the improved base layout (which has wide sonar instead of standard, alien containment, some other extras like 50 scientists), there's an alternate layout which just re-arranges the original buildings so that the base is easier to defend.

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what i do...

sell all dart pistols

Sell the hydrojet and ammo

get 10 large torpedos (for aquajet launcher)

10 HE ammo, 4 IC ammo for Troop gas cannon

sell all gas cannons, replace the gas cannons on barracurdas with ajax and dup

sell 10 of the ajax torpedos, and any craft weapons i'm not using

buy 3 DUP torpedo launchers, one coelecanth with the jet harpoon or whatever the things called

and then i buy as many DUP torpedos as possible

 

build living quarters and General storage

20 extra agents

 

yeah, i also use xcomutil's stuff, but i do the exact same without it so yeah...

just i shell out a bit extra for scientists, and add a large radar

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Myself, hmm.

 

First I construct a new general stores, quarters and build a containment unit. I might build an extra lab, workshop or large sonar, but the fourth aqua-pod is otherwise optional and really depends on how I want to approach the game.

 

Then I hire 22 scientists. (extra soldiers are hired once the quarters are done, so there's no real hurry) They work like mad on Gauss tech.

 

I swap one of the Ajax torpedo launchers for the DUP launcher.

I remove from the Triton all the dart pistols.

 

I sell:

 

All dart pistols (I like the pistol size weapons - just not these)

The hydro-jet cannon

The torpedo launcher (This actually varies. I might sometimes keep it)

Any extra craft weapons that I won't be using. Generally that extra Ajax launcher.

 

I would get rid of all the Jet Harpoons as well, but they are still reasonably faster than the Gas Cannon, and it's only a matter of time before I get the Gauss Pistols and Gauss Rifle and get a generous supply of ammo.

 

I buy:

 

1 Gas Cannon Colecanth and sufficient ammo for two or three sorties

4, 6 or more Gas Cannons and a heap of HE shells

4 Thermal Tazers

8 Chemical flares

Assortment of magna-blast and magna-pack grenades. I really can't say how many. It varies. Particle disturbance grenades are purchased in small quantities. Dye grenades are a plague on my sensibilities, and are thus not touched.

A set of Large Torpedoes (Assuming I've decided to keep the torpedo launcher)

 

 

- NKF

Edited by NKF
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Good question !

 

I employ about 15 scientists and maybe sack a couple of technicians (but NOT all). Hire a couple of extra aquanauts.

 

I get rid of all the gas cannons and put a DUP launcher /Ajax on one Barracuda and 2xAjax on the other.

 

I sell off all the dart pistols, and a few other weapons too, although I keep one hydrojet cannon and I buy a couple of extra gas cannons, also buy HE ammo for them.

 

I buy HE grenades, a couple of extra magma pack and about 16 chemical flares. Get some large torpedos, sell some small ones.

 

I buy a Coelacanth, preferably hydrojet, but will stoop to ajax if pushed for cash.

 

I build a general store, alien containment, big sonar and living quarters, and an extra defensible sub-pen if I have the cash. I generally can't build two subpens immediatley, although I would like to. Eventuall I will do and the destroy the indefensible sub pens.

 

I try and get an early second base, with a small sonar within strike range of the fisrt, (say on the other side of the altantic from where I start) it sometimes gets me an extra early kill (and sometimes not ;-( )

 

I start patrolling with one Baraccuda immediately as the game generally throws a small ship at you in the first day or two and its very easy to miss.

 

Otherwise the main philosophy is to get a full triton, with tank, and good quality human weapons, with a spare tank back at base, and put my two barracudas in two different bases ASAP. This gets the best early coverage for spotting UFO, cos if you don't spot'em you can kill'em.

 

After about 3 weeks I get my first terror mission, which I fight with non-gauss human weapons (although I have a couple of medikits by now, and possibly a gauss pistol or two).

 

When research guass weapons I build two as soon as II have the tech, then build about 20 clips. This gives me a reliable edge without suddenely getting hit by a terror mission and having 6 gauss rifles and 3 clips.

 

Main tactics are scout with tank, follow up with infantry. If no tank, scout with explosives B)

 

I don't use expendable scouts, but I usually have at least one near massacre of my men so I tend to get a spare triton crew ASAP.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Standard game : no mods

 

First base in Med near Italy.

Living quarters

Alien containment

Stores

 

Build base in Sea of Japan

Hangar

Wide array Sonar

Stores

 

Sell

Dart guns + clips

Torpedos + launcher

Hydrojet + ammo

Craft cannons + ammo

1 Ajax launcher

 

Buy

2 Aquanauts

20 scientists

2 Gas cannons + 10 standard + 20 HE

5 tasers

20 harpoon clips

1 Dup Launcher

8-9 Dup ammo

 

Leaves me with about 400k to manufacture gauss pistols to sell then build rifles and ammo when researched. My Barracudas are equipped with one Dup and one Ajax, I sell the cannon on the second when the ordered launcher arrives. Until then I use the weaker craft to down small scouts.

I put up a Wide sonar in my main base as soon as I have enough spare cash, then a living quarters in Japan base, then another Lab + living quarters in the main base. Once those are built and I have enough scientists, I build my third base in the gulf of Mexico which completes my early expansion to cover all important areas. :)

How fast that happens depends on loot. :sgrin:

Edited by Sir Crashalot
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My standard startup is remarkably similar to Sir Crashalot's, with a few differences:

 

1> I use XcomUtil, mostly because I actually LIKE using the Barracuda's as transports, and find the six man squad they provide an interesting tactical challenge thats perfectly adequate for smaller USOs. I do use the improved starting base, but have edited xcomutil.cfg so that the only improvements are a defensible layout, Sm Sonar>Wide Array Sonar and 20 Scientists/0 Technicians (never understood why you start with Techs, when there's naught to build yet...). This is a net improvement of $400000, which covers the cost of the Alien Containment module these morons forgot to include! :P

 

2> My first base is always off the coast of Florida, either in the Caribbean or North Atlantic...I don't like to put a base in the Med, because there is so little water in the coverage area that you often end up intercepting contacts over land, then following them until they finally get back over water (often running out of fuel before they do. =p ) I do like to start a second base in the Sea of Japan, as it is one of the cheapest ($500000) and has good sponsor coverage. When I get around to placing base #3, depending on Alien Activity usually I'll put it either around the mouth of the Red Sea, covering the Indian Ocean and the SE part of what a base in the Med would, or I'll put it in the Arctic Ocean between Icelandic Union and Scandinavia, covering the NW part of what a base in the Med would. Either way its cheaper ($550000 for Indian Ocean, or if you put it close to Africa, $500000; $600000 for Arctic)

 

3> I do hang on to the Torpedo Launcher...sure, it only works underwater, but its the most accurate weapon you have access to early on, and it does pack a nice wallop! I also REALLY like Gas Cannons, and often buy several more...I also don't usually buy extra jet harpoon clips, because by the time I'm running out of those you start with, I've usually got Gauss weapons rolling out (which also means I'll be hiring a few Techs, as I don't start with any. ^_^ )

 

Grommet

Edited by grommet
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  • 3 weeks later...

1) Extra Facilities : 1 Living Quarters, 1 Laboratory, 1 Alien Containment, 1 Long-Range Sonar, 1 Stores.

2) Starting weapons are Gas Cannon (AP only), Jet Harpoons, Thermal Tazers and lots of grenades (Magna Blast, Particle Disturbance & Dye). I buy a good stock of all this (except harpoons), then sell all the other weapons. When Sonic Pistols become available, they replace the Jet Harpoons.

3) 1 SWS Gass Cannon + ammo

4) Sell DUP Head torpedoes

5) Extra personnel : Aquanauts to a total of 15, Scientists to a total of 25.

6) Initial research on PD Sensors, produce a few, then replace technicians with scientists. When next living quarters become available, fill them with new technicians and extra scientists.

 

Usual research order :

PD Sensor, Sonic Pistol, Pistol Clip, Deep One Corpse, Aqua Plastics, Plastic Aqua Armor, Medikit, Ion Beam Accelerators, Live Deep One, Ion Armor, Sonic Pulser, the rest of the Sonic weapons. Some other research might come in between, if the necessary item (usually found later on) is available : Transmission Resolver, MC-Lab, Thermal Shock Launcher & Bomb, Vibro Blade / Thermic Lance, Magnetic Ion Armor.

Edited by Horoma
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  • 4 months later...

Build:

Alien contaiment

Large sonar

 

Hire:(I love gauss - but you can change variants - like alien bodys)

10(For fast gauss research)

10 Technicians(Firstly for gauss weapons)

2 Backups(But usually are still in transport)

 

Research:

Gauss(Pistol & clips)

Anything else you want!

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Xcomutil's improved starting base:

 

Ships:

Equip Barracuda 1 with dual ajax

Equip Barracuda 2 with ajax/dup

 

Aquanauts:

Add HW to guys with 30+ str (they can handle gas cannon + he clip + ap clip).

 

Research:

Gauss tech>Gauss pistol>Gauss rifle>Gauss rifle clip

 

Recruit:

10 Techs

12 Aquanauts

 

Sell:

Craft gas cannons + rounds

Dart gun + clips

Hidrojet cannon + clips

Torpedo launcher + torpedoes

 

Purchase:

11 Gas cannons

22 GC-AP

39 GC-HE

20 Magna blast granade

5 Dye granades

20 Thermal tazers

 

Build:

Workshop

Living quarters

General stores

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  • 4 months later...

my goal is to be able to produce gauss cannon at starter base by about 7-10th day of 2nd month

 

i sell all weapons except jet harpoons, buy 22 scientists and build general stores, living quarters, wide array sonar and alien containment, the left over money can be helpfull to get a couple technicians to help squeeze out guass rifles before the 1st terror, once your living quarters is built. i also aim at having 2nd workshop going by early 2nd month.

 

goal is by the end of the 1st month (or by the 1st terror site) to have a team of aquanauts that are at least half holding gauss rifles, i use v2.0 patch so i also bring 8 thermal tazers and i pickup a dead deep one and a live deep one, this is very important.

 

the intial funds are all spent same way by us all, we all build what we need for month 1 but another interesting strategy is to start a 2nd base using the funds.

 

anywayz kinda covered more then the initial funds whoops.

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Pretty similar to my xcom1 base. I plop it down right in the middle of the North Atlantic. I don't worry about setting up for base attacks on my first base since these are rare in my games and usually get you a lot of loot without all the hassle of approaching a UFO anyway.

 

Base:

 

1 Wide Array

2 Living Quarters

1 General Stores

1 Alien Containment

1 Lab

 

Switch out guns for torpedoes on the interceptors. Upgrade to longer-range torpedoes happens later when I get some cash from the first decent alien raid.

 

No Coelecanths. They don't gain anything with experience and cost an absurd amount of money. Four useless agents for spotters are much more useful if you really want something to absorb damage for you and you'll have to go through a horde of them to cost the same as a single Coelecanth.

 

Agents get a mix of gas cannons, and harpoon guns depending on strength.

 

I hire 2 more agents and 20 scientists.

 

research is usually particle disturbance sensors or medkits (I save gauss for later when I want cannons to sell).

 

Cash is usually in the three digit range by the time I've made the compromises necessary to get everything I want.

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