grommet

DOSBox is NOT gonna run well on a 486...but if you put it on a much faster computer, it would work...it does let you speed up/slow down the number of cycles that the emulated PC is running at, so you should be able to 'tweak' the speed. But on a 486, DOSBox will be hella slow, no matter what you do.... If you keep using the 486, see if it still has a 'turbo' button...486s were the last to really enable/have this feature, which could be used to slow down in geoscape (turbo off) / speed up in battlescape (turbo on)...though I'm not sure if a 486/100 would still have this, and turbo off might be TOO slow... Grommet

Also, the aliens send retaliation missions to where you shoot down UFOs, not necessarily where your bases are. I often see retaliation missions targeted where I have no bases...I just try to shoot those UFOs down there as well, as it seems to help focus the aliens' retaliatiory attentions there, instead of where I DO have bases. Grommet

It doesn't really matter...either works well, as does somewhere else entirely. I generally start in Europe, as it does allow you to cover at least part of six contributing nations (and they pretty much always pay more combined than US & Canada), and it allows faster response times to several other nations than North America. Also, Europe is the most expensive place on the planet to place an access lift ($1,000,000), so getting it free with the first base is nice. Grommet

For maximum effectiveness, you want the smoke BETWEEN you and the aliens...in the screenshot you posted, there were several tiles of clear air between the sectoid and your guys. Remember, vision works both ways...if you can see them, they can see you. BTW, don't worry about asking questions...while the Wiki has tons of valuable info, sometimes you just overlook things...besides, we all enjoy talking about the games Grommet

To get a readout of your current 'inventory' of live aliens, use the transfer menu...at the bottom of the list should be the race/rank of each alien in containment. Grommet

There is a very detailed article in the Xcom Wiki about what to do with those somewhat inept officers Grommet

Ya know, I've used that trick to put armor that finished building after I launched on a guy, but I've never thought to use it to 'swap around' armor...thanks! Incidentally, I came up with the idea for that base after reading about your 'auto-win' base defence setup...but I felt like I needed two hangars (1 Firestorm & 1 Interceptor, both w/dual plasma cannons) due to the fairly high incedence of UFO flyovers/missions (this was my North American base, BTW). Their efficiency is shown by the frequency with which the aliens try to eliminate the base (at least 10 times, so far). I also kept two general stores, so as to be able to swap out tanks/replace losses (only 1 old tank/cannon, so far...) While its not an auto-win, this setup is mighty easy...its a shame what 8 fusion balls on the first turn does to the alien's moral (not to mention their strike force)... ROFL On a side note, did you ever finish your testing on alien unit damage resistances? I confess to more than a wee bit of curiosity... Grommet

I happen to agree with NKF that only blaster bombs should do that much damage in a wide area. As the primary motivation for hacking the high explosives seems to be so that you can breach a UFO hull, might I offer the following suggestion: hack the Incindiary Rocket instead. While your mileage may vary, I find that the incindiary rocket is just not that useful...it does make a big fire, but so would 2 rounds of HC-I or 3 of AC-I...and they'll do so faster (remember that you'll havta reload the rocket launcher - 15TUs)...fire from the rocket doesn't hurt more, or burn any longer, so...why use it? Instead, hack the incindiary rocket to do AP damage of, ohh...say 200 or so - converting it into a HEAT warhead (this is a real-world warhead type using a shaped charge explosive to focus the damage on a single point -- effectively turning HE into AP that can punch through serious armor.) At 200 damage, the rocket would have about a 50% chance of knocking a hole in the exterior of a UFO. If you wanted to limit how many you could use, increase the weight to 20 or so... Presto! A way to punch through UFO hulls without messing up the dynamics of the High Explosives, or stealing all the thunder from blaster bombs Grommet

Well, you just don't... OK, there is a way, but its pretty obvious that the game designers decided NOT to make it obvious or easy. Click on the game options button, and on the screen that appears, there is a save option (but not a load option)...just save the game, then abort the mission...the game will scold you for loosing the mission, then return to the Geoscape...from there, you can click on options, and there IS a load button there...click it, and select the save you made in the Battlescape...it will return you to the mission you abandoned at the point you saved. Continue on with the mission, the game will not 'remember' that you aborted before... Although most of us TRY not to do this, it can be damn hard (especially when a blaster bomb wipes out 3/4 of your squad in an instant)...but the game is SOOOO much better if you don't. Still, when learning or testing new tactics/ideas out, its not so bad (heck, I use to know a guy who would reload when his guys MISSED!! It would take him hours just to recover a crashed Medium Scout UFO... ) Still, I would suggest that you NOT get into the habit, as it can be damn hard to break, and the game is much, much more satisfying and suspenseful when you don't... Grommet

No, I don't use the 0 cost build trick...however, I have used the 'free ammo for HWPs in base defence' trick ever since NKF alerted me to it a couple years ago. Prior to that, I would build MAYBE 1 HWP/Launcher per game (mostly for Cydonia), as the ammo is hellishly expensive in terms of elerium. Now, I generally try to build at least one per base for defense, and redistribute the free ammo after base defense missions. In the game in question, I ended up transferring ALL my HWPs from all my bases for that purpose (I've since replaced them), and of that original batch, most were laser tanks (which I've since swapped out). That base has been attacked several more times (the aliens REALLY seem to want it destroyed), and the defence has always been a breeze (an all tank force means NO worries about MC or chryssalids, and HWP/Lanchers don't miss much or need many second shots to kill their targets ) I suppose it is kinda cheesy, but its hella effective, and I REALLY wanted that guy to suffer ...I figured that sticking him in an underground base with no creature comforts (no living quarters) and no company other than robotic tanks was fitting (I even renamed the base 'Purgatory') Grommet

Grenades can be essential to early game success, when many of your guys can barely hit the broad side of a barn. Here's a few more tips and tricks for grenades: grenades do not trigger reaction fire if the alien isn't facing you, unlike weapons fire. The timer on grenades count PLAYER turns, not GAME turns...if you set it for 0, it will explode at the end of your turn, if its not still in inventory (it won't blow up until you drop/throw it...but be aware you'll drop it if you fall unconscious/are killed); if you set the timer for 1, it will explode at the end of the ALIENS turn, not at the end of YOUR next turn. This is very useful if you want to have cover for your guys during the aliens turn, but want to remove it before your next turn so you don't have to walk around or if you want a line of sight while you advance. Also, be aware that its hard to "stack" grenades in Xcom1, as the explosion of the first grenade will destroy the second BEFORE it has a chance to explode (This is an error in the game data, IMO, which they fixed in TFTD)...you can still stack grenade effects, but you must place the second grenade far enuff (4 tiles or so) that it isn't destroyed before it explodes (note, however, that you can use this 'bug' to 'clear' a prox mine that is in the way). Use the 'grenade relay' to put grenades where you need them (say your scout spots an alien, but no one close enuff to throw has a grenade...have one of your 'rear' guys prime the grenade and toss it to one of the soldiers in range, who can then pick it up and toss it where it needs to go.) Also note the the last guy to throw a grenade is the one who will get experience if it hits something, you can use this to 'spread around' experience. Did you look at the 'blast patterns' link I gave earlier? It really helps in determining the finer points of explosive placement... The Heavy Cannon is a great weapon, especially with HE ammo...many will say the Autocannon is better, but the extra accuracy and damage can be well worth giving up the (very inaccurate) autoshot. A different way to look at it is to compare the HC-HE to grenades...the six shells in the clip do slightly more damage than six grenades (tho' the grenades have a slightly larger blast area) and the gun and clip weigh only a little more than six grenades, while only using 2 item slots in the transport... Speaking of item weights, I think there is an error on the wiki item weight page: it lists the weight of the laser rifle as 10...but I think its only 8 (at least thats what my pristine copy of obdata.dat sez)...does anybody know which is correct? Grommet P.S. using explosive weapons and ammo is another great reason to get armor...if your wearing a Power Suit you can blast that sectoid standing right in front of you with the HC-HE and not get a scratch (and if a second sectoid is hiding right behind him, he'll likely die too )

The damage numbers for Incindiaries and Smoke Grenades control their blast radius, or Area of Effect. All incindiaries deal the same damage: 0 or 5-10 for the initial 'hit' and 1-12 per turn for units on fire/standing in fire. Smoke grenades deal NO damage (well, except for a bit of stun damage every turn for unarmored soldiers/some aliens if they are standing in it) As a side note to your original question regarding armor, note that even if armor doesn't guarantee that your soldier won't get killed by weapons fire, it DOES provide protection from fire (Personal Armor) or fire and smoke (Power Suit/Flying Suit) This thread details the efforts of Zombie, MiketheRed, Hobbes, Bomb Bloke, and NKF in determining blast patterns for explosives, incindiaries, and smoke grenades The Xcom Wiki has more info on incindiaries, as well as a plethora of other topics Finally, an excel spreadsheet illustrating blast patterns can be found here Grommet

One of the worst missions I've had was a couple months ago, in an Ironman (superhuman/no reload) game. I had just finished Psi-testing my first batch of new rookies (I always test my vets first) and had really lucked out, getting 8 rookies with Psi Strength>85+, which I sent to my secondary strike base for combat training. As luck would have it, within a day of their arrival, a terror site poped up close to that base, and my veteran squads were still returning from ground assaults against battleships attempting to infiltrate Nigeria. As it would be some time before my vets would be available, I decided to respond with my new squad, and launched immediately in an attempt to arrive before dark, which was fast approaching the terror site. Now, because I was just setting up this squad, I didn't have armor for them yet, but i did have good weapons available, so I wasn't too worried. So I land at the site with 7 t-shirt rookies, 1 in personal armor, a hard-as-nails sergeant in power armor, a wimpy officer who hadn't made the cut for my veteran squads, and a laser tank. I had a good mix of weapons: heavy plasmas, laser rifles, alien grenades, and HiExplosives for the rookies, a laser pistol/rocket laucher w/large rockets for the sarge, and an AC-I for the officer (I hadn't quite made it before dark, dang it, but between the Incindiaries and a few electroflares onboard, I figured I'd be alright) So I roll the tank down the ramp of the Skyranger, and it immediatly comes under fire from a couple cyberdisks at about 10 o'clock. Despite taking a couple hits, the tank was still alive (barely). The sarge jumped out and lit up the farther 'disk with a large rocket, but despite being in the blast radius of both the rocket and the secondary explosion of the first 'disk, the second was still alive, and worse, the blasts had leveled a fence which revealed a third cyberdisk. So I had one of the t-shirt rookies prime a HiExplosive and pass it the the rookie in personal armor, and he jumped outta the 'ranger and tossed it between the second and third 'disks. Meanwhile, the officer lit up the darkness north of the Skyranger with a burst of Incidiaries from the autocannon, catching a Sectoid with a lucky hit and setting his little grey butt on fire. I then sent the tank around toward the front of the Skyranger on the opposite side from the cyberdisks, and spotted another 'disk off to the side (about 5 o'clock)...crossing my fingers, I had the tank fire a snapshot at the new 'disk (remember that the tank was damaged and its accuracy had been knocked way down). In spite of the long odds, the shot connected and the fourth 'disk exploded, taking an unseen sectoid (and a hapless civilian) with it. Feeling pretty good about that first round, I had one of the rookies pop a smoker at the base of the ramp to cover next turn's deployment and hit 'end turn' It was with some satisfaction that I watched the HiEx I'd tossed between the second and third 'disks explode and take both of them out, along with the remainder of that fence, the trashcans and the back door of an apartment building, and another previously hidden sectoid. I then watched helplessly as several civilian death screams cut the night air...and then it happened. First, several plasma bolts pelted the side and landing gear of the Skyranger before one hit the rookie in personal armor, dropping him but not killing him, then several Psi attacks were directed against my officer... Come my turn, I watched in horror while Captain Creampuff went berzerk, firing off the ENTIRE clip of his autocannon into the back of the Skyranger, which instantly became a raging inferno. All seven of the rookies inside perished as the flames engulfed the entire cargo bay, and a couple of stray rounds even managed to hit both the tank (setting it on fire!), and the ground around my sergeant and the body of the rookie in personal armor (who was still miraculously alive and mercifully unconscious). Needless to say, I was livid! That freaking officer had just wiped out my new Psi squad, setting my efforts back tremendously... In the wake of the tragedy, I decided to cut my losses and evac...the sarge had miraculously not paniced, and he quickly drilled the sectoid that had shot the unconscious rookie with a snapshot from his laser pistol, dropped the rocket launcher, grabbed the limp body of the wounded rookie from the flames, and ran up the ramp (into the inferno still raging in the Skyranger, but hey, ya gotta be inside to dust off ), with the nearly dead, burning laser tank hard on his heels. I then hit 'abort mission, leaving Captain Creampuff to play with his new friends Then XcomUtil 'rescued' the miscreant for me I was gonna ritually execute him the next mission...but then a better punishment occurred to me. One of my Intercept bases kept getting raided by the aliens, and its HWD detected a Floater small scout on a 'alien retaliation' mission right after this mission. I transferred Captain Creampuff and 10 HWPs to that base before the battleship showed up, then nuked the base module connecting the living quarters and extra general stores to the access lift during the base defense battle that followed...after the battle, the base consists of 2 hangars, the lift, 2 general stores, and a HWD. Now Captain Creampuff is permanently the sole occupant of that base, sleeping in the corridors, eating cold MREs, and existing for the sole purpose of enabling defense battles that consist of 10 tanks (including 8(!) fusion hovertanks) and NOT him... Grommet

That is correct, more than 1 radar of the same type will NOT increase detection, just cost and maintenance. Different types of radar WILL stack, but only 1 of each.... BTW, once you get Hyperwave Decoders, you don't need the radars anymore (HWD detection chance= 100%), and can dismantle them to save maintenance $$ Grommet

@Don Meu: well, the lower your morale goes below 50, the higher the chance of panicing/berserking, and guys with low bravery lose more morale faster than those with high bravery...so the morale of a low bravery soldier will be lower in bad situations than than that of a high bravery soldier, which equals a higher chance of panic...and if he panics, he DOESN'T get a bravery experience point. While you are correct that high/low bravery has no effect on whether bravery increases with X experience points, the guys with low bravery will tend to have fewer experience points than those with high bravery...and therefore, bravery increases are more likely for those whose bravery is higher, because they will tend to resist panic more often. Of course, in marginal situations, the guys with high bravery may not have their morale drop low enuff to panic, so they won't gain experience, while low bravery will be making checks and may get experience...to put it another way, low bravery=more chances to get experience, but lower odds of actually getting that experience. Like I said, I'll take low bravery over low reactions any day (especially if Psi Strength is high)...but I like it to be at least 20. @Blehm: No, bravery experience is gained not when you panic, but rather when you COULD panic, but DON'T. Which only comes into play when morale<50, so if you make sure morale stays high, no panicing will occur (sans Psi Attacks, of course), no matter how cowardly your guys are... Grommet