Xcom: UFO Defense (UFO: Enemy Unknown)...

DutchSchaeffer · 19 Jun 2011 at 19:54

What a game!

I am just playing through this now (on Steam)... absolutely loving it.

I haven't played this game since I was young and it was fairly new. Timeless gameplay!

I have tried most remakes and for whatever reason they seem to miss the mark.

A few questions...

I have followed the guide on the steam forums for setting up dosbox, I can't seem to find a fix for the alien screams etc that were apparently loads better on older versions...anyone had much luck with this?

Is it best at the start of the game to quickly establish new bases to widen your radar coverage or build up the initial base for research / manufacture etc?

Any point in the initial tanks as they seem to get wasted pretty quickly?

I would quite like to add a couple of weapons to the game, ie a sniper rifle for the start that would have high accuracy at the expense of very high TU cost...I have worked out how to hex edit original weapons, has anyone come across a very simple to use editor for such a thing?

I love the difficulty of the game, it is refreshing not to have your hand held (so to speak) through a game and sort of work it out yourself!

FoxEye · 19 Jun 2011 at 22:58

DutchSchaeffer said:
What a game!

I am just playing through this now (on Steam)... absolutely loving it.

I haven't played this game since I was young and it was fairly new. Timeless gameplay!

I have tried most remakes and for whatever reason they seem to miss the mark.

A few questions...

I have followed the guide on the steam forums for setting up dosbox, I can't seem to find a fix for the alien screams etc that were apparently loads better on older versions...anyone had much luck with this?

Is it best at the start of the game to quickly establish new bases to widen your radar coverage or build up the initial base for research / manufacture etc?

Any point in the initial tanks as they seem to get wasted pretty quickly?

I would quite like to add a couple of weapons to the game, ie a sniper rifle for the start that would have high accuracy at the expense of very high TU cost...I have worked out how to hex edit original weapons, has anyone come across a very simple to use editor for such a thing?

I love the difficulty of the game, it is refreshing not to have your hand held (so to speak) through a game and sort of work it out yourself!

The windows version(s) have messed up sound effects.

The DOS version up to and including 1.2 have correct sound effects. 1.4 is messed up like the Windows versions (I don't think there's a 1.3?)

ALL the DOS versions have a bug in the difficulty setting, meaning that the frist time you load a savegame your difficulty is set to EASIEST regardless of what you chose. This can be fixed by XcomUtil (3rd party software).

Tanks are good for scouting they have a lot of TUs. Yes they are weak, but the tank/rocket launcher is not bad at levelling entire areas

For bases, I like to get my second base on the opposite side of the planet to my first... and have a second Skyranger team. Then you can do terror missions in the daytime regardless of where they are.

Smokey Deza · 20 Jun 2011 at 02:51

I hope you are playing on Superhuman

You can also keep terror missions on the geoscape by sending interceptors to them at different intervals.

DutchSchaeffer · 20 Jun 2011 at 08:03

I picked Veteran...though I'm not sure if the steam version has the difficulty bug.

Ah i never thought about the tank/rocket launcher...must give that a go.

Just got some personal armour, is it just me or does it do nothing lol.

Walk into ufo door...get one shotted by a plasma bolt haha! I guess thats what the rookies are for.

I think I need to make my own openings with some C4....

m4cc45 · 20 Jun 2011 at 08:25

It's all about tactics. Even a rookie can take most things down. When I first started I used a lot of AoE stuff (grenades, rockets, etc.) as the accuracy was pretty poor.

You also don't have to use up your TU's you can just position a couple of people near the alien ship door and wait for them to come out or open it and lob in a grenade.

M.

bledd · 20 Jun 2011 at 08:31

This game is awesome, first game I ever had on the PC, I still play it

minicle · 20 Jun 2011 at 08:31

Great game, enjoy!

Tip: If you need to make cash, make/sell laser cannons. Their manufacturing hours/cost vrs sale price far outweighed anything else.

queamin · 20 Jun 2011 at 09:12

Where is the steam version as i cannot find it

haha never mind found it

Sleepery · 20 Jun 2011 at 09:43

The main thing is to never finish a turn without enough TUs for an auto shot.

Skipping terror missions is really, really bad for your funding. It's better to do them and level half the town in the process if necessary. I always tended to have one huge base and a few listening posts early on in the game, then two main bases with a team of soldiers each and a few others that were just listening posts and interceptors.

Soldiers with a higher bravery stat take longer to panic or come under mind control, so early on I'd hire a load of soldiers and fire the ones with low bravery.

Building a second lab and stocking up on scientists early on was always a must too, and getting laser weaponry and crappo-armour asap.

Smoke grenades are handy too for keeping things off your back, if you walk straight off the plane into a load of aliens, having subsequent soldiers chuck a few smoke grenades out can stop you getting slaughtered in the first turn.

Aloreth · 20 Jun 2011 at 10:36

I remember I had a crack team of veterans and then a bunch rookies for each mission, the rookies would make a break for cover and when they got gunned down the veterans would know where the aliens were.....fun times!

Blue Cypher · 20 Jun 2011 at 10:47

This is one of the best games i ever played... i wish there was a real remake of this exact game with better graphics and maybe one or two new add ins, but alas no one has managed it

Sleepery · 20 Jun 2011 at 11:20

No, they keep trying to add things and make "improvements"

antijoke · 20 Jun 2011 at 12:57

I'm going to buy these two games, and play them properly, never really played it properly when I borrowed it of a mate on the PS1 (hangs head in shame).

Bleek · 20 Jun 2011 at 13:13

Does anyone know if the UFO: Extraterrestrials Gold was just a remake in 'modern' graphics or is it a bad rehash?

Love XCOM, absolutely addicted to all three as a kid - loved Terror From the Deep!

Sleepery · 20 Jun 2011 at 13:42

Bleek said:
Does anyone know if the UFO: Extraterrestrials Gold was just a remake in 'modern' graphics or is it a bad rehash?

They tried to improve it, setting it on another planet, having a kind of territory control thing going on. Played a few missions of it, but they failed completely to capture the tension and dread of the original.

antijoke · 20 Jun 2011 at 13:44

Wow, the complete pack is £8.99 on Steam...I only really want UFO Defence & Terror From the Deep, but at that price I will have to buy them all.

DutchSchaeffer · 20 Jun 2011 at 13:50

For those who have yet to try it, there is a good FAQ thread on the steam forum for the game that helps with sorting out dosbox, improving sound etc.

I found a download for mp3 music (from the PS version) it sounds great!

Anyone had luck implementing it?

I tried using ufo-extender, but the game just crashes whenever I try to run it...

As for my game progress, just starting month 2, have about 5 mil in the bank ready to start a new base...my first is in the UK, thinking about the states or SE Asia for the next...

Loving prox grenades at the mo, my scouts (armed with laser pistols, motion scanners, and several prox and smoke grenades) are getting lots of kills!

Had a shocker with that auto-cannon loaded with HE, was in a tight alleyway and the auto-cannon guy at the back thought it would be a good idea to reaction shot at a target of opportunity... he wasted 2 of my guys!!! Haha! Love it!

stooeh · 20 Jun 2011 at 14:17

Aye, one of ma fave games of all time. I use the windows version since the windows exe comes with steam version and either of two mods. UFO ET version and Seb's UFO extender. They have diff features from bug fixes to more functionality. I asked Seb once to add windowed support and he added it like the next day! Win!

antijoke · 20 Jun 2011 at 14:21

So if I buy it through Steam, do I have to use DOSBOX to run this game?

Mirage · 20 Jun 2011 at 14:23

I still have never played the first, completed TFTD many times and Apocolypse at least twice. I do own them all though so might give the first a blast!