Messages

1

XPiratez / Re: Tips on the Jack Sparrow difficulty?

« on: December 22, 2023, 08:47:47 am »

As far as I know, Ninja war starts only when you do a related research project.

Not if you play the highest difficulty, here it's triggered automatically :'(

Anyway. Go the the X-Piratez matrix chat and ask ppl there.
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,10381.0.html
This particular X-Piratez forum is 80% abandoned.

Thank you!

2

XPiratez / Tips on the Jack Sparrow difficulty?

« on: December 21, 2023, 04:16:59 pm »

Hello, everyone

Couple of weeks ago I finished my another run on the Black Beard difficulty. That was an amazing, incredible and...quite boring adventure. So, I decided to try the maximum difficulty the game can offer - after all, I've been playing xcom and all sorts of mods for 10 years, what in the Universe can stop me?
What an arrogant fool I was

So far I've made five attempts. I've learned a LOT of new things. I learned how to use dogs, how to get an aircraft with guns by april, how to finish a battle against 30 enemies with 0-2 casualties without save-loading, how to survive with no money and still have an army, capable to fight. A great school it was, my skill increased SIGNIFICANTLY. But I just can't go any further of May of the 1st year.

My current strategy:
- Starting in Egypt: 12 clone troopers with golden shields and modern weapons with decent accuracy (but awful damage though) is a big thing for the first 2-3 months;
- Peasants route: opens the Harvester - 20 crew, 3x 25mm cannons, no windows on the main deck - imo THE BEST guaranteed ship for the early game with no need to build a workshop;
- Dogs. AI at this difficulty seems to be much more intellegent, so enemies abuse overwatch mechanics much more often, and dogs are the best way to solve this problem
- Capture prisoners. It's not my cup of tea, but money is money, and clone troopers have electrical gloves, so, why not.
- Reject the power: potentially a good choice because it gives acsess to Ninja`s weapons, but I haven`t gone so far yet :'(

What is the issue:
In April begins the war against Ninjas. OK, I can outlive this, with negative score (like -1500 points), but in May they build 4-6 hideouts (so I have solid -3000 points) AND local governments attack MY hideout (-1800 points per mission). I don't know if their attack is a normal script for this difficulty or they attack me because I'm, technically, a vassal of Cleopatra, but it certainly doesn`t help The only way to get back on rails is to destroy couple of Ninja's bases per month, but... I found it impossible. Even with save scumming. Even with heavy lasers looted from the govrenmental soldiers. No matter what I'm trying to do, I just can't get enough of heavy artillery and good soldiers by that cursed May. I don't see any other way to improve my score, because regular missions don't spawn frequently enough. The only mistake that I did and can name is that I could`ve get the Harvester by March (not by the end of April) and shoot down 3-5 hostile aircrafts, but it wouldn`t be enough to survive.

And, as result, at the end of May I'm losing because of bad rating.

If you have beaten the Jack Sparrow difficulty, could you give some tips how to survive the first spring?

UPD: I'm not complaining, I have more fun from the game than ever before, I just can't win

3

XPiratez / Re: A thread for little questions

« on: November 21, 2023, 03:19:08 pm »

As an upd to my previous post: I have 6 of these beauties on Cydonia ^_^  Melee catgirls must be the true final bosses of the game, not ethereals

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XPiratez / Re: A thread for little questions

« on: November 21, 2023, 03:05:23 pm »

Wow!  You are a monster!

Hehe There was no warning that I should not kill them all))))

In fact, final mission have 5, not 2 parts! I hope you have brought means to replenish freshness...

Beg my pardon?! FIVE? Oh god, I'm doomed - I just didn't expect it :'(

There are exit tiles below big elevator in the upper left part of the map. Very easy to miss, it is dark there.

Oh, I saw it, but I didn't get that it was the exit THANK YOU!

Tell us more: your armor, weapons, crew composition, etc.

Ok, let's see... I brought to Cydonia 6 melee catgirls in termicators (that was such a pain to get those) - at the beginning of the mission I had only 1 photonic blade (which helped A LOT), all the other cats had plasma swords. Now I have 6 photonic blades, thanks to snakemans Also I have 3 Lok'naars in skullstriders with Marsec multilasers (they were covering the elevator from mutons), two gals in medispiders (the best suit in the game ) with random weapon (they are medics, not troopers, after all), 4 gals with elite plasma guns to destroy tough enemies and, don't remember, 6 or 5 gals with heavy plasmas - all in annihilator suits. And 4 xec's - scout, armageddon, and 2 lancers. The bad news - xec's are on low ammo (because who could expect FIVE stages of the mission?). So I will finish the mission without xec's, i suppose... Ces't la vie :'( Yes, I don't have a blaster launcher or two with me this time - my bad, but, I think, it would only slow me down. And no psionics - I feel comfortable to use them only in the original version, not in mods, don't know why

How bad was that turn 1 reinforcement?

It could be MUCH, MUCH worse But I had in the main group all the xec's, two of three skullstriders, so... Poor mutons Also, I was lucky - my one and only catgirl with a photonic blade was in that group, so I just cut the wall (screenshot) and destroyed the turrets in melee in, like, 3 or 4 turns (too reckless, I know, but I didn't want to sit in that elevator for 10 turns and kill the turrets safely). Also, a bit later, I broke a wall on the floor below (screenshot), and half of the mutons chose that way to pursue me, so it was twice easier to kill them.

What do you think about killing floors?

Thank God, some aliens suicided on that floors, so I got the idea immediately But the idea is truly terrifying...

About doors with 150 TU to open?

XEC makes boom I didn't even know that they are so painful to open, because I destroyed them with XEC as soon as I could instead of opening them in boring classical way - gut instinct, I suppose

The worst trap was that explosion chamber on the technical floor. My gals survived without injuries (thanks to shields), but psychologically... That was terrifying. And the fog of war. The fog of war is THE MOST terrifyng thing. But it's so satisfying when you get the idea of the architecture of the map and the crew finally comes together. Brilliant, brilliant mission. Reminds me the assault of Terron from Space Rangers 2, if you know that game.
And thank you again for your advice! Hope I will survive...

PS: sorry if the grammar is poor or some terms of the game are used incorrectly - I don't play in English, so got used to the translated version

5

XPiratez / Re: A thread for little questions

« on: November 21, 2023, 08:11:51 am »

For the first time I'm playing the new version of the final mission on Cydonia - with that big ship in a hangar, muton reinforcements etc. (version N6.0.5). And... I don't understand how to finish it. I cleared all the map but the mission just doesn't end and I don't see where is that big alien brain to destroy and how to get my final of the campaign. So frustrating. Could you give a hint where is it hidden?