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« on: January 01, 2024, 12:01:26 am »
I hope people don't mind me chiming in on this old thread. Thank you for open xcom to any of the team who might be reading this, I've only recently discovered it and playing it a lot since.
I found this thread via google search on the topic. I don't intend to differ with the wiser minds on this forum, though I will say, contrary to some suggestions above, there is the ability to use graphs to a semi-granular level of precision. Following the below method I routinely enjoy a 100% interception rate in the first few months, the only exception being craft that land or leave somewhat quicker than the norm will often escape before I catch them (can be hard to locate the first few terror ships before they land for example, even when they're somewhat close to your main base I have about 50% interception rate before they start the terror).
HOW to get 100% interception? Record, to the pixel, the level of the graphs in each sector and country, checking in every 2-3 hours. If you do this you will see activity when it starts, be able to understand where the aliens are focusing their operation (it's often a long way from their first arrival point and hence first graph activity), and have enough time to respond anywhere in the world from your main base.
If you ever want to test this, the first round of alien activity is always the same. A tiny 1-man scout arrives exactly at 2h mark, if you check within the first 121 to 149 mins of game time after start, you'll see the first pixel of movement on the graph. If you record where that was, then advance time a further 30 mins, (to 2.5hours plus but less than 3h), the second small scout has arrived, and you'll see the 'overall' region graph has moved up a few pixels. If you check individual regions again, you'll then see that the tiny scout left a trail, either adding another pixel to the region it was in or a neighbouring region. And you can now see which region the small scout arrived in due to the single pixel of movement on this graph. This is an easy way to see the mechanic because all graphs start at zero. Then you can then track how these two craft move around the world. You'll see after following the activity 'pings' on the graph which region they're focusing on. Sometimes it takes several hours to narrow it down. Sometimes they'll move long distances across the world before they settle on a region. The first two aliens don't tend to travel too far, the tiny scout being the more mobile of the two.
After the first interception I do this for the first few months and get ~100% detection rate and around 60-80% interception rate (missing only the craft that don't stay long, but generally I capture 100% of the craft that land):
1. Check UFO activity every 2-4 hours using 'G' hotkey (or remap to preferred hotkey using autohotkey). You only need check the combined region graph for the slightest movement. So it's easy to glance at the screen, and if nothing tap the hotkey again. I try to do it around every 2 hours. I rationalise/role play the tedium like this: The fate of mankind is in your hands. You want to stop every UFO. This simulates reviewing all news sources, radio chatter etc, scouring it, for signs of alien activity not just beyond, but also within (your early radar is very bad at detection) your radar range. Also the money and research from captured alien stuff is extremely useful. Having a 100% success rate intercepting the first UFOs, even on ironman play-style, is extremely useful on my superhuman playthroughs.
2. Once movement is detected on the overall region graph, check each region, keep a record of previous activity in each region and country, this way you'll know where it happens. I count the number of pixels from key levels and note them on a spreadsheet. It is tedious but I consider it the 'work' of reviewing all news reports, radio chatter, etc, in the world trying to detect without radar where the aliens might be. Once I locate which region activity is in, I check individual countries.
3. Every 30 mins alien activity updates and sometimes aliens will move around a lot, especially when they first arrive. It's not uncommon for them to go buzzing off to the other side of world after arrival. But you can get a sense of what they're doing and where they're going if you track their movements every 30 mins.
4. Having the map of the regions and countries hand (lins below) as a ready reference is very helpful. When UFOs are in countries they're fairly easy to detect with yoru craft, but when they're not in countries (which happens a lot) I use a mix of knowing the region they're in, and the countries they're not in, to figure out their likely location. For example: if in Europe, but no countries showing activity, and they were previously in north atlantic, they're likely west of UK/Spain in that pocket of ocean that is considered 'Europe' region. If you look there's lots of pockets in the regions where there are no countries, where ufos could be hiding. Similarly for example, in North Africa, it's a much bigger region, but if Egypt shows no activity, I know I don't need to bother checking there (too much). The only exception to this thinking is that UFOs move around, the actifity reports are always 30mins old.
For copies of the region and country maps search UFOpaedia [it wouldn't let me post the links]
I played the game for many years before I realised how useful graphs can be. I consider them realistic, somewhat like xcom's version of UFO sighting reports on xenonaughts world map for example.
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