Really really fast Chryssalid or bug?

[7Saturn]

I can only say, that it pretty much screws up any strategy relying on having your back free from enemies. Which on usual base defense missions is the case. I've had quite a lot of them in the past, but you're right: This never happened before, at all. Is there a way to define the base defense layout, for starting instant battles? This way it could be tested to quite an extend. But if you always start with the same starting layout, there's no variety for useful testing.

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I can only say, that it pretty much screws up any strategy relying on having your back free from enemies. Which on usual base defense missions is the case. I've had quite a lot of them in the past, but you're right: This never happened before, at all. Is there a way to define the base defense layout, for starting instant battles? This way it could be tested to quite an extend. But if you always start with the same starting layout, there's no variety for useful testing.

This is my base layout attached for what it's worth. Just a small radar base so not a lot of places to spawn in general. So far, I almost never get base defense missions so I can't say anything from experience.

Anyway, I kind of felt like the "chokepoint" base setup strategy was a bit "cheaty" so this kind of evens it a little bit.

[7Saturn]

In my case it was also on small bases (in terms of spawn points for aliens): one hangar, the lift, and then just a straight line away from the lift, to get them no means of outflanking you. I think, it comes  with the lack of space to spawn. Just one hangar it is, for all enemy units, not counting the lift (which is always present).

Which brings me to a question, I've asked myself a while ago: What's happening, when there's no hangar at a base? Let's imagine a radar outpost: the lift, 1 x stores, 1  x quarters and 1 radar of some kind. Where will they spawn? Spawning only at the lift will make that thing quite cramped, especially if there's one of those big invasion platoons, consisting of 3-5 2x2 units and ~25 further 1x1 units.

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Which brings me to a question, I've asked myself a while ago: What's happening, when there's no hangar at a base? Let's imagine a radar outpost: the lift, 1 x stores, 1  x quarters and 1 radar of some kind. Where will they spawn? Spawning only at the lift will make that thing quite cramped, especially if there's one of those big invasion platoons, consisting of 3-5 2x2 units and ~25 further 1x1 units.

Your question made me curious, so I re-loaded the save I mentioned before, dismantled the hangar/psi lab and let the time run again. I entered debug mode and took some screen shots to show what happens. All Ethereals in the lift and in my hyper-wave decoder. No sectopods. I played the mission and lost, but didn't meet any sectopods so I guess the big units won't spawn in small base without a hangar. Seems fair; they'd send a smaller platoon for a smaller base.

Save file attached if you want to give it a try just for kicks. I got my ass kicked. It's on Superhuman and the base is full of untrained rookies in mostly personal armor. Also when I equipped at the start of the mission I forgot to not give explosives to my psi weak guys so you can imagine how that went.

[7Saturn]

Thanks for your tests. It pretty much shows, where the problem lies. It seems like, the problem mentioned during the earlier postings in this thread, is still there. It's simply to little of spawning points, so the alien units are places somewhere else, where usually the players units are spawned. I suspect, the lack of Sectopods is due to lack of spawning points all together. They are at the end of the unit list, also in other mission types. But if the spawning points are used before reaching them in the list, they simply don't occur, as they aren't spawned at all. (And no, I won't try that safe.  If it were my game, I'd try to kill as many of those b******s as I could, for the points. But this base is lost, unless you have at least one or two guys around, that stand a chance against their psi attacks.)

[Xtendo-com]

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I think your save may be more useful before alien assault.