Enemies have full TU on first turn

[Azirel]

I'm likely not the first one to mention that, but I'm getting tired of hitting "end turn" first thing after the mission start.
It feels like my pilot have been landing REALLY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, ensuring that everyone is ready for us.
Maybe change it, if not 0%, then to at least "default overwatch %" (I know that aliens tend to reserve some TUs every turn if the don't see an enemy, but not 100%)

[Juku121]

It's the old X-Com meta, smoke the ramp and press end turn.

There's a submod to help with that.

I'm not sure there's a straightforward 'default reserve TU for reaction-fire', the AI is not as simple as that, even vanilla AI.

[Abyss]

I'm likely not the first one to mention that, but I'm getting tired of hitting "end turn" first thing after the mission start.
It feels like my pilot have been landing REALLY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, ensuring that everyone is ready for us.
Maybe change it, if not 0%, then to at least "default overwatch %" (I know that aliens tend to reserve some TUs every turn if the don't see an enemy, but not 100%)

But... Your pilot indeed landed carefully, so everyone is ready for you. Just, imagine it. It takes 20-40 seconds for VTOL to come and land, it makes noise and flashes lights, it opens the ramp... And soldiers get hit by every single unit, that holds the gun.
What's so unnatural here?
In smaller difficulties there is bigger chance that units facing wrong direction.
In highest difficulty everyone facing towards you.

[Azirel]

That's exactly what I do - smoke the ramp and press end turn It's realistic, I understand, but it's just an extra "end turn" press that isn't really affecting much.

[Azirel]

It takes 20-40 seconds for VTOL to come and land, it makes noise and flashes lights, it opens the ramp...

"Why don't we effing land a couple block away from the conflict zone and come there by land (like, say, reinforcements in manors arrive)?" is a whole other can of worms

[Azirel]

There's a submod to help with that.

I know I can submod this, the files are self-explanatory enough, raised the question to discuss two things (in order of priority):
a) an extra "end turn" press
b) the realism of the situation

Really wish this could be controlled per-mission somehow, like "We're coming in hot, they will know we're here" or "We'll carefully approach by land in order to avoid getting into crossfire". But I think that's off-topic for The X-COM Files forum.

[Juku121]

You can also use instant grenades and/or grenade launchers and assault into the smoke on turn 1. It's what I do.


As far as TU and first-turn action go, the submod and Milkors/instant grenades should cover a).


As to b), theoretically, what X-Com is doing is some sort of 'air assault', with suppressive fire, rapelling, smoke projection, surprise landings in the rear, etc. Doesn't really translate too well into the mostly 2D, relatively abstracted gameplay.


Infiltration missions are a sort of substitute for "we'll carefully approach".

The TU issue and landing location have been discussed before, and Solarius seems to think the current state is the best compromise given his own preferences and what's technically feasible without n-th degree mapscripting.

[Stone Lake]

If the single extra "press turn" is the greatest critique you can muster, must be a very good mod 

[Azirel]

If the single extra "press turn" is the greatest critique you can muster, must be a very good mod 

Correct I have some peeves with how the mission randomization works, but it's "unfixable" due to the engine, so I'm not even mentioning it.

[Azirel]

The TU issue and landing location have been discussed before, and Solarius seems to think the current state is the best compromise given his own preferences and what's technically feasible without n-th degree mapscripting.

I'll have to live with it then mapscripting is painful, considering the sheer amount of maps and missions XCF has.

[deltarno]

Aside from what everyone else pointed out, it makes your agents the main characters of the scene.  The ramp drops, smoke billows out, the camera spends a few seconds switching between the smokey ramp and the scared enemy pointing at the ramp...
Then the boys and girls in black storm out and slaughter everyone.  Picture perfect.