Re: [MAIN] XPiratez - N9.7.7 12-Sep-2024 Second Coming

[legionof1]

Interesting I go at it from the other end. Weapons and other end products being researched first shrinks the freebie pools, most of which are quite large. Shrinking the pools let's you use those freeibes to link to rare or otherwise hard to get items.

[Arthanor]

I go in order:
1 - cheap weapons (the ones I don't care to use, thus don't care to waste. This way they get out of the getOneFree pools)
2 - easy to find enemies (the GOs and guild security types, and spartans/raiders). Those guys are pretty besides weapons and slavery, and it's often more useful to get the weapon info without wasting the weapon.
3 - gun almanachs (besides telling you about weapons, they're not useful, so might as well use them!)
4 - fancier guns (like sniper rifles early on, since I am loathe to waste them)

This uses the least valuable items first, and makes the most out of everything I feel.

[Riph]

What does the Prospector craft do?  I just built one and it seems to behave like any other craft.

[Drasnighta]

Although I havn't checked it myself, the fact that it is said to "make money" probably means that it has a Reversed Maintenance Cost...  Rather than costing you money to keep, it generates a little bit instead.

[Riph]

Reversed Maintenance Cost...

Good guess!  I just checked my monthly costs screen.  It makes 400k per month

I immediately went too complicated, and assumed it was going to deposit Ore into my general stores that I'd have to smelt for scrap.

[karadoc]

I go in order:
1 - cheap weapons (the ones I don't care to use, thus don't care to waste. This way they get out of the getOneFree pools)
2 - easy to find enemies (the GOs and guild security types, and spartans/raiders). Those guys are pretty besides weapons and slavery, and it's often more useful to get the weapon info without wasting the weapon.
3 - gun almanachs (besides telling you about weapons, they're not useful, so might as well use them!)
4 - fancier guns (like sniper rifles early on, since I am loathe to waste them)

This uses the least valuable items first, and makes the most out of everything I feel.

I do pretty much the same as this; but I don't research very many enemies - for two reasons. One reason is that I value the captures more highly as slaves. The other reason is that my research can't keep up with my captures. I've always got lots of important things to research, and so researching additional security guards and such is pretty low priority.

Speaking of slaves though; my slave army is so effective that it seems a bit silly. I get more storage space from slaves than I do from actual physical vaults. Slaves make Large Vaults just look like a waste of time and space. I can't help but wonder, what are all these slaves actually doing? They don't need sleeping quarters, they don't need upkeep; and yet somehow they are able to effectively store large quantities of loot without taking up any additional space. How do they do it? Are they storing the loot in tents outside the base or something? -- Sometimes I think maybe there should be limits on the effectiveness of slaves. eg. maybe slaves in a base can only double the physical storage capacity; additional slaves after that have no effect.

[Drasnighta]

You are building buildings out of slaves.

There is a whole Slave tent City that is Log Cabins made out of Slaves, rather than Logs... 

There are so many slaves that they are worshipped as natural mutant wonders of the world, and donations of food and glittering prizes sustain them so you do not have to upkeep them, as pilgrims come from wide around in order to worship and prostrate themselves at the feet of the glorious slave tower...

ll you are doing is storing your excess supplies in the Slave-Log Cabins...

[karadoc]

Fair enough. I guess that makes sense. 

[Drasnighta]

ALL HAIL THE SLAVE-LOG-CABIN-TOWER OF AWESOMNESS

[Riph]

Does the Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance research actually do anything?  Because I just researched it, and two months later I saw a Sway Local Government mission happen, and the nation dropped out.

(Yes I also did the followup *Family Ties*)

[Solarius Scorch]

Does the Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance research actually do anything?  Because I just researched it, and two months later I saw a Sway Local Government mission happen, and the nation dropped out.

(Yes I also did the followup *Family Ties*)

IAFAIK, once the sway operation begins in the region, it's unstoppable. But Zero Tolerance for Zero Tolerance should prevent other regions from being swayed in the future.

[karadoc]

Two months later sounds a bit much though, right? Do missions really last that long?

On a somewhat related note, in my current game I've been getting heaps of sway government missions in North America. The thing is, even after all of that continent has been swayed there have still been a few sway government ships in that area. Is that normal? It seems weird to me. Surely that can't accomplish any more than they have already.

[ivandogovich]

I ran into that on my campaign to, but in North Africa.  All the nations were swayed, but I got repeating waves there to farm for cash and loot.

[KateMicucci]

Fantastic game. Absolutely fantastic. I spent all weekend playing without taking a break to see friends, go to the gym, study or even eat.

I have a few thoughts in no particular order:
1. The number of explosive pipes in some pogrom maps is excessive. I'd rather they didn't explode.
2. The difficulty seems to have increased a lot since "upgrading" my airbus to a skyranger. Strange that 12-14 gals doesn't make things easier than 6.
3. The tech level of enemies in pogroms is usually much higher than the tech level of enemies in other missions. I got a pogrom with four cyberdiscs when the only AT weapons I had were a few crates of violence.
4. Trying to leave the skyranger is very difficult. Especially during pogroms, when I'm usually surrounded, and many of the enemies carry explosives.
5. The only pogroms that I've felt were managable so far were against humanists. The first were mostly the klansmen kind, which I beat with 6 grils, losing 0. The 2nd were the brown and blue kind with a lot of RPGs and lasers, which I beat with 14 girls, losing 1, with most of the rest wounded.
6. Even a bandit pogrom was too difficult for me. There were almost as many enemies as in Meridian's LP but my gurls had generally worse equipment available, and the terrain was absolutely nightmarish.
7. Are pogroms meant to be so difficukt that you often have to abort them or am I just bad at video games?
8. I have bootypedia entries for boarding guns, hand cannons, blunderbusses and other weapons that I don't actually have in the beginning. Intentional?
9. Is there a way to make the alien advisor not stand in the front door of the skyranger?
10. I would rather fight three or four big scorpions than a dozen tiny scorpions
11. There is a merc base. Mercs same like too much to handle unless I simply chuck crates of violence at each one. Is it safe to leave it alone for a while?

[ivandogovich]

Welcome Kate! 

1. Yeah, I hate that map too, but its random. You won't always get it for every pogrom.
2. I'm not a fan of the Skyranger.  I'd recommend switching out to the Pachyderm when you can. Doors that close are Life Savers.  The skranger is just so vulnerable its really a detriment.  Standard Skyranger tactics are throwing smoke grenades on the ramp and skipping the first turn, hoping that nothing shoots you on the between turn.  When you get to the Bonaventura, you will have one of the best landers for the game.
3. Pogroms are designed to be tough. Much harder than the standard early missions.
4.  See 2 above.
5. See 3 above
6. Some pogroms can be managed with lots of smoke and scout and snipe tactics.
7. Some pogroms are just worth aborting. You take a points penalty, but if it means you won't lose your entire crew and the drop ship, I have no problem aborting.  I sometimes try to make early pogroms a snatch and grab. The goal here is to take down a few enemies and snatch their bodies and loot (maybe higher tech weapons) and get back to the ship and abort.  This may provide some researchable items that would other wise be available sooner.
8.  You do start with some basic understanding of some items/weapons though you may not have access to purchase or make them yet. This is as designed.
9.  Not really. All the non-soldier units have assigned spots.  This is pretty inopportune in the skyranger for the advisor, but if it was a Tank, with heavy armor, it might be nice because it would protect the other troops.
10. I like the little scorps.  So much reaction training!
11. Leave the Merc  Base alone.  I have one too in my campaign.  The only thing enemy bases really do is generate a small amount of negative points each month and a supply mission.  You can farm the supply ships if you are brave and bold, but with Mercs, I'd avoid it entirely until you have end game armor.  Keeping the merc base around will also ensure you can farm the base for Merc gear that is actually needed for some of the late game items.

Though its a bit out of date, there is some more great info on the wiki at: https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Piratez