Aftermath One-Handed SMGs Mod

I've created an Alpine-mod that makes all submachineguns in UFO: Aftermath one-handed rather than the original two-handed ("1.5 handed" in game terms). This has been tested with version 1.4 (in the tutorial mission) and seems to work very well, except for the inability to set the SMG to single-fire when the other hand is occupied; but you can easily carry an SMG (set on autofire) in one hand and, say, a Medkit in the other.

Scripting-wise, it has been inspired by Andrew 'Fulby' Campbell's All Human Equipment Mod.

Get it here.

Phantasms Giving me a Headache

I'm quite new to Interceptor, and I had an easy time in the Beginning difficulty until I met a Phantasm - an annoying, squadron-killing saucer piloted by an Ethereal or by a Psilord. These things simply wipe out my squadron, even though I'm using experienced pilots and the best weapon available so far (Gatling Lasers).

One Handed SMGs and Alpine

I'd like to make some (or all?) of the SMGs usable in one hand (so that the other will be free for a medkit/grenade/PSI item), in order to make them somewhat more attractive. I know the file that needs to be modded (\tactical\configs\game\listofweapon.txt) as well as the parameter (HAND 1.5), but the fact that the line repeats several times makes it too complicated for my limited scripting knowledge to modify this with ALPine. Help will be welcome.

Making one ammo type usable by several guns

I was thinking - several weapons in UFO:AM use, for example, the same 9mm bullet (Uzis and a few pistols, for example); IRL, a Glock magazine could be loaded into an Uzi; M-16 magazines could be loaded in Galil and Tavor TAR-21 rifles.

So, is that possible to make several guns to draw from the same ammo pool?

Tactics and Strategy for my next game

I've dfecided that in my next game, in which I'll give final testing to my CoE-Plus ALPine mod, I'll change my strategy and tactics in a significant way. First and foremost, I'll have more research and engineering bases, and military bases would be spread in a thinner way (but still weill cover my territory for easy interception and mission mobility); I want shorter research times and faster production. On my previous game I had too many military bases, and only 5-6 each in Research and Engineering, and I was in the Russian base mission; I want more balanced research this time.

Also, I'll radically change my squad organization. Previously I've organized my troops in one 7-person team; in the missions themselves I usually ended up using them in smaller groups. This time around my squad will only be 6 soldiers strong, divided into two equal teams. Each team will have a Rifleman (general-purpuse firepower), a Heavy Gunner (earlier Grenadier, heavy firepower) and a Sniper (long-range firepower. Atleast one member of each 3 soldier team will be well-trained in Medical; everyone will carry a medkit. I've found out that I heal my troopers between hostile encounters anyway, so no need for a dedicated medic.

Also, instead of setting a walking goal in the other end of the mission and let my troopers run into Transgeneants and Grays, I'll walk in small steps each time.