mockingbird

Nope. It's not a rename. Most likely they'd ditched the whole range-based aspect of the original. I don't see any controls for multiple craft interception too, although that doesn't mean they're not there. I'm actually pretty hopeful that they'll take up this opportunity to improve the dull minigame from the originals. I'd have to see the whole interface in action before I pass definitive judgment, but so far it really looks like an arcade game from the 90s :-/ Hopefully you can rotate it to get a proper top down view.

Shareware releases, as the name implies, were meant to be shared among people so that everyone could try and form an opinion about the product. It was in the pre-internet times, so people actually relied more on cover cd and copying stuff from friends. Some shareware versions were actually full versions, some had limited functionality, others would nag about registering and paying the author. I think with the advent of the Internet as we know it, the term shareware became confusing, because it's essentially an umbrella term, hence, people chose to use the more specific distinction into "Demo", "Freeware/Open source", "Trial version" releases. I can't really blame them, with the tight budgets and deadline. I mean, creating a proper demo takes resources which could have been better spent otherwise. On the one hand, I'm glad that for once I am not forced to use your friendly p2p tracker to make an informed purchase, on the other, it's a shame that they advertise their product via an imperfect build.

Oh yeah, Russian games are... peculiar. The Brigade E5-6 series are a good example of that. Usually they have lots of nice ideas and attention to detail, but unless you figure out the exact way the developer intended you to play them, you're in for a rough ride. They usually require fan-made mods and patches, too. Had the same situation with City of Abandoned Ships. But, when it comes to German games, I remember Blue Byte, I remember piranha bytes. Germans used to make good games. Dunno what happened, as recently they mostly seem to churn out shovelware tractor simulators mostly. I think the future of BIA depends a lot on the modding. I saw one guy managed to unpack the game files, but it remains to be seen what can actually be done. Analyzing the list of problems I have with this game, they all seem to be easily fixed, and it seems many guys on the official forums seem to share my sentiment. But, the point still stands, based on demo impresions, I'll definitely give it a pass, until I hear abut some serious patching, or modding going on.

Well, no point in forcing yourself to like stuff that doesn't agree with you. Although it's sometimes worth it. I remember I didn't like Brigade E5 and E6 at first, but with some patience, I got a few weeks worht of entertainment out of them. Trying to do the same to the Paradox games. Tried Europa Universalis and it didn't agree with me. Mostly because of the scale, I'm not too keen on the grand strategy bit. But, I know they are nicely detailed strategy titles and I think I'll be getting back to them sometime. Now if I were a fps player, I could afford to be picky. With strategy games there's no such luxury, and dammit I need that quality mental masturbation fix every now and then. Now, when it comes to the BIA demo, I subconsciously wanted to find any kind of redeeming features in it because it's a tactical squad game. Not many games like that come out recently, so I though, what the hell, let's see if it's enjoyable at least. Turns out it didn't. This makes me wonder, BitComposer spent all that time and resources and ended up alienating the only fanbase they would have hoped for. Are the JA2 fanboys rabid and self-entitled? Sure they do. But that's what you become if you are faithful to a single game for 13 years now. Had they chose to humor the fans, make a 1:1 remake rules-wise, they would earn a sure buck and wouldn't have to worry about this whole balancing thing that obviosly gives them a lot of trouble. Turn based does not sell very good in the XXI century, that much may be true (Although Civilization 4 and 5 beg to disagree here), but I'm not really sure they'll be better off at the rtwp market (which is only slightly less niche, imo). This is infuriating, because I look at the whole Back in Action project and all I see is missed potential and a bunch of resources that could have been put to much better use. There, the bile is almost gone, let's carry on with the conversation, shall we? Same here. I really hope Firaxis manages to deliver. I had my moment of doubt after Civ5, but right now I'm cautiosuly optimistic. I disagree with some of their design choices, but from what I saw and read, it still may be a decent game after all. For one, they aren't as clueless as the Bit Composer guys.

I am aware of the guard command, still I'd prefer to issue the fire order myself. Feels much more personal and involving this way. My biggest gripe is that apparently BitComposer chose to ignore virtually every RtwP game out there. I mean not just 7.62 and Aftershock, but even Fallout Tactics. If they handled line of sight and guard mode at least the way Tactics did, the game would be so much better. No, really, I remember the guard mode in Tacics allowed you to set the %cth treshold and which body part to aim at. Shame nobody thought about that. Yeah, supposedly fog of war screws the pausing and I like it that they chose to axe the entire fow system instead of just tweaking the pause settings. This doesn't make sense to me, the game would be so much better with fow, and they even made a spotting skill for the mercs that would go with it perfectly. Now, I've read some of their justifications. I know that community manager guy is neither a dev, nor is he very proficient in English, but it's absolutely heart-melting when I read that they cannot include a custom MERC in the game, because it destroys game balance. The mind, it is blown. And I begin to wonder, are they THAT incompetent? I mean they're supposed to be the professionals here? The game is full of these little things that make you wonder what sort of twisted logic is behind that. An example straight off the top of my head: C4 charges can only be used in pre-defined spots. Ok, I can accept that, engine limitations, etc. etc. Problem is, there is one, just ONE such spot in the entire demo mission, and blowing it up is of extremely limited tactical benefit. I mean, none of the QA testers bothered to point that out? Then you start comparing these things to the original JA2 and wonder, why the hell they did go on about fixing stuff that wasn't broken? The changes to the levelling system, the changes to merc contracts (they chose the Unfinised Business over the original JA2 contracting method), weapon attachments, etc. What can I say, I played the demo, I dicked around on the official forums, the whole experience left a lot of bitter bile in my system, hope you don't mind me sharing.

Being a long-time JA2 fan, I kept my eye on this, just like on all the other remake attempts. I approached the demo preparing to be dissapointed, I didn't follow the development very closely, but from what I read, it wasn't going to be the jagged alliance remake I've been waiting for. Still, I was looking forward to checking it out, I was a squad based tactical game after all. So, I played the demo, completed it, time for some impressions. Wall of text incoming: The graphics are easily the best part of the game. They aren't partricularly impressive, but the environments are detailed and, overall, it's what I would expect from a strategy game in 2012. Only the character faces are less-than impressive - it's essentially the same mesh with different texture and hair. The second good thing is the AI. While it doesn't really contribute much to game difficulty (I'll get to the issue later), the AI looks pretty decent. Has some random brain fart moments (ie.g. sometimes not reacting to gunfire just a few meters away), it often tries to flank you, takes cover and stays put when it seems the logical thing to do. Overall, the AI feels natural. Unfortunately, that's the end of the good stuff. Now, as said, I am a big fan of JA2. Unlike some of the fans, I've partially gotten over the fact that turn based JA2 is unlikely to happen and thus I'm not going to bitch how BIA is RtWP. Actually, I've played most (if not all) of the squad based RtwP games, and had good fun with each one. What about this one? For starters, I kinda like what they did with the strategic (or whatever it's called) panel, that lets you pause, plan, synchronize and review actions. Unfortunately, the rest of the system does not live up to the standards. Compared to virtually ANY rtwp game out there, BIA is missing several small components that make playing it a chore. Examples: no "shoot until target is killed" command means you either plan 20 shots for each guy, or risk that they stop shooting in mid-combat. There is no indication whatsoever to tell you when the currently planned action will be completed. Which means, you order the unit to fire, and you only have a vague idea when the shot will be taken. Third thing, no time compression, which means you have to pause a lot when fighting on two fronts. These are small things, but they were present in the Brigade E5 and the UFO: After---- series. And they do affect the game. Without them, unit management gets really tedious. Next comes game difficulty. When I dowloaded the demo, I saw a disclaimer that it is supposed to be hard. Bring it then, says I. Unfortunately, the demo mission failed to deliver. Yes, I reloaded a number of times, but most of my deaths were caused by either: (o) me struggiling with the interface - I queued a few shot orders less than I should and the soldiers stopped firing in the middle of combat, or they just refused to shoot for some unknown reason. (o) the AI scored a random critical hit vs. a prone target far away. Take these two away, and the mission wasn't all that hard. It got even easier when I chose to abuse the almighty Draganoff (sic!) to pick offenemies at a distance - apart from a lucky scritical hit, the AI was powerless against it, although it did cower behind obstacles and attempted flanking maneuvers from time to time. The final nail to the game's coffin is the lack of fog of war. I actively sought for a justification for this decision on the official forums, but couldn't find anything close to a reasonable justification. What's more, I've found many users actively defending it as a "feature", because y'know mang, we got them predator drones and stuffs. Fog of was is apparently last-gen. What can I say, I've seen fog of war in 7.62 and in Aftershock series, and it's not true that it doesn't work for such games. As a matter of fact, it actually adds a lot of depth. Without it, the game fells too easy. To add insult to injury, one of the devs said that they actually had fog of war in one build, but as for now, the feature is out. I made a promise to myself not to compare the game to JA2 too much, but alas it's inevitable. One major step-down is the health and injuries system, which was a big thing in JA2. You most likely remember it - you had to bandage your wounds so as not to bleed to death, then the merc would be out of commission for some time, untill treated by a competent medic. In BIA, you can get shot at as much as you want, medikits will restore your HP instantly. The only penalty is when you get hurt badly - the merc will fall over and require immediate treatment in order to survive (although the time limit is pretty generous here), afterwards, a chunk of health will be removed until the unit rests. No biggie, because lost HP do not affect unit performance for as much as I could see. What can I say, I preferred the earlier system more, but the current BIA system actually works well with the current gameplay. With the amount of lucky hits the AI gets in, you will get shot often. Weapon customization got really simplified when compared to JA2. Now you only have one attachment slot, so you have to choose, silencer or scope. I suspect that this means laser sights and bipods are out. Not to mention retractable stocks and all that. Shame. Merc personality was a big thing in JA2. The colorful personalities and banter actually made a great portion of the game's atmosphere. Recreating it with 100% fidelity would be very hard, if not impossible. Unfortunately, my opinion on the actual design skills of the BitComposer folks is not too high, but I have to give them that, they tried hard to capture some of this. The voice acting is decent (but not spectacular), and it appears that the mercs have some stuff to say. Unfortunately, it falls apart in practice. The pace of the game is largely to blame here, in turn based JA2 you had all the time in the world to listen to your mercs' one-liners, but in the frentic rtwp, they all get lost in the racket. What's worse, the mercs repeat themselves much too often. Unfortunately, I cannot say anything about the strategic layer of the game, cause there wasn't any in the demo. Verdict: This is NOT Jagged Alliance, BIAtch! Well, that didn't turn out too well... Overall, the game has potential for future development. As for now, it desperately needs some polish. It's not a total disaster like the Jagged Edge game, but it feels subpar when compared to the other rtwp titles out there. I really like the environments and it's a shame that the assets would largely go to waste on a game that only vaguely resembles the original it claims to remake.

I'd really love to hear some info myself. Looking at BlueBlood's first post, I think he would very much want the next UFO to be XCOM... Well, I think Altar's been bugged about the issue since Aftermath, and their reply is as follows - better squad control & development, less and less gritty atmospher, more pastel colours. Thus, I don't feel they're ever turning back to the AM atmosphere (which, I must add, is unfortunate in my books.) Speaking story wise, I think the After____ series got a little bit exhausted. Personally, I would take a break form the whole humans vs. reticulans vs. even weirder races in an even weirder environment scheme (and thus I cannot blame ALTAR for moving on to something different for now.) Actually, I relly enjoy the strategic feel the whole series have introduced - the simulatneous action system, squad development thru training & experience, down to the little aesthetic bits such as different vision modes and customizable weapons, and would really love to see it perpetuated in some way. Of course the whole thing would need more fine tunig - weed the bugs, optimise load times, add destructive environments. That would make me a happy man. On the other hand I would enjoy the color being more toned down, the aliens more scary and less straight outta plastic toy store. Yeah, In the ideal world I would really enjoy a remake of AM using the upgraded engine of AL, much as I enjoyed the atmosphere back then I was a bit dissapointed by squad controls. So, If i were god, I would lock them ALTAR dudes in a cold cellar and say: Thou shalt make me an X-comme re-make. But that's probably never gonna happen (-: (And this means I am back to waiting for Jagged Alliance 3 and JAZZ Hired Guns... unless we get together a crack-team of modders and... but that is just wishful thinking. (-:

"Oh, quite balanced and much more interesting than in AS" True. I love the way AL forces me to try out many different squads and weapons. The only thing I am missing, though, is the modability of the weapons and the less pastel atmorphere... (And the really horrific research stuff from AM... but let's not get sentimental here, khem, khem) I remember my first fight with martians was a shock, so far it was all nice and fluffy, but suddenly these pitiful pieces of green snot were dropping my soldiers one after one. As to the armor - I believe their weapons deal mostly EM damage, so don't get too desperate about these heavy suits. Lighter armor AFAIR gives more protection against EM, and as a side effect, you can run away from grenades and plasma bolts as they tend to travel quite slowly, as well as run from the dudes with lightsabers. You should have gotten the Warp Cannon by now, try it, it is a lifesaver. Drops the bugger in one/two shots. Meleeing them should also work wonders (on paper, didn't ry it), since their armor offers pitiful protection vs. that (even worse than vs. fire) Speaking of which, anyone here had any luck with melee weapons? Last time I tried it in mid game, lured by the promising damage outputs of the improved buzzsaw, but realized quickly that I lack melee specialists, and for better results at least 3 melee guys per squad are required. Upon starting a new game on Hard, however, I've found out the hard way that getting close to ANY foe is suicide (even with the noble intention of conserving ammo in mind).

My crashes also most often go hand in hand with the memory leak - once the loading times get absudily high, the game's bound to crash on me sooner or later. So if this is your problem BB, just save, exit to system and reload ever two hours or so. As to the fast clicking on the tabs Azrael Strife has, I'm having the same. It seems that it is irrelevant what kind of tab you click though. Learned the hard way to stop doing that and just use the bar at the top of the screen. Come to think about it it is nice that the devs care about us so much - they make the game CTD if we play too long so that we can take breaks and let our eyes rest a wee bit.

"That much tactics against Beastmen?" I think it's more to do with blasting them to kingdom come marine style, but this is only a guess (-: Hey, he could'ave just brough in four guys with miniguns, in heavy armour and with shield add-ons and turn them all into Beastburgers... but where's the finesse in this? (Although I admit it is fun to do every once in a while (-: "The Expedition and the Martians are awfully more difficult to slaughter, I'm afraid..." I think the races are actually balanced in terms of difficulty (more or less) all it takes is a change of tactics. Personally, I have no problems mopping up the entire Ret base with just two guys in light armor, dual wielding pistols, at daylight.

Good looking tactics there, BlueBlood. If I may comment: "1 x squad leader (accelerated rifle).He will be the focus of the squad,boosting squad attributes ect,and providing accurate fire against high priority targets." Hmm, perhaps you could consider giving him a sniper rifle as well, then? From my experience Sniper Training I will suffice for some time? "2 Marines/troopers.Armed with accelerated rifle,shotgun,and katana,these guys protect the left and right flanks of the squad,and provide overwatch for the squad when advancing to a new position.They also carry 2 attack grenades for extra tactical options." Hmm, I'd be a bit skeptical about the katanas. With sniper support and two heavy weapons you theoretically have enough firepower to hold the advancing enemy. If you don't, however, your best bet would be to switch to full auto and keep firing, not waste seconds for digging up stuff from your backpack. You can utilize the space taken by the katana for grenade launchers this way, for even more long range fire suppport. You tend to emphasize mobility in your tactics, yet you pack your men in heavy armor. I realize you want maximum protection and are compensating through the use of leapfrogging, but perhaps lighter suits on the supporting team could give you a bit more flexibility this way? Does your sniper/scout utilize heavy suits, too? This is something I wouldn't recommend - he needs to run around to snipe, scout and set these mines.

Agreed, there is definately more than one way to skin a Beastman C-: Currently, I am having fun with two guys, two gatlings and tight passages. I am also officially in love with NV goggles: Equip the entire squad with these things, give them silenced weapons and do a night mission. Immediately swith to NV and enjoy the special ops feel.

That's weird. The AL Ufopaedia I just downloaded doesn't differentiate between two kinds of suits for Rets (and since it is based on raw game data I would actually believe it). Also, the in game description identifies the armor as 'Reticulan,' and that reticulans can wear it. Just that. And I can't seem to get any suits from the Expedition thru trade...may be just my luck. Are you sure it is a feature and not a bug? I am having bad memories of base inventory in all the UFO: AfterXXXX series pulling all sorts of tricks on me /-:

Has anyone experienced something similar? I had the two Reticula Henchmen from the first reticulans,

Sniper tactics don't work too good for me, I fear, since in most missions them buggers hole themselves inside building and won't move. I once saw four greys armed with PSI weapons inside a dome with only one entrance. In general they also like to hide behind all kinds of debris, which makes sniping them tedious. My solution #1: Grenades. Identify the juicy spots where they may be lurking and fire away. Watch for "Reticulan missess %Charname%, chance to hit was X%" messages - PSI weapons have low range so they must be around. My solution #2: Fast strike in. Running soldiers with fast weapons can quickly scout around and shoot them to hell before they have a chance of hiting them (PSI weapons take a long time to fire) and if they control one guy, there's always the other. Dual wield pistols for best results.

Greetings y'all. Got myself a copy of Afterlight fairly recently, and I must say that despite (very infrequent) CTDs, memory leak issues and loooong loading times I am having a great time with it. So, a few combat tips from me, straight from the war zone. I have not yet beaten the game, but since the strategies worked for me so far, some of them seem to be universal. So far I am playing on medium difficulty. Soldiers & Training (o)Combat experience in AL seems to be calculated mostly on the basis of damage inflicted. If you want to balance your characters (i.e. level up rookies) have the more experienced team members down an enemy for them (using stun grenades or bringing them to 'red health bar') then run up to the incapacitated target (for higher ToHit%) and finish it off. (it should go without saying, but make sure your improvised training ground is free of hostiles (-: ) Also, note that just being on a mission gives XP. This can be a fairly large amount in the later game. (o)Make sure your soldier/scientists have medical training. You'd want at least one with you on a mission. Reticulans with psionic medikits are a bit more effective, since they can heal at range. This will all come in handy when you face psionic attacks and martians who seem to love stun weapons. (and tend to throw EMP gvrenades like mad) They also help when reviving stunned targets marked for capture. (o)Don't hurry with spending promotion points. You may find an nice promotion in the future. It can also be worthwile to keep one or two characters with a 'clear card', around level 8, so that in the future you can train them any way you want. (o)Thoughts on Training (not all of them) (Lemmie know if I mess up the names, I am using a non-english version) Athletics - lets you run in the light suits. This effectively doubles your movement rate. Without it your units move pitifuly slow, get it for everyone, even sniper whom you want to get to firing positions ASAP. Second level is actually a lesser priority (except for the Heavy Suit guys). The guys in heavy suits can benefit from it as well, as it seems to increase movement speed. It is also very useful when dodging grenades - when you see one flying towards you, get out! Suit Wearing - First level lets you crouch, lay prone and sneak in a space-suit. While I've yet to appreciate the use of sneaking, the added cover and a small ToHit% you'll receive are well worth the 1 point investment. Characters who tend to run around much can probably skip it. Level II is required to wear the heaviest suits, so this is a must for Heavy Suit troops, obviously. Balance - Allows to evade knockdown and grenade splash damage more easily. I didn't use this much, and only regretted it a few times. Getting knocked down in the middle of a firefight can really ruin your day, but this can be countered through appropriate tactics (moving around a lot, keeping your men in a loose formation). Heavy Weapons - This is a specialist skill, obviously useful for your Heavy Weapon troops, but not much use for anyone else. Second level reduces firing time, so get it right after the first. Not that you dont get good heavy weapons until mid-game, (but when you do get them, they'll make your day) so do not make this a high-priority skill. This skill also adds carrying capacity. Ranged Weapons - A good skill for anyone to have, reduces firing and reload times, adds accuracy. Get I & II for everyone. Melee Weapons - Didn't used this one much. Decent melee weapons come late in the game, and they all suffer from the obvious drawback - you have to get close. They are effective vs. the martians, so do not neglect it (although one melee specialist should be enough.) Sniper Training - Two levels, 7 points total. That's a steep price if you wanna play with sniper rifles, but all the sniper fans like me will pay it without a shadow of doubt. NOTE: To use sniper rifles effectively you only need the first level (and it is useful to non-snipers as well, as it seems it raises ToHit% for firing aimed shots). The second level allows for selective fire, and in my experience the difference in effectiveness in not that dramatic. Get it eventually, though, but don't prioritise. Sneak If you want to go stealthy, go get it, but if you're having doubts should you take it, better leve these points open. Leadership Useful. Especially on slow moving troops (who are also the most vulnerable to PSI attacks, incidentally that's what the second level is for.) Personally, I don't use it that much, but I am not a great fan of slow moving troops. Toughness Nice HP increase on level I. No reason not to get if for everyone, even snipers who may find themselves flanked or grenaded at some point. Level II you probably wont need. If you get grounded... better don't - move around or use heavy armour, but if you are, just wait for the medic. I tend to get this promotion later. Anatomy Great many skills here, you get one for each race. It raises damage and chances to score a critical hit vs. the specified race. In theory, they are a nice way of creating specialized squads. In practice, however, I find most of them a waste of points. They can be a tremendous help, but once you work out the tactics and get hold of the better weapons, their usefulness diminishes. OTOH, critical hits are useful, they inflict massive damage, and often knock the target down messing up their attack. I would suggest getting them on higher difficulties (But then again, if you are playing a higher diffculty, you should make up your own tactics, and hence do not need this piece of advice (-: and when you are really having problems with a particular race. Reticulan Anatomy - this is perhaps a bit of an overkill, these guys are frail, regular shots knock them around, and explosives send them flying. What you need here is protection vs. their PSI attacks not increased damage. Beastmen Anatomy - these guys are tough, and their grenades hit hard, so you may want to give this training to someone if you are really having a hard time, but I find them easily outgunned at longer ranges, use loose formations and pick out the grenadiers and hard-hitting bosses first and you'll get yourself some breathing air. Martian Anatomy - the green men were a surprise for me the first time they showed up - nearly impervious to bullets, hard hitting and regrow themselves really fast. Howevewer, once the inital shock of the encounter was over, they died easily. The main problem with these dudes is that they are near invisible, incredibly fast and throw grenades like mad. When you see them grenades fly, move out of the way and absolutely never allow them to occupy an elevated position - you will get grenaded to death. Human Anatomy - this is an exclusively reticulan training, I've yet to get to the point in game when I'll face humans (and when I do, I guess a heavy round between the eyes will work just as good as always) but since this training adds a healing bonus, and I make my Retuculan dudes part time medics anyway, I give it a go. Cover - I don't like this skill, it is cheap, I'll have to give it that, but I prefer to spend my points elsewhere and see nothing to change my point of view on it. Level II is even worse. You wanna avoid friendly fire? Think when you position your troops, don't spend training point on it, thank you. Ambidexterity - A specialist skill - get all levels or none at all. The reduction in reload and inventory manipulation time is nice, but you don't need it that much. OTOH, wielding two weapons gives you access to good firepower early on, so be sure to give it a go, either with pistols or blades. Plasma and EMP training Cheap training which allows wielding Plasma and EMP respectively, both human and alien designs. Like all specialist weapon skills, do get it if you plan using it. PSI Weapons Training - Exclusively reticulan skill, unfortunately. I don't use PSI that much, as reticulans are slow to move and slow to attack and thus don't mix up well with the rest of my fighting force, however I train them up in this skill anyways, as they don't seem to have a choce as broad as humans. (o)Soldier 'roles' I love that the new UFO lets you customize the training for your soldier. This way, you get a wide range of possible builds to toy around with. So far, I found a number to my liking: Grunt This is not really a permanent role, but an in-between stage. I use them in the beginning, and later on they become the base for different buids. Athletics I Suit Wearing I Ranged Weapons II Toughness I Usage: Arm these guys with rifles or reticulan lasers and in the beginning you have a formidable fighting force. Group them together and drop enemies firing squad style. (Long line) If you are in the open, use lasers for their longer range, or run for cover. That is what athletics is for. If the enemy is close, use aimed bursts to chop them down fast. Not uch finesse here, but that's about the most you can get in the beginning. Commando The first role really effective at dealing damage. Saved me a lot of fuss with the early Beastmen encounters. Athletics II Ranged Weapons II Toughness I (possibly II) Ambidextrous II Usage: These guys use dual wielding pistols (with silecers attached, just for the looks) to dish out damage up close (running to get close). The combo of Ambidexterity II and Ranged II means they fire two shots each 0.4 seconds, almost as fast as a gatling. With high skil, snap shots and gyro-stabilised pistols you can get it down to 0.2! Theoretically one try and do the same with any other one handed weapon, but I like the pistol best as it can be modded. Beastmen pistols don't make the cut for me, despite having longer range and more ammo options, they are too slow on aimed. Reticulan laser pistols are an option vs robots and martians, as laser do a bit more damage vs. these guys. I like to call this combo a poor man's gatling, as it is equally brutal and ammo consuming. One time I dropped a squad of 6 basic beastmen without them really noticing (none managed to fire!) The best thing is, the dual pistol combo is possible right from the start. Dropping 6 beastmen grunts is nothing impressive later on when Matriarchs appear, but in the beginning it is an immense help. This tactics also fares well agains the Reticulans, run up to them and identify the ones with PSI weapons and drop them ASAP. PSI weapons take above 3 secs to fire, that is an eternity compared to rapid 0.4 dual wield shots (-: Most of the time they can make do without backup, and they work best in pairs. Watch out for grenades and critical hits. Getting kocked down will cost you precius seconds to get up, so It may be worth it to use a training to counter that. However, your superior speed should let you get away, but remember about critical hits! Their usefulness diminishes once the heaviest robots and martians appear - bullets just do not do enough damage. For this reason, I tend to use a shotgun or a grenade launcher as backup weapons. Add stun grenades to the mix, and the capture missions will be a breeze. NOTES: Since they are the fastest guy in my team, I tend to give them medikits and various toolkits. (which also implies that I prefer Soldier/Scientists and Soldier/Techs in this role) In the beginning, these guys tend to dish out the most damage and gain the most levels, so you'll have plenty of training points to spare to customize them more. You do not need suit wearing - you are not going to wear heavy suits nor you are not going to lay down flat in the grass. You run up close, fire away and disappear. Sniper Self explanatory. Get to an elevated point and it is picking time. Athletics I Suit Wearing I Ranged Weapons II Toughness I Sniper Training II Usage: In the beginning I was dissapointed with snipers. It takes a few technological advances to really take pleasure in deploying them, as well as careful planning and training choices. Later on, they make up for it and totally dominate long range fighting. On the whole, most maps have vast flat surfaces and elevation points, which beg for sniper deployment. A crater hill, a cliff, stairs, all these are perfect sniping spots. The trick is identifying them and getting there, the athletics training takes care of that. I learned the hard way, that slow snipers are not the way to go, so learn Athletics ASAP. You learn every tiniest bit of accuracy and cover you can muster, so Suit Wearing I is a must - kneel or lay down flat, depending on whether you are planning to move to a new position anytime soon. On the other hand, I am a bit skeptical about Sniper II training. It allows for choosing body parts to target in precise fire mode, but the increase in effectiveness is not that dramatic. Headshots guarantee a critical, that is true, but I've yet to disarm anyone with a shot to the arms, or drop them with a shot to the legs. Better just to off them with a headshot. And that is the problem - you want pinpoint accuracy, but in the beginning targeted shots knock off a lot of accuracy, so you are better off sticking to regular shots to the torso (like with Sniper Training I precise shot) until you research better equipment. SO: Don't be desperate to get Sniper Training II. Get it eventually, but don't rush. IMO Snipers work best in pairs, especially in the beginning - have two target the same foe, aiming at the head, to guarantee a kill. Once your ToHit% get into the nineties, you can abandon this practice. I also recommend getting a mod which allows targetting unseen enemies. This makes it possible to use spotters for your snipers and in general makes for a better sniping expeirence (-: Heavy Support These guys are slow and ponderous compared with your other guys. Heavy Weapons II Suit Wearing II Ranged Weapons II Toughness I Balance I Usage: To be frank, I wouldn't use these guys much, since I prefer fast moving troops. However, I have a soft spot for the heaviest armor suits in AL, perhaps something reminiscent from Aliens, Warhammer 40K Terminators and all that stuff, so I take them along just for fun. Their sluggish movement is compensated to a large extend with the resilence of suits. Once they get to a position, they are guaranteed to hold it. Their slow movement can be alleviated by developing their speed and Athletics II, but they will still lag behind. I arm them with rapid fire gatlings and heavy weapons and generallyt use them whenever the situation demands massive firepower. Possibly a unit with light armor would do the same job and get to the spot faster, but that just wouldn't be fun. Also, the heaviest weapons take a long time to fire, so the protection offered by heavy armor does count. Other Tips: In the beginning use Reticulan Lasers - they have nice range and accuracy. Just the things you need for your inexperienced troops. For close range encounters use dual wielded pistols - eats up ammo like a gatling, but drops enemies like flies. Forget about Ancient Earth weapons and science lasers. Grenade Launchers are godsend. They have tremendous range, great accuracy and require no LOS to the enemy. Use stun grenades to quickly incapacitate heavy armored targets and regular grenades to send them flying and disrupt their attacks. Only drawback - grenades fly so sloooow... Warp Cannons kick arse. No ammo requirements but only 6 shots per UFO flight, though. I use them whenever serious firepower is needed (like heavy mechs and martians - one shot kills are common, but don't rely on it too much and have other guys shoot it as well). I often put two on the same person and give him or her a shotgun as a backup weapon for the longer flights. Reticulans make perfect scouts - they see through walls (and PSI weapons fire through obstacles, incidentally) and can detect invisible martian in a good radius as well! Use long range ammo in the beginning for extra accuracy at long ranges. Hard Hitting ammo works wonders on dual pistols. Once you get get a satisfying ToHit%, do what thou wilt. I tend to stick to Hard Hitters then. Beastmen Tip #1: If you have night vision, attack them at night. They seem to be more confused then. Beastmen Tip #2: Once you neutralize the granade launchers, they are easy to gun down at a distance. Beastmen Tip #3: In the beginning Alchemists, Regualars can be easily brought down by running up to them fast and unloading dual pistols. Beastmen Tip #4: Once you get to it, i find it really satisfying to secure a choke point with two guys with heavy armor, miniguns and force fields. Beastburgers! Reticulan Tip #1: Slow and steady isn't going to work here. Rush them, scour every corner for hidden guys with PSI weapons and bring them down. Ignore laser wielding ones at first. Reticulan Tip #2: Spread your troops, in case anyone gets mind controlled they won't shoot each other up. You don't need that much firepower, as the guys are really frail. Reticulan Tip #3: If you get mind controlled, scour the area, one funny guy is probably hiding behind a rock. Likewise, if you see indications of failed Reticulan attacks on your HUD it means they are around. PSI weapons do not have spectacular ranges, but can shoot through obstacles. Martian Tip #1: They are highly resistant to bullets and regenerate real fast. If you bring one down and think you've killed one, make sure HE gets the picture. It is a tedius task, bringing them down with bullets, they do a pitiful 14 damage at best. If you do not have high power lasers or warp cannons, you have to stick to good ole bullets and shotgun shells. Martian Tip #2: In you face multiple martians, spread around, they chukk grenades really fast. Also, move around, don't let them come to you with their blades. If you bring one down, don't waste time killing him for good, just shoot him once or twice every now and then so that he stays down, and focus on bringing down the others. (This also works on heavy mechs frequently accompanying them) Martian Tip #3: They can become near invisible, even to IR and NV, so bring reticulan scouts along, or use goggles (although Rets are a lot better in this respect).

The site is

Well, technically, um.... it's a thingie (-: I am not one of the coders, unfortunately, so the best answer I can offer is, that it is some kind of a software physics engine, that makes (almost) realistic - behaving objects possible to code with minimal fuss (especially when compared to having to code all the physics from scratch) Nothing to be afraid of ma'am, it is just an application, which can be safely uninstalled once it is not needed. (-:

The drean.republika.pl is the older site in a nutshell (-: You can try to link to the download page directly http://esenthel.zendurl.com/en/download.html And see if you can at least get the demo from there. Sorry for the inconvenience... seems the new server needs some more kick-start, we should be fully back online shortly.

Greetings. I would like to inform you about the new Esenthel project,

@LCJr You

Greetings and salutations! This