Biomass Problem

[Jonaleth Irenicus]

I have installed the game, applied the 1.3 patch and started this game, so if there's some bug, I don't think its about the patch.

 

I had started this game on Europe and biomass started on South America (they have something against South America don't they?). After getting all of Europe, Asia and half of Africa under my control, I took the north and south poles.

 

By that time I had finished area 51, soviet base, rescue old greys, and almost all research (except anything that requires bio mass). I have downed and recovered many planters by the way.

 

Now, at that point of the game, the biomass had covered all of South America (I had no missions appearing there, and you can't suddenly expand on the other side of the globe can you?). It was making its slow progress toward North America and South pole (still far away from the base though).

 

I completed a "capture base from transgenants" mission in South America, thinking I would get to observe the biomass, but I instantly lost the base and did not get the research. Apparently you require a special type of mission to see the biomass.

 

So I made my usual progress towards North America, thinking I would eventually get the mission for biomass and deal with it in my own pace. I captured three bases by doing a single mission at one point, which gave me the north half of North America.

 

I would normally not be worried about things right about now, but I got a mission that appeared in the middle of Pacific that has something about a spaceship called Retribution.

 

Now, I think this is the mission that eventually gets you the ticket to the moon, but the thing is, I haven't researched the queen yet (it's on my "not ready for research" list, because of biomass).

 

Have I reached a point of "oh my god I'm screwed", or is my biomass mission really TAKING ITS TIME to appear?

[Kret]

You gone through all those "keypoint" events and yet haven't gotten to do a biomass type mission? You're in one unlucky streak then. You could try to either down a UFO over the biosmass or allow one of your wings get shot down over it. Remember that YOU have to do the mission if you want any biomass sample.

[Aralez]

You already have the Retribution mission available and don't have made any biomass missions? Now that's strange. I always thought that mission needed Biomass research completed. I'm clueless....

 

Slaughter? Or J.R. ? Do you have any tips ? Personally i would stick to Kret's idea and try to "create" a biomass mission through dogfights.

[Slaughter]

I am clueless. Go with Kret's suggestion is the best I can do. Very strange...

[RiskbreakerX]

Weired that hope it dosent happen to me as i,m using 1.3 anew ????

[Jonaleth Irenicus]

A few more (real time) hours of playing, and I got the special "observe biomass creatures" mission. It really surprised me that I actually got to progress with the game, I thought I was doomed for certain.

 

I did a few missions on the biomass (capture UFOs and cases) and none of them had the unique biomass mission carpet. The special mission showed up when I had the biomass creeping towards my North America bases (it actually took away two of them).

 

But I may have discovered a trigger through this experience: maybe there is a base counter for the Retribution mission as well? I had almost all of the globe covered by the time the retribution mission appeared (I was only missing half of North America and all of South America), so maybe I had too many bases and the mission showed up?

 

BTW, how many bases do you need to get the alternate ending (the one that says you cleared the globe of all aliens)? I am aiming for that since I have cleared most of it anyway.

[Kret]

But I may have discovered a trigger through this experience: maybe there is a base counter for the Retribution mission as well?

 

Yes, you advance through the game's phases by either completing a task (normally research) or by the number of bases you manage to take over.

[Jonaleth Irenicus]

In which case 60 bases equal victory?

 

I control 59 right now (just completed the recover the puzzle box like thingy that stands for spaceship mission) and the last one is the Pearl Harbor base. I am trying to complete a capture transgenant mission there to gain impact points (the hardest mission is capture now, I almost always end up killing one square aliens)

[Jonaleth Irenicus]

Hmmm. I captured the last base on earth, Pearl Harbor, completing the 60 base objective (tehre are no more than 60 right?), but the game didn't end.

 

I wonder, do I have to clear all the biomass too?

[Kret]

You got that right, but that's for one way of winning, not the definite one. If you have any biomass covering the southern bodies of land then this might prove to be impossilble, since repulsors do have a limited range.

[Jonaleth Irenicus]

I learned that the hard way

 

Apparently, I can't finish by clearing the earth, since the northern edge of South America can't be cleaned by repulsors (the biomass has grown into the ocean, and it's out of range)

 

Also, south pole is a mess. The biomass from South America had crept there, then a biomass node got planted on the south pole and the two merged together. Even after I destroyed the biomass node later (and cut off the biomass from South America), the biomass grew on its usual pace.