I'm LTTP, but am really enjoying this game after about 10 missions. My sniper has received several promotions, but still keeps missing more often than the hit% would suggest. Can I specifically recruit a certain class?  I think I want more assault troopers and snipers and fewer supports and heavies in my roster.

You can purchase the upgrade in the OTS that automatically promotes all rookies to squaddies.  Whenever you buy hire soldiers, they come assigned a class (random) and don't have to bring them out to a mission to promote them.

Snipers will become your best shooters later on.  My colonel sniper had the most kills by the end game.  Plasma weapons will give a +aim modifier.

and here's a nice thread summarizing the rest of the sales on steam that isn't a flash/daily/community vote.  A good way to pick up older games and add to your backlog.

A lot of games to be had for a few bucks!!!

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3032613

Looks like the notice is gone now when visiting using Chrome

You can now vote for the reversible cover art for the game....

http://irrationalgames.com/insider/poll/

The site is getting hammered at the moment, but I kinda like #5 and #6

It's frustrating when you miss with a high percentage chance, but that's the nature of probability.

However, I missed once on a shot with 100% chance to hit. Now THAT was rage-inducing.

That seems to indicate that the game operates with an internal precision that is higher than what it shows to the player. Your hit chance may have been 99,5% for example, which would be rounded up to 100%. That's a 1 in 200 chance of missing, but it can and will happen.

It's the amount of times I've missed shots with such high chances of hitting that frustrates me. I don't believe every shot with an 80% or higher chance to hit should hit the target, but it feels undermining when I make the effort to get a clear shot on enemy just to miss it so often. Especially when we're talking about my snipers who I've outfitted with advanced scopes and selected aim enhancing abilities for.

I suppose the question is whether you actually are missing at a higher rate than your chance would indicate or whether it just feels that way. The only way to test it is to count how many makes/misses you have over a certain chance percentage over a number of games. Unfortunately, due to the way the system works, you can't just shoot/reload the game/shoot to measure it.

I will say that in the early game it does feel like your soldiers are constantly missing high percentage hit shots.  I don't know  when the turning point was, but when your soldiers level up/gain new tech, it feels like those 75%+ shots connect more frequently.

Or it might be just me learning when to make a shot or not.

NPR recently put out a podcast on the USADA report and the doping allegations against Armstrong.  I'm still not sure about his guilt/innocence, but it's an interesting listen.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/11/16/165308529/episode-417-lance-armstrong-and-the-business-of-doping

I'm enjoying this one, it harkens back to the games of my childhood. The one thing that I really dislike and can't believe they omitted is the lack of a "prone" option. Is it really not available, or have I just not figured it out yet? I just played mission 2 and wanted my sniper to lay low on top of the bus.

The game is designed around the cover mechanics and you want to have your soldiers in cover more or less all the time during the missions.  Being out in the open at the end of a turn is risky.

There is supposed to be an aim penalty when shooting at targets on a higher elevation, but I rarely put snipers/soldiers on top of vehicles (especially ones that are on fire  ).  My snipers got the job done at the ground

can you ever use heavy plasma weapons int he game?  I researched them and have the upgraded armors but none of my heavy weapons people can equip it?

your heavy soldiers should be able to use the heavy plasma.  Mine can.  I don't know what might be wrong.

[Spoiler]

so i know rogue sorta kinda asked this already but if i (final mission question)

Spoiler for Hiden:

stun / arc throw

the

Spoiler for Hiden:

"boss guy"

do i get a magical special ending?

I don't know if you'll survive long enough to get in range.  Can you load a save and see?  My guess is that it probably just kills the target.

Yeah, my squad got wiped out within the second turn the first time I went into the room.  I just used my heavy weapons from afar and ka-blamo

You can download directly from their website and there's an optional download manager you can use which might be better for downloading larger files in case it gets interrupted.  But once you d/l the installer, there's no steam like online activation when you reinstall

They usually have weekend deals where games are 50% off.  I usually wait for those.

I will say that for me the game is very punishing on classic difficulty.  You really do need to start being more careful about how you move your troops and all your skills, especially in the early game.  And it is disheartening to see the aliens continually make shots from a pretty far distance that your soldiers would have missed.  It is supposed to be a challenge, and others might be up to for it, but for me it stopped being fun really soon and now I'm on a normal ironman game.

DLC
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-23-first-xcom-enemy-unknown-dlc-announced

Please oh please make that DLC fail hard. Predesigned, scripted missions is the last thing I want from this game (ok, next to last. I want more multiplayer features even less), and if Firaxis continues thinking that they are the easiest way for them to earn extra money on the game we can probably wave any other DLC ideas goodbye. No extra, random maps. No additional aliens. No expanded skill trees. Instead we'll be left with a few barely replayable missions that will appear every time you play the game.

Thanks, but no thanks.

+1

I wouldn't mind seeing them offer more single player maps, a few more different mission types and maybe a danger room type facility that lets you keep playing skirmish missions after the game ends

Maybe you want to consider the possibility that the aliens are designed around the stats they have on Classic, and that their hit chance on Normal actually represents a penalty, regardless of whether the game presents this as a bonus or a penalty in the game files? The lead designer has repeatedly said that Classic is what they consider the intended difficulty for people to play on, which means that this is the kind of accuracy the aliens should have. And once again, this is like the original game, where the aliens were accurate and your guys were not.

I remember reading something a long long time ago where the case was made that the computer seem to make those impossible shots because it knows the numbers.  The AI probably has all the hard numbers of the game mechanics built it, and understands more about the game beyond the % to hit value.

That's not saying the enemy might have an advantage on higher difficulties, but the computer makes better decisions.

anyways, late game is actually really fun when you try to figure out the best ways to combine the skills between your squadmates

Ended up finishing the game though and seem to recall there was an add-on for it which I hadn't played. Doesn't look like that's included here though.

There was supposed to be a Bioforge+ expansion, they even had ads in PC Gamer, but it never got released.

I really enjoyed the game when it came out (I still have the original CD), but man, the graphics looks pretty bad now.

How did you come by that knowledge? Did i miss that in the autopsy report? Or do you learn that later on? Or...?

You can see them using it after you've discovered them on the map.  I really hate the "flying" enemies

Meanwhile, I team wiped again on a "moderate" mission. I dunno. Maybe I'm not smart enough for this game. Every time I think I'm doing the combat smarter, I get nut-punched.   I might have to play on Easy mode for my ego's sake.  

I find missions can turn tides very easily.  The mid game enemies are kicking my ass too.  My current tactic is to move up very slowly and try to only uncover one group of aliens at a time.  I move up a little bit and put everyone on overwatch.  Be OK to fallback if any of your guys are out there by themselves or injured. 

Something I found out last night.  When you first uncover a group of aliens.  There's a "reaction" shot where they go into cover.  If any of your guys are on overwatch and in range, they'll fire at the aliens before they go into cover.  Don't know if that's a bug or not.

I'm playing the PC version with the 360 controller.  Camera controls were awkward at first, but you do get used to it.  The PC controls seem to be less laggy in the full release BTW

The game is definitely awesome.  It is a faster pace game than the original, but everything is still fun.  I did find the mission difficulties jumping up to difficult/very difficult all of a sudden.  I wonder if they are tied to "campaign" missions

Woohoo!!! pre-loading now.  Can't wait to try this out

Since I've read that the game I've been waiting for (for years... ) will not support Windows XP, I don't really know what the best course of action would be. Should I wait for Windows 8? I've read that you can cheaply upgrade XP to 8? But the general buzz isn't very good (don't know why), so maybe buy Windows 7? Is there a general consensus about this? I can't be the only person in this forum who's still (happily) using WinXP

There is a demo available on steam, so you can see if it'll run on your system or not. 

I would say upgrade to windows 7.  I was very hesitant to move from XP too, but once you go 7, you won't go back....

Windows 8 is a BIG departure in interface (you don't get access to the desktop from what I've heard) and is designed more towards tablets/touch devices.  I'm waiting to see what hardware manufacturers do with it (ie come out with a touchscreen LCD).

Looks like the download size is around 12 gb according to the 2k forums...

I know it says you need 20gb to play, but I'm hoping the download size is smaller than that.  20gb is 1/3 of my monthly bandwidth limit

word on the internets is that pre-load is up on steam!!!!  (how large is the download??)

People who pre-ordered the game from gmg is supposed to get their keys starting October 6th.  PLUS, they're offering a $10 game credit for anyone in North America who pre-ordered from them.  So, you get the game for 10% off, a free copy of Civ 5 and $10 game credit.  They are really trying to get people to try out their service. 

can't wait for the game to be released!!!

Looks like people who pre-ordered the game at greenmangaming will be getting the Civ 5 bonus!!!!!  TF2 hats, not so much.


http://blog.greenmangaming.com/2012/10/xcom-enemy-unknown-civilization-v-bonus.html

I think a review or preview/review is out for the game.  I say 'think', because I'm kind of afraid to read through it guessing it may be full of spoilers.  It's labeled preview but has a rating associated with it; so I'm not sure what it is.  Let's just call it an Article!

But, if the potential spoiler thing doesn't bother you...  Game Informer Article

The five star thing? I think that's a rating of the article, not the game itself.

It's a preview of the first few hours of the game (ie, the tutorial missions and a glimpse of the game once you're giving full control) in the form of an AAR.  It doesn't spoil too much, but does give away some early research options and mission types.  It's nothing surprising if you've played the original.  It gives you an an idea of how the geoscape portion (outside of combat) of the game works. 

Can you register a non-steam copy of this on steam?

I think it's steamworks.  I pre-ordered from gmg and it requires steam to play

here's a cool "interactive" trailer for the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93M_fLmmecU

You get to pick team/tactics through an example mission.  I think it's a pretty cool way of doing marketing for the game.

I find the maps app doesn't display as much information as google maps for the time being.  For example, apple maps has stops for local transit, but doesn't differentiate between bus/streetcar/subways.  It also has less info on what's around me like stores, parks, etc.

And as a minor cosmetic issue, I think their satellite image was taken during the fall, and everything looks brown, while Google's satellite images looks more vibrant.

None of it is a big deal, and I'm sure it'll improve over time.  But, the last few Apple official apps (Podcast, Maps) has been lacking a little bit from my experience.

I noticed the mouse being a little laggy when I tried playing with the mouse/keyboard.  I haven't tried different resolutions/settings so maybe that'll help.

Apparently the large demo size is due to the inclusion of ALL the movie files from the final game...

And I wanted to mention that the game music was done by Michael McCann, the same guy who did the awesome music for Deus Ex:HR.  The music from the very first mission definitely has the same style.

I wish they would've included a later game mission.  The missions included were very hand holding, but it definitely got me very excited for the full game.  I played with a xbox360 controller, and the interface took a bit to get used to.

In terms of performance, I can play on high at 1080p with my HD4850 and Q6600 without any noticeable drops in performance.

I'm "hearing" rumors that a demo is being released today.  I'm at work, and have to be careful how I surf.
Anyone know for sure if this potentially awesome news is true?

Does this pass the filters? http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/09/24/xcom-enemy-unknown-playable-demo-available-today-f/

There is a download demo button on steam, but clicking it does nothing for the time being.

Edit:  Looks like it's working now.  6 gigs downloading !!

I use this http://www.amazon.com/Speck-Products-CandyShell-Glossy-iPhone/dp/B005T0DV2K/

I like it because it feels like it offers good protection without adding too much bulk, and covers up the entire back versus having the apple logo open in the otter cases.  You still need a front screen cover (if you need one).  The one thing I don't really like is that you can only use skinny headphone jacks unless you have some sort of adapter.

There's a matte version that has a rubber coating which makes it more slip resistant.

I have biked with it in my pocket and it's fine

[Spoiler]

Just wanted to come in and chime that I thought the movie was awesome and to add the following thoughts

Spoiler for Hiden:

  Bane was totally friend-zoned by Miranda/Talia.  He was doing all that stuff for her because he was in love with her. And at the end when she leaves him the last time all she says was 'Goodbye my friend'.  Dig that dagger deeper Talia 

and

The general population probably thought that Bruce Wayne was exiled/killed when Bane was running the show

Older games on steam are pretty much hit and miss.  Some people have no issues running those games, some people do.  I haven't run into too many issues with them.

I too would recommend GOG for the older games though if available.  Part of their selling point is that older games are set up to run on modern systems with few hassles.

KOTOR 2 is now available on steam for $9.99

demo for this has just appeared on XBL,gonna download later

It's out on steam too for the PC people.  Plays pretty nice on my current machine (Q6600, HD4850) on medium at 1080p.  It is now added to my wishlist for possible purchasing.

The one thing that bugs me is the camera rubber bands back to behind your character automatically.

I only listen to 4 podcasts at most per week, so for me, now that they've cleaned up the lag (I'm not running into any lag issues anymore), it works great for my purposes.  I have the 4 I listened to subscribed and it downloads them automatically, so that when I go to listen, they are there and I don't ever go back in history to listen to older ones, so I don't have issues with undownloaded podcasts.  I think if I listened to a lot more, Downcast would be worth it, but this free one works great for me now.

Yeah, for a few podcasts, the official app works well.  Not so good when you start adding more podcasts or you want better ways to manage it.

Hopefully they'll improve on it in the future.

I wouldn't mind trying out TF2 again, but am not sure how well I would do.  I stopped playing way before all the updates to the classes.

The steam forums are a-flutter about the "tour of duty" mode.  It looks like they are official servers that you have to buy tickets ($0.99) to enter, but you can get loot from it.  You can still play the new mode without buying tickets, but no loot.

Of course everybody hates it.

An update came out for it the other day and it appears to be much better.

It does run a little bit better (but it does still laggy every once in a while), but they really need have a way of sorting the podcasts.  Right now it lists all available podcast with no way to sort or filter those that have been downloaded or not.  This is annoying when I only want to play downloaded podcasts.  I've also noticed that when I'm in airplane mode, playback stops when the next podcast on the list is not available locally.

I'm not a heavy podcast listener, but downcast does everything better.  Worth the 2 bucks

Anybody have any hidden gems before the sale is over?  Everyone complains about all the repeating dailys and flash sales, but sssshhhhh.....a lot of other games have been on sale throughout too....

The Kohan Warchest is USD 4.99 and for adventure game people Syberia and Still Life bundles are USD 3.74 each

I couldn't find any of my post game saves so I loaded up one of the last saves during the Earth mission and got the extended ending.

I'm happy with how the ending was fleshed out a bit more and the epilogue was a nice touch.

I read the thread topic as "Woman Has Really Short Shorts"....

sorely disappointed.....

Everything I had read was that if you did all the side missions, it was the same effect as playing a lot of multiplayer and you could get the best ending.  Multiplayer just gives you a quicker, easier (and for me more fun) way to do it.  Also the multiplayer readiness points decay over real time.

from the article

That part is kind of cool. But the balance is incredibly harsh: I did every proper* quest I could find in Mass Effect 3, made sensible decisions that didn’t conflict with my choices in the previous games, and brought people together. But I still got a gallingly bleak ending.

I said I did all the ‘proper’ quests I could find – if you want to maximise your War Assets without playing multiplayer, you’ll have to do the others. The only quests I had left were ones to scour certain systems for planets that aren’t marked on your map, scan them, then fire a probe and return to the Citadel. Even compared to Mass Effect 2′s resource-scanning, these are dull.

The author does qualify near the end of the article that he didn't really complete ALL the available quests.  We'll have to see if that changes anything.