XCOM: Enemy Unknown patch to make Easy easier
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is getting a patch that will make Easy mode easier, fix some hanging problems, and provide various other bug fixes and balanced adjustments.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is not a particularly easy game, even on the mode that is literally called "Easy." 2K has announced it will address this in an upcoming patch, along with various other bug fixes. It didn't detail exactly how the game will be made easier, but presumably it has something to do with making fewer of the aliens big stupid jerks.
The patch notes (via PC Gamer) also promise fixes to hanging issues during Interceptor sequences and AI alien activity, Abductor roof visibility problems, SHIV inaccessibility, and multiplayer connectivity. You'll also find that the TempleShip doesn't mess up your spawns, and the Snapshot penalty won't apply anymore when Overwatching without moving first.
The post also notes that Firaxis is looking into the issue that causes a defeat screen despite finishing the game, but it's careful to note that this is early and not confirmed to be fixed in this patch. The second patch, with all of those other fixes in tow, hasn't set a date yet.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, XCOM: Enemy Unknown patch to make Easy easier.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is getting a patch that will make Easy mode easier, fix some hanging problems, and provide various other bug fixes and balanced adjustments.-
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Jesus christ, it's about fucking time
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What is this exactly?
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Yup. Certain roofs the aliens will climb up and down freely, but for the life of me I can't get my guys up there despite any camera adjustments.
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I hate it when I'm on the top floor of a ship and the roof keeps flashing in and out when I move the mouse around. The only way to make it go away is to scroll the camera up a level... but then I move the mouse again the roof pops back in. So annoying! A couple times I got pissed off and just clicked where I thought I wanted to go... then my dude end up going on this crazy journey one level below where I want to be (and right out in the open with aliens all around him).
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Patching the hit chance would be great, still have no idea why I can miss a 80%+ chance despite several reloads to before I taking the shot... It's like the game decides that no matter what the shot will miss.
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The random number generator works probably works like this: It's basically a string of random numbers that are generated from a seed. So if you keep reloading, that string (and your current spot in it) is not going to change.
It's random, but it's pre-generated. That's how you have to do it unless you have some crazy special random number generating hardware that does real RNG.-
well, that's not correct at all. You can use the current time to seed the RNG if you want variable random numbers (not truly random, but random enough for a game). Most likely they're storing the current seed when you save, so you can't just save / load to get a different result. Of course, you could always just use a different unit and then come back to the first unit and you should then have a different result.
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The RNG & seed is a bit weird. I've been playing impossible non-ironman and got stuck on one mission so I scummed my way through it after the 100th try or so.
During the mission I wanted to use my rocket launcher, but no matter where I moved, shot from or at, it always missed the target. I was really intrigued with this so I saved/loaded about 30 times before I saved my shot and hunkered down instead. I made a new save and did the test again. This time the shot always hit.
Makes me wonder if some things are pre-determined at the start of a turn.-
Kinda, I've been saving and reloading just when I first started the game to try work out how the game worked. The thing is let's say I load at the beginning of a fresh turn, enemies all in sight and everyone's in a good position, I start with whoever has the least number of enemies they can target and make my way to those who can target more. First guy misses, second guy hits, third guy hits, fourth and fifth miss and sixth hits, I reload and it's the exactly the same, so I reload and change the order and positioning and it's still the same. Other times I reload and it works how it's supposed to someone either misses or hits and it seems to be based on the hit chance, so my biggest problem is that I now save at the beginning of every turn just to make sure there isn't anything fishy going on and I'm not being cheated. Granted I've only played the game for 15 hours or so and maybe it's still handholdy or there are variables that haven't been introduced yet but so far it's so inconsistent.
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Playing the game on anything but IRONMAN mode is kind of pointless. The thrill is in making the call, and taking the risk, calculated or totally wild. and having it play out.
I can't tell you how much more satisfying it is to have my Sniper (Maj. Raquel 'Nightmare' Gonzales) pick out a 33% chance shot to save Maj. Emily 'Combo' Watts from certain death at the hands of a Muton Berserker who I had to let get close in order to stablize Cpt. William 'Nova' Owens (who in a later mission got totally brutalised after failing to hit a Sectopod with a Heavy Plasma Cannon TWICE!!!) and save him from certain death.
This was a good example, in another mission I lost all of my troops save for a soldier I refer to as "The Colonel" (as she was my first Colonel) who had to retreat back to the Skyranger and abort the mission. As a result I lost the support of Africa :(
These are the moments man...being able to reload and get that "perfect" game, kinda kills it. I mean why bother having a % chance to hit if you're just gonna reload until it happens? Stick with FPS games for that kind of deal.
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Its not a bug.
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You are honestly fucking save scumming down to individual shots? Uninstall the game and kill yourself.
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Welcome to the internet, where people often say extreme things purely in jest. First time here?
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I look forward to your future efforts of singling out every single person here who makes a non-PC joke.
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That's why Xcom has cheat codes. http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/10/19/xcom-enemy-unknown-hero-characters-easter-egg
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That's the first time I heard the term save scumming.
I did this a lot when I was younger. I don't care about it or how other people play their games.
The last part is too extreme.
All we know is he wanted to reload a game and it gave him a baked in chance of hitting. You don't know if he was "save scumming".-
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I actually never heard it used until recently but I wouldn't doubt that it's been a term in the XCOM community for a long time. Probably Civilization as well.
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Why are you bitching about percents when you apparently want 100% for everything?
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As others have said, that's an intentional by-design choice that they went out of their way to implement. Makes tracking down bugs related to bizarre behavior when firing (like shooting through walls) WAY easier because you can share the save file and the developer will see the exact same thing you see.
Also to make save scumming individual shots harder to do because that's super lame. But I'm willing to bet it's the first reason more than the second! -
Ah ok that'd explain why that happens, I get why they wouldn't want people to keep reloading but how can they know what I'm going to do the next turn from now and pre-calculate? I've had a heavy point blank next to those spider zombie creating things and he's missed, they were right next to each other and when the turn ended the spider thingy didn't even have to move to hit me. Kinda felt cheated and assumed it was a bug and I've been saveloading since :( Well looks like I've been playing it wrong, I think I'll start again and this time set my base in the US so I can pump out satellites more often.
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They don't know what you're going to do next turn, but they've rolled the dice (chances) for whatever you'll end up doing.
As for how can they can roll the dice without knowing your future chances, it can be something like this:
They randomly pick a number 1-100 for whatever is yout next action and save it, and it gets saved with your save game.
Next time you want to hit something, if your chances of hitting are higher than the number picked, you hit. Otherwise, you miss. This way they don't need to know your future chances. It's already predecided.-
Best analogy: Think about a game of blackjack. You say "hit me" and the dealer hands you a card. You don't like the result so you reload your save right before you said hit me. You try it again, and you get the same card! That's because that card was already there on the top of the desk.
Random number generators in computers are a lot like that. The developer COULD choose to shuffle that deck each time the game is loaded, but in the case of XCOM (and many other games) they choose to keep the deck in tact when you reload.-
Smart, so in effect there is a certain level of predetermination involved but even the predetermination is random. Thanks for the explanation all!
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No, not really.
What are referred to as "random numbers" in computers are usually "pseudorandom numbers". They are not random. At all. They are entirely deterministic.
Buried deep in the code is what amounts to a mathematical formula that, given a starting point (a "seed"), will spit out a new number each time the formula is used. That sequence of numbers appears to be random, but is in fact determined entirely by the seed and the formula. If you start with the same seed, you will get the exact same sequence of numbers. That's the simple version of how a (pseudo)random number generator works.
In most cases, the seed used is the current time on the machine. It's convenient, and while not random, it ensures that the sequences generated by different RNGs are different.
What appears to be happening in XCOM is that the "random" number generator is getting a new seed every turn, but the current seed is stored in the saved game file. That's why reloading won't let your missed shot hit, but waiting until the next turn to shoot might. New seed on the next turn = new sequence of "random" numbers = different outcomes.
Side note: This behavior of "random" number generators is why people can share Minecraft maps with just a number (or other string of characters). They're actually sharing the seed for the RNG used to generate the map. Everyone who uses the same seed gets the same map because the numbers that come out of the RNG are the same.
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That's interesting, never really considered RNG systems going beyond a virtual dice roll on the spot.
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dice, cards, etc are just analogies to help non-programmers understand what is going on. It actuality it's nothing like either of those physical systems!
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(Sort of responding to you, sort of to the thread.)
They more or less do, but everything a computer does is deterministic, unless it takes in some outside input and massage that into the "random" number generation algorithm -- like time of day, or even user mouse input.
So unless a program intentionally does that, every number generated is from a sequence that would be entirely predictable if you knew the algorithm and the current state of the program. Since the algorithm doesn't change, and reloading a save restores the state of the program... the sequence of random numbers after a particular savepoint will always be the same.
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So if that turn I didn't use a heavy that had holo-targeting and I reload and shoot that same enemy with that heavy and then what ever unit I was using, it wouldn't matter?
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I don't understand you question. Can you rephrase?
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Say in my turn I shoot an enemy with a sniper and I miss, I then reload on that same turn and I shoot the enemy with a heavy that has holo-targeting and then the sniper, the sniper would still miss?
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Incorrect, because changing your next action (firing with the heavy instead of the sniper) means the seeds are used differently and then there's no way to predict
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Lesson 1: Never reveal a new area with your last unit. Always scout with your first 2 or 3, and have your last 3 just better their position (or fire on enemies) but do not reveal new parts of the map.
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I tend to have 3 assault up front but spread out, then I have a sniper, support and heavy at back.
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I always hated that. The game always says, "flank the enemy." The only way to do that is bum rush them and then run behind them to flank them, seems stupid to me personally.
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Flanking is a good idea and is not in conflict with my advice here!
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I'm not quite sure how you thought my previous post was in conflict with you advice. I was just stating that in order to flank you have to go around but almost always you will discover a new group and end up being flanked yourself. The only time it seems to happen is by the enemy running to a position in where I am flanking them without moving.
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