Difference between revisions of "Alien Ship Combat (Apocalypse)"

Revision as of 01:44, 18 March 2022

Buildings

Note: do not move agents from a landed craft ever... to the building when in the Alien Dimension when in the select squad screen. Keep them in the craft, click the craft to highlight all agents or click each agent individually, then click the "search" or "raid" buttons when ready.

X-Com craft do not need to be at the base all the time. Spread your craft around the city to buildings which have multiple launch tubes when using multiple airbourne craft. Don't crowd many craft into one-tube-buildings! Choose buildings which, when collapsing, would not damage craft in the process of taking off.
Craft will launch from multiple tubes even if the yellow craft icon doesn't appear over an actual tube.
After combat, return to base to repair, refuel and rearm and afterwards, send them to the buildings again. Troop transports and any damaged vehicles need to stay at the base.
If your craft has sustained damage, depending on the attitude (note: not altitude), it will immediately try to return to base. It will fly a straight line and does not avoid any threats. To stop this action, changing the attitude to a more aggressive setting will regain control (from forced "Returning to Base" messages) of the damaged craft. You can then choose a direction to fly away from the air-battle or to force that craft back into the fight. The more 'mild' the attitude, the earlier that craft will break-off when sustaining damage.

Vehicles

Hoverbikes

Hoverbikes are very weak. Use them as a swarm. They are very good at evasion, even better when upgraded with the best engines allowing higher speed and the full (10) acceleration.
The 'heaviest' weapon available is the Lineage Plasma Cannon but regarding the low constitution of this vehicle, this may become expensive.

Hovercars

Hovercars can mount two weapons and have room for one Small Shield. They should be upgraded with the best engine since they are underpowered from the factory.
Firepower can be double of the Hoverbike and can be worthwhile since it will survive longer in battle, more-so with a shield.

Valkyrie

Expensive but durable. Plasma cannons mounted ensures this vehicle can knock them down whilst being knocked about. Even better with three small shields.

Air Hawk

Expensive, durable, three weapon mounts. Heavy vehicle but can mount the Medium Disruptor Beam. Turns slowly which can be a liability. Will last long in battle when using small shields but can be overwhelmed.

Airborne Tactics

A mixed force of hovercars and hoverbikes works quite well in the beginnings of the game.
Fast (evasive agression) hoverbikes can attract fire from enemy craft whilst less agile hovercars can destroy from a distance when set to cautious agression.
Slow craft (purposely given weak engines) with missiles will launch them at the target directly if flying towards the enemy from long distance. This will allow the missile to flt straight at the target instead of turning to try to hit.
Giving waypoints to vehicles en-route to battle may help in tactics.
- Switch to overhead cityscape view. Give a vehicle a target (building or craft). Click the "Go to Location" button. Hold down CRTL button then click on the cityscape somewhere to set a waypoint. Close the pop up window. The craft will fly the waypoints first then resume to the target.

Height

The highest setting enables unobstructed flight paths.
The lowest setting is just above road level. Larger craft have slightly weaker top armor which may be an issue when shields are not available.
Using the highest setting allows room for missile flight but forces your craft to shoot downwards at a hostile (at a lower height). If your weapons miss, they may impact a building.
Using a lower (but not lowest) height setting can make air combat more difficult due to building proximity and possible collapse affecting your craft, but it allows the possibility of shooting up at a target. If the shots miss, they fly off into the sky and not into a building.
Over unowned land or outside citywalls, shoot down is best since it allows maximum 3D movement.
Inside the city, lower height setting should be used since the enemy may miss and hit a building (to your Relations advantage). Enemy missiles will be flying downwards also. If they miss they often impact the ground which reduces the overall threat.

Attitude

Attitude (evasive to angry) influences the disengagement from battle according to damage sustained to that craft.
An agressive combat setting will make your air craft get very close to the target. This will affect enemy missiles since they have to turn immediately, but limits your available space for evasive moves. If you have many craft swarming an enemy, the hostile cannot move easily. Craft will often fire even if there is a friendly in the way.
A Cautious attitude enables weapon use at distance (typically 10 city cells distance to target). Weapons may miss if the target is nimble. Overshoot into buildings may pose a problem.
Evasive attitude will prevent your craft from using weapons. This is best when flying long distance to a target so that your craft do not fire on hostile road vehicles.
Changing combat attitude as an air battle progresses may prevent UFOs from being destroyed outright. Switch to Evasive just before the UFO is destroyed. Missiles in flight will be cause for guesswork!

Don't forget to use the Pause button.

Other

This point cannot be stressed enough: make sure that you remove your agents from their vehicles/aircraft before sending them to engage Alien ships. If your craft is destroyed, the agent piloting it will perish too along with his/her equipment. Isn't that irritating?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Tactics in no particular order:
+==[[Buildings (Apocalypse)|Buildings]]==
-==[[Buildings (Apocalypse)|Buildings]]==
+Note: '''do not''' move agents from a landed craft ever... to the building when in the Alien Dimension when in the select squad screen. Keep them in the craft, click the craft to highlight all agents or click each agent individually, then click the "search" or "raid" buttons when ready.
-* Spread your craft around the city close to the [[Dimension Gates]] (keep in mind that their location periodically changes). You don't need to have bases all over the city - send your craft to buildings which have multiple launch tubes. If you have your craft based at a building with multiple launch tubes, they will launch in such a way to use all available tubes - even if the yellow craft icon doesn't appear over an actual tube. [[Transtellar]]'s [[Space Port (Apocalypse)|Space Port]] is the best building with its 12+ tubes.
-* After combat bring back your craft to base to refuel and rearm (if necessary) and afterwards send them to other buildings again. You'll only need to keep in your base the troop transports and any damaged vehicles.
+* X-Com craft do not need to be at the base all the time. Spread your craft around the city to buildings which have multiple launch tubes when using multiple airbourne craft. Don't crowd many craft into one-tube-buildings! Choose buildings which, when collapsing, would not damage craft in the process of taking off.
-* If your craft has sustained massive damage, try to land at the nearest building instead of trying to run back to base. Sometimes the best option, though, is a nearby and not the nearest building so that the enemy craft do not get a potshot at the landing vehicle, which are always easy targets.
+* Craft will launch from multiple tubes even if the yellow craft icon doesn't appear over an actual tube.
+* After combat, return to base to repair, refuel and rearm and afterwards, send them to the buildings again. Troop transports and any damaged vehicles need to stay at the base.
+* If your craft has sustained damage, depending on the attitude (note: not altitude), it will immediately try to return to base. It will fly a straight line and does not avoid any threats. To stop this action, changing the attitude to a more aggressive setting will regain control (from forced "Returning to Base" messages) of the damaged craft. You can then choose a direction to fly away from the air-battle or to force that craft back into the fight. The more 'mild' the attitude, the earlier that craft will break-off when sustaining damage.
 ==[[Vehicles (Apocalypse)|Vehicles]]==
-* If you use [[Hoverbike (Apocalypse)|Hoverbikes]], then three stationed at the middle of each quadrant of the [[Cityscape (Apocalypse)|Cityscape]] works best.
+==== Hoverbikes ====
-* Hoverbikes are very weak. Use them as a swarm. 2 Hoverbikes agains 1 [[Alien Ships (Apocalypse)|UFO]] only works in very early game. You'll need more later on.
-* If you use hovercars, use them in pairs. Equip them with [[SD Turbo (Apocalypse)|SD Turbo]] engines and 1 [[Bolter 4000 Laser Gun (Apocalypse)|Bolter 4000 Laser Gun]] or [[Rendor Plasma Gun (Apocalypse)|Rendor Plasma Gun]]Rendor, 1 [[Janitor Missile Array (Apocalypse)|Janitor Missile Array]] or [[Prophet Missile Array (Apocalypse)|Prophet Missile Array]] and 1 [[Medium Weapons Control (Apocalypse)|Medium Weapons Control]]
+Hoverbikes are very weak. Use them as a swarm. They are very good at evasion, even better when upgraded with the best engines allowing higher speed and the full (10) acceleration.<br>
-* Hovercars can mount [[Small Disruption Shield (Apocalypse)|Small Disruption Shield]] later on. Remember this when considering to buy hoverbikes over hovercars.
+The 'heaviest' weapon available is the [[Lineage Plasma Cannon]] but regarding the low constitution of this vehicle, this may become expensive.
-* A mixed force of hovercars and hoverbikes are best. It can work well either way! If you want quick evasive bikes up close and personal with the hostile craft, then give them guns and give the hovercars missile weapons. You don't need to give shield to the cars, just weapon control modules. since then should be near a standoff range. If you want the opposite effect, give shields and guns to the hovercars for up close combat, and missiles to the bikes.
-* One [[Valkyrie Interceptor (Apocalypse)|Valkyrie]] can easily be overwhelmed. Use more (6 Hoverbikes per quadrant, or 4 Hovercars, or 2 Valkyries) if you can afford it.
+==== Hovercars ====
-* Running low on powerful [[Vehicle Engines (Apocalypse)|engines]]? Giving lower powered engines to missile launching craft can help the overall battle because these craft will be slower to get to an engagement (if you have to fly long distances across the cityscape quadrant). Hence, they will be able to lauch missles directly at the hostile craft instead of getting up close and personal and hoping that the missile can turn sharp enough to hit the hostiles. If you aren't lacking powerful engines, then this could be an option you'd may like to keep using.
+Hovercars can mount two weapons and have room for one [[Small Shield]]. They should be upgraded with the best engine since they are underpowered from the factory.<br>
+Firepower can be double of the Hoverbike and can be worthwhile since it will survive longer in battle, more-so with a shield.
+==== Valkyrie ====
+Expensive but durable. Plasma cannons mounted ensures this vehicle can knock them down whilst being knocked about. Even better with three small shields.
+==== Air Hawk ====
+Expensive, durable, three weapon mounts. Heavy vehicle but can mount the [[Medium Disruptor Beam]]. Turns slowly which can be a liability. Will last long in battle when using small shields but can be overwhelmed.
+=== Airborne Tactics ===
+* A mixed force of hovercars and hoverbikes works quite well in the beginnings of the game.
+* Fast (evasive agression) hoverbikes can attract fire from enemy craft whilst less agile hovercars can destroy from a distance when set to cautious agression.
+* Slow craft (purposely given weak engines) with missiles will launch them at the target directly if flying towards the enemy from long distance. This will allow the missile to flt straight at the target instead of turning to try to hit.
+* Giving waypoints to vehicles en-route to battle may help in tactics.
+** Switch to overhead cityscape view. Give a vehicle a target (building or craft). Click the "Go to Location" button. Hold down CRTL button then click on the cityscape somewhere to set a waypoint. Close the pop up window. The craft will fly the waypoints first then resume to the target.
+=== Height ===
+* The highest setting enables unobstructed flight paths.
+* The lowest setting is just above road level. Larger craft have slightly weaker top armor which may be an issue when shields are not available.
+* Using the highest setting allows room for missile flight but forces your craft to shoot downwards at a hostile (at a lower height). If your weapons miss, they may impact a building.
+* Using a lower (but not lowest) height setting can make air combat more difficult due to building proximity and possible collapse affecting your craft, but it allows the possibility of shooting up at a target. If the shots miss, they fly off into the sky and not into a building.
+* Over unowned land or outside citywalls, shoot down is best since it allows maximum 3D movement.
+* Inside the city, lower height setting should be used since the enemy may miss and hit a building (to your [[Relations]] advantage). Enemy missiles will be flying downwards also. If they miss they often impact the ground which reduces the overall threat.
+=== Attitude ===
+* Attitude (evasive to angry) influences the disengagement from battle according to damage sustained to that craft.
+* An agressive combat setting will make your air craft get very close to the target. This will affect enemy missiles since they have to turn immediately, but limits your available space for evasive moves. If you have many craft swarming an enemy, the hostile cannot move easily. Craft will often fire even if there is a friendly in the way.
+* A Cautious attitude enables weapon use at distance (typically 10 city cells distance to target). Weapons may miss if the target is nimble. Overshoot into buildings may pose a problem.
+* Evasive attitude will prevent your craft from using weapons. This is best when flying long distance to a target so that your craft do not fire on hostile road vehicles.
+* Changing combat attitude as an air battle progresses may prevent UFOs from being destroyed outright. Switch to Evasive just before the UFO is destroyed. Missiles in flight will be cause for guesswork!
-==Height/Aggression Level==
+'''Don't forget to use the Pause button'''.
-* Using agressive combat controls can sometimes be worthwhile when up against a difficult enemy, because your ship(s) is concentrating on downing the enemy instead of trying to avoid its guns/missiles. It can get to the point where your ship rarely fires its armaments due to constant evasiveness. Be offensive not defensive.
-* Changing combat attitudes of your attacking craft throughout the battle can help immensely. Fly to the alien craft using evasive control (don't waste missiles on hostile human cars), briefly switch to standard agressiveness so that everyone fires once (mainly for missile launching), change to full agression for craft with guns, change to cautious for craft with missiles. If a craft takes heavy damage, change to evasive control and disengage this craft. '''Don't forget to use the Pause button'''.
-* Lower flying heights are important if you want to limit damage to the cityscape. When flying lower, you'll have to shoot upwards at the alien craft. If you miss, then the shots just go into space and not into a building. Another bonus is that you get "free" positive reputation with organizations if Aliens hit their buildings. It should be noted that large vehicles (Valkyrie Interceptor, [[Hawk Air Warrior]], [[Retaliator]] and [[Annihilator]]) have slightly weaker top armor so they will sustain more damage when flying low once their shields are gone.
-* A good tactic, although slightly uninspired, is to buy as many hoverbikes as possible and attack in swarms of 5-8 bikes per alien craft, set them on the second lowest height and set them to evasive. You should expect to lose one or two hoverbikes in each engagement in the early and middle stage battles. When fighting the larger alien craft it is better to barrage them with guided missles to soften them up before the hoverbikes get there, otherwise they will be dropping like flies.
-* Also when employing the "Swarm" tactic, try to break up the groups of hoverbikes so they dont all get destroyed by a hail of missiles and cannon. Try to have 3-4 maximum coming from any one direction. It may be a bit of work but it pays dividends in the end.
 ==Other==