Real-Time vs Turn-Based (Apocalypse)

Overview

Here we'll discuss the merits of Real Time vs Turn Based in Apocalypse.

Real Time

Real Time combat has a number of benefits. Firstly, everything happens in real time, though you can pause and play at different speeds. This can give you more (or less) time to react to threats. It also means your agents react essentially as fast as you can give them orders. This makes brainsuckers and poppers a lot less dangerous - you get free shots at them as they come at you, no matter your agent's current actions.

Real Time combat can also be more intense, realistic (seeing as each side is not taking turns), brutal, and at the same time easier. If you're more familiar or more comfortable with it, it can be a viable option. The game pauses at important moments (such as reporting that a unit is under fire, a new enemy has been spotted, and so on) so you can't easily get overwhelmed. The events that cause the game to pause can be selected from the options menu during any real-time combat at any time.

Real Time adds one more significant benefit to the mix - dual-wield. In turn-based, wielding two weapons decreases accuracy and you can't fire both at once. Real time is not restricted in this fashion and agents can fire both weapons at the same time.

Real Time can also make it a lot harder to accomplish certain goals such as capturing live aliens, as combat is far more frantic and it can be harder to account for gunfire when you are trying to capture certain aliens.

Grenades also work differently than in turn-based, mainly because of the priming function; a specific time can be given from 0.25 to 7.5 seconds ( in 0.25 second increments ), giving both far more accurate and a lot more trickier control over the moment of detonation. This can actually be used by crafty commanders to detonate grenades literally in front of their face. Impact mode is also available in real-time combat.

Turn Based

Turn Based (TB) is a slower method of combat, that unfortunately can be a lot messier in combat. Particularly with Brainsuckers and Popper encounters. If one compares the loss record of two games - one with all battles conducted solely in Real-Time (RT), and another solely in TB, the losses in TB combat have a tendency to be significantly higher.

TB mode unfortunately falls to its RT counterpart as the game appears to be geared more towards RT than it is for TB. This leaves this mode severely lacking and unpolished. But it certainly isn't unplayable.

In TB you have plenty of time to plan your moves and think about your next strategy. Though this is the same in RT thanks to the pause facility, the action in is not being acted out simultaneously. This can be very beneficial if you have a friend or two over and want to play a hot-seat co-op game.

Your side will be moving single or selections of units at any given time while the world around them is at a standstill (mostly - until the enemies use reaction fire). This gives you more freedom to execute maneuvers against specific enemy targets or important structural features rather than have to worry about everything that's happening around you all at once.

One good example of this is when you are attempting to stun and capture a difficult enemy like the Megaspawn. Though they aren't impossible to capture in RT with the right strategy, it can be a lot easier to do it when the big wall of missiles and disrupter beams isn't shooting back at you!

This cuts both ways unfortunately, as when the enemy takes its turn, your units will be all but helpless except for their reaction fire. This can spell disaster with an enemy like the Popper if you react when it's too close. Agents with no TUs, low reaction will make ripe pickings for brainsuckers and poppers, causing the loss rate to increase considerably.

Grenade settings work differently in TB. Your timer starts to work by turns and also includes the blast on impact command. Like RT, you can still access this immediately with the left-click shortcut for priming instead of right-clicking.

Lasting area effect weapons like the stun gas and anti-alien gas require their victims to be moving through the cloud in order for the effects to occur. Standing still will not cause them to be affected. The AI's not that smart, but the player can make use of this to keep their agents in relative safety while surrounded by gas clouds. This does not necessarily apply to fire.

Dual-Weilding weapons changes for the worse. You can still dual wield and you can still fire both weapons with the shift-click to force the agent to shoot at the selected tile. You will still lose accuracy and each shot will be the same as if you were firing a single weapon. The only benefit from doing this is to have different weapons out at the same time, or to spread your ammunition out between reloading the weapon. In general, wielding only one firearm is still the better overall choice for TB combat.

Psi use will vary a little as well. It no longer requires maintenance costs. In function it'll behave like it used two in X-Com UFO and TFTD, and each attack will be a one-off expense of TUs that will last the duration of the turn. Note however that you will still need line of sight and psi energy will still be consumed. Psi energy will recharge over several turns.

Moving in squad-formation (checkerboard) or single-file will work the same, but due to the varying TU and Energy levels of your agents, don't expect everyone to be able to keep up when performing forced marches across the map.

Movement TU and energy costs will attempt to mimic its RT counterparts. Walking being the best balance of the modes in terms of TU and energy consumption. Running will cost the least TUs but more energy. Crawling costs the most TUs with less energy drain. Note that you cannot walk and fire simultaneously in TB as you could in RT.

Agent dispositions will affect a unit's reaction to enemy targets the same as they would in RT. You will not be able to utilise the normal disposition's automatic ability to sidestep that allows an agent to pop in and out and return fire at enemies as long as they are standing next to a corner.

Summary

Real Time combat provides fast paced simultaneous action. This makes for quicker battles and you can react as things as they happen. Of course, it is easy to botch up as the action can get frantic or if you get careless and fail to monitor and respond to everything that's happening around you.

Turn based combat provides for more controlled action when you make them. It also provides for the least control when you are waiting between turns. Turn Based mode requires patience as an average TB battle can take a very long time. This is made worse when attempting to hunt down the last remaining enemies on the larger maps.

Both modes have reasonable merits and weaknesses over the other. If this is your first time through the game, stay with the mode you are most comfortable with and master it. Later on, it is well worth testing the other mode as well and perhaps make an attempt to master it as well.