Cityscape Fighting (Apocalypse)

Cityscape actions within Xcom Apocalypse. Analysis of battlescape missions is here: Tactical Missions

Alien Infiltration

A UFO will hover over a building and attempt to insert aliens via a 'grey smokey tube'. If an X-Com Base is hidden in the basement of that building, a Base Defense mission will immediately commence.

Alien Search

A UFO will hover over a building and drop blue particles with the sole purpose of scanning the building for an X-Com Base. If a base is detected, Alien Search styled missions will now become a cityscape X-Com Base Attack mission. Alien Search missions will be suspended until the targeted base is destroyed.
Note: The blue particle effect was typically called "Micronoid Rain". (see "Note", below)
X-Com may initiate a search by having X-Com agents at a building (or in a vehicle at the building) by selecting "Search". If an alien presence is detected, a battlescape mission will commence. If no aliens, the organisation will file a protest by becoming very slightly more hostile.

Bombing Buildings

Hostiles will target a building with their craft and attack it with the purpose of destroying it. If the building is above a hidden X-Com base, and if the topside structure sustains massive damage, it can destroy the base underneath. That is: if a great portion of the building is destroyed or if the home cell is destroyed, the X-Com base is destroyed also.

Illegal Flyer

Any organisation (including X-COM) can attack any building with vehicles. An alert is generated (if enabled) when other organisations send out craft, hence, "Illegal Flyer detected". X-COM intervention is not warranted unless the building is above your base. Score is not affected unless X-COM is involved.

Illegal flyer attacks launched by computer-controlled organizations normally consist of two vehicles, selected from the organisation's vehicle park according to the following priority list: 1. Police Hovercar; 2. Phoenix Hovercar; 3. Hoverbike; 4. Valkyrie Interceptor; 5. Hawk Air Warrior. However, one vehicle of each type, if available, will always remain in the vehicle park.
Example #1: if the organisation has 2 Phoenix Hovercars, 1 Hoverbike and 2 Valkyrie Interceptors available, the attack will consist of 1 Hovercar and 1 Valkyrie.
Example #2: if the organisation has 1 Phoenix Hovercar, 5 Hoverbikes and 2 Hawk Air Warriors available, the attack will consist of 2 Hoverbikes.

Megapol's Police Hovercars do not trigger the "Illegal Flyer" alert, presumably since their actions are justified as in "upholding the law". However, a Valkyrie or Hawk sent by Megapol will trigger the alert.

The organisation that owns the attacked building will scramble flying vehicles to defend its asset. These will usually swiftly overwhelm and destroy the attackers.

Raids

Organizations unfriendly or outright hostile to each another may conduct actions as listed in the Message Bar as either "raided by" or "stormed by" or "attacked by". This has no relevance to X-Com.
If a building targeted for a raid contains a hidden X-Com Base, a Base Defense mission will occur.
A raid of a building cannot be avoided in any way since it is a scheduled event and the player has no indication that one will occur. Hostile vehicles arriving at a building is a random event and has no relevance to the possiblity of future enemy action, hence, destroying hostile company vehicles does not influence the schedule.

Overspawn Drop

The aliens focus more on destruction instead of infiltration. Motherships will drop a single Overspawn each onto Mega-Primus with the intent of massive damage and destruction of its buildings, roads and infrastructure.

Apocalypse Mission

When X-COM destroys the Control Chamber in the Alien Dimension, it eliminates the Alien's ability to grow new UFOs. The alien horde now realise their imminent defeat... with a final act of desperation by sending the remnants of their fleet to Mega-Primus. All remaining UFOs in the alien dimension (except probes) will swarm into Mega-Primus on the next scheduled mission, to destroy the whole city. With the critically important Control Chamber destroyed and no more UFOs to infiltrate Mega Primus, the alien's ultimate objective of sustaining the Micronoid lifeforms with human hosts has essentially failed.

Note

In times past, a common misconception was that Aliens could perform a "subversion" of an organisation via the "Micronoid Rain" effect. It was believed that such action of the UFO above the target organisation's building would immediately infect the inhabitants with Micronoids (hence "Micronoid Rain") and result in immediate 100% infiltration. This micronoid rain definition was proven to be incorrect. The purpose of the UFO and its 'rain' is to scan the building for an X-Com base (for future elimination). (see "Alien Search", above).

See Also

• Cityscape
• Alien Ship Combat
• Battlescape
• Tactics
• UFO Incursions