Cydonia by May 29th
Cydonia by May 29th Game Analysis
SAVE FILE 1 : Type 1
I typically name my first file "Type 1" and then let it be the top save for the rest of the run through. This allows you to see what the game is in effect without a lot of trouble (I love spreadsheets like it's 1994). This file is set for the first set of moves on January 1st. The concept is that you can only make so many moves because of 3 things (not including user errors) 1 - Living space, 2 - Money, 3 - General Stores. This is true for every set of saves I will present.
SAVE FILE 2 : Type @
I typically name my second file "Type @" and then let it be the second from the top save throughout the run through. This is a moving iterator I use as the game progresses as a current point as the saves are removed in a 10 save setup. This will be set at the last point in the game as all the files I will send will be complete successful runs. Theory being it was a surviving X-COM race that was then presented on the Internet here, so you can know that they have succeeded and the game is safe to play. This also means that any implied movement that the files present was in fact a successful(or potentially unsuccessful) mission I played in one try with no reloads (unless hardware/software failure). For example if there is an alien base run that got a captured alien commander : I had the items that are present in the save file at the point in time.
SAVE FILE 3 - 10 : Date and or Description
I typically name my other save files with the date and potentially a description in the game at the point it is saved. I did not organize this one well because I was unprepared for the unreasonable rate of success of this build order, and it made me feel the need to tell the world about this incredible run. I will typically add on the Cydonia tag as well as the date to show when the Cydonia mission was set and completed. On the Cydonia Save file I typically leave all the items for scoring or perspective but I will sell everything but Alien Alloys and Elerium 115 to self score the Excess Fund. In this run I did not sell any alien corpses at all the whole game so you can see the number of Aliens encountered per save.
This is the BEST game ever not theory practice. Mentioned in depth below. This is a set of game files for X-COM UFO Defense as I have it presented from Steam as a platform. You can just take this and unzip into a directory, then copy and paste these into you local games folder(You can see this on steam on a separate button, of on your local hard drive) You just have to replace this with what is already there in each of the ('SAVE 1' 'SAVE 2', ... ,'SAVE 10' Files in the root directory for Saves (you have to look, just look at the file structure).
I have sometimes noticed some minor bugs in the loading of the files some times, but you only need to restart your X-COM game again if this happens, so that the files will be recognized. I am not a really practiced developer on this type of code, so I can not tell you what changes in the restart but it fixes the 2 issues that I will mention below (known loading problems with a file mismatch that seems to be solved by init x 2 lol).
File Name : File:June-18-2022 X-com Win-May28th.zip
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Base Theory
I have a very thought through and re-rationalized view of how to place the majority but not all of the bases in X-COM UFO Defense and I will be specific as to why I do this and how come this matters for the run.
8 Bases Total
Starting Base : Thule AFB
This stands for "Thule Air Force Base"
Thule around the world
Thule around the world. "Thule around the world"
Thule is the pivotal and in my experience the best place to be, and to start, in X-COM UFO Defense.
There are 3 major advantages:
1: The arctic Tileset is the easiest to use in the early game due to brightness and the natural use of 1 part paths(paths in ice that must be connected but have broken away pieces of land and ice) that limit random movement into and out of the landed or crashes.
2: Thule's tactical movement advantage is apparent due to its presence nearer to the top of the globe making for in effect greater cornering for interceptors that leave from this location vs ranging. It is a tactical advantage but I am not an advanced map user that understands as to why.
Forget why this is and "Thule around the world".
Just do that.
3: Thule is especially advantaged by nearness to scattered landmasses and also various slopes that encourage landed UFOs (For some reason?) and also all of the locations in the nearby area are in arctic tiles. This is good because this means the Alien Opponent will not have a good time hiding a building base on your nearby topological zone.
For reference the Alien computer opponent has different rules in effect than the player, and to build an additional base it needs to move nearby with 2-4 Flying and then landed UFOs which you will see if they are nearby in your sensor range, thus respond or detect the new nearby Alien Base (there can be numerous on the map at one time but may need to be constructed).
The downside of a sneaky base on an unscouted part of a continent you occupy with your first base, due to failure or other factors that the Alien opponent may optimize unevenly. is evident of location like:
In central Peru or in Western North America, or in Numerous places in disconnected Africa Bases or in south east Asia or Islands near continents.
The structure of this base is built off of the base model that is presented at the first part of the game and is not altered by deconstruction so as not to relay on a disadvantage in game.
Thule AFB : Type 1
Building Purchases:
General Stores ( Building for 10 days) x 2 Cost Each : $150,000
Living Quarters ( Building for 16 days) x 2 Cost Each : $400,000
Alien Containment ( Building for 18 days) x 1 Cost Each : $400,000
Workshop (Building for 32 days) x 1 Cost Each : $800,000
Material Purchases:
Tank/Rocket Launcher ( Transfer in 96 Hours) x 1 Cost Each : $480,000
HWP Rockets ( Transfer in 48 Hours) x 22 Cost Each : $3,000
Soldiers ( Transfer in 72 Hours) x 4 Cost Each : $40,000
Scientist ( Transfer in 72 Hours) x 18 Cost Each : $60,000
Stun Rod ( Transfer in 24 Hours) x 3 Cost Each : $1,260
Electro-Flare ( Transfer in 24 Hours) x 27 Cost Each : $60
Auto-Cannon ( Transfer in 24 Hours) x 4 Cost Each : $13,500
AC-HE ( Transfer in 24 Hours) x 8 Cost Each : $700
Proximity Grenade ( Transfer in 24 Hours) x 8 Cost Each : $500
SKYRANGER-1 : 8 Soldiers
Items:
Pistol x 3 | Pistol Clip x 5
Rifle x 8 | Rifle Clip x 20
Heavy Cannon x 2 | HC-AP x 8 | HC-HE x 1
Auto-Cannon x 1 | AC-AP x 6
Rocket Launcher x 1 | Small Rocket x 4
Grenade x 13
Smoke Grenade x 5
INTERCEPTOR-1
Weapon 1: STINGRAY
Weapon 2: STINGRAY
INTERCEPTOR-2
Weapon 1: STINGRAY
Weapon 2: AVALANCHE
Stores:
Stingray Missile x 25 | Space Used : 10
Avalanche Missile x 10 | Space Used : 15
Research:
10 Scientists | Motion Scanner | Unknown
Engineering:
10 Engineers | no work
Analysis - Thule AFB
The game requires at the first point in the session that you optimize space for your initial incursion response team to locate the first point of contact. There are largely 2 schools of thought but they require you to meet in the middle.
The two schools of thought are this - Bio or Mech -- this means that you think or an infantry or a supported armored unit and infantry combination. The technique of using solely armored vehicles is necessarily disadvantaged in the terms of X-COM's use of solely infantry access locations.
The possible Options are thus : 2 Tanks | 6 Soldiers , 1 Tank | 10 Soldiers , 14 Soldiers due to the SKYRANGER's maximums.
This Build uses 1 Tank | 10 Soldiers but as the tech advances and the user gains money it is set up to use 2 Tanks | 6 Soldiers as a permanent mid-game structure prior to researching AVENGER. The Items that the user is missing to make this transition possible (other than money) is primarily the Laser Rifle. But in leu of the Laser Rifle, the teams of 2 Tanks | 6 Soldiers can use Auto-Cannons with AC-HE ammunition primarily. The other item I use is Motion Scanner, this item allows me to distinguish a termed "Squad-Leader" that will take AC-I and a motion scanner in night encounters for vision. You may need to use AC-AP for use inside the UFOs if the user chooses not to handle Rifles for entry. Once the player completes the required tech for both Tank/Laser Cannon and Laser Rifles you can rely on the 2 Tank | 6 Soldiers configuration for Terror Missions (using the Laser War Premise) and for actual craft encounters as they tech to the point of researching Alien Grenades and Personal Armour.
Everything else in the starting inventory that was dismounted or not selected from the initial setup was sold for store space.
See ** UFOs represented as an Interior Battleground ** See ** Number of Tanks vs Infantry in SKYRANGER and AVENGER **
Theory of Use - Thule AFB
The theory of the use of Thule AFB in this, my iteration of the "Laser War" premise in X-COM UFO Defense is key upon the prior point above concerning the need for a 2 Tanks | 6 Soldiers loadout in the early midgame moving into potentially making capture missions a priority or ideally forcing an engagement in alien base assaults.
The need thus revolves around the idea that the cost of armor is high (Read Heavy Weapons Platforms - i.e. Tank/Rocket Launcher as seen above) and because of this the cost of Laser Weapons as a profit source for your X-COM company is essential as a first step.
The reason I provide in terms of need for this premise to be the first correct statement, is that it reduces your potential of losses and allows for easier use of lower rank soldiers in useful combination with statistically static armored units -- in particular the Tank/Laser Cannon, in my position the best and most useful unit or weapon in X-COM UFO Defense.
This is further the case due to the fact that Tank/Laser Cannon are profitable at cost of above 140% cost of use per engineer. The use of the workshop feature of excess, is best for the high start up cost of the Tank/Laser Cannon and will net you $594,000 for holding the start up cost of $500,000 at point of proof.
These funds are reducible into Engineers at $50,000 , Workshops at $800,000 and Living Quarters at $400,000 to reach theory maximum of 250 Engineers , 6 Living Quarters, and 6 Workshops capable of producing 1 Tank/Laser Cannon every 4 hours exactly.
Because of this initial need for Laser Weapons as a directive, you want to build the most technically heavy version of the research projects you have available. I choose Motion Scanner here because it has utility throughout the entire game and is a profit producing good that you can use while you are researching up to Laser Weapons.
I do not need to go for Medi-Kit as a profit making technology early before producing Laser Pistols and Laser Rifles on the path to the first Tank/Laser Cannon, and therein using this technology to stabilize on the Theory Maximum which implies a lack of usable space on the floor of the initial base, thus forcing expansion or lack of use.
The build I use in this iteration of 'Laser War' is contingent upon a lack of usable time format in terms of researching correctly, I remained on a low number of Laboratory (at 2 maximum) until after the first alien base assault which gained me 2 captured aliens. (Save File 'April 11th') ( Sectoid Leader and Sectoid Commander) This is ideal and in a best possible mode for success which implies that there is an unsustainable advance of research project available after then.
Alien Base Standard
Standard at point in time of attack April 11th
Tank/ Laser Cannon : Lasers, Conventional Grenade, and Personal Armor
My actual limiting factor after the alien base mission is one of research speed as a constant and the cost of time being more relevant than money in terms of Laboratory production. Because of this I relied on a hotelling structure for Engineers or Scientist via Wright-PatAFB to Monument NM to optimize for my underutilization of living quarters in Thule AFB. This was needed to finish the Research and the AVENGER just before the end of May -- Which you can be capable of trying from various points and could potentially improve on a save file to bring the Cydonia mission earlier than May 29th.
Base 2 : Wright-PatAFB
Wright-PatAFB Stands for "Wright Patterson Air Force Base"
Wright Patterson is a historic and metered response option on the eastern seaboard all the way into Western-Africa ever since Jets were invented, it is a part of a defensive network of the first 3 bases I put down in the North American Region. These three bases are as follows : Thule AFB, Wright-PatAFB, and Monument NM.
This provides a 3 part series of movement that can be used in conjunction for overall security of your oldest X-COM base which is statistically more likely to be attacked by intruding UFO.
1: Intercept Base - Thule AFB covers this range of motion in the defense arc, it is well designed as a basic intercept base to begin with and houses SKYRANGER and at some points( in this case all points) Interceptor for initial ranging and air battles.
2: Air Superiority Headquarters - Wright-PatAFB is a functioning Air Superiority HQ because it has a General Stores and Hanger Space for refit and intercept but does not have a need for a SKYRANGER. Air Superiority HQ is capable to hold Soldiers, especially when they are being held to Cydonia for defense of Airfields in depth of Tanks via General Stores, as well as having Alien Containment in case of a mission failing base defense loss for redundancy in depth.
3: Hidden Detection, Shipyards and Engineering - Monument NM is a base that functions in this capacity, in that you make delayed construction on radar to further position the Living Quarters and Workshops around a single Hangar in hopes to quickly and more efficiently transition to theory maximum 250 Engineers to produce a Tank/Laser Cannon every 4 hours. The delay of radar as a constant is in effect limited by ease of construction not fear of detection or reprisal but is a constant in-theory-boundary reasoning.
Cydonia Standard and Orient
Final Alien Encounter Counts - note only 3 Mutons encountered.Standard at point in time of attack on Cydonia May 28th Note no Plasma-- I did research Heavy Plasma but not Heavy Plasma Clip to increase my firepower from disarmed foes after landing in Cydonia underground.
Cydonia Setup and Orient
2 Tank/Laser Cannon : 18 Soldiers : Lasers, Alien Grenades, and Power Armor
Base 3 : Monument NM
Monument NM stands for "Monument, New Mexico"
Monument NM is a covert ship building platform, that is your main source of 2nd base engineering cause, which relies on the need for a technical and well thought through expansion pattern. There is a common obvious problem in base building that there are not any available open surfaces to build across from and thus locked out from building. This is helped and intermittently solved by the symmetry of a Living Quarters vs Workshop :
Living Quarters || Cost $400,000 || Build time in days 16
Workshop || Cost $800,000 || Build time in days 32
By my metric that this is a hidden underground install of a minor engineering effort as a prospect of ignorance, Monument NM is an engineering base used as a tank-factory in specific and should be visional and obscure but protected in its:
1 - Narrow entry 2 - Surrounded hangar
Base 4 : Pretoria
Pretoria "Pretoria" meaning exactly is a region not a cause.
Use of this location is mostly sensory area and closeness to a major area I can recall. Used at the end of the game for stores that I placed the alien technology into for scoring.
Base 5 : Pine Gap SB
Pine Gap SB stands for "Pine Gap Sensor Base"
Pine Gap is usable as a forward use intercept base and sensor area. Pine Gap SB is mostly used for housing covered Light Fighters and potentially can be expanded later in game if you can produce Lightnings for early retrieval via teams with Blaster Bombs and roof entry - with Motion Scanners/ Flying suits. At the end of the game (May) I was producing Laboratory for final tech advance.
Base 6 : Stuttgart AFB
Stuttgart AFB stands for "Stuttgart Air Force Base"
Stuttgart AFB is a revival base that is useful as an early fallout revival plan if you lose your first base. It is set up as a bare bones intercept base that you can build heavier as a 2-4 Hangar Intercept and infantry base or a 1-2 Hangar heavier infantry and training center with psi-labs, due to the lack of overhead in terms of space of the initial base set up (3 Hangars, Laboratory and Workshop)
Stuttgart AFB is useable like a revival base as an intercept companion base that can handle terror missions or lone supply ships that can lead to an alien base attack if needed.
Base 7 : Mumbai AFB
Mumbai AFB stands for "Mumbai Air Force Base"
This was an experiment base that I used here and is 1 of 2 unused base slots in my current base structure. I used a basic radar base with General Stores and 2 Hangars as a typical basic design.
Base 8 : Korea
Korea "Korea" meaning exactly is a region not a cause.
This was an experiment base that I used here and is 1 of 2 unused base slots in my current base structure.
I used a basic radar base with no General Stores but Alien Containment for live alien storage and 2 Hangars as a typical basic design.