Real-Time vs Turn-Based (Apocalypse)

Overview

Here we'll discuss the merits of Real-Time (RT) vs Turn-Based (TB) in Apocalypse.

Summary

• RT 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.

• TB combat provides for more controlled action when you make them. It also provides for the least control when you are waiting between turns. TB 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.

• 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 RT, and another solely in TB, the losses in TB combat have a tendency to be significantly higher.

• Dual-Weilding weapons changes for the worse in TB. 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. In TB it does not requires maintenance costs as in RT. In TB it'll behave like it used to in UFO Defense and TFTD, and each attack will be a one-off expense of TUs that will last the duration of the turn. Note that for both modes you will still need line of sight and psi energy will still be consumed. Psi energy will recharge over several turns.

• Movement TU and energy costs in TB 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.

• 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 during TB.

• 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.

• Agent dispositions will affect a unit's reaction to enemy targets the same way. However, RT allows 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.

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.

See Also

• Battlescape Overview
• Turn-Based Combat
• Real-Time Combat