Starting a Mission (Apocalypse)

Starting A Mission

Unlike the first two Xcom games, Apocalypse enables the player to initiate a tactical mission freely. To do so, equip any vehicle with one or more agents and send that vehicle out to any building. Once its arrives the player can choose to RAID the building or SEARCH the building for an alien presence, however, if no aliens are present, then you do not get a tactical mission to play.
NOTE: you do not need to use a vehicle to move to a building! You can walk there via the people tubes, but it will take a long time.
Note: if you click on the vehicle icon when at a building, you'll automatically select all agents assigned to that vehicle. Holding down SHIFT lets you select multiple vehicles. (NEED CONFIRM: is it SHIFT or CTRL ??? )

Searching a Building

When an agent(s) is at a building, click on the building, click on the agents you want to use then click the first button located on the top-right. Without generating a mission, your agents have searched the building. If an alien presence has been located within the building, a tactical mission automatically starts. If there are no alien forces present, then the corporation has become very slightly more hostile to Xcom.

Raiding A Building

When an agent is at a building, click on the building, click on the agents you want to use then click the second button down located on the top-right. You are now starting to mission to raid this building. The objective of a raid is to cause damage to the structure and to injure/kill the security forces present whilst trying to steal anything not nailed down. Raiding a corporation will cause it to become more hostile towards Xcom. The corporation's allies will also be angered by Xcoms actions.
NOTE: if you are raiding a building and you do not destroy anything or kill anyone, then the corporation does not become hostile. To end this tactical mission, you must retreat the map via the blue exit squares or press ESC.

Advanced Search And Raid

• If an organisation is under alien control, raiding a building will sometimes involve fighting against aliens and security forces.
• If an organisation is under alien control, searching for aliens does not always start a tactical mission.
• Multiple raiding does not affect a corporations ability to equip its security forces with weapons. It only angers them more and if your successful, it gives you something to sell and gives you a good score at the end of the month.

Vehicular Attacks

Using vehicles to attack a building before going in for a raid or search does not affect the floor plan of the tactical mission, nor does it affect the potency of its security forces. All it does it anger the corporation and cause it to launch defenders. It also decrease you score at the end of the month due to city damage.
Note: it is possibly to flatten a building so that no searching or raiding is possibly. You can also destroy launch tubes so that no vehicles and land or take off.

The First Mission

As soon as you start the game you'll have work to do. There is an alien infestation in one of the buildings. If you select the Ultra-Fast timespeed, then it will appear as an Alien Alert. The mission can be troublesome (Brainsusckers!) or it can be extremely easy (almost laughable).

Troublesome

Equip 8 guys with all available projectile weapons and spare clips (armour is optional). Place them onto the Valkyrie. Go to Alien Alert when it appears. Direct your fire onto the Brainsuckers as they appoach. If a pod lands at/near your agent's feet, quickly access their inventory and pick up the pod. Doing so will stop the pod from bursting open. Kill all aliens.

Laughable

Hire ONE Android if available. Equip this robot with a Lawpistol and all clips. Don't need armour, Don't need anything else. Send ONLY this robot to the first mission to shoot some aliens at point blank range. Eh??? How? ans: Brainsuckers need a brain to suck. If there are no brains, then they just sit there on the ground begging for some lead.

Warnings About First Mission

• If your score total is higher than 1000 before you start this mission (eg: from raiding), aliens MIGHT carry disruptor guns instead of brainsucker launchers.
• If you want a challenge then aim for a score near 2500 before you start this mission (boomeroids).
• Feeling tough? Try above 8000. (devastators, vortex, shields)
• Feeling suicidal? Try above 25000. (devastators, entropy, dimension missiles, teleporters, cloak, shields, vortex).

As you can see, score governs alien tech levels throughout the whole game.

Slightly Strange

• Sometimes, your own building is where the Alien Alert appears. You can scan you own building before the official alert appears by just selecting a bunch of agents (highlighting them) and then click the "Alien" icon to initiate a scan. Real estate standards are lax!