Talk:Motion Scanner

Someone should make a tutorial on how to use those darn things.

I never manage to get a grasp on how to use it effectively. I often found it easier to turn my soldiers around in circles to clear my immediate vincinity. Maybe a image of the motion detector screen, and another to show the positions of the aliens and how it relates to one another?

--Vagabond 23:16, 15 March 2007 (PDT)

It's not terribly difficult to use. All it does is pick up movement. Nothing else. The main use is to check for movement of units in an enclosed area - i.e. the UFO or a building or even the outside of the Skyranger before you embark after waiting the first or more turn.

The orientation is simple. It's the same as the overhead map. Top is North, then clockwise it's East, South and West. The numbers on the rings on the screen represent every tile away from you. It goes up to 8 or 9 rings, so that's a 9 tile radius. Which is coincidentally your visual range at night, so there's absolutely no point in using a motion scanner out in the open.

Using soldiers as an example, when no movement has occured, you'll get nothing on the screen.

After movement, units that have moved will register on the display. Note that the more they have to walk, the larger their blip on the screen.

That's it really. It's useful if you've got a wall and cannot see what's behind it. Out in the open, it's utterly useless.

- NKF