Xcom: sometimes they just are just destined to miss

[RevRaptor]

So I found something while playing xcom enemy unknown. Sometime you just have to miss no matter how many times one reloads a save, that shot will always miss and I mean always. It doesn?t matter who takes the shot.

So what I do is reload the save and have one of my riflemen take the miss shot and then have my sniper fire, works every damn time

 

[Aeshi]

So every nth shot is a guaranteed miss?

Because that would explain a lot (like how a Heavy can miss a shot that had a 97% chance to hit, grrrrr)

 

[hazabaza1]

I know that Fire Emblem has a system that whenever you load up a new map it creates a random set of numbers that'll factor into the RNG. It might have something similar.

 

[scotth266]

Basically, whenever you start your turn, the game automatically calculates whether or not you'll score a hit from any given tile in advance. Then, when you move your guys and shoot, you see the predetermined result (unless you've done something to change the battlefield in that time, such as destroying a unit's cover, flank, etc). The percentage is simply showing you what the game thought your odds of hitting were, but the die roll for the attack has already been done.

The game has this as a feature to deter save-scumming - no matter how many times you reload and move your guy to that same tile, he's going to miss. You can of course move him to different tiles and see whether or not THOSE tiles fared better for your accuracy.

 

[The Madman]

It's intentional actually, the developers wanted to keep people from doing something called 'save-scumming' in XCom, which is basically when you reload saves repeatedly to get the best possible results each time. Here's an article explaining it. To quote for those not wanting to read the entire thing:

"There?s a reason for this. Technically speaking, it?s because XCOM randomizes its numbers from a seed that?s saved at the outset of a scenario. That seed determines what happens thereafter, and once you?ve memorized a certain play sequence, if you choose to repeat it, it?s doing so in essentially non-random terms."

"What Solomon and the design team at Firaxis are trying to prevent is the sort of play-through where you save and reload for every action to get the results you want. Did one point of damage instead of two? Reload. Didn?t hit that sectoid peeking around a corner? Reload. Can?t find the best position to get the highest-percentile shot? Reload. That?s no way to play a game, or at best it?s a tedious one. What?s XCOM without risk and consequences?"

So there you go.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

Anyway dice rolls. Gotta love them! Fucking you over with absolutely ridiculous hit chance managing to miss anyway and the enemy randomly scoring 5 crits in a row...

Fuck you Risk Factions! You're scum! Always with your 11 vs 2 with the 2 really hurting me and destroying my perfect advance...

 

[GTwander]

Basically, whenever you start your turn, the game automatically calculates whether or not you'll score a hit from any given tile in advance. Then, when you move your guys and shoot, you see the predetermined result (unless you've done something to change the battlefield in that time, such as destroying a unit's cover, flank, etc). The percentage is simply showing you what the game thought your odds of hitting were, but the die roll for the attack has already been done.

The game has this as a feature to deter save-scumming - no matter how many times you reload and move your guy to that same tile, he's going to miss. You can of course move him to different tiles and see whether or not THOSE tiles fared better for your accuracy.

That's brilliant, and very good to know. Thanks much!

 

[Sangnz]

Seeing I play on ironman it doesn't worry me.
On the up side if you wanted to you (non ironman) could save before you launch a mission and I assume a different seed will be generated if you reload should the mission go tits up.

 

[daveman247]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

Anyway dice rolls. Gotta love them! Fucking you over with absolutely ridiculous hit chance managing to miss anyway and the enemy randomly scoring 5 crits in a row...

Fuck you Risk Factions! You're scum! Always with your 11 vs 2 with the 2 really hurting me and destroying my perfect advance...

Try the demo to see

Failing that, i can confirm the game works just as well on the controller as on a mouse (i have the 360 version). Possibly being slowed down because of having to use a cursor instead of a mouse is a non-issue since it is turn based.


Also BOO to the OP! I frown upon such play styles ¬_¬

 

[tme]

Sadly, this not only also counts for enemy shots, it also discounts every possibility to change the shots outcome. Example: Throwing a smoke grenade doesn't change the predetermined outcome, not throwing in at your guys, not throwing it at the aliens.

I must say I don't like it. For all the unfairness the game does, it sometimes is needed to reload and try again. If I can't try again, what good is a save game? It makes savegames unusable, where the game has predetermined that the escort will die, and from which shot.

 

[Yal]

Sadly, this not only also counts for enemy shots, it also discounts every possibility to change the shots outcome. Example: Throwing a smoke grenade doesn't change the predetermined outcome, not throwing in at your guys, not throwing it at the aliens.

I must say I don't like it. For all the unfairness the game does, it sometimes is needed to reload and try again. If I can't try again, what good is a save game? It makes savegames unusable, where the game has predetermined that the escort will die, and from which shot.

Surely it's not that complicated. You're describing a very technically difficult system that has no impact on the game as it is meant to be played. That is a dubious usage of development resources.

I'd expect a simple saved seed system, if the next number out of the RNG is going to be a 44, it's always going to be a 44 no matter how many times you reload. To defeat the system all you've got to do is find a less-critical action that can consume that 44, and then you've got access to a new number behind it.

 

[Zakarath]

Where's the fun if you undo every mistake and re-roll every miss, anyway? Save scumming takes all the challenge and tension out of the game.

 

[salinv]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

I honestly can't speak for the Xbox version (I have it on PC), but the controller interface works well. Just a couple days ago I connected my laptop to a tv and played X-Com with a gamepad. It worked really well, and I don't usually use gamepads. I'm not sure I prefer it, but it worked much better than I expected it to.

 

[gigastar]

I noticed that quite early into playing the game, so if i decide a savescum is warranted i ditch the whole operation and pray the RNG produces a more favorable map.

For example i had one counter-abduction mission and i found all the aliens (6 Mutons, 3 Muton Berzerkers, a Cyberdisc with escort drones and 3 Chrysalids) huddled together in the same biulding.

Needless to say this had the same effect on my guys as a claymore mine has on your face.

I also find theese numbers are rerolled every time a unit makes a move, shot or uses an ability.

 

[RevRaptor]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

Anyway dice rolls. Gotta love them! Fucking you over with absolutely ridiculous hit chance managing to miss anyway and the enemy randomly scoring 5 crits in a row...

Fuck you Risk Factions! You're scum! Always with your 11 vs 2 with the 2 really hurting me and destroying my perfect advance...

Try the demo to see

Failing that, i can confirm the game works just as well on the controller as on a mouse (i have the 360 version). Possibly being slowed down because of having to use a cursor instead of a mouse is a non-issue since it is turn based.


Also BOO to the OP! I frown upon such play styles ¬_¬

I'm playing on the 360 an its awesome.

I actually agree about the save scumming, I don't do it oftern but when you is at the end of a terror mission and that one shot stops the bad guy from killing 4 of your team and the stupid civies near them, well you really want it to hit, not miss on a 95% chance. I think a reload is warranted. If they didn't want us to reload saves they shouldn't have put auto misses in the game

 

[jetriot]

I don't know about the console versions but on the PC version there is an option to turn this feature off. If you are a new good dirty cheater.

 

[getoffmycloud]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

Anyway dice rolls. Gotta love them! Fucking you over with absolutely ridiculous hit chance managing to miss anyway and the enemy randomly scoring 5 crits in a row...

Fuck you Risk Factions! You're scum! Always with your 11 vs 2 with the 2 really hurting me and destroying my perfect advance...

Try the demo to see

Failing that, i can confirm the game works just as well on the controller as on a mouse (i have the 360 version). Possibly being slowed down because of having to use a cursor instead of a mouse is a non-issue since it is turn based.


Also BOO to the OP! I frown upon such play styles ¬_¬

I'm playing on the 360 an its awesome.

I actually agree about the save scumming, I don't do it oftern but when you is at the end of a terror mission and that one shot stops the bad guy from killing 4 of your team and the stupid civies near them, well you really want it to hit, not miss on a 95% chance. I think a reload is warranted. If they didn't want us to reload saves they shouldn't have put auto misses in the game

But a 95% chance is not a guaranteed hit it is unlikely you will miss but that's the risk you take.

One thing I don't like however is that the percentage lies I spent 3 turns firing at a guy when I had a 45% chance to hit every time and missed all 3 so that cannot be 45% cause at least 1 of those shots should have hit.

 

[The Madman]

But a 95% chance is not a guaranteed hit it is unlikely you will miss but that's the risk you take.

One thing I don't like however is that the percentage lies I spent 3 turns firing at a guy when I had a 45% chance to hit every time and missed all 3 so that cannot be 45% cause at least 1 of those shots should have hit.

That's not how percentages work. I could flip a coin, a 50/50 chance for either heads or tails, and still get tails ten times in a row. It's unlikely to happen, but it doesn't make that 50/50 chance any less valid.

 

[Frybird]

Ok, off topic entirely but i've heard this game is pretty good so is the 360 port any good? It sounds like something a lot more suited to a mouse and keyboard and my laptop is so, so shit :/

Anyway dice rolls. Gotta love them! Fucking you over with absolutely ridiculous hit chance managing to miss anyway and the enemy randomly scoring 5 crits in a row...

Fuck you Risk Factions! You're scum! Always with your 11 vs 2 with the 2 really hurting me and destroying my perfect advance...

I actually play it with Controller on PC.

I can't seem to change the mouse sensitivity and i found i didn't like the default key bindings on PC. Playing with a 360 Pad seems snappier and more intuitive for me in this case, even if it's a bit slower (hardly an issue with Turn-Based-Strategy)