Jagged Alliance: Back in Action and Obituaries

[Yojimbo]

JA:BiA and Obituaries

JA BiA is a game that I was looking forward to. "Tribute" games and mods are great, but I know what a professional, focused, development team can do with licensed Intellectual Property (IP) and I was optimistic. Much of my optimism was well founded. The graphics are great, The Line of Sight works, the voice acting is OK. But I can't escape the feeling that the project leadership team might have KNOWN of Jagged Alliance but they must not have LIKED Jagged Alliance. If I have the choice to have my obituary written by one of two writers: One writer who knows me well, and one writer who likes me well - I would chose the one who likes me every time. JABiA feels like the studio is saying "We know what the fans want, but we know better". Its never easy to re-make a beloved work of art, I am told, but the first step is respect what people love about the work. If you get all 'ego' about doing things your own way - you are now creating a new game, not remaking a beloved classic.

Gone that I miss from JA2:
1. Mercs learning by DOING. This was both logical and loved. I could hire a smart, unskilled merc and teach them to go toe to toe with Magic on his best day. Its an 'immersion multiplier' that can really cause gamers to get into their characters. Game Designers should be seeking out immersion multipliers and should never consent to cut one from scope.

2. Paying wages for mercs. The current "pay once for endless life-threatening servitude" offends me at some level. Part of the management of JA2 was not letting your reach exceed your grasp with regard to compensation. Oddly, this issue is relevant in software development and design as well. You can hire "brilliant" for cheap until they get a few titles/missions under their belt. Then you need to start paying for the talent. I hope the "one check for life" policy is not indicative of the payroll policy at Kalypso Media.

3. The ability to spend more time aiming for more accuracy. You could aim longer for better percentages to hit. This could have been worked in to the new combat system (trading factions of seconds for percentage points to hit). This, again, was both logical and loved. But it might have been scrapped because the current combats are not hard at all if approached smartly.

4. Difficulty - both variable levels and overall hardness thereof. JA2 was a hard game. You lost sometimes. Losing was fun, almost losing but then winning was wonderful. The current game lacks the kind of challenge that a "sporting gentleman" needs in a strategy game.

Gone that I don't miss much:

1. Free placement of explosives. I never used explosives much - only for breaching structures really. So the current "use only here" glowing green satchel charges are fine by me.

2. The old Square sectors. The new map, and the "red zone" of engagement is vastly superior in my mind.

3. Turn Based AP Combat. I said it. I may stand alone here, but I am OK with the combat system. My only issue is that the current system causes some impossible situations. When defending a rush I can simply have my mercs lie down in a line facing the enemy. Pausing and issuing each merc multiple burst assignments causes a simultaneous "bullet storm" in the span of a few seconds. This storm cuts down the target without fail and does a good amount of collateral damage to their squad mates as well. Pause, rinse and repeat on next target. This is probably how real soldiers might behave if a computer brain controlled them all and caused them to all to select the best target and move on to the next with cold, precise logic. The result is dead enemies and unharmed mercs.

4. Repairing armor. I liked being able to do it, but it was not realistic in any way. I can live without it as my mercs don't stop very many bullets so far in mid-game. It does make the DLC custom helmet kind of a "slap in the face" when it had to be given to a militia member or thrown away. Why give out DLC to your customers that they can't keep?

What an AMBITIOUS JABiA project would have done:
1. Randomly generated mercs using audio filters on a library of several thousand voices. Faces and merc back stories generated. This would have given endless mercs beyond the known library. JABiA somehow managed to include less mercs than JA2 had. These people would come with a rich plethora of skills, habits, peccadilloes and phobias.

2. Made a better Fog of War system. You could have been given some options for buying various levels of satellite recon of your battlefield for a span of hours at an hourly rate. Some visual, some thermal, etc. I have heard the 'playtesters' reported it was "more fun without FOW". This simply does not add up to me, who did the play testing? Was it people who are not used to games being hard? Did we double-duty the Tropico 4 playtesters? (Great game, but not a HARD game). If you hired a consultant that told you that people will not pay for hard games because they loose, fire that person and get your money back if you can. However it happened, JABiA somehow managed to take FOW out of scope for the release.

3. The pseudo-browser interface for hiring mercs should have been made better. We should be picking from AIM, IMP, some kind of "Bullet-Dice.com" and/or a "Mercenaries of Fortune" magazine that lets YOU place the ads - the respondents would be the semi-random blokes and sheilas mentioned above. JABiA somehow managed to have a less advanced interface for buying mercs then JA2 had.

4. Weapons and weapon mods added flavor to JA2. This should have been stepped up in JABiA with lots of dodgy gunsmithing projects. A look at back issues of Brownell's "Gunsmith Kinks" and a vivid imagination would have sufficed to create the mods. Spray-on coatings to increase durability, user specific bespoke custom grip bonuses, rails, lights, lasers, hot loads, fluted barrels, porting, etc. A database would be needed with each gun as a key, a listing of the possible mods for that item, a score of the difficulty of the mod, the raw materials needed, etc. Someone on the development team who knows and likes guns would have been essential for this to work. Instead, JABiA somehow managed to have less guns and (other than the odd scope or silencer) no real mods.

That is my list. You talk to any other JA fan you will get more and better ideas. This is why I think the JABiA work team might not have been comprised of people who liked JA: They lost the battle of ideas. This is the challenge with JA IP: Those who know it well, love it well. This small and rabid fan base has got to be frustrating to cater to. However, JABiA is about to lose in a competitive marketplace to a user-moded and user-supported game engine originally released in 1999. If you care enough about JA to read this you have seen what I have seen; people stating that they are sticking with JA2 and not buying JABiA. Would a partly-open, easily modifiable engine "incorporate" those rabid modders and fans into the newer engine with its beautiful graphics? Probably. Will Kalypso Media move in this direction? I have no idea and I don't care to guess.

Kalypso had the same IP, access to modern development engines, better access to talent, no burden of explaining "the vision" to producers and backers (just say: that game with better graphics). With all of these advantages it should feel less like "Tropico 8: The Overthrow" and more like Jagged Alliance. Game remakes, like obituaries, are best written by people who both KNEW and LIKED the object of the project.

[Normann]

Good post. I agree with most of it. I do like that you can gain a generic XP that can be used at whatever skill. Not realistic but you just don't get to do that many explosives.

I very much agree on the FOW problem, and also on the daily pay vs pay once for a mercenary. It feels they did not have enough time to finish all they wanted. Still I am having a good time with it, it seems I will finish it much sooner than the original game because it is somewhat easy with those two problems above. Hopefully a patch or a DLC/expansion will bring those changes.

[Yojimbo]

Good post. I agree with most of it. I do like that you can gain a generic XP that can be used at whatever skill. Not realistic but you just don't get to do that many explosives.

I very much agree on the FOW problem, and also on the daily pay vs pay once for a mercenary. It feels they did not have enough time to finish all they wanted. Still I am having a good time with it, it seems I will finish it much sooner than the original game because it is somewhat easy with those two problems above. Hopefully a patch or a DLC/expansion will bring those changes.

Thank you, I just needed to get it all off my chest. The old JA2 had both learn by doing and XP point to spend (as I remember, I have not played in some time).

The modern trend in gave development is for a project phase just for game balancing. I am thinking some of good stuff got thrown out in that phase to make it easier because the playtesters groused.

[mori]

I too enjoyed your post. I am still on the fence about this game.

[Skeptic]

Thank you, I just needed to get it all off my chest. The old JA2 had both learn by doing and XP point to spend (as I remember, I have not played in some time).

Nope. JA2 was solely 'learn by doing'. Except for during your IMP creation phase where you got a certain number of points to spend. Another odd thing about your review: one of the most important and fun aspects of JA2 was being able to create your own custom merc(IMP). This was also chucked by the morons who made 'JA2: Back in Action".

It is a terrible and stupid mess of a game I am sorry to say. Like someone remaking 'The Secret of Monkey Island' but making it a real time shoot 'em up and removing the puzzles while replacing the cartoony graphics with bad 3D models. WTF?!

[Normann]

It is a terrible and stupid mess of a game I am sorry to say. Like someone remaking 'The Secret of Monkey Island' but making it a real time shoot 'em up and removing the puzzles while replacing the cartoony graphics with bad 3D models. WTF?!

I disagree! The game is definitely NOT terrible. I have put in some 15h into it already and while I agree that it is not as good as the original JA was, and there is a lot missing, it sure is not terrible. It is also not a mess. No crashes or major bugs unlike other recently released big budget titles that cost you $60. Are you actually playing this game?

[coopasonic]

It is a terrible and stupid mess of a game I am sorry to say. Like someone remaking 'The Secret of Monkey Island' but making it a real time shoot 'em up and removing the puzzles while replacing the cartoony graphics with bad 3D models. WTF?!

I disagree! The game is definitely NOT terrible. I have put in some 15h into it already and while I agree that it is not as good as the original JA was, and there is a lot missing, it sure is not terrible. It is also not a mess. No crashes or major bugs unlike other recently released big budget titles that cost you $60. Are you actually playing this game?

I'm with Normann. I don't have as much time played (I'm only into the morning of Day 2, though I have 6 or 7 areas capped), but I am really enjoying it. It isn't JA2. The setting and names are the same, but the game is different. If you stop trying to make it a remake of JA2 you may find yourself enjoying it more. It's certainly not a great game and probably not even a particularly good game. It's a wholly competent real time tactical combat game.

[Yojimbo]

Nope. JA2 was solely 'learn by doing'. Except for during your IMP creation phase where you got a certain number of points to spend. Another odd thing about your review: one of the most important and fun aspects of JA2 was being able to create your own custom merc(IMP). This was also chucked by the morons who made 'JA2: Back in Action".

It is a terrible and stupid mess of a game I am sorry to say. Like someone remaking 'The Secret of Monkey Island' but making it a real time shoot 'em up and removing the puzzles while replacing the cartoony graphics with bad 3D models. WTF?!

Thank you for the correction, I have not started JA2 1.13 in a few years and my memory has officially moved to "nothing special" status with age.

I don't think it is a "terrible stupid mess". I kind of see the game as something that could be salvaged in an aggressive patch, a mod, or a new version.

On the "personal merc", I did miss it at first. But I'm 30 hours in (12 days, I think) and I don't miss it much. Maybe I am sociopath enough to get my RP on playing someone else whereas a well-adjusted person would need to ID with one specific character.

[Sarkus]

I've also been playing it and enjoying my time. No, its not JA2 with better graphics. But its a fun game in its own right with enough of what made the first game addictive. There are some improvements and there are some bad things but it works. That same need to see what loot I can get from a battle so I can improve my team and holding out for the cash to buy the best stuff now available still holds true. And plenty of tactical thinking is required. Your guys will get wiped if you aren't smart about how to approach things, which is about all you can hope for in a game like this.

[Kasey Chang]

You'd think that real mercs would REALLY mod their guns and clean them and love them, rather than this generic weapon ****.

You'd think that real mercs would argue which version of the .45 is better: Detonics, Colt, Springfield Armory, Marine Recon special, or other? (EDIT: Argh! Forgot Kimber!)

You'd think that real mercs would know which AR is better? Bushmaster? Colt? DPMS? Rock River? Armalite? Stag Arms? Knight Industries? Remington? Sabre Defense? Barrett? S&W? Les Baer?

If so, what caliber besides the 5.56? 7.62 NATO? .50 Beowolf? 6.5 Grendel? (EDIT: yes, they all can be used on the AR frame)

And what sort of accessories? iron sights? HoloSight? Red Dot? ACOG? Flip-aside scope? laser? flashlight? sniper scope? night viz scope? thermal scope?

EDIT: No debate between AR vs AK?

Nope, these mercs feel like generic templates. Darn it.

[Sarkus]

You'd think that real mercs would REALLY mod their guns and clean them and love them, rather than this generic weapon ****.

You'd think that real mercs would argue which version of the .45 is better: Detonics, Colt, Springfield Armory, Marine Recon special, or other?

You'd think that real mercs would know which AR is better? Bushmaster? Colt? DPMS? Rock River? Armalite? Stag Arms? Knight Industries? Remington? Sabre Defense? Barrett? S&W? Les Baer?

If so, what caliber besides the 5.56? 7.62 NATO? .50 Beowolf? 6.5 Grendel?

And what sort of accessories? iron sights? HoloSight? Red Dot? ACOG? Flip-aside scope? laser? flashlight? sniper scope? night viz scope? thermal scope?

Nope, these mercs feel like generic templates. Darn it.

What is this magical game that has that in it? Certainly not JA2, which only had a few mercs who cared to say anything about what they wanted and certainly not to that extent.

[Kasey Chang]

Nah, just gun talk from a gun amateur. You'd think that a gun amateur would talk this much shop, the mercs won't do that?

I think there's are a few games that allow this sort of complexity. Didn't FO: New Vegas allow weapon mods? I haven't installed any as I haven't found a weapon shop with good (read: cheap) selection besides "night scope for varmint rifle" and some laser rifle parts. Your party's also different enough to each carry their own weapons and fight independently. I mean, come on. Military units may require cohesion, common weapons, and such, but mercs? Nah.

There were several JA clones in past years. Did "New Jagged Union" have weapon mods?

On a different genre, Crysis have weapon mods on all of their weapons, and it does heavily affect how you use them.

Adding this sort of shop talk may or may not add to the complexity of the game, as an exotic weapon will need parts and what not to fix, but will give the merc a bonus (+1 for familiarity) and whatever the accessory / weapon has inherently). A merc will need to foot his own parts and ammo, and if they use an exotic caliber weapon ammo sharing may be a problem (and who knows how long your supply line is).

Well, here's wish for an expansion pack!

[Rip]

You'd think that real mercs would REALLY mod their guns and clean them and love them, rather than this generic weapon ****.

You'd think that real mercs would argue which version of the .45 is better: Detonics, Colt, Springfield Armory, Marine Recon special, or other?

You'd think that real mercs would know which AR is better? Bushmaster? Colt? DPMS? Rock River? Armalite? Stag Arms? Knight Industries? Remington? Sabre Defense? Barrett? S&W? Les Baer?

If so, what caliber besides the 5.56? 7.62 NATO? .50 Beowolf? 6.5 Grendel?

And what sort of accessories? iron sights? HoloSight? Red Dot? ACOG? Flip-aside scope? laser? flashlight? sniper scope? night viz scope? thermal scope?

Nope, these mercs feel like generic templates. Darn it.

What is this magical game that has that in it? Certainly not JA2, which only had a few mercs who cared to say anything about what they wanted and certainly not to that extent.

With the 1.13 mod it certainly does. I had like 6 attachments on my assault rifle including a C-Mag adapter.

If I had never played anything but stock JA2 I might be able to enjoy this one, but after 1.13 this is just killjoy.

[Sarkus]

I'm not referring to the gun modding in game but rather the idea in Kasey's post that he'd like to see the mercs be more vocal about their interest and knowledge of weapons.

As for the weapon modding, BiA doesn't have that. And the single accessory limit is annoying as well. But I think thats the kind of thing that appeals most to the "gun porn" crowd that makes up a big chunk of the Jagged Alliance fanbase but isn't a feature required by a more general audience.

If people can't get beyond fixating on the things this game doesn't have compared to Jagged Alliance 2 vanilla or particularly Jagged Alliance 2 with various patches then they probably aren't going to be happy with Back in Action. For my part despite being a huge JA2 fan I'm having a lot of fun playing this game for what it is and not what it isn't.

[Skeptic]

I'm not referring to the gun modding in game but rather the idea in Kasey's post that he'd like to see the mercs be more vocal about their interest and knowledge of weapons.

As for the weapon modding, BiA doesn't have that. And the single accessory limit is annoying as well. But I think thats the kind of thing that appeals most to the "gun porn" crowd that makes up a big chunk of the Jagged Alliance fanbase but isn't a feature required by a more general audience.

If people can't get beyond fixating on the things this game doesn't have compared to Jagged Alliance 2 vanilla or particularly Jagged Alliance 2 with various patches then they probably aren't going to be happy with Back in Action. For my part despite being a huge JA2 fan I'm having a lot of fun playing this game for what it is and not what it isn't.

Won't speak for Kasey but I took his post the same way rip seemed to and my issue is this: BiA is not 1/10th the game that JA2 VANILLA is, let alone 1.13. It may appeal to twitch gamers and I cannot really comment on that as I am not a twitch gamer myself but slapping the "Jagged Alliance" label onto a twitch game does not change this. The very BEST 'twitch games'...Duke Nukem 3D, Tyrian 2000 etc. are great button mashers but BiA is not in the same league with THOSE games.

So that is the bar I am measuring BiA against.

[coopasonic]

But it's not REMOTELY a twitch game. The only twitch reaction required is hitting the space bar when you see your plan going to hell.

[Skeptic]

http://www.gog.com/en/forum/jagged_alli ... h_february" target="_blank

This is one of several threads I have seen that sum up my feelings about the game.

[Kasey Chang]

I originally meant the gun mods and variants, though the chatter idea is great too. having them b**ch about the lack of gun choices, lament about their favorite guns they have to leave home, and stuff would add a lot to the atmosphere. (And for rookies who can't stand such dialog, make it optional)

[Kasey Chang]

I think the difference is more like the difference between XCOM and XCOM:Apocalypse. People were b****ing about the RTS mode.

[Shinjin]

I haven't even checked out the demo yet, even though I absolutely loved JA and JA2 (JA: Deadly Games a bit less). I can't even tell you the number of times I replayed the JA2 demo waiting for JA2. I even "hung out" on the terra virtua forum (if memory serves, even though it was modded by some seriously pretentious pricks) where the artist working at Sir-Tech who 'was' Dr Q in-game posted.

Anyway, considering that this is supposed to be a remake, does Elliott make any appearances in cut-scenes? And does the inventory system include any voice overs? It's ridiculous, but I always got a kick out the voiced "A canteen ... in excellent condition". Or was that just in JA and not JA2?

[ScaryMike]

I've never played the original JA or JA2. I did play silent storm and thats what got me into this style of game.

So... I'm enjoying it. I wish there were easier ways to micromanage equipment and such, but over all, I like it so far. Except I'm poor and my dudes suck. Making money in this game seems really really slow.

[coopasonic]

So... I'm enjoying it. I wish there were easier ways to micromanage equipment and such, but over all, I like it so far. Except I'm poor and my dudes suck. Making money in this game seems really really slow.

The money comes from capping areas, mines are the most important. I still haven't had much time to play, only 6 hours or so, but I've found Fox and Blood to handle everything pretty well. Level 3 enemies are a bit of a challenge, but level 1 and 2 are cake. I have a couple assault rifles now, which helps. I'm still annoyed the enemies don't drop what they are carrying/wearing.

[LordMortis]

Nope. JA2 was solely 'learn by doing'.

Many an hour was spent punching cows and crows.

[Rip]

I haven't even checked out the demo yet, even though I absolutely loved JA and JA2 (JA: Deadly Games a bit less). I can't even tell you the number of times I replayed the JA2 demo waiting for JA2. I even "hung out" on the terra virtua forum (if memory serves, even though it was modded by some seriously pretentious pricks) where the artist working at Sir-Tech who 'was' Dr Q in-game posted.

Anyway, considering that this is supposed to be a remake, does Elliott make any appearances in cut-scenes? And does the inventory system include any voice overs? It's ridiculous, but I always got a kick out the voiced "A canteen ... in excellent condition". Or was that just in JA and not JA2?

From what I understand there are no cut-scenes where you get to see Elliot get his face slapped off.

Elliiot you IDIOT!

[Sarkus]

Anyway, considering that this is supposed to be a remake, does Elliott make any appearances in cut-scenes? And does the inventory system include any voice overs? It's ridiculous, but I always got a kick out the voiced "A canteen ... in excellent condition". Or was that just in JA and not JA2?

That inventory voice over was not part of JA2.

As for this game, while it was originally announced as a full on remake of JA2 they later backed off of that. Its more of a reboot type of thing, with some of the basic story stuff reused but many differences. Like the map isn't exactly the same and I've seen no Diedranna related cutscenes (or Elliot). I still haven't found the rebels, for example, and I control about 20% of the map.

I made it to the Cambria hospital area. 25 guys to take out. So I climbed up on top of the first building I could find and started sniping. That got some attention, in the form of a bunch of enemies running for one of the two ways to get to the roof - a ladder. Lots of dead enemies there. Only one was smart enough to try and get an angle on my guys. But one nice thing I've noticed is that you can see through and shoot through skylights.

[Shinjin]

I'm still annoyed the enemies don't drop what they are carrying/wearing.

With vanilla JA2 this was done as a game balance issue.

[Skeptic]

I'm still annoyed the enemies don't drop what they are carrying/wearing.

With vanilla JA2 this was done as a game balance issue.

...And was a terrible idea. All they had to do was to give enemies only gear that would be appropriate for the level of the PCs likely to encounter them. With the caveat that IF a player wanted to try and make it to Alma or some such right from the 1st day and take on more elite soldiers as low level guys then they could enjoy the rewards of defeating such higher level enemies. I am all for game balance but logical consistency is just as important IMO.

[Normann]

On a different note. Does anyone have this problem? When I get a merc knocked out but not dead yet, I can't perform a medic action on them anymore.

[Rip]

On a different note. Does anyone have this problem? When I get a merc knocked out but not dead yet, I can't perform a medic action on them anymore.

I would suspect that is because there are as many types of medkits as there are weapons. You probably only have bandages when a more specialized kit is needed.

[Sarkus]

There was a bug in a previous patch that caused problems when you were trying to heal but the latest patch seems to have fixed that, so thats a possibility. As for Rip's suggestion, you should be getting a negative feedback from a merc that is trying to use a medical item they don't have the skill in. But yes, each type has a skill requirement to use. It says what it is when you highlight the item.

[Rip]

There was a bug in a previous patch that caused problems when you were trying to heal but the latest patch seems to have fixed that, so thats a possibility. As for Rip's suggestion, you should be getting a negative feedback from a merc that is trying to use a medical item they don't have the skill in. But yes, each type has a skill requirement to use. It says what it is when you highlight the item.

Correct me if I am wrong but I also think that if the injury is severe enough using just bandages is useless. For severe injuries a more capable object is required. At least that is how I understood it.

[Sarkus]

There was a bug in a previous patch that caused problems when you were trying to heal but the latest patch seems to have fixed that, so thats a possibility. As for Rip's suggestion, you should be getting a negative feedback from a merc that is trying to use a medical item they don't have the skill in. But yes, each type has a skill requirement to use. It says what it is when you highlight the item.

Correct me if I am wrong but I also think that if the injury is severe enough using just bandages is useless. For severe injuries a more capable object is required. At least that is how I understood it.

That's true but it also depends on the injury. You can have a merc completely knocked out and bring them back just using the syringe, in theory. According to the manual it works like this:

1. Syringe - minimal health boost, doesn't stop bleeding (blood drop icon), doesn't heal serious wounds (red cross icon), only requires 20 skill.
2. Bandages - decent health boost, stops bleeding, doesn't heal serious wounds, requires higher skill (30 or 40 IIRC).
3. Medkit - good health boost, stops bleeding, heals serious wounds, requires even higher skill (50?).
4. Doctor's Kit - best health boost, stops bleeding, heals serious wounds, requires high skill of 80.

So at a minimum you need medkits and someone who can use them to cover all eventualities.

[daedalus]

Nope. JA2 was solely 'learn by doing'.

Many an hour was spent punching cows and crows.

if i remember right the ice cream truck could be punched as well.

that and muling was fun.

[ScaryMike]

So I'm enjoying this game but the little things are starting to ruin it. I've got probably 80% of the map turned green, but:

1. Constantly having to re-equip the mercenaries in each area is no fun at all. Take Cambira for example. Track down a bunch of guns, and then individually hand about 15 guys all over the map a gun. Then a couple of "attacks" latter, I have to retake the area and try and re-equip the whole area again. Its extremely tedious. Am I missing something? Is there a way to have more powerful mercenaries? I see they can level up but they never last that long. I wish there was a way to just spend money to re-equip them. Walking all over the map to do it sucks.

2. Equipment management in general is a total pain. I wish you could swap equipment between chars more than just 2 at a time.

3. I feel like I can't really make progress because all my areas are constantly under attack and all I do is retake them and try and protect them.

4. This is not really a complaint, but I miss the silent storm engines destructible terrain. That was cool.

[Sarkus]

So I'm enjoying this game but the little things are starting to ruin it. I've got probably 80 of the map turned green, but:

1. Constantly having to re-equip the mercenaries in each area is no fun at all. Take Cambira for example. Track down a bunch of guns, and then individually hand about 15 guys all over the map a gun. Then a couple of "attacks" latter, I have to retake the area and try and re-equip the whole area again. Its extremely tedious. Am I missing something? Is there a way to have more powerful mercenaries? I see they can level up but they never last that long. I wish there was a way to just spend money to re-equip them. Walking all over the map to do it sucks.

I agree, this is one of the games biggest flaws. Luckily I've only had attacks on Cambria happen regularly and many of the times have been when my mercs are there so I don't lose many militia. That said, I don't bother going back to places like Drassen and the airport anymore to give them guns. They are far from the action.

2. Equipment management in general is a total pain. I wish you could swap equipment between chars more than just 2 at a time.

Merc to merc swapping is not a smart way to go. What I do is dump everything in a single pile on the ground and then have each merc individually interact with it. Better then what you are doing, anyway.

3. I feel like I can't really make progress because all my areas are constantly under attack and all I do is retake them and try and protect them.

I really haven't felt like this is too bad, at least yet. But I only have about 1/3 of the map under my control. But so far I've only gotten attacks out of the south that head towards Cambria most of the time and a few on the east side, but thats where I'm clearing up now.

I'm having fun still but the equipment management is a bear when you clear out areas with more then 20 bad guys. You have to go collect it all, explore for whatever else is lying around, then organize it and figure out what you want to keep or get rid of. Takes a large amount of down time.

[Gizah]

There are clearly several irritating flaws in this game; inventory management, LACK OF FOG OF WAR!!!!, swapping weapons requires them to be reloaded with ammo every time, etc., but despite it all I'm definitely enjoying it. Hopefully it will prove to be mod friendly....

[$iljanus]

There are clearly several irritating flaws in this game; inventory management, LACK OF FOG OF WAR!!!!, swapping weapons requires them to be reloaded with ammo every time, etc., but despite it all I'm definitely enjoying it. Hopefully it will prove to be mod friendly....

Same here. I find that I'm not missing the fog of war. But along with the the above complaints I do think they have to have some way of repairing body armor (complaint echoed across many other gaming forums) since that stuff is damn expensive yet quite necessary as you go along in the game. Just have it non-repairable after a certain point since it's hard to repair body armor that's reduced to hanging threads and large shotgun induced holes.

But when a plan comes together in this game and you're dealing wholesale death with your mercs, it is quite the enjoyable game. Memorable moment for me was in a hallway (hospital map) with a three man merc team. One guy with an assault rifle, one with a shotgun, one with a magnum, inverted triangle formation. Had them upright and calmly walking down the hall. Enemies kept running into the hallway and were pretty much eviscerated by gunfire as my team walked forward. It was as if I had a team of T-1000 Terminators. Good times!

[$iljanus]

Alma prison is really taking a toll on my team. Having non-destructible terrain except in certain spots is a pain in the ass since much of my problem could have been solved with a liberal helping of C4. If I pull my guys out and returned after healing/resupplying would enemies respawn in the jail area and retake the other areas of Alma that are under my control? Always the possibility that the bitch queen will send troops to Alma (or will the AI not send troops to areas actively being fought over?) so perhaps I'll leave a merc or two to hold things down while I send my most chewed up guy and another fella to the airport for rest and resupply.

Any advice welcomed. Getting tired of axe wielding meth heads sprinting at my guys and getting the drop on my mercs too.

[Yojimbo]

I miss the fog of war a lot. I suggest those struggling use a merc to run around and draw fire.

Everyone else stays deep and pot shots the responders. The "bait" runs (never stopping) a loop into the enemy LOS and back out. The AI does not respond well to this and will often give chase. Tixa was a challenge for me, but everything else (including the maze) was fairly breezy.

I may try one more play with only 1 paid merc. Filling the rest with the free helpers. I used to do this with JA2 and enjoyed it a lot.

[Gizah]

Siljanus - If you leave the area and return relatively quickly it does not appear that the enemy replenishes its troops. I waited a whole day for a new merc to fly in, and the enemy count stayed the same for example. Not sure what the outside time frames on that would be, I would assume that they will regroup at some point.

Also a tip for anyone that's interested. I was never able to fgure out how to force "manual" fire in this game, i.e. making your merc take a shot at something he can't see through but that a round might penetrate. I accidentally figured out that if you click the weapon icon in your merc's info bar on the top left of the screen it will allow you to do this. If that info was in the manual I never found it.