Ok, I'm the ominous guest. I did enter my name the first time but I don't think it did any good...
Anyway, I personally keep from raiding Marsec and Megapol. I never had them as enemies but it was annoying enough to have psyke around raiding my base every two days when they were infiltrated. I can't begin to imagine if all those police cars - excellent decoys - would start shooting at me when I engage ufos. Also I think it would be quite a nuisance if every police car coming down the road past your base would take a few pot shots at it.
Besides Megapol has enough problems already, I just saw how Psyke levelled a hospital with 2 hovercars ... the whole hospital was gone before even the first police car arrived on the crime scene...
About the flyers:
There are several possible reasons for the survival of the fleet
- they are all set on 2nd lowest altitude and 2nd highest caution-thingie so they keep well away from the ufos
- I'm playing on medium since I never actually finished this game and since it has been a long time since I was last able to play it. All I remembered when starting again was "raid sirius" and "grenades! take plenty of grenades with you"
Apart from that, I always recall flyers as soon as they are moderately damaged or when they get themselves in trouble (i.e. they get surrounded by several alien craft) Also, I have too few vessels to attack multiple enemy craft at once, the whole fleet engages one target, if its downed and the other ufos decide to stick around in
my town they get a walloping as well :evil:
Infantry tactics:
Well staying outside is the best way of removing poppers from the fray. I always want to go inside just for the feeling of it but then I have to wait outside as wave after wave of aliens crashes against the x-com cliffs
Edit:
I seem to need some advice on the real time missions. I just tried it and floated around with a squad of 4 soldiers (the other 10 are wounded). The effect wasn't too amazing, I just told them where to go, tried to throw grenades (which went off too early or too late) and designated primary targets.
The result:
An entire apartment needs refurbishment and new windows
I almost lost one of my only two shield generators (still producing them like mad but it takes too long)
One of my soldiers will spend quite a while in the hospital
A civilian was incinerated when a vortex mine went off having travelled only a quarter of its route
And a panicked (!) anthropod made a viable attempt on the live of one of my Catergory A soldiers (which he regretted once the whole squad was right on top of him (literally) set to agressive auotmatic fire...)
Can you give me any hints how to reduce casualties and how to get organised more effecitvely... I doubt I'll be able to handle more than a single squad the way I do things now...