[One hour in the game and...]

Perks, man. Get rid of the ability tiers and use a tree a la silent storm. Unique individual perks will have to go; a few can be retained as top level ability perks

[I purchased JA3 on GOG - how to download / use ShowChanceToHit mod - please]

Game developers can make the workshop mods available to the general public. Rimworld does this. Maybe haemimont will surprise us, bu t i doubt they GAF
 

the other option is getting the mod developer to post the mod on another site for dl

[Artificial Difficulty ruining tactics]

1 hour ago, sandman25dcsss said:

Does it mean optimal behavior in JA2 was to move with that particular merc 1 tile, check surrounding to make sure no new enemies appear in sight, move 1 tile again, check surrounding to make sure no new enemies appear in sight, move 1 tile again and so on?

Then I can see why devs removed that feature.

 

Basically the first tile of a move cost an additional AP. So you certainly had theoption to advance one tile at a time. I know some people around here really do not like options of this kind

[Artificial Difficulty ruining tactics]

1 hour ago, Dr.Kuhn said:

I've watched multiple german uploaders gameplay videos where they have constant awareness of where the enemies are in a sector with zero line of sight.

Could have something to do with difficulty setting. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if fog of war is gone

[Helmet or night vision goggle? They did the same thing as JA:RAGE]

Overdesigned. Makes no sense in the context of JA1 and JA2. 

[Artificial Difficulty ruining tactics]

Reinforcement from adjacent sectors is in 1.12. You might not see it with your playstyle, but it’s there

[Necessary upgrades before launch]

The dark gritty realism in JA2 was in the setting, from the bombing and devastating losses in Omerta to Angel’s sister's forced prostitution, to Dynamo’s imprisonment and the conscription we learn about in Alma 

 

Ira’s and Dmitri’s little sector overviews could get a little dark at times

[Meta Custom Merc Stats]

1 hour ago, Povok said:

And obtainable quite earlier that c7 if I recall correctly. Whereas m4 is non-existent.

 

You don't train strength in JA2, you FARM strenght in JA2.  

m4 is the commando. Really good with a barrel extender . The only problem with the m14 is 7ap cost

 

try melee for training str+dex. Best done with a night time gank squad in a sector with buildings

[DevDiary 4 - Character Progression]

2 hours ago, Jaywalker said:

“Complexity" is not valuable for its own sake.

The xcom devs made the design decisions they did because the game was designed for consoles, not because they were better. 
 

small maps, lack of granular control over APs, a vestigial inventory and more all militate against strategy and depth. Plus its fun to closely coordinate the actions of the team within a turn

[Inventory system poll.]

1 hour ago, Stuurminator said:

My kneejerk response is to prefer option 2, but if I take the time to look back on my time playing not just this but any tactical combat game, I can't remember a time that ammo or medical supply distribution has had a meaningful effect on my game. Maybe it's just been busywork all along and I never realized it.

It’s busywork if you don’t like it, gameplay if you do. Why have more than one generic rifle or pistol, other than to tweak your dopamine receptors with kit upgrades? Inventory gear with distinct characteristics and making decisions about who has what and when adds depth and variability to combat. Imo the new xcoms are almost completely lacking that lind of emergent gameplay and their combat feels shallow and redundant despite cool special abilities and “snake titties”

 

on a phone, sorry about the errors