Jagged Alliance 2

>Like TBS games
>Like Nu-Com
>Like UFO Defence a lot
>really enjoyed some of Fire emblem games
>want to give jagged alliance 2 a try
Should I Sup Forums ? If so, where did I start and whan should I know ? Any tips ?

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i.4cdn.org/wsg/1520279425631.webm
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Yes.
You can download the v1.13 mod if you want, some recommend to play vanilla first but it adds some QOL things.
Never trust friendly AI, they will shoot you in the back.
It's buggy as fuck so don't be surprised if it breaks all the time.
Also remember to have fun

Ok so, what should I know about tactics and strategy as whole ? Is money here easy to get like in X-com ? I need to wory about costs for contracts ? Or I need focus on in something else?

>It's buggy as fuck so don't be surprised if it breaks all the time.

Is this just some meme that people who have never actually played Vanilla buy into and regurgitate? I put thousands of hours into that game and can count the bugs I ran into on one hand.

I wanted to get into this, but I find it too nutbustingly hard

Get the base game, download the community 1.13 patch since it has some essential bug fixes (eg suppression fire which is completely broken in the vanilla game). Go through the settings file for the 1.13 mod and turn off features you don't want (if it's first time you can be safe to turn off most things).

With 1.13 installed you can make the game easier or harder based on how many mercs you create in the character creator when you start the game. Since those mercs will never require a salary, it makes the game easier if you have more than 1.

Personally I recommend playing and dying on the first level until you learn how to use the aiming/cover/movement system properly. That's what I did. Important to realise you can spend more action points when aiming to shoot more accurately.

>Ok so, what should I know about tactics and strategy as whole?
Keep your guys in as low a stance as possible to reduce the chance of them being seen, reduce their chance to be hit, and improve their weapon aim.
The more AP your mercs have when you end your turn, the higher chance they have to interrupt enemies (basically a free turn for some of your mercs, and usually when some dumb enemy rushes you).
If playing 1.13, shots towards enemies will suppress them - reducing their aim and AP - so sometimes taking inaccurate shots can still be useful.

>Is money here easy to get like in X-com? I need to wory about costs for contracts?
You might have financial problems if you spend too long before getting your first mine (these generate money for you). For a first playthrough you can be a pleb like me and set the income generated from mines to 150 or 200%.
Yes your mercs need to be paid, and their rates will increase when they level up; it's best to buy 1/2 weeks just before they level up if you can.

Oh also when dealing with multiple enemies I actually recommend trying to wound multiple of them rather than focusing all fire on one enemy, since wounding them massively reduces their aim and AP.

When picking starting mercs, make sure you have a decent medic and a technician (to repair guns). Don't really need a demolitionist earlygame in my opinion. And of course one or two mercs with good marksmanship (80+) so you can more reliably hit enemies.

One small thing you might want to look up is the relationship between your mercs: if one merc dislikes another and are in the same squad(or sector?) for a while, they might not extend their contracts for you.

>bullet drop/spread depending on weapon characteristics
>suppression fire to pin down enemies reduces their action points
>proper separate magazines that track how much ammo is in each
>can consolidate ammo in half-used magazines into single full ones
>true interchangable ammo between weapons using the same caliber
>rookies can't remember how many bullets they have left
>veterans can estimate low/medium/high ammo, pros can tell exactly how much
>skilled soldiers can fire controlled bursts, rookies sometimes accidentally spray more bullets than intended
>shotguns are good to mid-range like real life
>guns can jam if not well maintained
>your soldiers are unique characters that have their own traits and behaviour quirks (good and bad)
>completely freeform overmap and you can decide your next strategic move yourself

God I love this game, need to play it again some time.

Those mines, they might me exhausted ? And those sites for insurance and funeral are usefull or just for fun ? I mean wow, There is a lot's os stuff going on here.And I like this kind of shit

JA2 1.13 stable is as bug free as it should be.
Even works perfectly on WINE.

ja-galaxy-forum is your friend.

If you haven't ever played the series then it's gonna take a while to learn it. Especially with 1.13.
Would take a long time to explain it.

UC 1.13 is fun

but best tactical gameplay is with AIMNAS
(except complete bigmaps never)

once you played stable then just jump into 1.13 unstable builds and have fun

This game turns you into a /k/ommando inadvertently.

It all depends on how much autism you have. If you want the most basic experience then just have 1.12 installed and play it. Unmodded gameplay is a bit dated and anyone who played 1.13 just cant go back to it. But you'll get the idea of the game better without all the freedom and pressure from the new (and better) gameplay mechanics of 1.13.

However you can try and play 1.13 with the old vanilla gameplay by using the GUI ini editor and selecting the ini file for it.

You can try and dive into the full 1.13 experience but it may overwhelm you.

Strategy tactics etc. You'll have to find out yourself. git gud
check email, go to imp site, xep624, make your own merc. get a couple cheap mercs with high wisdom. or just good marksmanship.

Save scum as much as you can until you've learnt the game. Go to san mona if you want to get about 50k$ fast. Then do drassen. If 1.13 then go citzeina first.

Also, try out fallout tactics.

...

Useful tips:
>grenades suck
>drop your backpacks as soon as a battle starts
>get the airport, mine and helicopter AS SOON AS YOU CAN
>bobby ray's updates it's stock as you progress so check on it often
>shotguns start sucking very quickly
>always stay in cover
>night vision goggles make any attack at nightime a breeze
>you NEED wire cutters to open fences in certain areas.
>try to get anyone capable a first aid kit at all times so they don't bleed out from stray bullets

>your soldiers are unique characters
Definitely one of my favourite things in this game, in addition to all the /k/ stuff too.

I have 175 hours in and still haven't finished. Admittedly I play extremely slowly and have spent way more time in strategic mode than tactical mode.

>Those mines, they might me exhausted ?
I believe in vanilla one random mine will exhaust at some point in the game. In the 1.13 config file, you can turn this off.

One last tip I have is to watch the first couple episodes of Moerges play JA2 1.13 on youtube. He explains a lot quite well. youtube.com/watch?v=Og0K6wmwAzM&list=PL1ewRmt6QNI5Wa7c4CQ-2UD4xMWzgmIdB

>grenades suck
Lob mustard gas into enemies and then suppress them so they can't move. Smokes can also get you out of tough situations by giving you time to patch people up, for example.

I played about six missions of this with 1.13 (without the counter attack) and it was very easy.
I'm not talking about in terms of killing or anything but the enemy AI was bad.
They'd stand in the open or else just run if I moved slightly out of sight with near full AP, then get shot.

Is there a way to stop the AI from being suicidal?

What's the difference between 1.13 and Stracciatella? Also, are any of Jagged Alliance games after 2 good? I heard Back in Action and Flashback are both trash.

>Also, are any of Jagged Alliance games after 2 good
I've avoided them like the plague.

The enemies get hard later on by pure numbers and having way better guns than you.

Low rank enemies (red shirts) are pretty retarded, yeah. I hear there's a 1.13 AI patch out, though I haven't tried it.
drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B_PNaFvHBMdBYTh0NzBvc1c0Ym8

>One last tip I have is to watch the first couple episodes of Moerges play JA2 1.13 on youtube. He explains a lot quite well. youtube.com/watch?v=Og0K6wmwAzM&list=PL1ewRmt6QNI5Wa7c4CQ-2UD4xMWzgmIdB
Oh shit, Thanks ! I end up seeng some German or Russians LP's on YouTube. I slav my self But the don't tell any good info about game. So thanks a lot.

None of the new ones are Sir-Tech and all try to streamline/casualize too much. There's no modern game that parallels JA2.

My only issue is really the fact I can just hide behind a corner for like 10% of my AP, AI comes along and gets shot
Or else they have no idea what to if they're in the open other than take potshots while my other mercs circle around and kill them.

Also is there anything like stealth in this game outside of "hey you're at night and got spotted"

Why is it so hard to make a damn TBS game where Mercs/Soldiers fight with real life, authentic weaponry. Why do we have to play Russian barely translated trash like 7.62, while the sci fi XCOM clones are so popular?

40k is another universe which is generally suited for a game like that. I want a Chaos gate remake. Now.

I'm in the same boat as you, but I hate the controls on JA2 too much to get into the game

>Also is there anything like stealth in this game
Press Z, also camouflage.

>Also, are any of Jagged Alliance games after 2 good?
The only remotely decent spiritual successor is 7.62 despite being rtwp (not that that rtwp is inherently bad, actually it works fine for tacticool gunplay games)

It works but I wouldn't say it's good. You barely have to do even half the planning you do in JA2, especially with 1.13, and you have far less options than you would there too.

1) savescum
2) kill everyone without giving them chance to fight back
3) dont try to fight with enemies in cover, they are much better at it than you
4) use roofs

Because the spectrum for people that like these kinds of games is /k/ on one end and teenage boys on the other, and teenage boys just want point and shooties.

disregard this retard
Grab JA2 from GOG and download Stracciatella.
1.13 is garbage with 0 direction, it's a kitchen sink mess.

But that's not rtwp's fault, 7.62 is just both simpler and easier strategically, the AI is dumb and it is safer to go full door kickers on their asses with guns that shoot first.

>not sneaking around at night with full camo female Solid Snake until you're right up to an enemy guard on patrol then taking them out with a silenced pistol before they can raise the alarm

I mean is it an actual mechanic?
I generally use the Z thing plus ghillie suits for scouting since for the most part, the AI seemed to know where all my soldiers were when one was spotted

>Stracciatella
But what does it even DO?

>1.13 is garbage
Wrong.

>it's a kitchen sink mess
Yes and I love it. I don't know a single other game that lets me go full autism with customising MOLLE vests on a per-soldier basis.

What is wrong with the controls? Considering how many complex actions you can do, it has probably the best control scheme of any turn-based tactical game ever.

Huh, okay.
So from what I remember I had a supressor but I think the muzzle flash gave me away.
Still, do enemies actually get proper setups later with snipers and spotters, explosives, mortars, etc

Yes. You have a chance to make noise for each tile you move. Stealth isn't 100% reliable without special talents, but it does work.

those kind of movies will never be made again. I didn't need that feel.

Using more than WASD on the keyboard is hard, user!

There is a stealth mode. In addition, the four movement modes (running, walking, crouch-walking, prone) all make different kinds of sound, from more to less in the order I listed. Firing a gun and making other noises will alert enemies and cause them to seek out your locations.

Throwing knives aimed at the head can kill an unaware enemy instantly. There's equipment like night vision goggles and extended ears that helps you stealth better,.

>not fighting off 100-200 man enemy raids
1.13 is for men only.

>run out of bullets

Huh, I see. I'll try it again.

user, take up the guns they drop.
I mean I got my ass kicked around the 40th enemy since I was still new but they drop stuff IIRC

In addition to this, different levels of illumination also affect how visible you are (duh). Waiting for night time is pretty much mandatory for a stealth approach, although enemies will throw out flares to light up the area.

>recruit one-man arsenal
>never run out of anything again

Anyone here man enough to have ever played in ironman mode? I'm not

This is the greatest turn-based strategy RPG ever made (and unlike other so-called strategy RPG's, this one actually has a strategy layer). The amazing in-depth combat mechanics, the mercs with their funny personalities, the completely open world that is surprisingly fun to explore, all the little interactions that are possible with the game world and NPC's and other little details. Nothing else in the genre even comes close to it in scope.

In 1.13 you can set it so they drop everything too so you pretty much never run out of ammo

>not having Bull and Bubba

Did 1.13 ever improve grenades?

FUDGE

>tfw suck ass at JA2

>>>rookies can't remember how many bullets they have left
>>veterans can estimate low/medium/high ammo, pros can tell exactly how much
This was a very stupid 1.13 change that adds nothing but more pointless bullshit to manage. Who the fuck wants to manually count bullets in a strategy game?

Me.

"who wants to have more experienced mercenaries be better than inexperienced ones?"

I dunno, user.
Personally, I agree. I wish I could have a fucking auto-rocket launch at the first mission, maybe even have my own personal "I WIN" button.

It's a goddamn part of the experience system. You can keep the fucking count yourself if you care that much

What was wrong with them? You can adjust damage/stun damage values in an ini if you want.

But why? Very few of the mercs would lack the ability to keep track of ammo, it doesn't even make sense from an immersion perspective.

YOU'VE GOT MY EAR

>and a technician (to repair guns)
>Don't really need a demolitionist earlygame in my opinion
can't agree with this one, there's usually enough guns to just throw the broken ones away
while it's always good to have the option to blow a new entrance or exit

>if one merc dislikes another and are in the same squad(or sector?) for a while, they might not extend their contracts for you
they can outright quit and leave
mere not extending is a consequence of low morale during the contract expiration period

user, let's go with logic for moment and "immersion"

You're getting shot at. You're a merc. You most likely have been underpaid. You will probably be executed (if lucky) or else tortured for fun if unlucky.

I think it's safe to say the more of a rookie you are, the less likely you are gonig to remember how many fucking bullets you have.

I don't usually drop backpacks before a fight, do they give aim penalties?

Weight reduces ap.

The big backpacks give AP penalties and you cant move over obstacles or jump onto roofs with one on.

I recommend checking out this book. It's a pretty good read. It essentially explains what the game is, how it was made, why it was a success and then has interviews from the devs explaining their thoughts on different parts of the development. It even goes a bit into how the code for the game works as it's open source.

The most interesting part to me was how the devs only wanted to make a game that feels like you're playing through an 80's action film. It's the fans that really focused on the /k/ aspect of it. The original gun values were only ball parked and the lead dev wanted to have more scifi content in the game despite the fan reaction to it at the time having been negative.

The male player voice that always says TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH shouts PUSSY! when you get surprised by a blood cat, its one of the best sound bites of any game.

i.4cdn.org/wsg/1520279425631.webm

>it's open source
You can download the source but it's still got copyright, you can't use it for anything.
Seconding the book though, one of the better Boss Fight books.

>train Ira to 90+ marksmanship
>Has more aim levels, lower cth than my imp with comparable marksmanship

what's up with that?

What merc good to pick up at the begining ?

Skills also effect your aim with certain weapons types.

Grunty, MD, Igor, Barry usually.

As someone who enjoys vanilla, I still don't know where to start with 1.13, I'd like to at some point.

Have the latest Dev Branch of it too, but it won't go back to "Vanilla" ini.

Razor is the absolute toppest of mercs

>1.13 + Arulco Revisited
>20 vs 2 late evening invasion on the Balime gas station
>evacuate other merc, leave only Razor with a set of throwing knives, a sabre and a rifle with only 2 mags
>stealth it to about 16 vs 1
>fucking 40 or 60 enemy reinforcements arrive while still unalarmed
>slash them to 12, shoot the rest before it gets light

Buns is so good that I try not to have her in my starting lineup nowadays.

Just pick one guy, Lynx.

Is your imp a brainlet? Ira's wisdom is pretty high

Steroid, Igor, Fox, Buns.

The worst thing about 1.13 is they don't keep the massive amount of features documented in one place. And they rarely update the hotkey list. I keep a personal hotkey list, but there's always a bunch of new ones added whenever I replay.

No, the imp has 88 wisdom atm.

They both have the same weapon and attachments, by the way.

>modern grid based squad tactics games don't even have proper ballistics anymore
>or skills
>or directional facing

It disgusts me that this genre is consistently outshined by 20 years old entries.
Decades of computing advancement and its not used to model tissue damage or impact spalling on hard targets, but to more shinies and motion blur on screen.

Does what it says on the tin. Literally makes it more OS friendly and works out of the box without having to do any real ini tweaking or color changing for windowed mode.

I use it rather frequently and it works great.

*blocks your path*

youtube.com/watch?v=2uGPUaJvi_8

Is that Dolph Lundgren?

Again check skills. Also, check for any modifications to the weapon, like the spring upgrade.

Is that 7.62 game worth the time?

Gollop, please dont fuck this up. Please.

Play ja2 vanilla. Gog version is updated, and is not buggy. After finishing it vanilla, a couple times, you can try the 1.13 mod.

Oh, my imp has both skill points in marksman. Otherwise gear and stats are pretty much the same. Didn't think that would give such insane bonuses to aim levels (3-4 less dots) with rifles though.

That would do it. The less dots the better after all.

This just looks like nu-XCOM: FUCK YOUR MARKER edition. I'll still play it, but people keep talking of it like it's god's gift to the grid.

is the gold edition the one you want on steam?

>faggot austrian
begone

Who here just conquered everything, but didn't finish the game while getting millions from the mines until they got empty? Why even give Enrico his country back when I can control it with some mad woman sitting in the basement?

That's the one.

Ok, I usually play on Experienced and get my ass handed to me.

>Buy Reaper
>Me, Sniper-Night ops
>Reaper and me attack the airport and mine in the first night and usually capture it, Ira hangs back.
>Money starts getting in

Usually one of two things happens
>Super heavy counterattack sweeps us from the town in the first week while I'm still at 3 Mercs and some militia
>I gain some ground, mine gets exhausted, run out of money

I'm talking about 1.13, how do I stup sucking ass?

I think most people in this thread are talking about the 1.13 version and similar fan led projects. See this The steam version is store.steampowered.com/app/1620/Jagged_Alliance_2_Gold/ this and at 80% off its a steal

You either turn off the counter attack, or you get good and prepare your anus.

>Lynx
I never managed to play through the game without picking Lynx. Every time I try, I have to go back after one or two sectors to hire him. I can't even tell you why

HELP
My characters keep walking backwards
I really like the game but they keep walking fucking backwards