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XCOM: UFO Defense

Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ

by Kasey Chang (ksc1@aol.com)

released January 17, 2002


0 Introduction


0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

Thanks for the tremendous response all over the net! The guide
was uploaded to practically to wherever XCOM and UFO are sold
(and probably far beyond), and many people have provided helpful
feedback that were incorporated into this and previous revisions.

This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You won't learn how to play the game
with this document, and I'm NOT about to add it to ease the life
of software pirates.

This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that I have. Other versions should be SIMILAR but may not be
identical.

This version replaces any earlier versions previously released.


0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION

This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 1994-
2002, all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the
disclaimer section.

This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:

1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "XCOM:UFO Defense Unofficial Strategy Guide and
FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 1994-2002 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights
reserved except as noted in the disclaimer."

2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.

2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no
HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more
banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list.

3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution. (Free is preferred) Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling
this guide, drop me a line.

4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.

5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.

Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract.
If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you
in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If
you don't follow them, you did not meet the statutory contract
conditions, you have no right to display this document. If you
still do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This
section was added for any websites who don't seem to understand
this.

For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of
one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you
believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so,
please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamp to "Kuo-
Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco,
CA 94118 USA".

If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.


0.3 DISTRIBUTION

This USG is only released to Gamefaqs (http://www.gamefaqs.com)
though it should also be available from other major PC game
websites (such as gamesdomain.com, gamespot.com, etc.).

To webmasters who wish to archive this FAQ on their website,
please read the terms of distribution in section 0.2. It is quite
clear. In case you can't understand it, it says "no
modifications". This means you may NOT modify any bits of it!
Modifications include (but not limited to):

* Cutting up the FAQ into pages (so you get more banner hits)
* Adding your site's name to the list above

0.4 OTHER NOTES

There is no warranty for this unofficial strategy guide. After
all, it depends on YOU the player. All I can do is offer some
advice.

PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark... If
you find a question about this game that is not covered in the
USG, e-mail it to me at ksc1@aol.com. I'll try to answer it and
include it in the next update.

UFO: Enemy Unknown users should be able to use this supplement
with minimum changes. Most tips will apply to both versions, esp.
the tactical tips. The charts on the other hand may have
different numbers, so compare it carefully please.

XCOM was ported to many platforms including the Sony Playstation.
Other versions of XCOM can probably use this guide without
modification, but that cannot be guaranteed.


0.5 THE AUTHOR

I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.

Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Fade to
Black, Spycraft, 688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3
Expansion Pack, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, and many more.
Most of them should be on gamefaqs.com, the biggest FAQ site
around.

If you need to write me, send e-mail to ksc1@aol.com. (Any spam
will be reported to respective authorities). You better specify
what game you wish to talk about though. With over 20 FAQs
archived I don't want to spend the brain cells to guess what
you're talking about...


0.6 DISCLAIMER AND CREDITS

XCOM is a trademark of MicroProse. XCOM was developed by Mythos
Games, UK.

This USG is not endorsed or authorized by MicroProse, Hasbro
Interactive, Infogrames, or Mythos Games.

Thanks to MicroProse and Mythos Games for bringing us such a nice
game. It surely deserved all those "Game of the Year" award and
all those "Best Games Ever" awards!

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to previous
releases of the XCOM:USG, whom include but are not limited to:
William Kang, CMDR; Tim Chawn, CMDR; Doug Osborne, SG; Stuart
Lamble, SG; Seth Cohn, SG; Bill Soo, SG; Jeff Shaffer, Economist;
Rob Eiben, SG; Jim Muchow, SG; Menachem Pasteich, architect; Paul
Close, publicist and simulation expert; and fellow XCOM players
all over the world discussing the game on USENET, America On-line
and elsewhere.

Some strategies and tactics here first appeared in Computer
Gaming World and Computer Game Review magazines' strategy
articles on XCOM. Thanks to Jeff James (CGW) and Kevin Perry
(CGR), we honor you as XCOM Strategists.


0.7 REVISION HISTORY

??-???-1994 Initial Release

01-MAY-1995 Last tracked update, revised to match
official strategy guide chapters

17-JAN-2002 Fully revised edition


0.8 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Can you send me XCOM: UFO Defense (or portions thereof)?
A: No.

Q: But you can't buy it any more!
A: Not my problem.

Q: But it was given away with magazine _______!
A: So order the back issue. Or go buy the Collector's Edition.

Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: No.

Q: My manual was ________. Can you tell me the codes in the
manual?
A: No. Apply patch V1.4 should remove it.

Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual.

Q: How do I launch the "final mission"? I got everything built
and equipped!
A: Select the craft you got for intercept... See the extra button
next to CANCEL?

Q: What do you know about the non-PC version of XCOM?
A: Absolutely nothing, other than they exist.

Q: What's the latest version?
A: V1.4 for the PC version. This fixes some sound issues.

Q: Where are the cheat codes?
A: XCOM is a STRATEGY game.

Q: I have Collectors Edition, but I can't run it in Windows!
A: Try reducing or eliminating "video acceleration" in your
systems applet, control panel. If that does not help, go into
DirectX and turnoff video acceleration there as well.

Q: Why is your FAQ shorter than other similar FAQs?
A: I don't repeat the stuff that's already in the manual. You can
read that yourself. I also will NOT EVER include the information
from the Official Strategy Guide unless the information can be
gleamed from the game itself.


0.9 ABOUT THE OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE

Now that the official strategy guide is out in stores (XCOM : the
Official Strategy Guide, by David Ellis, Prima Publishing, ISBN
1-55958-764-4, US$19.95, hereby known as OSG), this Unofficial
Strategy guide (USG) is now patterned after the official one,
with similar table of contents. You can use this guide along with
the official strategy guide (OSG), or you can use this by itself.

While OSG has all the neat charts and tables and stuff only
available from the source, I've found its tactics and strategy
section sorely lacking. In fact, all the the strategy and
tactics are condensed into ONE chapter, with the rest of the book
as simply a reprint of the manual and UFOpedia and the underlying
mechanics.

That's where USG come in. USG will help you make informed
choices. Instead of showing you a table of numbers, I'll actually
show you what had been recommended by fellow XCOM players. After
you read each chapter in the OSG, read that chapter's supplement
here. You will understand more about how the game runs and the
tactics to beat it.