Avatar Project seems bugged

[Tree Diagram]

I just got the game and I'm admittedly not sure if this is a bug or what but I'm on my first campaign and just got done with the tutorial and was preparing to do the first black site mission when suddenly the Avatar Project counter shows up, the game is like "Yup that's a thing." and then proceeds to give me a target on the other side of the map that I don't have a prayer in hell of reaching in time to halt the counter. It seems like it would be a bug or do they just throw you in head first and expect you to minmax like crazy to keep from getting shot down within the first month?

[smoky mcpot]

There will be a number of missions and opportunities to set the project back and these missions will appear right across the map.
A facility appearing on the other side of the map is not uncommon.

[Revolucas]

The game is promoting a sense of urgency. It can make some people nervous. You can take your time, but not forever.

[Kunovega]

You can let the avatar project fill up completely. Then just do one facility mission to knock off the last pip each time it fills up

Rushing or panicking in an attempt to keep it low will cause you to fail because you will be pushing the storyline triggers faster than you can keep up with the difficulty ramp you cause

So no, it's not a bug. It's trying to make you feel like the end of the world is coming. Well, it is, but you need to stay calm and carry on. Rushing in a blind panic will make you lose.

[Wendersnaven]

+1 Kunovega

I think there is still something wrong with the mechanic. I have seen it mentioned in other threads and a few mod descriptions.

I had to mod and resetart a campaign because the Advent project went up three ticks in two game-weeks time; right after I did a guerilla mission to halt the project. So I guess I prevented one out of four ticks but it certainly did not halt the progress... I had two Blacksites down in the campaign too.

I think they went a little overboard on the urgency thing, as the base ini files show that no matter the difficulty, there are only 12 advent project ticks. Changed it to 20 for normal, but that feels too relaxed so maybe 15 will be right. I play games to relax, not get stressed out lol.

[Tree Diagram]

Thanks for the advice you guys. I know this is off the original topic but I have been seeing a lot of hype for Long War 2. Would you recommend it and should I play through vanilla before giving it a try?

[Wendersnaven]

Imho, Long War was da bomb for EW/U.

Idk about 2 because I've downloaded it three different times (built new rig) and the last was this past week. Even with mods I was having a tough time enjoying it like I did the first one.

I feel X2 is good enough to use the available mods to spice things up, and the Long War team has kindly made stand alone versions of their classes, aliens, and more if you want to give those a spin.