Tech Tree, Base Upgrade ... what, where?

[GeneralGamePlaying]

I have been playing the first tutrial/province up to the last battle.
First attempt failed medium-hard, i never was 100% sure if i hit the building (targeting interface lacks the circle with ctrl), so i wasn't 100% sure if i disabled the turrets. Those remained having scanning set, so i never saw attack. May well be that i just did no damage to the mechs and got toasted by them somehow.

Anyway, my big questions are like in the headline, concerning the ui:
- Where do i find a tech tree? Do i have to smash into trees during battle?
- How do i upgrade the base? (ui...)
- (I've not found any way to modify anything except colors. Exchanging parts and weapons is easy to find, of course.)

[HAG]

Tech tree is a tab on the top left of the screen, its to rightmost tab but you can't be in battle briefing.

[Rahnzan]

The last tab on the top of your screen.

You click them.

Third thing isn't a question.

[madpraxis]

To answer the you.... After you get past the tutorial. Which the last part is that base.

And you will know if you disable them since duder pops up and tells you how leet you are for destroying it. And there IS a targeting reticule. Just because it isn't a circle doesn't mean it doesn't work. This will sound...kind of rude, but there are three lines all inverted towards a center point, with aiming dots past them, that delineate a very clear center point when you aim at nothing. Not to mention it's literally the end point of your mouse cursor, heh.

Aim right about the junction of the top of the ground floor and the next up. Using CTRL to click on it. I tend towards one side, then after the first burst set I set another to the right (or left) of where I first aimed, just to make sure. For building destruction, it is much easier and actually works best to take the bottom of the building out. Use melee Honour Guard to run around shooting missiles at everything and stabbing people when they hold still near it.
Use your people smartly, avoid fire, shield against it if you really need to, and take pot shots at who you can. Preferably trying to take the enemy out, but more concerned with keeping your units (and the Guard duders) intact for the incoming wave.

Bob's your uncle. You have won the tutorial. Now you get a whole slew of extra buttons up top, that you can access using F keys.

You can't modify anything. You can add and remove parts, add and remove bits and bobbles attached to said parts. That's it.

[GeneralGamePlaying]

Ok, some of this i suspected already. And thank you for the quick answers.

Concerning buildings: Yes i also successfully disabled that one alert tower in the previous battle. I just didn't find the interface too telling. It's not 100% obvious since it's 3D, thus bound to perspective. And you're right, it's probably not the reticle, which also changes color, but rather the description of what i am aiming at. Maybe i've overlooked or ignored something textual there, or it's something they might add.

[GeneralGamePlaying]

So there is no way to get more than two core units for attacking the enemy base of the first province?

[GeneralGamePlaying]

Obviosuly i got the capabilities of the units wrong.
Next time i won the first battle but lost too much. wrecking some of the reinforcements but in the end retreating with two units surviving, one core, one home guard. Likely too much overheating (weapons getting damaged probably, but is it made transparent, somehow?), general damage, and it also looked like i haven't dodged any missiles despite trying some different timings and angles with dash (cover works, but that's something different).

I'm sure i'll manage. Concerning the interface, taking out the generator building works, and it's also acknowledged by a pop-up message. One hit from the homeguard beam does.

Concerning the interface, obviously all attacks and collisions are already shown, when you move through the timeline. So that's no issue. There has just been an update, not sure it's related to that, though.

I'll try to beat it without losing anything.

[ebe-a51]

If you read the tutorial prompts, everything will be explained to you.

Smoothbrain.

[Galamesh]

Originally posted by GeneralGamePlaying:

Ok, some of this i suspected already. And thank you for the quick answers.

Concerning buildings: Yes i also successfully disabled that one alert tower in the previous battle. I just didn't find the interface too telling. It's not 100% obvious since it's 3D, thus bound to perspective. And you're right, it's probably not the reticle, which also changes color, but rather the description of what i am aiming at. Maybe i've overlooked or ignored something textual there, or it's something they might add.

If there is a building to destroy, there will be an objective for it at the top right. Clicking on the objective centers the camera on that building.

[GeneralGamePlaying]

Originally posted by Galamesh:

Originally posted by GeneralGamePlaying:

Ok, some of this i suspected already. And thank you for the quick answers.

Concerning buildings: Yes i also successfully disabled that one alert tower in the previous battle. I just didn't find the interface too telling. It's not 100% obvious since it's 3D, thus bound to perspective. And you're right, it's probably not the reticle, which also changes color, but rather the description of what i am aiming at. Maybe i've overlooked or ignored something textual there, or it's something they might add.

If there is a building to destroy, there will be an objective for it at the top right. Clicking on the objective centers the camera on that building.

I'm ok with that.

(I'd prefer to have something textual on hover in alt-attack mode, somthing similar to the display with "enemy mech" or "enemy tank", distinctly idiot-proof, just for the relevant building(s).)

[.O.]

You can only deploy 2 mechs during the tutorial, but you can go up to 4 total and I believe more if you want to mod. But it might become too easy if you mod it to have a squad of 6.

[GeneralGamePlaying]

Alright, thanks to all, i have finished the tutorial without losing a mech, neither any important gear. Also took on one convoy instead of the next settlement/base, which had a lot of hazard potential, running with no cover, but the fastst mech had a shield, going in without much of thought (3rd mech created, salvaged some gear). For salvage i had to leave a lvl 2 machine gun :(, and kept the sniper rifle, which i am not too sure about if it's such a great trade, but anyway. (60 salvage points against such opponents, at least my own undamaged stuff could be kept for free...). In the end it took me 4 tries, though i am not sure if 2 and 3 had been the same one, because i got confused writing posts in this forums.

So all in all it's certainly doable, but it might be a tight spot now and then. E.g. the retreat action and the right side of the timeline...
- On the first province enemy base i wanted to retreat one unit, but it didn't. Either one unit can't, or more likely: if it's too late in the timeline it won't work.
- With the convoy i got all units inside the retreat area, the last one with dash, and the retreat arrow was still inside (i think), but it didn't retreat, the other 2 already did. So i had to let it retreat the next round, taking some hits. Maybe there is some subtle hint which i missed. With moving there is some interruption of the white line, for instance.

Didn't know, restocking at a base will add missing mech parts. Elbrus lvl 2 and crafting yields Elbrus lvl 3. In theory, once you have an empty frame and no valuable replacement parts (for some slots), could you keep scrapping and resupplying, in order to get resources? Maybe patrols are more efficient (and fun).

[GeneralGamePlaying]

Actually you'd have to not scrap the parts, just unequip and then rest at base, because otherwise it resets to 100. Repeat as much as resources are needed. Scrap in the end.

Is there any reason for the battle at that farm only allowing 3 mechs in, though i have 4?