The game starts with a set number of characters, and a few new characters become available as the game progresses. Unlike previous titles, however, new characters cannot simply be purchased. Drones can be found in some missions who gain experience just like characters do, and can be repaired and upgraded with parts after appropriate research has been completed. Characters can have a single class such as Soldier, Technician, or Scientist. Some characters have more than one class, such as Soldier/Scientist, Soldier/Technician, or Scientist/Technician.
In the strategic game, territories are claimed by building a particular structure called a geosonde; some territories must be cleared of opposing forces before they can be claimed. Once claimed, additional structures can be built in the territory including terraforming stations, excavation sites, resource mines, and radars. Each type of structure will require either a Technician or Scientist to build. Though only equipped with a single Scientific Craft and a single Technical Truck for sending the respective characters to build structures on the planet, quite a few characters can be placed in either vehicle thus speeding up the construction process. While they are out building structures, the Scientists and Technicians are not available for missions or any other purpose.
Territories can have resources available to mine including metal, fuel, crystals, chemicals, noble metals, and others. To tap into the resource, simply build a mine and that resource gains +1 level cumulative with other mines of the same type. Resource levels can also be traded with other factions on the planet, which will give a –1 to whatever resource is offered, and a +1 to whatever resource was offered in return (be warned that these deals cannot be undone!), otherwise there is no actual resource management. Some resources are capped at low levels unless certain buildings can be built to raise this cap. Many actions in the strategic game, such as research, production, and upgrading the base, have one or more prerequisites such as a specific technology, a particular base structure, a minimum resource level, or some combination of these requirements.
In the tactical game, squads of Soldiers are equipped and sent on missions; they travel to and from missions in the UFO, a gift from the colonist's Reticulan friends. Technicians and Scientists with Soldier levels can be included in missions and gain Soldier experience as usual, but some missions will also give Technician or Science experience to the respective classes. It’s a good idea to use the mixed class characters in missions often enough to keep their Soldier levels up for those missions that require use of a Scientist or Technician.
The Mars landscape is a hostile place for humans and aliens alike. In the strategic view, an Environment Hostility factor will be shown that fluctuates slightly every few days. Missions will have an Environment Hostility rating based on the overall rating, and will vary by day and night. Terraforming stations will also lower the Environment Hostility for missions in that region. Suits must be worn to protect against the environment. If a Soldier is wearing a suit that is not rated high enough for the mission’s Environment Hostility, the suit can become damaged while in the mission; the greater the discrepancy between the suit’s rating and the Environment Hostility, the more likely the suit is to be damaged and the character be hurt. A Technician can repair damaged suits with a repair device.
All characters gain experience in their respective classes. For Soldiers, combat missions are the sole method to gain experience and Soldier levels. Technicians gain experience by working on production queues, building structures at the base, building structures on the planet, or participating in missions requiring a Technician. Scientists gain experience by performing research in labs, building structures on the planet, or participating in missions requiring a Scientist.
As a character gains levels, training points accumulate which are used to train the character in various skills, as well as increasing a characters abilities (strength, dexterity, etc.). There are separate skill sets for Soldiers, Scientists, and Technicians, however some of the Science and Technician trainings are useful during combat missions in addition to their respective role in the strategic game. For example, Suit Handling training allows Technicians to build suits faster, as well as repairing damaged suits while in a mission. Scientists can train Medicine, which allows them to research Medicine technologies faster and use healing devices in missions.
Base management includes building and upgrading existing base structures that grant the ability to build new weapons and equipment, expand resources, add room to perform more research or production, and train and heal characters among other things.
Research has many avenues such as Medicine, Earth Technology, Martian Technology, and Planetology among many others. Just as in other UFO titles, research is necessary to upgrade equipment, gain the use of alien technology, expand the base and improve overall capabilities. Additional Laboratories can be added if the prerequisites are met, allowing research into multiple technologies at once.
Production allows new items to be created. Each time something is added to the production queue, a build quantity can be set. Before any actual quantity of the item is produced, however, a production line takes time to set up. Once the production line is built, the items start being produced and will continue until the quantity defined is reached or the item is removed from the queue. The quantity to be built can be changed at any time, and queued items may be freely moved ahead or behind others, without affecting the production line setup time. Additional Workshops may be built if prerequisites are met, allowing multiple production queues to build multiple items at once.
