Flavor doesn't make sense

[FelixNix]

So I'm doing a mission where I have to mark artillery positions. After arduously getting my mechs into position just barely before the time limit, and destroying all opposition, I'm told to move away from the base. I see the evac zone and start moving my mechs towards it. The people chattering over comms tell me that the artillery is indiscriminate, so I should keep my mechs away from the strike zone. Due to this, my Assault mech I brought with me has to go around instead of moving through the base. The handy objective list told me that enemy reinforcements would show in 4 turns, and that I had to evac. At the end of the 4 turn evac timer, my Assault was right at the edge of the evac zone, literally 3 tiles away, and they come over comms telling me that they're evacing my mechs and than I failed.

Why, when it says enemy reinforcements are coming, are there no enemy reinforcements? Why did I just fail that mission when on the next turn I could have moved him slightly, and got inside the evac zone? Why did Darius come over comms and tell me that he was evacuating my lance, than I failed, when the only objective left was to evacuate? I know this is all slightly arbitrary flavor and has no bearing on the fact that I misunderstood what danger close meant (It actually means danger sort of close in a very confined area) and made my assault mech take the long way around, but when the flavor doesn't match mission parameters, it jerks me back so hard that I actually got pissed. Meant I had to sell a mech to make the next month, as I was low on funds at that point. Point is, if you're going to fail me for not making the evac zone, make the reason actually show up, and try to destroy me, or come up with a different reason. Don't have the game tell me that you're evacing me because I failed to make the evac zone. It doesn't make sense.

 

[Donvale]

So I'm doing a mission where I have to mark artillery positions. After arduously getting my mechs into position just barely before the time limit, and destroying all opposition, I'm told to move away from the base. I see the evac zone and start moving my mechs towards it. The people chattering over comms tell me that the artillery is indiscriminate, so I should keep my mechs away from the strike zone. Due to this, my Assault mech I brought with me has to go around instead of moving through the base. The handy objective list told me that enemy reinforcements would show in 4 turns, and that I had to evac. At the end of the 4 turn evac timer, my Assault was right at the edge of the evac zone, literally 3 tiles away, and they come over comms telling me that they're evacing my mechs and than I failed.

Why, when it says enemy reinforcements are coming, are there no enemy reinforcements? Why did I just fail that mission when on the next turn I could have moved him slightly, and got inside the evac zone? Why did Darius come over comms and tell me that he was evacuating my lance, than I failed, when the only objective left was to evacuate? I know this is all slightly arbitrary flavor and has no bearing on the fact that I misunderstood what danger close meant (It actually means danger sort of close in a very confined area) and made my assault mech take the long way around, but when the flavor doesn't match mission parameters, it jerks me back so hard that I actually got pissed. Meant I had to sell a mech to make the next month, as I was low on funds at that point. Point is, if you're going to fail me for not making the evac zone, make the reason actually show up, and try to destroy me, or come up with a different reason. Don't have the game tell me that you're evacing me because I failed to make the evac zone. It doesn't make sense.

The Data Transmission plays out exactly the same way (I posted about that one), like you I to thought actual reinfrocements were going to arrive and was surprised the mission simply failed (with the incorrect failure message as well).
One thing that was pointed out to me for future runs, just eject the laggardly mech once the others are in the evac and you will succeed the mission with just the cost of repairs to the head of the affected mech.

 

[FelixNix]

One thing that was pointed out to me for future runs, just eject the laggardly mech once the others are in the evac and you will succeed the mission with just the cost of repairs to the head of the affected mech.

Hey, that's perfect. Thanks man.

Even if I had lost anyone outside the evac, it would've been acceptable. I've played XCOM, I know how that can happen. It sucks, but as long as the mission isn't a complete failure. Sure it's my only Assault mech right now, but meh, it's a Banshee. 2 Large lasers, 4 small and 4 medium are easy to replace, and it would've made more sense than all objectives complete, you fail.

 

[Amechwarrior]

I still think Target Acquisition missions need some adjustments. One of those would be always showing the evac point and further stressing the need for a complete evacuation for success so people won't get blindsided by the objective after they think the mission is in the bag.

TA could also use some tricks from Attack/Defend with massive waves of enemy units landing on the final round during the "Mission Success/Failure" closing. The evac timer could also be re-written to represent Sumire's window of air superiority closing as intercepting aerospace fighters arriving on scene. This would justify why she can't just pick your Lance up at +1 rounds after the evac timer is up.

 

[Donvale]

I still think Target Acquisition missions need some adjustments. One of those would be always showing the evac point and further stressing the need for a complete evacuation for success so people won't get blindsided by the objective after they think the mission is in the bag.

TA could also use some tricks from Attack/Defend with massive waves of enemy units landing on the final round during the "Mission Success/Failure" closing. The evac timer could also be re-written to represent Sumire's window of air superiority closing as intercepting aerospace fighters arriving on scene. This would justify why she can't just pick your Lance up at +1 rounds after the evac timer is up.

There are also issues with some of the dots that show in the target hexes not actually being in the hexes... It might be nice to have some indication during move preview that your target location will activate correctly, when you design a mission with literally zero turns tolerance it's pretty essential the hexes actually work!

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

One thing that was pointed out to me for future runs, just eject the laggardly mech once the others are in the evac and you will succeed the mission with just the cost of repairs to the head of the affected mech.

Sure, that works, but it makes even less sense. We're under so much pressure that we can't wait 30 seconds for a mech, but our recovery team will have no trouble rescuing the pilot and collecting their headless mech?

I wish they'd just get rid the silly timer and drop in an overwhelming enemy force at the end of the last turn.

 

[The Shadowhawke]

Sometimes missions glitch, but in the case of some system missions it seems the reinforcement warning comes late. So then you're left thinking, wait...what? There's another lance incoming??

This can be complicated by the fact that there actually are missions like that- as one urban drop was under the condition that you could quickly move in and take out a Liao lance that was isolated from its unit, before reinforcements arrived.

With, as Darius put it, 'the implication being that, if we're not quick enough, we'll have Liao cimbing up our exhaust vents'.

That became TWO reinforcement lances, resulting in a full heavy company zeroing in on me.

That would have really sucked, but I brought an elite lance with an Atlas, Stalker, King Crab, and Raven.

And since that fight earlier this week, I now refer to my Raven as my Steiner scout mech, because the Raven's tactical value is far beyond its actual tonnage when used properly.