Mission Control (EU2012)
Mission Control is the facility at Headquarters where XCOM: Enemy Unknown's Hologlobe is located. The Hologlobe (a.k.a Geoscape) is the 3D real-time representation of the Earth (and Moon) used by the XCOM Commander to send aircraft and soldiers on missions and to track the evolution of the fight against the current alien invasion.
Using the Hologlobe the XCOM commander can Scan for Activity and/or wait for upcoming Research or Engineering reports. The Geoscape will also show unexpected events such as detected UFOs, alien attacks in progress or Council missions. The world view will also display any missions in progress, such as air interceptions and your Skyranger transport craft either on their way or returning from ground combat missions.
The Mission Control facility is run by Central Officer Bradford, an NPC character that will notify the XCOM commander of the arrival of any upcoming reports or events, as well as advising him/her on any mission matters.
Hologlobe
The Hologlobe is where the game is advanced until new events occur. Enemy Unknown is played in real time, although it's rare for events to occur during while taking decisions at Headquarters, so base management and other actions may be done at leisure. But all non-trivial actions, such as planes flying to their destination, completion of projects, waiting for new recruits to arrive, etc., take time to accomplish and this time must be waited out on Mission Control. The Hologlobe is accessed whenever any mission is launched, either through the Mission Control or the Situation Room of Headquarters. The Situation Room will also help to track XCOM's Finances and campaign objectives, and will present a 2D Earth image to help the XCOM Commander visualize other important strategic aspects such as funding and Satellite and Interceptor coverage. The view of the Earth-Moon system is presented in a 3D format which allows to zooming in specific locations and that will also display icons for current XCOM and alien activity. The map is continuously updated as the SCAN FOR ACTIVITY button is pressed/clicked to speed up time, showing dynamic physical events like day/night transition, etc. The view can be toggled between the Hologram and the Normal displays using the globe button. The Hologlobe also displays:
To assign XCOM craft to those missions the player merely needs to click and select them. When XCOM craft are sent on missions the SCAN FOR ACTIVITY button is disabled until the mission is completed and the aircraft returns to XCOM's HQ. |
Hologlobe Icons
A number of 3D icons will be displayed by the view, depending on the view:
- The location XCOM HQ
- XCOM craft to their way or returning from on missions
- Council countries will be outlined and their color will show their Panic levels
- XCOM Satellites or Interceptors deployed to protect countries will also be displayed
- Countries who signed pacts with the aliens are marked with a 'red vortex'
- Airborne UFOs
- Landed or Crashed UFOs
- Terror Sites
- Alien Abductions
- Council Missions
Upcoming Events
The right side of the Hologlobe will list the number of days remaining until projects are completed or other any other upcoming events. Upon reaching the specified date the player will be informed of the event's results by the relevant XCOM department.
List of scheduled events
- Research reports on science projects
- Engineering reports on Workshop and Foundry projects
- Council monthly reports on XCOM's performance
- Arrival of new soldiers and purchased craft
- Satellites becoming operational
- Covert Operations (EW DLC)
Events Frequency
These events are determined by the game's A.I. and will appear without previous warning. For more
Before Alien Base Mission
- 2 Alien Abductions each month.
- 1 Terror Site every even month (April, June, etc.)
- 1 Council Mission every month, between the 13th and the 27th, can be Slingshot campaign (EU only).
- 1 Council Request each 20 days.
- On the Enemy Within DLC, there are two monthly time windows, between the 5th and 15th days and between the 17th and 27th.
- There can be only 1 Council Mission each month. On each window there will be either a Mission or Request (25% chance for 2 Requests, 50% for Mission and a Request, 25% for a Request/Mission). The Slingshot and Progeny missions can fill either window.
- 1 detected UFO each month, either crashed or landed.
- 50% chance for a 2nd detected UFO during April or May (March to July with Second Wave's Marathon).
Special Missions
- On the Enemy Within DLC, Slingshot's Friends In Low Places mission happens on day 51, or around April 20th. Confounding Light mission happens 25 days after (around May 15th) and Gangplank 2 days afterwards.
- Also in EW, the Portent mission of the Progeny campaign is the Council mission in the late April window.
- EXALT appears on June, on the 12th to 24th (Easy and Normal) and 6th to 24th (Classic and Impossible).
After Alien Base Mission
- 1 monthly Abduction mission, if there are 3+ countries in the Council without a satellite.
- 1 Terror Site every month.
- 1 Council Mission every month, between the 13th and the 27th, can be Slingshot campaign (EU only).
- 1 Council Request each 20 days.
- On EW, there are two monthly time windows, between the 5th and 15th days and between the 17th and 27th.
- There can be only 1 Council Mission each month. On each window there will be either a Mission or Request (25% chance for 2 Requests, 50% for Mission and a Request, 25% for a Request/Mission). The Slingshot and Progeny missions can fill either window.
- 1 detected UFO each month, either crashed or landed.
- 50% chance for a 2nd detected UFO each month.
- Random Mission - if the 2nd UFO wasn't added, the game may add an additional Abductions, Terror or Council mission. The AI will choose randomly between the mission types according to the following criteria: Terror and Council missions can only be chosen if they haven't been already scheduled for the month; in the case of Abductions, they are only chosen if there are 3 or more countries without satellites. If none of the criteria is met, there won't be an additional mission added.
Special Missions
- Base Defense - 2 to 3 weeks after XCOM assaults the Alien Base (EW DLC)
- EXALT appears on June, on the 12th to 24th (Easy and Normal) and 6th to 24th (Classic and Impossible).
Launch Mission
Ground Missions Any available ground missions will be displayed at the top of the Hologlobe. Clicking on any mission will show the country and type of mission, along with its difficulty level and any additional rewards (credits, soldiers, scientists, engineers) offered for completing the mission. If the option 'Launch' is selected then the player will be brought to the Hangar where he/she will be able to select and choose the ground squad.
Air Combat
Air combat between XCOM's Interceptors and the UFOs happens when XCOM's Satellite network detects an incoming alien craft and a fighter craft is sent to engage it. The following air combat can occur on any of these circumstances:
- To protect XCOM's satellite coverage - UFOs can be sent on a retaliatory missions to shoot down XCOM's satellites over a specific country. If it is not intercepted the satellite will be destroyed, losing any detection coverage over that country (and also funding).
- To interdict alien actions - To prevent the UFO from completing its mission.
- To recover their technology - For later recovery of invaluable Alien Artifacts at the UFO Crash Site.
Whenever air interception occurs the game will open an window for the resulting Air Combat.
Countries/Regions
The Geoscape displays the 16 countries which directly contribute to XCOM and thus in turn need to be protected. Each nation provides resources which may be increased by deploying satellites above that particular country and exhibits a panic level between 1 and 5 (5 being the worst). These countries, their satellite coverage and associated panic levels can be seen in the Situation Room and are listed here, divided by geographic areas:
Africa | Asia | Europe | North America | South America |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
In addition to the countries of the Council there appears to be also other nations with whom you may sell Alien Artifacts (through the Gray Market or that may appear on the news headlines on the Situation Room. However, their overall impact in the game is unclear at this moment, although you may recruit soldiers from those nationalities.
Asia | Europe | South America |
---|---|---|
|
|
|
See Also
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012): Base Facilities | |||||||||||
Headquarters: | Mission Control • Hangar • Engineering • Research • Barracks • Situation Room | ||||||||||
Additions: |
| ||||||||||
Strategic: | Building Optimization |