This other question got me wondering:
Is it better to spread out my satellites or concentrate them in one area?
It simply asks:
Should I try to strengthen one area on the map to make travel times
shorter or try to cover as much of the globe as possible?
I've added the emphasis as it forms the basis for my question. So far as I can tell, only positive things happen while your troops fly to and fro:
- Time passes
- Possibly events are completed
That's all I can think of, but I've only witnessed the first. That being said, the simple passage of time during early stages of the game will get you that much closer to your council report, and therefore much-needed credits. A possible strategy might be to specifically target distant countries for your satellite launches (as panic permits) to maximize travel time (when UFO's are detected) and therefore minimize time spent subject to alien activity. Or maybe that small amount of time is insignificant; I'm still pretty new.
Has anyone ever returned from a mission to find events were completed (i.e. a Foundry project is finished)? Or maybe they complete the instant you begin scanning for activity? Can anything else occur during travel time?
Best Answer
I have not experienced any other negative events during travel time (excluding your own actions like research completion, though that's not negative anyway). But the more fundamental thing you should know is that you cannot send interceptors to other continents. So if you don't have a spare interceptor to transfer or the money to buy another one, a satellite on another continent will "only" yield the income (and bonus on filled continents) but will not allow you to shoot down UFOs discovered there until an interceptor is locally stationed.