i shoot people with the magnum and they take "light damage"...
Depends where you hit them, right?
When it says I "barely scratch" or "lightly hit" an alien, I take it to mean that my shot has just nicked them. When you "perfectly" or "critically" hit something, I take that to mean drilled right through the chest or head. To more reliably get better shots in you need to buy better weapons skill levels.
i want to blast stuff all over the place, not just shoot hopelessly!
That comes later in the game when you have high skills or heavy weaponry, or both :)
AliensRL is very much about combat tactics. It's all about working out the most efficient way to deal with your enemies. Often that means manoevering them how you want them, or even not fighting them at all (doors are like your 4th weapon). You also need to know the different types of alien well as there are big differences in how you should approach fighting each type.
- do not allow Aliens to get to you at point blank range (general rule);
Actually I find that when using a pulse rifle with low weapons skill level, waiting until aliens are at point blank range is the best tactic for anything except a worker or elite, as it makes almost certain that one burst will kill them. Usually you shouldn't let them get that close, but you shouldn't shoot from too far away either, as it wastes ammo.