Iskandar's Travels in X-Com: Enemy Unknown

[Iskandar]

So, the new X-Com is out, and it is a wonderful, wonderful thing. In light of that, I'm starting a new X-Com let's play, and everyone is invited to join the fun. If you want to join my squad, and probably die horribly, here is where to enlist. First name, last name.

Playlist is here (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAwhvKu7yih8_9Ym9Jm5W-sJwLYt8V-Ju).

First episode is here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIPXN2vEJbE).

Note I have about 5 or so episodes currently recorded, so it might be a bit before I can work in any new recruits.


Actually, reconsidered. I am going to start over, just to make sure I get everyone included. Sign ups now, I'll start the first recording in an hour or two.

Recruits:
Destro Yersul
Jonathan Locke
Obadiah ?

Active Soldiers:
Col Logan "Rhino" Crossblade, Assault
Maj Timfaya "Casino" Htet, Heavy
Maj Jamie "Emo" Crayons, Sniper
Maj Victor "Hitch" Miklus, Support
Cpt Maria "Gonzo" Domochevsky, Assault
Sgt Wei "Pitbull" Ward, Assault
Sqd Mike Millbridge, Assault
Sqd Shneekey Dalost, Sniper
Sqd Reid Chirt, Heavy
Sqd Nathan Rybink, Sniper
Sqd Robert Leckie, Support

Rear Guard
Col Zain "Sentinel" Smith, Support


Memorial Wall:
Col Samantha "Richter" Hayes, Heavy
Lt Victor "Nuke" Klein, Heavy
Lt Erik "Cash" Lance, Assault
Lt Killian "Hazard" Hawkeye, Assault
Sqd Steven Triaxx, Support
Sqd Alexandra Ashe, Sniper
Sqd Richard Winters, Support
Sqd Isana Dade, Heavy
Rk Ace Triax

[t209]

Glad to be back, Commisar Iskandar. As the one of the survivors (and slightly insane) of first tour of 199x alien war on terror, I will join your second war on alien terror.
Can you choose what you want your soldier to be?

[Crossblade]

Awesome!! Been waiting all week for you to start posting videos for this. You didn't link the OOTS thread in the 1st episode's description though.

First: Logan
Last: Crossblade
Nationality: Canada, if possible. Germany (flag black, red, yellow horizontally) as a second choice... but getting specific nations can be hard, I've heard.

Gender: Male
Customization: If no helmet (your call), black short or spiked hair (*not* the hair from the original game though, if you got the pre-order; it looks bad when its not blonde)... Caucasian race.
Just to prevent others stating about customization, looks like we're all using 1 specific helmet.

Editing out color question; it's addressed at 19 minutes.

[Iskandar]

Check again. I stepped out while uploading the video, and I have to add the links once it posts to youtube, so I just now got around to creating this thread and getting theplaylist and such straight. Second episode coming.



Glad to be back, Commisar Iskandar. As the one of the survivors (and slightly insane) of first tour of 199x alien war on terror, I will join your second war on alien terror.
Can you choose what you want your soldier to be?
Classes are random, unfortunately.

Further edit: Dang, apparently you cannot change the nationality of your soldiers. Everything else, yes. Changed first post to update that fact.

[Zain]

SIGN ME UP

I expect to die horribly. If I do not, then I shall be a sad panda.

Longish black Hair, Canadien if possible.

[Iskandar]

SIGN ME UP

I expect to die horribly. If I do not, then I shall be a sad panda.

Ok, please, everyone who signs up, I need a first and last name, otherwise things look a bit weird. Thanks.

[Zain]

ZaIn Smith. Let's go with ZaIn Smith.

[Crossblade]

Interesting choice for colors, you're the first to put yellow as Assault I've seen. Most seem to have blue assault and black for sniper.
How close does yellow and white look on the battle field?

Also, aren't rookies yellow-ish?

[Iskandar]

Interesting choice for colors, you're the first to put yellow as Assault I've seen. Most seem to have blue assault and black for sniper.
How close does yellow and white look on the battle field?

Also, aren't rookies yellow-ish?
Greenish, well, olive drab, I think. Appropriate, I think. I went with primary colors, and white for support, because they are the medic.

[Neon Knight]

Neon, Knight.

Or if you insist on a "real" style name, Victor, Klein.

[Crossblade]

SIGN ME UP
Canadien of possible.

Someone's french. :smalltongue:

[Zain]

Someone's french. :smalltongue:

Blame 13 years of french immersion in high school :smallannoyed: Still, I doubt Québecois is a valid choice of nation :smalltongue:

[Crossblade]

Blame 13 years of french immersion in high school :smallannoyed: Still, I doubt Québecois is a valid choice of nation :smalltongue:

I know that pain... except 13 years? I only did 2 years.
But about a decade and a half ago, it could have ended up that way though. Good ol' separatist movement. *eye roll*

History lesson aside:
Sadface on the removal on the video, Iskandar; If the other vids were already uploaded, I'd still be interested in watching them, even if they aren't going to be cannon. (if they're not uploaded though, don't need to bother doing so)

[Iskandar]

Video is not removed, it is simply made private. The rest of the videos were not uploaded. I decided that 4 or 5 hours was too long to wait for interacting with my viewers, so I might as well start over before I get too invested.

[Domochevsky]

And then i couldn't differentiate between one "Iskandar's Travels" thread and the other. Jeez. I need either wider tabs or you need to change your titles. :smallsigh:

[ThePhantom]

Ah, this is back. Sign me up please.

First Name: Eric
Last Name: Lance
Gender: Male

[Triaxx]

Name: Ace 'Triaxx'
Class: Sniper
Polish if you got one.

Awesome first video. I was expecting to see the rookie go up the ladder. Good thing you didn't.

[Iskandar]

Ok, first episode is back.

[Zain]

WOO! I'M THE MEDIC,

wait, does that mean I will probably survive?

DAMN IT!:smalltongue:

[t209]

I wanted to signup as first name: t209, Last name: htet.

[Triaxx]

As an aside, I'd be interested in seeing those other episodes you had recorded, just for fun. Can't wait to see the new one. (I have to do it from midnight to five in the morning.)

[KillianHawkeye]

Volunteer reporting for duty!

First Name: Killian
Last Name: Hawkeye

Let's DO THIS!

[Neon Knight]

Yay, I'm a Heavy!

Boo, getting hurt in the first mission and missing out on the second!

The Journal of Victor Klein
Date: REDACTED
Current Location: REDACTED
Mood: Depressed! :smallfrown:

Entry: I don't know why I'm bothering to keep this journal. No one will ever read it. I won't survive to ever look back upon this, and when they find this journal, they'll probably burn it along with my corpse. I wish the nurse would give me some more painkillers. At least I wouldn't have to think about what we saw.

*SECTION REDACTED*

I'm just happy that grenade was not a dud. If it had been, I might not be alive now. After they got my burns cleaned, the Commander visited me to promote me and give me my new assignment. I've been assigned to man the squad's heavy weapons. Maybe the extra firepower will keep me alive.

That lovely Russian woman is a few bunks over. She's far more hurt than I am, practically mummified in bandages. She's lucky; she gets to stay here two full weeks, while I will be cleared for duty in a little more than a week.

God, I wish I had gone to film school like mother wanted.

2nd Entry
Date: REDACTED

I heard there was a mission, and now there is a commotion in the next wing of the medical bay. I think they are bringing in the wounded, and quite possibly the dead. I hope Smith and Crossblade aren't among them; if I get assigned with them again, I have a better chance of surviving. For longer, anyway.

___

Victor is a bit of an Eeyore.

[Crossblade]

Interestingly done, Neon Knight. Looks like something PaulSoaresJr was wanting his fans to do with a sign up for his LP... though he puts out so many videos, it'll be few and far between for his Xcom vids... and his sign up sheet is apparently 14 thread pages long in requests for soldiers. :smalltongue:

I'm liking my name-sake is an Assault, sure I'm likely going to be the first ranked to die, being the first into a fight; but Run and Gun is cool and it looked awesome jumping through all those windows and doors and such!

[Iskandar]

I wanted to signup as first name: t209, Last name: htet.

Hmm, could you come up with a slightly more normal name? If you don't want to, I'll drop you in game as is, but I'm just wondering...

[Kizor]

Are sign-ups still going on?

First name: Mike
Last name: Millbridge

[Iskandar]

Ok, two new episodes are up, with some exciting new things, both good, and bad.

[Zain]

After watching the new video, I'm Imagining Iska's cat watching the let's plays. The true puppet master.

[Copacetic]

Hey, one of these things!

Sign me up. Female, bright pink hair. For xcom!

[Iskandar]

Hey, one of these things!

Sign me up. Female, bright pink hair. For xcom!

Need a name, please and thank you.

[Copacetic]

Need a name, please and thank you.

I sorry. I got so excited I posted before I finished the first five minutes. Call 'er "Jamie Crayons", please and thank you.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

New Recruit Shneekey Dalost reportin' fer duty, SIR!

Thick mustache, five o'clock shadow, an' 'Guile Hair'

[t209]

I wonder who will make spacemarine mod for X-Com.
- Nearly Invulnerable Space Marine
- Good Weapons and Armor (as in Power Armor and Bolter)
But here's the catch
- Little to no Recruits
- No Research or Reverse Engineering

[Crossblade]

Heh, got the nickname Rhino, and that new armor is as thick as rhino hide. Nice. I can't wait until episode 4 now.

[Triaxx]

Steven Triaxx, requesting assignment. Looking to get revenge for my brother.

--

Yeesh, that was one insanely ignominous death. I don't think I even got a single kill before I was toasted.

[DaedalusMkV]

Hmm. Sure, sign me up. Since this is a bit of a sausage-fest so far and there's at least a couple of female soldiers kicking around in your barracks, I'll go for a bit of cross-gendered roleplaying too.

Name: Isana Dade
Appearance: Full armour, helmeted. Don't want to break uniform protocols, after all.

Good stuff. Really need to pick this up for myself... Wait, isn't it on Steam? *Goes to check*

Ayup. Well, downloading now. Playing tomorrow. Watching episode three in the meantime.

[Aux-Ash]

This sounds fun. Sign me up as well.

Either Alexander or Alexandra Ash.

[ThePhantom]

Thoughts as I watch.

So, I'm from Belgium, interesting. I got the first pilot, that's good, through being that close to a grenade wasn't fun. And now I'm another of the run-and-gunners, plus I didn't get hurt on my first mission, so now I'm one of highest rank active. Oh, I got the first vest. :smallsmile: No second mission for me right now.

And we have our first death, I think. And now, boost the squad size, your viewers will thank you, and the world will thank you. Thank you. Now I got shown up by a rookie.

[Zain]

Out of curiosity, any chance we could request certain heads for us in game? Also, can you use a non-class weapon? Also also What country am I from, exactly? I am failing to recognize the flag

[Iskandar]

Out of curiosity, any chance we could request certain heads for us in game? Also, can you use a non-class weapon? Also also What country am I from, exactly? I am failing to recognize the flag

Saudi Arabia of all things. I had to look that up. And, no, weapons are fairly fixed. The assault can use a regular assault rifle, and probably will when I get lasers later, though.

[t209]

I am thinking First: Timfaya Last: Htet (pronounced tet).

[smuchmuch]

I guess by now you are pretty packed but still the joke has to be made or else it isn't an X-com let's play. :smalltongue:
First: Reid Last: Chirt

[RagingKrikkit]

Request the return of Samantha Hayes, with the nickname "Meds" should she be support.

EDIT: Face code:

1
4
9
4
4
2

No helmet, armor color whatever.

[Neon Knight]

The Journal of Victor Klein
Date: REDACTED
3rd Entry

Thank god I was not chosen to go into that *REDACTED*! Prying those monsters from there holes will be dangerous, bloody work. I do not envy Crossblade or Smith, or the two rookies who went with them. Their lives are in the hands of fate, now. God have mercy upon them.

4th Entry

They came back. It was a few days ago. None of them are dead, but Crossblade and Smith were wounded, and they will need to recover. I was released from the medical bay this morning. That leaves me as the most senior operational man left, at least for a while.

One of the new recruits got promoted to Squaddie as well. If anything comes up, he and I will be at the forefront of it.

God help me.

5th Entry

Thank god nothing arose before Crossblade and Smith recovered. Hopefully, they will recieve prior-

5 Entry Addendum

I've been chosen for a mission, along with Crossblade and Smith, now Corporals, and Rookie Triax. This may be my last entry. I am afraid, but I have no choice.

6th Entry

It was a graveyard. A graveyard in *REDACTED*. Maybe God has a sense of humor.

The Rookie, Triax, died. All I can think is that I am happy to be alive. I am not glad that he died, but I am glad that he died instead of me.

I am back in the medical bay yet again. Hopefully I can remain here for some time; it seems the only way I can stave off death.

7th Entry

There have been some more missions. Luckily, I have not been sent on one. Seeing action can only accelerate one's demise in this outfit. I have a new comrade in the Heavy division. An attractive comrade. At the very least, she might get called up to fulfill the fire support role instead of me.

8th Entry

I was right! Tehy choose Eva instead of me to go clear out the UFO! I feel a little guilty for feeling happy that they are in danger and I am not, but it is better than being a corpse.

9th Entry

Eva is dead. Had I gone on that mission, I would now be dead. It is perfectly rational to feel joy when one has cheated death. Even so, Eva's passing is most unfortunate. And now I am the only Heavy division soldier left.

It might be my turn next.

___

I'm glad I'm not Crossblade or Smith. Then I'd have to write up stuff for every mission and pay attention to what happened in it really closely.

[RagingKrikkit]

First video down, and I have to say, you play a lot more explosives-heavy than I do. I tend to more stack the whole squad up by a door, open it, and unleash massive firepower on anything inside.

Video 2 Edit: Bradford freaks out whenever you get down to 6 active troops.

[Iskandar]

First video down, and I have to say, you play a lot more explosives-heavy than I do. I tend to more stack the whole squad up by a door, open it, and unleash massive firepower on anything inside.

Video 2 Edit: Bradford freaks out whenever you get down to 6 active troops.

Yeah. Grenades don't miss, and rockets mostly never miss, so there is that. And, if you want to keep the loot, you can just take out the cover the alien is behind and let the rest of the squad gun down the now flanked alien.

[Miklus]

Victor Miklus reporting for duty!

Costum: Just make him big.

[RagingKrikkit]

I tend to use Assaults and squadsight snipers for the most part, with a holo-target heavy and supports with sprinter, and use health-boosters to flank the original way.

Further commentary edit: I find that I usually have more trouble with alloys than elerium, so I suggest you not sell any.

[Iskandar]

Ok, hold off on the sign ups, I have a bit of a backlog. Don't worry, casualties will soon open up more room.

[t209]

How many of you plan to make avenger team assemble comic for this playthrough? Like a mailman coming to various universe (minecraft, starcraft and others) to inform their second tour of duty for surviving x-com members (AKA us).

[RagingKrikkit]

Sooo, you forgot to edit the ragequit out of your latest video. And you called it UFO: EU in the title.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

How many of you plan to make avenger team assemble comic for this playthrough? Like a mailman coming to various universe (minecraft, starcraft and others) to inform their second tour of duty for surviving x-com members (AKA us).

Remember that SC2 mission where you choose to get rid of the nydus worms instead of the flyers? That would be a good core for an XCOM team...

Maybe toss in Solid Snake as an Assault, and Herobrine as your Psyker...

[RagingKrikkit]

Snake would only work as an assault if he had a ghost suit.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Snake would only work as an assault if he had a ghost suit.

Kinda was my thought, yea.

Also, recruiting Ghost Kerrigan as Assault with Ghost Suit and heavy Psionics... now that's made of Win.

[RagingKrikkit]

Or you can just get Sid Meier and be done with it.

[Iskandar]

Sooo, you forgot to edit the ragequit out of your latest video. And you called it UFO: EU in the title.

And this is why I shouldn't edit and upload when tired. Approximate time stamp so I can fix that?

[RagingKrikkit]

Start through about 6:10

[Iskandar]

Ok, I'm reuploading episode 04 to fix an editing mistake. Ahem. If you've already seen it, no big changes, just fixing an editing derp.

[Neon Knight]

I would like to note that despite being a colossal coward, Victor did not panic when the Rookie went down in the alternate dimension.

He also did pretty awesome in the terror mission.

___

10th Entry

If I have to be in battle, then lobbing rockets from the back is by far the best way to do so. I slew two of the *REDACTED*, and saved Sgt. Lt. Crossblade (I refuse to use that ridiculous nickname) from flanking enemies twice! And yet, I do not receive a promotion. Smith, Crossblade, and that sniper were all promoted instead! If I were not so relieved to be alive, I might be insulted.

11th Entry

I will never sleep peacefully again.

What I have seen is unreal. But I destroyed it. We destroyed it. We are safe for now, and I am alive. I pray that whenever death does find me it, it is not in the shape of the horror we found.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Hey, I liked that editing derp, it points out just how difficult this game can be. One piece of bad luck can destroy a whole squad.

[Iskandar]

Eh, I've done minimal save/loading so far. I've been lucky. You saw one instance, and there will be one more upcoming, and that is it across like 12 or so battles.

[ThePhantom]

Can we see the stats of the soldiers?

[Iskandar]

Can we see the stats of the soldiers?

Hmm, can't get an overall view, or I'd just screenshot it. Will get it in my next video, episode 09, I think.

[ThePhantom]

Thank you very much.

[t209]

Remember that SC2 mission where you choose to get rid of the nydus worms instead of the flyers? That would be a good core for an XCOM team...

Maybe toss in Solid Snake as an Assault, and Herobrine as your Psyker...

What I mean is like, the story..
I, T209 (or Timfaya Htet), retired from X-Com as sole survivor of the last attack on Cydonia. I began to use my money to invest in founding my own mine/settlement in Minecraft. In October 2012, a message arrive from X-Com to once again serve X-Com as a private. I left my pickaxe and pull the slider of my rifle to join his death comrade in afterlife, or I could be a flashman.
So, what will be your backstory (maybe you got a message from X-Com while doing things in your favorite universe)?
P.S- Heck yeah! I am back in heavy again (I used to operate heavy ordinance in old days, then I took a evangelion to my brain).

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I was yelling at you at the end of Ep. 6 "YOU FORGOT TO EQUIP LASER PISTOL ON SNIPER!!!". And sure enough, snipers using pistol on overwatch in ep. 7.

[Crossblade]

Ok, I'm reuploading episode 04 to fix an editing mistake. Ahem. If you've already seen it, no big changes, just fixing an editing derp.

Thing about the editing redo, is that in the first bit, we see your reasoning as to why you go on which mission; on the reload, you don't say why you take that mission. I liked it without the edit.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

You may want to sell some stuff on the grey market to get some more sat uplinks. You've got satellites ready to launch, you just need the uplinks to control them. That's money (and terror reduction) burning a hole in your pocket. I'd suggest somewhere in Europe, since you have ships there with no sat support.

[nhbdy]

if you need more soldiers, Nathan Rybink would sign up for duty in a heartbeat...

otherwise fun to watch, you seemed to have forgotten to equip the arc thrower on the support in E7 when you unequipped it from crossblades (who seems to be universally amazing whenever you field him)

EDIT: referring to the first mission in E7 with the arc thrower comment

[Reynard]

(who seems to be universally amazing whenever you field him)

Well, how could an Assault with a name like Logan Crossblade fail to be a badass?

Would like to offer my services to the X-com prject, Iskandar. No preference on gender, just Duke/Duchess Reynington as a gender appropriate name.

[Triaxx]

Crossblade is awesome no matter which game he's in.

[Iskandar]

Ok, short run tonight. Ran across a nasty bug that took out about an hour or so of play time, and then I was forced into a certain story based mission early, and well I won't spoil it, let's just say "fun" was had. I'm exhausted, though.

[nhbdy]

wow... high death count for E10... yet crossblades went into the thick of it and came out alive, I'm thinking that he's secretly chuck norris...

[Reynard]

I think Crossblade is just hard enough to take down that the aliens are shooting at other people in preference, just because they've got a higher chance to kill them.

[nhbdy]

I think Crossblade is just hard enough to take down that the aliens are shooting at other people in preference, just because they've got a higher chance to kill them.

A valid point, in order to maximize this I think he could be put even more aggressively in the formations, I noticed a few times in E10 where he was in the midline, behind the heavies, or off to the side, a little far away to get real attention. In fact I think once the sniper was ahead of him, given his ability to withstand huge amounts of fire, I would attempt to have him lead the charge all the time, every time, and of course give him first rights to med packs.

[Neon Knight]

So Victor made it to Lieutenant, earned the nickname Nuke, and then died. Huh.

Well, I'm afraid I don't have time to sift through 5 or 6 updates at 30 minutes a pop; that is more time than I have to play X-Com myself, let alone watch someone else. I probably won't ever write more entries into Victor's journal. Still, I think I had a pretty nice run, and at least Victor's pessimism was vindicated in the end.

[Iskandar]

So Victor made it to Lieutenant, earned the nickname Nuke, and then died. Huh.

Well, I'm afraid I don't have time to sift through 5 or 6 updates at 30 minutes a pop; that is more time than I have to play X-Com myself, let alone watch someone else. I probably won't ever write more entries into Victor's journal. Still, I think I had a pretty nice run, and at least Victor's pessimism was vindicated in the end.

He was instrumental in the first live capture, including an outsider. He died a hero. Too bad he wasn't around for the follow up.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

He was instrumental in the first live capture, including an outsider. He died a hero. Too bad he wasn't around for the follow up.

Indeed. If my name ever comes up, he'll be referenced. You know, the whole 'look probie, until you've been in a REAL mission, you aren't worth much. You see this memorial? Over a dozen kills, and the first live capture, giving us the data we need to bring the fight to THEM. Come back and talk to me about your previous experience when you can match what 'The Nuke' did.'

[Aux-Ash]

Hmm... a caucasian Nigerian, interesting. The fact that you put my char on reserve after the mission, in which she panicked due to the muton doing intimidate, just has so much story potential.
"I shot it with a Laser Rifle and that just made it angry! Those eyes... those horrible eyes...".

Might write down a log in the tradition of the late mr. Klein later.

[Killer ribs]

Well since you are going to be in need of some new recruits, I'll offer one
First: Robert Last: Leckie.

[Domochevsky]

Speaking of being down a bunch of troops... Marius/Maria Domochevsky. Go. :smallwink:

[Destro_Yersul]

Destro Yersul reporting for duy, sir. Just seeing, as people have said, that you'll be needing some new recruits. :smalltongue:

[Crossblade]

I feel I need to remain humble in order to preserve the longevity of my namesake. It was cool that when Crossblade panic and killed the alien leader in ep 10, so even when he's doing bad, he's doing right.

It'll suck when he dies though; he'll be hard to replace.

[Triaxx]

Be as humble as you like, this is still the third game he's spent all his time ROFLSTOMPing every alien in sight.

[t209]

It's kinda sad that you don't get robot earlier! You could shoot out rockets and let them enter room.

[Knaight]

This looks interesting. Throw me in as Jonathan Locke.

[Aux-Ash]

Personal log of Alexandra Hayes
I had just been recruited by the Xcom project on 7th may 2015. Not even 3 days before I was sent on mission to Cairo. They stuck one of those new lasers in hand, strapped me in armour and off we went.

I moved over to this big digger to flank those [Redacted] when one of the experienced fellows, not sure whether it was Zain or Lance yelled at me to throw myself back into cover. Everyone started firing into the building, I moved up and looked around a corner and I saw two of these things… I just pointed my rifle in the [Redacted] direction and pulled the trigger and it blew up… must’ve hit the fueltank or something.
The other one flew up and I threw myself deeper into cover as it opened up on me. It felt like it put me on fire and after what felt like forever it exploded… covering me in shrapnel. I took the opportunity to throw myself into cover and waited there, shooting after the flying things a bit now and then. Zain came over after dealing with one of them and patched up my armour… turns out the shots barely got through. I didn’t have much more than a few blisters.

The vets, Zain and Lance took care of the rest and then those things came out of the building. Huge lumbering [redacted]. I took a shot at one of them when it came into my sights… I saw the laser cut through its flesh and it just turned those hate filled eyes towards me. Good god those eyes. I shot it with a laser and it just made it angrier. It looked my straight in my eyes and promised worldleslly to rend me limb from limb… I still see the eyes when I sleep. I know we took it down… I just can’t forget it.

I was one of only two that made it out unharmed. I was chosen to be a sniper but they took me off duty after debrief. The base psychologist has come to see me a few times since… I think he had something to do with it.

May 18th
They came back after raiding [Redacted] tonight. A few off them ended up in the infirmary, one of my fellow recent recruits worst of all. This place is rough.

May 20th.
Some of the vets got sent to Mexico yesterday, they came back today. Got some just retribution on the aliens, but two of them got rushed straight into infirmary. I’ve not even been here two weeks and I’ve seen over half of us end up in the infirmary. It’s a wonder there’s so few pictures on the Wall.

20th may, second entry.
God. We lost someone today. Shot in the head in India. Hayes got pretty injured too… she’s in the infirmary now. Half of us is currently being treated. Good thing Crossblade is left among us actives to lead us… that man is a living god I tell you. No wonder they call him Rhino. He’s a bit prone to rush forward blindly, but like the Rhino, that’s not his problem.

29th May
There’s a lot of activity among the command staff. Word is something big is happening soon. We’re finally going to hit the critters where it hurts. Good. They’re setting up a really strong team. Crossblade, Diaz, McIntyre, Winters, Hayes and Dade. Good luck guys!

[DaedalusMkV]

Whelp, there you have it. A couple of missions of failing to hit the broad-side of an alien then an ignominous death at the hands of a pair of useless Drones because the team caught my incompetence. Clearly, not cut out for this sort of business...

[nhbdy]

Whelp, there you have it. A couple of missions of failing to hit the broad-side of an alien then an ignominous death at the hands of a pair of useless Drones because the team caught my incompetence. Clearly, not cut out for this sort of business...

Aye... the RNG is a fickle mistress at times, and sometimes it's just out to get you.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Is it too late to sign up as a repalcement soldier?
First Name: Obadiah
Last Name: (doesn't matter)
Nickname: Slim

[Neon Knight]

He was instrumental in the first live capture, including an outsider. He died a hero. Too bad he wasn't around for the follow up.

He did; cutting down two floaters on the turn before they managed to get him, when the rest of the team was having difficulty hitting anything. That sniper in particular missed three or four shots in a row, I think.

[RagingKrikkit]

Now up-to-date. I was sweating all the way through ep. 10, but she got out of it in one peice. Not even a scratch!

[t209]

Since
the alien commander is dead, how are you gonna get psychic soldiers. They can be good thing though since you will need them in last mission.

[Reynard]

Since
the alien commander is dead, how are you gonna get psychic soldiers. They can be good thing though since you will need them in last mission.

That's not the only place they appear, not by a long shot. After this mission, they can show up as the pilots in ships and occasionally make an appearance in mission, usually in pairs.

[KillianHawkeye]

Anyway, you can get the appropriate facility from the autopsy. You don't need to capture it alive.

[RagingKrikkit]

That's not the only place they appear, not by a long shot. After this mission, they can show up as the pilots in ships and occasionally make an appearance in mission, usually in pairs.

You can get psionics from the body, at least in normal mode.

[t209]

Just rewatched the old X-Com playthrough,
I was the only one to survive the last assault on Cydonia. Forced to take PTSD treatment before retiring to his coastal fiefdom in minecraft. Now returned to X-Com as seasoned private and now injured.

[RagingKrikkit]

Hey, I was never confirmed KIA!

[Triaxx]

You know, I watched Ep 10, and saw you could have avoided that mess with the lid's. Your sniper was right in position to use a battle scanner. Assault opens the door, in goes the scanner, and now you're fighting across a door instead of in the open.

[Iskandar]

Yeah, I need to clean up the roster to match the the latest episode. I yook a few days off to let everyone catch up on 5 hours of X-Com footage, and I'm now concentrating on Minecraft. I'll sort it soon.

Edit: Yak, that is because Samantha wasn't.

[RagingKrikkit]

That's what I mean.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeverFoundTheBody

[Hiro Protagonest]

You should put post-it notes on your computer that say "remember to give the sniper a laser pistol" and "count the number of team members that have laser rifles".

It might be a good idea to build Chitin Plating and a Scatter Laser and give them to Crossblade. This probably isn't really that useful until you get those satellites up, but next time you want to make a Laser Rifle, consider a Scatter Laser instead.

Equip that Alien Grenade to someone, and build a Satellite Uplink. Sell a mix of Elerium, Alien Alloys, and Weapon Fragments (probably keep at least 100 of each), and you're also probably good to sell one of those flight computers.

[KillianHawkeye]

Volunteer reporting for duty!

First Name: Killian
Last Name: Hawkeye

Let's DO THIS!

Reposting from the first page as it seems I was missed. :smallfrown:

[Iskandar]

Reposting from the first page as it seems I was missed. :smallfrown:

Yes you were. Um, oops. Sorry about that, not sure how I screwed that up.

[Triaxx]

Crossblade tagged you with an Arc Thrower presumably.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Crossblade tagged you with an Arc Thrower presumably.

Nah, his transfer papers got lost in the bureaucracy for a while and he got stuck cooling his behind in a temporary battalion until the paperwork went through.

[KillianHawkeye]

Yes you were. Um, oops. Sorry about that, not sure how I screwed that up.

That's okay. I'm just eager to do my part for the service! :smallwink:

EDIT: Aaaaaaaand here I am! Let's get assaulting! :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Crossblade goes charging into a room with three mutons... and they promptly piddle themselves and take off running, well the survivors anyways. He takes a freekin' alien grenade to the face... it just pisses him off.

That dude? One guy you seriously do not want to piss off.

[ThePhantom]

And now I'm dead. Oh well, at least it wasn't in vain.

[Iskandar]

And now I'm dead. Oh well, at least it wasn't in vain.

Face full of Cyberdisk will do that, yeah. Did not see that coming.

[RagingKrikkit]

I remember the first time I took out the base. I had a 5-day wait while I waited for them to make their next move.

BOOM TERROR IN BEJING!

[jindra34]

New person for enlisting here

First name: Jin
Last name: Rai

[polity4life]

Despite my bad luck with the game, I can't refuse being part of a let's play of X-Com.

If you happen to find a male American, name him Johnny Montreal. Please make him Caucasian with a tan, the biggest mustache possible, and mutton chops. Black hair if you would kind sir.

[Destro_Yersul]

Iskandar, you BUILT heavy lasers. Stop forgetting you have stuff!

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Iskandar, you BUILT heavy lasers. Stop forgetting you have stuff!

This. So much this.

Heh, it's getting to be more entertaining than frustrating... I'd start a drinking game, take a shot for every piece he forgets to equip, only I don't have that much booze in the house.

[Iskandar]

Yup, stupid ADD. Medicine helps, but there are still days I'm lucky to remember my own NAME. I do, eventually, remember to get those things equipped. The resulting light show is very pretty, just not very useful, thanks to heavies' inherent poor aim.

Also, and I know it hard to believe, but Crossblade is going to get even more bad ass shortly.

And speaking about shortly, my girlfriend is going into the hospital Monday to have the baby. All my let's play will be on hold for, at a minimum, two weeks. I shall return.

[RagingKrikkit]

Slap some scopes on your heavies. That should help.

EDIT: Next to freaking out during that last mission. 7 health, and about to take 6 from the car. That meant that if the aliens so much as scratched her...

I love this game. Seriously, the only other game where I've gotten this attatched to a character is Mass Effect.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

And speaking about shortly, my girlfriend is going into the hospital Monday to have the baby. All my let's play will be on hold for, at a minimum, two weeks. I shall return.

Congratulations!!!

By all means, Real Life over a Let's Play. We'll still be here when you get back.

[Copacetic]

Congratulations Iskandar. I'll be patiently awaiting the return of your Lets Play, and by no means staring daggers at your current sniper of choice.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Yup, stupid ADD. Medicine helps, but there are still days I'm lucky to remember my own NAME. I do, eventually, remember to get those things equipped.

This is why I suggested post-it notes. :smalltongue:

Seriously though, in a game like Classic-difficulty XCOM, it's important to give your troopers the best equipment you can.

Speaking of which, you should probably equip Longbow with the Skeleton Suit so he can get the high ground. He's not getting shot up as it is, so Carapace doesn't really help.

[Iskandar]

Congratulations Iskandar. I'll be patiently awaiting the return of your Lets Play, and by no means staring daggers at your current sniper of choice.

Don't worry, your time to shine is coming. I'm going to start doing mass psi checking of everyone Major rank or higher, and thus will be pushing everyone I can to Major rank or higher.

[t209]

I wanted a request to remove my helmet at Sergeant Level, like Space Marine Sergeant.
Give it some buzz cut or shortest hair on my character.
Edit: On Second thought, I wanted to remove my helmet now!

[Triaxx]

Well, in that case, congratulations Isk. Though I find it annoying when the LP of Real Life takes over from the LP of fun stuff.

[Crossblade]

And speaking about shortly, my girlfriend is going into the hospital Monday to have the baby. All my let's play will be on hold for, at a minimum, two weeks. I shall return.

Do we get to suggest names for that one too? :smalltongue: Grats.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Oohhh... sniper. And from... South Africa, looks like.

Backstory
There is no such thing as 'impossible' for a Marine. Double so for a Marine Sniper. I've been all over the globe, from cleaning up the last of the terror organizations to Central America to put paid to some of the higher-ups in the drug cartels. Urban, jungle, desert... I seen it all.

They eventually discharged me. Said my psyc profile was way outta wack. I'd been out in the field way too long, and I needed to get out before I get lost in it. All that BS. So, after spent a few months in the Bahamas shooting tequilla as a vacation, I got bored. I didn't want to go back to America, so I went to Johannesburg to visit my grandparents, and ended up signing up with the local police force. My military background made me a natural for their SWAT team.

I knew, in a vague way, that aliens were running all over the place, but I hadn't seen one, so it seemed like more scuttlebutt... an excuse for the politicians to make a few quick bucks.

Until they showed up at my doorstep. With my closed-file. They said they needed a few good men. I said I'd heard that before. Then they showed me some footage. Alien tech blowing up cars. UFO's making raids. Some four-legged thing impaling an unlucky civilian... which then got back up. When the thing hatched out of the walking corpse, they stopped it. Told me it takes a certain kind to face that kind of crap.

Hell, I was getting bored anyways, after the administrative leave for popping that guy that took hostages at the bank downtown. For 'unauthorized discharge of firearm'. Said if I had been off by even the tiniest fraction, I could've killed the civilian. Psssh, come on, I dropped the hostile and ended the hostage situation. Saved civilian lives.

These guys in the Suits told me that was why they showed up... they needed someone willing to take the shot. Said they've been having problems with rookies panicking and making dumb mistakes. Needed someone who could keep his head while his battle buddy just got splattered all over him. Asked for a commitment. Heh, they've done their research. That's the one thing a Marine can do... make a commitment.

Besides, the beer here sucks. Wherever their base is, it's got to have better booze than this.

Journal Entry: July 14
So, made it here in one piece. Whole lot of wierd tech going around here. Got the whole "I don't care what your record was before joining here, until you run a live mission, you ain't worth crap" attitude from the sweats. Eh, that's gonna happen with any crack unit. I'll make my bones and they'll chill.

Made the mistake of asking one of my bunkmates about the dude with the non-regulation hair that was going down the hall. Big mistake. Apparently, he's some kind of living legend down here. Over fifty confirmed alien kills to his credit, almost more than the entire rest of the unit combined, plus countless assists and saves. They also said there was this lab... the other two people that went in came out with a headache... he came out with some wierd psychic abilities.

Got dragged down to the memorial. I was surprised there were that many kills since the project got started, considering the quality they recruit. Damn near everyone down here's a green beret or SAS or the like. The guy giving the tour pointed out the first name on the list. Said he was responsible for the first live capture for interrogation. Bought it by getting a little too eager, but he bagged the alien first. Told me that if I was half that good, then I'd be better than most. I just told him give me a target, I'll plug it. He gave me a funny look. Been getting that look a lot. Weird lot here.

July 15Got to see an interrogation. They don't look so tough, like someone got stretched out a bit. But apparently it was a big deal, because it was the first one they were able to capture alive. Eh, live capture isn't my bag. Exterminating is.

Got taken down to the infirmary to see the wounded. That sobered me up a bit. Well, if all goes according to plan, I won't be getting too near them. I'll only be looking at them down my scope. Of course, plans never work out that way, but hey... I can deal with that too.

July 18Claxons went off. Names were called. Not mine, this time. A couple of people muttered about 'the usual team'. Meh, just means more rack time for me. Maybe I should go look up the weight room. later.

[KillianHawkeye]

Doing well so far. I'm always happy to cover for Crossblade when he needs a break! The crit-based Assault can be pretty deadly, especially when they get the ability that adds to their crit damage. I've had guys do over 20 damage on a crit with my new alloy cannon.

[Iskandar]

BTW, Zain, and this holds true fo anyone else who ends up the same way, I do believe I am going to have to retire you. 40 ish will at Colonel makes you a liability. So, after this next round of videos, I will set up a "Retired" section, and will note them as such in game. If you'd like like to create a new character at that point, go ahead.

Two or three episodes in the can, including a marathon mission that took about thirty minutes to finish. A lot of good luck, and some pretty terrible as well. Someone is going home in a bag.

[Shishnarfne]

It looks like you're still a hair thin on names for female recruits, so I'd like to suggest Agrafena Svetlova (bonus points if Russian!) as an additional name to have available.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I facepalmed when you ordered your Support that was within single-move distance of a one-hp Berserker, while carrying an Arc Thrower, to take a 91% hit shot rather than move in and take a 90% hit capture.

I haven't seen your UFO Defense playthrough, so I don't know how Crossblade is in that, but he seriously needs to become a meme. He takes reaction shots while his gun is empty, took a Muton Plasma Rifle shot at point-blank after getting hit by an Alien Grenade and was still standing, and is psionic. He was also the first Colonel on your team.

[Copacetic]

I facepalmed when you ordered your Support that was within single-move distance of a one-hp Berserker, while carrying an Arc Thrower, to take a 91% hit shot rather than move in and take a 90% hit capture.


You and me both. Twice as hard as the already-interrogated Muton was captured right afterward. Ah well. As the saying goes, that's Xcom, baby.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: July 18
Mission returned successful, but four out of the six went straight into ER. One damn near didn't make it, they were lucky. Killian Hawkeye got a commendation from Crossblade. Just two words... 'good job'. But damn if they didn't act like that was better than a presidential flacking medal.

Hey, I don't mean to knock it, after all... his first mission, and he brought back everyone in one piece... more or less. Everyone's buying him drinks. Some kind of rite of passage, I guess.

Four out of six in the body shop, and that was a good job? What the hell kind of outfit have I signed up for?

Journal Entry: July 20
UFO Contact! They sent up an interceptor and brought down the bogey. Dispatched crew.

Crew came back, one body bag. Dude, what the hell happened to Hawkeye? Looks like he got ripped in half! This was only his second mission! And he did a damn good job last mission.

They brought back two alive for questioning. One little shrimp, but the other... man was that thing big, ugly, and mean. Word is, what ripped Hawkeye a new one was even bigger and meaner. What they're calling the Berserker. Big brawler, likes using his hands.

What the hell, it's not like I'm gonna be giving it a hug. The bigger they are, the harder they fall... right? Just gives me one hell of a big target to plug.

They said that Crossblade guy killed two... with the power of his mind! Freaky, man. But hey, at least it's on our side.

Hell, I need some time on the shooting range. If that's what I got to take down, I'm gonna need to keep it fresh.

Journal Entry: Aug 3
UFO Contact. Big one this time, it seems. Most of the rankers went on this one, only one squaddie. I don't blame the CO, if we lost one on the last ship, and this one is even bigger... yea. There ain't no kill like overkill. And I got a baaaad feeling that even our rankers aren't overkill...

They came back with a few new specimens to interrogate. They also came back with Hayes barely stable, and three others in the ER. Good news is no one died this time. But man, the casualty list is racking up some impressive numbers. They don't even bother giving out purple hearts around here, everyone who is out on a mission is pretty much set to collect bad-luck souvenirs at some point.

Standard squad loadout calls for one sniper per team, and Crayons is a good one. Hell, I'll admit, he's better than I am. Part of me wonders why they bothered recruiting me. Then I take a look at the roster list currently in sick bay row, and I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. S.O.P. calls for Crossblade, two heavies, at least one support, one other either a support or assault, and one sniper. But hey, if they run out of heavies, they might pull another sniper in. After all, any warm body can hold a gun and shoot, right?

Part of me wants a shot at the action and shoot me some aliens, make my bones in the unit, and get some respect around here. The other part... is glad there's two snipers in front of me. Especially if what they're saying about those Floaters and this new and improved version they just saw this past mission is true... I might end up with an alien in my face with those dang jump packs they have. Not a place I'd care to be in.

Okay, enough of this. Time to hit the gym and do some reps.

[t209]

So
Colonel Crossblade will go on a heroic last run? How to increase Will Power? I thought you can do it in X-Com.

[The Bushranger]

Hmm, why not.

John O'Connell, reporting for duty, sah.
(prefer white hair and Irish, but any port in a storm!)

[RagingKrikkit]

So
Colonel Crossblade will go on a heroic last run? How to increase Will Power? I thought you can do it in X-Com.

Will can only be bumped by leveling up, or wearing psi armor or a mind shield. Were you the one that had 47 will at squaddie level? 3 of three times thus far, that's how it's worked for me.

[Zain]

Right, well it seems I have a nasty case of PTSD, so I think I shall Suggest that his Sister, EvaRia Smith take over (pronounced Eva-Ria)

[Hiro Protagonest]

Right, well it seems I have a nasty case of PTSD, so I think I shall Suggest that his Sister, EvaRia Smith take over (pronounced Eva-Ria)

You might have PTSD, but I don't think it really matters until you get below forty willpower. You can still function in normal society.

But they probably should send you home now. Might make a good asset in the military, but likely too liable to pull the trigger if they put you on the special weapons police unit, plus medical training tends to not be used on the force, nor smoke grenades.

I think I'll sign up for a character.

Jason/Jessica Parker
White (not pale). For hair/helmet (if I ever get out of 15), I like 4 for men, 2 to 5 for women. Head 1 or 4 for male, 4 for female. No facial hair. Hair color blonde, but not yellow.

I just hope I'm not a Heavy. They're definitely good, but I'd like something other than being the slow guy who misses more often than Rookies.

Also, two Snipers can be a good setup, and while the firepower brought in by two Heavies and their rockets is good, if you ever find yourself with only one Heavy, bring in a second Sniper.

[Iskandar]

X-Com Commanders Log: September 15th, 2015

I've put in a request, again, to the Council to send me more Heavy weapons specialists. Due to causalities, we are down to three, and one of those is a new recruit. That is simply not acceptable, especially with the aliens relying more and more on Cyberdiscs. Injuries and fatalities are, regrettably, becoming more common, and maintaining proper squad composition is becoming difficult.

Also, it is with some regret that I am pulling both Zain Smith and Oscar McIntyre off of front line duty, effective immediately. They are beginning to show classic symptoms of PTSD, and are becoming more of a detriment to our fighting force than an asset. However, they will remain assigned to the X-Com project for the time being. Their experience should be invaluable to the new recruits we have coming in.

Also, I am becoming increasingly worried about Logan Crossblade. He has seen more combat than any other three soldiers combined, keeps walking into dangerous situations and then walking right back out unscathed. Combine that with his new "talents", and the amount of hero worship among the other soldiers is becoming a problem. If something were to happen to him, I fear the impact on base morale would be disastrous. If I could, I would promote him out of front line combat and into a staff position. However, for the moment, his experience in fighting the x-rays is too valuable to lose. I will continue to monitor his behavior, and if he keeps showing the same potentially self destructive tendencies, I will rethink my position. For the moment, I have seen to it that he is always outfitted in the best armor that we have. Dr. Shen isn't very happy over all the repair work, but it is better than the alternative.

Speaking about the new "talents", I'm still not sure how I feel about training our soldiers to be more like the aliens. On the one hand, the results are decidedly useful. On the other, every soldier who has gone through the testing has been changed in some way, and I'm not sure those changes are positive.

Hopefully this war will come to some sort of a conclusion soon. From recent surveys of alien activity, there does seem to be a definite decline.

Commander X-Com Project, personal log, end transmission

[RagingKrikkit]

Great first post. Second one... not so much.

[t209]

I got an concept of X-Com and MLP Crossover. The catch is that Iskandar (or Colonel Crossblade) will be Sharpe-esque hero and Prince Blueblood (or Diamond Tiara) will be Flashman-esque high command. I need someone to write it.

[Iskandar]

Great first post. Second one... not so much.

I, uh, have no idea what you are talking about.

Stupid forum lag.

[RagingKrikkit]

I got an concept of X-Com and MLP Crossover. The catch is that Iskandar (or Colonel Crossblade) will be Sharpe-esque hero and Prince Blueblood (or Diamond Tiara) will be Flashman-esque high command. I need someone to write it.

Twilight "Magic" Sparkle (Assault/Psi)
Apple "Farmer" Jack (Heavy)
Pinkie "Party" Pie (Heavy/Psi)
Flutter "Butterfly" Shy (Support)
Miss "Diamond" Rarity (Sniper)
Rainbow "Rainboom" Dash (Sniper)

Yeah.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Twilight "Magic" Sparkle (Assault/Psi)
Apple "Farmer" Jack (Heavy)
Pinkie "Party" Pie (Heavy/Psi)
Flutter "Butterfly" Shy (Support)
Miss "Diamond" Rarity (Sniper)
Rainbow "Rainboom" Dash (Sniper)

Yeah.

Calling Rainbow Dash anything but an Assault is a death wish.

And why is Pinkie Pie psionic?

...And how did you even get a full squad of women?

[The Bushranger]

...And how did you even get a full squad of women?
There's an achievement for it, you know.

Also, I'll just leave this here.

http://i.imgur.com/NvqgG.jpg

[Iskandar]

Yup, I've got that achievement. Not on this LP, mind, although I could field a squad of all females if I cared to.

[RagingKrikkit]

Calling Rainbow Dash anything but an Assault is a death wish.

And why is Pinkie Pie psionic?

...And how did you even get a full squad of women?

Snipers are 20% cooler than assaults.

And I got no clue why Pinkie is psi. It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it.

I restarted the game over and over until I started with 6 females.

[The Bushranger]

And I got no clue why Pinkie is psi. It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it.
Clearly she's Pinkie Psi.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Snipers are 20% cooler than assaults.

*kicks in the door, aims an Alloy Cannon at you from ten feet away*

"Don't you ever say that Snipers are cooler than Assaults!"

In my opinion, you want two Assaults when you get Squad Size I. Then when you get Squad Size II, you either take two Snipers, or two Heavies (moar rockets! Also, if one of them takes Holo-Targeting, you can just have him shoot or suppress the toughest enemy first, then have the rest of your group all get a +10% chance of hitting him. Including the Bullet Swam Heavy).

[RagingKrikkit]

*Sniper headshots with plasma from across the map*

Don't say assaults are cooler than snipers.

[Hiro Protagonest]

*Sniper headshots with plasma from across the map*

Don't say assaults are cooler than snipers.

Bah, you're all a bunch of wimps, too afraid to get up close and shoot a Berserker in the face!

Besides... I'm definitely going to one-shot you with my Alloy Cannon (Rapid Fire!), while you have to deal with cover and Ghost Armor.

But either way, both classes are cooler than Heavies and Supports. Sure, they're great, but Heavies tend to miss, and Supports are... support.

[RagingKrikkit]

Oh, well, I loose the scout rookie, and you loose your Assault colonel.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh, well, I loose the scout rookie, and you loose your Assault colonel.

What, you think I'm stupid enough to get out of cover to take down a rookie? Heh. If there's no cover between me and him, I always have a Plasma Pistol.

Plus, you're not so great inside a UFO. I'm good in any environment.

[t209]

Twilight "Magic" Sparkle (Assault/Psi)
Apple "Farmer" Jack (Heavy)
Pinkie "Party" Pie (Heavy/Psi)
Flutter "Butterfly" Shy (Support)
Miss "Diamond" Rarity (Sniper)
Rainbow "Rainboom" Dash (Sniper)

Yeah.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14041999&postcount=1248
No I just wanted to see a scene how Iskandar will chew out Prince Blueblood, ironic since Iskandar fought in First War on UFO Defense over elerium while lying to his men that they are liberating humanity and acted like a typical Imperial Guard commander.

[Aux-Ash]

Personal log of Alexandra Ashe

30th May
Half the team came back in body bags and the others didn’t look they were quite all there anymore. Even colonel Crossblade looked rattled. Command seemed relatively satisfied with the results though… it better be worth it.

9th June
Damn. Lance died today… he probably saved my life back then at my first mission.

28th June
One of my friends over in the labs passed on the word today. They figured out how to build plasma weapons. I can’t wait to hear about the x-rays reaction to having to face that. Not so weak as they thought we were, are we?

2nd July
So they built this strange new lab and Colonel Crossblade and Major Smith got sent down there and into these strange machines. Personally those things freak me out, and hearing that the guys will have to stay in there for a few days? I do not envy them, that’s for sure.

13th July
Crossblade came out of the psycho-cocoons with psychic powers. Like a superhero or something. Naturally no one was really surprised at the barracks, next we’ll hear the man shot down a UFO just by looking at it and not one of us will bat an eyelash. One of the recruits that arrived a handful of days ago made the mistake to say “like the x-rays”… he got sent down to the infirmary with a broken nose.

14h July
We got a new cocky bunkmate, one of the latest batch of arrivals. One of the guys will show him to the infirmary tomorrow… show him just how brutal Xcom is.

20th July
Crossblade killed someone with his mind on the mission today. We were all gathered in the rec room to toast the successful mission, like we always do. Cpt Crayons came in, paler that usual, and just told us that. That killed the mood. I mean… we all thought it was good and all… but what’s next? They’re going to want more of us being capable of that, that’s for sure. But what will it mean… really?
Hazard was killed too… damn… two days ago Crossblade congratulated him and it seemed that he might step up with the best of the best. Recently promoted to lieutenant and all. And today he’s dead.

21st July
Nightmares are back. I went back to see the doc. I suppose the news last night made my depression come back. So I got a new batch of meds and back to barracks. Rumor has it that Zain and McIntyre are being taken off active duty. Those two guys deserve it. It’s not something we talk about, but every single one of us that’s been on a mission has some sort of drugs or sleeping pills. Every other night you hear someone having nightmares. Me, I see those eyes most nights and every time I look into a mirror. The new recruits doesn’t seem to get it though.
The fact that I’m one of the “base snipers” doesn’t help, just makes me feel all the more helpless.

3rd August
Another day, another new sort of UFO shot down. Why is it always over Brazil though? Seems like everyone we shoot down is over Brazil. Regardless, those pilots deserve all the credit they get.

[RagingKrikkit]

What, you think I'm stupid enough to get out of cover to take down a rookie? Heh. If there's no cover between me and him, I always have a Plasma Pistol.

Plus, you're not so great inside a UFO. I'm good in any environment.

I don't need you out of cover. A Colonel rank Sniper had 105% hit, +10% from the scope I always give them, leaves them with 75% of hitting you, with two shots.

[Iskandar]

Ok, quit arguing in this thread, please. The general X-Com thread is thattaway, thanks.

[RagingKrikkit]

Okay, I'll drop it, but I wouldn't consider thatt arguing. I love assaults, but I usually go to the final mission with my primary assault having 80-90 kills, and my primary sniper having 100+

[Iskandar]

Yeah, still, this is not the thread for general discussion of XCom. I am glad you like the game, mind.

Anyway. I am posting this from my Tab at the hospital. I will be in and out, but I am officially off duty. See everyone later.

[t209]

Glad you caught the alien commander! Note that you still only have one psychic.
P.S- How do helmet rank works? I only see crossblade with a guile hair.

[KillianHawkeye]

Bah, damned Berserkers! :smallmad::smallannoyed::smallsigh:

At least it took a Falcon Punch me to take me out. :smallamused:

[RagingKrikkit]

Too bad it wasn't the action cam kill.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Yeah, still, this is not the thread for general discussion of XCom. I am glad you like the game, mind.

Anyway. I am posting this from my Tab at the hospital. I will be in and out, but I am officially off duty. See everyone later.

Woot!

Hope everything goes well for you and da missus. Family comes first and foremost, of course. We'll all still be here when you get back.

[Iskandar]

I'm a dad.

Mom is resting comfortably at the hospital, I am home, temporarily, to take care of a few things. I am also exhausted, a condition that will probably not improve for the next, oh, 5 years or so.

[Domochevsky]

I'm a dad.

Mom is resting comfortably at the hospital, I am home, temporarily, to take care of a few things. I am also exhausted, a condition that will probably not improve for the next, oh, 5 years or so.

The council will be watching you. :smallamused:

:smallbiggrin:

[RagingKrikkit]

Do you know which class (s)he is?

[Kizor]

You could've saved yourself from the worst of the exhaustion if you'd built an officer training school.

[RagingKrikkit]

Make sure you bring medkits next time.

[Crossblade]

I'm a dad.
Grats.


I am also exhausted, a condition that will probably not improve for the next, oh, 5 years or so.

You're off by about 15 years, did you forget what it was like being a kid? Review it and think about what you put your parents through. :smalltongue:

[Triaxx]

Speaking of, they're probably laughing behind their hands now. :D

[Iskandar]

Ok, last baby post before we got back to X-Com:
Here (http://imgur.com/GJehg) from this afternoon.

Mom and baby should be coming home this weekend, so hopefully I will finally have time to edit and upload the two or three episodes I have recorded, but ran out of time to get onto youtube.

As far as recording new episodes, I don't know. I am deeply, deeply tired right now. Like 10 hours of sleep since Tuesday kind of tired. I'll be evaluating how much time I have on my hands next week.

Now, pardon me, i'm going to fall over for a bit.

[Crossblade]

As far as recording new episodes, I don't know.

Well, GuudeBoulderfist, a professional youtube Let's Player that does videos to earn a living only has 3-5 hours a day to play and edit videos since he had his kid. So I suspect it'd be VERY EXTREMELY rare for you to get yourself time to record.
Enjoy the time with your child. Take lots of pictures, you'll enjoy them in the years to come.

[Avilan the Grey]

As far as recording new episodes, I don't know.

How DARE you prioritize your family over us??? :smalltongue:

[t209]

Ok, last baby post before we got back to X-Com:
Here (http://imgur.com/GJehg) from this afternoon.

Mom and baby should be coming home this weekend, so hopefully I will finally have time to edit and upload the two or three episodes I have recorded, but ran out of time to get onto youtube.

As far as recording new episodes, I don't know. I am deeply, deeply tired right now. Like 10 hours of sleep since Tuesday kind of tired. I'll be evaluating how much time I have on my hands next week.

Now, pardon me, i'm going to fall over for a bit.

I hope you will let you men live long enough to see their family.
Except for Crossblade, who will have to die on the ship to save the world.
If I fell in battle, my brother Slyvester Htet will take my place. Then my sister Edna Htet.

[RagingKrikkit]

Well, I dunno about your spoiler.

Looks like Samantha could be in the running as well. I mean, she had 80 will before she got shot. And at MAJOR! I have never seen something like that.

[The Bushranger]

Congrats!


BTW, if you need more female names, "Erin O'Connell" would work.

[t209]

So how about plasma weapons research? I mean we can use Heavy Plasma for soldiers.

[RagingKrikkit]

So how about plasma weapons research? I mean we can use Heavy Plasma for soldiers.

I'm Samantha Hayes, and I approve of getting to use really big guns to kill stuff with.

[t209]

Which rank would fit in with Iskandar?
Lord General
Commissar
Commisioner
Admiral General

[The Bushranger]

Grand Moff. :smallamused:

[Iskandar]

I'm back everyone. New episode loading now, give it about an hour to process and stuff. Now, let me see if I remember what I was doing...

[Triaxx]

Probably not. But we love that you're going to try. :D

At least you'll probably remember how to play. ;)

[The Bushranger]

...Crossblade has Mind Control now. :smalleek:

I'm not sure if I'm even more eager to join the squad, or am now considering Cydonia as minimum safe distance. :smallamused:

[Crossblade]

First there was the joy of lifting the couch with your mind to find the remote, now there's the joy of making others walk to the tv and change the channel for you to what you want to watch.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Journal Entry: Aug 10
Brass is retiring a couple of guys who've just seen too damn much, and can't take it anymore. I don't blame 'em for some of 'em. You should hear some of their stories... 'have you ever had an alien play 'pull me out' with your brain?'? What the hell kind of question is that?

Claxons went off again. Another week, another alien abduction. Australia this time. No one even needed to go to the bone and joint shop this time. Came back with one ugly mother, though. They call it a 'berserker'. That was what put paid for that guy a week back, said it ripped him in half. Seeing one alive? I can believe it. I know I sure wouldn't want that S.O.B. charging down at me.

Of course, that's the fun thing of being a sniper... they never reach you. One shot, one kill. That's my motto.

Aug. 23
Aliens are playing hardball now. This isn't an abduction, this is terrorist tactics. Rack up as high a body count as possible, as blatant and as obvious as possible. Reeeaaly makes me wanna put a bead on these freaks. I spent five years putting paid to the remnants of the terrorist cells in middle asia... this'll feel just like at home.

No one even wounded this time, although heavy civilian casualties according to the report. But hey, they were all gonna die anyways. These x-ray mo-fos are just sadistic like that. Any civilian saved is bonus.

Aug. 27
They apparently got some new interceptor ship. Meh, flackin' zoomies and their toys.

Another week, another abduction, this down down in Mexico. Two in the medic bay, one in the ICU.

They retired "Longbow" McIntyre today. Too much PTSD. From this crew? That's saying something. But hey, when your hand is shaking too bad to make the shot... sometimes ya just need to put it away for a while. Besides, "The Emo" has had the top booking for the Sniper slot for a while now, nothing surprising about this move about this move.

Sep. 11
Lots of stuff going on over in the tech side, but all I've been doing is logging range time.

Claxons went off again. This time out in India. The usual crew went out to go handle it. Some might've grumbled about that, but hey... I'm in no hurry. Point me at a target, I plug it. When you don't have any targets, I practice. That's kinda what I do.

Half the crew went into the medic bay, including Crossblade. Apparently even he needs a little bit of patching after eating three grenades at point blank range. Nothing major though, apparently.

[Iskandar]

There, we are now caught up on the old material. And I think we are now reaching the end game. Really want to get some more Psi Ops, and I need more materials for the last bits of research.

Edit: And updated the first post with all the changes in the soldiers. Note we are getting a lot of Majors. One more rank, and I'll start doing Psi Testing. I have hopes for a few of them, and a few more will probably join Zain on the inactive reserve list if they fail.

[KillianHawkeye]

Edit: And updated the first post with all the changes in the soldiers. Note we are getting a lot of Majors. One more rank, and I'll start doing Psi Testing. I have hopes for a few of them, and a few more will probably join Zain on the inactive reserve list if they fail.

You've got Domochevsky on the list twice. :smallamused:

[RagingKrikkit]

*Starts watching part 19*

65?! She was at 80! WHY?!?!?!?! [/rage]

[jindra34]

You've got Domochevsky on the list twice. :smallamused:

He also hasn't gone over the thread for new applicants/recruit names. I still have mine sitting on page 4.

[Domochevsky]

"Gonzo"... what he hell are you people doing out there? :smallsigh: :smallbiggrin:

[Iskandar]

Sigh. I'm tired, apparently. I went on a beautifully violent landed UFO mission, and didn't get it on FRAPS. I break recording briefly when I start a mission to make editing easier, and this time I forgot to restart again. Which is okay, when I tabbed over to check what I had and hadn't recorded, XCom crashed on me. So, I'll have to do that mission over, anyway.

[Hiro Protagonest]

The mouse problem is a bug, from what I've seen.

Edit: You can just dismiss soldiers, you know.

[RagingKrikkit]

Curious: Do you have something personal against me/Hayes? Because every time the cursor ends up at her feet, you IQ seems to drop about 20 points.

[t209]

Why don't my character get Neon Genesis EVA looking armor?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Why don't my character get Neon Genesis EVA looking armor?

The larger question would be why you would want it in the first place

[Zain]

Is it just me, or do you never seem to use the grapple ability of the skeleton Armour?

[Hiro Protagonest]

Is it just me, or do you never seem to use the grapple ability of the skeleton Armour?

He never uses it.

In that one mission with all the regular Mutons and Heavy Floaters, where it was the sniper stuck on one side and Hayes was taken down, he really should've used it on the second or third turn so the Sniper could get on the roof.

[Triaxx]

He did a couple of times, in episode 16/17, the one with the cargo ship. The floaters dropped in behind him and he grappled up and away from them, then up onto the roof eventually discovering an alien from above and blasting it straight down. He should definitely use it, but without Damn Good Ground, his Snipers don't benefit as much from it, and end up being slightly more exposed. Snap Shot is also useful for the best grapple options. Grapple-move, fire is helpful, because it's possible to move laterally with a grapple move say between two high points. Of course if it's in range the pistol works perfectly well, at least with Gunslinger.

Yes, he does need to use it more though. Definitely want to think vertically as well as horizontally.

In 20, I'd have put the sniper up on the Truck Killian was using as cover to give better shots on those inside. Or even swapped it out to the Support and used the extra movement to rescue civilians. But I play differently to a lot of people.

[t209]

The larger question would be why you would want it in the first place

He even produced an extra titan armor at one point of playthrough.
Too bad, U.S has withdrawn from XCom Support for choosing Mexico which is near them. Now that's one clinche disappeared.
I wonder if the black book from Season 3 has fundings for xcom project.

[Iskandar]

Huh. Well. A bit of a spoiler for you guys, but I just beat the game. I have 5 ish hours of stuff to edit and upload. Things got interesting towards the end. And buggy.

Just for the record, teleporting sectopods are so not cool.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Just for the record, teleporting sectopods are so not cool.

Yeah, that bug is infamous by now.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Huh. Well. A bit of a spoiler for you guys, but I just beat the game. I have 5 ish hours of stuff to edit and upload. Things got interesting towards the end. And buggy.

Just for the record, teleporting sectopods are so not cool.

So what will you be doing once all of your episodes of this playthrough are finished? Do you plan to try again on a harder difficulty or perhaps again on the same difficulty with a different tactic, or just a different game entirely?

[t209]

1999, First War on Extraterrestrial Terror (Personal Armor= WW1 trench coats and helmets. Laser Bolt Action Rifle). Iskandar's First and Finest Rifle Regiment.
It was a wet day. In the trenches with many other rookies. I was looking at them praying for their survival before the attack on UFO. Then Commisar Iskandar blew his whistle and we climbed up the ladder to the no-man's land. One guy was shot to the face with a plasma and his helmet flew right off. Other guy got shot in the spleen. Finally, one soldier was blinded before a plasma shot put her out of misery. We got to the trench and fought the sectoids with shovels and laser rifle. After trudging through the hell, 25% of our company survived.
By T209 (All Quiet on the Alien Front).
I wonder why I am wondering the battle in XCom as typical WW1 battle.

[Iskandar]

So what will you be doing once all of your episodes of this playthrough are finished? Do you plan to try again on a harder difficulty or perhaps again on the same difficulty with a different tactic, or just a different game entirely?

I still have that user chosen LP to go. Which looks like Psychonauts, actually. I am waiting on the FTB mod pack to stabilize a bit, and then I'll be bringing my Industrial Minecraft LP to 1.4.x, and I don't know beyond that.

Real life is interfering a bit. While not exactly limited, my free time is somewhat constrained, and predicting when I'll have the opportunity to record and edit/upload stuff has gotten nigh on impossible. Add to that a rather significant change in my medications (I have ADD, who'd have guessed it?) and a corresponding significant adjustment period, I'm afraid I'm going to be somewhat erratic. Um, somewhat more erratic? Erratic-er?

[t209]

Just wondering
Who gets the sacrifice on the ship? Crossblade? Am I the only solesurvivor, just like X-Com playthrough.

[Triaxx]

We are the internet. (One person, way in the back, waving.) We are infinitely patient. (WANT MORE NAOW.) We abide and wait the new coming. (More LP's STAT!)

Ahem, take your time, the internet isn't going anywhere.

[Iskandar]

We are the internet. (One person, way in the back, waving.) We are infinitely patient. (WANT MORE NAOW.) We abide and wait the new coming. (More LP's STAT!)

Ahem, take your time, the internet isn't going anywhere.

Uploading episodes now. Slowly. With much sleeping in between. It is a truism that when the baby sleeps, EVERYONE sleeps. Or else.

Still, I expect to get the last few episodes loaded up soon. Incoming right now is a rather epic fight in a landed UFO.

[Iskandar]

Just wondering
Who gets the sacrifice on the ship? Crossblade? Am I the only solesurvivor, just like X-Com playthrough.

Technically, there should have been three survivors of the final mission. There is a neat little bug, though, due to the way mind controlled allies are handled. You know how an alien's weapon blows up when the alien dies? Did you know that if you mind control an alien and it dies, his weapons don't self destruct? The logic applies in reverse for mind controlled members of your team, and what happens when the big bad dies. Pay close attention to the final episode. I just noticed, and it is hilarious.


Basically, the game insta kills all other enemies when you kill the boss. This includes squad members if they are mind controlled, as they count as enemies at that moment. Completely illogical, and it costs us two of the three survivors when it really shouldn't. As far as who the survivor is, well watch and see.

[The Bushranger]

In a way, though, that sort-of makes sense - it's internally consistent with the way Sectoids mind-meld. Kill the 'melder', the 'melded' dies too. Of course, that's not because of exploding weapons, but....

[smuchmuch]

Am I the only one who isn't that impressed with berserkers or crysalids so far ? From what we've seen in that LP, they charge up to your soldiers, deadly claws at the ready... and they just stop right in front of the target letting it shoot them in the face without actualy y'know attacking, having expended all their action points dashing.
I guess they are still somewhat dangerous as distraction but not really all that threatening.

[KillianHawkeye]

In a way, though, that sort-of makes sense - it's internally consistent with the way Sectoids mind-meld. Kill the 'melder', the 'melded' dies too. Of course, that's not because of exploding weapons, but....

Yeah, but it normally works differently for mind controlled creatures. If you kill the guy mind controlling you, your guy is freed. Not dead.


Am I the only one who isn't that impressed with berserkers or crysalids so far ? From what we've seen in that LP, they charge up to your soldiers, deadly claws at the ready... and they just stop right in front of the target letting it shoot them in the face without actualy y'know attacking, having expended all their action points dashing.
I guess they are still somewhat dangerous as distraction but not really all that threatening.

Hey, them Berserkers were good enough to kill me. Show some respect! :smallamused:

[Domochevsky]

Now having watched ep26...
Man, you're playing really careless here. :smalleek:
Great catch on the alien, but two dead squaddies, my equivalent shot up at the last minute (How much Will does that cost?), no support around... things are rough out there.

[Iskandar]

Now having watched ep26...
Man, you're playing really careless here. :smalleek:
Great catch on the alien, but two dead squaddies, my equivalent shot up at the last minute (How much Will does that cost?), no support around... things are rough out there.

Admittedly, I handled that last Muton poorly. However, one of those dead squad members was not my fault.


No seriously, guy takes 1 damage, and decides to panic and run out of cover. I take no blame for him subsequently being shot to death, nor do I feel particularly bad. And, it should be noted, fatalities up to this point have been somewhat low.

Oh, and no worries on the Will. You'll see that it doesn't really matter in the end...

[jindra34]

Learning the costs of doing too well in the beginning now are we Iskandar?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Private Journal:
Several other missions happened. Some others went into the PsiLab for testing after earning the bird. Lots of people in the body shop. People are getting hurt hard by by these 'muton elites' everyone speaks about.

Emo went in the PsiLab and the other Sniper on active bought it on that big-arsed ship. Hell, just about everyone, but Crossblade again, is either bein' tested or hooked up to I.V. when it showed up.

This time we had one of our new interceptors available, shot that damn cloaked ship down. When they pulled Longbow out of retirement, I figured I was gonna sit this one out, too. Then they realized they had no Heavies, and were really scraping the barrel here. It was the biggest ship ever to be invaded to date, and over half the squad were squaddies like me... but hey, we got Crossblade, right?

I tell you what, though. This outfit has some sweet toys. Laser sniper rifle? Plasma pistol? SCOPE? And man, check out this armor. It's got a built-in grappling hook! Talk about making it easy to get to a good nest.

So, we put down. Longbow tosses out a sensor. Smart move, considering we don't want to run into any nasty surprises, and not much cover. Doesn't pick up anything. So Crossblade... I don't know if it's the funky suit he's wearin', or just one of those psychic abilities he's got, but he just vanishes. I mean, he's still on IFF, but it's like you can't see hi. That's when stuff gets real.

Longbow, from his vantage point I guess, pops off something out of my LoS. I just move up the side, looking for cover with a wide vantage point. That's when it breaks cover. One of the biggest, meanest looking robots I dun EVER seen. Not too accurate, though. Fortunately. That thing looks like it hurts when it hits.

Some idiot on the other side, another squaddie on first deployment, in Medic White, gets jumped by some of those Muton Elites. I guess he listened a little harder than I did about those horror stories about them, because after a grazing shot (it's not like he wasn't the one with the med-kits, now was it?), he panics and breaks cover. Yea... breaking cover with three hostiles in range is never a good idea. Ever. And pays for the mistake.

Me? I just hit the zone, man. Find a target, pop a target. What the hell, though. This freekin' laser rifle won't kill a damn thing but those little drones. But hey, it sure puts the hurt out.

So, two robots and who the hell knows how many of those elites trying to pincer us later... we're down to four. Crossblade makes the call that Longbow stays outside as overwatch, in case one of them tries to break and run. Personally, I think he's a bit worried that the PTSD will kick in. I, however, get tapped for the break-in.

It's kinda new for me, actually. Usually, I'm stationed on a different building entirely when we're doing this. I let Crossblade and Gonzo take the lead. No heroes here, man. Find me a good spot of cover that lets me fire through the door with a good range, and the door pops open for me.

Holy. Hell. No one has seen anything like that before. I took a shot, and it deflected it like it was some kind of Jedi with a lightsaber! What. Tha. Hell? Then... yea...

Look. I'd heard about it from one of the old sweats, having something play 'pull me out' with your mind. But I didn't know. God, I didn't know. And I never, ever wanna have that happen again. When they stunned it... I felt it. God help me, I felt it go down.

Playing cat and mouse with the remaining muton, Gonzo took a bad hit, but Crossblade finished it off, and we got Gonzo out to the evac point before he bled out.

After the mission was over, I was given the 'good job'. Only one confirmed kill, but plenty of assists. But what was more... I saw it in his eyes. He knew what I went through. And I knew... I don't know how, but somehow I just knew... he feels it every time he does it to one of them. And it takes a toll. You could feel the exhaustion. The immortal Crossblade... and even he was beginning to feel it. Jeez.

The CO said they couldn't promote me for some beaurocractic reason, but I don't care. Why? Because payback's what I do best. And now I'm gettin' some on these alien scumbags.

I didn't understand it before... how different it was here. Now I do. Hell, now I'm a freekin' vet, god help me. I've been there, and I came back alive.

But yanno what would be better than respect? Another chance to put an alien in my sights.

[DaedalusMkV]

Am I the only one who isn't that impressed with berserkers or crysalids so far ? From what we've seen in that LP, they charge up to your soldiers, deadly claws at the ready... and they just stop right in front of the target letting it shoot them in the face without actualy y'know attacking, having expended all their action points dashing.
I guess they are still somewhat dangerous as distraction but not really all that threatening.

Both are primarily threatening when they surprise you, or run into the middle of an ongoing engagement. The thing about Cryssalids in the early game, and Berzerkers all the time, is that you have to kill them NOW, the turn they show up, and they've got a lot of health. If you don't kill them NOW one of your dudes is dead, 100%, no hope. Now, they're pretty good about letting you shoot them, but they damage sponge like nothing else, and a bit of bad luck can result in them surviving a whole team's fire, which means dead dude. Are they super scary? No, at least in Classic a Muton is far more dangerous a threat than a Cryssalid, pretty much all the time, and a Heavy Floater or Cyberdisk scares me more than a Berzerker. But when they show up at just the wrong time, they'll do some nasty things to your batte plan.

[Triaxx]

Panicked support... pounded by three enemies...

Dammit. Am I dead again? (Haven't seen the video yet.)

[Iskandar]

Panicked support... pounded by three enemies...

Dammit. Am I dead again? (Haven't seen the video yet.)

Watch the video, then come back and read the spoiler


Out of all the deaths y'all suffered, this one I feel the least sorry about. Cowardice under fire. And I wasn't even aware that panic could force you out of cover. Run to better cover, yes. Hunker down in the cover you had, sure. But running out into the open? Not so much. I might have tried reloading that mission, if I hadn't captured the Ethereal. As it was, well, sorry.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Guys really should get half xp for hits that aren't kills. Make it easier when you want to train up squaddies in the late game without having to think about who shoots when.

And Schneekey's a squaddie? I thought he was one of those mission rewards that start at higher rank. I mean, he could be a guy who knows his way around a bolt-action rifle with a scope and might have some real combat experience, but a real pro with a lot of experience? Eh.

Snipers should really get a "keen-eyed" ability, though, that lets them see farther. Maybe add it on top of Snap Shot, to make it more viable against Squadsight? Squadsight would be for a "set up a nest on top of a truck/with Archangel Armor" type, while Snap Shot would be renamed Scouter or something. The more mobile type would actually be more like a Designated Marksman (has a semi-auto rifle with a scope and fills a role between frontliner and sniper) than a Sniper.

[t209]

Dang!
I think I will be the sole survivor! Again! I failed the psychic test.

[Iskandar]

Dang!
I think I will be the sole survivor! Again! I failed the psychic test.

As close as we are to the end, I'll let out a bit of a spoiler. EVERYONE failed the psychic test.

Yeah. Frustrating. I REALLY wanted someone who benefited from Iron Will and thus had 90 or 100 will to test psi positive. Did NOT happen. I debated farming Ethereals for a bit, training squaddies, getting lots of Mind Shields and Psi Armor, and fielding a squad of super Psi Soldiers for the final mission. Decided I was getting a bit burnt out, so went ahead and finished the game as is. Turned out okay, actually.

[The Bushranger]

So, that means that:

Crossblade was the Voluenteer, then.

ALL HAIL CROSSBLADE, SAVIOR OF EARTH.

:smallbiggrin:

[Iskandar]

Ok, final episode is processing now. Thanks for participating, everyone. Logan, wow. That was awesome.

[The Bushranger]

Can't wait for it to finish processing!

One comment on the last episiode (commented in the comments there, but adding it here while waiting), I was surprised you kept Schneeky as the squad's sniper for the final mission instead of Jamie Crayons - would have been pretty cool to have a squad of six Colonels for the final assault.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Can't wait for it to finish processing!

One comment on the last episiode (commented in the comments there, but adding it here while waiting), I was surprised you kept Schneeky as the squad's sniper for the final mission instead of Jamie Crayons - would have been pretty cool to have a squad of six Colonels for the final assault.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

[t209]

A poem for my t209:
Went on to X-Com at last year.
Heard the final scream of friends from my ears.
The feelings of sole survivor that I have to bear.
Now, to the final battle, I will march for dare.
I wonder
if I will be the survivor again. Just as I did in the last x-com (I went derp though).

[The Bushranger]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

Heh, can't say I blame you. :smalltongue:

[Iskandar]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

Yeah. Not sure why I didn't, honestly.

Though, thinking on it, I think it was that she failed Psi testing, so I was training another Sniper to Colonel and was going to try again. I simply forgot to do the switch for the final mission. Lucky for her, that last mission was kinda bad new all around.

[The Bushranger]

Yeah, somebody has to be in charge for the sequel. :smallbiggrin:

(Whether it's TFTD or something with Cydonia.)

[Iskandar]

X-Com Commander's Personal Log November 1, 2015

This will probably be my final log entry as commander of the X-Com project. With the destruction of the Temple ship, and the subsequent near elimination of alien activity, the Council is mothballing the Ant Farm and scaling the X-Com project down to a skeleton force. Doctor Shen and Doctor Vahlen have already returned to their respective civilian postings, and most of the combat troops and support personnel have returned to their home countries' military forces.

I'm not sure I agree with the decision to all but shut down the Project this quickly. While it is true the immediate threat seems to be over, I can't help but feel that the war is not over. No one is listening, however, too busy celebrating the victory to worry about the future.

Still, I am glad that things appear to be peaceful for now. If I never have to write another "I regret to inform you" letter it will be too soon. The bean counters say our losses were "light" considering the threat we faced. Light? I don't even know what that means.

The civilian casualties were worse, of course. We will be cleaning up the mess the aliens left us for years, if not decades. Nowhere is that more evident then in what was the United States of America. It is now apparent that the aliens and their psy controlled puppets managed to seize control in all the panic and disorder caused by the constant attacks. With the Temple ship gone, that control seems to have snapped, and the entire country is in anarchy. What is left of the original government is trying to restore order, but it is an uphill fight.

And that isn't the only bad news. I had hoped that that the unity we achieved under alien threat would survive after that threat had been removed. Hoped, but not really expected. There are already reports of skirmishes in the Middle East, and it looks like parts of Africa and Asia won't be far behind. It is possible that the entire world will fragment into infighting, trying to gain control of the alien technology left behind. With rumors that China is trying to develop an Elerium infused nuclear weapon, we might achieve what the aliens did not, the destruction of Earth.

I'd like to believe, however, that Crossblade did not die in vain. That we will come out of this stronger than we were before. Crossblade... he really was something special, larger than life. A true hero. And his gifts were unique. Truly unique, as we have been unable to duplicate the experiments that granted him his powers. With the Temple ship gone, there is every chance that we never will. Which is a blessing, I think.

I think it is also a blessing that Crossblade did not return from that final mission. He had been showing signs of strain, of strangeness. I can't help but think he would have ended up in Doctor Vahlen's lab undergoing who knows what kind of experiments sooner rather than later if had come home. Better to die a hero then become some kind of lab rat.

The world is a different place now than it was eight months ago. For better, or for worse, I'm still not sure yet. Our technology has advanced, certainly. Whether our society can cope with the changes is yet to be seen. Still, having served with the best that Earth had to offer, I have hope. And if the aliens ever return, we will be waiting.

Vigilo, Confido

Commander, X-Com Project, log end.

[Triaxx]

Haven't seen the end. Saw my end.

I'm thinking of a word. That word is an expletive.

I hate these games, especially with you playing! ;) Kidding of course.

Now I have to play UFO:AI and use Iskandar as my door guy. :D

[ShneekeyTheLost]

"Firaxis... fix your damn game..."

Truer words were never said.

Killed by a mind-controlled ally... what a way to go...

[Domochevsky]

"Firaxis... fix your damn game..."

Truer words were never said.

Killed by a mind-controlled ally... what a way to go...

And then i got killed by the game's cleanup from the load-bearing boss after offing you. I call bogus on that. :smallsigh:

(You, on the other hand, totally deserved that shot, though.)

Meanwhile, does that mind control the final boss does even allow a saving throw? 115+ Will and he still got it on the first try in both cases... seems a bit cheap.

[t209]

Wait
I am the only survivor again! For me, I will spend most of my time in Veteran clinic or what's left of it.
Edit: Need update on kill list.

[Iskandar]

Wait
I am the only survivor again! For me, I will spend most of my time in Veteran clinic or what's left of it.
Edit: Need update on kill list.

Technically, Shneeky also survived. He was down, but not out. Whether he could have been hauled all the way back to the Skyranger, well.

As far as getting an updated memorial list, sort of hard. 12 dead overall, some of them not part of the audience participation.

[t209]

Technically, Shneeky also survived. He was down, but not out. Whether he could have been hauled all the way back to the Skyranger, well.

As far as getting an updated memorial list, sort of hard. 12 dead overall, some of them not part of the audience participation.

Is it okay to retcon the death of teammates from mindcontrol since it is bug? Or is it a part of gameplay?
P.S- Did I die in UFO: Extraterrestrials?

[Copacetic]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault.

All for the better, as it turns out.

Well done Iskandar, excellent lets play yet again.

[Iskandar]

There, updated the death list. Crossblade should be part of that, but hey. Did not count the two "bugged" deaths. Ranks may be incorrect, but I think I grabbed everyone. 11 dead from you guys, and one non-audience death equals 12.

[The Bushranger]

Just one nit to the ending roster - Shneekey was a Sargent ("Drifter") on the final mission, and had earned a promotion (Lt) on it.

Awesome playthough, even if I never made it onto the squad. :smalltongue: Now I just need to finish watching through your travels in the original UFO Defense...

[t209]

By losing America as your support,
I think you just made People Republic of Alaska in Terror from the Deep.
I wonder what is waiting in possible expansion pack,
- Upgrades for Tank thingy
- Base defense
- More enemies (brink back snake man)
- Terror from The Deep
- Multiple Skyranger
P.S- Is it okay to make pony references there since you might have peeve against Hasbro for what they did to X-Com?
P.S- I am a colonel now.

[Hiro Protagonest]

By losing America as your support,
I think you just made People Republic of Alaska in Terror from the Deep.
I wonder what is waiting in possible expansion pack,
- Upgrades for Tank thingy
- Base defense
- More enemies (brink back snake man)
- Terror from The Deep
- Multiple Skyranger

- Maybe
- No idea how that would work
- Thin men are snake men that the Ethereals messed with until they looked like whatever race they wanted to experiment on this time. See: reptilian eyes
- That would be a sequel, not an expansion
- Would wreak havoc with how the game works.

[The Bushranger]

The last at least would close a bit of a plot hole though. You can build your own UFOs, for Pete's sake, but not more Skyrangers?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

- MaybeLeast programmer effort for another five dollah... sounds about right.

- No idea how that would workUFO:AI Linux Port had SAM batteries which had a chance of shooting down a UFO in that location. Specifically, they helped to defend any satellites in that region against UFO attack.

- Thin men are snake men that the Ethereals messed with until they looked like whatever race they wanted to experiment on this time. See: reptilian eyesTrue, but re-skins are, again, least programmer effort for another five dollah, so we'll probably see it

- That would be a sequel, not an expansionYea, too much effort on their part

- Would wreak havoc with how the game works.Perhaps, but it would also require you fielding multiple teams, requiring a deeper roster. The upside is more people getting promotions quicker, but you'd also have to outfit multiple teams, which would be a resource drain. I like the idea, but doubt it will happen.

[Hiro Protagonest]

The last at least would close a bit of a plot hole though. You can build your own UFOs, for Pete's sake, but not more Skyrangers?

You can build more Skyrangers when I see SCOPEs, armor items, and miscellaneous handheld belt-carried items as three separate slots. And Heavies that actually use the bipods attached to their guns when, say, there's a car hood right there that they could place it on. And wire tasers and stun batons. And riot shields. And flamethrowers.

XCOM is a good game. But not because everything makes sense.

Luckily, Xenonauts has all those things (except wire tasers, which I don't think were around back then). And good ship-to-ship combat. Probably will have multiple dropships too.

[Iskandar]

You can build more Skyrangers when I see SCOPEs, armor items, and miscellaneous handheld belt-carried items as three separate slots. And Heavies that actually use the bipods attached to their guns when, say, there's a car hood right there that they could place it on. And wire tasers and stun batons. And riot shields. And flamethrowers.

XCOM is a good game. But not because everything makes sense.

Luckily, Xenonauts has all those things (except wire tasers, which I don't think were around back then). And good ship-to-ship combat. Probably will have multiple dropships too.

Yeah, if Xenonauts ever gets finished. Beta was supposed to be out at the same time as X-Com. Now, they are supposedly several releases short of that. I'm patient, but just a tad concerned. I had hoped to be able to do a
"Iskandar's Wanders" (unlike my Travels series, more of a brief overlook, not a full LP) in Xenonauts by now, but it isn't ready for even that, quite yet.

[Zain]

So I tried running the old X-com... Pretty sure I have no idea what any of the buttons do. I may have even thrown my rifle instead of shooting it.

[Iskandar]

So I tried running the old X-com... Pretty sure I have no idea what any of the buttons do. I may have even thrown my rifle instead of shooting it.

Yeah, the old UI is a bit impenetrable. Check the UFOPedia (http://www.ufopaedia.org) for some decent information and general strategies.

[Crossblade]

Moving at the speed of death.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Yeah, the old UI is a bit impenetrable. Check the UFOPedia (http://www.ufopaedia.org) for some decent information and general strategies.

Here's the relevant part.

http://www.ufopaedia.org/images/6/68/Taclabel.png

The main features of the Battlescape Screen are labeled. Refer to below for an explanation.

1. Item carried by the piece's left hand. Left click on that area to use.
2. Move up or down. Only usable if the piece is equipped with a flying suit, or if located on an elevator tile.
3. View different floors.
4. View the map screen.
5. Switch between kneeling and standing stance. Kneeling costs 4 TUs, standing costs 8 TUs. Will affect the piece's height, the firing accuracy, and the required TUs to move in the next player phase. Unit will stand automatically upon being given a move command in exchange for 8 TUs
6. Switch to the inventory screen.
7. Centre the Battlescape Screen onto the currently selected piece.
8. Select the next piece.
9. Select the next piece, and forget the current one. (Meaning: repeated use of 8. or 9. will no longer select it. You can still select it manually, though.) Use when you won't be moving the current soldier any more in this turn.
10. Hide or reveal the roof or ceiling. Useful for viewing inside enclosed areas.
11. Open the Battlescreen Options menu. Use this to modify the firing, scrolling, and movement speed. Note that it is only possible to save, not to load, the battlescape scenario. However, the option to load will be available within the Geoscape screen, and the title menu of the game.
12. End player turn button. The alien phase will then commence.
13. Dust off button. For UFO Crash Recovery, UFO Assault and Terror missions transport ship will then take off, leaving all the pieces not within it's initial deployment area behind. For Alien Base Assault, the pieces in the deployment area will retreat, leaving those elsewhere within the board behind. For Base Defence mission, it will concede the battle and the base to the alien without further loses to the player. Most of the units left behind will be listed as MIA and will be unavailable for the rest of the game.
14. Item carried by the piece's right hand. Left click on that area to use.
15. Reserve TU buttons. Will stop the piece from taking any action once a certain amount of TUs has been used. Those TUs may be used for reaction shots in the Alien's phase. Top left is to reserve none, Top right is to reserve enough TUs for a snap shot. Bottom left is to reserve for an aimed shot, with the bottom right similarly for auto-shot.
16. Indicates the rank of the selected piece. Click to view detailed statistics, including current armour values.
17. Information panel detailing the name, and the current status of the piece. The green bar, and the number corresponds to the current TUs available, with the yellow bar and number for the current energy. Likewise with the red bar and number for the current health with the purple bar and number representing the morale level.
18. Currently selected piece.
19. Mouse cursor and selection box. Left click on the board to move the piece to a specific location, consuming TUs in the process. Move to the edge of the screen to scroll along the board. Right click on the board to have the currently selected piece face that direction. Also used to target areas and pieces for the item to be used on.
20. Aliens sighted buttons. Left-click to center the screen on the indexed alien. These buttons are assigned in "increasing order" in terms of the appropriate file. In particular, the numerically highest alien sighted will also be the maximal rank sighted.

[Triaxx]

Argh! The flash backs! To shooting people in the back!

At least I never did that in this one. I spent too much time dying. Looking back, I didn't get a single bloody kill.

[Crossblade]

So now that this LP is safely over; I was talking to my best friend about his experience and he says how Psychic potential is determined is random upon when the soldiers enter the chamber. Therefore, what he said he did was save game, put 3 soldiers in, wait the days and then if no one of 3 came out positive, he'd restart at the save and put the same 3 soldiers in and the results would be different (technically, since results are random).

[Hiro Protagonest]

So now that this LP is safely over; I was talking to my best friend about his experience and he says how Psychic potential is determined is random upon when the soldiers enter the chamber. Therefore, what he said he did was save game, put 3 soldiers in, wait the days and then if no one of 3 came out positive, he'd restart at the save and put the same 3 soldiers in and the results would be different (technically, since results are random).

Yeah, the chance was divined to be Will/4 (or at least, that's what makes the most sense, given that it has to do with your will and the coding has the number 4 in the psionic potential/chance thingy). Will/8 if you choose something in the options.

So I figure that once someone gets a Will of 80+, you should just stick 'em in the Psi-lab before they get hit too hard.