Hey, everybody else has started a let's play and abandoned it. Lets Play X-Com!

[BRC]

Is Alex Knight wearing a Chryssalid hat?

If by "Hat" You mean "The carapace that used to be part o a Chryssalid's head". then yes.

[Cristo Meyers]

If by "Hat" You mean "The carapace that used to be part o a Chryssalid's head". then yes.

A graduate of the Belkar Bitterleaf school of fashion, I see.

[Oslecamo]

Bah. Vibro-blades and chainsaws, that's nothing.

I say, if we can manufacture laser handguns, we can also make a laser chainsaw.

drool Laser chainsaws... drool

Can't believe I never tought of that. Good sir, how could I best worship your awesomeness incarnate?

[Artanis]

For what it's worth, by 2084 we do have Plasma Swords

[Cubey]

If by "Hat" You mean "The carapace that used to be part o a Chryssalid's head". then yes.

Yes, that. Like Cristo Meyers said, Belkar-type hat.

[chiasaur11]

After that last mission, it was taken as a given we could take on whatever the aliens had.

And the radar transmissions the completed hyperwave decoder was getting tended to agree.
"I heard their commander died in Casablanca!"
"The last scattered reports from one of our terror squads seem to disagree. Vehemently."
"The Chryssalids started breaking loose, despite all our safeguards. We're all going to die on this forsaken lump of mud."
"I only hope the research teams find something. If we do not find a weakness in these metal nightmares..."
Warms the cockles of your heart, doesn't it?

There was one oddity. Some half garbled bits of what sounded like human speech.
"Chumbley?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure it isn't a captive on a harvester."
"Why?"
"Not enough screams of unbelievable agony, commander. We might be able to pick up the signal better if we put a listening post in the South East Asia area."
"Right. Also, it would be good to deal with a problem epidemic to Japan."

A few hours after the new listening post had been authorized, Cubey pressed a request for a large increase in project budget. Seems a new project seemed... promising.

I was impressed. This thing could be the key to eventually finding and destroying our enemy's base. It also would give us much faster disaster response, better fighters...
Only one thing to say.
"I'm not paying a penny more. Do the job, or I feed you to the Reaper."
"Sir, it seems to be herbivorous. Also, we really could use more lab space to test the death from above theory."
"Final offer: You do your job, and I give you first crack at any high explosives the aliens have."
"Up to, say, guided missiles?"
"Yes."
"Pleasure doing business, Commander."

They did their jobs. The Firestorm, if we ever got around to building it, would be the envy of every fighter pilot in the world. If we ever take a break from laser cannons, it'll be the next project on the list.


I kept my end of the deal, and gave Cubey what explosives we'd recovered.
He broke down sobbing when he finally deciphered the alien warning labels. It turned out that (Cow looking thing, Dinosaur with shotgun, Max from Sam and Max) did not, in fact, mean "Danger! High explosives!" but instead "Non lethal stun weapon. Safe for use near Elerium deposits."

Cubey's revenge was subtle, outright lying on reports regarding alien species. It seemed a good idea to try to make a peace offering fairly soon, before the Chryssalid report featured the phrase "Huggable."

[Cubey]

Damn it, not the Small Launcher! The most useless weapon - by the time you research it, you no longer need it... unless your soldiers lacked in the courage and stun-sticks department.

Cubey's revenge was subtle, outright lying on reports regarding alien species. It seemed a good idea to try to make a peace offering fairly soon, before the Chryssalid report featured the phrase "Huggable."

Chryssalids are, in fact, huggable. The last guy who tried to cuddle one seemed to be very happy last time we saw him, if his giant grin was any indication.

[BRC]

Small Launchers can be useful for taking out engine rooms, or on terror missions where civillians keep getting in the way.

Anyway
X-Comic #4
Excusable Absence

Spoiler

Show

[Tengu_temp]

Are the green things plasma blasts or alien blood?

[Cristo Meyers]

Small Launchers can be useful for taking out engine rooms, or on terror missions where civillians keep getting in the way.

And the Command Centers of Alien Bases.

Anyway
X-Comic #4
Excusable Absence

Spoiler

Show

We're just waiting for Oprah's Book Club to pick up the title.

[Winterwind]

But... how does he sign the books?

(Also, the X-Comics are incredibly awesome )

[chiasaur11]

But... how does he sign the books?

(Also, the X-Comics are incredibly awesome )

Lopez signs books like guns sign books.

[Artanis]

Small Launchers are also useful if you still haven't managed to catch a psionic alien yet.

[Cristo Meyers]

Lopez signs books like guns sign books.

But wouldn't Full Auto fire end up killing half the people in the store?

[Murska]

But wouldn't Full Auto fire end up killing half the people in the store?

Aaaaand this matters to Lopez because?

[Inhuman Bot]

Aaaaand this matters to Lopez because?

Less customers, of course.

[Kane]

Yah. They've already bought the books.


Also, I don't have the proper image on my computer, but if I had a seal of approval available, I would award it to you, BRC.

[Lord Herman]

Also, I don't have the proper image on my computer, but if I had a seal of approval available, I would award it to you, BRC.

Here, you can borrow mine:

[Suzuro]

Alrights! So, a little off topic but, I finally installed X-Com and started playing it aaaaaaaand.....I'm terrible....like...rocks fall, everybody dies, terrible. Any advice? I can't seem to get through a ground assault with at least half of my troops dying...


-Suzuro

[chiasaur11]

Alrights! So, a little off topic but, I finally installed X-Com and started playing it aaaaaaaand.....I'm terrible....like...rocks fall, everybody dies, terrible. Any advice? I can't seem to get through a ground assault with at least half of my troops dying...


-Suzuro

1) For a first playthrough, that's normal.

2) You can save in mid mission.

[Gralamin]

Alrights! So, a little off topic but, I finally installed X-Com and started playing it aaaaaaaand.....I'm terrible....like...rocks fall, everybody dies, terrible. Any advice? I can't seem to get through a ground assault with at least half of my troops dying...


-Suzuro

Keep reaction fire, kneel when you can, learn how the Line of Sight works. Hope your guys can aim.

[Johnny Blade]

Do you have a tank?


Also, being a beginner myself, I usually lose 2 or 3 soldiers myself, sometimes even more. Just making sure that you lose expendable ones may be a newbie's best bet.

[chiasaur11]

Do you have a tank?


Also, being a beginner myself, I usually lose 2 or 3 soldiers myself, sometimes even more. Just making sure that you lose expendable ones may be a newbie's best bet.

This too.

Also: Try to avoid night missions. Send guys with good reflexes or guys you hate to check doors on UFOs.

[Winterwind]

In case a night mission is unavoidable, keep e-flares on your soldiers.
Get laser weaponry as soon as possible. Those laser rifles are infinitely better than the regular ones.
Keep your best shots in the back, kneeling (kneeling improves your hit chance by 15%), move your expendable soldiers to the front, as soon as they see an alien shoot it with the ones from the back - if they are outside of the alien's sight range, it won't react, and soldiers with high accuracy who kneel are quite likely to hit, too.
Oh, and don't give soldiers with rifles or other 2-handed weapons anything into the other hand, they lose accuracy then.

[BRC]

Wait, you can save mid-mission? HOW!

[Tengu_temp]

The options menu.

[EleventhHour]

Aaaaand this matters to Lopez because?

"Uh, hey Lopez. Sarge said that any of the customer's that you shoot I have to clean up. So, be careful or something. And if you do, he also said that I g- OW. Okay, okay. He said that you get the loot."

"Half the stupid book is in Spanish, and the other half is all scribbles... at least that UFO thing isn't McTravish. Or Blue."

[BRC]

"Uh, hey Lopez. Sarge said that any of the customer's that you shoot I have to clean up. So, be careful or something. And if you do, he also said that I g- OW. Okay, okay. He said that you get the loot."

"Half the stupid book is in Spanish, and the other half is all scribbles... at least that UFO thing isn't McTravish. Or Blue."

I think you got one of the misprints. My copy is a thrilling tale of adventure that speaks to our generation and may just be an insightful metaphor for Man's inhumanity towards Man.

[Swot]

Oh uh that might be Lopez's instruction manual.
I keep a copy, for uh, inspiration.

[Alex Knight]

Chryssalids are, in fact, huggable. The last guy who tried to cuddle one seemed to be very happy last time we saw him, if his giant grin was any indication.

I do not "cuddle". I fold, spindle, and mutilate. Shall I demonstrate on Copper?