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

[Fri]

Won't there be a funeral service for Lopez's younger brother fallen on the line of duty?

Ah lopez. He's such a cold and professional soldier. Some says that he's emotionless, but we know. It's just there are time to mourn, and time to rip those alien bastards into pieces for revenge.

Guess which one that he prefers?

[Oslecamo]

And I would be careful with the Chryssalids. It can lead to food poisoning if it's improperly prepared.

If you make sure to shoot them enough with laser rifles in the battlefield, most of the poison will be neutralized and the meat will be ready to be served right away!

Ah, X-COM surely is a magnificent example of self-suffeciency!

[Archonic Energy]

While, right next to me, people are choking down "Sure It's Sectoid" Stew made by Greasy Steve and whoever is on Kitchen Duty this week. fried up on top of an overheating Laser Cannon.

Spoiler

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erm... isn't it in Apocolypse we find out that the Alien masters use Sectoids as food?

[Cubey]

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Apocalypse has totally different aliens than the two last games. So I have no idea how could you discover that - the Mutant Alliance (political faction of human-sectoid hybrids) Ufopaedia entry doesn't say anything.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Oh boy, this LP keeps getting better and better. The last update was really good, and the X-comic was icing on the cake

[BRC]

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erm... isn't it in Apocolypse we find out that the Alien masters use Sectoids as food?

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Who said anything about the ALIENS using Sectoids as food

[ZeroNumerous]

Different Arrangements

Here I thought I was a sergeant..

Also: '76? Everyone knows good wine only comes from '75 and earlier!

[Cristo Meyers]

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Apocalypse has totally different aliens than the two last games. So I have no idea how could you discover that - the Mutant Alliance (political faction of human-sectoid hybrids) Ufopaedia entry doesn't say anything.

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I read something about rescuing Sectoids from an Alien Farm when you start taking the fight to the aliens, but damn if I can find the article...

[BRC]

Here I thought I was a sergeant..

Also: '76? Everyone knows good wine only comes from '75 and earlier!

The Cast list says you're one one of the newbies...

Maybe you were just messing with Ferrus.

[Swot]

"Hey, where's Jimor's stash of booze?"

He makes his own by taking supplies from various places.
The engineers are currently running a bet as to where he takes more from, the med kits or the cleaning closet.
Also we've started just leaving a can of ethanol alcohol in front of the workroom door, like milk.

[Artanis]

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I read something about rescuing Sectoids from an Alien Farm when you start taking the fight to the aliens, but damn if I can find the article...

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I just played that mission in my current game, that you are correct: the second building in the alien dimension is a farm with a bunch of captive Sectoids running around because the aliens consider them a delicacy. Completing the mission with at least one Sectoid still alive guarantees allied status with the Mutant Alliance.

[Cubey]

Wot? I am really surprised now. I totally didn't know about that.
Maybe I should actually get to finishing Apocalypse any time soon.

[ZeroNumerous]

Maybe you were just messing with Ferrus.

Actually, both Ferrus and I made sergeant a while back. On the same mission where we captured a couple of Ethereals.

[BRC]

Actually, both Ferrus and I made sergeant a while back. On the same mission where we captured a couple of Ethereals.

In which case that wasn't Ferrus, but somebody sitting on the bench or something...

[Artanis]

Incidentally, my current Apocalypse game would be long since over by now if I hadn't ridiculously overestimated how much firepower worth of UFOs were in the alien dimension. I kept holding back for more attack ships until I finally got bored and sent in three Retaliators to see if they could pick off a few. They wound up obliterating about 80% of the UFOs before they got chased back through the gates. The next day, I went ahead and sent the Bio-Trans through to attack the first building, and the three Retaliators took down what little was left.

I might have to try again on a higher difficulty when I'm done. Or two higher, at any rate, because I utterly despise the city layout on the next one up.

[chiasaur11]

The news of the last disaster had hit us all mildly hard, of course.

Ninja was well liked around the base, tried to make sure his men came back in one piece, paid for pizza...

And now they had Knight. I almost pity those of them that endorsed running. Nothing they'd seen in their lives would prepare them for it. Rapture, on the other hand, was getting a flying suit. We built it for ninja, but given current circumstances...


Well, time to get back to work. And by "Work" I mean search for details on that "Halo" game coming out for Mac.

Of course, a perfectly productive morning was ruined soon enough by Trazoi.

"We finished the hyperwave decoder in Manilla. You'll want to hear this."

I stepped into the radio room. Cubey and Chumbley were already there. An oddly familiar voice was coming in.

"This is M-12 agent chiasaur 11. In all likelyhood, this message is as pointless as trying to teach my worthless fellow survivors in this bunker how to count past four. As far as I know, we're the only ones who survived some kind of spore that fell from the sky. I suspect either aliens, or communists. There's just one base of us, and if we don't find anyone on the surface, I may have to sate my bloodlust on the others in the bunker. I mean, it isn't like they're worth saving."

Trazoi was the first to respond.

"What was that?"

I replied as best I could.

"No idea. Never had anything like that happen while I was back in the good old Interplanetary Phenomenon Unit."

"Wait. M-12 exists?"

"No idea. Might, but I think America shut it down when they helped start X-COM. Besides, not many of us survived the one UFO attack."

Cubey seemed nonplussed.

"Wait. I'm not the first guy to see the innards of a Sectoid?"

"Nah. Found some bodies back in the '40s. M-12 was pretty much poorly done autopsies and applying for more off the books funding until 97. I'd signed up a year or two back, and managed to finangle a place on the first crew trying to make diplomatic contact with the aliens. I, of course, knew it would all come down to gunfire, but might as well know the enemy before you shoot them. Then it all went wrong. Commander on the mission suddenly started talking about 'our glorious new masters', so I shot him as a sympathizer, which led to the crew of the UFO coming out, filling us all with more plasma than is healthy, half of us died, I fled to Britain before anyone found out what I did and claimed to be the commander of M-12 to the local UFO fighting program, "Easy Tiger" if you can believe that, and that's how I got command of this little operation."

"You were even more of a *&*( back then? I really didn't think that was possible."

"You'd be surprised, dirtbag. You'd be surprised."

I thought over the whole deal. Alternate dimension, probably.

"Any other messages?"

"None that you'd like hearing."

And then we went through a narrated catalog of everything that could go wrong. To us, to other attempts at alien fighting, to civilians, heck, even to the aliens due to a nasty robot rebellion...

"The trih xeem broke against my dying vessel and smashed a fine patina across the mystery shields of this station. My crew battled the aliens during the blast, and thesilence which came after was sullen and deafening--the pure silence of victory.
^^^alks897
^^^^rwx777
^^rw-664
But the trackless whisper chattering through the hollow space in these cursed walls buzzes and threatens madness. The abomination cracked the shells of my crew and sucked the husks, tossing them unseen and shattering the spindle like a dried creche."

"I am Arther Frain, Chief Petty Officer, USEC Marathon.
Arther Frane calling all USEC personnel
Calling Cmdr. Robert Blake...
Calling Security Chief Jones...
Arther Frain calling any USEC controlled ship in vicinity...

Station hull breached, we are losing pressurization. More than half the men are without vacuum suits. Patrols reporting intruder, last location unknown.

Any USEC controlled ship surviving nova event, transport when ready.

Arther Frain calling.
That is all..."

Hell. Looked like we were the only ones to make it this far with anything intact. Well, no time to waste meditating on other dimensional suckers who can't manage a simple bug hunt. We had Ethereals to kill.


Time to go. Violence is calling, and all that.

"Troops, we got a new Psi-ops officer. Say hello to Slaanesh. Now, I'm sure you'll all commence hazing soon enough, but for now, just let her figure out how to use the Amp to kill xenos, okay?"

"Dear lord. That's not how you use a psi amp. That's not how you use a psi amp at all."
I turned to BRC.
"Looks like you're up."
"Can't... look... away. Like a beautiful train wreck."
"Don't make me break your face."
"On it, on it."

BRC fired, then got a look of absolute despair on his face.
"I... I made a leader fire on a soldier. I aided in the oppression of the proletariat! I'm a monster."
Great. Looks like it was all down to Tengu and me on the psychic front.
I headed down to the UFO to get away from BRC's wailing. Trazoi took the buildings down south, backing up Lopez.

I was cleaning a UFO when I heard it. The moment that will forever live in infamy. A plasma bolt, then a kind of clunk.
"Odd noise. Something got busted. Trazoi, take Lopez and..."
Trazoi sounded shaken up.
"That... That was Lopez sir."
The Etheral bastard behind that attack then tried to take down Trazoi with a nasty psychic attack. But blind rage is a good defense.

"You killed Lopez, and now you think asking nicely will get you a free pass from me? Eat laser."
One laser bolt dropped the scumbag.

"I'm checking Lopez right now. Looks pretty bad, but there's less damage to the memory units then you might expect."
The Ethereals weren't quite done, though. Numerous suddenly started sobbing.
"They got Lopez! We're all going to die!"
Well, if you have to panic, that's as good a reason as any.

I dealt with the last one.

We got Lopez onto the ship. It did look bad. Melted wires, the turret was totaled... for what? A few lumps of metal. Geeze.

And getting back to base the news wasn't better.

Seemed the aliens had some ships that made ours looked sick. Well, we'd keep fighting, but the odds were looking bad. Ah well. Fight to the last, eternal glory, and so on.

"Got one more transmission, sir."

"Is... is this on? This is Cmdr. Robert Blake. Science team said this connected to alternate dimensions or something. I just wanted to say, keep fighting. It won't be easy. You'll lose good men, whole countries might fall to the invaders. But keep fighting. It can get better. It will get better. And in the end, you'll be glad you were there. St. Crispin's day and all that.

And... that's it. "

I spoke up
"That's nice."

"Cubey took a look at Lopez. He might be able to do something, but don't get your hopes up."

Right. Well, there's a chance. And vengeance is as good a reason to kill as any.

[EleventhHour]

The original X-COM team is dying fast!

For Lopez!

[Cristo Meyers]

Right. Well, there's a chance. And vengeance is as good a reason to kill as any.

"I'll cry when I'm done killing..."

Ick...battleship full of Snakemen. Couldn't be Mutons...oh no...Mutons in a battleship are dumber than a sack of hammers, just sit in the elevator and shoot them as they try to come out...Snakemen though...

[pendell]

The original X-COM team is dying fast!

For Lopez!

So does that mean us benchwarmers get into the game at some point? Or shall I start shooting at my fellows here at Fort Fri out of sheer boredom?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[chiasaur11]

So does that mean us benchwarmers get into the game at some point? Or shall I start shooting at my fellows here at Fort Fri out of sheer boredom?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

How about this:

You avoid shooting anyone on the base, and I promise you a free trip to Mars.

Do well on Mars, and we'll get you a return ticket.

[Jimorian]

DO
NOT
WANT!!!




A toast to Lopez!

And another!!

One more for our hero!

Here's one for Cubey's efforts to salgave our fine mishter Lopez!

For our day of revenge!!

To.... something... I forget

[Cristo Meyers]

DO
NOT
WANT!!!

Do not fear, we have the technology, we can rebuild Lopez: better, faster, stronger...

...or we'll just let Cubey have a whack at it. He can't come out any worse than he went in.

[Johnny Blade]

Never forget.

[Eldan]

Could someone make a Lopez Banner?

[Pie Guy]

Lopez, I never knew ye, partially because I was on the other side of the planet. Point is, this is terrible.

[Tengu_temp]

Poor Lopez. I didn't cry when other guys died, but I'll make an exception for him.

[Artanis]

NOOOO! LOPEZ!

Who will mentor me when/if I figure out how to haunt a tank? Who will take me under his heavily-armored, track-like wing? Who will teach me all the tricks that I would've learned had I not been shot by my own teammates?

*whispers come from offstage*

Oh, right. I have to figure out how to haunt a tank before I can lament the lack of a teacher. Maybe Fri can help.


On a somewhat related note, the thread having so many replies makes it a lot easier to use the search function to look up who did what

[pendell]

How about this:

You avoid shooting anyone on the base, and I promise you a free trip to Mars.

Do well on Mars, and we'll get you a return ticket.

So let me get this straight. As I see it, there are three options.

1) I go on the mission and I do well, we go home. Okay.
2) I go on the mission and die. In which case, a return ticket is irrelevant.
3) I go on the mission and get left behind. All by my poor lonesome with vast, vast cloning chambers and manufacturing facilities all controlled from a single node. An unguarded, unoccupied node.

Exactly as planned.

You got a deal!

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Tengu_temp]

Thousands of clones of pendell? We can't let that happen - the world will not survive that amount of respectfullness!

[pendell]

Then you'd better make sure I get that return ticket, eh?

And if I make a humble suggestion: I'm sure some smart aleck has already had the thought: "Or make sure you die."

I will simply make the observation that haunting medkits is for those who don't know how to make a phylactery.


Which is hidden somewhere within X-com. You will NEVER find it. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Respectfully,

Brian P.