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

[pendell]

Hey, blame Headless Ninja. He's the one who shot you.

Also: There probably won't be updates for the next few days.

Also, what sort of gear you want at Fort Fri? Radar base, science, storage, manufacturing, or what?

Radar is essential, of coruse.

Recommend that we concentrate our manufacturing facilities at Fort Fri, while we make the first base into a research area. Eventually we will have 8 bases: 6 bases which carry a radar post, intereceptors, soldiers, and a sky ranger. 1 base where we concentrate all our research, and another base where we do all the manufacturing. Economy of scale, don't you see. 70 engineers working at one base do more work than 10 engineers working at one base each in 7 different bases.

Since the aliens have discovered the first base, at some point we will need to abandon it and build another one close by. The problem is, I suspect that's a luxury we can't afford right now, and we really need lots of research . We'll just have to build it up and trust that we can defeat them when they come in on the ground.

We should research alien mind probes, yes? That will allow us to identify navigators and leaders, allowing us to build hyperwave decoders (cheaper and more reliable than radar) and psionic facilities (which break the game). I call dibs on the first psi-amp, so we can get the alien prisoners to fight each other gladiator-style in the basement. We need our entertainment after all.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Tengu_temp]

We should research alien mind probes, yes? That will allow us to identify navigators and leaders, allowing us to build hyperwave decoders (cheaper and more reliable than radar) and psionic facilities (which break the game). I call dibs on the first psi-amp, so we can get the alien prisoners to fight each other gladiator-style in the basement. We need our entertainment after all.

Actually, mind probes only let you do the first thing - you need to interogate a psionic alien to do all the research.

[Artanis]

YOUR RACUIOUS CRIES HA-

Oh, khorne? wrong god. Darn.

I guess I'll sign up since I'm here if you don't have enough corpses to make a ramp yet.

If we're making a ramp out of corpses, then nothing short of Masada will suffice

Since the aliens have discovered the first base, at some point we will need to abandon it and build another one close by. The problem is, I suspect that's a luxury we can't afford right now, and we really need lots of research . We'll just have to build it up and trust that we can defeat them when they come in on the ground.

If we can beat them in a city we can beat them on our home turf, especially if we rearrange it to actually be defensible. Set up the hangars and access lift right, and you get a choke point that would make Horatius proud. At that point, a base defense is a great way to get free goodies

[pendell]

Actually, mind probes only let you do the first thing - you need to interogate a psionic alien to do all the research.

They do, however, allow you to identify which of the bazillion aliens you're facing off with is the psionic leader instead of the standard mooks. Unless you want to wait to capture an Ethereal, something I have no desire to do :).

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Cubey]

But we already have a leader, captured in a base defense mission.

[pendell]

Ah ... forgot that.

We still need a navigator, yes? And eventually a Base Commander, right? IIRC, those in particular have a nasty habit of blowing themselves up with their own blaster bombs.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Alex Knight]

Radar is essential, of coruse.
Since the aliens have discovered the first base, at some point we will need to abandon it and build another one close by.

Alien Symp! X-Com never retreats!

(seriously, that would mean we'd have to let Copper out of the closet.)

[BRC]

Alien Symp! X-Com never retreats!

(seriously, that would mean we'd have to let Copper out of the closet.)

Only if we tell him we are abandoning the base.

I say we abandon the base, except for the general stores area that we lock Copper into, and leave without him noticing.

[Eldan]

It pains me to say this, but I agree with the damn commie.

But I suggest we also weld the door shut. For coppers... protection.

[Lord Herman]

Wait, I thought the aliens were communists. Now you're telling me we've got a communist working for us?

Of course, that does give us the unique opportunity to shoot communists for being suspected aliens, and shoot aliens for being suspected communists.

[Eldan]

Oh yes. Clearly we have an alien spy in our base, and it's obviously the communist.

[Lord Herman]

Maybe we should interrogate that alien some more, get him to confess to being a communist. And a terrorist. And a hippie.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Herman, do you have something against hippies? *suspicious look*

[Artanis]

We still need a navigator, yes? And eventually a Base Commander, right?

That's why you just stun everything, especially when you get small launchers.

[Eldan]

Herman, do you have something against hippies? *suspicious look*

I can't tell you if I'm against them before the commader has told me that I am, but I suspect yes.

[Lord Herman]

Herman, do you have something against hippies? *suspicious look*

Aaaah! Communist! Shoot him!

[Eldan]

So, when exactly did this turn from X-COM into Paranoia?

[Lord of Rapture]

It was always part Paranoia, what with the aliens trying to infiltrate EVERY SINGLE GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD TO TURN AGAINST US! CHINA IS WITH THE ALIENS! I HAVE PROOF! SO IS INDIA! THAT'S HALF OF HUMANITY ALREADY UNDER ALIEN CONTROL!

Excuse me, I need to start shooting things randomly with my rifle right now.


DIE, ALIEN SYMPATHIZER, DIE!

[Eldan]

Ow! Good thing I'm human and don't have any vital organs in my chest area! That thing could have killed an alien.

[Lord Herman]

Ow! Good thing I'm human and don't have any vital organs in my chest area! That thing could have killed an alien.

Is that how you tell aliens from humans? In that case, we should shoot all new recruits through the chest, just to be sure.

[Winterwind]

Is that how you tell aliens from humans? In that case, we should shoot all new recruits through the chest, just to be sure.

You know, that might actually explain why the damn bastards demand $40,000 every month in pay...

[Alex Knight]

That's why you just stun everything, especially when you get small launchers.

Excellent advice. You might not be an alien symp, but just to be sure...

<thwacks with the stun stick>

[Copper8642]

(I love how I'm obviously the alien sympathizer and Eldan is completely loved by all (except Chiasaur, who still loves Eldan more than he loves me).)

"Guys, just because I give out supplies to people here evenly and believe we should all work here for the common good instead of for our personal gains doesn't make me Communist... it's.... uhh.... crap, that's a bit like communism, isn't it? Well........ crap."

*Takes two laser pistols and has them talk to each-other like puppets out of boredom.*

[Winterwind]

That's why you just stun everything, especially when you get small launchers.

As resident dead tactical officer I feel obliged to point out that such a strategy would soon have our containment cells overflowing. Considering somebody around here is obviously an alien sympathiser, this could prove fatal if that somebody would just so happen to have a slight mishap and "accidentally" release the containment cells' locks.
My counter-proposal, therefore: Shoot 'em with everything we've got, let the egghead scientists sort 'em out!

Oh yeah, and thwacking is fine, too, of course.

[Alex Knight]

(I love how I'm obviously the alien sympathizer and Eldan is completely loved by all (except Chiasaur, who still loves Eldan more than he loves me).)

Hey, I never said you were an alien Symp. I just like beating you. It's surprisingly therapeutic.

[tyckspoon]

Game mechanics tangent: If you really care about it, it's pretty easy to figure out which ones are the navigators. They're hanging around inside the navigation rooms of UFOs. Engineers are in the power supply rooms. Follow around a small/medium UFO until it lands, clear the outside, and stun everything inside. You should pick up at least one Navigator. Alternately, shoot it down with weak weapons and hope it doesn't explode too badly when it crashes. If the Navigator is still alive, you might get lucky and have him get knocked out by the crash or choked into unconsciousness by smoke.

[BRC]

Can I just say that I was already punished for my commuist ways. I was given what's known as a "Delayed Death Sentence".

I was sent to X-Com.

[Lord of Rapture]

Ow! Good thing I'm human and don't have any vital organs in my chest area! That thing could have killed an alien.

*points rifle and Eldan's head*

That's just what an alien would say.

[Alex Knight]

*points rifle and Eldan's head*

That's just what an alien would say.

There's only one way a proper X-Com soldier would handle this....

<stuns both of them and lets Lopez sort things out>

[Lord Herman]

There's only one way a proper X-Com soldier would handle this....

<stuns both of them and lets Lopez sort things out>

Hooray for Lopez' more or less reliable friend-or-foe recognition!