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After having read and participated in the Scariest gaming monsters thread (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76581.0), I got an irresistable urge to replay a game that had me scared witless during many long nights of alien hunting. That's right, it's X-Com: UFO Defense. Or, as it was called here before the X-Com franchise got established, UFO: Enemy Unknown.
And as there are probably many people these days who have never played this gem of the mid-90s, I decided to use my new playthrough to write a Let's Play of the game so those who have never tried it can get some idea what they're missing. This will be mostly text, with images for illustration, so if you tend towards TLDR then this is probably not for you.
So, without further ado, let's play some X-Com: UFO Defense.
(http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4355/87823038.png)
Intro video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnnhU5VQbQ)
Index:
- Part 1: Getting Started (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1521512#msg1521512)
- Part 2: First Blood (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1521823#msg1521823)
- Part 3: Best Intentions (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522118#msg1522118)
- Part 3.5: The Followup (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522161#msg1522161)
- Part 4: Ground Assault, part one (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522355#msg1522355)
- Part 4.1: Ground Assault, part two (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522430#msg1522430)
- Part 4.2: Ground Assault, part three (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522533#msg1522533)
- Part 4.3: Ground Assault, part four (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=76623.msg1522643#msg1522643)
Part 1: Getting Started
Anyone familiar with X-Com (or easily bored) may want to skip the this part, as I do a lot of explaining the basics of managing the starting funds, initial basebuilding and getting your squad set for its first encounter with the alien menace, with only a little action at the end.
(http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/4817/difficultyq.png)
I will be starting this game on Superhuman difficulty. As this is the old DOS version played in DOSbox, it has a bug which was never fixed in an official patch which forces Beginner difficulty regardless of your selection, so for that to work, I've used the fan-made XcomUtil (Link (http://www.bladefirelight.com/)) tool to fix the issue and allow Superhuman to work as intended. XcomUtil also fixes a few other problems for the game in Windows Vista/7 via DOSbox, including the gamestopping Black Screen bug, so it is pretty much a necessity now if you want to play the original DOS version.
Besides that, I will be employing two other optional features allowed by XcomUtil. Specifically, I'll be using an option to rearrange the layout of the starting base to something which is remotely defensible, and I will be using the option to automatically, during the tactical mission loadout phase, equip my agents with the gear they used in the last mission, cutting down on time. The latter of those is a convenience change only and has no effect on the actual game, but the improved base layout does make defending against attacks significantly easier during the early game. I will defend this, however, by pointing out the fact that the default base layout is insane and should never have existed in the first place. Make of it what you will.
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3776/startgeoscape.png)
After choosing the difficulty, this is what you see. The Earth. And it is our job to protect it from the alien scum. To do this, we must first establish our base of operations. There are many options here - X-Com is funded by a number of nations, and they all want us to cover them, but we only get one base to start with. So do you cover a few big sponsors, lots of smaller ones, or somewhere in between? In addition, you will want to give some thought to maximising global radar coverage once you can afford to build more bases. As many as 8 total are allowed, but these are also the -only- places where you can site radars to detect UFOs, so keeping eventual radar overlap to a minimum while making sure as many of the landmasses are covered to as great a degree as possible is a bit tricky. Coverage over water is less important, and can be safely ignored if necessary.
(http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/6524/initialbaselocation.png)
I have chosen to situate my first base on the Crimean peninsula. This gives me radar coverage of all of Europe as well as Egypt, parts of Russia and a smigeon of India and Nigeria. Or rather, it will once I build a large radar system. As you will see in a moment, I start with only a small radar which has a range of 1500nm (that's nautical miles), whereas the large radar system I will be building has a range of 2250nm. I always site bases based on the longest possible detection range, as that is the only way to get decent coverage down the line given the 8-base limit. Other decent starting locations would be North America to cover the USA and Canada, or Eastern Asia to cover China, Japan and parts of Russia.
(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4043/funding.png)
Here, you can see why I chose to site my first base as I did. Many countries in and around Europe are contributing to my budget, and while none of them can match the contributions of the USA, between them they add up to something like a third of my budget, all covered by a single base. And my interceptors have the range to reach East Asia, North America or the southern parts of Africa in a pinch, should they need to, though their time on station at such ranges will be very short indeed.
(http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/724/initiallayout.png)
Here's my brand-new base. In the top row, you will see my three Hangars, each occupied by a craft - Two Interceptors for air combat, and one Skyranger transport to take my squad wherever they need to go. More about them later. Extending down the left side is the base Access Lift, General Stores, and the Living Quarters, followed by a Laboratory, a Workshop and a Small Radar going off to the right.
This is the improved, defensible layout I mentioned earlier. When the aliens attack a base, they can enter through the Access Lift and any Hangars the base might have, while your own troops are generally concentrated around the living quarters at mission start. As such, with this layout, you know where the aliens will be entering from, and the General Stores make a useful buffer and choke point between the aliens and your own defending troops. I will be improving further on this design later in the game, when money allows.
In the original layout, the two side hangars were at the bottom of the base, and the access lift in the center, meaning that in a base defense mission you would be immediately surrounded as well as having aliens drop down right in the middle of your base. Not good.
Top right you can see an overview of all X-Com bases. We have only the one, currently, but once I start to expand I can use those eight boxes to navigate between them, as well as see an overview of modules: green = completed module, and red = under construction.
(http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1047/initialbuilds.png)
Here I have ordered the construction of another general stores, another living quarters and the aforementioned large radar system that will allow me to cover all of Europe and the surrounding area. Last but not least, I'm building an Alien Containment facility, which will keep captured aliens alive until my scientists get around to examining them. Plenty other things I could build, but money is scarce at the start, and nothing more is badly needed at this point.
Worth noting is that base modules can only be built next to an existing module, and all modules must be connected to the access lift. Any modules cut off from the lift, for whatever reason, are destroyed.
(http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7271/initialsquad.png)
My starting squad. You might think eight soldiers isn't a very impressive number for a global organization tasked with defending the Earth against all comers, but just think about what SG-1 managed with a meager four. Speaking of that... we'll need to give these guys some proper alien-fighting names.
(http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/9277/greatstats.png)
And here is the detailed stats screen, which is also where you can edit the name of a soldier. The most important ones are probably time units, firing accuracy and reactions. Sadly, the very most important stat is not visible at this point in the game. These are good starting stats, by the way. In fact, these are utterly fantastic starting stats, and by far the best out of any of my soldiers. Only one name seems appropriate who someone who is likely to be my very most effective anti-alien operative...
(http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/538/ellenl.png)
Much better.
(http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1251/squadd.png)
And here's the rest of them, with names to induce proper fear in any aliens they might come across. I'm likely to lose a number of them during missions, but luckily X-Com keeps a cloning facility on retainer, so I have access to an infinite number of replacement troops... as long as funds last, at any rate. As you may have noticed, I've also hired two more soldiers to bring the total to an even ten.
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/658/purchases.png)
Those soldiers came from here. This is where all purchases and hiring of new staff is done. Before going to this screen, I went through my stores and sold everything but pistols, rocket launchers, smoke grenades, avalanche launchers for my interceptors and any ammo for the above. Why? Look at the total cost of purchases in this image. I needed to get rid of anything I would not immediately use in order to cover the bill for these essentials:
- Two more soldiers, the same two you've seen just before, for a total of ten.
- Twenty more scientists. You start with ten, but that is nowhere near enough. A lab can actually employ fifty, but since my living quarters hold fifty as well and I only have one as yet, which is shared between soldiers, scientists and engineers, this is as many as I can fit until the new one I ordered is finished.
- Three Avalanche launchers + ammo for my interceptors.
- Two Tank/Rocket Launchers, plus some HWP Rockets. HWP stands for heavy weapons platform.
- Some more pistols + ammo
And with that, I'm done.
(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/917/lowcash.png)
And nearly broke.
(http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1619/researchoptions.png)
Fortunately, research is free. Well, free except for the salaries for your scientists, but that is paid only at the end of the month so it doesn't concern me just now. I get my lab boffins working on developing laser weapon technology, which makes an excellent upgrade from the pistols I'm currently equipping my squad with. The other options here, medikits and motion scanners, each have their use, but none of them will help me kill the enemy... and those pistols I'm using now won't last more than a month or so before being thoroughly obsolete for everything but improving stats.
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/1096/craftequipment.png)
My glorious fighting vessels. Here, you can see that each of my interceptors is equipped with two weapon systems, while my skyranger has none. As it happens, the weapons the interceptors start out with are woefully underpowered, and I will be replacing them immediately with the Avalanche launchers I bought before. Additionally, I will load my skyranger with all ten troops, as well as one of the two rocket tanks I bought. The second is here to assist in base defense, and in case I get enough wounded troops to fit it on the transport while they recover. I'm equipping the agents themselves with pistols at the moment, as their high rate of fire coupled with modest damage lends itself well to training two important stats... something my agents definitely need to do now while the aliens are still just getting started.
In addition, the pistol is light, and not everyone in the squad has the strength to lug around heavy weapons yet.
But that will come, in time.
Time does not stand still, though... and the aliens have their own agenda.
While I was waiting for my new purchases and personnel to arrive - something which takes between twenty-four and ninety-six hours for items, and seventy-two hours flat for personnel - the following happened:
(http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3433/firstufo.png)
A very small UFO has been detected, and now I need to deal with it. If I ignore it, I will lose favour with my sponsor nations, and if I do too badly a couple of months in a row, they will terminate the X-Com project and the aliens will win. We don't want that, so I dispatch an interceptor to deal with it. As you may be able see from the map below the intercept screen, night is falling in Europe at this point. Had it been daylight, I would have let the UFO land and assaulted it without ever going through air combat, but night missions with an unarmoured and underequipped squad are... ill-advised, to say the least, and I try to avoid them where I can.
(http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6921/intercept.png)
As it happens, it is actually a stroke of luck that this UFO arrived so early. This is a very small UFO, and if you hit a UFO hard enough, it will be completely destroyed leaving you no crash site to raid for loot. And if this UFO had arrived after my new weapon shipment had arrived, my interceptors would be carrying the heavy Avalanche missile launchers. Now, though, they're equipped with the much less powerful Stingray missile launcher, which is actually capable of downing a UFO this size without dividing all of it into its component atoms.
The above image shows the interception dispatch screen, where you can select any craft from any of your bases across the globe and direct them towards their targets. Of course, we only have the one base at the moment, but it comes in handy later. You may notice that the Skyranger only has five agents aboard. The reason is that the weapons haven't arrived yet, and five pistols plus a few clips from my starting stocks are currently the sum total ground firepower of the almighty, globally sponsored, alien-fighting X-Com organization. Good timing, aliens, I'll give you that.
(http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5088/aircombat.png)
Even so, it pays to be careful. I select the "Cautious Attack" option and, in another stroke of luck, my interceptor manages to get close enough to actually fire at the thing before the UFO takes note and accelerates beyond the interceptor's ability to follow. Even the very slowest UFO still has a greater top speed than the fastest fighter craft available to X-Com at the beginning of the game, and it is a fairly common occurance for them to just run away if you try to get close enough for short ranged weapons.
(http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/6758/ufoview.png)
During air combat, you can also see a side view of what your interceptor is fighting. This is handy when assessing the threat level of the UFO in question, as there are several types of UFOs in each size bracket, and one medium UFO might be safe to close with while another could blow your fighter to bits. This one, though, is quite harmless.
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/8224/crashl.png)
And there it is. One downed UFO. First blood to X-Com.
In the next part, I'll be doing our very first crash site recovery operation, and after that hopefully manage to get all the stuff I have in transit before anything bigger drops out of the sky to cause havoc.
It may take a little while, though. This was more work that I had expected :p
[Edit] A number of typos fixed. Also a few minor additions.
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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This is awesome (that is all)
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This will be epic.
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Glad you like it so far :) Next installment might be a few days, since the weekend has the audacity to end soon, giving me less time to play. Plus playing while taking screenshots and writing takes a lot longer than just playing :p
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Haha Yes. I'll keep an eye on this Shade. Good luck.
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Heh I made a playthrough of this not 6 months ago, proceeding straight to terror from the deep after it :) I preferred UFO. Aliens work for me better in a classic (not underwater) environment and overall UFO had better fun/difficulty balanced missions. Terror from the deep had a lot of those looooooooooong multipart missions that would just get frustrating after a while. But this gem? One of the best pc games of all time, for me.
So, Shade.. catch us some live ones. We'll hook them in front of a TV playing continuous non-stop Justin Bieber footage. If that doesn't make them talk nothing will...
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Name the cannon fodder after us on the forums here. It will make reading it so much more fun.
"TrashMan killed himself with a rocket launcher!" :P
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I volunteer to be the guy who friendly-fires everyone. :P
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I am the one who just stands there while 3 sectoids blast away at me
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I'll be the one who leaves the Skyranger first to catch an armed alien grenade, because we forgot to bring smoke!
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I volonteer to be the guy that actually manages to survive and reach a high level...and then dies in a hillarious and utterly stoopid way.
(Many of my JA2 deaths were like that....)
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I'd quite like to be the guy left alone cowering on the third floor of a building during a night terror mission with one pistol clip, one grenade, surrounded, with two fatal wounds. 30 action points, and a medpack two squares away.........
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Who wants to be cannon fodder? I'll be the guy you have to reload for every time I die. :P
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I don't generally use cannon fodder, so you all are going to be disappointed :p I know it's more effective, cost- and time-wise, but it just feels wrong to constantly hire newbies, hand them a pistol and have the veterans tell them "Just move forward until you spot something, there's a good chap. We'll be right behind you". But I'll get into detail about what I do later. Oh, and as it happens I've had some free time today, so I might have the next part ready tonight.
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I'd quite like to be the guy left alone cowering on the third floor of a building during a night terror mission with one pistol clip, one grenade, surrounded, with two fatal wounds. 30 action points, and a medpack two squares away.........
sooo typical,
Who wants to be cannon fodder? I'll be the guy you have to reload for every time I die. :P
This is X-Com even a Commander is expendable though your rookies will brick themselves when it happens. But if you have your squads set up properly some one else will be promoted to the rank either end of that mission or the first mission after you replace the critical number.
I don't generally use cannon fodder, so you all are going to be disappointed :p I know it's more effective, cost- and time-wise, but it just feels wrong to constantly hire newbies, hand them a pistol and have the veterans tell them "Just move forward until you spot something, there's a good chap. We'll be right behind you". But I'll get into detail about what I do later. Oh, and as it happens I've had some free time today, so I might have the next part ready tonight.
where possible squads of 4 in the early days is a minimum. I typically go for a skyranger of 10+1 tank cannon in the early days (2 squads of people+a tank to back them up) and race to laser tank with a slight delay to research medkits first, then alien alloy->personal armour. I also where possible have 2-4 spare soldiers back at base ready to replace the inevitable casualties.
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This is X-Com even a Commander is expendable though your rookies will brick themselves when it happens. But if you have your squads set up properly some one else will be promoted to the rank either end of that mission or the first mission after you replace the critical number.
I know; I was referring to save/reload addiction. :P
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nar you only need to save/load if you loose most of your squad and your tank, as stated below by my style of play i can loose up to half my deployable squad and still not loose a great deal of effectiveness, especially as i try to to rotate the junior members of the team so they all have *some* experience. sorry Qent, you are expendable.
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I typically go for a skyranger of 10+1 tank cannon in the early days (2 squads of people+a tank to back them up) and race to laser tank with a slight delay to research medkits first, then alien alloy->personal armour. I also where possible have 2-4 spare soldiers back at base ready to replace the inevitable casualties.
As mentioned in part 1, the 10+1 configuration is my starting choice as well, though with a tank/rocket. Once I can arm them at any rate... in the upcoming first mission I'm using a squad of just five, since I only have weapons for that many. In retrospect, I should probably have kept the starting rifles until my new acquisitions had arrived. Instead of having replacement troops, though, I have a second tank instead. This is mainly in case I catch an early alien retaliation mission, as rocket tanks are pure gold for base defense, but also because the tank is always the first out of the Skyranger, and as such is almost certain to be destroyed at some point. And I don't want to wait another 96 hours for the replacement. That said, I will be grabbing a few extra troops too before too long, but again, that is mostly for base defense. In this case, to make sure I get to fight even if my Skyranger is away from home with my main squad.
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Even if you don't use cannon fodder, someone has to be a sacrificial lamb when the
Chryssalids
start showing up. I can be that guy.
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I don't generally use cannon fodder, so you all are going to be disappointed :p I know it's more effective, cost- and time-wise, but it just feels wrong to constantly hire newbies, hand them a pistol and have the veterans tell them "Just move forward until you spot something, there's a good chap. We'll be right behind you". But I'll get into detail about what I do later. Oh, and as it happens I've had some free time today, so I might have the next part ready tonight.
Whenever I try to play it without sacrificing rookies, I get wiped out sooner or later, so I'm looking forward to your detailed battle reports :)
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DEtpacks. . . . . 2 Turns detonation delay.
Canihazkamikazechargeplox?
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I'd quite like to be the guy left alone cowering on the third floor of a building during a night terror mission with one pistol clip, one grenade, surrounded, with two fatal wounds. 30 action points, and a medpack two squares away.........
1) Prime grenade.
2) Continue cowering.
3) ???
4) PROFIT GLORIOUS VICTORY!
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Part 2: First Blood
As we left the action last time, X-Com had just downed its first UFO, and was waiting for daybreak to launch a recovery operation. In this installment, we'll be assaulting the aforementioned UFO, seeing the Battlescape for the first time. Of course, there is also the victorious interceptor itself to consider...
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3446/whocares.png)
There are no freebies here. Weapons require ammunition, and expended ammunition must be replenished from base stores. If you don't have enough, you get a screen like this. In this case I don't give a damn, though. I sold all my Stingray ammo for a reason, and that reason is that as soon as I get my shipment of new weapons, I will never use them again. This does mean that this interceptor will start any further air combats between now and then with less than a full weapons load, but that's ok. Anything that would require a full load to down is likely to wipe the floor with even a fully prepared interceptor at this point anyway - the range on Stingrays is simply too short to safely engage most larger enemies.
(http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1841/skyrangerenroute.png)
Day breaks over Europe, and with it my Skyranger takes to the air carrying a recovery team bound for a rural area just outside Bonn where the alien ship crash landed. Close one, that. This is 1999, so Bonn is still the seat of government for the united Germany, and if the UFO had crashed on, say, the presidential residence or the Bundeshaus, uncomfortable questions were bound to be asked.
(http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6533/m1briefing.png)
The mission briefing for a crash recovery mission. "Exercise caution" - those are wise words. There will always be some living aliens after a crash, and going in expecting to just hook a crane up to the wreckage and tow it back to base is a bit too optimistic.
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3680/m1loadoutnfp.png)
Teal'c has hair! Sadly, X-Com is quite limited in squad appearances, and there are only four male and four female faces. Aside from Ripley who just had to be the one with the best stats, I fitted the names of the agents to their appearances as well as possible. You only see them on this screen, though. In mission, everyone's a blonde caucasian, so that bit of attention to detail was a bit of a waste.
Anyway, Teal'c and the other four agents each get their trusty pistol plus one spare clip. I didn't even have to equip them, as the XcomUtil patch included an option to automatically distribute equipment. If I make any changes from this loutout, those will also be stored and automatically applied on the next mission if I have kept the same kit on the Skyranger. In the unpatched game, I would have started with all items in the bottom section labelled "ground", and would need to equip my agents from scratch in every. single. mission. This is better.
The arrows in the top right cycle left/right between agents, with the left-most starting closest to the exit ramp of the transport and moving further away as you cycle further right. It loops around, though, so that is only good for reference if you have a starting point. The first agent you see is always the one closest to the ramp. The order follows the order of the squad list you see in your base, so in my case, Teal'c and Carter are on point duty, followed by Ripley, Zoe and finally O'Neill.
(http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/3405/m1skyranger.png)
Touchdown. What you can see on the battlescape is determined by line-of-sight from your agents, who have a 90° field of vision extending out to a range of twenty squares if unobstructed. Or out to a range of -eight- squares in darkness. Aliens have excellent night vision and can see for the full twenty squares in all lighting conditions, which is one reason why I avoid fighting at night where possible.
Given the Skyranger's lack of windows, I only have clear vision out the back, and will be blind to any enemies on the side or rear as I exit the craft. Becasue of that and a few other factors, initial deployment is probably the most dangerous phase of any ground mission. Fortunately the UFO we're recovering is a very small one with a minimal crew, so the risk of being ambushed as I step outside is small.
On the other hand, I have been quite unlucky with the terrain around my Skyranger. While I can't see much yet, it is clear that there are at least two buildings surrounding my landing site. These are great places for aliens to hide, and notoriously dangerous to clear. I much prefer open grass where aliens can be engaged from a safe distance and where they won't be stepping out from a small cubbyhole to shoot you in the back. Ah well.
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8120/m1ufo.png)
As soon as I step outside and turn to check the immediate area, Carter spots the UFO. As you can see, it is tiny. This is, in fact, a one-man craft and the smallest enemy ship in the game - a good first engagement to cut my teeth on. The purple light underneath it is a grav-beam offering access to the inside, so while it is all but certain that the pilot has left before we arrived on the scene, I will still have to keep it covered. Just in case.
(http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/4741/m1map.png)
In the end, as can be seen from the map screen, it turns out that there are no less than three buildings around my landing site, any of which could hold the alien. The X off to the right is the UFO itself. If this had been a bigger UFO, this could easily turn into a disaster. As it is, it is merely very dangerous.
The map also clearly shows the line-of-sight rules in action. Windows allow me to see parts of the inside of some of the buildings, but they are mostly obscured to me. Likewise, the twenty-square sight limit is also clearly apparent. Low hedges and stone walls allow me to see over them, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be a crouched alien hiding behind them - just being able to see the terrain doesn't necessarily mean that the terrain is free of aliens.
(http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9148/m1deployment.png)
I manage deploy my forces without incident, and without spotting the UFO's pilot. I spread out my forces enough that they aren't likely to get hit by stray shots aimed at another agent, and try to keep all directions covered. Ripley, Teal'c and Zoe set up to cover the three buildings, while Carter keeps watch over the UFO she spotted earlier. O'Neill, meanwhile, keeps the rear covered in case the alien should come around the corner of the northern-most building.
Later in the game when I have acquired some armor for my troops, a spread out deployment like this would also keep any neighbours safe in case anyone attracts a grenade attack. Without armor, though, even the very fringe of the blast from an alien grenade would be enough to cripple or kill an agent, so at this point I can only hope that no grenades will be used against me.
Regardless, this is all I can do at this point. No alien has been spotted, and I'm keeping all angles covered by troops with enough time units left for reaction fire.
Reaction fire? Ah, yes. See, if your agent (or an alien) has time units remaining during the opponent's turn, they may be able to use those time units to automatically take snap shots at an enemy who passes through their field of vision. This is why the initial deployment is so risky - everyone, including aliens, start the mission with full time units, so any alien facing the Skyranger when you exit it has a chance to take potshots at you before you even know they're there.
Whether they actually get to use those time units depends on a number of factors, primarily the reactions of both the shooter and the potential target. Hence why reactions is one of the most important stats in the game. It keeps you safe when moving (up to a point), and lets you pick off aliens during their turn.
But enough about that. Time to end the turn.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9076/m1hidden.png)
Spooky. It is always unnerving to watch this screen, as you know the aliens are doing -something-, but have no idea what. It does occasionally offer clues, though. If an alien moves into the field of vision of one of your agents, the hidden movement screen will give way and you'll see their actions as long as they are in sight. Additionally, there are audio clues from time to time which can prove helpful. If you hear a door opening, for example, and there is only one house on the current map, then you've narrowed down the location of at least one alien. Not enough to take it out, yet, but enough to box it in and make sure that if anyone is taken by surprise, it won't be you.
As it happens, no movement is spotted by my agents, and noone is fired at. This is both good and bad. Everyone survived the first alien turn, which is always great. On the other hand, I still have no clue where the alien is.
(http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/5269/m1underfire.png)
Turn two. As I'm moving Carter out to get a better view of the north-east, which was beyond sight range from her position covering he UFO, she comes under fire from behind. That green blob in the image is a plasma round, and almost certain death to an unarmoured agent. Fortunately, it misses. Wait, what? Behind? But I have two agents covering that side and they're still not seeing any aliens!
I turn Carter around hoping that she, at least, will be able to see her attacker. Turning in place doen't provoke reaction fire, so I can do this safely.
(http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/395/m1sectoidroof.png)
Ah. The roof. This is why I hate landing near buildings. The little gray guy there is a Sectoid, one of the weakest aliens I'm likely to meet. Not, however, one of the least dangerous. The Sectoids have certain other advantages to offset their physical weakness which make them quite fearsome in the right - or perhaps rather, in the wrong - situations.
At any rate, I now know the location of my enemy. Carter has a clear shot, should she choose to take it, but the pistol is a poor long range weapon, and even against a Sectoid it may well take more than one shot to kill it. And Carter only has enough TUs left for a single shot.
Now, if you look at the previous image, you can see the shadow of the Skyranger's wing on the ground. Instead of taking a shot at the alien which is unlikely to hit and uncertain to kill even if it does hit, and risk the alien taking another reaction shot at her afterwards, I choose to walk Carter three squares south to place the wing between her and the alien. Hoping all the while that this movement won't trigger another reaction shot.
It didn't. I also move my other troops into locations where they can't be targeted from the occupied roof... with the exception of Ripley.
(http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9991/m1ambush.png)
Now Ripley, her I move into the occupied building itself. Over each of the next three turns, I pop Carter out one square to check the location of the alien on the roof, and then, having verified that it is still there rather than having headed down, pop Carter back into cover and then rush Ripley up through the building towards the roof.
Eventually, she ends up in this location, and even has enough time units to head up the stairs and take a shot at the alien's back. That is still risky though, as she might miss or fail to kill with the first shot. Ideally, I'd want her to have at least three shots worth of TUs for the ambush. So I move her aside so the alien won't spot her if it turns around, and wait another turn.
(http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6379/m1firstkill.png)
I am glad I did. Carter having once again verified the location of the alien, Ripley heads halfway up the stairs and gets to work. Ultimately it takes three shots to bring the alien down, one hit, one miss, and finally another hit which proved enough to kill it. Ripley has the highest reactions stat out of all my agents, which is probably why I managed not to attract any reaction shots in return. Shoot an alien in the back with an agent with low reactions, and chances are it will spin and shoot back if your first shot fails to kill.
But that did not happen. Instead, Ripley got her first kill, and X-Com managed to recover its first UFO. All in all, that went pretty well.
(http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/6392/m1result.png)
Given the size of the UFO, there wasn't a whole lot to recover. Still, any alien loot is most welcome at this point in the game. And even if it is something I don't currently need, I will be able to sell it to improve my ailing finances.
(http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/6664/m1promotions.png)
And of course, credit where it's due. Congratulations, Sgt. Ripley.
Thus ends part two. Barring a particular challenge, battle reports in future installments will probably be rather less detailed, since this one also needed to serve as an introduction. That said, in situations where I really have to fight for it, or want to explain something in detail, I will of course provide a step-by-step report.
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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How come you prefer the pistol to the rifle? which has greater damage, accuracy scores and has the advantage of auto mode?
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I actually touched on that in part 1, though not in great detail:
I'm equipping the agents themselves with pistols at the moment, as their high rate of fire coupled with modest damage lends itself well to training two important stats... something my agents definitely need to do now while the aliens are still just getting started.
More specifically, you get to shoot more often, and aliens take more shots to kill. Early in the game, this is a good thing. Every single time you hit an alien, the game registers this as a successful use of firing accuracy. The same goes for every time you take a reaction shot, even if it misses, only it registers a successful use of reactions instead. If you take a reaction shot and hit, you get it for both reactions and firing accuracy. In addition, since reactions and firing accuracy are primary stats, boosting those will also boost my secondary stats, TUs, stamina, health and strength.
Because of this, using pistols in the early game while most aliens are still soft and squishy means my agents gain stats faster, in fact quite a lot faster if I take the time to work them out properly, and will be better able to deal with the tougher aliens that are to come.
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that makes sence
edit:
damn it, i have to start the game again
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This is great stuff. :) I don't think this is a game I'd ever wind up playing myself, but this is definitely the next best thing.
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I think I shall play UFO: Alien Invasion again. Speaking of which, I can't wait for Xenonauts to come out
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Someone tell me, should I play the original X-Com or get one of the spiritual successors like UFO? Ravenholme?
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Someone tell me, should I play the original X-Com or get one of the spiritual successors like UFO? Ravenholme?
It's a bit of a hard one to answer really - Opinion is really divided over which is best. I don't like the official UFO games, and to them prefer the original X-Com series, but I do like the freeware UFO: Alien Invasion that I just mentioned.
I'd say give UFO: AI a bash, try X-Com, and if neither of those floats your boat, try some of the official UFO series. (UFO: AI is much more like X-Com)
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Someone tell me, should I play the original X-Com or get one of the spiritual successors like UFO? Ravenholme?
You should do both.
The originals are awesome games plain and simple. Challenging combat that scales to your tech level with acceptable story depth and quick to learn/intuitive controls.
Games like the UFO series though the spiritual successor go off in new directions, especially 2 and 3 bring in very different styles of play with changes to the game mechanics that make them very different games to play, especially at the base and R&D management levels.
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Theres another game due out soon called Xenonauts, which Ravenholme mentioned, that is going to play much like X-COM with a shinier UI and a different backstory. If, god forbid, you can't get into the original X-COM due to graphical issues, then waiting for that would be a decent idea, Batutta.
UFO: AI is also worth a look, and is free, though the game itself isn't complete yet. The Official UFO games are kind of a mixed bag - fun concepts, but intrusive DRM and multitudes of game breaking bugs. Afterlight isn't too bad though, and is on Steam.
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Get the original two X-Com games, by far. I've played the UFO Afterblank games; they lack the tactical depth that X-Com had. UFO AI is kindasorta fun, but unfinished, unpolished, and the lack of an in-mission save feature pisses me off a great deal.
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Looks like an interesting game... :)
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Looks like an interesting game... :)
Tell me you've heard of X-COM.
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Hmm... ok.
I've heard of X-COM.
ok so maybe I just lied...
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Hmm... ok.
I've heard of X-COM.
ok so maybe I just lied...
Along with Deus Ex it's one of those games commonly cited as the best game ever made. Read up on it, it's real cool.
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Hmm, so I'll have to check Deus Ex out as well then..
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Hmm, so I'll have to check Deus Ex out as well then..
:wtf:
Well I suppose HT hasn't played Deus Ex either...
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To be fair to jr2, I hadn't heard of either of these franchises until comparatively recently, and actually very recently when it comes to X-Com. I don't think we even had a functioning computer when X-Com was released.
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Everyone who hasn't played UFO: Enemy Unknown and has even the slightest interest in tactical/strategic games should definitely give it a chance. It is still worth paying for, much like FS2 is, despite its age.
The two sequels are also good games, but none of them quite manage to reach the heights of the first installment - Terror from the Deep was so difficult that it actually hurt the enjoyment of the game at times, and Apocalypse lacks the global scope found in this game and also introduced real-time combat which completely changed the feel of the game.
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Yep Terror From the Deep could be a royal pain with it's ultra long multipart missions. Other than that the game is quite similar to UFO, but I do find UFO the better game since it has a better balanced fun/difficulty factor.
UFO: Enemy Unknown and Deus Ex are some of the best games ever made and a significant part of gaming history. Despite their age they're still a lot better than most of the stuff being put on the market today.
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I've still been known to dust off Interceptor once in. While :)
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IIRC, I remember reading in the strategy guide that, for some reason, soldiers named Maria in UFO: Enemy Unknown tend to have better overall stats than other soldiers.
I know I'm reiterating what a lot of others have already said here, but this is definitely one of the best turn-based tactical combat games ever made. Personally, I found it to be one of the scariest games I'd ever played, so much so that it kept me awake at night a few times. UFO: AI is also worth a look too, even though it's incomplete (and less scary, perhaps due to the soundtrack that plays during combat).
There's also Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate, which is pretty much a clone of this game, albeit without a management component (aside from equipping your squads) and research tree, but it's still good. Although it's difficult to get it running on a modern OS.
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I like jump-jet arnour.
Chaos gate has a good soundtrack.
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If I got around to installing the most recent version of UFO:AI, would people be interested in me doing something similar to Shade here? Although mine would be more to advertise the features of UFOAI, and I warn you that it's campaign is as yet incomplete so at some point I'll bump up against the glass ceiling where I can do no more.
To clarify, it'd be a new thread, I absolutely would not hijack Shade's.
Ah man, one engagement I had in a late game stage in UFO: AI came back to me there. Fighting your way along a dam populated with high tier aliens is not fun.
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The dam stage can be hard, since the aliens take so many shots at you as you try to get to cover.
XCom isn't abandonware yet, is it?
EDIT: another thing you might check out is UFO: The Two Sides, which is really a fan remake to have higher-res graphics, and as the name suggests, lets you play as aliens.
http://ufotts.ninex.info/
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XCom isn't abandonware yet, is it?
Legitimate copies are pretty readily available at low price on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/7760/?snr=1_4_4__13), Gamer's Gate (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-XCOMUD/x-com-ufo-defence), Impulse (http://www.impulsedriven.com/xcom1), and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00069WBKM/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&qid=1308055082&sr=8-2&condition=used). Also, if you were a PC Gamer subscriber back in July, 2000, you've got a full copy of the game on that issue's CD.
[edit] To further add to the list of games similar to X-COM, Silent Storm and its expansion pack offer pretty strong turn-based tactical combat. There's flaws, such as a plot that leaps off the rails half way through the Silent Storm campaign, and the mech suits that break the game's balance like a pane of glass, but overall, they offer a pretty fun experience with tactical depth on-par with X-COM. [/edit]
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:nervous:
[attachment deleted by ninja]
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I don't think that you should bother with the old x-com.
A new team has started work on a freeware pc game that is already much better than x-com was.
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News
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I don't think that you should bother with the old x-com.
A new team has started work on a freeware pc game that is already much better than x-com was.
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News
Been mentioned a few times :P
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I don't think that you should bother with the old x-com.
A new team has started work on a freeware pc game that is already much better than x-com was.
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News
Not only has that been discussed a lot but word is it it's not really better than the old X-COM.
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The word is accurate.
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Part 3: Best Intentions
We pick up where we left off last time, the heroic X-Com assault team having just returned from a successful UFO recovery mission.
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3089/sellingartifacts.png)
Here, I'm selling off most of the loot I recovered from the mission. In fact, the only thing I'm keeping from it is the one unit of alien alloys. As for the rest of the artifacts, even though we haven't researched any of them yet, we can still see what they're called and how many of them we have in base stores. Given that it was a very small UFO we recovered, there isn't really a whole lot right now, but what we did get was just about the best of the best.
The mind probe is one of, if not the most profitable item you can get from a UFO, so my ailing economy is very glad to see one of those. After researching them, they are also very handy for a different reason: They can be used in-mission to see the stats and rank of an alien. For its part, the heavy plasma is by far the most powerful hand-held direct fire weapon in the game. If that thing had hit Carter when the alien fired its reaction shot at her, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference even if she -had- been wearing armour. And we got that off the very first alien aboard the very first UFO. Welcome to Superhuman.
So why am I selling it, then, if it is one of the best weapons in the game? Three reasons. First, I don't need it yet - aliens are still fairly weak, and my current weapons will deal with them just fine. Second, I need the money. Oh boy, do I need the money. And third, I'd need to research it before I could use it, which would take a long time. In that time, I can research a number of other technologies instead which I can then put to use, giving my troops a better chance to survive until the point where I might actually -need- the heavy plasma.
(http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/7897/freshpurchases.png)
With my newfound wealth I head straight over to the purchase screen to flesh out my armoury a bit. Pistols are great starting weapons, if rather short-lived, but there's always the risk that some situation will come up where you need more serious fírepower. I supplement my pistols with a second rocket launcher in addition to the one I kept from my starting stocks, and finally buy some ammo for them: Heavy rockets and incendiaries, enough for a full mission load plus a set of spares for each launcher.
Additionally, I grab some high explosives which, while quite heavy and difficult to throw far, are pretty much the only offensive grenade-type weapon worth using and great for those emergencies where only total demolition of everything in the immediate area will do. Finally, I add some electro-flares in case I'm forced into a night mission. Be prepared, that's my motto. Well ok, it is actually the Scout motto, but it applies very well indeed to playing X-Com as well.
(http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/7505/goodsarriving.png)
Luckily, nothing more happens before my weapon shipments begin to trickle in. Finally, I'm able to equip a full squad. Admittedly, only with pistols as yet, and my tank isn't here yet either, but it is a start. And the rest of the shipments won't be all that far behind.
(http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/7086/firepowerarriving.png)
And there is the real firepower. I now have the means to deal with pretty much anything the early game is likely to throw at me. In theory, at any rate. While decently armed, my troops are still wearing just coveralls, and getting them into some armour is going to be a priority since that might just let me make the occasional mistake without instantly losing an agent. Still no tank. Tanks take the longest to ship out of any items you can purchase. I suppose the shipping company might be having a bit of trouble passing them through customs... I certainly wouldn't want to declare a main battle tank to the airport customs officer.
(http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6526/secondufo.png)
Those items arrived not a moment too soon. Not ten hours later, another UFO shows up on X-Com's radar scopes. Another very small UFO, and guess what, it's night time again. Unfortunately, between the arrival of the pistols and the arrival of the heavy weapons, I also recieved my avalanche missiles and promptly replaced all previous craft weapons with them. So I can't shoot this one down without destroying it.
On the other hand, I did also recieve my shipment of electro-flares. And given that this UFO type has only a single occupant, it might be a decent opportunity for demonstrating why night missions are a whole different ballgame from daylight missions. Plus, another 500k of sales income would not hurt my economy one bit either. I order the Skyranger into action.
The fact that this UFO is numbered two is a good thing. UFOs are numbered consecutively, even if you can't see them, so this being number two means I haven't missed any between the first one and this.
(http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9458/tailingufo.png)
One neat thing about intercepting UFOs in X-Com is that you can also order your craft to simply hang back and follow at a safe distance, and then minimize the air combat window and let time pass. In this case, as you can see from the top-left of the screen, I have both my Skyranger (top) and an interceptor (bottom) tailing the UFO. When doing this, the moment the UFO lands the Skyranger will then swoop down and initiate a ground assault without my having to order it in. Very handy.
The interceptor is there in case the UFO starts accelerating instead of landing. A slow moving UFO which is not engaged in combat will generally, if planning to leave, accelerate in a number of stages instead of going straight to top speed, which gives you a chance to react and take it down before it leaves... assuming you have an interceptor or other combat craft in close enough proximity to engage before the UFO reaches too high a speed for them to follow.
(http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1308/ufodestroyed.png)
Unfortunately, accelerate it did, and I was forced to have my interceptor pulverize it a little north and west of Oslo, Norway. Bye bye, 500k cash. At least I avoided the bloody night mission, though.
(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9017/researchcomplete.png)
Next midnight, my laser weapons research team produced results. Yay.
(http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/4644/nextresearch.png)
Unfortunately, developing the base technology is one thing. I still need to weaponize it in a compact and portable manner, which is a seperate research topic from the laser tech itself. This shouldn't take too long though, as in the meantime I've had a batch of twenty more scientists arrive, effectively tripling my research speed. A couple of days, at most, and I should be able to start construction of laser pistols.
I can barely wait.
Thus ends part three. This was a bit of a letdown, really, with the UFO deciding to run for it rather than landing, and spoiling the night mission demo I was hoping to do. But in X-Com, not everything goes to plan. And besides, it is the thought that counts, right?
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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And besides, throwing twenty-five million chemical flares isn't much fun.
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Part 3.5: The Followup
After the last update, nothing much happened for a few days action-wise, but a few important things did happen back in my base.
(http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/6435/lasersz.png)
When a new item is available for production, you get this information screen. Yep, I can now produce laser pistols. They are a superior weapon for the early game, and never become completely useless even at the very end. Lasers have a unique advantage over all other weapons, including alien tech, in that they do not require ammunition. Further, even the pistol, being the weakest of this weapon line, has enough power to at least scratch most opponents, and even benefits from being capable of fully automatic fire. While still retaining the low TU requirements and relatively low weight of a pistol.
As soon as I have manufactured some, I will start bringing them along on missions to supplement my standard pistols in situations where those might not get the job done.
Having handed the lasers off to the production department, I get my scientists working on that unit of alien alloys I kept after the first ground mission. Maybe it'll prove useful for developing some armour...
(http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2180/productions.png)
And here is where said manufacturing takes place - The production screen. You can have several projects going at once, but since this is the early game, I only have the one thing I can produce. On this screen, you get an overview of the aforementioned projects, as well as info about the number of engineers assigned to each item, the number of items already build and the total requested, the cost per unit, and the time left until completion of the project.
In this case, I've set the number to be produced rather higher than I needed. I only need ten to fully equip my squad, so why the extras? To avoid engineer downtime, and make a little bit of money. Many manufactured items in X-Com can be sold for a profit, and the laser pistol is among them. The profit in this case is not great, but it is enough that the engineers can pay for their own keep and add a small trickle of cash to my coffers, and I'll take anything I can get.
Finally, you can see how much workshop space is available. Each workshop has a total space of fifty, and each working engineer takes up one space. Yet the space remaining reads thirty-eight. The thing is, projects themselves also take up space. The laser pistol being built now takes up two, so the impact is small, but later on when we start building larger items such as tanks or fighters, two or even three workshops can be required in order to just fit enough engineers in there along with the item being worked on to get a decent rate of progress.
Speaking of engineers, ten of them don't really work very fast, but they are expensive, I am not deperate for the laser pistols yet, and most importantly I simply don't have room for any more until the new living quarters finish. So ten it is.
(http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/4640/loadoutscreen.png)
Finally, my tanks arrived, and earlier so did my last two soldiers, so I can now kit out my Skyranger as I intended it to be. Ten troops, one rocket tank and various extra gear and weapons. No armour yet, but we'll get there soon enough.
X-Com is now ready for the real action.
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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I like that ending phrase. It pretends to be upbeat. :P
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I don't think that you should bother with the old x-com.
A new team has started work on a freeware pc game that is already much better than x-com was.
http://ufoai.ninex.info/wiki/index.php/News
Not only has that been discussed a lot but word is it it's not really better than the old X-COM.
The word is correct. Still, is a good bit of fun.
Ahhh, X-COM is ready to die in glorious battle with the Aliens threatening Earth.
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Huh. Prior to seeing this thread, I had never even heard of this game.
Now I want to play it, and badly.
Is there anywhere to get it legally for free? I can't really afford to pay for it, and I'll go without if necessary, but it'd be nice.
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It is literally like 15 bucks for the entire X-Com series off Steam, or 5 bucks for UFO Defense individually.
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Which is literally 15 bucks more than I can afford to spend on anything.
Oh well.
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Part 4: Ground Assault, part one
(http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5250/1smalldetected.png)
January 9th, and an X-Com craft sent to patrol over Siberia in response to an alarming rise in reported, though not detected as I have no radar coverage there yet, UFO activity, has happened across the first larger UFO we have encountered so far. Larger is, in this case, relative. It is still a small UFO, but compared to the one-man ships we have seen so far, this one is quite big.
Due to the time spent on station, the interceptor which is out on patrol is low on fuel and thus unable to take up the chase, but our Skyranger and the remaining alert interceptor are dispatched.
While my craft approach over the next several hours, the UFO lands, but takes off again before my Skyranger can get there. I order the interceptor to splash it, but its first shot misses and the UFO accelerates out of range. Bummer. I was looking forward to getting my hands on all the interesting technology that might be found in a UFO of this size, and now it is getting away clean.
(http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3461/2landedsmall.png)
Wait. What's that? It landed again? To my great surprise, the UFO didn't make a beeline for outer space, but instead, after a short dash at top speed, resumed a slow and meandering but generally westerly course, after a while of which it landed again. And far too close to my base for comfort, at that. Not good. Whatever happens, this UFO cannot be allowed to report back to base. That meandering course looked far too much like a search pattern for my liking, and given the second landing site, it may have just found what it was searching for.
There is a bright spot, at least. Literally so. Because the UFO meandered around for so long, all the way from Siberia to Turkey, the landing site is in daylight despite initial detection taking place in the dead of night. The moment the Skyranger catches up, we are go for a ground assault.
(http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/9752/3assaultbriefing.png)
Mission briefing for a ground assault mission. Aborting is not an option in this case, though. The consequences if the aliens learn the location of my base this early on would be far beyond what I can hope to deal with. So we have one objective, and one objective only: To find the aliens, and to kill them. No other outcome is acceptable.
(http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/3993/4dakka.png)
I have brought a bit more gear along this time, as you can see. As long as you can fit it without sacrificing other items, it never hurts to bring along anything you think you might need. Anything that proves unneeded can just be left on the floor of the Skyranger while your agents go about their business, saving them from the extra encumbrance. Extra ammunition can also be stored in the Skyranger this way. Not really necessary for pistols and the like, but rockets are huge and, depending on the mission, you might want to keep a pile of extras at hand if you expect to need the firepower.
Speaking of rockets, it seems that I forgot to load the heavy rockets, so I have only one incendiary round per launcher. Oops. At least that isn't likely to make much of a difference in this mission, and if I find I do need to blow things up, my tank still carries eight rockets packed with high explosives.
As it happens, because day broke during the chase, I don't need the electro-flares. The two laser pistols go to my point men, Teal'c and Carter, as they are the first to follow the tank out of the Skyranger and the most likely to need something that can drop an alien fast. The nerfed rocket launchers go to O'Neill and Aeryn about midways down the line, so I don't risk losing them to a lucky alien the moment I set foot outside, but still have them close by should I need them. With more rocket launchers to go round, I might want my point men equipped with them as well so they could more easily deal with any immediate threats, but with only two available, they are not to be risked lightly.
All in all, my team is well equipped for the job. So let's get to it, then.
(http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7633/5fullhouse.png)
As seen here, the Skyranger is packed to capacity, with the tank closest to the exit ramp. This is a good thing. Being first off the ramp also means being target practice for any aliens lying in ambush, and we definitely want some armour to absorb the damage from any hits. So, tank.
You can also see that the tank takes up four squares. Hardly surprising given that it is, well, a tank, but it does mean that I have given up four agents' worth of capacity in order to bring the one tank. I consider it a worthwhile trade.
(http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/4338/6enemyspotted.png)
The tank rolls down the ramp and immediately spots an enemy. Different kind of alien this time - These guys are called Floaters. They're bigger than the Sectoids, but their stats aren't much better - though they do have one major advantage which I will talk about later. In this case, the fact that they are bigger is a great help, and Sectoids are short enough to hide in fields and the tank might not have spotted one in this position. But this isn't a Sectoid, and spotted it was. This guy doesn't look like he is in a position to use reaction fire against anyone -on- the ramp, as he is facing south instead of south-west, but he is sure to react the moment anyone fires on him if the first shot doesn't kill.
I could take him with the tank right now. Easily. But I have a couple of good reasons not to do so. First, tanks do not gain stats. Ever. So any kill I make with them is effectively wasted, as far as developing my agents is concerned, so I want to avoid it where possible. Second, rockets are kinda expensive, and I don't want to waste them if it isn't an emergency. And third, if I spent the tank's time units on killing enemies, it won't have any left for scouting. And since clearing a perimiter around the landing zone is important, to say the least, and I have plenty agents in the Skyranger who can take the shot instead of the tank, I would really prefer to keep the tank on scout duty.
The first and second reason above also touches upon the reason I picked a tank/rocket over a tank/cannon. To me, tanks are mainly a scouting tool. In the early game, they are noticably faster than even the best starting agent, and they are heavily armoured to boot so they have a better chance of surviving on point duty. And since they don't gain stats, if I lose one it's only a matter of money to replace it - no time investment will be lost.
As such, if I do end up using a tank to fight, the **** has most definitely hit the fan and I will be needing every scrap of firepower I can find. And in that situation, I expect rockets to prove a lot more useful than a mid-range cannon.
So, to get back to the mission, I want an agent to make the kill, not the tank. But there is still the matter of the alien's reaction shots to contend with.
(http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/8187/7tankstats.png)
The above image shows the stats of my tank. Note the heavy armour and high health and TUs, but low reactions. This is key to what I am going to do next. As mentioned, I need to somehow deal with the possibility of reaction shots from the alien I've found. Fortunately, there is a simple way to do that: Make it spend them. On my tank. The tank would have a pretty good chance of survival in that situation, unlike an agent, and with its TUs spent, the alien would be unable to respond to any agents who open fire on it afterwards.
I roll my tank eastwards off the side of the ramp, without firing at the alien.
(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9915/8reactionshot.png)
With the low reactions of the tank, there was never really any doubt what would happen. The moment it enters the alien's line of sight, the hostile spins around and opens fire. Not once, not twice, but three times. And all three shots are on target. Fortunately the weapon it is holding is not of the heavy plasma variety we recovered an example of earlier, or even a tank would be hard-pressed to get through such a barrage, but instead what appears to be a pistol-like weapon. Even so, better check on the tank to see if it will still be functional in the rest of the mission.
(http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7681/9tankwounded.png)
Not too bad. Some health damage, but the heavy armour absorbed most of it. The damage has caused some degradation to the tank's fire control systems, and damaged the left-side armour a bit, but all in all the three hits did only minor damage, and the tank is still functional.
Note the 'Fatal Wounds' counter under the health bar. For agents, this represents continued bleeding after the initial attack, and they lose one health point per wound for every combat round that passes, until treated with a medikit. Tanks, however, do not bleed, which is another advantage they have over agents when placing them into the line of fire.
(http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/9379/10cartercoveralls.png)
Now compare the damage done to the tank with the stats of Carter, here, and imagine what would have happened had she taken the tank's place. The tank has seventy-five side armour, which is subtracted from the damage of each and every shot that hits it, and yet lost twenty-two of its ninety health points during the attack.
Carter, wearing standard X-Com issue kevlar-reinforced coveralls, has only strength eight side armour, and a measly thirty-five health points at full strength. It may very well be that even a single shot would have been enough to reduce her to ashes, and certainly all three would have done so no matter how lucky she might have been.
Simply put, X-Com agents do not respond well to plasma fire. Leave that to the tanks.
(http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6083/11secondhostile.png)
Having deliberately provoked the first alien's reaction fire, the tank now rolls south to get a visual of the area around the front of the Skyranger, and in doing so manages to spot a second alien. Both aliens are visible as bright blue dots in the map shows above, the first one north-east of the exit ramp, and the second south-east and somewhat further away.
From the map, is is also clear that my landing site in this mission is far better than last time. Only one house is nearby, and even that is still a little distance away, with the rest of the immediate surroundings being relatively flat and unobstructed. This means I can establish a secure perimeter for disembarkation without too much trouble... as long as I can deal with these two aliens before they get a chance to act, at any rate.
(http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/715/12carterlaser.png)
Carter, being the nearest agent as well as equipped with a laser pistol, gets the job of making sure the first alien won't bother us any further. I move her out and, in a moment of optimism, move her a couple of steps closer to the alien than strictly needed in order to fit them both on-screen at the same time. She still has plenty TUs left, though, enough for both an auto shot (three rapid fire shots in a row) and a snap shot. That alien is as good as dead.
She leads with the auto shot, on the basis that the alien is likely to take at least two hits to kill, and if two of the three rounds from the auto shot are on target, she would still have the snap shot in reserve for any further aliens that might show up.
(http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/2900/13firemodes.png)
It seems she has gotten used to the new laser pistol, and two of the three shots actually strike the target. All good. Except... the target is still standing. Time for the snap shot, then.
In the image shown here, you can see all the firing options available to the laser pistol, along with the TU costs and the expected accuracy. As I have mentioned earlier, pistols really aren't great long range weapons, and this is clear from the accuracy ratings. By rights, we were quite lucky to have two of the three rounds from the auto shot hit the target, given the low accuracy of 17%. And with the slightly-higher-but-still-low snap shot accuracy of 25%, we'll need some luck for that to hit, too.
The relatively short distance to the target does help with accuracy though, as the percentage listed here is for a perfect shot - even a non-perfect shot can still strike the target and do damage, and the chance of this happening is greater the closer you are to the target. Similarly, a complete miss may in some cases go right by the target only to hit a different target nearby. Friendly or hostile. So large groups of enemies means you have a decent chance of hitting -some- enemy, even if you miss the target you are aiming at. On the other hand, shooting at an enemy while one of your own agents is standing nearby means you might well hit your own agent in case of a miss.
The throw option shown here is mostly useless for something like a laser pistol. You can't hurt aliens by hurling your pistol at them, even if you have the option. But in certain very specific situations it still has a place, and I will get back to that should one ever arise.
(http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9599/14missed.png)
Carter takes the snap shot and, having used up all her luck on the first attempt, misses the target. The holes now visible in the field are the result of the two missed shots - The laser pistol is fairly powerful compared to standard projectile weapons, and when it hits something it generally leaves a mark.
Because of this, the laser pistol - and other laser weapons, though mainly the laser rifle - is very handy for breaking through things like fences, hedges, walls and other obstacles that might impede you. X-Com has really good insurance and very scary lawyers, so the owners of the farm we're on won't complain about any damage we cause.
Besides simply going through obstacles instead of going the long way around, the ability to break down walls also has another use: Ambushing the ambusher. Alies love to hide out inside buildings and watching the door, waiting to fire a barrage of reaction fire at any unsuspecting X-Com agent who might enter. Breaking through a wall and attacking the hidden alien from behind is a much more pleasant option.
Of course, some walls are stronger than others. The hardened outer walls of a UFO, for example, being designed to survive atmospheric reentry, will shrug off laser rounds as if they were little more than leaves blowing against the walls in autumn. But then, lasers are not the most powerful weapons available.
(http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/2051/15tealcposition.png)
To finish the job, I move out Zoe to take up position near Carter, and she manages to drop the Floater with two well-placed snap shots from her standard pistol. Given that the thing managed to stay upright after taking two laser pistol shots, I'm glad I managed to bring two of those on the mission. Who knows how many shots it might have taken if I had to whittle it down with only pistols. In most cases I wouldn't mind it taking extra shots to kill, but establishing the initial perimeter is something of a special case. Any hostiles there need to go down, and it can't happen fast enough.
Speaking of which, we still have the second alien to deal with, and this one still has reaction fire available should I give it the chance. And my tank doesn't have the time units left to pull the same trick on this alien as we did on the first. But there is another way.
The second alien is further away than the first, and as I have mentioned earlier, the field of vision for any given unit in daylight is limited to twenty squares in a ninety-degree forward angle. And units can only react against targets within their field of vision. Directed shots, however, can be taken against any unit within line of sight, which is -not- the same as the field of vision. Line of sight is only limited by any obstructions in the way. So I move Teal'c into a position where he is out of the alien's field of vision even if it spins to face him, yet still has it within line of sight. Essentially, the tank is acting as a spotter and would indeed be within the alien's field of vision should it spin around, but since it is Teal'c and not the tank that will be taking the shots, the alien will not be returning fire at all.
In the map above, you can see Teal'c in his firing position next to the Skyranger's landing gear, with a clear line of sight to the alien in the bottom-right of the map, right at the edge of the tank's field of vision. The corpse of the first alien is visible near the top of the map as a bright plus sign, with Carter (top) and Zoe (bottom) just east of the exit ramp, and the laser damage to the field is also apparent.
(http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/5390/16deadfloater.png)
Teal'c opens fire with his laser pistol, and manages to drop the second Floater with two volleys of auto fire. As if there was ever any doubt. It's Teal'c. It's what he does.
This is a pretty good point to end the turn. The immediate area is cleared of any aliens, only two agents are exposed (Teal'c is in decent cover behind the landing gear), and the tank is in a forward position and likely to attract most of the fire should an alien be close enough to attack the landing zone. Before I finish, though, I walk my remaining agents to the back of the Skyranger so they will be able to exit with more TUs remaining on the next turn. But, as a precaution to keep them safe in case an alien should decide to get cute with a grenade, I keep them inside instead of walking them down the ramp. Just in case.
And with that, I end the turn.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9076/m1hidden.png)
That got pretty long, and that was only turn one, so I'll end it here and continue with turn two later. Besides, watching TV has taught me that cliffhangers are the way to go.
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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I could never play a game like this, but reading this is seriously exciting. Eager for more, Shade.
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Well, if you actually find a text-based account of a turn-based strategy game seriously exciting, I guess must be doing something right. Glad to hear it :D
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Hey, Shade. One of my soldiers was wounded, and had -2 for the fatal wound thing. When I get back to base, their dossier screen says 'wound recovery: 23'. Any idea what that could mean? Chance to make it, how low it'll take?
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It means it will take 23 days for the wound to heal, and you won't be able to use that soldier in the mean time. Depending on game version, they might still be available for base defense though. As long as you get a wounded soldier back to base alive, they will survive. It is only a matter of how long it will take to get them back into action.
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Part 4.1: Ground Assault, part two
Turn two of X-Com's first ground assault against a landed UFO, and nothing much happened during the aliens' turn. I did hear a UFO door opening, so I know there is one or more aliens around a door somewhere, but by the time I actually find the UFO, that information is likely to be obsolete. The building type to the east of my landing site does not have any doors, so I would not have heard an alien enter or exit.
Regardless, finding the UFO is a priority, so I move my tank around a fence and south-east, to get a view around the south of the building.
(http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6817/18floatingfloater.png)
Near the south end of the map, I find this guy. And here we see the advantage I mentioned this race had earlier, as well as the reason they are called Floaters. Simply put, they can fly. This one is currently hovering one level above the ground, but they can go as high as three levels above, something which gives them easy access to rooftops and a way to bypass fences or hedges without leaving a hole to show they were there.
Hovering in mid air also means there is no cover around, making for an easy target. Something I will take advantage of immediately.
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2405/19thirdalien.png)
Since reaction fire is ever a concern, I am going to use the same spotter/sniper tactic to kill this one as I used with Teal'c earlier. The tank has pined down the position of the alien and, as you can see from the map above, Carter has a clear line of sight from her position just east of the exit ramp. She doesn't even need to move. There is a risk of hitting the tank with a stray shot, given its position near the line of fire, but a laser pistol is highly unlikely to even scratch a tank so that is not worth worrying about.
(http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6192/20fallenfloater.png)
Carter takes the shot, an auto shot again for the possibility of extra hits, but only manages to make one of them count. One proves enough, though. The alien falls to the ground in a heap, unable to continue hovering after being skewered by a laser beam. And Carter still has plenty TUs left, enough for another auto shot or at least two snap shots.
(http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/4272/21endttwo.png)
After that, I move the tank a little further south to get a better look around the building, but it can't go any further than shown here. As before, it ends up in a nice forward position where it it likely to attract fire that would otherwise be aimed at my agents.
Carter stays in place, and only turns to keep watch over the eastern approach.
Teal'c, meanwhile, rushes from his cover by the rear landing gear to instead take cover behind the front landing gear, allowing him to cover the south and east and, for the next turn, also places him in a good position to engage any aliens who might fire on the tank during their turn. Actually engaging them with reaction fire is unlikely given the distance between him and the tank, but should one show up through a window in the building he might just get a shot off.
Zoe takes a couple of steps east from her position south of Carter, then immediately backtracks and moves to a covered position under the Skyranger, where she can watch the south-east approach while being safe from fire from the east and north.
Not that I expect any. The reason Zoe took a few steps out and then backtracked when no enemies were spotted was to make sure any aliens who wandered into visual range during their turn would also have spent a fair number of time units. So an alien that does come close enough to see Carter, or the second soldier who will be joining her in a moment, would in all likelyhood at most be able to fire a single snap shot. And that is only if my soldiers didn't take it out with a reaction shot first. The lower your TUs, the greater a penalty is imposed on your reactions, so Carter, having stayed in place and fired only a single shot is in pretty good shape for dealing with any pesky aliens that might show up. I could have reversed the roles, Carter doing the forward scouting and Zoe remaining in position, and this would have meant an even greater chance for reaction shots as Zoe would have used no TUs at all. But Zoe does not have a laser pistol, and given the durability these aliens have demonstrated, I'll take my chances with Carter.
Finally, Ripley moves out of the Skyranger, with everyone else moving up a step but still staying inside for the same reason as before, and takes Zoe's previous position a little south of Carter, covering the east. She, too, has spent some TUs getting there, but as I have mentioned before, Ripley has the highest reactions of all my agents, and that should help her hold her own should the need arise.
Oh, and I have found the UFO. The vertical white-ish line north-east of the building on the map above is a UFO outer wall. Target locked.
And with that, I end the turn.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9076/m1hidden.png)
Rounding off, I want to point out that depite having just ended turn two, I have still only deployed my tank and four soldiers from the Skyranger. Further, I am taking fairly major precautions to make sure my troops can't be easily targeted by the aliens during their turn, as well as spacing them out enough that if they do get targeted, stray shots meant for one agent are unlikely to strike another. This keep my agents alive, but does take a toll on the speed of my deployment. Carefully does it, on Superhuman.
Next part.... when it is ready.
[Edit] Images lvlshotted.
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One request, can you use lvlshot for your images?
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I guess. I do understand that people on low resolutions might end up scrolling with regular image tags, but given how much I rely on the images for illustration, and that lvlshot decreases the clarity noticably (I did test that before I decided not to use it), I chose not to and hoped that people would be ok with that. But since it apparently is a problem, I'll change it next time I'm doing an edit.
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The images are tiny as they are anyway, I think they'd actually expand instead at this size.
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Well, it's done at any rate. That was a ton of image tags to edit though. Next time, E, tell me after the first post :p
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Part 4.2: Ground Assault, part three
Turn three, and, repeating the pattern of the previous turns, I begin by ordering my tank further forward to scout...
(http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/8302/23plasmaattack.png)
Where it immediately attracts a reaction shot. The shot hits, but the tank's thick armour absorbs all of the damage. Tanks are very expensive, but if you like keeping your agents alive, they are definitely worth the investment. This one has already absorbed enough damage to kill three or four of my unarmoured newbies, and is still in the fight.
(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6528/24flyingfloater.png)
And the shot came from here. Another floating, well, floater. Since Teal'c is still in position at the front landing gear, and thus has a clear line of sight, I will let him handle it. No laser pistol this time, though. I have pushed my perimeter out to a distance where I consider it safe to start milking aliens for all the stats they are worth, so the trusty old standard pistol comes out.
Or rather, simply gets aimed and fired. Pistols are one-handed weapons, so Teal'c has been holding the standard pistol in his left hand the whole time without penalties. Had one of the two weapons been two-handed, such as a rifle, the two-handed weapon would recieve an accuracy penalty as long as the other hand was occupied, but could still be fired. Down the line, experienced agents may have high enough firing accuracy that they can afford to take such a hit, but these are the early days and further degrading the already bad accuracy of my agents would be unwise. Not an issue here since both hands are holding pistols, though.
(http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7060/25fiveshots.png)
In the end, it takes Teal'c five shots to drop the alien, three of which were on-target. But dead is dead, and unless I miss my guess, he will be getting a promotion later for all the hits he has been scoring. Well, him or Carter at any rate. They must be more or less tied.
Due to the way ranks work in X-Com, they can't both be promoted. You are required to have a certain total number of agents to unlock each rank, and even after unlocking a rank the number of agents who can hold that rank is also determined by your total agent count. I have ten agents, so I can have at most two sergeants - one for every five agents. And Ripley already got promoted. If I had hired a couple more soldiers before embarking on this mission, I would likely have unlocked the next higher rank, which would have let Ripley promote to captain and both Teal'c and Carter promote to sergeant, one of them filling Ripley's old position. But I didn't, so one promotion only.
(http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/4183/26endtthree.png)
After dealing with the alien, I have my tank pull the same trick I used with Zoe last turn - move forward a few squares, then back up again. Ripley does the same in the north, securing that area from most threats. I do make a few changes, though, as can be seen above. I move Zoe out of her cover under the Skyranger and into position south of Ripley, ready to move towards the house on the next turn, and I move my two rocketeers out of the Skyranger to take cover behind the rear wheels.
Incidentally, despite what I said earlier about it being unwise to degrade the already bad accuracy of my newbie agents, O'Neill and Aeryn -are- in fact dual wielding their rocket launchers with a conventional pistol. The reason is simple. With rocket launchers, getting close is good enough, and this way they can still react to closer threats without having to equip the pistol first.
At any rate, I end turn with the positions as shown above.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9076/m1hidden.png)
Three turns down, four aliens dead, and no X-Com casualties. Yet. Not a bad start. But the real test is still to come.
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You use very different tactics from mine, but then mine were learned in the rather brutal school of killing Lobstermen with Gauss weapons. Teams of two, much more spacing.
Crap, now I'm tempted to play a mission to demonstrate what I mean with pictures.
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I don't think we even had a functioning computer when X-Com was released.
lol noob
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You use very different tactics from mine, but then mine were learned in the rather brutal school of killing Lobstermen with Gauss weapons. Teams of two, much more spacing.
Crap, now I'm tempted to play a mission to demonstrate what I mean with pictures.
Doooo eeeet! Do note however that at this point I haven't even started moving out, as such, the only unit which is even remotely in danger being the tank.
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Part 4.3: Ground Assault, part four
Over the next several turns, I continue my staged deployment and slowly push out my perimeter. In a turn of unusual luck, most of the terrain proves to be free of obstructions and easy for my agents to clear, with the only site offering any real danger being the house.
To deal with that, Carter uses her laser pistol to blast a hole in the back wall, allowing Zoe to move through and attack any aliens that might be hiding inside from an unexpected direction... but the house is empty. In fact, I find only one more alien outside the UFO, which is expertly dispatched by Ripley. So we fast forward a bit.
(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4328/28largescout.png)
Speaking of the UFO, here it is. In all its, um, glory? This type is a large scout, and resembles either a giant plus-sign or an X depending on the angle of view. They are quite common sights, and I am likely to be assaulting plenty more of these as the game progresses. Of the scout-class UFOs, they are also easily the riskiest to breach, so we'll be playing it safe where we can.
(http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/3785/29waitingpositions.png)
After having cleared the rest of the map, I move most of my forces into positions near the door, yet still around the side as to be out of sight from any alien that might step outside. My tank is a bit further south, keeping an eye on said door. That is just about the last use I will get out of the tank in this mission, not that it hasn't served well already - the doors in this type of UFO are only one square wide, so once I move my agents inside, the tank with its heavy armour is out of the game.
Paranoia is a worthwhile trait in this game, though, so I do leave an agent on each side of the UFO, both facing back the way I came. It would not do for some Floater that might have been hiding on the building roof to come gliding down and shooting my agents in the back just because I was certain I had cleared the entire outside map.
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/1401/30forcedentry.png)
As the first move of the breaching operation, Ripley runs around and moves inside the UFO, the tank having already made sure no aliens were outside the door. Upon entering she immediately spots an alien, after which she steps outside again. While the alien is not facing the door, had she fired on it she might not have had the time units left to make it outside again. And I do not want an agent inside during the alien turn until I have a better foothold.
(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1928/31cartershoots.png)
Instead, Carter moves up from the other side, and takes the shot through the open door. It takes two auto shots to drop the alien, with three hits landing on target, leaving Carter unable to move any further. But she is still outside, and UFO doors close automatically after every turn, so she is safe enough. Had any aliens been close enough to the door to both get there, open it and then fire, I would only have allowed Carter the one auto shot, but since the area immediately inside the door was clear but for the now-dead Floater, that precaution was unnecessary. Oh yeah, and we're back to laser pistols now. I don't kid around at this stage of the operation.
With the first defender dead and all agents safely outside the UFO, I move the rest of my breaching party up to the door, and end the turn.
(http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/341/33biggroup.png)
Were any aliens around to exploit it, this huge clump of agents would make a delicious target for a grenade. Or worse. One should never bunch up agents like this unless certain that no aliens can take advantage of it. But I was pretty certain, and I wanted as many time units available for this turn as possible.
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2003/34ufobreached.png)
Continuing the breach, I first pop an agent in to see if the front chamber is still clear, and then, having confirmed that, run four agents up to the wall opposite the door. In this UFO, aliens coming in from the inner chambers most often arrive through the door on the upper-right, and in this position my agents are covered from any fire coming from that position while still being able to move at most one or two squares to get a line of fire to it, should an alien have shown up there during their turn.
(http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/3253/36tealcalien.png)
During the alien turn, I heard a door open, and as it turns out that is precisely where it showed up. Once I have control again, I move Teal'c through the outer door to check and then, having found an alien exactly where I was hoping to find it, move him back outside again.
As so often before, I try to minimize the risk of enemy reaction fire, and opening a closed door takes a fair chunk of time units which in turn decreases the agent's effective reaction stat, so the job of killing the alien falls to someone else.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7391/37carteralien.png)
Being both able to get line of fire by moving a single square and being equipped with a laser pistol as the only agent inside the UFO - that was a mistake, by the way. I should have included Teal'c in the first group inside to have both lasers in play -, Carter gets to take the shot again.
Alien goes down after two hits, and I reset to previous positions and end turn. Before moving any further with the breaching operation, I was to see if another alien wants to pop out for a quick look and make itself an easy target.
(http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/8383/39anotherkill.png)
And as it turns out, one did. I repeat the previous scenario, step for step, with the same result. That makes two dead aliens in the same spot. This has gone uncharactaristically well so far, and I'm starting to feel maybe a bit overconfident, but nonetheless I reset to safe positions once more, determined not to throw everything at the last minute just because I was getting a bit impatient.
I end the turn.
(http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9076/m1hidden.png)
And, catching me completely by surprise, I win the mission. Huh. I didn't even get to use my rocket launchers. I got off pretty easy with this mission - The terrain was ideal, the enemies were relatively few, and I didn't even have to breach the inner chambers because the aliens were polite enough to come to me. I'm not complaining... easy wins are fine with me. Still, I would have liked to try those rocket launchers.
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/924/41spoils.png)
A fair amount of goodies to haul home this time, including some of the all-important Elerium as well as UFO power sources and navigation systems. Not to mention many more alien weapons to sell to boost my bank account. My accountants will be pleased.
(http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4739/42carterpromoted.png)
And in recognition of her contributions in this mission, Carter gets promoted to sergeant. Those three kills during the UFO breaching phase of the operation put her clearly ahead of Teal'c in kills, so this is well deserved. It is likely that several others have been promotod to the informal rank of squaddie, but those 'promotions' are not announed in the mission debriefing. Congratulations all round, though.
(http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/4994/43kaching.png)
Now this is what I'm talking about. Lots of stuff to sell, and while I'm keeping the alloys, the elerium, the ufo components and one mind probe, I can still make close to two million by selling off the rest. I'm back up to more than half of my starting funds.
(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/9616/44weapons.png)
That much money allows me a bit more freedom in my purchases. I expand my armoury with some more pistol clips to replace those spent during the mission, several more rocket launchers and rockets, a ton of high explosives ,and finally some stun rods. We're still only ten days into the game, so my alien containment facility is not yet online to keep captured aliens alive, but stun rods are fairly good close combat weapon in their own right and indeed the only melee weapon available to X-Com. Plus it means I won't forget to buy them later on.
This is the transfer overview screen, by the way, where you can see all shipments inbound to the current base. This includes both purchases, any items you might have transferred from a different base, and newly hired staff that has yet to arrive.
(http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/4827/45secondbase.png)
Even after those purchases, I still have a lot of money sitting in the bank. So I decided to get a second base started. Building a defensible base takes much longer than usual, as you are essentially bottlenecking yourself in the beginning in order to keep the number of entrypoints to one, so getting extra bases started early is helpful as it gives you enough time to develop them into something useful by the time you actually need them.
Since the USA is my biggest single sponsor, I choose to locate my second base there, a little north of New Orleans or north-west of the Florida panhandle.
(http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1949/46baseamerica.png)
As can be seen here, a newly extablished base is pretty bare. Only the starting base comes with facilities already built, while in any further bases you only get to place the access lift and then have to start from scratch. In this case, I start by building some general stores and otherwise leave further development for later.
As can be seen in the top-right, I still have almost one and a half million left, so I could actually afford to start a third base. I won't, though. Once the living quarters finish at my main base, I will need money to hire more scientists and engineers, and I can't be certain to get another UFO full of profitable loot between then and now.
(http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2158/47twobases.png)
And there it is. Two X-Com bases seen from a location above the north pole, standing ready to defend the earth against any threat. Isn't it beautiful?
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Good Work so far, It was damned lucky that you didn't have to breech the control and power rooms, those can get nasty on the large scout and certainly the worst recurring scenario in the early stages.
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[image snip]
And there it is. Two X-Com bases seen from a location above the north pole, standing ready to defend the earth wealthiest, first-world nations against any threat. Isn't it beautiful?
Fixed that for you. ;)
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Hardly. Radar coverage is only one of the tools at my disposal (the UFO I just assaulted was not detected by ground-based radar), and my Skyranger has global range with my interceptors not far behind. Australia is probably the only place I can't cover to at least some extent with my interceptors. Besides, if the 3rd world wanted me to prioritize them instead of the countries I do now, they should damn well pay me more :p
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Australia is probably the only place I can't cover to at least some extent with my interceptors.
:( Don't leave us against the alien scum.
Also, unrelated fact: I would be six years and six days old on the date of that last screenshot.
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Nice LP.
Now hire some new meatshields.....and give them proper (our) names!
It will be fun to watch our virtual counterparts get horribly mangled by alies ;7
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Nice LP.
Now hire some new meatshields.....and give them proper (our) names!
It will be fun to watch our virtual counterparts get horribly mangled by alies ;7
I second this motion and hope to make commander before Zane.
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Can I be an engineer? :P :lol:
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Nice LP.
Now hire some new meatshields.....and give them proper (our) names!
It will be fun to watch our virtual counterparts get horribly mangled by alies ;7
I second this motion and hope to make commander before Zane.
Eh? :nervous:
Edit: Besides, I've made no real contributions to HLP so why would I be mentioned? :warp:
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Shade, why aren't you using redshirts? You can't possibly hope to win the war against alienkind without redshirts to get shot instead of the main characters.
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I demand to be the sacrificial goat strapped with high explosives!
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/me is just waiting for the first night terror mission... with snakemen.
Because with snakemen come.... some other guys... :nervous:
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Being reminded of those... other guys... is the reason I got started playing X-Com again ;)
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Just started replaying X-Com again. Six days of absolutely nothing across the globe then BAM! Terror mission with nothing but rookies, basic weapons and a commander who was never really good at this sort of thing in the first place. Suffice to say that Advent Base was re-purposed into a protein extraction plant.
I am NOT responsible for the end result of the human race being reduced to alien pet food, it was...uh...Redsniper! Yeah, let's go with that...
:nervous:
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My bad...
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MEANWHILE, IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE!
Equippage:
Ten soldiers. I don't carry pistols, because A: I don't have a tank to draw fire so they will return it, B: seriously, **** the basic pistol forever, and C: redshirts. If you feed the game a few casualties it won't attempt to murder you.
The TO&E
All soliders carry a Stun Rod in the event of close-quarters action. Also a Grenade and, if appropriate to the environment, two flares. If a day mission, the flares stay aboard the Skyranger.
6 Rifles, 2 clips each, to be replaced with laser weapons as fast as possible.
1 Laser Pistol, all that was ready in time.
1 Heavy Cannon, 1 AP clip, 2 HE clips, 1 IC clip. 1 HE and IC usually left behind with starter soldiers. HE general-purpose, AP for close quarters.
1 Autocannon, 1 AP belt, 2 HE belts, 1 IC belt. Same deal.
1 Rocket Launcher, 2 Small Rockets, 1 Large Rocket, 1 IC Rocket. IC and a Small are left on the Skyranger for now. Eventually I'll get around to assigning someone as a pack mule for the Rocket Launcher but few people have the strength at this stage, and few things require the firepower.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn1-1.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn1-2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn1-3.jpg)
Dispositions, turn one; two disembarked, two ready to do so. Immediate area swept for hostiles, none found, one watching north and one south.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn2-1.png)
Dispositions, turn two. Four disembarked. North-south pairs; this spacing is a little bit of an aberration even for me, but I don't want to tempt anyone to blow the ramp off the Skyranger. Not making a rush for the UFO; I almost always sweep the UFO last.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn3-1.png)
Dispositions, turn three. Eight disembarked. Without hostile fire or contact I moved more people out. Teams firming up into the groups they'll fight the mission in. Red is Team One, with two rifles, sweeping the building, each oriented to cover a door I haven't opened. Orange is Team Two, with two rifles, watching the corner behind which the UFO is. Blue is Team Three, covering the open area, rifle and heavy cannon. Green is Team Four, rifle and autocannon, with the rifle guy against the building and the autocannon hanging so far back because he ran out of TUs. I'll close the gap up next turn. One pair, Rocket and Laser Pistol, still aboard the Skyranger. Guess we know who the mule is.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/Turn3-2.png)
The distance between members of Team Three is about my standard spacing, designed to prevent a grenade thrown at one from killing both. The only excuse I use for stacking up closer than in the open this is preparing to assault a door or corner that I suspect enemies are behind (see Team Two). Otherwise I'll keep people at least that far apart where practical. Exceptions are made for areas where grenade-throwing isn't possible (see indoors and Team One)
Think that's enough to demonstrate what I meant. :P
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You guys and your daytime scout raids make this game seem easy. Lemme see if I can get some shots of a nightime sectoid-cyberdisc terror mission I just played up here. :p
Won't be as detailed as NGTM-1R's or Shade's but it'll certainly show off some cool things for people that haven't had the pleasure of playing X-COM.
Terror missions are just what they sound like: Aliens raid the suburbs of a large city looking to coerce governments to cut X-COM funding. Also kill civilians. This one's at night, and I've deployed with 1 Tank/Laser HWP, two squads of three laser rifles and AC with HE and Incendiary ammunition, and a demolitions section with a rocket launcher (3xLarge, 3xIncendiary) and several HE packs. For the ACs I actually never bother with AP ammo early on because ACs for me never really go indoors. They just serve as fire support and at this point, all users really can't hit anything with AP anyway... But All this careful logistics got thrown out the window because I have neither medkits nor armor yet. It was a slow start to the game, and I usually get medkits after I get armor on the assumption that if you get hit without armor you're dead anyway.
(http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6608/tactical003.png)
The start was pretty tame for terror missions. Usually I can't even disembark without casualties this early into the game on terror missions because there are so many enemies. Cyberdisc in the building on the right, but he's stuck there or some **** so I'll just need to not walk by the windows. The sectoids started mind blasting my troops and a rifleman panicked and ran up towards the street and got shot.
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1516/tactical008o.png)
Moving my HWP down to try and find the culprits, I found, without a doubt, many. Several sectoids and at least two cyberdiscs in the street. Cyberdiscs generally explode upon death but unfortunately they didn't for me so my HWP had to manually shoot both of them, while a rifleman and gunner were able to gun down the rest of the sectoids. Meanwhile, I had to euthanize a riflewoman that had been mind controlled by an enemy sectoid, but before doing so for some reason I decided to have a rifleman shoot a hole into a warehouse and hide by a cyberdisc next to some boxes.
(http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/5961/tactical016.png)
I could get my HWP into the building, but it wouldn't have enough TUs to shoot the cyberdisc. So what I did was I moved it in there anyway to distract the cyberdisc while I withdrew my rifleman and had a demoman toss an HE pack in there. As the picture shows, it worked, but at the cost of my HWP. Oh well.
After several more close calls with a frightened demoman with a rocket launcher, I was finally on the move. My troops were too spread out to have regrouping be safe enough to be practical, so they had to move out in what groups they could. I had a rifleman and a gunner on the left side of the map moving down, though the gunner was gravely injured with two fatal wounds, another rifleman and a gunner providing suppressive fire down an alley way, and on the right side of the map two riflemen moving left to meet the other rifleman and gunner. I had lost one rifleman to panic and running blindly into the enemy, and another to my own troops after being mind controlled, and the demoman with all of my HE packs was seriously injured.
(http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/9751/tactical024.png)
I didn't find much else until I came to a gas station. At least three cyberdiscs were there, one having tried to move up and met a few of my gunner's HE rounds and riflemen's laser bolts (if you've been wondering, my laser guns are indeed rifled!). Several sectoids also tried to move up but to no avail. After several rocket shots and liberal application of boolit, apperantly everyone had died. Unfortunately, my demoman's wounds were too severe and he did not survive.
(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9388/geoscape000.png)
Looks like I even managed to save five civilians! No doubt they're probably insane now, but that's not X-COM's concern!
Seriously, though, you don't want to know how many times I needed to save and reload.
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You guys and your daytime scout raids make this game seem easy. Lemme see if I can get some shots of a nightime sectoid-cyberdisc terror mission I just played up here. :p
My first attempt to demonstrate actually was a nighttime scout mission which ended in loldie on the first turn when an alien chucked a grenade into the open back of the Skyranger.
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scout mission which ended in loldie on the first turn when an alien chucked a grenade into the open back of the Skyranger.
This is X-COM in a nutshell.
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So after having a nightmare of a time getting this game to work (X-Util has a wonderful bug with loading missions involving very small and small ships), I finally have a game running (and am doing rather well, I think).
One of the last missions I encountered forced me to start save-scumming (which I hate doing).
It was a large floater ship (note: the first time I encountered a multi-level ship, I had no idea how to go up (well, I knew how to go up, I just didn't know that I could do it there and on that).), and every now and then one of the bastards would open the (center) landing hatch doors and fire what I can only call an Artificially-intelligent Nuclear Device (A.N.D.). The A.N.D. would seek out the most damaging location to explode, and take out EVERYTHING within twelve-or-so tiles.
One time, and this is funny, it zigzagged its way across the map*, went passed my skyranger (passing by a number of troops and a tank), turned around, flew up into my skyranger, and then blew up, killing my two most valued troops. And I don't have cloning, yet.
*Rough view of the map:
_____________
| |
| X |- Skyranger
| X |
| |
| ____|
| | |
| | - Apple orchard
| |___|
| 0 |
| |
| 0 O 0 | - O is the landing hatch
| |
| 0 |
|______________|
If there's any way to defend against that, please let me know how.
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Ah, the Blaster Bomb. The greatest device for blowing your guys up ever devised, whether it's blowing yourself up from missetting the waypoints or flying out of the darkness to annihilate a half-squad.
Spacing. Won't cause it not to fire, unlike not presenting grenade target, but it does minimize the damage. and it does seem to noticeably slow down the rate of fire.
Kill the spotters. (The door-opening you noted was very likely someone moving out to spot; also if you killed him, he wouldn't be opening the doors so really you're safe either way.) No, really, the game does cheat on that, but not that much. Aliens have slightly superior night-vision and will remember your location for two-three turns after sighting you if you sit still. Kill the spotters and move around.
Move quick. Don't give the heavy weapons time to play on your position; blitz straight up and assault the UFO, where they're likely to be.
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And I don't have cloning, yet.
Cloning? wat?
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Ah yes, the Blaster Launcher. When facing enemies using that, it's time for a major change of tactics. I was going to go over this when I first encountered them in the playthrough (and I'm still on that, just haven't had much time this week so far), but since you have trouble I might as well jump the gun a bit and add my bit to what NGTM-1R has already said.
What you want to do is not give them any target to shoot at, which can be a bit tricky. See, discounting psi attacks, aliens more or less obey the same line of sight rules as you do. That is, they'll only fire on enemies they can see... or have seen on a previous turn and which happen to be in the same location as they were then. So when faced with blaster launchers, at the end of your turns you'll want to move ALL of your agents a couple of paces just in case, and also place anyone on the front line that might get spotted directly into some sort of covered position. That usually (but not always) keeps aliens from using their blaster launchers against you.
If you have blaster launchers yourself, you have another option: Fire first. In UFO recovery missions, the enemy blaster launcher users are generally concentrated around the bridge of the UFO. So use the good old bunker-busting trick of firing one shot to make a hole, then follow it up with a second one through the hole to level the entire bridge section. Also has the benefit of taking the strongets psi users out if going up against a race with that capability.
Goober: I made a reference to cloning in my playthrough, but it was just poking fun at the way that X-Com, if funding allows, can apparently call on a limitless number of troops with noone ever asking questions or wondering if perhaps a 90% casualty rate is a bit high. There are no actual cloning facilities in the game.
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With flying suits the blaster becomes your biggest friend in your hands and less of a problem in the enemy's.
a few things to remember
1. Explosions only travel laterally iirc and not vertically so floating your soldiers across several levels will greatly reduce casualties from explosions while having a minimal effect on the ability of your troops to cover each other.
2. The blaster is the only weapon that can reliably puncture the outer hull of a UFO and it dont matter what class is so a battleship is just as vulnerable as a scout, use this to blast a hole in the (top if you have flying suits, side if not) and swarm in once you have secured the surrounding area.
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Note to self: research the blaster.
And I am disappoint in your joking abilities, Shade. :P
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So use the good old bunker-busting trick of firing one shot to make a hole, then follow it up with a second one through the hole to level the entire bridge section.
I love this trick. Combined with flying suit technology, it's fun to take out the commanders first and then watch as all the lower-ranked aliens start panicking.
I was inspired to start a Superhuman playthrough myself. Quite a bit harder, but I was rewarded by having a blaster launcher and some bombs dropped in my lap when my base was attacked by Floaters early on.
Goober: I made a reference to cloning in my playthrough, but it was just poking fun at the way that X-Com, if funding allows, can apparently call on a limitless number of troops with noone ever asking questions or wondering if perhaps a 90% casualty rate is a bit high. There are no actual cloning facilities in the game.
Yeah, having previously completed the game, I knew there were no cloning facilities. I was just wondering what BloodEagle was referring to -- I guess it was a line that I missed in your post. :p
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I was inspired to start a Superhuman playthrough myself. Quite a bit harder, but I was rewarded by having a blaster launcher and some bombs dropped in my lap when my base was attacked by Floaters early on.
Yeah, things certainly go faster on Superhuman. I've been having it pretty easy so far, with no big nasties yet, but the smaller UFOs are showing up with such regularity that I almost have more money than I know what to do with now. And it's still January :p
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Was running through on at one casuality each in my first five missions, even on a battleship assault. Lost five on sixth. Damn, there goes my imperfect record.
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Oh, and my seventh mission as a Base Assault. On my base.
With the slasher-smile guys we all know and love.
That went well.
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Eep. Bad luck there, in my experience those guys rarely show up until 2+ months in even on superhuman.
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I give up. Either my PC can read my mind or I just suck to epic proportions.
I just got my arse handed back to me on a stainless steel specimen dish...AGAIN! :banghead:
A small UFO landed near my (still under manned and under equipped) base while my skyranger was on it's way to a crashed UFO and my interceptors were on their way back from a patrol halfway across the world and shooting down the ship. Straight away I was crapping myself, doubly so when it took off and moved out of range of my interceptors that were now only airborne due to the pilots flapping their arms out of the window.
During the mission at the crashed UFO, I lost my three top soldiers and a rocket HWP along with three others hospitalised along with the large amounts of ammo used. Did I mention that I forgot to save since the start of the game?
Needless to say, when my base got seized after a feeble fight against three unarmoured hobos off the street (I actually called them Street hobo#) equipped with stun batons, a cripple with an autocannon and bunch of insane obstructions, I realised that it's a good thing that I'm not in control of the worlds safety.
Damn I suck... :(
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I give up. Either my PC can read my mind or I just suck to epic proportions.
I just got my arse handed back to me on a stainless steel specimen dish...AGAIN! :banghead:
A small UFO landed near my (still under manned and under equipped) base while my skyranger was on it's way to a crashed UFO and my interceptors were on their way back from a patrol halfway across the world and shooting down the ship. Straight away I was crapping myself, doubly so when it took off and moved out of range of my interceptors that were now only airborne due to the pilots flapping their arms out of the window.
During the mission at the crashed UFO, I lost my three top soldiers and a rocket HWP along with three others hospitalised along with the large amounts of ammo used. Did I mention that I forgot to save since the start of the game?
Needless to say, when my base got seized after a feeble fight against three unarmoured hobos off the street (I actually called them Street hobo#) equipped with stun batons, a cripple with an autocannon and bunch of insane obstructions, I realised that it's a good thing that I'm not in control of the worlds safety.
Damn I suck... :(
Yep, that's x-com all right. Even if you're the best at this game a lot of times there's just nothing you can do about your soldiers dying.
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SAM SAM SAM!
Spike.
SAM AWAY!
Or just hire 20+ meatshields with a pistol each and leave them permanantly at your base bro :nod:
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Just had the luckiest Terror mission ever.
10 soldier with personal armour
10 laser rifles
8 medkits (some got destroyed waong with their carriers on a previous mission and have not had chance to replace them yet)
1 Laser tank
10 alien grenades.
firstly the travel was only a few hundred miles from my Americas response team
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/cc463b2e821b409c9c8aa874aa5580e664276408e25036c791ed29d911afa7d82g.jpg) (http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=omh3oiizil36nrc&thumb=5)
secondly the mission was floater/reaper (I have had a few encounters with snakemen and have shot down at least one snakeman terror ufo prior to this.)
thirdly I only had 1 floater and 1 reaper in my landing area with only a 4 floaters near by, the rest spawned near the far end of the map. there was a blaster on the map but all the alien managed to do was nuke a couple of people and one of its fellow floaters in a bad shot (I didnt half swear when i heard the whistle during hidden movement).
Lastly this was the result of the mission
(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/f59fcf8c67bfdbf233e17568b7cc2bd6b5b9b465e2b10fe12d82597ba5acbd7e2g.jpg) (http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=oyy1eyez7yg2f40&thumb=5)
very please and relieved with that one
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http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-XCOM/x-com-complete-pack-bundle
Thought some people might be interested on this, only for the next 10 hours ;)
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Wow. That's a damned good deal. :eek:
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Bought!
Always good to have a backup.
Worked out to about a quid via paypal....so ruleth britnnia!!
Thanks for teh infos x
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Once you get to the point you have flying suits, psi amps, and your soldiers trained with higher psi abilities, I find the game not that difficult anymore. I just send my low-psi strength guys in first as spotters. If they draw reaction fire the flying suits usually protect them. The big advantage of psi amps is not having to worry about your soldiers going too far and ending up in front of an armed alien with not enough TU's to either shoot or run away. As long as the alien is in sight you can mind control it using the high-psi-strenght guys you kept back. Heck I once cleared a very large UFO completely almost without any of my personnel inside the craft.. psi amps rule. There's nothing quite like mind controlling an alien commander armed with a blaster launcher, when attacking alien bases. He's usually in the command center, surrounded by at least 2 "leaders" and 1 or 2 soldiers, medics, navigators or engineers. Whatever the case you mind control a few to bunch them up then have them perform a blaster launcher mass suicide. Fun times :P
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Ahh, so this is where you disappeared to, Shade. :p I'd been wondering...
I read through an EU LP a few months ago, and the guy doing it made the soldiers' names to be the names of volunteers from the forum he was posting on. I know people have been asking for this already in this thread, but I wanted to add that what then happened in the other LP was that the forumites started RPing, posting personal logs and such... it really enriched the whole LP, and it's be awesome to see it done here, with people I know this time. :p
If you decide to do things that way, definitely count me in. :yes:
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Serious Sandwich definitely gets the Blaster Launcher. :D
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Ahh, so this is where you disappeared to, Shade. :p I'd been wondering...
Nah, I've just had a couple of hellish weeks at work due to an unfortunate combination of people being on vacation, people calling in sick, and an unusually high workload. Oh, and recently a lot of bailing out water from flooded cellars too, not to mention spending a bit of time without power, courtesy of a nice storm giving 150mm of rain in less one hour. So yeah, pretty much been crashing in bed after I got home, getting up a few hours later for a bite of food, and then crashing again until morning... so not a lot of room left for either minecraft or this LP :p I'll be back in action again as soon as this eases off, though.
As for the idea with characters... I'll consider it. It seems to have merit :)
[Edit] A bit more about that storm. It was actually the most rain we've ever had in such a short time. Some images from the chaos in the city I call home can be found HERE (http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Billedserier/2011/07/04145721.htm), for anyone who likes to see the elements at work. The text is in Danish, but the images should speak for themselves. The arrows to the bottom right of the image move forwards (right side) and backwards (left side).
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Damn, someone in your city must have really pissed off Chuck Norris.
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And what do we learn from this?
You don't mess with Chuck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67LgpJBPPE&feature=related
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I was kinda wondering how you get XcomUtil to do what you want it to do, i just loaded UFO Defense up using the xcloader.exe(i imagine having all the XCU files in the game's folder would make it work)
I kinda need some help on this :(
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You need to make like Lt. Snipes while he's attaching explosives.
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You need to make like Lt. Snipes while he's attaching explosives.
Best RTFM comment ever.
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I was looking through Sourceforge when I found this:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ufo2000/
Any comments on this one?
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For that matter, Shade needs to update.
IIRC UFO 2000 is like X-ComUtil, it adds some types of functionality to the basic X-Com game.
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There's also UFO: Cydonia's Fall (http://ufo.yaa.dk/). It's a very promising looking project but it's taking an incredibly long amount of time. It does have some great playable music though.
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For that matter, Shade needs to update.
I wish I had time to play just now. If I did, I would update :p
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no it's not working
you most make an update
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Pfft, twenty minutes! TWENTY MINUTES!
If you're not careful I'm going to destroy the world by failing at TFTD before you get done.
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UFO:AI is also really cool, I play it from time to time.
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UFO:AI is also really cool, I play it from time to time.
Yeah, I'm intending on doing an LP on it when the 2.4 release version hits