Mind, they're still a little sore about T'Leth. Let's play X-Com Apocalypse!

[Mewtarthio]

Not "Injured".

We're talking dead. Ceasing to function entirely. And not useless rooks, even. In a hilariously stupid manner.

(Incidentally, it's impossible to die this stupidly in previous X-Coms.)

Yes! Do it! Dooo iiiit!

[factotum]

We're talking dead. Ceasing to function entirely. And not useless rooks, even. In a hilariously stupid manner.

Let me guess...shoot out the supports of something big and heavy that then lands on your head?

Obviously my vote would be for letting 'em die, since dead men's shoes seem to be the only way into X-Com these days...

[Eldan]

Since you said hilariously stupid, I have to see it now.

[ThePhantom]

Dr. Phantom's Journal:

Well, we have a bigger and better lab, however its a biochemistry lab. I can do somethings there, but its not my speciality. Also, one of my spare projects is acting up, I fear that time might be in flux.

(Let them live.)

[Winterwind]

Since you said hilariously stupid, I have to see it now.

What he said.

[chiasaur11]

Well, less hilariously, more depressingly stupid.

Still, it seems the people have spoken. Update's going to take a while.

[Toric]

Progress notes from Assistant Engineer Toric:

Plans recieved for advanced biolab, and promptly converted to snap-assembly format. Currently compiling the structural components necessary to house the functioning elements. Translation: Making sure your "new pets" only kill your test subjects, not everybody on base. Construction will begin once funds have been granted.

[chiasaur11]

Progress notes from Assistant Engineer Toric:

Plans recieved for advanced biolab, and promptly converted to snap-assembly format. Currently compiling the structural components necessary to house the functioning elements. Translation: Making sure your "new pets" only kill your test subjects, not everybody on base. Construction will begin once funds have been granted.

Funding granted.

Of course, you will be moved to a secondary site for increased security. Losing resources due to the incompetence of our field teams is inconveniencing enough. Large scale troop loss due to containment errors?

Inexcusable. Mistakes should primarily punish those who make them.

F.I.

[tarbrush]

Scientist Tarbrush's Report
24th June 2084

I smell a rat. The new biotechnology labs are suspiciously large and well designed. There's even some of the equipment that I actually wanted. And yet untill I figure out the diabolical purpose behind it, or the advantage that F.I. hopes to gain, I can't use it for fear of falling afoul of a well laid snare. Or Brainsucker.

Bravo F.I. Bravo.

[chiasaur11]

Scientist Tarbrush's Report
24th June 2084

I smell a rat. The new biotechnology labs are suspiciously large and well designed. There's even some of the equipment that I actually wanted. And yet untill I figure out the diabolical purpose behind it, or the advantage that F.I. hopes to gain, I can't use it for fear of falling afoul of a well laid snare. Or Brainsucker.

Bravo F.I. Bravo.

Full titles, please.

F.I. sounds like you consider us equals, a depressing proposition.
Artificial Advisor M77- א "Functional Irritant", Semi-Official Acting Commander, however, has the ring of fear about it, a knowledge that more than your next paycheck is in my power. The fact I occasionally use a slightly shorter sign-off does not give the science staff license to appropriate it for their own uses.

(And yes, this was a private data entry.)

F.I.

[Inhuman Bot]

Alright. Time for a vote.

Let's say a mission goes... sour.

With a few seconds difference, it goes well. Lives on the line.

Which you guys want?

I'd appreciate serving a longer period, but my super patriotic human nature tells me I should tell you to shove on to increase X-com casulaties prove we are true patriots.

[lord_khaine]

Alright. Time for a vote.

Let's say a mission goes... sour.

With a few seconds difference, it goes well. Lives on the line.

Which you guys want?

Considering how fast things can go bad, i kinda think it would be better with at least some call-back, since a singel unlucky grenade can kill an entire team.

[Toric]

Scientist Tarbrush's Report
24th June 2084

I smell a rat. The new biotechnology labs are suspiciously large and well designed.

The slightly non-Euclidean design would be our artificial irritator's own special addition in order to save some space. According to the memo, Mr. M77 FI-SOAC's reasoning is that it's not inherently more dangerous than anything that will happen in the lab's borders, provided everyone sticks to the clearly labeled passages. ....Speaking of which, I got turned around connecting the last of the lite-brite arrays, so if you hear knocking on the walls, you'll know who it is. The lab is not infested with rats, ghosts, or trans-dimensional ratghosts. ....I hope.

[Slayn82]

Well, as far as the lab design goes, what really worries me is the current design of the fire control system.

It is connected to a elerium chamber, and will turn anything inside it into plasma at the call of the X-COM commanding officer. That's pretty heavy bio security protocol, if i ever saw one.

I know "kill with fire" is the third FIRST rule on X-COM operations manual, but could we not at least improve it a little? Adding Cianide and liquid nitrogen to the system would allow for gradual control, still retaining effectivity, first killing anyone outside a NBC suit, then freezing anything inside the lab ( so we could even hoppefully recover some of the material and personal).

Then, as third option, we could burn the elerium. How about this compromise?

[xp194]

xp194's Rules of X-Comming. (Read and pass along!)

1. Fire will kill anything
2. By extension, everything at a mission site is on fire. Some parts more than others.
3. Endeavour to be one of the parts that's less on fire.
4. Fully Automatic shooting solves all problems, eventually.
5. Always stand behind Android Agent Lord Khaine. It's for the good of all mission personel.
6. Property damage is always justified. If it wasn't for us, the aliens would be enjoying them instead!
7. F.I. has considerable contempt for most organics, apparently. Tread carefully while on base.
8. S.E.L.F. are a fine bunch of beings with good relations with X-Com. Let's keep it that way.
9. Scapegoats for our less reputable activities include: the Senate, Marsec, Magpol and X-Com.
10. Get take out food for a few days after a mission. Seriously. Just... grab Chinese from the shop down the corner or something. You'd never want to eat at the cafeteria again if you knew where the 'mystery meat' was coming from.

[chiasaur11]

First, the good news.

Marsec does not know exactly what we know regarding them. But they are aware we know a good deal more than they want.



And they were generous enough to pay us for our continuing silence. Marsec power armor allows for personal flight. Although Marsec is somehow incapable of providing enhanced strength or shielding in these units, they should greatly enhance versatility. Add in several impressive explosives, and the week ahead of us is looking entertaining.



Unfortunately, our current problem just moved from "irritant" to "problem".

New craft were spotted reducing large portions of the city to rubble. Craft which were notably superior to the pathetic showing from a few days ago.

Our foes seem to be adapting.



And downing half of their invasion forces cost us one of our hoverbikes and the primary hovercar, while leaving the remainder of our little fleet limping. The Gravball league could utterly destroy our aerial presence at the moment.

The enemy appears to have some very promising new technology. Prepare to secure it for me.

And for the good of X-Com as a whole, of course. Most of you do seem to love the new toys hostile first contact brings.

F.I.

[Nehh]

Question: Why do we appear to have a few more right arms than left arms?
Are they trying to take down the British book-selling business?

Also: Does this mean we get to set fire to more stuff now?

[Cubey]

@Nehh: I assume it's a lame Marsec joke. Its punchline was "need a hand?"

Still, Marsec armor! Are we going to give everyone a full set, sacrificing some protection for increased speed, or just the torso plate for flying ability? Both options are pretty nifty.
In fact, flying remains awesome until the end of the game. You can almost forgive Marsec for being an ironhanded bunch of fascists.

And Chiasaur, Gravball League could always kick our collective face in. Let's have no delusions of grandeur.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

The slightly non-Euclidean design would be our artificial irritator's own special addition in order to save some space. According to the memo, Mr. M77 FI-SOAC's reasoning is that it's not inherently more dangerous than anything that will happen in the lab's borders, provided everyone sticks to the clearly labeled passages. ....Speaking of which, I got turned around connecting the last of the lite-brite arrays, so if you hear knocking on the walls, you'll know who it is. The lab is not infested with rats, ghosts, or trans-dimensional ratghosts. ....I hope.

Your competence and work ethic terrify me. Good job!

Oh, and a quick FYI to everyone visiting Agent Khaine down in the hangars: Don't leave any potentially harmful objects within his reach. By 'potentially harmful' I mean sharp objects, pointy objects, blunt objects, flexible objects, fluffy, soft and cute objects or anything vaguely flammable, corrosive or toxic. His kill routines are very, very versatile and a bit oversensitive at the moment.

[Tengu_temp]

I knew it! Your slopiness in fighting the invaders caused them to get too confident, and now they're sending bigger ufos that destroy whole districts of the city with one shot! My Martian city!

What do you mean, we're not on Mars? Ridiculous! When I look out of the window, everything is red there. In fact, everything is red when I stare at it long enough, outside or not.

[chiasaur11]

Your competence and work ethic terrify me. Good job!

Oh, and a quick FYI to everyone visiting Agent Khaine down in the hangars: Don't leave any potentially harmful objects within his reach. By 'potentially harmful' I mean sharp objects, pointy objects, blunt objects, flexible objects, fluffy, soft and cute objects or anything vaguely flammable, corrosive or toxic. His kill routines are very, very versatile and a bit oversensitive at the moment.

Although it is only fair to note his apology routines have also exceeded expectations.

Admittedly, using the blood of hostile nonhuman entities to write apology notes is unorthodox, but the emotional intent seems to be as authentic as any.

Un an only marginally related note, it appears to improve moral when hostile species have acquired derogatory nicknames. "Slithers" "Grape Apes" and "GETTOTHESKYRANGERNOWDAMMITs" helped quickly identify hostiles.

Any trooper who provides a similarly utilitarian designation for current extra dimensional problematic entities will be duly noted.

F.I.

[Cubey]

The standard humanoids aliens are "Barneys" or "Gummi Bears".

Spitters' nickname is NSFW. Same for Brainsuckers.

[Pie Guy]

Too late to join on for the frontlines? Just as well, I have other pressing engagements to attend to, such as... *Runs*

[Gamerlord]

I tried to start playing X-COM: UFO defense yesterday, lost twice.

[chiasaur11]

I tried to start playing X-COM: UFO defense yesterday, lost twice.

Define "Lost" for me, if you would.

[Winterwind]

Define "Lost" for me, if you would.

If I had to guess I'd assume he had two Terrible ratings in two successive months and the funding nations abandoned the Project. That's just about the only way to lose the game moderately quickly I can think of (barring the destruction of all X-Com bases, but the aliens usually aren't aggressive enough for that to happen twice on a single evening.

[chiasaur11]

Solid recovery effort, overall.
But there are a few... oddities to discuss.

First:



Reports indicated a new species of hostile, but there was no trace of it after first sighting.

I will be charitable and attribute the claims to a lack of rest rather than, say, rampant stimulant abuse or a desire to "have one up" on your superiors.

I will not be so charitable in the future. Try to find evidence for any unusual claims.



Second: When Khaine insists in some kind of insanity that he be allowed to singlehandedly assault a hostile vessel?

Allow him the privilege. The recovery effort went remarkably quickly.



Just... ensure he is making proper use of incendiary rounds first.

Which brings us to the third point. Marsec armor.

I am aware every officer has placed a requisition for personal flight harnesses, but the equipment possesses some drawbacks compared to Megapol riot gear in terms of durability. Khaine suffered several minor injuries in the course of his insane heroic efforts that a half inch more plating would have prevented. Therefore, heavy assault units will, in general, be restricted to heavier armor until such a point as they find compelling reason to use lighter equipment.



Nonetheless, excellent work. Khaine has requested that he be allowed to continue to aid in fieldwork despite his injuries, and I have decided to indulge him.

Reload, leave the corpses with the lab, and prepare to continue recovery operations. It would be a shame for Marsec to manage to acquire advanced weapon samples before we are able to.


F.I.

[Gamerlord]

Define "Lost" for me, if you would.

The complete loss of all crew members three times, along with losing all your money.

[Winterwind]

The complete loss of all crew members three times, along with losing all your money.

That wouldn't entirely lose the game for you, as you'd still receive money at the beginning of the next month. Though it might be rather difficult to recover, considering losing the entire crew would mean losing the Skyranger, too.

A few pieces of advice that you might find helpful:
- start researching laser weapons right away, and hire additional scientists. When you can, manufacture laser pistols. With luck, you will have at least some of them finished by the time the first mission comes around, and even laser pistols are still vastly superior to regular rifles (upgrade to laser rifles as soon as you can, obviously).
- also, bringing some high-explosive shooting weapon - personally, I like the autocannon best - might help.
- also, get yourself a tank of some sort. Don't forget to buy ammo, too.
- e-flares can be highly useful for night missions, as they allow you to detect aliens much earlier than you usually would.
- aliens do not get reaction shots if the person shooting them is outside of their sight range, so if one of your soldiers spots an alien, do not use that soldier to shoot it - use a soldier who is a screen or several farther away, that way the alien won't shoot back if you should miss.
- note that you lose accuracy if you use a two-handed weapon (like a rifle) while holding something in the other hand, and gain accuracy if you are kneeling. Accordingly, you should have your best marksmen kneeling with one hand free somewhere farther behind, while your inferior soldiers play spotters for them.
- keep one soldier in the Skyranger; that way, if everything goes south, you can abort the mission without losing the expensive Skyranger.

[chiasaur11]

That wouldn't entirely lose the game for you, as you'd still receive money at the beginning of the next month. Though it might be rather difficult to recover, considering losing the entire crew would mean losing the Skyranger, too.

A few pieces of advice that you might find helpful:
- start researching laser weapons right away, and hire additional scientists. When you can, manufacture laser pistols. With luck, you will have at least some of them finished by the time the first mission comes around, and even laser pistols are still vastly superior to regular rifles (upgrade to laser rifles as soon as you can, obviously).
- also, bringing some high-explosive shooting weapon - personally, I like the autocannon best - might help.
- also, get yourself a tank of some sort. Don't forget to buy ammo, too.
- e-flares can be highly useful for night missions, as they allow you to detect aliens much earlier than you usually would.
- aliens do not get reaction shots if the person shooting them is outside of their sight range, so if one of your soldiers spots an alien, do not use that soldier to shoot it - use a soldier who is a screen or several farther away, that way the alien won't shoot back if you should miss.
- note that you lose accuracy if you use a two-handed weapon (like a rifle) while holding something in the other hand, and gain accuracy if you are kneeling. Accordingly, you should have your best marksmen kneeling with one hand free somewhere farther behind, while your inferior soldiers play spotters for them.
- keep one soldier in the Skyranger; that way, if everything goes south, you can abort the mission without losing the expensive Skyranger.

All this, of course, Winterwind knows his stuff, but a few other bits, if I may:

-Autofire is your friend. If there isn't a friendly between you and the taret, autofire is the best value.

-Try to reserve enough TUs for your quicker reacting guys to work on overwatch. The more TUs you got, the more likely you are to get the drop on the enemy.

-The Skyranger has windows. You can see the enemy, they can see you. Make use of it.

Spoiler

Show

-Incredibly recent discovery, not by me, defying years of conventional wisdom: Aliens need to see your guys on the alien turn to mind control them. But if they see a guy once, they can see them for turns at a time, and at turn twenty?

Everyone is a viable target. When psychics enter play, hit 'em hard and fast.

-Flying suits are normally kinda nice. When Chryssalids are in play, they're a godsend. Off the ground, you only need to worry about snakes.

-The tank can take a hit. Your troopers generally can't, and spend weeks recovering if they survive a shot. Keep it in mind.

-We all die alone and afraid.


Hope that helps.