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

[Cubey]

As for me, I'll look 30 even in 40 years from now on. Aging is for people of lesser genius.

[ZeroNumerous]

Aging is for people of lesser genius.

I'm contractually obligated not to age. Damn X-COM..

[Lord of Rapture]

As for me, I'll look 30 even in 40 years from now on. Aging is for people of lesser genius.

Hear hear!

[The Dark Fiddler]

Oh bother, only one more page.

Here's hoping I can not be killed by a random mugger who wants to steal my identity when I go back to the normal society.

I think that even though I rarely touched the science department here, I've gleamed alot of knowledge... I wonder if I can get into science... that should be safe, right?

[Swot]

Aging is for people who take the 'time off' prank seriously.

And Cubey if you ever need some exotic prototype materials, the storage room at fort Fry was never that well organized, things went 'missing' from time to time.

[chiasaur11]

Right.

As we're done, I might as well admit all of the shameless cribbing, loose inspiration, and ignoble motives.

First thing's first. Thanks to Red Vs. Blue for names for the tank and general leadership attitude. And Bungie? Sorry for shamelessly stealing from Marathon. It happens.

If you need more X-COM LPing goodness, (although I can't provide an accurate comparison of value, being the least objective person around for this kind of thing) there's completed LPs at the Let's Play archive and the escapist forums, and half done let's plays at the penny arcade forums and stardestroyer.net.

(Yes. I read a lot of let's plays while doing this and not long before.)

Also, I started because an "X-Com is nifty" thread seemed likely to not make ten pages, so I started a LP.

Sadly for me, I have a commitment problem. I commit to things I start.

So yeah, thanks to all involved.

[Copper8642]

Farewell chiasaur. You are forever a god among playgrounders.

(because we won't run into you in countless other threads)

[chiasaur11]

Thanks.

While I'm doing this, some ideas that never got finished:

Civilian prospective on a terror raid (Cancelled for start of murder mystery plotline)
Newspaper report (Another idea on that scrapped list)
Psychic training as a mental warscape occurring at the same time as regular life. Horrific-y. (Just couldn't make it work.)
Memorial service for a laser HWP while completely ignoring soldiers who died during mission (Loses comedic edge when the most beloved character is the HWP)
Propaganda recruitment stuff (No good time for it)

[Cubey]

Psychic training as a mental warscape occurring at the same time as regular life. Horrific-y. (Just couldn't make it work.)

Psychonauts?!

[The Dark Fiddler]

As for the propaganda, there's always time for a retrospective. Or more fanart/work.

[chiasaur11]

Uh...no idea. They may not even be in an accessible folder in BG1, come to think of it. I don't really know, since I don't have it installed - or rather, only as part of the trilogy mod.

Anyway, I'd just download a mod and edit one of the portraits that come with it. Like this one. Save it in the same format and everything should work.

Sorry to bother you again, but is there a mod which would do the job without replacing the old portraits?

Just want to keep to the old formats and such.

(Also, I'll try to make a recruitment advertisement at some point as a last hurrah.)

[Johnny Blade]

A quick search gave me this.

Alternatively, if that doesn't work and you already have a portrait in mind, upload whatever you want to use for it and I'll see what I can do. May need some aimless fiddling treatment, and that might require Photoshop or a similar program.

[chiasaur11]

Got the picture in question

Spoilering it, just in case.

Spoiler

Show

[Johnny Blade]

Right...I should probably go and install BG now.

I hope it's not too urgent.

[Johnny Blade]

So, those worked for me. (Uploaded as .rar so no hosting site can do some funny bs to the images.)

[chiasaur11]

So, those worked for me. (Uploaded as .rar so no hosting site can do some funny bs to the images.)

So I just get win.rar, unzip these into a portraits folder inside Baldur's gate, and that should work?

[Johnny Blade]

Uh...sorry, forgot to explain. The images must be in a folder named Portraits in the general BG directory. (Misread your post. So, yeah, what you already wrote.)

EDIT: Also, 7zip.

[chiasaur11]

Uh...sorry, forgot to explain. The images must be in a folder named Portraits in the general BG directory. (Misread your post. So, yeah, what you already wrote.)

EDIT: Also, 7zip.

Well, thanks for trying.

Just got a 1569 error when I tried to save. And when I try to load (just to test)?

1395 error.

So...

yeah. Probably a disk error. Which means I'm out of luck.

[Johnny Blade]

Can't be the image when the problem occurs when you try to save.

So I'd also say it has to be something about your disk.

[chiasaur11]

Expletive.

Just... Expletive Expletive.


Well... since the disk goes into a frenzy whenever a portraits folder is made...


Any ideas on what to do?

[Johnny Blade]

Not really.

I'd check the CD. Maybe it's just badly scratched and one of the files is always missing/corrupt as a result. In that case, well, you know...get a new copy.

[chiasaur11]

For the preservation of human knowledge, and the illumination of future generations, a pair of X-Com recruitment pamphlets, before and after the conclusion of the Cydonian conflict, and the subsequent renovation of the X-Com charter and change in command.

Images and some text will be censored for security purposes until censored

Mid war recruitment documentation:

Sick of your dead end job?

Tired of people pushing you around?

Enjoy meeting new and interesting people, and then inadvertantly causing their deaths?

Then join X-COM! We're always hiring recruits, whether human, censored, or censored.

Be the first to test new technologies, see exotic locals, and give Johnny Ethereal a boot up his snooty alien posterior! (Note. If you choose not to join X-Com, your newfound knowledge of Ethereals can be used as legal grounds to have you executed).

And if you die, rest assured that your death will be horrible and painful, but fortunately in all cases but censored, censored, or simply bleeding out, it will at least be quick. And we'll try to avenge your death, if it doesn't take too much effort.

And if you have a severe allergy to the taste of your own blood, good news! You only need to be willing to work 30 hours a day (note to modern readers. Not a typo. Further information on the subject is still classified.) and be able to reenact any first season episode of Macguyver to join our engineering department. And if research is your field, well, any recipient of the prestigious Richards scholarship at State U with a loose approach to morals is more than welcome in our science department, headed by noted mad scientist censored.

Join X-Com today! Or be considered a traitor. Either one helps our funding.

Chiasaur11, Commander and founder of X-Com, formerly of MJ-12.


A modern example, for contrast. Note the higher quality paper stock.

You have been contacted because you've proven yourself, whether through years of service or exemplary scoring on the covert censored testing. You know who we are. We know you can be trusted. If you are willing, report to censored by censored. We await your response with interest.

censored

[Swot]

I see the second propaganda follows college ads mind games.
Whoever wrote it is one of those smart people.

[chiasaur11]

Sorry for reviving this thing, but there were a couple of things to note of almost no significance that I found since the thread started:

1) X-Com does, in fact, have nukes in the form of Avalanche missiles.

Yes. The only human weapon that does any good against alien ships is a tactical thermonuclear device. The Plasma beam can thus be assumed to be unbelievably powerful.

2) This also applies to base missile defenses. Fusion defenses are officially filed under "There is no overkill. Only open fire and I need to reload."

3) Making a Lego Skyranger is an amusing way to waste an afternoon. If I ever take pictures, I'll edit this post to link them.

[Fri]

and why do you need to edit? New post! For great justice!

Anyway, do anyone know in which page brc posted his x com avatars?

[ZeroNumerous]

Anyway, do anyone know in which page brc posted his x com avatars?

A bunch of different ones.

[The Dark Fiddler]

Well, before the thread actually gets locked, I'd like to thank whoever added this LP to the TV Tropes page for LPs.

My hat would be off to you, sir or madam, if I were not poor and such.

[chiasaur11]

Well, before the thread actually gets locked, I'd like to thank whoever added this LP to the TV Tropes page for LPs.

My hat would be off to you, sir or madam, if I were not poor and such.

It was me.

Shameless self promotion, sorry to say, rather than higher motives.