Iskandar's Travels in X-Com: Enemy Unknown

[Iskandar]

Now having watched ep26...

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Man, you're playing really careless here.
Great catch on the alien, but two dead squaddies, my equivalent shot up at the last minute (How much Will does that cost?), no support around... things are rough out there.

Admittedly, I handled that last Muton poorly. However, one of those dead squad members was not my fault.

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No seriously, guy takes 1 damage, and decides to panic and run out of cover. I take no blame for him subsequently being shot to death, nor do I feel particularly bad. And, it should be noted, fatalities up to this point have been somewhat low.

Oh, and no worries on the Will. You'll see that it doesn't really matter in the end...

[jindra34]

Learning the costs of doing too well in the beginning now are we Iskandar?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Private Journal:

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Several other missions happened. Some others went into the PsiLab for testing after earning the bird. Lots of people in the body shop. People are getting hurt hard by by these 'muton elites' everyone speaks about.

Emo went in the PsiLab and the other Sniper on active bought it on that big-arsed ship. Hell, just about everyone, but Crossblade again, is either bein' tested or hooked up to I.V. when it showed up.

This time we had one of our new interceptors available, shot that damn cloaked ship down. When they pulled Longbow out of retirement, I figured I was gonna sit this one out, too. Then they realized they had no Heavies, and were really scraping the barrel here. It was the biggest ship ever to be invaded to date, and over half the squad were squaddies like me... but hey, we got Crossblade, right?

I tell you what, though. This outfit has some sweet toys. Laser sniper rifle? Plasma pistol? SCOPE? And man, check out this armor. It's got a built-in grappling hook! Talk about making it easy to get to a good nest.

So, we put down. Longbow tosses out a sensor. Smart move, considering we don't want to run into any nasty surprises, and not much cover. Doesn't pick up anything. So Crossblade... I don't know if it's the funky suit he's wearin', or just one of those psychic abilities he's got, but he just vanishes. I mean, he's still on IFF, but it's like you can't see hi. That's when stuff gets real.

Longbow, from his vantage point I guess, pops off something out of my LoS. I just move up the side, looking for cover with a wide vantage point. That's when it breaks cover. One of the biggest, meanest looking robots I dun EVER seen. Not too accurate, though. Fortunately. That thing looks like it hurts when it hits.

Some idiot on the other side, another squaddie on first deployment, in Medic White, gets jumped by some of those Muton Elites. I guess he listened a little harder than I did about those horror stories about them, because after a grazing shot (it's not like he wasn't the one with the med-kits, now was it?), he panics and breaks cover. Yea... breaking cover with three hostiles in range is never a good idea. Ever. And pays for the mistake.

Me? I just hit the zone, man. Find a target, pop a target. What the hell, though. This freekin' laser rifle won't kill a damn thing but those little drones. But hey, it sure puts the hurt out.

So, two robots and who the hell knows how many of those elites trying to pincer us later... we're down to four. Crossblade makes the call that Longbow stays outside as overwatch, in case one of them tries to break and run. Personally, I think he's a bit worried that the PTSD will kick in. I, however, get tapped for the break-in.

It's kinda new for me, actually. Usually, I'm stationed on a different building entirely when we're doing this. I let Crossblade and Gonzo take the lead. No heroes here, man. Find me a good spot of cover that lets me fire through the door with a good range, and the door pops open for me.

Holy. Hell. No one has seen anything like that before. I took a shot, and it deflected it like it was some kind of Jedi with a lightsaber! What. Tha. Hell? Then... yea...

Look. I'd heard about it from one of the old sweats, having something play 'pull me out' with your mind. But I didn't know. God, I didn't know. And I never, ever wanna have that happen again. When they stunned it... I felt it. God help me, I felt it go down.

Playing cat and mouse with the remaining muton, Gonzo took a bad hit, but Crossblade finished it off, and we got Gonzo out to the evac point before he bled out.

After the mission was over, I was given the 'good job'. Only one confirmed kill, but plenty of assists. But what was more... I saw it in his eyes. He knew what I went through. And I knew... I don't know how, but somehow I just knew... he feels it every time he does it to one of them. And it takes a toll. You could feel the exhaustion. The immortal Crossblade... and even he was beginning to feel it. Jeez.

The CO said they couldn't promote me for some beaurocractic reason, but I don't care. Why? Because payback's what I do best. And now I'm gettin' some on these alien scumbags.

I didn't understand it before... how different it was here. Now I do. Hell, now I'm a freekin' vet, god help me. I've been there, and I came back alive.

But yanno what would be better than respect? Another chance to put an alien in my sights.

[DaedalusMkV]

Am I the only one who isn't that impressed with berserkers or crysalids so far ? From what we've seen in that LP, they charge up to your soldiers, deadly claws at the ready... and they just stop right in front of the target letting it shoot them in the face without actualy y'know attacking, having expended all their action points dashing.
I guess they are still somewhat dangerous as distraction but not really all that threatening.

Both are primarily threatening when they surprise you, or run into the middle of an ongoing engagement. The thing about Cryssalids in the early game, and Berzerkers all the time, is that you have to kill them NOW, the turn they show up, and they've got a lot of health. If you don't kill them NOW one of your dudes is dead, 100%, no hope. Now, they're pretty good about letting you shoot them, but they damage sponge like nothing else, and a bit of bad luck can result in them surviving a whole team's fire, which means dead dude. Are they super scary? No, at least in Classic a Muton is far more dangerous a threat than a Cryssalid, pretty much all the time, and a Heavy Floater or Cyberdisk scares me more than a Berzerker. But when they show up at just the wrong time, they'll do some nasty things to your batte plan.

[Triaxx]

Panicked support... pounded by three enemies...

Dammit. Am I dead again? (Haven't seen the video yet.)

[Iskandar]

Panicked support... pounded by three enemies...

Dammit. Am I dead again? (Haven't seen the video yet.)

Watch the video, then come back and read the spoiler

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Out of all the deaths y'all suffered, this one I feel the least sorry about. Cowardice under fire. And I wasn't even aware that panic could force you out of cover. Run to better cover, yes. Hunker down in the cover you had, sure. But running out into the open? Not so much. I might have tried reloading that mission, if I hadn't captured the Ethereal. As it was, well, sorry.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Guys really should get half xp for hits that aren't kills. Make it easier when you want to train up squaddies in the late game without having to think about who shoots when.

And Schneekey's a squaddie? I thought he was one of those mission rewards that start at higher rank. I mean, he could be a guy who knows his way around a bolt-action rifle with a scope and might have some real combat experience, but a real pro with a lot of experience? Eh.

Snipers should really get a "keen-eyed" ability, though, that lets them see farther. Maybe add it on top of Snap Shot, to make it more viable against Squadsight? Squadsight would be for a "set up a nest on top of a truck/with Archangel Armor" type, while Snap Shot would be renamed Scouter or something. The more mobile type would actually be more like a Designated Marksman (has a semi-auto rifle with a scope and fills a role between frontliner and sniper) than a Sniper.

[t209]

Dang!

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I think I will be the sole survivor! Again! I failed the psychic test.

[Iskandar]

Dang!

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I think I will be the sole survivor! Again! I failed the psychic test.

As close as we are to the end, I'll let out a bit of a spoiler. EVERYONE failed the psychic test.

Yeah. Frustrating. I REALLY wanted someone who benefited from Iron Will and thus had 90 or 100 will to test psi positive. Did NOT happen. I debated farming Ethereals for a bit, training squaddies, getting lots of Mind Shields and Psi Armor, and fielding a squad of super Psi Soldiers for the final mission. Decided I was getting a bit burnt out, so went ahead and finished the game as is. Turned out okay, actually.

[The Bushranger]

So, that means that:

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Crossblade was the Voluenteer, then.

ALL HAIL CROSSBLADE, SAVIOR OF EARTH.

[Iskandar]

Ok, final episode is processing now. Thanks for participating, everyone. Logan, wow. That was awesome.

[The Bushranger]

Can't wait for it to finish processing!

One comment on the last episiode (commented in the comments there, but adding it here while waiting), I was surprised you kept Schneeky as the squad's sniper for the final mission instead of Jamie Crayons - would have been pretty cool to have a squad of six Colonels for the final assault.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Can't wait for it to finish processing!

One comment on the last episiode (commented in the comments there, but adding it here while waiting), I was surprised you kept Schneeky as the squad's sniper for the final mission instead of Jamie Crayons - would have been pretty cool to have a squad of six Colonels for the final assault.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

[t209]

A poem for my t209:
Went on to X-Com at last year.
Heard the final scream of friends from my ears.
The feelings of sole survivor that I have to bear.
Now, to the final battle, I will march for dare.
I wonder

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if I will be the survivor again. Just as I did in the last x-com (I went derp though).

[The Bushranger]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

Heh, can't say I blame you.

[Iskandar]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault. But hey, two missions, two promotions, I ain't complaining.

Yeah. Not sure why I didn't, honestly.

Though, thinking on it, I think it was that she failed Psi testing, so I was training another Sniper to Colonel and was going to try again. I simply forgot to do the switch for the final mission. Lucky for her, that last mission was kinda bad new all around.

[The Bushranger]

Yeah, somebody has to be in charge for the sequel.

(Whether it's TFTD or something with Cydonia.)

[Iskandar]

X-Com Commander's Personal Log November 1, 2015

This will probably be my final log entry as commander of the X-Com project. With the destruction of the Temple ship, and the subsequent near elimination of alien activity, the Council is mothballing the Ant Farm and scaling the X-Com project down to a skeleton force. Doctor Shen and Doctor Vahlen have already returned to their respective civilian postings, and most of the combat troops and support personnel have returned to their home countries' military forces.

I'm not sure I agree with the decision to all but shut down the Project this quickly. While it is true the immediate threat seems to be over, I can't help but feel that the war is not over. No one is listening, however, too busy celebrating the victory to worry about the future.

Still, I am glad that things appear to be peaceful for now. If I never have to write another "I regret to inform you" letter it will be too soon. The bean counters say our losses were "light" considering the threat we faced. Light? I don't even know what that means.

The civilian casualties were worse, of course. We will be cleaning up the mess the aliens left us for years, if not decades. Nowhere is that more evident then in what was the United States of America. It is now apparent that the aliens and their psy controlled puppets managed to seize control in all the panic and disorder caused by the constant attacks. With the Temple ship gone, that control seems to have snapped, and the entire country is in anarchy. What is left of the original government is trying to restore order, but it is an uphill fight.

And that isn't the only bad news. I had hoped that that the unity we achieved under alien threat would survive after that threat had been removed. Hoped, but not really expected. There are already reports of skirmishes in the Middle East, and it looks like parts of Africa and Asia won't be far behind. It is possible that the entire world will fragment into infighting, trying to gain control of the alien technology left behind. With rumors that China is trying to develop an Elerium infused nuclear weapon, we might achieve what the aliens did not, the destruction of Earth.

I'd like to believe, however, that Crossblade did not die in vain. That we will come out of this stronger than we were before. Crossblade... he really was something special, larger than life. A true hero. And his gifts were unique. Truly unique, as we have been unable to duplicate the experiments that granted him his powers. With the Temple ship gone, there is every chance that we never will. Which is a blessing, I think.

I think it is also a blessing that Crossblade did not return from that final mission. He had been showing signs of strain, of strangeness. I can't help but think he would have ended up in Doctor Vahlen's lab undergoing who knows what kind of experiments sooner rather than later if had come home. Better to die a hero then become some kind of lab rat.

The world is a different place now than it was eight months ago. For better, or for worse, I'm still not sure yet. Our technology has advanced, certainly. Whether our society can cope with the changes is yet to be seen. Still, having served with the best that Earth had to offer, I have hope. And if the aliens ever return, we will be waiting.

Vigilo, Confido

Commander, X-Com Project, log end.

[Triaxx]

Haven't seen the end. Saw my end.

I'm thinking of a word. That word is an expletive.

I hate these games, especially with you playing! ;) Kidding of course.

Now I have to play UFO:AI and use Iskandar as my door guy. :D

[ShneekeyTheLost]

"Firaxis... fix your damn game..."

Truer words were never said.

Killed by a mind-controlled ally... what a way to go...

[Domochevsky]

"Firaxis... fix your damn game..."

Truer words were never said.

Killed by a mind-controlled ally... what a way to go...

And then i got killed by the game's cleanup from the load-bearing boss after offing you. I call bogus on that.

(You, on the other hand, totally deserved that shot, though.)

Meanwhile, does that mind control the final boss does even allow a saving throw? 115+ Will and he still got it on the first try in both cases... seems a bit cheap.

[t209]

Wait

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I am the only survivor again! For me, I will spend most of my time in Veteran clinic or what's left of it.

Edit: Need update on kill list.

[Iskandar]

Wait

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I am the only survivor again! For me, I will spend most of my time in Veteran clinic or what's left of it.

Edit: Need update on kill list.

Technically, Shneeky also survived. He was down, but not out. Whether he could have been hauled all the way back to the Skyranger, well.

As far as getting an updated memorial list, sort of hard. 12 dead overall, some of them not part of the audience participation.

[t209]

Technically, Shneeky also survived. He was down, but not out. Whether he could have been hauled all the way back to the Skyranger, well.

As far as getting an updated memorial list, sort of hard. 12 dead overall, some of them not part of the audience participation.

Is it okay to retcon the death of teammates from mindcontrol since it is bug? Or is it a part of gameplay?
P.S- Did I die in UFO: Extraterrestrials?

[Copacetic]

Honestly, I was a bit surprised I wasn't replaced by "Emo" Crayons as soon as he came out of the psi-vault.

All for the better, as it turns out.

Well done Iskandar, excellent lets play yet again.

[Iskandar]

There, updated the death list. Crossblade should be part of that, but hey. Did not count the two "bugged" deaths. Ranks may be incorrect, but I think I grabbed everyone. 11 dead from you guys, and one non-audience death equals 12.

[The Bushranger]

Just one nit to the ending roster - Shneekey was a Sargent ("Drifter") on the final mission, and had earned a promotion (Lt) on it.

Awesome playthough, even if I never made it onto the squad. Now I just need to finish watching through your travels in the original UFO Defense...

[t209]

By losing America as your support,
I think you just made People Republic of Alaska in Terror from the Deep.
I wonder what is waiting in possible expansion pack,
- Upgrades for Tank thingy
- Base defense
- More enemies (brink back snake man)
- Terror from The Deep
- Multiple Skyranger
P.S- Is it okay to make pony references there since you might have peeve against Hasbro for what they did to X-Com?
P.S- I am a colonel now.

[Hiro Protagonest]

By losing America as your support,
I think you just made People Republic of Alaska in Terror from the Deep.
I wonder what is waiting in possible expansion pack,
- Upgrades for Tank thingy
- Base defense
- More enemies (brink back snake man)
- Terror from The Deep
- Multiple Skyranger

- Maybe
- No idea how that would work
- Thin men are snake men that the Ethereals messed with until they looked like whatever race they wanted to experiment on this time. See: reptilian eyes
- That would be a sequel, not an expansion
- Would wreak havoc with how the game works.

[The Bushranger]

The last at least would close a bit of a plot hole though. You can build your own UFOs, for Pete's sake, but not more Skyrangers?