Congratulations Iskandar. I'll be patiently awaiting the return of your Lets Play, and by no means staring daggers at your current sniper of choice.
Don't worry, your time to shine is coming. I'm going to start doing mass psi checking of everyone Major rank or higher, and thus will be pushing everyone I can to Major rank or higher.
I wanted a request to remove my helmet at Sergeant Level, like Space Marine Sergeant.
Give it some buzz cut or shortest hair on my character.
Edit: On Second thought, I wanted to remove my helmet now!
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Pony Minecraft Avatar
Rest in Peace:
Spoiler
Miko Miyazaki, Thanh, Durkon- Order of the Stick
Krunch- Looking For Group
Bill- Left 4 Dead
Soap Mactavish- Modern Warfare 3
Sandman- Modern Warfare 3
Ghost and Roach- Modern Warfare 2
Gabe- Dead Space 2
Dom- Gears of War 3
Carmine Brothers- Gears of War series
Uriel Septim VII- Elderscrolls Oblivion
Commander Shepherd- Mass Effect 3
Ned Stark- Song of Ice and Fire
Apple Jack's parents
And speaking about shortly, my girlfriend is going into the hospital Monday to have the baby. All my let's play will be on hold for, at a minimum, two weeks. I shall return.
Do we get to suggest names for that one too? Grats.
Oohhh... sniper. And from... South Africa, looks like.
Backstory
Spoiler
There is no such thing as 'impossible' for a Marine. Double so for a Marine Sniper. I've been all over the globe, from cleaning up the last of the terror organizations to Central America to put paid to some of the higher-ups in the drug cartels. Urban, jungle, desert... I seen it all.
They eventually discharged me. Said my psyc profile was way outta wack. I'd been out in the field way too long, and I needed to get out before I get lost in it. All that BS. So, after spent a few months in the Bahamas shooting tequilla as a vacation, I got bored. I didn't want to go back to America, so I went to Johannesburg to visit my grandparents, and ended up signing up with the local police force. My military background made me a natural for their SWAT team.
I knew, in a vague way, that aliens were running all over the place, but I hadn't seen one, so it seemed like more scuttlebutt... an excuse for the politicians to make a few quick bucks.
Until they showed up at my doorstep. With my closed-file. They said they needed a few good men. I said I'd heard that before. Then they showed me some footage. Alien tech blowing up cars. UFO's making raids. Some four-legged thing impaling an unlucky civilian... which then got back up. When the thing hatched out of the walking corpse, they stopped it. Told me it takes a certain kind to face that kind of crap.
Hell, I was getting bored anyways, after the administrative leave for popping that guy that took hostages at the bank downtown. For 'unauthorized discharge of firearm'. Said if I had been off by even the tiniest fraction, I could've killed the civilian. Psssh, come on, I dropped the hostile and ended the hostage situation. Saved civilian lives.
These guys in the Suits told me that was why they showed up... they needed someone willing to take the shot. Said they've been having problems with rookies panicking and making dumb mistakes. Needed someone who could keep his head while his battle buddy just got splattered all over him. Asked for a commitment. Heh, they've done their research. That's the one thing a Marine can do... make a commitment.
Besides, the beer here sucks. Wherever their base is, it's got to have better booze than this.
Journal Entry: July 14
Spoiler
So, made it here in one piece. Whole lot of wierd tech going around here. Got the whole "I don't care what your record was before joining here, until you run a live mission, you ain't worth crap" attitude from the sweats. Eh, that's gonna happen with any crack unit. I'll make my bones and they'll chill.
Made the mistake of asking one of my bunkmates about the dude with the non-regulation hair that was going down the hall. Big mistake. Apparently, he's some kind of living legend down here. Over fifty confirmed alien kills to his credit, almost more than the entire rest of the unit combined, plus countless assists and saves. They also said there was this lab... the other two people that went in came out with a headache... he came out with some wierd psychic abilities.
Got dragged down to the memorial. I was surprised there were that many kills since the project got started, considering the quality they recruit. Damn near everyone down here's a green beret or SAS or the like. The guy giving the tour pointed out the first name on the list. Said he was responsible for the first live capture for interrogation. Bought it by getting a little too eager, but he bagged the alien first. Told me that if I was half that good, then I'd be better than most. I just told him give me a target, I'll plug it. He gave me a funny look. Been getting that look a lot. Weird lot here.
July 15
Spoiler
Got to see an interrogation. They don't look so tough, like someone got stretched out a bit. But apparently it was a big deal, because it was the first one they were able to capture alive. Eh, live capture isn't my bag. Exterminating is.
Got taken down to the infirmary to see the wounded. That sobered me up a bit. Well, if all goes according to plan, I won't be getting too near them. I'll only be looking at them down my scope. Of course, plans never work out that way, but hey... I can deal with that too.
July 18
Spoiler
Claxons went off. Names were called. Not mine, this time. A couple of people muttered about 'the usual team'. Meh, just means more rack time for me. Maybe I should go look up the weight room. later.
Doing well so far. I'm always happy to cover for Crossblade when he needs a break! The crit-based Assault can be pretty deadly, especially when they get the ability that adds to their crit damage. I've had guys do over 20 damage on a crit with my new alloy cannon.
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"Nothing you can't spell will ever work." - Will Rogers
"What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken." - Morpheus, The Matrix
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krellen
Remember, Evil isn't "selfish". It's Evil. "Look out for number one" is a Neutral attitude. Evil looks out for number one while crushing number two.
BTW, Zain, and this holds true fo anyone else who ends up the same way, I do believe I am going to have to retire you. 40 ish will at Colonel makes you a liability. So, after this next round of videos, I will set up a "Retired" section, and will note them as such in game. If you'd like like to create a new character at that point, go ahead.
Two or three episodes in the can, including a marathon mission that took about thirty minutes to finish. A lot of good luck, and some pretty terrible as well. Someone is going home in a bag.
It looks like you're still a hair thin on names for female recruits, so I'd like to suggest Agrafena Svetlova (bonus points if Russian!) as an additional name to have available.
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"Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy." --Siegbert Tarrasch
I facepalmed when you ordered your Support that was within single-move distance of a one-hp Berserker, while carrying an Arc Thrower, to take a 91% hit shot rather than move in and take a 90% hit capture.
I haven't seen your UFO Defense playthrough, so I don't know how Crossblade is in that, but he seriously needs to become a meme. He takes reaction shots while his gun is empty, took a Muton Plasma Rifle shot at point-blank after getting hit by an Alien Grenade and was still standing, and is psionic. He was also the first Colonel on your team.
I facepalmed when you ordered your Support that was within single-move distance of a one-hp Berserker, while carrying an Arc Thrower, to take a 91% hit shot rather than move in and take a 90% hit capture.
You and me both. Twice as hard as the already-interrogated Muton was captured right afterward. Ah well. As the saying goes, that's Xcom, baby.
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Not forgetting Yldenfrei and the wonderful avatar she made.
Mission returned successful, but four out of the six went straight into ER. One damn near didn't make it, they were lucky. Killian Hawkeye got a commendation from Crossblade. Just two words... 'good job'. But damn if they didn't act like that was better than a presidential flacking medal.
Hey, I don't mean to knock it, after all... his first mission, and he brought back everyone in one piece... more or less. Everyone's buying him drinks. Some kind of rite of passage, I guess.
Four out of six in the body shop, and that was a good job? What the hell kind of outfit have I signed up for?
Journal Entry: July 20
Spoiler
UFO Contact! They sent up an interceptor and brought down the bogey. Dispatched crew.
Crew came back, one body bag. Dude, what the hell happened to Hawkeye? Looks like he got ripped in half! This was only his second mission! And he did a damn good job last mission.
They brought back two alive for questioning. One little shrimp, but the other... man was that thing big, ugly, and mean. Word is, what ripped Hawkeye a new one was even bigger and meaner. What they're calling the Berserker. Big brawler, likes using his hands.
What the hell, it's not like I'm gonna be giving it a hug. The bigger they are, the harder they fall... right? Just gives me one hell of a big target to plug.
They said that Crossblade guy killed two... with the power of his mind! Freaky, man. But hey, at least it's on our side.
Hell, I need some time on the shooting range. If that's what I got to take down, I'm gonna need to keep it fresh.
Journal Entry: Aug 3
Spoiler
UFO Contact. Big one this time, it seems. Most of the rankers went on this one, only one squaddie. I don't blame the CO, if we lost one on the last ship, and this one is even bigger... yea. There ain't no kill like overkill. And I got a baaaad feeling that even our rankers aren't overkill...
They came back with a few new specimens to interrogate. They also came back with Hayes barely stable, and three others in the ER. Good news is no one died this time. But man, the casualty list is racking up some impressive numbers. They don't even bother giving out purple hearts around here, everyone who is out on a mission is pretty much set to collect bad-luck souvenirs at some point.
Standard squad loadout calls for one sniper per team, and Crayons is a good one. Hell, I'll admit, he's better than I am. Part of me wonders why they bothered recruiting me. Then I take a look at the roster list currently in sick bay row, and I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. S.O.P. calls for Crossblade, two heavies, at least one support, one other either a support or assault, and one sniper. But hey, if they run out of heavies, they might pull another sniper in. After all, any warm body can hold a gun and shoot, right?
Part of me wants a shot at the action and shoot me some aliens, make my bones in the unit, and get some respect around here. The other part... is glad there's two snipers in front of me. Especially if what they're saying about those Floaters and this new and improved version they just saw this past mission is true... I might end up with an alien in my face with those dang jump packs they have. Not a place I'd care to be in.
Okay, enough of this. Time to hit the gym and do some reps.
Colonel Crossblade will go on a heroic last run? How to increase Will Power? I thought you can do it in X-Com.
__________________
Pony Minecraft Avatar
Rest in Peace:
Spoiler
Miko Miyazaki, Thanh, Durkon- Order of the Stick
Krunch- Looking For Group
Bill- Left 4 Dead
Soap Mactavish- Modern Warfare 3
Sandman- Modern Warfare 3
Ghost and Roach- Modern Warfare 2
Gabe- Dead Space 2
Dom- Gears of War 3
Carmine Brothers- Gears of War series
Uriel Septim VII- Elderscrolls Oblivion
Commander Shepherd- Mass Effect 3
Ned Stark- Song of Ice and Fire
Apple Jack's parents
Colonel Crossblade will go on a heroic last run? How to increase Will Power? I thought you can do it in X-Com.
Spoiler
Will can only be bumped by leveling up, or wearing psi armor or a mind shield. Were you the one that had 47 will at squaddie level? 3 of three times thus far, that's how it's worked for me.
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Behold the man who read all 831 OOTS strips that existed at the time in four days!
Right, well it seems I have a nasty case of PTSD, so I think I shall Suggest that his Sister, EvaRia Smith take over (pronounced Eva-Ria)
You might have PTSD, but I don't think it really matters until you get below forty willpower. You can still function in normal society.
But they probably should send you home now. Might make a good asset in the military, but likely too liable to pull the trigger if they put you on the special weapons police unit, plus medical training tends to not be used on the force, nor smoke grenades.
I think I'll sign up for a character.
Jason/Jessica Parker
White (not pale). For hair/helmet (if I ever get out of 15), I like 4 for men, 2 to 5 for women. Head 1 or 4 for male, 4 for female. No facial hair. Hair color blonde, but not yellow.
I just hope I'm not a Heavy. They're definitely good, but I'd like something other than being the slow guy who misses more often than Rookies.
Also, two Snipers can be a good setup, and while the firepower brought in by two Heavies and their rockets is good, if you ever find yourself with only one Heavy, bring in a second Sniper.
I've put in a request, again, to the Council to send me more Heavy weapons specialists. Due to causalities, we are down to three, and one of those is a new recruit. That is simply not acceptable, especially with the aliens relying more and more on Cyberdiscs. Injuries and fatalities are, regrettably, becoming more common, and maintaining proper squad composition is becoming difficult.
Also, it is with some regret that I am pulling both Zain Smith and Oscar McIntyre off of front line duty, effective immediately. They are beginning to show classic symptoms of PTSD, and are becoming more of a detriment to our fighting force than an asset. However, they will remain assigned to the X-Com project for the time being. Their experience should be invaluable to the new recruits we have coming in.
Also, I am becoming increasingly worried about Logan Crossblade. He has seen more combat than any other three soldiers combined, keeps walking into dangerous situations and then walking right back out unscathed. Combine that with his new "talents", and the amount of hero worship among the other soldiers is becoming a problem. If something were to happen to him, I fear the impact on base morale would be disastrous. If I could, I would promote him out of front line combat and into a staff position. However, for the moment, his experience in fighting the x-rays is too valuable to lose. I will continue to monitor his behavior, and if he keeps showing the same potentially self destructive tendencies, I will rethink my position. For the moment, I have seen to it that he is always outfitted in the best armor that we have. Dr. Shen isn't very happy over all the repair work, but it is better than the alternative.
Speaking about the new "talents", I'm still not sure how I feel about training our soldiers to be more like the aliens. On the one hand, the results are decidedly useful. On the other, every soldier who has gone through the testing has been changed in some way, and I'm not sure those changes are positive.
Hopefully this war will come to some sort of a conclusion soon. From recent surveys of alien activity, there does seem to be a definite decline.
Commander X-Com Project, personal log, end transmission
I got an concept of X-Com and MLP Crossover. The catch is that Iskandar (or Colonel Crossblade) will be Sharpe-esque hero and Prince Blueblood (or Diamond Tiara) will be Flashman-esque high command. I need someone to write it.
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Pony Minecraft Avatar
Rest in Peace:
Spoiler
Miko Miyazaki, Thanh, Durkon- Order of the Stick
Krunch- Looking For Group
Bill- Left 4 Dead
Soap Mactavish- Modern Warfare 3
Sandman- Modern Warfare 3
Ghost and Roach- Modern Warfare 2
Gabe- Dead Space 2
Dom- Gears of War 3
Carmine Brothers- Gears of War series
Uriel Septim VII- Elderscrolls Oblivion
Commander Shepherd- Mass Effect 3
Ned Stark- Song of Ice and Fire
Apple Jack's parents
I got an concept of X-Com and MLP Crossover. The catch is that Iskandar (or Colonel Crossblade) will be Sharpe-esque hero and Prince Blueblood (or Diamond Tiara) will be Flashman-esque high command. I need someone to write it.
Spoiler
Twilight "Magic" Sparkle (Assault/Psi)
Apple "Farmer" Jack (Heavy)
Pinkie "Party" Pie (Heavy/Psi)
Flutter "Butterfly" Shy (Support)
Miss "Diamond" Rarity (Sniper)
Rainbow "Rainboom" Dash (Sniper)
Yeah.
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Behold the man who read all 831 OOTS strips that existed at the time in four days!
*kicks in the door, aims an Alloy Cannon at you from ten feet away*
"Don't you ever say that Snipers are cooler than Assaults!"
In my opinion, you want two Assaults when you get Squad Size I. Then when you get Squad Size II, you either take two Snipers, or two Heavies (moar rockets! Also, if one of them takes Holo-Targeting, you can just have him shoot or suppress the toughest enemy first, then have the rest of your group all get a +10% chance of hitting him. Including the Bullet Swam Heavy).
RSS Feeds: 
Re: Iskandar's Travels in X-Com: Enemy Unknown
Grats.
