Post by: Fikes on October 07, 2011, 05:23:40 pm
(http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4613/ch11overview.png)
(Sorry about the boxes and cursors on the map)
First thing is first. I love X-Com. X-Com Apocalypse is the third out of 5 (soon to be 6) in the X-Com series. It is the last X-Com tactical strategy game.
This Let’s Play will be on the highest difficulty setting of Superhuman and will be played under “ironman” rules, meaning I will not save scum. What happens happens, with two exceptions. First, I won’t accept the loss of my Valkyie Interceptor. These bastards cost 75% of your starting budget to replace and as we will see, money is extremely tight. Instead, if my interceptor is shot down in UFO combat, I will load and leave it in the hanger.
Secondly, I will not accept the cheap ass move of a UFO blowing up my base and killing everyone inside. For reasons you’ll see in the first update, the base we have is extremely weak and prone to collapsing in devastating fashion. It is a cheap way to lose the game.
That being said, I do not expect to win. Money problems and the air superiority race will likely lead to our downfall.
But those problems are for later! Let’s get started!
Spoiler: Table of contents (click to show/hide)
These numbers are updated once a week. Any trooper killed in action will be marked as KIA with his or her numbers from the previous Sunday saved. Troopers that last less than a week will be marked only as KIA.
All units on "Eternal Patrol" didn't make it back from the Alien dimension.
Code: [Select]
B12 Kill Board:
Name missions kills Improvement%/Status
Cpt. Timferius: 61 84 53% 4 medals - Eternal Patrol
S.L. Bulldogger: 20 25 29% - Eternal Patrol
Sgt. Geener: 21 35 37% - Eternal Patrol
Col. Nirur Torir: 70 182 69% Full Decorations
Cpt. GlyphGlyph: 63 148 70% Full Decorations
Sgt. Maxclone2: 60 96 37% Full Decorations
Sgt.Shadowgander: 36 63 59% 4 medals – Eternal Patrol
Sgt. IT-NET: 24 50 Robot 4 medals
S.L. 612-DWARF: 43 39 Robot 4 medals - Eternal Patrol
S.L. Sniper Joe: 36 32 Robot - Eternal Patrol
Sgt. DDR-RAM: 28 49 Robot – Eternal Patrol
Sgt. Kicior: 19 31 69% - Eternal Patrol
S.L. Jay Cin: 35 46 48% - Eternal Patrol
Sgt. Haspen: 22 40 42% - Eternal Patrol
Sgt. Miranda: 16 15 30%
Sgt. Jacen-BOT: 35 33 Robot - Eternal Patrol
Cpt. Aqizzar: 36 45 Robot
S.L. Sean Mirrsen: 50 29 26% - Eternal patrol
R. Eu-K-RJK-4: 2 4(honorary) 6% - Eternal patrol
S.L. ZombieBob: 19 27 38% - Eternal Patrol
S. Jacob/Lee: 2 3 7%
S. Cuckoo: 18 15 32%
Sgt. RAM: 8 23 KIA Week 3
Sgt. Maximumzero: 5 26 KIA Week 3
S.L. EuchreJack: 7 26 KIA Week 3
S.L. Biag: 5 14 KIA Week 3
S.L Rabbit Joe: 9 11 KIA Week 4
S.L. Bulldog: 3 7 KIA Week 6
S. Sheb: 3 14 KIA Week 7
Sgt. Geen: 26 52 KIA Week 7
S.L Jerick: 29 56 KIA Week 7
Sgt. Anja Gelena: 25 58 KIA Week 8
S. Sean Mirrsen: 4 5 KIA Week 8
Sgt. Eucherer: 13 13 KIA Week 14
BunnyBeth: KIA
Euch-R-Jane KIA
BunnyBob: KIA
Jacen: KIA
Sean Mirrsen (KIA - Week 4)
Sheb (KIA - Week 3)
Edit: Last side note. I have the save game from the very begining, where all I have done is sold the cars. If anyone wants it, feel free to PM me. It is 1.8MB
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 07, 2011, 05:45:35 pm
Post by: Nirur Torir on October 07, 2011, 05:53:37 pm
I vote swarm craft. The bigger stuff's just too painful when lost.
Post by: Biag on October 07, 2011, 06:07:12 pm
I vote swarm craft, too. Hoverbike cloud!
Post by: RAM on October 07, 2011, 06:46:07 pm
Sign up my first clone for duty! And collapse a building for me. I really do suspect that this game is the single greatest example of destructible environments that computer gaming has yet produced...
Post by: Fikes on October 07, 2011, 06:52:17 pm
Spoiler: What we have to work with (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Setting the ground work (click to show/hide)
Next time on Iron Man Apoc: Battle!
Post by: Fikes on October 07, 2011, 07:52:26 pm
Spoiler: Apoc Political System (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Meet our neighbors (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Meet our friends (click to show/hide)
) and if they get taken over our income will be zero.
.I’ll be introducing each faction as they come up, to protect against wall-o-text sickness.
Back to the game at hand, names have been added. I tried to match everyone to their gender. Biag didn’t have one listed and we are short of females so Biag is a woman warrior. Since RAM didn’t suggest a name, I used the name RAM. Since RAM is a computer do-jobber he is our Cyborg. RAM missed out on the first mission.
I won’t be posting any pictures of your guys directly, unless they live long enough to earn a place in my heart or we have a slow news day.
Post by: Fikes on October 07, 2011, 09:39:18 pm
Chapter 2: First battle and final setup.
Spoiler: First battle! (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Back to Base-icks (yuk yuk) (click to show/hide)
Post by: Thexor on October 07, 2011, 09:57:42 pm
Incidentally, one thing I did read was the details of the political system. The basic idea is simple: You attack/damage somebody, they dislike you. All of their friends also dislike you. And all of their enemies like you.
So, if you want to make someone happy (and don't want to bribe them), you have to attack one of their enemies. Of course, figuring out who likes who is not exactly easy, outside the obvious ones of "Cops dislike gangs" and "gangs dislike each other".
Protip: the infamous Transtellar starts out liking the aliens, which is why they quickly start getting grumpy with you - every time you handle an alert, that counts as 'attacking an ally' of theirs. ::)
(Also, the wiki suggests that the Grav Ball League, not the gangs, add additional human recruits when they like you. So don't blow up sports stadiums!)
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 07, 2011, 10:16:44 pm
/me enlists
Guess what I want to enlist as?
Post by: Nirur Torir on October 07, 2011, 10:24:50 pm
I should play this again, and see if I can convince the aliens to shoot buildings to get X-Com lots of allies.
Post by: Fikes on October 08, 2011, 12:42:05 am
I consider any outcome involving myself unconscious rather then brainsucked and shot to be a good one. I use stun grenades similarly, but it amuses me to have brainsucker targets drop their own stun grenades just before the alien lands. Perhaps not tactically sound as a first resort, but amusing.
I should play this again, and see if I can convince the aliens to shoot buildings to get X-Com lots of allies.
Badbunny was the only ont having a brain sucker jumping at him and he dropped the nade. It is never a first resort but I was convinced we were going to have 2 out of 3 unable to shoot. That would have been a death for sure. It is such dangerous timing. Some times even when you are on top of things the sucker wins the race.
Sounds like fun! I recently remembered I got Apoc from a Steam sale and started a game, but I'm a pathetic coward and picked "Easy". Let's see what Superhuman is like!
Incidentally, one thing I did read was the details of the political system. The basic idea is simple: You attack/damage somebody, they dislike you. All of their friends also dislike you. And all of their enemies like you.
So, if you want to make someone happy (and don't want to bribe them), you have to attack one of their enemies. Of course, figuring out who likes who is not exactly easy, outside the obvious ones of "Cops dislike gangs" and "gangs dislike each other".
Protip: the infamous Transtellar starts out liking the aliens, which is why they quickly start getting grumpy with you - every time you handle an alert, that counts as 'attacking an ally' of theirs. ::)
(Also, the wiki suggests that the Grav Ball League, not the gangs, add additional human recruits when they like you. So don't blow up sports stadiums!)
The basics of the system are simple, but it is hard to track down particulars. For example, if UFO's blow up the sports stadium, does that increase my relations, because now Grav Ball League hates them, or decrease them, because I didn't protect the building? On the tactical side, is it my score that determines if I get a relations bump or some formula for how much damage was caused to the building? Who knows?
I am not going to look very deep into it, simply because I know these things have a pretty minor impact on the game. I can make nice with a group and then accidently destory their building, now they are PISSSST! Even if I do manage to get all chummy with someone, the slight bonuses it gives me have never been noticeable.
I have a feeling the "Meet Transteller" introduction is coming very soon, but I don't want to ruin it. If you look at the first post and know about the game, you get a hint.
Finally, this is my first LP. If you have suggestions, let me know.
Post by: Julius Clonkus on October 08, 2011, 03:49:20 am
So, you might want to keep a few craft parked in Transtellar buildings (especially that huge piece of target practice that is their Space Port) and have them set to fly at low altitude. If you're lucky, the xeno scum will do things that fix Transtellar's opinion of them.
Post by: RAM on October 08, 2011, 03:54:20 am
I am enjoying the L.P. so far, the biggest fun-killer of all is the author getting burned-out, so try to minimise things that feel like chores and don't be afraid to throw up your arms and say "These spectators are boring, I am going to do this the fun way!". On the critical front, some of those pictures may be quite resource intensive, I don't know what modern internet forum picture etiquette is, but keeping the file sizes below a megabyte may be a good guide-line. On the other hand, I really wouldn't know...
On the topic of pictures though, I do like their current size...
Also, double-posting in your own L.P. is very forgivable.
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 08, 2011, 08:24:51 am
Post by: EuchreJack on October 08, 2011, 03:51:26 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 08, 2011, 05:11:56 pm
On the critical front, some of those pictures may be quite resource intensive, I don't know what modern internet forum picture etiquette is, but keeping the file sizes below a megabyte may be a good guide-line. On the other hand, I really wouldn't know...
On the topic of pictures though, I do like their current size...
Should be all better. I had no idea those images were getting so crazy. I think it had to do with ImageShack's resizing feature. If it doesn't load faster let me know and I'll look into it. Thanks for the heads up!
Post by: Fikes on October 09, 2011, 04:55:58 am
Spoiler: Chapter 3: When Aliens attack (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: The rest of the week (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 1 in review (click to show/hide)
Next week is one of the most important in the game. We have to shoot down a purple UFO. I am honestly not sure how we are going to pull this off. We are going to need tons of firepower all focused on that one goal. Do we stick with Hover bikes? Do we get more? Do we put long range missiles on them?
Anyone else ready to join the fray?
Post by: Shadowgandor on October 09, 2011, 05:27:50 am
Post by: EuchreJack on October 09, 2011, 09:47:05 am
You could try funding this via raiding the Cult of Sirius with rookie recruits (so you don't risk losing anyone important).
The limited recruits is always a bottleneck in X-Com: Apoc. For that reason, I generally just recruit all the soldiers, no matter how bad they are, provided I can find space to house them.
You're doing quite well! And so am I, apparently. :D
Post by: Jerick on October 09, 2011, 11:02:38 am
Post by: Geen on October 09, 2011, 03:05:52 pm
Post by: RAM on October 09, 2011, 07:01:17 pm
I suggest that we need to sell something, stun grapples do not require ammunition, nor do swords, but wielding either will get you killed. Hoverarmour torso piece plus sword plus grenades can make an interesting combination, but cutting through walls is annoying in real-time mode... I find missiles annoying, especially once electronic countermeasures come into play, but a flight of hoverbikes with them should be a pretty effective way to down a single enemy.
If ever RAM is in command of a mission, they will try to redesignate the valkyrie to "Mother" so as to squick-out the organics...
Post by: MaximumZero on October 09, 2011, 07:06:36 pm
Soon, you will receive a delivery truck that will drop off 6 liquid filled tanks. These tanks contain troopers marked "Max-Clone", and are numbered one through six. Please only activate them one at a time. They prefer high explosives and heavy weapons.
Post by: RAM on October 09, 2011, 07:33:23 pm
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 09, 2011, 07:42:58 pm
Man, I still totally need to play this game instead of just playing UFO Defense/Terror from the Deep over and over again...
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 09, 2011, 08:12:31 pm
Man, I remember playing this. Having my robots sit on aliens so they couldn't wake up after being stunned, going through 2-3 robots a mission... It was brilliant.
Post by: Fikes on October 09, 2011, 08:21:35 pm
We will be able to loosen the belt on our arsenal as soon as we can equip a whole squad with the disruptor gun, but so far we have only seen a single unit. We would have to build at least another 5 (assuming we don't capture any more) and it is only 25% researched. That could be days away.
Literally our only ground combat options right now are the Lawpistol (pretty weak), the machine gun (no ammo), the autocannon (only explosive ammo), or the sniper rifle. Everyone carries a backup stun grapple, but the range on it is too limited for primary use.
I am tempted to go with the autocannon explosive ammo. This is a good short term solution, but a bad long term one. Explosions destroy gear and piss people off. Every piece of equipment we capture today is money tomorrow.
The bigger problem, however, is that all of that is less important than the air side. Failing to shoot down the purple people eater this week would put us back months. I'd much rather lose the ground war for a week than miss this opportunity.
There is no doubt we need to increase our air power. At least here our options there are broader.
Looking at the numbers, currently our Interceptor brings 57.6 damage per second to the party.
Option A) We can pull in another 5 hover bikes, stock off the shelf. Basic equipment with them give us 42 damage per second. 7 stock bikes and the Interceptor gives us 351.6 DPS. Cash on hand: $645.
Option B) Pull in 3 more hover bikes and give them Rendor Plasma guns at 57.6 DPS each. Add in our 2 stock bikes and the Interceptor, that gives us 314.4 DPS, but hurts more if one of the bikes goes down. Cash on hand: $3145
Option C) Strip the Interceptor and give it two Rendor Plasmas for 115.2 DPS. Bring in 2 stock Hoverbikes for a total of 4, giving us an additional 168 DPS and purchase the last rendor and a hoverbike to give us an additional 57.6 DPS for a total of 340.8. This is the most risky as so much of our DPS will be on a single ship. Cash on hand is the same as above: $3145.
One final note is that I keep a stock of junk lying around from the beginning of the game as a sort of “strategic reserve”. It is our one time emergency influx of cash. We can use it now and put the rendor plasmas on the Interceptor, giving us a further DPS boost but putting us further in the hole.
As important as it is to win week two, we can’t forget that we still have a long struggle ahead of us. Spending everything we have on winning this very important air race means we can’t do some important things later in the week. We are already giving up our advanced lab. The earliest it will be operational is week 6. If we spend everything, we are also giving up our ability to build disruptor guns and hire more troops.
Lastly, week 4 could be an equally important air race. We can only expect to have this same equipment then.
Post by: MaximumZero on October 09, 2011, 08:23:54 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 09, 2011, 11:10:10 pm
Spoiler: Interlude 1: An old team (click to show/hide)
Post by: RAM on October 10, 2011, 06:48:00 am
Post by: Julius Clonkus on October 10, 2011, 09:47:12 am
What happens if we sell everything and buy a hawk?
The Hawk Air Warrior is a wonderful thing to deal massive damage with, but judging from my playthroughs, it's usually a better idea to have some other craft in the air as well to draw attention because losing your new and ludicrously expensive Hawk can and will ruin your day.
Post by: JacenHanLovesLegos on October 10, 2011, 10:25:39 am
Post by: Biag on October 10, 2011, 12:56:20 pm
I vote for option C. Option A is safer and offers more DPS, but at about $250 per damage point. Also, risks are fun.
Post by: Sean Mirrsen on October 10, 2011, 01:05:00 pm
Post by: Sheb on October 10, 2011, 01:35:44 pm
Can you name pilot? I'd like one to be called Sheb.
Post by: Shadowgandor on October 10, 2011, 02:57:05 pm
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 10, 2011, 05:33:49 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 10, 2011, 07:09:03 pm
I am going to break the tie and start week two, but you'll have to keep tuning in to know which direction we chose. Suspense!
As I started the process of outfitting the ships, I realized that the 200 Janitor missiles (that suck) sell for a healthy chunk of change. Bankruptcy avoided.
I am going to try to do an entire week in one update, but if it gets too bloated I'll break it up.
Can you name pilot? I'd like one to be called Sheb.
Turns out you can. You are flying a Hoverbike. There are no stats kept on pilots but I'll tell you
if you die.
What happens if we sell everything and buy a hawk?
Hawk Air Warriors aren't on the market yet and won't be for another 3 weeks and I don't want to only have one craft.
Everyone who asked for a name should see themselves in the list of the first post. I am sorry if I missed you, remind me and I'll try to get you in for week three.
Post by: RAM on October 10, 2011, 07:49:18 pm
Post by: Thexor on October 10, 2011, 07:58:22 pm
What happens if we sell everything and buy a hawk?
Hawk Air Warriors aren't on the market yet and won't be for another 3 weeks and I don't want to only have one craft.
Hold the phone, what? We're playing the same game, right? If you haven't installed any mods (are there even mods for Apoc?), Hawks enter the market at the start of week 2. Now, only having one craft is a perfectly reasonable rationale for not wanting to trade everything for a Hawk... but what's up with the 3 weeks part?
... either there's something strange going on here, or I'm very confused. ???
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 10, 2011, 08:14:50 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 10, 2011, 08:33:59 pm
What happens if we sell everything and buy a hawk?
Hawk Air Warriors aren't on the market yet and won't be for another 3 weeks and I don't want to only have one craft.
Hold the phone, what? We're playing the same game, right? If you haven't installed any mods (are there even mods for Apoc?), Hawks enter the market at the start of week 2. Now, only having one craft is a perfectly reasonable rationale for not wanting to trade everything for a Hawk... but what's up with the 3 weeks part?
... either there's something strange going on here, or I'm very confused. ???
Neither. I was very confused.
I thought at first that the game went by weeks instead of months but when the last day of "week one" ended I did not get the budget screen, so I assumed I remembered wrong.
My mistake!
The week actually just flipped, but for purposes of the LP we are going to ignore my mistake and continue as if nothing happened.
Anyway, this doesn't change as much as you would think. There are some new items on the market and we do now have $69k, but our plan will move forward as before.
Ranks would also be nice, so we know who we are the boss of, but as I said earlier, making it too fiddly will make the LP less fun and more likely to fail, so you should avoid hassles such as listening to whiny spectators...
If you look at the week in review, you can kind of see what rank everyone is. The ranks are explained here: http://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Agents_(Apocalypse)
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 10, 2011, 08:55:08 pm
Post by: Thexor on October 11, 2011, 12:51:23 am
...actually, have you raided the CoS yet? A few Psiclones would make life a lot easier. And, last I checked, your guys were all at full health - that, to me, says you aren't putting them in harms way enough. ;)
Post by: RAM on October 11, 2011, 01:22:11 am
But yes, buy up lots of hoverbikes, we can sell them once we have the salvage that we need. I would recommend getting into some explosive autocannon on flying torso armour action. It may blow up gear, but it should be quite nice against suckers and hyperworms, and the steep angle from flying means that the target is almost always in the explosion radius. Of course, stun gas is generally better while it lasts...
Post by: Fikes on October 11, 2011, 02:27:06 am
Spoiler: Chapter 4: Interlude intro. (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Chapter 4: The bigger war beings (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 2 in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: RAM on October 11, 2011, 04:25:22 am
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 11, 2011, 06:57:02 am
Seriously, Accuracy on the Disruptor Gun is terrible, and power's roughly the same as the Plasma Gun. If you pick up a few from a raid on Sirius or one of the Criminal Corps, they're well worth the Ammunition.
Post by: Shadowgandor on October 11, 2011, 07:46:17 am
Post by: JacenHanLovesLegos on October 11, 2011, 09:19:17 am
Post by: Neonivek on October 11, 2011, 11:54:50 am
Post by: Fikes on October 11, 2011, 12:56:10 pm
I love Apocolypse. It is just too bad some of the best things that can happen in the game are things you will likely see before losing.
I don't know. I am feeling better about our chances. Early next week we jump way ahead of the Aliens on the ground war side.
On the air side there are two more UFOs we have to shoot down before we more or less win air combat.
Post by: Sheb on October 11, 2011, 01:44:15 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 11, 2011, 06:04:20 pm
This blasted Disruptor Gun doesn't shoot straight! Damnit, this is why I requested Plasma Guns!
Seriously, Accuracy on the Disruptor Gun is terrible, and power's roughly the same as the Plasma Gun. If you pick up a few from a raid on Sirius or one of the Criminal Corps, they're well worth the Ammunition.
You are correct. We have a few left over... I'll default to using them as long as we have ammo.
You forgot to add me :( Can I be a soldier as well?:P
Sorry, corrected now!
I love my bike. Can I request that whenever a new, bigger gun is available, you add it to my bike?
Hmmm. This playthrough is a bit of a new experience for me, I've never dug so far into the numbers.
Turns out the the larger plasma cannon offers a minimal increase in DPS for twice the cost. Definitly not worth it. We are going to take air combat slow this week. If we don't have the fire power we need early, we will add it later.
Post by: MaximumZero on October 12, 2011, 10:06:43 am
Post by: BullDog on October 12, 2011, 12:05:50 pm
Post by: Sheb on October 12, 2011, 12:59:46 pm
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 12, 2011, 03:29:49 pm
Also, Hooray! Plasma Guns!
Post by: Sean Mirrsen on October 12, 2011, 03:38:42 pm
Also, put my name down as one of the hoverbike pilots. To glory and/or fiery death!
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 12, 2011, 03:46:39 pm
The 8 shots and the price of the missiles are the main problems.
Post by: BullDog on October 12, 2011, 06:12:50 pm
I'm loving this LP so far, great job! :D
Post by: MaximumZero on October 12, 2011, 06:21:44 pm
The prophet's the better small missile launcher. 8 shots, decent tracking, slightly more powerful than the Plasma Cannon.
The 8 shots and the price of the missiles are the main problems.
Hmm...I wonder if I can get a shoulder mounted version? :P
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 12, 2011, 07:43:34 pm
Prophet launchers. I don't remember the weapon from the game, but whatever it is, it sure as hell isn't what I just pictured.
If you're thinking of a cannon that fires out Prophet from Crysis 2, then we're thinking alike :P.
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 12, 2011, 08:40:35 pm
Post by: Sheb on October 13, 2011, 08:07:56 am
For Sheb wasn't your standard X-COM recruits, fresh from Boot Camp with ideals about saving the human race from aliens. Until a month ago, he had been a rising star in Diablo, one of their best drivers, tasked with delivering risked package across the city, using his driving skill and Z-Machine to escape Megapol's Hovercar. More often than not, that package was a bullet to be delivered in the recipient's head.
All was well until around two weeks ago, when he was tasked with delivering a crate of Psyclones to the other side of the city. The delivery was a trap, engineered by jealous Diablo members, and instead of a drug dealer, several Police Hovercar where waiting for him. Alone on his unarmed Z-Bike, he choose to flee. Driving between the People Tube's pillar and under the roads, he almost manage to escape Megapol's car (two of them had crashed into a bridge, bringing them down), when a glancing shot sent him flying right into the hospital's garden.
When Nathan learned about that pilot, he immediately decided that he needed him. Using his new powers (Montgomery had given him the full use of X-COM's budget after all, and in Mega-Primus greasing the right hands would give you all the power you need.) he convinced Megapol's Chief Commissioneer to offer Sheb a deal: A lifetime in a penal colony on Mars, or a lifetime fighting Aliens on his bike. The choice wasn't hard: Sheb loved his bike.
Post by: timferius on October 13, 2011, 04:16:28 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 13, 2011, 09:19:18 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 5: The clouds of war (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 3 in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: Thexor on October 13, 2011, 10:28:14 pm
I've never seen the price of Psiclones drop- at the moment, I've dumped almost 15 of the things onto the market, and 3 weeks later the price hasn't moved by even $1. It's probably safe to toss them, and I might even recommend it, because... Psiclones are bought by Psyke. Who you just raided. And if they go hostile (as a result of you murdering and robbing them, ya know), I don't think you can sell Psiclones to them any more. At which point you're left with some (very) expensive paperweights. :o
Post by: MaximumZero on October 14, 2011, 03:43:36 am
Post by: Sheb on October 14, 2011, 04:02:02 am
Post by: Kicior on October 14, 2011, 04:27:56 am
Post by: RAM on October 14, 2011, 05:52:10 am
Marsec torso armour does make you somewhat of a target, but it has certain advantages against poppers...
Post by: Aqizzar on October 14, 2011, 06:16:23 am
Put me in coach, I'm ready to take one for the team. And fuck psionics, they're useless here except against other humans (hint hint).
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 14, 2011, 10:38:28 am
Flush out smoke with stun gas. It evaporates much faster. And can stun anyone sneaking up on you in said smoke.
And you big wuss. All aliens are stunnable, you just need some disciplined Toxigun fire to lower their health slightly.
Post by: Haspen on October 14, 2011, 11:34:56 am
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 14, 2011, 04:48:27 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 14, 2011, 06:12:22 pm
Nicely done! I don't think I've ever managed to throw back an explosive, let alone two in a row.
I've never seen the price of Psiclones drop- at the moment, I've dumped almost 15 of the things onto the market, and 3 weeks later the price hasn't moved by even $1. It's probably safe to toss them, and I might even recommend it, because... Psiclones are bought by Psyke. Who you just raided. And if they go hostile (as a result of you murdering and robbing them, ya know), I don't think you can sell Psiclones to them any more. At which point you're left with some (very) expensive paperweights. :o
I love throwing grenades back. I always watch it in slow motion. Pro tip: if you pick up brain sucker pods and put them in your inventory once they land, brain suckers won't pop out.
You don't really sell to anyone directly, you sell to the market. Apparently if there are more than 20 psiclones on the market at once the price will fall 3 to 5%. It might be worth trying, we'll see how money looks.
Ooo, Ooo, Are there any spots left?! If so, I'd take ameat sheildrecruit! Timferius, same as forum name
Welcome to the team!
MaxClone2 calls dibs on the Disruptor! (There's a reason I always show up with a six-pack of clones to these...) Time for some disproportionate retribution.
Funny story about you and RAM. I played the game and RAM died before we went after the UFO, then you died at the UFO. Then I got this crazy bug where my own HQ spotted an alien. We went to investage and the game crashed. So I loaded. Same exact thing happened, RAM at a terror mission and you at the UFO. Infact, that screen shot was from the first time you died. Second time you died to spitters. I felt bad and kept the better first story.
Damn, I wasn't expecting it so soon. And I didn't even died to aliens...
That sucked. I feel dumb about that one. You even had the fastest engine on your bike but you somehow managed to get stuck outside. I thought it was kind of funny to have named hover bikes, since they were always one shot away from death.
Could I take a (preferably human) recruit?
I'll add you to the list.
I can't believe you're actually playing Real-Time. Right? God, that's insane, I've never tried that for more than one mission. Then again, there's a lot about this game I don't know.
Put me in coach, I'm ready to take one for the team. And fuck psionics, they're useless here except against other humans (hint hint).
Real-Time isn't so bad. When I first started playing the game I was largely a TB purist, but that ended pretty quick. TB in Apoc takes forever and it always seemed to play wierd. Real-time also opens the door to interesting strats like throwing grenades back and the like.
We are actually putting a Psi-Gym in Armaments. That way we can get some hybrids trained up real high before we ever send them on a mision. There are some hilarious things you can do with Psi's that I am looking forward to.
I'll add you to the list too.
You could go 'borrow' some stuff from Marsec. It's quite possible to go into other people's buildings, pick up their stuff and disappear without shooting a thing. And Marsec leave one of the biggest mistakes in the game lying around.
Superhuman iron men don't abuse odd gameplay mechanics. We are going to win this trough grit and luck alone!
Flush out smoke with stun gas. It evaporates much faster. And can stun anyone sneaking up on you in said smoke.
I do try to do that. Actually, I use stun grenades for tons of things (like brainsuckers!). The two situations where they are not great are things like the assualt ship where the aliens are already out front and in position by the time you get there, it is just a hard place to fight.
The other situation is long range combat against devastors. Our toxi guns, even while using aimed shots, just don't have the accurace to be the devastors at long ranges. If the aliens pop smoke and open fire, the best thing you can do is run off around a corner.
And you big wuss. All aliens are stunnable, you just need some disciplined Toxigun fire to lower their health slightly.
Pah! I have lost so many men over so many play thoughs trying to stun that one alien I didn't have yet. First, there is the knocking them out. Very high hit point enemies have to be pretty well brutialized before they doze off. Then there is the "keeping them asleep" part that sucks just as much. And the game doesn't warn you when the alien wakes up so out of your where the alien has awoken and open fire on your guys.
Anyways, you and I both know what alien types are on the horizon. We'll talk about it more when we run into them... don't want to give it all away!
Recruit Haspen signing in! :D
Added!
I am going to try and do a better job of getting all B12s out on missions. I just never scroll down in the units window if I don't have to. /lazy
Thanks everyone for reading!
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 14, 2011, 06:40:43 pm
That said, I did lose both of my robots when I managed to capture my Megaspawn, so it's not the easiest thing to do.
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 14, 2011, 07:11:35 pm
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 14, 2011, 07:24:11 pm
Post by: andrea on October 14, 2011, 07:33:38 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 14, 2011, 08:07:00 pm
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 14, 2011, 09:31:05 pm
Post by: MaximumZero on October 14, 2011, 09:36:03 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 14, 2011, 10:28:33 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 6: Sunny Days ahead (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 4 in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 14, 2011, 11:02:08 pm
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 14, 2011, 11:47:54 pm
Post by: RAM on October 14, 2011, 11:48:13 pm
Post by: Aqizzar on October 15, 2011, 01:57:10 am
Post by: Jerick on October 15, 2011, 04:42:37 am
Post by: Sheb on October 15, 2011, 05:04:24 am
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 15, 2011, 09:25:16 am
Post by: Mr.Person on October 15, 2011, 10:35:56 am
This is fun to watch.
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 15, 2011, 11:24:18 am
Holy crap, I'm a robot, and one of the better looking models. I am now guaranteed to survive the war. Woo.I don't look half bad either. I think my dude resembles Xan from the Unreal Tournament series. Rather fitting, I usually play as him.
Spoiler: Xan (click to show/hide)
I'm catching up in kills with you 1st wave hunams.
Post by: BullDog on October 15, 2011, 01:28:29 pm
I didn't think I would be alive for 3 missions. :P
Post by: EuchreJack on October 15, 2011, 01:57:09 pm
Rumor has it, the traumatic experience of dying has given this clone extreme mutant powers!
Post by: Fikes on October 15, 2011, 04:09:55 pm
Keep in mind that if you request a Psi unit they'll be training back at Armaments for a week or so before they see any action.
Holy crap, I'm a robot, and one of the better looking models. I am now guaranteed to survive the war. Woo.
Not to give away any update details, but you are a massive rising star.
Only 4 missions and 3 kills for me? Train me up and send me out there, damnit :P.
I am really trying to get everyone involved more. At last count we had 16 squad leaders and only 3 sarges. We need to get some S.L.s moved up.
Edit: I just noticed my only two Hybrids are both female... Welcome to the team BunnyBeth and Euch-R-Jane
Post by: EuchreJack on October 15, 2011, 09:50:55 pm
But one thing is certain, the aliens must die!
Post by: Fikes on October 16, 2011, 01:22:09 am
Spoiler: Chapter 7:Part 1: Short work week. (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Part 2: And the beat goes on. (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 5 and 6 in Review (click to show/hide)
Post by: BullDog on October 16, 2011, 10:58:26 am
Maybe I'll live to the end. :P
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 16, 2011, 11:28:18 am
Also, Retaliators! Whee!
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 16, 2011, 12:59:27 pm
Oh yeah, and Sheb and I look alike. ;D
Not surprisingly, it seems my serial number is: 2716057, and Sheb's: 3370318. Only difference between us is that he features an evil-looking beard (or a goatee) on his model.
During my down-time, I hope nobody minds all the empty beer bottles and cigar butts lying all around the dented couch in the mess hall.
Post by: Haspen on October 16, 2011, 01:00:12 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on October 16, 2011, 01:15:29 pm
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 16, 2011, 01:18:08 pm
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!I smuggled a sample of psyclone. I don't need it, but I might as well make a profit. You buying?
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Post by: timferius on October 16, 2011, 01:43:31 pm
Post by: Aqizzar on October 16, 2011, 02:17:19 pm
Post by: Myroc on October 16, 2011, 02:26:19 pm
Post by: Shadowgandor on October 16, 2011, 02:29:00 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 16, 2011, 04:15:26 pm
Can I have another agent?
Maybe I'll live to the end. :P
BullDogger will be in the next update.
Micronoids only show up in the Bomber and a few Alien Buildings.
Also, Retaliators! Whee!
I thought it was Battleship and Mothership, but that must be the marshmellow man...
Retaliators are awesome. Next update (currenlty on Wednesday) will be exciting.
Was I one of those rookies who got deadeded on Psyke assault? D:
I may have missed you, I'll add you in this week.
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Welcome back to borg life. Hybrids have been impossible to come by (yes I am friendly with Mutant Alliance).
Did I seriously rocket from Rookie to Captain in one week? Holy crap I'm good. What am I armed with anyway, a rocket launcher or something?
It was two weeks, but yes. I have no idea how it happened. You have the same standard equipment as everyone...
This intrigues me. Add me to the long line of awaiting cyborg recruits. Call mine Sniper Joe.
Welcome to the team!
This is honestly the best X-COM LP I've ever read :D
Thanks man!
If you want to request a unit, feel free to request the sex, race (human, cyborg, hybrid (psi)), and mission. There is currently an anti alien force and raiding force. The more you narrow down sex and race, however, the longer it can take to get you in.
Raiding force in general gets more missions but die more often.
Post by: Nirur Torir on October 16, 2011, 04:25:33 pm
Quote from: Week 4
S.L Nirur Torir: 7 missions, 13 kills, 15% improvement
Quote from: Weeks 5 and 6
S.L Nirur Torir: 24 missions, 56(!!) kills, 34% improvement, 3 medals
Hurray, I'm no longer a pacifistic coward. Now who do I talk to about my promotion and pay increase?
Post by: Biag on October 16, 2011, 04:38:24 pm
Post by: Geen on October 16, 2011, 05:44:49 pm
We should probably stock up on armor, because it's gonna be a pain in the ass to replace destroyed stuff.
Post by: RAM on October 16, 2011, 05:52:12 pm
Post by: Sean Mirrsen on October 16, 2011, 06:20:45 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on October 16, 2011, 06:23:23 pm
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Welcome back to borg life. Hybrids have been impossible to come by (yes I am friendly with Mutant Alliance).
That would explain the headache and confusion. Applying ressonance dampeners... Ah, much better! I am now free from any outside psionic influence. Yay!
Post by: JacenHanLovesLegos on October 16, 2011, 06:25:10 pm
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 16, 2011, 08:29:42 pm
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 16, 2011, 09:09:42 pm
I think part of it is because of how incredibly ugly it is.
And the battles just feel so much less.. fun. Mind you, I've only been in three, but eh. I think that might be the most I can stomache.
So back to cheering on my dude! Send me on more missions, it's the only reason I'm not in the lead any more!
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 16, 2011, 11:29:30 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 16, 2011, 11:49:32 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 8:Club X-Com (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week 7 in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: BullDog on October 17, 2011, 12:21:40 am
Post by: EuchreJack on October 17, 2011, 01:14:57 am
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Welcome back to borg life. Hybrids have been impossible to come by (yes I am friendly with Mutant Alliance).
That would explain the headache and confusion. Applying ressonance dampeners... Ah, much better! I am now free from any outside psionic influence. Yay!
I don't see my character in the current list. Was my recruitment after the playthrough? If you don't have enough borgs, I'd be willing to take a hum.
Amazing LP by the way. I'm glad to have my characters die and die again for this awesome playthrough.
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 17, 2011, 07:05:41 am
Post by: Fikes on October 17, 2011, 10:45:47 am
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Welcome back to borg life. Hybrids have been impossible to come by (yes I am friendly with Mutant Alliance).
That would explain the headache and confusion. Applying ressonance dampeners... Ah, much better! I am now free from any outside psionic influence. Yay!
I don't see my character in the current list. Was my recruitment after the playthrough? If you don't have enough borgs, I'd be willing to take a hum.
Amazing LP by the way. I'm glad to have my characters die and die again for this awesome playthrough.
Yeah, I haven't seen any Borgs or Hybrids for a while. I was even neutral to both groups. I added you back in as a human.
Post by: EuchreJack on October 17, 2011, 05:29:50 pm
Euch-R-JAK-3 reporting for duty! For Megaprimus!
I have such a headache, perhaps I retained some psionic ressonance from my previous lives. Oh, it's so confusing!
Welcome back to borg life. Hybrids have been impossible to come by (yes I am friendly with Mutant Alliance).
That would explain the headache and confusion. Applying ressonance dampeners... Ah, much better! I am now free from any outside psionic influence. Yay!
I don't see my character in the current list. Was my recruitment after the playthrough? If you don't have enough borgs, I'd be willing to take a hum.
Amazing LP by the way. I'm glad to have my characters die and die again for this awesome playthrough.
Yeah, I haven't seen any Borgs or Hybrids for a while. I was even neutral to both groups. I added you back in as a human.
Now that is a real identity crisis!
Post by: Fikes on October 18, 2011, 10:05:11 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 9: Entropy Blues (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 18, 2011, 11:23:32 pm
I've still got a higher kills/mission than him, though, at least. Bastard.
I also don't understand xcom promotion at all. We should be in charge, damn it! Look at those body counts!
Post by: Fikes on October 19, 2011, 12:36:20 am
Man, this thread keeps making me try to play this game, and I just can't do it. Eh, it's fun to read about, but I just can't get into it.
I think part of it is because of how incredibly ugly it is.
And the battles just feel so much less.. fun. Mind you, I've only been in three, but eh. I think that might be the most I can stomache.
So back to cheering on my dude! Send me on more missions, it's the only reason I'm not in the lead any more!
Hmm. My advice if you wanted to try to play this game is to get 6 armored troopers and load them with autocannons and just try to flank the enemy. If that doesn't work, it probably is just too old.
The artwork in the game is really odd...
Noooo! Nirur is getting further and further ahead!
I've still got a higher kills/mission than him, though, at least. Bastard.
I also don't understand xcom promotion at all. We should be in charge, damn it! Look at those body counts!
I was thinking the same thing. We have Squad leaders with 5 medals. WTF?
I think the boat has sailed on Borgs... SELF just attacked me. Not sure what I did to piss them off.
Post by: RAM on October 19, 2011, 04:57:33 am
P.S.
I believe that you can jump by holding the jump button('j' if I recall correctly) and clicking on an adjacent space. You may take falling damage but it is a way down(but not back up again) a cliff.
P.P.S.
I request two additional shields and am willing to forgo my compliment of armour.
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 19, 2011, 05:47:10 am
Post by: timferius on October 19, 2011, 06:15:40 am
Post by: Nirur Torir on October 19, 2011, 07:40:25 am
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 19, 2011, 09:14:41 am
I think they were going for a more Zeerust style to this game. I don't know why, but it looks like what pre-war Earth in Fallout would've looked like. With the Mothership Zeta addon for FO3, it's not a long shot.Man, this thread keeps making me try to play this game, and I just can't do it. Eh, it's fun to read about, but I just can't get into it.Hmm. My advice if you wanted to try to play this game is to get 6 armored troopers and load them with autocannons and just try to flank the enemy. If that doesn't work, it probably is just too old.
I think part of it is because of how incredibly ugly it is.
And the battles just feel so much less.. fun. Mind you, I've only been in three, but eh. I think that might be the most I can stomache.
So back to cheering on my dude! Send me on more missions, it's the only reason I'm not in the lead any more!
The artwork in the game is really odd...
I'm also liking my 2:1 kill ratio (K:M) so far.
Post by: MaximumZero on October 19, 2011, 10:09:59 am
Post by: Kicior on October 19, 2011, 01:34:37 pm
Post by: BunnyBob77 on October 19, 2011, 04:46:02 pm
Post by: MaximumZero on October 19, 2011, 09:10:38 pm
Post by: Geen on October 19, 2011, 09:38:24 pm
Post by: Burnt Pies on October 19, 2011, 10:04:27 pm
Her sister, Miranda, will sign up to fight in her memory!
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 19, 2011, 11:09:12 pm
Wait, you can make them jump? I MUST TEST THIS, FOR ‼SCIENCE‼. At least it would even the odds slightly against those aliens that tend to jump up to higher ground... can't remember which ones they were, or if i'm even thinking of the same game xD.
Just played through, couldn't find a way to jump. D:
Post by: RAM on October 19, 2011, 11:42:50 pm
I could very well be wrong about which button it was though...
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 20, 2011, 05:20:53 am
Post by: RAM on October 20, 2011, 07:31:16 am
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 20, 2011, 06:23:09 pm
Post by: RAM on October 20, 2011, 07:04:47 pm
If you don't know about jumping then you may not know about direct firing either, by holding down control and left-clicking on something. It can be a little tricky to get working at close ranges, which is unfortunate because the sword is ideal for the task of making small, civilised passages through barriers. It also only seems to work while actions are happening, such as when you still have time units in turn-based mode or when real-time mode is not paused.
I checked UFOpaedia and found a link to a list of commands (http://www.strategycore.co.uk/databank/games/x-com-apocalypse/controls/).
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 20, 2011, 08:01:59 pm
Quote
Hmm. My advice if you wanted to try to play this game is to get 6 armored troopers and load them with autocannons and just try to flank the enemy. If that doesn't work, it probably is just too old.
It's not just "too old". I still play and enjoy the previous 2 X-com games. I don't know, it's just something about ... everything, I dunno. And the combat, turn based or real time, neither seems... fun to me, I guess.
But watching is fun!
And Nirur, you are absolutely correct. But without any chance of a pay raise, our competition is clearly all I have left. :(
Post by: Fikes on October 22, 2011, 01:14:11 pm
Aww. Anja's dead? Damn.
Her sister, Miranda, will sign up to fight in her memory!
Honestly, had you survived that you would have probably survived to the end. We get a huge boost this week. We are going to have to start a poll to see if we should nerf the "Alien Mystery Device".
Post by: Fikes on October 24, 2011, 04:43:49 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 10:A period of calm (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: MaximumZero on October 24, 2011, 04:58:13 pm
Post by: Nirur Torir on October 24, 2011, 05:33:03 pm
I'm requisitioning/commandeering an annihilator now.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Shadowgandor on October 24, 2011, 05:43:35 pm
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 24, 2011, 06:51:48 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on October 25, 2011, 03:58:05 am
Yeah, I'm all for fully exploiting the teleporters. Especially as I have more experience dying than other players, lol.
Post by: Myroc on October 25, 2011, 04:24:39 am
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on October 25, 2011, 06:19:50 am
Post by: Fikes on October 25, 2011, 12:05:33 pm
Don't use them in the final mission. The other missions will be easy enough anyway that you might as well just blow through them using the teleporters so we can get to the end, but don't use the teleporters in the end there. Make that last fight the final ..|.. to the Aliens as Itnetlolor said.
This pretty much sums it up. The only thing teleporters will really make much easier is capturing live aliens. If we get two Motherships we MAY be able to get the final BioToxin, but it is really doubtful.
Other than that it just means taking missions more slowly, like in that first example of the teleporter against grouped enemies. I could have surrounded and surpressed and probably not lost any shields, but it would have taken a while. Also when there is a pile of grenades I'd spend two minutes throwing them away from the choke point to avoid the chain reaction.
Now I don't always do a perfect job of taking my time and clearing things, hence the stupid deaths from previous weeks, but it really does come down primarily to how much time each mission takes.
I will be adding up all the no votes and yes votes. If the no votes win I'll go with the most popular "no" option. Same for yes.
Post by: GlyphGryph on October 25, 2011, 10:52:02 pm
I find it amusing just HOW far ahead of everyone else we are, heheh.
Fikes, can we have the stats for Nirur and Glyph?
Post by: Fikes on October 27, 2011, 05:30:50 pm
Week 10 here we come!
Post by: MaximumZero on October 27, 2011, 07:13:36 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 30, 2011, 05:08:22 am
Spoiler: Chapter 11 – Week 10:Unhappy bureaucrats and banker hours (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Chapter 11 – Week 11:Into the Breach (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Weeks in Review (click to show/hide)
Post by: andrea on October 30, 2011, 05:19:39 am
Post by: MaximumZero on October 30, 2011, 10:22:17 am
Post by: RAM on October 30, 2011, 12:53:29 pm
Post by: timferius on October 30, 2011, 01:38:27 pm
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 30, 2011, 04:01:42 pm
Alien air tech level: 0 (Shot down all their UFOs!)This cracked me up. You'd think they'd wave the white flag after that.
X-Com air tech: 8
Post by: MaximumZero on October 30, 2011, 05:53:14 pm
Indeedy.Alien air tech level: 0 (Shot down all their UFOs!)This cracked me up. You'd think they'd wave the white flag after that.
X-Com air tech: 8
Post by: RAM on October 30, 2011, 07:32:41 pm
Post by: Itnetlolor on October 30, 2011, 07:58:39 pm
You know, for a more intelligent species/race (as in Sectiods and so on from the last 2 games, and these cellular ones), they'd know there's a losing battle when they see one and at least assimilate to survive.Indeedy.Alien air tech level: 0 (Shot down all their UFOs!)This cracked me up. You'd think they'd wave the white flag after that.
X-Com air tech: 8
This is what happens when you try to commit genocide and fail. You, and all of your kind are eradicated entirely (ironically) instead. Whatever happened to diplomacy? Why do you aliens always have to be such dicks?
Post by: JacenHanLovesLegos on October 31, 2011, 12:50:47 pm
Post by: andrea on October 31, 2011, 01:37:15 pm
(although for me, there was just one starting weapon, and that was the laser rifle)
Post by: JacenHanLovesLegos on October 31, 2011, 02:30:34 pm
Post by: Fikes on October 31, 2011, 02:44:38 pm
I forgot about the heavy cannon/autocannon/rocket launcher because I lost them in my current game. Even so, it's easier to figure out what a rocket launcher is than a mind bender and such.
You eventually get "mind benders" in X-Com 1, they are just called psi-amps.
The nice thing about Apoc is that you can right click on almost anything and go straight to the UFOpedia. There are very few mysterys other than things like "Anything other than lasers make Poppers go boom".
I seem to recall alive aliens turning into dead aliens when you study them, so you should only need the alive 'morph...
I will have to check this... I can research the live one first and see if I get a second dead one.
by the way, with alien grenades you can destroy the alien spawn points, and that stops them from spawning. I found this very useful during the alien queen mission, since it allowed me to take all the time I needed.
I thought that was the case, but we bring so many units into the alien deminsion that it is more fun to just post a squad there and let them get a couple of kills.
They pretty much do. Once you destroy their air-force it is just a matter of going from house to house killing the women and children...
This is probably the biggest threat to X-Com. We have 9 more alien buildings to take out. That is a lot of boring fastforwarding/base raids to sit through.
Post by: Cuckoo on November 04, 2011, 05:43:02 pm
When you need a sniper (would be slam to shoot long range from devastator cannon, but really any accuracy-related work is great), feel free to name them Cuckoo. =)
Post by: Fikes on November 04, 2011, 06:49:35 pm
I found this topic when I googled raiding warehouses vs factories to find where I could get better loot because I got on bad terms with a couple organizations. This topic made me register on the forum just so that I could ask for a char in this LP.
When you need a sniper (would be slam to shoot long range from devastator cannon, but really any accuracy-related work is great), feel free to name them Cuckoo. =)
Haha, cool. You should really stick around and get to know the community. It is a great place for obscure games and laughs.
I really think that Psiclones are the best loot. So long as you don't let 20 go up on the market at a time the price won't drop. Plus, if you raid one of the gangs the other two gangs will start to like you.
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 04, 2011, 07:19:28 pm
I found this topic when I googled raiding warehouses vs factories to find where I could get better loot because I got on bad terms with a couple organizations. This topic made me register on the forum just so that I could ask for a char in this LP.
When you need a sniper (would be slam to shoot long range from devastator cannon, but really any accuracy-related work is great), feel free to name them Cuckoo. =)
Haha, cool. You should really stick around and get to know the community. It is a great place for obscure games and laughs.
I really think that Psiclones are the best loot. So long as you don't let 20 go up on the market at a time the price won't drop. Plus, if you raid one of the gangs the other two gangs will start to like you.
Just curious, what do Psyclones actually do ingame?
Post by: Shadowgandor on November 04, 2011, 07:21:46 pm
Post by: Fikes on November 04, 2011, 07:51:10 pm
I found this topic when I googled raiding warehouses vs factories to find where I could get better loot because I got on bad terms with a couple organizations. This topic made me register on the forum just so that I could ask for a char in this LP.
When you need a sniper (would be slam to shoot long range from devastator cannon, but really any accuracy-related work is great), feel free to name them Cuckoo. =)
Haha, cool. You should really stick around and get to know the community. It is a great place for obscure games and laughs.
I really think that Psiclones are the best loot. So long as you don't let 20 go up on the market at a time the price won't drop. Plus, if you raid one of the gangs the other two gangs will start to like you.
Just curious, what do Psyclones actually do ingame?
They are a drug that helps you through tough times.
They don't do anything, but sell excellently... Although I guess I haven't ever tried to equip one...
Post by: RAM on November 04, 2011, 08:09:37 pm
Post by: Fikes on November 06, 2011, 05:08:44 am
Spoiler: Chapter 12:They can't afford us (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: Mr.Person on November 06, 2011, 05:43:50 am
Post by: RAM on November 06, 2011, 05:44:39 am
Post by: Fikes on November 06, 2011, 06:06:14 am
It looks like the medical bay is bugged, maybe it is something to do with an occupant, you could try transferring everyone out of the base...
First off I knew I wasn't the only person up at 2:30 AM.
About the bugged base.... When I looked at the recycled images I realized the same thing. I figure what probably happened was someone got injured and moved to another base, then when they got back the medical bay freaked. I did a little searching to try and find a save editor but figured it was probably best to ignore it since I didn't trust any of the sites that had one and I didn't want to mess of the game.
It really isn't a huge issue, unless the game starts acting even stranger. I have run into a few bugs and many many crashes. I realized today that Sean is reported to have died but still has a character. How the junk did that happen!
Post by: Sean Mirrsen on November 06, 2011, 06:10:21 am
Post by: BunnyBob77 on November 06, 2011, 09:45:59 am
Post by: Itnetlolor on November 06, 2011, 12:46:35 pm
Might as well make a spreadsheet for the end game to see who the better killer was in this manner.
Post by: MaximumZero on November 06, 2011, 12:54:31 pm
Post by: Itnetlolor on November 06, 2011, 02:34:24 pm
Spoiler: Most Experienced (missions): (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Deadliest Warrior (Most Kills) (click to show/hide)
Excel's sorting is odd there. Ignore it.
Best killer is according to Kill Ratio (Kills/Missions, or 1/DEC AKA- 1/(Missions/Kills) for accruacy)
Spoiler: Best Killer (All Units) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Best Killer (Still Alive) (click to show/hide)
According to my data, Nirur Torir is the one who leads as the best (still living) killer.
WOO! 4th place! ^_^
Post by: EuchreJack on November 06, 2011, 05:28:04 pm
Post by: MaximumZero on November 06, 2011, 06:53:04 pm
Post by: Nirur Torir on November 06, 2011, 07:44:54 pm
Post by: GlyphGryph on November 06, 2011, 07:49:11 pm
Unbelievably, I think I may be catching up - looks like I'm only 21 kills behind you now! It was 22 last time, and 25 before that. ^_^
At this rate I'll catch up to you... several months after the game ends. Damn.
Post by: RAM on November 06, 2011, 08:10:13 pm
Post by: Cuckoo on November 06, 2011, 09:24:04 pm
Post by: Fikes on November 06, 2011, 09:36:06 pm
... I don’t even know why they made aliens carry teleporters. They don’t even use them. Or do they just fail to live long enough to punch the coordinates in?
They use them, but it seems to be mostly random. When they had them before I did and I didn't want to spoil the surprise, they used them mostly to teleport between the four corners of a tactical map. It was really annoying. Just when we'd catch sight of them they would blink off.
Post by: Fikes on November 06, 2011, 11:29:21 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 13: Groundhogs day (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: Itnetlolor on November 07, 2011, 01:02:23 am
It also appears that those last missions are starting to deplete my ratio.
Post by: RAM on November 07, 2011, 02:57:01 am
I am probably more interested in Jagged alliance, but Civilisation would also be a hoot...
Post by: MaximumZero on November 07, 2011, 10:48:43 am
Post by: Cuckoo on November 07, 2011, 12:13:06 pm
Update. I just thought of a slick trick: when someone throws a vortex mine at you, you pick it up before it explodes, teleport to that person, drop it on the floor, and teleport away. xD And maybe something similar with rockets: when one flies after you, you teleport to such place, that when it curves to your new location, it would hit the guy who shot it.
Post by: EuchreJack on November 07, 2011, 07:34:07 pm
Post by: Burnt Pies on November 07, 2011, 08:05:50 pm
Seriously, that guy is ridiculously awesome.
Definitely JA2. JA2 is cool.
Post by: RAM on November 07, 2011, 08:36:11 pm
Post by: Burnt Pies on November 07, 2011, 08:37:41 pm
I know I usually got her killed because she had terrible voice acting.
Post by: GlyphGryph on November 07, 2011, 09:40:41 pm
The Mutant Alliance probably new about the Sectoids because, you know, Psychics. Doing their psychic thing. They were probably chatting them up for weeks, and could really have given you a couple pointers if they didn't see you as such dicks. ;)
Also, I'm up for JA. Heard good things about it but I've never played. Fun times! And this time I WILL be the best! (and totally won't die either!)
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 08, 2011, 12:46:24 am
Failing that, JA 2.
Post by: Itnetlolor on November 08, 2011, 01:28:57 am
Post by: Fikes on November 10, 2011, 06:35:55 pm
Spoiler: Chapter 14: Make a neat gun (for the people who are still alive) (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: MaximumZero on November 10, 2011, 08:30:05 pm
Post by: Haspen on November 11, 2011, 05:40:15 am
Oh well, I'm still alive :D
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 11, 2011, 06:47:58 am
Post by: Silent_Thunder on November 14, 2011, 01:02:46 am
Post by: Fikes on November 14, 2011, 04:57:50 pm
Likely I will be going with a night-ops squad, since that will give us a good chance to flee when fire gets too heavy.
Post by: MaximumZero on November 15, 2011, 01:12:44 am
Post by: Burnt Pies on November 16, 2011, 04:03:46 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on November 17, 2011, 03:36:31 pm
Honestly, I'm not too surprised to see myself die yet again. If anyone was going to die this week, it would obviously be me.
Eu-K-RJK-4 reporting for duty! For Mega Primus!
Oh, and I note that I died on mission 13 with 13 kills to my count. Coincidence?
Edit: New themesong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE&ob=av3e)
Post by: MaximumZero on November 17, 2011, 04:54:04 pm
Edit: New themesong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE&ob=av3e)
Lawl. :P
Post by: Fikes on November 17, 2011, 08:42:36 pm
I finally upgraded my computer after 5 years. The only problem was that my new video card came in DOA so I had to take one from my old system (the one with the LP on it) so I can play games at ultra speed (minus the video card) while I wait for the RMA.
The LP is on hold for a couple more days.
Post by: Cuckoo on November 18, 2011, 05:33:25 am
Edit: New themesong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE&ob=av3e)
<3
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 25, 2011, 05:56:19 am
Post by: jetex1911 on November 25, 2011, 12:02:25 pm
Post by: RAM on November 25, 2011, 06:10:35 pm
Post by: Haspen on November 25, 2011, 06:26:57 pm
Hey, Could you do a Morrowind playthrough?
Oh how nice, I'm playing it nowadays :P Not a Let's play, though...
Talky-talky Hlaalu-Cyrodiil Lady with Enchanted Wakizashi of DOOOOOM*!
Much better than my heavy-armored Redgard with an AXE and alteration spells.
*Absorb health + paralysis + damage fatigue. Awwww yeeeeah!
Post by: Cuckoo on November 25, 2011, 08:55:23 pm
I suppose that we could take the roles of enchanted items...
Long-stride boots of RAM?
Post by: Haspen on November 25, 2011, 08:57:42 pm
I suppose that we could take the roles of enchanted items...
Long-stride boots of RAM?
I'm totally OK with being an enchanted shirt that permamently restores 4 Fatigue points.
That's always the first item I always make. The second is belt of permament water breathing :P
Post by: Jacob/Lee on November 25, 2011, 09:00:14 pm
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 25, 2011, 11:40:11 pm
Post by: Jacob/Lee on November 26, 2011, 02:23:00 am
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Itnetlolor on November 26, 2011, 12:21:11 pm
Post by: Cuckoo on November 26, 2011, 01:25:25 pm
I'm totally OK with being an enchanted shirt that permamently restores 4 Fatigue points.
That's always the first item I always make. The second is belt of permament water breathing :P
Kinky. Pity there’s no magicka restore effect, otherwise Atronach and a ring of permanent magicka restore would be the killer.
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on November 27, 2011, 11:08:49 pm
I'm totally OK with being an enchanted shirt that permamently restores 4 Fatigue points.
That's always the first item I always make. The second is belt of permament water breathing :P
Kinky. Pity there’s no magicka restore effect, otherwise Atronach and a ring of permanent magicka restore would be the killer.
I thought there was?
Post by: Mr.Person on November 27, 2011, 11:27:16 pm
Post by: RAM on November 28, 2011, 04:04:32 am
Post by: Cuckoo on November 28, 2011, 12:05:08 pm
But it’s just like sleeping with corprus for a year (+1 to strength and to endurance every day), healing it, and then praying at a shrine to restore the strength and endurance boost back. Just exploit. Although, jumping above the red mountain is kinda fun.
Post by: Fikes on November 28, 2011, 05:00:00 pm
I'll try to post my Dosbox config file also. It took some jerking around to get the game to work and remember, mine plays like garbage.
As for Morrowind... That would be... interesting. I actually really disliked the game because of the leveling system. It made no sense to me so I couldn't figure out how to min max it. I ended up with a magic user with over 9000 agility because I jumped off a cliff over and over again when I realized it leveled me.
That isn't to say I wouldn't try it. It would be a fairly blind play through which could be fun...
Post by: GlyphGryph on November 28, 2011, 05:31:14 pm
1. Make intelligence potions
2. Now that you are smarter, make better intelligence potions.
3. Repeat 2 a few dozen times, selling the extra to fuel your alchemy.
4. Now you can do whatever you want! You win!
Post by: Fikes on December 27, 2011, 08:37:00 pm
First thing is first, I promised to do this a long time ago. Here is my dosbox config.
Spoiler: X-Com Apocalypse Dos Box for Windows 7 (it runs like crap) (click to show/hide)
Now onto the fun stuff!
Spoiler: Chapter 15:A good case of gas (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Week in review (click to show/hide)
Post by: MaximumZero on December 27, 2011, 08:58:44 pm
Maxclone2 is without sin...
Also, knowing me, I sincerely doubt that. :P
Post by: Itnetlolor on December 27, 2011, 11:04:01 pm
Post by: timferius on December 27, 2011, 11:13:19 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on December 28, 2011, 12:45:44 am
What are honorary kills?
I'd suggest that I should lead the charge into the last alien building. It wouldn't feel right if I survived... :P
Post by: Fikes on December 28, 2011, 01:14:09 am
Hey, you brought be back again! Yay!
What are honorary kills?
I'd suggest that I should lead the charge into the last alien building. It wouldn't feel right if I survived... :P
Honorary kills means you clearly killed them but didn't get credit. Alien gas doesn't give you credit for the kills.
Post by: EuchreJack on December 28, 2011, 01:16:17 am
Post by: ChairmanPoo on January 08, 2012, 03:44:51 pm
I'm playing it turn based because, whereas it was the first x-com game I played, and I did it in real time back then, I've gotten used to the TBS of the other two x-coms in the meanwhile (and RT is too arcadeish). I'm not sure that I like it better than them, TBH.
Post by: Fikes on January 10, 2012, 01:01:47 pm
An update on the LP:
It turns out that I will be gone on business for two months, starting Sunday, so the LP has to finish by then. I am going to try a test run live stream tonight (I will probably get home around 5 Pacific), if it works well enough, I will plan for the final mission on Thursday. Remember, the live stream Thursday will be me playing and writing the LP live so it isn't going to be super exciting. That being said, if it all works out, watchers should get a chance to vote on a couple of important story points to close out the LP.
If someone has experience with live streams and wants to help me get it all set up, please PM me.
Post by: Fikes on January 14, 2012, 12:12:51 am
Spoiler: Interlude 2: Dominance (click to show/hide)
So there you have it. There is a good chance many agents will die in the final mission. If you want your agent to stay safe and sound in MegaPrimus, just say "I'm out". Anyone who isn't out is assumed to be in, but you can say "I'm in" just to show you still care.
Before you agree to fight know that even if we win and your agent survives the combat, he or she can still die.
Nirur, Glyph, Tim, and Aqizzar are the highest ranking agents. They get to vote if Nathan will get to be an agent for the mission. If they vote no, Nathan will be their pilot and they will have the best chance to make it out alive. If they vote yes and Nathan is killed, their chance of escape is very low.
Post by: BullDog on January 14, 2012, 12:27:55 am
Post by: GlyphGryph on January 14, 2012, 12:39:50 am
I'll have to think about the Nathan bit, but as of now I'm leaning towards no. What does it entail, exactly, mechanically?
Post by: MaximumZero on January 14, 2012, 01:11:10 am
Post by: Fikes on January 14, 2012, 01:16:24 am
The way we are playing it here, the gates can only last a minute after they are destroyed. If the gates can only last a minute, everyone will need to GTFO as soon as the building is disabled. Once they are out, they will need a crack pilot to get them through the gate before it collapses.
There is a chance some of the crafts won't make it through. Anyone on those crafts won't survive the LP.
Nathan, if he is to stay pilot, will fly the highest ranking people in. That craft will have the best chance to make it out. If you 4, the highest ranking, decide to let him fight on the ground and he dies, your craft will have the lowest chance to make it out.
In the end (tomorrow) I'll right the update as normal, up until the point the building is destroyed. Then, instead of a final "week in review" I right the final "interlude", all though that is completely the wrong word... I guess it will have to be an epilogue. In that epilogue everyone gets to find out what happens in the seconds after victory.
All of this will be more-or-less for RP purposes. Lots of people are better at humor in LPs than I am, I don't mind my LPs being a little dark.
In the game, if I remember correctly, as soon as you win the last mission you get a great little cutscene of an aircraft exiting the gate at the last second. If only it were that easy. Also, again I haven't won in a long time, I believe you are kicked right out to the title screen. You can't continue even if you want to. The LP is over at that point, with a few RP/story bits to make us all sleep soundly at night. As a side note, I will have to pause the mission just before victory to get the final stats.
On the subject of Nathan:
A few updates ago, I named a random rookie "Nathan Davis" and set him to train. Storyline wise I like to pretend Anja trained him up and helped him practice up until the point she died. Not long after her death the air war was won and Nathan felt like dead weight. When Eucherer died unexpectedly it furthered his resolve. The war doesn't need pilots any more, it needs soldiers.
But lets face it, this is naive. Pilots are exactly what we need. We have tons of bad ass agents, we have very few great pilots. On the other hand, can you tell someone who was so instrumental to our victory that their only job is to help us retreat?
I don't know. You tell me.
Spoiler: Meet Private Nathan, GI (click to show/hide)
Post by: Shadowgandor on January 14, 2012, 03:25:03 am
Post by: Jacob/Lee on January 14, 2012, 03:36:01 am
Post by: BullDog on January 14, 2012, 03:02:08 pm
Post by: Sheb on January 14, 2012, 04:38:46 pm
Post by: EuchreJack on January 14, 2012, 05:00:51 pm
Post by: BunnyBob77 on January 14, 2012, 08:13:11 pm
Post by: Shadowgandor on January 14, 2012, 08:54:10 pm
Post by: MaximumZero on January 14, 2012, 10:12:27 pm
Why's everyone talking about dying? We're all coming back safe and sound and stuff.Honestly, I don't plan to. I plan on staying until the whole damn place burns down.
Post by: Fikes on January 15, 2012, 06:03:47 am
Spoiler: Chapter 16:Sacrifice (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fikes on January 15, 2012, 08:38:05 am
Spoiler: Beyond prying eyes:The final ground battle (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: RAM on January 15, 2012, 07:18:42 pm
Post by: Shadowgandor on January 15, 2012, 07:32:04 pm
Why's everyone talking about dying? We're all coming back safe and sound and stuff.My famous last words.
Post by: MaximumZero on January 15, 2012, 11:09:38 pm
Quote
Sgt. Maxclone2: 60 96 37% Full Decorations
Did I not stay there? ???
Post by: EuchreJack on January 15, 2012, 11:13:35 pm
Post by: GlyphGryph on January 16, 2012, 12:32:12 am
And, of course, a glass raised to Fikes!
Great game, sir. I was glad to be a part of it!
From the beginning, to the end.
Post by: timferius on January 17, 2012, 08:42:27 am
Also, ouch.
Post by: Haspen on January 17, 2012, 09:33:22 am
Post by: 612DwarfAvenue on January 17, 2012, 11:11:21 pm
Modifying chassis to configuration >Turret_09<...
...
...
Calibrating targeting software, cancelling power flow to lower chassis...
Disabling non-critical sub-routines...
Scanning for X-COM units...
...
...
...
No X-COM units within sensor range...
Activating distress beacon... ping...
...
... No response...
Ping...
...
... No response...
Ping...
...
... No response...
Ping...
Post by: Fikes on February 15, 2012, 11:47:31 pm
Just today I reviewed my final post. The background is that about 6 hours after finishing the LP I was on a plane to the opposite side of the country for a week then out out the Atlantic Ocean for 3 weeks (back on dry land today). Also, when I had written that I was celebrating my last day at home with more than a couple of beers. I am shocked it turned out as well as it did. There are parts I don't remember writing and my math sucked. These things do happen.
Anyways, thank you all for reading, it was fun. I had planned on doing a statics section that included how many megabytes worth of screen shots I took, how many hours Steam claims I have in Apoc, and how many days the LP took, but as I am still on travel I lack everything but a basic internet connection. Alas. I can give you this:
Hours according to steam is something like 150, no joke. X-Com Apoc is my second most played Steam game after Civ 5.
the LP took 101 days.
With 5816 views, it is currently the 45th most viewed thread on the "Play with your buddies" sub board (Most viewed X-Com LP is Anya's UFO Defense with 15028)
With 269 replies, it is currently the 44th most replied to thread on the "Play with your buddies" sub board (Most replied to X-Com LP is Anya's UFO Defense with 995)
I do still plan to do the JA 1.13 playthrough, but I will be on travel for another month. I would like to pick up a nice Gaming Laptop. If I do, I will install 1.13.
Post by: CandyGale on March 14, 2013, 04:53:35 pm
I actually feel like replaying the game with similar restrictions as used in this playthrough, but that assumes I can get the game running, complete with music and everything - the right atmosphere is very important. I have managed to set it up earlier, but it's rather difficult.
Post by: RAM on March 14, 2013, 07:02:58 pm
Post by: Mephansteras on March 14, 2013, 07:17:49 pm
It's an LP, not a discussion thread. Necroing is problem when people rehash old topics that could just as well get new threads. An LP doesn't exactly work that way, since it's kind of self contained.
Post by: RAM on March 14, 2013, 10:57:04 pm
Post by: Mephansteras on March 14, 2013, 10:58:25 pm
Apologies, I probably should have made it clearer that the tags indicated the absence of sarcasm rather than the presence of it. The / before the tag-name indicates that you are revoking that tag.
Oh! Didn't even notice the /. I haven't seen anyone do that before, but it makes sense.
Post by: EuchreJack on March 15, 2013, 10:37:15 am
Fikes is to be commended for actually finishing a game in a LP, a feat that I've only seen one or two other times.
EDIT: Which is not to say that I haven't enjoyed the unfinished LPs, just that completing one is quite the awesome feat.
Post by: CandyGale on March 15, 2013, 01:56:45 pm
Completing X-COM Apocalypse on superhuman + ironman is an impressive feat by itself; I myself expect to suffer quite a few defeats. Being able to involve a community into the game like this makes it more enjoyable, but you also need a good amount of dedication.
On a side note, it was easier than I expected to get the game running on XP. I can imagine Windows 7 making it a lot more difficult. I also had a CD image of the original disc, which might have helped.
Post by: EuchreJack on March 15, 2013, 02:04:15 pm
If you like challenges, try this mod (http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/megapol-mod/).
I'd suggest also using this utility to fix road vehicles (http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/roadwar-utility-1.12/) so they're actually usable.
Post by: RAM on March 16, 2013, 04:48:19 am
Post by: EuchreJack on March 17, 2013, 05:41:39 pm
Ahhhhh, the simple joys of coming back to your tank three weeks later and finding that the road underneath it is, in all likelihood, never going to be fixed...
Hence why I suggest using the above utility to make roads indestructible.
Post by: CandyGale on March 20, 2013, 09:26:13 am
If you like challenges, try this mod (http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/megapol-mod/).I have certain doubts about my ability to clear this anytime soon, but challenges are always good and it looks to be a quite an interesting mod.
I'd suggest also using this utility to fix road vehicles (http://www.strategycore.co.uk/files/roadwar-utility-1.12/) so they're actually usable.
The road fix utility also seems like a very welcome addition. I have never actually used ground vehicles because of how useless they are.
Post by: Fikes on March 25, 2013, 02:20:18 pm
Sadly the JA 2 LP died when I formatted my computer, so I too have fallen into the "incomplete LP" crowd.