Bay 12 Games Forum

You don't add defense matrices (or any of the other two that you get, one which lets your interceptor keep up with the UFO longer and one which makes your interceptor's next two shots automatically hit) to you interceptor, they're one-use only and you use a button to activate them during combat (yes, they're used direct from your stores. No, it doesn't make much sense).

Oh. Well, that's kinda cheap.

Also, your EMP cannons will leave UFOs more intact on recovery, leading to more loot, but also more aliens to kill during the recovery mission. They'll also down the UFO in only a few hits.

Noted.

And that overhanging sign in Frozen Dawn is just scenery. If you activate the skeleton suit near a valid target (and it has pretty good range), you'll see squares where you can grapple to. Good for getting to the tops of buildings, vehicles, or platforms in alien structures.

Alright, noted.

(Reading GWG's AARs is an exercise in face-palmery.  Keep it up.)

...Thanks? Any advice?

---

Alright, where was I...Ah, yes, between missions.
I order up a SHIV. We figure out how to make men fly (that is a LOT of Elerium), then begin interrogation of our Thin Man. Using mind-reading techniques, we discover a neural link of sorts between sectoids and those weird energy things...we are advised to capture one. I advise Dr. Vahlen to see if she can reverse-engineer plasma weaponry and promise to get on it.
Satellites are launched over China and Nigeria. I order Interceptors to be created in Asia and transferred to Africa. We also make a SHIV.

Monthly report. Japan discontinues involvement. Game crashes.
Japan's still gone. We get a C overall--we're doing well, but could be doing better. I try to bring up my idea of making more Skyrangers, but he disconnects.

We figure out light plasma rifles. Whoo! We begin work on heavy lasers; it's been delayed for a while, and we need more weapon fragments to do anything else.
Another crash. Come on...
I catch up to where we were and save.

Operation Cryptic Engine
More abductions. I don't even bother asking about the Skyrangers; I know the answer anyways.
France. Mexico. Argentina. If I recall correctly, the US was pretty terrified. Let's head to Meheeko, get that dealt with.
Lockdown, the SHIV (THUNDER-1), and two semi-rookies--Hamza Arjam and Maggie Hill--head out.
Lockdown spots a couple mutons, then grapples up to a rooftop. Neato. The squad takes cover behind cars and Overwatches (except Hill--we ran out of nearby cover). Then, three more mutons show up...
Lockdown headshots one, nearly killing it; the SHIV helps with dispatching another; Arjam breaks into a building because his chances to hit suck; Hill charges up to a muton due to sucky chances and nearly kills it. The muton responds by...shooting the SHIV? So does another. Man, these guys really don't like robots. Another muton breaks into the building to almost-kill Arjam. He responds by stepping forward, pressing his laser rifle against the muton's skull, and probably earning a promotion to Sniper. A turn passes, and no one is seen by Lockdown. Coulda sworn I gave him Squadsight. Evidently he doesn't, so he advances more towards the center of the battle...and spots three more mutons crouching behind a truck, entering the fray. Kinda. One of them advances to a corner next to Hill and copies a common Assault trick: Shoot when you're almost guaranteed to hit and kill, then deal one damage too little. One of the mutons takes cover behind a streetlight not even between him and us before shooting at basically the most-in-cover member and most distant of the squad. Lockdown shoots said muton, causing it to use Intimidate to panic Lockdown. This leads to Lockdown shooting and killing said muton, so I'm okay with it. We kill the other muton, then discover that there are three more in the building Hill and her 1 HP (and no medic) are hiding in. And the one that still-panicking Lockdown is on top of. It's down to Arjam to protect Hill. He also gets Intimidated. Hill runs up to the only cover in the room, right next to Arjam...then misses and gets plasma grenaded. It's down to Lockdown...He hops down to the street, hides behind a truck, reloads, dodges muton fire, grapples onto another truck, shoots a muton with his pistol, dodges more fire, headshoots the muton (not killing it), dodges more muton fire, finishes that muton off with his pistol (to conserve ammo), dodges the other muton's fire, shoots it twice with his rifle while dodging fire, and kills the last muton within seconds of it getting onto the roof. This guy deserves a promotion. Or two. Or maybe two, plus a laser sniper rifle.
Dr. Vahlen regrets the loss, wondering if there was some aspect of the research she overlooked, something she could have done.
"You could have been God. Only He can stop stuff like this from happening."
"...Are not you an atheist, sir?"
"Exactly."
France, the UK, and Russia are panicking.
Lockdown (who did have Squadsight!) is promoted to Lieutenant.
Ten mutons. Ten. Wow.

I submit orders for a laser sniper rifle (I get two), a couple satellites, and a Firestorm. Heavy lasers, for Heavies, SHIVs, and Interceptors, are completed. Further research requires Elerium, which was all eaten up by the Firestorm.

Operation Shattered Whisper
A small scout UFO was spotted and quickly shot down in China. Carlos "Deacon" Sanchez, a lieutenant that...someone from South America gave us for dealing with abductions leads Socks, O'Sullivan, and Endo in to investigate.
A couple of floaters show up before we make it ten meters. Deacon and O'Sullivan kill the floaters with a shot each, because lasers are awesome. We advance and see the energy being, whatever it was called. Vahlen reminds us that we should see if we can capture it with the arc thrower.
"...I knew there was something we forgot!"
"...You did not bring the arc thrower? You were mentioning just yesterday how--"
"I know, Doctor."
Endo takes a couple shots and dies. Socks retaliates by running up and shooting it, lethally.
"Sir, killing these--"
"I know."
"--particular aliens gets us nowhere."
"It gets them to not kill us, doesn't it?"
"We should focus on cap--"
"I know."
"--turing one of them--"
"I KNOW, I JUST FORGOT THE FRAKKING ARC THROWER, OKAY?!"
My irritation crashes the game. Reload. Socks kills it again. I investigate to find further aliens...they're outside the ship, two mutons, good to know. O'Sullivan grapples to a good position atop the UFO, Socks double-taps (okay, there's a real name for the skill, but I like "double-tap" better) a muton that tries to intimidate her halfway through (no effect), suppression and misses, does O'Sullivan not have Squadsight or is there just too much cover, and Socks crits on the remaining guy. Then the game crashes. I need to figure out something that lets me do this without constant alt-tabs...maybe the Steam Community thing has something? I vaguely remember seeing someone use a browser in it.
Aside from Socks breaking 20 kills and Endo...being killed, nothing to report for the aftermath. Oh, and I order a couple carapaces.

Life goes on. South Africa asks for some Thin Man corpses, which we provide. This evidently leads to medical advances, so win-win. We built the Firestorm, making me remember that hey, we might have enough Elerium to do some research stuff! They start unlocking the secrets of the plasma rifle, but sadly aliens launching a terror attack in Kolcatta interrupt us.

Operation Hidden God
Socks. Lockdown. Cookie. Sanchez. Four of our best and brightest (or, arguably, three of our best and our only heavy). Everyone except Lockdown in his skeleton suit has carapace armor; everyone except Sanchez with his LMG has a laser. We have the soldier with the highest kill count, our best medic, the Second Castillo, and a guy with a rocket launcher. We are facing what may be the toughest mission since Castillo died.
We are ready.

[To Be Continued...]

How does Will know what kind of room they were teleported into, and where it was?
1. Logically, one would want to deposit them in a location where their abilities would be nullified. Maria's house is the only convenient such location.
2. Also, they were discussing bringing them there.
3. What kinds of features would be found in prison-type rooms, and why do Maria's parents have rooms with such features?


(I'm doing these irregularly to show that no, I'm not just full of crap.)