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[Kagus]

X-COM: TERROR FROM THE DEEP

  So here it is folks, a true blast of madness from the past.  Behold a game so cruel and unforgiving that even DF players fear to set foot in its unholy waters...

  But there comes a challenger!  True, he is a neophyte of all things X-COM, but he maintains that this merely makes things more interesting!  It also provides an excuse for taking all the help he can get.

  However, even with his spreadsheets and his auxiliary programs and his shameful tactics, is there any hope for survival against the dreaded Tentaculat?  Will even the bravest aquanauts be able to withstand the horror of the perverse and mind-rending nature of two-part alien colony missions?  And is it possible for the world to survive even a day in the face of the almighty LOBSTERMAN?

  Well, if anybody's gonna do it, might as well be someone who's never played the damn thing before.  Woohoo.


So this is it lads!  Terror from the Deep, the missing link of X-COM LP's.  Your host is the witty, intelligent, handsome and most of all modest Kagus, someone who has neither done an LP before nor played TFTD.  I think I know most of the basics, but we'll just have to see about that now won't we?


Now, next item of business...  I *am* going to need help playing this.  It is, after all, a ranking member of Most Brutal Games in History, placing right around Roman gladiatorial combat on the list.  The question is, of course, how much help am I going to be getting?  That's where you, the participant, comes in.

I will be running with XComUtil, which automatically tweaks some things, including the subs.  This makes the intermediary subs such as the Manta and Hammerhead actually worthwhile, as they are now indeed steps up instead of merely to the side.  This is important, as nabbing a Lobsterman commander may prove a little tricky.

Speaking of which, I *will* be viewing a full page of research warnings and recommendations, so that I don't end up hanging myself from TFTD's unforgiving tech tree.  Difficulty is a giant armored baboon with laser cannons for eyes, not an honest mistake that can make the entire game unwinnable without you knowing it.

Also, XComUtil's functions make the game difficulties live up to their names a little more, so we have to choose between beginner or normal, rather than just going for beginner (hey, I'm new to this!  Gimme a few more breaks).

Now, on to the optional changes that XComUtil provides...

(1) Improved Tanks
This option beefs the standard tank design (in this case, Coelecanths) to have the same armor, health and speed of the later designs.  This is a significant change, as now the only improvements of the later-game tanks would be the improved weaponry and flight.  I'm fine with either choice.  Having weaker tanks would make slightly more sense, particularly from a roleplaying perspective, but having tougher tanks early on can make a big difference when you don't have much in the way of useful weaponry.

(2) Improved Weapons
This is essentially just a Gauss buff in TFTD.  Gauss weapons have had their damage ramped up and their ammo requirements removed, thus making them actually more powerful than laser technology (not taking into account damage type resistances/vulnerabilities, in which case laser still wins).  Clips still have to be researched, but serve no purpose other than advancing the tech progression.

(2.b) To Gauss Or Not To Gauss
If we're not going with improved Gauss, I'd like to know if we should skip Gauss tech entirely.  It's not particularly effective, especially in the late game (holy hell, 80% damage resistance?  Bugger this), and lacks the unlimited ammo of laser tech.  However, it still provides a semi-useful automatic fire capability early in the game.  But since we'll acquire sonic technology after the very first battle, this is a tricky choice to make, as research time could potentially be better spent figuring out other things.

(3) Improved Base
This alters the starting base so that it has a more defensible layout, 50 scientists and 20 technicians, a scanner upgraded from short-range to long-range, and an alien containment unit.  This is an obvious and significant early-game boost, and is essentially cheating.  If we decide not to go with this, then I'll use the option of the "alternate base", which changes nothing but the layout (making it somewhat more defensible).

(4) Captured Alien Research
This option is a doozy.  It greatly increases the amount of time required for research projects, making everything take much, much longer.  However, captured aliens such as medics, engineers, navigators and so on that are captured will result in significant decreases in the amount of research needed in "related subjects" (e.g., an Aquatoid engineer would aid significantly in the development of advanced USO construction technologies).  This is somewhat sensible from a roleplay aspect, but also happens to be a balls-tastic difficulty increase.  It's also somewhat wonky, due to it being a hacked feature that the game is not entirely familiar with.

(5) I Don't Mind
Ahh, Mind Control.  Or Molecular Control as it is referred to by TFTD, but that doesn't exist because it is a silly and unnecessary "retexturing" of a word and is from now on declared non-canon.  Anyways, XComUtil provides an option to turn off Mind Control.  Completely.  Neither X-COM nor the aliens can utilize MC in any way.  Considering the incredible power wielded by a trained group of Psi-Soldiers, this is indeed a double-edged sword.  Again, up to you to decide.

(6) Other
Here we have various choices, such as being able to randomize battlescapes and USO layouts.  I'm leaning towards not using this, but if you really want to have randomized terrain then make it clear in a post.

And that should just about do it.  If you have any other thoughts or comments, feel free to share them.  I'll leave the choices up for a while, and get started tomorrow on the real deal.

We should also start thinking about where to put our base...

Spoiler: Satellite image #1 (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Satellite image #2 (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Satellite image #3 (click to show/hide)

[zchris13]

Australia, Kagus. Put it in Australia.

[Kagus]

I'm tempted to stick it in the water next to New Zealand, just to spite you.  But that would be silly.  And there's no sense in having a silly LP, because that would just be entertaining, instead of the educational experience it is supposed to be.

[Itnetlolor]

Within the Bermuda Triangle, base name: Atlantis (I know, not too original).

It's an idea.

[Duke 2.0]

 Your base shall be parked next to the Galapagos Islands, to defend Europe. Name it Sealand, despite that being a better base name for waters off of the UK.

[Nirur Torir]

I vote staying with the vanilla game on everything except for the less suicidal base design. If you're going to play TFTD, I feel you should play it the way it was designed to be played. (Impossible!)

I vote sticking the base in the waters next to China. Beginner difficulty will be fine, since the game will still be hard enough.

[CJ1145]

Stick it off the coast of Georgia and name it "The Lost City of Atlanta." Futurama FTW

As for the options, they all sound good to me, but if I had to choose I'd stay stick with only the new base. The rest is basically cheating in the sense that the game becomes slightly less unbeatable. And that's just not right.

[Spartan 117]

Bermuda Triangle. Name it "Death Trap 1"

And I say we use improved gauss at least. Mainly because I hate sonic weapons with a passion.

Also, beginner please.

[Jackrabbit]

Put it in New Zealand and name it 'Obscure Sheep Joke'. We have a good sense of humor. Kind of rubbish when it comes to fighting off aliens, but You (yes You!) can change all that!

[Shades]

I vote for default settings (other than allowing the base layout)

Normal Difficulty. I mean there is loads of us to advise you so it'll be a cake walk right? ... right?

We may as well skip gauss weapons if we don't improve them.

[sluissa]

The only major upside to gauss weapons is that you can also manufacture the ammo without zrbite. They are significantly powerful than the dart guns, but not quite enough to make it a sure choice.

[Kagus]

Notice:  It is impossible to have all default setting with only the layout change.  That requires XComUtil, and using XComUtil will automatically alter certain aspects.  This includes making all subs capable of troop transport (and increasing capacity on the Hammerhead and Leviathan, although this can apparently be changed by hacking the config file, but it's recommended you REALLY know what you're doing to attempt this.  Also, the Hammerhead is practically useless without the increased cargo space) and fixing the difficulty of the game so that it reflects the setting (this means experienced will indeed be harder than beginner.  This is a bugfix).

Other than that, it is possible to go clean, with the exception of the base layout.  Or, I can uninstall the whole thing (since XComUtil integrates itself into the game files) and reinstall from scratch, so I can play the buggy unbalanced nightmare in its glorious originality.


Gauss weapons, regardless of how improved they are, *will* be moved away from later in the game.  There's simply no way I'm shooting at something that automatically cuts off 80% of all Gauss damage.  Sonic weapons, like it or not, are the way to go in the mid-late game.  Personally, I think they look like giant Supersoakers.  Wonky, but oddly appropriate.

The only thing Gauss weapons are good for late-game is, interestingly enough, cash.  Gauss cannons are the single most profitable item in the game, all things considered.  A base with five workshops working full-time will produce over TEN MILLION DOLLARS in net profit every month.  This takes into account technician wages, living space, parts cost etc. etc....

As for ammo, the aliens essentially serve the role of goblins in that regard.  You'll eventually just start referring to them as "sonic ore".


So far, here's the tally:

Base Location:
Australia - 1
New Zealand - 1
Bermuda Triangle - 2
Galapagos - 1
China - 1
East Coast USA - 1

Difficulty:
Beginner - 2
Normal - 1 (Not sure what this means.  There are five difficulties, Beginner, Experienced, Veteran, Genius and Superhuman.  I'm guessing you mean Veteran)

[zchris13]

New Zealand is cooler than Australia. I change my vote.

[Glacies]

Hardest difficulty possible. Only dart pistols. Antartica.

[Spartan 117]

Hardest difficulty possible. Only dart pistols. Antartica.

We'd never complete a mission.