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What shall we play next?

Civilization V
- 14 (28%)
Jagged Alliance 2 1.13
- 26 (52%)
Some other idea (please post it in the thread)
- 2 (4%)
Play Apoc again and try not to embarrass yourself this time!
- 7 (14%)
Nothing. The LP was bad and you should feel bad.
- 1 (2%)

Total Members Voted: 50


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Author Topic: Complete: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!  (Read 114088 times)

Fikes

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Complete: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« on: October 07, 2011, 05:23:40 pm »

Welcome to MegaPrimus!

(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!


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

Bay12 bikersDisbanded:
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
« Last Edit: January 15, 2012, 08:38:36 am by Fikes »
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BunnyBob77

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2011, 05:45:35 pm »

Sound interesting.  I'll be following this.  Name a soldier after me!
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Nirur Torir

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2011, 05:53:37 pm »

This should be interesting, redshirt Nirur Torir reporting for bullet-absorption (and cultist-hating) duty.

I vote swarm craft. The bigger stuff's just too painful when lost.
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Biag

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2011, 06:07:12 pm »

Biag enlists!

I vote swarm craft, too. Hoverbike cloud!
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RAM

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2011, 06:46:07 pm »

I vote for hoverbikes for the first week, I recall losing entire swarms in a matter of moments against actual military craft, and unless we buy different weapons for them, they are likely to exhaust the know universes' supply of autocannon ammunition in the space of a few days... Having said that, I wouldn't touch hovercars with a pole of theoretically limitless length. They combine the wonderful features of exploding when merely glanced at by enemy craft, being incapable of avoiding anything unpleasant, and mounting a similar armament to the hoverbike. I suppose that you could try to design them as some sort of long-range bombardment vehicle, but even then they will drop like flies...

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...
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Vote (1) for the Urist scale!
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Urist has been forced to use a friend as fertilizer lately.
Read the First Post!

Fikes

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2011, 06:52:17 pm »

Chapter 1: Prequel


Next time on Iron Man Apoc: Battle!
« Last Edit: October 08, 2011, 06:17:21 pm by Fikes »
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Fikes

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2011, 07:52:26 pm »

While I wait for names and junk to roll in, there are a few things I wanted to explain.
Spoiler: Apoc Political System (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Meet our neighbors (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Meet our friends (click to show/hide)

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.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2011, 05:40:34 pm by Fikes »
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Fikes

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2011, 09:39:18 pm »

I did not mean to tripple post, the battle got in the way. Future updates will be longer.

Chapter 2: First battle and final setup.

Spoiler: First battle! (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: October 08, 2011, 06:14:43 pm by Fikes »
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Thexor

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2011, 09:57:42 pm »

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!)
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Itnetlolor

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2011, 10:16:44 pm »

Why not?

* IT-NET-101-0R enlists

Guess what I want to enlist as?

Nirur Torir

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2011, 10:24:50 pm »

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.
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Fikes

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #11 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.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2011, 12:46:34 am by Fikes »
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Julius Clonkus

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2011, 03:49:20 am »

The political system is really screwed up in this game. I recall reading about a playthrough where alien-inflicted collaterral damage managed to bring the Cult of Sirius to friendly terms with X-COM.

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.
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Holy schist, this thread is mica me sick.
DF Players never truly leave.  They just abandon the fortress for a few years and then reclaim.

RAM

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #13 on: October 08, 2011, 03:54:20 am »

I believe that a hoverbike can mount a lineage plasma cannon, but the autocannon looks to have very impressive damage in its own right and is cheaper...

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.
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Vote (1) for the Urist scale!
I shall be eternally happy. I shall be able to construct elf hunting giant mecha. Which can pour magma.
Urist has been forced to use a friend as fertilizer lately.
Read the First Post!

BunnyBob77

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Re: Let’s Play Ironman/Superhuman X-Com Apocalypse!
« Reply #14 on: October 08, 2011, 08:24:51 am »

I'm really liking the LP.  You're doing a good job of explaining game mechanics, and I liked how you're showing a lot of different things.  Keep up the good work!
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