In Progress Let's play: 10 brave souls vs the Terror From The Deep

[RealDDc]

Spoiler

Update: The third alien ship

This one...

Spoiler

was a pleasant surprise

Yep.

This time we advance a Coelacanth tank into battle, that should drastically increase the soldiers lifespan.

Switching the rocket launcher to GreyViper pays out, a clean snapshot wipes out the Aquatoid and adds the first kill to
his records.

Spreading the crew a bit out, the tank of course does the scouting job at the front.

A Heavy armed Aquatoid spotted by the tank is taken out by me.

We spot the alien ship, Overboard mines the entrance with a trip mine. I appraise the area secure and advance the tank
to the north.

That wrong judge nearly cost me the life, the plasma shot missed by an inch.

My counterstrike instead fails horribly, thats not my day.

Overboard saves my ass from sure efface with a quickly thrown grenade, and scores another kill on the aliens turn with
the tripmine. Remind me to give this guy a medal someday.

The tank eats his first hit to the side and takes some mediocre damage, not enough to worry too mutch.

Less luck on side of the Aquatoid whos instantly struck down by counterfire.

Scouting the rest of the area a well hidden one staring at the wall for probably every turn gets redeemed by Azira.

I have no idea where this one appeared from and I'd rather not give him enough time to explain.

It survived the indirect hit, and Blagrar finish him off.

The tank get shot, completely absorbing the damage and reaction fires... but missing. At this point I decided to start
collecting the loot and leave the ship itself alone.

The tank absorbs a few more sonic pistol shots and the situation looks secure enough to give it a shot and try to salvage
the whole ship.

Storming the bottom door with Blagrar taking out the first one behind the door, followed by the tank to receive possible
point blank fire.

During the aliens turn I don't see anything, no shots are fired, but I hear a door slamming.

There he is, I expected him to be at the top door and checked that first.

Then I moved Overboard aswell in, covered them both with the tank, moved the tank back out and advanced to the next
doors. At that pictures point I expected to have at least one soldier drop, Blagrar opens autofire.

MISS!

MISS!

But then a instant death hit, woot! Harpoons ftw!

 

[Azira]

Even a live capture? Lucky.

 

[anus_pounder]

Don't want to get too optimistic, but heres hoping you guys manage to finish the game RealDDC doesn't abandon the LP.

 

[RealDDc]

Spoiler

Update: TERROR

Time for the first terror mission.

Our scientists have finished progress on the sonic rifle, yet we can't take those loaded with us... the ammo is not fully revealed.

We have no options, harpoon guns will have to do the trick. At least we got plenty pulser grenades to play with.

I have three goals in this mission, and a fourth optional one.

• dead deep one
• alive deep one
• MS reader
• and optionally a thermal shock launcher with ammo

At cost of however many civilians, tanks and soldiers it'll take to get those.

The aliens invade the port of Manila, not too surprisingly after all if your desires tend towards young and fresh human
material.

Let's do this!

The tank directly scouts on his first turn two heedless gillmens...

... a deep one together with a civilian...

... and one more gillman in sniper position.

Dayyālu provides them both with a primed pulser.

GreyViper makes sure with a trip mine that the deep one is going to regret killing that civilian the next turn. That civilian
can't be protected but without collateral damage I won't get extra points substracted than I would killing that civilian
myself.

Many civilians get slaughtered during the aliens turn, to my displeasure this is a well populated map...

... and the deep one survives the trip mine explosion instead falls unconscious probably deadly wounded.

Overboard hooks me up with a primed grenade and I share this present with the gillman on the roof.

The rest of that turn is slow paced, just to advance the tank some more without targets.

Only one more deathscream of a civilian during the aliens turn, they must have done a good job in the first round
already. The unconscious deep one passes from a fatal wound.

The tank give a hidden gillman short shrift with a snapshot.

Both are pretty good covered, Dayyālu drops a pulser coaxial and with luck again a double kill. Maybe.

They survived and Dayyālu gives it another go, this grenade will grant him the next double kill and promotes him the
teams top grenadier.

Dayyālu and Blagrar move out the Triton to search a previously spottet deep one and get caught. The deep ones bad
aim is their fortune.

Blagrar gets the high priority task to capture one alive, succeeds with this and drags him in the small building to keep
it under control.

The Coelacanth takes care of the sneaky deep one and Dayyālu scores another gillman kill with a grenade, whom the
tank took a hit from for quite some damage. On turn 10 the lower part of the map appears to be clean.

To my luck I spot this one with the tank before sending the crew out of the ship.

Another one that remained unseen, and I have most of the crew fire harpoon darts at him, a few hits land but he is
unimpressed by that. GreyViper finishes him off with a explosive round from the gascannon.

In an advance further to the north, the tank cut a swath through the remaining units.

And another one en route to the most dangerous building with the best sniper spots of the whole map.

Panick strikes among the alien forces.

They must've realized that they messed with the wrong squad.

A round later it must look very bad on the aliens side, these guys hardly ever go in panick. To bad they can't drop
the weapons.

The tank deals with it.

Now this is the building I mentioned, I often had great runs on this map, and when it comes to this building, the
soldiers start dropping like flys. The tank suffers a couple of hits, gladly that gillman only wields a pistol.

Rolling forward for a point blank hit, the gillman survives the hit, the tank takes three more hits without effect. If it
would have been a rifle or a cannon, the tank would've been trashed.

The turn I decided to send Dayyālu and Mico out to storm the building, I get a lucky glimpse on the heavy armed
gillman soldier at the top floor.

Avoiding to risk crew members Dayyālu bombards him with grenades through the window.

After a few attemps he finally throws the grenade that is going to kill it.

Somewhere there must be a remaining one, Mico and Dayyālu armed with sonic rifles from a looted gillman check the
remaining buildings the tank can't access.

Finally I find this room, the remains of a civilian inside behind a closed door. A previously panick report reveals it must
be a deep one.

For some unknown reason I think it is a good idea to capture a second deep one aswell as the glorious idea to let Mico
shoot a pathway in the wall and Dayyālu to run in and freeze it.

In theory that wasn't even bad, if there wasn't this buildings pillar to block both, the pathway and the vision... Okay
I can't move in from there, and I cannot get vision on it to aim a shot. I need a grenade, Mico primes it.

Someone could have told me that the roof of this building was gone... Mico leaves this world on his first mission with
a big boom, nearly destroying the tank aswell as taking Dayyālu with him. Farewell seaman Mico thanks for
the service.

After killing Mico it ran out of the building, the tank follows it and exectues it. We win, and im pissed.

Final results are still okay, there'd even a civilian survive somehow...
MS reader aquired
Dead deep one
Alive deep one
Time to let the scientists invent some funky stuff
No thermal shock launcher tho there may have been none or it got destroyed in a explosion


7 Soldiers remain

Edited a stupid error that bugged me.

 

[GreyViper]

That went rather well, and I have to say the tank is proving its worth, pity it wont gain exp. Still keep it up the same way and you might make it to the end.

 

[RealDDc]

Spoiler

Update: End of the first month


One more mission and a first month overview

Near the end of the month some more activity, a small sized alien ship was shot down.

And there we go.

After the pretty successful terror mission, I stocked up on another tank.

Scary, a heavy armed Aquatoid on a platform just infront of the Triton. Luckily facing in the wrong direction so it can't
reaction fire and Overboard removes it with a grenade.

The next turn one of the tanks adducts reaction fire and some damage is taken.

Again it is Overboard whos going to score the kill.

That was a really boring mission, didn't want to risk soldiers and kept everyone most of the time in the ship bombarding
the area with grenades.

Those whom I could not reach with grenades the tanks took out.

Random question: Are there really people following this let's play with joy?

This one was a excellent shot! GreyViper could not get a line of sight, and still scored the kill. Pobably saved me 400k
to refund a tank.

Those tanks just dig through the enemy defenses on the way to the alien ship.

And the remaining alien(s?) in the ship just decided to suicide.

The final results are a real surprise, did not expect to salvage Zrbit from that wreckage. And weird how the Ion-Beam
Generator is destroyed but the Zrbit remained. But who am I to complain.

Close to the end of the month the scientists finally reveal these secrets, now we can rock loaded plasma rifles into battles.
And we can start producing sonic rifles to sell those for the profit.


Monthly Overview:

Base at end of January
- 50 Scientists
- 20 Technicians
Next month I stock up on them to not pay twice.
- 7 Soldiers
- 150 Zrbit in stock
- 2 Tanks
- Aquajet Tank on order
- Some more crap


Progress of the crew:

Currently the base defender when the Tritons out and his companions have all the fun. Still to claim tho.

Not bad.

 

[Azira]

Yes. Watching and following with interest.

 

[Desktop Commander]

Random question: Are there really people following this let's play with joy?

Yes. It is rare enough to find someone who genuinely enjoys TFTD and doesn't dismiss it because of the difficulty and it being "nothing more than a reskin".

 

[lightbane]

RealDDc said: ↑
Random question: Are there really people following this let's play with joy?

I like reading every few days to see how is it going.

 

[Nevill]

I will wait in the sky for my comrades to join me. In the meantime I will watch over them.

I enjoy reading about sticky situations you manage to get yourself into, and how you resolve it, so I enjoyed the Terror Mission update the most. I don't know if I'd like to read about every mission (their number skyrockets as the time goes on), but with just 10 people I can't imagine this going for too long (unless you beeline to Sonic Hovertanks, these things are easily replenished and can take some punishment).

I still interpret GreyViper's "might make it to the end" as "might make it to the lobstermen".

 

[MicoSelva]

Dead on the first mission. Somehow that seems fitting. I had a stupid face anyway. :D
Looking forward to how this ends.

 

[ghostdog]

Random question: Are there really people following this let's play with joy?

Yep.

 

[RealDDc]

I'm glad this provides entertainment!

Currently I am not entirely sure how to proceed tho. It ain't my intention to stop proceedings, this will carry on and stay the course to the last man or the ultimate alien is slain. And my intentions are, even if very unlikely the latter. This leads to a problem, also mentioned by Nevill.

...I enjoy reading about sticky situations... I don't know if I'd like to read about every mission...

To have some very slim and still hardly realistic chance I need to continue very cautiously, carelessness has had its toll already and cost 3 soldiers. Assault on a large sized cruiser with Aquatiods or even just a med sized one could have fatal results on the entire squad.

Will led it slowly take its course and pick the easy bait until the crew is ready for the retaliation. But until then you will only have reports here about tiny and small craft missions led by Aquatiods or Gillmens. Normally I'd just approach any mission, no matter what, in the worst case it would cost some $$ to refund the Triton, crew and gear or heavy casualties on a still successful mission. I often gave myself limitations on TFTD runs, a classical would be to play without MC disruptors or without the usage of pulse launchers, the starting base somewhere in the nowhere and alike. But this is the most challenging TFTD run I've ever attempted.

...I still interpret GreyViper's "might make it to the end" as "might make it to the lobstermen".

My gravest concern aren't the crabman but the moment the M.C. strength is revealed, most of the squad members are not the bravest either.

 

[GreyViper]

I do enjoy reading this LP, it makes the work days go faster, so thanks for that.
Nevill your not that wrong, but his micro-m is good so he might prevail after all.

 

[Nevill]

I often gave myself limitations on TFTD runs, a classical would be to play without MC disruptors or without the usage of pulse launchers, the starting base somewhere in the nowhere and alike. But this is the most challenging TFTD run I've ever attempted.

Have you heard of TFTD Extender? It works only with the CE version of the game, but it is worth buying it, since it fixes most of the known bugs and allows for a lot of neat mods that enhance the gameplay without changing it completely.
It is a shame it does not have a 'Funding Council Income Only' like its Enemy Unknown counterpart does. I found that to be the most challenging and interesting mode to play in the original. But it can be forced on oneself, if one wishes to do so. Suddenly the economic aspect of the game is no longer trivial, and you find yourself paying attention to manufacturing costs and maintainance fees. No more 250+ scientists, no more rookie spam. I never noticed that I had to pay $0.5M for leasing each Interceptor before (the ships you build, on the other hand, cost you almost nothing to maintain). Did you try that? It is a different type of a challenge than the current one, and probably much more forgiving when a single mistake is concerned, but no less brutal.

...I still interpret GreyViper's "might make it to the end" as "might make it to the lobstermen".

My gravest concern aren't the crabman but the moment the M.C. strength is revealed, most of the squad members are not the bravest either.

It may not be the best-looking solution, but later in the game every problem can be solved with a pair of Disruptor Launchers (or whatever they are called instead of Blaster Launchers in Enemy Unknown) and a lot of ammo. Also, tanks are immune to M.C.

 

[RealDDc]

Never been a fan of game mods, and sadly it does not fix bugs i'd really like to see fixed.

...probably much more forgiving when a single mistake is concerned...

But exactly that is what makes me play old games! A single mistake and you pay hard, even may lose the entire game, progress, items or character. The modern games are so kind to the player.




Not sure if I get an update done today, was a tough day, just came home and i'm pretty tired and the files for the update are not ready yet. But i'll try.

 

[Nevill]

Never been a fan of game mods, and sadly it does not fix bugs i'd really like to see fixed.

Which ones are you talking about?

For me, it is worth having for lifting '80-tiles-worth-of-smoke' limit alone, as I like playing with HE weaponry and smoke bombs. It also fixes sounds, fire/smoke damage and grenades not exploding when they should.

The best thing about it is that it is easily configured; all the mods you don't want in your game can be disabled. I can't imagine, though, why one wouldn't want to play with Enhanced Tactical AI at the very least. I am tired of the Chryssalids/Tentaculats doing a 180 once a reaction shot is fired in their direction in the original. I can't remember the last time I lost a soldier to them in an unmodded game.

But exactly that is what makes me play old games! A single mistake and you pay hard, even may lose the entire game, progress, items or character.

The game is still the same old TFTD. That said, I don't like it when the game does not allow for a comeback if the going gets tough. X-COM strikes a perfect balance with this - the game is tough as nails, yet you are winning as long as you haven't lost outright. You can get back on your feet from the most hopeless situations.

The challenge you are currently attempting isn't something I would like to play, but definitely something I find entertaining to watch.

 

[RealDDc]

Which ones are you talking about?

Mainly three bugs, because these render the enemy almost useless.

The first one is that aliens equipped with melee weapons are unable to perform attacks with it, they can still and will throw one of those many grenades they carry, but they won't ever perform an attack with the vibro blade or whatever they have at hand. Instead they will run up to a target and still stand.

Haluzinoids are supposed to be a lot more deadly, they still have this melee range attack but too often they don't attack properly because they are supposed to have an range attack as well. I guess that they can't use the range attack also is the reason they all to often move a bit forward then go back instead of charging in with the melee attack.

And last but not least is the melee attack accuracy for bio-drones, they are pretty dangerous with the range attack as well as the self destruction mechanism if not downed by melee , but still the melee attack has a nearly 0% hit accuracy, they can't even kill civilians with the melee attack.

 

[Nevill]

You didn't cheсk it for a while, did you?

Bug Fixes (as of 1.07):
- Aliens can now use the melee weapons they carry.
- Hallucinoid Range Attack Fix: Gives the Hallucinoid a stunning ranged area attack as per the Ufopaedia description - making this alien much more dangerous.
- BioDrone Melee Attack Fix: Assigns a value to melee accuracy allowing the melee attack to be effective

From kyrub's AI patch (the same guy that also did patches to MoM, MoO, SMAC and God knows what else).
Features:
- Aliens use a lot more of autoshot and snapshots, aimed shots only on long distances
- Alien energy spending problem fixed
- Aliens more likely to use grenades with many targets
- melee aliens are no more shy of > 3 X-com soldiers
- melee aliens will be a lot more decisive
- AI psi targetting is more random
- AI may attempt to psi attack even a relatively psi strong unit
- non-aggressive Aliens will try to snipe you more often
- Aliens trying the base assault should be much more aggressive
- Aliens will pick up their rifles after panicking

 

[RealDDc]

You didn't cheсk it for a while, did you?

You are right, I did not check it for a while. I've seen those bug fixes mentioned at some point but that the game runs quite unstable after applying those and that it creates more of other problems. But it appears to be that those issues are approached. I'll definitely going to check it out after I'm through with this let's play . Thanks for the hint.

Bug Fixes (as of 1.07):
- Aliens can now use the melee weapons they carry.
- Hallucinoid Range Attack Fix: Gives the Hallucinoid a stunning ranged area attack as per the Ufopaedia description - making this alien much more dangerous.
- BioDrone Melee Attack Fix: Assigns a value to melee accuracy allowing the melee attack to be effective

From kyrub's AI patch (the same guy that also did patches to MoM, MoO, SMAC and God knows what else).

Yeah, I love his MoM patch, that lifts the entire game on a new level. And mostly I try to avoid mods because they mess around too much with critical game features, but the stuff he presents is pretty cool and balanced.



Update soon....

 

[RealDDc]

Spoiler

Update: Greed and regret - Part 1

In hunger for Zrbit I'm attempting any mission I can, even those at night.

Activity on the first day and the Triton gave a small one a good chase until it landed in the middle of the night.

Got to make sure the close proximity to the Triton is well lighted.

Plasma fire out of nowhere, but the tank resists.

The tank take flak from several directions, suffers damage and im about to abort the mission if I can't get a
proper sight.

Finally some targets and I move the other tank out to scout to the south backupped by Overboard
and Blagrar.

Overboard takes the first one out after Blagrar missed a explosive round with the gas cannon.

Them tanks are in immediate risk to get under heavy fire and seek cover to avert danger. And me trying
to get more light around the area.

The next turn the tanks are sniped from several directions again, status of the situation appears
unpromising, but I stay because I want to salvage the Zrbit from the alien ship.

Finally I get good sight on the crowd, they all open fire and plasma shots rain down on the tank.

I'm the first to open fire with a rocket, one Gillman out two remain.

Overboard does miss, that kill would have been an important one.

GreyViper partially makes up for that and takes it out, but one remains and all TU's are used up,
there is no way to cover.

On the aliens turn, the remaining one takes the tank under plasma fire unable to destroy it,
but a previously unseen one jumps out of cover and finishes the tank of with a pulser.

GreyViper snipes it down with a good shot.

And Overboard brings the life of the other one to an end.

Another one appears out of nowhere, GreyViper with pretty high hit probablility kills him the next turn.

Coelacanth proceeds to the south, spots the alien vessel and takes the defender out.

And finally executes the two remaining ones in the ship.

A tank was lost during that mission, but more valuable Zrbit aquired. And the Aquajet tank on
order is going to replace it.

Some activity of a tiny sized ship in the arctic I've tracked down, again in the night.
Pretty rare that these land.

Spoiler

Often they build bases at locations they inspected with tiny scouts

Not mutch to mention about this mission, the alien hid in the ship, and although I've spend a
lot turns on it to play for safety the tank shot the gillman down in the end after he engaged.

Not mutch to loot from these, but still altogether it sells for about 450-500k.

The scientists research us some fancy gear, but I'll wait until the magnic ion armor is done.

Some activity around Africa and the Antarctic I was unable to track down.

The scientest do a good job and present some more.

 

[Modron]

Is it too soon to say moar?

 

[RealDDc]

Is it too soon to say moar?

Preparing the second part just in this moment, but due to lack of time I probably won't be able to upload. Likely I'll have to finish it in the evening and upload.

 

[RealDDc]

Spoiler

Update: Greed and regret - Part 2

The madness continues, still craving for Zrbit...

Research projects of our, by now 100 scientists are on good steady advancement.

The technicians produce Sonic-Blasta Rifles on the assembly line in mass-production for a steady income.

Again alien activity around Antarctic aswell as the zone around the asian coalition.

Unable to track it down they score some good points. I assume they plan to infiltrate that area, if they
succeed this is going to cut a good portion of the income.

Scientists hook us up with a essential invention, going to build it as soon as I have the cash. Should be constructed
before the end of march so the implantations can begin in April.

More activity in the Arctic, small sized one shot down.

Blind spot, can't avoid it to be a night mission...

Two tanks aboard, gas cannon and aquajet. Blagrar rocks the torpedo launcher, everyone else is equipped with
a Sonic-Blasta Rifle.

Point of entry to this mission is localized on the absolute lower right of the map.

No aliens in direct vicinity to the Triton, I swarm out and one of the scouts does spot a Gillman. Blagrar missed
him by an measly inch or less.

And so does Overboard, but we get a glimpse on the alien ship.

During the aliens turn we get a glimpse on another Gillman on the move.

Again im taking the lucky Gillman under fire, first is Overboard to miss a aimed shot aswell as a snapshot.

Blagrar is the next and fails aswell to hit.

And finally the gas cannon tank to land one hit out of two shots, but the Gillman survives.

The aquajet tank is involved in another battle and also fails to hit.

At the end of the turn, the situation looks very bad, the tanks are open prime targets and even Blagrar and
Overboard are in line of sight.

Unsurprisingly the aliens take full advantage of my unthoughtfulness, the gas cannon tank shatters in pieces
from a pulser explosion.

The remaining tank takes a good damaging hit to the flank, and the situation looks horrible. The landscape
works in their favor, I do not have any proper vision because I forgott to use flares and the troopers fail one
shot after the other. Im facing an uphill battle... crap.

Yet I still refuse to just flee from this mission, because I want the Zrbit. And Blagrar finally takes the
Gillman out that gave me the most troubles.

Reliance slowly returns after Overboard takes another one out with a nifty headshot.

Let the tank advance further into the dark, and then this one suddenly appears in visibility range, Overboard
fires in reaction and does miss a second later Blagrar fires and thank goodness scores a lethal hit.

Confident I move the tank even further into the unknown area, suddenly he spots two more. Overboard opens
fire and hits the pipeline, and I have to realise that Blagrar is out of rockets due to the reaction shot.

That pipeline explosion completes the madness and entirely fucks the last bits of visible area up. Into the
bargain I can't reach that area with grenades. From here on I'm blind.

Out of shiftlessness I try to take one of them two with me and fire without a line of sight without luck.

I do not see any alternative and move the tank into the grayness, attracting loads of reactionfire without
the slightest chance to spot anything my turn.

During the aliens turn the tank is again under fire...

... from all sides, but fortunately blocks all the damage.

I move the tank out of the fog, and try to get cover. Then charging forward with the crew I finally get in
throwing range, and Blagrar scores a kill with a blindly thrown grenade.

The remaining Gillmans take the tank once more under fire who's going to absorb the damage.

Finally I get something to aim with the tank, I just could not get a line of sight to shoot, a blind shot on
the rest of the pipeline kills the Gillman behind it.

Blagrar gets hit by the outer shock wave of a pulser.

The remaining Gillman open fire on the tank, I get a glimpse on their location but the tank is no more.

GreyViper and Overboard throw grenades at their possible locations... And strike!

What a mission...

The bad news:
Replacement for the tanks cost us 900k + the lost ammo!
And for what? Wtf? No Zrbit??


The good news:
We brought the bleeding and twitchy remains of Blagrar back to the base, it was unclear to the last minute if he would survive. We consulted the best surgeons from all over the world to stitch him back together. Finally they gave the all-clear, he'll survive.

Fortuna herself must have had her hands on this, she didn't make him shoot properly, but he survived a pulser explosion with just the regular aquanaut suit! By the time you are ready and back for action we should have some Ion Magnetic Armor for you, probably immortal with it.

The whole team to our ensign Blagrar. May you return in... wait what? 50 days??



And this is how it continues...

More in the next update.

 

[Azira]

Without tanks? Ouchie.