Let's Play UFO - Aftermath : Victory!

[dextermorgan]

Being the Andhaira of the team does not bode well. Hopefully the melek will protect me from friendly fire.

 

[Storyfag]

Storyfag leads by example and has collected the most xp due to having been equipped with a more precise, long-range rifle than the rest of the group. The basic weapons we start out with, we have an endless supply of ammunition for. This is not to say that troops on the battlefield does not run out of ammo, it just means that our stock in the base doesn't run out. Better rifles such as the HK G3 which Storyfag is wielding has limited ammo, 11 clips is what we currently have, and seeing as he's the best rifle-shot, he got that one.

The xp is bound to even out later though. But for now, Storyfag has the most xp, and therefore he was also the one to get issued with a piece of combat armor we found on happenstance.

Storyfag has just completed training in the sniper role, granting him additional accuracy with rifle and "marksmanship" weapons, of which we currently have none.

 

[lightbane]

Oh, the UFO: "After- X" series, they weren't so good (specially Aftershock), but they were good for what they were, in fact, Afterlight was actually a very fun game, but it lacked the X-com feel. I recommend you to investigate alien weapons until you're able to use laser weapons, in this game they're very useful.

Oh, and sign another volunteer to fight the good fight:

Callsign: Lucas
Career: Psionicist

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

I offer K. Slips, a lovable stealthy pistol-using scout, to the slaughter pits. He can be whatever your next free slot is for that matter.

 

[Azira]

Being the Andhaira of the team does not bode well. Hopefully the melek will protect me from friendly fire.

New recruits have appeared in the base. I could switch your callsign to one of them, as it strikes me that any good alien fighting team should have Andhaira amongst them.
What do you say, do you fancy a switch to another non-sand-nigger character?

@Gondolin, lightbane and slippers
I've got you signed up. I aim for one more update today.

 

[Azira]

Poor Bee is in the hospital, under the tender loving care of our chief physician, a long-haired and bearded fellow who calls himself "The Viking".

That's the fun of having an LP of my own. I get to let friends of mine have guest appearances.

 

[chzr]

chzr teh female medic reporting then

with rifle training, obv

 

[Crooked Bee]

Poor Bee is in the hospital, under the tender loving care of our chief physician, a long-haired and bearded fellow who calls himself "The Viking".

That's the fun of having an LP of my own. I get to let friends of mine have guest appearances.

Oh my, I'm so gonna regret having signed up for this...

 

[dextermorgan]

New recruits have appeared in the base. I could switch your callsign to one of them, as it strikes me that any good alien fighting team should have Andhaira amongst them.
What do you say, do you fancy a switch to another non-sand-nigger character?

As it's highly unlikely Andhaira will volunteer for the role and I already pulled the short straw let's leave it as is. Bee, I hope Djinn leave you soon and you're back in the field with us, defending the world from kafir alien and spreading the light of Islam, first across the globe then throughout the galaxy!

 

[Crooked Bee]

Bee, I hope Djinn leave you soon and you're back in the field with us, defending the world from kafir alien and spreading the light of Islam, first across the globe then throughout the galaxy!

 

[Azira]

@chzr
You're in.

@Bee
No need to fret, I wouldn't have any of my friends doing anything unseemly online. They're just there for flavour. And you're already out of the hospital, see, that wasn't so bad, was it? Shortly after you left though, both Storyfag and JoKa spent even longer under The Viking's care than you did.
Want to make something of it?

Continuing the anti-alien campaign in a short while. Stay tuned.

 

[Azira]

research, Area 51 and more recruits

Things are progressing nicely for our team. No serious challenges yet, and the territory under our control is slowly but surely expanding. Note though that the military base that lost its interceptors need 7 days to restock the planes.



And new things are being researched.






This teleporter thingie just means less transport time with the chopper, which just happens to be slow as hell. Basically it means that every military base now acts as a base of operation that our team can fly out from. Nifty, if silly.
Slowly, research towards better weapons make headway.



And the aliens themselves are autopsied.




Mutants are being put down. Our recruits seem to be enjoying themselves.



And then news reach us of a research facility in the US that might be of interest.



Back in Europe, we uncover a weapons cache in which we find a new toy for dextermor, whose best skill seems to be launchers:



I could swear I heard giggling when he equipped that RPG..
Area 51 was soon uncovered and after several days of flight with the chopper (sigh) the team landed, killed some aliens, and made off with an important looking computer?





The data in the computer has yet to be revealed, but our teams of scientists have uncovered a way to improve the existing armor. Might be a good idea to put this knowledge to use, as I have a nasty feeling that the opponents will be bringer bigger guns to the playgrounds soon.
And this is how the Geospace looks now. The 4 circular bases are military bases, housing interceptors and serving as points from which our chopper can launch. The three smaller circles with three squarish points are our research stations, and the single cog-looking station is our engineering station.



I plan on converting one or two military bases to engineering soon, to start making some armor. The time spent in transit to and from Area 51 meant that new recruits showed up.



We're now up to a grand total of 10 recruits! Phoenix, spekkio, Gondolin, Lucas and chzr all join the crew. All of them come with experience, and some start training right away. dextermor finally has improved his stats to the point that he can take scientist training.
I've refrained from posting screenshots from the missions as they have all gone without a hitch, but now that I have a surplus of recruits and the enemies are beginning to use deadlier firearms (saw a coupl of alien laser rifles in Area 51), I suspect we'll see greater rotation on the team. Once we actually start having casualties in the missions, you'll see more shots of tactical battles.

 

[dextermorgan]

I see our armorer is a man of great knowledge and wisdom. May the light of Allah shine on his path and lead him to embrace the one and only true faith.

 

[korenzel]

If you ever need another recruit, sign me up. Soldier/Sniper training.

 

[Azira]

If you ever need another recruit, sign me up. Soldier/Sniper training.

We're beginning to assault downed UFOs. That's a deathtrap if there ever was one. So yes, I'll likely be needing more recruits. You're second in line after Slips.


I'll probably make the next update in about 12 hours. Need to get some sleep, and then get the wife and child seen off. I have the evening/night shift tomorrow, so I'll be able to get some progress done on the game tomorrow morning and midday.1

 

[Sergiu64]

Sergiu64 volunteering for when the 3rd opening is available. Sergiu64 would like to train for the Scout role.

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

Put me in the meatgrinder. Psi-trooper or Grenadier would be nice, but meatshield is just as noble a profession.

 

[Azira]

@Sergiu64
Certainly, you're on the list.

@Edward_R_Murrow
I've jotted down your name. You'll end up as EdwardRM if that's alright. And the beauty of soldier training is that all it requires is average physical attributes, so all recruits will eventually go through this. I'll make you go straight for psi or grenadier first though, depending on your starting stats.

To everyone signing up: the gender of new recruits seem randomized with a leaning towards male. If you do not specifiy gender when you sign up, and gender is not immediately apparant to me from your posting here on the 'dex, I'll try to let you be male. But if your name is next, and a female recruit appears, then you'll just have to bear with it. Just like Gondolin..

 

[Azira]

A look at the roster

Been doing some fighting and researching this morning, mostly the latter. Here's a short update on the current roster before we reach the next page.

dextermor has improved nicely, now that he's also had soldier training. This extra speed boost really helps, as you cannot run while wielding an RPG, meaning his speed was abysmal and is now just poor. I plan on sticking him a plasma weapon soon, as they look to be devastating, and rely on the throwing skill which is one of dexter's strengths.



spekkio didn't specify what kind of soldier he wanted to be, so I trained him as a medic first, then a soldier and lastly a grenadier. He's wielding an alien laser rifle as they're accurate, fast firing and quite deadly. Unless we're facing some of the laser resistant mutants, but more on that on the next page.



Bee has finally had her psionic training and can now use psionic weaponry. The weaponry currently available to us is rubbish though, which is why she's also wielding an alien laser rifle in this pic. You'll see she's also had sniper, scout and scientist training. In the latter UFO after- games, you can only pick three sorts of training for your troops, but in this, the first of the series, you can train them in all roles. It's just a matter of building the attributes for it.
Bee just need to improve her physical stats a bit, and she can train as soldier, grenadier and medic. But I'm not going to do that, as she wanted to be a psionic, so not until I cannot improve her psionic skill further am I going to improve her physical stats. She'll soon be mind-raping greys.



PopeAmole is a beast. His stats have panned out perfectly, so he now only lacks scout training. He's probably the best all-rounder in the group currently. Which is why he also has an alien laser rifle. I hope to soon be producing better equipment in the engineering bases, but that stuff takes time.



Phoenix has had scout and sniper training and no grenadier training yet. Why? Because strength and dexterity, the two stats required for grenadier training were those stats that started off poorest. Not to worry though, only 2 level ups away from his desired training now.
I gave him a Neostadt shotgun to mow down foes at close range. Those shotguns are awesome in close quarters, such as in UFO reclamation missions.



Ah, Gondolin. What to say? Gondolin sucks right now. Poor stats mean that only sniper and scientist training have been available, and Gondolins speed is stuck at "poor". Which means he can barely keep up with the rest of the gang, except for dextermor when he's wielding his RPG. I plan to train Gondolin as a soldier as soon as possible to boost his speed.



chzr is a deadly sniper. She got one of the first sniper rifles that became available to us, and she uses it with deadly efficiency. Except for when the opposition is grey aliens, as their armor seems quite bullet resistant, sadly. The range of the rifle sort of makes up for this, at least on maps where it's possible to engange from maximum range. If the aliens are close when she spots them, she'd better have someone with a laser rifle or shotgun close by to take them down quickly.



Welcome Korenzel, our newest recruit. Soldier training is already finished, and medic training is underway. Korenzel has good rifle skill and a very good speed, so he should prove useful. He hasn't seen combat yet, but that will soon change.



JoKa still only has soldier and sniper training, but his skill with the shotgun is truly excellent. Clearing UFOs is much less scary with JoKa up front. Provided he has backup, for even he can be quickly mowed down if there are several opponents. He'll be first in line to get a plasma shotgun when we manufacture one.



Storyfag is our prime sniper. Even more deadly than chzr, though not as fast. He only lacks training as a grenadier and a medic, so he's close to the perfect soldier. I just hope I'll soon be able to manufacture energy-based sniper rifles to offset his and chzr's weaknesses when fighting aliens.



K. Slips has also joined our team. His attributes qualified him for medic and psionic training right out of the box, but he's still working on his agility and perception, so he can get scout training. His low speed hinders his usefulness in combat missions though, but he's low level, so he should quickly catch up.



And our last recruit is Lucas. Considering his relatively low level (7), it's quite impressive he only lacks grenadier and medic training. His weapon skills do not rival those of Storyfag, even though he lacks the same trainings, but he is deadly in his own right when wielding an alien laser rifle. Again, like Bee, he's anxiously awaiting the results of our research into psionic weaponry, so he can start to melt faces with his mind.

 

[Azira]

 

[Azira]

Alright, I think it's about time for another update.
As I mentioned earlier, I've been playing for a while this morning, and while our team of alien- and mutant-fighting soldiers have seen plenty of action and have improved their skills as a result thereof, our scientists and engineers have been hard at work, trying to improve our odds further.
First, I sent off a 5-man crew to secure a new location for a base. Storyfag, Bee, PopeAmole accompanied the new recruits, Lucas and chzr in the assault.



They encountered fierce resistance already outside of the base perimeter, Lucas went KO, but luckily the rest of the team was close enough that his assailant suffered a similar fate before Lucas was reduced to bloody chunks. In the above pic we see PopeAmole being ordered to patch up Lucas so they could continue.



In this screenshot we see a new type of enemy, a chrysalis. They are the first type of enemy that we encounter, which uses psionic attacks. Fortunately, this one was on its own, as its attacks paralyzed all but chzr. The healthbars above the other 4 soldiers are yellow to denote their paralyzed status.



A base-assault (and UFO assault) is a two-stage fight. Once you reach the entrance denoted by a green rectangle on the map, you click the "advance to next map" button, and the recruits within the rectangle proceed to the next map.



Where the rape continues. In this pic Bee has just been treated by PopeAmole, and if you look at the healthbars, you can see that only chzr isn't wounded. It's her low speed that saves her, as the mutant AI targets the nearest awake enemy first. Only when all enemies within sight are KOed, does the AI proceed to actually kill the soldiers, unless of course, the attack was strong enough to kill them outright.
This means it's normally a really good idea to cluster you soldiers close together. Unless the enemy wields burst-fire weapons, or grenades/grenade throwers, such as an alien plasma gun..



The group prevails, but three soldiers have to go see The Viking.



Meanwhile our R&D department have figured out how to fire and reload the alien laser weapons. This means we're closer to actually being able to manufacture them ourselves.






A small UFO touches down, and another group of soldiers are dispatched to take care of it. Everything goes without a hitch this time, due to the small size of the UFO, they only have to kill/stun 5 aliens inside the UFO. Sometimes the number needed can be twice as high, meaning the chance of one or more of these aliens wielding plasma guns or similar area-effect weapons is higher, and that's a Bad Thing. This time though, we count our blessings.
Soon, our research boys make several breakthroughs while the grunts keep on killing aliens.









The Dreamland Files are what we scavenged from the computer taken from Area 51. They should help our research into the alien menace.
Finishing research into Laser Principles allow us to manufacture our own laser weaponry. As soon as we have a proper energy source..






Energy Cells Principles and Psi Weapon Operation research finishes, and we're that much closer to turning the aliens' own weapons against them.



dextermor will soon be spewing plasma death at the alien heretics!
Meanwhile, our recruits continue seeing stranger and stranger mutants out there.




I have no idea what the gobber does yet, as it died very quickly, but the car crab.. A huge hermit crab that's gotten the fine idea of using a burnt out car as its shell? And it shoots bolts of lightning, supposedly using the car battery or what? They look silly, but take a ton of damage to bring down, and their lightning attack, though short ranged, is quite dangerous. I had two people KO'd from the car crabs I saw in that mission.
And a final look on some research that was completed.










The last entry is the glossary description of the laser pistol. Our engineers finally managed to produce our first, hand-held laser weapon! Too bad it sucks. But they will eventually improve upon the design. I only produced this pistol as it helps speed up production of rifles, and it's a prerequisite to later weapons.
The growth the Council of Earth message speaks of is Biomass. Something that will feature prominently in future updates.
The roster update on the previous page was taken immediately after this last batch of screenshots.
So, we've produced our first, very own laser weapon, we know how to use the alien plasma weapons and can enter their UFOs once downed. Now we just need better armor for our soldiers.
Or should we focus on weapons first, armor later? Consider this a vote. You have until tomorrow to voice your opinions.

 

[spekkio]

spekkio didn't specify what kind of soldier he wanted to be, so I trained him as a medic first, then a soldier and lastly a grenadier.

Put a nigger chav behind the trigger!

 

[Storyfag]

Go for armor. In this game soldier lives are far too valuable

 

[Azira]

Only one vote so far? It's like that thing spekkio was talking about.

Naw, I still you Codex. I'm mostly doing this LP for my own amusement anyway.

 

[Gondolin]

I vote for armor, too. Your guns have done a fine job so far. On the other hand, soldiers are wounded every mission.