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In Progress Let's Play: XCOM + Classic + Iron-Man OR: Reserve Your Corpse's Name!
- Thread starter Zeriel
- Start date
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 13,467
Opposite problem. Game is too easy! Well, more accurately, every mission includes a fairly small number of soldiers compared to the original, and my personal decision was that LP'ing tons of filler missions that are identical to stuff we'd already seen wasn't a good idea, so, there you go. Anyway, screenshots are all ready for the next few updates, I just need to stop being lazy and put it together. Probably somewhere in the next few hours.
dextermorgan
Arcane
Yeah, after getting a Plasma Rifle or the OP Sniper the game is just a cakewalk, especially the story missions. Raiding a downed battleship is way harder the the banal shit boring final mission.
Absalom
Guest
True dat. I think a battleship even has more aliens than the final mission which is insane.
Not to mention that they have only HARD aliens and they came in packs, 1 etheral with 4 muton elite and 2 sectopods... not that retarded shit that is facing 4 sectoids alone, then 4 thin man, then 4 hoverguys...
That's what you get with no level-scaling on the story missions 
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 13,467
Update 9 - Supply Barge
We've yet to recover one of these in functional condition from the field - the men seem to enjoy using them for target price. At the present time, we know that the "Cyberdisc", as they've been calling it, is heavily armed, but it shows no clear pattern of behavior on the battlefield.
Don't hurt your brain trying to figure them out, Doc. I've established a pattern of behavior: they're fucking our shit up!
Nothing will ever be the same. The work that we've done here--to adapt the technology of a hostile enemy force--has advanced the scientific progress of mankind by untold generations. These weapons... these abuses of science, we still have an opportunity to use them for a greater good. We have paid a heavy price, but our efforts have not been in vain.
Is that science-speak for "we're gonna mind-control us some aliens now"?
This looks to be a supply ship of some kind, and the potential storage capacity is enormous. If the aliens are really attempting to bring in this much outside material, it can only mean they're ramping up the scale of the invasion.
Then I guess we better ramp up our forceful molestation of their bodies. Ulminati, get me a visual.
Oh, hello! Set tasers to FUCKING ERADICATE THEM ALL!
Redscum, cast fireball!
THESE assholes? Oh, hell no! We're not gonna have a repeat of the Disaster That Shall Not Be Named. Put these guys underground, now!
No, no, it's fine. Keep missing. It's not like you're the LAST LINE OF DEFENSE against an ALIEN INVASION OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD!
Better.
I think we just leveled the playing field.
OH GOD! A UFO HAS LANDED IN THE BASE! GIVE THE EVACUATION ORDER!
Commander, this is the Firestorm, not an enemy ship. It's our best attempt to replicate the alien technology.
Uhh... I was just testing you. Carry on.
Thanks to the aliens, our engineering team has managed to negate billions of dollars in traditional aerospace development with a single ship.
Don't you worry, Bradford. I'll put those unspent billions to good use. My mattress needs more padding!
Mark it in the history books. This is the end of an era for mankind. Even after we've defeated the remaining aliens, what then? Have we sacrificed our own humanity for a taste of their technology? And if we manage to exploit this power further, do we risk being consumed by it...
Nope! Nothing could possibly go wrong! We're the heroes of this tale, after all.
I'm hungry. Can we do a vivisection, Doc?
...You're unbelievable.
The men are calling this beast the "Berserker". Although it shares the same structure as the Muton, for reasons yet unknown to us, the Berserker seems to be consumed by blood lust, with little regard for its own safety.
Tastes like chicken!
Ironies continue to pile up. After losing our main squad in its entirety, we finish researching Plasma Rifles.
...and an All Rookies Terror Mission runs into an army of Cyberdiscs, best described as Zen prayer circles that unfold into horrible death spiders from space.
Cya, new guys!
The aliens have done what Hitler never could. Rest in peace, fish & chips shops.
We do recover a Cyberdisc wreckage, though.
We capture a Sectoid Commander, and prepare for interrogation. This is essential to unlocking Psi abilities for our soldiers.
The power of Brainiac compels you!
Interrogation unlocks Psi Labs and research credit for psionic subjects.
The Foundry is complete. This lovely place lets us upgrade our weapons, armor, and other toys, in ways other than simply making new types of them.
Like, say, Ammo Conservation. While ammo is only a concern in XCOM insofar as having to reload during a firefight (hence wasting a turn), those days are behind us with this project. Never stop firing, gents.
Research is coming along on replicating the alien spacecraft design. Just a little longer...
Plasma Rifles start rolling off the assembly line and into the firing range. Also, a reminder that mutons were incredibly cheesy-looking in X-COM - UFO Defense.
Titan Armor, the best (for pure survivability) armor in the game. It's safe to say we're approaching the end of our journey.
Finally! Dogfighting's about to get real.
Titan Armor in action.
Hyperwave Communication lets us build the Hyperwave Relay base facility, which is kind of like the Enigma codebreaker, but for aliens. Once complete, it'll let us tell what types of aliens are defending a UFO before a mission, in addition to pushing forward the narrative.
Yes, that's a Plasma LMG. No, we don't have the funds to build them just yet.
Many dead rookies and weeks of effort later, the squad is rebuilt.
Ulminati with a nice laser snipe for 7 damage.
Say hello to the Muton Berserker. He likes long walks on the beach, clawing faces off, and high base health. Berserkers don't have a long-ranged weapon, and have to attack in melee like Chrysallids. They have a lot more health than Chrysallids, and do more damage. In addition, when they take damage they get a free move towards whoever inflicted damage on them.
Good ol' Bullet Swarm lets our heavies fire twice a turn if they didn't move.
As you can see, if you have a lot of room to work with and no other distractions, Berserkers are fairly easy to deal with. The free move on damage can be used to control them and move them where you want.
May he rest in pieces.
This wondrous doohickey is basically an alien elevator.
Moving BlitzKitchen to the exterior of the ship, we find more mutons.
The normal muton rushes inside, while the Berserker stays outside.
Agassi with the kill!
The very definition of majestic: using a sniper's pistol to pull a berserker back into a death-trap.
Hey, buddy! 1 WHOLE DAMAGE! Better freak the fuck out!
The Berserker's free move takes him close enough to BlitzKitchen to trigger the too-close reaction shot assaults get. Oh, strategery!
This is my boomstick.
The Berserker is no match for BlitzKitchen's kenyan guile.
The team moves aftward. This ship is sizable.
Bee scouts around a corner, and finds a pair of Sectoid Commanders.
BlitzKitchen with the Run & Gun.
Bee sees BlitzKitchen's Run & Gun...
...and raises him a Run & Gun, AND Rapid Fire double shot.
As expected. 
The Commander shoots BlitzKitchen in the face instead of using mind control.
Sectoid, begone!
Beep, beep, I'm a jeep muton!
Down and out.
Welcome to Corridor Shooter: The Strategy Game.
Oh, that's where the last muton went! He's up on the roof.
Bee once again claims her mantle as Xeno Destroyer in Chief.
Meanwhile, Agassi hooked around to the right and advanced into sight of a new pack of mutons.
The Berserker punches Agassi in the face for 11 damage. Ouch.
You got a problem with five-yard-long-sniping? Ulminati doesn't.
Revenge! For a pretty face all clawed up, that is.
Scandal! BlitzKitchen misses a flanking shot.
Eh, we might as well reduce the ship to rubble in the process of killing these guys.
I have a good feeling about this.
Crispy-fried muton with a side order of sit down, son.
Meanwhile, back at the base...
The Plasma Cannon. Surprisingly, it is not the ultimate ship-to-ship weapon, but it'll do a good job of taking down the enemy.
Ulminati's wet dream. This thing is a monster.
Yes, our first gifted psionicist is a meathead heavy. Mindfray is the first psionic ability--it does only minor damage (5), but reduces the target's stats, and never misses against normal, low-will targets. This makes it ideal for taking out weaker targets at range or in high cover.
The EMP Cannon. Despite the flavor text, it doesn't appear to have any effect on what you recover from crashed UFOs. However, it does markedly more damage than the Plasma Cannon, devastating ships once within range.
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 13,467
That's what you get with no level-scaling on the story missions
The alien base definitely has "level scaling", what you find there depends on the power of the enemy in average missions at the time (i.e the month). The only mission (well, disregarding Council Missions which are just dumb anyway) that has scripted spawns that are fairly tame is the Temple Ship, and it was apparently designed as a victory lap more than a challenging mission in of itself, which is backed up by the fact that if you fail it, you can just replay, even on Iron Man.
Zeriel
Arcane
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- Jun 17, 2012
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No fair, those old farts got reanimated and grabbed all the plasma toysI will see you die second time you stoopid A team
I feel guilty. =( My only defense is that a lot of this stuff was already screenshotted and done by the time I realized I needed to fit more people in.
I see I got demoted. No doubt so I could have ITZ and not because I died off-screen in a cheap cop-out.No fair, those old farts got reanimated and grabbed all the plasma toys
I feel guilty. =( My only defense is that a lot of this stuff was already screenshotted and done by the time I realized I needed to fit more people in.
Gozma
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2012
- Messages
- 2,951
It's funny that the new XCOM guy said that they had only added ironman late in development without much thought about it, because it is accidentally tuned to make a first play of the game (on normal for normal video game people or classic for TB people) work. The mid-late game is all way too easy but the threat of having to start over if you really fuck up badly with a TPK or so keeps it interesting. They really seemed to have gone for "one and done" replay non-value otherwise so I thought that was just what they meant to do.
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 13,467
I see I got demoted. No doubt so I could have ITZ and not because I died off-screen in a cheap cop-out.No fair, those old farts got reanimated and grabbed all the plasma toys
I feel guilty. =( My only defense is that a lot of this stuff was already screenshotted and done by the time I realized I needed to fit more people in.
You're so optimistic.
Ahh im back in action i see 
. And im the first PSI-UBERMENSCH also. All is well then.
. And im the first PSI-UBERMENSCH also. All is well then.
From what I understand you'll love the final mission.Ahh im back in action i see
Yeah, hopefully i'll be the savior of mankind 
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
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- 13,467
From what I understand you'll love the final mission.Ahh im back in action i see
"You'll love the final mission" are words no one should ever say about XCOM. And I don't mean that in a difficulty sense, of course.
Yeah i agree, the last mission was kind of underwhelming.
GarfunkeL
Racism Expert
I LIVE!
But don't show up in the screenshots.
But don't show up in the screenshots.
Zeriel
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2012
- Messages
- 13,467
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