I'm thinking of taking two tanks on the Cydonia mission, which would leave room for 18 soldiers. The armor will let us push out of the Avenger a lot more aggressively. Depending on where our landing zone is, I might disembark half the team on turn 1 without waiting for smoke, so as to avoid a catastrophic blaster bomb or Bigity Incident.
The main drawback to tanks on Mars is that they can't follow us underground. If we make it that far, I'm hoping to find a path to the brain that avoids Sectopods. Otherwise ... running past them as fast as our little legs will carry us might result in the fewest casualties.
Does this mean I'm not making the trip?
Oh, you're coming. You'll just be armed with a rubber band and a handful of paperclips.
You'll put an eye out with those things.
Yes. You can. *twang*
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
0
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
Likely equipment loadout for Bigity's Martian Adventure:
Also, a rare treat: for Tuesday Morning XCOM, Beagle streamed UFO Defense with a kitchen sink modpack! Starting at 2:19:00 you can catch a preview of what our next terror mission will be like.
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
Reminds me of the time I accidentally grabbed a missile fired from point blank range in Hulk UD and threw it back without realising what had happened until afterwards.
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
0
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
X-Com Order of Battle:
Absence of Evidence @El Skid and @Brew
Iolo and see317
38thDoe and JusticeforPluto
NotoriusBEN and Velmeran
scherbchen and QuestionablySane
It's July 1st, 1999. For the first time in the campaign, we have something approaching financial security. If the rocket tank is destroyed today, I can afford to replace it three times over.
Put another way: for the first time in the campaign, I can afford to use the tank like a tank, and make risky scouting moves with it. Absence of Evidence confirms that the northern edge of the AO is clear, and we're free to focus on the south.
When the veterans would swap barn horror stories back in the canteen at Haus von Trapp, El Skid shrugged them all off. She figured they were wildly exaggerated to scare the rookies; after all, nothing could be that bad. With her first steps off the Skyranger, she discovers for herself the horrifying truth.
The silhouette is a little difficult to read, but it looks like this might be a Floater. Maybe Brew can get a more conclusive view from the other side of the ramp.
THIS IS WHY I STOPPED DOING MEDIUM SCOUTS
THIS SHIT, RIGHT HERE
I don't fancy risking anyone's life on the proposition that our weapons can penetrate Floater under-armor.
However ... the Floater is three stories above the ground ... which puts it exactly level with the roof of the farmhouse ...
... and the wing of the Skyranger.
see317 throws up a solution to our problem which will probably not destroy half a million dollars worth of aircraft. And hey, if it does, we're only in Denmark. A train ride will get us back to Haus von Trapp by this time tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Iolo lays a proxy at the mouth of the barn, because of course he does.
It gives him his first Floater kill of the campaign.
Then, a peal of thunder overhead. The Skyranger shudders, and the earth trembles with it.
When debris stops falling, see317 peeks his head out to admire his handiwork. The Skyranger is still intact. The farmhouse, not so much.
Hang on. The Floater was airborne near the Skyranger, not over it. How did its corpse end up on the wing?
Oh. It didn't. There was another Floater on top of the airplane waiting to snipe us as we disembarked.
Medium Scouts: not even once.
It looks like there was another one hiding in the barn, too.
38thDoe puts an end to our burgeoning nightmare.
So, another Floater terror mission is in the cards. I won't pretend not to be disappointed. I feel like it diminishes our achievement somewhat when the aliens keep serving up the easiest possible terror sites, even well into the summer. Still, the karmic bill has to come due sooner or later. I just hope we're not on Mars when the RNG swings against us.
I too had my great times early in the campaign, now I'm more busy keeping the base clean and the rookies in line. Mars, mars shall be our glory (if we're accepted for the team).
That barn's out of commission for at least a few weeks, soldier. It won't be hurting anyone anytime soon, and maybe it'll think twice about it's sinister ways in the future.
That barn's out of commission for at least a few weeks, soldier. It won't be hurting anyone anytime soon, and maybe it'll think twice about it's sinister ways in the future.
Your barn mercy is just giving it time to patch itself up so that it can give aid and comfort to another group of xeno scum. Standard procedure should be to sanitize each site with thermobaric warheads after our operatives are extracted. No peace with the xenos. No peace with the barns!
Black lives matter.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Still waiting on Dan "Man of his Word" Ryckert to eat a hat
0
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
Scant hours after the successful conclusion of Illegal Fiddler, Captain Mudzgut intercepts a Small Scout only a few minutes' flight from Neo-ChongQing.
It's the first of many Scout ships to visit southeast Asia during the opening week of July. All of them are Smalls or Mediums, and therefore not good candidates for recovery.
Every few days, Mudzgut embarks on a new sortie and adds a fresh wreck to the landscape. Each flight home takes him past the smoldering carcasses of his recent kills. All of Asia has become Mudzgut's trophy wall.
There's always a bigger fish, though.
UFO-54 leaves the atmosphere shortly after Baske detects it. Based on its size and trajectory, it was probably a Supply Ship that had just visited the alien base in the Congo. We can expect this to be a regular occurrence in the weeks ahead, and it will speed the decline of our fortunes in Africa.
Another Large UFO appears over Asia two days later.
I figure this to be the Sectoids' final reconnaissance for their impending terror attack. We'll find out soon enough.
But first, let's all enjoy a moment six months in the making:
We have the facilities.
We have the personnel.
And at long last, we have the schematics.
She won't come cheaply.
She'll take her time getting ready.
But she's worth it.
Hopefully, by the time she's finished, we'll have figured out where we're taking her.
It's time to start chatting up our captives.
This poor spud has been locked away since January 29th, when it knocked itself unconscious along with wilting and Elderlycrawfish in an ill-considered stun bomb attack. Now it has to listen to Vahlen lecture it on the improper use of explosives. I don't think it'll take long to crack.
Speaking of cracking.
In two consecutive terror attacks, the Sectoids have broken us and sent us running. They are the alien race I despise above all others. I'm as hyped for this operation as for any in the campaign so far.
We'll be fighting in daylight, so conditions are good. Much depends on the landing zone. If we're able to push out quickly and establish a perimeter, we should be able to carry the day. If we're locked into CQB with Cyberdiscs near the Skyranger, well ...
... there are going to be a lot of names added to the memorial.
FandaHang a shining starupon the highest boughRegistered Userregular
edited April 2016
X-Com Order of Battle:
Confirmation Bias
Rend and Sir Fabulous
Mvrck and theSquid
Farangu and an_alt
Antinumeric and Durinia
SutibunRi and Stormwatcher
For the first time at a Sectoid terror site, we have a landing zone with some breathing room.
Some.
The shop south of the gas pumps looks to be the terrain feature that will define our approach to this map. It suggests a two-pronged advance, with one team pushing north through the gas station and another team sweeping south into the road.
First, though, we'll have to clear a few obstacles.
Confirmation Bias wraps up its scouting move with a lethal snap shot.
The Cyberdisc behind the shop is unassailable for now. No one can get a firing angle on it or heave HI-X over the building, so we'll have to wait for it to come around the corner. This is a terrible position to be in. The only thing worse than waiting for a disc to close in on you is facing a disc that has already closed in on you.
We have much better options for dealing with the Sectoid between the gas pumps, and I choose the one that removes all doubt.
Most of the pumps erupt in secondary explosions, and an unseen civilian cowering behind one of them is obliterated.
Surely, his life was forfeit regardless of what we did?
This burst from inside the shop is only a tiny fraction of the plasma fusillade that rages throughout the city. Every discharge of an alien weapon is answered by a human voice screaming in mortal agony. We've never heard a massacre like this before.
I don't think we're going to save anyone here today. Not a single civilian. The best we can hope to do is save ourselves.
The Cyberdisc didn't advance on us, so Sir Fabulous rounds the corner to look for it, and finds ... a lone Sectoid on the sidewalk down the street. It's the least of our problems.
Maybe the disc is in the blind spot around the corner?
No. And nothing inside the store either?
Oh shit. It must have gone onto the roof.
Roof disc, worst disc. Our only hope of spotting it is to send Confirmation Bias out at a wide angle.
THAT DID NOT COME FROM THE ROOF
The high shelves were blocking Stormwatcher's view.
They also block the aliens' view of an_alt.
Instead of a Cyberdisc wreck crashing to earth, the Colonel hears a meaty thump in the wake of the blast.
The corpse of another civilian dropped in after the second floor was blown out from under it. At least this one wasn't our fault. And now we have a clear shot at the Cyberdisc.
In a fraction of a second, Confirmation Bias's microprocessors have plotted a firing solution.
How do you do this so spectacularly cleanly every time fanda
My theory is Fanda is in an Edge of Tomorrow/live die repeat situation, and in actuality you've all died 400,000 times each, in progressively gruesome ways, until things go smoothly enough to move on.
PSN/Steam - Elderlycrawfish
+1
chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
How do you do this so spectacularly cleanly every time fanda
My theory is Fanda is in an Edge of Tomorrow/live die repeat situation, and in actuality you've all died 400,000 times each, in progressively gruesome ways, until things go smoothly enough to move on.
So are you saying Fanda is save scumming? That is a pistols at dawn type accusation...
Black lives matter.
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Still waiting on Dan "Man of his Word" Ryckert to eat a hat
How do you do this so spectacularly cleanly every time fanda
My theory is Fanda is in an Edge of Tomorrow/live die repeat situation, and in actuality you've all died 400,000 times each, in progressively gruesome ways, until things go smoothly enough to move on.
So are you saying Fanda is save scumming? That is a pistols at dawn type accusation...
Posts
also, yes. My time has come again.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
I'm pretty sure we can always use fresh meat new recruits, assuming the budget in-game can handle it!
Yes. You can. *twang*
Also, a rare treat: for Tuesday Morning XCOM, Beagle streamed UFO Defense with a kitchen sink modpack! Starting at 2:19:00 you can catch a preview of what our next terror mission will be like.
X-Com Order of Battle:
Absence of Evidence
@El Skid and @Brew
Iolo and see317
38thDoe and JusticeforPluto
NotoriusBEN and Velmeran
scherbchen and QuestionablySane
It's July 1st, 1999. For the first time in the campaign, we have something approaching financial security. If the rocket tank is destroyed today, I can afford to replace it three times over.
Put another way: for the first time in the campaign, I can afford to use the tank like a tank, and make risky scouting moves with it. Absence of Evidence confirms that the northern edge of the AO is clear, and we're free to focus on the south.
When the veterans would swap barn horror stories back in the canteen at Haus von Trapp, El Skid shrugged them all off. She figured they were wildly exaggerated to scare the rookies; after all, nothing could be that bad. With her first steps off the Skyranger, she discovers for herself the horrifying truth.
The silhouette is a little difficult to read, but it looks like this might be a Floater. Maybe Brew can get a more conclusive view from the other side of the ramp.
THIS IS WHY I STOPPED DOING MEDIUM SCOUTS
THIS SHIT, RIGHT HERE
I don't fancy risking anyone's life on the proposition that our weapons can penetrate Floater under-armor.
However ... the Floater is three stories above the ground ... which puts it exactly level with the roof of the farmhouse ...
... and the wing of the Skyranger.
see317 throws up a solution to our problem which will probably not destroy half a million dollars worth of aircraft. And hey, if it does, we're only in Denmark. A train ride will get us back to Haus von Trapp by this time tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Iolo lays a proxy at the mouth of the barn, because of course he does.
It gives him his first Floater kill of the campaign.
Then, a peal of thunder overhead. The Skyranger shudders, and the earth trembles with it.
When debris stops falling, see317 peeks his head out to admire his handiwork. The Skyranger is still intact. The farmhouse, not so much.
Hang on. The Floater was airborne near the Skyranger, not over it. How did its corpse end up on the wing?
Oh. It didn't. There was another Floater on top of the airplane waiting to snipe us as we disembarked.
Medium Scouts: not even once.
It looks like there was another one hiding in the barn, too.
38thDoe puts an end to our burgeoning nightmare.
So, another Floater terror mission is in the cards. I won't pretend not to be disappointed. I feel like it diminishes our achievement somewhat when the aliens keep serving up the easiest possible terror sites, even well into the summer. Still, the karmic bill has to come due sooner or later. I just hope we're not on Mars when the RNG swings against us.
Hope for the best, expect the worst.
edit** its all good, im just laughing at it all
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
If they die, I will cry.
Yaaaaay!
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Thankfully, you seem to have found an antidote:
--Mark Twain
Don't worry, we'll take you to the foundry and let you pick out a new one! "Who's an adorable little engine of destruction? You are! You are!"
Please tell me we at least took a few moments out of our busy schedule to loot the farmhouse.
Your barn mercy is just giving it time to patch itself up so that it can give aid and comfort to another group of xeno scum. Standard procedure should be to sanitize each site with thermobaric warheads after our operatives are extracted. No peace with the xenos. No peace with the barns!
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Still waiting on Dan "Man of his Word" Ryckert to eat a hat
"Whose a good little rocket death machine! I shall call you Reasonable Doubt! And your little sister robot can be Burden of Proof!"
It's the first of many Scout ships to visit southeast Asia during the opening week of July. All of them are Smalls or Mediums, and therefore not good candidates for recovery.
Every few days, Mudzgut embarks on a new sortie and adds a fresh wreck to the landscape. Each flight home takes him past the smoldering carcasses of his recent kills. All of Asia has become Mudzgut's trophy wall.
There's always a bigger fish, though.
UFO-54 leaves the atmosphere shortly after Baske detects it. Based on its size and trajectory, it was probably a Supply Ship that had just visited the alien base in the Congo. We can expect this to be a regular occurrence in the weeks ahead, and it will speed the decline of our fortunes in Africa.
Another Large UFO appears over Asia two days later.
I figure this to be the Sectoids' final reconnaissance for their impending terror attack. We'll find out soon enough.
But first, let's all enjoy a moment six months in the making:
We have the facilities.
We have the personnel.
And at long last, we have the schematics.
She won't come cheaply.
She'll take her time getting ready.
But she's worth it.
Hopefully, by the time she's finished, we'll have figured out where we're taking her.
It's time to start chatting up our captives.
This poor spud has been locked away since January 29th, when it knocked itself unconscious along with wilting and Elderlycrawfish in an ill-considered stun bomb attack. Now it has to listen to Vahlen lecture it on the improper use of explosives. I don't think it'll take long to crack.
Speaking of cracking.
In two consecutive terror attacks, the Sectoids have broken us and sent us running. They are the alien race I despise above all others. I'm as hyped for this operation as for any in the campaign so far.
We'll be fighting in daylight, so conditions are good. Much depends on the landing zone. If we're able to push out quickly and establish a perimeter, we should be able to carry the day. If we're locked into CQB with Cyberdiscs near the Skyranger, well ...
... there are going to be a lot of names added to the memorial.
3DS: 0447-9966-6178
You should incentivize performance by promising a visit to the Red Light district for survivors.
--Mark Twain
Just watch out for the lady boys or you'll certainly be in Bangkok
I'm talking about aliens and squadmates here.
Switch Friend Code: SW-1406-1275-7906
One terror mission in Bangkok will make a strong man crumble?
Is bigity on your team?
Or like, any of his family members? Close relatives? Friends?
See the guy next to you? He could be mindcontrolled. Watch him carefully.
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
X-Com Order of Battle:
Confirmation Bias
Rend and Sir Fabulous
Mvrck and theSquid
Farangu and an_alt
Antinumeric and Durinia
SutibunRi and Stormwatcher
For the first time at a Sectoid terror site, we have a landing zone with some breathing room.
Some.
The shop south of the gas pumps looks to be the terrain feature that will define our approach to this map. It suggests a two-pronged advance, with one team pushing north through the gas station and another team sweeping south into the road.
First, though, we'll have to clear a few obstacles.
Confirmation Bias wraps up its scouting move with a lethal snap shot.
The Cyberdisc behind the shop is unassailable for now. No one can get a firing angle on it or heave HI-X over the building, so we'll have to wait for it to come around the corner. This is a terrible position to be in. The only thing worse than waiting for a disc to close in on you is facing a disc that has already closed in on you.
We have much better options for dealing with the Sectoid between the gas pumps, and I choose the one that removes all doubt.
Most of the pumps erupt in secondary explosions, and an unseen civilian cowering behind one of them is obliterated.
Surely, his life was forfeit regardless of what we did?
This burst from inside the shop is only a tiny fraction of the plasma fusillade that rages throughout the city. Every discharge of an alien weapon is answered by a human voice screaming in mortal agony. We've never heard a massacre like this before.
I don't think we're going to save anyone here today. Not a single civilian. The best we can hope to do is save ourselves.
The Cyberdisc didn't advance on us, so Sir Fabulous rounds the corner to look for it, and finds ... a lone Sectoid on the sidewalk down the street. It's the least of our problems.
Maybe the disc is in the blind spot around the corner?
No. And nothing inside the store either?
Oh shit. It must have gone onto the roof.
Roof disc, worst disc. Our only hope of spotting it is to send Confirmation Bias out at a wide angle.
THAT DID NOT COME FROM THE ROOF
The high shelves were blocking Stormwatcher's view.
They also block the aliens' view of an_alt.
Instead of a Cyberdisc wreck crashing to earth, the Colonel hears a meaty thump in the wake of the blast.
The corpse of another civilian dropped in after the second floor was blown out from under it. At least this one wasn't our fault. And now we have a clear shot at the Cyberdisc.
In a fraction of a second, Confirmation Bias's microprocessors have plotted a firing solution.
3DS: 0447-9966-6178
My theory is Fanda is in an Edge of Tomorrow/live die repeat situation, and in actuality you've all died 400,000 times each, in progressively gruesome ways, until things go smoothly enough to move on.
Just stay alive ‘til this horror show is past.
We’re gonna fly a lot of flags half-mast. (Raise a glass.)
Why I fear the ocean.
So are you saying Fanda is save scumming? That is a pistols at dawn type accusation...
Law and Order ≠ Justice
ACNH Island Isla Cero: DA-3082-2045-4142
Still waiting on Dan "Man of his Word" Ryckert to eat a hat
Most disputes die and no one shoots...